1987-04-09

              The Recor

OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY April 9,1987                           Volume 100                             Number 6

Non-profit organization .S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 1 Collegeville, MN

Collegeville, MN

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Photo by Lance Swanke

Rites of spring

SJU designated hitter Steve Ebinger took a swing against Augsburg during Tuesday's doubleheader. The Johnnies lost the first game 8-5 and won the second 4-3. Story p. 18.

Senate wants Thull out

By Tom Johnson

At its March 29 meeting, the '86-87 St. John's Senate (SJS) passed a motion to remove Janine Thull, joint director of student activities, from her position as advisor to the senate. In follow-up action last Sunday, the newly-elected '87-88 SJS appointed a committee to establish criteria for selecting a new advisor. As the situation currently stands, there is disagreement about Thull's status with the organization.

Thull responded to the SJS action by saying, 'That's a complete joke. I'm amused by it anyway." She added, "As far as I'm concerned, I'm still their advisor."

Dave Creen and Mike West, SJU seniors and '86-87 SJS members, were authors of a letter that lead to the motion to remove Thull. The letter states that Thiill's position in the administration causes problems for the SJS. 'The senate should be independent of relating to any one particular administrator except the President. This proposal emphasizes the fact that we are not a subcommittee to anyone. For the Senate to be viewed' as an autonomous body, we need an advisor that is not directly associated with the administration," the letter stated.

The letter continues and outlines several specific instances in which Creen and West

Power plant will stop burning garbage

By Bob McGarry

The SJU power plant will no longer be burning garbage as a source of fuel, according to Gordon Tavis, OSB, SJU treasurer and director of grounds and buildings, who oversees the plant. Garbage had been used up until approximately three weeks ago as a fuel to produce steam which, in turn, was used to heat many parts of SJU and the Abbey. Tavis explained that the garbage would be replaced by wood scrap bought from wood products manufacturers in the St. Cloud area.

Reasons behind the change are multiple, Tavis said. 'There are so many reasons that we don't want to confuse anybody by telling them there is one reason." Tavis would not give any specific reasons, saying only that at this time "it seems to our advantage to discontinue."

Tavis did emphasize that the decision was not made to comply with any state or federal regulations. "We're not out of compliance on anything," he said, adding that the decision was made last week.

The incinerator which burned the garbage has been undergoing annual maintenance for the past month, and garbage has not been burned during this process. Tavis said that up until that point approximately 40 tons of garbage were burned per day to help produce steam. Of that, about 1.5 tons were from the University and Abbey, with the remainder being hauled in by independent garbage collectors from the area. The collectors paid SJU to bum their garbage.

An April 2 letter sent by Tavis to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency asked the agency to have the incinerator reclassified. "With this letter we are formally asking to be de-rated as a solid waste incinerator and to be reclassified as a wood burning boiler." If possible under the new classification,     the     power     plant     plans

to continue to bum waste from academic buildings and dorms, and has asked for authorization to burn up to two tons per day.

The incinerator will require no alteration in equipment to implement the burning of wood. The power plant has four coal burners, one oil burner and one incinerator which are all used to produce steam used for electricity and heating throughout the campus. Tavis has calculated that the plant will bum about 30 tons of wood per day.

The financial implications of the change will be small according to Tavis. While losing revenue on the garbage and having to purchase the wood scrap, he expects a large savings  in hauling  expenses  because

the burning of garbage creates a great deal of ash while wood does not. "We think we're almost in a break even situation," Tavis said.

After the maintenance process is complete the power plant will begin wood burning while waiting for action by the agency on ^classification. Under-their current classification, the incinerator is authorized to bum wood. Tavis said, however, the request for the reclassification was not an attempt to make any kind of statement. Tavis asked that SJU be "quietly removed" from the incinerator listing and also said in the letter that SJU planned to make no public announcement concerning the decision.

Photo by Paul Jusinski

The power plant has decided to stop using garbage as fuel for their Incinerator. The decision was made last week.

feel that Thull's actions have been problematic. According to the letter, Thull contracted with Stellar Productions, a company that will arrange for bands to play at several of next year's dances. West said, "We're upset about not being consulted."

In the letter, Creen and West also claim that Thull is "biased towards certain clubs" and that "there is a misconception that she can bypass the Joint Constitution Board (now Club Board) and pass or reject constitutions on their own." Specific incidents were highlighted regarding AKS and KSJU.

In addition, according to the letter, Thull has designated certain SJS-sponsored evenis to be alcohol-free without consulting the SJS. The letter states, "When the Senate organizes an event they should be the ones to decide if and when they will not have alcohol."

In response to these allegations, Thull said, 'There are so many inaccuracies, it's useless for me to respond to those. I wish they would have checked some details."

"86-87 SJS President Ray Benning, SJU senior, called Creen and West's letter "shortsighted" and said that the allegations "could have been dealt with in a meeting with the individuals involved." He added, 'The information they based the allegations on is still in question. It's a matter of who you believe."

Roman Paur, OSB, SJU vice president for student affairs, Thull and several other senators have expressed concern over the method used by Creen and West to handle the situation. Greg Fricderichs, SJU senior and '86-87 SJS member, said, "Overall it's a

SJS

continued on page 4

Chinese studies set for fall

By Richard Westall

In the fall semester of 1987, the SJU/CSB program in Chinese Studies will begin. The program is the result of an agreement between SJU/CSB and the Southwest China Teachers University (SWCTU).

The program will be implemented in the coming school year, and an- international study program at SWCTU is planned for fall semester '88. Robert Spaeth, dean of the college of arts and sciences, said, "The Chinese Studies program is meant to round out the programs offered by SJU/CSB, which currently address mainly issues in Western civilization."

This fall a teacher from SWCTU will teach two courses at SJU/CSB. The teacher will conduct the "History of China" (HI 109) course, which covers the political, social and cultural history of China, will also lead a thematic humanities course, "Contemporary China" (HUM 351). This class will be concerned with the latest developments in certain areas, e.g. the family, the arts and United States/China relations.

Other courses in the Chinese studies program will also be offered this fall. Telan Hu, OSB, assistant professor of academic skills center, will teach a course in elementary Chinese (MCL CHI 111).

Chinese studies

continued on page 7