Bowling Green State University ScholarWorks@BGSU BG News (Student Newspaper) University Publications 2-3-1993 The BG News February 3, 1993 Bowling Green State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news Recommended Citation Bowling Green State University, "The BG News February 3, 1993" (1993). BG News (Student Newspaper). 5485. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/5485 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in BG News (Student Newspaper) by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Campus Local Student Health Center City tightens its belt. offers HIV testing. ^ The BG News Wednesday, February 3,1993 The BG News Volume 75, Issue 91 Judges still out, Author visits BG, discusses gay ban by Damn McDonald Umbel human diversity reporter Joe Steffan sacrificed a diploma from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. and a hopeful career In the Navy by admitting he waiting was a homosexual just three weeks before his graduation. Steffan, author of the book, Honor Bound, explained his situa- by Eileen McNamara tion to hundreds of people in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom last city editor night Steffan came from a small town in northwestern Minnesota and was actively involved In student organizations. He was con- A three-Judge panel continued sidered an "ideal candidate" for the Naval Academy, and In July to deliberate Tuesday evening 1983 he left his home for Annapolis. whether John Umbel, convicted "During my sophomore year... I was feeling an emotional and of kidnapping, raping and mur- physical attraction to men," Steffan said. "No one told me or ex- dering 3-year-old Alex Leim- plained to me what I was supposed to be feeling." gruber, will be sentenced to Steffan was not your usual student. He was a member of the death. Glee Club, which sang for President Reagan and also sang the The prosecution and the de- "The Star Spangled Banner" for the Army-Navy. He was select- fense made their closing argu- ed Battalion Commander, which is one of the 10 highest posi- ments Tuesday morning ~ the tions at the Academy. prosecution illustrating Umbel And then Steffan had to come to terms with what was happen- as a "skilled manipulator" who ing inside of him. has often used his mental illness Accepting himself as a homosexual presented one of the to seek leniency from the legal biggest personal conflicts he had to face, Steffan said. system, and the defense contend- "One night I was studying for exams, frustrated with feelings, ing Umbel has been a lifelong started crying out of frustration," he said "I was brought to victim of the system. tears by something going on inside my own head." "It's time to say 'enough - no Following the code that a Navy Midshipman does not lie, cheat more," " Mayberry said. "The or steal, Steffan decided to tell the truth when three weeks be- system will not be manipulated fore his graduation he was asked to confirm allegations that he any more. John Umbel will not was a homosexual. If he lied, he would have been allowed to stay rely on these excuses anymore to in the military. commit crimes ... this time he According to Steffan the military has two main reasons for be- will be held responsible. ing skeptical of homosexuals serving in the military - concerns "John Foster Dulles said, 'Of of commingling of gay and straights and gays as a security risk. all the tasks of government, the "Close quarters is not a problem, we deal with these situations most basic is to protect its citi- all our life," Steffan said zens from violence,' " Mayberry said. "This must be especially The dilemma he said he faced was whether he was "man true when children are the vic- enough" to deny his identity and his main goal - to earn a di- tims of this violence." ploma from the Academy. Cimerman, presenting a time Steffan said the Navy did not realize he was the same person line, detailed Umbel's emotiona- they had elevated through the ranks. Nor did they think of him lly, mentally and socially trou- as the same person he was before they found out he was a homo- bled life - In several foster sexual. homes from ages one to 11, in an His parents did not completely understand what he was going adult psychiatric hospital at 11 through, Steffan said. But, they said "we really understand what for eight to nine years and incar- you are going through and we will pay whatever it takes to cure cerated numerous times as an you." adult. In Dec. 1988, Steffan filed a law suit in federal court seeking "John Umbel Is a citizen of reinstatement in the military and the diploma he was denied Ohio," Cimerman said. "...To re- from the Naval Academy. fer back to what Mr. Mayberry Stefan recalled the Judge belittled him and called him a "ho- said, quoting John Foster Dulles mo" three times in court He went to the Washington, D.C Cir- ... how has the state protected cuit Court of Appeals to have the judge removed but was unsuc- TlK BG NCWI/TCITM Ttrnnai John Umbel from violence?" cessful. Mayberry said he believed At the current time of the court case, it was the early stages of Addressing over 400 people In the University Union Lenhart Grand Ballroom Tuesday night, former Umbel was capable of controlling the AIDS crisis and gays were seen as a disproportionate num- Naval Academy officer Joe Steffan talks about his dishonorable discharge. He has written an auto- ber of AIDS cases. biography entitled Honor Bound. See Umbel, page four. Haitians against U.N. efforts Clinton reviews welfare to reinstate ousted president President turns details over to states, governors by John King tion, Clinton said he would name within 10 days a ber 1991. Soldiers and police servers cannot be negotiated by The Associated Press White House-led task force made up of officials by Michael Norton from government departments and agencies in- The Associated Press massacred from 300 to 500 Hai- Haitian authorities, and the force tians immediately following must be able to go anywhere volved in welfare, education and job training. Aristide's overthrow. without prior notice and super- WASHINGTON - President Clinton pledged Their goal would be to draft a legislative proposal PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haitians Caputo's visit was his second in vise the notoriously corrupt judi- Tuesday to transform welfare Into a "hand up, not by spring or early summer. Jeered U .N. envoy Dante Caputo two weeks. Last week, military- cial system. Bazin wants to set a handout" by giving recipients training and then As much as restating his welfare policies and goals, Clinton's speech appeared designed to shift In a government-backed protest backed Prime Minister Marc Ba- limits. requiring them to work. He said he would allow Monday, shouting their oppo- zin rejected Caputo's terms to On Monday night, about 200 governors broad freedom to experiment with wel- public attention onto one of his popular, conserva- sition to any negotiations that send a force of UN. observers to demonstrators gathered outside fare changes. tive-sounding campaign themes after several days might bring back ousted Presi- this Caribbean nation. the hillside Montana Hotel In "Most people on welfare are yearning for an- of focus on more controversial matters such as dent Jean-Bertrand Aristide Caputo, of Argentina, flew in nearby Petionville, where a room other alternative, aching for the chance to move homosexuals in the military. More than 200 demonstrators by private plane. had been reserved for Caputo. from dependence to dignity," Clinton said in a Fittingly, he delivered the speech to an organiza- at Port-au-Prince airport chan- His initiative is the latest dip- About 20 protesters shook a car speech to the National Governors' Association. tion In which then-Arkansas Gov. Clinton cut his ted, "Down With Caputo! Aria- lomatic effort to restore democ- carrying two Associated Press "Welfare should be a second chance, not a way of teeth on welfare Issues in the mid-1980s as an tide No! Democracy Yes!" Some racy to the hemisphere's poorest journalists and a free-lance re- life." architect of national reform legislation. shouted "Long live Duvalier!" - nation following the ouster of porter for at least 10 minutes, Clinton broke little new ground, largely repeat- "I think all of us want what most people on wel- a reference to the harsh, 29-year Aristide, Haiti's first democrat- flattening the back tires while ing, rhetoric and all, an array of campaign prom- fare want, a country that gives you a hand up, not a Duvalier family dictatorship. ically-elected president shouting epithets. A special ises he said would "end welfare as we know it" and handout," Clinton told the governors. "No one likes They also hurled Insults at Jour- He proposes a U.N. mission to police agent and a former Cabi- give dignity to families who work but still find the welfare system as it currently exists, least of nalists and demanded they leave. end human rights abuses by sol- net minister intervened to enable themselves below the poverty line all the people who are on it." In the crowd were former offi- diers and police In Haiti prior to the Journalists to leave the hotel And aides said despite Clinton's detailed cam- Clinton told the governors Washington could not cials of the Tonton Macoutes, the a political solution of the parking lot.