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THE October 23, 1990
Vol. 89, No. 17
VISTA
Tuesday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Fight leads to dismissals By Sam Powell
Staff Writer
Neo-Nazis march in city of Dresden BERLIN (AP)—Hundreds of Nazi sympathizers shouted "Foreigners out!" and anti-communist slogans in a march in the southeastern city of Dresden, the news agency ADN reported. There were no reports of any violence Saturday night as the protesters snaked through the center of Dresden, a former East German city 110 miles southeast of Berlin. Police estimated that about 350 neo-Nazis took part in the demonstration, ADN reported.
Iraqi cargo ship ignores warnings (AP)—A U.S. destroyer on Sunday was tracking an Iraqi vessel in the Persian Gulf that defied two warning shots and tried to elude U.S. warships, U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia said. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Toy confirmed the incident and said that in about a dozen cases, U.S. ships have fired warning shots to enforce U.N. trade sanctions on Iraq. The latest incident began Saturday, when the Iraqi-flagged ship was boarded by American Navy and Coast Guard inspectors.
Reports question legislators' ethics OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—More than 20 members of Oklahoma's 149-seat Legislature have spouses on state- or local-government payrolls, according to reports released by the The Daily Oklahoman Saturday. Most lawmakers contacted by reporters said they have no control over their spouses' hiring. Attorney General Robert Henry said he could find no Oklahoma case that spells out whether lawmakers who have a husband or wife working for a government entity also have a conflict of interest. Please see WORLD WRAP on page 12.
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Perched atop a ladder, telecommunications assistant Scott Bertrem installs a radio amplifier in the satellite antenna west of the Communications Building to help receive an additional channel. (Photo by Royce Dunn)
Queen contestants dispute new rules By Marie Bigger
Staff Writer Selecting this year's homecoming queen has sparked some controversy among contestants who claim they weren't properly informed of contest rules prior to the interview date, Oct. 8. Jenny Poindexter was upset for her roommate, Joline Battaglia, a candidate sponsored by Delta Zeta sorority. "Joline and eight other girls were interviewed at 1 p.m. Oct. 8.," Poindexter said. "Later that same afternoon, only two girls' names were posted as semifinalists, when the rules said there would be at least three." The next day at a second meeting, contest officials said there weren't three semi-finalist because one of the girls was ineligible because she failed to attend 85
percent of the Women's Student Association meetings, Poindexter said. "Joline was in fourth place, I don't see why she wasn't bumped up to third," Poindexter said. April Spring, cheerleaders representative, said she took time off work to be interviewed when contest officials already knew she was ineligible. "Lisa Boeckman, president of the Association of Women Students, said I was disqualified because rdidn't attend 85 percent of the AWS meetings or pay the dues," Spring said. Spring said she had never heard of AWS. Contest officials had a final meeting to say contestants could still be in the court. "Who wants to spend all that money to be a decoy, when there is no chance to win?" she said. Please see RULES on page 8.
A long-standing feud between two Central State University physical plant supervisors culminated Tuesday in physical violence, leading to their dismissals, Blanche Washington, CSU director of personnel, said. Michael Freeman, electrical supervisor, and Rodney Roy, plumbing supervisor, were removed from CSU payrolls Wednesday, Washington said. Trouble between the two was first reported early in 1989, when an alleged assualt resulted in a 10-day suspension for Roy, Freeman said. According to witnesses, Freeman was attempting to errect an H-shaped scaffold. Roy approached Freeman and tried to push the scaffold down. Freeman allegedly told Roy to stop several times, Roy refused, and Freeman struck him. Freeman refused to comment on the incident. "I have to go through the campus grievance procedure to try and get my job back, but I don't really think I will be successful." Freeman said. "I have talked to my attorney and we will probably have to file a civil suit." According to Roy, the altercation was not his fault, and he should not have been terminated. "I didn't hit anybody," Roy said. "You have to understand that the area where this occurred was my area. When you have an area you want someone to get permission before they work in it." "I didn't want him there," Roy said. "I told him he couldn't put the scaffold up in my area, he started calling me names, and I tried to make him leave. "They are saying that something I did caused him to hit me and that's not true," Roy said. "I now regret that I didn't retaliate against him." According to Washington, David McClellan, physical plant director, will oversee the work generally supervised by both Freeman and Roy until replacements are found. "There should not be any disruption of physical plant services while replacements are being selected," Washington said. According to a memorandum from Washington, the two men were fired because their conduct violated university policy. University policy states: "A major offense is one that involves dishonesty or seriously threatens University operations or the safety and well-being of the individual or other employees." Roy was involved in another fight with former CSU employee Phil Pennington in summer. In a July 5 article in The Vista, Roy said that fight was sparked by a racial insult allegedly made by Pennington. Roy said most of his difficulties with other workers were the result of the circumstances of his hiring, racism (Roy is an American Indian) and conflicts involving work areas. In the same article, Freeman was quoted as saying he thought his 1989 formal complaint to administration about Roy did not result in any appropriate action being taken. Washington would not realease the minutes of the termination hearing, citing statutes outlined in The Oklahoma Open Records Act.