University of Maryland THE ,\/efllber of/he Baltimore County Campus dS<:.OCtaTeo 5401 Wilkens Avenue COLleGiaTe, Baltimore, Maryland 21228 RETRIEVER PRes<'BJ Volume 14, Number 24 Wednesday, April 16, 1980 Craft to stand trial for battery By Alex O'Brien A battery charge, which could Craft was served a criminal Suzette Craft, director of finan­ mean anything from a touch or a summons. She was not arrested or cial aid, will stand trial for battery pinch to a severe beating, does not fingerprinted. April 30 in Baltimore District carry a specific penalty in the Vice Chancellor of Acadmic Court, after a postponement of state of Maryland, and is a misde­ Affairs Walter Jones called the the trial from April 14. Financial meanor. John-Claude Char­ March 14 incident "a new episode Aid Officer Verdell Pugh pressed bonneau, Baltimore County in a continuing problem," after the charges against Craft follow­ Assistant State's Attorney, will he ordered the office closed last ing the March 14 incident in the prosecute Craft. He said Pugh's month. Financial Aid Office. statement on the complaint form In the <::omplaint statement, is "all I know about the case at the Pugh charged Craft and other Pugh alleges that Craft pushed present time," but in District financial aid officers with harass­ BSU ORGANIZES - On Wednesday, April 9, the Black Student her and called her a "nigger," Court trials it is unusual for ment and racial discrimination in Union sponsored a 45 minute sit-in, blocking two stairways and two during a disagreement in Craft's convictions to result in jail sen­ December, in ,a complaint to the elevators in the Administration Building. The demonstrators allowed office. Craft has declined public tences. It is "typical" for a prose­ Office of Huma'l Relations. Even people to pass on one side of the stairs. Campus police informed the BSU comment. cuting attorney to wait until the before the incident, she said she that they would be arrested unless they moved. The trial was postponed, last minute to prepare his case, has felt tension in the office since The protest was accompanied by a list of demands which included: according to Craft's lawyer James according to Lawrence B. she began work there last resolution of the Verdell Pugh crisis, re-establishment of the Office of P. Gillece, because a witness is Coshnear, Litigation Specialist at summer. Minority Recruitment, the inclusion of Blacks in the decision making "out of the country." Pugh said the Baltimore City Legal Aid process, and an increase in Black faculty in all academic fields. The BSU that no one witnessed the disPllte. Bureau. continued on I palfe 1.1 also demanded that the issue of the dorm lottery policy be addressed. "The administration hasn't taken any positive steps to alliviate the problems," said Robert House, BSU co-chairman. Verdell was given an ultimatum to go to another department in the University or be con­ Braly~ writer-teacher~ dies at 54 fronted with possible termination." "But Verdell Pugh isn't the only problem. It is a segment of a larger prison-life On the Yard. This realizes that he is growing old in By Vicki Geiman problem, that concerns minority students at UMBC," continued House. book is based on Braly's own prison, seizes control of his life, Well-known published author prison experiences in Nevada and works diligently to redirect and part-time teacher at UMBC, State Prison, San Quentin, and himself. After being released from Malcolm Braly died early Tues­ Folsom State Prison. By the time prison in 1965, Braly worked to day morning, April 8, of a heart remain on the outside which he Elections slated he was 40, Braly had spent 18 attack. Driving alone at the time years in correctional institutions did until his death. of the attack Braly's car subse­ for theft and armed robbery. The In addllion to On the Yard and Three tickets will appear on earlier this semester. SGA vice quently crashed, but he died from film version of On the Yard was False Starts, Braly had written the ballot in Friday's election that president Scott Rifkin teamed the heart attack, not injuries released in 1979. three other novels and was will determine the next Student wi th Comm uti ng Students received from the accident. False Starts, his autobiography working on another entitled Government Association presi­ Association president Jeffry Though Braly taught several highly acclaimed by critics is Buddies at the time of his death. dent and vice president. Margolies to vie for the e~ecutive rourses at UMBC, he made his Braly's attempt to understand the He was also a screenwriter of both Two SGA senators, Michael positions. Steve Kalvan and Ed living as a writer. He is perhaps reasons for his failures and many Terrell and Mark Poindexter, Pearson joined the race advocat­ best known for his novel about returns to , prison. He finally rnntinued on paffe 4 formed the first official ticke.t ing .he dissolving of the SGA. Kalvan ran on the same platform with a different running mate last year. While Kalvan and Pearson Pond clean up questioned have had less direct involvement with campus politics, the Rifkin must be done on the pond. To and Terrell tickets have been By Vicki Geiman requested again in the fiscal 1982 into the pond has gotten much complete this work UMBC central to a series of controversies Cattails still grow wildly and capital budget. requested $75,000 in the fiscal deeper and the soil from the that has overwhelmed the student the water remains a murky Quirwin 8c Smith, Inc., called 1981 capital budget, however this stream has washed into the pond. SGA this year. Those even ts greenish-brown as trash and in as a consultant in the early fall money was not provided for in To correct this, stones would be climaxed on March 12 when leaves float on the surface of the completed their study of the pond Terrell presented a bill calling for the Governor's Budget. As a placed in certain positrons to library pond. and made several recommenda­ result the pond will have to prevent the erosion or at least a vote of no-confidence in the The recent clean-up of the tions. One of the major problems speaker of the Senate, vice-presi­ remain as it is, according to Vice slow it down considerably. On pond by Physical Plant only with the pond is erosion. Robert Chancellor of Administrative those, of all of the recommenda­ dent Scott RifkIn. After long and skimmed the surface of the P. Burchard, Professor of Biologi­ disorderly debate, the meeting Affairs, Sallie Giffen, for at least a cal Sciences at UMBC said that in tions to revitalize the pond, Sallie problem. In order to solve the ended in a walkout. year, when this money will be past years the stream which feeds Giffen said, ''I'd like to do at least entire problem some major work that much." Giffen also stated TheSmate was unable to reach that all of the rest of the recom­ quorum in their next three mendations from the consultant attempts. An emergency meeting were much more expensive. had reportedly been called for Another problem is the yesterday as of press time. J The problems began with a direction of the water flowing into the pnd. As it is now, the number of controversies in the water dumps into the middle of SGA executive branch. and the the pond. Water on the outer senate. edges, especially near the library, Tension between SGA Presi­ does not circulate. It is in this area dent Nate Chapman and Rifkin of the pond where most of the and the Senate and between cattails thrive. This part of the Rifkin and Terrell has led to pond is essentially "a dead arm," different arguments on the issues. said Burchard. Here it is hardly a These tensions stretch across "pond" because of the racial lines and caused a separa­ accumulation of sediment. In tion in the campus community. order to eliminate the growth of They made the traditional black­ cattails, this area would have to white SGA ticket unattainable this year, and created the Black be dredged out. Also the stream which flows into the pond would Terrel-Poindexter ticket and the have to be redirected, otherwise White Rifkin-Margolies ticket. the sediment would accumulate The problem between Chap­ once again. man and Rifkin interfered with However, for now and at least Chapman's ability to exercise his the next year no major changes executive power, according to the will be made in the pond due to SGA president. Rifkin says that "the lack of money." But Dr. Chapman violated the SGA Burchard noted that the weeds constitution to expand his rower. and garbage which plague the On the Senate bill of no • pond and surrounding grounds confidence, Terrell said that No pI~ns have been made to clean up the Library Pond in the immedrate future. could be handled fairly easily just continued on pageT.'] 'vith normal maintenance. P~ge 2, The Retriever, April 16, 1980 Theatre presents Spanish plays The UMBC Theater Department will wrap up the semester with a group of plays called Three From Spain. Miquel Cervantes' "The Marvelous Pageant," written in the 16th century, is based on the broad farcical techniques of Italian Commedia del'Arte. It is an "Emporer's New Clothes" play, where some gypsies enter a Spanish village and perform a magic show, exposing the vanity and rigid morality of the townspeople.