I'm sure many of you know that North Carolina has gone through a cheating scandal in the last couple years. The whistleblower is a childhood friend from the south side of Chicago.
Mary comes from a terrific family. Like her mother, Mary had all the qualities growing up of an angel. Sweet, kind, sense of humor, cared deeply about others and devoutly religious.
She was painted into a corner by North Carolina. Her problem was that she took to heart what the University Chancellor said about the values that all students, faculty and administrators would abide by. She is a devoted literacy instructor who worked with young men who had been put on the academic shelf, but many of whom genuinely wanted to learn and develop. They were the elite athletes who played basketball and football. Many could not read at a high school level. After being approached by other faculty about what she learned she went public which she felt obligated to do.
North Carolina first ignored her and then tried to dirty her up. They marginalized her in her job and pushed her out the door. They tried to discredit her thesis. She received threats at her home which affected her quality of life, though many in Chapel Hill have stood behind her including the majority of the faculty.
It was a very simple issue of right and wrong and Mary never backed down. As my mother used to tell us, "if you never tell a lie you don't have to remember what you said." She simply told the truth.
This spring North Carolina offered her a pile of money to settle and she accepted. Her husband does very well so it wasn't about the money. If you haven't done anything wrong you would never offer money to settle.
She's now working with a nonprofit to try to change how sports departments work to qualify and keep athletes on track.
Mary comes from a terrific family. Like her mother, Mary had all the qualities growing up of an angel. Sweet, kind, sense of humor, cared deeply about others and devoutly religious.
She was painted into a corner by North Carolina. Her problem was that she took to heart what the University Chancellor said about the values that all students, faculty and administrators would abide by. She is a devoted literacy instructor who worked with young men who had been put on the academic shelf, but many of whom genuinely wanted to learn and develop. They were the elite athletes who played basketball and football. Many could not read at a high school level. After being approached by other faculty about what she learned she went public which she felt obligated to do.
North Carolina first ignored her and then tried to dirty her up. They marginalized her in her job and pushed her out the door. They tried to discredit her thesis. She received threats at her home which affected her quality of life, though many in Chapel Hill have stood behind her including the majority of the faculty.
It was a very simple issue of right and wrong and Mary never backed down. As my mother used to tell us, "if you never tell a lie you don't have to remember what you said." She simply told the truth.
This spring North Carolina offered her a pile of money to settle and she accepted. Her husband does very well so it wasn't about the money. If you haven't done anything wrong you would never offer money to settle.
She's now working with a nonprofit to try to change how sports departments work to qualify and keep athletes on track.
