2006.10.21: October 21, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Sports: Football: Houston Chronicle: Steve Campbell writes: Miami should be sorry about its weak apology
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2006.10.16: October 16, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Sports: Football: Bradenton Herald: Donna Shalala releases open letter expressing dismay over the brawl in the Orange Bowl during the University of Miami-Florida International University football game :
2006.10.21: October 21, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Sports: Football: Houston Chronicle: Steve Campbell writes: Miami should be sorry about its weak apology
Steve Campbell writes: Miami should be sorry about its weak apology
Let's get this straight: Shalala is the president of a major university, a former member of a White House cabinet. And she can't handle the intricacies of a brawl without woodenly reading scripted platitudes such as, "We will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation." University of Miami President and former Clinton Cabinet member Donna Shalala served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran in the 1960's.
Steve Campbell writes: Miami should be sorry about its weak apology
Miami should be sorry about its weak apology
By STEVE CAMPBELL
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Caption: Saturday's brawl resulted in the suspension of 31 players from Miami and FIU. Photo: Chris Cutro for the Miami Herald
We can all agree — let's hope — that a brawl during a college football game is A Bad Thing. A player stomping on others while they're down during said brawl is A Very Bad Thing. A player wielding his helmet as a weapon is A Very, Very Bad Thing.
Last week's University of Miami-Florida International brawl brings to focus one of the most vexing issues in today's sporting landscape.
The sorry state of apologies and accountability.
Miami president Donna Shalala tried issuing an open letter and hiding under her desk after the school disciplined its offending players by essentially withholding milk and cookies for a week. When that didn't fly, Shalala deigned to do a news conference in which she read from a prepared statement.
Let's get this straight: Shalala is the president of a major university, a former member of a White House cabinet. And she can't handle the intricacies of a brawl without woodenly reading scripted platitudes such as, "We will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation."
Anthony Reddick, the helmet-swinging Hurricane of Miami, read a public apology straight out of Spin Doctor 101. Brandon Meriweather, the Miami stomper extraordinaire, opted for writing an apology in which he conceded, "I did not use my better judgment."
When did right and wrong get to be such abstract concepts? How did it come to be that people can't make themselves accountable — or bring themselves to apologize — without enlisting a team of consultants? How about looking the world in the eye and speaking from the heart instead of reading from a cheat sheet?
Miami isn't the first institution to go this route. And it won't, sigh, be the last. When an apology comes from a catch-all, cover-the-behind script, it's not worth the paper it's written on. If athletes and public figures are going to insist on generic, catch-all apologies, crafted by lawyers and spin doctors, then the public needs to respond in kind:
Dear (under-fire coach/in-trouble-athlete/beleaguered administrator/serial screwup),
We deeply appreciate your apology. We are truly touched that you would reach out in such a (contrived/transparent/desperate) manner to your (school/organization), not to mention all your family, teammates and fans and anybody who might have been offended. We have no doubt that you are sorry that you got caught and that people are upset with you.
We would also like to point out that you neglected to direct your apology to the following constituencies: Native Americans, English muffins, Cuban cigars, Brazilian waxes, Swiss cheeses, Spanish flies, Venus flytraps, American Idols, German shepherds, Belgium waffles and al-Qaida operatives. We eagerly await any clarification you might have on these oversights. Until you can do that, as well as spell out why what you did was actually wrong and why you should never do it again, we cannot accept your apology. Try again.
Sincerely,
John and Jane Q. Public.
P.S. — We'd give you some benefit of the doubt if you didn't insist on reading from a script with all the eagerness of a kidnap victim making a hostage tape.
When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
 | Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here. |
 | Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
 | He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
 | Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense. |
 | Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
 | The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
 | PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
 | History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
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Story Source: Houston Chronicle
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Iran; University Administration; Sports; Football
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