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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