PAGE 2
Euthanasia:
By: Ben Turrano
Euthanasia is by definition,
"a pleasant and pain free death,
a mercy killing". A death that
although inevitable, is assisted
in its arrival. People suffering
from incurable and often
painful diseases choose to end
their lives when they feel that
they can no longer be
productive and while they still
have all their mental faculties
intact. In this article I will
explore the reasons for and
against euthanasia. I will begin
with the reasons for this act.
To watch a person, a friend
or especially a family member
suffer from an incurable disease
and slowly degenerate into
nothing more than a shadow of
a human being, we must
question ourselves whether this
it is moral and ethical not to
help this person end their
suffering if they so desire. After
all don’t we humans often "put
to sleep" the beloved family pet
when the time when its
suffering has no end, and don’t
we also shoot dying farm
animals to shorten their misery
and pain? We call this humane
treatment, then is it not safe to
assume that to prolong a life, a
dog, a cat, a horse, or a human,
we are doing something
inhumane? Indeed these
questions have plagued society
since the days of the ancient
Greeks, and some cultures have
even developed certain customs
and rights of passage to aid the
sick and the dying. For
example, the North American
Eskimos used to have a ritual in
which (usually an elderly
person), was removed of all
burdens and responsibilities
when the time of their death
was believed to be approaching.
They then were put on an ice
float or small iceberg and were
sent out into the ocean, where
they were believed to be "taken
from their hardships by the
gods". The Native Americans
Dr. Frankel's
"Being Gay..."
ly: Nancy Costa
A topic on the minds’ of
many people, "Being Gay In
Today’s Society", was
presented by Dr. Carl Frankel
to a crowd of over one hundred
students at 7:00 p.m., January
27 in the South Hall Lobby. Dr.
Frankel, a biology professor for
sixteen years at the Penn
State-Hazleton Campus, spoke
in an open question and answer
format addressing the following
topics: The process of "coming
out," gays having children, why
people are gay, gays in the
military, "parental acceptance"
also had a similar custom which
involved an elderly person,
believing that they had lived a
full life and their death was
near, would bid farewell to
their family members and
friends and go out into the
wilderness to die. These are
only two examples of cultures
who believed that integrity and
usefulness meant everything to
the lives of its people. Most of
these people wanted to die
while they still retained their
honor and their strength so that
the living would remember a
whole person as opposed to a
frail whisper of a person.
There are two kinds of
euthanasia, which are known as
active and passive euthanasia.
Active euthanasia is best
described as direct intervention
in the prolonging of a life, a
direct administration of a lethal
dose of medication with or
without a patients consent, or a
mercy killing as is the case with
"putting something to sleep".
Passive euthanasia is more
commonly known as "pulling
the plug" or to be more
specific: the discontinuity of all
extraordinary means of
preserving life. This passive
form is said to be more legal,
moral, and ethical in its action.
Both forms of euthanasia have
the same result though death.
Life, all life, has value and
has the equal right to live,
procreate, learn, and at such
time as is appointed by nature
and by God all life must die.
Here begins the down side of
euthanasia. We as human beings
have unquestionable domination
over all other lower animals.
This has been set forth in the
book of Genesis in the Bible.
However, nowhere in any
religious book does it state that
humans may appoint themselves
superior to all other life forms
including to other human
beings. We are by destiny
supposed to be the caretakers of
this precious Earth and of its
inhabitants, which is probably
why we can formulate solutions
to problems overcome our faults
and do many other
of his being gay, and the
intriguing question of, "how did
he know he was gay?"
Dr. Frankel has made this
presentation for the past few
years and does so to clarify any
misinformation about
homosexuals, as a form of
therapy for himself, and to let
anyone still "in the closet"
know there is another
homosexual on campus to talk
to.
Hazleton Collegian
» « «
What It is and Why It’s So Controversial
extraordinary things that other
species cannot. Why then do we
choose to kill each other in
wars instead of combining our
resources to avoid them; force
our elderly to live in isolation
for the rest of their days instead
of making their final years as
comfortable as possible; kill
unborn children instead of
bringing another life into this
world who quite possibly might
hold the answers to all these
questions?
We cannot, in our
arrogance, ask people to kill
themselves or even aid them in
the taking of their own lives
simply because we judge their
lives to be unproductive and
devoid of value. I know of a
woman, who last year at this
time was told her cancer could
be treated no further and would
die within sixth months. What
if her family coerced her into
ending her life with dignity at
that point rather than enduring
the pain that was to come?
What if a doctor, in the dark of
night, and at the request of the
patients family, administered a
lethal dose of medication to that
patient with the hope that it
would eliminate days of untold
suffering? No one has the
answers to these questions
because that woman decided she
wanted to live for a while
longer and wanted to see the
smiles on her grandchildrens’
faces a few more times and hear
the birds chirping outside
kitchen window a while longer.
The pain and suffering came
and went along with the six
months, she endured all and I
feel was rewarded with many
more wonderful experiences
she otherwise might not have
seen. Today, over one year
later, she is a living, breathing,
valuable person who has even
returned to her old job of
school teaching. She is a model
for all who feel that they cannot
go on living with pain, and
even for those of us who
complain about rather infantile
things like headaches and stuffy
head colds.
the dancers experienced
exhaustion, nausea, and
occasional hallucinations. Lori
Conway, a Hazleton dancer,
said she hallucinated that she
heard her parents’ voices and
thought it was snowing. She
said she could only see
shadows. But no matter how
strange it was, she added that
she plans to do it again next
year.
The marathon came to an
end with a final line dance.
The crowd roared during the
dance and during the final
countdown. And then they sat.
March 20, 1992
Because we cannot see our
future, we cannot deny
ourselves the possibility of
experiencing laughter, love,
happiness, and satisfaction. It is
illogical to end a life that is not
completed. It would be like
destroying your car simply
because is has a flat tire or a
spot of rust. Yes it will,
eventually, stop functioning but
who knows exactly when? Not
I, not a doctor, not anyone!
oatA
By: Ben Williams
The Organization of Computer
Related Activities (OCRA) will
be staging a computer expo on
Saturday, April 4. The
occassion will take place in the
university’s gymnasium
between 10 AM and 5 PM.
The expo will gather regional
computer establishments who
will display and sell their
computers and accessories to
the public. Companies from
the Wilks-Barre Scranton,
Allentown, Tamaqua areas will
be participating.
In other business:
—OCRA has recently published
a notice of our expo in the latest
edition of the Northeastern
Pennsylvania Amateur
Computer Club (NEPACC)
newsletter.
-The club has located open
office spaces and presently has
the office in working order in
South Hall, Room 200 (Boys’
Stairwell).
-Elections for open leadership
positions were held during the
first week of March. The
results are as follows:
President—Eric Drumbor;
Vice-President-Cris Deeter;
Secretary-Rich Williams;
Treasurer-Scott Lenker.
-For the last few weeks,
OCRA has been helping the
Collegian by organizing their
system and programming.
—OCRA will be setting up a
BBS system in our office.
Anyone interested should
contact our office at 450-3233.
—Computer disks will be on
sale starting sometime in Fall.
—New members are always
welcome. Our numbers
continually grow with more
students signing up every week.
Anyone interested should
contact our office. Any
questions about club
requirements, responsibilities,
or actives will be gladly
answered by one of the
membersjjresent.