frame lance Katrina. Scott: Committee for Justice in S. Africa president sets PSU's gears in motion against racism By NANCY FUNK Collegian Staff Writer But Scott says she had little hope that the University would divest, "We had written letters to the trustees and had received Katrina Scott clearly remembers the first Commitee several responses. We knew the issue was being handled for Justice in South Africa meeting of the semester last by the finance committee and that the people in support of fall only three people showed up. us weren't on that committee," she says. Today, however, the group's numbers are 20 times that On a warm fall afternoon, Scott and other student of the first meeting, and as Scott leaves the position of leaders spoke to a crowd of about 250 students about Committee president and hands over the reins to another apartheid while urging them; to get involved in future active member, she looks back on the past year. protests. Fall Semester began with little encouragment. When all As the group grew, more protests were planned. And of the core members of the Committee graduated during the University experienced a 19605-like whirlwind of the spring of 1985, Scott was left to rebuild the group protests, with Scott and other vocal student leaders herself. stirring crowds of students in front of Old Main. , "I remember the first time I saw Katrina," says Black "Katrina came up with most of the ideas for the Student Coalition Against Racism member Marlon Kir- different rallies and vigils and inspired people to get ton. "It was during a divestment rally in the spring of involved. I did a lot of the legwork. We all worked as a 1985, she wanted to speak to the crowd and we were afraid team," Baker says to let her because once a real nut spoke and it was a disaster. "She kept bugging us and I didn't want to let her speak, but finally she ran up and practically grabbed the mike. The audience loved her and she has been kind of a hero ever since," he says. Undergraduate Student Government President Matt Baker also remembers that day, saying "People had tears in their eyes after she spoke." Stott grew up in Jamaica, where she says "even the most uneducated people knew about apartheid." She felt strongly about the oppression of Blacks in South Africa because her mother is white, while her father is black. " "In South Africa, we wouldn't have been allowed to live together. They would have separated us into three differ ent living areas," she says. In Jamaica, Scott learned about the heritage of Blacks. Because Jamaica is 99 percent black, schools are much more concerned about teaching black history than they are in the United States, Scott says. Scott's father, a 73-year-old retired civil engineer, was active in the anti-aparteid movement in Jamaica, and still lives there with Scott's mother As a freshman at Penn State, Scott began her studies in architectural engineering, following in the footsteps of her father. Now, Scott has decided against engineering. and has opted for general arts and sciences. With plans to enter graduate school in the fall, Scott hopes to study the geography of Africa. "I just wasn't into building big buildings anymore," she ' says. F ORv Scott is also a resident assistant at the Martin Luther . 1 ;1, - .1 King Interest House in Atherton Hall, which attempts to sucv.i • bring different cultures together. As national media turned to apartheid last year, show ing vivid, colorful examples of Blacks beaten by police and oppressed by the South African government, Scott decided to take action within her own world, the world of And after the first protest, the Committee's numbers Penn State. grew dramatically. Students from all majors and back- And when Scott learned of the Univ ersity's $7.6 million grounds came to the meetings and offered support for in South African-related companies, she grew angry at future action. what she viewed as hypocracy on the part of the Universi- Operation South Africa Day was a protest Scott is ty. especially proud of. The day was set up to mirror some of Baker says he and other pro-divestment leaders were the living conditions Blacks in South Africa live under, "so impressed" with Scott, they nominated her for like segregated sidewalks, benches and other public Committee president. facilites. "She was a hard worker and dove into her responsibili- "Putting the students in the shoes of South African ties as president. She was critically intelligent and could Blacks was the most effective thing about the day," she get to the heart of the issues," he says. reflects. So began the rebuilding of the Committee. Scott adver- Committee members spent hours making dozens of tised the Committee in the Free University class sched- signs that later would divide the University Mall by race. tiles and distributed leaflets, but at first, received little The signs read "Whites only" and "Non-Whites only" and support. Slowly though, people came out of the woodwork were held by committee members who asked students to and offered their support to the cause. walk and sit at those places designated for their race. "The three people who were there from the beginning Many students cooperated and the committee members were former Black Caucus President Larry Patrick, Matt took the opportunity to gather pro-divestment signatures Baker and former Black Student Union President Marlon on petitions. Kirton," she says. "We put about 70 to 100 people to work for the cause that Kirton says at first he was disenchanted with the day and educationally, it was a huge success," Scott says. Committee because of low Black membership. Weekly protests continued, and as the weather got "My main involvement was in trying to get more colder, the numbers of protestors also dropped off. A core Blacks involved," he says. group of students braved the cold, however, and stood Scott believes the University, with its stocks in compa- solidly in front of Old Main, chanting "Divest Now." nies doing business in South Africa, is directly supporting "At times I used those Wednesday protests just to think the system of apartheid. By absolving these ties to South about what we were doing and the people who were Africa, the University, along with several other American dying in South Africa," Scott says. universities, would make a statement to the South African And when the trustees meeting came in January, so did government that the United States would not take part in the decision not divest. supporting and contributing to racism. Scott and others active in the movement were disheart- During the fall semester, Scott and other black leaders ened with the decision, and began immediately planning knew the University Board of Trustees would decide strategies to pressure the University to change its deci whether or not to divest that January, and knew it was sion. crucial that board members and students be reached "At some point, although we all believed school was the about the issue before that time. reason we were all here, many of us regarded school as eQuAc R R secondary and the committee and divestment first," Scott adds. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Scott met with Kirton, Carlton Waterhouse, now BSCAR chairman, and Patrick. It was decided that day that the students would ban together, forming a coalition which would include all of the black organizations on campus. Thus the Black. Student Coalition Against Racism was born. BSCAR would work side by side with Committee over the course of the semester. The two organizations erected the shantytown together, and now 'that her term as Committee president is up, Scott says she wants to work with BSCAR more. "I am concerned about black students. Many of them are so oblivious to what is going on," she says. Baker says while the Committee was predominantly white, Scott "always made sure we knew what it was like to be Black at the University." olleglan file Looking back at the year, Scott says giving up her presidency will be difficult. J , ‘Tt !asi week, Scott won the Malcolm X Fannie Lou Hamer award for black student leadership. While Scott says she is happy to have won the award, her fellow black leaders recognize that it was her "dymanic motivation of others that makes her such an outstanding leader to blacks," Baker says. "She is one of my all-time idols," Baker adds Now, although she wants to stay active in the movement, Scott will have more time to enjoy the company of friends and to read. "I like to do quiet things," she says. "But for me, what we are doing is so important," Scott says. "It goes way beyond divestment. I now know that there are about 100 people (Committee members) who have learned about racism, about human rights, and have learned to respect one another." Last semester, Scott helped organize numerous rallies and demonstrations against apartheid. At a demonstration outside the Nittany Lion Inn during January's Board of, Trustees meeting (left), Scott spoke to a crowd rallying outside the inn as University trustees voted not to divest $7.6 million In South African holdings. Scott is also a resident assistant in the Martin Luther King Jr. Interest House which attempts to bring many different cultures together (below). Other house members, shown gathering in one of the interest house rooms in Atherton Hall, include (left to right) Esther Golton (sophomore-agronomy), Anne Marie Eckier (Junior-journalism), Rohini Kanniganti (junior chemistry), Nyesha Tal!staff° (freshman-education), Eric T. Konz (senior-music) and John Mackey Jr. (Junior-general arts and sciences). ate I Gregg Zell The Daily Collegian Tuesday, April 15, 1986 Katrina Scott, outgoing president of the Committee for Justice in South Africa, speaks at a divestment rally in October outside Old Main. Book sale yields buys and help for community By KARL HOKE Collegian Staff Writer The books came in by the box fulls. Many of them left the same way. "Last year my friends were showing me all the books they got," said Andy Merriwether, (ju nior-anthropology and biology) while cradling about seven texts under his left arm. Merriwether, like many stu dents and local residents, found the selection and the prices to his liking at the 25th Annual Used Book Sale of the State College Branch of the American Associa tion of University Women. "If you want to own it and own it cheap, this is the place to be," said Marion Davison, chairwoman of this year's event at the HUB Ball room. She said more than 60,000 books were collected and offered at the sale, which began Sunday and runs through Wednesday. Davison said the sale offers books on many topics, although art, fiction, family living and chil dren's books remain most popu lar. Davison said the proceeds from the event help each year to fund a graduate woman fellow at the University. Proceeds are also do- S%tlieS §o S STYLING SALON 10.00 Special Shampoo, Cut & Blow Dry only $70.00 159 S. Garner St. 237- .6609" AAUW Super Used Book Sale HUB Ballroom • April 13-16 9 a.m. 9 p.m. Tues. 1 / 2 price Wed. '3.00/bag Benefit: Fellowships & Educational Projects Over 65,000 Books No ETTE mos ' • ALL SEAT '' 1 BARGAIN NIGHT . ~ s 2 0 I MONDAY :A •TUESDA f ... .AT ALL THEATRES lIM=I Best Picture Of 1985 OUT OF AFRICA oe NIGHTLY: 8:30 Michael Keaton GUNG HO P 0.13 NIGHTLY: 8:00, 10:00. [ THE FLICK POLICE ACADEMY 3: BACK IN TRAINING PC1.13 NIGHTLY: 8:00 APRIL FOOLS DAY R NIGHTLY: 10:00 a • THE.MOVIES Freddy's Revenge NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, PART H R NIGHTLY: 8:00, 10:00 • • • Tom Hanks/Shelley Long THE MONEY PIT Pa NIGHTLY: 8:00, 10:00 Judge Reingold OFF BEAT PG NIGHTLY: 7:45, 9:45 NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, PART II a NIGHTLY: 7:15, 9:15 All Seats $2.00 This year, heart disease and stroke will kill another 200,000 Americans before age 65. 4" American Heart Association WE'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE Sheldon Lin (right), a University alumnus from Hermitage, examines the selection at the American Association of University Women book sale at the HUB April 13. The sale continues until Wednesday. nated to Schlow Memorial Li brary, 100 E. Beaver Ave., the Woman's Resource Center, 111 Sowers St., and Phone-Friend, 111 Sowers St., an open telephone line for latchkey children, she said. Yesterday it appeared many book shoppers had the same thing in mind as Merriwether. Many Iai:.ONEY TO -LE Peoples National Bank is ready to help you meet the ever higher costs of higher education. We'll be giving away five $5OO scholarships a total of $2,500. To be eligible to win, just fill in the entry blank and bring it to your nearest Peoples office during routine banking hours, or mail it to: Peoples National Bank SCholarship Sweep stakes, P.O. Box 298, State College, PA, 16804. If you win, we'll make your check payable to the PHEAA approved educational institution of your choice. Winners will be notified by registered mail. Only one scholarship per individual or family will be allowed. Employees of Peoples National Bank, their advertising agencies and their families are not eligible. Winning Without Luck To take some of the element of chance out of your future, find out about affordable PHEAA and PLUS student loans. The people at our Office of Student Banking, 135 Pugh Street in State College, are specially trained to help students and students-to-be with loans, checking accounts and whatever else they may need for school. walked out with bags and boxes full of books. "The prices are good," said Merriwether, adding that it gives him a chance to build his book collection."l've been looking fo ward to it all year," he said. The 10 books he bought Monday cost $7.10. Peoples National Bank's Win One of Five $5OO Scholarships ,511 FWW' Collegian Photo I Alan Klein "Families will buy $4O, $5O, $6O, to $9O worth of books," Davison said. Local AAUW member Felicia Lewis said the idea for the sale was came from two chapters in Michigan, one in Ann Arbor and one in Oakland county, Michigan. 'Anybody's guess' on Contra aid vote By MEGAN O'MATZ Collegian Staff Writer One month after rejecting Presi dent Reagan's request for $lOO mil lion in military aid to Nicaragua's Contra rebels, the U.S. House is tak ing up the issue again as it considers four new proposals today. Ben Procter, legislative assistant to House Majority Leader James Wright, D-Texas, said the House to day will discuss time restrictions on the aid debate, which will probably run into tomorrow. No vote is ex pected before then. Besides considering the $lOO mil lion aid package that the Republican controlled U.S. Senate recently passed 53 to 47, the House, which last month voted 222 to 210 against a similar measure, will look at three other proposals that alter the Senate' version. Harry Phillips, press secretary for U.S. Rep. William F. Clinger, R-Pa, said the Senate version defers all but $25 million of the proposed $lOO mil lion in aid for 90 days. The $25 million could be sent immediately for hu manitarian purposes, but the remain der would be delayed for three months, in hopes of progress in nego tiations. A second proposal also calls for $lOO million in aid, but places a differ ent timetable on the release of the money than the Senate .version. It also establishes a commission to in vestigate the Contadora process and submit reports every 90 days, Procter said. The Contadora process involves four countries Colombia, Mexico, Don't Be Late for School Money Deadline for entering our Sweepstakes is June 30, 1986 so get your entry in today. Then maybe you'll be one of our five lucky winners who'll have scholarship money to learn. II Money To Learn Scholarship Sweepstakes 1 I Entry Form City Home Telephone # No application or loan necessary to enter. State College • Bellefonte Boalsburg• Centre Hall • Lemont • Millheim Port Matilda • Rebersburg • Snow Shoe The Daily Collegian Tuesday, April 15, 1986-3 State Zip Peoples National Bank of Central Pennsylvania Member FDIC An Equal Opportunity Lender `The purpose of this is to try to keep American personnel out of the potential battle areas.' Ben Procter Panama and Venezuela that are tryingto work out a diplomatic solu tion to the problems in Nicaragua and El Salvador. No military assistance whatsoever is the bottom line of the third propo sal, which also calls for $29 million in humanitarian assistance and refugee aid. The fourth proposal sponsored by two California representatives is de signed as an amendment to all the other proposals. It restricts U.S. mili tary personnel from training Contras in Honduras, Costa Rica or El Salva dor. "The purpose of this is to try to keep American personnel out of the potential battle areas," Procter said. Because of the number of proposals being considered, Phillips said that what the House finally .decides and how close the vote is is "anybody's guess." He added that any proposal the House agrees on will probably be linked to the supplemental appropria tions bill for 1986, which allocates money for projects such as Super fund, job training programs and em bassy security.
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