Pennsylvania State University at Capitol Campus 10
1111 C II re CI e
Volume 14, No. 2
To the tune of .3000 dus
By Kathy Kern
Though Websters Encyclopedic Dic
tionary defines vandalism as "willful or
ignorant destruction of works of art or
literature," one need not damage a
sculpture or painting in order to contri
bute to the problem of campus vandal
ism. Doors, windows, and other pieces of
property are usually the targets of those
who take out their frustrations on
campus property.
Joe Kemp, manager of the Capitol
Campus Physical Plant's Maintenance
and Operations, said he and his crew are
doing what they can in order to decrease
the likelihood of damage to campus
property. "We get involved any time
there is any damage to property here,"
said Mr. Kemp. "Although there is no
sure way of safeguarding any piece of
campus property, the maintenance crew
does what it can to take care of the
damages by using stronger, more dur
able material in place of the destroyed
item."
For example, a broken glass window
is replaced with plexiglass, which is
much less prone to breakage than
regular glass. Other items are also
replaced with longer-lasting
counterparts.
But repairs cost money--money which
is eventually reflected in tuition in
creases in order to supplement the
repairs for damages caused by vandal-
Student Service Series
More Than a Place to Talk
By William J. Neil
Fidgeting in his seat, the nervous
student glanced at the clock; three
hours and fifty minutes had elapsed
since he began the grueling test. Real
izing that he had but ten more minutes
to answer 20 questions, the student
suddenly became panic-stricken and
began to guess haphazardly at the
unanswered portion of the test. Needless
to say, this student's test results were
not as good as they could have been.
Fortunately for this student, though,
the score of his test won't affect his
future college career. True, the test he
was agonizing over was an important
one--the Graduate Record Exam (GRE),
a four-hour test which is often essential
in determining whether or not a student
will be accepted by a graduate school--
and one which would usually decide his
future. However, this student was not
undergoing the "real" version, but rath
er, a practice or "mock" test which is
administered by the Counseling Center
to better prepare students to feel the
pressure and deal with the anxieties
created in an actual testing atmosphere.
The Test Simulation Program, which
is free to students, is only one of the
many services provided to the Capitol
VANDALISM:
Breaking the Budget
ism. From September to April, damage
by vandals has already cost the main
tenance and operations budget nearly
$3,000.
A large chunk of that money, over
$760, was used to replace campus road
signs which were stolen during the fall
term. The buying and installation of a
water fountain cost over $262.
But why isn't damaged property
replaced or repaired immediately?
Money, or the lack of it, is usually the
answer to this question.
"My budget is only so much each
year," said the plant's manager. It is this
lack of funds which can hinder otherwise
speedy repairs.
Another factor which affects the
promptness of repairs is the work
schedule of Kemp 's 40-man crew. It
takes anywhere from five to seven days
to schedule a repair job into the work
program. First, an estimate must be
made on the cost of the repair. After
this, the repair is written up into the
schedule. "If the materials and work
force are available for that day, we can
throw it (the repair) in the schedule,"
Kemp noted.
Some repair jobs are hard for the
crew to keep up with, and the manager
cited the Student Center as an example.
Damaged walls and doors, usually
stemming from Monday Night Football
showings and other activities, are both
time consuming and costly repairs. One
tile repair job in the Student Center cost
over $286.'
Campus community by the Counseling
Center, which is located in W-117 of the
Main Building. The Counseling Center
staff is comprised of Dr. Marian Krieger,
the Coordinator of Counseling Services,
Mr. Edward S. Beck, Counselor, and
Joanne E. Meinsler, the Center's secre
tary.
According to the counselors, many
students have the misconception that
the Counseling Center serves basically
the same functions as those counseling
services found in most high schools. "We
are a much different type operation,"
says Marian, "we provide educational,
vocational, and personal counseling.
Whether students want information
concerning graduate school, their cur
rent curriculum, or a personal crisis, we
can help." Ed views the Counseling
Center at Capitol Campus as "a place
which provides a balanced program, one
which is designed to deal preventatively
with individual as well as group con
cerns. Overall, we take a holistic ap
proach to student counseling."
Most of the individual problems the
counselors deal with are those which are
common on college campuses. These
problems consist of the many things
Middletown, PA. 17057
Although vandalism is definitely
present on campus, it is a seasonal
occurrence, said Mr. Kemp. He noted
that graduation is a bad time for campus
vandalism, as well as Tuesday nights.
"Every Tuesday we expect some van
dalism," added the manager.
However, not all property damage on
campus is done by students. Mr. Kemp
said that vandalism is "not solely the
students' fault" and recalled incidents in
which damages, such as broken win
dows, were committed by outsiders who
were driving or walking through the
campus.
Other than trying to combat vandal
ism by making durable replacements for
damaged items, Mr. Kemp sees no
feasible way of deterring the trouble
makers. He said that the levying of fines
on vandals probably would not work,
since very few times is an individual
pinpointed for the damage. One control
for vandalism, however, may be to
educate students on the problem.
"If the students, faculty, and staff
work together .. . we can indoctrinate
and educate the students on the disad
vantages of vandalism," commented Mr.
Kemp. He added that vandalism is a case
of immaturity on the part of the perpe
trator and the people he is with. Those
who do not take part in the vandalism
are foolish to take the punishment for
the actions of one person.
Though other colleges may be hi.
harder by the crime of vandalism than is
Capitol Campus, the school's lack of
funds for the necessary repairs is what
students must cope with such as finan
cial pressure, marital concerns, prob
lems of relationships, and increased
pressure to get good grades. "We try to
help students deal with the realities of a
ten-week term, which is new to some
students. Our unique housing situation,
and being away from home for the first
time cal also create problems," explains
Ed, "and we must try to determine what
techniques are best to use when stress
takes over."
Not only must the counselors deter
mine which techniques are best for
dealing with individual problems, but
they must also teach these techniques to
the Resident Assistants (RAs). Although
the RAs receive ongoing in-service
training from Pat Murphy, the Coordin
ator of the Residence Living Program,
and John Pellechia, the Assistant Co
ordinator of the Residence Living Pro
gram, the counselors also help train the
RAs. "Stress is only one of the phenom
enon apparent in a college setting," says
Ed, "and we teach the RAs how to deal
with it as well as crisis intervention
techniques, counseling skills, and time
management." While the RAs are train
ed to provide some counseling for resi-
16 April 1981
makes vandalism a special problem here.
The sum of $3,000 for eight months of
vandalism repairs may seem quite small
at many colleges, but at Capitol, where
money is obviously lacking in a number
of areas, the amount becomes quite
large. Vandalism ultimately costs every
one, including residents, non-residents,
and the vandals themselves.
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READER Photo by HHM
TROUBLED BRIDGE OVER WATERS
An example of vandalism on campus.
dent students, sometimes problems arise
which are beyond their capabilities. In
these cases students are often referred
to the professional counselors in the
Counseling Center. "We try to help
people understand themselves better,"
explains Marian, "and we try to show
them that their problems are not impos
sible to resolve. What may seem to be
overwhelming to them, we try to put in a
more positive perspective. An objective
professional person helping them look at
their lives in a different way can usually
produce satisfactory alternatives."
In order to deal with these individual
concerns, it is imperative that the
counselors establish and maintain good
working relations with members of the
faculty. "We must know each other to
better serve students," says Marian,
"since it is through faculty members that
we get many referrals." This relation
ship with the faculty accounts for the
fact that Marian serves on the Student
Affairs Committee of the Faculty
Organization and Ed is active on the
Community Contacts Committee of the
Faculty Organization.
continued on page 14
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