OCR::/Vol_092/WLURG39_RTP_19930225/WLURG39_RTP_19930225_001.2.txt FEB 2 6 ‘1993 THE UNl\/ERFEETY LIERARY WASHlN£‘iT'Or: a LEE uitzt/ERSITY ~L£~;X4u‘£<3TOi\i, VA 24450 (' ELEBRATING I HE SILVER Fancy Dress '93 Pays Tribute To Hollywood CREEN te Special Supplement U112 fling- ttm lfllii _ VOLUME 92, NO. 19 By FRANCESCA KEFALAS Phi Staff Writer The Executive Committee Monday voted to put constitu- tiQnal amendments on the class elections ballot and also amended the White Book to establish a process for future changes. The EC voted to put proposed constitutional amendments on the same ballot as the March 22 class ebctions. For the amendments to pass, half of the student body must I vote, and two-thirds of the voters must vote for the amendments. In the 1990-91 school year, con- stitutional amendments failed be- cqise of poor voter turnout. Cathryn Lopiccolo and Rich- ard Peltz, executive editors of The Ring—tum Phi, proposed the amendments on Jan. 25. In a writ- ten statement to the EC, Lopiccolo and Peltz said the pro- sal is an effort to bring the constitution up to date with the student government. A proposed amendment that defines executive session as any “session of the EC that is closed to the public” and outlines when the EC may go into executive scgsion received the most debate. Discussion about the proposed amendments centered on the con- stitutionality of the EC’s pro- posed Skylark retreat, which will be closed to the public. Lopiccolo and Peltz said the Slylark meeting is unconstitu- tional. The EC maintains the meet- ing does not break the constitu- tion and will not jeopardize stu- Benefit raises $27,800 By FAITH TRUMAN Phi Staff Writer W&L’s 15th annual Superdance raised $27,800 for the Muscular Dystrophy Asso- ciation, organizers said this week. The event drew 750 specta- tors and 50 students who danced for donations. A large percentage of the nyiney donated came from Wash- ington and Lee’s fraternities, ad- visor Fontaine Bostic said. “If it wasn’t for the fratemi- ties, we wouldn’t have much suc- cess,” Bostic said. “The fratemi- ties support us 100 percent.” . Bostic said Phi Delta Theta was the top fraternity money- raiser with almost $2,000. Chi Omega raised $750, making it the top sorority. Fifty dancers took pledges to raise money, one-third the num- ber from last year, Bostic said. But, Bostic said, “admission was way up, so it made up for the low number of dancers.” “Last year no one was there. It was night and day as far as atten- dance,” Superdance Co-chair- man Betsy Kleiner said. ‘ Of the dancers, freshman Eric Sproul raised the most money with $142. Bostic also noted that the Stu- dent Telephone Union donated S l ,000 and Superdance commit- tee members contributed $250. 9 In the Battle of the Bands, the Haring Holmes acoustic act, fea- turing senior Fred Haring and junior Chris Holmes, won the first place prize of $300. Holmes was also amember of we second place act, Hignon the dog, with senior John Givens. Unlike the Lip Synch in Janu- ary, there were no problems with people sneaking in without pay- iiig. ' “Two people actually gave me ,‘ checks because their girlfriends Ag». in without paying,” Kleincr I WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY EC sets date for referendum dent involvement in government. Peltz said the EC currently breaks the constitution when it enters executive session for com- mittee appointments and delib- erations. The new amendment would make the deliberations constitutional. EC President Josh MacFarland said the proposed amendment is an improvement on the current one, which states, “The Executive Committee shall not go into executive session ex- cept in the case of possible honor violations.” Peltz and Lopiccolo said they were pleased with the meeting. “The EC had some wise in- sights in our meetings, and we’re very happy with the proposals going to referendum,” Peltz said. But Peltz said the tough work will be to draw a large enough turnout in elections. “The key now will be getting students to vote,” Peltz said. “We’re going to need at least as many voters to turn out as did for the Big Four, just to validate the referendum.” The additions to the White Book passed Monday outline the procedure the EC must use to amend the White Book and es- tablish a nine-person committee to review the Honor System ev- ery three years. The new process mandates that none of the committee mem-— bers be acting EC members. The EC passed the proposal unanimously. “I like the proposal,” MacFarland said. ‘‘It’s pretty much on par with what I ex- pected.” LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA IFC wrestles with Flush plan Photo by Amy French The “Rig-tum Phi Faye Wattleton tells her audience, “One person makes a difference." Wattleton urges reproductive rights By MOLLY AFTER Phi Staff Writer It doesn’t take a large groups to have influence and impact on politics, former Planned Parenthood Federation President Faye Wattleton said Wednesday. “One person makes a difference,” Wattleton told a Lee Chapel audience Wednesday, “if that person is single- minded and will not accept a compromise or a brush-off.” iWatvt-leton spoke as part ofthe 1. university’s celebration of Black History Month. Her visit was sponsored by the Black Law Students’ Association, Women’s Forum, the Panhellenic Coun- cil and Contact. The govemment shouldn’t have the right to invade a woman’s reproductive privacy, Wattleton said. However, she said, the govemment’s denial of repro- ductive freedom to women is only a symp- tom of a more serious illness. Wattleton said that everyone must look at the bi gger picture. “When any group is denied it’s rights, society suffers,” Wattleton said. Winning true reproductive freedom is an important first step in guaranteeing fundamental rights to everyone, Wattleton said. She said reproductive freedom can only be achieved through the passage of the Freedom of Choice-Act-.~ ~ ~ V The number of women recently elected to Congress should not lull women into complacency, Wattleton said. “Getting the right people elected is only the beginning,” Wattleton said. “Get- ting them to do the right thing is adifferent story.” By FAITH TRUMAN Phi Staff Writer After much consideration, the IFC and the Student Affairs Committee are still trying to formulate a rush proposal that will be acceptable to both groups. Last month, the Interfratemity Coun- cil proposed a tentative Rush plan to SAC. The rough draft includes an open contact period prior to Rush, fewer Rush dates, and amore severe penalty sys- tem for Rush violations. But the IFC has yet to present a formal proposal to its members. At Tuesday’ s IFC meeting, Delta Tau Delta, which has been suspended for the year, presented their own Rush pro- posal. Their proposal includes pledge class ceilings and 16 mandatory open houses. Neither pledge class ceil- ings or additional open houses are part of the present IFC proposal. “From my understanding, the IFC’s proposal as it stands now is not acceptable to SAC and will not be approved by the faculty,” Delt President Patrick McCabe said. “The proposal doesn’t work to solve the problems of the current process. I believe the problems are the severe flue- tuations in pledge class sizes and the record number of depledging because of a lack of information.” . According to IFC Vice President Tom Washmon, a proposal requires two con- secutive votes in IFC meetings to pass. The first vote on the IFC proposal is expected to take place next Tuesday. If the IFC passes the proposal, it will then be presented to SAC. SAC will then Washmon FEBRUARY 25, 1993 accept, reject or make recommendations. If SAC accepts the proposal, the proposal is subject to faculty approval. If SAC does not accept it, the proposal will go back to the IFC for revision. Since the president of the IFC serves on SAC, it would be unlikely for a pro- posal to be made that the IFC did not approve as well, Associate Dean of Stu- dents for Greek Affairs Leroy “Buddy” Atkins said. McCabe explained the reasoning be- hind Delt’s efforts in a letter to Dean of Students David Howison. In the letter, McCabe noted that one half of this year’s pledges joined one of five fra- temities. “A slightly extended pe- riod of Rush, accompanied by the separation of social and formal aspects, and the limit- ing of social expenditures would allow ample time for rushees to see the fraternity members in various settings," McCabe said. Both Howison and Atkins said that something should be done about the wide range of pledge class sizes. “One element of Delt’s plan is an im- portant issue and that is finding a way for the IFC to create equal distribution be- tween fraternities, ” Howison said. “Delt is doing the right thing by presenting its proposal to the IFC, so the IFC can con- sider incorporating it in its proposal.” But Washmon said the IFC is wary of Delt’s plan. “Delts have no vote on the proposal [because they have been suspended] and are one house out of 16,” Washmon said. “As much as we’d like to appease them, U see RUSH, page 6 How to win friends and make millions Photo by Patrick McCabe H.F. “Gerry" Lenfest, '53, speaksto the Media Law Forum Feb. 11 . Lenfest told of how he went from being a corporate lawyer to editor and pubisher of Seventeen magazine to head of Suburban Cable. Lenfest said his liberal arts and law education taught him “how to think" and allowed him to excel in different areas. ‘Foreign Student’ definite, moved to first week of May By MOLLY AFTER Phi Staff Writer “We could not accommodate [the film crew],” Shaw said. “Also, the hotels in town will all be booked beginning [Thursday, May 6].” lt’s official. “The Foreign Student” will be shot at Washington and Lee this spring, but the filming will take place in May, not March. W&L Director,of Communications Brian Shaw said that because the movie takes place in the fall, the film crew decided early March foliage would be inappropriate. Shaw said the production com- pany, Cathargo Films, decided that May footage would be more suitable. Shaw said he cleared the new production dates of May 3, 4 and 5 with Buildings and Grounds, Security and university President John D. Wilson. Though the shooting would finish Wednesday, May 5 and Alumni Weekend begins the next day, Shaw said he does not anticipate a conflict. But the weather could be a problem. The film crew allotted three days for filming without allow- ing for inclement weather, Shaw said, and Alumni Weekend would make it impossible to push film- ing back a day. Shaw said the producers say rain won’t be a problem because much of the filming will be done inside. “They only need a day or a day and a half that is clear to sho9t outside,” Shaw said. “The rest will be [shot] in Lee Chapel and the old pool.” The majority of the movie will be filmed in Richmond, Shaw said. The new filming dates might increase the chances of a visit by Phillipe Labro, author of the novel “The Foreign Student.” The movie touches on Labro’s experiences as an exchange student at W&L in the 1950s. “[Labro] will be speaking April 29 to the [W&L] alumni chapter in New York,” Shaw said. “So, he’ll be in the country that week.” Shaw said he hopes to turn the filming into an educational experience for W&L students. “I’m working on getting the director and pro- ducer up here this term for a lecture on both the film and filmmaking in general,” Shaw said. Phones, Dorms to get I new system From the W&L News Office Beginning in September, stu- dents who live on campus will have a new telephone system whichuniversityofficials say will provide students with enhanced capabilities and will save money. “The system will-allow stu- dents in their dorm rooms to gain access to most of the university's computer resources, such as Annie and Liberty, while provid- ing all the features of the most modern telephone services” Dean of Freshmen and Residence Life Dennis Manning said. With the new system, all uni- versity housing will be wired for telephone, computer networking and cable service, Manning said. Each fraternity house will ini- tiallybeprovided with twophone lines connected to the system. The system was approved by the Board of Trustees at its Feb- ruary meeting. The system will include voice mail, Manning said, eliminating the need for answering machines in the dorms. Each student will have a code they will use when making long- distance calls, Manning said, so there will be a clear record of who made each call. Bills for long distance use can be sent to students or to their parents. Students with a computer will be able to tap into the university computer system by purchasing an inexpensive conversion kit, Manning said. The cost of the new system, $22 per month, will be incorpo- rated into the on-campus hous- ing rates, Manning said. He said that since the same service from Centel costs about $33 a month, students will save $11 a month, or $110 over the 10-month academic year. , “This is a great deal for the students,” Manning said. “It gives them better service at a reduced price. It really is a win—win situ- ation.” phones,phones Photo by Richard Peltz, The Ring-tuh/ Security director Mike Young activates a new call box. Security installs call boxes By RICHARD PELTZ Phi Executive Editor Security has added three new emergency call boxes to campus. The boxes are located under blue lights in the Corral across from Phi Kappa Sigma,.in the Piney Woods law student park- ing lot and on a low wall behind the new Davidson Park frater- nity houses. Students in need of assistance can push a blue button on the orange call box and, while hold- ing the button down, talk directly to the security officer on duty. Just pushing the button sends a message to Security that assis- tance is needed at the location of the box calling in. The boxes are also tamper- resistant. Tampering with ;i box prompts it locnll in. but lIlt‘.'lI;l1’lll at the box It\t‘1IIlUll is .\‘lIt‘llI. Security Director Mike Young said the boxes, which cost al- most $2,000 each, are the best available. “These are a whole lot easier to operate than the phones,” Young said. The university already has six emergency phones, one each at the Pavilion, freshman parking lot, the end of the stadium, the military science building, duPont Hall and the Graham-Lees lounge. Young said the existing phones get plenty of use, carry- ing 10-15 calls to Security weekly. Some ofthe calls are for routine assistance, and some are immediate emergencies. he said. Young saidVirgiiii;iTccli;iiid Davidson College use will boxes ofthe sziiiic lirziiid as \\'.i.