April 21,1988
]|?blume 2S, Number 10
THE LANCE
A St. Andrews Presbyterian College Student Publication
2 out of 10 SAPC
students are
GAY/ BISEXUAL
Are you among us?
Pink Paper Controversy:
Reactions Are Mixed
alone
Informal
meetings
for social
interaction
and
education
These signs recently appeared on campus but quickly vanished.
Activity Fee Increase Said To
Boost Club Allocations
Steve Skinner
A proposal submitted by former
Student Association Treasurer Nathan
West and other members of the cabinet has
grabbed the attention of President Thomas
Reuschling. With strong support from
senior college administrators, Reuschling
granted the treasury a $10 per student
increase in student allocations to the
campus activity fund.
This increase brings allocations
from student tuition payments up from $65
a student to $75 a student for the 1988-89
school year.
President Reuschling announced
the good news in an April 7 letter to
President Charles Brown. This modest in
crease, pushed by the Student Government
Association earlier in the year, comes in the
wake of the stringent budget-cutting and a
recent budget freeze induced by the new ad
ministration under Reuschling’s guidance.
The officers had complained on
behalf of the student body over the low
“fee” to the activity fund which had seen no
increase in real terms since 1967- The
monies within the fund are allocated each
year to finance campus clubs, organiza
tions, and activities.
President Reuschling in his letter
to the former Student Government officers
and administrative leaders, committed to
raising the student activity fee by $5 a year
for each student per year until it caps off at
$90 per student per year in the 1991-92
school year.
According to Reuschling, initially
the increase will mean a $4000 per semes
ter increase in the student activity budget
which amounted to roughly $19,500 this
spring semester.
On what will be done with addi
tional funds, former TreasurerNathan West
replied, “Most all student clubs could well
use a boost such as this. Some have re
mained in the red over the last several years
with the low allocations. The additional
funds should be allocated appropriately by
next year’s treasurer and budget commit
tee, according to club needs and requests.
See FEES-page 8
Deborah Kelly
Pink flyers proclaiming'Two out
of ten people at St. Andrews are gay or
bisexual — are you one of us?” appeared
on bathroom doors and walls across
campus last week. The notice included a
phone number and a campus mailbox that
could be used to obtain more information
about the gay students’ group that organ
ized the flyer campaign.
Reactions from the student body
have been mixed, including the taking of
the posters down. According to Christian
Century’s July 1987 issue, the national re
action to such groups has led to outbreaks
of prejudice and violence on campuses
across the country against homosexuals.
“I thought it was a rude joke
aimed at a certain individual and wasn’t
quite sure if itwasforreal,”commentedone
freshman. Another student thought it was
from “some fanatical outside group inter
ested in that sort of thing.”
The gay students’ group has
begun with a core of eight individuals,
evenly split between male and female, that
began meeting before spring break.; “We
are not promoting homsexuality or finger
pointing. We envision it as a homogeneous
but quiet group."
“There is much stress involved in
being ‘not the norm.’ This is a group to be
yourself without the pressure of exposure.
We want to educate ourselves and the
campus. We are not pressuring anyone
who wants to stay ‘in the closet’,” accord
ing to one member.
That same member said that
there is a possibility of an eventual charter
in Fall 88. The charter lists the group
purpose as mainly a social and action-
oriented group involved in marches and
education that also deals with AIDS. “The
paranoia of AIDS drives people ‘into the
closet’ and brings homophobia out. It is not
just a gay plague, it effects heterosexuals
too,” they said.
Another member differs about the
social aspect of the charter. “I see it as a
more action-oriented group involving the
marches during Gay Pride Week, educa
tion, legislation for rights and informa
tion. Chapel Hill had a group of homosex
ual students that received funding like a
regular club, but the school wanted to cut
it. This organization we have
started, is in a process of changing minds to
educate the campus who would in turn
educate the conununities they go out into
someday and therefore, bring about social
changes.”
One student who heard about but
never saw the posters commented that he
was very interested and glad that the issue
came up. “It is important that this issue
came up. It is crucial that people are made
to aware because there are a lot of homo-
phobes on this campus. This will really
smoke the homophobes out,” he said.
The most negative comments
stemmed from the fact that the notice
proclaimed a two out of ten ratio of homo
sexuals on campus. “The numbers are too
high. The numbers are not factual. Every
one knows, but no one gets upset until it
(campus homosexuality) is brought to their
attention. We need to have an organiza
tion, but they need to fmd another stragety
to send out information," said one St. An
drews staff member.
One group member countered this
objection, “These figures are according to
the national average. Out.of 800 students
plus the faculty and administration, it is a
strong possibility that two out of ten have
had an experience or a leaning toward
homosexuality.”
Still others remained uncon
vinced. One senior mentions that the topic
brought was brought up in a group situ
ation. He said that no one claimed to be
See PINK - page 8
Inside
Glance
Commentary
page 2|
Fund Drive
Concludes
page 3|
Fiction and Fact
Returns
page 3
Lady Netters Win,|
Lose
page 4