1978-10-30; Central Michigan Life

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-CM UFE ART BY LINDA TERENTIAK
RAPE:
the myth
myth' still present at CMU
(Editor, note: In this, the first
installment of a three-part series
on rape, LIFE Staff Writer Lorie
Moy writes about the "myths"
surrounding rape- that it does
not happen at CMU, that it is
perpetuated by an impulsive
stranger and that it always
happens in a dark alley. Wednesday's installment will present
the account of a rape victim and
Friday'8 will discuss awareness as
a defense against rape.)
Rape? It doesn't happen here.
Rape? No, it isn't a problem
here. The problems are at big
colleges.
Rape? Oh, I don't walk alone
after dark, so I'm always safe.
True? Sometimes—for some
women. For others, this sense of
security has been shattered by an
experience they never believed
would happen.
The idea that rape simply does
not occur here is believed by a
majority of CMU women, according to Cyndi Woiderski, a
rape counselor for CMU's
Women's Health and Information
Project.
Woiderski said, however, this
belief is only one of a group of
"myths" surrounding rape, a
situation, she said, that only adds
to the problem.
Nine rapes were reported to
WHIP during the 1977-78 school
year. None have been reported
this year. Department of Public
Safety records show no rapes
reported to the office last year,
but two criminal sexual assaults in
the misdemeanor category have
been reported since September.
Mount Pleasant city police report
they have received one rape
report since January.
However, these figures may be
misleading, Woiderski said.
National statistics show a
minimum of four to five rapes
occurring for every one reported.
That adds up to a possibility of 36
to 46 rapes taking place in this
community in the past year, she
estimated,
"Remember, that is a
minimum," Woiderski said. "Some
national studies go as high as
saying only one of 10 rapes is
reported. But it does happen. I
think that is what is important."
The idea that rapes do not occur
here is not the only "myth',
Woiderski cited as being
prevalent in women's minds.
Women also believe when a
rape does occur, it is the type
portrayed on television shows,
where a total stranger leaps from
behind a bush to assault his
victim. Persons believe rapists
are sexually unfulfilled men acting
on impulse, Woiderski said.
The facts of rape dispel these
beliefs, she said. According to
national studies, in a "typical"
sexual assault the rapist knows
the victim. The rape does not
occur in a dark alley, but in either
the victim or assailant's home.
The rapist is not sexually aroused,
but is more likely, to be angry.
Finally, rapists do not act on
impulse. Rapes are planned.
Woiderski pointed out many
women who are raped in their
own home by a man they know are
confused because they do not
know if the assault qualifies as a
rape.
"People believe the myths,
including that rapists are
strangers. When it is someone
they know and it is in their
apartment, it doesn't fit in with
the stereotype. So they don't
report it. They are afraid no one
will believe them," Woiderski
said .
The majority of rapes taking
place at CMU are the type
described above, according to
Woiderski. WHIP terms these
"date rapes." A "date rape" is less
likely to be reported than a
violent rape, explained Woiderski,
because of the woman's confusion
and the probable embarrassment
and humiliation the woman is
feeling.
Woiderski *      cited the
socialization of women, as well as
(See "Rape-' page 2)
Volume 60 No. 26
©    1J7I Cntral Michigan LIFE
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
Monday, Oct. 30,1978
- CM LIFE PHOTO B Y MIKE QREEN
This raccoon may havo felt a llttlo out of placa whon It recently found itself won-
daring around in a parking lot naar tha Towers. As spectators gatharad. tha furry
craatura took refuge under a car. Whan tha coast was claar, tha raccoon took to tha
Raids.
Alcohol topics
to be featured
by DIANE NIEDZWIECKI
UFE Copy Editor
Guest speakers, movies and discussion groups will comprise a week of
alcohol related topics intended to inform CMU students about various
aspects of alcohol.
Kathi Lafferty, director of CMU's Alcohol Awareness office, said the
purpose of Alcohol Awareness Week, running today through Saturday,
is to get students involved with the programs.
"We want to have a campus-wide student involvement to show the
different ways alcohol affects lives," Lafferty, Saginaw graduate
student, said.
The goal of the organization, established this year, is to gain an
awareness of alcohol problems related with abuse and encourage
responsible drinking behaviors, she explained.
Activities scheduled for the week include:
Today: 7 p.m. in Pearce 128. Guest speaker Raymond Malec, director
of the Substance Abuse Center for Midland. County, will discuss "The
Medical Hazards of Alcoholism." '"' --
Following Malec at 8 p.m. in Pearce 128 will be Pat Mullen, program
director of the Substance Abuse Center in Mount Pleasant. Mullen will
speak about mood altering drugs.
There also will be a movie shown 8 p.m. today in the Saxe-Herrig
lobby titled "Boozers and Users."
The movie also will be shown 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Bed-
dow+Thorpe lobby, the Merrill-Sweeney lobby at 8 p.m. and in the
Barnard Hall lobby at 9 p.m.
Activities set for Thursday include speaker Debbie Dunbar, Alcohol
Substance Abuse Center in Mount Pleasant counselor. Dunbar will
discuss the fetal alcohol syndrome and women and alcohol at 3 p.m. in
the Wolverine Room of the University Center.
(See Alcohol-" p*ge 12)
Federal grant hikes
to benefit students
_jr_^
byDANGUIDO
UFE Staff Writer
Up to 75 percent of CMU's
students could benefit from the
recent Congressional passage of a
$1.5 billion addition to the Basic
Educational Opportunity Grant
fund, according to a University
Financial Aids official.
Margaret Smith, acting director
of Financial Aids, said the
financial upgrading of the BEOG
Inside
—Senate to consider
student appeal process,
page 3
—Student wages war
on unsafe- bicyclists,
page 5
-Central knocks off
Falcons, page 8
program will enable more
students to qualify for 'federal
financial aid than ever before.
"Since the majority of students
attending CMU have parents who
earn less than $26,000, we expect
to see a dramatic rise in the
number of student applications for
aid next fall," Smith said.
As many as 9,000 students
could qualify for aid next
semester, Smith said, compared
to approximately 3,000 who
applied for aid this year.
The additional funds, provided
through the Middle Income
Student Assistance Act, were
President Jimmy Carter's antidote to tuition tax credits.
The grants will run from $200 to
$1,800, an increase from this
year's maximum of $1,600.
Congressional estimates of how
much money will be available to
families in certain income
brackets, according to the
Associated Press, would allow a
family of four with one person in
college and an income of $6,000 to
get the maximum grant of $1,800.
Other financial aid outlays at
specific income brackets include
$1,676 in aid for families whose
parents earn $8,000; $1,500 at
$10,000; $1,329 at $12,000; $1,158
at $14,000; $991 at $16,000 and
$827 at an income level of $18,000.
Students also would be eligible
for $669 at the $20,000 income
level; $551 at $22,000; $358 at
$24,000 and $208 at $26,000.
However, the grants vary
according to a family's assets and
education costs. The estimates do
not provide for unusual expenses
or college costs above $3,600.
Students whose parents earn over
$26,000 could qualify if their
family includes several children,
and has unusual expenses,
Smith added the new aid will
make any college student,
regardless of his or her parents'
wealth, eligible for guaranteed
loans on which the government
pays' the interest while the
student is in school.
(See "BEOG-" page 12>
'Fallout' brings oown
Bowen's final curtain
CHRIS CROSS
LIFE Staff Writer
After teaching for 28 years and
adapting 10 novels for the
University stage, interpretation
director Elbert Bowen will
present his last CMU theater
production today with "Sombrero
Fallout."
Bowen, professor of speech and
dramatic arts, will retire in
December.
"I guess the best things of my
years at Central have been doing
the productions, just getting the
show on the road," he said.
Each year, Bowen chooses a
novel and adapts it to the stage.
The process takes about 11
months.
"I begin to look for s novel for
the following year at the end of
October; as soon as I've finished
the last play," he said.
Bowen said he tries to find a
novel that appeals to students,
one that he thinks would make a
good theatre production.
"I look for a novel that is a
challenge. Something new and
different One that would use a
new production concept," Bowen
said. "Brautigan, the author of
"Sombrero Fallout," is a well
known author among college
students. This is a play they are
really going to enjoy," he said.
The adaption process does not
begin until Bowen rceives permission from the author of the
book. Through the years, Bowen
has corresponded with such
famous authors as Ray Bradbury
and Kurt Vonnegut.
Diving .the summer, Bowen
adapts the novel into a script.
"I do it intuitively." Bowen said.
"I try to condense the novel into a
good playing time and still retain
the story-telling influence."
Bowen, who teaches drama and
interpretive reading, is the. author
of Communicative Reading, a
textbook currently in its fourth
edition.
After doing his undergraduate
work at DePaUw University in
Indiana,   Bowen   attended   the
University of Denver to receive
his master's degree, did his
graduate work at Michigan State
University and received his Ph.D
at the University of Missouri.
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