Year in Review, Year in Review, Year in Review 1995 MARCH

As the winds of winter began to die down and the seasons started to change, reform was in the air in March. Controversy continued to surround The Red and Blue after the Student Activities Council denied the magazine funding in February. The Red and Blue obtained legal counsel and discussed the possibility of filing a lawsuit. But the issue resolved itself once SAC decided to change its funding criteria and later re-recognized The Red and Blue, taking the first step toward actually giving money to the publication. Also on the student government front, the Undergraduate Assembly spent March debating constitutional reform and preparing for elections, which occurred at the end of the month. Four referenda were placed on the UA ballot --Etwo asked for completely replacing the UA's constitution, while the other two involving electoral reform and the UA's power over the Social Planning and Events Committee. But all four failed when only 13.6 percent of eligible voters turned out to vote in the UA elections. A voter turnout of 20 percent was needed for the referenda to be binding. Also in March, the InterFraternity Council approved the reinstatement of Psi Upsilon, a fraternity that had occupied the Castle at 36th and Locust streets before being kicked off campus in 1990. Playboy magazine scoured the University looking for women to pose nude for its Women of the Ivy League Issue. Students celebrated an Ivy League champion men's basketball team for the third year in a row, but their ecstasy ended too quickly as the Quakers fell to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, that was not the least of the University's troubles during March. College junior Justin Koppel was killed in a car accident during a spring break trip in Florida. Popular English professor Gregg Camfield was denied tenure by the University. The decision came in the face of a favorable recommendation from the English Department, and drew outrage from many students. And Chaplain Stanley Johnson announced his retirement after more than 30 years at the University. While Johnson was leaving the University, Coopers & Lybrand partner John Fry was coming in, as he became executive vice president. Elevator vandalism and the annual lottery for housing dominated the lives of students living on-campus. And the arrival of a Clinique counter in The Book Store was a big hit among all University students, no matter where they lived. Also during March, a Women's Center group called White Women Against Racism came under scrutiny when the group refused to allow a black woman to participate in its event. And rapper Sister Souljah spoke at a controversial "First Amendment and Rap" discussion late in the month.

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