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Upset Lion
Recently The Collegian has
received several letters
criticizing the staff for its
coverage of certain Penn State-
Behrend events, and yes, here is
another one.
The Lady Lion basketball
team, at the time I wrote this
letter, was 16-7, the second best
record in the college's history,
and yet the coverage by Hal
Coffey in The Collegian has
been consistently negative.
After three straight losses the
Lady Lions were "slumping,"
and we do not deny or resent
this commentary. What we do
resent, however, is that the
following week, after three
straight wins, Mr. Coffey's
article was still highlighting our
losses.
In the February 4 edition, Mr.
Coffey wrote, ". . . perhaps the
ladies can eek out an NCAA
bid" and "The Lady Lions must
run the court and work inside if
this is to be a season to
remember." First of all, we
resent the term "eek". When
fourteen women and their
coaches bust their butts day in
and day out, game after game,
win or loss, "eck" is an insult.
If we receive a post-season bid -
NCAA or not - it will be the
result of hard work, not a lucky
"cek". Second, this will be a
"season to remember" whether
we receive a post-season bid or
not. The second best season
this school has ever seen is
nothing to sneeze at, and for
those of us who worked hard for
whatever record we finish with,
this will be a most memorable
season - for reasons far beyond
wins and losses.
Furthermore, in the February
11 edition, he wrote that since
our 23-4 team last year did not
receive an NCAA bid, "the
hopes for this team are slim,
but nonetheless possible."
Well, thanks Hal. "This team"
is a different team than last
year's, as is it e casz with every
other team in the nation.
Therefore, the standings, the
politics involved, the selection
committee, and every other
factor involved in the selection
process is different. If we had
not lost to Washington and
Jefferson on Saturday, our
chances for a bid this year would
not be IQ much worse than last
year that they would be "slim."
In conclusion, we do not
disagree with aij of Mr.
Coffey's remarks, and we agree
that it is his job to report our
losses as well as our wins. We
do ask, however, Hal, that in
your continuing coverage of our
season, you approach our efforts
with more enthusiasm, more
respect, and that you are better
informed. It is our hope that
next week you will be able to
"cck" out a more positive
article.
Anne Bonner
6th Semester
Communication Major
#23. Behrend Lady Lions
Letters
Get Real
Tarsha Proctor and Sadatu
Usman make many good points
in their articles which appeared in
the February 11 issue of The
Collegian. Racism exists here at
Behrend as it does throughout
American society and they are
absolutely right that "education
is the only way to combat the
problem." We all must make a
concerted effort to learn about
other cultures because when we
deny the ideas of those people
different from ourselves we deny
ourselves useful input with
which to shape the future of
American society. There is,
however, one glaring error in the
article. The error is Sadatu
Usman's definition of racism.
Ms. Usman states that "black
people cannot be racist... because
black people do not control any
institutions in this country." In
Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary, racism is defined as
"belief that race is the primary
determinant of human traits and
capacities and that racial
differences produce an inherent
superiority of a particular race."
This definition does not require
the control of government
institutions is only required if
one wishes to carry out
government policies based on
racist ideas. Exactly which
dictionary, one must wonder, is
Ms. Usman using?
Ignorance, not the control of
government institutions, is the
prerequisite needed to be a racist.
Furthermore, there is enough
ignorance to go around so that no
group is immune. Open YOUR
eyes, better yet open a dictionary,
and GET REAL!!
James D. Ruh!man
6th semester
Political Science
Math Head
Recently, I had the unfortunate
experience of having to confront
the head of the math department
over how badly our math teacher
is teaching us. We, my friends
and I wrote a list of the things
that were wrong with the class in
hopes that it could be fixed!
But instead, we got yelled at on
how we should be doing more.
How can we do more if we don't
get our assignments back in time
to study for the test or even get
help to see if we can learn to do
better?
I know I can do better if the
class is taught so that I
understand what I am to do!
Math is tough, sure, but if we
bring a complaint up against the
teacher or professor, our
complaint should be listened to.
Not ridiculed at!
All that we asked was if the
teacher could return our
homework back on time so that
if we have a problem we can get
help before we all fail the test
again!
If this is too much to ask for,
then get us a teacher who will
teach us so we understand it
instead of bothering everyone in
The Collegian
to the editor
I think it's pretty ridiculous
when we have to get help after
the test instead of before the test!
And, since when was algebra
taught as a calculus class
anyway?
Pamela Baccus
2nd semester
Business Liberal Arts
Satisfied Customer
Recently, I had the unfortunate
experience of having somebody
break into my car while it was
parked on campus. Police and •
Safety notified me after
observing the driver's window on
my car had been shattered.
My first reaction was anger,
and then frustration--frustration
that I would have to deal with the
infamous Behrend Police and
Safety. We have all heard the
horror stories about them, and
now on top of getting my car
repaired, I was going to have to
face them too.
Fortunately, the officers from
Police and Safety were very
helpful and concerned with my
needs. Officer Wayne Forcier
discovered the crime, and met me
at my car. He immediately
collected fingerprints and other
evidence. More snow was
forecast, and my car was wide
open without a driver's window,
so Forcier offered me some clear
plastic that he had to seal the
opening. In fact, he even offered
me advice on how to contact my
insurance company concerning
the incident.
Several days later I stopped by
Police and Safety and found
Officer John Harrington to be as
helpful as his colleague. I had to
be fingerprinted so that my prints
could be separated from the
thief's, and he made the whole
process as easy as possible.
All in all, I found Police and
Safety everything that they
should be and more. Although I
have heard others complain about
Police and Safety, I find myself
thanking them for being so
sincere and helpful.
Pamela Kingsbury
sth semester
Marketing
Work Harder
"... The 'highly educated
Negro Mind' tends to concern
itself with trifles rather than with
the great problems of I'fe..."
Carter Godwin Woodson
The Seat of the Trouble
As Carter G. Woodson says,
we (African-Americans) need to
stop concerning ourselves with
the small somewhat insignificant
problems that we encounter and
start concentrating on the greater
problems that we face. It does
not matter so much what the
thing is called as what the thing
is. The African-American would
not cease to be what he is by
calling himself something else,
however, if he will work hard
and make something of himself
and contribute to modern culture,
and cease to be delinquent, the
world will learn to look upon
him as an American rather than
as one of an undeveloped element
of the population.
The terminology Negro or
Black is used in referring to this
particular element because most
persons of native African descent
approach this color. The term
does not imply that Negroes are
Black; and the word white does
not imply that every white man
is actually white. African-
Americans may be colored, but
there are many Caucasians who
could be scientifically classified
as colored. WE are not all
Africans, moreover, because
many of use were not born in
Africa; and we are not all African-
Americans because very few of us
are natives of Africa transplanted
to America.
There is nothing to be gained
from running away from the
name. The names of practically
all races and nations at times
have connoted insignificance and
low social status at times.
Angles and Saxons, once the
slaves of Romans, experienced
this; and even the name of the
Greek for a while meant no more
than this to these conquerors of
the world. The people who bore
these names, however, have made
them grand and illustrious. The
African-American, Afro-
American, Black, Negro, and
Colored, must do the same.
"...The differentness of
races is no evidence of
superiority or inferiority.
This merely indicates that
each race has certain gifts
which others do not
possess. It is by the
development of these gifts
that every race must
justify its right to exist."
Carter Godwin Woodson
Sam Harris
2nd semester
Computer Science
Blacklisted
This letter is written in
response to Mau Duddy's recent
articles published in Th e
Collegian. Please note: this
letter is of my own opinions
since I am the sole author of it. I
am not questioning whether Mau
is "racist" or whether he had any
problems with who he called the
'bureaucrats" on campus. In
fact, all of us (black, white,
Hispanic, Asian, Indian, etc.) at
one point in our lives, are
accused of or will be accused of
being racist, or will have
problems with some system's
policies or rules.
What I wish to point out to
Matt and to your readers is one
particular statement from his
article, "Minority radicals". In
defense of the racist label he
received, Matt responded, "The
strange thing is that I should be
Thursday, February 18, 1993
used to this sort of silly and
childish attack." Well, I'd like
to say that for once this semester
I agree with him. I, one of the
employees at the Penn State
Behrend Bookstore, am also used
to the silly, childish, and
unresearched attacks on the
bookstore by my fellow peers,
including one of your Collegian
columnists.
One more thing. Matt's first
article, "Behrend offices charged
with Student Abuse," was a
complaint against Penn State
policy and rules, and against how
various offices handle their jobs.
In his complaints against policy
and rules, I had to wonder if he
actually knows what these
policies and rules are here at Penn
State-Behrend. In questioning the
offices on Matt's "hit list," I
discovered that he did not
interview any of them, nor did he
take any of his complaints to the
"bureaucrats" that he attacked. It
makes me wonder what he
actually did to be considered his
"research" for this article. In
fact, Cindy Pander, the
Wintergarden Cafe Supervisor,
was finally interviewed about the
Gorge's Seek bag policy
weeks rfter the fact (this was one
of Mn.t's many complaints).
And, if Matt had done his
research (as he claimed) without
interviewing the offices he
attacked, he should have
discovered that the very
newspaper he writes for
interviewed the bookstore
manager within the last two years
about the escalating price of
books.
Matt, I'd like to discuss your
sources someday, maybe in our
mythology class? It seems to me
that if you conduct proper
research, you would not have
only looked at student
complaints, but also at the
policies and rules in question
before crying "oppression".
Susan Gale
7th semester
Psychology
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