The Reporter

Wednesday, January 28, 1998 \y rORUM: Caffeine addicts fed by new coffee bar, Column, 4a Volume 110, Issue 16 ■News;., v--■ Forum l&H-T Etcetera"'.-7 .ffie^^.., 'Sports; \" http://the-reporter.home.ml.org Entertainment or inconvenient? Filming movies on campus. Life, page 1b Stetson University, DeLand, Florida Allegations of an affair with a White House intern have exploded following charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by the President. By MELISSA RITTER Daily Collegian, Penn.State U. (U-Wire) President Clinton's legal problems intensified Wednesday as sex scandal allegations involving a then 21-year-old White House intern arose. More serious allegations implied Clinton advised the former intern, Monica Lewinsky, now 24, to lie about their affair under oath in the Paula Jones sexual harassment civil suit. Around the country, citizens are left sorting fact from fiction and wondering if a repeat of Richard Nixon's 1974 Watergate-induced resignation awaits. "I think that the allegations will slowly be proven more and more, just like with the Gennifer Flowers relationship," said Jerrold Ansman, chairman of College Republicans. "If the rumors ... are true, I think you'll hear about impeachment proceedings." Ansman said he sees a lot of similarities "between Watergate and the Lewinsky case, as does Bruce Murphy, professor of American history and politics. "The difficulty and where we should be focusing our attention ... is not on the allegations (of an affair), but on the cover-up," Murphy said. Adam Black (junior-political science) also said the potential cover-up is more worrisome than Clinton's latest alleged affair. "Clinton's transgressions are noth ing new," Black said. "Bill Clinton's popularity is not going to change dependent on who he sleeps with." Clinton's popularity, Black said, will be altered only when economic and social events around the world have a drastic effect on the United States. Although John F. Kennedy allegedly had an affair with Marilyn Monroe, his legacy is the Cuban missile crisis, Black added. However, if Clinton is guilty of asking Lewinsky to commit perjury, he is a felon, Black said. Clinton potentially faces two serious charges: obstruction of justice and suborning perjury, Muiphy said. Obstruction of justice, as defined by writer Daniel Pouzzner in "The Constitution of Creativism" on his World Wide Web site, involves the "concealment or manufacture of evidence... with the deliberate intent of subverting legal accountability or innocence." Suborning perjury is persuading someone to lie under oath, Murphy said. ' "If the allegations prove to be true, which " will be a long way down the road, then Clinton would be in very deep trouble," Murphy said. Clinton is "under siege" from three different directions, Muiphy said. A Republican- dominated Congress and a media feeding frenzy exacerbate Clinton's third difficulty: former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr, who already has begun investigating the Lewinsky allegations with Attorney General Janet Reno's approval, Murphy said. If the allegations are founded, Murphy said impeachment proceedings or a criminal trial could ensue. Inevitably, the Democratic party would urge Clinton to resign in the event of a Congressional impeachment trial, just as Nixon did, Murphy said. "I really don't see the Republicans pushing (impeachment)," Black said. "If the Republicans force him to do that they'll have President Gore and they don't want that." Others said they think Clinton might go through with a Congressional trial, rather than resign. "He might go to trial. He's a very good talker and he knows he's a good talker. He might just try to pull it out in the eleventh hour," said Kyle Enty, a Penn. State junior in special education. Because it is Clinton's word against Lewinsky's word, it isn't fair to pass judgment until evidence is presented, said Farrah Brower, a Penn. State senior. "But if he did try (to lie) in the past (about Flowers) and then admits it later, you tend to think 'Well, it happened then, is that what's happening now?'" Brower said. Brower said she hopes that if Clinton is impeached, it will be after all evidence is taken into consideration. Until then, Murphy said, it is important to remember the American justice system states Clinton is innocent until proven guilty. "He is not above the law or outside of the law," Murphy said. "He has the same protections we do." Crisis could be-crippling for the President By MATT RADER Cavalier Daily, U. Virginia (U-Wire) The political establishment has been sent reeling in the last few days by accusations of a cover-up of an alleged affair between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a 24-year-old former White House intern. And the political fallout has touched the entire nation, including University students and faculty members. Collegiate audiences have been drawn to the case because Lewinsky was just 21 at the start of the alleged affair, unlike Clinton's older alleged lovers Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers. Mike Jeffreys, third-year University of Virginia student and College Republicans chairman, said he was not surprised to hear the latest scandal. "Sleeping with an intern, as horrible as it may seem, is not illegal," Jeffreys said. "If he obstructed justice, he should be treated like you or me. We should proceed slowly and make sure that we know what we're doing here." Other students said they understood the media's hyped attention of the case. "I think it's important, keeping tabs on what the president is doing," Dana DeFrancesco said. But other students said the hype is more than the substance warrants. "It shouldn't be important at all,"Howard Foard III said. "My biggest concern is that it is getting so much attention when people should be looking at the real issues that our country is facing." James Ceaser, University of Virginia government and foreign affairs professor, said parents of college-age students will be more concerned by Lewinsky's age than students. "Parents make a distinction between any woman and someone who could be their daughter," Ceaser said. He also said young voters' interest in the case probably would subside quickly. Larry J. Sabato, University of Virginia government and foreign affairs professor, disagreed, saying the case would arouse great interest from the college-age population as well as older voters. "This is being shown in the public opinion poll," Sabato said yesterday during a day in which he gave hundreds of interviews to news organizations across the country. as SSS&SS SBSSB&SSS3S Living Q Problems have inconvenienced residents during repairs to the aging Stetson Hall. By STEPHANIE ADDUCI Associate News Editor A number of Stetson Hall residents were inconvenienced when their bathrooms under went necessary renovations last Tuesday. The renovations were the result of a leak inside the walls which caused them to deteriorate. In order for the problem to be resolved, facilities management needed to be able to work on the problem for a period of time to locate where the problem was and decide how to correct it. Residents of the damaged rooms had to abstain from using their bathroom facilities so maintenance personnel could work on the problems. Residential Life offered the students three options. They could remain in their room and utilize the facilities of friends and neighbors, they could stay in their room and have access to their bathrooms during the night after facilities and management could have an opportunity to clean up, or they were given the option of temporarily relocating to the Holiday Inn. Stetson would cover costs for the five- day period. Either way, the students would have access to their room whenever necessary. The leak was found to have originated -from a-sink- on the seventh floor, thereby affecting the three bathrooms below it. Almost all of the residents whose rooms were among the damaged chose to remain on campus. However, resident Brian Groux decided to relocate to the Holiday Inn. According to Lynne Gentile, associate director of residential life, "We wanted to resolve the problem as quick as we could with the least amount of inconvenience to the students. And if that meant temporarily putting them somewhere else, at a hotel, then that's what we were willing to do." According to Facilities Management, the drain line sprouted a leak. After a period of heating up, cooling down and contracting, the leak led to a pipe breaking, which caused the wall to become saturated. The woikers had to remove the toilet, sink and the medicine cabinet and tear the tile out. Then the walls had to be repaired, including replacement ofthe frame, drywall, sheet rock, and paint. Everyone dealt with the situation accordingly, according to officials. The choices that the students involved made in regards to their temporary living conditions were beneficial to the Facilities Management department. The problems were corrected a day early and the residents were allowed total access to their bathrooms. They returned on the following Friday night: "We took care of a lot of the problems last summer and we did a lot of maintenance in there. We spent a lot of time in there: Compared to the years before it has gotten a lot better. It's an old building," said Ron Hicks of Facilities Management. Stetson Hall was built in 1886 and the • walls are made of plaster, which is typical of the buildings of that time. Presently, when plaster walls cave in as is characteristic of them, they are replaced with drywall. The plaster is generally replaced because it is not as durable and lasting as drywall is, Hicks said. In addition, Hicks feels that students are generally good at alerting someone of main- See TRIP, page 3a Always reach for the.,.net BASKETBALL: Students immediately began utilizing the Hollis Center's perks. Students like these are permitted to use the Rinker Field House during the Center's hours of operation, but they must wear shoes that won't mark the new floor. Photo by Paul Davis enter By JEFF HAMRICK News Editor The official opening of the Hollis Center on Jan. 20, has been coincided by a number of office moves and refitting designed to improve the university's student service division. Some of the more notable moves have been the relocation of the Council of Student Activities (CSA) from the first floor of the Carlton Union Building (CUB) to behind the information desk in the Hollis Center. Michelle Espinosa, director of residential life, and her staff will be moving from their old facilities at the back ofthe second floor of the CUB to the Department of Student Life's former facilities in the same area. Espinosa's office is being turned into the new commuters' lounge. Renovations to the area will be completed within the next few months, accord- "(The new off ice]... will have a window and that was the only reason I agreed to move...Now I have nothing else to complain about." ing to the Department of Residential Life. The old commuter lounge, located next to The Reporter office near the stairwell by the bookstore, will be turned into the headquarters for the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council. The Reporter office and The Hatter office have not been affected by the opening ofthe Hollis Center and will continue to remain in their current locations for the foreseeable future. The Office ofthe Registrar, currently located in the basement of Flagler Hall, is in the process of moving into the old student lounge. The old student lounge was located on the first floor ofthe CUB, immediately inside ofthe main entryway- The student lounge was com-: pletely remodeled at the end ofthe fall semester and the refitting was largely finished before students returned for the beginning of the spring semester. A new student lounge, located immediately inside of the Hollis Center's main en trance, has replaced the old student lounge. Some students have complained that the new student lounge is not open 24 hours a day like the old student lounge. "It's important that students know they have someplace to go, no matter what time it is," says Jeff Hidek, a sophomore majoring in communications and a life editor for The Reporter. According to Al Wehrle, the university registrar, "the university has been planning this move for a long, long while.*' Wehrle, who will be retiring at the end of this academic year, also said that "the long-range plans are to add an extension to the side of the CUB and move all of student services—including the registrar's office—there for greater convenience." "Once it was decided that they were going to move the offices in the CUB to the Hollis Center, we met with David Noyes and the president and worked things out," said Wehrle. "Now, students won't have to worry about crossing Woodland," said Wehrle. "Our ■ initial plan, though, would have had the move- in completed over the Christmas holiday." Wehrle acknowledged that the renova tions to the old student lounge were extensive. "They had to do some things," said Wehrle. "But it wasn't too drastic. We were pleased to be included in the selection of the new furniture and color scheme. They knocked out the walls and redrew the layout with the place, and we're very pleased," said Wehrle. Wehrle explained that his office was unable to move over the Christmas break because of inclement weather and the occasional construction delays. "Our fall back plan is to move in over spring break, but our secondary plan is to move in some time over January," said Wehrle. "We're shooting for the end of January, though," said Wehrle. Wehrle seemed most excited about the new office design. His new office, he said, "will have a window and that was the only reason I agreed to move. I'm very disappointed. Now I have nothing else to complain about," said Wehrle with a laugh. Wehrle's fake window, given to him as a gift by President H. Douglas Lee, will be moved to his new office in what Wehrle humorously calls "a dedication ceremony." . "We're pleased with the change because we think that it will provide students and alumni with better service. We've got a whole lot more room for students now and we're going to be a lot more efficient," said Wehrle. "I think that everybody concerned will like it," Wehrle added. Students will no longer be able to cut through the student lounge to shorten their treks to the CUB. Wehrle said that the old door next to the back entrance of the Commons would become "an emergency exit door." "Some students may be upset about that, but it's not too much of an inconvenience," said Wehrle. Wehrle said that the long-term plans for expanding the CUB will be "a major capital expense and there will have to be donor funding" for the project to be completed. The offices of career services, student financial aid and planning, admissions, and student accounts would then all be located on the same side of Woodland. "It's a good interim move," said Wehrle. "We've been involved with the planning of the entire move for a long time. Students should be pleased with the changes." inside FORUM: Hollywood's top women are not that impressive, 5a LIFE: EAI chapter hosts statewide Province weekend, 4b SPORTS: Men's basketball performs well against TAAC powerhouse, 6b