2—The DaNy Co*glen Thursday, Nov. 9, 1995 Lawless letter complicates educational round-table discussion By MICHAEL O'SULLNAN and KEIGHTLEY WITTICH Collegian Staff Writers A scheduled round-table discussion of the Commonwealth's higher education institutions will include a smaller circle of friends but Penn State will remain involved. Scott Shewell, press secretary for the State System of Higher Education in Har risburg, said the state system decided ear lier this week not to participate in the meeting following accusations in an anony mous letter they allege was circulated by Rep.. John Lawless, R-Montgomery. Shewell said Lawless circulated to mem bers of the General Assembly a letter that accused two administrators at a state owned institution of having extramarital affairs. "We find that action to be outrageous." Lawless did not return repeated phone calls to his office and his home phone num ber is unlisted. ormer Aryan Nations member delivers hauntin• Sometimes you can be just lag ging along through your mun dane and drab existence, when someone hits you over the head with a giant brick. And it can hurt, especially if three years ago this person was one of the most prominent racists in the country. I came to the Hate Crimes Con ference, held yesterday in the Penn State Scanticon, hoping, not for the standard "Hate-crimes-are-bad; don't-do-them" lecture, but for some insight into the recent surge of intolerance in the area. Registration for the conference was high, but only after swastikas began showing up in our own back yards. Student organizations have 009 ilkno maw& 011 ° " • , „wirmt • " • • 001 *rhyme Akei• 403 Abhor 004 Atiwiag Oa An - lama OtAliiremer 007 Mom St, 00 ItAilmso Vide ar *lift • • , of Amble maim received Limit hair Weans prr day per person, telephone number, or isousehoki. Suchtone phones only. Prize value 110,000. 'Tht receive full Official Rules or' Winners List, send self-addressed, stamped envekpe to: Burger King Sureepinsins sui.pos. .= Most ildhe or "WitureaVre on envelope. Rai:late of WA 311 d CA may omit return postage_ Residents of GA, IA, KS, LA, MN NJ, irsw only use d 900 number to vote but may enter sweepstakes by mail Void whey prohilked by ism Michell* striditillatirne Immo ateser owatrimisik 900 Wyk* provided by AT&T. Sponsor: Burger King Corp., 17777 Old Cutler Miami, FL 33157,1-800-937-1500. 401995 Burger King oNp:intim. University Executive Vice President and Provost John Brighton said he understands the state system's decision. "I can't fault them. It's understandable that they would make that choice," he said. "(Lawless has) taken the approach of send ing an anonymous letter that is damaging to (a university's officials) without any evi dence of support." But, he said, it is unfortunate that the state system pulled out of the hearings. "It certainly puts a damper on the hear ings. They're obviously an important com ponent." Lawless, chairman of the House Select Committee on Higher Education, had scheduled a discussion on how to improve higher education for Nov. 16 in the state Capitol. The committee of five legislators has been holding several hearings to pro vide testimony about the workings of edu cational institutions that receive state funds. Shewall called the letter the last in a series of unsubstantiated accusations and set up a rally and walkout for 11:45 a.m. Friday against intolerant acts, and some of those students attend ed the seminar. And then from the corner of the room steps the keynote speaker, a lanky man with a bushy beard and thinning hair. And hallow, haunt ing eyes. Three years ago, Floyd Cochran was a foremost leader in Aryan Nations, a white supremacist orga nization that Cochran says wants everyone from Jews to gays to blacks eliminated. In 1992, Cochran let it slip that his son was born with a cleft palette. A guard at the compound where he was living told Cochran •••••••• • • • • • • • ozat 2 mo:de tI7 Gm& 028 GOVII Tech 02 !I Bowl 030 Ifersteit 03111reieis 032 Imam Wks's • lare St. OM Ckentig 011Cakorie 020064mioSe. *IAA" Set Bet Coefror 023 R Airichi 024 Fatah pm -:,02.1 /Omaha threats by Lawless that the state system responsive and involved, the focus of the could no longer ignore. Lawless has also hearings is misdirected. threatened news conferences and routine Lawless does not look at the "broad spec circulation of letters from disgruntled trum" of higher education, Brighton said, workers, he said. and he hopes Penn State can point the Even though Lawless later told repre- hearings in the right direction. sentatives to ignore the letter, Shewell said "(Lawless) is more interested in finding the state system still does not plan to things wrong than helping structure things attend. to improve the University," he said. "We're But Penn State one of four state-relat- hopeful we can focus our discussion on a ed institutions will still participate, higher level." Brighton said, because it is being exam- Others involved in higher education did fined. not approve of Lawless' alleged actions. Rona% letteeddia MMES -- amINAR HA that his son would have to be euth anized because of his birth defect. Apparently, this struck such a chord in Cochran that he left the compound and did a 180-degree turn, heading down the lecture cir cuit to speak out against hatred. I'm skeptical and even scared. But Latino Caucus Edna Hernandez says she feels he is genuine. "The only way you really under- Lehman Award Winners The Dept. of Speech Communication and Kern Graduate Commons Present Readers Theatre Presentations of: Diary of a Mad Housewife/Student by Sherry Hankey Fortune Cookies by Alice Balest The Art of Packing Boxes by David Long 093 Miami 033 Kimsas 044MisdofOhio 045 Whig= 046W:him St 047 haftesota 048 Minis* 049 Woks,* St. 050 Miisoari 036 Karsar St. 037 Kew, St. 038 Koihrcky 039 Lase:situ St. 040 Lento 1e 041 Maryieffid 042 Maripkt 051 Navy "(Lawless has) taken the approach of sending an anonymous letter that is damaging to (a university's officials) without any evidence of support." He said although Penn State should be Slippery Rock University President stand anything is when it hits home," she says. "As much evil as there can be in a person there's gotta be that much good in them." What I hear is a man who himself sounds scared ... and sad ... and passionate about what he says. He raises his voice not once. Cochran's appearance at Scanti con could not be more relevant. He talks about how students can send the message that hate and disre spect are not welcome in their community. He talks about what scares and turns off hate groups. "Let the racists speak so we can see them and organize against them. Doing something is better than doing nothing." November 10 & 11, Free Kern Auditorium, 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday Maybe you don't feel like putting on some oversized rubber football helmet, or 052 North Ginviine 053 North Carding 054 Northwestern ' 055 Nebraska 056 VNTY 057 Nevak-Reno 058 New Mexico 059 New Mexico St Penn State executive vice president and provost painting your school's logo across your chest. But there is something you can do to support your football team call the Burger King College Football Fans Poll. The results are posted every week in Sports Illustrated sand 411111 k BURGER USATODAY. You could even win a trip to the 1995 Nokia Sugar KING Bowl, plus $lO,OOO cash. Besides, dialing the phone is rarely as embar rassing ‘IIIIIII.IIIIIIIP. as running onto the field naked. Get your burger's worth. 060 Nom , Dame 061 Obio Untiversity 062 Obio St. 063 Oklahoma 064 Oklahoma St. 065 °rept( 066 Oregon St. 067 Peen St. 068 Pitt John Brighton Cochran said the walkout and rally will probably make more of an impact than students may expect. "It was almost reassuring when he said it's important to take a stand because when you do so you show you're not going to be toler ant of any hate crime crimes," Her nandez said. Don't close your eyes to it, he almost pleads. Hate groups are in your own backyard, and as much as you'd like to deny it, they are infil trating the community. "These issues must be coming from somewhere. They've occurred before, but never so visi bly," Hernandez said. "We're 077 Textmessee 078 South Ciavima 07.9Soarberw Miss. 080 TCU 087 Texts. 082 Taos A&M 083 Tow Ted) 084 Toledo 083 Uwe 069 Punka 070 Rim 071 Rodgers 072 Sat Dego St. 073 Sot jou St. 074 Antimi 075 Siamese 076 Tempk Robert Aebersold said he is willing to examine higher education, however, he said he does not have time for unsubstanti ated actions such as anonymous letters. "I have a lot of things to do. I don't have a lot of time to deal with anonymous things and to fight ghosts," Aebersold said. John Stewart, a lecturer at Penn State's Mont Alto Campus, said Lawless is a "loose cannon," and he does not approve of the way Lawless is approaching the hearings. "His approach to getting at the facts is what I would term sophomoric," he said. While it is difficult to get a sense of the entire Legislature's reaction to the hear ings, one of Lawless' colleagues is upset by the his conduct. State Rep. Ruth Rudy, D-Centre, one of the members of Lawless' select committee studying higher education, said Lawless' acts were immature and displayed poor judgment. Though Rudy said she believes the upcoming meeting was scheduled as the last, even its occurance is threatened by the state system withdrawing. message going to take a stand, we're not going to tolerate it." And the worst things students can do is tolerate and ignore, Cochran said, because hate groups thrive in the dark, in its denial. So as student organizations plan a demonstration against hate crimes for tomorrow, I turn over the things that Cochran said and hope I never forget those haunting eyes and desperate voice, because I believe that what he has lived and seen is a warning to us all. Jennifer Reitz is a junior majoring in management science and infor mation systems and the Collegian's minority issues beat reporter. iTGAT _ TA parr sday er 9 BPM , me Party Extreme Fun at the Gaff! 094 Wake Forest 093 Washington 0% Wash. 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