Future Of Energy Discussed
By Karen Pickens
Poverty ol Power, by Barry
Commoner, was the topic for the first in
a series of discussions to be led by the
Faculty Council of Capitol Campus. The
discussion was held last Friday in the
Gallery Lounge. Participating faculty
members were John Patterson, Profes
sor of American Studies, Robert
Posatko, Professor of Economics, and
William Aungst, Professor of Engineer
ing.
The purpose of these gatherings,
according to Patterson, is to enable
people to talk with one another in a
meaningful way. Since not everyone has
the same vocabulary, Capitol Campus
has an obligation to provide connections
between academic ideas and the public.
A summary of Commoner’s views
was presented by William Aungst: In
the United States, both the resources
and the consumption of energy are
ACCC Students Vi
By Young Inyang
Minority students, 16 in number,
from Allegheny County Community
College visited the Capitol Campus
Wednesday of last week to “check it
out” -
All the students are either presently
benefiting or had sometime benefited
from the United States Steel Corpora
tion’s Minority Scholarship Program.
During a meeting late last year of the
Admissions Counselor for Capitol, Mary
Gundel, the students, and U.S. Steel
representatives, the students became
interested in Capitol Campus.
They were received on arrival by
some staff and faculty members who
Robert Posatko, Econ., as they discuss Barry Commoner’s book, Poverty of
Power, last FrL, in the Gallery Lounge.
controlled by private companies
interested in profit.
Instead of developing sources of
energy here, Americans use foreign oil
because it turns over maximum profit
Nuclear power, Commoner says, has an
economic advantage today, but in ten or
fifteen years the investment will prove
to be a waste. Solar energy’s big
drawback is that it is free: otherwise it
is non-polluting and requires less capital
than nuclear power, Aungst said.
Posatko said that costs are measured
primarily in the universal terms of
dollars and cents. Non-monetary
considerations are called externalities;
physical relationships are secondary to
economics. Increasing recognition of
enviromental hazards places a higher
value on this externality, Posatko said.
Economists look at energy in terms
of costs versus benefits and make
estimates from the information they
receive, according to Posatko. Econo-
showed them around.
Later in the evening, the Black
Student Union at Capitol Campus threw
a “dynamite” impromptu party for the
visiting students.
When it was all over, most of the
students interviewed agreed that they
were impressed with the school’s
academic program but only a few
indicated the probability of enrolling
here.
Mary Ricketts, a senior graduate of
ACCC, who is now working as an
engineering technician for West Penn
Power Company, said she would like to
enroll here if she decided to go back to
school. “Right now," she says, “I am
mists don’t tinker with the system, he
said, they only make recommendations
which try to promote efficiency.
Aungst agrees that private profit
dictates energy consumption. Indivi
duals are stuck with the decisions made
by big companies. A man on his way to
work cannot choose between gasoline
powered buses and electric trolley cars,
if buses are the only available means of
transportation, Aungst said.
At this point the discussion was
opened to questions from the audience.
They ranged from socialization, unem
ployment and the selling out of
researchers. Although not exactly
focused upon the subject of energy,
Patterson said that the arguments
presented made a good deal of sense.
One observer did ask a very good
question when he muttered, “What are
they talking about?” Unfortunately he
did not step up to the microphone,
perhaps for fear of an answer.
t Capitol
undecided.”
“The faculty are very helpful. All the
people I have met are very friendly, and
this party is just great. I would like to
come here, but I am not so sure yet,”
said Dolores Dixon, a freshman
accounting major.
Most of the students interviewed felt
the number of minority students at
Capitol was very small; however, they
recognized that they did not see all the
minority students in the school.
Distances between the residence
halls and the main building was another
reason most of the students had “to
think about that before deciding to come
here.”
ffofe Of BSU
Explained
By Tim Adams
At this point in a student’s college
career, he should realize that an
education means more than bringing his
body to a classroom and through
osmosis, getting an education.
It is time for expanding ones
values and social awareness by
experimenting with new ideas and
different lifestyles.
The Black Student Union at Capitol
Campus is an organization that is
actively pursuing this goal.
Sheldon Munchus, president of BSU,
said that BSU is “a means to preserve
cultural awareness for black students in
a white community; but beyond this, it is
a way for white students to become
aware of the black culture.”
He regrets that white students have
not taken advantage of the BSU.
pointing out that the Black Cultural Arts
Center, W-132, is open to all students,
and yet most white students do not use
the facilities.
Munchus feels that some of the
reasons for this is of course the
ever-present non-caring attitude of
students, but also because of ignorance
and fear on the part of white students.
He said that there is white opposition
to BSU that is shown through such
organizations as S.G.A.
The group has diverse interests,
ranging from school oriented activities,
such as the skating and bowling parties,
to more community minded programs
like the canned food drive and the Black
Arts and Science Festival, which will be
held during the entire month of
February, coinciding with Black History
Month. For this entire program BSU has
been allotted 2,000 dollars.
An idea for future consideration is a
program to aid the mentally and
physically handicapped.
Munchus said that the concept of self
that BSU projects is not only for blacks,
but for the entire student body to take
advantage of. He expressed the hope
that everyone will take advantage of the
upcoming Black Arts and Science
Festival and use it to expand their
cultural awareness.
Weekend
Weather
The extended weather outlook for
Friday through Sunday for the Eastern
Pennsylvania area: Partly cloudly skies
on Friday with some chance of snow
Saturday.
There will be considerable cloudiness
with the possibility of snow flurries in
the North on Sunday.
Lows, through the period, will be
zero to ten above in the North and the
lows in the South will be in the teens.