COLLEGIAN 100 YEARS
April 1887-April 1987
Reagan allows aides to keep silent
By DAVID ESPO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate in
vestigators quizzed the ClA’s No. 2
man for four hours and subpoenaed
documents around the country yes
terday in an expanding probe into the
secret sale of arms to Iran and trans
fer of profits to Nicaraguan rebels.
President Reagan said Cabinet offi
cers are free to decide whether to
invoke the Fifth Amendment when
their turn comes to testify.
A long-distance disagreement sur
faced within the administration over
the roots of the president’s controver
sial Iranian arms policy. White House
spokesman Larry Speakes said “we
don’t agree with” Defense Secretary
Caspar Weinberger’s contention that
Reagan acted on bad advice when he
decided there were responsible offi
cials to deal with in Iran other than
the “lunatics” who run the country.
Both houses of Congress moved to
establish special committees to con
duct their own probes when lawmak
ers return to session in January.
Reagan, embroiled in the most
serious crisis of his presidency, has
defended his decision to sell arms to
Iran as part of a secret diplomatic
initiative to re-establish ties with the
strategically-placed Persian Gulf na
tion. But he says he was unaware that
money in connection with the sales
was being funneled through a Swiss
bank account to Contra rebels bat-
16 fraternities
charged with
liquor violations
By SUSAN KEARNEY
and VICTORIA PETTIES
Collegian Staff Writers
Sixteen University, fraternities
were charged yesterday with serving
alcohol to minors following a two
month investigation, said State Col
lege Police Chief Elwood G. Williams
at a meeting with executives from the
Interfraternity Council.
Mary Pickens, Panhellenic Council
president told members of the Uni
versity Student Executive Council
last night that Williams announced
that plain clothes officers collected
information at various fraternity par
ties.
A State College Bureau of Police
Services press release stated that
charges were filed yesterday af
ternoon in the office of District Mag
istrate Clifford Yorks against the 16
fraternities named in the investiga
tion. Citations summons have also
been sent to about 25 people for serv
ing alcohol to minors.
“It’s about 20 steps backwards in
cooperation” between student gov
ernment and the State College Bo
rough, said Craig Millar, USEC
advisor.
The fraternities charged are: Pi
Lambda Phi, Tau Kappa Epsilon,
Sigma Phi Epsilon, Theta Delta Chi,
Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Nu, Alpha
Chi Rho, Beta Sigma Beta, Kappa
Sigma, Phi Mu Delta, Sigma Alpha
Epsilon, Phi Kappa Theta, Pi Kappa
Alpha, Sigma Pi, Acacia, Phi Kappa
Tau.
The press release stated: “While in
the fraternities, observations were
made of the bar areas and, when
persons who were believed to be
under the age of 21 were served
alcohol they were followed and identi
fied by uniformed officers outside the
building.”
The press release stated that three
of the fraternities charged came as a
result of people who were served
alcohol and later became involved in
other violations that included driving
under the influence of alcohol.
President of the University Veter
ans Organization and USEC member,
J.D. Higginbotham, said Williams
announced that the original intent of
the surveillance was to investigate
accusations that high school girls
were being served at the fraternities.
Higginbotham met with IFC exec
utives after the announcement.
He said Williams stated that during
the two-month period, no fraternities
were observed serving alcohol to high
school students.
Higginbotham said the investiga
tion was prompted by complaints
from the community that the IFC has
not adequately handled the underage
drinking problem.
Pat Conway, IFC president was not
available for comment. IFC has not
made an official statement, Pickens
said.
the
daily
President Ronald Reagan walks past a flag on his way to the White House Rose
Garden.
tling the Nicaraguan government.
The money was made available at a
time when direct and indirect govern
ment military assistance to the Con
tras was prohibited by law. There
was evidence that the Justice Depart
ment was looking into the operations
of a privately financed support pro
gram for Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
The president announced Tuesday
that his administration would seek
appointment of an independent coun
sel to probe the issue, although the
White House disclosed that Attorney
"There’s going to be a lot of bitter
feelings,” she said.
After making great strides to ease
the drinking problem, Pickens said,
the IFC has reacted with a lot of
frustration.
IFC’s Alcohol Policy Research
Committee, formed early this semes
ter, recommended in November that
IFC require fraternities to keep a
record of guests’ attendence and their
time of their arrival; serve no alcohol
at any function whose primary pur
pose is to recruit; and require each
fraternity to have an annual alcohol
liability program.
If approved at the Dec. 8 IFC meet
ing, the recommendations will be
come part of its bylaws.
Earl Good, president of Acacia
fraternity, 234 Locust Lane, said po
lice had not spoken with him yet,
though they had visited the house
yesterday.
Good said he is still unsure what the
ramifications will be, but added, “I
think it’s going to force the fraterni
ties to do something.”
Because of the charges, Acacia
began stamping 21-year-old students
who wished to drink at a party last
night, Good said. He said Acacia will
be forced to follow this policy indefi
nitely.
USEC Chairwoman Sue Sturgis
said she thought the borough was
attempting to publicly embarrass the
fraternities.
Pickens and Good expressed con
cern that the fraternity system may
be used as a scapegoat for the under
age drinking problem. Good added
that the report of fish swallowing at
the fraternities that was reported by
police investigators is “ridiculous.”
“I think (the police) are making us
out to be a bunch of animals,” he
said.
President of Beta Sigma Beta fra
ternity Simon Viff said IFC asked
him not to comment on the charges.
Marjorie Utt, president of the Organi
zation of Town & Independent Stu
dents and USEC member, said the
actions of the police will not alleviate
the problem of underage drinking.
“It’s going to shift .the problem to
the appartments and houses.”
She said she was especially an
gered because the borough has “to
tally disregarded” the actions taken
by student leaders during the past
few months to curb alcohol abuses.
Additional information complied
from the investigation includes:
• Some of the officers were turned
away from seven fraternities due to
not being on the guest list.
• Officers .were not allowed into
two fraternities and apparent viola
tions “were observed but no action
was taken due to the officer being
assigned to surveillance only.
• Three fraternities were entered,
two of them twice, where bars were
closed and no violations were ob
served.
Collegian
General Edwin Meese 111 is still at
work on the formal application.
In Congress, House Democratic
Leader Jim Wright of Texas and GOP
Leader Bob Michel of Illinois an
nounced they would oversee creation
of a special, 15-member “blue ribbon
panel” to coordinate the investiga
tion.
Senate leaders agreed on a “super
committee” of their own to include 13
members, although a spokesman for
GOP Leader Bob Dole said his boss
and Democratic Leader Robert Byrd
inside __
A business privilege tax is part of a proposal to generate new revenue to
weather help balance the State College budget Pages
• University students are often not surprised to learn that their profes-
This afternoon we will see sun- SO rs write the textbooks for their courses Page 9
shine but it is going to remain • The men's basketball team ran out of gas in the second half of a 75-63
cold and breezy, high 34. To- loss to Rhode Island last night in Kingston .-. Page 15
night, clear and quite chilly, low • jh e series on University gays and lesbians continues today with news
19. Tomorrow, a mix of sun and on homophobia Page 28
clouds and a bit warmer. High
37 Held! Sonen illd©X
state/nation 10
editorial 12
sports 15
of West Virginia had not yet con
cluded arrangements.
In the meantime, the Senate Intelli
gence Committee held the investiga
tive spotlight.
With extraordinary security provi
sions in effect, the panel heard first
from unnamed U.S. officials involved
in covert operations, then questioned
CIA Deputy Director Robert Gates
for more than four hours.
Sen. David Durenberger, R-Minn.,
chairman of the committee, said the
witnesses were providing a “very
candid response to the questions and
a lot of helpful information.”
The information, he said, is “open
ing more doors that we have to send a
subpoena through in order to (com
pile) accurate information.”
“We have people flying around the
country this morning serving subpeo
nas for documents.
AP Userphoto
Durenberger did not say what docu
ments the committee was seeking.
But in Moultrie, Ga., Maule Aircraft
Corp. said it had received subpeonas
for records on four aircraft from the
U.S. attorney’s office in Macon as
well from the Senate committee. The
four airplanes include one reportedly
sold to rebels in Nicaragua by a firm
headed by retired Air Force Maj.
Gen. Richard V. Secord.
Secord has been identified by ad
ministration officials as an assistant
to fired National Security Council
aide Oliver North in arranging the
Iranian arms sales.
Friday, Dec. 5,1986
Vol. 87, No. 101 28 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University
©1986 Collegian Inc.
Reagan press man
leaves for Wall St.
By MICHAEL PUTZEL
AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Presi
dential spokesman Larry Speakes,
who faced the daily gridiron of White
House briefings longer than any of his
recent predecessors, announced yes
terday he is resigning to take an
executive post with Merrill Lynch
and Co., the Wall Street investment
firm.
Speakes, 47, had been negotiating
for the senior vice presidency, which
sources have said pays about $250,000
a year in salary and benefits, for two
months. He plans to begin his new job
Feb. 1.
President Reagan, when asked how
he felt about his chief spokesman
leaving in the midst of the furor over
his secret arms sales to Iran and the
diversion of profits to Nicaraguan
rebels, smiled and told reporters:
“Congratulate him on getting a fine
job.”
Speakes, announcing his decision at
his daily mid-day briefing, said the
new job “comes as close to matching
this as anything could.”
“Nothing could ever match this,”
y,.i>
Rift -
md s w
Larry Speakes
he said of the $75,000-a-year job he
has unabashedly adored, despite the
constant grilling of the White House
press corps, with which he has main
tained a relationship marked both by
rancor and rapport.
Administration sources, asking to
remain anonymous, have said Interi
or Undersecretary Ann Dore Mc-
Laughlin is Spcakes’ most likely
successor if White House chief of staff
Donald T. Regan keeps his job in the
face of congressional pressure for his
resignation.
CHUCK
attacking
hazing
This is last of a two-part stories on
hazing practices by fraternities. To
day’s article deals with the problem
of hazing at colleges and universities
nationwide.
By VICTORIA PETTIES
Collegian Staff Writer
Chuck Stenzel, a fraternity pledge
at Alfred University in New York,
was locked in a car trunk with a six
pack of beer, a fifth of wine, and a
pint of bourbon in 9-degree weather in
February 1978.
Stenzel died that night from alcohol
poisoning.
Since her son’s death, for which no
one was prosecuted, Stenzel’s moth
er, Eileen Stevens of Long Island,
N.Y., has been lobbying for anti
hazing laws.
In response to her son’s death and
her dissatification with the universi
ty’s handling of the case she started
the Committee to Halt Useless Col
lege Killings and has since monitored
hazing cases around the country.
“This fall there has already been
dozens of reported hazing incidents
on campuses,” she said. “Hazing
instances always start out as harm
less but when peer pressure and
secrecy is added something is
bound to go wrong.”
According to the Nov. 10 News
week, “pledges have been burned
alive, branded, poisoned” nation
wide, and, in addition, “some have
fallen from buildings and off cliffs.”
At least 39 students have been
killed and hundreds injured since 1978
when CHUCK began, Stevens said.
Alcohol poisoning, excessive exer
cise and sleep deprivation are the
most common hazing practices, Ste
vens said.
The number of reported hazing
incidents has almost doubled in the
last five years, she said.
Eighteen of the 22 states that now
have anti-hazing laws have passed
them within the last 10 years. Some
anti-hazing laws have been consid
ered weak. In Texas, for example,
hazing is a misdemeanor and carries
a $250 maximum fine.
Six other states have hazing legis
lation pending, including Pennsylva
nia.
The state’s anti-hazing bill, pending
the governor’s signature, will charge
fraternities and sororities with a
third-degree misdemeanor punisha
ble by a $2,500 fine and one year in
prison if they are caught hazing.
Under the proposals, Pennsylva
nia’s colleges would be required to
adopt a written anti-hazing policy and
a method for enforcing it.
At the University of Texas last fall,
fraternity members forced a pledge
to drink a bottle of rum, then left the
freshman in his dorm room, where he
died in his sleep.
Doctors listed the cause of death as
alcohol poisoning.
University of Texas President Wil
liam H. Cunningham is. forming a
special panel to examine fraternity
Please see HAZE, Page 14
AP Lasorphoto