Student survey shows: 54 percent against arming police By TOM PEELING Daily Collegian Staff Writer In a random sample survey conducted by telephone during the past two days,. 54.8 percent of University students polled a proposal to arm campus police. The poll, conducted by The Daily Collegian, reached 186 students out of the 400 chosen for the sample, or .58 percent of the student population. There were 37.6 percent of the students sup porting the gun proposal and 7.5 percent undecided. , The proposal by David E. Stormer, director of University Safety, would allow 33 Police Services officers to carry .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolvers. No more than six or seven armed of ficers would be on campus at any one time, according to Stormer’s plan. Many students cited the lural at- Deep throat Famed “Watergate" reporter. Bob Woodward of the Washington Post fielded questions from a full-capacity crowd in Eisenhower Auditorium last night. Above, he talked with members of the Penn State Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, yesterday afternoon in the HUB. Thieves exploit unlocked doors and students' trust By VICKI SCHNEIDER Daily Collegian Staff Writer One sunny day last spring, Sue returned to her dormitory room after taking some pictures with her 35- millimeter camera worth $250. After she set the camera on her bed, she went down the hall to talk to a friend. When she returned to her room five minutes later, the camera was gone. Each year students lose thousands of worth of belongings from their rooms, and from libraries, laundry rooms and restrooms around campus. According to Department of University Safety reports, 470 student property thefts were reported between Return to warmth It will be cloudy with a slight chance of a light shower early this morning with sunshine by afternoon and a high of 61. Tonight will be clear and cool with a low of 36. After some patchy morning fog, tomorrow will be mostly sunny despite some high clouds and a high of 62. mosphere of the area as a reason for being against the arming of the officers. “Guns are not necessary right now,” Robert Kandratavich (7th-geology) said. "This is State College, not New York.” Leesa Kelly (Bth-speech com.), said guns are not necessary because “aggression leads to aggression. “If campus police are armed, students won’t respect them more,” Kelly said. “It will cause friction between campus police and students.” Of the students surveyed who reside in the residence halls, 47.8 favored arming campus police, 41.7 percent were against it and 10.4 percent were undecided. Students living off campus were overwelmingly against the arming of the officers, with~72.4 percent against, 20.3 percent in favor and 7.2 percent un decided. the^^ daily January and June of this year. John.E. Rideout, police services officer, estimates that 60 to 75 percent of these thefts are from dormitory rooms. Cameras, books, stereos and cold hard cash anything that can easily be picked up and carried away can fall prey to a dormitory thief:' Clayton Smith, manager of police auxiliary services, said most items stolen are worth under $5O, and are usually things the thief wants for his own use, such as cash, clothing and small appliances. Thefts of items such as books, calculators, and stereos accounted for more than $20,000 worth of losses bet ween January and June of this year. Camera, television and radio thefts totaled $10,823, while cash and jewelry losses amounted to more than $7,000, according to Police Services records. Police officers agree that open and unlocked doors are the main factors in residence hall thefts. Students find locked doors a bother when they are just next door or in the shower, so they sometimes depend on roommates to take care of the task. “The hearing will be a good chance for students to get questions answered,” USG President Dave Haberle said. Haberle said the hearing will be informal, with five minute presentations of the opposing viewpoints followed by questions and answers. Director of University Safety David E. Stormer, who proposed the idea of arming campus police, will be invited to the hearing. Major congressional aid bill benefits more students By KATHY FITZGERALD Daily Collegian Staff Writer The major college aid bill that Congress passed this week means many more University students will be eligible for federal financial aid, said John F. Brugel, director of the Office of Student Aid. The bill expands the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program by making an estimated 1.5 million students across the country eligible for federal grants. About 2.1 million students are eligible for grants this year. The maximum grant will be $l,BOO instead of $1,600. Under the new regulations students Photo by Chip Connelly “A person who probably has never dwellers is a primary reason students thought of stealing sees an open door and say they leave doors open. Police Ser his mind snaps,” Smith said. “An open vices has found, however, that students door is then regarded as an invitation to are not usually to blame for the crimes walk right in.” —visitors are. Trust in their fellow dormitory “The large population of dorms and Some students considered the number of future campus crimes in making their decision. David Hubble (6th-geology) said the future looks bleak. “I think things will change in the next 10 to 12 years,” Hubble said. “I think there might be more possible crimes.” While the majority of students overall were opposed to arming campus police officers, 71.8 percent were opposed to giving full law enforcement authority to .State College Police or state police, 20.7 percent were in favor and 7.4 percent were undecided. Alan Gedrich (lst-business) said arming campus police would give them the authority their training deserves. “Having guns would make the campus police force more than just chickens without heads,” Gedrich said. “If they’re as well trained as I’ve read in The Collegian, there won’t be any Officials turn TV off maintenance workers By KATHY FITZGERALD Daily Collegian Staff Writer The closed circuit television camera installed last week in the Maintenance Building to check the harassment of two employees, has been removed, said William L. Hetrick, director of ad ministration for the University’s Office of Physical Plant. Several maintenance employees said the problems in the Maintenance Building are definitely strike-related. They said the problems began in August when the six week long strike between the University and its technical service employees ended and the workers returned to their jobs. Some of the technical service employees never left their jobs to join the picket lines. The Maintenance employees, who USG sets informal hearing on gun issue By JIM McCANNEY Daily Collegian Staff Writer The Undergraduate Student Government will conduct a public hearing on arming campus police, USG Executive Council decided last night. The hearing is tentatively scheduled to begin between 7 and 9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25. danger. I think the whole issue has been blown out of proportion, especially since they carried guns over the summer.” In response to a question asking whether the University administration has allotted a proper amount of time to consider the issue, 41.8 percent said not enough time had been allotted, 37.4 percent said enough time had been spent on the issue and 20.9 percent were un decided. “The University has not researched the matter enough,” Erik Johnson (4th division of undergraduate studies) said. "The crime is not that bad here that we need guns.” Michael Kusuplos (llth-business logistics) said the University should not make any decision in the absence of University President John W. Oswald. University Provost Edward D. Eddy is Ilegian chose to remain unidentified, said the two men who have been harassed in the Maintenance Building had worked during the strike and have been labeled “scabs” by some of their fellow workers. One of the employees said that since the end of the strike these men have received the “cold shoulder” from the other workers. Hetrick would not say if the harassment was strike-related, only that it is "a very sensitive thing.” “There were complaints by (main tenance) management,” he said. “Things were going on which could have resulted in bodily harm and property damage.” The complaints include verbal abuse and the placement of battery acid on the workers’ lunch seats. from families with incomes of $26,000 are eligible for minimum grants of $2OO. An important provision of the bill is that now all students are eligible for guaranteed loans, with the federal government subsidizing the interest while they attend the University, Brugel said. “It’s so much more beneficial than tuition tax credits,” he said. “Everyone can have access to aid.” Although the BEOG program is primarily for students from lower in come families, all Penn State students will be eligible to borrow money, interest free, he said. The federal government will pay the interest. Council was uncertain about who else to invite but acting University President Edward D. Eddy, who will make a final decision on the issue by Oct. 31, was mentioned. “The value of this hearing is that people will have the opportunity to ask questions,” ARHS President Jeff Glazier said. “I would like to ask Stormer to articulate on the exact offenses involving weapons,” Veterans Club President Jack Goodman said. He said many of the weapons in cidents cited in Stormer’s defense of arming the campus police only involved hunting weapons or car seats. “Students don’t have the facts,” Interfraternity Council President Mark Mazanek said. Illustration by BarbVanDlne David Slormer,. director of University Safely, has requested that acting University Presi dent Edward D. Eddy grant permission for S 3 campus pdtrot officers, excluding traffic officers and student patrolmen, to Pe armed with . 38-caliber revolvers. The guns would be carried fn a shoulder harness worn beneath the otficers'blazers . ' - Questions ' mmm^osfUva m^m "Veoai Undecided - _ _____ Negative • —»Jei 1. Do you feel the current system ' . ’ f f -■ , of campus police protection is * OVer22% over 8% adequate? ‘ '«• - ’ 2. Do you agree with Stormer's proposal? 37.6% 54.8% - 7-5% 3. Do you support a move to limit campus patrol’s authority to building main- • - ' ' ' tenance that is, prohibiting them from 20 7% 718% 7 4% ' ' making arrests and giving all other ’ responsibility for law enforcement to • either the State College Police or State , Police? ' | scheduled to make a decision on the guns issue during the medical leave of ab sence by Oswald. “Eddy hasn’t been here too long," Kusuplos said. “It’s Stormer trying to sneak it in again. He asked for it in 1975 and 1976.” Students in general appear to be satisfied with the service offered by campus police. Slightly less than 70 “It was not our original intent to go that far with surveillance,” Hetrick said. Police services chose to install the television camera, he said. “There have been no problems since (the camera was removed),” he said. “At least, none have been reported. ’ ’ David E. Stormer, director of University Safety said the decision to remove the camera several days after it was installed was made before it was put in. As to whether the temporary use of the camera solved the problem, Stormer said: “We have had no reports. That doesn’t mean there have been no further incidents, but that none have been reported.” Stormer said individuals were not singled out for discipline and no charges were filed. issue decision held Gun for Faculty Senate By BILL JOHNSON Daily Collegian Staff Writer Acting University-President Ed ward D. Eddy told the Faculty Senate Council Tuesday he will postpone his decision on arming 33 campus police officers until he has heard the discussion the Faculty Senate has scheduled for its Oct. 31 meeting, Faculty Senate Chairman Thomas E. Daubert said a discussion of the gun issue is on the agenda, but no vote is scheduled. “There are as many people on the one side of the issue as there are on the unpopularity of escort policies make it easy for strangers to roam the residence halls. Often students aren’t sure who lives in their building and who doesn’t,” Rideout said. Rideout noted that South Halls, in cluding Pollock, Centre and Nittany Halls, had the most reported thefts for the first half of this calendar year. Of fenses in South totaled 82, compared with 80 in East, 19 in West and nine in North. Surprisingly, few thefts occur in the one-story, barrack style Nittany Halls. Art Costantino, Pollock-Centre-Nittany halls coordinator, attributes this to the small size of the barracks. “Thefts are offset in Nittany because the students are familiar with each other and can tell who belongs in their buildings. Also, the single rooms mean that only one person has a key, making students more conscious of locking their doors,” Costantino said. Patterns are not found so much in where thefts occur, but when. A national poll on university theft rates reports that the majority of student property thefts BINDERY V 202 PATTEE Thursday, October 19,1978 Vol. 79, No. 65 14 pages University Park, Pa. 16802 Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University Now that the camera is gone the security routine will return to normal. “We rely upon the internal areas of most of our facilities,” he said. “We rely heavily on reports.” Stormer said the officers at Physical Plant report to police services, similar to how RAs report incidents in the residence halls. When asked if the harassment was a result of tension between maintenance employees who worked during the strike and those who did not, Stormer replied:' “I think that may be, but I’m really not certain.” When informed of the installment of the closed circuit television camera in the maintenance building, Jane Pikovsky, president of Teamsters Local 8 said, “I think management has gone to an awful lot of trouble to prove nothing.” He also said Stormer hasn’t given any thought fo alternative plans. Haberle asked students to contact USG and suggest possible alternatives. Haberle also asked USG vice president Tony Cortese to call the University’s Statistics Department and begin formulating a poll of students’ feelings on the arming issue. Council sent a letter to Eddy Tuesday calling for a campus-wide poll of students. We should run a poll to give everyone a chance to express an opinion,” Mazaneksaid. ! “I don’t think the average student will be over whelmingly against arming campus police,” President,' of Academic Assembly Randy Albright said. Possible sites for next week’s hearings are the HUB Ballroom and HUB Main Gallery Lounge. ; the other,” Daubert said, so a vote _ probably wouldn’t affect Eddy’s <. decision. “Someone’s always at liberty to call for a vote,” Daubert said, but added he believes it’s unlikely there will be one. Eddy also will be getting input by the end of the month from the University Council, which held public hearings on the gun issue. Eddy has said he believes University Council to be the ap propriate body to make a recom mendation on the gun issue. occur in the evening hours and on weekends, when non-student visitors and parties are the norm in the dormitories. Smith added that a large number of thefts occur around term break when students are moving in and out of the halls. “It’s the beginning of the term and the whole family is busy unloading the car.. Usually there aren’t enough hands to"go around to have someone stay in thg room, and it’s a bother to unlock the door with each load,” Smith said. Hectic times, such as weekends and moving days, help explain the low recovery rate of student property. Losses last year amounted to about $37,000, with less than 25 percent recovered, according to Police Services’ annual report. Rideout added that theft conviction rates are less than two per cent, calling it “almost impossible” to catch a thief in possession of the property. “Students usually don’t realize something is missing until the Monday after a party or until they are all moved Continued on page 7. 4 COPIES percent of those polled said the campusi police are providing adequate prolec-; tion, while over 22 percent thought the protection was inadequate and over 8 percent were undecided. ' "It’s (carrying guns is) a means of protection for them," Cathy Sanders (7th-political science) said, “so that if. they would ever come across trouble, it’s there.” input Illustration by Dolla Hoke
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