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Expos Out of Control Under Marius

Writers' Block

Michael L. Harrington, who spent nine months asprogram administrator in 1990, and former Exposteacher Paula Bennett say Sommers and othersselected an ineligible essay for first prize in awriting contest among first-years to have theiressays published in the Expos magazine, Expose.

The essay in question had not been officiallyentered in the contest, and Harrington saysSommers admitted to him that she herself hadentered the essay, which was written by one ofSommers' own students. In a letter obtained by TheCrimson, Bennett charges she was retaliatedagainst when she spoke up about the "unethical"matter in which the winning essay was chosen.

"Nancy and Richard's subsequent behavior towardme was thoroughly unprofessional," wrote Bennett,now a professor at Southern Illinois University."I have put time into this letter because Ibelieve both the Expos program and studentsdeserve better than they are getting."

Harrington charges, and a source confirms, thatSommers ordered him to fire Exposé's volunteereditor, Edward P. Miller, and to excise anymention of prize winners' Expos teachers from themagazine. Sommers denies all these charges, sayingthat Marius fired Miller because he was not makingdeadlines and was improperly editing studentcontributions.

Nothing improper was done in the selection ofher student as the contest winner, Sommers says.

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Harrington resigned in the fall of 1990 amidtroubles with the program's scheduling, for whichhe was responsible. Shortly before then, heapproached Herbert J. Vallier, then associatedirector of personnel services for the Faculty, tocomplain about how Marius and Sommers treatedemployees.

Vallier, now at the Groton School, says herecalls speaking with at least two teachers andother staff members about problems in thedepartment. Once again, however, theadministration was unable to improve theatmosphere at Expos. In fact, Harrington is justone of five program administrators to serve atExpos during the past seven years.

In interviews, the vast majority of 71current and former teachers were critical of theExpos administration's sensitivity and fairness.Many teachers, nearly all of them women, say theywere browbeaten and intimidated both verbally andin writing.

Some teachers charge that Marius' evaluationnotes are inappropriate. Several of the notes,which were viewed by The Crimson, includedintensely personal criticism.

"Yes, he's been verbally abusive," says oneveteran teacher. "And we've lost teachers becauseof it. He's helped create a cruel, hurtfulsystem."

In fact, in the fall of 1991, eight Exposteachers won teaching prizes by the Bok Center fortheir work in the classroom. Just two years later,only two of those eight are still teaching atExpos.

Askold Melnyczuk, who taught at Expos from 1990to 1992, says one of the reasons he left wasMarius' style of managing people. "I think Richardis way too aggressive," says Melnyczuk, whobelieves Marius should either leave the program orbe sent to management school.

One current head preceptor says three teachershave personally complained about run-ins withMarius. "I've heard direct testimony from threeindividuals who had major run-ins with Richard,"says the preceptor.

A dozen former teachers interviewed say theyleft the program because of Marius' treatment ofthem.

"My trouble started in teacher training," saysone woman teacher who left. "I spoke up--I had myown style--and was shouted down. People wererewarded for keeping their mouth shut."

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