The Towerlight, October 31, 1980

tl19801031-000 "VOL. LXXIV No. 10 Ztollitrtict PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY --tug alone on campus at night is not an advisable Z � oillatory endeavor. Although there have been no rapes campus this year, there is no reason to invite sexual or aggravated assaults. When it is necessary to walk on campus late at night try to find someone to walk with you. Be safe, walk with a friend. TL photo by Colleen Kadan Morgan unrest sparks request for resignation by Francis C. Broccolino Student unrest at Morgan State rule to a boiling point last Thursday r7i3�the Student Government Asso- ,1""on and a group of 500 students red Dr. Andrew Billingsley, presi-at of the university, to resign by ""ovember 6. I, The SGA requested Billingsley's esignation because he could not porantee the implementation of a 'Point proposal. A member of the u A, who wished to remain anon-i'lheos, inally said the proposal was orig- given to Billingsley August 8. %lie was given 15 days to promise et the proposal would be enacted in eve e future,"" said the source. ""How-t., since he could not guarantee the irrilactrnent of all 17 points, we are ask- Vol' Billingsley's resignation."" SGA member said, ""The 17 ce� are one package, and we want oliner the points accepted or none. 4:jar all are for the enhance-aiiirLt of the university, and we feel aii'gsleY's ideals stand in the way of enhancement."" lij,,Itheligh the students have often ha-ri dissatisfied with Billingsley's he,ndling of the administration, they 1.'411e severely outraged when they `arned the president had used money from the Student Union Revenue Fund (SURF) to eliminate a $700,000 deficit. Because the SURF money was to be used for the student union and dorms, the SGA member said Billingsley acted illegally. Although the admin-istration could not be reached for comment, Jack Surrick, staff assis-tant for the Board of Trustees, refuted students' claims. ""The transfer of funds was approv-ed by the Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning,"" said Surrick, ""so there was no illegal act or misappro-priation of funds. It's not a question of misappropriation, but of mismanage-ment."" Surrick said the reason the univer-sity had such a large deficit at the end of fiscal 1980 was because enrollment at Morgan State has declined severely the last few years. He said one Senate committee has suggested that the Board of Regents, the university's independent fiscal governing body, be dissolved. If this were to happen, Surrick said, Morgan State would come under the Board of Trustees, which governs the other six Maryland state colleges, including Towson State. However, Surrick cautioned that the committee did not make a formal proposal b only suggested the move. ""It [the move] wouldn't affect Towson State at all because Morgan State was under the Board of Trustees once before until it moved tinder he Board of Regents,"" said Surrick. Morgan's SGA has not demanded the elimination of the Board of Regents, but it has included several points in its proposal dealing with the topic. One of the points states that Bil-lingsley and the Board of Regents are to ""provide concrete proof for the return of the $700,000 from SURF."" In another point, the students demand to know the specific policy of how the Board of Regents will use SURF in the future. Also included in the proposal are demands for increased library and student union hours, renewed dor-mitory security, increased housing facilities, and 11 other points. Billingsley approved most points, but the SGA member said the presi-dent refused to accept the entire proposal. For instance, Billingsley said tuition could not remain con-stant, especially when Governor Harry Hughes recently called for a three-percent cut in the educational continued on page 8 Sports Features Weekwatcher Classifieds Commentary Contents 5 34 47 October 31 1980 FBI lists assaults as forcible rapes by Quincey R. Johnson In 1979, there were six sexual assaults on the Towson State campus as opposed to six actual rapes re-ported earlier this week by the FBI. Because of a vague classification of rape on crime reports filed by campus police to the FBI, the sexual assaults I'ere mis-classified. In the Uniform Crime Reports attempted rapes and sexual assaults are listed under forcible rape. In an article in the Evening Sun, October 21, it was reported that the University officials disputed the FBI figures. Figures not disputed Gene Dawson, director of campus police, said he does not dispute the figures but recognizes the misclassi-fication. Dawson said there has not been a rape on campus since 1976. The Sun article went on to say that the University has the highest inci-dence of rape last year for a univer-sity of its size in this country. Dawson said the six incidents classified as rapes were actually three attempted rapes and three obscene gestures. The first incident occurred Febru-ary 5, 1979, 3:30 a.m., on parking lot H2. A woman was approached by a man who forced his way into her car, telling her he would kill her if she screamed. He then put his hand up her dress and tried to kiss her. The suspect grabbed her pocketbook and ran. On February 26, 3:44 p.m., a student, sleeping in Cook Library, was approached by a man who began touching her legs. The suspect noticed someone else watching him and fled. Also on February 26, 9 p.m., a woman, walking near the Media Center, was grabbed around her shoulders and chest by a man. The victim screamed and the man fled. Assaulted near Smith Hall On March 11, in the parking lot below Stephens Hall, a student was pushed against her car. The suspect dropped his pants and masturbated before her. On June 18, 12:10 a.m., a student was walking between Smith Hall and the University Union when a man grabbed her by the shoulder and breast. Also on June 18, near the Admin-istration building, a woman was grabbed in the crotch by a man who had been following her. The incident happened at 8:15 p.m. Three of the suspects were apprehended. Dawson said all the apprehended supects were juveniles. None of these assaults were classi-fied as forcible rape according to Maryland law. ""The FBI report makes it seem that Towson is a crime-infested commu-nity. It is not that bad,"" said Dawson. ape awareness urged on campus by Lisa DeNike This is prime rape season on Tow-son State's campus, according to Michael Gass, a self-defense instruc-tor here. ""Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 there occurs the largest number of sexual abuse cases on campus,"" he said. Conflicting figures from an FBI report, the campus Women's Center and the University Police make it unclear as to how many, if any, rapes occurred here in the past year. The FB1 claims six; the Women's Center press releases say that there were seven sexual assaults and one attempted rape; Officer Jim Scar-borough of the campus police $aid that there were a total of 13 com-bined rape and attempted rapes last year, but that none have been re-ported this year. Because rape is increasing nation-ally at an average of 13 percent yearly, Gass teaches his self-defense classes methods of combatting pot-ential rapists during attacks, as well as how to prevent or avoid the at-tack. ""The best defense is awareness � not letting it get to a one on one situation,"" he said. Awareness of danger areas and dangerous situations on campus is a woman's best means of avoidance, he said. Most on-campus rapes take place between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., but in 1978, a woman was raped on campus at 12:30 p.m., he said, so women should always be careful. Gass advises women to be parti-cularly wary of the Glen and the parking lot behind the Tower, both being prime danger spots. Other dangerous areas include deserted academic buildings, poorly-lit open spaces, and deserted dorm laundry rooms. ""Think of your dorm room as your home if you live on campus,"" he said. Women should report disturb-ances in the dorms more often be-cause it will make the police here more aware of potential problems. Gass also said that when women travel across campus unaccompan-ied, they should always look as though they are walking with a de-finite location in mind and are not just wandering aimlessly. ""When traveling to a parked car, make certain you know exactly where it is, and have your keys in hand when approaching the car,"" he said. The keys make a good weapon to strike with if someone is waiting at the vehicle, he said. As for weapons, Gass does not advise women to carry mace, guns or knives, because the rapist may be able to get them away from the woman and use them against her. He cited one case where the assail-ant used a woman's mace against her, and she never completely re-gained her sense of smell. However, instead of walking to a car alone, Gas a said that women de-finitely should use the escort service provided by the police. ""Don't be afraid to ask the police for an escort. If they won't take you even when you have to go a block, call the Chief or report it to the Dean,"" Gass said. If a woman has to walk alone, Gass suggests being extremely alert for who is around and what is happening. Be especially careful, he said, of traveling the same route every day, because about 80 percent of rapists case their victims ahead of time. Gass also says that women at TSU should become aware of more obscure methods of defense, like clothing. Women cannot run (their best defense) if they are wearing cumbersom high heels. Rapists no-tice things like this, he said, and are experienced at spotting potential victims. Danskin tops and tight jeans are more difficult for the rap-ist to remove. Women should carry their pocketbooks like sacks, and use them to strike potential rapists if approached. Books should be car-ried under one arm only, and not against the chest, with both arms so that one arm is free for defense. continued on page 2 National education lobby examines candidates vi Washington, D.C. (CPS)�Ask mt_teal!3' any member of the higher ,74ocation lobby here which presi- i'ential candidate would do the most �r colleges and universities, and ost likely the reply will be a pause, arid a sigh. t �I'Ve would prefer a non-Reagan alt,ildidate,"" said the leader of an eriuontion group. (He, like many, de-tifn. ed. to have his association iden-ra"" led because political endorse- ertts are forbidden by Internal lieonv.e nue codes governing many groups.) he ""lesser of two evils,"" accord-e,, g o most lobbyists, is Jimmy an-d'e.,,r. ""Just look at the Republican ed""'�uornocratic platforms,"" advis-f ? �hti�e same education group head. na most groups prefer the edu-le'e ntil platform of the Democrats."" P. John Anderson, the third lai):t1liacussed candidate, is usu- ''.�ulornissed as a spoiler, at least barbara Lawless of the National sh""cation Association( NEA)."" One elIlidn't waste votes on him."" .e.-41wleon and the NEA, however, NtAverY much pro-Carter. The tetiX which is a 1.9 million-member 4t t-1.:erS union, controlled 302 votes Oemocratic convention that forZbated Carter. Three of its be;""er executive officers are mem- ;Ar.:t ,o f the Carter elit,siotnt lpalra administration, gtefo lynnwrote the party's edu- 'niter support among other edu-cation lobbyists in Washington is much more equivocal. Even those who privately confessed support for the president hedge the support with criticisms of the administra-tion's education policies. Though many lobbyists applaud Governor Ronald Reagan's desire to stem federal ""intrusions"" into school policies, they question how far a federal withdrawal should � or could � go. The lack of enthusiasm for any of the candidates has convinced some lobbyists they should simply stop agonizing over them. Phil Mc- Keaney of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second lar-gest teachers union, said that on education issues ""leadership seems to come out of Congress anyway."" Charlie Lee of the Committee for Full Funding of Education Pro-grams said, ""There's a healthy ten-sion between administration and Congress, with Congress in the lead."" Lee nevertheless said that presi-dents do make a difference, noting he felt the education community did better under Johnson and Carter than under Nixon and Ford. RONALD REAGAN If the education policies of a Rea-gan presidency followed those of the Reagan candidacy, the next four years would feature less federal in-tervention in school policies, less federal aid to schools and students, and more state and local control. The most visible effect would the dismantling of the Department of Education. Though the Washington, D.C. education community was by no means united in its approval of the new department, which was of-ficially born last May 1, there now seems to be a general concurrence that destroying the department would be at least a symbolic de-feat for education. ""I think that statement (promis-ing to dismantle the department) struck a nerve in a lot of people,"" said Tom Duffy, president of the American Student Association. Terry Herndon, executive direc-tor of the pro-Carter National Edu-cation Association (NEA), which was perhaps the most insistent ad-vocate of the new department, is not sure he would want to keep the agency if Reagan won. ""An educa-tion department under a President Reagan is something we'd have to think twice about,"" he said. ""It might be easier to let the de-partment go,"" he added. The campaign's education views on key points: Funding: Reagan's January pol-icy statement on education asserted he wanted to ""maximize control (of school policy) by parents, teachers and local school boards"" by trans-ferring responsibility for funding back to the states. In other words, said Ken Towrey, Reagan's deputy press aide, ""states that wanted to continue federal programs would have to raise taxes locally."" ""A good deal"" of the federal fin-ancial aid, handicapped student, and affirmative action programs ""would probably continue,"" Tow-rey said. But Reagan would prob-ably convert some of the money spent on them to block grants, which would go to communities, which would spend them as they feel like it. Financial aid: The, Republican platform pledges ""to enact tuition tax credits,"" an aid program that was rejected in 1979 in favor of Pre-sident Carter's plan to expand grants to middle-income students. Quality of education: Reagan and the one and a half-page section of the Republican platform that deals with education agree that the feder-al government is responsible for low-quality learning. As Reagan's January policy statement said, ""Since 1962, when federal aid to education began, pre-student costs have increased and test scores have fallen virtually in proportion to the rise in federal spending for and control over edu-cation."" , Reagan fails to note, though, that the largest single aid to education program in American history was begun in June, 1944, when Presi-dent Roosevelt signed the G.I. Bill. It gave aid to millions of veterans attending college. Standardized test scores peaked in 1963, some 19 years after federal aid to education began. JIMMY CARTER The Democratic platform's edu-cation section is six and a half pages long, a fact not overlooked by edu-cation lobbyists in trying to discern a candidate concern for learning. But education lobbyists express concern for Carter's record on edu-cation. ""Carter ha a directed more aid to education than any other president,- said Steve Liefman of the Coalition of Private College and University Students (CO PUS). But Carter, he added, did not al-ways follow through on his pro-posals. ""In many of the education policies introduced, the administra-tion had to be prodded to carry them out."" Moreover, ""I don't think they always pick the best people"" for slots at the Department of Edu-cation. Jerry Roschwalb, director of government relations for the Na-tional Association of State Univer-sities and Land Grant Colleges, ag-reed that in many instances the continued on page 2 "