Regarding Paul Hornung's recent comments, the University stated - through University spokesman Matt Storin - that Mr. Hornung doesn't represent the view of the University. I beg to differ, but did not the University recently join in the case before the Supreme Court on affirmative action supporting the use of giving special treatment to minorities when it comes to admissions? While Mr. Hornung was specifically addressing sports, the thesis was the same; minorities need special treatment if they are to attend Universities such as Notre Dame or the University of Michigan.
I ask Mr. Storin to please explain to all of us just how the two issues are not related. Personally, I don't agree with Mr. Hornung's view any more than I agree with any University's view that minorities need a special boost to attend, be that a lowering of all standards to increase minorities on the football team or giving automatic added points to a minority in order to bring their score up to meet higher standards. Both show the same elements of racism. Or is it just that meeting arbitrary admission quotas is somehow more noble than winning football?
Perhaps Mr. Hornung would have met with less resistance had he made his statement more along the lines of the Supreme Court, and said that we need to lower standards, but only for the next 25 years. Better yet let's quit injecting race into all issues, in the above cases both football and admissions.
Barry Baumbaugh
professor
Physics Department
April 1
