Point News, 1993 November 2

              I5t. Mary’s student weekly • Volume 81, No. 7 November 2,1993 • St. Mary’s City, MD 20686
DANA FEHLBERG
staff writer
On October 14th, the last of the
new townhouse residents moved into
the completed units. Townhouse Resi­dence
Hall Coordinator, Jon
Steinberg, says “things are going
pretty well [despite] a few minor de­ficiencies.”
These deficiencies in­clude:
missing medicine cabinets,
missing molding around the french
doors in the rear of the townhouses
and damaged furniture that needs to
be replaced.
According to Director of Facilities,
Chip Jackson, installation of missing
items will begin soon. Jackson ex­pects
the new medicine cabinets to
arrive promptly.
The molding for the french doors
also had to be ordered. This will
conceal the gap between the brick
and the face of the building. It is
covered with a long-life paint that
will ensure durability. The molding
has arrived on campus and the con­tractor
is waiting for approval to
begin installation.
Jackson commented that new fur­niture
also had to be constructed to
replace defective pieces. Such de­fects
“normally occur” during the pro­cess
of moving in.
Landscaping began shortly after
students took up residence. Grating
of slopes for drainage and planting of
grass seed was completed last week.
Once the grass begins to show, land­scapes
from Dennison Landscape
will plant trees and shrubbery.
According to Susan Carter in Main­tenance,
the landscape will be “natu­ralizing”
with “trees galore.” Shade
will be provided with maples, dog­woods
and poplars. The landscapers
will also plant lilies and bulbs.
Students who live in units equipped
with fireplaces will have to complete
a fire safety class. The class will be­gin
once the fireplace grates, screens
and doors arrive.
Dave Meyers, Assistant Director
of Residence Life, will inform the
class on what to do in the case of an
uncontrolled fire. He will also give
basic instruction on how to properly
build a fire.
Meyers emphasizes that living in a
unit with a fireplace is a “nice option
that deserves respect.” He stresses
that any improper use of the fireplace
will result in stiff penalties.
Sentiments of residents currently
living in the new townhouses are
mostly positive with some grumbling
about improperly functioning items.
Dave Mitchell says that “before we
get cable, we must have television
reception.” Only one sink is working
in Joe Laun’s townhouse. Joe also
says only one ofhis three doors canbe
opened from the outside due to im­proper
locks. Summing up the feel­ings
of most residents, Alex Collory
simply says, “I love it!”
PHOTO BY DON HILL
Staffers Vince Rozanskas and Don Hill take a step on the wild side at The Elephant’s Trunk in
Lexington Park. Vince explored the weird and wacky things that could be found in the gift shop
and Don, taking the practical approach asked if anything in the store was useful.
Do you need a ride home for the holidays?
Campus Crime: Thiefs get bolder
Missing person’s Word Find
Leeches: the next step to a national health care system
The Elephant’s Think double spread
Phone Survey: Fall Back
Movie Review: Tim Burton’s newest
Comics: Lost in the Woods is back!
The sport of champions: frisbee golf
Administration proposes changes
to SMC's campus alcohol policy
of units completed
New Townhouse Follow-up
General construction
PHOTO BY DON HILL
Dean Cole is working on the revision of the alcohol policy. She does
not anticipate the policy to become any stricter.
BROOKS SCOVILLE
editor-in-chief
Late last month the administration
of St. Mary’s College started taking
strides to revise the campus alcohol
policy in order to bring it up to date.
Dean of Students, Charlene Hunter
Cole submitted a first draft of the
revised policy to John Underwood,
Executive Vice President of the Ad­ministration
in order to get the pro­cess
underway. As of now the revi­sions
have to do with clarifying the
language of the policy to make it
more understandable for the students.
There is also a proposed provision to
allow the Dean to approve alcohol at
certain campus activities, such as se­nior
events.
Another idea the administration is
looking at is the construction of a
tavern-like restaurant on the north
side of campus. The rathskeller would
be a place where students could go on
campus to enjoy a beer or food after
class or late at night. The rathskeller
would be comparable to the Lounge
at the Cobb House in that it would be
a place where all members of the
college community could congregate
in a relaxed atmosphere.
At an informal luncheon the Presi­dent
of the College, Edward T. Lewis
told The Point News that he was the
initial forcebehindtheideaoftheraths-keller.
He said that he had mentioned
the notion of the tavern to the Board of
Trustees and that they gave him the go
ahead to investigate the idea further.
President Lewis said that they
would have to strictly enforce the
legal drinking age and would prob­ably
make the drinks more expensive
than at the area bars. They would do
this to prevent the use of the bar for
simple intoxication, but rather make
it a place to gather socially.
“The rathskeller meets the needs
for interaction between the faculty,
staff, and students, but it won’t meet
the needs of the entire campus,” said
Dean Cole. “The new student center
would still have a pub with a night
club in it with a big screen TV and a
dance floor.”
The administration is not sure they
want to take on the liability possibili­ties
of having alcohol being served to
those not of age on campus. How­ever,
Dean Cole said that they do
have a three-prong vision for giving
students informal opportunities for
recreation. This would be through the
student center, the rathskeller, and a
fitness facility in the renovated
Somerset Hall.
“I don’t want to give students the
false hopes that there will be major
changes in the alcohol policy any
time soon. Things are still a little
premature; we are still working on it,”
explained Dean Cole. “I have to get
some input from Residence Life and
the RAs. If the students have any
ideas they should talk to Ken Holmes,
Joanne Goldwater or me. We are go­ing
to explore any and all options.”