Northwestern scandal: The tip of an iceberg

The Daily Herald's July 11 editorial on the Northwestern University hazing scandal was headlined "What "two weeks" told us," with the subhead "The Northwestern scandal shows we have yet to truly come to grips with hazing."

It is my contention that we have yet to truly come to grips with much more than hazing. Hazing is the tip of an iceberg - the spoiled, low hanging fruit in an ongoing American tragedy in higher education.

Writ large, the tragedy is characterized by interrelated problems and issues, examples of which are sports-related academic corruption, excessive commercialization, admissions shenanigans and the lowering of standards. Of particular concern is the brutal nature of college sports with its corrosive influence on institutions of higher education via the lure of fame and financial fortune.

Northwestern University has generally been considered to be an exception to this tragedy as exemplified by the vision of its former provost, the late Lawrence Dumas, who helped craft "The Highest Order of Excellence," a document outlining goals, priorities and strategies for the University - envisioning NU's potential to become the leading academic institution in the world.

Little could Dumas have anticipated that it would be the journalistic excellence exhibited by the editors and reporters at NU's student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, that would capture nationwide attention and respect. Two days of reporting by these student journalists exposed the gaps in the announcements made by NU President Michael Schill and so catalyzed a much deeper analysis and corrective action that got NU's football and baseball coaches fired.

No doubt, President Schill will come to understand that NU's sports-related culture is quite different from the culture he experienced while president of the University of Oregon, where he benefited from the strong backing and huge financial support of mega-sports-booster Nike President Phil Knight.

Frank G. Splitt

Mount Prospect