Miami Hurricane, October 22, 1991

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MM
VOLUME 69, NUMBER 13
WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK! YOU
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22,1991
COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET
A new group on campus offers a safe, supportive environment for gays and lesbians at UM.
■ Accent — page 6
MASTER PLAN DEBATE
A member of the administration and a Coral Gables resident share their different views on the University’s Master Plan.
■ Opinion — page 4
NEWSBRIEFS
Students violate Honor Code
According to a memo released by the Honor Council last Thursday, two juniors in the School of Business Administration were placed on final disciplinary probation for violating the Undergraduate Student Honor Code.
The students were accused, based on a complaint filed by a fellow student in the School of Business, and were brought before two hearings to decide their "honorable” status.
Specifically accused of cheating on a multiple choice exam, the students wrote the answers of the exam onto their desks before taking the test.
After being brought before the Honor Council for a preliminary hearing, probable cause was discovered, and the students were brought forward in a final hearing. Both were found guilty.
Before the conclusion of the fall term, the two students were sentenced to complete 50 hours of community service.
— PAMELA WILFINGER
Cardboard boats to cross lake
Cardboard creations will ply the waters of Lake Osceola Friday during the third annual Cardboard Boat Race, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects.
Students will attempt to navigate their home-made boats across Lake Osceola for prizes that will be awarded by race sponsors Miller Genuine Draft and Sports Grill. At 4 p.m., all of the competing boats will be displayed on the patio of the School of Architecture. The students will then march around the lake with the boats to the Rathskeller to begin the race at 5 p.m.
The race rules state the boats should be made of string, cardboard, tape, white glue and liquid finish.
Robert Gray, a student majoring in architecture and the organizer of the race, says the liquid finish is a vital part of the boat’s construction.
“It (the liquid finish) really helps keep them from sinking right away,” said Gray. He said he expects about 12 race entries.
TODAY’S FORECAST
Partly Cloudy
HIGH: 85 LOW: 75 Chance of rain 40%
Sourc«: National Weather Service
DEREK HEMBD / Graphic Artist
GREEKS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Sig Ep reorganized by national
By ALLETTA BOWERS
News Editor
A total of 32 brothers and pledges of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity were expelled last week as part of a reorganization conducted by the organization’s national office.
The fraternity, which was suspended by the University of Miami following allegations of hazing and other infractions, was temporarily closed by national officers until an alumni committee could visit campus and interview members.
The committee set up academic and behavioral standards. Selections were to be based on these standards, according to Jeff Johnson, national director of alumni and chapter development, in an interview prior to the committee meetings on campus.
According to Gregg Bloom, a Sigma Phi Epsilon brother, 31 brothers and 21 pledges remain.
Bloom said some members of the fra-
ternity were unavailable to be interviewed by national because they were out of town. "Some of these numbers will probably change."
“We were kind of surprised by some of the decisions,” Bloom said. “We want to try to appeal the release of some people.”
Johnson could not be reached for comment. Bloom said he and Scott Sugarman, are the only executive officers who are still members.
Richard Walker, associate dean of students, said he would be receiving information from Johnson later this week.
Sigma Phi Epsilon will be able to respond to hazing allegations at a judicial hearing. However, a date for the hearing has not be set. Bloom said the fraternity is holding a meeting with their chapter counselor to discuss the future of the organization tomorrow.
LITTLE BROTHERS
LYNNE SHA^IRO/Statl Photographer
SAY CHEESE: Orphans from Boystown of Florida take a break from watching Saturday’s Hurricane game In the Orange Bowl for a picture with brothers of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. A total of 15 boys attended the Miami-Long Beach State game, escorted by 25 Pi Kappa Alpha brothers.
Promo interrupted by fraternity fight
■ A disagreement between two fraternities resulted in a brawl being broken up by UM’s Public Safety officers.
By PAMELA WILFINGER
Staff Writer
A fight broke out last Thursday night between members of the Sigma Chi and the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternities at the Rathskeller. According to witnesses, the dispute took place over a girl.
According to non-fraternity members who witnessed the fight, a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was talking to a girl at the Rathskeller when the girl's ex-boyfriend, a Sigma Chi pledge, pushed the other fraternity brother.
A witness, who asked not to be named, said the ex-boyfriend then poured a glass of beer on top of the Pi Kappa Alpha male’s head.
“There was some pushing and shoving between the two guys when everyone else at the table jumped in,” one Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority member, who saw the fight break out, said.
Within minutes, brothers from both fraternities had broken up the fight.
A witness from the Sigma Chi fraternity, who said he did not participate in the fight, said Pi Kappa Alpha members then attacked members of Sigma Chi near Stanford Residential College, and a second fight erupted.
“They (the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers) followed them (the Sigma Chi brothers) back to Stanford, but the Sigma Chi pledges didn’t want to fight,” the witness said.
Members of both of the fraternities refused to comment on the fight.
According to Captain Henry Christensen from the Department of Public Safety, officers responded to the incident last Thursday night, but since no charges were pressed, a public safety report was not completed.
“We went over there and we helped to keep the peace, but an administrative report was filed with the dean of students,” Christensen said.
One Public Safety officer on the scene described the fight as "drunken frat-boys proving their manhood.”
Dean of Students William Sandler said yesterday he had not seen the administrative report, but he said he had spoken to Christensen and another copy was going to be sent.
“He (Christensen) said that a copy had been hand delivered last week, but I never saw it,” Sandler said.
Sandler said because the case is under investigation, it has not been determined what the disciplinary action will be.
"Action would be taken against individuals or against a fraternity if that were decided during the investigation. And, we don’t know all of the details yet. It could have been two different groups or two different individuals, but no one was hurt,” Sandler said.
Sandler also refused to release the names of those individuals involved or those who were present as witnesses.
‘ There was some pushing and shoving between the two guys when everyone else at the table jumped in. ’
Sorority member, Alpha Epeilon Phi
Arts and Sciences experiences jump in fall enrollment
By MARY LEA HARDESTY
Associate News Editor
The University of Miami’s goal of 1,800 freshmen enrollment was exceeded by 51 students, according to the Office of Enrollment’s benchmark figures. The benchmark figures are generated at a time each year when enrollment figures are annually compared.
“The figures are very positive. The freshman class made our target of 1,800,” Scott Ingold, assistant dean of enrollments, said. “A colleague of mine said Syracuse and Northeastern were among the many colleges that had fallen off. We established reasonable goals. We had a strategic plan with five projections of where UM wants to be. The strategic plan basically sets up and examines the external to the University.”
According to the benchmark figures, the College of Arts and Sciences enrollment increased by 155 students this year. Paul Blaney, senior adviser of the College of Arts and Sciences, said it is encouraging to find that students find liberal arts disciplines attractive.
Rita Deutsch, assistant dean and director of the office of advising and student academic services in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she is very pleased about the increase.
“We are trying very hard to make sure that the students get the best possible advising so that students will stay at UM and graduate,” Deutsch said. “We try to do very individualized advising. We make sure the students get the appropriate adviser. We are responsible for the general academic well being of the undergraduates in
FALL ENROLLMENT FIGURES
This following represents the changes in student enrollment between the tail of 1990 and 1991
SOURCE: Office of Enrollment Services
arts and sciences.”
The School of Business Administration’s enrollment decreased by 25 student this semester.
“I’m elated. I know it’s a small decrease rate, but our retention rate went up,” William T. McElrath, assistant dean of the undergraduate academic services School of Business, said. “We had more students that we had programed for. Our retention rate went up from 78.5 percent to 81.1 percent this fall.”
ROTC upholds military ban on gays
By STEVE ALVAREZ
Staff Writer
The Department of Defense’s policy banning homosexuals from military service is under fire on campuses nationwide, but will continue to be enforced at the University of Miami according to Lt. Col. August W. Bremer, Commander of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps battalion.
The ban on homosexuals in the military has been the subject of accusations from students and collegiate administrators across the nation who claim the regulation is discriminatory and should be removed.
“Social issues are causing individuals to look at government policy,” Bremer said.
Michael Gagney, a gay University of Tampa student, was recently barred from leadership training, an ROTC course in Tampa’s bulletin. Despite a UT policy stating any student who meets the academic standards may take any course offered, Gagney was forbidden to take the class.
Gagney was instead set up in a special class designed closely around the course description of the course he was banned from. He was the only student in the class.
UT administrators said they may stop accrediting the ROTC courses there until the rules are changed regarding homosexual discrimination.
“At the University of Tampa those commissioning-specific requirements are in a separate course,” Bremer said. “Here those requirements are part of a regular course.”
The commissioning requirements would not be performed by the auditing student who would be given other tasks or assignments in lieu of those requirements.
“I think it (the policy) exists because in the judgment of officials in the Department of Defense, homosexuality is incompatible with military service," Bremer said.
The regulation states homosexuality affects the assignment and deployment capability of members who frequently must live and work in close condition^ affording minimal privacy.
Gay students, who claim their rights arebeing violated, say the discrimination begins when those who have studied and participated in the program are not allowed to participate in certain activities which are essential to receive the military commission. In turn, the students are disqualified from receiving a commission and rendered ineligible for military service.
Bremer said although he could not stop a gay individual from enrolling and participating in the military science program, he would have to stop an admitted homosexual from participating in “commissioning-specific activities,” because the policy would mandate such an action.
“I would tell them, ’you’re ineligible until the policy Changes’," Bremer said.
The specific activities are: leadership labs, field training exercises, drill and marching, certain voluntary programs and basic and advanced camps. Without these
Please see page 2/ROTC
Gables to discuss Master Plan today
■ UM and
residents will face off during the first
reading of the Master Plan.
By MARY LEA HARDESTY
Associate News Editor
University of Miami officials will be at Coral Gabies City Hall today at 9:00 a.m. to discuss the developments of the proposed Master Plan, which includes a massive redevelopment of the main campus.
The City of Coral Gables law states that in order to pass an ordinance, two public hearings or readings must be given, according to Walter Carlson, assistant planning director for Coral Gables.
“All ordinances require two readings. If the board approves the proposal on the first reading, they still have to wait approximately 30 days until the second reading," Carlson said. “And if it is approved on the second reading, it is officially approved. If it (the proposal) is denied the first time, then it doesn’t go to the second reading. It takes approval at two public hearings by the city commission to pass an ordnance.”
Diana Wheeler, planning director of the City of Coral Gables, said at this point there is no way to predict what will happen during today’s meeting.
"There will be two readings. One this month and one next month. Either the Master Plan will be approved or not approved. They (UM representatives and city officials) will meet to adopt any changes,” Wheeler said.
“The meeting will not exceed three hours,” David Lieberman, UM senior vice president, said. "The second reading will be in about two or three weeks. I am told Nov. 11. If Coral Gables does disapprove of the plan, we will probably come back.”
John G. Fletcher, attorney for the Coral Gables residents, said he hopes the city will sit down and listen to the situation.
“The residents are hoping that the city will come up with a satisfactory solution. We want to make sure everyone will come of to the hearing and that UM is not allowed to do terrible things to the neighborhood,” Fletcher said.
“There is an awful lot of incompatibility about the (proposed) University Village Apartments on Red Road (between neighbors and UM officials),” Lieberman said. "Neighbors are opposed because Jjiey do not want the noise that usually comeiMvith students.”