If Governor Martin decided to run for office again he would have my vote. The man doesn't put up with crap and won't back down from a fight. I think politicians from all parties and levels of office could take a page out of his book.

If this were a wrestling match Kane just got hit in the head with a folding chair, and thrown head first out of the ring.

Whew !!!!





Jim Martin, Former Governor of North Carolina, Responds:

Let me respond to your criticism (based solely on the Raleigh News and Observer) of my review of academic misconduct at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I was assisted by the Baker Tilly firm in examining the computer data on every course section offered by every instructor to every student for the last 18 years. We compared results for all athletes, and non-athletes, including fraternities and other student organizations. We found evidence of a serious academic fraud and reported it two weeks ago.

My conclusion that the Academic Support Program for Student Athletes raised questions at the Faculty Athletic Committee about so many forms of “independent studies” was based on four witnesses who were there, and several others who knew about it, and on a separate report of a special subcommittee of the Faculty Executive Committee, and on the actual Minutes of the April 2002 meeting of the Faculty Athletic Committee. They were told not to worry about pedagogy, as instructors had wide latitude how to teach courses.

The Minutes report that THE major item of the April 2002 agenda was “Independent Study Registrations by Student Athletes.” There is a nearly 200-word description of that discussion and a 2-page attachment, “Report on Independent Studies.” The latter describes seven independent studies courses of different kinds, two of which were in the African and Afro American Studies Department (AFRI/AFAM). As is typical with Minutes, there is no verbatim account of who said what to whom. We relied on witnesses who were there. This issue has remained a concern of the Committee. Athletes’ Counselors have taken the view that if a course is offered by the Faculty, it is legitimate and any student may enroll if eligible. That is clearly an academic issue, and a very serious one.

Only one witness has now come forward to dispute this, as you stated. It is curious that he would deny that there was any discussion, when the Minutes show that it was discussed, and that it was a continuing concern. Perhaps you and the News and Observer should have questioned his motives the way you questioned mine.

For your information, I devoted the better part of the previous four months to dig out as much as could be documented. My report found strong evidence that the anomalous courses in AFRI/AFAM (approved lecture courses that in fact did not meet but required only one term paper) began in 1997, a few months after it got full departmental status. Other AFRI/AFAM faculty had their signatures forged on grade rolls and grade changes, but no evidence was found that implicated anyone in the scandal other than the department chairman and administrator.

No evidence was found that any other academic department had any similar abuse. No evidence was found of collusion with any coach or other official in the Athletics Department, or its booster club, whose financial records we examined in detail. You and others may find this hard to believe, but I believe that findings and conclusions should be based on evidence, not hearsay and imagination.

For your writers to use innuendo to accuse me of “borderline fraudulent statements” is rather harsh, given that they know nothing, and rely on one erroneous news story. Mark Twain said “If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” He was joking about that, of course, as am I.

Respectfully,

Jim Martin
Former Governor of North Carolina

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Jim Martin, Former Governor of North Carolina, Responds:

Mark Twain said “If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” He was joking about that, of course, as am I.

Respectfully,

Jim Martin
Former Governor of North Carolina

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LOL.

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--- batesmotelmanager wrote:

About the only thing I would disagree with the good governor is when he called the N & O's reporters "excellent". You get more factual reporting from the "World News". I'd buy a supermarket rag sheet before I'd by an N&O. (Or, shouldn't they call it the B & O)?

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Twain absolutely believed what he wrote about newspapers... Martin's sarcasm drove that point home like a sledgehammer. :P

Governor Martin has pointedly made clear to Forbes, and Heitner, just what level N&O "journalism" has sunk to, but our problem is that none of this is making the mainstream media so that the rest of the country will learn just how worthless these accusations actually were...

years from now non-UNC folks will look back and say things like "well UNC went through some academic problems with all that massive fraud stuff," even while knowing that they have never made any serious attempt to look into it simply because that is what the national media put out there for them to read, after certain low brow local journalists and ABCers on message boards did their best to blow a lot of hot air into what was actually a very small balloon...

the need to stick a pin into that balloon exists TODAY!

trying to do it years from now will be seen as an attempt at revisionist history...

Spread this story around so it gets the attention it deserves.

storify.com/TarHeelMonthly/for...itter-firestorm

Heitner meme site www.quickmeme.com/Heitner-Meme/?upcoming

This guy is "too much"..check out the cow..

www.facebook.com/heitner


I cant stop myself...
www.quickmeme.com/meme/3sh50o/

Apparently Heitner claims to have been involved with "protection and enforcement of the trademark 'Don't Tase Me, Bro!'". He also claims to have "litigated a multi-million dollar copyright ownership case concerning the rights to 'Dazzey Duks' and 'Whoomp! There It Is'*. Never heard of Dazzey Duks before. Daisy Dukes, sure. I'm guessing that's also a song (?)... Whatever, a he's a trademark/copyright law genius, I tell you.

* You can see all of that and more on the Gov Martin thread on the ZZL.