The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, March 12, 1982, Image 1

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    Exec Council groups approve USG constitution
Jeanette and Harrison A. Williams
It's that time of year . .
Line dwellers may be dampened by rain, melting snow
By JOYCE WASHNIK
Collegian Staff Writer
The series of storms that dumped about 10 inches of snow
here could present some problems for those students
waiting in dormitory contract lines this weekend.
"The problem here is that the ground is still saturated,"
said Mark Stunder, weather reporter for The Daily
Collegian.
Because temperatures have warmed up since the start
of the week, much of the snow has melted, creating wet
sidewalks and muddy conditions on the ground, Stunder
said.
He said he is concerned about where students are going
to stand and lay their sleeping bags.
"I wouldn't want my sleeping bag in the mud," he said.
Stunder compared this year's predicted weather
conditions with last year's conditions when the
temperature was I'7 degrees with a dropping wind chill
factor.
"The difference this year is that the temperature should
be only 33 degrees at the coldest," he said. "Temperature
shouldn't be any problem this year."
However, Stunder predicts rain showers tomorrow into
the early evening.
Representatives of the Office of Housing and Food
Service Operations, the Office of Residential Life
Funding to University unlikely
increased by legislature
to be
By FRANK A.DOOLEY
Collegian Staff Writer
HARRISBURG -- Although the state
government advocates the support of higher
education, it is unlikely that the state
appropriation to the University will increase
beyond the 6 percent mark established in the
governor's proposal, a state representative said
'yesterday.
State Rep. Ronald R. Cowell, D-Allegheny
County, said a high increase in appropriations
should not be expected just because the state
legislature is a strong supporter of the University.
"I would argue for every additional dollar that
we could find, but I don't see more support this
year from the governor's office or the legislature
for a substantial increase in Penn State's
appropriation," Cowell said.
Cowell said the appropriation increase is still
possible, but it won't be as high as University
President John W. Oswald requested in the
appropriation hearing.
"There may be a 6 vs. a 7 percent increase, but
not a 6 vs. 12 percent increase," Cowell said.
Cowell said the state legistlature opposes
federal cutbacks that take money from the
student, but the money needed to make up for the
loss cannot come from state funds.
"There is no way we can begin to make up for
the loss of federal dollars in the Reagan proposals,
although we do support higher education," he
said.
Most of the educational support in the
legistlature is focused on lower education instead
of the college level, Cowell said, because a local
school budget is directly related to property taxes.
He said the goal of state-related colleges should
aim on gaining more priority from the
legislatures.
"The big focus is now on lower education, but I
believe higher education must have the same
focus," Cowell said.
Penn State Provost Edward D. Eddy said the
the
daily
Programs and the Association of Residence Hall Students
met Wednesday afternoon to discuss the possibility of
inclement weather and how it would affect the dorm lines.
"We're going to react to the weather as it goes," said
ARMS President Chris Calkins., - - , •
This is the first time there has lieen snow on the ground
since the first-come, first-serVed line procedure has been
used, said Stan Latta, assistant director of the Office of
Residential Life Programs.
Latta said decisions concerning alternatives to the dorm
contract lines will be made based on temperature,
precipitation and existing ground conditions.
Paul Harry (3rd-architectural engineering), who is
asking for reassignment to the same room, said he plans
on getting in line with his roommate sometime tomorrow.
Harry's greatdst concern is the weather.
"We have a piece of plastic to put down," he said. "If it
rains I guess we'll take an umbrella."
Lynn Porta (3rd-education) is also worried about the
weekend weather conditions.
Latta stressed that if students have any questions
concerning contract submission, they should not rely
solely.on another student's information.
"If students have questions concerning submitting
contracts after 5 p.m. (today) they should contact line
monitors or the coordinating staff in the areas."
needs of lower education are closer to the average
constituent than those of state-related colleges,
therefore, legislatures put lower education above
higher education in priority.
"Because a college is not located in every home
town, the emphasis on lower education is greater
than higher education," he said
Eddy also said some legislators in Harrisburg
do not have a sense of higher education because
they can't distinguish a difference in college and
other teaching levels.
"Legislators have trouble because they can't
translate between a grade school teacher and a
member of a college faculty," he said. "A college
instructor spends more hours in preparation, if not
more hours in the classroom."
Oswald agreed with Eddy, saying that research
is also an important part of a University
instructor's time
"Penn State is a major research institution in
the state, and the faculty must provide
information and research to enhance the state,"
Oswald said.
Reductions in the University's budget have
resulted in larger classes, Eddy said, but the
legislators should know that course content has
not suffered. Although large classes exist, the
University has competent lecturers and good
visual aids in the classrooms, he said.
However, he said, reductions in class size are
almost impossible.
"Class reduction is an elusive goal because of
increases in national inflation," Eddy said.
"You're running in place if you try to outrun
inflation, so our emphasis will be placed on a
quality education, not a reduction of class size."
Oswald stressed the importance of maintaining
quality in his opening remarks to the House
appropriation committee yesterday.
"Whatever we do, we are not going to cut
corners on quality,"Oswald said. "We are going to
do our job with quality, or we are not going to do it
at all."
Williams resigns from Senate
N.J.
By MIKE SHANAHAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) Harrison A. Williams Jr.
resigned yesterday after 23 years in the Senate,
vowing that "history and Almighty God will vindicate
me" even as his colleagues were poised to cast him
out in the first expulsion since the Civil War.
"It is with sorrow that I leave good friends," the
,New Jeisey Democrat said in a final address that
once more asserted his innocence in the Abscam
bribery and conspiracy case for which a federal jury
convicted him last year.
Williams, 62, was the only senator among seven
members of Congress ensnared by the undercover
investigation. He was also the last to leave office.
Rep. Michael Myers, D-Pa., was ousted by the
House; the others 'either resigned or were defeated
for re-election.
Williams spoke for 23 minutes, saying quietly at the
end: "I announce my intention to resign."
"I know I broke no laws . . . I believe time, history
and Almighty God will vindicate me," he said.
University President John•W. Oswald and Temple University President Marvin Wachman greet each other
during a break in budget hearings of the state House appropriations committee meeting in Harrisburg
yesterday.
congressman maintains innocence in Abscam case
• lan
e
40 Harrison Williams may have
been the biggest catch in the Abscam
net but there were others..... Page 8
ao New Jersey Gov. Thomas H.
Kean has.not decided whom he will
appoint to serve out Williams' term in
t,the U.S. Senate.... .. age 8
.. . . . . .
"I leave in good spirits, in good heart and with
strong resolve," with sorrow but also with resolve,
Williams told the packed chamber, vowing to pursue
his fight for exoneration through the federal appeals
courts. He was sentenced last year to three years in
prison and tined $50,0030.
"I have fought the good fight," he said, quoting the
Officials say decrease in deficit possible
By OWEN ULLMANN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) It seems
too good to be true. But, just in case,
Reagan administration officials are
taking another look at new budget
figures suggesting the 1982 deficit
may be $lO billion less than expected.
A Treasury Departmentefficial, '
who did not want his name used, said
an investigative group has been
formed to examine the spending and
revenue figures, which indicate the
deficit for the current fiscal year
might be running as much as $lO
billion lower than the official forecast
Officially, the administration
predicts the deficit for the year ending
Sept. 30 will be a record $98.6 billion,
but some budget officials have
conceded publicly that the red-ink
total could top the $lOO billion mark
The administration's deficit
estimate for 1982 has been growing
steadily since February 1981, when
President Reagan initially proposed a
spending plan calling for a $45 billion
deficit.
Several officials at the Treasury
Department and at the Office of
'We haven't been able to determine exactly
why. We're doing the detective work now.'
Management and Budget cautioned
that recent figures showing lower
than-expected spending and higher
than-expected receipts may be a
temporary phenomena that will
disappear before the fiscal year is
over.
The officials said some individuals
in the administration are anxious to
publicize the figures as a potentially
favorable trend, but others fear the
administration will be viewed as
clutching at straws.
"We've warned (other officials)
against encouraging anybody," said
the Treasury Department official.
This official said government
receipts so far this fiscal year appear
to be running $5 billion ahead of
estimates, while outlays appear to be
running $5 billion below estimates,
Friday March 12, 1982 •
Vol. 82, No. 131 24 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University
Bible. "I have finished my course. I have kept the
faith."
Every member of the Senate looked on, every
gallery seat was filled, as Williams signed his letter
of resignation, then had it carried to Vice President
George Bush and read by the clerk of the Senate.
"I hereby tender my resignation as a member of
the United States Senate," it said. -
Later, Williams and his wife received rousing
applause as they entered the rotunda of a Senate
office building. There, he told a news conference that
"I am not a broken man" and that he hoped his New
Jersey constituents "are not disappointed that I
resigned."
Although congressional sources said Williams
confided to friends late Wednesday that he intended
to resign, the senator told reporters it was not until
11:30 a.m. yesterday after the Senate had
convened that he made his decision. •
Asked why he had not apologized to the Senate,
Williams replied: "To be foolish is to be human.
Should we apologize for being foolish?"
—A Treasury Department official
producing a $lO billion deficit
reduction.
"We haven't been able to determine
exactly why," he said. "We're doing
the detective work now" at Treasury
and OMB.
A lower-than-anticipated deficit for
1982, some administration officials
say, could reduce the clamor in
Congress for major changes in the
president's 1983 budget plan to reduce
a projected deficit approaching $lOO
billion.
Not everyone who keeps track of
spending and receipts sees the
favorable 1982 budget trend spotted
by the administration officials.
Several analysts, who did not want
their names used, said they see
revenues running only about $1.5
billion above expectations.
Page 2
inside
• Statewide banking is coming
to Pennsylvania, but area bankers
don't expect local banking to
change very much as a result at
least not initially Page 12
• The women's gymnastics team
competes at NCAA Northeast Re
gional Championships tonight and
tomorrow night at Pitt Page 13
weather
Morning fog giving way to partly
sunny skies today, highs around 50.
Increasing clouds overnight with
lows around 36. Variable cloudiness
and breezy tomorrow with rain
showers and a chance of a late
thundershower. Highs around 56.
Partly cloudy tomorrow night after
some early evening showers, lows
around 33. Partly cloudy, breezy and
cooler on Sunday with highs in the
low 40s.
—by Mark Stunder
index
Comics/crossword
News briefs
Opinions
Sports
State/nation/world
Weekend
note
A report compiled by several fac
ulty members on the switch to a
semester calendar is scheduled to
be released to the University com
munity on Monday. Because of the
possible importance of the report to
the University, The Daily Collegian
plans to publish the full report in
Monday's issue. •
Page 10
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