Page Two commentary Burdening the economy By Jim Martin Executive Editor This nation's society, with a healthy, productive economy, can afford to aid its citizens or certain of their activities. The aid is possible because all or part of their cost is a general charge (taxes) against the working class. But it is obvious that no society, the United States included, no matter how strong, can aid everything. There must be some parts that function proficiently, not only to be self-supporting but to provide enough extra materials to support what the society choses to subsidize. And, as in every society, there is a limit to aiding, and a breaking point. The United States is ap proaching the point where the burden of aiding too much is becoming too great a burden for the remaining producing working class of our society. This fact cannot be ignored. It should be obvious that to levy ~r.or•—• The nt By Pamela Gilmore Collegian Staff Writer After America's victory over Great Britain in her fight for freedom, the magic of her triumph seemed to have possession over everyone. In the Northern States, free Blacks agitated and petitioned against the institution of slavery. And for awhile it seemed like America was really going to be America, the land of the free, with liberty and justice for all. The spirit of democracy was easily felt. Slavery was. dead in the Northern states and there were signs that it was in the process of dying in the South. In lieu of all of this, it seems inevitable that the men who composed the Declaration of Independence had to take into account the fact that America had been a land of people in bondage who had to fight for something which they were about to deem "the unalienable right of all mankind." Tleltrenit Calegian Oityr frtss Aaanriattnn of Olnnuninumftb atanwnsts Paul Corbran Editor-in• Chief Bob Wetmore Gay Catania Jim Martin Managing Editor Entertainment Editor Executive Editor Mary Carman Mike Kaveney News Editor Business Manager Executive Secretary: Carol Mautsch Ad Manager: Ron Strike Layout Editors: Bill Appel' Copy Editors: Amy Snyder, Katy Ferer, Jenny Suchin, Bill Appell Business Staff: Judy Reed Writers: Ron Wayne, Jay Schonthaler, Janet Mazur, Pamela Gilmore, Dan McKay, Deborah Bunting, Mary Schoen, Mary Jo Santini, Kevin Conway, Robin Buccilli. Cartoonist: Bridget Brawner Photographers: Lynn Boone, Jeff Urraro Typists: Michele Crotty, Kathy Weiser Mailing Addres- Behrend College, Station Road, Erie, Pa. 16510 Office- Student Offices, Reed Union Building Office Hours:9:3o a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday Phone: 899-3101 Ext 238 Opinions expressed by the editors and staff of the Behrend Collegian are not necessarily those of the University Administration, faculty, or the student body. Published every Thursday throughout the Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms, with exclusions for holidays and term breaks. The editorials appearing in this newspaper will be opinionated and therefore subject to criticism. All letters that are typewritten of 200 words or less, and submitted to the newspaper staff will be printed with the exception of those that are repetitions or in poor taste. The staff reserves the right to correct The Collegic►n taxes against the working class producers is impending doom and cannot be long sustained. New York City is an example of this. We are without a doubt the richest country in the world. There is no reason, if that is what the people wish, that we cannot aid many of the members and activities of the nation, as we do now. I have no inherent economic objection for the indigent or for aid to schools, hospitals or the arts. Indeed, any decent member of the working class community recognizes the wealth of im portance to support these. The question is—how much? How much can be supported? How many non-productive people, ranging from the indigent to the bureaucratic clerk, can be supported by the working people? Just how much taxation on our society can be made to cover the activities receiving aid? Our civil servants are multiplying, as do their pensions. The welfare rolls are sorrowfully Soul Of Seventy-Six With the fever of freedom raging through the air, various religious communities such as the Baptists, Quakers and Methodists adopted stands against slavery. It appeared that mankind was close to a solution to the racial dilemma once and for all. • But suddenly, everything changed_ America wasn't destined to be America quite yet_ The events which triggered these changes were two-fold. First, the Revolutionary War for in dependence (fought and won by black slaves on the French island of Haiti against the French Dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte) send shudders of fear throughout the Plantation South. Secondly, and probably more important, was the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney. With this development, all thoughts of equality and democracy were forgotten as slave labor was put to work growing and processing cotton. Member of Editorial Policy or delete portions of all letters for publication purposes. All letters must be signed, but names will be withheld upon request. Term standing, major, and hometown must be included. Signed columns represent the view of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the Editorial policy of the Behrend Collegian. Mark Reese Sports Editor Behrend Collegian soaring. Unemployment has steadily grown. New laws have been passed that allow as much as sixty-five weeks, nearly six teen months, eligibility to non produce, but qualify for unem ployment compensation. That is a long, burdensome period which the tax-paying member is slaving for! The unemployment rate for the country is 8.2 per cent. The State of Pennsylvania's rate is even higher, listed at 9 p.m. Erie County's unemployment rate is 7.8 per cent. We can not (economically) last too much longer headed in this direction, that of the "give away" economy. The economic possibility of stable productive growth, or just stability, diminishes rapidly. It diminishes rapidly because the government programs have increased until there is a $7O billion annual gap between what revenues are received and what is subsidized. And we ought to have no illusions about the peril of transgressing it. For blacks, the brief moment of hope was extinguished. In a reaction that was, and still is, difficult to understand, an entire population turned against them. And once again, a portion of America was in bondage. Next issue—The Ante-bellum South. First meeting to be held by Honor Society The Keystone Honor Society is planning its first meeting of the year for next week (publicity will be forthcoming). Keystone is a service-oriented organization that has been active both at Behrend and in the surrounding community. Some past projects have included the Cancer Drive, the annual Behrend Honors and Awards banquet, and supplying the residence halls with hoagies. The only requirement for joining Keystone is that you have a 3.0 grade average. Keystone is a worthwhile organization that needs your support. Your presence at the first meeting would be appreciated! Help yourself help others Students interested in tutoring Behrend students should register in the Student Affairs Office, second floor in the RUB. Repetition is often the necessity of communication. Many Behrend students have expressed the need for outside help, and many tutors are needed to fill the long line of requests. Let us help the in structor by helping the student. Newly-elected officers take their command By Carol Mautsch Executive Secretary The Student Government Association held its elections for officers last week. The response was promising. In the past, the student elections have had a very light response. . The results of the class presidential elections are as follows: Freshmen—Ed Mulkearn; Sophomore—Doug Roth: Junior—Jennifer Gregor; Senior—Alan Kirk. Other positions filled in the "new" SGA were: Secretary— Michelle Harding; Treasurer— letters varying viewpoints Performer Pleased Dear. Editor, I'm sitting here, - feeling good in a special way, and it's all due to Behrend's student body. Last Friday evening I played at the Coffee House and was totally amazed at the audience. First of all, there was a very good sized crowd, as there have been at the previous Coffee Houses this year. Last year, whenever I performed at Behrend -the crowd usually consisted of a table or two- -of commuters and the rest were friends that I brought with me. It's certainly a -pleasure to see a large amount of both dorm and commuting students attending and participating in the Coffee Houses this year. Not only has the size increased, but so has the maturity of the audience. For the first time in my musical career I played for a responsive and appreciative group. I was totally surprised at the silence; they didn't even speak between songs! This of course is quite extraordinary considering that performers in the Erie area are usually con fronted with rowdy, uninterested and far from courteous people_ If all the crowds that I played for were of the caliber of those at Behrend's Coffee Houses, I would probably want to write music and perform it as my career. I want to take this opportunity to thank the audience at last Friday's Coffee House for being so r‘olite and "special." I just can't seem to praise the situation enough. I'm definitely looking forward to performing at Behrend in the near future. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Margaret Irmes, who is responsible for making the Coffee Houses possible. Margaret does an excellent job and it's always a pleasure to work for her. For the upcoming Coffee House series Margaret has arranged for such outstanding local talent as October 2, 1975 JoAnn Bruno; Commuter Representative—Michael McCarthy; Representatives-At- Large—Howard Foht, Dexter Davis, and Scott Little. The newly elected Science Representative is Roger Zanes, and the Social and Behavioral Science Representative is George Spiegal. Colleen Trimble is the new Arts and Humanities Representative. If the response to this election is carried throughout the. entire year, SGA representatives expect that this year will be the year for the SGA to create the new Behrend. Jon Ims, this Friday night, and "Feathers" a duo composed of two very fine musicians, on the 24th. I know these people too will be pleased with the attendance and attitude of the audience. I also know that the audience won't let them down; they're too in telligent to make asses of themselves. Again, thank you "listening" to the music. Take care, but take it, Gay Catania Grateful Dear Sir, - - When 8.1.0. first began planning for the plant sale held last Friday, no one really thought 'that it would be the wonderful success-that it was. After every last plant had been sold, it was found that the club cleared over $350.00! Many people were instrumental in bringing the plant sale into being. Sue Brown and other club members obtained many of the plants for the sale. Loyal club members, and on occasion, even some interested bystanders carried and dragged plants to the place of sale and also saw that the plants were well watered in the previous weeks. Frost's Greenhouse supplied a large number of plants at wholesale prices. The club is greatly in debted to all. A special thank you is due to Mr. Hover who so generously donated to the club all the large plants that were at the sale. Lastly, thank you, all you Behrend students who patronized the sale. The club couldn't have done it without you. Sincerely, Ann E. Lane 8.1.0. Pres. 7th term Bio major Erie, Pa.
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