Miami Hurricane, February 03, 1989

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Home of the free
Columnist Sean Kelly examines the balance between violence and freedom in Miami.
Opinion — page 4
Get thee to the Gallery
An article and map will help you discover the long-hidden treasures of the New Gallery.
Accent — page 6
Hard ball is here
Another baseball season begins as Miami opens the year with games against Central Florida.
Sports — pegs 8
Friday, Feb. 3,198«
University of Miami
Volume 66, Number 31
UM cancels ’89 Carni Gras
By CINTHIA MANZANO
Stafí Writer
38-year-old fest may be gone forever
The University of Miami has cancelled the Carni Gras festival, a spring tradition since 1951, and most likely will not revive it in the future, said the event's chairperson.
Michael Spears said that financial reasons, lack of a good location and problems with UM administrators and the Coral Gables City Commission all contributed to the cancellation of Carni Gras.
Carni Gras began at UM as the Chi Omega sorority Sun Festival. In 1954 UM's administration took control of the event. In the years that followed, it grew into the largest student-run carnival in the Southeast, complete with booths, entertainment
and amusement rides.
The festival needs about $18,000 to operate this year, according to Spears. Last year the event suffered a loss of $2,000. Organizations who paid $50 to set up booths were unable to make a profit.
In years past, the festival raised money for student facilities, said Dr. William Butler, vice president for student affairs. Lately, however, the carnival lost money.
“It ended up we were paying the carnival vendors their profits and we were walking away with deficits," Butler said.
Fewer booths hawked their wares last year than
in the past. Spears said few organizations would participate this year, which would also contribute to the lack of funds.
“Carni Gras in the past was really successful, and I think the reason for its success was that it was really unconventional then, but attitudes have changed in the past few years," Spears said.
In addition, the University would have to pay for inspection of the amusement rides. Last year, Spears said the biggest money-maker was the Spider, a ride recently banned from Florida after the death of a passenger on the ride at the Broward County Fair.
Spears said one of the major problems this year was the unavailability of a good location. Last year’s site, the vacant lots behind Lambda CM Alpha and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities, between Liguria and Corniche avenues, were not a good choice because of their concealed location, he said.
Another spot used in previous years, the Intramural Field, was not available for use because of possible destruction to the grounds and the fear of liability.
“They |Campus Sports and Recreation! are just very protective of the Intramural Field,' Spears said.
Please see page 2/CARNI GRAS
By GERTRUDIS DIAZ
Statl Writer
Although the University of Miami does not admit negligence for damage to student rooms resulting from a water pipe that burst Jan. 26 in Pentland Tower, the University has agreed to clean the students' damaged carpets free of charge.
/ According to ur. Robert Redick, associate director for residence halls, water from the carpets will be extracted and the carpets will be treated with special deodorizers and anti-fungal ingredients.
Redick said other damaged property should be covered by the students' homeowner's insurance policies.
During orientation. Redick said students are advised to purchase homeowner’s insurance in case such an incident occurs.
“We are like any landlord off campus. Landlords pay only if they are negligent," Redick said.
According to Bill Mullowney, University ombudsman, students who believe they have a legitimate claim and are unahle to satisfy the claim through their insur-
ance company should communicate the specific damages in writing to Karen MeUno, resident coordinator at Hecht Residential College.
Mullowney said the cases will be considered on an individual basis.
“It's important for students to
to~be~rmi'ftb 'them and wimts'tôHê
as effective as possible in addressing the situation,” Ifuliow-ney said.
Speaker of the Student Government Senate Marc Oster said SG is concerned about the students who suffered damages and wants to do everything possible for them, but most important, said SG wants to see where the University administration is heading in terms of compensation for students.
“We want to do everything, that we can for the students, and we want to put as much pressure on the administration as we can to pay for the damages," Oster said. “SG is reviewing several options to prevent these types of occurrences from happening in the future.”
Cookies for a cause	MICHELLE LUTMAN/5taff Photographer
Erin Harwell of Junior Girl Scout Troop 882 sells a box of cookies to Mike Gerson, right, and Daryl Berman, left, in the Whitten University Center Breezeway. Troop members Ritu Airan, back, and Natalie Duperme, center, look on. Troop 882 expects to sell all 3,085 boxes it ordered by Valentine’s Day, when the sale ends.
Flood to cost students money
UM offers to clean rugs
Whitten Center to get face-lift
SG plans ad blitz to boost voter turnout
By ROBERT S. MARSHALL
Assistant News Editor
In an effort to increase student involvement in activi-ties.the Student Government Senate voted Wednesday to make a strong effort to publicize the upcoming student elections, including a half-page ad in The Miami Hurricane, production of banners and flyers, and publicizing to other student organizations on campus.
SG President Freddie Steb-bins said in the past years, SG has been criticized for not publicizing the event.
“This year, we had to make a difference,” Stebbins said in promoting the plan of publicity which was passed by a vote of 20-2,1 senator abstaining.
In other actions, SG proposed a program to alleviate long lines In the bookstore by offering students the option of buying their textbooks through the mail before the semester starts.
Students who register early would be able to submit a copy of their upcoming schedule to the University bookstore which would set the books aside and send a bill to the student over the vacation period to pay be-
fore returning to school. When the student returned, he would stop by the bookstore and pick up his bag of books
SG is also taking steps to get compensation for the students who suffered damages in the Pentland Tower "flood,” Speaker of the Senate Marc Oster said. Although a number of students were affected, the University has no legal responsibility to reimburse the students, Oster said.
In a period of discussion, Oster, Stebbins and United Black-Students President Johnny Taylor were criticized for their purchase of a full-page ad criticizing the Hurricane the previous week.
Hecht Residential College Senator John Reandeau called for Taylor, Oster and Stebbins to apologize for a misuse of funds, to repay the money and to make known that the senate was not involved in the decision to purchase the ad.
Reasons for oppoaition were based primarily on the cost of the ad.
Oster commented,“If we erred, we are sorry, but I don’t think we erred. We have no intention of repaying the money or apologizing."
By MICHELLE M. PEREZ
Staff Writer
The University of Miami has agreed to fund three renovation projects for the interior of the Whitten University Center to be undertaken during fiscal year 1990.
Estimates for the total cost of each of the projects are $42,000 for ceiling and lighting in the International Lounge, of which half the money will come from the University Center budget; $8,000 for carpet in the lower lounge; and $5,000 to refurbish the existing furniture in the International Lounge.
According to Mark Oster, speaker of the Student Government Senate, SG proposed the
projects to call attention to student priorities as well as to justify the recent tuition increases.
“Since tuition was raised, we opted to place more emphasis on how the money was to be appropriated and |on making| sure the University puts forth a good faith effort in meeting student concerns," Oster said.
According to Craig Ullom, director of the University Center, the repairs are very much needed.
Ullom said the International Lounge ceiling is very dangerous in its present condition because the metal supports have rusted out, and the lighting there is very poor for studying.
In addition, the seats in the middle of the International Lounge will be separated to allow the area to serve both as theater and lounge. A no-smoking policy will be adopted in the Whitten's lower lounge, where new carpet is to be installed, Ullom said.
"All this is part of an overall upgrade of the University Center to create a much more usable and versatile environment for students," Ullom said.
Although SG submitted five projects to Provost Luis Glaser, only these three have been approved. The purchase of new carpet and furniture for the International Lounge is still pending
approval.
"Student Government wishes Dr. Glaser had committed to all five plans, but we're hoping more money will be forthcoming and the other programs will also have money allocated to them," Outer said.
According to Dr. William Butler, vice president for student affairs, limitations in funding will determine how far the University can go in carrying out the as-of-yet unapproved renovation proposals.
“We recognize we won't he able to address all needs in one year, but we will continue reviewing the proposals and trying to find funding," Butler said.
SAFAC to host funding
By JACKIE HYNEK
Staff Writer
Deadlines for student organization funding requests are approaching, and the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee is offering a helping hand for groups who want to apply for money.
SAFAC, comprised of students, distributes money generated by the student activity fee to campus organizations.
According to SAFAC Chairperson Rich Gauthier, emergency requests for funding must be made by Feb. 13, and regular requests will be accepted until Feb. 20. Forms are available in University Center 232.
Gauthier said SAFAC will conduct workshops in preparing request forms for ail interested groups seeking funding for the 1989-90 year. The first workshop will be held at 5 p.m.
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Wednesday in Flamingo Ballroom C. The second will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Involvement Center on the second floor of the Whitten University Center.
The workshops are designed to make the application process easier, Gauthier said.
"The forms used to be really bad,” Gauthier said. "Now, they’re not so bad, but if you're not used to anything like this, they can be intimidating."
Gauthier said most clubs at UM are eligible for aid, but they must be registered by the Council of Student Organizations, and funds must be used for the benefit of the student body. Honor societies or any clubs in which the membership is selective are not eligible for funds. Political groups or any kind of political candidate endorsement societies are also denied funds.
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workshop
SAFAC works on two kinds of requests. The group is now working on emergency requests. Clubs seek emergency funds when they encounter unexpected circumstance«.
"If the Sailing Club has a problem with their boat, they come to us for emergency funds, and we'd try to help them out," Gauthier said.
Gauthier said regular requests will be reviewed at the end of this year.
He said next year’s increase in the activity fee will enable SAFAC to set aside $7,500 far new organizations and for those clubs that have not received much funding in the pawt. This way, Gauthier said, SAFAC hopes to generate Interest in new and small club«.
For more information about SAFAC or the workshops, students can call Gauthier at 284-5646.