The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper ISSUE NO.
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Monday, February 25, 2019
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administration
REGENTS CHAIRWOMAN LINDA GOODEN voiced her support for more transparency within the board. elliott scarangello/the diamondback
wallace loh said the school has adopted the majority of the investigations’ recommendations. elliott scarangello/the diamondback
Regents chair Panel to oversee supports reform athletics recs Linda Gooden backs bills that would expand the board’s membership, increase transparency During hearings in the Maryland Jeff Barnes General Assembly @thejeff barnes last week, the UniSenior staff writer versity System of Maryland’s Board of Regents backed legislation that would expand its membership and require it to be more transparent. Board chair Linda Gooden, along with University of Maryland Student Government Association President Jonathan Allen, traveled to Annapolis to voice their support for the bills as lawmakers reviewed their contents in state House and Senate hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The bills — which are currently moving through the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate’s Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee — would expand the Board of Regents from 17 to 21 members and require its open meetings to be publicly streamed. These reforms would improve the way the board operates and increase its transparency, Gooden told lawmakers in both hearings. “The perception that public business is being done in private raises suspicion and breeds mistrust that can be damby
aging,” Gooden said on Wednesday. “Components of this bill will help further strengthen the board, making it more representative, more transparent, and better focused on its core functions.” The four new spots on the board would be filled by the state commerce secretary, appointees from the leaders of the House and Senate and a non-voting student member in addition to the current voting student member. Additionally, the bill would require that at least one regent have a background in higher education administration, one have a background in finance and one have a background in diversity and workplace inclusion. It would also double student regents’ terms to two years, allowing the nonvoting student regent to gain experience on the board before becoming a voting member. Of the proposed reforms, this was the only one that Gooden raised concern over. “Not because we don’t think students are very valuable parts of the board, but because we realize how much work it is for our students,” she said. The bills have the backing of 38 state lawmakers in the House and Senate,
Loh told Regents that the university has put majority of reports’ recommendations into place BOWIE, MD. — The University of MaryJeff Barnes land has instituted @thejeff barnes the majority of the Senior staff writer recommendations from the two investigations that stemmed from the death of Jordan McNair and is creating a panel to monitor their progress, university President Wallace Loh told the Board of Regents on Friday. During a meeting in Bowie State University’s Student Center, Loh told the board that the university has fully implemented 18 of the 20 recommendations from the first report, which was released in late September and focused on the May 29 football team workout where McNair suffered fatal heatstroke. The report lists 27 recommendations, seven of which came from the “Head Football Athletic Trainer.” Loh also said the university has put into place “approximately” 16 of the 21 recommendations from a second investigation into the broader culture of the program. Loh did not specify which recommendations had been implemented and which hadn’t. The board took control of both investigations shortly after they were commissioned, a move many criticized as an overstep of its powers. by
See gooden, p. 8
While Loh provided the board with a “very casual” update regarding the university’s progress, he said he’s creating a panel to conduct a review and then report officially to the board, which sets policy for the University System of Maryland’s 12 member institutions. The panel, Loh said, is expected to hold its first meeting on this university’s campus in about two weeks. He named six people who he said would serve on the panel, including William “Brit” Kirwan, a former president of this university and former USM chancellor; Vernon Davis, a former Maryland football player and current NFL tight end; and David Williams II, former vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletics director at Vanderbilt University. Williams, however, died Feb. 8, according to a Vanderbilt press release. The university was not available for comment Sunday regarding William’s status as a member of the monitoring group. “We’re going to be very transparent, we’re going to post that and we’re going to hear presentations from our athletic staff and others and then they will assess how well we are implementing this and report
See loh, p. 8
athletics
Lineman barred from promoting fundraiser for McNair Foundation Ellis McKennie later tweeted an ‘NCAA approved’ flyer for the fundraiser Maryland Mary Dimitrov football offens ive l i n e m a n @thedbk Ellis McKennie Staff writer tweeted Friday that NCAA regulations prohibited him from promoting a fundraiser for the Jordan McNair Foundation. “ T h e NCA A i s a jo ke ,” h e wrote. “Our teammate Jordan McNair passes away during a NCAA sanctioned workout. But by
now, as a NCAA student athlete, I am not allowed to promote a fundraiser we are having for his parents Jordan McNair Foundation! I can’t even tweet the f lye r ! T h a t’s my Te d Ta l k .” Shortly after his first tweet, McKennie followed up with a picture of an unofficial flyer for the fundraiser. He wrote that this version of the flyer was “NCAA approved,” and thanked the school’s compliance office.
McNair, a rising sophomore offensive lineman, died last year after suffering heatstroke at a team workout. In the wake of his death, his parents started the Jordan McNair Foundation to give other young athletes tutoring and coaching and provide them with scholarships. On Sunday, the foundation held a fundraiser in conjunction with the Chipotle in the College Park Shopping Center. When customers presented a flyer for the promotion, or indicated
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See fundraiser, p. 8
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