UMass needs repairs, not just a debate

By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist, 9/26/2000

he bodies being dug up within sight of the University of Massachusetts at Boston are evidence of terrible, mob-related crimes. But a week before UMass plays cohost the first presidential debate of the season, that isn't the worst of it. Right on campus there is evidence of another terrible crime: chronic neglect of a public university.

Only in Massachusetts could dead bodies and presidential debates share a news angle. The murder victims are believed to be connected to the activities of missing mobster James ''Whitey'' Bulger, whose brother, William M. Bulger, is president of the University of Massachusetts.

Presumably, Bill could do nothing to stop Whitey from his alleged life of crime. Presumably, Bill can do something to stop the gross neglect at UMass-Boston.

Before the Oct. 3 debate between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush takes place on the UMass campus, a couple of million dollars will be spent to satisfy the national media. In the meantime, the UMass spin patrol is selling stories about image and advertising.

Maybe someday reality, systemwide, will catch up to the flashy promotions. But try convincing faculty and students on the Boston campus that the presidential debate means anything more than hype right now. They know the truth. Long after the candidates and the press sweep in and out, they will be left with a campus that is falling apart physically and, to some degree, coming apart spiritually.

There is always a degree of conflict in writing a sentence like the last one, even when it is accurate. Whatever its flaws, UMass-Boston still represents community to a dedicated faculty and some 13,000 students, many of whom juggle jobs and families. The 35-year-old university has improved its academic standards. Last March the New England Association of Schools & Colleges praised UMass-Boston for progress made since its last five-year accreditation review in 1995.

Even so, UMass-Boston is a physically forbidding and mentally depressing place, from its dank garage to its grim corridors to nowhere; from its leaky library building (finally under repair) to its shabby classrooms.

The physical plant drags down morale, and so does the leadership vacuum. Brought down by politics and a critical performance review that was leaked to the media, Chancellor Sherry H. Penney is expected to step down at the end of the year. A search committee is embarked on the usual nationwide effort; as usual, the search could end up very close to home. There are rumors that Penney's successor could be Selma Botman, Bulger's vice president of academic affairs and the wife of Senate President Thomas Birmingham.

Penney's energies, meanwhile, are directed toward the Oct. 3 debate. It will provide positive publicity for the gritty, blue-collar school, and positive publicity is not all bad, especially for Penney at this point in her career.

But many at UMass-Boston, who have not been included in the debate planning, seek more than positive publicity about the super feed that will service CNN. They want to know why classes are being canceled to accommodate a television debate. Would that happen at Harvard? They want to know why money is being spent so the school's athletic field can handle 40-ton network rigs. Why not spend it on the resource-poor library? And they want to know when, if ever, someone will fix their pathetic parking garage?

Money does not solve all problems, but it is desperately needed to correct inherent engineering and design flaws on the Boston campus. Quite frankly, the money now goes to other UMass campuses that are considered more important. The commuter base that makes up the UMass-Boston student body is not cohesive enough or rich enough to attract any politician's attention. (Maybe it would help after all if the next chancellor happens to be the Senate president's wife.)

The current situation at UMass-Boston is deplorable. Just as deplorable is the thought of all those legislators and administration officials getting debate tickets for themselves, their families, and friends. They, along with UMass administrators, will squeeze whatever benefit they can from a campus they normally ignore to puff up their own egos and enhance their own image in the national press.

I look forward to hearing the presidential candidates answer questions posed to them during the debate.

In the meantime, here are two for the president of the state's public university system: Where's Whitey? And when will UMass-Boston get the attention and money it deserves?

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.