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. ‘ FOR A BETTER PENN STATE
No. 94 STATE COLLEGE. PA..‘THURSDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 27. 1
Today*:
VOL 58
Behind Closed Doors
Open Records Called
Trustees Compromise
Participants in the controversy over closed Board of Trustee meetings at the University
—pro or con—have gravitated over the years into three distinct categories. i
On one extreme is the group preferring to keep the meetings private, and on the other
end are proponents of the open meeting. Stuck in the middle are backers of a compromise
which would keep the meetings closed, but would have minutes of the meetings published.
Those who would keep the
meetings closed use as the basis
ior .their argument the legal fact
that the University is a private
corporation, thus its business
meetings are private.
On the other hand, propo
nents of the open meeting fol
low the same reasoning as State
Senator Jo Hays (D.) from State
College who introduced a bill
in the State Senate to open the
meetings of the University
Board of Trustees. The bill
. passed the Senate unanimously,
but was buried in a House com
mittee. r-
Hays told The Daily Collegian]
that the state pours some $3O mil-i
lion into this University every
two years, and parents of students
also pay tuition fees. The people
of.the state have a right to know,
he said, what goes on with their
money. And they
should have the
right to see what
goes on in meet
ings, he added.
Any formal
motion or action,
Hays added,
should happen at
an' open meeting. “This doesn’t
exclude the use of executive ses
sion (closed to public and the
press) when personalities are in
volved,” he said.
What about the possibility
that the meetings would merely
become -a rubber stamp for de
cisions that were reached in
. private hotel rooms, etc.? Hays
. said he felt this, would occur
' to some extent, "but there are
.always a couple of dissident ele
menls that would speak up dur
ing a meeting, bringing many
things out into the open."
A
Collegian
Public
. Affairs
Analysis
- Then Hays concluded his argu
ment with the idea that the Uni
versity is in reality a state uni
versity, and thus an 'agency of
the state, which could come under
the newly passed open meeting
and open records laws:- •
Fuel was added to this last part
of Hays’ argument Tuesday when
President Eric A. Walker ‘in a
speech classified the University
.as separate from any'state-aided
institutions such as the Univer
sities of Pittsburgh or Temple,
and later in his speech, said
. , that Penn State is the' east
ern outpost of the western state
university/’
The compromise groups’ think
- tog was best expressed by two
members of the .University’s
Department of Political Science
.who said, "Open meetings
wouldn't be any good because
'then all action would take place
,to the neighborhood bar or ho
: lei room, and the meetings
. would be nothing more than a
' rubber, stamp."
The idea of having open records
'but closed meetings, is the only
concession the Board of Trustees
would ever consider, one profes
sor said. A colleague added that
the meetings could never be
opened on the basis that this is a
state university.
“After all, he said,' “the Uni
versity employs a lawyer who
probably doesn’t do anything else
but keep the University riding
the fence between a private corp
oration and a state institution.
This seems to be his life work.”
In addition, backers of this
idea feel that the Board might
: grant publication of minutes,
since none of the .dirty wash
would come into public view.
- In the light of present opinions,
the idea of open records is the
plan with the most chance of suc
ceeding,'
By LAHHY JACOBSON
Second 0/ 0 Series
A jury of seven men and five
women found Elizabeth Ann Ker
stetter, State College, guilty of
involuntary manslaughter in the
death of her baby, Oct. 2. .1957, but
sentencing has been deferred.
Miss Kerstetter was found not
guilty on a charge of concealing
the death of the baby. The jurors
[returned the verdict at 4:45 p.m.
vesterday in Centre County Court,
Bellefonte.
! The Commonwealth had charg
ed Miss Kerstetter with murder
[and concealing the baby. She en
tered a plea of "not guilty" on
Monday. The baby was found Dec.
1 by an employe or the Nittany
Lion Inn.
i The plea for the involuntary
[manslaughter charge was entered
yesterday morning by defense
counsel Musser W. Gettig. He
said Miss Kerstetters act was an
“act of passion” and told the jury
the defendant “fell to pieces and
didn't know what she was doing."
The defense did not deny the
[evidence presented by the Com
monwealth and called only one
witness in addition to Miss Ker
stetter. A member of the State
College High School faculty-testi
t # lied as to ihe defendant’s intelli-
St Francis Library Drive
Nets 1100 Books in 3 Days sr ß »"c£vtw h l,a™ d pLS
A total of 1100 books have been received in the drive to, the bIU woul(1 taise ij?i l0 th« T b£h“';' e tS 0 b»by »»
aid the library of St. Francis College, Loretto, after three ;tage rates by 747 million dollars! concealed and what Miss Kerstet-
4 n ~ ; a vear. ' [ter had done with the body.
days of collection. j I District A tty. Richard M. Sharp
• All books collected will be donated to the library, which' —i presented the case for the Com
— S te SSL t t. <^. Us LS“S ,: ' C . er C,ob ~KSS i a.S
Smoltz to Address |Us,ri"£m£ Gorbin President [SStt.&JM.IW&iSf
y* n ° f Bustness Ad ' Ferdinand Garbin, senior in He called three witnesses to the
Tounq Democrats i ITI, l TI , , U ° n ‘ [agronomy from Turtle Creek, has !t; tand yesterday morning to verify
. ! Wesley Bergey, chairman of the been elected president of the thestatementmadebvMissKer-
Donald Smaltz, senior m educa-drive, has set a goal of 1500; Clover Club. i stetter.
tion from Lebanon, will- discuss- b The drive is scheduled to i Other officers are Paul John-. Testimony was concluded at
last week’s SlOO-a-Dlate Trumani end Saturday. [son, vice president; Joan Alt- ! 11:20 a.m. and after a noon recess,
tft mpptinj If Persons wbo . have books house - secretary; Larry Wherry, 1 Judge R. Paul Campbell charged
inner at a meeting of the Young donate may, bring them to 2-F,treasurer; Ralph Forsht, repre-, the jury, before sending them in-
Democrats Club at 8:15 tonight imßoucke or the Hetzel Union Card*sentative to the Agriculture Stu-;to deliberation.
,217 Hetzel Union. ‘Room from X to 5 p.m. any after-ldent Council. !
wh “ Grad* to Conduct
| trial now yn Centre County Court: Anyone who wishes to have,town, and James Holt, junior in
(Will be given by Gerald Bogus,!boks picked up may call ADjagronomy from Philadelphia,
junior m arts and letters from;B-8441 ext. 2428 any afternoon!have received American “Society
Brownsville. . . * during the same hours. l of Agronomy awards.
- ?"--1 ,77 • ••.
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—Daily ColltfUn photo by John Zerby 1
WAITING FOR SPRING —No active construction work is being j
conducted on campus, Walter H. Wiegand, director of Physical
Plant, said yesterday. Construction on these walls for the new •
men’s dormitories along Park Avenue will be continued after
warmer weather arrives.
The second in a series oi ten
lectures on Mormonism will be
presented at 8 tonight in 208
‘Boucke.
The lecture is entitled “Funda
mentals of Mormon Thought and
i Practice.'!^
A recommendation to make! defeated for party offices at student for traffic offenses. ' The serjgs is being conducted
a student cnhieet to dicrmccal' * he meelin 9- ' The code as it now stands, Proc- : °y graduate students who are
a.stuaent suDject 10 dismissalj other items on the Cabinet tor said, provides that a student’s membe rs of the Mormon faith.
from the University for five'agenda include a report of last campus driving privileges be sus-' The historical and present day
semester’s $15,301.64 Cabinet ex- pended for 60 days after the picture of Mormonism as weii as
traffic violations in one year penditur es, a report from the.fourth traffic violation, and that fundamental doctrines and
will be included in a traffic! community living committee, an.after the fifth offense his car be : o ra ctices of the church will be
reiiort to b P nresented to All j snsuranc ? committee progress re- sent home for 16 weeks. i tre^ ed . . J ,
leport io oe presentea to All ip or t and recommendations from' The traffic recommendations The senes is designed espeeial-
University Cabinet tonight, ‘the Interclass Finance Board. '■ were drawn up by Elwood F. ] Y tor perrons unfamiliar with
The i«t Of rwnmmondaHnnc ‘ Tb e te P° rt also recommends Giver, director of the depart- these subjects. The lecture is open
The list of recommendations, that proceeds from traffic fines, menl of security; Frank J. to the public.
(drawn up by a committee of five after expenses of paying.the sec- Simes, dean of men; Robert j
and already by Ossian retary' who handles the details Steele, AU-University presi- Outing Club to Present
R. MacKenzie, vice president for of th e parking violations system.! deni; Walter H. Weigand. phys- j <ft , ,
business administration win he be divided among the social rec- "cal plant director, and Lucien ; nature !* riOIT Acre
Creation fund, a fund to improve E. Bolduc, chief of the campus 1 The Wait Disney film, "Nature’s
presented to Cabinet at 7 tonight parking areas, and the scholar-, patrol* ’Half Acre,” will be sho.vn at a
in 203 Hefciel Union. ;ship fund, which now receives; Another recommendation of the!meeting of the Outing Club at 7
Cabinet also will hear a pro- |the'total proceeds of the court.'committee asks that court costs m the Hetze! Union Audi
test of University Party's sec- i The present traffic code, ac- ’ . if ;tonum.
ond registration meeting, from cording to Owen Proctor, chair- if 1 De cnargea a stuaeni iij Divisional reports will be given
Christian Hostetler, Anita Lorah j man of the Traffic Court, does jh e contests a violation and the an£ j p] a r,s for spring trips will b«
and Grieija Flecking, who were J not provide for dismissing a I violation is sustained. ‘discussed.
Cabinet to Air New Traffic Rule
fgtatt
Senators 49-42
For 5-Cent Stamp
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (.4P) —The Senate tonight voted
49-42 to accept President Eisenhower’s proposal for a 5-cent
stamp on nonlocal letters, but limited it to three years.
The vote was to reject an amendment of Sen. Monroney
(D.-Okla.) to knock out of the bill the 5-cent stamp. The vote
largely followed party lines with'
all but two Republicans opposing
the amendment. i
The vote thus kept in the
postal rate increase bill a pro
vision fixing the S-cent rate on
first class out-of-town letters
between July 1. 1958. and June
30. 1961. with 4 cents on local
letters.
The permanent letter rate would!
be 4 cents as compared with thej
present 3-cent stamp which has
been in effect since 1932.
The President has sought a per
manent 5-cent rate on nonlocal
letters but nevertheless the deci
sion constitutes a considerable
victory for him and Postmaster
General Summerfield.
The administration has been
trying to get Congress to vole
postal rate increases since it
first look' office in 1953/ to re
1 duce the postal deficit.
| The roll call tonight settled the
; major decision to be made by the
| Senate on rates in the bill,
i The House has passed a bill
i raising the 3-cent rate to 4 cents.
| When the Senate finally passes its
bill, it and the House version will
20 to conference for adjustment.
The vote on the Monroney
J amendment found 40 Democrats
. and two Republicans voting to
1 knock out the 5-cent provisions;
i they were overcome by 44 Re
publicans and five Democrats,
j The 175 millions annually which
.the 5-cent rate would bring in
above a 4-cent stamp-would be!
earmarked for each of the three
years for modernization of postal
facilities, post offices and their!
equipment. !
Republicans generally credited
this modernization -feature with
furnishing the votes needed to
sustain the 5-cent rate on the
floor.
' Muddled'
Honor
Sea Page 4
Kerstetter
Found Guilty
By Jury
Mormon Lecture
FIVE CENTS