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Dear Editor,
I am writing in reply to the Editorial
which appeared in the October 23,
1997 issue of The Collegian. I am
not quite sure what the purpose of the
column was, it moves from an opinion
page, to last year's editorials, to
responsible journalism.
I have an issue with The Collegian
regarding all of these topics. I was
the Opinion Editor for the paper last
semester, and I resent the implication
that The Collegian staff was
"irresponsible." What you print does
reflect on the staff, but it does not
mean that the staff must hold identical
viewpoints on any subject. Each
opinion pioce I printed last semester
was chosen because it reflected a
concern that a Behrend student holds
about a particular subject. Part of the
democratic process is to distribute
ideas freely in an atmosphere of
openness. To refuse to print an
editorial because I disagreed with it
would be not only irresponsible, but
unethical.
This year's Collegian does have an
"opinion" page, but in my opinion it
is not reflective of the general student
body's concerns. Editorials from the
Washington Post and the Los Angeles
Times may be relevant and thought
provoking, but the average student
does not care about these people's
opinions. He or she is more
concerned with shat is happening at
Behrend and with the decisions made
by administration, staff, and faculty
which directly affect his or her life at
Behrend.
I feel The Collegian is not serving
the student body. The staff seems to
be afraid to report on issues
concerning the campus and to be
satisfied with using other people's
work they have taken from news
services. That is not responsible
journalism, it is using up space.
Editorally, the column was a mess.
It was filled with lies, half-truths, and
hyperbole. It was also full of
misinformation. You have already
decided that the staff from last year's
Collegian was irresponsible, yet no
one has made an attempt to interview
any former staff members regarding
these allegations. You believed what
you were told. That is not responsible
journalism.
You say you want "to hear what
students have to say, as long as they
can say it responsibly." That is nice
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rhetoric, but the last time I read the
Bill of Rights of the United States
Constitution, free speech was not
guaranteed only to those who are
responsible. Free speech is
guaranteed to all of us, even those of
us who have irresponsible viewpoints.
Sincerely,
Colleen M. Fromknecht, 08, History
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to The
Collegian's coverage (or rather, lack
of coverage) of the Penn State
Behrend Men's and Women's Cross
Country teams. Both teams ran
extremely well against nationally
ranked Edinboro on Saturday,
October 11. Eleven of the seventeen
runners who competed ran their best
races of the season, if not the best
races of their whole running careers.
Yet there was no article highlighting
these accomplishments in The
Collegian. The Collegian chose to
publish the Cross Country results in
the "Scoreboard" section instead,
citing only the performances of the
top three finishers for the women's
team and the top four finishers for the
men's team. The top five runners
from each team score in Cross
Country races. Why weren't at least
the top five runners mentioned?
This is not the first time the Cross
Country teams have heen slighted
with coverage. The Collegian failed
to recognize the Athlete of the Week
in the October 2, 1997 issue. This just
happened to be the week that a Cross
Country runner, Mark Huether, was
honored for his excellent performance
at the Alfred Invitational. In fact,
there was no article about the Cross
Country teams in that issue at all.
There have never been photographs
of volleyball teams in almost every
issue. It is more difficult to
photograph the Cross Country teams,
as most races aren't on campus.
However, The Collegian could have
taken pictures during the Behrend
Cross Country Invitational, during
practices, or could have even sent a
camera to some races. I realize there
is limited space in The Collegian, but
there always seems to be enough
room for huge political cartoons and
advertisements to recruit Collegian
writers.
Two different area television
stations recently highlighted Behrend
Cross Country runners in their
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evening news programs. If our
runners are newsworthy enough for
television, why aren't we good
enough the The Collegian?
Sincerely,
Sandra Mishic, 07, Biology
Dear Editor,
A few weeks ago an article
appeared in the Daily Collegian from
University Park regarding Behrend's
issue of Prayer at graduation. The
issue on this campus needs to be
addressed once more. A public
university which admonishes against
discrimination and proclaims that it
stands for diversity and then turns
around and has a very focused prayer
at graduation ceremonies needs some
realignment. In 1992 University Park
and all other Commonwealth
Campuses (save Behrend) ceased
ministerial prayer at graduation. Then
Behrend changed their practice to
allow students to lead the prayer. This
does not address the issue as a
majority of the prayers (now and then)
have been Christian. We have a small,
but recognizable Jewish organization
on campus, individuals who practice
non Judeo- Christian religions, and
those who do not have any religious
convictions. These students are made
to feel uncomfortable at their own
graduation as no prayer can be
stretched to fit their religious
convictions appropriately.
The suggestion, therefore, is that
perhaps a separate Baccalaureate
service be held. This does not mean
that the students who choose to attend
this service will not march at the
regular graduation ceremony. This
simply is a means by which those
students who wish to express their
gratitude in a religious manner will
have the opportunity to do so in
addition to attending the regular
ceremony. Therefore, those students
who do not wish to have any type of
religious message expressed at their
graduation will not have to feel
uncomfortable at being forced to
listen to that which they do not
espouse.
Penn State strives to teach its
students tolerance and yet it
perpetuates the problem by ignoring
the non-Christian population of its
student body.
Jessica Mann, 03, History
China Rising:
America Paying
Attention?
By Robert G. Kaiser—(c) 1997, The
Washington Post
BEIJING - China returns to the Ameri
can consciousness this week. President
Jiang Zemin arrives Sunday in Hono
lulu to begin a state visit and, for the
next six days, China's colorless leader
will travel around the country with re
porters and television cameras trailing
behind him. Jiang will be pressed to
explain his government's policies on
human rights and Tibet, he'll encoun
ter angry American protesters and he'll
toast President Clinton at the White
House - all media events that may ob
scure the main story: The startling new
China that Jiang represents.
Americans were transfixed by China
for a time a generation ago, when Ri
chard Nixon finally raised the curtain
to let the United States look into the
Middle Kingdom. But we seem to have
averted our gaze, especially after the
brutal suppression of student protests
in Tiananmen Square in 1989. While
much of America has not been really
noticed, China has transformed itself.
A reporter exposed to this new China
for the first time has the urge to grab
his countrymen by the lapels and
shout: Pay closer attention!
Isolated facts about China's transfor
mation are familiar. It's then experi
ence of seeing it whole that is startling.
In the past eight
years, China has cre
ated a novel form of
nearly-market
economy that has
doubled its gross na
tional product. In the
'9os, it has been the
most successful de-
veloping economy in the world, grow
ing at a dizzying 10 percent a year.
The violence in Tiananmen Square
implied a return to rigid communist
orthodoxy, but the reality here is any
thing but orthodox. Instead of salut
ing a party line, government officials
argue openly about fundamental issues
of policy and strategy. Some speculate
about a future in which the Chinese
Communist Party has only ceremonial
or social functions.
On the humming streets of Shanghai
and Beijing, young women in mini
skirts and jazzy makeup show off in
dividualistic style. Chinese rock
groups mimic the moves of American
hip-hop artists in videos shown on of
ficial Chinese television. Private busi
ness is thriving and making some Chi
nese rich. Chinese who fled the coun
try because of Tiananmen and its im
plications are coming back by the
thousands, many carrying American
green cards as personal insurance poli
cies, but now eager to participate in
their country's revival.
This new China is remarkably re
laxed in its now-extensive dealings
with the foreign devils that commu
nist propaganda once denounced. It is
shrewdly welcoming Japanese and
Western capitalists to help turn a bar
ren socialist wasteland into a consumer
society - at the high end, a lavish and
indulgent consumer society. Big Mac
attack? No problem, as the Chinese
like to say - 37 McDonald's now in
Beijing. Cell phones? They, too, are
now übiquitous. Motorola Corp.,
which has sold most of them, is ship
ping profits out of China in bushel
baskets. Internet connection? Edward
Tian, a Chinese citizen, Texas Tech
graduate and former resident of Dal
las, can help. His company, an Ameri
can form named Asiainfo, is building
the "backbone" of connections that
will bring the Internet into cities be
yond the capitals of all of China's 30
provinces, where customers can al
ready sign on with a local phone call.
(Tian cannot, however, evade the con
trols the Chinese government still im
poses, routing every Internet account
in the country through choke points at
the Ministry of Post and Telecommu
nications, which can block access to
Web sites around the world considered
undesirable - block them in ways that
a resourceful computer operator can
easily evade.)
The city of Shanghai is the extreme
example of China's transformation. It
is a city of 17 million souls. Ten per-
Thursday, October 30, 1997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page
cent of them are construction workers
participating in what must be the
world's biggest building boom. The
construction workers are peasants
from the countryside, many of whom
never earned a cash wage before com
ing to the big city. Now they earn about
$250 a month and work in one of three
shifts per day often seven days a week.
According to the mayor of Shanghai,
Xu Quangdi, 18 percent of the world's
construction cranes are currently op
erating in his city. Skyscrapers are
sprouting out of every neighborhood
in town.
The real wonder is Pudong, the new
eastern section of Shanghai - farmland
until 10 years ago. Driving through
Pudong now feels a little like sneak
ing a peek at the 21st century, with
scores of office towers of 30, 50, 60
and - soon - even 95 stories climbing
out of the old fields. The 95-story
building will be the tallest anywhere.
Pudong already has 3 million residents
in its proliferating apartment blocks,
and will absorb millions more. In the
outlying regions of Pudong, General
Motors Corp. is building a big plant to
produce Buicks. In a few minutes driv
ing through the area last Sunday, a visi
tor passed factories for Sharp, Leica,
Whirlpool, Johnson Wax, Siemens,
Ricoh, Hitachi and Hewlett Packard.
In Shanghai and Beijing, China has
The Chinese authorities have a name
for the economic hybrid they have
created: "Socialism with Chinese
characteristics.*
attributes of what might be called a
nearly normal society. Modem artists,
whose style fits no description of so
cialist realism nor satisfies any politi
cal requirement work openly, sell their
paintings to foreigners at galleries and
make enough money to build a studio
and house in the countryside outside
Beijing. This is what the painter Su
Xinping is doing right now. His latest
works are selling at the Red Gate Gal
lery for $5,000, mostly to foreign buy
ers. A young environmental activist,
Wen 80, who edits a newspaper called
China Environment News, observed
that members of his generation once
thought politics was very important,
but now politics occupies "about 10
percent of life, because there are now
so many other opportunities."
But opportunities have their limits.
No Chinese can openly join the Ro
man Catholic Church, for example. It
is banned in China. Chinese cannot
have as many children as they would
like (most families are effectively lim
ited to one or two) or publish a book
denouncing the horrors perpetrated by
Mao Zedong, the founding father of
the People's Republic and a monster
who qualifies, with Hitler and Stalin,
as one of the 20th century's most pro
ficient murderers. China has a huge
security apparatus and no tolerance for
direct challenges to the legitimacy of
the regime. The rule of law is, as even
Chinese officials acknowledge, still a
foreign concept. There was great ex
citement recently when the Beijing
Communist Party boss was ousted for
egregious corruption, but he has yet to
be put on trial.
To be in the People's Republic of
China is to walk among the ghosts of
some of the greatest horrors of the cen
tury - especially Mao's disastrous
Great Leap Forward in the 19505, and
the Cultural Revolution that began in
1966. The society has made no effort
to come to terms with the causes or
consequences of these crusades, which
killed millions, or with the conse
quences of Tiananmen, the hundreds
who were killed, the many thousands
who later lost jobs for sympathizing
with the students. Thousands more left
China after 1989 in despair. Instead of
public discussion, those ugly episodes
have been officially obliterated from
China's history.
Nevertheless, a visiting foreigner is
repeatedly confronted by reminders of
the country's real history. A university
professor recalls 10 lost years when he
was required to teach in a remote, im-
poverished village - his part in the
Cultural Revolution, in which Mao
invoked slogans of "Greater Democ
racy" and unleashed the country's stu
dents against its intellectuals, creating
terror and turmoil. A Beijing city offi
cial lowers her voice and says firmly,
"The people of Beijing have not for
gotten 1989." A friend recalls the death
of a parent in the Great Leap, when
Mao tried disastrously to compel in
dustrialization of the country.
This history induces fear. There is still
fear in China.
The Chinese authorities have a name
for the economic hybrid they have cre- _
aced: "Socialism with Chinese charac
teristics." More accurately, it is social
ism with capitalist characteristics, like
stock markets, millionaires and a wid
ening gulf between rich and poor. And
China still has more than its share of
poor. About 200 million Chinese, most
in the countryside, still live on less than
a dollar a day.
The great growth of recent years has
been pushed by every sector of the .
economy but one - the traditional,
state-owned sector. The debts of state
owned enterprises nearly equal their
assets - in other words, they are virtu
ally insolvent. Loans from state banks
keep them afloat, loans often made on
government orders. As a result, the '
banks have huge bad debts - how huge
isn't exactly clear.
Pragmatism is in as
cendancy here, largely
because the government
has concluded that con
tinued economic
growth is the key to'
ChkFueß
perhaps to the ability of
the Chinese Communist Party to rule
the country. In the wake of Tiananmen,
the government and the populace
reached an implicit bargain: "You let ;
us get rich, and we'll let you govern,"
in the words of Wang Ruoshi, a disaf
fected former deputy editor of the
People's Daily, the party newspaper. ;
Strengthening economic reform and
continuing what the Chinese call "the i
opening" to the outside world are the
keystones of official policy.
The rise of pragmatism, blessed in;
official parlance as "Deng Xiaoping
Thought," which was enshrined in
China's constitution as official ideol
ogy by last month's Communist Party i
Congress, has put old-fashioned com
munism in a box. Jiang barely used the
term communism in his two-and-a
half-hour speech to the congress. In
stead, he emphasized growth and re
form.
Can China's boom continue, make:
the country still richer and keep the .
Communist Party in power? Perhaps.
Smart people are hard at work trying
to make this happen. The country faces
daunting problems: the danger of
banks collapsing - perhaps the most
daunting in the near term - and grim
mer still, the possibility of the sort of
economic crisis setting back so many
of its Asian neighbors this year. But
China also has formidable resources,
beginning with the talents and ener
gies of the Chinese people.
Because of its enormous size and the
economic success it has already
achieved, China seems destined to play
an enormous part in shaping the 21st
century, which is why Americans need
to pay more attention to what is hap
pening here.
So far, the United States has proven
ineffectual in its dealings with China.
Our businessmen have rushed to in
vest here, often without fully under
standing what they were doing. Some
have been badly burned. The Ameri
can government has blown hot and
cold - and in all directions since 1989,
when Tiananmen derailed Sino-
American relations. The Clinton ad
ministration has invested much more
energy in Bosnia and the Middle East
than in formulating a coherent China
policy and on Capitol Hill, China has
become a political football. Perhaps
it's time to get serious about the giant
in our Pacific neighborhood.
Kaiser is managing editor of The
Washington Post