The Vista November 1, 1983

Page 1

THE YIST,g November 1, 1983

Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma

Vol. 82, No. 17

Prestons arrested following dispute

Vista photo by Daniel Smith

Mike Monroe of the Mustangs scrambles to evade the pass rush from Sig Tau defenders during Sun-

day's intramural championship game. Sig Tau won in overtime. (Related story page 8).

Night classes may shut down

By Mike Sherman and Matthew Driskill John and Randy Preston, two CSU defensive backs, were arrested last night on charges stemming from an incident involving Campus Security officer Chuck Griffin. John Preston was booked into the Edmond jail on a charge of assault and battery of a police officer, a felony. Randy Preston was charged with interfering with a police officer in the performance of his duty. As of 10 a.m. today, both had been released to the custody of John McGivern, offensive coordinator. According to Griffin, the brothers are technically still under arrest with McGivern responsible for their actions. State charges will be filed against the two, Griffin said. Neither of the Prestons could be reached for comment. When contacted today, McGivern declined to comment under advice of legal counsel. McGivern said the Prestons and other players had been advised not to comment. If convicted of the felony, John Preston could be fined and imprisoned, according to Griffin. The incident started when Griffin was called to East Hall due to complaints of loud music coming from the room of John Preston at approximately 8 p.m. At about 10 p.m., Griffin returned with Don Jaegar, assistant head resident, because of a similar complaint. According to Griffin, John Preston became verbally abusive, calling the officer names and then shoving him. Preston was placed under arrest, but apparently walked away when Griffin informed him. Randy Preston got involved in the incident outside the dormitory when Griffin tried to forcibly place John Preston under arrest. Griffin said that Randy tried to put his body between John and himself, thus interfering with the arrest. Edmond police were called to the scene outside of East Hall when a crowd of over 150 people formed. The police had some problem controlling the crowd and backup units were called in. At one point, more that 10 policeman were on the scene. Police encountered problems with the crowd when they refused to disperse. A fight broke out in the dormitory sending police running to quell the disturbance. When asked to describe the events leading up to the arrest, Jaegar declined comment. Jaegar said he could not discuss the incident until he met with housing officials.

Lillard •• Increase taxes or else

By Terri Carpenter Staff Writer Unless more money is provided for the state educational budget, "the buildings at Central State University may be dark at night," according to CSU President Bill Lillard. "Senator (President Pro Ternpore) Marvin York is estimating that the 1984-85 budget for the state of Oklahoma will be about $250 million less than it is this year," Lillard said. This is a 16 percent statewide reduction and would mean a $5.5 million loss for CSU which has a $28.4 million budget this year. A budget cut of this magnitude would leave CSU with several options, according to Lillard. Some of these options, he warned, could be a loss of summer sessions which have had an enrollment of over 6,000 students, or a

loss of evening classes that serve 4,000 students. Lillard indicated that as a last resort, salaries might be cut and the number of faculty reduced. CSU instructors' salaries rank No. 1 for state universities, ahead of OU and OSU, but are frozen because of a budget cut of almost $1 million last year. This cut has continued this year, according to Lillard.

The 16 percent cut is a proposal, according to Lillard, and the only alternative to this would be a tax hike. Lillard favors a special session of the state legislature to consider an increase for education and other state services. "I am in favor of a special session of the state legislature to increase taxes, so at Central State we can continue to provide the

In this issue. .

World, state, local news...page 3 Hall Duncan: professor on the go...page 4 Educators to meet to discuss issues...page 5 Could faculty senate be abolished...page 6 Holder lost for season...page 7 Bronchos capitalize on turnovers...page 8

quality of education we have," Lillard said. Lillard said there are some who believe the budget answer lies simply in tightening the belt. "We've been tightening our belt for 18 months," Lillard explained. "I think we're past the cliche' that you'd better tighten your belt."

CSU has an increase of 800 students this year. Lillard contrasted this statistic with other major Oklahoma schools who had an 800 student loss. "We need more money at Central State," insisted Lillard. "I am a firm believer that the citizens of Oklahoma know how wisely we're spending their dollar. They want the services from Central State, in fact they want more services. "I believe the citizens are willing to pay more taxes to continue the quality and improve the quality of education we have," said Lillard. He said that Oklahoma "ranks near the bottom of the 50 states in terms of our state taxes that we pay in relationship to our ability to pay. "We have one of the lowest state tax rates of any of the 50 states." Lillard said the budget situation

is definitely to the point of either increasing taxes or doing away with some services at CSU. The parking lot improvements that were recently approved by the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges may "go on hold." "It's approved but if you don't

have the money, you don't spend it," said Lillard. But finishing the new Health Science building won't have to go on hold, said Lillard. There is enough money in the budget this year to get the building opened for next semester.

Students hardest hit by fund cuts? By Terri Carpenter Staff Writer Tuition and fees could double and all part-time faculty members could be laid off if the state's educational budget isn't increased. CSU President Bill Lillard warns that a proposed 16 percent budget reduction, which would mean a $5.5 million loss for the 1984-85 school year, will drastically affect services at CSU. A budget decrease of this magnitude could result in a loss of 34 fulltime faculty members and all of the 168 part-time faculty members, Lillard said. But Lillard said students will suffer the most by the budget cuts, which could increase tuition and fees by almost 50 percent. "You would have to have a huge tuition increase to help compensate some for the fact that we are cutting back our budget," said Lillard. As it stands now, 80 percent of CSU's budget comes from the state, and 20 percent from the students, according to Lillard. If the state reduces their funding to 64 percent, student funding will have to be increased to 36 percent. "Students will suffer the most because if we have to cut back this amount, we cannot assure that we'll be able to maintain both the quality and guar y of services we have," Lillard said. In respt. ,o faculty loss, Lillard said, tenured faculty would probably be laid off last, and non-tenured first. See STUDENTS, page 3


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