Page Two
THE HONORABLE WAY
Recently, there has been considerable speculation concern
ing the ethical standards of college students in general, and
Penn State students in particualr. A discussion of this matter
was conducted on February 21-22, during the regional
O. S. G. A. Conference held at the Scranton Center. Some of
the points discussed were academic dishonesty, disregard for
the rights and property of others, and personal codes or stand
ards in regard to drinking, cheating, and other items.
Naturally, it is difficult to discuss such matters, let alone
try to institute a code or honor system which would attempt
to regulate or at least alleviate their occurrence. For one thing,
no one cares to be told how to act. We all have our own stand
ards,, our own conception of what is ethically good and ethi
cally bad, or what is morally right and morally wrong. We all
feel ourselves mature, intelligent adults. But, I would like to
say, in support of the O. S. G. A.’s attempt, that even adults
must have regulation. The laws of our society, for instance,
were put there for the express purpose of setting a concrete
base on which all men could build their own ideas of right and
wrong and have a clear understanding of the line that divides
the two. So, too, with a code of ethics. Not only would students
have a clearer picture of what is expected of them morally, but
they’d be able to have a reference to use in order to preserve
the morals of others. For example, not only would one refrain
from cheating himself, but by establishing this code, he would
deter others from cheating from him.
Naturally, as I said before, it will be quite difficult to es
tablish such a code. The honorable way is always the hard way,
the stow, self-sacrificing way, in contrast to the fast and easy
paith of dishonor. The honorable way is all too often the old
fashioned and antiquated way in relation to our accelerated,
■liberal age. To my mind, it is a fine, courageous attempt on the
part of the 0. S. G. A. to encourage the establishment of a code
of elthios. It seems to me a fresh and invigorating step away
from the smog of hazy scruples and lackadaisical morality.
We should all laud their effort to encourage them toward
success in establishing their ends.
It’s my opinion that in order to live in the world today, in
order to live with one another, we all 1 must develop a sense of
deep responsibility toward ourselves and our fellow man. Men
no longer walk alone. They influence and, in, turn, are affected
by others. How can we, as men, conquer the tyrannies, injus
tices,, and wrongs surrounding us, if we cannot first become
masters of our own actions ? To bring this idea of ethical re
sponsibility into more familiar terms, I’d like to cite this ques
tion : Would you want a doctor who cheated his way through
school to operate on you? I assume the majority of answers
would be a resounding, “no!”
Of course, the example above was a little extreme, but the
fact remain® that college i® not the place to ignore, but, rather,
to encourage and enhance the practice of responsibility and to
bring dignity and respect to the individual, now, as well as in
the future. It’s a small start, this idea of a code of honor, but,
it seems to me, a very good one.
Hlghacres Collegian
"HAZLETON CAMPUS’ OWN NEWSPAPER”
Published by the Journalism Club of the Hazleton Campus
of the Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton, Pennsylvania
.. Kathy Botchick
Phil Jefferies
Janet Mihal
Carmen Lombardo
Noreen Keytar, Cheryl Fedullo, Anita Augustine
Joe Broyan, Tony Sulkevick, Joe Lucia, Tony Genarro,
Carol Yurkovic, Karen Kreitzberger, Marcia Juda,
Carmen Lombardo,
Faculty Advisor
Editor
Assistant Editor and Photographer ...
Assistant Editor ...
Sports Editor
Typists
Staff
EDITORIAL
STAFF
HIGH ACRES COLLEGIAN
Mr. Thomas Price
The Surgeon General's Report
On Smoking and Health
By CARMEN LOMBARDO
To smoke or not to smoke —that
is the question. j
For the past several decades,
there has been increasing interest
in the effects of tobacco on health.
The climax of a phase of these
studies came with the publishing
of a report on “Smoking arid
Health” by the Advisory Commit
tee to the Surgeon General of the
Public Health Service.
The Committee made the fol
lowing jurgment: “Cigarette
smoking is a health hazard of suf
ficient importance in the United
. States to warrant appropriate re
medial action.”
Several specific conclusions and
findings by the Committee are
listed below, along with some
background information. ,r
Lung cancer deaths rose from
less than 3,000 in 1930, to 41,000
in 1962. Deaths froiri Arterioscle
rotic, coronary, and degenerative
heart disease rose from 273,000 in
1940, to 578,000 in 1962. Deaths
caused by chronic bronchitis and
emphysema rose from 2,300 in
1945, to 15,000 in 1962.
Cigarette consumptions has in
creased from 50 cigarettes per
year per person, at the turn of the
STUDENT POLL
Question: Do you feel a
woman could ever become
President of the United
States?
Carmen Lombardo sth Term
Foreign Relations:
I feel a woman could become
President, but not in this country.
Women have only too recently re
ceived the political and social
rights which were formerly only
held by the male population. The
stigma of inferiority, especially in
political matters, still weighs
heavily on the female. I believe
it will be several generations until
this historical feeling of political
inferiority has worn off through
the educational process. Only then
would it be possible for a woman
to be president.
Mr. David Oden History and
Political Science Instructor
She could become President be
cause the female population is
higher and could swing the vote.
However, women tend to vote for
male candidates. They like to have
a male symbol to respect, for in
stance, Kennedy. Men are leader
symbols, whereas women are more
domestic.
March 18, 1964
century, to 3,986 per person in
1961. Cigar and pipe smoking de
clined during this same period.
The Committee founded their
evidence on three main points:
(1) animal experiments, (2) clin
ical and autopsy studies, and
(3) population studies.
The Committee found that cig
arette smoking is a causal factor
in lung cancer, chronic bronchitis
and emphysema, Arid cardiovas
cular diseases. Evidence also ex
ists that smoking is a causal
factor in cancer of the larynx and
esophagus and, perhaps, the uri
nary bladder in men. Smoking
also affects other coriditioiis as
peptic ulcers, tobacco ariiplyopia,
cirrhosis of the liver, accidents,
and infant birth weight.
Reaction to the report has been
world-wide. England is preparing
to ban ’smoking commercials;
Italy, where it was already illegal
to advertise cigarettes, is plan
ning to curtail national consump
tion still further.
Closer to home,’ some colleges
(Bloomsburg, for example) have
voted to remove cigarette vending
machines from the campuses.
I don’t know about you, but
would someone care to help a will
powerless writer to quit smoking?
Janet Astleford 2nd Term
Home Economics:
No, because women are basi
cally dependent. Although a
woman would probably be able to
command respect of her male
counterparts, men would not be
willing or able to succumb to the
dominance of a woman.
James Scarcella sth Term
Business
If she’s beautiful, I’d vote for
her. It’s possible because women
are constantly invading a world
dominated by men. If a Woman
were qualified, I would vote for
her.
Rich Kauffman sth Term
E.E.T.:
Certainly, there’s nothing in the
Constitution that prohibits it.
There are some women who are
better politicians than men. If she
had the requirements and out
standing qualifications, there is no
reason why it wouldn’t be pos
sible.
Mary O’Donnell sth Term
Business:
No, women are too emotional.
A country needs a man as a
leader, strong and capable of
making decisions. Women seem
more interested in women’s
things; their place is in the home.
Besides, the country wouldn’t back
a woman for President.
(Continued on Page Four)