Were Super Bowl predictions on target? See Sports
cabrini college, radnor,pa. 19087
vol. xxxii, no. 13
McGovern still keeping the faith by Gia DiGiminiani
He has remained devoted to sustaining the ideal of the Democratic Party. George McGovern, 64, former presidential candidate, former senator of South Dakota, is still actively spreading his message of progressivism and humanitarian reform that characterized his own presidential campaign against former President Richard. Nixon in 1972, and attracted hordes of inspired, liberal-minded college students to his political rallies nationwide. His political idealism, however, does not signify that he is overlooking the present crisis facing his party: that of the dominance of the Republican Party in the United States government. Rather, his idealism has the potential to set a precedent to which a field of young, Democratic hopefuls can aspire to seek party restoration for the near future. McGovern visited this area last week, and in an exclusive interview with the Loquitur at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Downingtown last Thursday, McGovern discussed his perspective of current world events, the building momentum toward the 1988 presidential election, possible Democratic candidates and the political youth in America that comprised the majority of his own support in 1972. The former senator, 6 feet tall, 170 lbs., who himself follows the low-fat Pritikin diet, appears receptive in demeanor, a trait that makes the other clients at the Pritikin Center feel comfortable in walking up to - him, nd introducing themselves as did one gen eman th "ttay,a-midd'le-ag-H man emerging from an aerobics class, and wearing a red sweatsuit. "Remember the rally in Philadelphia at the ballpark?" the gentleman asks, tenatively. As McGovern responds affirmatively, the gentleman adds with enthusiasm, "Everybody was sure you were President. That really was something. That was fantastic!" This introduction sends the senator back into a reverie of his presidential campaign. "We used to have wonderful crowds at these rallies, twice the number of my opponent. But that silent majority that didn't go to rallies for either candidate decided the election," he said, "We had the enthusiasm, the force, the energy, but we never had the person sitting in the back row saying nothing." From the personal standpoint, his qualities are not those of the stereotypically-aggressive politician, trying to match the force of his statement by that of his manner. McGovern is a restrained, softspoken man, whose character exudes a quiet confidence in the significance of his message. He is a persuasive speaker: warm and sincere, he is affecting whether he is addressing an assembly of Pritikin alumni, or conversing with a reporter from a college newspaper. McGovern began his political career in the Democratic Party 33 years ago as a party secretary in South Dakota, his home state. He liberally recognizes the faults of the Democratic Party today, and the need for change, especially in terms of gaining credibility in the eyes of the American people by 1988. He believes that this can be done if the Democrats stand together to form a strong political platform, and confront the issues that face the country. McGovern feels that the party can challenge the Republicans by confronting domestic issues, an area that is, according to McGovern, being sorely neglected by the current Republican administration.
Star Wars "I think that the Star Wars program is a great fraud and an enormous waste of money. The Russians would be doing us an enormous favor: if they· can talk us out of
that nonsense so that we can save that trillion dollars that we would otherwise waste on that stupid, unnecessary system," McGovern said of Mikhail Gorbachev's proposal last month to disarm both the U.S. and Soviet Union of all long-range missles by the year 2000. "I think Reagan's off his rocker. I have to be blunt about it. I never could see sense of the idea. I don't know any scientist of any stature who believes it (Star Wars) has any merit at all," McGovern continued. "I think they (the Russians) are under . great economic pressure, and want to see this arms race curtailed so they can get out from under some of the pressure that's on
them," he· said, "But we're under some pressure, too, and we're much richer. We can't afford this arms race either. So it would be in the interests of both sides ifwe could get together, and stop the foolishness of Star Wars, and to bring the arms race under control."
Terrorism In response to the flood of terrorism around the world in recent months, McGovern said, "I don't think you can deal with that (terrorism) militarily. How do you find these terrorists? We've got plenty
of guns, if that was the problem, plenty of airplanes, ships and artillery to kill every terrorist in the world a hundred times over, but you can't use it because you don't know how to get at them." ''And they're really just bands of kids, these radicals, willing to sacrifice their lives to blow up a plane or bus. I don't think it's because we're militarily weak that they come after us. They don't have much military power either, a few sacks of dynamite, pistols and machine guns. But the United States is vastly stronger than any other country in the world militarily so ter(See MCGOVERN, page 3)
George McGovern, left, former Democratic presidential candidate, former senator of South Dakota, discusses current world events and the future of the Democratic party in an exclusive interview with Loquitur News Editor Gia DiGiminiani last Thursday. (photo by Debbie Ferrar)
Problemsplague budget hearing by Jeanne Reineberg
Money alone sets all the world in motion, so it has been said. For some, money brings status, for others, it brings luxury, but for the majority it simply purchases the most common necessities. For Cabrini's many campus-wide clubs, the opening of each semester brings the _budget hearing. This hearing is significant because it determines the amount of money each club will have to work with and fund activities with throughout the semester. This semester's hearing was held on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Club presidents and treasurers were in attendance in order to defend their requests for funds in front of a committee consisting of the SGA treasurer, social activities chairperson, and each of the four class vicepresidents. Many club officers openly discussed some of the common problems with the budget hearing and hope to see these problems rectified in the future. ''They never told us that we were supposed to budget separately for each semester," said Peg Cirone, junior, treasurer, English and communications club. This club set a budget for the entire year, and, therefore, the money left at the end of
the fall semester was rescinded and a new budget had to be submitted. Due to a lack of communication, Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) treasurer, Loriann Tomaszeski, sophomore, never received a budget request form and had to answer a lot of questions at the hearing. "I don't understand why they must question clubs (like PSEA) who have annual events. They should know how much money is needed for these events by now," she said. Debbie Peacock, senior, SGA treasurer, said some .club's requested budgets seemed considerably high considering the activities that were planned for the semester. They must substantiate these requests, however. How active a club is, how legitimate the planned activities are, and how many active members the club has are all factors taken into account when the final budgets are allotted. Peacock also explained that some clubs inflate their budgets a bit to be on the safe side, and the budget committee must decide accurately what monies each club will receive. According to Peacock, there is only so much money provided by the college for the budgeting process, and spring budgets usually require greater furids due to the Superthon, the Spring Fling, and various other spring events.
Despite the different problems, the most common argument is that the format of the hearing should be improved. "I think it's a real waste of time. Everybody sits there and waits for their club to go," Cirone said. Kevin McClernan, senior, president, chess club, thought it was uncomfortable to be questioned in front of everyone and suggested individual meetings in different time slots. Another suggestion was offered by Tomaszeski. "Rather than have clubs sit and wait, they could have any nee-• essary questions already listed on the budget request forms." This would eliminate the need for ques-• tions at the hearing. Peacock, on the whole, was satis-fied with the budget procedure. "The first one (in the fall) wasn't so great. We were all new to the procedure anc1 budgets were not really well out lined. I had never seen a budget com mittee hearing before and so I ran i1 according to the manual," she said According to Peacock, she and SGA are always open to evaluation and to change. She, herself, sees some need for changes as well. "We will probably see some changes, but we need more time to sit down and go through all the problems," she said.