volume vii, number 8
november 1, 1971
IWIIIISAtL
Nov 15-16
by michael mcculley
A proposal by Student Senator
Ed Wayson, which passed the
University ^nate September 15
despite strong faculty opposition,
will be up for voter approval on
November 15-16.
The effect of the proposal, if
passed, will raise the number of
senators by ten, from 36 to 46;
19 faculty, 18 student, 2
non-academic senators (1 from
maintenance and custodial
personnel and 1 from other
non-academic personnel), and
leave 7 appointees to be made by
the Chancellor.
The Senate Executive
Committee has requested that the
two current constituencies
(students and faculty) hold
hearings on this proposed
amendment this week. As of
presstime, the Journal had
received no notice of a student
hearing but the faculty will
probably -discuss the matter at
their general meeting Wednesday
at 11:30 a.m.
^GA, University
Up to you
The Executive Committee
itself will hold open hearings for
the entire University Community
on Wednesday, November 10, at
4:00 p.m., in the University
Center Parquet Room.
TJhe proposal will increase
student representation to nearly
equal that of faculty and give a
previously ignored group
(non-academic employees) a voice
in the University governance.
The referendum amendment is
printed below in entirety:
Article V. Section 1.
Membership: Item (d) insert
between the words One and
Senator the word faculty so as to
read... “One faculty senator from
each major academic unit
(Business Administration,
Engineering, Human Development
and Learning, Humanities,
Library, Nursing, Science and
Mathematics, Social and
Behavioral Sciences, and Student
Affairs, at this time).”
Substitute the present
(continued on page 2)
Into court over housing contract
finalysis — b
Exactly one week after the
(psidence halls opened for the ‘71
|3ll semester, an elevator in Moore
**211 was damaged extensively in
early morning hours. On Oct.
the residents in Moore Hall
^ere assessed at $2.00 each to pay
cost of repair.
Since the issuance of these bills
10 days ago, a furor has developed
between the Moore Hall residents
the Housing Office/Office of
Student Affairs over the legality
these assessments, and the
beginnings of organized refusal to
l^y the bills has become apparent.
*ne following article is the result
Pf a hurriedly-conducted
Wvestigation into the situation, its
®cts, and the principals
Administrators) involved in it.
'Admittedly, the investigation is
Somewhat incomplete and the
^^tuation is far from being
resolved; subsequent articles in
bture Journals will follow
'*®''elopment.
, If took very little investigating
efore it became apparent that
here are very few facts
oncerning the incident, while
here are a great many
^urnptions on the part of the
^ncipals — Dean Dennis Rash,
of Students, Mr. Lon
„®ston. Assistant Dean of
bdents and Director of Housing,
Mahlon Adams, Director
, Housekeeping Services for the
j.biversity. Gradually another
gure is becoming more and more
prominent in the situation - Mr.
SGa President of the
4c >(c i|( « 9|(
o 'At approximately 5:30 a.m. on
bnday, August 29, 1971, the
^ mber two elevator (which
rves every floor except the
. eventh) in Moore Hall came to a
halt on the second floor,
p bding vibrations throughout
^of the building and causing a
noise so loud as to arouse the
night watchman, awaken
numerous students, and Dean
Rash and his wife. (Rash and his
wife were acting as temporary
Dorm Administrators until Dick
Day arrived.)
Rash, thinking that the noise
was merely that of loud fireworks,
dismissed it and went back to
sleep. The night watchman
investigated the noise, found the
jammed elevator and reported it
to Campus Security. It wasn’t
until students started complaining
to Rash and Mrs. Adams around
7:30 a.m., Monday, Aug. 30,
about the elevators not working
that the trouble was discovered
and the servicemen sent for.
(Actually both elevators were not
working that morning; the
number one elevator was jammed
on an upper floor for some
obscure reason which no one
seems to remember.)
When the servicemen arrived, it
was discovered that the metal
covering to the escape hatch (in
the roof of the elevator
compartment) had become lodged
between the compartment doors
and the outside doors on the
second floor, severely bending the
compartment doors and causing
the compartment itself to become
disengaged from its tracks. It was
estimated then that the repair cost
would be somewhere between
$500 and $1,000.
Westinghouse Elevator Service
is contracted to service and make
all repairs on the elevators which
may be encountered during
normal usage. Not included in
that contract is what is
called malicious damages; any
repairs of mailcious damage must
be paid for outside of the
contract. The servicemen termed
the damage of Aug. 29, to
elevator 2, malicious damage.
They cited the fact that there was
evidence of tampering with the
wiring above the elevator
compartment.
There are the facts concerning
the actual damage to the elevator;
anything else is, at best’
theoretical guesswork. And there
has been plenty of that. Basically,
Rash, Weston, and Adams all
agree that one or two persons
either gained access or were
attempting to gain access to the
roof of the elevator compartment
in an attempt to tamper with the
wiring there. No reason for this
“playing” is offered. And, that in
this attempt, the door to the
escape hatch (probably)
inadvertently became lodged
between the compartment and the
shaft, causing the damage.
Furthermore, they all assume that
this person(s) was a student,
apparently because of the rule
allowing no non-residents in the
dorm after certain hours.
On Monday August 30, it was
decided that the residents of
Moore Hall would be assessed
$2.00 each to pay for the cost of
repair. Rash met with each house
in Moore Hall that night and
informed everyone of the action
that was to be taken.
The immediate reaction was
adverse, and was reflected in the
Student Legislature’s passage of a
resolution protesting the decision.
However, this (symbolic) protest
was overlooked and the bills were
issued as soon as the overloaded
Business Office could get them
out, Oct. 15.
When the Moore Hall residents
received the bills, enormous
displeasure, with the action was
evident and it took form in
various ways: The newly elected
president of Moore Hall, James
Cuthbertson, posted a sign in the
dorm lobby urging all residents to
withhold payment until the
situation could be investigated; on
at least one floor, the 9th, the
bills have been attached to the
wall in obvious defiance of the
two-week deadline for payment.
This action was led by that floor’s
Resident Advisor, Charles Bridges.
But the most constructive
action has been taken by Stan
Patterson, SGA President, who
has contacted a lawyer concerning
possible court proceedings to
determine the legality of the
assessments and the actual
housing contract itself.
When interviewed, Patterson
said, “I am not terribly concerned
with the actual bill of two dollars;
what I am emphasizing is the total
lack of due process in the
Administration’s action. Under
our present system of governance,
only the students should impose
bills or fines upon themselves.
Journal otioto/bartholomaw
-by Charlie hemdon
This means settling the issue
through the Student Court
system; this is clearly the only
way that due process can be
obtained in this situation. I urge
all students to refuse to pay this
bill until due process can be
achieved.”
When asked about his rumored
association with a lawyer
concerning the assessments, he
replied, “Yes, I have contacted a
lawyer on the basis of being an
individual student. The lawyer
gave indication that the students
do have a legitimate case in this
instance and that possibly the
housing contract is dlegal also. I
plan to ask the Student
Legislature on Monday (Oct. 25)
to retain a lawyer to represent the
students’ interest in this matter.”
(continued on page 2)