I N D E X
Focus 6
Etcetera 8
Sports 10
Editorials 12
Comics 13
, . Classified Ads 5
Vol. 681 No. 17 Louisville, Kentucky January 25, 1996 14 Pages An Independent Student Newspaper Free
Crum
explains
silence
By Michael A. Lindenberger
Staff Writer
After 24 years of coaching the
University of Louisville men's bas­ketball
team, a career which bas net­ted
him two national championships,
577 career victories and a spot in the
Basketball Hall of Fame, coach
Denny Crum recently altered one part
of the team's routine.
Crum was advised by U_of Lath­letic
director Bill Olsen to close the
team practices to the media, as a
result of allegations that arose during
last summer. In addition, Crum was
instructed not to conunent on the
specific allegations under NCAA in­vestigation,
and that's why he has
declined to answer many questions
from the press about the investiga­tion,
Crumsaid ina Jan. 22interview.
He said he closed the practices to
the public for the first time ever thi~
year to eliminate the risk of allowing
individuals like convicted felon
Photo Courtesy of Sports Information
Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum
•
Jimmy Thompson to misrepresent
themselves as connected to the pro­gram.
The program's open policy
toward visitors ~t the practices made
it easier for Thompson -a volunteer
strength coach for about six w'eeks
before he was fired and kicked off
campus -to attach himself to the
program.
Crum said the NCAA still ruled
that Thompson was an official repre­sentative
of the University because
there was no written proofthat he had
See CRUM, Page 7
Faculty's.Jong hours concern Trustees
• CHE report reveals
faculty carry. average
work load of 60 hours
per week
By Dug Begley
Staff Writer
The University of Louisville Board
of Trustees opened 19~6where the 1995
session left off. At their Jan. 22 meeting,
the Trustees were brought up to date on
the proposed football stadium, the up­coming
administration change to Uni­versity
of Louisville Hospital, financial
matters and the Council on Higher
Education's 1995 Accountability Re­port.
What created the bjggest round of
questioning however were not large
projects like the stadium of hospital, but
the hours faculty put in both in the class­room
and doing research.
According to charts from Office of
Planning and Budget prepared for the
Accountability Report, professors out­side
the Medical and Dental schools .
worked on average 56 hours per week,
while Medical and Dental profes~ors
worked 63 hours. Board chairman
George Fischer recognized the work
professors put into their schedules, but
said his concern is that someone on a
fixed salary works that number of hours.
Faculty Senate chairman and board
member Rick Stremel jokingly thanked
Fischer for his comments during the
meeting. After the meeting, Stremel ;md
Fischer di'scussed why faculty work so
hard and how accurately the charts pre­sented
faculty work load.
Stremel, who is also a member of the
medical faculty, said in many cases
medical faculty work one' on one with a
student in a hospital environment, which
adds to the number of teaching hours a
faculty member puts in.
Fischer emphasized his concern over
the heavy work load many faculty mem­bers
"You don't want people to work so
bard that it impairs their health or fam­ily,"
Fischer said after the meeting. Fisher
also said that he understands that many
faculty work so many hours because
they are involved and interested in their
work.
"Probably they would be doing this
(service work) whether they had to or ·
not," Fischer said.
President John Shumaker· told the
Trustees that fundraising for the sta­dium
was going "extremely well" and
the stadium's funding is nearing $15
million of the $17 million needed.
Staff Photo By Tony Matkey
U of L Vice President for Administration, Larry Owsley (front),
intently looked on as a report was presented by Director of Planning
and budget, Larry Mehlbauer (not shown).
"We expect by the end of the week
that we will be able to name all corporate
sponsors," Shumaker said.
Former Board chairman D. Harry
Jones said in light of the recent ne·gative
publicity that has been given to U ofL's
athletic program, the stadium's progress
is necessary to boost support for the
school.
"We need to kind ofgetoverit_and go
See BOT, Page 7
Clinton visits Louisville Students seek answers,
relief as tax time nears
• Staff Photo by Tony Matkey'
• Experts offer advice on
easy filing, rapid refunds
By Becky Staack
Staff Writer
The kitchen table has papers scattered from
one end to another. Wasted pencils linger in a sea
of eraser dust. The adding machine is buzzing
with its quiet hum. No, it is not another calculus
exam, it is tax time.
For many students, income is a necessity, but
doing your taxes can be confusing if the IRS
jargon is unfamiliar. According to the Internal
Revenue Service the estimated time it takes· to
familiarize yourself with the 1040EZ form is
close to an hour, not to mention that it takes an
average of 1 hour, 22 minutes to complete the
actual form. 1
For students who are overwhelmed by this,
there are people who will do your taxes for you.
"My aunt does my taxes for me," Brian
Hardesty, a sophOmore electrical engineering
student said.
U of L's School of Business has volunteers
that are specifically trained to file tax returns.
The program is called VITA (Volunteer Income
Tax Assistants) and it is sponsored by Beta Alpha
Psi, an honorary Fraternity and is a community
service, according to VITA sponsor Professor
Richard Walters.
"Volunteers are accounting students who have
completed 'Introduction to Taxation' which cov­ers
individual taxation, so they are adequately
trained," Walters said.
Students who wish to utilize this service, or
any service will need to bring with them: a copy
of their prior year return, W-2 forms from their
employer, and other tax documents, such as
interest and capital gains documents, Walters
said.
A key concern for students in their tax prepa­rations
is knowing whether or not they can claim
themselves as a dependent.
"If somebody, a student for instance, supports
themselves, or another person , over 50 percent
they (the supported person) would be a deperi­dent.
If your parents pay for your support, they
can claim you as a dependent," Peggy Landrus,
H & R Block Office Manager said.
President Bill Clinton kicked off his campaign for reelection in Louisville, at Male High School oo Jan. 24.
See DEADLINE, Page 7
Balancing Act
Educators seek balance· between atbletics, academics
For r9lat9d s:tori1u:, s:~~o~~o th~~o
FOCUS section on Pages 4 & 5
By Michael Cunningham
Staff Writer
Last semester, University of Louis­ville
basketball players Jason Osborne
and Alex Sanders were declared aca­demically
ineligible to participate on the
basketball team. Osborne, who report­edly
mettheNCAArequirementofa 1.9
GPA, fell short of the College of Arts
and Sciences 2.0 GPA standard. Both
players appealed their suspensions, and
both were denied.
When a student who does not partici­pate
on an athletic team does not make
t~e grade, the perception is that respon­sibility
for that failure almost always
lies entirely with that student. With stu­dent-
athletes, the issue of who is respon­sible
may not be that clear. Scholarship
athletes take on what University of Lou­isville
President John Shumaker de­scribed
as a "40-hour per week job" of
practicing, traveling, and competing as
a representative of the university.
After Osbome and Sanders' academic
problems, some observers wondered
how the two players could be "allowed"
to falter academically, suggesting that
coach Denny Crum or athletic adminis­trators
should somehow assure that play­ers
remain on course in the classroom.
I Should coaches and administrators, who
take up so much of the player's time and
energy with the
understanding
doesn't want to go to class, or doesn't
want to study that much, then you are
going to run into problems in college;
that's just a fact. We (the university)
shouldn't be here giving out degrees
just because somebody puts in their
time."
Shumaker
that the player
will receive an
education in re­turn,
be held ac­countable
when
the player does
not meet mini­mum
academic
requirements?
"We must make it clear
to our student-athletes
agreed that the stu­dent
has the most
culpability for
their academic
S t e v e
that academic pursuits
are our primary concern
at the University and
their primary purpose is
to be students."
record.
"In the final
analysis, it is the
student-athlete's
responsibility to
do the work and to
succeed. Coaches
and athletic ad­ministrators
can
' Milburn, U of
L's Director of
Athletic Aca­demic
Services;
- U of L President
John Shumaker
said that there
must be a balance between administra­tor,
coach, and student responsibilities,
but that, in the end, it is the student­athlete
who shoulders the heaviest bur­den.
"Given the resources that we have ..
.I think that most students, if they try,
will graduate," Milburn said. "The larg­est
balance (of responsibility) has to
come from within the student. If some­body
doesn '!really like school that much,
serve as important
guides and men­tors-
but it is the
student who must ultimately do the
work."
Still, Milburn and Shumaker agreed,
this does not free the university from
having the responsibility of providing
an adequat~ foundation for the student.
"Where we bear some responsibil­ity
is providing adequate resources (for
the student-ath1ete )," Milburn said. "I
think as coaches and athletic ad minis-trators
we are the adults in charge of the
situation, so we've got to get those kids
up to it." .
"We must make it clear to our stu­dent-
athletes that academic pursuits are
our primary concern at the university
and their primary purpose is to be stu­dents,"
Shumaker said. "Then we must
provide both an environment and sup­port
systems that reinforce those val­ues."
Brian Kiser, a senior forward on the
men's basketball team, said that support
from the university can only,go so far
when trying to help a player succeed in
the classroom.
"As far as (acade1nics), you can only
motivate yourself; someone else can't
motivate you," Kiser said. "The univer­sity
can provide the setting for motiva­tion
and provide as many opportunities
as possible, but it comes down to moti­vating
yourself." ·
Scooter McCray, a former star
basketball player at Louisville' and now
an assistant coach, said that there is a
middle ground between player and
school that must be reached.
"There' s got to be an equilibrium,"
McCray said. "I think the university
bas got to meet (student-athletes) half­way."
See KISER, Page 4
Staff Photo By Tony Matkey
Senior forward Brian Kiser (right) shows his on-court smarts against
Southern Mississippi: Kiser said it is up to the student-athlete to
perform in the classroom and make the grade off the court. For related
stories, see the FOCUS section, pages 4 & 5.