‘ | CUNY-WIDE RALLY | RALL

BANNER

Thursday, March 30, 1995

Police prepare for war with barricade...

WOU UU ae

Photo: Michael Garofalo

Photo: Michael Garofalo
..and large numbers

Demonstration Turned Disasterous

By Michael Garofalo

Thousands of CUNY students protested in a
citywide rally last Thursday, March 23, in an effort
to stop Pataki’'s proposed 25% cut in funding
towards education. The demonstration became vio-
lent when demonstrators clashed with cops.

Scores of students were arrested and
issued summonses after the brutal battle with the
police was over. Demonstrator Marco Sainte states,
“Everybody thinks the students started it [the
fight], but when the cops moved in is when it got
ugly.”

Police with mace and billy-clubs pushed
students back, 11 police officers hospitalied for
injuries and nine for students. Demonstrator Steve
J. Pauzolis comments, “During the fight, for the

most part, I was carrying people who were maced
back to the stage.”

The demonstration was generally peaceful
until students decided to march on Wall Street.
Matters became worse when communication with
the crowd ceased; microphones on the mobile stage
blew out. The last message heard was, “Don't
march...Don't march...”

“We wanted to march on Wall Street
because that is the center of political and economi-
cal power,” states Protester John Paul Patafio.
Patafio was issued a summons for possessing an
amplification device at the rally.

Governor George Pataki, Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani and Cuny officials all deny any responsib-
lity for the violence that occurred at the rally.

Giuliani states, “They're supposed to be in school
today.”

President Marlene Springer states, “Though
I know students’ concerns are valid the march and
rally last Thursday was not sponsored by the
College or the University and our students were not
encouraged to leave classes to attend this rally.”

With an increase of tuition of $1,000, the
largest increase ever, and budget cuts that would
eliminate programs such as SEEK, students were
highly motivated to protest.

President of Student Government Lori
Seggio replies, “If these cuts go through it will be
very bad for CUNY next year. We're underfunded as
it is.”


| CUNY-WIDE natty
MBAT CUTS

Press Office
518-474-8418
212-417-2126

For Release:

Immediate, Thursday

March 23, 1995

Statement By Governor
George E. Pataki

New York is facing a $5 billion
budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal
year. We must close this deficit and
bring desperately needed fiscal sanity to
the budget process.

In my budget proposal, I asked
SUNY and CUNY to help the taxpayers
close this deficit by cutting their bureau-
cracy and instituting a number of sensi-
ble reforms. Unfortunately, they chose

to wage a diverse campaign of fear-mon-
gering and distortion to scare both stu-

dents and parents.

Professors have cancelled classes
so students could participate in protest
rallies. Administrators have used their
taxpayer-funded resources to engage in
partisan politics during working hours.

It is an outrage to observe such unpro-
fessional and partisan political behavior
by professors and administrators who
should know better.

If SUNY and CUNY increased
their student-faculty ratio by one stu-
dent, to 20.5 to one, it would save tax-
payers $18 million a year. If professors
increased their average teaching load by
a mere one hour to 15.5 hours a week,
it would save taxpayers $25 million a
year. If sabbatical leave for faculty were
eliminated, taxpayers would save $17
million a year.

I have suggested specific steps
that can be taken by SUNY and CUNY to
help New York get its fiscal house in
order. I hope they will make a good faith
effort to help our taxpayers and forego
the type of behavior that poisons the cli-
mate for an honest debate.

YANNVG

tm

looking at all the police.

‘Oe yorey ‘Aepsinyy

rob a bank” says spectator while


TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS.....cccccccccccccccooh-

Morality....................8

Letters toEditor........8

Features..............9-11

Arts & Entertainment. 12)

Sports..............13 ioe 1

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Thursday, March 30, 1995

SEEKing RESTORATION IN ALBANY

By Jennifer Valle

Over 2,500 Seek students and faculty
from various CUNY and SUNY campuses travelled
to the legislative office building and Capitol at
Albany in order to rally and lobby against George
Pataki's budget cuts, on March 14th. SEEK paid
for the buses that shuttled the students to the

sight.

Professor and SEEK Advisor, Charlotte
McPherson, stated, “The students were very artic-
ulate and were able to bring the point across.”
Angry students shouted in protest such things
as “Hey Hey! Ho Hol, Pataki’s cuts have got to go”
as they swarmed on the front steps of the capitol.
Other student and faculty lobbyists spoke with
Assembly members, Senators and
Representatives about the effect that the elimina-
tion of the SEEK program would have on them.

The budget proposed by Pataki, if
passed, will result in the complete loss of SEEK,
as well as Graduate Tap and Aid for part time
study (APTS), and leave Financial Aid drastically
cut. College funding for CUNY will be decreased
by 27.5% ($158.1 million), funding for SUNY
decreased by 32% ($289.5 million) and
Independent colleges decrease by 4% ($6 million).
If the budgets go through as planned, it would
result in the loss of thousands of jobs for SEEK
advisors throughout CUNY and SUNY, roughly
half of the adjunct teachers, and CUNY colleges
will be forced to raise tuition by $1,000 in order
to make up for the cuts (SUNY to raise tuition
approximately $1,500), leaving no choice but. for
SEEK and working class students to take out
loans or drop college.

SEEK Advisor Eugene Dudley com-
mented, “This (the proposed budget) has served as
a wake up call to the people, we have to tell the
story of SEEK and remind Seek students that this
is a political program.” He continued, “People are
so overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness (at
the sight of these cuts), but we will teach them,
they will learn. You guys (students) have the
power.”

by Jennifer Valle

Solidarity was the key at the March 16th
rally as approximately 10,000 students swamped
the streets and caused a forty-five minute traffic
jam in the streets of Manhattan in hopes to get
restoration for CUNY and SUNY. The rally began
outside of Lehman College and Borough of
Manhattan Community College (BMCC).

Thousands of students from Lehman,
LaGuardia, and other CUNY schools chanted,
“Pataki says ‘cut back’ we say ‘fight back’,” as they
marched towards BMCC where they joined with
another rally already in progress
at BMCC. Hundreds of police
officers lined the streets in ‘fence
formation’ as the students
marched down Chambers street
towards Liberty Avenue and
Trinity Avenue. “If they (the ral-
liers) get out of line, (we will) lock
‘em up” stated Police Officer
Alomar as he watched for any
signs of rioting.

As the ralliers stopped marching at Liberty
Avenue, USS Chairman Anthony Giordano
addressed the students from a makeshift podium,
congratulating them and encouraging them to
“keep up the fight.” Giordano then handed the
microphone over to Assemblyman Perry who com-
mented on the proposed cuts, “The only person
who could support these cuts is someone who
lives at home and has no heart.” He continued,
“These budgets are being pushed by people with
blindfolds on.”

The ralliers, blanketing approximately five
blocks, shouted in agreement as the Honorable
Larry Seabrook took the mike and shouted, “We're
fired up, we can't take no more.” He persisted,
“Today we show a sense of unity... but we also
show a sense of solidarity. We protest peacefully
but we will also show that we have a right to
protest. We are all from different countries... we
may have come here on different ships but we're
on the same boat now.” Honorable Seabrook
spoke of the one hundred students who were

Spokespersons explained to lobbying
students that cuts will most certainly be made but
also commented, “we will try to soften the blows of
these cuts.”

At a press conference on March 16th,
Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds explained, “We are
pushing to save SEEK, it is an excellent program
which helps thousands of our students through-
out CUNY. I don't think the SEEK program will be
eliminated, I am quite confident that there will be
SEEK restoration.” She further commented, “It is
funny how in the midst of all of these rallies, the
Governor has found an extra $300 million dollars
within the budget.”

Students were told by Spokeswoman
Ms. Weinberg that Ms. Connelley will try her very
best to soften these cuts but it looks like budget
cuts will still be made.” She explained , “A lot of
Republicans like the budget and they are going to
vote for it as is.”

The rally outside continued as the stu-
dents waved banners in protest and shouted in
protest against the tremendous cuts.

CSI student and SEEK recipient Liz
N. George expressed “ I depend on SEEK to help
me economically and academically. If SEEK gets
cut, it would not only affect me but a lot of SEEK
students and faculty. I also think it is the best
program that helps students academically
because the staff , faculty and tutors are always
there for the students.”

Representative Mr. Jaffe did men-
tion afterward that Mr. Marchi was one of the
founders of SEEK in the early 1960's and confid-
ed, “Senator Marchi will do all he can for SEEK.”
He concluded “we will try to soften the cuts and
make the situation more equitable to the contin-
gency.” Chancellor Reynolds commented, “The
legislatures and assemblymembers have been
thoroughly impressed by our students.” Professor
McPherson commented that the fight wasn’t over
yet stating, “We should continue to keep the pres-
sure on until we get restoration to CUNY.” ~

arrested from Hunter College on March 15th stat-
ing, “We will stand up for those students of
Hunter. They didn’t go to jail for selling drugs,
they went to jail for standing up for education.”
Students cheered as they continued to rally for
three hours.

At a town meeting on March 15th,
President Springer explained, “If the budget cuts
go through, we are going to have to cut about 500
sections, we are going to have to lay off 65 - 70
faculty, 65 - 75 staff, about half of our adjunct
teachers will be laid off.” Although summer
school looks grim at the face of these cuts,
President Springer commented, “We
will try our best to save summer
school.”

In light of the drastic cuts, The
President has set up a Retrenchment
committee in order to review the
classes and the budget. The com-
mittee will decide, along with
Springer, which programs and sec-
tions from CSI will have to be cut.
She explained, “We (the retrench-
ment committee) will put everything on the table
and look at all the programs. The budget will be
released on April Ist, and we need to have a
retrenchment plan completed by June 30th.” She
continued, “I will consult as widely as I can but
the bottom line is that my name will be on the bot-
tom of that page (the budget plan for next semes-
ter).”

In a press conference on March 16th,
Chancellor Reynolds commended the students
rallying stating, “Our students have been polite,
well behaved, and informative. Everyone I have
spoken to has been very impressed with our stu-
dents, but we have to keep this up. The real tar-
get right now is the legislature.”

The rally began to break up at 5:00 pm as
students returned to classes. Irwin Polishook
from the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY Union
of Professional Staff commented, “When he
(Pataki) restored capital punishment, we didn't
think he wanted a death sentence for us. We
won't stand for it.”

'

“SOLIDARITY AT MANHATTAN ——__



fim CS NewS...

MOCK BAKE
SALE LEAVES
PATAKI
PROPOSAL
LOOKING
“HALF-BAKED”

By Jennifer Valle

Approximately five students
from CSI held a mock bake sale in
front of Senator Marchi’s district
office on March 16th in order to
mock Governor Pataki's request that
CUNY students seek private funding
sources to make up for the 25%
state aid cut which he proposed.

The sale, featuring CSI cook-
ies for $5 million dollars a piece and
CUNY cake for $10 million dollars a
slice went well considering the fact
that none of the baked goods were
purchased. “Maybe we should try
again on pay day,” stated student
John Kim as he sarcastically contin-
ued, “Without a successful bake sale
to offset the governor's cuts, CUNY
may be forced to fire hundreds of
tenured faculty and raise tuition by
$1,000.”

Project leader with the New
York Public Interest Research Group
(NYPIRG) and CSI student Laura
Milling commented, “The Pataki plan
for CUNY really seems half-baked.
The Governor should know that the
ingredients of a college education
cannot be tuition, tuition, and more
tuition. This is not a recipe that the
working poor and middle class stu-
dents of CUNY can easily swallow.”

SECURITY
LEARNS SIGN
LANGUAGE

Security has been working in
conjunction with the Resource
Center for the Deaf to train peace
officers to communicate with deaf
and hearing impaired students and
faculty on campus. “This is our sec-
ond session of sign language”
explained Director of Security
Eugene Martinez. He continued,
“We began the training last semester.
We discussed this with Carol
Lazorisak and we felt that this train-
ing will help the peace officers com-
municate a lot better with the stu-
dents who are deaf and hard of hear-
ing.”

With approximately 60 stu-
dents on campus who are hearing
impaired and an expected double of
that number in September, arrange-
ments were made for Faculty mem-
ber Gina DiBart to train security offi-
cers in two-fifteen minute sessions
once each week. Martinez comment-
ed, “With this training, we will be
able to service the students even
more.”

FUNERAL HELD
FOR CUNY

Approximately 20 students
held a mock funeral for CUNY on
Monday, March 20th. Students
gathered at noon in front of the cam-
pus center with cardboard tomb-
stones and a makeshift black coffin.
They immediately assembled into
“funeral lon” style and pro-
ceeded to “grieve” the loss of CUNY

by the hand of Pataki and his pro-
posed budget. “I'm going to really be
affected with the financial aid cuts.
I'm getting low Tap assistance now
and now it's going to be gone.” She
continued, “There's nothing else for
me. I'm supporting this funeral pro-
cession in hopes to save my educa-
tion.” =

The mourners, dressed in
black, carried the coffin to the front
of the library where a short ceremo-
ny was held. Student Government
President Lori Seggio commented,
“It's appropriate that the funeral be
held in front of a building that sym-
bolizes the quest for knowledge.”
Seggio then called for a moment of
silence.

Director of the SEEK pro-
gram, Gloria Garcia, commended the
students for making the truth about
the cuts known. NYPIRG Project
Coordinator Michelle Gibbons com-
mented, “This tragedy. can still be
prevented. The State Legislature
still has the power to restore the
cuts.” Mourner and CSI student
Stephanie Rogers commented,
“there’s no reason for high school
students to stay in school when they
know there won't be a college to go
to.” Gibbons ended the ceremony by
encouraging students to call their
Assemblypersons and
Representatives stating, “There is
still hope for the life of CUNY. We
must keep calling on legislature to
restore cuts so that we won't have to
bury our education.”

WSIA: sic sien...

BIG PROBLEMS

WSIA suffered a broken neon
sign when 3 students were playing
football in front of the campus center
and accidentally hit the yellow neon
tubing with the ball on Thursday,
March 16. Director of Campus
Center Mike Daniels expressed, “We
are calling local people to get esti-
mates in order to make the repairs.”

Although no one is sure as to
the cost to fix the sign, Director for
Student Services Allan DiBiase com-
mented, “Why should students play
football there (in front of the campus
center) when they could injure some-
one.” He continued, “It was irre-
sponsible behavior and I strongly
feel that the students responsible
should pay for the damages.”

For now, the WSIA sign still
is operable although it is missing an
entire line of yellow neon within the
red lining under the letters ‘WSIA.’
Greg Adamo offered an idea to pre-
vent further damage stating, “We will
be looking into plexiglass.” DiBiase
further commented on the situation
stating, “You broke it, you pay for it.”

MULTIPLE CAR
THEFTS /
BREAK-INS
TIGHTENS
SECURITY

Along with major parking
problems on campus, a rash of car
break-ins and car thefts have
occurred since January, five inci-
dents of which occurred in the
month of March.

Within the third week of
March (3/20 - 3/22) two cars were
stolen and another three were bro-
ken into on the Willowbrook cam-
pus. According to reports, one 1986

Monte Carlo was damaged on March
20th. Afterwards, on the same day,
another 1986 Monte Carlo was
stolen from parking lot #1.
Following these two incidents,
another car was tampered with in
parking lot #6 on March 21st which
left the auto lock broken. A few
hours afterwards, another car was
stolen from the loop road. One car
was taken from parking lot #4 and
deposited in parking lot #6 minus
the car radio on March 22nd.

Security personnel Robert

Yurman commented on the issue
stating, “All of our patrols are cur-
rently concentrating on the parking
lots.” Yurman further explained,
“Security is looking into The Police
Department Anti Car Theft Unit. We
are just waiting for the ‘okay’ from
President Springer.” If implemented,
the Anti Car Theft Unit would fea-
ture plain clothes police officers on
campus to patrol the parking lots
and look for suspicious activity.
In addition to these thefts, Head of
Security Eugene Martinez urges all
students to be alert for any suspi-
cious activity in parking lots and
report any such activity immediate-
ly. Ina letter to the CSI Community,
Martinez says, “Staten Island has
the highest rates for stolen autos in
New York City... In recent weeks, we
have experienced a marked increase
in reported auto thefts at our
Willowbrook campus.” Martinez fur-
ther announced, “The Campus
Security Department is taking cer-
tain steps to reduce the risk of auto
thefts on campus.”

Among the constant
patrolling of parking lots and await-
ing approval for police back-up,
security personnel Dennis Casey
stood at the front gate on March
24th, randomly checking cars for
marks of tampering. Yurman con-
cluded, “We've made the parking lots
our number one priority.”

Over 50 students and staff
members gathered at the Park Cafe
when the Peer Drop-In Center held a
reception to celebrate the opening of
the new support center at 4:00 pm
on March 22nd. _ First started
February 6, 1995, the program
began “slow, but has been picking
up” explained Supervisor of the Peer
Group and Wellness Coordinator
Carol Brower.

“This is a way for students to
give back something to the school”
explained Ms. Brower. With 16 stu-

‘dents already trained as “peer edu-

cators” and participating in the pro-
gram, the support center is open for
calls from students who need infor-
mation, referral to support agencies,
or a person to talk to. “All of the peer
educators took 2 days of training in
January and each of them voluntar-
ily work 3 hours each week.”
explained Brower. She continued,
“The phone calls are all confidential
and students are welcomed to come
to the center to speak to our educa-
tors.” The Peer office, located in 1C-
112F, is open from 9 am - 5 pm from
Monday - Friday, with the exception
of Wednesdays when the office is
open until 6:30 pm. All students
seeking a friendly voice and support
are encouraged to call the group at
982-3123.

SORRY ‘BOUT THAT

In the BANNER Volume II Issue X, I
made a mistake and reported that
Loop Bus #190 sprung a gas tank
leak. Upon further investigation, it
was found that the Loop Bus actual-
ly had a fuel filter leak. Upon rec-
ognizing the source of the problem,
the bus was immediately repaired by
Gateway Personnel.

BANNER

e staff e«

Editor - In - Chief
Michael Garofalo

Associate Editor
P. C. Guagenti

Distribution Manager..
Public Relations Coordinator.

Business Manager
Ralph Mastrangelo

.. Jennifer Valle
... Jason Castro

George L. Perry
. Jennifer Rigione
April Butensky
....David Zerykier

STAFF: RICH ARROYO, ERIC CASTILLO, PETER MATLAK,
JAMES McNULTY, RYAN MONROE, ROBIN PUDLIN,
JESSICA REBACK, VALERY RODOLICO, BILL SPURGE,
AMY VENEZIANO, YVONNE VILLA, CHRIS ZEYER

FACULTY ADVISOR: Professor Onwuchekwa Jemie

YANNVG

‘oe youey ‘Aepsunu


EE
Can It Be Resurrected?

BANNER

Thursday, March 30, 1995

Has Morality Died, And,

By Alisa A. Hemmer

Lately, I have been noticing just
how messed up the world is. People
have little respect for each other.
There are few of us who have good
morals. We need a reality check!
Some of us have forgotten that morals
and good values are learned. Parents
need to raise their standards and
teach their children right from wrong
as soon as their offspring learn how to
walk. Some parents do not want to be
bothered taking the time to talk to a
child about problems he or she might
have, or just to find out what is on
their son’s or daughter's mind. This
has got to stop; our children are our
future.

Environment plays a major role
in children’s lives. They learn from

their surroundings; children are very
impressionable, they're like sponges;
they soak up everything around them.
If youngsters are taught morality from
an early age, they will grow up with
morals, therefore becoming well
rounded adults. I do not believe any-
one is born bad. I think that people
learn how to be born bad. In society
today there are too many of us who are
irresponsible and have no code of
ethics. It's a shame, but in my opinion
lying and cheating have become a way
of life for a lot of people. Why can't we
just be honest? Most of us are decent
hard working people who are just try-
ing to live our lives and get by the best
we can.

We should all try to be a little
kinder to each other. All you have to
do to make someone feel good is to

smile at him or her or say a kind word.
A little wave or a simple “Hello, how
are you?” can make a person's day a
little brighter, There is no reason to
call people names or poke fun at those
who are a little bit different from us.
The world would be such a calmer,
friendlier place if we would all try to be
a little nicer and try to respect each
other.

It really alarms me the way
racism and prejudice have taken such
prevalence in our society. A person
should not be judged by the color of
his skin or his _ religious
preference/beliefs. After all, we are all
human beings. We are all born the
same way, and we all bleed the same.
Treat people the way you want to be
treated. Don't be selfish, listen to what
other people have to say, and they will

thank you for being a good listener.

Be a good citizen. Do not break
the law; not only are you hurting your-
self, but you are also hurting innocent
people who don't deserve to be pun-
ished for your foolishness. There are a
lot of people out there. Just live one
day at a time, respect yourself and
those around you, and be happy.

Teaching young people how to

be responsible for their actions is a
very valuable lesson; if you aren't
responsible for yourself, then how are
you going to take on the challenge of
raising your own children. Let's all try
to make the world a better place to live.
Just smiling at someone can make
their day. Peace.

Dear Editor-In-Chief,

I must say that was a very evasive response to my letter. I
mean that, I had expected a more lively rebuttal however you con-
ducted yourself in a professional manner, calm, cool, and I hope
honest with the exception of the AGAIN which appeared in bold
print whose intention was probably to annoy me. Well that’s fine I
laughed when I saw it, besides it reflects some character and
cahones on your part, which I respect.

Now down to business. I.see nothing wrong or too offensive
in the last two issues of the Banner so I have Nothing to say about
it. Keep in mind that if I didn’t like the Banner I would not even
bother to communicate with it at all, take that for what it’s worth.
However in your March 6 issue you asked for a response to the new
SAFE Program so here it is. I think that this whole idea of SAFE is
a bit much at least for this campus. It is, I think, overkill and over-
reaction especially at CSI. I can understand the desire of the
administration to maintain order within CSI, that’s understand-

able. However, not for nothing it seems like we have a surplus of ations to hold off campus

campus security here. I mean a classic example was the way the
college handled security for Chancellor Reynolds and her visit. I
mean her car was driven up to 1C with a security escort (jeep) as if
a wild gunman was on a roof and was going to shoot at her. I mean
that’s ridiculous I can’t drive my car up to 1C why should she. In
addition a security patrol escorted her on to and off the campus.
What the hell, she’s not the President of the United States. Also
there were about twenty uniformed guards outside the Campus
Center and a whole bunch of security in plain clothes inside the
cafeteria. | suppose this was her secret service right. In your photo
in the March 6 ed. of the Banner there is Borough Hall and you can
clearly see the large number of protesters fighting the budget cuts
and there is 10, 20, 30, or 40 cops guarding it only two. Now if two
cops is enough to block a doorway for Guy Molinari all the securi-
ty for Reynolds was unwarranted. Oh by the way she came on a
Friday morning, on Fridays there is like not a soul to be found on
campus. Good thing she didn't come on a busy day like Monday,
who knows we might have had to call out the National Guard for
her.

As for this new unit and the liberal policy which has been
adopted in who may summon it well I just have this to say. The unit
may quell the protests against budget cuts however it does the peo-
ple that have requested them to subdue us students are just hurt-
ing the effort to secure our education and their lame asses. So you
see they'll suffer just as much as we will.

As Always, W.Y.L.T.K.

PS. I'm changing W.Y.L.T.K. to J.P. next letter since the pseudonym
is not appropriate.

Well it looks as if the Banner has set-up an elaborate pen-
pal system. But hey, if you keep writing letters we'll keep printing
them. We also appreciate you taking the time to do so. But as you
say...down to business.

There is not much I can say to your letter except, I agree.
Reynolds came down to CSI to show her support of CUNY and that
she was against the cuts. Why would she need to separate herself
from students if she's fighting for them? If there was a protest out-
side, (This is why there was so much security, because a protest was
expected.) I would join in if I was the chancellor.

This is why I respect our college's president. You will see
Springer eat lunch in the Campus Center like anyone else. And no,
security is not positioning themselves along the rotunda to secure the
president from a possible uprising.

As for the borough hall rally, there were 10-15 police officers
for 50 to 80 protesters, depending on which newspaper you read.
Since I was at both events I think it’s safe to say, you dramatized the
scenarios a little bit. Although, I feel that I have to agree with you on
the fact that Reynolds’ appearance was paralleled with a security
overkill. Guy Molinari quietly left for the day using the back entrance
with none of the protesters aware of that fact till it was too late. -ed.

Letters to the Editor ©

3/20/95
To the Editor:

This letter is a response to the meet-
ing that Dr. Springer held the night of last
Wednesday, 3/15.

Dr. Springer and her staff expressed
their deep compassion and professional con-
cern about the proposed budget cuts to CSI
and the way it will hurt the College’s mission,
and of course the students.

My class, at Professor Robbin’s
request attended Dr. Springer’s lecture and I
am glad that he did, since Professor Robbin's
is one of our finest instructors, bar none.

The one comment that disturbed was
one made by Dr. Jackson, College Vice
President about prohibiting Student organi-
since
she assumed that alcoholic consumption
would happen and was echoed by a staff
member sitting in the audience named Alan?

My point: the last time I read the Bill
of Rights that to assemble peaceably was not
be interfered with by any official or agency
within the US.

My concern, which was expressed
earlier by Dr. Springer, was a reactionary
trend towards limiting freedoms within
America.

This reaction has manifested before
by the cashiering of Dr. Volpe, the harass-
ment of Dr. Jeffries and the implementation
of the new CUNY police force, all by Dr.
Reynolds.

I know that CSI's staff are distracted
by the possible dissolving of CUNY, those first
principles that this country was founded
upon.

That restricting the peaceable
assembly of adult citizens is at best, repre-
hensible and should not be permitted.

Sincerely,
fateich JUL
What you have to ask yourself is:
“What sticks out more in a person's mind; stu-

dents sharing a peaceful afternoon playing a
pleasant game of pool, or the game of pool
where a fight breaks out and someone gets
stabbed in the eye with a cue?” Sound a bit
abstract? Well, let me explain.

Back at Sunnyside, pool was played
like a religion. One day non-students came on
campus to get a game. One thing led to anoth-
er and a fight broke out. I don’t know the exact
details (it's before my time), however I do
know no one was stabbed in the eye. But if
you mention getting a pool table back on cam-
pus, staff will refer to the incident as if this
occurred. Regardless of the fact that students
were not directly responsible for what
occurred, pool lovers are now made to suffer
Jor the past.

One might say, “why do we have ping
pong tables and not a pool table?” If some got
chopped in the neck with a paddle in a ping
pong brawl, that game would be phased out
as well.

What I'm trying to say is that Carol
Jackson and Allan DiBiase, Director of
Student Activities are looking out for the safe-
ty of the college and avoid potential law suits.
When something goes wrong at an event, who
do you think gets a call? This is why our
administrators are a bit ‘shell shocked’ when
you say off-campus event. No matter what
precautions are taken, the college is almost
always liable if something goes astray. Even if
no legal action occurs, who do you think the
parents call if there son or daughter was
found dead from an alcoholic overdose. They
look for someone to blame. A school is an easy
target.

You have freedom to assemble and
go where ever you want with your friends, but
when you use the school name things become
more complicated. Does this mean we as stu-
dents should give up holding off-campus
events? No, but anyone who does want an off
campus event with the school should be
aware that there is a set of rules and a trail of
paperwork to follow. As long as you don’t get
discouraged in filling out forms and following
the rules, you will see that campus staff over-
all does want to help you with your event. -Ed.

What do you

think?

Was the
CUNY*WIDE
rally beneficial
to our cause?
Send your letters
to 1C-228