The Towerlight, March 14, 1975

tl19750314-000 " photo by Dave Carrington = fences still =s jock n MARCH 14 1975 TOWSON STATE COLLEGE VOL. LXVII, NO. 18 � Senate hassles over Alpha by Joan Grabowski Senate action Tuesday centered on reconsideration of the Alpha Omega Lambda fraternity constitution, with some senators contending that the Organization is discriminatory in its membership qualifications, and thus is ineligible for SGA sanctioning. Actions begin Actions began with Senator Martha Reed's move to reconsider the Alpha constitution. Reed contended that SGA guidelines called for organizations to he open to all full time day students at Towson, and that Alpha did not comply with these guidelines. Responding to Reed's cOmments, Senator Jim Tiganelli noted that Iota Phi Theta and the Cheerleaders both had equally exclusive membership qualifications. But SGA Treasurer, Kathy Kolar, responded that those con-stitutions were passed before the new guidelines became effecitve, and that the guidelines were not retroactive. Senator Terri Crane pointed out that since the Alpha constitution was included in a bill containing two other organizations constitutions (the Political Science Organization and the Towson Outing Club), all three would have to be reconsidered. The motion to reconsidei� resulted in a 6-6 Lie in the Senate, that was broken hy acting chairperson Lucy Reed. Thus the motion to reconsider the three constitutions was passed. Open membership Newly elected senator, and Alpha member, Doug Schweinhart, contended that membership is open to anyone, and Tiganelli suggested that since Alpha requested no funding from SGA, perhaps it was not necessary for them to 'nmPlY with guidelines. But Martha Reed argues that since, as an SGA organization, Alpha would have access to college facilities, they would, in fact, he economically subsidized by SGA. Two proposals by Terri Crane, to separate the bill containing the three constitutions, into three bills, and to send the bill back to the Government 9perations committee, were defeated. Finally a motion to make the Senate a committee of the whole"" was passed. As a ""committee of the whole,"" open discussion of the matter ensued. _ Tiganelli said that the fraternity merely wanted the use of college facilities. tiut director of the Council of Organizations, Ed Consroe, contended that the fraternity wanted to use the facilities without ""paying back"" the student body tor what they received, and questioned the groups intent to serve the full-time day students. Schweinhart explained that Alpha had been a large contributor to charities, citing the Springfest and Santa Claus Anonymous. Thus they worked for the benefit of the community. It was also mentioned that Alpha Members had submitted their constitution with the understanding that illegalities and improprieties would be corrected by the Government Ltions Committee. At this point Tiganelli, head of Government Operations said that his opera committee had taken the word of the Council of Organizations as to the legality of the constitution. Tiganelli suggested that he had done so in order to expedite the passage of this and other legislation. Kolar claimed to have brought the problem to Tiganelli's attention in committee,. and been told the situation would be remedied. In a later exchange Consroe asked Tiganelli ""Does the kind Senator read the constitutions before coming to meetings?"" and noted that the Council of Organizations is not ""the eyes"" of the Government Operations Committee. Senator Anne Marie Lowe later suggested that the committee should ""get on the stick."" Senators noted that the Council of Organizations was merely an advisory board for the SGA executive branch, and final power, and thus responsibility were left in the hands of the Senate. Resuming the discussion, Tiganelli again addressed himself to the matter of exclusivity, and charged that organizations such as BSU held exclusive events. Addressing Tiganelli, acting BSU head Sheila Culbertson said ""You don't know what you're talking about,"" citing a dinner for black parents previously held that was open to, and was attended by white students and their parents. Culbertson stated that BSU events were open to all students and all were encouraged to come. Eric Martin noted SGA President Konrad Herling's intent to veto the constitution if it was not amended, and further cited the lack of SGA policy on membership as the root of the . problem. He suggested that Government Operations be charged with devising such a policy. Crane suggested that pledging qualifications should be deleted from Alpha's constitution, but new Senator Mike Jospeh said that without them ""What is special about the group will be lost."" Schweinhart claimed that the pledging was an effective means of getting people to know one another, and creating a sense of union among members. Offering final suggestions, Crane noted that if minimum grade 'point average, and nomination and vote by a majority of membership clauses were deleted, the Alpha constitution would meet policy guidelines. Agreeing to act on those suggestions, the body returned to the Senate form. The Crane amendment passed, with Alpha retaining pledging procedures, and the Senate passed the three constitutions. Taking care of business In other business, a reorganization of government bill received final passage, reducing the present five committees to three. The new committees are College Affairs, Government Operations, and Appropriations. Although Senators volunteered for various committees, assignments were deferred until next week, with the President of the Senate having the final decisions. A motion to maintain the old committee structure until next week was passed. In final action the group elected Anne Marie Lowe as President Pro-Tem of the Senate. Sheila Culbertson was elected to fill a Senate vacancy. A move by Mike Hill to reconsider the Government Operations bill just passed was feated SGA Election results announced Out of the 7,000 students at Towson State College, 482 voted in the recent SGA elections. 357 of these students voted for David Nevins, who ran unopposed, electing him to the SGA's highest post. Anne Marie Lowe, who also ran unopposed, was elected to the office of vice-president With 352 votes. Kathy Kolar out-distanced her opponent by 207 votes to become the Treasurer of the Student Government Association. All three ran on the same ticket and will be sworn in with the newly-elected Senators in April. Nevins views David Nevins is currently the SOA Vice-President. As president, pave wants to see a closer association between the faculty and students. He feels that the current faculty advisor-student relationship must be strengthened. The President-elect would like to see every faculty member be an advisor, by reqUirement, and the faculty Member's performance evaluated by his studenth. These evaluations could be used, like the evaluations of the instructors, to determine promotion and tenure. He also sees a trend in the SGA to help the college and expand the speaker series. He also hopes to help ease the cost of college hY testifying in Annapolis to eliminate sales tax on school books; convincing the state to assume the bond payments for the Student Center as they did at Coppin State and the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore; having a student accompany President Fischer and Mr. Schelle on their trips to Annapolis, a nd getting reduced rates for students on public buses. Qualified Vice President The Vice-President elect, Anne Marie Lowe, served as an SGA Senator for two years and as an Academic Advisor for two years. She was also a legislative intern for the Maryland State General Assembly in 1974 and for the St. Mary's County Government. Anne Marie would like to see the role of the Senate increased and strengthened during her term in office. Miss Lowe hopes to accomplish this by strengthening the committee structure and reducing the number of committees so that each Senator will only have to serve on one committee. Position filled Kathy Kolar, who has been Treasurer since Rudy Forti's resignation in February, will return to the post for her first full year. She views herself as the financial liaison between the SGA and student organizations rating funds. Kathy plans to conduct a workshop for the treasurers of the various campus organizations to teach them their duties and the proper procedures to obtain SGA funds. As Treasurer, Miss Kolar also serves as Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board. The board accepts budget requests and presents the SGA budget to the Senate. Fourteen Senators will also take office in April. They are Michael Fell, Mike Joseph, Vicki Bass, Maria Williams, Bob Hayden, Joanne Finegan, Mike Hill, Sheila Culbert-son, Douglas Schweinhart, Nancy Payne, Robin Taormino, Mike Behney, Barbara Siogram, and Leon Langley. by Marlene Milder Within three weeks the current classroom II construction project site will be completely enclosed, reported David Sturdivant, Towson's Director of Planning. At this time a temporary service road extending from the College Center to Smith Hall will be finished, keeping contracting road travel in one area. Pathways narrowed Due to the construction site, access through the college community pathway will be narrow. Although this narrow pathway may in-convenience pedestrian traffic, safety remains the priority of the college, Sturdivant said. Six accidents alleged To date, six accidents allegedly occuring as a result of the hazardous condition of the work sites are being investigated. Throughout the design and planning stage of the project, Sturdivant along with Wayne Schelle, Vice President of Business and Finance, and members from the Department of General Services insisted an area be left open for ef-fective and safe pedestrian cir-culation. Rerouting beyond college control As stated in last week's Towerlight, pedestrian traffic was rerouted, beyond the control of the college, causing confusion and SGA elections were marked by voter apathy. TL photo by Dave Carrington Sidey, Time head to speak here One of the nation's top journalists, Hugh Sidey, Chief of Time-Life News Service in Washington, D.C., and a regular columnist for Time, will be here today to speak at 8:30 under the sponsorship of the Student Govern-ment Association. Sidey is a fourth-generation journalist. His great-grandfather founded the Adair County Free Press, a weekly paper in Greenfield, Because of the illness of James J. Kilpatrick, Hugh Sidey .will be Friday's Celebrity Speaker. Iowa, which was subsequently owned and operated by his grandfather and now is run by his father and brother. Sidey learned the mechanical end of the business first � feeding presses, setting type and sweeping floors when he was still in grade school. Later he sold ads, wrote stories, took pictures and made the photo-engravings. After a hitch in the Army at the end of World War II, he completed his education at Iowa State College, then began the classic journalistic migration from the heartland to Washington. He started on the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, where he covered every type of story, then moved across the Missouri River to the Omaha (Nebraska) World -Herald, reporting from city hall for the next four years. His next move was to a two-year stint with Life in New York, then to Time Magazine in Washington, D.C. He remained in Washington as White House Correspondent and Deputy Chief of the Time-Life Washington Newsbureau. On January 1, 1969, he became Bureau Chief. In 1960, Sidey traveled with Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy on his campaign trail and was one of the reporters in Dallas with the presidential party three years later when President Kennedy was assassinated. During the Summer of 1963 his book ""John F. Kennedy: A Reporter's Inside Story"" (Athenaeum) was published and quickly made the best seller list. After the assassination in November, 1963, the book was reissued and selected as a Literary Guild alternate selection. It was serialized in Australia, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Finland. Beginning in April, 1966, Hugh Sidey's column, ""The Presidency,"" appeared in Life. Upon the un-fortunate demise of that magazine Sidey returned to Time, where he had been Washington correspondent since 1969, with the same by-lined column. In this column Sidey has reported on the Johnson and Nixon administrations. His second book ""A Very Personal Presidency: Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House"" (Athenaeum), was published in July, 1968. Sidey will be appearing in place of James Kilpatrick. Therefore, all Kilpatrick tickets will be honored for the Sidey talk. Additional tickets may be picked up at the Box Office today. hazardous conditions for those traveling around campus. ""Safe"" thoroughfare provided The safe walkway past Smith was provided by the contractors as they announced they would begin early work in the area around Smith. Bill Baluerle, campus safety coordinator reported a lighted ""safe"" thorough-fare behind Smith has been con-structed through the efforts of the college. Two contracts, not one According to Sturdivant, the contractors are dealing with two contracts in one. Ordinarily a contract limit around a structure included a twenty foot radius. However, the radius has been expanded because of the combination contract. The builders call for complete installation of all utilities . before the buildings are erected. At one point of the construction phase, both the in-stallation of utilities and building up structures will be put simultaneously. Fingers Coming Extension of the radius includes trenching more routes. These ex-tensions, or ""fingers,"" will be plated so pedestrians will still have access to and from buildings. Fingers, reported Sturdivant, will be coming in at various times and at various points throughout the construction phase. SGA results Student Government Association '75-16 Election Results Listed below are official results of last week's SGA election with post, names, and votes cast. PRESIDENT TOTAL VOTES David Nevins VICE-PRESIDENT Ann Marie Lowe 352 TREASURER Kathy Kolar 306 Ron Chrismar 99 SENATORS-AT-LARGE Michael Fell 261 Mike Joseph 243 Vicki Bass 239 Maria Williams 227 Bob Hayden 216 Joanne Finegan 208 Mike Hill 206 Shelia Culbertson 204 Douglas Schweinhart 201 Nancy Payne 196 Robin Taormino 190 Mike Behney 182 Barbara Siogram 170 Leon Langley 169 George Howard Dan Sheehy Francis Hurry James Cowen Al Fear Note: Names appearing in letters are the winners. 357 168 162 160 151 150 bold Vets meeting postponed Towson Concerned Veterans meeting scheduled for today has been postponed until Friday, March 21. Plans for upcoming election of officers will be discussed as will results of budget hearings, plans for the Spring Homecoming, and plans for next year. "