tl19820909-000 "The Towerlight Vol. 76 No. 2 PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY TOWSON, MARYLAND 21204 September 9, 1982 eception By John O'Loughlin )orothy Siegel, vice president for student services, (left), Laurence Means, Black Student Union president Center), and Hoke Smith, University president (right) were among the participants at a BSU sponsored reception last Thursday. Speakers series scheduled Thomas addresses Senate By John B. O'Loughlin Jr. The Student Government Association opened its .982-83 term with plans for an ethnic festival and 1Peakers series. Dave Thomas, SGA president, expressed hopes for a tood year and said the SGA made ""good progress"" luring the summer. ""Plans for the Ethnic Festival are complete, Phomas said, ""and all we have to do now is have it."" Thomas announced the SGA will present ""An Even-bg At Towson"" a series of lectures throughout the rear. G. Gordon Liddy will begin the series on kptember 26 in Stephens Hall. Liddy's talk will be preceded by a reception ""which will give the facpIty administrators a chance to meet With Liddy,"" Thomas said. , Thomas also said that the series should be an im-kovement over previous speaker series at Towson State. ""We have a strong list of speakers,"" Thomas ""and I think having the lectures in Stephens Hall la a plus."" ""Holding the talks in Stephens should be hore intimate than the Towson Center,"" Thomas said. Previous speakers series were held at the Towson State. Brad Howatt, SGA vice president, added that Tony Brown, educator and television producer, has been add-od to the list of speakers in the hopes of bringing a na-tional black figure to the University. ,TThhee Senate appointed Blane Brown to the post of of organizations. Nancy Warren, who had been Organizations director, had resigned leaving the job va-tent. Brown had previously been deputy director of rganizations. .Brown announced that the University is now a msflistribution point for monthly MTA bus passes. 'Towson State will be on the number eight bus Service,"" Brown said, ""and we are planning direct ser-vice between the University and the inner harbor. The monthly passes will be available at the box office,"" 13rown said. wo The passes will be a great help to students who conimute from the city,"" Thomas said. Chris Bell, SGA senator, announced that the Univer- ,sitY is planning to choose a candidate for associate 1. L',ari for student activity development. The recommen-uation committee, of which Bell is a member, ""will nar-row down the possible candidates this week from 11 to and submit those names to Dean Siegel (vice presi- ""lit for student services),"" Bell said. One of the responsibilities of the new assistant vice President will be to ""act as a liaison between ad- Ministrators and the students, specifically the SGA,"" 8eII said. In stating his hopes for the SGA this year, Thomas said that he looks forward to working with the Task Force on Racism in improving race relations at the University. ""I doubt we can cure all the racial problems while I'm here but hopefully in the next few years,"" Thomas said. ""We hope that the Ethnic Festival will improve any ill feelings at Towson."" Thomas also wants to address the new alcohol policy adopted by the residence department. ""I believe the new policy is too strict and I think they could use more By Bob Tarleton David Thomas discretion. As it stands now,"" Thomas said, ""after one violation a student is put on probation for an indefinate period of time. If the student is caught a second time during their tenure as a residence student, he gets thrown off campus."" Themes said he wants to meet with the residence department to disucss the matter. ""One of our main goals this year will be to work with the student groups and to create a sense of unity here at the University,"" Thomas said. University Senate elects officers By James Schoettler , The Towson State University Senate begins the '982-83 year faced with a completely restructured academic program that includes six colleges, a school �f business and economics, and a graduate school. Under the restructuring, there is a College of Liberal ,rta, Fine Arts and Communication, Natural and ',;Iathematical Sciences, Education and Instructional ;`echnology, Allied Health Sciences and Physical tducation and Continuing Studies. The senate, formerly the Academic Council, is com- Pr!aed of department chairpersons, faculty, and ad tninistrators. , Io its first meeting of the school year, the senate ected its new officers, adopted the policies of the , cademic Council, received an annual report of the 'rualent Scholarship Committee, and discussed ""faculty evaluation."" pan Jones, co-chairperson of the English depart- . fle ,,nt, was elected president of the senate. It (his nomination and election) caught me be sur- Prl, se,"" Jones said. ; This is a significant year because it's the first year orl lL which the University Senate will be functioning, ,�11,es said. It will also be ""a year in which we have to !Li efirie our relationship with the new colleges."" 0 L ErWountering and hoping to address interests and problems as they come up,"" will be his main function, Jones said. Patricia Voelkle, a senior English major and student ,r e Presentative and Neil Gallagher, chairperson of rlealth science were elected vice chairperson and treasurer. After the elections the Senate adopted the Talent Scholarship Committee's report which included a summary of the committees activities of 1981-82, pending work for 1982-83 and a list of recomendation's to assist the committee in the selection and distribu-tion of scholarships for the current student body. By the senate's receiving the suggested recommen-dations, the committee now has a specific set of tasks for the new year. One of those tasks will be to designate an ad-minstrative unit as a ""clearing house"" for the collec-tion and dissemination of information on all talent scholarships. The Senate then went on to discuss the awarding of merit awards to departmental/personal. The discussion centered on who receives the awards (thirty $1,000 awards will be given annually in the form of a bonus), how many faculty from each department would receive them, and how those faculty would be nominated. After much debate and confusion, the ""merit issue"" was shelved until the next meeting. In other senate business, Patricia Plante, vice presi-dent of academic affairs, in her introductory speech, addressed the accomplishments problems of the University. Among the accomplishments cited were the restruc-turing of the academic programs, improvement of the Academic calendar, and the creation of new graduate programs. The rentation rate, number of students who enroll but do not graduate, and academic advising for new students were among the number of problems the University faced, Plante said. Aid restrictions plague students By Bruce Reid Yvette Freeman, a health services management ma-jor at Towson State said she was lucky to get the finan-cial aid she needed to help pay for tuition and expenses this year. She applied for all the help she could get through the many federally-supported aid programs and campus-based sources soon after January 1. The 21-year-old native of Prince Georges County said she received a bank loan for $2,500 and a State Scholar-ship for $500 this semester. But getting adequate aid to pay for books, housing and tuition has become an in-creasingly difficult task, she said. Although her parents bring home an income of over $30,000 a year, paying for school gets tougher every year. ""Just because your parents make money doesn't mean that they are going to give it to you to go to school,"" Freeman said. "" Like many students, who are finding federal grants less available, she turned to the Guaranteed Student Loan program for help. ""I would rather not apply for a loan because I have to pay it back,"" she said. Freeman is only one of the several thousand students at the University who may be feeling the effects of an array of restrictions on federal college student aid. The University financial aid office can best be described as a maelstrom of red tape and paperwork causing many students to receive grants or loans much later than usual, said Harriet Griffin, financial aid director. The delays are due to the federal government's ever-tightening grip on eligibility for six major sources of aid and many other grants and loan programs, Griffin said, and the new allocation procedures have put a strain on college financial aid offices all over the coun-try. ""The changes are such that it's additional work"" for the financial aid office, Griffin said, and many headaches for students. This year, about 70 percent of the students who have applied for Pell Grants � yearly grants from $146 to $1,600 � must demonstrate their need for aid through standard federal forms and at the University level. Last year, and years past, 20 percent of the students applying for Pell Grants had to have their need for aid validated by the University, Griffin said. The stricter policies for doling out aid this year were the result of past abuses by students and the increase in the number of students applying for aid each year, Griffin said. Parents' and students' incomes and assets must be declared when applying for aid this year, and in many cases the government requires students to submit copies of their parent's income tax statements and records of their own earnings. ""Most of the work is at our level,"" Griffin said "". . it's put a strain on the office."" Although many students have not received aid this semester because of delays, the University has been reimbursing students for the aid they have applied for. Griffin said. Giving students aid or loans without actually com-pleting application procedures could cause problems, however, Griffin said. Even if the University gives a student the money that the student may be eligible for that does not mean the University will be reimbursed the money when a student receives the aid, she said. This year is the first year that students are finding less money available in the form of Guaranteed Stu-dent Loans because of tightened eligibility standards, Griffin said. Although many students may have received GSLs in past years, they may be eligible for less money this year, she said. A $30,000 income ceiling tor unrestricted eligibility for the 9 percent loans, which See FINANCIAL AID page 2 Harriett Griffin By John O'Loughlin Lights brighten dark spots By Stacey Parker In response to last December's Student Government Association sponsored Night Walks, the University has installed, repaired and ordered light fixtures for several areas where the SGA said lighting was ""inadequate"" for the safety of students, faculty and staff. A February 26 report by the SGA University Affairs Commit-tee, sent to Donald McCulloh, vice president of business and finance, listed ""problem areas"" on campus that were not sufficiently lighted. The report cited 16 areas around campus, including several parking lots and paths between buildings which needed lights installed or repaired. On July 30, the University released a list of measures taken to correct some of the lighting pro-blems, and plans in the works to correct the others. ""I think we've improved the situation,"" McCulloh said. Lights have been repaired along the walk between Van Bokkelen Hall and the Media Center, and on the side of Smith Hall facing the University Union. Wall mounted flood lights were erected in the parking lot behind Ward Hall, and tree limbs block-ing the lights from existing poles have been trimmed in the parking areas of Ward, West and Pret-tyman Halls. Burned out lights in front of the University Union and near Glen Esk have been replaced, and new fixtures are on order for the front of Newell Hall. Poles and lights will also be in-stalled at the access road in Oc-tober. Flood lights will be mounted between Lida Lee Tall and Bur-dick Hall, as soon as materials ar-rive. The area between Hawkins Hall and Lida Lee Tall is not a walkway but the University plans to con-struct a walkway and include lighting. The cost of a lighting design similar to the one at the Towson Center is being studied for the gated lot between Burdick and the Union. And the University Union near the Glen will be reviewed to deter-mine if enough light exists after construction in the area is com-pleted. The SGA report followed two Night Walks during which members of the SGA Senate University Affairs Committee, campus security and ad-ministrators observed lighting on campus. They were shown areas where lights were burned out or new lightpoles were needed. Dick Auth, deputy director of the physical plant said no specific cost is available for the lighting, because the projects were handled individually. Auth , said vandalism con-tributed to some campus lighting problems. Between 12 to 14 lights were knocked out at the Towson Center. ""The cost of those fixtures is extremely expensive,"" Auth said. He also said he recently toured the campus at night and felt the lighting additions were a great im-rprovement. ""I feel very comfor-table with it and I think the police department does too,"" Auth said. The new lights are a blessing to the occasional after hours lone stroller. By Bob Tarleton "
