The Towerlight, September 6, 1974

tl19740906-000 "Z11:1 r VOL. LXIX NO.1 TOWSON STATE COLLEGE SEPTEMBER 6. 1974 Workers strive to complete Newell and Richmond Halls. photo by Buddy Rehrey PARKING PROBLEMS Improvements made Parking has constantly been a problem at Towson State College but a recent survey revealed that this campus' parking facilities are second best among, state schools in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas, second only to the University of Maryland- Baltimore County. Improvements were made this summer on the various lots to further better conditions that have already improved dramatically over the past five to six years. Re-striping Re-striping of a number of parking areas was completed, notably lots 5, 6, and 7. Campus yellow curbing was re-painted and red was painted within 15 feet of every fire hydrant. � Areas 5, 6, and 7 will be re-surfaced and re-designed in forthcoming years as funds become available in the College capital budget for these improvements. The portion of area 9 directly south of Burdick Hall will also be re-designed Providing better spacing between cars (but reducing capacity somewhat) after a new lot is opened. Several loading and unloading time zones have been planned and will be completed within the next several weeks at strategic campus locations for example, at Lida Lee Tall, near the Residence Tower and near Scarborough and Prettyman Halls. Fourteen meters were added on area 17 for the primary use of visitors to the Administration Building. Plans are proceeding for lot 11A which will be adjacent to the present lot 11 and if construction is able to be completed on schedule, it will hopefully be available by late December. Few Temporary Spaces The few temporary spaces that were provided for faculty/staff vehicles on the road leading into lot 5 have had to be removed because of safety problems and traffic flow restrictions. A comprehensive directional signage Program has been undertaken and is now nearing completion. With the help of a graphics consultant, these signs are designed to efficiently expedite traffic to proper buildings and areas. A complete survey has been made of campus regulatory signage and several iM-provement s, replacements, and alterations have been made: in some eases using new international symbols. This program will be a continuing effort. Speed limit signs, yield signs and ot her signage to regulate t he flow and speed of traffic on campus will be added. Mini: for the parking gates are I roceeding. Bids for the parking gates aPp ro p r t ec h zt n isms are currently being solicited by the State Purchasing Bureau and contracts are now being bid for the installation of the gates when they arrive. Discussions Underway � Discussions are currently underway with a private developer regarding the construction of parking garages with private funds. A feasibility study is being made by the developer to determine what the cost per month per reserved space will be to Towson faculty and staff and also the required minimum number of participants. With the increase in bicycle use, 120 bicycle racks have been ordered and will , be installed. Mel Blackburn has been promoted for Property Supervisor to Parking Services Supervisor effective September 5. Until further notice, he will also be responsible for Property Control. Barry Evans, last year's Parking Services Supervisor, will be assuming a residence manager's position this week. In 1968, there were 900 spaces for 4,000 full time students and ap-proximately 750 faculty and staff. Now, there are 3,131 parking spaces for ap-proximately 6,700 students and ap-proximately 1,200 faculty and staff. This represents a 247 per cent increase in parking spaces while student, faculty staff size has increased at approximately 66 per cent. At the present time, there are approximately 1,100 parking spaces planned and funded. This will increase the parking inventory to approximately 4,200 spaces in the next year and a half while it is expected that the population at the College will increase by ap-proximately 800 people. In other words, by the 1976 fiscal year. parking spaces will have increased by approximately 370 per cent while demand will have increased by approximately 83 per cent. Lots. There are ten designed faculty/staff lots zit. Towson with a combined total of 919 spaces. Student lots have a capacity 14 1.962 spaces and 250 spaces are available on Towson College Drive. The allowable parking on Towson College Drive is a direct result of College of-ficials' effort in convincing Baltimore County officials to reverse their earlier plan of prohibiting parking. Because of geographical constraints, all parking lots are not immediately adjacent to buildings Regular shuttle bus service is pro\ ided from the lots west of Osler I )rive to the eastern part of the campus. This service provide s� over 500,000 passenger rides per year. DORMS REMAIN UNFINISHED Students forced off campus By Dave Cochran For the past year workmen have raced against time to finish the renovation of two dormitories on the Towson State campus, Newell and Rich-mond Halls, so they could open the beginning of this semester. Time was the winner. When the dorms opened Tuesday, 347 students were supposed to move into the two buildings. Most are being forced to live off campus. Other facilities used The facilities of Mt. St. Agnes College about five miles from Towson are being used to house 152 people who were supposed to live in Newell. In addition, 60 students will be living at Ruxton Towers apartments, 48 at Hampton Plaza, 15 at the Hampton House apartments and 20 at Goucher College. The rest of the students, ap-proximately 60 of them, will be spread out around the campus in kitchens, study rooms and the staff apartment in West Hall. John Suter, director of Auxiliary Services estimates that all renovations in Richmond and Newell will be com-pleted by October 15. Says Suter, ""We're going to inconvenience students a little bit, but we think it's important they come to school (at Towson)."" Suter adds that ""we have good facilities (for the students) off campus."" There will be regular bus service between all off campus points and the Towson campus. Service will begin daily at 7 a.m. and continue until 10:30 p.m. Suter says there will also be space for 50 cars at Mt. St. Agnes. College to aid students in move When the time comes for those students to return to Towson on a live-in basis, Suter says the College will help them with their move. ""We'll make the move over as easy as possible."" Suter discounts any idea of a partial refunding of funds because students will not be housed under normal conditions, saying the College is providing them with some form of housing, which is what they agreed to do. He does feel, though, that any student who is not happy with the temporary arrangements can have his money for residence refunded. That person would then be on his own to find a place to live. Suter adds that the College is paying Buxton Towers about $4400 a month to house the 60 students living there. According to David Sturdivant, the College's Director of Planning the delays in the completion of Newell are not entirely within the control of the con-struction crews. Fire damage On June 7, 1973, sparks from an acetylene torch resulted in a five alarm fire th�at gutted the top floor and roof of the building. Damage resulting from the blaze was $240-thousand. The fire caused an immediate problem of putting up a new roof. Wayne Shelle, Vice President of Business and Finance at Towson, said last summer that bidiing on the roof was on a ""high priority basis because an unsupported brick wall could collapse in high winds and extensive water damage could result."" By September of last year, most people involved felt that the fire damage would have no effect on the completion date of fall 1974. The September 3, 1973, issue of Towerlight reported on their front page that ""according to the schedule, the renovation should now be 28 per cent complete and is presently 22 per cent complete."" Now, a year later, Sturdivant looks back and feels the fire was indeed a ""tremendous setback."" Unavailability of steel hurts Suter also feels the ""unavailability of steel for stairways"" is holding up completion. Sturdivant says the College ""had to put up another stairway (in Newell) which was started five months ago and is now almost finished."" The steel for the new stairway had to be lowered through the roof which delayed sealing it until all the steel had been delivered. On August 27, Suter, Sturdivant, Shelle and people from the Department of General Services made an inspection tour through the two dorms and finally determined that they would not open on time. Still to be done in Newell, says Sturdivant, is to finish painting the interior, to lay the. carpet, to place the ceiling tiles, and to install the furniture. Safety hazards are the main problem with Richmond, according to Suter. Also the corridors in that dorm are not completed. Says Suter, ""Since they (the corridors) are not ready, they (the Department of General Services) would not allow students to move in."" Sturdivant goes on to add that the halls in Richmond may be finished about a week after school starts. The unavailability of blue carpet, which is due to arrive on the ninth, is the main reason for delay in hallway completion. Both buildings will eventually be air conditioned, but the units probably won't be installed until next spring. The units can't be put in now because the College Power Plant is also being renovated. Sturdivant believes the architect has done a ""unique thing"" in both buildings as there are ""a lot of curved areas and curved walls."" The interior is predominantly blue, red, and gold and was designed by Blair Smith. Suites featured Each floor of Richmond and Newell will be laid out differently, but basically most floors will contain a series of suites. Each suite will have from four to seven rooms, each with a lounge and each having its own bath facilities. On the main hallways, rooms will be paired, with each pair having a common bathroom. Both buildings will be able to house men and women students. ""Wi)ethpr it lc co-ed or not depends on the demand"", remarks Suter. He continues that lately there has been ""a lot more demand for single sex accommodations"". Newell Hall was completed in 1914 at a cost of $402 thousand. Richmond Hall was finished in 1924 at an expense of $348 thousand, or a total of three , quarters of' a million dollars for both structures. continued on pg. 4 Students wait for public transportation to their off campus housing. photo by Buddy Rehrey Leatherwood charges dismissed Bulletin: Towson Sept. 5, 1974 Charges were dismissed today in the case of Robert L. Leatherwood, former Junior Class President who was indicted for allegedly embezzeling more than $15,000 in SGA funds from Sept. 1, 1971, through May 30, 1972. In dismissing the charges, Judge John E. Raine Jr. cited the fact that Leatherwood was indicted 16 months ago, on May 7, 1973. The judge ruled ""the human brain is of such a nature that it is inevitable that an extended passage of time dims the recollection of all in-dividuals and I do not believe it is reasonable to think that the defense can put on the same kind of defense not only SGA Vice President David Nevins relaxes beiore a strenuous year. photo by Buddy Rehrey as to the quantum, but of the quality of the testimony. In my judgement, the delay here is of constitutional dimension, and lacking any valid excuse for delay."" Leatherwood had no comment after the ruling, but his attorney, Robert A. DiCocco said ""I know my client is very very happy to get it over with"". Prosecutor Joseph LaVerghetta says he plans to file an appeal on Raines ruling Friday. Details in next weeks Towerlight. Speakers and Council make the news By Sue DeBolt Speakers and a new council are the big news in the Student Government Association (SGA) for the 1974-75 academic year. In conjunction with the Public Programs Series under Dr. Dean Brungardt,the SGA will sponsor . speaker series featuring such notables as Abba Eban, Bella Abzug and David Brinkley. SGA Vice President David Nevins said that the series should be ""really good"". Events will be free for students, faculty, and alumni. Speakers include: October 18 - Dorothy Pitman Hughs, October 26 - Abba Eban, November 1 - Nancy Dickerson, November 14 - Bella Abzu.g, December 5 - Carl Rowan, December 13 - David Brinkley, February 28 - George GaUup, March 14 - James Kilpatrick, April - Joseph Tydings, and May - Mr. McCloskey. Council of Organizations to be initiated SGA President Konrad Herling plans to introduce the idea of a Council of Organizations at the September 16 meeting of Senate. The Council will consist of one representative from every organization on campus. Serving as a strictly advisory board at first, the goals of the Council of Organizations are to coordinate the social calendar, act as an arbitrator on conflicts, co-sponsoring events, to develop an 'awareness of each organization, and to broaden each organizations goals, formulate suggestions for recommendations on the executive budget as well as recom-mendations for office space and new organizations, review current organizations including elections, form a Concert and Speakers Committee, and work organize ushers for events. Calling the Council ""necessary"", Herling said it would be beneficial beea use it lv.r1 been difficult to MID-municate with all of the organizations in the past, plus there would be much more coordination in financial matters. Possible Grants Another major concern of the SGA this year will be a possible Outstanding Faculty Grant Program which would honor superior faculty members with grants. Nevins plans to introduce the bill requesting approximately $5000 the first or second meeting and if passed will go to the College Advancement and Im-provement Board for the funds. Students will have the sole say in the matter. When questioned as to the student body's reaction to this, the SGA vice-president said he believed the majority would support it because ""it would promote better teaching."" Nevins also mentioned the possibility that the SGA might hire outstanding individuals such as John Barth or Margaret Mead to teach a course at Towson. Nevins also announced that the final state audit had been completed and had found that ""the SGA had just about been doing everything perfectly financially since the Leatherwood investigations."" Commending SGA Bookkeeper Andrea Conlan on her efforts, Nevins called the final report ""fantastic"". Circus cancelled The previously planned circus for September 8 had to be cancelled because the county police notified the SGA that there was a Baltimore County ordinance that no circuses could be held in gym-nasiums. The Emmet Kelly Jr. Circus is considering, as of Friday, August 30, taking the matter to arbitration because contracts have been signed but Nevins doesn't believe any action will be taken. The SGA Book Exchange will begin September 3 and end the 27th. For a complete schedule, turn to page . "