1997_03 The Daily Collegian March 1997

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THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Monday, March 3,1997
News
News Editor: Matthew Hart
.Telephone: (209) 278-2556
National Campus News Digest
"Your link to students and campuses across the nation.
Students vote to modify
honor code at college of
William & Mary
WILLIAMSBURG, Va —
Around 1779. shortly after Tho¬
mas Jefferson drafted the Dec¬
laration of Independence, an
honor code was born at the Col¬
lege of William and Mary.
In a referendum held Tuesday
after close to three years of de¬
bate, students at all six of the
college's schools overwhelm¬
ingly have voted to revolution¬
ize the approximately 220-year-
old code, believed to be the old¬
est in the nation.
Students voted by an average
margin of 83 percent to 17 per¬
cent in favor of creating a uni¬
fied honor code, with standard¬
ized definitions of infractions to
cover all schools.
The new code also will
change how the college handles
some stealing offenses and it
will allow students to be repre¬
sented
College President Timothy J.
Sullivan said Wednesday that he
plans to abide by the vote and
approve the changes, which
would go into effect next fall.
Fiji house at Ohio U
may be seized
ATHENS. Ohio — The Phi
Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity
house at Ohio University may be
seized by state drug-enforce¬
ment authorities because of al¬
leged drug violations.
Marijuana and hallucino¬
genic mushrooms were discov¬
ered at the Fiji house Feb. 3 dur¬
ing a bust by the South East
Counties of Ohio Narcotics Task
Force, or SECO.
Agents took about 3.5 pounds
of marijuana, two ounces of
mushrooms, $ 1,850 in cash and
50 pieces of drug paraphernalia
from the house, SECO director
Scott King said.
Authorities said they believe
the fraternity house supplied
drugs to residents of two cam¬
pus dormitories, where mari¬
juana and hallucinogenic mush¬
rooms were seized earlier in the,
month.
King said digital scales for
weighing drugs were found in the
house. "We have statements saying
that drugs were being sold out of
the house." he said.
More than 20 members of the
House have been arrested. Although
most face misdemeanor drug pos¬
session charges, 13 cases will go
before the grand jury on felony
charges related to drug trafficking.
The house. King said, would be
seized by SECO after all the Fiji
cases have been tried.
Agrophobic denied tele¬
phone orientation
BUFFALO. NY. — The State
University of New York did not vio¬
late the rights of an agrophobia suf¬
ferer when it required the student
to attend an orientation in person, a
federal judge has ruled.
Stephen L. Maczaczyj. 38. ar¬
gued that his agrophobia, or fear of
public places, prevented him from
attending a daylong orientation at
Empire State College*. The college,
which offered courses via e-mail,
told Maczaczyj that he must physi¬
cally attend the orientation to be
part of the program.
Maczaczyj sued the university,
charging that the college had vio¬
lated his rights under the Americans
with Disabilities Act. But the fed¬
eral judge in the case ruled for the
college, citing that the college's ori¬
entation would have had to be fun¬
damentally changed to accommo¬
date Maczaczyj's request. The law
requires, institutions to make only
reasonable accommodations for
disabilities.
Miami I . alums fight for
mascot name
f^JrlAMI, Ohio — Some Miami
University alumni are so deter¬
mined to'keep the school's mascot
that they are willing to take their
case to court.
Nine Miami alumni recently
were among 13 plaintiffs, who
sought a temporary restraining or¬
der to keep school officials from
dropping the Redskins nickname,
according to The Cincinnati
Enquirer.
Miami trustees had voted in Sep¬
tember to eliminate the Redskins
name after the Miami tribe of Okla¬
homa petitioned the university to
stop using it. \
But the judge, himself a Miami
alum, denied the restraining order.
He said he could not justify it when
"the plaintiffs have other adequate
remedies."
The alums argue that since 1931,
the Redskins name has been used
to honor the Miamis. who once in¬
habited the region.
University sparks protest
by dropping commentar¬
ies
PHILADELPHIA — Temple
University's decision to cancel a
series of public radio commentar¬
ies from death row by inmate ac¬
tivist Mumia Abu-Jamal drew criti¬
cism last Tuesday from the series
producer and a journalists' organi¬
zation.
Julie Drizen. executive producer
of Pacifica Radio's "Democracy
Now" series, said the decision was
"the most pernicious form of cen¬
sorship."
It was the second journalistic
controversy sparked by the com¬
mentaries of Abu-Jamal. a one-time
Black Panther and radio journalist
who has appealed his conviction'
and death sentence for the 1981 kill¬
ing of a Philadelphia policeman.
National Public Radio dropped
plans in 1994 to carry a series of
Abu-Jamal commentaries on prison
life after Philadelphia's police
union and Republican U.S. Senate
leader Bob Dole objected.
Abu-Jamal's case has drawn
wide interest from foreign political
leaders, death-penalty opponents,
and Hollywood activists.
Temple told Drizen Monday on
its radio station, that WRTI-FM,
was canceling the series and an¬
other news program from Pacifica,
a Berkeley, Calif., public radio ser¬
vice that covers news of interest to
left-wing listeners.
Drizen attributed the cancella¬
tion to a fear of losing state fund¬
ing at the hands of Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Ridge, who signed Abu-
Jamal's death warrant, which has
since been stayed.
UCLA   student   wins
screenwriting award
LOS ANGELES — A script
about a group of monks forced to
join a rock tour after their chant al¬
bum goes to No. 1 won UCLA's top
screenwriting award.,
"En Chant," written by Betsy
Pool, a student in the UCLA Ex¬
tension Writers' Program, beat out
81 entries to win the 10th annual
Diane Thomas Screenwriting
Award.
The competition, sponsored by
DreamWorks Pictures has served as
a career boost for a number of
screenwriters, including Randi
Mayem Singer, who adapted the
screenplay for "Mrs. Doubtfire "
Second place went to Adrianne
Fincham's "Winterkill." a woman's
story of love and death in the new
West. Third place went to Monika
Moreno's "Emerald City Blues."
about a woman who mo\es from
Tennessee to a San Diego barrio in
1968.
Big-name judges for the awards
were Steven Spielberg and Michael
Douglas.
Each finalist in the competition
is paired with an industry mentor
to take their entries to final draft.
Mentors this year include Michael
Tolkin ("The Player"), Greg Widen
("Highlander," "Backdraft") and
Alexandra Seros (The Specialist."
"Point of No Return").
The awards are named after
former UCLA Extension
screenwriting student Diane Tho¬
mas, whose writing career was just
taking off with her hit film, "Ro¬
mancing the Stone," when she was
killed in an auto accident.
Coach regrets remark
TOWSON. Md. — A basketball
coach who started a campus con¬
troversy when he referred to his
team as "my plantation" has
apologized.
In a written statement.
Goucher College coach Leonard
Trevino called the remark "in
poor taste and unprofessional."
The comment, made during
a practice^ in December,
prompted a campus discussion
on racism.
Nearly 150 students gathered
at a forum Feb. 26 to discuss the
coach's remark and other alleged
racial incidents at Goucher
Several students also wore
black and held up signs de¬
nouncing racism at a Feb. 23
basketball game, according to
news reports.
Study: more money
spent on prisons than
colleges
WASHINGTON — More
money is spent on prisons than
colleges, says the Justice Polic>
Institute.
From 1987to 1995. spending
on state prisons rose 30 percent
while higher education funding
fell 18 percent, according to JPI.
a research justice center. r
In 1995. state spending on
prison construction increased by
S926 million to $2.6 billion na¬
tionwide, while construction
funds for higher education
dropped $954 million to $2.5
billion.
The study noted that such
funds are discretionary, so state
officials must choose whether to
fund construction for prisons or
universities.
The authors argue that stiffer
sentences send too many non¬
violent offenders to already
overcrowded jails, at a cost to
higher education.
The report also found that it
cost taxpayers about $22,000 to
$25,000 each year to incarcer¬
ate a prisoner. That's roughly the
tuition at the nation's most ex¬
pensive private colleges.
Compiled from Collegian
news services.
' Amerasia Week' brings Asian culture to Fresno State
Annual event starts with Philipino tradional
dances and fashion show
By Ruthie Longley Alekseyev
The Daily Collegian
Sunday marked the kick off of
the 25th Annual Amerasia Week at
Fresno State.
The Philipino Variety Show was,
based on a popular show in the Phil¬
ippines called the "Sharon Cuneta
Show." ,
Four club members played the
parts of the popular hosts of the pro-
gram yesterday's show was mod¬
eled on.
Then, before the maio entertain¬
ment of the evening, the preformers
put on a fashion show.
The fashion show is to intro¬
duce the costumes worn in the
dancing portion of the show and to
explain their significance in a more
informal setting." said Wendell
Camales, Philipino Club treasurer.
"For instance, in the Kalingga, the
costumes worn are loincloths, be¬
cause it is an old tribal dance."
The show also contained origi¬
nal skits performed by club mem¬
bers and students from local high
schools.
"We have traditionally had a
very big attendance." Camales said
"People who come really seem to
enjoy most of all the Tinikling
dance, the national dance of the
Philippines."
The Tinikling dance features
dancers depicting birds dancing in
and out of bamboo pole traps.
The planning for the variety
show began in the fall semester,
with skit and show ideas being con¬
solidated and confirmed. Actual
practices began in the spring semes¬
ter several days a week.
The dancing (teacher. Auntie
Florisse Raypon.Jias been teaching
the traditional Philipjno dances
since the I980's.
"It's amazing," said Marvy
Casas. a club member. "When (the
dancers) get here, many of them are
so uncoordinated, but once they
practice, they really begin to excel."
The Philipino Club activities are
not limited to the annual variety
show. The 50 members also engage
in community service, and serve as
a social group.
"This cluois for everyone and
anyone interested in Philipino cul¬
ture." Camales said. "Members get
to know the heritage, customs, tra¬
ditions and meet a lot of people."
Tonight, at 7 p.m. in the Satel¬
lite Student Union. Hmong Cultural
Night will feature a fashion show
and dancing. On Friday. Cambo¬
dian, and Lao folk dancers will per¬
form.