COLLEGIAN 100 YEARS April 1887 •April 1987 Flying clubs confront stormy skies Officers and planes lost in 2 crashes By PHIL GALEWITZ Collegian Staff Writer The future of two local flying clubs remains up in the air after plane crashes in the past two months killed three Penn State students and three local residents. In February, the• Penn State Flying Lions, a University organization, lost its president and treasurer with the deaths of Marie Gebura and John Houtz in a plane crash in Halfmoon Township, seven miles out of State College. The two were also members of the Nittany Aero Club and were flying in a club plane. A second crash Saturday in Fergu son Township resulted in the death of Steven Gizzi, who is a member of both clubs, and a family of three from Patton Township. The family were not members of either flying club. The most recent accident has left the Nittany Aero Club, which is unaf filiated with Penn State, without any more planes, .and their president is unsure if the club will be able to survive. "The accidents certainly set us back and raise doubts about the fu ture viability of the club," said Rob ert .Jones, president of the Nittany Aero Club. "Our most immediate concern is determining how our insurance rates will be affected with the accidents," he added. "They could go through the roof." Gene Karako, acting president of the Flying Lions and a member of the Nittany Aero Club, said that with the deaths of the officers in February, the Flying Lions "is now in limbo until we meet to reorganize." The Flying Lions are scheduled to meet Friday. A time and place have not yet been set, he said. Karako, who was the roommate of Gizzi and a friend of Houtz, said that as a young• aviator he hopes both clubs continue as support groups for individuals interested in the The Flying Lions, an interest group for young aviators, does not own or operate any planes and is regulated inside e The College Market on Col lege Avenue goes out of busi ness Page 10 • Radon, which is a cancerous agent, seems to be a big prob lem in Pennsylvania and the money that has been allocated to solve the problem does not appear to be helping matters weather This afternoon cloudy and breezy with a good chance of rain showers. High 62. Tonight and tomorrow rain likely with a possible thundershower. Low tonight 48. High tomorrow 57. Ross Dickman Paramedics and fire personnel remove the victim of Saturday's plane crash that killed four. One area flying club has lost both of their planes from two recent crashes and a Penn State aviators club had their two leaders killed in the recent aircraft accidents. by the University. Karako said that although the group has received fund ing from Penn State in the past, they were denied funds from the school this year. The group now has 30 members, all University students. The group has sponsored speakers, shown aviation films, prepared mem bers for the written pilots exam and sponsored aviation days to spur local interest in the sport. Although the Flying Lions have suffered a tragic setback, Karako Black alumni unhappy with divestment push By KIRSTEN LEE SWARTZ Collegian Staff Writer Founding members of the Black Alumni Advo cating Divestment say they are "extremely busy" with other responsibilites and are not satisfied with the progress the group has made since its creation in October. Although the original seven BAAD members have contacted almost 75 black University alumni, they said have not progressed toward many of their other goals. On Homecoming weekend, five of the seven black alumni in the group met with University President Bryce Jordan and Vice President for Student Services William Asbury to ask the admin istration to support divestment of the University's holdings in South African-related companies, which then totaled $8.7 million. Page 2 BAAD coordinator Anita Thomas said the group has since "touched base" with the Pennsylvania Public Interest Coalition, a non-profit organization outside Philadelphia that tries to educate citizens about politics, "We're still trying to get information out and the daily • Lif; olle • ian ,; ~ x .:. s+w~w..,Y said, "We are not defunct." The group is sponsoring an Aviation Day on April 25 at the Bellefonte Skypark for anyone interested in learning more about aviation. The Flying Lions and the Nittany Aero Club are similar in many re spects, as they act as support and leisure groups for area aviators. And both have reason to worry about the future. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Ad- merge our efforts out into an organized group," Thomas said. "Right now we're not an organiza tion. We're a bunch of interested parties. It's smarter for us to try to merge." The Pennsylvania Task Force for Divestment, a project of Penn PIC, seeks the full removal of state funds from South African investments through statewide efforts such as legislation and adminis trative action. After its meeting with administrators in Octo ber, BAAD announced numerous plans to combat the administration's refusal to support divest ment. Most of these plans were centered around gath ering a group of black alumni to block minority recruitment and discourage alumni from donating to the University. But group member Renee Lucas, a 1980 grad uate, said, "The only formal progress made on the plan was letter writing." To date, BAAD has mailed more than 100 letters informing black alumni that the University still has holdings in South African-related companies. Lucas said the letters encourage the recipients to let the trustees know they are displeased. ministration are investigating both crashes, but an FAA spokesman said he was. unsure when either probe would be concluded. Neither club is studying the accidents independent of the federal review boards. "Is is an unfortunate coincidence," said Nittany Aero President Jones, who help found the club two years ago. "The two incidents at this time do not appear to be related in any way." egian Photo I Gene Maylock Please see FLYING, PAGE 5 Lucas said they have received around 75 replies, and Thomas added that they would like to pull those 75 together to help initiate other projects. "Our main focus was to have more people to do those other things," she added. "We'll be able to institute a lot more of those avenues now because we'll have a lot more manpower to do those things." Some members have also been in contact with their churches and "have given the people a notion of what's going on," Lucas said. But Thomas said she is not satisfied with the work that has been done so far. "We haven't been able to have as great an impact as we would have liked." But she added, "We're going to keep at it, if it's nothing more than continuing to talk to'people." During Fall Semester, BAAD made plans to: e Visit high schools, concentrating in the Phila delphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., areas, to discourage students from enrolling at the University. Lucas said BAAD would tell high school students the University is only interested in "getting bod- Please see BLACKS, page 5 Wednesday April 15, 1987 Vol. 87, No. 169 20 pages University Park, Pa. 16802 Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University ©1987 Collegian Inc. PSU pilot remembered as a dedicated aviator By CELESTE McCAULEY Collegian Staff Writer Flying to Steve Gizzi was not only a hobby he loved but also a direct route in launching his career. Gizzi, a 22-year-old University stu dent majoring in finance and mi noring in travel logistics, was killed Saturday when the plane he was piloting crashed into a backyard swingset in Ferguson Township. A student member of the Nittany Aero Club and the Penn State Flying Lions, Gizzi was scheduled to grad uate in August. Friends and col leagues at the Allegheny Commuter. Airlines branch at the University Park airport where Gizzi was a part time customer service agent de scribed him as a very dedicated worker who was interested in all aspects of the airline industry. "He had aviation in his blood. He always wanted to fly," said Rick Schwartz, customer service manager for Allegheny Commuter Airlines. He viewed flying as a way in start ing his career in the airline industry, Schwartz said. "He was really interested in all functions of the airline industry. He tried to learn the industry inside and out," he said. Gene Karako, one of Gizzi's room mates, said "flying was one of (his) favorite hobbies. Everyone knows risks are involved when you become a pilot." Schwartz said Gizzi met Terrance Chrobak, 27, who was on board the plane when it crashed, while working at the airport. Chrobak's wife, Sand ra, 24, and her 3-year-old son, Brant Hemphill, were also killed in -the crash. Schwartz said he surmises that Gizzi said to Chrobak " Hey, let's go up and fly around.' " "I feel they were probably up over the property in Philipsburg that Chro bak owned taking pictures," Schwartz said, adding that a camera was found on board. Chrobak bought a seven-acre plot of land a year ago and recently started breaking ground on the build ing of a house, Schwartz said." They just received a loan last week to build a house. It's a sad thing," he said. David Frost, customer service agent for Allegheny Commuter Air lines, said, "(Gizzi) always cared about everyone else. It sounds trite, but it's really true." Karako, who is also a member of the Nittany Aero Club and Flying Lions, said Gizzi was a very profes sional, independent person. "I was just getting to know him., He was More a professional type. He enjoyed the business side of things," he said. Karako suffered the loss of another of his friends to a plane crash, Uni versity student John Houtz, when the Cessna plane he was flying crashed in February. "I lost a good friend and a good roommate. It's been tough. You hear a lot about plane crashes happening to other folks but in the last few weeks it has really hit home," Karako said. "Being a young aviator (flying) becomes a part of your life. You can't look up when you hear a plane buzz by without wondering who's up there," he said. Frost said colleagues at the airlines nicknamed Gizzi "Hurricane." He whirled in and got things done and whirled out. "He knew everything about a lot," Frost added. He said Gizzi had an uncanny abili ty to impersonate famous and infa mous people. "He had a great battery of Rodney Dangerfield jokes. He always tried to make someone laugh. He was very bon vivant," Frost said. Mike Yard, another of Gizzi's roommates and classmate with him fOr two years at Behrend College, called Gizzi a hard worker. "He put all of his time into studying and flying. He was always working . . . putting himself through school," Yard said. Gizzi was a member of the Lambda Sigma National Honor Society and the National Finance Honor Society at the University. A native of Pitts burgh, he is the son of Robert and Lynn Gizzi of Winter Haven, Fla. He is survived by two sisters, a maternal grandmother, and a pater nal grandfather. A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 this morning at the Church of the Assumption in Bellevue. Charity gives little aid in cancer battle NEW YORK (AP) Only $15,000 of the $5.1 million raised in 1985 by one of the nation's largest cancer char ities went to battle the disease, while 97 percent of the money went to solicit more funds, says a charity watchdog agency. The United Cancer Council Inc., based in Carmel, Ind., went from a small charity with a yearly budget of $56,000 to a multimillion-dollar orga 7 nization when it signed up with a for profit direct-mail fund-raising firm in 1984, said Frank Driscoll, research associate at the National Charities Information Bureau, which recently reviewed the charity's budget. The non-profit organization, which evaluates the standards of national charities, undertook the review in response to numerous inquires by both contributors and the media, Driscoll said. According to NCIB standards, 70 percent of funds soliticed by a charity should go into programs, leaving 30 percent for raising funds, he said. Of 275 charities that NCIB has reviewed and has current available reports, 73.1 percent meet their standards, Driscoll said. Randall Grove, executive director of the United Cancer Council, con firmed the report. He said that last year the charity raised $7 million and more than 93 percent, $6.52 million, went to the fund-raising firm Watson & Hughey Co., based in Alexandria, Va., which sent out numerous solicitations for the charity. HOwever, Grove said that while the report is accurate, NCIB uses a dif ferent auditing system and thus many of the mailings that the charity considers educational are judged by the bureau to be of a fund-raising nature. Driscoll said that having such a large percentage of a charity's bud get go for further solicitation is not the rule. "Direct mail is inherently expensive," he said.
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