The Towerlight, August 28, 1981

tl19810828-000 "VOL. 74 No. 31 PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY TOWSON, MARYLAND 21204 You can't go home again. Thomas Wolfe August 28, 1981 IOW SON Si Al UNIVERSITY After a summer of fun and frolic, summer job, just sitting around, watching soap operas and reruns of ""The Bionic _man"" we now embark on a new semester full of chal- ?, lenges and experiences. We wish you the best of luck and much success. Higher ed studied by Quincey R. Johnson In higher education, Annapolis is the place where the big decisions ate made, statistics and data as-sembled, testimony is given to corn-laittees, and committee upon corn- Mittee meets to study some of the great mysteries of the higher edu-cation system. The House Appropriations sub-committee on education has in-itiated one such study on the state's higher education system. In her testimony before the com-mittee, Dr. Jean Spencer, executive director of the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities, discussed the governance system for higher education. Spencer said, there is an ""erosion �f authority"" between the coordin-ating board and the segmental board. This overlapping of juris-diction stretches from the state level to the segmental level, added Spencer. Spencer used the example of the bidding procedure to illustrate the point: If the university makes a request to have a hole dug, the state would obtain a contractor, and Proceed to tell the contractor how many men to use and what kind of Shovels to bring. President Hoke Smith also corn-ioented on the ""overmanagement"" of the higher education system. Smith said, ""the system is over-anaged. Not only do we have uoplicating and overlapping boards (the true duplication in higher edu-cation in the state), but we have nl,ahagement by a number of agen-cies such as the Office of Budget and Fiscal Planning and the De-partment of Personnel whose prim-ay mission is not the development a quality public higher educa-wotl system. e Concerning the powers of the ',tate Board for Higher Education, lith said, ""the SBHE's authority 18 More easily exercised as a nega-ti ve rather than a positive."" For ,eitample, SBI-IE is more effective 'n Pronouncing limits upon enroll-nlents than in gaining aquiescence �f the Governor and the legislature t� its budgetary recommendations."" Smith said, the SBHE has im- Droved the coordination of higher docation in the state, improved the �v of information, and has served es a advocacy group on some issues; Jean Spencer tbh�Wever, the negatives seem to out- ,h the positives. 'Their (SBHE) role as a coor-fillating board is reaching a point atagnation,"" added Smith, thrla this system, it takes about % Years for a program to be approved. We can design a car or a bomb in less than that, said Smith. ""Our system is slow,"" added Smith. In his testimony, Smith com-mented on the underfunding of higher education. ""Despite the constant repetition of concern for quality, the state's deeds do not match its words. The system has been chronically un-derfunded and that situation is growing worse, said Smith. Hoke Smith ""As it is, all students in our segment are paying a ten percent tuition tax to compensate for a reduction in general funds. The result will be slightly fewer dollars with which to operate than were available in fiscal year 1982. There will be no increase for inflation,"" added Smith. �this is but the latest in a series of budgets which speaks more loudly about dedication to quality than does the rhetorical smoke screen of pronouncements of dedication to quality,"" said Smith. Smith also said, ""There is a strong tendency to confuse survival with quality. Other issues discussed in Anna-polis were faculty ranking, and Lida Lee Tall. The Board of Trustees approved the increase of the amount faculty members able to occupy the upper two ranks from 50 percent to 65 per-cent. The upper two ranks of the pay scale are associate professor and full professor. The proposal submitted to the Board of 'trustees called for a raise twenty percent. In last years state of the Uni-versity address, Smith said, ""I con-tinue to believe that the current 50 percent in the top two ranks is unrealistic and unjust."" With the 15 percent rise, Towson State will be able to promote more faculty, said Smith. Smith also said, a ten year plan on promotion will be established to regulate the amount of promotions. ""We don't want to use all of our promotions in one year,"" said Smith. In March, the Board of Trustees of State Colleges and Universities voted to cut off $120,000 in state funds for Lida Lee Tall learning resource center. The board re-commended that the university seek private funds to maintain the school. President Smith proposed a tuition increase for the students of Lida Lee Tall. The increase would be from $415 to $600. Smith also proposed a enrollment increase. With the tuition increase, money from Baltimore County, and money from parents' association fund-raising, the school is $24,000 short of the current operating budget. The proposal includes a request of an additional five dollar fee for Towson State students to help raise the money. This additional fee would generate $45,000 more and would wipe out $24,000 deficit. Jean Spencer has objected to this part of the proposal. A final decision will be made on September 24 at the Board's next meeting. The meeting will be held at Towson State. Board approves 1700 bed dorm by Wallace Bruce Reid The proposed construction of a 1700-bed dormitory facility with an accompanying 600-seat dining hall has received approval from the finance committee of the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities. The proposal is now pending ap-proval from the Board of Public Works for a long-term lease for the facility. After the initial request for propos-als was released for the construction of the facility, the University received two proposals that were acceptable. The Mullan Enterprise Partnership proposed to build a facility on a 2.7-acre plot owned by the Mullan family adjacent to the Glen and the University Union near Cross Campus Drive. Cross Campus Limited Partnership proposed to build a facility near the Citicorp building, adjacent to St. Joseph Hospital and Sister Pierre Drive on a seven-acre lot owned by the Exxon Corporation. The Board of Trustees initially deferred the University's proposal and asked it to issue an amended request for proposals in June of this year, said John Suter, director of campus planning. Suter said the amended request for proposals asked those firms that had submitted proposals to hold their prices at present levels for a period of 90 days from July 16, 1981. The amended request also asked the firms what the increase in the annual lease costs would be if the University required that the facility be com-pleted by August 15, 1983. The new request called for pro-posals for a 1200-bed facility with the option of adding on 500 beds at a later date. Because of the pricing of the facil-ity, a 1700-bed facility was rec-ommended by the University's review committee and President Hoke Smith and was approved by the Board of Trustees as being the more econom-ically sound proposal. Financing for the project would be possible by the use of Baltimore County Industrial Revenue Bonds, said Suter. Suter also said that the University would enter into a long-term lease with the contractor over the life of the bonds and support the debt out of revenues. ""There are no Donald McCulloh tax dollars involved in this [project],"" he said. The University researched the plans for such a facility by reviewing similar structures around the coun-try, and both Mr. Suter and Donald McCulloh, vice president for business and finance, feel that the facility could be comparable in design and cost to students to most modern dormitory facilities. Extensive research was also con-ducted by the University to assess the actual need for dorm space and the benefit to the school, said Terrence Smith, assistant vice president of aux-iliary enterprises. The construction of a 1700-bed facil-ity would open several doors for enter-ing students and ease the pressure of obtaining housing, said Smith. Smith said that there is currently a waiting list of 700 to 800 students seek-ing on-campus housing. He also said that many students fail to apply to Towson because of the lack of suffi-cient housing. Suter and McCulloh feel that the University loses quality students each :Tar. The construction of a 1700-bed facility would increase the number of resident students from 13 percent to 30 percent. Students obtaining housing in the fall of 1980 were subjected to a two-year, on-campus residency stipu-lation. Smith said that about 150 students were subjected to this rule. Suter said that the addition of 1700 dorm spaces could eliminate the two-year residency limit and it is possible the rule that states a student can't obtain housing if he lives within a 20-mile radius of the University may also be dropped. ""Right now, we're precluding students that live in Ellicott City and Columbia,"" said Suter. Suter feels that the increased dorm space would benefit the University by attracting ""better quality"" students, which in turn would benefit the class-rooms and the student body as a whole. The ultimate goal of Dr. Hoke Smith and the University's administration is to create a more cohesive student body with the construction of the new dorm facility. Garage design modified by Christa C.Marvenko Plans for the proposed parking garage, are still being modified to cut expenditures. John Suter, dir-ector for campus planning, said the original garage plan would cost the university approximately $4.2 million but the cost must be kept at $3.2 million. Suter said the garage designers have been directed to review the original design with the intent to reduce the scope of work to meet the alocation of $3.2 million. Suter said, ""We will end up with a parking structure that is not as pretty as we wanted."" Suter said the original garage plan did not look like a parking structure. To reduce the cost of the project, some of the more aestheti-cally pleasing building materials such as brick will be replaced with concrete and other cheaper products. Suter said the designers' modifi-cations will be completed by the end of October '81. ""We will review what they have done and analyze their plans in terms of the impact of long term costs,"" said Suter. Long term costs would include expenses connected with the main-tainence of the project. Suter said, ""After we review and authorize the plan changes, the pro-ject will be out to bid. We anti-cipate this happening at the be-ginning of the '82 spring semester."" Suter said construction would then get underway at the end of spring semester, '82. The project will be paid for through a $3.2 million bond issue. These construction bonds are sold by the board of trustees of state universities and colleges and the nniversity pays the debt on those bonds. ""The money to pay the debt ul-timately comes from student fees because the state will not use tax dollars for auxiliary facilities,"" said Suter. Suter said the new facility will consist of 585 parking spaces in i-,hree levels, each space costing ap-proximately $5500. The spaces for the handicapped will be located on Book Exchange cancelled by Gayle Griisser The Fall Book Exchange has been canceled because of the SGA's inabil-ity to find another suitable room besides the University Union Art Gallery. For the past eight and a half years the Book Exchange has been held in the Art Gallery. However, this semester Institutional Advancement reserved the room so the University Foundation's Art Collection, which was stored in various locations all over campus, could be appraised, said Sally Souris, vice president for Insti-tutional Advancement. Arlene Campeggi, SGA Business Manager, said the Art Gallery had been reserved and the only other available room was the Severn I .ounge. Campeggi reserved the Severn Lounge that day but, after looking at the rooms in terms of size and secu-rity, she recommended that the room not be considered for the Book Exchange, said Keith Hark, SGA President. ""CaMpeggi has been the business manager and bookkeeper for the SGA for the past nine years and knows what can and cannot be done logis- A . ^ tically and I trust her recommenda-tion completely,"" said Hark. Hark added that Campeggi said the Book Exchange could not work in the Severn Lounge but only the SGA Pres-ident could make the decision to cancel the Book Exchange. Hark said the Book Exchange could not operate effectively in the Severn Lounge because of problems in size, traffic and security. Hark said the Lounge could not handle the number of books, people buying and selling books and filling out contracts. There were also the problems of complicated access routes and the handling of monetary transactions in a smaller room. The Art Gallery has 1,500 square feet while the Severn Lounge has 1,800, said 'Terrence Smith, assistant vice president of business and finance. The Book Exchange sells around $20,000 worth of books on consignment and between 4,000 and 5,000 students participate. , To participate, a student brings a book to the exchange and places a price on it. If the book is sold, the stu-dent selling the book receives the money minus 10 percent; the SGA keeps 10 percent for overhead. Library Univreity 21204 Smith said the Severn Lounge was adequate in terms of space and security for the Book Exchange or Special Services would not have recommended it. Smith added that Institutional Advancement use of the gallery ""was unique and out of the ordinary use of the Art Gallery by the University."" Smith also said Special Services did not think that the Book Exchange would be deterred by the move. Although Souris was not involved in the planning stage of the art work appraisal, she said the Art Gallery was the most logical choice for secu-rity precaution. Souris replaced Paul Wisdom as vice president of Institu-tional Advancement last spring. Hark said he is disappointed about the Book Exchange because of all the services and activities the SGA offers, It is the Book Exchange that attracts the most students. The University Book Store is extending its Used Book Buy Back dates to include August 31 and Sep-tember 1. These are the last two days until the end of the semester when people will be able to sell books. the second level, which is the most convenient. Suter said the university will save spaces and construction costs by using existing roads as garage en-trances. Suter said, ""The new design calls for gate controlled entrance oper-ation. Some levels may be gate controlled but the operational plan has not yet been established."" Suter said, ""We presently have sufficient parking for our enroll-ment, but it happens that some of this parking space is not conven-ient for the students."" Suter said the new facility will relieve some pressures. It will be especially beneficial to evening stu-dents and those who have early or late classes. Being located in the Linthicum lot, the new parking garage will also be convenient to on-campus residents. In This Issue FOOTBALL: The Tigers open the TSU football season at home next Saturday against Morgan State. For a look at the season, turn to page 3. WEEKWATCHER: Looking for some-thing exciting to do this weekend? Don't worry�we've solved your prob-lem. Check Weekwatcher this week and every week for the latest in TSU entertainment. Page 4. "