Pale 16
Letters to the Editor
Still Irked by Carrel
To The Editor:
The local Luddites of the in
tellect, the academic hoi-poli that haunt
these not-so-hallowed halls have proved
their courage. They have shown that
they are not cowed by any concept of
courtesy, limited by law or reached by
reason. They lurch from out the library
stacks to assert their right to that which
is not theirs, to do as they please, to
demonstrate their freedom from civility,
intelligence and responsibility.
Library staffers have been forced
to waste far too much time replacing a
simple notice reserving a study carrel for
graduate use. The notice is self-explan
atory, but when it is not covered with
unsyntactical insults, it is ripped from
its place. I tried to explain in a previous
letter why the space was reserved, but
there was no effect.
A university is a community,
and all communities are based on some
civitas, some sense of relationship and a
desire to cooperate for the common
good. University communities particu
larly are dependent upon regard for others
as a necessary condition of scholarship.
It is almost impossible to conduct ex
tensive research if the community will
not respect the individual's right to a
place to work and an atmosphere con
ducive to that work.
If the culprit read the notice and
the letter and still feels entitled to deface
or remove the reservation notice and
seize space allocated to someone else, he
plainly does not understand the func
tioning of civilization in general. He is
especially out of place in academic civ
ilization.
Perhaps I misunderstand the
situation. Maybe Jack the Ripper cannot
read the notice, and he or she destroys it
only out of idle play. Maybe the letter
made no difference because the vandal
could not comprehend it.
That might reduce the guilt, but
is any university a place for illiterates?
The last notice posted was dif
ferent. It had a much more persistent
glue than the others and it was com
pletely covered with clear tape. To
remove it must have taken a long time.
Anyone with that much free time to
waste cannot have any idea of what is
required of a university student or of any
person with an interest in the life of the
mind. If he or she has that many mo
ments to squander on so unproductive an
activity, he or she does not belong in
any institution of higher learning.
Perhaps the waste of that per
son's time does not matter much; I sus
pect it doesn't. It does matter, though,
that professors waste their time with
such an unsuitable student, that library
staffers waste time replacing plain, sim
ple notices, that other students waste
time being expelled from working areas
they would know are reserved if the
notices were left alone, and that I waste
time because I can't get to my carrel and
seem compelled to write letters such as
this one.
It is not worth the time of any
competent member of the faculty, staff
or student body to lie in wait to catch an
insignificant twit peeling a reserved
notice from a carrel. That low level
Invasion
irritant probably never will be caught,
therefore. That doesn't really matter, and,
of course, neither does culprit; both the
capture and the criminal are unimportant.
I do wonder, though, just what he or she
thinks--if any thinking occurs in that
small mind--what is being accomplished
by this odd, persistent display of self
indulgent petulance. It takes little intel
ligence to realize that if it is one's am
bition to be a minor public nuisance,
ambition easily is satisfied. Any of us
could achieve that status, but most of us
have better things to do.
Very Truly Yours,
Philip Clark
Library System's
Policies Under Fire
To the Editor
My complaint is with the pol
icies of the library here on campus.
When I first enrolled here, I was im
pressed with the size of the library, the
quiet study areas, the reading room, the
resources that were available to students
and outside users. This first impression
of a progressive resource library was
correct, but the hassle to utilize its
capabilities is more than I care to tol
erate, so I go elsewhere.
My objections are few, but in
speaking to other students, I feel jus
tified in relating them to you and the
student population. First, in order to
leave the confines of the library, you
must give your knapsack up to lie
searched, and this is without probable
cause. Second, one must also pass
through a detector, just in case the
inspector did not completely do his/her
task correctly. This is rather, untrusting
behavior on the part of a large campus
library. I find it much easier to go to my
local library, the local extension (Penn
State) campus library, or utilize the
M.S. Hershey Medical Center Library.
In order to access any one of
these libraries, the only thing I had to do
is fill out one card, with my name,
address, and phone number. I do not have
to fill out a detailed card, with the
Library of Congress designation on it,
for each book I wish to remove from the
library. As anyone knows, if you need to
take out more than one resource item,
this is very time consuming. It must be,
done correctly and the proper attitude
displayed. In order to finalize the op
eration, in your hand . . . please have
ready the magic student ID/Bursar's card
to verify your right to be on this campus
and to utilize the library.
At the city library, I have a card
that works in much the same way ag a
plastic bank card and the Penn State
Hershey library allows me to take out
any book, when I verbally confirm that I
am an employee. This ease of use of
other facilities encourages me not to use
the Heindel Library and not to subject
myself to involuntary search and seizure.
I feel that, if the Library wants
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more active utilizai-on of its capabil
ities, by the staff and the student body, it
should be much more progressive. Not
inhibitory, nor restrictive in its use of
petty elementary school rules and regu
lations. The directors of the library
should investigate and create the means
to expedite the removal of these im
pediments. The majority of the student
body is responsibleand mature. Why not
have a library that is of the same high
quality and standards as the people that
attempt to employ its wealth?
P. Moran
Bigotry & Racism
Dear Editor,
Regarding your article on
"Hate, Bigotry & Racism," in the
October 7 edition of the Capital Times,
where did you get your information?
WHP News coverage of the
Klan meeting in Ephrata on October 3
(incidentally, Yom Kippur, the holiest
day of the Jewish year) shows an
interview of a black priest, member of
the NAACP, at a counter demonstration
in Ephrata during the same time that the
Klan meeting was taking place.
While I am glad that the KKK
meeting did not go unnoticed by the
Capital Times, accurate commentaries
about such events can only be made
when accurate coverage has been given
thetn.
Sincerely,
Deborah Sivia Gable
Positions
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Her Juggling Act's
Not as Hard as His
Dear Editor,
Just the other day I was com
plaining to a friend about my schedule. I
was beginning to wonder how much
longer I could keep juggling a family, a
part time job and five classes. Then I
read Gene Albano's letter to the editor,
October 7, 1987, and started to feel
guilty. I was shocked to learn of the
difficulty the men of our campus were
experiencing in the bathroom.
I do have a suggestion for those
who need both hands to "do what comes
naturally." Use a book bag to carry your
books. When you go into the bathroom,
fling it on your shoulder. Now if some
of you are thrown off balance with
something on your back, do what I do--
throw the bag on the floor. (Contrary to
the belief of some, most women do not
put their books on their laps.)
I hope my suggestion will be
helpful to those men of our campus with
the juggling problem. I know one thing,
the next time I'm wondering how I'm
going to get a paper typed when my
husband and two kids have come down
with the flu, I'll remember those of you
who have a harder juggling act than I.
Sincerely,
Carol Kilko
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Oct. 30 1987