November 1, 1984
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VISTA
Thursday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Gandhi death 'shock' to professor By Eva Galipeau "The death of Indira Gandhi will strike the people of India as John F. Kennedy's death affected the people in this country," said Dr. Meledath Damodaran, assistant computer science professor
and a native of Kerala, India. A resident of the United States for thirteen years, Damodaran only recently relinquished his Indian citizenship in a naturalization ceremony this month. The professor was shocked at the re-
cent events in his native country. "I picked up my newspaper this morning and learned she had been shot but I assumed she would live. Then I heard on the television that she was actually dead," Damodoran explained. "It is a
Dr. Meledath Damodaran
shock and a tragedy anytime a political leader of such popularity is assassinated." Sikh, India's militant minority which has accepted responsibility for the act, has been making assassination threats against the prime minister for some time, Damodaran stated. "The timing surprised me though," the professor said. "That situation had mostly stabilized and I assumed the situation had returned to normal." Beyond the initial effect of the event itself, Damodaran does not believe the incident will have any long range impact on the direction of Indian democracy. "It will not affect the political future of the country to any degree because of the way the democracy functions," he said. "But short term problems could arise if Indian politicians try to exploit the issue." Damodaran believes that unless minor disturbances are controlled and leaders show extreme caution and restraint in handling the volatile emotions during this crisis, large scale violence could erupt. The country's immediate concern, he said, should be the safety of Gandhi's son, Rajiv, who was appointed by the majority Congress Party to head the country until the next official election.
Damodaran explained that under India's parliamentary form of democracy, the majority party in the parliament actually chooses the country's prime minister from among its leaders rather than from a direct vote of the poeple. As general-secretary of the Congress Party, Rajiv Gandhi will act as prime minister until the next parliamentary election, Damodaran said, but Gandhi will likely be chosen as his mother's official successor. In the meantime, the former Indian citizen claimed, the best action the government of that country can take to diffuse the volatile situation there is to take no action at all. "The government shoudn't do anything right away, at least not until the situation calms down," Damodaran stated. "Then I'm sure they will plan high-level, peaceful discussions with the leaders of Sikh to work out some compromise." Damodaran describes his role in the situation as one all Americans share. "We are passive watchers here, but I am glad the American press shows such concern. As the second largest democracy (based on population) in the world, we cannot afford to let the largest one go any other way. That's happened too often lately."
Public Relations club denied charter By Mark Beutler Associate Editor The newly formed Public Relations Club was denied official club status Oct. 8, when, in a nearly unanimous vote, the Student Senate vetoed the constitution submitted by the club. The constitution was denied passage on the grounds that the information on the forms provided the Student Senate by the Public Relations Club was incomplete. Until the charter is approved by the Student Senate, the Public Relations Club is not recognized as a formal club on campus. "We can't collect dues for membership. Therefore we can't send out fliers or publicize the club because we don't have any money," said Karen Bentley, Public Relations Club secretary.
"The reason we couldn't accept it was because they (the club) had nothing in their 'purpose' column," commented John Buttry, Student Senate vice president. "If they couldn't justify their reason for being on campus, we couldn't accept their constitution. We had to reject it because of it's basic structure." "Our 'purpose' was in the preamble of the constitution. Our sponsors approved it before we ever sent it to the Student Senate," Bentley said. Russell Barfield, president of the club, explained the function of a "PR" club. "We're trying to get closely related with the public relations field. We try to have professional speakers attend our meetings. This enables us to make contacts we otherwise wouldn't make. We
In this issue... ROTC offers challenges...page 3 Student teaching a new experience...page 4 Conference scheduled for educators...page 8 Fourth title for cross country...page 10 Season of upsets keeps hopes high...page 12
try to stay pretty updated on job markets in the Oklahoma City area," Barfield said. The constitution the Public Relations Club submitted last spring was not out of committee and scheduled for a formal vote until October. In light of time involved for a constitution to be approved, the club faces the problem of getting it approved before the end of the semester. "There's been a lot of paper chase since April," Barfield explained. "We hoped the club would come up for a vote a lot sooner than it did." Joe McCourry, president of the Student Senate, remarked "We are not a rubber stamp for organizations on campus. The
constitution has to be submitted first to Dean Ryan, who then sends it to us. "We got the constitution the last of April. We can conduct no business during quiet week or the summer," McCourry continued. "The first time we could conduct business was at our first meeting in August." According to Buttry, chairman of the committee considering approval of the petition for the club charter, the petition was not received until mid-September. Dudley Ryan, dean of students and vice president of student services, reported in a letter of recommendation to the Student Senate dated Apr. 24," ...it meets the general guidelines of the
university for a new organization. Without being acknowledged as a formal organization, the Public Relations Club has elected officers and continues to hold regular meetings as they have since spring. The members have reworked their constitution and submitted it again to Dean Ryan, with their "purpose" definitely stated. It must now go to the Student Senate once again where they will either approve or disapprove the charter. "There's been a lot of problems," remarked Barfield, "but I'm sure they'll all be worked out. It just takes time." There is something to be said for optimism.
Central State University will celebrate its 93rd birthday Friday, Nov. 9, with special cake and hot chocolate birthday party on the quadrangle north of the University Center, June Lantz, celebration chairman, announced today. Lantz, a senior Oklahoma City journalism major, said the birthday party will include a pie throwing auction to benefit the university and an off-campus organization for mentally retarded citizens of Oklahoma.
There will be pep music, three sheet cakes with candles and hot chocolate served throughout the hour-long event, beginning at 11:30 a.m. "We hope to get 20 volunteer faculty or administrative staff to participate in the pie throwing event," Lantz said. The pie throw is a project of the newly formed CSU Photographic Society and is aimed at raising money that will be donated on the camera club, CSU tree planting fund and to
The Meadows, an Edmond sheltered workshop for mentally handicapped. Students will have an opportunity to bid on pies auctioned off to be thrown at professors, administrators or student leaders. CSU opened its classes, the first institution of higher education in Oklahoma to do so, on Nov. 9, 1890. The Friday celebration is part of a countdown to the 100th Anniversary which began with the 90th birthday three years ago.
, Birthday party to feature pie tnrow