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Show DAILY UTAH HRON1C LE THURSDAY. lAWtJAUY 10. jgT Bm dlecodsd to toadhi at U. fostfw torn mn out by Deborah Eldredse Milne Chronicle staff Why would anyone rather teach at the University of Utah than sit at President Reagan's Cabinet table? T.H. Bell it Apparently, for was a matter of time running out. The former U.S. secretary of education, who resigned in November, says if he had stayed in Washington to serve another four-ye- ar term, he would have been "a bit ancient to start a new career in academia." Consequently, he never plans to retire. So back he came to Utah last month truck (he was behind the wheel of a the only cabinet member) to teach graduate courses in the U.'s department of education. Now the man who held what a GOP 63-year-- old U-Ha- non-milliona- ul ire chieftan called the second-mo- st important job in America next to the president," is working at becoming "a good professor" in a small, undecorated Milton Bennion Hall office. Bell claims his immediate goals are quiet ones he hopes to teach, give lectures across the nation and write a book about his four-yeterm under Reagan. So far, he confesses no political ambitions. Even so, his influence seems pervasive, considering 15 million copies of his report A Nation at Risk still circulate the nation, and schools everywhere are implementing ar tougher requirements and considering merit pay. education include his "failure to abolish his Cabinet-lev- el position and the success of A Nation at Risk. "I think the Nation at Risk report has had an impact on education nationwide,' he said in a Chronicle interview. "It has resulted in raising standards for students important accomplishments as secretary of . . , x - and has also caused governors and legislators to make education the first priority in most states, but not all." He said the report has also strengthened schools by recommending "what we hope will be the equivalent of academic rank on a university campus" for elementary and secondary teachers. The professor added, however, that he doesn't want to say, "Look at what I did." "This is just what happened while I was there with the help of a lot of other people," he said. "I've gotten a lot of credit for other people's fine work." Included on his list of other people is former U. of U. President David Gardner, who spearheaded the commission on education that eventually wrote A Nation at Risk. "I knew he (Gardner) I was bright; I knew he had a mind like a razor; I knew he had great persuasive power, and I knew that with the information I was putting together that I would need that kind of leadership," Bell said. The former secretary says his other finest accomplishment was not going down with the ship as "Captain of the Titanic." self-proclai- Looking back, Bell says his most , . ... continued on page three If" f srr j Mi at X. ! Q. T.H. Bell, who resigned as U.S. secretary of education last November, is now a professor in the department of education at the University of Utah. He plans to teach, lecture around the country and write a book on his experiences with the Reagan administration. ua cdinfoDtooin) upgraded toiproving' He started on Nicaragua's land reform program before taking a job with an by Marva Bickle Chronicle staff While human rights advocates argue that rights violations still go on in new Nicaragua, some who have traveled there say that overall the situation is improving under the Sandinistas. A panel of three speakers updated the situation in Nicaragua Wednesday. The discussion was sponsored oy inc vxriurai America Solidarity Coalition and featured two people who have traveled to Nicaragua and one member of a human rights of those who recently visited Nicaragua said Wednesday that the overall situation is improving in the country. Left at table, Alexandra Thurman of Amnesty International; on her left, Mike Sapperstein, who has A nane! lived in Nicaragua since 1983. organization. Mike Saperstein, a 1979 graduate of Skyline High School and a 1983 graduate of Yale University, said he was received very gratiously by the Nicaraguans. Saperstein worked in Nicaragua for 13 months and will return later this month. independent historical institute in Managua, Nicaragua. Saperstein said the Sandinista govern ment has made some social gains, particularly with medical and educational needs. He said there are twice as many people attending school now and medical care has increased. "The model is working, but there are economic problems," Saperstein said. Nicaragua must borrow money to pay for imported goods. The United States is doing all it can to prevent that by vetoing credit and denying loans, he said. But Saperstein said the revolutionary war is causing the biggest economic problems. "In many ways the U.S. supported continued on page four LDS view of homosexuals may be questioned, not changed and to some observers series. Today 's Editor's Note: This is the last of a three-pa- rt article examines what the future prospects are for gay members of the LDS Church. by Marilyn Abildskov Chronicle staff Most observers do not expect the Church of Jesus Saints to change its current position Christ of Latter-da- y denouncing homosexuality within the next few decades. But there are plenty of people who plan to continue questioning it. "I can't see any change occurring that would be based on acceptance of homosexuality as a way of life. That's just not going to happen," said one instructor at the University of Utah LDS Institute of Religion. "But we can hope that more acceptance and loving support will be extended to these people." The instructor said he thinks the current stance is the best position the church can take, even ifit seems arbitrary outside the discriminatory Mormon faith, because the policy is based on the reality of the nature of relationships between men and women. "I almost wince at my own words," he said, "because I realize this (policy) is tantamount to rejection of homosexuals' authentic experiences. Unfortunately, a lack of sensitivity in this regard is too often a fact." SPECIAL REPORT Doctrine of the LDS Church emphasizes the power of procreation along with the importance of marriage and family relationships both here and in an afterlife. "Of the adverse social effects of homosexuality none is more significant than the effect on marriage and home," says Mormon Church president Spencer W. Kimball in his book, The Miracle of Forgiveness. sexual relationship is the "The normal, God-givprocreative act between man and woman in honorable marriage," he said, quoting a verse in the Bible that says, en "Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." Graham Bell, vice president of the U. of U. Lesbian and Gay Student Union, says even scriptures are subject to interpretation. Predominantly heterosexual societies have rewritten much of what people currently read, said Bell, who grew up as a Mormon. "Heterosexual society has even changed Plato!" But historical facts show homosexual love was preferred over heterosexual love for a long time. "It's natural for some people and it has been around for thousands of years," he said. Said one active Mormon: "Certainly the question of homosexuality is one of religious interpretation, but the church position is a stand of integrity and an honest one." Any change endorsing homosexuality as a viable lifestyle option would require the church to condone continued on page two Non-Pro- fit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 1529 Salt Lake City, UT |
