4 .4 7;47 Offensive firepower Sophomore McGinley goes on scoring tear for field hockey team att Page 10 • to daily Collegian Thomas dodges questions on abortion issue By JAMES ROWLEY Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON, D.C. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas said yesterday he was "very, very pained" by the thought of back-alley abortions and insisted he would have an open mind as a justice about keeping medically safe abortion legal. However, he declined under persistent questioning to say whether he believed the Constitution protected a woman's right to end her pregnancy. On the second day of his Senate Judi ciary Committee confirmation hearings, Thomas was immediately confronted on the issue by Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio. Over and over, Metzenbaum pressed for Report outlines gays' problems Possible solutions offered By AMINAH FRANKLIN Collegian Staff Writer Don, a faculty member at the Uni versity, is having a birthday and he wants to go out and celebrate with a friend. The two decide to go to a bar and have a drink to mark the occasion. As they are about to enter the bar, Don notices his depart ment head and a colleague sitting in a nearby restaurant and he is afraid they will see him entering the bar. He is worried about what they will think, but he decides to go in anyway. Don is gay, and although he made a conscious decision to exercise his freedom by going to a gay bar, he is painfully aware of the stigma attached to being seen entering "the only gay space in town." Accounts like this and other problems experienced by the Uni versity's gay community are con tained in a report compiled by the Committee for Gay and Lesbian Concerns that was released to the public yesterday. Although the report does not contain information gleaned from a survey distributed as part of the committee's study, it still has the potential for improving the climate at the University for the gay com munity, said Bill Tierney, asso ciate professor of higher education and committee chairman. In the report, the committee outlined the problems faced by these groups and offered possible solutions. The group divided the problems into three categories including attitudinal problems, structural problems and problems of invisibility. According to the report, atti tudes towards gay men and lesbi ans are either negative or absent. These negative attitudes prevent gay people from feeling comfort able and secure in their environ ment. "You feel the pain of oppression, of knowing, of having mirrored back to you everyday that you're different and that there are people who want to hurt you and deny you basic human rights," said "Jack," an assistant professor, in an interview accounted in the report. Structurally, the University does not make the same provisions for gay couples as are made for het erosexual couples. For example, the report states that a Dual Career Employment Assistance Program exists on campus for the purpose of finding jobs for the spouses of recruited University employees. But this program is not applica ble to gay couples because "the University does not recognize that individuals may be in committed relationships when they are not and legally cannot be married." Problems of invisibility include situations such as when a gay fac ulty member is afraid to have lunch in a public place with a partner because he or she is afraid of being discovered. According to the report, although people need to feel they are in a supportive environment to work to the best of their ability, gay men his view. Over and over, Thomas refused to say how he would vote on challenges to the 1973 Supreme Court decision legaliz ing abortion. To answer that question "would under mine my ability to sit in an impartial way on such an important case," he said. "I have no reason or agenda to prejudge the issue ... or a predilection to rule one way or another on the issue of abortion," he added. Thomas did offer fuller comment when asked about another hot issue before the high court prayer in public schools. When Sen. Paul Simon, D-111., discussed the feelings decades ago of a Jewish elementary school boy who left the room each day while his classmates recited a and lesbians learn to "hide to sur- Estela Bensimon, assistant pro fessor and research associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education and committee member, described the interviews as an eye opener. "I learned that the lives of homosexual men and women are marginalized. These people harbor a considerable fear of being found out." Because of the homophobic atmosphere there isn't the possi bility of community for gay fac ulty members, she added. "They are living very measured and careful lives. People who don't live that way don't understand it or even know it," she said. Several other problems were detailed in the report, including incidents of physical and verbal abuse. The committee proposed possi ble solutions to these problems, including creating an office for lesbian, gay and bisexual concerns, creating a commission on lesbian, gay and bisexual concerns, and making sure the Affirmative Action Office continues to strengthen its efforts to document the harassment and discrimination underrepre sented individuals face. Also, the committee proposed that certain policies at the University need to be examined, including personnel policies, to ensure they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Other proposals include rede signing programs like the Dual Career Employment Assistance Program, making sure University publications reflect the concerns of the lesbian, gay and bisexual com munities, and alerting all Univer sity constituencies to Penn State's goal of diversity. The group also proposed that senior administrators and faculty participate in lesbian and gay awareness workshops, the Univer sity recruit gay people to be resi dence assistants and counselors, and educational programming and services be made available for the gay community. In response to a recommenda tion by the committee, a Commis sion on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns will be formed this week out of the vice provost's office and will function similarly like the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, said Vice Provost James Stewart. A new position has already been created in Stewart's office to coordinate the initial recommen dations of the committee. Tierney said he believes the University will implement the committee's recommendations because of its commitment to diversity. "The sexual orientation clause provides the lesbian and gay com munities with a legal means for protection," Tierney said. "The clause has not made our lives bet ter it has given us the hope that our lives can be made better. It is a potent symbol that Penn State supports diversity. Now we need to act on our words." prayer, Thomas said, "Any policy of exclusion should be considered inappro priate." Thomas, who if confirmed to replace Thurgood Marshall would become only the second black justice in history, was also asked why he had criticized Supreme Court decisions upholding affirmative action programs to remedy discrimination. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., expressed concern about whether Thomas would respect the intent of Congress while interpreting civil rights laws that have long been regarded as requiring affirmative action hiring. Thomas said he would follow the inten tions of lawmakers and added that his criticisms of Congress and of Supreme They got the beat Andrew Jackson, left, and Christian Vinton Johansen, of the groups rap, Latin, African, jazz and gospel. The groups performed during a show Passport and Earthtones demonstrate different types of music, such as in the Agriculture Industries Auditorium Tuesday night. Hospital appeals 'quasi-public' status By MIKE ABRAMS Collegian Staff Writer Centre Community Hospital is a private-not for-profit organization so state the bylaws. However, a Centre County judge has defined the hospital as quasi-public, a ruling the hospi tal is currently appealing. College Township officials said this contra diction, and the outcome of a separate civil lawsuit. may translate into the removal of the hospital's tax-exempt status. Dr. Reid Allison Jr., a former employee of the hospital, filed a civil lawsuit against Centre Community Hospital and wants his case to be heard in court, which can only happen if the hospital is considered a public institution. But since the hospital is appealing the court ruling that declared the hospital quasi-public, Alli son's case is currently on hold. College Township officials said if the deci sion is upheld, their claim to tax the hospital would be easier to win. The Commonwealth Court hearing will be in Pittsburgh in October. Service cuts would be likely if the township No Interview, No Job On-campus recruiting at Penn State 1989-90 1990-91 %ch a nge interviews con ducted • 28,162 24,373 413% • Registered interviewees t 5% 5,433 5,693 Organizations conducting interviews 1,132 1,066 46% Court decisions were made when he chaired the Equal Employment Opportu nity Commission. "I advocated as an advocate, and now I will rule as a judge," Thomas said. But it was Thomas's views on individual privacy and abortion that most interested his Democratic questioners. Thomas recalled that during the era when abortions were barred by law "you heard the hushed whispers about illegal abor tions and the individuals who performed them in a less-than-safe environment." "If a women is subjected to an envi ronment like that, on a personal level, certainly, I am very, very pained by that," Thomas said. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., expressed wins its appeal, since all area assessment bod ies would push the annual payment to more than $350,000, said Lance Rose, hospital president and corporate executive officer. Both the township and Allison said the hos pital is inconsistent when referring to its status —either public or private —depending on the situation. In the township's appeal to remove the hos pital's tax-exempt status, the hospital argues that it deserves exemption since it provides a public charitable service to the community, such as medical care, regardless of ability to pay. But in Allison's civil suit, the hospital argues differently, supporting its own bylaws that state it is a private-not-for-profit hospital. "Centre Community Hospital is indeed a quasi public institution," Allison said. "They want to be private in my case so they can push me aside, but they want to be public when it comes to taxation." In the case, Allison said he was fired from the hospital for administrative reasons. Rose dis agreed, saying Allison's dismissal was based on patient care issues. Collegian Graphic./Suzanne M. AIM Thursday, Sept. 12, 1991 Vol. 92, No. 47 16 pages University Park, Pa. 16801 Published independently by students at Penn State ©1991 Collegian Inc. University graduates face job market in recession, rejection By NICOLE M. GIPSON Collegian Staff Writer These days a Penn State degree in finance can get you a temporary job packing boxes in a perfume factory. At least that's what happened to University graduate Chris Dolfi, who wanted to be a stockbroker after graduating in May. But all the places he applied turned him down. Dolfi said he can't even depend upon his current employment his employer has told him he will be fired after the Christmas rush. Weather Today, sunny to partly cloudy and pleasant, high 75. Clouds moving in tonight, low 54. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy and cool with a chance of showers, high only 68. surprise at Thomas' insistence that he had no opinion on the landmark 1973 abortion decision even though he had cited the case in several speeches and articles. "I can't believe that all of this was done in a vacuum, in the absence of any clear consideration of Roe vs. Wade," Leahy told Thomas. Thomas was also pressed on whether he had undergone what Metzenbaum called a "confirmation conversion" when on the first day of his hearings he disavowed his earlier advocacy of using natural, or higher, law principles to interpret the Constitu tion. Opponents say such a "natural law" theory could be invoked to outlaw abor tion. College Council Chairman Fred Smith said "Bingo!" when presented with Allison's claim and its relationship to the township's argument. "On one hand the hospital wants to be con sidered a private organization. But then they turn around and say they are a public organi zation performing charitable contributions to the community," Smith said. Allison's case has yet to be heard in court. But the case can only be heard if the hospital's public status remains. "I merely want the merits of the case heard in court," Allison said. "The hospital insists they are private and thus feel that the case should not be heard." "The Allison issue is a totally separate case," Rose said, adding that even if the hospital is titled by the state as quasi-public, the township shouldn't be able tax it anyway. A public hospital is usually funded through taxation, Rose said, so by taxing this hospital, the township would in effect be taxing itself, he added. Allison claimed that the hospital acted like a Please see HOSPITAL, Page 16. letters, worrying "They don't even want to send you a rejection letter," Dolfi said, adding that he had to call to inquire about the majority of his resumes because he received no responses. Jeanne Lachman graduated from the University in May with a degree in mathematics. Her career goal was to work for either an insur ance company or an engineering firm. But all her resumes yielded only rejection letters, so she was stuck with a temporary job as a secretary. "No one's hiring. A lot of people Please see JOBS, Page 16. Greg DeVoir Collegian Photo/John Polo
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