Faculty, Students, Administrators Spill the Beans

The $800,000 Football Coach * Another Crawley Budget Deficit *Football Recruitment and the Abuse of General Studies *Dave Rice Dreams of Greatness and Checking Accounts Pages 4,5 THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1978 VOL. 60 U Bronx, NY. AM NO. 7 Permit No'7608 FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK NonProfit Org. s Breaking It Open: Faculty, Students, Administrators Spill the Beans by Carol Coyne SABC ran out of money. On 3:30 Wednesday, the day The noted Crawley's absence, Moore explained that he had sug- Ram goes to press, Kelly received a letter from Fr. Dunn, gested that Crawley not come to the meeting. "I thought it Nearly 200 students jammed into Bishop's Lounge to threatening Kelly and the staff on the Ram if they put out the better," Moore explained to prevent..." As he stumbled for a express their concern for conditions at Fordham which have paper. word, someone in the audience suggested "...to prevent a driven them to the points many described as "frustation and "1 was responsible for 30 staff members, but we had infor- riot?" • despair." mation which was important to communicate to the campus. Student Communications The tense and emotional meeting moved quickly as stu- This intimidation by the administration has got to stop." Most of the speakers, especially the faculty and ad- dent after student expressed complaints. Although some of • Yet another R.A., Mary Fran Evans (FC 78) said, "A ministrators, expressed the need for better communication the faculty and administrators present replied directly to stu- father and son came to look at Fordham the other day and I with the students. dent questions or complaints, most of them listened. couldn't tell them that the son should come here. When I Many students complained that the only way they can get The meeting was sponsored by the Task Force on College was young, I was taught to give people in authority the information about what is happening at Fordham is through Life and the co-chairperson of the task force, Fr. Donald benefit of the doubt. the student publications. Elaine Ryan (FC '80) said, "The Moore, moderated the meeting. "1 came to Fordham because it's a Christian school, af- administration didn't tell me we were going to have Pre- Student complaints centered around administrative style, filiated with the Jesuits," she said, "But I find the outlook of Christmas Exams; The Ram told me. If you didn't read the lack of communication between students, faculty and ad- the people here and the decisions made by them are papers, you wouldn't know what was happening around ministrators, and student life in general. unethical and un-Christian. Why are educated men acting in here." Complaints about "Administrative Style" such an ignorant way? I'm glad I'm going and 1 could never Sr. Yolanda DeMola warned students not to "accept A good deal of the students complained about the attitude tell anyone to come here." wholesale" what the campus publications have to say. "They and outlook of many of the administrators, which associate Sam Turvey, a United Student Government senator, ex- have an ax to grind with the administration. Too many of the dean of Fordham College Joseph McGowan termed "ad- pressed concern for what he termed a "contradiction" bet- faculty have stopped reading the Ram. The student ministrative style." ween what students are taught in class and how ad- newspapers do not practice responsible journalism." Chris Placitella (CBA 78), head resident advisor for ministrators act. He said he overheard at a basketball game, The faculty and administrators expressed interest in more Queen's Court, said students have a poor attitude toward someone say, "God bless Rose Hill, he's the only one who meetings to provide channels of communications between administrators. will!" themselves and students. Fordham College Robert Roth said "Fifty percent of the seniors 1 know can't wait to get out of "If we are going to make new structures work," said Kevin he would like to have "town meetings" every month, or as this place and they can't wait for Fordham to call them and Doyle, (FC 78) "The attitude of the administrators will have often as necessary "to open communications so we can ask for a contribution because they're going to slam the to change. The faculty and administrators should keep each understand each other." phone down," he said. other in check." Doyle stressed the necessity of accountabili- Student Life Much of the problem, according to Hank Hilton, an R.A. ty, openness, and honesty. Some of the more bitter complaints centered around stu- in 555, lies in the fact that administrators who know ' the Many of the student speakers blamed Dean of Students dent life, living conditions in the dormitories, the food plan, truth will not talk because they are afraid of losing their jobs. William Crawley for a multitude of the problems. Charlie roaches and the lack of extra-curricular activities. Students, too, are afraid of losing scholarships. Credaroli (FC 78) stated: "Can't the faculty and ad- Jqhn O'Neill, (FC '81) a John's Hall resident, was con- Charlie Kelly, who edited The Ram last semester, said ministrators see? Everything centers on Crawley." cerned over the water in the dorms. that Al Vitale contributed money to'publish The Ram when After several student speakers and one faculty member "When I turn on the faucet in the morning, the water comes out all the colors of the rainbow. You can say you'll take care of it eventually, but 1 don't think many people are going to graduate drinking that water." Many of the speakers at the meeting emphasized the educational value of student activities. Moore, in explaining the purpose of the meeting said that much of the education at Fordham takes place outside of the classroom. "Ambience and co-curricular activities should support what goes on in the classroom," he said. Mike Shaloub of the Boarder Council pointed out that the Cultural Affairs Committee had tickets for Annie, but because they failed to advertise no one went and there were whole rows empty in the theater. "Only Fordham could do that," he said. Elaine Ryan said, "Part of the difficulty is that every single event they charge 50 cents or $1.50. They say Lombardi Center is built for us. But we pay, and then we can't get in. Do you have your I.D.? You just can't get in that place anymore. Lombardi was closed on Washington's Birthday, and 1 heard they were using it to film a commercial. "They say we're derelicts and alcoholics, but every holiday they close the place up, so what else is there to do?" she ask- ed. "Tuition's going up, activity fee is going up, and where are we going? I'm going to the Web!" Future Plans Early in the meeting, several students questioned pre- Christmas exams decision. Roth, who was at the meeting agreed to hold another meeting, where he would meet with Students and Faculty Jammed into Bishop's Lounge for Wednesday Night Meeting continued on page 13 Page 2 The Ram Thursday. March 2, 1978 Performance is Blessed and Damned New Computer Spindles and Mutilates by Dan Hayes Concealed in the basement of Dealy Hall, the electronic heart of Fordham beats—falteringly. This heart is the Univer- sity's new computer, a Digital Equipment Corporation model 20 (DEC-20). whose purchase has been a mixed blessing for For- dham students, faculty, and administrators. Dr. Donald Clarke, of the Chemistry Department, thinks the new system is great "It works beautifully." "It hasn't worked," said Registrar John Clohessy. "The machine is not adequate for our use. And Executive Vice President Paul Reiss, who heiped choose the machine, said. "We're still surviv- ing. 1 think that's quite an accomplishment At best, conversion is a traumatic experience" The traumatic experience has been the conversion from Fordham's old IBM computer to the DEC-20. Besides the normal amount of "bugs" to be worked out on any Joe Spinosa new system. Fordham's Computing Center University Chaplain Rev. Ed Clark Blesses New Computer is contending with office construction, pro- gramming uncertainties, and a computer source of the trouble. "If we have to look the computer, not just class time. "That's DEC has installed about 300 of its which repeatedly breaks down. • through all the grades, that's fourteen thou- what DEC promised us," he said. In addi- machines in colleges and universities. A faculty advisory committee decided in sand pieces of paper to be done by hand." tion, he feels computer students are not Manhattan College owns a DEC 1170. The 1976 that Fordham's computer was not ade- One student said students in organic benefitting from time-sharing because they machine has been in use for a year and a quate to serve the changing needs of the chemistry who were graded B received C as are not allowed to use terminals. Since there half. According to Richard Siemborski, University. A study was made to determine the mark on the official grade reports. are so many students and so few terminals, Assistant Manager of Manhattan's Computer what machine within price limitations would most student jobs are run as batch jobs. Center, his college is generally satisfied with best serve Fordham's needs. A requirement, "The card punch skips, the reader the performance of the computer. It is the committee decided, was that the new misreads." he said, "We may have to work This could be alleviated if student use of generally dissatisfied with DEC service.

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