CAMPUS / AREA
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Minority athletes break the mold
KU jocks battle 'dumb' stereotype
By Cody Holt
Kansan staff writer
Somewhere on campus there is an African-American student who does not want you to know he plays football for the University of Kansas.
he does not wear his letter jacket or any other
hat that would label him as an athlete
when he is playing.
"I think when a Black athlete tries to give an intelligent response in class there is a lot of shifting in seats," the student said. "It's like 'Oh no, here he goes again.'"
Carlos Fleming, a junior on the tennis
He is just one of many KU students trying to overcome the stereotyping of Black athletes.
Carlos Fleming, a junior on the tennis team, said that his teachers seemed surprised when he received the trophy.
"The stereotype of the Black athlete is that he is going to try to cut corners," he said.
Fleming dispels these misconceptions. He is a former Phillips 66 Classroom Champion and earned first-team Academic All-Big Eight honors in 1990.
Macolm Nash, a senior on the men's basketball team, said that some of the stereotypes could be caused by athletes in the past who were not as concerned with academics.
"I think athletes now are starting to realize the importance of an education," he said.
However, Fleming said that stereotyping of the Black athlete went beyond the classroom.
"It's as if being an athlete legitimizes a Black person on campus," he said, "The fact that students draw conclusions about Black athletes for reasons
Nash agreed that Black athletes were more accepted on campus because of their participation in a sport.
other than personal is a big problem. "
"People have a tendency to praise athletes," he said. "I'm more accepted as a person because of the press and being in the limelight."
Fleming said that media attention often isolated Black athletes from the African-American culture, creating a rude awakening when their playing days were over.
"Athletes live in a dream world for four years and then wake up without a degree or a pro contract," he said. "They need to remember they are also part of the Black community."
Fleming said that when he arrived at
KU as a freshman the first question he asked his coach was, "When do we get our gear so I can wear it on campus?"
He said the thought this was a common attitude of incoming athletes that created many problems.
Fleming and Nash both said that there were physical stereotypes of Black athletes that had the potential to affect any African-American student.
They said the stereotype that Blacks are superior athletes sometimes leads to conclusions about their athletic prowess and consequently, a belief about their inadequacies in the classroom.
Nash said that he wished he could be seen as just another student.
"If I were in charge of things I would make sure athletes are not isolated from all other students," he said. "I would want every student to know us and not base perceptions only on what they see on the court."
Athletically-inclined students are sometimes seen by other students and professors as disinterested in their classes.
Photo illustration by Christine McFarland / KANSAN
KU, Budig oppose threat to minority aid
Kansan staff writer
By Jenny Martin
But KU's efforts could soon be undermined by a proposal made by the federal government to ban minority-targeted financial aid in institutions of higher education.
From improved recruitment and retention efforts to more scholarships and programs, the University of Kansas has heightened its commitment to attracting minority students
Nationwide, hundreds of university and college presidents are writing letters to the U.S. Department of Education in support of a statement by the American Council on Education that denounces the department's proposal.
Chancellor Gene Budig's letter stating KU's opposition to the proposed changes should be received by the department by the March 9 deadline for public comment.
"The University of Kansas is committed to assisting economically disadvantaged students and those who have traditionally not been able to participate fully in the professions and in public life." Budig wrote in his letter to Michael Williams, assistant secretary of the department's Office for Civil Rights.
The proposal is based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It states that "no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
The department wants universities
to find ways to attract and keep minorities without unlawfully discriminating against them for reasons of race, color or national origin.
Budig in his letter that the proposed policy would be a tragic setback for the progress that had been made by many institutions over the past several decades in achieving equality for the diverse racial and ethnic groups in our society.
Sherwood Thompson, director of minority affairs, said the department was acting as if the advancements made for minorities up to now were sufficient.
"This is what the uproar is about—most educators and administrators think we are far from eliminating racism at universities," he said. "I think the conservative right wing in America is making a significant effort to encourage administration to cut back the services and resources that have been used to increase minority opportunities."
Jim Scaly, assistant to the chancelor, said that only a small portion of scholarship money at KU was reserved for minority students.
Scally said that the department's proposal was a reflection of a backlash going on in the United States against minorities by people who thought minorities were unnecessarily privileged and that the laws worked in their favor.
The department will issue a notice of proposed rule-making after the March 9 deadline for public comment. The proposal will again be open for comment before it becomes a regulation.
Minority scholarships could be cut
By Svala Jonsdottir
Kansan staff writer
The KU Endowment Merit Scholarship Program for minority students is one of the programs that could be affected if the U.S. Department of Education proposal to eliminate race-based scholarships is implemented.
The program, which started in 1979, offered more than 100 scholarship based on academic merit to minority students. The program was assisted by a dean of educational services,
More than 400 minority students and their parents visited the University of Kansas in recruiting efforts for both the Endowment Merit and Discovery scholarships for minorities and women, she said.
Marshall Jackson, administrative associate at the Student Assistance Center, was one of the founders of the merit scholarships.
Students competing for the scholarship must be from Kansas or the Kansas City metropolitan area and have a 3.0 grade point average or composite score of 23 or higher on the ACT, said Pearl Rovaris, representative for the Office of Admissions.
"It was attempt to attract academically talented students of co'or to the University," he said. "The first year we had 20 students who visited the campus, and 13 enrolled in the fall of 1980."
dents are subject to being reviewed," he said. "I think the commitment at KU is such that we are going to do whatever we can continue these important programs in an effort to increase the diversity on this campus."
Sherwood Thompson, director of minority affairs, said the proposed federal policy endangered the scholarship program.
Thompson said that some people thought minority students were at the University only because of their race. Other students proved this perception wrong.
*All programs that provide some kind of scholarships for minority stu-
"These students are in the top 5 or 10 percent of their graduating classes," he said. "They are receiving assistance on academics, not based on race."
Linda Lily, Wichita freshman, said the Endowment Merit Scholarship she received weighed in her decision to come to the University.
"I considered Purdue, KU and JF accepted to Purdue, but I do not expect to expire."
Ly, who plans to major in biochemistry, said minority scholarships were helpful but should not be taken for granted.
"I don't think that just because you are a minority you automatically deserve a scholarship," she said. "Acaa merit also needs to be considered."
Melissa Burgess, Lee's Summit, Mo. freshman, said she opposed the elimination of race-based scholarships.
"I think a lot of minorities would not be able to afford to go to college without financial aid," she said. "If I did not have the scholarship and other financial aid, I would not be here."
Senate discipline bill passes committee vote
By Jav Williams
Kansanstaffwriter
Specific procedures for displining members of Senate were passunamiously by the Student Senate Student Rights Committee last night.
The proposed procedure states discipline could run from censure by Senate to removal by impeachment.
John Robertson, graduate senator and a member of the committee, said the bill grew out of the effort last semester to remove Darren Fulcher, former student body president.
Senate voted to oust Fulcher after charges that he battered his ex-girlfriend became public at the beginning of last semester.
Robertson represented Senate before the Judicial Board after Fulcher appealed Senate's decision to remove him. The Judicial Board denied Fulcher's appeal.
One of Fulcher's arguments was that he did not have an adequate opportunity to present his case.
"It was suggested we needed to fix the rules regardless of what happened regarding president Fulcher." Robertson said.
Senate procedures do not have specific procedures that allow disciplinary action against a
member.
Jason McIntosh, co-chairperson of the committee, said they began working on legislation in October.
"It took a lot of time to ensure due process and make it fair," he said.
McIntosh said the committee looked at removal procedures of other universities, such as Duke, the university of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of California-Berkley.
He said constants in the other programs were a two-thirds vote to discipline and fair process for the accused.
Creating the removal procedures has been the largest task for the committee this year, McIntosh said.
Daron Sinkler, co-chairperson of the Ethics Subcommittee, said he was pleased with the adopted bill and expected Senate to pass it at the March 4 meeting without major changes.
"I think they may change a few small types, but nothing big," he said. "We tried to cover every conceivable thing that could go wrong with it."
The subcommittee drafted the original bill, which was later amended by the Student Rights Committee.