Happy Holidays!
The Collegian
December 12,1985
Page Five
Syndicated columnist Donald Kaul
comes to the pages of the Collegian
The Collegian is proud to present, syndicated
columnist, Donald Kaul. Spring semester issues of
the Collegain will feature Kaul on the opinion page.
Donald Kaul has written over three thousand col
umns in more than 18 years of coping with the daily
rigors of newspapering. He is certainly not a
“Johnny-come-lately” but also is less than a
household name or a national institution.
Kaul has been looking at the issues and events that
shape-our lives through the singular eyes of an ex
perienced journalist living in D.C.,
close to the people who shape events and policies of
our times. “Pessismism is correct 90 percent of the
time,” he says and means it.
Kaul was bom on Christmas Day in 1934, an only
child and destined to remain one. He was bom in a
house in a Polish-American neighborhood on the
near-westside of Detroit. It was a bilingual
household and he grew up speaking Ukranian, a
language which he has virtually forgotten. He at
tended public schools in Detroit and Wayne State
University for two years before transferring to the
University of Michigan, where he received a
bachelor’s degree in English in 1958. He also earned
a master’s degree in journalism at Michigan in 1960.
While at Michigan he won the Avery Hopwood
-Award for playwriting.
Student finds life
lacking in atmosphere
Upon coming to Behrend Col
lege in the fall of 1982,1 saw great
opportunity for myself to grow
and learn in a collegiate at
mosphere. I feel that I have grown
and learned in the four years that
I have been here at Behrend, but I
have yet to find that collegiate
atmosphere.
I would like to comment on the
“Behrend Atmosphere” as I have
experienced it the last four years.
When I came to this campus I
thought I would find young
maturing adults like myself with
the desires of success, expression
and good times. I found very little
of these characteristics in the
students I first met. They cared
only for themselves and their own
individualistic goals. They mainly
cared about not sticking out in the
crowd and conformity was their
law of life.
Behrend College - The Suitcase
College where every weekend fifty
percent of the campus evacuates.
They run home, they run to
University Park, anywhere to get
away from ‘here’. The two most
commonly repeated statements I
hear are, “There’s never anything
to do here” and “I can’t wait to
get to State”. If you aren’t happy
here deal with it people, this is
called growing up and being
mature.
It is true that I was not com
pletely overjoyed at the prospect f
staying at Behrend for five years,
but I decided to better my chosen
After graduation he worked for two summers at
the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press before landing his
first full-time newspaper job at the Des Moines
(Iowa) Tribune. After two-and-a-half years of cover
ing everything form the courthouse to the barnyard,
he transferred to the Des Moines Register where her
began writing a column, entitled “Over the Coffee.”
He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1972 and wrote
the column from there until he left the Register in
1983.
Kaul is, at present, a regular commentator for Na
tional Public Radio on the weekend edition of “All
Things Considered.” He also is working on a comic
novel, set in the newspaper business. He has written
two other books, both collections of his columns:
“How to Light a Water Heater and Other War
Stories” (lowa State Press) and “The End of the
World As We Know It” (Images and Ideas, lowa Ci
ty). He also has been anthologized in “Pardon Us,
Mr. President!, ” a collection of political satire.
Kaul met his wife, Suzanne, while they were
students at the University of Michigan. They have
three children, Leslie, 25; Chris, 24; and Rachel, 17.
The Kauls live in Kensington, MD., a suburb of
Washington, D.C. Mrs. Kaul owns and operates a
framing shop in the district.
at Behrend to be
fate an my surroundings. I started
a fraternity, a local organization
to pull together the people on this
campus. Well, three years later,
we have incorporated the fraterni
ty, moved it into a house, and
established the strong bond of
brotherhood between its
members. We have succeded in
managing and expressing
ourselves in the operation of the
fraternity as well as having some
great times together.
I have found a collegiate at
mosphere within my fraternity
and have tried to transcend it onto
the campus. However, this cam
pus just does not seem to
acknowledge the fact that this is
something good, something to
benefit everyone, to make this col
lege a college.
Security accuses our fraternity
of stealing their license plates, of
causing touble, Why? Because we
are a fraternity and fratemties do
thos kinds of things. We had an
open house for the entire faculty
and administration of Behrend
and only six people showed up.
May I ask why? We spent a great
deal of time, effort and money to
show these people what we have
done and what we are planning to
do and only a handful show up!
Kappa Delta Rho and the rest
of the campus attempted to steal
our flag during our Bi-Annual
Flag Presentation Day—Why? We
simply have pride in our fraternity
and want to show the rest of the
college or colors, our colors which
make us proud. Why did Joel
Ortley and six R.A.’s have to keep
over 150 Behrend students from
attacking us and trying to steal
our flag?
So is it possible for Behrend
College to ever lose its stigmatism
of Behrend High School? Will this
college ever grow up or will it con
tinually be full of “me” people
who want to serve their two years
and move down to main campus.
Can these people open their minds
and deal with being here and
make the best out of it rather than
complain? Can these people ever
create that “Collegiate At
mosphere”, the true collegiate at
mosphere that I thought I would
find here?
Sincerely,
John D. Fronko
7th semester Environmental
Science and Engineering
Founder-SKN
A reminder
from Police &
Safety:
Failure to pay any
fines (parking or
other) will result in
an inability to com
plete registration.
ACROSS
1. Alternate (abbr.)
2. Instance
8. Sleeveless garment of
goat’s hair
11 Horae
12.. First man
13. Recreational vehicle
14. Atop
15. Fish with snout
17. Alter
19. Tree
21. Abo
23. Pave
24. Act; deed
26. Route
28. Absolute monarch
31. Earth (Gr. comb,
form)
33. Beverage
35. Self
36. Elevated railroad
38. Stomp
41. Hypothetical force
42. Soak flax
44. Before (Poetic)
45. Emmet
47. Shower
49. Knock
51. College official .
54. Rest
56. Drag
58. Two
59. Abase
62. Tin
64. Take action
65. Time period
66. Not any
68. Chief Norse God
70. Pale
71. Jug
72. Rodent
inioxt
2. Coalition of nations
(abbr.)
3. Sack
4. Ricochet
5. Public notice
6. Unhappy
7. Give off
8. Loath
9. Ban
10. Small bug
11. Idle
16. Near
18. Tnb
20. Crone
22. Breakfast cereal
25. Vietnamese offensive -
27. Energy
29. Gone by
30. Staff
32. Metal
34 Mode
36. Mb take
37. Meadow
39. Craft
40. Goal
43. Oz character
46. Mow grass
48. No (Scot.)
50. Lead car
52. Scan
53. Midday
55. Window
57. Soothers state (abbr.)
59. Morning mohtare
60. Age
61. At once
63. Neither
67. Direction (abbr.)
69. Prosecuting iawyer<abbr.)
Answers page 2