Alumni draft petition

A petition drafted by a group of IU alumni is calling for the resignation of IU President Myles Brand, Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations Christopher Simpson, athletics director Clarence Doninger and the entire IU board of trustees.\nThe group, named Take Back IU, began collecting signatures for the petition this weekend at Assembly Hall during Midnight Madness.\n"The petition is about holding accountable the administration and the trustees for what we consider the decline of IU from what was once a first-class institution to second-rate," said Mary Ann McCarty, organizer of the group and an IU alumnus.\nTrustee Dean Hertzler said the trustees have not yet addressed a reaction to the petition.\n"I appreciate their concern," he said. "But I don't think anybody will be resigning. I can only hypothesize that perhaps people are generally concerned about where the University is going."\nAddressed to "the governor, the citizens of Indiana and the alumni of Indiana University," the petition holds the administration accountable for "a serious decline in IU's academic standing;" an "irresolvable division and incivility" between the administration, students, faculty, alumni and legislature; and the "appearance of dishonesty" in communication and decision-making processes, including but not limited to the firing of former head basketball coach Bob Knight.\nHertzler said he is glad to see the alumni are expressing their concerns.\n"I disagree with some of the conclusions they appear to have reached," he said. "As far as the standings go, that is an issue we are looking at right now."\nMcCarty, a 1976 IU graduate currently living in Columbus, Ind., said she and the alumni group came together after hearing several public accounts about events going on at the University.\n"It's stuff the Alumni Association doesn't report to us and we're not going to hear it from Myles Brand," McCarty said.\nMcCarty, who is one of 48 plaintiffs in a lawsuit against IU claiming Knight's firing was not in accordance with the Indiana Open Door Law, said the firing of Knight was one of the events that fueled the creation of Take Back IU. She said several other events also caused the group concern, including the lack of a formal investigation of impropriety on the part of the administration over the proposed golf course at Griffy Lake.\nTo date, about 30 people have been involved in the creation of the petition. A Web site, www.takebackiu.com, has been established in order to get signatures over the Internet.\nMcCarty said although the group does not have an exact time frame, it is planning to submit the signed petition to the governor.\n"When we get a significant amount of signatures, we owe it to the state of Indiana to get it into the hands of the governor, the legislature and the IU Alumni Association," she said.\nPhil Bremen, press secretary for Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon, said O'Bannon's position is to let the president and board of trustees determine what is best for IU.\n"Clearly, the governor wants to know what is of concern to the people of Indiana ... the governor is also very emphatic that universities should run their own affairs," Bremen said.\nVictor Viola, a chemistry professor who was contacted by the Take Back IU group after he was interviewed on ESPN, said the impact of the petition remains to be seen.\n"I think many faculty and staff will feel an unwillingness to sign on because of their vulnerability," he said. "I will simply help make it known to people that this petition exists and let people follow their own wishes. If they are concerned, they should sign on. I hope people will follow their feelings and take it or leave it"