pennState September 29, 1988 Pole Discusses Human by Maria Plaza Collegian News Editor Dr. Ryszard Piotrowskj discussed the state of human rights in Poland Monday night in Reed 117. Piotrowski, a faculty member of Warsaw university in Warsaw, Poland, is spending a month at Behrend while on a year-long visit to the United States. Piotrowski's visit included a stay in Washington, D.C.-where he studied the U.S. Congress. Poland, which has a unicameral Parliament, is considering a two-chambered system similar to our Senate and House of Representatives. He has received letters of appreciation from President Reagan and Vice President George Bush. Piotrowski feels that Poles "deserve more democratic human rights." "This generation demands reform....l hope they will be successful," he said, but warned that "these reforms should be handled carefully and with wisdom." While he conceded that Poland has "deep-rooted economic problems," and is "experiencing a period of unrest," Piotrowski takes an optimistic view of human rights in his country. Piotrowski said the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for much of the progress in human rights, which shows the amount of religious freedom in Poland. He gave Pope John Paul 11,- formerly an archbishop in Poland, as another example of religious freedom. Roman Catholic and Orthodox services are also broadcasted on stale-run radio stations. The 3,300 Catholic churches in Poland include 95% of the country's population. There are 34 different religious denominations in the country. Poland also has the only Catholic university in Eastern Europe. Fire, Thefts by Laura A. Weaver Collegian Staff Writer Police and Safety reports that several thefts have occurred at Erie Hall and the Game Room over the past couple of weeks. The men’s locker room has been the target in Erie Hall. The thefts occurred primarily on unlocked lockers. Two unattended back packs were pilfered from the Back Room. These packs were recovered and returned with a few articles removed from them. On September 15, Gary Myers plead guilty to all counts against him following the April 23 attack on two Behrend students. Myers was arraigned on May 19 and charged with assault, institutional vandalism, disorderly conduct, and public intoxication. Myers, a non student, appeared before Judge Fisher at the Erie County Courthouse and plea-bargained, thus preventing a trial. Sentencing is set for October 25. At 2:03 am Tuesday morning, a fire was discovered in a garbage can in the basement of Niagara Hall. The Behrend JK.JhL College TJn “““ hh Rights Although Poland's constitution guarantees freedom of speech, that often isn't the case, said Piotrowski. In spite of restrictions on speech and press, he said, the underground market is thriving—6oo underground newspapers and many restricted books are printed. Commenting on economic rights, Piotrowski noted that five million of Poland's seventeen million workers are privately employed. About 80% of the agricultural workers are employed in the private sector. Poland is unique among Eastern European countries in that private farms produce most of the agricultural products. Piotrowski was candid about Poland's shortcomings, however. He told about a twenty-year wait for an apartment in some areas. There is a high level of alcoholism as many people turn to the bottle to cope with their dissatisfaction and frustration. One fifth of the population lives below the poverty level, and 325,000 young Poles • have emigrated in the 80's. Present rights "are not satisfying to the citzen," Piotrowski said, blaming many of the problems on an inefficient economy. Unfortunately, very few Poles feel they have any power to change the system. A 1980 poll showed that 87% of the citizens felt they had no power to influence the government. "From a formal point of view, this right (of opposition and dissent) is not existent But in fact, the opposition is very powerful and develops without serious harassment from the state," Piotrowski said. He cited the recently ended strikes by Solidarity members as an example. The strikes have brought government promises of roundtable talks on legalizing the labor union. Continued on Page 12 Hit Campus The building was evacuated and the fire put out. It is not known at this time who was responsible for the fire or how it was started. Again on Tuesday at 11:06 pm a fire alarm was set off in Niagra Hall. This time there was no fire, but the building was evac —.ted. Officials say that the alarm may have been set off by someone spraying an aerosol can. Bchrend College’s Police and Safety officials are one of 360 possible recipients chosen to receive an Emergency Medical Services Treatment Kit from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Funded by statewide moving violations, these First Respondent Kits were donated by the Health Department to qualifying police stations. One of the criteria for qualification was the presence of a certified First Respondent on the force. Behrend’s First Respondent officer is Chip Sanders. There is now SI,IOO worth of new emergency supplies, including a portable aspirator, at the Police and Safety headquarters. STATION ROAD, ERIE, PA 16563 BATTLE OF THE BANDS - Behrend Battle of the Bands. Five local groups faculty and students unwind to the sounds participated in the event co-sponsored by of The Zipper City Blues Band. The Band Behrend's Student Programming Council was the featured act at last Saturday's al >d Jet Fm 102. (Photo by Beth Bengtson.) Bush and by Richard G. Cain Sunday night, at Wake Forest University, Vice President George Bush and Massachusetts' Governor Michael Dukakis faced off in a controlled presidential debate. The debate was designed to give the candidates a chance to argue the issues mano a mano. What it resilly gave the public was 90 minutes of mudslinging and one-liners in an attempt to put down each others positions instead of explaining their own. The first issue brought up was the domestic problem of drugs in our society. Bush explained that the drug problem in this country has grown out of an educational system that is totally lax on teaching children good social values. Dukakis agreed with Bush on the subject of values but attacked Bush on his depiction of those values. Dukakis stated that President Reagan's dealings with Panamanian drug king Manuel Noriega sent a bad message to our society. The next issue raised was the promises that both candidates have made about reducing the deficit. Dukakis outlined his plan for weapons reduction and economic Seroka Named New Division Head by Richard E. McCartney Collegian Staff Writer Dr. Jim Seroka is Behrend's new division head for the Humanities and Social Sciences department Seroka was hired to replace ,Dr. Archie Loss, who resigned from that position last spring. After holding this position for twelve years, Loss decided that he needed to do something new. Loss is now on sabbatical, and when he returns he will go back to full time teaching and research. Seroka received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Michigan in 1970. After graduating, he spent a year working for the U.S. Department of Labor as a Job Search Information Specialist. This was a new position, and Seroka was the first person to ever hold this job. After one year, Seroka returned to school, entering a graduate program in Eastern European Public policy at Michigan State University. He studied all Eastern European countries, but specialized in Yugoslavia. Seroka has been to the University of Belgrade in Yugoslavia three times, spending a year studying and researching each time. Seroka can speak a little Russian, and is fluent in Serbo Dukakis, Debate or Defame? growth through reducing interest rates. Dukakis concluded by calling Bush the "Joe Isuzu of American politics," in that the vice president likes every weapon system he comes across and has raised taxes three times since 1980. Bush rebutted by comparing himself to President Kennedy, arguing that cutting capital gains was the way to deficit reduction. He also attacked Dukakis, comparing him to Massachusetts' Senator Paul Tsongas who was quoted as saying, " The dumbest thing I ever did was oppose the capital gains cut." He went on to add that if he, as president, possessed the line-item veto that Dukakis himself possesses as governor, he could easily balance the country's budget. Health insurance was the next issue discussed. Bush believes that Medicaid could be expanded to the point where all classes could afford it. He also believes that mandating a policy in which all employers have to provide medical coverage for employees and their families would be too expensive for many employers and, as a result, put people out of work. Dukakis replied that universal health insurance would create jobs and get people off of welfare. Croatian, one of the several native tongues of Yugoslavia. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1976, Seroka took a job at the University of South Carolina at Greensborough. In 1977, Seroka took a new job at the Appalachian State University in North Carolina. In the fall of 1979, Seroka took a job at the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale. Seroka began as an instructor, but by the time he left last year he was the Director of the Masters of Public Administration Program. Seroka read about the division head position at Bchrend last spring in the "Chronicle of Higher Education." He applied, was hired, and began working this fall. Seroka said he was happy to get this job because Penn State has a good reputation, and he heard a lot of good things about Behrend. So far, he is very pleased with both the faculty and the campus. Seroka's long range goals as the Humanities and Social Sciences Division head are numerous. They involve the Penn State Strategic Planning Process which is supposed to get the University ready for the 21st century, which is only twelve years away. Seroka's main responsibility is to coordinate Continued on Page 12 Dukakis cited that the same such program that he started in Massachusetts has resulted in only a three percent unemployment rate. He also recalled that at one time Bush regarded Medicaid the same way that he regards the universal health insurance plan. Patriotism became an issue as Bush questioned Dukakis' membership to the American Civil Liberties Union, adding subjects such as pornography, the Catholic Church and the pledge of allegiance. Bush concluded," I am not questioning his patriotism, I am questioning his judgement." Dukakis defended himself, saying," If the pledge of allegiance was the acid test of one's patriotism, the Vice President has been the presiding officer in the United States Senate for the past seven and a half years and, to the best of my knowledge, he has never once suggested that-the session of the senate begin with the pledge of allegiance." As the debating continued, the country’s homeless were discussed. Bush stated that a fully funded and undefined McKinney act would take care of all of the homeless. Dukakis was more specific, suggesting that an increase in low-income housing Dr. Jim Seroka Volume XXXVII, No. 2 Bookstore Problems Persist by Steve Decker Collegian StafT Writer Yet another glitch has been revealed in the construction of Behrend's new book store. Hampered by numerous problems that prevented a planned summer opening, the book store has suffered another problem, this time involving a loading ramp. The ramp, located at the east end of the Reed Union Building, is at a much greater slope than was planned and has generated safety concerns for the trucks that deliver book store goods. The slope is so great that there is a fear that trucks backing up could lose control and roll backwards, possibly injuring someone. "We want to address it before there is an injury," said John Ream, Director of Operations. Ream also replied that action is being taken to alleviate the problem so the loading complex is operable. The error was committed when the survey was made, but the problem was not noticed until its completion in early summer. The extreme grade of the ramp was caused by a miscalculation of the Continued on Page 3 would get some people off of street. He also added that Bush would rather spend money on weapons than provide funds for accent housing. Dukakis' opinions on capital punishment provided Bush with his next point of attack as he pointed out the failure of the Massachusetts criminal furlough plan. Bush cited the case of William Horton, a convicted murderer who was furloughed by the Massachusetts system only to escape and brutalize an innocent family. Dukakis returned the favor by attacking Bush's stand on abortion. Dukakis said his opponent is against abortion and might even impose penalties on women who have illegal abortions. Dukakis also noted that, although he personally dislikes abortion, he wants to give women the freedom of choice. Bush continued the discussion, pointing out that he wants to stress education, expanding literacy programs to help do away with poverty. Dukakis replied saying,"l must have been living through a different eight years than the ones that the Vice President is living through because his administration has cut and slashed and cut and Continued on Page 3 photo by Rick Cain
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers