GUEST COLUMNIST: Handling of Marrow case reasonable

John Hershey, Guest Columnist John Hershey, Guest ColumnistI have been following the Mitch Marrow incident closely as a result of The Daily Pennsylvanian's comprehensive reporting. I wanted to complement Eric Goldstein on his column("Sacrificing Academic Ideals," DP, 12/8/97). It was a fair representation of both the facts and the implications one might reasonably draw about the Marrow incident. First, it seems reasonable that, when the problem surfaced in late November, the Athletic Department responded by seeking a solution. Its actions were not synonymous with "cheating." While I clearly understand that the official "add date" had long past, the University's drop and add schedule is not part of an NCAA regulation. There should be a process to adjust this guideline to an appropriate and deserving situation. I see no reason why, as an exception and in response to this particular set of facts, an appropriate independent study program, satisfing minimal course requirements could not have been structured and completed before the end of the exam period. I suspect many courses at the University are attended on a voluntary basis and graded based on work submitted at the end of the semester. Furthermore, I would bet there are more than a handful of seniors enrolled in such courses who, as of November 20, might not have begun their final project. Having been a senior myself, I know that many are focused on interviewing and planning for life after Penn. I suspect a few have even made course selections that perhaps compromise personal academic ideals in order to accommodate these special demands on time. Most of this year's seniors are probably engaged in figuring out how best to leverage the special opportunity they've earned by matriculating at the University. In this respect, it somewhat hypocritical to question Marrow's senior year motives. Second, the History Department clearly has the right to reject any particular independent study proposal. But had the department worked with Marrow to structure a mutually satisfactory independent study program, that program could have been completed in one month's time and the problem solved without sacrificing any of the University's academic ideals. Marrow would obviously have had to complete the course satisfactorily to earn the credit he needed to satisfy NCAA eligibility criteria. Academic integrity clearly demands that this particular request not be approved because Marrow is a star athlete. But, as a corollary, justice demands that his request not be denied specifically because he is one. In all cases, the University community should collectively focus its energies toward finding acceptable solutions to difficult problems. This problem was definitely solvable. Third, while the Athletic Department clearly wanted Marrow to play against Cornell University, posing this as the only motivation is somewhat misguided. It is safer to assume that the department felt it was acting in everyone's interest -- especially Marrow's -- by pursuing a solution to a problem which, at that time, seemed workable and could have been a win-win for everyone. The fact that an independent study course was ultimately rejected does not mean that officials were wrong to pursue that course of action. Until the door had been shut on this option, there was no apparent NCAA violation. Fourth, without reacting to any of the charges leveled against History Professor Bruce Kuklick, it seems that this particular professor's past dealings with Marrow gave rise to a significant "conflict of interest." He showed poor judgment in not recusing himself from this matter; in speaking with the outside press and, in particular, not elevating this request to the Provost's Office. There, I suspect there could have been a significant chance for a resolution which was not only satisfactory to everyone, but which also fell short of being a featured story on ESPN's SportsCenter. Instead we are left with Goldstein's powerful words, "There are no heroes in this case -- only losers." The decision to refuse Marrow's request for independent study obviously puts Penn in technical violation of NCAA regulations and the University will have to live with whatever determination is made.