Letters to the Editor

FSU needs to improve hiring and retention


We are pleased to read in the TIMES (Vol. 1, No. 2, P. 4) that Florida State ranks among the nation's top 100 colleges in Hispanic graduates for 1991-92. This was especially encouraging in light of a recent New York Times (July 27, 1995) article reporting that Hispanic Americans are falling behind others in the nation in obtaining college degrees.

Despite the accomplishments of FSU and the State University System of Florida (SUS) as a whole in graduating Hispanic students, hiring retention of Hispanic faculty remains a serious problem in Florida. Over the past ten years, the Florida State Commission on Hispanic Affairs (FSCHA) pointedly and repeatedly reminded the SUS and FSU of their poor track record in hiring and tenuring Hispanic faculty (FCSHA Annual Report 1994).

As recorded in the U.S. Census of 1990, Hispanics are 9.1 percent of Florida's population; yet only 3.2 percent of the SUS faculty are Hispanics and only 2.3 percent of the tenured faculty are Hispanics, according to Board of Regents data. Less than 1 percent of FSU's tenured faculty are Hispanic. By comparison, 12.1 percent of Floridians are African-Americans, 6.8 percent of the SUS faculty are African-American and 5.3 percent of the tenured SUS faculty are African- American.

Clearly, FSU and the SUS have a long way to go in recruiting and retaining both Hispanic and African-American faculty, but the problem seems most pronounced in the case of Hispanic faculty. The problem should not be ignored while the universities congratulate themselves on the job they have done with Hispanic students. Moreover, university officials must recognize the connection between retaining Hispanic faculty and recruiting more Hispanic students in the long run. Surely, we hope, more and more of those many recent SUS Hispanic graduates should begin to find themselves on the way to becoming SUS faculty members and eventually tenured. Buena suerte, graduandos!
J. Anthony Paredes,
professor of anthropology

Maria T. Chavez-Hernandez,
associate university librarian

Reader likes Sunshine Network


My family and I enjoy reading the Florida State Times with access over the internet. Since my wife got her doctorate at FSU in 1990, we have been loyal fans of the university and the sports teams. We enjoyed the article by Franklin D. Murphy about the Sunshine Network's new deal with FSU. Let me remind you that the Sunshine Network is available nationally thanks to "home satellite technology." With our trusty dish, we faithfully watch the Sunshine Network in our home in Pennsylvania. We look forward to the extended service that this new partnership will provide.
Harry Everhart
Tamaqua, Pa.

Forget the fans -- go for the profits


The Athletic Department at FSU is missing the boat on financing athletics. Last week I went to my first live game at the new stadium. It was wonderful. Being there is so much better than TV. Like falling in love is better than watching a TV program of others who fall in love.

I drink water, and during half time I was thirsty. I looked for a water fountain. I asked ushers and police and workers and fans if there was any place I could get a drink of water. Bottom line is - there was no free water. I was offered a bottle of water for $2; and for another $2, I could get a cup to drink it from. Or I could buy a cup for $2 and get a drink in the bathroom sink. I questioned what would happen if someone was really in need of a drink and did not have money. That did not seem to be a concern. I finally spent money and bought a drink of water. I was upset at first until I changed my attitude.

I began to realize that FSU sports is a money-making business for FSU. I can understand why Deion Sanders is so honored here. Who cares if he got an education; he got a contract for $35 million dollars. He is the ultimate example of FSU sports philosophy - to get as much as you can as fast as you can from as many as you can. Who cares about thirsty people in a crowd of 80,000 people. What is important is the money.

Well, once I adopted that proper philosophy and attitude I could see that FSU sports is missing some grand opportunities to make money. Thousands of people were using the rest rooms as a relief station, or to wash hands. They even dried their hands. And all of this at no charge. My suggestion is to charge a fee. You could even make it a structured kind of thing. You could have 50-cent basic seats and up to $5 luxury seats. You could have paper towels for 50 cents and hot towels for $5. Just think of all the water and towels going to waste in those rest rooms. Structure them like box seats and you could make several more million dollars. Don't worry about the fans; worry about the profit. If that is the focus and identity of FSU sports, go for it.

Next time I go, I'll be sure and bring extra money for a drink of water, and I'll check to see if my free suggestion has been used. Enjoy your riches! Oops, another free thought: Are you making any money off the visitors' dressing rooms? Might want to check on that.
Warren H. Schave
Tallahassee

Emphasis on money disgusts this reader


I just finished reading the latest issue of Florida State Times. I am absolutely disgusted at the salary paid Mr. Bowden ($200,000+ from the taxpayers alone), which aggregates over $1,000,000. Bowden's state salary is twice as much as the president of the University, whose salary is more than the governor's. I guess managing the football team is tougher than managing the entire university, and I did not know that managing FSU was more difficult than managing the entire State of Florida.

To further increase the level of bile in my throat, I turned the page and found the article about the $6,000,000 Nike contract which is paying Bowden another $200,000+ per year; whoopee, $750,000 for women and minority scholarships. By the way, what gives FSU the right to put commercial advertisements on publicly owned assets. I strongly feel that FSU's funding from the taxpayers should be cut dollar for dollar to offset the Nike contract. Was the article about Bowden giving $10,000 per year to the band an attempt to lessen the impact of the other articles? If so, it did not work!!!!

It is time that we rethink our priorities and values. I found it amusing, in light of the heavy emphasis on $$$$$ in this issue, to see the article in Compression about FSU being cited as a `character building college'. Maybe this is true for the students, but the administration has lost sight of this most admirable quality.
John T. Engstrom
Lutz, Fla.

P. S. Since Sandy's committee is able to raise $1,000,000 per week, I hope for trivial things like books and other mundane educational needs, I guess the university can well do without my annual contribution
Letters to the editor will be published in full to the extent that space permits.We reserve the right to edit for space, clarity, grammar, relevance and taste, but not for content. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Address letters to: The Editor, Florida State Times, 121 Westcott,Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2034; or fax them to 904-644-6546; or e-mail to mleonard@westcott.wes.fsu.edu