1981-10-30; Central Michigan Life

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I   irr
Central Michigan LI r t
Vol.63   No.25
1981.CM LIFE
Mount Pleasant, Mich. 48859
12 pages
Friday, Oct. 30,1981
Abel discusses
tuition increase
by SANDY McHUGH
LIFE Ass't. News Editor
The effect of the state budget cutbacks were outlined by President Harold Abel Wednesday to Student Government Association
leaders.
A possible $2 tuition hike was one of the major issues Abel dealt
with to offset more than $1 million in state aid cuts. The most recent
callback came last week from Gov. William Milliken.
Central
must trim
spending
The $2 figure is subject to
Board of Trustee approval and
will be presented with a list of
other options at the Board
meeting Nov. 6.
Other options Abel will present to the board include some
that will take effect only for the
Winter Semester as well as two
that will be permanently figured
into future budgets.
The one-time adjustments include;
— a 1 percent reduction of
University-wide supplies,
materials and contractual services, which will save $60,000.
—a special fund solicitation.
Eighty thousand letters of appeal were mailed Tuesday to
alumni, former donors to the
University and student's
parents. Abel said he hoped at
least $150,000 will be donated.
— a recall of funds given to the
library. At the end of the year a
contingency fund operated out
of Abel's office had $150,000 left,
which was given to the library.
(See "Budget"—page 11)
by JAMES ISELER
LIFE News Editor
The University must trim
1981-82 spending by $1.5 million
if it wants to stay on track
toward eliminating its $616,000
deficit, President Harold Abel
said Wednesday.
The presidential directive to
cut spending will be presented
for Board of Trustees' approval
at the Board's Nov. 6 meeting,
Abel said in a meeting with student leaders.
The move was necessitated by
recent  state   aid   callbacks   of
(See "Deficit"—page 5)
CM UFE/Erlc Revels
Pumpkin party
Pumpkin carving, refreshments and a sing-along were featured at the CMU Recreation Club's
annual Citizen Halloween party held at the Senior
Center, 3480 S. Isabella Rd., Tuesday night. Stella
Nietzke got a lesson in pumpkin carving from a
helpful elephant, Shelley Vandenbosch, Holland
junior.
SOC changes
in the works
by DAVE ELLIS
LIFE Staff Writer
Changes in the Student Organization Center—sparked by complaints about the behavior of some Gay Liberation members—may
have to be made if an alternative cannot be reached by next week,
said Ed Johengen, coordinator of the center.
Three members of groups that use space in the room, located in
the University Center, asked in a letter to Johengen that something
be done about the Gay Lib members' behavior, Johengen.Mount
Pleasant senior, said.
Lounge furniture in the middle of the center may be removed and
the area may be turned into a reception area, Johengen said, adding
the changes had been considered before, but the complaints "moved
up the time table" for them to be made.
Thursday afternoon, Johengen made plans to have the furniture
removed today. But after a meeting with some of the SOC groups,
he decided to give the groups time to work out the problem
themselves, he said, but added his decision is still in effect.
He will meet with the groups again Wednesday to see if an alternate solution can be found before the furniture is moved, he said.
Chicanos Organized for Progress and Action President Alex Torres said Gay Lib Members dominate the use of the lounge area.
Their behavior, such as kissing and hugging and "making confessions out loud," stops people from coming into the SOC and causes
them to leave quickly when they do come in, he said.
People began to think COPA is a gay organization, said Torres,
(See "SOC"—page 12)
Woes with family, friends
Gay life isn't always happy
Man arraigned
in assault case
A 28-year-old Saginaw man was arraigned in Isabella
County's 76th District Court Wednesday and charged with
felonious assault of a 24-year-old CMU woman, said John
McAuliffe, director of the Department of Public Safety.
Robert Buck was released on $1,000 personal recognizance
bond after demanding a preliminary hearing, scheduled for
Nov. 5 at76th District Court.
The assault occurred at Northwest Apartment Sunday evening, McAuliffe said. Apparently Buck and Chinyelu Okagbue, a
Mount Pleasant senior, were having an argument and Buck
allegedly threatened Okagbue with a sharp object, McAuliffe
said.
Okagbue fled from the apartment to another apartment
nearby. Buck apparently escaped through a window, McAuliffe
said.
Buck, who had returned to Saginaw, gave himself up to DPS
officials Wednesday, McAuliffe said. Buck had learned a warrant was issued and called his attorney, who in turn called
DPS, McAuliffe said. <
The maximum penalty for felonious assault is four years imprisonment and a fine of $2,000, said a District Court
spokeswoman.
(Editor's note: The difficulties
of a homosexual lifestyle are
numerous, ranging from socializing to employment problems. In
the second of a five-part series,
LIFE Staff Writer Mike Wright
today reports the situation with
gay students and a homosexual
professor.)
Marie and Kim have been
lovers since December. They are
both CMU students and
members of Central's Gay
Liberation, located in the lower
level of the University Center.
Both have dated men before particularly in high school.
Marie said she dated about "40
percent of the guys" in her
senior class.
Now, however, both live a
lifestyle enjoyed by about 10
percent of the country — that of
being gay,
Gays come from all walks of
life, from students to clergymen
to college instructors. They all
have their reasons for being gay,
and they enjoy their lifestyle as
compared to a "straight" one.
A number of Gay Lib
members   and   one   CMU   in-
Behind Closed Doors:
The Closet Community
structor agreed to be interviewed for this series, but some
would not give their hometown
or real first name.
The reason for this, agreed
Kim and Marie, is the word
could get around and finally
back to the hometown that Mr.
and Mrs. Someone have a gay
son or daughter.
"Tell my parents, are you kidding?" Kim asked, quite seriously. "It's like if Marcia Brady on
'The Brady Bunch' had gone to
her parents and said, 'Mom, dad,
I'm a lesbian.' It just doesn't
happen."
Marie's parents know about
her sexual preference, but both
blame it on something. "Mom
still  thinks  it's a  phase," she
said. "Dad thinks it's his fault. I
was raised like a son and he
thinks that's why."
Another reason for denying to
give the real name is "the chance
of being fired from a job.
John (not his real name) has
been a University instructor in
the school of Arts and Science
for seven years. He taught at
five other universities, but
won't say where.
He also won't say where he
went to college, or when he
graduated. The reason, he said,
is someone could easily look it
up and find out which instructor
he is.
John said this could lead to a
dismission or other punishment
stemming from what he called
"moral terpitude."
"One thing I learned about
when I was an undergraduate
was never go into your office
with a student and shut the
door," he said.
Affirmative Action Officer
James Turner said instructors
would not be dismissed because
they    are    gay,   unless    their
academic activities involved sexual harrassment.
Being gay and a college instructor never worried John
when he entered the profession
because he didn't "come out" —
accept his sexual preference —
until after he started teaching.
Now, he said, he associates
with both gays and straights in
the Mount Pleasant community.
"I find the entire gay scene,
too much of it, quite boring," he
said. "Just like if I'm with a
group of straights for too long
it's boring."
John said there is a backward
attitude in Mount Pleasant
toward gays, as opposed to attitudes in big cities.
"I have never ever met more
psychologically confused people
as in Mount Pleasant," he said.
"It must be tremendous
pressure for the young gays to
come out and talk."
One way the student gays feel
more relaxed is through the Gay
Lib organization. For instance,
Kim and Marie met at a Gay Lib
(See "Gays"—page 6)
Jury to continue deliberation in Saumier trial
by MARK RANZENBERGER
LIFE Staff Writer
Jury deliberations will resume today at 9 a.m.
in the murder trial of 30-year-old Richard
Saumier of MountPleasant. The jury deliberated
three hours Thursday without reaching a verdict.
Thirteen jurors heard the trial. One was excused at the end of Friday's testimony and said she
was/'relieved" to be going home.
Saumier has been on trial in 21st Circuit Court
in Mount Pleasant for eight days, and is accused
of slaying 22-year-old Susan Brooks of Mount
Pleasant August 24,1980.
The defendant, his stepfather and a family
friend had testified Tuesday and Wednesday for
the defense. After about one minute of testimony
rebutting defense witnesses, both the prosecution and the defense summed up  Thursday.
In his closing arguments before a packed courtroom, defense attorney Lynn Chamberlain said
the case was, at most, "a manslaughter trial, not a
murder trial."
He pointed out again that Isabella County
Presecutor Joseph Barberi had not charged
Saumier with first degree murder. Barberi had
charged him with open murder, allowing the jury
to decide Saumier's fate.
Barberi asked the jury to find Saumier guilty of
first degree murder and later said he felt the
least the jury could return was second degree
murder.
Photographs of the scene showed a large
number of live shotgun shells scattered on the
floor of the room where the killing took place.
Defense witness Ron Deckard, Saumier's stepfather, said he had accidently spilled the shells
and not bothered to pick them up.
Barberi called that story "convenient." He contended Saumier spilled the shells while dazed and
bleeding after shooting himself.
Concerning drag marks found in the driveway,
the defense attorney said Saumier had dragged
Brooks from the car with her consent, as a sign of
affection.
"He'd grab her around the waist, growl like a
bear, kiss her on the neck and drag her,"
Chamberlain said.
The prosecutor said Saumier had dragged her
across a gravel driveway in her stocking feet for
20 or 25 feet.
"Is this a sign of affection?" Barberi asked the
jury-
Barberi went on to say Saumier had dragged
'Brooks into the bedroom and shot her there.
Chamberlain asked why Saumier would bother
moving Brooks that far, saying it was easier to
move the shotgun than a drunken woman.
Chamberlain said Brooks had walked into the
bedroom under her own power.
Both sides admitted Brooks was highly intoxicated.
In his 90-minute closing statement, Barberi
reviewed the high points ■ of his case, continually calling Saumier a "liar." He accused
Saumier ot changing his story four times to fit the
evidence,
Chamberlain countered by pointing out his
client had consistently said "Sue shot me," from
the first note he had written to his neighbor the
night of the shooting and throughout the investigation.
Saumier's attorney said there was no indication
Saumier had driven the car to the house where
T(See "Saumier"—page 2)
In Brief
Students whose phone numbers did not appear in the new student directory should call
CMU operators to have their numbers entered
on a master list.
Campus
Central    students
Voice   their   opinions
about a possible midyear tuition hike,
page 3
Mount Pleasant City
Commission      candidates are profiled,
page?
Sports
The CMU voljeyball
team ran its record to
33-8 taking an easy win
over Oakland University Thursday.
page 8
Index
Arts and Leisure \........ 6
Classifieds  11
Comment  4
Doonesbjury 4
Horoscope 11
Off the Wire  2
Sports  8
Spotlife 11
Weather  11
u