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Thomas
By JAMES ROWLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. Clarence
Thomas won Senate confirmation for
the Supreme Court last night on a
52-to-48 vote, overcoming explo
sive accusations of sexual harassment
to become the second black justice
in history.
With crucial help from Southern
Democrats, Thomas will take his seat
as the 106th justice, a staunchly
conservative successor to one of the
court's last liberals.
The vote ended one of the angriest,
most emotionally charged confir
mation battles ever.
Thomas said he wanted to put the
ordeal behind him.
"This is more a time for healing,
not a time for anger or for animus
or animosity," Thomas said, standing
outside his house with his wife,
Virginia, under an umbrella in the
rain.
Anita Hill, accompanied by family members, tells reporters yesterday in Norman,
Okla. that the last few weeks has increased public awareness of sexual
harassment.
Big Ten representatives
set for Cheney meeting
By LISA LOEFFLER
Collegian Staff Writer
Although the U.S. Department of
Defense stands firm on its policy
barring gay and bisexual people from
the military, Secretary of Defense
Dick Cheney will meet with four Big
Ten university representatives in
November to discuss the difficul
ties facing campuses with sexual
orientation clauses and ROTC.
"I think its very important that
we evaluate and start a meaningful
dialogue about the problems uni
versities face," said University of
Minnesota President Nils Hassel
mo, who will attend the meeting with
Cheney.
Indiana University President
Thomas Ehrlich, University of Illinois/
Champaign-Urbana Chancellor
Morton Weir and University of
Wisconsin/Madison Chancellor Donna
Shalala will also meet with Cheney.
The meeting is a result of a let
ter written in June by Purdue
University President Steven Beer
ing on behalf of the Big Ten pres
idents and chancellors. As chairman
of the Council of Presidents and
Chancellors in the Big Ten Con
ference, Beering signed the letter,
and the other names appeared after
the words "request supported by."
"(The meeting is) an opportunity
for some university presidents to
have some discussion with the
Department of Defense," said Penn
State President Joab Thomas.
But the meeting is not an attempt
to change Defense Department policy
concerning gay men, lesbians and
bisexual people, Beering said. The
Defense Department has made it
clear the policy is not open for
discussion, he added.
"We're meeting to discuss the role
of ROTC on campuses in general and
the
daily
in by 4
"I guess in so many ways, as I say
to my wife so many times, I'd like
to thank America," said Thomas, who
rose from rural poverty in Georgia
to prominence in government.
Thomas had been accused by law
professor Anita Hill of making
unwanted advances and humiliat
ing her with lewd remarks a decade
ago when she worked for him at the
Education Department and Equal
Employment Opportunity Commis
sion. Her surprise charges brought
an abrupt halt to the Senate's plans
to vote on Thomas' nomination a week
ago.
Thomas emphatically denied the
charges and complained he was the
victim of a "high-tech lynching." The
nation was transfixed as the accu
sations were spelled out in explicit
detail and debated in nationally
televised hearings.
Even while voting for Thomas, Sen.
Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., one of
the two women in the Senate, said
"I think a policy
change at a national
level is forthcoming
eventually."
Nils Hasselmo
University of Minnesota
president
the tensions that exist at this time,"
Hasselmo said.
But one topic that may be dis
cussed is the appropriateness of a
ROTC scholarship question that askq
for the applicant's sexual orienta
tion, Beering said. Other schol
arship applications at schools with
sexual orientation clauses do not ask
that, he added.
Eliminating the question would not
change policy, but some might say
it's a way around the problem,
Beering said. If students are not
asked to identify their orientation,
discussion of the matter may not be
raised, he added.
Hasselmo agreed that addres
sing the scholarship question could
be a positive step. And although the
Defense Department will not dis
cuss a change, Hasselmo said he has
not given up hope.
"I think a policy change at a
national level is forthcoming
eventually," he said.
Thomas said he did not want to
speculate on the future of the
department's policy and had no
particular expectations for what the
meeting will accomplish.
s More than 60 colleges around the
country have taken steps toward
removing ROTC from campus unless
the Defense policy changes.
Hoops begins!
.11:f
Midnight court time
Page m
Collegian
votes
he will "live under a cloud of sus
picion he can never fully escape."
Immediately after the vote,
President Bush called Thomas with
congratulations. Thomas had watched
the vote on television at home in
Alexandria, Va..
Please see CONFIRM, Page 16.
Students
disagree
on vote
By REBECCA FISHKIN
Collegian Staff Writer
Clarence Thomas' mother may have
been jumping for joy last night when
the Senate voted 52-48 to appoint him
to the Supreme Court, but some
University students did not share her
elation.
"I was hoping that the senators
would act responsibly, but they
didn't," said Erin O'Les4ry, co-directpr
of Womyn's Concerns. "I thought
there was a glimmer of hope that•he
wouldn't be confirmed."
Sexual harassment allegations
brought to the Senate by Univer
sity of Oklahoma law professor Anita
Hill were "not substantial enough"
to sway the vote, said Lance
O'Donnell, College Republicans
president. O'Donnell added that he
thought more people believed
Thomas.
"It was complicated," said Peter
Stone, College Democrats presi
dent. "But people simply can't dismiss
sexual harassment."
Thomas' confirmation has also put
Roe v. Wade in danger, Stone said.
"I think it will be pretty well killed,"
he said. "I don't think the Supreme
Court is stupid enough to com
pletely overrule it, but they will chip
away and make it worthless."
O 7 Pary said she is afraid Thomas'
confirmation will jeopardize wom
en's rights.
"I am horrified that Mr. Thomas
can tell me what to do with my body
after the legitimate possibility that
he is a sexual harasser," she said.
Please see STUDENTS, Page 16.
Report shows University freshmen deficient in math
By AMANDA THOMPSON
Collegian Staff Writer
A recent report on basic math skills by the
National Education Goals Panel shows results
that would make Pythagoras choke on his
theorem.
A governor's panel report shows that only
16 percent of 12th grade students across the
country scored high enough on a 1990 test to
be considered proficient in math.
That lack of mathematical skills seems to
accompany some Penn State freshmen. Bar
bara Townsend, University coordinator of basic
skills, listed math as a common area of defi
ciency.
"Math tends to be the place where more
deficiencies show up on a national average,"
Townsend said.
More than 1,500 out of the 11,489 Univer
sity freshman enrolled in the fall of 1989 tested
deficient in math, according to a 1990 report
by the University Faculty Senate basic skills
subcommittee.
Mary McCammon, director of undergrad
uate studies for the department of math, said
because students have different ways to ful
fill their high school requirements, it is hard
to rank them all by one standard.
"In one test it's very difficult to measure what
mathematics people know because they take
very different courses," McCammon said.
But McCammon said the varying require
ments often result in students lacking some skills
used on entrance exams.
"No one's impressed upon them that they really
need these skills," McCammon said.
Fay Jester, coordinator for developmental year
mathematics, said students sometimes need to
review topics for their majors.
"Certainly there are a fair number of stu
dents who enter the University here whose skills
are not good enough to allow to go to techni
cal majors without a lot of remedial work," Jester
said.
David Rothermel (senior-mechanical engi
neering and liberal arts) said he wasn't pre
pared for some of his math classes.
"To go back and reread it takes an awful
amount of time, whereas if you would learn it
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Virginia talk to reporters in front of their home
The Senate voted 52-48 yesterday in favor of approving Thomas' nomination.
Analysts still worry about Thomas
By MIKE ABRAMS
Collegian Staff Writer
Lingering doubts on Clarence
Thomas' qualifications and more
importantly, his character —haunt
some University analysts in the wake
of the controversial Supreme Court
nominee's narrow confirmation last
night.
"I'm afraid he might act in a more
conservative way after these pro-
Erol McGowan (senior-math) tutors Krista Nelson (freshman-business) at Sproul Lounge study
center. McGowan helped Nelson with her Math 140 homework on Sunday night.
in class ycu would be able to do better on the
exams," he said.
Freshmen entering technical majors should
be able to start with math 140 or. 141 both
calculus classes and those chooing non
technical majors should be able to start with
Math 17 or 35 finite math and general math
view, Jester said.
But there is no specific required course
regiment for students who miss the cutoff point,
Townsend said.
"Math requirements are so different from
major to major it would be very difficult to tell
a student you are required to take Math 4,"
Townsend said. "There's such a wide variety
of ways to fulfill this."
The number of students using tutors has been
increasing steadily for several years, said Bernie
McCue, coordinator of the math center and math
instructor.
The number of math tutoring sessions from
the fall of 1988 to 1989 increased about
ceedings," said Ann Greeley, assistant
professor of counseling psycholo
gy. "He seemed like such an angry
man toward the end of the hear
ings and I am fearful that he may
not be totally fair with issues con
cerning women."
The Senate voted 52-48 last night
to confirm the 43-year-old appeals
court judge from Georgia. The vote
was the closest in 110 years.
Despite allegations that Thomas
Weather
Improving on the outside. For today,
early morning fog and clouds giving way
to afternoon sunshine. High 53. Tonight,
mainly clear. Low 36. Tomorrow, partly
sunny. A milder high of 60.
Todd Miner
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1991
Vol. 92, No. 71 16 pages University Park, Pa. 16801
Published independently by students at Penn State
©1991 Collegian Inc.
sexually harassed former aide Anita
Hill, support for the embattled
nominee remained just strong enough
to make confirmation possible.
During the past week, the Senate
Judiciary Committee heard argu
ments from both sides about the
allegations often drawing deep
seated emotions.
"Throughout his testimony, Thomas
didn't seem to demonstrate sensi-
Please see FACULTY, Page 16.
40 percent, and rose about 9 percent from the
fall of 1989 to 1990, McCue said.
While most students visit the center with
problems in algebra and calculus, some have
basic deficiencies involving whole number,
fractional and decimal computations, McCue
said.
Word problems also prove difficult for
students, McCue said.
"You just get the feeling from here, they don't
deal with them very much," he said.
Although the freshman testing, counseling
and advising program detects students with
weaknesses, many students lacking skills can
slip through, McCue said.
"A lot of them kind of sneak thrqugh the
cracks," McCue said "I don't think that
(freshman testing) weeds out the ones that are
deficient in these basic skills."
Sproul Hall, Hammond and Boucke build
ings have areas where students can receive
tutoring, McCue said.
AP Laser Photo
Collegian Photo/Patti Christian