4B
Monday, March 31, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The following are comments received by the Kansan sports desk via e-mail. Comments can be sent to sports@kansan.com
TALKING BACK
In response to Spencer Duncan's column saying that Chancellor Robert Hemenway was a hypocrite for skipping class to go to basketball games but not agreeing to cancel classes if Kansas won the national championship:
Just read your column. Great job! First it was the Christmas tree issue with the Chancellor; now it's this.
Great article. It is about time people at Kansas stand up for what they believe in. I agree with you. That "Chancellor" is a hypocrite. It is too bad he won't see this, being in Birmingham and all. Hemenway talks about tradition, but he is breaking the tradition of classes being canceled after a national championship. Keep up the good work.
I laughed when I read the first line of your sports article today. Yes, I can still recall vividly what the chancellor has said about not canceling classes on campus. If the information you obtained from the assistant is true, well, brave! I'll totally agree with you!
Apparently you do not understand the difference between Chancellor Hemenway and yourself. You are a student. He is Robert Hemenway. Your "rebel against authority" attitude only makes you look like a child, whining about what's fair and what's not. If you want to skip classes to watch the games, that's your business. (I would also say that Chancellor Hemenway has a little more obligation than you to attend the game, considering he's the Chancellor and all.)
Hemenway was considering many students, no wait, make that all the students here at the University who are paying for their own education one way or another. Canceling class for a basketball game would be an insult to those who are here for reasons other than worshiping the basketball team.
Now I am as big a fan as any, but even I know where to draw the line between my devotion to the team and devotion to my education. I know the Chancellor's appearance might not be necessary at the game, but if you consider yourself to have as much authoritative free will as he does when it comes to deciding whether or not classes are canceled, more power to you.
His decision was not an act of hypocrisy (a word which you use as if you are still suffering from high school teen angst). It was in the best interest of the University and its students.
Thank you for reading this far. And before I go, I want to ask you to find something you believe in to write about, instead of whining so much in your articles. You come across as snide and stuck up.
Spencer, excellent job on the chancellor editorial. This university has become such a corporate mess; just wait till we run out of money and the Chancellor decides to sell the basketball team to make money. We, the university, have become a corporate institution. Nothing is supposed to be fun anymore—it's all business.
tions. They just have to dash from their luxury cars to their office. And of course they can't see us outside trudging
And as with any business, the upper management gets all of the perks. They don't have to walk to classes when it's subacaric temperatures outside with blizzard condi-
through the snow because their windows are so fogged up.
We need to stand up against this sterilization of the school's humanity. If nothing is done soon, students will be losing their rights and voices becoming dehumanized.
*Spencer, haven't you heard that rank has its privileges? Or didn't your parents teach you "don't do as I do but as I say"?*
■ Your column on Chancellor Hemenway is right on target. I can't wait to hear how or if he responds. I applaud your courage in standing up to "the man." (And I wonder how hypocrisy might manifest itself in other parts of his job?)
I agree with the sentiments behind the column (saying that the Chancellor should be teaching his classes if he's going to hold that academics are more important than sports). I think the Chancellor should present himself as a model in terms of participation in the University. I'm glad that he at least had someone else teach his class for him, but I think it would be more responsible if he were to be there, showing his students the value he places on their education.
One other thing: isn't it convenient that the Chancellor defended the precedent of not suspending classes by referring to the University of Kentucky's year at the top? Wasn't he the Chancellor there, setting the precedent to which he himself refers as being established? Moreover, was he teaching that day?
I read Friday's article about Hemenway with a great deal of interest. I couldn't decide if what you were saying was completely ludicrous or remarkably profound. Allow me to elaborate a bit.
Right or wrong, there is no question that at times academics take a back seat to athletics (and more specifically, WINNING at athletics) at today's universities. If you want me to cite relevant examples of this, then you just aren't paying much attention to college sports these days.
Perhaps at no time is this fact more evident than during March Madness and the NCAA Tournament. In fact, I am guilty of this myself. I'll admit that there were times in my undergrad days at KU in which I found myself blowing off my three impending midterms just so I could find out who won that pressing first-round match-up between Maryland and Santa Clara.
Therefore, we must face a simple fact: The No. 1 man at the university with the No. 1 team in the nation would not be doing his job if he was not on location supporting his team.
At the same time, however, it was hypocritical of him to do this while not allowing students to revel in the success of their team as well. It is in this manner that your article transcended college athletics and cut to the very heart of the ethics (or lack thereof) commonly shown by the faculty, staff, administration, and, dare I say, even the Chancellor of our university.
Students at this university often are held to a double standard. Frequently students' needs are ignored by faculty and administration who seem to have forgotten who pays their salary. The time has come for professors, administrators, and even our own Chancellor to begin collectively practicing what they so often preach.
KU students to play for racquetball title Championships elect defending bank wil along U.S. national team
Kansan staff report
Two University of Kansas students will play racquetball in the E-Force 25th U.S. National Intercollegiate Championships at The Court House in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Jason Pointelin, St. Joseph, Mo., senior, and Jeff Maloney, Lenexa freshman, will compete individually and in doubles play.
The men's and women's brackets each include six singles and three doubles divisions. The winners of the men's and women's No. 1 singles titles will automatically earn a one-year appointment to the U.S. National Racquetball Team.
Last year's overall team champion, Brigham Young University, will attempt to win its third straight title in the 34-team field. Led by No.1 singles players Steve Black and Cindy Richards, the Cougars will have to fend off top challengers Nichols College, Penn State and Memphis, Florida.
In the women's singles, Boise, Idaho native Tammy Brockbank, who is currently ranked in the top 25 on the women's tour as an amateur, is the top seed in women's singles. A two-time
defending national champion, Brockbank will lead the Boise State squad along with her brother Rick Brockbank. No woman has ever won three national intercollegiate racquetball crowns.
However, Brockbank's "3-Peat" will not be an easy feat. Junior Team USA member Sadie Gross of Memphis was a semifinalist last year. Others to watch are former U.S. Junior Team members Shannon Feaster from Howard University and Vanessa Tulao from North Carolina.
In the men's division, 1996 semifinalists Brian Simpson from Indiana and Shane Wood of Nichols College return to fight for the crown. Simpson is ranked 24th on the men's pro tour as an amateur, while Wood captured the men's No. 1 singles title in 1995.
Schools participating in the tournament are Air Force, Akron, Army, Baldwin-Wallace, Boise State, Brigham Young, California, Cal-Davis, Cal State-Sacramento, Case Western Reserve, Clovis Comm., Colorado, Florida, Howard, Idaho, Idaho-State, Indiana, Kansas, Lewis & Clark State, Memphis, Minnesota, Missouri, Nichols College, North Carolina, Penn State, Providence, Rensselaer Poly Tech. Rick's College, Shippensburg, Southern Colorado, Southwest Missouri State, Texas A&M, Utah State and Weber State.
The International Racquetball Association contributed to this story.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
KU should mark surprise loss
In 1988, KU's "Cinderella" men's basketball team surprised the country when it won the national championship. In celebration of the fantastic victory, classes were canceled the following day.
Two weeks ago, Chancellor Robert Hemenway issued an official statement saying that if the men's basketball team were to win the national championship this year, classes would NOT be canceled. The chancellor's reasoning was that the 1988 team was unexpected, whereas a victory by this year's team would be no real surprise.
Students who wish that other University sports teams and athletes earned as much recognition as the men's basketball team may have thought that the chancellor's decision was fair. Those who point out that there are many other University students with worthy accomplishments who seem to be underappreciated also may have thought that the chancellor's decision was just. I know several KU students and alumni who were and are overachievers but don't get as much attention as they should.
onship, whether it be the No. 1 team or the No. 64 team, that team always wins simply because it was better in the last three weeks of the season, the toughest three weeks of the season, than any other team in the country. And that kind of performance is always a reason to celebrate.
But on Friday, March 21, Kansas was knocked out of the running for the men's basketball championship by a fine Arizona team. Perhaps now the chancellor may begin to realize that no No. 1 team can ever be taken for granted to go all the way. No matter who wins the champi-
I thank both of KU's basketball teams for a fantastic year, full of excitement, pride and joy. I thank them for bringing home BOTH of the inaugural Big 12 Conference Championships and the men's Big 12 title.
But Kansas could NOT win the national championship, and by the chancellor's reasoning, that IS a surprise. So in protest of the chancellor's decision not to cancel classes in the event of Kansas winning the championship, a decision which seemed to lack the level of University pride expected from the institution's leader, I will not be in class on Tuesday, April 1. Instead, I will be in "mourning" of Kansas' inability to bring home the trophy this year. And I invite the rest of the student body, faculty, and staff to join me in mourning the "surprising" result for the men's basketball team.
Sara Pizarro Subtil Lawrence Senior
Softball team is on a roll, winning 10 away games
By Matt Woodruff
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas softball team was on a roll during spring break, going 10-4 on the road, 4-0 in the Big 12 Conference and raising its overall record to 21-12.
Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said that the team was beginning to put everything together in time for the home opener, which will be at 2 p.m. on Wednesday against Wichita State.
"Looking back I know there are a few games that we should have won that we didn't, but it feels good to be 4-0 in the conference," Bunge said. "Our batting really came alive this weekend."
The team was in the Lone Star State to begin the official Big 12 season against Baylor on Friday and Texas Tech on Saturday.
The team passed its first conference test with flying colors, defeating Baylor 6-1 and 2-0. Sarah Workman, who according to Bunge is enjoying a strong season, was the winning pitcher in both of the contests.
"I can't say enough about how Sarah is pitching," Bunge said. "She pitched 45 of the innings in our eight games in Sacramento, if that tells you anything."
The team continued to play well the next day against Texas Tech, and Workman earned two more victories as Kansas defeated the Red Raiders 7-4 and 7-0.
The team split two games against the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes on March 25 in Sacramento, Calif.
Kansas won the first contest 4-2 behind Workman but was shut out in the second 8-0, with Christy McPhail taking the loss.
"I decided going into the games with Iowa that Workman was going to pitch one and McPhail would pitch the other," Bunge said. "Iowa is a very, very good team, and I think it was a good experience for (McPhail) in kind of a non-pressure situation. She pitched well but struggled with keeping the ball down, and when you get the ball up with Iowa, they are going to hit it hard."
March 20-23 the team advanced to the Sacramento State AT&T Wireless Services Capital Classic championship game but fell to the Hawkeyes 4-0.
Workman pitched in five of the eight games, going 3-2 and earning All-Tournament Team honors.
"This may be one of the best spring breaks I've ever had." Bunge said. "Our pitching has been coming around, and right now it's there. As the week went on we got better defensively, and the offense is getting into gear."
WOMEN and DEPRESSION
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Sadness, discouragement, and loneliness affect most of us at some point in our lives—especially after we experience a loss, the end of a relationship, or feelings of failure. Please join us for a discussion on how to help yourself and seek new solutions.
THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1997
7:00 - 9:00 PM
PINE ROOM, KANASUN UNION
Facilitators:
Rachel Lee and Eve Nelson
Graduate Assistants
Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center
Sponsored by The Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center 115 Strong Hall, University of Kansas. For more information, contact Rachel Lee at 864-3552.