The Towerlight, September 21, 1979

tl19790921-000 "VOL. LXXIII No. 3 frOlo to e tit g b t PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY Weekend Weather: Rain lik-ely today with temperature high in the low 70s. The rain should end Saturday turning � partly cloudy with highs in the Ws. September 21, 1979 Women adjust to pahcysir dorms Begin with some converted recreation rooms and lounges, add about 40 women eager to live on cam-pus and finish with one housing administration hap-py to establish some semblance of order. Almost two weeks after moving out of the Towson East Motel, many of the displaced students feel their living conditions have greatly improved. ""They could have stuck us in closets and we wouldn't complain,"" claims freshman Jenice Arm-strong, who is now living with three other women in a converted recreation room in the lower level of Ward Hall. Most of the students agree that just being on cam-pus is the most important factor, since getting to classes from the motel was a problem. ""Ward is a nice dorm. People are so friendly it's unbelievable,"" said Armstrong, since it is easy to get to classes and the rooms are spacious. Its base-ment location makes it a quiet place to study, but there are also some problems. Lack of security is the major problem, said Arm-strong. Although three doors to the outside, another recreation room and the hall are now safely locked, a window just outside the room makes the residents nervous. Armstrong feels an outsider could easily break through the bsernent window and into her room. Since the downstairs dorm is isolated from the others, it makes it nearly impossible to hear what's going on down there. That may be an advantage if they want to study but not if they need help. ""There are four of us in the room so we're not too frightened,"" said Armstrong. Armstrong said that conditions in Ward basement are still better than those in the motel. However, several smaller problems still confront them. The light from the adjacent recreation room sometimes keeps them awake at night. Another is the small amount of furniture to be shared. Most of the women have about four desks, two chairs, and one wardrobe to share among four. While the roommates agree that they are lucky to be on campus at all, one student said she feels they are tint exposed to the regular resident's life in the isilated basement apartment. Armstrong, who plans to put up curtains, posters and other items to make the room more attractive, said the women are still keeping their fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again and added that none of them ever want to stay in the basement again. What is the chance of the women having to return to these converted dorms again next semester? Terry Smith, director of auxiliary services, said he is confident all the women will be in regular rooms next semester. This has been a unique year for housing, he said. While the recreation rooms in the lower levels of dorms have been used to house students temporari-ly, this is the first time they will probably have to stay there all semester. � Smith said the rooms will be converted back to their original state after the women move out at the end of the semester. Housing problems vary campus-wide, said Smith with as many as eight women sharing a basement room and as few as four enjoying an apartment that was Richmond Parlor. Most of the women in tem-porary dorms are envious of those who landed in Richmond Parlor because they have much more space and their own kitchen. Smith described the problem as a basically economic one where ""the supply of residence facilities is exceeded by the demand."" Citing three alternatives to the overcrowded facilities, he ex-plained why these solutions were not feasible now. Construction of new resident facilities on campus, the first and perhaps most obvious alternative, he said, is not practical because it would take too long to get started. It would take a long time to secure approval for funds through both the state and the sale of revenue bonds. In the last fiscal budget, the state opted not to appropriate funds for the Univer-sity to build new housing facilities, said Smith. The second answer to the University's housing problem could be the purchase of an apartment complex close to campus. Although, he said, this is more feasible than construction, it is still imprac-tical, because it would require a loan large enough to allow the University to purchase the building and still make it economically desirable to live in. The best solution would be to lease an off-campus building. A long-term lease would be the most prac- Glenda Shaw is one of the students who was recently moved from the Towson East Motel to makeshift dorms on campus. Although most of the women say the conditions on cam-pus are better than those at the motel, they still would rather live in ""real"" dorms. TL photo by Lester Shugarman tical answer financially, said Smith, because it would not need the large amount of money that would be necessary to build or lease. Student agress to sue TSU Mike Burns, vice-president of the Student Govern-ment Association, said he has received a response to his plea to get someone to file suit against Towson State for breach of contract. AIthough he will not reveal her name yet, Burns said a student said one student would be willing to let her name be used for a suit that will represent all students who were forced to live off campus despite the contracts they signed to live at the University. Burns said he wants to explain to the student all the details of the suit before she makes a commit-ment. Some SGA senators were concerned about the cost of securing legal help, but Burns said there are lawyers who are willing to work for a percentage of the settlement instead of a predetermined fee. The suit, which is based on a breach of contract on the part of the University, is a class action suit. This means the settlement of the case, which is yet undetermined, will be divided equally among all damaged parties, In this case, the approxi-mately- 100 students who were forced to live off cam-pus because of lack of available residence space will each receive a part of the settlement. Burns said the students needed someone to speak up for them. And he feels he is qualified and willing to speak up for those students who need help. TSU seeks $ 7 million for fiscal '8 by Quincey Johnson Towson State has submitted its budget request for fiscal year 1981, which begins July 1980, to the State Board for Higher Education. The budget is broken into three components. The first is special funds which are derived from forfeited ac-ceptance fees, duplicating services, health insurance fees and auxiliary services. The total request for special funds was $17,072,301. The second component is federal funds which come from grants given by the federal government. These funds include the indirect cost recovery which is the money built into the grants to cover administrative costs. The University requested $225,964 for federal funds. The final and largest component of the budget is the general fund ap-propriation which consists of state funds. General funds include salaries and wages, technical and special fees and operating expenses. Salaries and wages deal with the payment of University employees. Technical fees are paid for part-time faculty, student help 'services, super-visors for student teachers and other contracted employees. The special fees include the income generated from tuition, parking, and other fees. The operating expenses consist of the money need for the day-to-day run-ning of the University. The general fund request is based on the credit hours taught by the University. The more hours faculty teach the greater the general fund. The University requested a general fund appropriation of $18,196,429. Total projected expenditure for the University is $35,501,694 for the fiscal year 1981. This year's request exceeds fiscal year 1980 by $2.5 million. The budget was prepared by the business and finance department of the University. When completed, the proposals were sent to the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities. Along with the Board of Trustees, the University will review the budget request and makes the necessary cuts to reach the desired ""mark."" The mark is set by the Governor's office. The state gives the Board of Trustees the desired mark, and the Board allocates the money according-ly to its six member schools. On Tuesday, the budget will be sent to the State Board for Higher Educa-tion which will make its recommenda-tion. The budget is then sent to the state Budget and Fiscal Planning Department for further considera-tion. After the recommendations of the Budget and Fiscal Planning Depart-ment, the budget is sent to the leg-islature. Early next spring the General Assembly session should decide on a final budget. The General Assembly can only cut the budget recommendation. It can-not add any money. However, the legislature seldom touches the budget at all. Candidates abandon apathetic youth Local problem by Michael Bennett There have been two presidential elections since the 26th Amendment gave the vote to 18-year-olds, and as the third approaches, it seems the nation's politicians have learned that college students are no different than any other special interest group. Having learned their lesson none of the potential Candidates in the 1980 race are making special plans to capture the student vote. Len Lucchi, incoming president of the Maryland Young Democrats, agrees that college campuses are a good source of political volunteers. Students generally have more time to give, and on many campuses student volunteers can receive Credit for political work,"" Lucchi said. Lucchi said he thinks the lack of a strong leader among the candidates is partly responsible for the low student interest. He said a Kennedy !candidacy would spark a resurgence In student participation. Any election year attempt to reinstate the Selective Service System would also increase student interest in the campaign, Lucchi said. Dean Padussis, president of the Towson State chapter of the Young Democrats, said many college students are not registered to vote and do not care. He said his organization plans to begin a voter registration drive prior to the 1980 election. Michael Burns, SGA vice-presi-dent and president of Towson State's Young Republicans, said voter apathy starts when students do not find an interest in the system. Most students are not concerned with high taxes and the problems caused by big government, so they don't get involved in politics,"" Burns said. Burns said that in the last campaign for the Governor's office, J. Glenn Beall put a lot of money and effort into a youth campaign, and it was not effective. in this Issue What's day care's future at Towson State? The student Government Association is considering an end to funding for Towson's day care center, which may leave some parents with no place to take the kids. Page 2. Center Stage opens its season in style with ""Mother Courage."" Page 6. Goin' big time. Little Slippery Rock State will experience the spotlight of huge Michigan Stad-ium. Page 2. He said a Kennedy/Reagan contest in 1980 could stimulate student interest because the country would have a clear choice. Burns said he does not believe any Republican will get a majority of the college vote but he thinks if students study the issues more will vote and many will vote Republican. Dr. Gerd W. Ehrlich, political science department chairperson, said the initial predictions that the 18-to-21-year- :id voters would change Amen. ?Ilitics were not based on iact. He said similar predictic,t) were made after the 19th Amendment gave votes to women, but the results of the 1930 presidential election demonstrated that women's votes did not make a difference in the outcome. Ehrlich said students are excited and motivated by what affects them, and since political matters do:t affect most of their lives, they dot: have a great interest in government. As evidence that students do not vote, even when faced with issues that directly affect then-1, Ehrlich cited the low voter turnout for SGA elections. He also said that students are not the only ones who are apathetic toward politics. ' 'Just look at the last election in Baltimore City. Less than 30 percent of the voters participated,"" he said. Ehrlich said the existence of such large numbers of non-voters creates a potentially dangerous situation because non-voters are susceptible to demagogues, whose one issue campaigns play on people's emo-tional reactions to complex ques-tions, such as busing, abortion, the death penalty and welfare spending. ' 'We hear a lot of nonsense based on false assumption. People need to look at the realities of life and politics,"" said Ehrlich. Nationwide dilemma WASHINGTON, D.C. (CPS) � A few weeks before the Democratic Party nominated Sen. George McGovern as its presidential candidate in July, 1972 and just a year after the 26th Amendment granted 18-year-olds the vote, Illinois Rep. Abner Mikva forecast a McGovern victory pro-pelled by a new force in American politics: the youth vote. The numbers, according to Mikva, were simple. ""There are enough young people to determine the election."" Mikva wasn't the only one who wrongly expected the youth vote to fundamentally alter presidential politics. But now, as the 1980 presidential campaign begins to simmer, no one in serious political circles would dare make such predictions. - Although a well-organized youth vote presumably could have changed the outcomes of the 1972 and 1976 elections, none of the 1980 candidates' organizations has plan-ned any special campaigns to gain the college vote, ""We haven't given (the college vote) up,- explained Kelly Newbill, executive director of the College Republicans, ""but it isn't really cost-effective unless you're dealing with an area where students make up a large percentage"" of the population. Less than half the eligible 18-to-21-year-old voters cast ballots in 1972 and 1976. Politicians see no reason to imagine that 1980. which seems to lack any galvanizing issue like Vietnam that might especially appeal to the young, will be any different. ""As far as the low turn-out of young people (goes),-said Republi-can candidate Phillip Crane of lllinois, don't think you can do anything to have a major impact on that."" Crane is hoping instead to get a fair share of ""those who will make the commitment."" 'College people tend to be more aware of the issues, and more concerned about the politics,'' said Bab Bahl, Young Democrats execu-tive director, ""but more alienated from the system because they feel they are not being heard. They've participated, and haven't gotten anything in return. They're disillu-sioned."" Bahl said that ten years ago it was common to find several hundred active Young Democrats and Young Republicans on a campus. ""Today,"" he said, ""they're lucky if they have 25."" Getting more students into the process isn't made any easier by the lack of a big issue as a drawing card. Part of the problem in creating an issue is that the college populace is hard to classify. Of registered college voters, 40 percent are Democrats, 40 percent are Republi-cans, and the remaining 20 percent are independents. Most of the campaign organiza-tions that have opened offices here do seem confident the military draft will be a big issue on campus. Nuclear power also promises to play a big role in the campaign for campus votes. At this early stage, of course, it is hard to figure out jus which candidate is pushing whic issue on campuses most effect' Ay. The campus-based organi7 ions that are supposed to push ase issues and candidates are not teen official yet. Once a campaign officially recognizes a campus group, the group's spending is counted against the candidate's spending limita-tions. Nevertheless, the College Repub-licans' Newbill thinks Sen. Howard Baker (R-TN( and George Bush are the two Republicans with the most appeal to college students, Ronald Reagan, who used to command unquestioning support from ex-tremely- conservative groups like Young Americans for .Freedom, appears to be losing some New Right ground to Crane. Crane himself thinks his support among YAF members is -not more than Reagan's, but we'll hold own own with (him)."" Former Texas Governor John Connally has promised a vigorous campaign, but has yet to formulate specific plans. Sources said Connal-ly hopes to gain support from his advocacy of the Equal Rights Amendment, but he may have trouble because of his close association with Richard Nixon. Among the Democrats, President Carter did not excite any special campus support in 1976, and does not seem to be doing so in the early stages of the 1980 race. California Governor Jerry Brown's support is thought to be much wider, though, as in all sections of the electorate, Sen. Edward Kennedy's ephemeral candidacy may narrow it. In an initial, unscientific clue to the direction of the college vote, the campus paper at the University of Texas polled students in August. Kennedy took 20 percent of the ""vote"", nipping ""undecided"" (15.5 percent). Carter and Connally tied for third, followed by Baker, Ford, Reagan, Brown, and Vice President Walter Mondale. According to some Washington strategists, however, the candidates are just as concerned with enlisting a good share of college-age volunteers as they are with organizing an improbable mobiliza-tion of the student vote. The reason is that students tend to be committed, energetic workers. ""Ten students,"" according Lo Charles Lihn, Reagan youth direct-or, ""putting in a couple of hours of work each means more than the said number at the polls."" "