Tax levy helps fund
construction projects
Because of Westark s need for
increased facilities, four construction projects are currently underway and a fifth will begin soon, Dr.
Ben Whitfield, acting college president, reported October 3.
Presently, the 50th street parking lot is being refmished, basic
groundwork for a new fine arts
building adjacent to the student
union and the existing fine arts
building is being laid, new tennis
courts are being built, and a lighting system is being raised.
Construction of an addition to
the gym will begin soon.
In Student Union
Voting machine being displayed
V o t i n g machines have been
placed in W e s t a r k ' s Student
Union and in the Sebastian
County courthouse by the Fort
Smith League of Women Voters.
The voting machines are on display for the people of Sebastian
County to become acquainted
with how they function.
" W e are hoping to obtain a
favorable vote in the '74 election.
To secure this we are encouraging
the voters 18 and over to participate in this election," said Ms.
Floy Looper, a member of the
League of Women voters. She
went on to say, " W h i l e the
machine is here, Westark will be
able to conduct opinion polls, surveys or mock elections."
The League of Women Voters
believe there is a need in having
voting machines in this county.
Thev are working for the passage
of the use of these machines in the
Sebastian County area. Today
there are only twelve counties in
Arkansas that are using voting
machines. Frequently the votes of
Sebastian County are counted last
in state and national elections.
In 1970 the people of Sebastian
County had voted against having
voting machines placed in this
county. She felt that there wasn't a
need for these machines, some
didn't know how to operate one
correctly; also others felt these
machines were too expensive.
"In the future these machines
will be used in major & minor elections; also there will be someone to
demonstrate these machines if the
people of Sebastian County pass
the bill," concluded Ms. Looper.
loted to individuals by the government.
The committees are even required to approve the repair or
purchase of a new appliance such
as a radio or window, according to
Dr. Fernandez.
Work on the parking lot is progressing well, considering the recent rainy weather, Dr. Whitfield
stated.
A s soon as the underground
structures for the new building are
in and the base coat for the parking lots is put down, students can
resume parking there.
Depending on the weather, this
should be within a few weeks, he
estimated.
Later in the year the parking lot
will be closed again to allow the
final coat to be laid.
The lot should be finished near
the end of the year, he reported.
Beginning October 15, bids will
be taken for construction of the
new fine arts building. The building is scheduled for completion in
the fall semester, 1975.
Also, the present fine arts building will undergo remodeling.
Tennis courts to be used by the
physical education department,
the Boy's Club, and the general
public will be completed in April.
The courts near the gym have
been plowed under to make room
for the new courts.
Because of inadequate campus
lighting at night, a lighting system in the existing parking lots
and along the sidewalks is being
installed.
It will be operational "within a
very short time," Dr. Whitfield
stated.
To provide more dressing and
storage facilities, faculty offices,
and a weight training room, an
addition to the gym will be ready
for use by April, 1975.
The L-shaped structure will extend around the north and west
sides of the gym.
According to Harold Cameron,
Dean of Students, bids will soon be
taken on necessary construction
for an improved food service in the
Student Union. Starting and completion jjates for this project are
unknown at this time.
Money for the projects comes
from last year's tax levy moving
funds from operational to capital
use.
Cuban tells of Castro's government
by Sandra Curtis
" M y experience belongs to the
p a s t , " began Dr. Caston Fernandez as he revealed his former
life in Cuba.
Dr. Fernandez is presently the
head of the foreign language department at the University of Arkansas and was the guest lecturer
during last week's Fiesta Latina.
"In theory you can own a car," he
explained. "But there are none to
buy and you can buy only five gallons of gasoline per week."
Vigilante committees were organized by the Cuban government
in 1961 to keep constant watch on
" Y o u are in the hands of the system, they own y o u , " said the
former
Minister
of
Cuban
Economy explaining the government und?r Fidel Castro's rule.
those living in Cuba. There is usually one paid committee assigned
to keep watch over every two
blocks.
Dr. Ferr*indez continued by explaining that there is no freedom
in Cuba except to work, eat, and
live. However, all enterprises and
property belongs to the government. Food is also selected and al-
"Over there you are constantly
watched by the committees," Dr.
Fernandez said. "The committees
can search a person's house any
time, day or night, to be sure the
persons are not planning sabotage."
" I f a committee finds your house
lights on after 11 p.m., it is considered a counter revolution and
could result in serious punishment," he added.
In 1960-'61, Dr. Fernandez was
Professor of Economics at an univ e r s i t y in H a v a n a . He was
militarily judged and sentenced to
six years in prison for allegedly
speaking against the communist
government; however, he was released a f t e r two and one half
years. He later escaped to the United States.
A f t ea r r i v i n gin Florida by boat,
Dr. Fernandez attended the University of Miami where he obtained his master and doctorate
degrees. Soon after this he began
teaching at the University of Arkansas.
As to the time he served in
prison before escaping to the United States, Dr. Fernandez explained that although there was no
corporal punishment, there was
much hunger and a lack of space.
and only two baths per floor which
made for rather cramped quarters," he added.
Although Dr. Fernandez and his
wife were lucky enough to escape
from Castro's rule, they both have
relatives still living in Cuba. Mrs.
Fernandez has a brother, sister,
and brother-in-law still l i v i n g
there. Dr. Fernandez has an uncle
living there and also a nephew,
who has been serving time in a
Cuban prison for the past 15 years.
" T h e prison building had six
floors and the capacity to hold
about 100 prisoners per floor," Dr.
Fernandez explained.
"In Cuba, you, your family, and
your life is under constant control
and supervision," Dr. Fernandez
" H o w e v e r , we had approximately 1500 people in our building
concluded. " A 'big brother' is constantly watching."
The Collegian
AS WE SEE IT
New liquor law needed
If you are eating out in Fort Smith and want a mixed drink with
your dinner and are of age, you must be a member of that
restaurant's private club.
In most cases, a token fee will secure membership privileges
for a designated number of weeks.
In My Opinion.
In a cliche, that's getting around the law.
However, a group of Fort Smith citizens, the Economic Progress Committee, feel it would be better to use present laws to
change the law to meet the situation.
The group circulated petitions during mid-September aimed
at enacting state drinking statutes in Fort Smith. After a check
of the signatures, the petition fell short of the 4000 registered
Sebastian County voters necessary to place the resolution on
by S a n d r a Curtis
the ballot of the November 5 general election.
E a r l i e r t h i s month a W h i t e
spokesman announced that
By the statute, "liquor by the drink" could be obtained in any House
President Ford was considering
restaurant capable of serving 50 or more people at one time, or asking Congress to pass a tax act
in any hotel or motel with sleeping accommodations for 50 or which
would raise the price of
more persons.
gasoline an additional 10 cents to
Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Eureka Springs operate under 20 cents per gallon.
this law.
President Ford is expected to
During the committee's drive during the last half of Sep- make a definite decision soon on
tember, the organization had a booth in Central Mall, petitions the exact amount, if any, which
on display in several local businesses, and representatives will be added to current gasoline
collecting door-to-door. In late October, the petitions will again prices. However, the spokesman
be circulated and the booth in Central Mall reopened.
w a s not sure if the P r e s i d e n t
Unregistered eligible voters have been a stumbling-block.
According to the committee's estimations, if the law is pas
sed, the city would gain an additional $100,000 a year in tax
revenue. This is based on 5% of the August revenue of the
private clubs in Fort Smith, plus the estimated revenue of those
establishments which would qualify, plus the 10% sales tax
that the city could charge.
Also, they believe, there might be fewer, not more, drunken
drivers under their proposal.
"People bring a bottle in a bag into a restaurant," explained
Al Thonm, Economic Progress Committee member, "and they
tend to drink all they have. Instead, if they could buy by the
drink, they'd buy two or three drinks and stop."
In the committee's upcoming drive, they will have around
nine months to collect enough additional signatures to insure a
city wide vote.
With enough support in signing the petitions and in the
upcoming election they hope to secure, Fort Smith may be able
to get this archaic law out of the books. The enactment of
"liquor by the drink" would be a boost to the cities economy in
taxes and trade.
would ask for the increase since
raise his price to the public.
Instead of easing inflation, a
gasoline price increase of this type
also unadvisable.
will serve as a detriment because
the elite class will still be able to
purchase enough gasoline for their
needs, whereas the lower income
bracket will not.
add further expenses to the production; the very thing that is trying to be eliminated. Therefore,
rationing gasoline at this time is
Whereas, there is no visible solution to the gasoline situation at
the present time, it is apparent
that it would be best if the White
House staff would table the suggestion of a gasoline increase until
a later date.
President Ford's suggestion of
adding a gasoline tax stemmed
from his newly proposed economic
policy.
It is hoped that the increased
g a s o l i n e prices w i l l encourage
people to cut down on unnecessary
traveling. However, with today's
busy lifestyle it is virtually impossible not to travel.
With the present high cost of
gasoline most people have already
cut down on unnecessary travel
and many carpool whenever possible.
But for most people it is still
mandatory to drive to and from
work, especially in Fort Smith and
other small towns where there is
no public transportation other
than taxi service.
by Patricia Dickinson
Sitting relaxed in an easy chair
in his o f f i c e of d e n t i s t r y , Dr.
W a y n e L a n i e r , m e m b e r of the
Board of Trustees, explained his
views of Westark and the goals he,
as a member of the board, hopes to
see it reach in the community.
A member of the Board for the
past three years. Dr. Lanier ran
for the o f f i c e for t w o p r i m a r y
reasons.
Photo by Stephen Wood
Rationing gasoline is one alternative to the proposed plan. However, organizing a project of this
type will increase personnel and
there is an acute awareness that
the public will strongly disapprove
of such measures.
T h e possible hike in gasoline
costs would in most probability
Dr. Wayne Lanier, a member of Westark's board expresses his views concerning goals for Westark Community College.
also further inflate our economy
instead of reducing it. Because of
higher gasoline costs, the producer
would have to add more transportation expense to the cost of his
product,
thus
causing
the
wholesaler to raise his price. A s a
result, the retailer will be forced to
"First of all, my dad was a school
superintendent and my mother
was a teacher, so I was brought up
in an atmosphere dealing with
education/' Dr. Lanier said.
"Secondly,
I
believe
in
Westark's programs and I want to
help them achieve their goals."
A s one of the nine trustees of
Westark. Dr. Lanier outlined several of his chief objectives as a
Board member.
"People need to make a living
and I believe that they can achieve
a h i g h e r s t a n d a r d of l i v i n g
through education." Dr. Lanier
explained. T h e r e f o r e . I want to
To the Editor:
A f t e r reading Ms. Curtis article
on the President's amnesty plan I
was moved to write, for I also find
Ford's policy discouraging.
As a result of the American policy in Viet N a m there were many
people who left this country to
avoid persecution for their resistance to a war that they could not,
in good conscience, contribute to.
W h y not let the resisters return
with no strings attached? Would
that "make a mockery of the United States and her belief in 'freedom and justice for a l l ? " Would it
" m a k e a mockery of those who
fought and died in Viet N a m " ? I
think not. History has already
proven that we were indeed fools
to be there in the first place. And of
those who died? Their lives have
been made a mockery of by being
so pitifully wasted by a government who sent them to die in Viet
Nam's war.
m a k e W e s t a r K an institution
w h i c h has a n e m p h a s i s on the
community, so that the people of
this community can obtain a better life through the programs it
offers."
cal and it strives to upgrade the
people of this area."
In regard to Westark as an educational institution. Dr. Lanier
said, " I have no hang-ups about
W'estark; I believe it is a model
community college. It's economi-
The war is over. The dead died
unnecessarily. Will we continue to
defend our involvement there by
requiring restitution from those
who saw through the American
W a r Machine? Perhaps the resistance to amnesty, of any sort, may
stem from the fact that by leaving
the country the resisters make
those of us who stayed to finance,
support, and fight that war look a
little more foolish than we already
do.
Keepin' on,
Dan Miller
" I believe that the university
parallel program is well established, and the community service
program will continue to expand.
However, I would like to see the
technical program grow further to
accomodate the deeds of the area,"
Dr. Lanier concluded.
October 11
The Collegian
by Doug Carson
Just as the office of President
of the United States molds itself
to the man and the times, so
acts the office of President of
Westark Community College.
Recently a p p o i n t e d acting
president, Dr. Ben Whitfield's
office is small with a blueprints
covered table in one corner and
a desk cluttered with papers.
Between answering incoming
p h o n e calls he d e t a i l e d his
views on his new j o b and the
future of Westark.
" W h a t innovations, if any, do
you intend to bring to the presidency?" I asked.
Dr. Whitfield, w h o is redhaired, tall and solid looking,
leaned back in his swivel chair,
c l o s i n g his e y e s w h i l e he
thought. His eyes have many
wrinkles around them.
"The
president
himself
makes the role to a certain extent," he answered, "but it is
also dictated to a certain extent
by the responsibilities of office."
"The role is a changing one,"
he continued, "because a community c o l l e g e is
always
changing. These changes reflect the changing needs of the
community."
However, he anticipates no
major personnel or p r o g r a m
alterations in the near future.
Much of his immediate plan
is d i r e c t e d at the p h y s i c a l
Westark Happenings
SNEA holds conference, hayride
by Sandra Curtis
At a press conference here, September 25, Ken Coon, Republican
candidate for governor announced
that his major platform for his
campaign and if elected will be to
clean up dirty campaigning.
"We've got to restore confidence
in the people to become interested
in government again," the gubernatorial candidate said explaining
his platform.
Coon, a former Westark Community College teacher, is facing
Democratic candidate, David
Pryor, for the governorship.
"Our greatest need in government today is honesty," said Coon
in a speech given to Westark students and faculty prior to his press
conference.
"Some of our laws invite dishonesty by the very way they are
structured," Coon added. "In order
to eliminate possible corruption,
we must find these structural
flaws and correct them."
"The outdated limit on salaries
of our county officials is a good example of dishonesty by invita-
tion," he explained.
When questioned about today's
difficulty of meeting higher educational expenses, Coon stated that
he intended to do nothing to ease
the difficulty of obtaining funds.
"Anyone who wants a higher
education can find a way to obtain
the money," he expalined. "One
way to do this is to work part
time."
About his opponent's chance of
winning the election, Coon declined to answer saying only that
what he thought was his opinion.
Coon listed three reasons for
seeking the Arkansas governorship.
"I decided to run. . .because I believe in competition in government, I have a deep concern for
people, and my positive conviction
that we can suceed in creating the
kind of world the majority of us
want," he concluded.
Coon was born in Texas and
raised in Louisiana. He attended
Northeast Louisiana State College for one year prior to enlisting
in the United States Air Force.
He then resumed his education
at Louisiana Tech where he
graduated Magna Cum Laude
upon receiving his B.S. dgree. He
later obtained his M.S. degree
from Utah State University.
Page 4
by Wes Kaundart
Basketball at W e s t a r k Community College is entering a new
era with new head coach Gayle
Kaundart and assistant coach Jim
W y a t t at the controls.
Adding to this era is the addition of 11 new recruits and a renewed support from the people of
western A r k a n s a s and eastern
Oklahoma.
Through the sale of season reserve tickets and contributions,
the support of Lion fans has added
over $18,000 to the Lion Athletic
program.
A l s o , m a n y needed improvements on the gymnasium have
been made.
A pleased K a u n d a r t
stated,
" T h e face lifting of the gymnasium
with the new public address system, the new blue and white court
markings, two new square glass
b a c k b o a r d s , and t h e t w o
Photo by Stephen Wood
new
Coaches Kaundart and Wyatt take a break from routine basketball practice to
watch the Lion baseball team in action.
clocks have greatly improved the
By T e r r y D o u g a n
W h a t is R u g b y ? R u g b y is a
british invention. It contains aspects of American-style football,
hockey, basketball and soccer.
Rugby games are of 30 or 45 minute halves, with 5 minutes rest
between, the basic difference "between the Union ( a m a t e u r ) and
League (professional) game being
that the amateurs use 15 men on a
team, while the professional combination is limited to 13. Huddles
are not permitted in either game.
" T i m e out" is limited to 3 minutes and is permitted only when
a serious injury has happened. If
the player cannot continue, he is
removed from the game. No substitutions are permitted. The team
must play short handed if a player
is removed.
The rugby ball, somewhat like
the A m e r i c a n football, is oval.
However, it is flatter and rounded
at the ends and more difficult to
throw, but easier to dropkick accurately.
Forward passing is not allowed
and neither are blocking and interference. N o t e a m m a t e is allowed to be ahead of the man possessing the ball. The players are
a l l o w e d to w e a r l i g h t w e i g h t
equipment of shorts and padded
jerseys, similar to soccer uniforms.
Play is not stopped for downs
when the ball-carrier is tackled.
W h e n t a c k l e d he m u s t immediately release the ball, which
is then put in play by the first man
who reaches it. He kicks it on the
ground.
Deliberate kicking of the ball on
the ground is permitted and often
is considered a good s t r a t e g i c
move. There is much more lateral
passing in rugby than in American football. The ball usually, is
passed underhanded often with
both hands. The laterals and frequent kicking are the outstanding
features of the g a m e , t o g e t h e r
with its fast pace.
In rugby a try counts 3 points, a
conversion after a try counts 2 additional points, a goal from a free
kick or penalty kick is 3 points, a
d r o p k i c k e d goal o t h e r w i s e obtained counts 3 points. The field
has a width of 75 yards and is a
maximum of 110 yards in length.
Gary
Adams,
captain
of
Westark's Rugby team, describes
rugy as "a social g a m e " where
players on both sides know each
other. On the other hand football
is more of "a physical g a m e " where
friendships usually are not made.
Members on Westark's Rugby
team are: Mark Bolin, Jon Brown,
A n g i e Bunda, Jim Burns, Cecil
Carney, Ronnie Cassanova, David
Collier, Mark Conrady, Gary
Davis, Steve Gist, Frank Gramlich, John Joyce, Gerry D. Langstan, Robert McAdams, T o m m y
McClung, Kirk Martin, Mark
Meyers, Bruce Miller, Kelly Miller, Carl Moore, John Moreland,
Hal S m i t h , M i k e Sun, R o n n i e
Warlick, Tom Wisner, and Brian
Wooten-Wooley.
Five years ago there was only
one rugby team in the state of Arkansas. Today there are five confirmed teams. Other teams are in
the process of trying to get underway.
According to Gary, it takes a lot
of money to start a rugby team,
which W e s t a r k needs; support
from the fans, which Westark's
rugby team needs more of; and
also a group of interested guys who
love to play rugby football which
Westark already has.
T h e rugby team hopes to leave
Westark with a well-rounded
program which will attract football athletes to play rugby at Westark.
" W e are s e e k i n g school aid
which is needed desperately. This
aid would help take care of the financial burden such as telephone
bills, gas to the away games and
the equipment," said Gary.
He went on to say if anyone is
interested in playing on the team
they should come by the Student
Activities office.
" W e have practice Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. at Kimmons J u n i o r H i g h School and
Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Our home
games are played on Sundays at
2:00 p.m.," he concluded.