For the record. (Feedback).

I was saddened to read the way the summary of recent events at Gardner-Webb University was written in the "People Watch" section of the November 2002 issue of University Business.

The president (Dr. Chris White) did not admit "that he helped rig the transcript" of a basketball player, as was reported. Instead, the president found that the student-athlete had been accused of cheating, and had been told not to appeal it (because an advisor told the young man that the accusation is always enough to convict the accused--even though in this case, the young man maintains his innocence and desperately wanted to clear his name through the appeals process). The student-athlete was then told by the same advisor that if he would simply retake the class, the new grade would replace the old one, thus making him eligible to play basketball. He look the class again as prescribed, passed it, and then was told many months later that the new grade wouldn't replace the old one after all. (Keep in mind that the young man could have taken any class at the university--a much easier class--if he had simply wanted to raise his GPA enough to regain his eligibility. But, because he wanted to prove his ability to pass a demanding class, he retook the very same course in which he was accused of cheating.) The president, disturbed that an advisor would tell a student to take measures to right a wrong and then not stand by that advice, felt the student had done all that was asked of him and shouldn't be punished for the bad advice the advisor gave. Therefore, the president allowed the new grade to replace the old one in the GPA (as the student had been ensured would be done by the advisor).

In many other cases on campus, academic administrators have found in [favor] of students who suffered because of mistakes by the university. This case simply became "sensational" because six months later, the young man turned out to be the team's leading scorer. A law firm investigated the entire incident and found that the president was well within his rights to mediate such an incident, and that no institutional rules or policies had been broken. However, many who have chosen to report on the incident without having heard the details of the situation have done a great amount of damage to not only the former president, but the institution as well. I simply felt you should know that your readers may have gotten the wrong impression of the events in questions based on how the event was summarized in your November issue. Thank you for your time,

MATT WEBBER, Director of University Communications

Gardner-Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

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