TgE "IITISPTAAL January 18, 1983
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
'Vol. 81, No. 28
Change in rape law sought by legislator By Larry Miller Capitol Bureau Reporter Too many rapists escape conviction because their victims fail to resist when they are attacked, a state legislator says. Maxine Kincheloe, R-Choctaw, is trying to revise a state law so women can choose not to resist an attacker and not hurt the chances of prosecuting him. "Women will have a choice to save their life without it being a factor in the conviction of their assailant," said Kincheloe, whose district includes portions of eastern Edmond. According to Kincheloe, state law requires women to resist an attacker before rape can be proven. She says her bill, HB 1080, would define rape as an "act of involuntary sexual intercourse where the victim is threatened with bodily harm, and the threat is accompanied by the apparent power of executing such harm. The bill passed the House last week but died in a Senate committee. She reintroduced the bill late last week. "It's hard to prove resistance when you have a knife at your throat," Kincheloe said. "I want to eliminate resistance as a factor." The second-term representative says the present law is discriminatory and obsolete. "I think it dates back to 1923 or something." State law puts women in a Catch 22 situation, Kincheloe says. Lawmen are always telling women not to resist a rapist who threatens them. Yet, by not resisting, women are opening a "loophole" for the rapist. She said law enforcement officials have told her the proposed change would not hurt men who were falsely accused. "There's plenty of law there to protect men. It won't endanger the innocent male. She said several district attorneys have told her that many cases are lost through the "loophole" that now exists. "If a jury finds there is no resistance, then a rapist can get off."
Alcorn foresees cutbacks as no immediate problem By Mark Spears Staff Writer Although CSU has been asked to slash its budget by six percent, Administrative Vice President Alvin Alcorn said there would be no immediate problems. "We can absorb a cut of six percent without a whole lot of trouble," Alcorn told the Faculty Senate at their meeting Thursday. A lack of revenue for the November allocation prompted the state finance office to request all agencies to cut budgets by six percent in the next three months, according to Alcorn. The finance office had previously asked for seven and 13 percent cuts for the same three months. The budget for the next fiscal year, proposed by Gov. George Nigh, shows a reduction of three percent across the board. "We cannot determine exactly what they want," commented Alcorn.
CSU has made some reductions which will affect teachers' salaries. These cuts will amount to three percent annually. Other cuts will be made in the revolving fund and student activities fund. "Student activities have not been cut at this time," said Alcorn. "However, if a cut of seven percent is necessary, it is impossible to tell which activities will be cut." The state wants to keep educational spending at a fixed level; however, Alcorn did not agree. "Education does not stay at a fixed level — it must have room to grow," Alcorn emphasized. CSU probably will not know what the budget will be for the next fiscal year until late July, but cuts of three to five percent are probable, Alcorn said. "As long as the money has been appropriated, it cannot be cut in that year," said Alcorn.
In this issue... Local, State and World. . .page 3 Applied Liberal Arts degree offered. . .page 4 U. N. Consultant speaks. . .page 5 Edmond's largest employer, CSU. . .page 6 OCC downs men Cagers. . .page 7 Lady Bronchos halt losing skid. . .page 8
Vista photo by Gionekl Jackson
Comrades in the wind
An elm tree embraces Old North Tower as if to guard the landmark building from one more Oklahoma winter. —
Improvement funds short By Mark Spears Staff Writer Ever wonder why you are having your Business Finance class in the Music Building? Even though CSU is the largest regional university, excluding the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, it has not received its share of capital improvement funds. Since 1975, CSU has received an average of $250 per student compared to $1,100 for Northwestern Oklahoma State University. "Averages are deceiving. If you distribute funds among 12,000 students at CSU and the same funds among 1,800 Northwestern Oklahoma State University students, you get a higher dollar value," said CSU President Bill Lillard. Each school makes a request to the Board of Regents, then the regents evaluate their resources and the needs of each institution. The funds are then allocated, according to Lillard. CSU has not been neglected. During the late 60's and early 70's, CSU built the Liberal Arts building, the University Center, the Administration building and the Broncho Fieldhouse.
In the last three years Mitchell Hall has been renovated, some of the parking lots have been paved and the Math and Computer Science building has now been completed. "We have been able to do some things because of private contributions. For example, we received $100,000 from the Kerr Foundation to start our radio station," CSU President Bill Lillard commented. The buildings now being constructed will not fully satisfy the needs of this school. Also, they are being constructed at minimum costs and may have to be finished by the maintenance staff. Although CSU's physical plan could have been completed long ago, the possibility of this was discarded when we saw how far CSU's sister colleges were ahead in completion of their long-term plans. East Central is constructing a fine arts center and auditorium while Northeastern Oklahoma State University, which has received the second lowest amount of funds, has built a physical fitness facility for its students. Both of these facilities are on CSU's needs list.
"Two universities with the same amount of money will have different priorities, so you just have to select those things that have the highest priority," Lillard said. "Since the mid-70's our rate of growth has slowed down. So even though we have needs, we don't have as great a need for modernization and renovation," he added. One of the problems CSU had this academic term was the shortage of room in the dorms. "You have to be careful about building more housing because if you build on projections and they don't occur, you have too many rooms and not enough people to fill them," said Lillard. There are other capital improvement funds other than those appropriated by the State Legislature. Southwestern Oklahoma State University, which has received the largest share of legislative appropriations since 1968, has a gas well. According to a faculty senate report, the well is very productive. All six regional schools also receive a share in the income from state school lands. How that money is distributed has not yet been studied.