Highacres, not perfect ...but trying By Jerry Trendy, Jr. Just by reviewing some problems at the Hazleton Campus, it would be easy to say that Highacres is far from perfect. We can find an encyclopedia full of pro blems to complain about here on campus. First of all it takes an alpine hiker, to attend here, but that issue is old hat. This time, there are some new things to complain about, like the dorm lot. After last month's continuous assault of snowstorms, it took either a bulldozer or snowmobile to get out of that par ticular lot, but in all fairness to the maintenance department, the other lots and roads were cleared. This includes the new parking lot by the gym, which is of little use to students anyway judging by the bi weekly ticketing of security. Did you ever look to see what time it is on campus? Well, few if any of the rooms in Classroom Building have clocks, South Building appears to be the same way, and the gym too is lost in this Highacres' time zone. But at least the brass in the front office have the bells ringing every 15 minutes. This is fine unless you are at a location on campus where the bells cannot be heard, or unless you are deaf. When it comes to the South Building, the Collegian staff can speak from experience, since the Collegian of fice is in this building. South Building is designed with the most modern technology in mind—reflected in the fine cardboard walls, and placement of the electrical outlets on the ceiling. Neanderthal Man himself could not have survived the winter cold of the Collegian of fice. About every hour or so the heating pipes in the South Building bang, clamour, and gurgle until about as much heat as is given off from a burning match stick filters into the room. Then there's the garbage. For some reason the Collegian's garbage can has not been emptied since last term break. This is not to say that we at the Collegian work in a pig sty. No, not at all, we just keep the rest of the room clean while packing the garbage in the can day by day, until it ferments. Maybe we can have a party or something at the end of the year. Enough said about the South Building. There are other brilliant sites to behold on cam pus—like our beautiful new entranceway. I cannot ade quately say how Penn State proud I feel when I behold the bright lights illuminating those two alabaster walls just off Route 93. The beauty is accented as the light General Hospital still The event which attracted the most attention on campuses throughout the country last fall wasn't homecoming or tuition protests—it was the television wedding of General Hospital soap opera characters Luke and Laura. Students dressed up, cut wedding cake, decorated social halls and were appropriately angered when Laura's ex-husband Scotty showed up to spoil the hap py event. Many student unions, residence halls, and student groups sponsored their own celebrations. Ohio State University officials took the General Hospital craze one step further, making the annual Michigan- Ohio State football weekend a "Love in the Afternoon" celebration, complete with a visit from two General Hospital cast members (not Luke and Laura, who were presumably on their honeymoon). Some campus newspapers couldn't help chiding ABC television and General Hospital writers for romanticizing a relationship that started when Luke raped Laura. And the Syracuse University student Utcpia ll. catches the various shades of brown on the rusting metal supporting rods protruding from the two walls. These are things that are easy to complain about, but notice that they are all relatively*minor issues. In honesty, when it comes down to the important issues here on campus, we as students are well served . . . we have a fine, devoted faculty. A faculty that backs itself up with not only a list of credentials, but also with dedication to students, and even a show of compassion now and then. The main roads on campus are always clear even after the worst of snowstorms. Ad ministrative people, too, are more than happy to help students out with any problems. For the most part, the Student Government Association, and other clubs and organizations on campus are also doing their part. There is even talk of a campus beautification program. Things are working here at Highacres. It is easy to sit behind this desk, take a pessimistic view, and condemn everything and everyone on cam pus. But, with Spring and brighter weather ahead, it is time to take a brighter view of Penn State, and in this editorial be optimistic. number 1? newspaper cast a cynical eye on the entire spectacle by sponsoring a contest for readers to predict how long the soap opera marriage would last. Noting that such couplings rarely survive a • full season, the Daily Orange offered a case of Tab to the reader correctly guessing "when the inevitable" will happen. EDITOR'S NOTE: Now that Genie Francis, who played Laura on General Hospital has allowed her con tract to run out, avid soap fans are not likely to see her for awhile. Rumors are circulating that she will be appearing on "Fantasy Island" or even "Dynasty" in the near future, or maybe she will join the millions of college fans who tune in to the soaps every day to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars, by enrolling in a college or university herself. Time will tell and the show must go on. It will be in teresting to see if currently number-one rated General Hospital will remain at the top now that Laura is off the show. rom the editor's desk Now that publication of The Highacres Collegian is once again - a reality, we, the editors, wish to publicly take this time to apologize for the delay. Currently typesetting and publication of The Collegian is done at Milton Standard Printing in Milton, PA, which is about 75 miles north of Highacres. Foul weather is a constant threat to any organization. Our staff fell prey to "mother nature" in mid-December when this issue of The Collegian was scheduled for distribution. To somewhat relieve the pressure of publishing The Collegian in these times of ex treme bad weather, we are ex plorin4 the possibilities of alter ing our printing format. Our staff has been offered the use of the typesetting facilities at Tamaqua Area High School, which is about 15 miles to the south of the cam pus; and, at this time, we are con sidering giving this new system a try. Not only will this system facilitate and be more of a conve nience to the Collegian staff dur ing the winter, but, it will also add the possibility of publishing many more issues of this publica tion before classes conclude at the end of the Spring Term. In this , period of transition, keep in mind that The Highacres Collegian will continue to bring pertinent news, features, sports, and the like to the campus com munity until the end of May. We look forward to bringing you, the reader, many - more issues of this paper in the upcom ing months and we appreciate your continued support and cooperation. THE EXECUTIVE EDITORS
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