Rap group 'Public Enemy' misnamed
Jeff Hildebrand
Capital Times Staff
I just had the worst dream. I dreamed
former Ku Klux Klan top banana David
Duke ran for Governor of Louisiana and
actually got 39 percent of the vote. I
dreamed George Steinbrenner was about to
resume running the Yankees. I dreamed
another tuition increase had been approved
at this campus. I dreamed Iraq raped
Kuwait. I dreamed Saddam Hussein was
allowed to continue as the leader of Iraq.
Listen to the racist propaganda freely
spewed by the rap group Public Enemy
and you will understand why the "y " in
their name should be changed to an "a”
New Jersey is very close to
implementing the most decisive welfare
reforms in history. Whether the reforms
are for the better is open for debate-and
much debate there will be.
Should New Jersey pave the road for
other states, this could be a most
interesting election year.
Says one scholar—if you are entirely
politically correct, you are either overly
sensitive or a lemming.
Student
PSH
Terry Wolf
Capital Times Staff
Yes, The Wolfs Den. Excuse the pun.
It was not my first choice as a title.
I have never written an opinion column
before, so if this ends up being trash I
have an excuse to fall back on. I shouldn't
worry though, because my experience at
this campus tells me that very few of you
will give a damn anyway. Reading this
column requires a few things on your part.
First of all, and most obvious, you
must be literate. Nowadays that's not
always a given on a college campus.
Second, you have to actually pick up the
paper and open it. And third, you have to
be interested in something besides the
pizza coupons when you pick it up.
What's my point? It is simply that this
campus could dry up and blow away and
many students wouldn't notice. Apathy
ranks second only to drinking beer at the
Sunburst on the list of popular extra
curricular activities at Penn State
Harrisburg.
What makes me say that? Wake up. As
a student who does try to get involved I
see a lot of those who don't When I was a
senator in SGA I was part of an
organization whose main concern is non
academic activities for students. It was
only too clear that the money spent on
such activities was wasted on many
occasions. That isn't the fault of SGA.
They work very hard.
Still, as I walk down the hall, the
loudest non-academic complaint I hear
usually has something to do with there
being "nothing to do on campus." That's
just pure bull. If it doesn't involve
drinking beer or getting naked, many
Last fall I decided to take a
management course as an elective. Put
mildly, when I informed my well spoken,
communications major friends, I received
Just a Thought...
many looks of bewilderment. "Why," they
seemed to collectively inquire, "would you
want to take a course where everything is
predetermined?”
My fellow future world leaders had
determined courses listed under the
Business heading were exercises in
boredom. "Management courses are
prescribed as cures for acute insomniacs"
pleaded one malcontent When I suggested
a dip into the world of business would
further serve to round out my education,
the looks of bewilderment changed to
gazes of pity.
"How lost is our brother" some cried as
they took up a collection to provide me
with an ample supply of Vivarin for my
sojourn into the Land of the Big Sleep.
apathy at
inexcusable
students couldn't care less.
I had the honor of serving as chairman
of the SGA Election Screening
Committee last semester. As part of my
duty, I helped to count the votes at the end
of the election. Approximately 110
people out of about 3400 voted. You don't
give a damn.
Hundreds of dollars were spent on a
disc jockey for Autumn Fest last fall, as
well as free pizza and ice cream. Ten
people showed up. Most of them were
members of SGA. What the hell, I had a
good time. You don't give a damn.
The 25th Anniversary Celebration
was, in my humble opinion, a tremendous
flop. I've been told that about 18,000
invitations were sent to alumni,
approximately 200 showed up for the
event. As I sat in Vartan Plaza that
Saturday, I noticed that there weren't many
students there. The ones that were there,
for the most part, were associated with one
of the clubs that were trying to earn
money that day. That wasn't the fault of
the committee that planned the
celebration. You don’t give a damn.
Before any of you go reaching for your
poison pens to tell me that this is a
university and that we are here primarily
for an education, you can save your paper.
I don't need letters like that to insult my
intelligence, that's what my friends are for.
If you are here for "just an education"
that's fine. But don't go around bitching
that there's nothing to do. That's your
fault
Wolf's den
My prognosticators could not have been
more incorrecL
Management 310 was anything but an
exercise in memorizing predetermined
babble for the purpose of intellectual
regurgitation upon testing materials.
Instructor Steve Schappe presented
theory and encouraged discussion. A lesser
teacher may have drudged through the
course material with only the end in sight.
For the students who brought their
appetites, the brain food was there in
abundant portions.
I strongly commend Steve "no No-Doz
needed" Shappe for his excellent classroom
demeanor.
Now, an open letter to the faculty of
Penn State Harrisburg:
I am considering a request to the FBI.
I would like the agency to look into the
relationships between the faculty, the
bookstore and the publishers of text
required in many Penn State Harrisburg
classes. The only sensible explanation is
that some shady business is occuring.
Too many times I have spent up to
fifty dollars on a required text book that
was scarcely referred to in class. Too many
Letters to the Editor
Reader responds to diversity issue
Editor:
I would like to address the comments
made by Professor Michael Barton on the
subject of diversity. I feel that it is
attitudes such as these that is causing the
American Education System as well as
American Business to fail in the
international market place. In the world
economy which we live it is of the up
most importance that we maintain and
understand a world view. In my dealings
as a business person as well as my
personal friendships with those not native
to America does our inadequacies as world
citizens become known. The curriculum of
foreign schools or universitites teach
multiple foreign languages, cultures and
politicial systems. This diversity which
they learn has helped countries like Japan,
Korea and others understand and compete
successfully in foreign markets. If there is
any question as to their success just look
at our trade deficit
If Professor Barton's wishes were
implemented and students did not have the
opportunity to learn diversity we would be
The Student Government Association will hold an Open
Forum for the entire student body on Jan. 28, from 12:30 to
2 p.m., location to be announced. All students are welcome
to attend and discuss any problems or concerns they may
have. For more information contact SGA in Rm. 212 of the
Olmsted Building.
CAPITAL TIMES ¥> T? TV /Hf
January 20, 1992 V/i "H/l// /
times have I spent large sums of money
on required latest editions only to
find that inconsequential revisions were all
that separated the ninth edition from the
tenth.
My date of graduation presents itself in
May of this year; therefore, my plea is on
behalf of those students who will remain.
The cost of an education continues to
spiral beyond the peaks of the Pyrenees
Mountains, and the current economic
conditions require many students to get
by on the bare minimum.
While I am certain that some
instructors make an effort to keep the cost
of required texts at a minimum, I know
firsthand that others give this little
thought. To those who qualify as the
former go the thanks of every student who
Donald Trump does not claim as a
dependent. As for those who qualify as the
latter, wake up and smell the coffee.
Do not take this as a slam against the
entire faculty of this institution. This
slam is precisely aimed at those who give
little or no consideration to the limited
budgets of students.
going backward in our educational system
not forward. We can no longer isolate
ourselves and believe that because we are
Americans we have privileges or
advantages over any other people.
By teaching and discussing diveristy
will not "force" or "legitimize crackpot
theorists" as Professor Barton puts it.
Students will have the opportunity to
agree or disagree with the views discussed
in order to widen their perspective and
realize that there are opposing views. The
"choice" Professor Barton speaks of is not
a choice in realizing that there are
opposing views but choice in believing
and incorporating them.
Malcolm Forbes once said "Educations
purpose is to replace an empty mind with
an open one." Diversity is one way to
ensure an open mind not a closed one.
David Trego
Graduate Student
Editor's Note: This letter appears in its
unedited form as it was received by the
Capital Times.