The Towerlight, April 29, 1988

tl19880429-000 "ilk The Towerlight Th r erA ip Published weekly by the students of Towson State University g Towson, Mt3 21204 Index news 12 features & entertainment 3 4 business 4 sports 5 6 classifieds 7 9 11. 12 editorial 13 perspectives & letters 13 weekwatcher 14 1. 81 No. 22 April 29, 1988 ew policy would stress education Updated AIDS program recommended by Lisa Zullo News reporter Towson State University hopes adopt a revised AIDS policy bm the American College Health tisociation and to create a task rce that would focus on wides-ead AIDS education on the Uni-trsity campus. According to Dr. Jane Halpern, ealth Center physician, the task rce is being organized because it clear that AIDS is becoming a tious issue on campus, and, at e present tim� there is ""rio coon hated campus-wide effort"" focus-g on AIDS education at Towson ate. Though Halpern stresses that eDniversity has yet to adopt the oposed strategy, she supports plementation of the ACHA umnmendations. rhe ACHA is an association of alth personnel from colleges and iversities across the nation. The oup has released detailed infor-q, ion and guidelines for action in Ipecial report entitled AIDS on College Campus. 'They recommend that .every lege set up a high-level task ce to address the AIDS issue, set icy for the campus, and promote ication on campus to handle cific cases .on an individual Us,"" Halpern said. Ile proposed task force would lude representatives from the dent body as well as University Icerns ranging from Food.Ser-es to University Relations. No individuals have yet been named to ,the task force, however. Current University AIDS policy involves distribution of free con-doms through the Health Center and introduction of AIDS discus-sion in Health Science curricula. The ACHJA recommends a com-prehensive program that could af-fect admissions and housing deci-sions as well as medical care. AIDS on the College Campus states that ""Each community must accept that HIV infection and AIDS can, in fact, happen on any campus. Experimentation with sexual behaviors and/or drug use may put college students at a greater risk of infection."" The study also notes that ""in .order for educational programs to be effective, they must provide cur-rent information, use reliable, up-to- date Materials, and be both eas-ily accessible and widely avail-able."" In light of these numerous re-commendations for increased com-mitment by tbe University to AIDS awareness, one issue likely to come up during the task force formation is budget. Currently there are no independent resources for these efforts. Funding is sup-ported by the Health Center bud-get only. AIDS testing could be part of an intensified policy at Towson State, although the service has already been provided at the Health Center and at the nearby Baltimore County Testing Site, which uses the same State Reference Lab as the University. Anonymity has been and would contine to be preserved, according to Halpern. ""AIDS is so different from any other disease because it has so many social implications in terms of discrimination, such as jobs, one must be very sensitive. I, want to be sure that nothing is entered into a permanent medical record that would ever harm a stu-dent,"" she said. Centers for Disease control to test students ettysburg College to decide in May College Press Service About 20,000 students on more than 20 still-unnamed campuses will be tested for AIDS (Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) during the next 12 months, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta announced last week. The students, however, may not even know their blood has been tested. Under the plan, the cam-puses will forwrd the CDC the 1,000 or so blood samples they take from students as a matter of course during a school year. The CDC, adds University of Virginia health service director Dr. Richard P. Keeling, will then test the samples for the presense of the HIV antibody, indicating whether the student has the AIDS Ireeks may be history College press service lettysburg College in Pennsyl-lia kick its fraternities and orities off campus in May. The ege is one of several that have /-Itly acted against the Greek imunity. ;ettysburg's Faculty Senate ap-ved a motion in mid-April to the Board of Trustees to abol- Greek houses, saying they en-raged sexism, elitism, and meaned intellectual pursuits."" he trustees, college President Ides Glassick said, will con-er the motion at their May meet-and will give campus Greeks�, o make up 63 percent of the lent body�a chance to plead Ir case. March, Stanford University cials gave Greek organizations �nings that they would have to le up with ""nondiscrimina- 1"" ways of choosing members by 1989 or face being banned. Meanwhile, members of Yale University's chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity say no one came to its April 3 ""general inter- 'est meeting"" in New Haven. An unnamed ZBT member blamed the meeting's failure on publicity about ZBT's March 3 suspension at the University of Pennsylvania, the Yale Daily News reported. Penn banned its ZBT chapter for violating campus rules by hiring two strippers to perform at a rush function in Ocober of 19)87. Strippers also have sparked debate at the University of Cali-fornia at Davis, where freshmen in the veterinary medicine school hired a woman to take off her clothes in the March 11 class of retiring Professor Norman Baker. In the aftermath, Elaine Finger-ette, a student in the class and coordinator of the campus's Rape photo by Loren L. Harr s TSU tennis team hosts the East Coast Conference tournament weekend at the Towson Center. Pictured is Torrey Dorsey. Story, page 5. Prevention and Education Pro-gram, released a statement calling the stiptease a form of sexual harassment that violated univer-sity policies. virus. The virus systematically de-stroys victims' immune systems, rendering the victims vulnerable to infections and illnesses that typ-ically prove fatal within two years ' of diagnosis. Students will not be informed of the test results. The results, Keeling�who also heads the AIDS task force of the American College Health Associ-ation� explained, would produce ""the first actual data about the frequency of HIV infection among students, who are increasingly con-sidered a high-risk population."" Keeling said the CDC won't re-lease the names of the schools par-ticipating in the study, hoping to preserve students' privacy. In February, US Surgeon Gen-eral C. Everett Koop told a London AIDS conference he wanted to test all the students on a chosen cam-pus for the disease to see how far it has spread among young people. Since the disease often is trans-mitted through sexual contact and collegians tend to have multiple sexual partners, Koop considered students might be among the Am-ericans most likely to engage in risky behavior, Keeling explained. The plan to gather blood sam-ples from the 20 campuses, he ad-ded, is a ""refinement"" of Koop's original proposal. tIto 4... %I. er . file photo Maryland State Teacher's College at Towson offered only a two year transfer program in 1959. One year later, a four year degree was available. Monday, Towson State's University Senate will meet to discuss a proposed Masters program in teaching. The Towerlight will have details in its May 6 edition. SGA seeks strong judiciary by Robert Pattison News reporter With all the media attention being given lately to Towson State's judicial process, the Stu-dent Government Association is looking into increasing the power and influence of its own judicial board With the intention of taking a more active part in the enforce-ment of both University and SGA policies. However, while the SGA judicial board abides by all University pol-icies as stated in its 1985 senate bill and has the power to reprimand, suspend, or disaffiliate any group for violations, the University in the past has acted directly jagainst groups without consulting the SGA. It is this bypassing of the SGA judicial board that President Vicki Francese is trying to change. ""We should hear it [the viola-tion] first...but it hasn't always happened that way,"" Francese said. ""We are working to improve the judicial process and get more power for the SGA judicial board. We also want to work better with the University."" Francese said, how�ver, that if the- University has a problem with a group they can and often do act directly and not through the SGA. The University's Judicial Af-fairs Officer Margaret Hayes said her department gathers informa-tion when a violation occurs, gets the witnesses tbgether, does some investigation, and then presents a report to a hearing panel made up of one faculty member and two students. ""The hearing officer gets the af-termath of all the evidence, listens to all the testimony, and then de-termines whether a violation has occurred,"" Hayes said. ""The hear- Mg officer decides by himself if a violation is substantiated by the evidence...and then he turns his recommendation back [to judicial affairs]."" Hayes said she then turns all this evidence over to vice-president Dorothy Siegel and if a violation has occurred it is she who decides the punishment of the group or individual. If the group or individual wants to appeal Siegel's decision they may do so with the ultimate appeal going to the University President Hoke Smith. According to current SGA policy once a group is charged with a vio-lation it can be suspended imme-diately, however the SGA judicial board must convene within two weeks to hear the case. It then decides that day whether the viola-. tion warrants punishment and if so the degree of punishment neces-sary. The SGA vice-president, Michael Aronin. will chair the five member student judicial board. He said he wants the board to hear cases before the administration hearing panel becomes involved. ""We want to hear from groups before administration does,"" Aro-nin said. He added that no stu-dents have been appointed to the board yet but he expects the selec-tion to be completed within two weeks. Although the SGA judicial board is an alternative to the Uni-versity hearing panel Francese said the administration still has the right to override any decision the SGA makes in regards to a case. ""Ultimately the University could say 'We don't agree with your decision,' "" Francese said. ""And their decision would stand."" If the Francese administration is successful in increasing the power of its judicial board, stu-dents will have alternatives to the University process and a greater range of appeal. Fraternities air complaints This reporter met with students who personally and as members of organizations had experienced appearances before Towson State University's Hearing Panel. Since some of the groups are involved in on-going appeals under the Judi-cial Code, they are unidentified as required during the Judicial Pro-cess under Towson State policy. The g rot) ps discussed only their perceptions of the inadequacies of the judicial process, not the actual on-going appeals. by Judith B. Jelenko News reporter When a student or organization is charged with violating the Tow-son State University Code of Con-duct, the defendant presents his case in front of the hearing panel. Three organizations do not feel Towson State has given them a proper chance to state their cases, nor do they feel that the hearing panel properly head the case. The perception of the organizations is that Towson State has not done its job as outlined by the University Compass Guide. The Compass (section C-8, page 46) states that ""a letter arranging a hearing will be sent to that stu-dent within a reasonable amount of time."" The Compass continues, ""The letter should state: a) By whom charged, b) Specific viola-tion, c) Description of alleged inci-dent, d) Date, time, and location of hearing, e) hearing procedure, f) rights of appeal."" According to Sigma Alpha Mu did not receive notice for two weeks, and then it was a casual word from it advisor. Organization ""B"" received a phone call from its advisor, who told the members that they had violated the University Code of Conduct. Organization ""C"" re-ceived a letter yet still has not been told the specific violation. All three representatives went to see Margaret Hayes, director of Judicial Affairs, who they felt was a great help. However, all three organizations were displeased with the office of student services. The organizations felt that stu-dent services did not give them adequate time or advice; nor, they felt, did the people within the office take time to listen. ""The office of student services was a shambles. There was no evidence of commun-ication between the members of the office, and they seemed to not want to communicate with us,"" said a representative from organi-zation B. ""It made the situation more frustrating,"" said organiza-tion C. Not one of the organizations felt that they were adequately heard when in front of the hearing panel. ""I was told to hurry up because there were other cases to be heard. I felt that the hearing officer con-tinuously cut my testimony off. How do I know she heard my case?"" said organization C. Sigma Alpha Mu and organization B felt hurried in their hearings as well. Hays said, ""You [the students] need to understand the University only has two hearing officers. continues on for an extended period of time, and no new infor-mation is given, then what would you do?"" Two months following the hear-ing, Sigma Alpha Mu received its sentence from an administrator. The Compass states (section D-15, page 48) ""The accused will also receive the decision in writing."" The decision was in writing, but there was no explanation of the sanction. Sigma Alpha Mu went to the office of student services to get an explanation of the sanction. ""It took the office another two weeks to tell us what we would be able to do and what the sanction meant,"" said a Sigma Alpha ru spokes-man. Organization B had to Wait months for its final decision. The reason given was that specific individuals were being charged on the basis of testimony given. Jan Sherril, assistant vice president of student services, said ""the wait was to allow all the appeals to arive at the same time."" Individuals were charged from organization C also. ""There were witnesses to prove the organiza-tion's innocence. Yet the Univer-sity turned around and charged those who testified on the basis of what they said,"" said C. ""I would have no problem if I felt the University heard my case, but I don't feel they did,"" said C. ""Before my hearing a member of student services said all I wanted was a sympathetic juty. He was right. I wanted my case to be heard�not cut off because of other hearings."" "