1994-01-24; Central Michigan Life

              ■1
Cetera
In from the cold
Soup kitchens offer compassion
Page 3
n-tA-JeA^-x,?'^** :.;-ft-
Missing movies
Local theaters explain why
Page 8
Barnum & BAILEY
Men's hoops win under the Big Top
Page 10
1*&Vm PtEASAN*. MICHIGAN 48859
Central
Michigan
€> 1994 CM UFE
Jury finds Ken Norton Jr. guilty
By Todd Fettig Norton was charwd with nnnn        i_ ^^ *
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By Todd Fettig
1 Ihh St^ff Writer
and Tracy Tomczak
! Ihp  Assistant News Editor
Kenneth M. Norton Jr. was
found guilty of the lesser charge
of second-degree murder Friday
in the death of 3-year-old
Tabatha Horn.
Norton, 35, had no reaction in
Isabella County Circuit Court as
the verdict was read and had no
comment as he was led back to
jail. Second-degree murder carries a penalty of up to life in
prison. Sentencing is set for 11
a.m. Feb. 10.
The jury reached a verdict at
1:30 p.m. after 6 hours of deliberation. During deliberations, jurors requested four hours' worth of
testimony from a forensic pathologist and Norton's two daughters, but were denied the transcripts.
Norton was charged with open
murder in the death of the
daughter of Wendy Gokee, his
live-in girlfriend.
Norton reported Tabatha
missing from a Brighton convenience store July 5. Her body was
found buried just more than a
mile from Norton's home in Ves-
taburg in southern Isabella
County, wrapped in garbage
bags, a towel and a blanket.
Norton's attorney James Vel-
dhuis. of Janes, Veldhuis, Janes &
Backus, 115 S. University Ave.,
said he did not think Norton was
guilty of second-degree murder.
"We hoped for a little better
result but our main concern was
first-degree murder and they
acquitted on that,'' Veldhuis said.
According to Veldhuis, extensive media coverage of the trial
did   not   help   his  case.   "I   don't
remember any potential juror
through the whole (jury selection) who hadn't heard about it."
Veldhuis said he felt the media
sensationalized some aspects of
the case, especially about the psychic who tipped police to the location of Tabatha's body
Veldhuis will wait until sentencing before making a decision
on an appeal, he said, but added
t hat there is no reason not to
appeal.
Robert Backus, who assisted in
Norton's defense, said he was
surprised by the verdict because
he felt the prosecution had not
presented enough evidence for a
second-degree murder convic-
* ion.
Ken Norton Sr. also accused
the media of influencing the verdict.
"1 always believed a person was
innocent until proven guilty," he
said "My son has been convicted
by you, th<> media."
Isabella County Prosecutor
Larry Burdick said there was
enough evidence to convict   Ken
Norton Jr. of first-degree murder
but did not question the jury's
decision.
"1 think it was a fair verdict,'
Burdick said. "Obviously we
thought there was evidence of
premeditation in the killing.
See NORTON Page 14
Music building
blueprint changes
due to shortfall
By Brent Wehner
I IH-  Staff Wr.ter
Members of the administration and music department met Friday to discuss funding shortfalls in the construction of the new music
building.
Sizable reductions in equipment and the elimination of some
tunneling planned underneath the building were among the cuts
discussed, but the cuts will have little affect on the overall project,
said Kd Kvet, chairman of the music department.
Central requested $25 million from the state, but $21 million has
See MUSIC Page 16
Plachta considers
administrative
duty restructuring
The  existing  structure of the
ponding cmties has been a topic oi
consideration for President Leonard E. Plachta since his appointment last October. Now, with
Plachta into his second semester
as president, the unchanged
structure and its possibilities
continue to be assessed.
Plachta said he has given the
structure a great deal of thought
since his appointment by the
Board of Trustees.
"There are a lot of things that
have to be brought together." said
Plachta. adding that he could not
rush through the process.
Plachta  said  the  first  assess
ments he will make concern the
division. The second assessment
will examine the personnel for
that division.
"Reassessing involves many
levels," he said. "And 1 am especially concerned with the organization of those ltwels."
CMU has 28 senior officers,
including the president, vice
presidents, assistant and associate vice presidents, the provost,
vice provost and assistant vice
provosts, deans, associate and
assistant deans, university attorney, legislative counsel, and
director of Admissions and
Enrollment Management.
After pulling out of the driveway at Timber Creek Apartments,
3300 E. Deerfield Road, at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday, a vehicle
driven by Jason Norwood, Weidman junior, was struck by a vehicle driven west on East Deerfield Road by Wayne Zdrojkowski,
LIFE Photo/Christophec Richardson
associate director of operations and utilities for Facilities Management. No one was injured in the collision, and both vehicles
suffered minor damage. No citations were issued, according to a
Michigan State Police report.
Black female faculty attempt to rise above percentages
By Jill Behnke
\ Ihfc  Stiifl Writer
Although our society is
becoming more culturally diversified, our educational system
has yet to catch up with the
changing demographics.
Only eight of CMU's 828 temporary and regular faculty members are African-American
women, according to Faculty Personnel Services. But the low
numbers do not discourage these
women in their educational
goals.
Their experiences in education
and in life have allowed them to
teach their students about the
importance of diversity through
firsthand knowledge.
Annie Jones, a counselor in the
counseling center, said CMU presents a grckater sense of diversity
than some other universities.
"Here we still have a lot of work
to do on the percentages (of
minority students and faculty),"
Jones said. "But it has been a
pleasure to see more minority
faculty- It gives you a sense of
balance."
Jones said coming to CMU
offered an opportunity to work
with a larger minority population
than she had experienced at the
University of Northern Iowa,
where she primarily taught graduate students in the counseling
program.
"UNI is a rural all-white university even more than CMU,"
Jones said.
"At    UNI,    for   the   first   few
weeks   in  a   class,  the  students
would just sit and look at me.
They had no contact with with
people who were different. White
faculty have no idea what its like
to be n the minority. It's a different world."
Students who attend a
homogeneous school, with
homogeneous students, housing
and professors, "will be very limited in their professional training," Jones said. Having professors who are different from you
presents you with a different
world view, stimulates learning
and enriches your impression of
I he world, she said.
"A lack of different professors
is a disservice to students going
through CMU," she said.
Joyce Williams, associate professor in the counseling center,
said, unlike Jones, she had some
concerns about the environment
at CMU when «he came here in
1 98b\
"I had a lot of anxiety about
coming here.'* Williams said. "I
am from Remus and I promised
myself I'd never come back
because of the discrimination and
racial problems."
Williams said her feelings toward Mount Pleasant and CMU
have gotten "somewhat better"
since she's been here. "At first, it
was   still   an   anxiety-producing
situation. I felt I was not accepted
as a person in the community.**
Williams said she has had no
problems with her colleagues or
students at the university.
She often deals with students
who come into the counseling
renter to talk about racial problems they have experienced.
"They sometimes need to talk
about it with someone from their
own culture and get it off their
shoulders," she said.
Williams also teaches a summer class in counselor education,
CKD 690. She said she has only
taught two or three minority students in  her five years here at
< 'entral.
She tries to bring cultural sen-
sit ivity, which is especially
important in the counseling field,
into her class, she said.
"It is important for people to
understand and be sensitive to
people's needs, to ask questions
and not be judgmental. Communication is key."
For Rene Shingles, assistant
professor of physical education
and sport, it was the sports medicine program, not the diversity
issue, that was a deciding factor
in coming to CMU.
"I  recognized there was not a
See WOMEN Page 2
LIFE
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CALENDAR
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PLACEMENT
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ETCETERA
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SPORTS
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CLASSIFIEDS
14
Committee exploring
possible alternatives
to ENG 201 requisite
Students, staff of
cultun
By Eric J. Wisniewski
i IF-H  St.iff Wnfer
An ad hoc committee is evaluating the possibility of offering students the option to use classes besides ENG 201 to fulfill the advanced
composition requirement.
Francis Molson, chairman of the English department, said he has
been involved in meetings with the committee since October to formulate possible "ways in which students can achieve competency in
advanced writing.*'
The committee will be meeting again Thursday, but there are no
plans ready to be acted upon, Molson said.
He said the reason for investigating possible changes is not the result
of any dissatisfaction with the current program, but because of "a lack m
of resources.**
The only way students can currently complete the advanced writing
See OPTION Page 6
 *-r-—!V     .■   ■'»•;
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By JiH B«hnk«
MEfc.S^tWriw* -
•
Second Annual Unity Ball
► rat ion of Martin Luther
Kbkt intimate, crowd
• Steve   Clark,   assistant  <fc*eta* of
Affairs, said 8© to 85 people
the Bavee U nrverwty Center
percent decrease from last
"■   -rtitfii, it •
a
.     .    -,-.,,
^mm&**m*
work on getting more student*
year * even*.
Shannon Owens, Unity B«« <
woman, also said she 1
attended the ball