Page Two OPINION PACE A great many students com plain about taking an arts course. What many of us students don’t realize is the value in taking the course. We don’t appreciate many courses we take while in college until we hit the working world. Would you want to be at a loss for words when fellow colleagues are talking about the play they viewed the night before? Would you know how to analyze the play: the verisimilitude, the theatricality, the mise en scene, the L esprit d escalier? Do you know what the words mean and how they apply to a play? An arts course would teach you that. How about classical music? Do you know the four main musical periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern? The words, timbre, dynamics, con sonant, disconant, conjunct, disjunct, polyphonic, homophonic, and monophonic should mean something to us all. We all think we know how to analyze a film. After all, we This letter is long overdue. It concerns an individual who has generated some very strong and negative feelings among the two-thirds of the student body who are receiving government assistance. His name is Richard Sosnowski and he is in charge of the dispensation of student aid. Me has been the target of much infair criticism. In my three ears at Behrend. I have heard -tudents refer to Mr. Sosnowski is an ignorant cockroach and a spyrochete. I have heard them nemoan his condescending Ijehavior and complain about the difficulties of obtaining refunds from his office. Not only is some of this criticism undeserved, but t runs completely counter to my >wn experience with a man who t 've come to look upon as a father igure. I can understand the student issatisfaction with Richard osnowski because I myself was low to realize his true value to tehrend College. My first in tication of his unique personality ame some years ago when I mrrowed $50.00 from the student loan fund. What struck me as peculiar about this seemingly routine process was when I picked up my check at the student air office, Mr. Sosnowski gave me the impression that this money was coming directly from his own pocket. This one im pression has pervaded as the salient characteristic of Mr. Sosnowski "s attitude. Some days after borrowing the $50.00, I received a blunt and somewhat threatening letter notifying me that I was indebted to the financial aid office and that I had t>et ter pay my loan within 30 days i or get out of town?) I have had to Inirrow from this same loan fund on several successive occasions and have met with the same curious treatment. My difficulty with this loan fund culminated this term in my inability to register on time. A smiling Richard Sosnowski gave me 24 watch television and go to the movies as part of our regular entertainment routine. However, have you ever thought about the plasticity of a film, the filmicality, the cinema verite, the detachment or identification, and again the L esprit de escalier (the language)? These terms are all cognitive terms that we as college educated students should know. I’m sure we all have visited a museum and marveled at some of the paintings, photography, prints, and sculpture. Yet, when we are asked about why we like or dislike an artwork, our responses were probably all affective responses. That is, “1 like it because it’s beautiful.” However, we should be asking ourselves, “why is it beautiful.” Is it because of the aerial per spective, the hues, the value of the hues, focal area, forms? Is it nonobjective, representational, objective? How about sculpture? Do you know the difference between a relief and a statuary type sculpture? Is it subtractive Letters varying viewpoints hours to repay $44.00. When I went to register without paying, he told me to “Go away and take it like a man”. It was at this point that I realized what sage and wonderful lessons I was learning from this mere wisper of a man. By his inability or unwillingness to notify me of loans paid and accounts received he has taught me to use my imagination in estimating my approximate financial status. By sending such vague and mysterious cycles as the run of the smelt or the ap pearance of Northern Lights, Dick Sosnowski has taught me reverence for - unexplained beauracratic process. He is truly a multifaceted personality and inefficiency represents only a small faction of his instructional value. Among other things, the interested student can learn how to deal with a sarcastic, ob noxious and intractable beauracrat by only making a brief visit to his office. I hope that this letter will help the students at Behrend to realize what a unique resource they have in Mr. Sosnowski. If students will only learn to accept his abrasive personality and ignore his in sults, we might even talk the faculty into making him a three credit course. James Rabbitt 9th Term -*■ Editor’s Note: This letter was presented to Mr. Sosnowski prior to publication. He did not wish to respond in this issue. Dear Editor, We are writing this letter to acquaint the students here with the recent administrative decision to cut Dr. Lorraine Lees from the faculty staff at Behrend College. Penn State officials maintain that the elimination of Dr. Lee’s position is an economic necessity. As students, we understand the financial expenditures involved My View by Robin Bauiding Entertainment Editor Behrend Collegian or additive? Does it have negative space? If you ever have been to any European countries, you probably could appreciate the ancient architecture there. I know when I was on top of the Acropolis in Athens I knew the Parthenon was one of my favorite ruins. Nevertheless, at the time, I didn’t know that it was a post and lintel structure. Nor when I was in Rome, did I appreciate the arch as a major form of ar chitecture. Still, many of us probably don’t know about the cantilever type architecture that Frank Lloyd Wright employed in Falling Water. The cantilever type architecture is what made the skyscraper possible. An arts course doen’t teach you how to respond to a particular art; instead, it teaches you how to analyze an artwork intelligently. An arts course will enhance your appreciation for the arts. You may even take advantage of Behrend’s and Erie’s cultural events more so than before. in operating a college or university. On the other hand, we find it difficulty to accept that the elimination of Dr. Lees’ position is a financial necessity when considering the spiraling cost of tuition, books, housing, food, parking and other expenses much too numerous to mention here. Every term throughout this academic year has been characterized by tuition in creases which have. directly affected student life. Con sequently, Penn State has become the second most ex pensive state university in the nation. In addition, book prices have continuously increased while trade-in values on the same books decline. With this in mind, it is difficult to comprehend the reasoning behind the lowering of academic standards with the elimination of one of Behrend’s finest faculty members because of the alleged financial crisis. Furthermore, we believe that the students of Behrend College should have at least a minimal voice in directing their educational environment. Being interested students, we have drawn up a petition which hopefully will inspire the ad ministration to reevaluate its present position concerning the status of Dr. Lees. At this time, the'petition is in circulation on the campus, and we urge all those students who have had Dr. Lees for.class to sign the petition. The departure of Dr. Lees would not only affect history majors, but her departure will affect all student wishing to acquire a balanced liberal arts education. In addition, the academic qualifications of Behrend College is attempting to establish itself as a successful four year institution would be severely diminished if the position presently held by Dr. Lees were eliminated. Thank You Danny Alacia Mark Hammond History Majors 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 ex ception of those that are repetitious or in poor taste. The staff reserves the right to correct lehrenb Collegian Gftf* Stress Association af ffimnnuminraltf? (Eampturfi David Jordan Editor-in-Chief Kristen Hartzell Managing Editor Dave Amnan Business Manager Copy Editors: Idi Amin ' Writers: Sue Wortman, Tim Kenney, Sheri Reim, Sue Bardner, Deirdre McCauley, Steve Nicks Typists: Barbara Bogdan, Nanci Abahazi Photographers: Bob Agosti, Larry Flynt Cartoonists: Lindsey Buckingham Business Staff: Tamara Rotella Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michel Small Mailing Address-Behrend College, Station Road, Erie, Pa. 16410 Office-Student Offices, Reed Union Building Office Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.- Monday through Friday Phone:B9B-1511 Ext. 238 Opinions expressed by the editors and staff of the Behrend Collegian are not necessarily those of the University Ad ministration, faculty, or the student body. Published every Thursday throughout the Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms, with exclusions for holidays and term breaks. 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. Member of John Blimmel Sports Editor ,L00%4S U\VC£ \ toefcE ftu? 1 j "T**AK> fc &A*e OK) ' ■3* E E*S>fc£SS> April 14, 1978 Robin Bauiding Entertainment Editor Kurt Cavano Executive Editor KC 78
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