AACP accuses University of racial discrimination
Left, an unidentified woman and Matthew Moore, state chairman of the NAACP,
listen as an audience member addresses the problem of racial discrimination at
an NAACP meeting last night. Right, former University employee Haroon Kharem,
left; Moore; and Ann Shields speak at the meeting.
Report, could change PSU admissions policy
By DAVID MEDZERIAN
Collegian Staff Writer
A major change in . the University's admissions
policy could result Ha report compiled by the .
Provost's Admissions Review Committee is
implemented.
Under the proposal, which would take effect Fall
Semester 1983, admissions to the University would be
bated on academic program, location and student
quality, University Provost Edward D. Eddy said.
"The student would be judged on the basis of what
their predicted grade point average would be in that
particular,
.curriculum," he said.
"If the recommendations of the report are
inside
o Black fraternities at the Univer
sity are organized with a purpose in
mind gaining a sense of identity
Page 4
• Guatemala's new government
threW out the nation's constitution
yesterday and suspended all politi
cal party activities Page 6
• A study by a University profes
sor,concludes that an increase in a
congressional candidate's promo
tional spending results in an in
crease in votes received Page 10
weather
A return to winter is In store.
Increasing cloudiness today, high
near 45. Periods of rain will develop
this evening. Rain may be mixed
with sleet or snow at times, low
near 34. Turning sharply colder and
windy tomorrow with rain showers
changing to snow showers during
the morning. Slowly falling tempera
tures.
Very cold and windy tomorrow
night with snow flurries. Lows in the
teens.
—by Mark Stunder
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accepted, the quality of the applicant directly would
be important. That (would be) a major shift in the
University's admissions policy."
Acceptances are now based mainly on when and to
which campus a prospective student applies, Eddy
said. Applicants must, however, meet minimum
requirements for admission to the University.
The report is still in the drafting stage and would
have to be approved by the University Faculty
Senate's admissions committee, the Council of
Academic Deans, the provost and the president in
order to become University policy, Eddy said.
"It's a very carefully considered report, and one
that we will want to examine in detail," he said.
Donald G. Dickason, chairman of the Admissions
Minorities a topic at USG debate
By MARCY MERMEL
Collegian Staff Writer
Candidates for Undergraduate
Student Government president and
vice president debated last night
about how the University's minority
recruitment and retention problem
should be dealt with, in the second of
five debates sponsored by USG.
The candidates were asked
questions by a panel consisting of
WDFM News Director Mark
Bomberger, USG President Bill •
Cluck, Daily Collegian Editor Phil
Gutis and USG Vice President Ken
Reeves. Sharon Taylor, Collegian
managing editor, and Pam Wheeland,
WDFM news staff writer were also on
the panal. Members of the audience
were also able to ask questions.
Bomberger asked the candidates
what role USG should play-in minority
recruitment and retention and how
the problem can be solved.
Presidential candidate Jim Krauss
said USG should concentrate on
retaining minorities and create a task
force to deal with the issue.
Leni Barch, a presidential
candidate, said USG should be
supportive of groups working on the
problem by pledging resources and
workers.
,Another presidential candidate,
Matt Wolford, said minorities should
be dealt with like other student
groups. The University should
emphasize retention, he said.
By JOSEPH KAYS
Collegian Staff Writer
The NAACP may file a class-action suit against the
University because of what it calls insensitivity by
University President John W;Oswald to its
complaints of racial discrimination.
No specific details of the proposed suit were
released.
Representatives of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People met yesterday
afternoon with Oswald to discuss discrimination at
the University.
The Rev. Gerald Loyd, pastor of Unity Christian
Ministries at the University and an NAACP member,
said the representatives were upset because Oswald
referred their complaints to University committees
and refused to talk about specific cases of alleged
discrimination.
The NAACP alleges that Haroon Kharem, a former
University employee, and other University
employees were fired because of racial
discrimination.
After the discussion became argumentative, •
Oswald walked out of the room, the representatives
said.
At a news conference following the afternoon
Because students sometimes leave
the University as a result of
difficulties with academics or
atmosphere, the University should try
to solve these problems and get
minority students involved in
activities in the residence halls,
Wolford said.
Candidate Andy Leisner said as
USG president he would "sit down and
Photo by Kathleen A. Prince
Leni Barch, candidate for
USG president
Review Committee and dean of admissions, said:
"My own view is that it should help us University-
wide to improve the quality of the student."
At its July meeting, the University Board of
Trustees discussed rising enrollment, said Paul Bell,
student member of the board.
"Our recommendation was that overall
enrollments are too high," he said.
Although Eddy said he requested the report be
compiled because of the unexpected enrollment
surge . last year, he said the proposed policy change
was not intended to decrease enrollments.
"Right now, Penn State finds itself in a period of
high demand. It would be foolish of us not to take
Please see REPORT, Page 20
talk and understand where
(minorities) are at and then find out
what needs to be dorie and see if we
can work together to accomplish
that."
Emil Parvensky, also a presidential
candidate, said the University should
update the recruitment and retention
policies determined by a 1975 task
force.
Pilot programs with students
promoting the University to minority
students from a student perspective
and a buddy system to help new
students deal with problems could
help solve the problem, he said.
Cluck asked the candidates to
choose one of their planks and explain
why it is important and how it will be
accomplished.
Parvensky said the calendar
conversion is an important issue and
"people do not realize the scope of the
conversion."
Getting the student councils of the
University's 10 colleges involved
would "break (the calendar
conversion) down into more
manageable parts," he said.
Work on proposals like the "Super
Summer" of extra courses for
students who would have had to go
until Christmas in order to graduate
and a waiver system for courses that
would not directly affect the student's
degree should be continued, he said.
Please see CANDIDATES, Page 20:
meeting, Loyd read from a prepared statement: "We
see this•as an insult to an institution of the caliber of
the NAACP and the black people across the
Commonwealth."
Oswald did not attend the news conference, but
according to a news release distributed by the
University Office of Public Information:
"Complaints of discrimination have been brought to
the attention of the appropriate offices of the
University, have been reviewed, and no evidence has
been found to support the allegations of
discrimination.
' "The employees have the option of pursuing their
complaints further within the University's grievance
procedures."
The University's statement also said that about 15
different programs for minorities have been initiated
Since Oswald becdme University president in 1970.
Included are the University's Black Scholars
Program, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center,
community centers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,
the University's educational opportunity program
(EOP) for academically and financially
disadvantaged students, and a developmental year
program for EOP students, the statement said.
But Loyd said only 232 of the 11,500 employees in
the University are blacks or other minorities.
Educators
Reaganomics' effects
By ANN H. FISHER
Collegian Staff Writer
President Reagan's New
Federalism program will definitely
affect the future of the nation's higher
education system, but University
faculty members and administrators
disagree as to the extent.
Every administration in the past 20
years has had its own brand of "new
federalism," but Reagan's priorities
could bring about the downfall of
certain educational programs, said
Sheldon R. Gelman, professor of
social welfare.
Programs that provide educational
opportunities for minorities, which
the government has promoted in
recent years, are no longer high on
Reagan's priority list, Gelman said.
"His solutions give more problems
than they solve," he added. "We're
moving backwards in many areas."
Reagan's New Federalism proposes
to reduce the federal government's
involvement and funding of the
individual states' programs by
lumping many separate programs
into block grants. All programs
including education would have to
compete for a share of the dwindling
federal funds allocated to each state.
"Concerning education, I regard
Reagan's New Federalism as old
feudalism," said Henry J. •
Hermanowicz, dean of the College of
Education.
Charles L. Hosier Jr., dean of the
College of Earth and Mineral
Sciences, is "not quite as excited" as
the others about what Reagan is
doing.
"This is just a shaking-down
period" in the nation's economy,
Hosier said. Until five or six years
ago, many of those minority
programs did not exist, and "right
now, society can't afford all the good
things they want to do.
"You cannot assume that
government will grow forever," he
added.
Noting that he was "aware of a lot
of waste and a lot of nonsense" among
research projects and certain
educators across the nation, Hosier
20°
Thursday March 25, 1982
Vol.• 82, No. 140 20 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University
"In the past several years, there have been
numerous complaints of racial and sexual
discrimination," the NAACP statement said. "In
numerous departments there is a total exclusion of
blacks, and tokenism in others."
Of about 32,700 students at University Park, Loyd
said, about 740 are black.
"There is a climate not really conducive to good
race relations," he said.
Matthew Moore, state chairman of the NAACP,
said the University should recruit all black students
the way it recruits basketball and football players.
"I think Dr. Oswald is living in the dark ages," he
said. "He hasn't been confronted by black people."
Last night, the NAACP held an organizational
meeting in State College at which about 80 people
came to listen to Moore and to start a new branch of
the group in the area.
Moore, along with other people.who were at the
afternoon meeting with Oswald, urged those in
attendance to work together to fight discrimination,
not only at the University but throughout the area.
To start a branch of the organization, he said, 50
people willing to pay the $lO membership fee are
required; 37 paid last night.
disagree on
thinks federal spending should be
reviewed.
The disparity between defense and
education allocations has some deans
worried. In his 1983 budget proposals,
Reagan proposed increasing defense
spending by 17 percent, while
reducing education spending by 23
percent.
However, Hosler is not one of those
who is worried. He said he thinks that
clever people can always find ways to
tap the defense money thus the
disparity could be lessened.
"There is not anything in the
sciences that can't be geared toward
the defense induitry," he said. "You
just have to put the things you want to
do in their terms. •
"I think that science and
engineering are going to come out of
this smelling like a rose if they are
clever and fast on their feet," Hosler
said.
Unfortunately, the proposed cuts
may go deeper than just eliminating
waste —cutting good and bad
programs alike, he said.
Paul fl. Rigby, assistant dean of
research in the College of Business
Administration, agreed that Reagan's
budget proposals go beyond just
eliminating the inefficiency in the
bureaucracy but said he believes that
Reagan's policy is inconsistent.
"Why is there less waste in defense
than any Where else? It's as bad there
as anywhere," Rigby said. "He .
should look at all aspects of the
government."
Because of Reagan's increased
defense spending, the sciences should
be able to survive direct education
cuts. The deans agreed that other
education programs, such as the
humanities and the social sciences,
would feel the impact of the cuts
more.
"If I was involved in the
humanities, I would be more
distressed," Hosler said.
Inevitably, deans from the colleges
that deal with the social sciences are
more vigorously opposed to the 1983
budget proposals.
Please see EDUCATORS, Page 20.