EDITORIAL: The Buck Stops Where?

Interim Provost Marvin Laz-Interim Provost Marvin Laz-erson said last week that a lackInterim Provost Marvin Laz-erson said last week that a lackof leadership has led to theInterim Provost Marvin Laz-erson said last week that a lackof leadership has led to theRevlon Student Center beingInterim Provost Marvin Laz-erson said last week that a lackof leadership has led to theRevlon Student Center beingput on hold.Interim Provost Marvin Laz-erson said last week that a lackof leadership has led to theRevlon Student Center beingput on hold._________________________________ But last Friday, Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson did just that. In a meeting with student leader-types, he said that the much-anticipated Revlon campus center, with its $65 million price tag, is too ambitious a project for the University to undertake at this point. He said due to a shrinking University budget, the center will not be built with its present elaborate plans, but will be constructed after necessary cuts are made. In addition, the completion date of the project has been pushed forward indefinitely. For those of you keeping score, the original completion date was 1992, then 1995, and the most recent was 1996. Besides financial constraints, Lazerson cited one other main reason why the Revlon Center will be delayed: a lack of leadership. He said no one at the University wanted to state the obvious – the project was too expensive. Following Lazerson's example, we too want to state the obvious. First, Lazerson must be commended and thanked personally by every student who may actually be here when the center is built. His courage and integrity to take a public stand shows a real concern for students and the University as a whole. His position is an unpopular one which had to be heard. We hope that those who may not want to hear this bad news reward Lazerson's strength of character and do not punish him for "bad publicity." Second, Lazerson's charge of insufficient leadership must be investigated. Adminstrators who have been involved with the project during the Hackney and Fagin regimes must be held accountable. Now, the head of the development office which raised this money is gone, the original Executive Vice President who oversaw the financing of it is gone, and the president who initiated the project is gone. Yet, there is one constant. Since the Revlon Center is a center for students and student life, the Office of University Life has been intimately involved with the project. Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson has been involved in the Revlon Student Center from the beginning. Last fall, she even called it a "top priority" of her office. Apparently, Morrisson treats her "top priority" with cowardice and incompetence. Now, Morrisson may counter that this charge is unfair, that there were others who also were involved with the project. Well, everyone else has left, and the buck has to stop somewhere even if she doesn't want it to. With her experience on the issue, it is incumbent on Morrisson to speak up about the Revlon Center's problems, not to play good soldier and try keeping it a secret. That's what leadership is about.