LC Student Dies in Fall from 555 Exam Copies Leak
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Your Future For Five Bucks...Page 7 Thursday, February 1, 1979 Volume 61. U.S. Postage PAID Number 2 Bronx, New York Permit No 7608 FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK NonProlitOrg LC Student Dies In Fall From 555 James Matcovich, CLC'80, died early Matcovich had been drinking at the party, Sunday morning after falling from t e elev- according to Leo, and his friends said he enth floor of 555 East 191st Street, a Rose liked to sit on a window to cool off. Accord- Hill dormitory. According to Assistant Dir- ing to Geoirge Haren, who worked with him ector of Security, Frank Leo, the contusion on PEC, "The kid had no fear of heights." of an investigation by New York City) Police, On the outside wall of the building, just be- not yet official, was that the death wajs accid- low the window, there were markings appar- ental. ently left by the full-length cast which Matcovich, head of the Popular Ei tertain- Matcovich was wearing on his broken left ment Committee at Lincoln Center, gravelled arm. "He grabbed the ledge apparently," to Rose Hill to visit friends and attenfl aparty said Leo, "and left white scrapings on the on Saturday night. Early the next njiorning, wall." during the party, he was involved in an alter- An important element in the investigation cation and, according to Leo, he Went into was the testimony of someone in the room one of the rooms by himself to coolloff. At below who saw Matcovich fall. Nick Aquilio, approximately 1:20 a.m., he fell frbm the CBA'81, heard banging and scraping noises window in that room. in the area of the window above him. "The "It looks like an accident," saic Leo. shade was halfway up, I was lying on the bed "Apparently, he was sitting on thej window leaning forward looking," he said. "With all and fell after losing his balance." Leo said the noise 1 was sure something was going to that several things had led the detdctives of go." He continued: "I was looking when all the Homicide Division (who are required to of a sudden the feet appeared and they hit the know the cause of death) and University sec- window—smasked into window pretty good. The late James Matcovich, CLC'80 urity to conclude that it was an accjident. Then a split second, a second at the most, he just went." Aquilio said all this took at the 300V Students Students AffectedAffected most two minutes. Two hockey players returning from practice found Matcovich lying in front ofthe building and ran to get help. Sean Lane, Exam Copies Leak Out FC'80, a Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation instructor accredited by the Westchester Red By Neil Grealy have the same weight as that previously was administered. "From what I u demand, Cross, was leaving 555 at this point, found a Some of the students in the Statistics I given," said Piderit. The substitute exam will the test was available a full three days pulse, but it faded. He then began CPR. He course this fall had access to a copy of the take place on Friday, February 9 at before," he said. "All someone had to do continued, aided by resident advisors and by- final examination before the testing date of 12:30 p.m. was call me up and tell me it waf available standers, until a New York City ambulance January 11. According to Rev. John Piderit, Piderit said he was not interested in point- and I could have made another elxam." He arrived. Matcovich was pronounced dead on S.J., one of the teachers of the course, "a ing out the people who had released the test. also commented on the fact that tjie test was arrival at Bronx Munincipal Hospital. reasonable guess is that at least 30 people had "I am sorry that so many students were hurt available by and large to people] living on The funeral was held yesterday at seen it." by it," he said. "It is difficult to take an ex- campus, with commuters being left out. Matcovich's parish church in Pearl River. A About 300 students are enrolled in the sec- am a full month after you thought you had Pat Clancy, CBA'81, had knfvn about number of Fordham students from both tions to whom the common examination was stopped studying the material." the exam but said he did not look ^it it. When campuses attended, along with Dean of administered. The section taught by Dr. asked why he did not inform anyj teacher he Students Joseph McGowan, Associate Dean William Partlan was not affected since he said:"Why squeal if they went to the trouble of Students Vincent Bucci, Assistant Dean of had declined to participate in the new pro- to get it?" students Mike Machado, Housing Dean gram which involved common homeworks "1 am making no accusation whatsoever," Robert Becker, Vice president for besides the common final examination. Four said Piderit. "I think thij is very Administration George McMahon, S.J., and other instructors besides Piderit were in- unfortunate." several Fordham faculty. volved. Piderit initially declined comment on how the examination had become available to stu- dents. Several students in the class, however, Matcovich's Death: stated that the examination had been sent by Piderit to students who had claimed it would ## be a great inconvenience for them to return to campus on the examination date. Repor- "Doesn't Make Sense tedly, these students signed some type of honor statement. They further alleged that By BILL BOLE one of these students sent a copy he received "You know Billy, 1 don't se<| how things could ever get so bad that anyone would have at home to students in the course who had to do something like that," he told me late one evening right before the winter recess while returned to their Rose Hill dormitories. In a we sipped through several pitcljers of warm beer. We were at Martin's Bar, one of those later interview, Piderit, commentiong that he armpit places that we downtown students frequent, and for some reason or another, we were talking about some of oujr favorite personalities who had taken their own lives. had been a bit naive, said: "1 was disappoin- Rev. John Piderit, S.J. ted. 1 did someone a favor and I expected this That's why it just didn't make sense when they told me Sunday morning that Jim Student reaction was generally hostile. person to act in a mature, responsible way." Matcovich, leader of the zany popular Entertainment Committee, had jumped out of an "What they eventually did 1 think was ab- eleventh storv window the night before. There was a meeting of Dr. Eugene Diulio, surd," said Mike Shalhoub, FC'79. "I think chairman of the Economics Department, in they are giving a gift to the people who It was tough to stomach all [he petty gossip that spread so quickly throughout the cam- which the course is taught, Acting Dean of cheated and hurting the other people." He pus Sunday, some saying he d<)ve out the window screaming,"! can fly." The majority of Fordham College Rev. Frederick Dillemutl), continued: "I am taking the test over—it is the others painting a gruesome portrait of a terrible suicide. But 1 didn't need any all- S.J., Acting Dean of the College of Business my only option. 1 thought the test should edged police findings or any tether mundane explanations on Sunday to let me in on the Administration John Muleahy, and Piderit have been thrown out or let the other marks scoop that they were all wrond. 1 knew him. And it'sno wonder this sort of gossip never to discuss the situation shortly alter the ex just stand." surfaced at the 'big waffle,' .fim's home territory. They knew him, too. animation period ended. According lo He was the "head PEC-er," the one who organized the "greatest college mixer in his- Piderit, lliey decided "The exam should be "1 did not like the whole idea," said Nancy- tory."You remember; the time The KHIII featured that front-page story about those lun- counted in the same way the individual in- Anne Bernard, CHA '81. "It did not hurl me atics at the lifeless, apathetic c|o\vntown campus who got 500 students, the Fordham Mar- structor had originally planned with the pro- personally, but 1 tio not think they should viso Hint the exam, for any reason, could be- have counted the one they gave at all." ching Band and the Pie Man together for a Rock'n'Roll dance. taken over." Students would decide whether One (MA sophomore said, "How can a He never gave up on anything. Jim reorganized, restructured and totally overhauled the or not to lake I he exam al'ler seeing their li- teacher mail a lest to someone and then give entertainment Committee last fall to the point where PEC became the undisputed king of nal examination mark and final grade. the same test? It's unbelievable." student clubs downtown. Th|.s was only a semester after the previous club officers seri- Neither Diulio nor Muleahy would com- While Pideril sympathized with students in ously considered dissolving tjie organization, then called the Student Programming Alli- ment on the decision. DilliMtmtli said, "1 jusl the course, he could not understand why ance, because of poor organisation und a general lack of interest on the part of both SPA agreed with what the department decided.