Dateline House members embrace Medicare overhaul Page 6 Vol. 96, No. 67 20 Pages ©1995 Collegian Inc. Simpson backs By MICHAEL FLEEMAN Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES O.J. Simpson backed out of his live interview with NBC just hours before air time last night, complaining that the network was out to “retry me.” He had agreed, he insisted, only to “a conversation, not a confronta Days earlier, NBC said the for mer football star had consented to a no-holds-barred format for his first extensive interview since he was acquitted last week. Tens of millions of viewers had been expected to tune in to the hourlong, commercial-free “Date line NBC” interview with Simpson that would have been conducted by NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw and Coffee house crooner Bob Szybist, singer and guitarist of an accoustic duo “Bob & Gavin” by the Student Union Board, which presents shows on Wednesday perfoms at the Coffee House. The free entertainment was sponsored evenings in the HUB main lounge. Some say crime prevention should be By MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN Collegian Staff Writer Pennsylvania’s legislative fight state Rep. Dwight Evans, D against crime has left some won- Philadelphia, said the measures dering whether the battle strate- passed during the special session gies are effective or if they have have addressed crime from the been a ploy to make the generals wrong end. designing them look good. “We need to do more on preven- More than eight months after tion. We need to shift priorities. Gov. Tom Ridge remained true to Drafting legislation and locking his campaign promise and opened people away is not the answer,” Pennsylvania’s special session on Turner said. crime, some are not convinced that Ending school violence and pro- USG department working toward safety for women By BETH YOUNG Collegian Staff Writer The Undergraduate Student Gov ernment Women’s Affairs Depart ment is working to make women students’ lives a little safer in State College. The Women’s Affairs Depart ment is designed to celebrate women and to work toward making the University a safer, more acces sible place for women students, said Michelle Thaxton, director of the department. “My vision of the Women’s Affairs Department’s purpose is to promote the positive facets of women to the University,” Thaxton said. This semester, the department’s main project is establishing a Sexu al Assault Bill of Rights. The bill will outline the various services available to women in cases of sex ual assault, Thaxton said. I"* ' Sports I Weather Katie Couric. Simpson suggested there were indeed conditions to the interview. “It was agreed that this would be a conversation, not a confrontation. Because of pending litigation, there would be some questions that I could not obviously address at this time,” he said in a statement read by his lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr. “It has become clear that NBC has, perhaps in an attempt to appease diverse public viewpoints, concluded that this would be a time and an opportunity to retry me.” Anything Simpson said on televi sion could have been used against him in the wrongful-death lawsuits brought by the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Gold man. Simpson never took the stand the governor and the legislature have addressed the right issues. Kim Turner, press secretary for “We want to create awareness through this bill,” Thaxton said. “Through awareness you create a more educated student body through awareness you, in essence, create a safer environment.” Many services exist for women that most students do not know about, said Women’s Affairs Department member Nikki Maur er. Jessica Juge (junior-French busi ness) said although she believes hot lines and support groups for sexual assault victims exist, she did not know anything about them when she first came to the Univer sity. Rachel Barbera (senior-architec tural engineering) also said she thought a publication like the Sexu al Assault Bill of Rights would be important and valuable for new students such as freshmen and sophomores. Please see WOMEN, Page 9. Thursday, Oct. 12,1995 out of 'Dateline at his yearlong murder trial but may have to do so if the lawsuits reach trial. In another development yester day, Simpson lawyer Robert Baker contended in court papers that Simpson shouldn’t have to pay damages in the suit brought by Goldman’s relatives because Simp son was acquitted of his murder. The documents didn’t mention the separate suit brought by Nicole Brown Simpson’s family. Legal analysts have said that Simpson could still have to pay damages in a wrongful death suit even though he was acquitted. The civil action has a less stringent burden of proof than the criminal case. The cancellation was seen as a setback for Simpson, eager to moting community-based educa- ‘do people feel any safer?’ Proba tion about the negative effects of bly not,” she said, crime are the issues that deserve However crime itself is a large the attention and funding, Turner issue and can be broken down into said. at least two parts, said Gov. While Turner said Evans believes hardened criminals should serve their sentences, she said at the current incarceration rate, Pennsylvania will house 33,000 prisoners by the year 2000. She said it will require the construction of five more state prisons. “The question you have to ask is, University Police Services Officer Frank Bell, left, and University police Supervisor Delmar Woodring join in an open forum with the Undergraduate Student Government last night. The topic was “Police Services: Friend or Foe?” counter widespread public outrage over his acquittal. “Now, it’s a public relations dis aster,” said legal analyst Stan Goldman said, “as if he needed any more public relations disasters.” NBC’s announcement Monday that it would broadcast the inter view had prompted a storm of protest from groups and individu als inside and outside the network who criticized NBC for giving a forum to Simpson. NBC had been inundated with thousands of calls, mostly negative, spokeswoman Lynn Gardner said. Brokaw announced Simpson’s pullout in a special live afternoon broadcast. “NBC News had a clear under standing as of yesterday morning with Simpson and his lawyers that Collegian Photo/Laura Chiles Ridge’s Deputy Press Secretary Jerry Feaser. Ridge has split the problem, Feaser said, by first addressing the public’s concern about Violent crime before outlining specific crime prevention programs. Feaser said Ridge has always made it clear that his first priority NBC' interview there would be no conditions attached to this interview,” Brokaw said. “But Mr. Simpson’s lawyers overnight prevailed upon him not to participate, they said, because of the civil suit that he faces.” In an interview on CBS radio sta tion WBBM in Chicago, Brokaw was asked if he and Couric would have been barred from asking about the murders. “It came down to that,” Brokaw said with a laugh. “They did say, ‘Well, are you going to get into timelines?’ And we said, ‘That’s how we’re going to begin.’” Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Nicole Brown Simpson’s family, quoted her sister Tanya Brown as saying after Simpson canceled: “It makes my day.” Hundreds gather for 'coming out' By JENNIFER REITZ Collegian Staff Writer A big crowd, a big sign and a big line-up of speakers reinforced the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance as they rallied for Nation al Coming Out Day at noon yester day. “Today is the day we nationally recognize the need to create visi bility for members of the lesbian, and bisexual community,” said Ephraim Lopez, addressing a crowd of more than 500 on the steps of Schwab Auditorium. Hordes of spectators gathered around the steps of Schwab Audito rium to listen to Lopez, LGBSA political co-director, the mayor of State College Borough and the Undergraduate Student Govern ment president pledge their sup port for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. Mayor Bill Welch compared the crowd to the student section at Beaver Stadium. “At the stadium on Saturday, we chant ‘We are Penn State!’ But more importantly, we are who we are,” Welch said, urging communi ty members to be true to them selves. focus of legislation was getting violent offenders off of the streets. “The first step all along was to address the problem of crime and to move forward on the issues of public safety first,” he said. Andrew Kreider (senior-political Still, Feaser said Ridge has not science) said the problem of ade neglected prevention in his crime quately addressing crime preven proposals. A proposal for tougher tion is both a state and national truancy laws, development of a problem. safe schools program and estab- “I think our overall approach to lishment of the Governor’s Com- the correction system in the U.S. munity Partnership for Safe Chil- has failed,” the former president of dren all encourage crime education Please see CRIME, Page 9. Collegian Published independently by students at Penn State O.J. Simpson canceled his interview on NBC Association of Residence Hall Students President Maggie Kutzler and USG President Kara Annechini also spoke at the rally. Kutzler opened up about the pain some family members and friends have incurred while dealing with their sexuality and told lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered stu dents that ARHS representatives are sensitive to their concerns. As USG . president, Annechini made a landmark appearance at the rally along with USG Diversity Outreach Director Saulo Santiago, as she represented some, but not all, of her colleagues. But she said USG is trying to gain more under standing of alternative lifestyles. “I’m learning and many other people are learning, too,” she said. USG’s show of support for National Coming Out Day was not the only first for the rally. The list of sponsor’s was longer than it has ever been and includes, among oth ers, Latino Caucus and the Puerto Rican Student Association. “(Because of) Latino Caucus, it probably reaches out to a larger audience,” said Michael Brenchly (senior-English) as he surveyed the packed Mall. Please see RALLY, Page 9. and prevention for the common wealth’s youth. Concerns about crime prevention are not just on the minds of gov ernment officials. Police, students join in discussion By MEGAN DONLEY Collegian Staff Writer Rape, bicycle theft and alcohol abuse were among issues addressed last night at an infor mal discussion titled “Police Services: Friend or Foe?” The Undergraduate Student Government sponsored event brought students and members of University Police Services together. Although only a handful of students took advantage of the opportunity to express con cerns to campus police officers, Administrative Contact Committee Chairman and Town Senator Joshua Pechter said the discussion was a suc cess. “It’s unfortunate that more students didn’t take advantage of the opportunity,” he said. “But that won’t dismay the ACC or the senate from continuously providing programs that stu dents desperately need to take advantage of.” Pechter said the purpose of the discussion was to get students into a better position with University police. University Police Supervisor Delmar Please see POLICE, Page 9. AP Photo
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