Caveat emptor BOOKSTORE BUSINESS BOOMED this week, as students flocked to buy new textbooks. But a Collegian study of area book stores shoo price ariations, so it pays to shop around. See story andfprice comparison chart, page 18. USG loses control of insurance By JANICE SELINGER Collegian Staff Writer The University administration will now be handling the student insurance contract, University President John W. Oswald told the Board of Trustees at the Nov. 15 meeting. The action was taken because of the controversy surrounding USG's hand ling of the contract this year, Oswald said. "The University must play an official role in the awarding of such policies," he explained. But he said students l will sit on an advisory committee to award the con tract. In other action; the board discussed the possibility Of open committee Klan recruiting 'a joke' By JOHN McDERMOTT Collegian Staff Writer Rumors of a Penn State chapter of the Ku Klux Klan have rekindled visions of cross burnings and white hooded Klan members. \ - A card, randonily sent last term to residents oTPinchot Hall, stated: "Hate niggers? Join the newly formed chapter of the Penn State KKK." But according to Ray Szumigraj, (2nd science), the distributor of the cards, there will not be any KKK chapter at Penn State. "I intended it to be a practical joke, but it got out of hand,7 he said. However, Bob Ross, president of the Minority Veterans Organization, said the incident was much more serious than a practical joke, Ross said that Curtis Hunter, a black veteran, came to Penn State last year with the idea that all whites were racists. "But working through the Community Awareness program we got him over that hump,"! Ross added. He said Hunter then received one of the cards and reverted back into his, shell. Ross also said the incident caused Hunter to drop out of school. In an open letter to University President John W. Oswald, members of the Minority Veterans Organization said they "vehemently protest the overt insensitivity and blatant laxity of the P.S.U. Administration in dealing with the potentially explosive initiation of a Ku Klux Klan chapter on this campus! !" Rost said the cards were the third KKK-type related incident he has wit nessed within the past year on campus. There was a cross burning incid9hl in West. Halls last Winter Term. Rogs":also Dutch jet to COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (UPI) A chartered Dutch jetliner carrying 191 persons, most of them Indonesian Moslems on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, crashed in rain and fog last night minutes before it was to land for refueling at Colombo airport. First reports indicated all aboard perished, making the crash the second worst air disaster in history. Sri Lanka Radio said the plane went down in a mountainous region EIO miles east of the capital. The broadcast quoted of ficials as saying there apparently were no survivors. In The Hague, Holland, Martin Schoeder, president of Martin Air, the charter airliner which operated the DCB jetliner, said: "On the basis of the scant information, we fear there were no survivors." Witnesses said the plane burst into flames as it came down, its 'fiery wreckage scattering over the mountainous, fogged over terrain. The radio said recovery, of bodies was hampered by poor visibility. Collegian the daily meetings and approved a rent hike for on-campus--graduate housing. In a press conference following the meeting, Board President Michael J. Baker Jr. said the board's throe stand ing committee meetings would probably soon be open to cut down on unnecessary repetition. The committees are educational policy, physical plant and finance. Th3y meet on the Thursday or Friday before trustee meetings. Trustee meetings have been open since October. The board decided to open its meetings days after the state legislature gave final approval to the Sunshine Law, which would have forced them to open their meetings anyway. Before the enforcement of the Law, said two persons dressed as white hooded KKK members came to the Black Lounge last Spring Term. "We can't keep letting it go on, it just reitorces stereotypes on both sides of the fence," Ross said. The open letter to Oswald said those involved in the "circulation of in flammatory...literature have somehow managed to escape the severe Ross added that he thinks Szumigraj disciplinary consequences which the , should be expelled. offense justly deserved...and have Oswald was unavailable for comment, therefore been given unofficial license but his secretary said as far as she "to continue with their endeavors." knows Oswald has not received a copy Szumigraj said he has been placed on of the letter or is aware of the incident probation for Winter Term for his in- which prompted the letter. Ways and Means fights back House reforms faltering WASHINGTON (UPI) The reform movement among House Democrats began to falter late yesterday when angry Ways and Means Committee members rebelled against alleged discrimination. Almost insuring a clash with the House Deniocratic leadership, the Ways and Means Democrats said they will go ahead and move to organize the com mittee for the next session now while` they will have the power to do it. Under broad reforms mandated this week' by Democrats who will be serving in the next Congress, committees will no longer have the authority to make their own sub-committee assignments after this congress ends. Baker said„,most arguments took place during the committee meetings and the trustees simply gave final approval to committee decisions at their meeting. Now, since no formal action can be taken at the closed committee meetings, Baker said members must go over every item a second time in trustee meetings. This can become a very tiresome practice, he said. Most of the two-and-a-half-hour trustee meeting was spent discussing the $lO-a-month rent increase for Eastview Terrace and Graduate Circle Apart ments. The increase was approved after opposition from student Trustee Dion C. Stewart and Trustee Hardy Williams, who questioned the effect on students hit volvement in the incident. However,'„ in the open letter, the members of the Minority Veterans Organization asked that "more] severe disciplinary action be taken 'against those individuals who have insulted the presence and the integrity of those Black Americans who reside and study in this area." Acting Ways and Means Chairman Al Ullman, D-Ore., had promised the Democratic leadership he would not thwart the reforms by organizing his committee now. But when the Democratic Caucus failed to approve a rule requiring other committees to abide by the same pledge, Ullman withdrew it. "Any other committees can organize subcommittees and grandfather themselves in on them," Ullman said. "The leadership says we on Ways and Means can't do that. That's making us second class citizens." Ullmann said he would "have it out" with the leadership. In Holland, a Martin Air spokesman said reports received from Colombo indicated the plane was burning as it went down. If those fears were to be confirmed, the crash would be the second worst air disaster, surpassed only by the crash of a Turkish Airlines DC 10 jetliner March 3, 1974, 25 miles mkth of Paris, killing all 345 persons aboard. A company spokesman said the crash occurred about 100 miles east of Colombo on the island fcgmerly knwn as Ceylon. "The . aircraft crashed in bad weather," Schroeder said. "The weather conditions also prevented helieopters from leaving the airport for the site of the crash. They will have to wait until daylight." "We were informed that just after the aircraft was given permission to go down from 8,000 to 2,000 feet in the landing procedure, a huge ball of fire was noticed," said Schroeder. "We do not know, but we presume this ball of fire marked the impact when the aircraft crashed to the ground," he said. Mecca crashes; 191 dead Miners support pact; strike to end today CHARLESTON, W.VA. (UPI) The nation's miners have ratified a wage contract with the soft coal industry and United Mine Workers President Arnold Miller will announce today an official end to the 24-day strike which jolted the U.S. economy. High union sources told UPI that about 56 per cent of the rank and file had voted for ratification and that miners in District 31, which has the third largest membership in the UMW, had approved the pact overwhelmingly. • District 29 in the Southern West Virginia coal fields, which has 26,000 members, largest in the UMW, also, approved the pact but by a narrow margin, UPI was told, The district, where anti-Miller sentiment has run high, had been expected to reject the agreement. The contract provides, for a 10 per cent wage increase the first year, 4 per cent with a $5-a-month increase last July. Robert A. Patterson, vice president for finance and operations, said in creased trash collections and utility costs made the increase necessary so the apartments could continue to operate on a break-even basis. The measure was approved after Patterson agreed to tell tenants exactly why the increase is necessary. The rent in Eastview Terrace had been $B5 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $95 per month for two bedrooms; in Graduate Circle the prices were $95 per month for one bedroom and $lO5 for two. In other business, the board approved the formal designation of a Regional Mining Education Center at the Fayette Campus. The center will be used for specialized training and to help the nation meet energy dethands. The board approved preliminary plans for a faculty club but Trustee Walter J. Conti asked for a report on the club's funding. According to Oswald, the club now-has between 300 and 400 members and will be built totally from gift funds. The Board also officially activatedlhe Penn State Fund Council with the ap pointment of 21 charter members. The council is designed to look over gifts to the University and to advise the Board and Oswald. To help ease a critical space problem on the Delaware County Campus the board approved the purchase and erection of six modular structures estimated at $275,000. The campus now has 1,700 students and only one building, designed for 735 students. The reforms, sparked by the arrival of 75 new younger members with a more liberal perspective than their predecessors, stripped Ways and Means of its exclusive power to make assign ments to all committees and' enlarged the committee so its conservative bent will be diluted. Ways and Means members put up little resistance, largely because Chairman Wilbur Mills, D-Ark., was preoccupied with problems arising from Association with a strip tease dancer and appeared to be offering little leadership. On Tuesday he was hospitalized for exhaustion amid reports he is likely to lose the chiirmanship. The DCB was making its 19th flight as part of a massive airlift of 25,000 Moslem pilgrims from Surabaja, on the In donesian island of Java, to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and was to make a refueling stop in Colombo. The airlift began in Oc tober. Mecca is holy in the Moslem faith because it was the birth- place of Mohammed, the founder of Islamism: and every Moslem who can afford it is obliged once in his life to make the journey from his home to Mecca. Martin Air has been flying Moslems to Mecca for years and this year's total number of pilgrirris is expected to be a record. The Pilgrims are to stay at Mecca until after the end of the year. Then they will be flown back to Surabaja, a city at the opposite end of the island of Java from Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. A total of 182 passengers were Moslems on pilgrimage and two stewardesses of the Indonesian airline Garuda were also aboard. The seven crew-members were all Dutch and in cluded two pilots, one mechanic, and four stewardesses. BINDERY 2 PATTEE Ten cents per copy Thursday, December 5, 1974 Vol. 75, No. 82 24 pages University Park, (Pennsylvania Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University in the second year and 3 per cent in the third year. It also contains a cost of living clause, which miners have never had in previous agreements. The miners could return to work early next week, possibly at midnight Sunday, after maintenance personnel; the first ones to be called back to work, had declared the pits safe. It was pointed out by one union source that a hard core of dissident miners may resist a return to work, but he said he knew of no such movement at this time. Sources said the Miller forces were jubilant over approval of the pact and that a celebration was underway at UMW headquarters in Washington. It also was learned that the UMW was making plans for a contract signing ceremony with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association, which meets in Washington today to consider the agreement drawn up by its negotiating committee and submitted to the UMW last week. Balloting ended at 8 p.m. local time last night hi the UMW's 22 districts and Miller will hold a news conference in Washington at 11 a.m. today to announce the official ratification vote. Early semester becomes favorite of commission By JANICE SELINGER Collegian Staff Writer The University Calendar Commission h.js chosen the early semester system as the best alternative to the term systen. "The feeling of the commission is that if they were to recommend a semester system—and I'm not sure that they will at this time—they feel that the early semester system is the one they would select," Chairman Asa Berlin said yesterday. 'As the commission's last two meetings members eliminated the short semester, traditional semester and modified semester from consideration. The early semester starts between August 20 and 25 with work and finals finished before Christmas. The second semester begins after the holidays and ends no later than May 7. The commission' is now writing a preliminary report concerning the pros and cons of the early semester system. The report will be presented to commission members at a four-hour meeting 9 a.m. Saturday in 404 Old Main. The preliminary report is being written in preparation for a final report, That report will be given to University President John W. Oswald for con sideralion and reply, Berlin said. According to Berlin, Oswild will see the report before it is made public. Berlin said some faculty members want the report made public when it is Rao. Albert Johnson is smiling a lot . . The great sugar substitute search is on Froth hits frosty P.S.O Basketball, wrestling & FOOTBALL Penn State and snow again Three prisoners still at large 3 COPIES The three-year contract packaged calls for a 64 per cent wage and benefits increase, plus provisions providing for new jobs, paid sick leave and greatly improved pensions. The strike began last Nov. 12 when the old contract with the BCOA expired. BCOA members produce 70 per cent of the nation's soft coal. In addition to the 120,000 UMW members idled by the walkout, thousands of workers were laid off by railroads and at least 18,000 steelworkers were idled by the strike. Economists had warned that a two week strike by the miners would cost the country billion in lost production, but since the strike has latted more than three weeks the figure is now ap proaching $5 million. Earlier yesterday a union source told UPI that the contract "definitely" had passed. "They are already celebrating in Washington," the source said. Miller had predicted shortly after submitting the proposal to the rank and file that it would be ratified by about 60 per cent of the membership. presented to Oswald. He said it is a matter of courtesy for the report to go to Oswald first. " The results of the Academic Assem bly's poll on the calendar will not be available for at least another week. Berlin said he would have liked to have had the results but he couldn't hold back ,the drafting of the report. Joe Kaplan, president of Academic Assembly, said he -Thought the com mission would choose a semester system. "From the things I've heard and observed I think that any recom mendation that the commission makes at this time is far and away too premature," Kaplan said. Kaplan said the Academic Assembly poll will be addressed to Oswald and not necessarily to the commission. The commission's recommendation to Oswald is based on academic con siderations. Once Oswald receives the report it is assumed that he will look into other problems such as adapting housing and-physical plant services to the new calendar before making any decisions Sunny today with a chance of snow, high in the mid 30s to 40s. What's Inside Martin Air identified the Dutch crew as first pilot H Lamme, 58, married with two children, second pilot R Blomsma, 33, married with three children, and mechanic J.G Wijnands, 48, married with two children. The four Dutch stewardesses were Ingrid Van Der Vliet, Hetty Borghols, Titia van Dijkum, and H. van Hamburg,. the airline said. The two Indonesian stewardesses were not immediately identified. It was the third crash of a commercial airliner in bad weather in four days. On Sunday, a Trans World Airlines Boeing 727 jet struck a hilltop near Upperville, Va., killing 92 persons, and the same day, a 727 of Northwest Airlines crashed in 'Bear Mountain State . Park near Haverstraw, N.Y., killing the three-member crew. There were no passengers aboard. Schroeder said the crash was the first major accident in the 16-year-old history of his company. STATE COLLEGE PA.. 16801 PERMIT No.lo Weather {{ :µ .. . pg. 8 :ti : .. pg. 22 . . pg. 23 .. pg. 13 1: . . pg. 21 . . pg. 24 iiii