Cal State Northridge Investigating : Grade-Selling Allegations Cancel 3 College Classes

Cal State Northridge took the unusual step Thursday of canceling three Pan-African studies classes amid allegations that students were recruited with promises of A grades if they sold $100 worth of raffle tickets for a professor’s nonprofit foundation.

It is believed to be the first time that a CSUN course has been canceled for what university officials called a “breach of educational standards,” CSUN spokeswoman Ann Salisbury said.

Salisbury said the university is considering disciplinary action against two faculty members in connection with the alleged grade-selling and will turn over information on the matter to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.

CSUN would not publicly identify the faculty members, but a campus official confirmed that they are Prof. Eleazu S. Obinna, a 17-year faculty member, and Willie J. Bellamy, a lecturer who began teaching this semester. Obinna also teaches business management and human geography. The field courses are part of the Pan-African studies department, which is under the School of Social and Behavioral Science at Cal State Northridge.

The university said in a statement that campus police began investigating the two faculty members after several students complained of being told that they would get A grades if they enrolled in one of three African-American field work classes this semester and sold 20 raffle tickets at $5 each. Obinna taught one of the courses while Bellamy taught the other two.

The proceeds of the raffle were to benefit the United Crusade Foundation Inc., a Pacoima-based nonprofit group. Obinna is president of the foundation and chairman of the Pan-African studies department.

In an interview, Obinna acknowledged that he is the target of the university’s investigation. But he denied that he gave grades in return for raffle ticket sales. “I have not done anything wrong,” he said.

Obinna acknowledged that “some of the students from the field studies class sold tickets” for the raffle, but “not as a part of the grade.” He said about 100 students on campus sold the tickets.

The field classes, each of which carried three units of credit, were designed to get students involved in the minority community and to boost their self-esteem, Obinna said. He said he required 45 hours of course work and graded students on their participation in minority community affairs.

Benefit From Experience

Obinna said that students who sold raffle tickets could benefit from the experience. “If a student is very shy, salesmanship can bring out the personality quality of the student,” said Obinna, who was born in Nigeria.

Bellamy refused to comment when reached Thursday by telephone at his campus office.

Letters will be sent to the 181 students enrolled in the classes, offering them the option of withdrawing or obtaining an incomplete grade until they complete appropriate class work, Salisbury said. The university said the allegations are limited to the current semester’s courses.

Students allegedly were approached with the recruiting pitch as they entered a campus building to make changes to their schedules during a course registration period, Salisbury said.

Never Met Instructors

In the university’s statement, CSUN Vice President of Academic Affairs Bob Suzuki was quoted as saying that interviews with more than 30 students revealed that there was no syllabus for the class and most students in the class never met with their instructors.

Holding raffles on campus violates state law and campus policy, Salisbury said. The raffle was to be held on campus May 1. Students were offered the chance to win a red “$22,000 Sebring” sports car. Obinna said the raffle has been postponed until June 25 and will be held off-campus.

The university’s statement said it also is looking into the “legal status” of the foundation and “claims made regarding the raffle merchandise.” Obinna said that the foundation’s nonprofit status had lapsed but that he renewed it with the state on Thursday.

Paper on Selling Tickets

A 19-year-old psychology major, who asked not to be named for fear it would affect her grades, said she was not promised an A for selling the tickets, but was told the sole requirement of the course was selling tickets and writing a paper on what was learned from the sales experience.

“The main attraction of the course was you didn’t have to go to class,” the student said. “I was told by Prof. Obinna everybody in class had to sell tickets.”

Obinna said he does not know how many raffle tickets have been sold or how much money has been raised through the effort. He said he believes that the foundation now has funds of $100.

Obinna said the United Crusade Foundation operates a summer youth jobs program in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles, and provides meals for homeless people at Hansen Dam on Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.