- Title
- The Towerlight, October 9, 1987
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- Identifier
- tl19871009
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- Subjects
- ["Music -- Reviews","Motion pictures -- Reviews","Student government","Universities and colleges -- United States -- Administration","Student publications","Student activities","College sports","Towson University -- History","Athletes.","College students"]
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- Description
- The October 9, 1987 issue of The Towerlight, the student newspaper of the Towson State University.
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- Date Created
- 09 October 1987
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- Format
- ["pdf"]
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- Language
- ["English"]
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- Collection Name
- ["Towson University Student Newspaper Collection"]
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The Towerlight, October 9, 1987
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tl19871009-000 "19 Inside Suzanne Vega Singer Suzanne Vega is 1.110ming to the Towson Cen page 6 ;1. 81 No. 4 The ht Published weekly by the students of Towson State University Towson, MD 21204 Index news 1 sports 3 4 features & entertainment 5 classifieds 7 8 editorial 9 letters &perspectives 9 weekwatchur 10 October 9, 1987 ew substance abuse policy aims to help by Lisa M. Quill Special to The Towerlight 'ollowing a year of inertness, t Athletic Department has es- Wished a new Substance Abuse which is designed not to be Mtive but rather to help people 10 can't help themselves, accord-to Billy Hunter, University .aletic director. Historically, situations that re brought to our attention were i'fled over to the University :lice for criminal investigation,"" id Dorothy Siegel, vice-president student services. The University knew some-ag was going on but didn't take Y action. We just stepped back d let the Police investigate,"" she Untied. The problem with this .thod is that ""the level of proof eded for the Police to take action igher than what we would need take an internal action."" tinter reiterated the difficulties ed by the University regarding libstance abuse problem. ""We're Y much aware of a problem,"" he ';;;Id. ""People were still performing !de everyone knew of the prob-mot and we could do nothing. It's t satisfactory to know and to not able to take action. The in-place II017 was not sufficient."" niv er sity officials met with kYers and the Police to decide tether it was more important to Ike an arrest or to act imme- ItelY. A shared agreement de- ;tined not to limit action to ;ice investigation. 50 Hunter asked for a volunteer mittee to develop an Athletic bstance Abuse Policy, which is Iigned to help student-athletes ercome any problems they may ve. ke_Qhu or an initial incidence of sus- ?ted or confirmed alcohol or 4g use/abuse, a meeting be-een the student-athlete, his ach, and Joe Ardolino, the ""de-tated Athletic Department ad-nistrator"", will be used to gather ts and make recommendations cl referrals for counseling. Whe-t' or not the student may con-lue at this point to participate in file photo file photo Dean Dorothy Siegel and Athletic Director Billy Hunter have worked together to formulate a Substance Abuse Policy aimed at helping the student-athletes. his sport will also be determined. ""We're mandating an interven-tion; we're not mandating counsel-ing. We want proof and we monitor the intervention through an alco-hol/ substance abuse coordinator,"" Siegel said of this part of the pol-icy. ""The Athletic Department is simply tying into an already exist-ing program."" This beginning action is based on ""a level of proof less than that used for general judicial hear-ings,"" Siegel said; therefore, hear-ing about a situation could be enough to cause the first meeting. Should a second incident�""a violation of conditions set forth following the initial meeting""� occur, Hunter will meet with the three aforementioned people, and the student-athlete will be sus-pended for a minimum three weeks. After three weeks, a review will determine whether or not the student-athlete will be reinstated. Any further incidences, and the student-athlete will be dismissed from the team. His parents will also be called and will be told of the reason for the dismisal. ""We would, at this time, highly recommend that the student-athlete continue with counseling,"" Hunter said, ""because at this point it's evident that there is a problem. We would no longer have jurisdic-tion, though, because the athlete part of student-athlete would dis-appear. Hunter also said that, although not written in the policy, if the student-athlete were on scholar-ship, that financial aid would end. This is ""not a vigilante pro-gram,"" Siegel said. ""It isn't a go search out. We'd rather the com-munity cleared itself of its pro-blem."" The athletic community wants to ""show everyone else on campus that athletics wears the white hat,"" Hunter said. ""We'd like to eliminate or eradicate the problem, knowing it is not a six-month, one-year, or two-year plan."" The People Although the frustrations of knowing that people are using or abusing substances are hindering the team's chances of success as well as destroying one's own per-sonal health led Hunter to initiate this policy, it is also intended to protect other students and other student-athletes. ""The use of drugs and alcohol is to maintain the high of the high-low nature of athletics, not to enhance performance,"" he said. ""And we need to be there to help them overcome the problem be-cause the student end will deterio-rate as will the athlete. ""But,"" he continued, ""even if they aren't willing to help them-selves, they have an impact on everyone else."" Siegel said that this policy is one of common good and public wel-fare. ""We're trying not to deny individual rights, but we have a responsibility to others also. It's a tough system. On the one hand, we want to recognize that students are adults and are responsible; on the other hand, we don't want them to dig their own graves."" Hunter and Siegel both pointed out the determining users and/or abusers might be difficult. ""Unlike drugs, you can pick up an alcohol abuser from some other incident or behavior that's unac-ceptable,"" Siegel said. ""Alcohol is easier to detect; drugs are much more elusive."" Also, how to distinguish be-tween use and abuse of alcohol will be a ""never-ending struggle."" ""If it's written up [by the Resident Department], it's abuse,"" Hunter said. ""If you're using alcohol and you're under 21, that's abuse."" The Privilege While the Athletic Department initiated this program, ""it is not being done because athletes have more of a problem,"" Siegel said. ""It is being done because the director decided it was necessary. [Hunter] is setting standards."" ""At TSU, you don't have the right to be an athlete. It's a privi-lege. One of the rules of having that privilege is no drugs,"" Hunter said. ""We [the Athletic Depart-ment] have the right to set the rules�even if we were Division III, with no scholarships. ""In setting those rules, we're not setting them down for perform-ance,"" he continued, ""we're setting them down for the good of the Jniversity Senate amends smoking policy by Doug Wood News reporter 4=ateritus status was confirmed ' five retired faculty during Mon- 's University Senate Meeting. belt Beckey, mathematics; Mit-ell Kerr, history; June Thearle, Iglish, and Marguerite Verkru- 1, Physical education, were rec-aized Professor Emeritus. Har-t Warren, occupational therapy, Is recognized Faculty Emeritus. 01 motion was also passed to :'ePt the revision of the constitu- II, of the Allied Health Sciences u Physical Education. The nges, such as the addition of a ""011 dealing with vacancies, made to update the consti-tution. The first reading was held of a motion to amend Section 0-15 of the By-Laws of the University Senate to read: The Screening Committee shall be composed of three elected tenured faculty mem-bers from three different depart-ments, one full-time day student appointed by the president of the SGA, and one appointed adminis-trator, none of whom may be con-currently a member of the Univer-sity Meditation Committee. The purpose of the amendment is to prevent any bias which may occur as a result of the present situation. All three faculty mem-bers on the committee are from the same department. In addition, if a student is involved in a case in a department from which one of more committee members are elec-ted, those members may choose to disqualify themselves from the case. If all three members disqual-ify themselves, it will be difficult for the student to obtain a fair hearing. Professor Herbert Andrews of the History Department argued against the change. ""The persons elected to the screening commit-tee,"" said Andrews, ""are elected by the whole faculty, and therefore represent the whole faculty."" He also said that the new rule could complicate the election process for committee members. A motion was also passed to amend the Smoking Policy by changing Policy implementation 1 .-Troups fined for cancellations; ;Uspended for absences at meetings by Doug Wood News reporter Phree constitutions were intro- ""d at Tuesday's SGA Senate !etllig. Jews for Judaism, Tau taSigma, and a revision for the ile photo 112e SGA affiliated group will OsPended for missing man- .mmeeeettiinnggss,, according to 'A Vice President Jeff Rin- University Nursing Student Asso-ciation were referred to the Govern-ment Operations Committee. Addtionally, the Government Operations committee gave a fa-vorable recommendation to accept the constitution of the Sisterhood with amendments. The consti-tution was passed by a unanimous vote. Senator Ken Krucenski, of the Appropriations Committee, said that his committee had not made a final recommendation on Senate Bill 1987-88 #8, but the bill, which would allocate $200.00 to the Pro-gressive Student Union for the pur-pose of presenting John Linder as a speaker on campus, ""does open up a floodgate for other groups to come in and ask for money for speakers."" In other news, Senate Bill 1987- 88 #5 was passed by a vote of 7-1-4. The bill originally said ""if an event is cancelled less than two weeks, but mote than one week prior to the event, the cancellation charge is $25. If an event is cancelled one week or less prior to the event, the cost will be $50.00 or one hour pay for each student em-ployee scheduled for the event."" The language was changed slightly so that all fines would go into the SGA general account. SGA President Chris Krivos said that if a group cancels an event within two weeks, another group cannot be booked in time to fill the blank space�both time and money are wasted. SGA Vice President Jeff Rinaca said that a number of SGA-affiliated groups have been sus-pended for not attending manda-tory meetings with the SGA. These groups include the International Club, English Club, Entrepreneur-ial Association, Ski Club, Bahai Club, Intervarsity Christian Fel-lowship, Association for Systems Management, Nursing Students Physical Educators Club, and the Student Athletic Trainers Club. Fianlly, SGA Treasurer Vicki Fran-cese said that the SGA would be working to bring the USA Dis-count card to the University. This card, which which is available to college students, entitles them to discounts from local merchants. to read: A Smoking Policy Review Committee consisting of three mem-bers shall be appointed for a term of two years by the president of the University. This amendment was precipitated by the Governor's Execu-tive Order on Smoking, said Michael O'Pecko, Chair of the Senate. The policy originally said that the smoking grievance committee would cease to exist after two years. Under the gover-nor's order, the committee will con-tinue for an indefinite amount of time. The Senate also accepted the report of the School of Business and Economics that Micro-economic Principles (ECON 201) is consistant with the six liberal edu-cation standards adopted by the senate, and is to be considered an acceptable GUR course. Dr. Dan Jones said that ECON 202 (Macro-economic Principles) is also an ac-cepted GUR course. A lengthy debate surrounded a notion to approve the prospectus of the Masters of Arts in Teaching Program. The program, which is to be offered by the College of Educa-tion and Instructional Tech-nology, would be implemented in the summer of 1988. The program will require 39 semester hours of graduate course work, with an additional 3-6 se-mester hours of undergraduate special methods course work. All students will complete a graduate practicum of 10 credits with an accompanying research project tailored to the student's teaching level. The program will require a full-time comittment from stu-dents and will be completed in 12- 1 3 months�encompassing summer, fall, spring, and a second' summer semester. The program cul-minates in an approved program teaching certificates at the early childhood, elementary, or secondary level. Dr. James Lawlor, secondary edu-cation, answered questions con-cerning the program, which ranged from a possible need to upgrade library resources to the need to hire extra faculty. Univer see SENATE, page 6 student."" Also, an ""accused student- O athlete"" is never in a position that he must blindly accept what is happening to him. ""We are loaded with review processes,"" Siegel said. ""We want to make sure that no one gets railroaded and that no ones rights will be abridged."" One question many have is whether student-athletes will undergo drug testing or not. ""The President [University President Hoke L. Smith] took a stand against testing last year,"" and the University will continue to honor that position, Siegel said. But, while the University will not require or administer tests, Towson State athletes could be tested if participating in a National Collegiate Athletic Asso-ciation championship competi-tion. (East Coast Conference championship tournaments are not NCAA championship events.) Penalties for testing positive in such a situation will be those standard penalties invoked by the NCAA: automatic 90-day suspen-sion, followed by re-testing. An-other positive test at the end of the suspension period would result in a year's ineligibility, which would be counted as one of an athlete's four years of eligibility. The Problem The problem doesn't begin and end with substance use or abuse, according to Hunter. ""Most socie-tal problems today are somehow drug or alcohol related,"" he said.� ""I'd say, conservatively, that 75 percent of all incidents are related, to drugs and alcohol."" Siegel agreed, saying ""it's a : really pathetic comment on our. society�not just Towson State� that people can't get together and' have a good time without drink-ing."" She and Hunter used the recent policy eliminating alcohol from tailgating to illustrate their point. ' While both Siegel and Hunter: want to see drugs eliminated from the campus, they emphasized the fact that this policy is to be an aid, not a punitive measure. After all, this policy provides student-athletes a chance to cor-rect the problem while still partici-pating in sports. ODK plans activities by Allison Clement News reporter Towson State University's new Omicron Delta Kappa Circle recently held its first meeting to discuss future goals. While no specifics were decided, the circle resolved to impact on the community and the University through service-oriented activities. University President Hoke L. Smith, a former ODK student initiate at Drake University, is among the University chapter's 51 charter members. Smith said, ""It [ODK] provides an opportunity for recognizing the quality of student involvement and participation."" ODK student president, Michael Dodd, said ""ODK is a national organization and it brings a lot of prestige to the University."" Although this was the first meeting as ODK, the official chartering ceremonies were held in April. For two years prior, the club was known as the TSU Honor Society. According to Dodd, the foresight was missing last year because they ""were mainly working toward getting chartered."" ""We intend to be active now,"" Dodd said. ""We have to find our little niche in the University."" Fire damages trash chute by Vince Russomanno News editor A dormitory fire October 4 damaged a trash chute and dumpster. No injuries or damages to personal property were reported, according to Mary Lee Farlow, director of Residence. ""The alarm went off at around 9:45 [am] and the police and fire departments were there five minutes after. They really responded quickly,"" said Ken Moss, a Resident Assistant in the Residence Tower. ""It took two and a half hoses of water to put out the fire, and six large fans were used to blow the smoke out of the building,"" Moss said. At the point arson has not been ruled out. ""The trash chutes are usually locked at night by the RA to prevent this sort of incident, and housekeeping opens them in the morning,"" Farlow said. ""At least this happened while people were up and around and able to respond."" Damages include the paint around the trash chute and the dumpster itself was removed from the building, according to Moss. ""No dollar amount has been determined for the damage,"" said University Police Chief Steven J. Murphy. This will be done by the Physical Plant once all the reports are compiled, he said. 'College writing program revised by Sean Brohawn News reporter The focus of the English Department's College Writing course is expected to change as early as next fall. The director of this project, Associate Professor Jacqueline Wilkotz, said that ""nothing is carved in stone"" as of yet, but if the project is successful, freshmen can expect a more interesting course concentrating on content in writing as opposed to the present focus on various forms of writing. The title ""College Writing"" will also be changed to ""Writing for a Liberal Education."" The new course will still ""anchor the basic skills,"" however, according to Dan Jones, dean of the English Department. Ten experimental classes were scheduled this fall to test the new idea. The success or failure of the project will be decided after the results of this experiment are made available. The course material will be based on selected topics from the Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, and the Humanities Departments. Gallery will remain open by Stacey Levinson News reporter Soon after Dr. Gilbert Brungardt, dean of Fine Arts, sent a memo to Dave Garafola, dean of the University Union, concerning the conver-sion of the Union Art Gallery into office space, he received an answer to his question: the Gallery would remain a gallery. Brungardt answered Garafola's memo by saying the proposal to use the Gallery for offices was unacceptable. ""The Gallery has an instruc-tional purpose for [Master of Fine Arts] students and visiting artists,"" Brungardt said. ""It is important for art to be exhibited in many places on campus for the public to see,"" he said. ""We are trying to bring art to the public. It is important for them to be sensitive to art."" The final decision was made by University President Hoke L. Smith and Provost Robert Caret. ""it is gratifying that they see the impor-tance of this,"" Brungardt said. "
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