The Towerlight, March 18, 1977

tl19770318-000 "Springsteen reviewed See page 5. VOL. LXIX NO. 20 'The Horse You Came In On Saloon.' See page 6. TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY MARCH 18, 1977 Ru ark ticket sweeps SGA election by Bill Stetka John Ruark will take office April 1 as president of the SGA after easily defeating Charles Klein in the elections held this week. A sparse turnout of 1,000 students, about 12 percent of eligible voters, voted Monday and Tuesday, electing both of Ruark's running mates, Deb-bie Leslie and Erik Perkins, as well as 14 senators and threee class presidents. A number of class office elections resulted in ties be-_ Debbie Leslie John Ruark tween write-in candidates, as very few people even bothered to vote for class officers. Ruark, currently the preside,nt of the Residence Council, polled 541 votes to Klein's 364. There were also four write-in votes: two for Stephen Ciesielski and one each for his brother, Mike, and Torn Troy. Leslie and Perkins also easily won their respective races for vice president and treasurer. Leslie beat Senate-mate Ray Tubman, 560 to 362, and Perkins, the incumbent treasurer, won over Beta Beta Beta president Joe Schumann, 493 to 404. Current SGA Vice President Nancy Payne and five current senators led the list of newly elected senators. Payne topped all Senate candi-dates in the voting, getting 491 votes, 29 more than Kim Chase. Incumbent senators Ann Garman, Levi Johnson and Donna Sauerborn and recently-appointed senators Valencia Jackson and Brian Ridgely also won election to the new Senate, as did current SGA parliamentarian Charles Frazer. Others voted into the new Senate include Peter Binns, Octavia Brown, Pierre Douyon, Shelby Eaddy, Norman Landson and Gary Lancas-ter. Close races for senior and junior class president highlighted the class officer elections as Wendy Bolan and Heidi Heydermann both won their respective classes by narrow margins. Eric Perkins - Bolan defeated Diane Szymanski, 51 to 41, in the senior election, and Heydermann nosed out Maura Friedel, 16-13, in the junior election. Only 98 seniors, 32 juniors and 34 sophomores took the time to vote for class officers, and nearly as many different people received votes. With no candidates on the ballot for most class offices, write-in candi-dates either won or tied for the lead in elections for vice president, treasurer and secretary. Senator-elect Payne, with three write-ins, was elected senior class vice president, while the two candidates for SGA treasurer, Perkins and Schumann, and Mark Rice, were left in a three-way tie for treasurer with two votes each. Eight people also received a vote apiece to tie for senior class secretary. In the junior class vice presiden-tial write-in, SGA Vice President-elect Leslie and Friedel tied, while the positions of both treasurer and secretary ended in eight-way ties of one vote each. The sophomore class election was somewhat more decisive, as Dave Dobbs received eight Of 24 votes for the presidency. The other 16 votes were evenly divided among a like number of write-ins. Valerie Smith, with six votes, won the class vice presidency, and Alicia Smith's four votes won her the secretary's post. The treasurer's position ended in a tie between Michelle Snell and Laura Heming-way, each with three votes. Winners pleased with results, but also glad it's 'finally over' by Ruth Ann Leftridge and Kathy Pascuzzi The SGA's president and vice president-elect, both said they are ""glad the election is finally over."" President-elect John Ruark added that now they can ""get back to being normal students"" until their term starts April 1. Ruark said he is ""glad the whole ticket won."" He feels that he is ""compatible"" with his running mates, vice president Debbie Leslie and treasurer Erik Perkins. He attributed his ticket's win to a large voter turnout among resident students. He also said he thought Coupon plan abolished for fall by Ruth Ann Leftridge The one-and-a-half-year-old food coupon plan has been abolished for the fall 1977 semester. At the same time, Al Walsh, director of Dining Services, an-nounced that this semester's cou-pons can now be used in any month, regardless of how they are marked. ""We've given up on the cou-pons,"" said Walsh. Dining Services Will return to ""slime form"" of the all-you-can-eat punch card system for resident students next fall, Walsh said. He said the coupon system has been discontinued ""mainly because of student response. ""I think we made an honest effort to try and make the coupon system work,"" Walsh said. But, he added, trying to get students to use coupons was like ""trying to sell a dead horse."" ""The [coupon] plan is a good plan, but it won't market,"" said Wayne Schelle, vice president of Business and Finance. ""It's like trying to sell the Edsel on the fact that Idi Amin is a nice guy."" ""Most of the reason"" for Dining Services' abandonment of the coupon plan is ""constant"" negative response from students, Schelle said. The decision to return to an all-you-can-eat plan was made on the basis of a survey of approxi-mately 180 TSU resident students and research of area colleges and universities, Walsh said. The comment on the resident survey that appeared most often was ""dissatisfaction with the meal plan concept,"" Walsh said. Schelle explained that only six colleges or universities in the U.S. use any type of coupon plan. ""You have to wonder a little bit why,"" he said. Next fall's coupon system will hopefully include ""certain flexibili-ties,"" such as being able to lunch in the University Union and ""two or three"" options of meal plans, Schelle said. Walsh said perhaps two lines will be set up in the UU cafeteria for residents to use their meal tickets. In this way, students with classes in Fine Arts and the Towson Center will not have to walk to Newell Hall for lunch. Newell Dining Hall opens in the 'fall. Walsh said there is a ""possibili-ty"" that plans of 10, 15 and 19 meals per week will be offered. He would not make any estimates of the prices of these plans. ""I don't see a need for any more than three plans,"" Walsh said. He said he based this decision on a survey of other colleges and universities. Resident students will only be able to eat in ""designated places at designated times"" with the all-you-can- eat meal ticket plan, Walsh said. He said the new plan will also mean a loss of ' 'versatility"" in meals offered. Fewer ""premiere-type items,"" such as steak, will be offered, Schelle explained. Walsh also said, ""We've got to assume that, at least in the beginning, we're going to have a problem with food being taken and wasted."" Marc Land, a student member of Dining Services' Food Committee, said there are two things about returning to the all-you-can-eat plan that he doesn't like. He sees the loss of versatility as a major problem. ""Versatility is my main concern,"" he said. Land also did not like the way Dining Services' decision to return to all-you-can-eat was reached. ""They came to the decision without asking us,"" he said. A ""majority"" Ron Bitner appointed to new Dining post by Kathy Pascuzzi Dining Services Director Al Walsh will not hire anyone to replace his former assistant, Roy Whitley, who left the department last month. Instead, he has hired Ron Bitner to serve as Operations Manager in the department. Walsh said that Bruce Springsteen, rock singer, sold out the Towson Center last Sunday night. See review on page 5. TL photo by Mike Ciesieski Bitner's food experience is ""var-ied,"" including institutional work.,as well as work in catering and in restaurants. Walsh said he is ""delighted"" to have the 30-year-old Bitner working with him. He will assist the director in all phases of Dining Services operations. Bitner's last job was at Holy Cross Hospital, where he managed the feeding of both patients and staff. ""This included many special diets,"" he said. Bitner has \also worked for the Maryland prison system. Although he said the ""university atmosphere is new"" to him, he has worked with people in other situations. He said he will maintain an ""open door policy."" He said that he ""will listen to any student complaint."" He added, though, that he may not always be able to do something about the problems. He intends to work with the Dining Services Board, in fact he is ""looking forward to"" helping improve communications between the Dining Services department and the students. He stressed that he is ""here to listen"" and that Dining Services cannot solve problems ""unless someone tells us."" ,Bitner mentioned that ""unfortu-nately"" Dining Services is a business and must be operated as one. However, through effective communications, he hopes to operate the business to ""satisfy the customer."" of the student members of the Food Committee voted against the all-you- can-eat plan, he said. ""I think they [Dining Services] hear, but I don't think they listen,"" Land said. He proposed a combination coupon/all-you-can-eat plan, where students would ""pay at the door"" but still be able to return for seconds. ""students were intelligent enough to realize that some of the things Charlie [Klein] was promising were just plain BS."" He said he ""can't wait to start"" his new job. ""I'll do my best to fulfill all my campaign promises and to represent students in the best way I know how,"" he added. Ruark will start to perform at least some presidential dirties immedi-ately, when outgoing President Joanne Finegan turns over the operation of the Speakers' Series Board. Ruark said, ""I hope the Senate and the executive branch will be able to get along better next year than they have this year."" Vice president elect Leslie said, ""There are so many things I want to do, I haven't really taken time to organize which I'm going to do first."" At least two projects are high on Leslie's list, though. She said she will try to get each new senator's schedule, so that she can organize committees. This has to be done before the new Senate's first meeting, she explained, because any bills currently before the Senate which are ""not taken care of by March 29, will be considered by the new Senate on April 2."" Leslie also plans workshops in � parliamentary procedure and in bill writing early in her term. She feels the sessions on bill writing are very important, ""so that everyone knows how to properly write a bill so that it's understandable. , Leslie received more votes than any of the other five candidates for executive office. Her running mate, Ruark, said she won because ""she was the only female running."" Leslie said that while ""that may have taken a little bit of account in why I won, I really think it was the residence vote that helped us out."" She added that the large vote in her favor is ""sort of neat when you've got something like that to remem-ber."" Erik Perkins, who was elected for a second term, is happy he won because ""I don't even have to clean out my desk."" He thinks one of the reasons he was re-elected was ""definitely"" because he is an incumbent. ""I'm already familiar with the system,"" he said. Perkins did not receive as many votes as either of his running mates. He said this was because of unpopular decisions he made this year as treasurer. ""People did not like some of the things I was doing, but I was doing them right,"" he said. Holt denounces educ. monopoly, wants ability to'brand' removed by Steve Haas ""The overwhelming majority of what we, in fact, know is not something we can put on our resume as having learned in an educational situation,"" claimed John Holt in the latest segment of the SGA Speakers Series last Friday in Stephens Hall. Holt, a noted teacher, writer and social reformer, was dressed in a dark green corduroy jacket, green shirt with a pocket full of pencils, red tie, gray pants and brown shoes with soles that had 'died a horrible death. Following an opening statement asserting ""I'm against education,"" Holt spent much of the next hour protesting the theory that ""educa-tion is a process that is almost an entirely separate part of life, best done in places where nothing else is done. ""The idea that yoti can't learn anything of real importance in real life is harmful. When we do things that matter, we become more competent. We don't have to build learning environments, the world is a learning environment,"" Holt said. Holt advocated changes in the present system that rewards chil-dren for their ""ability to repeat and do what they're told, not to learn."" He suggested the alternative of getting someone to ""front"" as a tutor for the child at home, while the parents taught him each day. When confronted by one question on how he could teach his child for six hours a day, Holt quipped, ""Who's teaching your kid six hours a day?"" He said one hour of actual instruction daily would be sufficient. He bemoaned the fact that twelve-year- olds puff at cigarettes in subways and drink surreptitiously and said that children are denied activities they see adults engaging in. ""I don't think it would be that way if they were given more access to the adult world,"" he said. The author of seven books, including Instead of Education, stated, ""There is a further assumption that education is a process where the more you go through, the better you are."" He derided the educational ""monopoly"" which schools possess, John Holt, education reformer, said at last week's Speakers Series segment, ""When learning takes place, the teacher gets the credit; Whfn learning doesn't take place, the student gets the blame."" TL photo by Mike Ciesielski where young people ""can't score any points or make any money without [schooling] . . . it won't look good on their resume without it. ""Schools are compulsory to a certain age and effectively compul-sory after that,"" the former instructor at Harvard and University of California at Berkeley said. ""I don't think many of you can say you had a choice in going to college. I object to . . . the grad school express."" He also expressed discontent over the ability of schools to ""rank"" and ""brand"" people through official transcripts and to monopolize access to jobs. ""You just can't get work if you can't get a brand,"" he said. ""It's like a toll gate. ""Once we do away with [school] monopolies, we can make them places for real teaching,"" Holt asserted. He said that the vast stores of information restricted to colleges should be available to the general public. Holt has taught English, French and mathematics, among other subjects. He remarked, ""There is a notion of education that goes back 400 years that there is a process you can go through. When learning takes place, the teacher gets the credit; when learning doesn't take place, the student gets the blame."" He warned of educators, ""help-ers"" as he described them, who become ""career helpers of other people, who begin conveying to other people that you cannot get along without [their] help. The helping hand strikes again. ""Hidden in there is the idea that other people can decide what is good for people to know. Attempts at coerced learning are extremely dangerous,"" he said. He recommended giving young students as many adult ""rights"" as they desire, as soon as they seek them. He wanted sources of information available to everyone, not restricted by the schools for their purposes. In Instesid of Education, he said, ""(Schools) mnst not be jails for the young; in short, they must not be compulsory, for any age. And they must not be allowed to rank and label their students."" "