Vol. 66, • ·o.6 Louisville, September 23, 1993
'Mandatory' test stlll voluntary
until further notice from Provost
By harle Me uc
and ott Koloms
Staff Writers
The General Educacion ouncil will
mccltoday co finalize a proposal to send
to U of L 's academic units regarding
mandacory tcsli ng for graduaci ng seniors.
"We hope co have someching ready
afcer !he mcecing. We sho uld have some
document char chc council will endorse
and we wiiJ forward co !he academic
unics," said idncy McPhee, assiscanc
Uni versi ty Provosc. ··we want a com­plete
proposal that would provide clear
perspeccive in t e rm~ of what we need to
do and why we need to do it .''
Several students and faculty voiced
dis...cnt for the mandatory test last spring,
saying the Universi ty did not give stu ­dents
suffic1ent notice of the test, which
would be a requirement for graduation.
Students graduating in May weren 'c sent
leiters informing them of the test until
February.
Fac ulty members were ou traged
that they were n ' t consulted before
the test was implemented . The
Red book, which outlines University
po licy, states that only the Faculty
enate has the jurisdiction to intro­duce
requirements to the Board of
Trustees for granting degrees .
Provost WaiJace Mann, in an article
last year in The Louisville Cardinal,
allributed the failure to notify the faculty
to a "breakdown in communication."
The test scores wouldn't be put on
students' academic records, but the re­sults
would be used to measure the qual ­ity
of students U of Lis producing for its
own evaluation, as weiJ as for accredita­tion
purposes.
Education professor Kenneth
Duckworth, who serves as assessment
coordinator for the council, said, "The
Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools is coming to U of L in three
years to begin its next accreditation visit.
If the University is not found in compli­ance
with standards the SACS wiiJ with­hold
the Universicy 's accreditation.
''The council wiiJ not only want to see
students' outcomes," he said. "but also
proof that the University is us ing the test
resuh information for improvements."
After the initial outcry, the Provost's
o ffice rescinded the requirement and
made the test voluntary.
"The only decision we have made
since last spring is that the test is going
to be administered on a voluntary basis
until further notice," McPhee said.
However, he said he thinks the test
needs to be mandatory in order to moti­vate
st udents to take it.
"There was a significant difference
when it was perceived as mandatory; the
numbers went down dramaticaiJy" afcer
it was made voluntary, McPhee said.
John Kolb, SGA academic vice presi ­dent,
said if the faculty doesn 't approve
the proposal from the council, then the
tesc will not be mandatory for students
graduating in spring 1994. If, however,
the facuhy approves the proposa l, then
the test will be required for students
planning to graduate at that time.
Kolb said the council is also consid­ering
instituting a cut-off date in No­vember
at which point if the facuhy
See AFTER
Page 3
Contamination at proposed stadium site:
many questions remain unanswered
By Jonathan Baize
Staff Writer
The proposed si te for U
ofL 's new football scadium
may need extensive envi­ronmental
clean-up before
construction on it can be­gin
. Hazardous chemicals
were used in everyday op­erations
at the CSX train
yards and may have con­taminated
the soil , sources
said.
The proper! y was used
by CSX Transportation and
its predecessor, Louisville
and Nashville Railroad, for
cleansing and maintenance
of train engines from 1905
until the late 1980s.
The site remains closed
"There will probably be
subatantill petroleum
contamlndon, llut CSX li
...... of that and rOutinely
._ cleanups when they
leaye ..... ,..., .......
OftiiOina testlna, but a­._
been no final report."
tion," Prall said. "A character­ization
detenni nes the presence
of hazardous material and its
horizontal extent.''
Prall added that once the
testing is completed, CSX's
consultants will present a plan
for managing the contaminants
- if they do exist - and the
EPA will decide whether the
plan is sufficient
"Anyone who has a poten­tially
contaminated site has
three options on how to ad­dress
the contamination prob­lem:
demonstrate that there is
no contamination ; manage
those contaminants on site or
restore the environment by re-moving
those contaminants,"
he said. "If we review and ac­cept
their characterization then
that plan will be implemented."
16 Pages
IN 1rHE
-APTOP25
INDEX
Newa Brlefa __ 9
Alta 10
Spot1a 12
Edltorillla __ 14
Comlca 15
Cla .. lfled Ada _ 16
Free
,. 111 • .,., "' ., .. "' .,.. r,, - •I • ty
For complete game summary
see page 12.
and is currently undergoing testing by
an environmental consulting firm hired
by CSX to determine whether any con­tamination
is present.
Jeff Prall, director of Superfund for
the Kentucky division of the Environ­mental
Protection Agency, said che EPA
will not know whether the area is con­taminated,
or to what extent it is con­taminated,
until after CSX 's consultants
turn in their report.
"We have not received any informa­tion
from CSX yet, but we understand
that its characterization is near compte-
Though testing is still being con­ducted
to determine if contamination
has occurred, The Louisville Cardinal,
See OWSLEY
Page 7
Staff Photo by Harry Sanders
U of L senior Aaron Bailey's anempted catch is foiled by an Arizona State defender. The Cards
got the b4!St of the Sun Devils, however, defeating them 35-17 Sept. 18 at Cardinal Stadium.
Consensual Sexual Relationships:
University closer to formulating policy
By Scott Koloms
Staff Writer
The University of Louisville is a step
closer to formulating an official policy
regarding sexual relationships between
students and fac ulty or staff members.
with a student who is enrolled in a
course being taught by the faculty
member or whose academic work
(including teaching assistants) is
being supervised by the faculty
member."
Reaction from the senates re­vealed
gaps in the proposed policy.
Conceptual and language problems
within the document prevented sen­ate
support without revision.
"We must address the issue of power
and authority that could be used to a
student's disadvantage. This campus
needs a policy on consensual sexual rela­tionships,"
said Katherine Amos, assis­tant
vice-president for student develop-ment
and chair of the Women's Advi­sory
Board to President Donald Swain.
The report from the Student Sen­ate
questioned who should be in­-
Katherine Amos cludedunderthctitle "facultymem­ber."
"This is a complicated
issue - there are
several different
stances - but it is
something that needs
to be done at U of L.''
''This is a complicated issue -there
are several different stances- but it is
something that needs to be done at U of
assistant vice president for student development According to the memo, ''The
document states that 'graduate stu­dents
with teaching responsibili­L,"
Amos said. ties' arc also included as faculty.
In January the advisory board submitted a
recommendation to Swain conc~rning the
University's need to adopt a policy on consen­sual
sexual relationships. The board created a
proposal that it said would be t suit the Univer­sity.
"We tried to cover everything within the policy
but realized we could not," Amos said. "The idea
was to putt he policy into the hands of the senates
and then review the feedback for revision."
Swain circulated the Board's proposal to the
student, faculty and staff senates for review.
All three were rcljuircd to return comments by
July I to Swain, who would then advise the
Board based on the feedback. Memos from the
senates were collected, along with individual
opinions over the summer. Last month, Swain
revealed the reactions to the advisory board.
"Swain wrote a memo saying the policy need
to be revised. He said the comments mtumcd
indicated that there was much confusion about
the policy," said Linda Shapiro, assistaJOl Uni­versity
Provost and member of the W•omen's
Advisory Board.
The proposed policy stated that "rumorous
relationship between faculty members and stu­dents
arc wrong when the faculty member has
professional responsibility for the studerct. Such
situations greatly increase the chances 1Jhat the
faculty member will abuse his or her power and
sexually exploit the student."
Further, "no faculty member shall have an
amorous relationship (with or without consent)
The Student Senate stated that"This means
that graduate assistants cannot date any stu­dents,
regardless of whether or not these
students are in their classes. As tudents
themselves, it is ridiculous to prohibit stu­dents
from dating tudents."
There was also disagreement within the
Student Senate over prohibiting a faculty
member from dating a student not within his
or her class. With the average age of aU of L
student being 27, the "likelihood of students
and faculty meeting in social settings in­creases,"
the Student Senate wrote.
See PROPOSED
Page 3
U of L students
to participate in
1993 AIDS Walk
By Renita Edwards
Staff Writer
With AIDS infecting the college-age popula­tion
in rising numbers, it 's no ~urprise that sev­eral
University of Louisville student organiza­tions
are participating in the 1993 AIDS Walk,
the first to be held in Louisville.
The walk will begin act he Belvedere Sept. 26
and wind its way back there. The total course will
be 5 kilometers. Parti cipa nt~ rai~e money by
collecting pledges for each mile walked.
Mortar Board, a senior honor society, is among
the organizations participating in the walk.
Anne Luise Montgomery, a senior political
science major and president of Mortar Board,
said the group's participation in the walk is an
example of its commitment to community ser­vice.
"The AIDS walk is a very worthy cause,
especially since so many people arc afOicted
with it," Montgomery said. " II is also a good way
to bring the community together for a common
cause, in addition to promoting AIDS aware­ness."
Alpha Phi Omega, a community service fra ­ternity,
is another participating group.
Darren Grunwald!, a senior majoring in psy­chology
and humanities and member of the Al ­pha
Phi Omega fraternity, said the group has an
active role in the walk.
"We will sponsor ~everal of our members to
do the actual walk and we will also be working at
e STUDENT
Page 3