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COURTING TROUBLE
On recent weekends, many Capitol Campus students have been thwarted in
their attempts to play basketball in the gym in the Multi-Purpose Building. The
reason for this is a horde of outsiders, many of them from Harrisburg Area
Community College (HACC), who seem to have taken it upon themselves to
monopolize our gym.
This problem apparently stems from an agreement between Capitol Campus
and HACC, in which we allow HACC students to use our gym in exchange for the
use of their indoor swimming pool. Though on the surface this appears to be an
equitable agreement, in reality it has become tilted heavily in favor of HACC.
For starters, HACC has set rigid hours during which Capitol students can use
the pool. In an act of overwhelming graciousness, HACC officials have seen fit to
grant our students a whopping six hours per week to swim. As if this weren't bad
enough, there have been occasions when Capitol students have not been allowed
to swim during the allotted hours because the assigned lifeguard failed to show
up.
In addition, Capitol students are denied entrance to HACC unless they can
present valid ID's. Upon entering the building, it is stressed that they can use
only the pool. The ping-pong tables and other facilities are off-limits--even if they
are not being used—to Capitol students.
These prison-like guidelines at HACC are contrasted by the indifferent
attitude found here at Capitol campus. The absence of any effective security
measures allows outsiders to enter the Multi-Purpose Building unchecked during
all hours of the day and evening. Once inside, these people can easily make use of
nqt only the basketball court, but the ping-pong tables and weight room as well.
While Capitol students visiting HACC are treated like inmates at Ryker's Island,
HACC students make themselves right at home in the Multi-Purpose Building.
Since visitors are normally not required to present any identification, HACC
students have begun the practice of bringing family and friends with them. All of
this, of course, is being done at the expense of Capitol students, who have
suddenly become the minority in their own backyard. Our administration is
forever wondering why more students don't stay on weekends, thus earning
Capitol the nickname "Suitcase U." If the few students who do remain are unable
to enjoy themselves, it is no wonder that most students make a "great escape"
every week.
This problem was recently called to the attention of our administration by a
few concerned and frustrated students. We can only hope that both institutions
can get together soon and solve it. If nothing else, HACC officials should make the
swimming hours for Capitol students more flexible so that more people can take
advantage of the pool. As for our own campus, some type of system is needed
whereby the gym is set aside during specified hours for HACC students. If at all
possible, someone should be present during these hours to check visitors'
identifications.
Hopefully, corrective measures such as these will allow Capitol Campus and
HACC to enjoy each other's facilities in a way that is fair to both institutions.
--Dave Caruso
Volume 13, No. s c.c. reader March 5, 1981
Published bi-weekly by the students of The Pennsylvania State University,
The Capitol Campus in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
The C.C. Reader has the following four-fold purpose: [l] to keep students
informed about their campus community; [2] to provide editorial comment on
issues facing the campus community; [3] to serve as a forum for student poetry,
photographs, short stories, graphics, and other creative endeavors; [4] to serve as
a learning mechanism for all students interested in the journalistic process. This
includes reporting, editing, layout, typesetting, and paste-up.
Sports Editor - Kenneth Aducci Copy Editor - Alice M. Coon
Assistant Sports Editors Darrell Reider Photography Editor - Mark W. Clauser
Kevin Spiegel Cartoonist - Joe Horvath
Activities Editor - Keith N. Gantz Staff Editors - William J. Neil
Dave Caruso
Staff - Kathy Kern John Harvey
Faculty Advisors -
The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and are not
necessarily the opinions of the students, faculty, staff, or administration of The
Pennsylvania State University.
The C.C. Reader welcomes letters from readers. Letters intended for
publication should indicate the writer's college affiliation, if any. All letters must
be signed by the writer. Unsigned letters cannot be printed. However, a writer's
name may be withheld upon request. Letters should be legible (preferably
typewritten, double spaced); and any material that is libelous or does not conform
to the standards of good taste will be edited and/or rejected.
Pennsylvania State University
Capitol Campus
Middletown, PA 17057
Office W-129
Phone (717) 944-4970
Editor-in-Chief
Harry H. Moyer
Assistant Editor
Susan M. Snell
Dr. Donald Alexander, Monica O'Reilly
Circulation 2,500
Thursday, March 5,1981
Editorial /Opinion
A SITE FOR
SEWER EYES
Most college campuses place a great deal of emphasis on physical appearance,
and Capitol Campus is no exception. A recently held phonathon raised $B,BlO for
the construction of a new entrance sign. This sign is necessary, according to the
administration, to keep the campus attractive to potential students as well as to
casual observers and passersby. However, there is a growing problem on campus
which-if it remains unchecked-threatens to destroy the image of our university.
This problem is the drastic increase of litter which is strewn everywhere about
the campus.
Granted, a stray paper cup or candy wrapper can be excused as accidental.
Oftentimes people will forget themselves and absentmindedly toss a piece of
debris to the ground. Sometimes, a full garbage can will accidentally be
upset-either by one of the many animals residing around the dormitories or by a
strong wind-and its contents will then be scattered far and wide. These
occurrences are all understandable and are therefore excusable.
What cannot be excused, however, is the plethora of rubbish that has become
commonplace on our campus grounds.
Much of this litter has been intentionally dispersed by students who are very
much aware of what they are doing; they are either too lazy to retain their
garbage until they find a proper place to deposit it, or they simply refuse to walk
two or three steps out of their way to utilize a trash can. It is not uncommon to
observe a student errantly toss—a la Lloyd "All-World" Free—a piece of litter in
the general direction of a trash can, and then simply turn and stroll off, leaving
the litter lying ostentatiously behind. Another favorite practice of several
students is the "toss it to the wind" method of garbage disposal. This method is
particularly effective on windy days, when students develop the let's-see-how
far-the-wind-will-take-this-one attitude. This educational little game has no place
in modern-day society, much less on a college campus.
The worst offense of these litterbugs, however, is not their random
distribution of paper products, but the broadcasting of an assortment of other
garbage. By far the most common—and treacherous—of this garbage is glass.
Needless to say, most of this glass comes from bottles which have been
deliberately smashed by those who have just emptied them. On a recent weekend,
students were observed tossing beer bottles—many of them not yet quite
empty—out of an open third floor window of a dormitory. Granted, these students'
actions were performed during the height of drunkenness, but they nevertheless
derived great pleasure from the sounds of glass shattering on the sidewalk below.
It is fortunate that an innocent pedestrian did not happen along just then. Yet
another student was seen hurling an empty vodka bottle onto the street some
20 feet below. After it shattered, he contentedly turned and ambled off. When
asked for the reason behind his Kenny "The Snake" Stabler impersonation, he
simply smiled and replied, "Just for the stories I could tell." If this is seen as a
viable excuse by these perpetrators, then Uncle Remus must have been one of the
biggest litterbugs of his day.
Other refuse is also frequently seen lining the walkways and parking lots of
the campus. This debris includes such oddities as empty beverage cans, old
fragments of tires and assorted other automotive equipment, discarded milk
cartons, and even half-decomposed batteries and other such beautiful decor. In
fact, just about any conceivable object—animate or inanimate--can be seen
somewhere on campus, doing its part to mar the landscape.
In conclusion, it is obvious that this littering problem has grown to epic
proportions, and it cannot be solved without the students' cooperation. Students
are urged to be more careful when they discard unwanted items. After all, it's not
too late to begin cleaning up our campus. But if we let this problem continue to
grow, Capitol Campus will be forever ruined and a permanent eyesore.
SUPPORT SOUGHT
The student newspaper on the college or university level is sine qua non for
communication of viable and relevant information, ideas, and thoughts. It is
capable of being the most effective resource for expression available to students.
It has proven to be a medium for communication between not only the students
themselves; but, between students and faculty, students and administration,
students and community.
A university setting should be the birthplace of ideas. It should provide an
atmosphere which allows free expression to flourish. And the student newspaper
in this setting offers an outlet for the expression of thoughts and ideas.
Communication has played the biggest role in the development of individuals,
societies, and nations. It provides an element whereby .growth can proceed. And
an institution with growth potential like that of Capitol Campus needs this
resource.
It has been the history of democratic institutions which do not have some
resource whereby to vent thoughts and ideas or to communicate relevant
information to either fail or for individuals within the institution to devise some
type of communication medium effective to achieve their purpose. And it should
be noted that the end did not always justify the means.
It is, therefore, the responsibility of a democratic institution to provide for or
support a communication medium for the students--that being the student
newspaper.
To become a useful resource, the student newspaper needs the support and
respect of students, faculty, administration, and community. This support and
respect is essential for the effectiveness of the newspaper.
C.C. Reader
-William J. Neil
--Susan M. Snell