20—The Daily Collegian Monday, April 9, 1984
RHAB a
By KAREN NAGLE
Collegian Staff Writer
Students with a gripe or suggestion
pertaining to life in the residence
halls do not have to face the system
alone they have a friend called
the Residence Hall Advisory Board.
RHAB a department of the
Association of Residence Hall Stu
dents is an organization with
considerable potential as a consum
er's advocate for dorm students,
RHAB director Joyce Darkey said.
The organization can be useful for
dorm students in the "landlord-ten
ant relationship in the framework of
the University," she said. As "ten
ants" of the University, dorm stu
dents are entitled to voice their
opinions, Darkey said.
RHAB deals mostly with seem
ingly minor aspects of+ dorm life,
"but small things can start to eat at
you," she said. Reasons students
seek out RHAB range from com
plaints about dining hall food to
complaints of unfair charges for
damages, she said.
But the full potential of the orga
nization has yet to be recognized by
students, she said.
"RHAB could be one of the most
Wives in Reagan Administration say
By ANN BLACKMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON Carolyn Deaver says her
stomach turns all the time.
"Inevitably, we'll be criticized for some
thing," says Midge Baldrige.
Sue Block. was scared of moving to Wash
ington, "and I would have been more scared if
I'd known what we were getting into."
These are Official Wives, married to men in
the Reagan administration. And recently they
have been speaking out. They say the honey
moon is long since over, that it is emotionally
exhautting to live in the limelight and that
Washington can be a catty and vicious town.
They fear the daggers might one day turn on
them.
• To many, it would seem that Carolyn Deav
er, Midge Baldrige and Sue Block should have
no complaints. They and their husbands are
well-liked, well-respected and have survived
three years in Washington with their reputa
tions unscathed and their integrity unques
tioned. No one is hammering them.
But they empathize with friends like White
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useful friend for students
helpful, influential organizations on
campus," Darkey said.
Because students remain some
what in the dark about RHAB, the
organization must concentrate ef
forts on letting students know it can
work effectively for them, she said.
"Our strength and our effective
ness really lie in having the students
trust us," she said.
Darkey said she has tried to place
an emphasis on the importance of
helping any student that contacts
the organization, since "getting
something done is , the only way to
strengthen the organization."
One reason such potential exists
for RHAB is that demand for cam
pus housing is on the decline, she
said.
"Housing is going to have to be
come more responsive to what the
students like," Darkey said. .
In the past, demand for' campus
housing has been high, Darkey said.
But because of an increasing
amount of housing in the commu
nity and changes in demographics
that mean fewer college age stu
dents in future years, demand for
campus housing will decrease, she
said.
RHAB acts as a watchdog of the
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House counselor Edwin Meese HI and his
wife, Ursula, who have been caught in an
awkward spotlight.
Many who come to Washington feel they
live in a pressure cooker, even those who
handle it well.
Carolyn Deaver, whose husband, Michael
Deaver, is White House deputy chief of staff,
said that when one administration family is
criticized, all are affected.
"It seems to be a function of finding any
slight error and making a large thing about
it," she said. "It does affect you, whether
you're in the (news) article or not. You feel
that sooner or later, your time will come."
Many cheered when Treasury Secretary
Donald Regan said at a press conference that
he would not pay for his wife's use of govern
ment limousines when she used the cars to
attend functions as a "Cabinet wife," such as
charity and diplomatic receptions, or to at
tend offical events at night.
There was no reason to think her actions
were "illegal, immoral, unethical or anything
else," Regan said.
In interviews, several Official Wives said
University a function that is
needed because the University
holds a monopoly over campus
housing, she said.
When housing officials make deci
sions regarding student housing,
they do not seek student input,
Darkey said.
"It's only when we say 'hey you
can't do this' " that they consider
the students' side, she said.
"It's the whole attitude, atmo
sphere, philosophy of housing,"
Darkey said. "They're shocked
when we come back as intelligient
adults and say `hey'."
Students should have more input
into housing and food service con
tracts, she said.
"That contract could be inter
preted to mean practically every
thing. It's purposefully vague,"
Darkey said.
"How many leases say the land
lord reserves the right to raise the
rent?" she asked.
She said that as consumers, stu
dents deserve more input into con
tracts.
"It all boils down to having hous
ing act more like a business, respon
sible to their consumers' needs,"
she said.
`ln Washington, when
you're in, you're in. You
have a title and prestige.
But when you're out, it's
like you vanish from the
face of the Earth.'
—Sue Block, wife of Agriculture
Secretary Johri Block
they have been particularly shaken by the
recent controversy surrounding the Meeses.
A special prosecutor has been appointed to
investigate charges involving Meese, includ
ing one that Ursula Meese accepted a $15,000
loan from a man who later got a federal job.
Friends of Ursula Meese said she was
deeply upset by the controversy and that it
was exacerbated by reporters and photogra
phers who spent two weeks virtually camped
in front of the Meeses' house.
Finally, she complained publicly.
However, Donald Arndt, director
of Housing Services, said "there is a
lot of input from students" into the
contracts.
"If ARHS has any opinions what
so-ever about what's in the con
tract, they are free to tell us," he
said.
Darkey said University food serv 7
ices is usually receptive to sugges
tions made by RHAB. They try to
supply what the students want, she
said.
For example, food services ex
panded breakfasts this year in the
dining halls to include more options,
she said. .
"This was something they did
because they knew students' wanted
it," she said.
The effectiveness of. RHAB, al
though it has been a part of ARHS
for several years; has begun to be
,substantial only in the last two
years, Darkey said. •
ARHS President Dave Labuskes,
at his last meeting two weeks.ago,
said Darkey has given RHAB more
potential than it has ever had.
Last year's director laid a strong
foundation for the organization, he
said. But, "if he laid the foundation,
then Joyce has built the house,"
Labuskes said.
Disney World brings child
out in Chinese newspaper
By RICK GLADSTONE
Associated Press Writer
PEKING The enchantment of
Disney World brought out the child in
China's usually solemn Communist
Party newspaper, which dropped the
usual condemnations of bourgeois
decadence and called the Florida
amusement park -a "magical
.par
adise."
"We' enjoyed ourselves so much at
the world showcase that we did not
want to come home," said Hong Yi in
the travel column of yesterday's Peo
ple's Daily.
"We visited this great fun park for
three days and still were only able to
see one part of it," Hong marveled.
His praises were rare appreciation
for American-style entertainment
from the state-run press, which pre
fers to extol the advances of Chinese
communism and criticize U.S. poli
cies.
Hong told, readers the, park occu
pies 28,000 acres a stunning size for
any amusement area to the 1 billion
Chinese, who must ration precious
land for growing food.
"Entering Disney World in Orlan
do, Florida, is like entering a magical
paradise," he wrote. "Every artistic
creation is novel and mystical."
He was entranced by exhibits of
honeymoon
`What has gone wrong with the country?"
she asked one reporter. ". . .It's unbelieva
ble. You should never feel uncomfortable
going to church but when you have photogra
phers there filming you when you leave . . .
Nobody should- have to live that way. No
body."
Carolyn Deaver said that whether one is a
Democrat or Republican, the pressure of
having one's professional and private life
under a magnifying glass "is deflating and
demoralizing."
"It reaches a point where you say, "I don't
think it's worth it," she said. "It doesn't
matter what party you're in . . . To be tried by
the press is awful. You have a real churning
in your stomach all the time. You're 'under
siege. It's not fun."
Midge Baldrige, who is married to Com
merce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige, said the
constant scrutiny discourages people from
going into government life.
"It will deter • capable people from serv
ing," she said. "The country will suffer in the
long run. I feel inevitably we'll be criticized
for something."
Sue Block, who is married to Agriculture
cultures from China, Japan, the Unit:
ed States, Canada, Mexico and West-,
em Europe.
The best of these exhibits was
China's, Hong said; describing how
visitors see replicas of old court-,
yards, landscapes and a gate to Pe
king from the era when the Chinese
capital was a walled city.
Hong saved his loftiest compli- .
ments for the Epcot Center's 18-
floored dome of futuristic exhibits. -,
"It is a scientific and artistic mu;
terpiece, causing people to gasp in
admiration," he wrote. He described
hoW visitors ride electric cars
through exhibits that take them from
the Stone Age to the wonders of
computers, space travel and under
water civilizations forecast for the
21st century.
Such an exhibit is of intense inter-,
est in China, which has proclaimed an
urgent need for modern technology to,
catch up with advanced countries.
Hong never explained why the park
is called Disney World and did not,
mention the creator of the Disney,
empire, the late Walt Disney.
The People's Daily article was not,
China's first exposure to Disney's
creations. Official Chinese dele 7
gations have visited Disneyland in •
California.
long over'
Secretary John Block, said in an interview
last November that she is friendly with wives
of men who have resigned from Reagan's
cabinet and are no longer on the official
circuit. :
"In Washington, when you're in, you're in,"
she said. "You have a title and prestige. But
when you're out, it's like you vanish from the
face of the Earth."
One woman who knows what life is like in a
Washington sandstorm is Leilani Watt, wife
of former Interior Secretary James G. Watt,
who resigned last October after the years
marked with controversy.
In a recent interview, Leilani Watt said,
"It's the scrutiny in every part of your life
that is wearing. It seems that because you are
a public official, you're held to a standard of
being perfect. You're not perfect."
Nancy Reynolds, a lobbyist in Washington
with close ties to the Reagan administration,
said life in Washington can be like a soap
opera.
"When you first come, everybody panders
to your ego," she said. "Total strangers give
parties in your honor. Two years later, the
honeymoon is over."