THE c A 1 - 3
-.lk\
"All The News That Fits . We Print"
Vol. IX, No. 7
McDermott believes
Capitol will survive
by R. W. Bonaker
It has been one year since Dr.
Robert E. McDermott has been
at the helm as Provost of the
campus.
Marking that occasion, the
editors of The Capitolist and
WZAP's acting Station Manager
Mark Israel met with him last
week in an informal discussion
of current campus issues.
McDermott said that this
institution and comparable two
year colleges exist because of
"the arrogance of four year
universities." He stated the
number one priority is to insure
the survival of Capitol Campus.
"I think we can survive. If I
didn't, I wouldn't stay here."
Before assuming his current
post, McDermott was Dean of
the Graduate School at the
University of Arkansas. He
asserted some basic goals of his
administration, citing attempts
to minimize "red-tape" and
institute an aura of
personalization.
FACULTY UNIONIZATION
The issue of "faculty union"
was also discussed. Currently,
the faculty is toying with
possible unionization. While n
considering such a move, the r OLICY MEETING
faculty has expressed a desire to
be independent of the
Commonwealth Campus system,
reflecting the "Autonomy"
aspect.
Since the Autonomy measure
was passed by the University
Faculty Senate last March,
campus faculty have been
delegated the responsibility for
undergraduate academic
instruction. Previously, all new
courses and comparable
programs had to be pushed
through the Capitol Campus
Committee of the Senate. That
committee was disbanded by the
Autonomy measure.
Possible Faculty Unionization
has shed new light on the real
meaning of Autonomy.
McDermott said it is possible
that for Capitol's faculty "to go
union," they may have to
"interface with University Park
and the other PSU-Branch
campuses" whether they like it
or not. In that aspect, then, our
faculty are not independent of
main campus.
NEW CAMPUS BUILDINGS
Discussion then centered on
proposed construction of
campus facilities. McDermott
said he deleted the swimming
pool from the multi-purpose
building because he thought
Secretary of Education John C.
Pittenger would reject the entire
project if it were included. As
for the currently overcrowded
library, he said no specific plans
are in the works for a new
building, not even a
"Butler-building" He stressed a
need for on-campus storage of
little used materials and
increased microfilming of
periodicals
CALENDAR CHANGES
Deliberations over a new
academic calendar have come to
a curious point. As of now,
Capitol is slated to follow the
University Park calendar for
1973-74 which calls for the fall
term to begin shortly after
Labor Day and end at
Thanksgiving. The winter term
commences after that holiday
and runs for three weeks,
breaking for the Christmas
holiday. The winter term
resumes the new year and runs
fir seven weeks to late
February. The spring term
would then end in May
Several wezks ago,
McDermott adopted a Student
Government Association
proposal which basically
complied with the main campus
calendar, excepting the divided
winter term concept. The SGA
proposal called for a one unit
course to be offered during a
three week "mini-term" from
Thanksgiving to Christmas. A
similar proposal was submitted
(continued on page 6)
CAPITOL HOSTS
The Honorable Slator C.
Blakiston, Jr., State Department
adviser on environmental
matters, will address a meeting
of the Harrisburg Foreign Policy
Association at Capitol Campus
on Thursday, February 22.
Mr. Blakiston's talk at 8:00
p.m. will be preceded by a
dinner in the student dining
room at 6:45 p.m.
Dr. Richard H. Heindel, dean
of the faculty, will be program
chairman. At the close of the
meeting, which is free and open
to the public, the speaker will
answer questions from the
audience.
Mr. Blakiston, who served as
executive secretary of the
secretary of state's advisory
committee for the 1972 UN
Conference on the Human
Environment, held last June in
Stockholm, has chosen as his
topic "International Activities in
the Environmental Field."
An officer of the U.S.
Foreign Service since 1947, Mr.
Blakiston has served in posts at
Amsterdam, Stuttgart,
Port-au-Prince, Jerusalem, Tunis,
Beirut, Jidda, Cairo, Amman,
and Calcutta.
Mr. Blakiston was born in
Richmond, Virginia in 1918.
After receiving a B.S. degree in
commerce from the University
of Virginia in 1940, he served
overseas in the U.S. Navy during
World War II as an aviator,
reaching the rank of lieutenant
commander. He then worked
briefly for the Underwood
Corporation before beginning his
career in the Foreign Service.
CAPITOL CAMPUS - MIDDLETOWN, PA
'Vast Wasteland' to be
satirized by 'circus'
The Cultural Programs
Committee will present the
"Portable Circus" on Monday,
February 26 at 1:30 p.m. in the
auditorium.
The Portable Circus consists
of a group .of five performers
who through a series of lively
comedy sketches examine the
effect that television, the
universal medium, has on all of
us.
Mixing light comedy with
biting satire, they center their
heaviest fire on pertinent social
and cultural issues.
The group performs without
the aid of props, costumes or
sets.
The program is free and open
to the public.
Dean Brown
Conducts Symposium
The second Faculty Research
Symposium will be held on
Tuesday, February 27 at Noon
in Room 228, adjacent to the
auditorium.
Associate of Dean of Faculty
Robert J. Brown will discuss
research opportunities and
procedures in the Penn State
system.
Those attending are requested
to bring a brown bag lunch.
'Condemned' to be
presented by
Social Committee
The Social Committee will
present the film "Condemned of
Altoona" on Wednesday,
February 28 at 8:00 p.m. in the
auditorium.
Admission is 80 cents or 40
cents with an activities card.
The film stars Robert Wagner
and Sophia Loren as the story
concerns one man's attempt to
justify his commission of war
crimes.
111:13
** * *
Yearbook
Survives SGA
Test
by R. W. Bonaker
There will be a 1973 edition
of The Capitolite.
That issue was basically
decided in action by the Student
Government Association on
Monday Night.
It came via a motion calling
for a least seven SGA members
and a representative of each
student organization to
volunteer for a committee to
promote yearbook sales. The
motion passed, 13-5 with one
abstention.
In effect, the motion stated
that SGA would cover any losses
incurred by yearbook printing
costs. However, SGA retained an
option to cancel the yearbook
by refusing to allocate future
monies, should it so desire. It
was generally expected that
would not happen as 10 senators
did volunteer for the Yearbook
Committee.
Co-chairman John Sheridan
has announced that all persons
who have purchased the 1973
annual will be invited to attend a
free keggar on Friday, March 2
on Mars Ave., Meade Heights.
The committee will be diligently
working to promote yearbook
sales by door-to-door campaigns
Oswald dismayed by
Sha pp Budget proposa I
President John W. Oswald
said last week he was "extremely
alarmed" by Governor Shapp's
budget message calling for a zero
appropriation increase for The
Pennsylvania State University
for the 1973-74 fiscal year.
"A zero appropriation
increase is in effect a severe cut
because of cost increases
mandated by Federal and State
laws and other increases, such as
inflation costs, over which the
University has no control,"
President Oswald declared.
"The budget message is even
more serious in view of plans of
the Federal administration to
reduce substantially funds made
available to universities."
The appropriation request
submitted by the University was
"extremely austere " he pointed
out. It provided for mandated
increases such as Social Security,
retirement, unemployment
insurance, the additional cost of
doing business because of
inflation and the opening of new
facilities. The appropriation
request put highest priority on
essential salary increases for
faculty and staff.
To reduce the demands made
on the State, the University had
proposed a $45 per year tuition
increase 'effective in the fall of
1973 to generate $2,000,000 in
additional revenue.
President Oswald said the
University's appropriation
request was accompanied by
strong evidence of increased
efficiency within the University.
February 22, 1973
and a sale in Vendorville next
week.
It took the SGA some time to
work up to that optimistic
point.
At the onset of discussion of
the yearbook situation, Sheridan
withdrew his motion advocating
a complete cut-off of funds to
the yearbook. He explained he
had intended the motion, which
was introduced the previous
week, to induce others to come
up with a feasible alternative.
Also, he announced that the
Presidents Council on February
15, had decided to stand behind
the yearbook by a vote 16-0-2
vote.
Senator John Murphy then
entertained a motion to form an
ad-hoc committee which would
control the finances of yearbook
operations. That motion was
defeated, 7-8 with four
abstentions.
The "crisis" arose at the SGA
meeting on February 12 when
Treasurer Toni Dixon outlined
different events which would
require future allocations. At
that time, it was predicted the
yearbook may incur a $1,600
debt.
"For example, measured in
terms of constant dollars, our
appropriation request for
1973-74 is only 12 percent more
than the actual appropriation
four years ago. Yet in that
period, we have increased our
enrollment by 6700 students, or
16 percent of our present
student body."
"Unless the appropriation is
increased, we face some almost
impossible decisions," President
Oswald declared. "We can
provide no increase in
compensation to employees at a
time when most all individuals in
the nation are participating in
some form of income
improvement related to cost."
"Or, we can raise tuition
significantly, but there is no
increased money for financial
assistance to needy students, and
this would force many out of
school.
"Or, we can eliminate whole
programs of great value to the
Commonwealth or water down
our entire educational offering
"All of these are poor
bargains--for the student, for the
Commonwealth and for the
Nation.
"It is ironic," President
Oswald concluded, "that as all
economic indices point to a
continued healthy growth in the
gross national product,
education seems to be entering a
great depression."