SIU reputation takes another hit
Yes, our boss made "errors and mistakes" in writing his doctoral dissertation, said a faculty committee at Southern Illinois University. Yes, there were "many instances" in which "the words of others are present in a continuous flow" (although that doesn't constitute plagiarism).
But those "incorrect practices" -- 25 of them in a 110-page paper -- ought to be allowed to be fixed and SIU President Glenn Poshard should be able complete a new dissertation, the panel said. And the old document should be removed from the SIU Library and replaced with the "corrected" version.
In other words, Poshard gets a big, fat do-over; the president of the university is given a break from a group with an obvious conflict of interest that no one else would get. And Southern Illinois University's already diminished academic reputation takes another hit.
Who but the president of the university, a politically connected southern Illinois native, could get such a deal from a committee of faculty whose financial livelihood depends in part on how much money Poshard can schmooze from the Springfield power brokers who are his pals?
Changes appear fair
Changes made to the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code to make it easier to involuntarily commit mentally ill people for treatment appear to be fair, prudent and necessary.
The revisions, passed overwhelmingly by the Illinois Senate and House and signed last month by the governor, were made only after experiences with the current version of the law showed deficiencies that were detrimental to mentally ill individuals and their families.
The chief problem was wording that made it difficult for families of mentally ill individuals to prove their behavior warranted involuntary commitment.
Defenders of the mentally ill worry that, when the new law takes effect in June, people are more likely to be confined against their will. We appreciate these concerns. However, we would be more concerned if … nothing had been done -- allowing some who are mentally ill to remain untreated and a danger to themselves and others.