The Towerlight, September 18, 1986

tl19860918-000 "Rathskeller Located in the Loch Raven Room, the Rathskeller, Towson State's newest entertainment form opened last Friday. Sponsored and funded by the Student Government Association and Service America, Rathskeller will offer nightly entertainment, food and livations. Beer will be available to those of legal drinking age; but all students and faculty are welcome. Some of the entertainment plans include folk music night, old movie night, and a happy hour concept offered at the end of the week. Local bands will be performing on a regular basis. Initially the Rathskeller will open four nights each week. The hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 3 pm to 11 pm. Fridays the Rathskeller will be open from 3 pm until 8 pm. ""Part of the mission of the Rathskeller is to have a place for everyone to go. Towson needs a place for students to go and hang out,"" SGA president Melanie Goldsmith said. Vernon Griffin Grants AT&T Information Systems and the Ford Foundation have given grants for the implementation of new writing programs at Towson State University. The AT&T grant of $118,989 was funded by AT&T's UNIX System Enhancement Program and is in the form of computer equipment. Equipment obtained through the grant include two mini-computers, 30 micro-computers and a variety of software. The University has provided matching money for additional computers bringing the total amount of the fund to $217,310. According to the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences dean Robert Caret, the computer equipment donated by AT&T should expand opportunities in the areas of operating systems for the students. The Computer Science and Liberal Arts department will absorb the benefits of the grant 60 and 40 percent, respectively. The grant by AT&T came as a result of a proposal submitted by assistant professor of Computer Science John Lawson titled, ""A Multi-Disciplinary Computer Laboratory"". Plans are being made in the development of a second writing course within the computer science department. With the new equipment, the University will be able to improve student writing in areas requiring extensive written analysis and reporting of data. The Ford Foundation has awarded the university a two-year grant of $50,900 that will be used to fund a new freshman composition course titled,""Writing for a Liberal Education"". Towson State University was one of 10 schools nation-wide awarded the grant in an effort by the Ford Foundation to restore the undergraduate curriculum in universities across the country and push towards a more liberal education. Dr. Dan Jones, who formulated the proposal says, the grant, what he calls a drop in the bucket, will be allocated as it was pre-determined in the proposal. The money will be used for replacing faculty, and hiring a support staff for the project. The new composition course is designed to teach students a adapt different models of writing to diverse purposes and contents. ""The focus of the project is to gear the students towards more cognitive writing as opposed to the skill centered approach that has been taken in the past,"" said Jones. According to the University Report, the course will be offered in the 1987-88 academic year. The courses success will be judged following an evaluation process involving faculty and students. Steven Kivinski WNW Fall Address The cocaine-related death of basketball star Len bios has caused the University of Maryland to take a closer look at administrative and academic standards towards athletics. In her annual address before the University Senate, Provost Patricia Plante expressed her views on ""intercollegiate athletics and its place in the mission of a university."" ""That athletes here at Towson State are held to the same academic standards as are non-athletes is a given,"" Plante said. A memo sent out by the Director of Admissions and the Registiir confirms that ""no distinction is made between regular students and student athletes in regards to admission decisions, credential requirements or meeting the academic standards required for good standings or graduation."" Plante also commented on the University's responsibility to the athlete. ""A university basketball or football player's chances of becoming a professional star are considerably lower than the odds of being hit by a meteorite. Hence, the University should see to it that athletes develop skills which will allow them to earn a living once they leave the playing field,"" said Plante. Boredom is also blamed by Plante, not only for the lack of scholastic initative in student athletes, but in the student body as a whole. ""One of the critical variables in assessing the success of an undergraduate education is the breadth and depth and quality of a student's interest,"" said Plante. Plante has faith that the focus of higher education will eventually return to learning, though problems at the University of Maryland and elsewhere may have caused many to question higher education's commitment to placing academics over athletics. ""For at some hour, somewhere, when everyone is distracted by the roar of the crowd, and administrator here, and administrator there will look behind bookcases and find the courage to restore a value system that seeks to share higher education's most precious resource with all of its students, including athletes,"" Plante said. Following Plante's address, eight new senators were elected to the Senate. Melanie Goldsmith will serve as vice-chairperson on the Senate, which is a traditional post for the Student Government Association president. Other student senators are Regina Lennon,who also serves as SGA treasurer; Anna Procopio, noted for her work with the International Student Association; and Robert Taylor, former managing editor of The Towerlight. SGA senator Crystal Berkabile and Vernon Marrow, vice-president of the Black Student Union were also appointed to the Senate. Newly appointed faculty Senate members include Chairman Michael O'Pecko, Secretary Carol Peterson, and Member at Large Mary Lu Larsen. Vince Russomanno Cars To Be Towed Campus Notes Starting immediatly the parking garage will close at 11p.m. every Sunday evening for cleaning. It will re-open for parking at 6a.m. Monday morning. All vehicles must be removed from the garage of they will be ticketed and towed, according to Parking Services Director Gary Neuwirth. The closing is for cleaning purposes only Neuwirth said, not to keep resident students from parking in commuter areas. ""That is a problem,"" Neuwirth noted, ""but it is not the reason. The garage will actually be cleaned."" ""Residents parking in the corm...! Lei is is a problem eery night, not just Sunday,"" Neuwirth said. This past weekend cars were not towed he said because there were over 200 left in the garage. ""The garage did not get cleaned because we just could not tow that many cars."" For this coming Sunday however, notices will be posted around campus and in the dorms. Cars remaining in the garage will not be as lucky as those left last weekend. Michele Hart The Tower.1Published weekly by the students of Towson State University Vol. 80 No. 1 Towson, MD 21204 g-eptem-ber 1B, 1986 Fall has arrived, bringing with it the new semester, and the same hassles. Parking, the most apparent headache, is just one of the many challenges Towson State students and faculty face the first few weeks of classes. More Changes in Tailgating Policy By Michele Hart News Editor Tailgating, one of the most often changed traditions at Towson State University, has recently undergone yet another change. Evolving from a relatively unregulated activity, to one with strict controls, tailgating is back to being only slightly controlled. The biggest change this time, however, is the name. Tailgating is now referred to by the University as pre-game picnicking. According to Events and Conference Services Director Thomas Ruby the name change is more of a ""re-defining"" of tailgating than anything else. ""Pre-game picnicking is a new buzzword to project exactly what the event is, a gathering of people who can eat, drink, and enjoy themselves,"" Ruby said. Also changed is the policy requiring those over the age of 21 wishing to consume alcohol to get wristbands. The program, put into effect towards the end of last semester was ""not as successful as we thought it would be,"" Ruby said. The major problem with the program, he said, was logistics. ""We had to encourage people to get them. Others were just not familiar with the program. And in colder weather when people start to wear long sleeves and jackets they would be harder to see."" ""The wristbands were overkill."" Ruby said, ""we need to deal with the Towson State community as adults."" The University is going back to an ""honor system"" according to Ruby as far as alcohol and pre-game picnicking is concerned. Ruby said that he hopes people will abide by the law on their own. ""If something turns sour.... there is a good chance that the University will prohibit alcohol altogether at this event,"" Ruby said. ""The most important thing the University wants to do is avt, id any bad situations."" Along wan the name change, pre-game picnicking has been expanded. Previously allowed only in lot 20 of the Towson Center, lots 13 and 19 have also been designated as areas for the picnickers. Ruby said this change was made to create a positive and good experience for those wishing to picnic. Pre-game picnicking will still he allowed twn hours before the start of each game and will come to a close 15 minutes after the game starts. At that time the lots must be cleared, Ruby said. Along with the regulation forbidding the use of kegs or bulk dispensers in the picnicking areas, glass bottles will also be prohibited now. ""We have had a lot of broken glass in the lots and the , University is concerned with vehicles driving over bottles and perhaps causing an injury."" Ruby said. Towson Center staff as well as University faculty and administrators will continue to Campus Porn By Robert M. Graham Staff reporter To the right of the Computer Center in the Towson State Univer-sity Store, between two doors to textbook storage areas, a mag-azine rack is located for students to pick up the latest copy of Playboy or Playgirl. But this location is not where the other magazines like Time or News-week are kept. According to Wayne Sharrer, manager of the University Store, the magazines are located in an ""inconspicuous area."" A location that allows a student to buy a copy if he or she wishes, and where customers wishing to purchase other magazines will not be offend-ed. There is no location for these magzazines at either of the t�,(� student unions at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In May, the school's Union Council decided to stop selling all monthly mag-azines, prefering only to sell week-ly and biweekly periodicals ""re-lated to the mission and purpose of the unions and the university,"" according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The i,:sue at Towson, VVisconsin and other coll. ges and universitie is wheiher Ilieso institutions should what stilly peoilie con-sider ioui' ii ds art ing t, it (. all over the i it ing ti 11 low students an opportun-ity to purchase these magazines. Ironically, sales of these mag-azines are light at Towson State. Sharrer calls sales of these mag-azines ""weak."" He added that poor sales could be related to the place-ment Of the magazine rack. monitor the lots to keep things in control. And although 1.1).s will no longer be checked, ""any administrator or faculty member has the right to ask for I.D.. If the student declines disciplinary action can be Alexandra Landau taken,"" Ruby said. ""I personally will feel compelled to take some action if I see someone drinking underage or getting out-of-hand. The new program is a true honor system,"" Ruby said. Dorms Overcrowded By Elizabeth Buck Assistant News Editor Due to an increasing demand for on-campus housing, 84 Towson State students found themselves without regular dormitory rooms when the residence halls opened last week. However, according to Director of Residence Mary Lee Farlow, the housing situation this fall is not really unusual. ""Every year there are a certain number of students in overflow housing,"" Farlow said. ""These are the students who usually wait until late May, June, and July to put in their housing contracts."" Students in overflow housing are living in the basements of Pretty-man, Scarborough, Ward, and West Halls. Because there are more students in overflow this year, the basements of Towers A and B have also been housing students. Original-ly, there were 12 women placed in the Quality Inn Towson, but those students were moved to regular on-campus housing during the first week of classes. As students in regular housing leave Towson State throughout the semester, the students in overflow housing will be moved into the available space. ""The situtation will probably be corrected by mid-semester,"" Farlow said. However, the overflow housing spaces are being filled as quickly as the students move into regular Alexandra, I Andau dorm rooms. ""What is happening now is we're having people begg-ing for the overflow space,"" Farlow explained. ""These students are able to take the space if they want it, but they have to realize they will be there for the entire semester."" The demand for on-campus hous-ing has been increasing over the past years. ""This year we got 98 percent of the housing contracts back that we sent out. We usually get about 30 percent,"" Farlow said. But the increasing demand is not confined to Towson State's residence program. According to Farlow, campuses around the area are experiencing the same trend, partly due to a high number of upper classmen choosing to re-main in the dorms rather than moving to apartments and houses off campus. Because the situation is occurr-ing on other campuses, Farlow expects the trend to continue in coming semesters. However, she does not expect Towson State to change the housing policies. Before the Glen Complex was com-pleted, students who lived near Towson State were denied on-- campus housing. ""I don't foresee any changes in the policies. We would have to see how things continue over time before changing anything. If it happens, it won't be in the near future,"" Farlow said. "