THE OBSERVER Volume 17, Number 3 College at Lincoln Center, Fordham University, New York February 24, 1993 CLC APPLICATIONS SURGE COLLEGE COUNCIL REVISES PLAGIARISM RULES The College at Lincoln Ccntci By Mina Landriscina An amendment to the policy on plagiarism was said Malcolm. Now, the instructor will have to unanimously approved by the members of the notify the student in writing before notifying the College Council at their most recent meeting. dean's office who will then also be writing to the The policy on plagiarism will now include all student, he said. forms of academic dishonesty, including cheating The benefits to the revised policy is that now the on exams, said David S. Malcolm, associate dean instructors protected legally, said Robert O'Brien, More students choose The College at Lincoln Center of CLC. Assistant Dean of the Humanities. "The student By Sean Gallagher will have it in writing," O'Brien said. "No one can Applications for the Fall 1993 class at CLC nity to take language and culture courses," in "The goal here is not to catch complain that they weren't told and it makes surged by 39.8%, said John Buckley, Director of addition to traditional business courses, said people but to make them do things clear. The instructor knows what to do and Undergraduate Admissions. Buckley. students know what can be done." The new residence hall adjacent to Lowenstein, FC had two strong years in 1991 and 1992, but their own work." It was an oversight not to have included the in addition to improved marketing and recruit- leveled off this year, rising only .02%, or an other forms of academic dishonesty besides pla- giarism in the policy when it was first formed, ment, had a major impact on the number of additional 4 applications. "They [FC] really expe- In addition, the revised CLC Policy on Aca- Malcolm said. "We were worried about plagia- applicants, he said. "Maybe in the past students rienced a jump [in 1992]," Buckley said. By demic Dishonest states that students who are caught rism at the time and the group got a little too perceived Lincoln Center as strictly a commuter Janaury 28, 1991 FC received a total of 1492 plagiarizing or in any other act of academic dis- focused and forgot there were other ways in which campus," Buckley said to explain the increase in applications and 1692 by January 28,1992. honesty will first be notified in writing by the you could be dishonest." However, he said an CLC's application activity. Applications to the undergraduate divisions instructor. instance last semester in which a student cheated Buckley added that the number of applications rose by 9%, the biggest increase since 1989, said "The suggestion was made that the process on an exam made them realize that the guidelines requesting housing jumped from 41% in 1992 to Buckley. He said the Admissions Office had would more conform with legal due process if the were not too clear. 55% for Fall '93. The Rose Hill divisions of targeted areas of the country for recruitment ac- instructor notified the student. We felt that to "Since we've put in [the plagiarism ]policy we the University, Fordham College and College of tivity. "We tried to spend 4 to 5 weeks in and make this step explicit would make the process haven't had repeat offenders," Malcolm said, who Business Administration, had mixed results, said around" New England, said Buckley, which ac- more in conformity with fairness and legality," added that penalties for first time offenders were Buckley. counted for 10.8% of the applications. In addi- Malcolm said. failures for the specific assignment "The goal CB A showed an 18% rise in application activ- tion, recruiters traveled to upstate New York, Under the policy's previous form, the instruc- here is not to catch people but to make them do ity over.the same period last year. Buckley attrib- which represented 4.7% of the 2733 applications, tor would notify the dean's office about the stu- their own work." uted this to the internationalization of the business he said. Both pla'ces were 'growth areas forCLC," dent who would then send a letter to the student, curriculum. Students will also "get the opportu- said Buckley. WILL SHE OR WON'T SHE? Racism is the Status Quo TENURE CANDIDATE SUSAN BERGER Professor Derrick Bell Speaks at the Law School By Sean Gallagher By Vivian Lake Dr. Susan Berger, Director of the Puerto Rican Derrick Bell, the law professor who made and Latin American Studies Institute and a Profes- national headlines by resigning from Harvard sor of Political Science, is currently under review Law School when they failed to hire a female for tenure. minority professor at his behest, spoke last "I love Fordham," Berger said. Berger studied Friday at Fordham Law School. The topic: The at the University of Michigan and received both Permanence of racism. her Masters and PhD from Columbia University. Bell, who was the first (and to his regret the Fordham has "been a wonderful experience," only) African American to teach at Harvard Berger said. The students at Fordham are vibrant Law, spoke to a standing room only crowd at the and easily engaged in the classroom, she said. McNally Amphitheater as a guest of the African Berger has written a book called Political and American & African Studies Institute at CLC Agrarian Development in Guatemala. and the Black Law Student's Association. Berger explained that the military government The speech was based in part on his recent that ran the country from the late 60's until re- book. Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The cently, was very repressive. During that time Permanence of Racism, published last year. "My 150,000 people were killed, she said. conclusion is easier to reject than to refute— "What's unique about my position at Fordham is my dual assignment to political science and Puerto Rican and Latin American Studies Insti- tute," Berger said. She said she especially liked "Blacks will never gain the contact with the Latin American community full equality that she has as a result of being the director of the institute. in this country." Berger is proud of her contribution to the multicultural program at CLC. "We were one of Black people will never gain full equality in this I the first colleges nationwide to adopt country," said Bell. multlculturalism," she said. Other institutions use "Now this is a hard to accept fact," he said, CLC as a resource in setting up their own "but it is one that all history verifies." "Wo must multicultural programs, she said. the racial divide in unemployment, and racism as acknowledge it not as a sign of submission, but was the first time in a do/cn years I was able to "I think ovcrbody is nervous when it comes to a barrier to needed social reforms. as an act of defiance," he said. listen for more than a few minutes to the Presi- their tenure," Berger said. She described the pro- "Those areas will havo to be addressed if Bell began by noting his approval of the dent," ho said. cess of gaining tenure saying it goes through [Clinton's] plans arc to succeed," said Bell. Clinton administration, which ho believes will While ho acknowledges that President Clinton several committees before final word is given in "Continuing racial discrimination in the job mean Improved economic conditions for mi- is dealing truthfully with the nation's economic May. "I've Jumped off five buildings," Berger market cannot be masked by not mentioning it," norities, even if racism is not addressed per so. situation, Bell said there arc two areas of policy said. where Clinton was silent, for political reasons: "Wednesday's Slate of the Union address continued on page j Insider CtCs Shortage of Minority Best Book Buy Back Value, page' Broadway's Kiss of the Spider Henry Rollins, artist Professors, page 3 U Woman, page 12 extraordinaire, page 14 V..... J Page 2 - CLC Observer - February 24,1993 NEWS 100-Day Countdown: The Plan Hits the Fan Analysis The Observer continues its look at the first 100 days of the Clinton Slash and Burn administration. Everyone knows govenunent spending is out of hand, and it was a By Vivian Lake pleasure indeed to see Clinton propose a federal salary freeze. The freeze The first whiff America got of President Clinton's new tax plan came would be in effect for one year (why not four?) and future raises would be during his televised plea from the Oval Office last Monday. The themes: one point lower than the rate of inflation. Pain, burdens and sharing. Translation: taxes. Taxpayers are paying members of Congress almost $100,000 a year Big business sensed an ax hanging over long-held tax write-offs and each. Some of them may be worth it (let's be fair) but some are the political promptly panicked. On Tuesday the stock market dropped 80 points. equivalent of a black hole (Strom Thurmond comes to mind). Death & Tax Increases Clinton has cut the White House staff by 25 percent and wants at least "Americans have called for change and it is up to us in this room to 9 million dollars in cuts in Congressional staff. deliver," said Clinton in his speech before Congress on Wednesday. It would be easier to believe Congress wanted real change if legislators Long on rhetoric (over an hour) but short on specifics, Clinton's eco- pressed the buttons in the Capitol Hill elevators on their own.