By Shannon M. Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The towel is coming back out.
Some three months after the Arizona Board of Regents unanimously voted to terminate the physical education program, the UA's Committee of Eleven called on the regents Wednesday to reconsider or publicly explain their decision.
The committee asserted that the board chose "to suppress public comment," and "unanimously backed (UA) President (Manuel) Pacheco's unsupported recommendation, and offered no substantive explanation for their final decision."
The regents voted to terminate PE at their regularly scheduled meeting in June of this year. No formal public discussion was held on this item. The only opportunity the public had to participate was during the call to the audience, according to Norma Salas, the regents' assistant for public affairs.
The call to the audience is an agenda item reserved for public comment regarding any issue.
Regents President Eddie Basha has the authority to place the Committee of Eleven's request on a future agenda. No formal response has been issued from the board.
Pacheco accepted the recommendation of UA Provost Paul Sypherd to eliminate PE, but during an April meeting, the Faculty Senate endorsed a report that stated the proposal was ill-considered and not accepted.
According to committee member Andy Silverman, clinical law instructor, there is an agreement within the group that only Chair Kenneth Smith speak on behalf of the committee. Smith, educational psychology professor, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Unlike the Faculty Senate, where some members are appointed by the administration, Committee of Eleven members are all elected by their peers Ÿ other faculty.
The committee's bylaws state that its goal is "to initiate, promote, stimulate, study and action toward solutions of situations and problems of faculty concerns."
It also writes reports and, when asked to, speaks on behalf of the general faculty.