OT: Goings on at ASu (non-athletic)

[ValleyCat]

We have had posts about President Hart dubiously being ont he board of DeVry and the UofA medical schools disputes. For equal time, here is some ASu goings on.

Now, I realize that UofA gets sued, too, and allegations are only that, but this story repeats a familiar narrative about Crow (who has, without question, done a whole lot of good things at ASu). My favorite allegation by the plaintiff is that Crow explained that “a good part of everything being done at ASu is puffery and papier mache, and that it was their job to support the illusion before it all collapsed on itself.” Seems plausible to me. http://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/lo ... /81441174/

Another allegation that ASu cops were told to change stats to make ASu appear safer than it is. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/ari ... /80860216/

And here's another. ASu told its students that rental properties in its "Good Neighbor program" were "committed to initiatives that promote safety, security, and sustainability." The way an apartment complex got into the program was to pay ASu money. ASu collected $200,000 from apartment complexes that paid to be members of the Good Neighbor program. All fine, except ASu did nothing to verify that its Good Neighbors "committed to initiatives that promote safety, security, and sustainability." I guess this one is more than a mere allegations. sounds like ASu fessed up and changed its practice, which is good. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/ari ... /79175824/

[El Gato]

This should match Crow's puffery that's going on at ASu. Gooooooo Fightin' Puffins!

[El Gato]

All schools receiving Federal Financial Aid dollars must create and make a report available on its crime statistics. This is called the Clery Act. While don't know what constitutes a violation or how they would be counted, the penalty is $35,000 per incident. Methinks lying about the numbers would be a violation.

http://clerycenter.org/article/statement-clery-center-security-campus-response-increased-clery-act-fines

[b_dog]

Crow explained that “a good part of everything being done at ASu is puffery and papier mache, and that it was their job to support the illusion before it all collapsed on itself.” Seems plausible to me. http://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/lo ... /81441174/

Another allegation that ASu cops were told to change stats to make ASu appear safer than it is. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/ari ... /80860216/

I don't think ASu deserves any credit whatsoever for cleaning up their act after they get caught doing something. Isn't that what chronic offenders often do in hoping to avoid punishment? If you add up all the NCAA violations, the various New Times exposes, and the stuff the Republic couldn't overlook or sweep under the rug over the years, it seems to me the culture there has been pretty consistent. Lets just say if I was the IRS, I'd audit the crap out of the taxes of every ASu employee every year. I'm sure many or most of them are fine, but it would still figure to be a target-rich environment for that sort of thing. Maybe being morally suspect is a positive discriminator for employment there. Another aspect to the bits about puffery and papier mache and changing stats to make ASu look better than it really is has to do with educational rankings. Most of the b.s. magazine rankings are unverified self-reported numbers. You combine that ridiculous process with ASu's culture of self-promotion through deceit, and it doesn't exactly take Sherlock Holmes to question the "remarkable" alleged academic improvement at ASu in the last 10 years or so. What's astonishing under the circumstances is that Crow has the gall to call out Grand Canyon for their supposed lack of purity. What's not astonishing is that, in the name of misguided civic pride, the Republic typically lets these types of stories run their course in a very short news cycle without follow-up, and that ASu just rides it out and keeps doing what it knows best.