8/EDITORIAL “ ™ E U
Should we punish
student apathy?
Last week the Student Government Association held an open forum to
get input from students on what campus conditions are like, and how they
might help to change them. They spent money printing flyers and
covering the walls, halls and bulletin boards with them. No one showed
up.
SGA wanted to hold a dance marathon on campus, similar to the large
one held at University Park. They thought the club leaders should
undertake some of the responsibility to help plan the festivities. They held
a meeting for club presidents, which...you guessed it...few of us
attended.
They were mad, ticked, irritated and annoyed. How dare the club
presidents show as much apathy as the entire student body? "They must
be punished and punished hard" was the sentiment as wheels turned,
minds worked, and members of the SGA set about putting a freeze on all
club funds. This was going to be big.
Someone anonymously "tipped" a Capital Times reporter, as well as
our adviser, of the SGA's intents. Heads were going to roll. There was to
be a freeze on every club's budget; no club would be able to hold events,
plan trips or breathe without benefit of their allotment from SGA. The
almighty had spoken and so it would be.
But it just didn't happen. Why? I'm sure there are legal reasons, ethical
reasons, moral reasons...perhaps a voice wiser than that of the SGA
calmed the waters before the storm ever really began. Whatever the
reason, it just didn't happen.
I'm not addressing the issue to shake my finger in glee at the
organization whose temper tantrum was squelched by the voice of reason.
Instead, I hope to offer a more logical reason why freezing clubs funds
would only have be an act of a dictatorial jackass.
The catchword of the year for Penn State Harrisburg seems to be
apathy. Webster's Dictionary defines apathy as 1) a lack of interest or
emotion; impasiveness and 2) a lack of interest or concern; indifference.
Going by the definitions, there's a lot of apathy on this campus. Okay,
let’s admit it, we're overflowing with apathy. We're largely a commuter
campus with a high population of non-traditional students. Students who
don't have time to participate in campus activities, such as a dance
marathon that one might see as being reminiscent of high school.
BUT, by the definition, do club presidents exhibit the qualities of
apathy? Are we to be punished, even though we're already involved? Is
punishing people who do something right a totally backwards concept or
is it just me?
I have no doubt the club presidents have own their reasons for not
showing up at SGA's meeting. Mine: I have a 12-credit, 40-hours-a
-week internship that keeps me slightly busy. But even if I didn't, I
wouldn't have gone to the meeting.
I do not believe that because I edit the college newspaper, it's assumed
that I also devote my time to participating in campus events. I put as much
time into one issue of the paper as I do at my internship in three weeks.
However, unlike my internship, I neither get paid nor receive credit for
my time and effort on the paper.
I do have to work with a volunteer staff (whom I am VERY thankful
for), insufficient equipment, and budget, beg and plead for every penny
the paper receives. I, like all club presidents, AM involved at this college.
I do my best to use the paper to keep people informed on this campus. I
am neither impassive nor indifferent when it comes to this college.
Did SGA think of these things before their decision to "divide and
conquer" in a financial tug-of-war? I doubt it. Perhaps it’s simply that
they don't exactly know what the clubs do-that they themselves don't go
outside of SGA to get involved with other clubs. If they'd venture outside
their hillside castle, they might find it’s the little people who labor into the
wee hours of the morning to make their clubs work.
Perhaps Terry Wolf, general manager of WPSH, put it best when he
said, "They don't know what the hell we do, and they don't care."
Wolf had budgeted for a certain piece of equipment and been denied
funding. When he tried to explain the need for the equipment, a member
of the SGA Finance Committee admitted he didn't even know what Wolf
was talking about, much less why WPSH needed it.
Something WPSH and the Capital Times have in common is our
independence. Staff members learn from doing things, not reading about
them. It's hands-on learning. We teach each other—it's an environment of
spontaneous learning. Isn't that what a college is for? Learning? You
would think SGA, in particular, would be proud of such an atmosphere—
where students teach other students. Instead they wanted to stop it in its
tracks.
I'm sure there will be rebuttals to this editorial, and I welcome them
wholeheartedly. But, I caution SGA to seriously consider the time and
effort club presidents already give this school before they seek to "punish"
us, for whatever reason. We might just go with the apathetic flow, and
stick our heads in the sand with the rest of the student body.
Capital Times J
Editor-in-Chief... Karen M. Putt
Assistant Editor ... Elin Marcel
Sports Editor... Michael Givler
Copy Editor... Jeff Hildebrand
Photography Editor... Mike Starkey
Staff Artist... Trev Stair
Advertising Manager... Rodney May
Adviser... Dr. Peter Parisi
Staff: Lee Ashton, Sharon Barris, Lawrence Bates, Lee Bitier,
Anne Feeney-McGovern, Celia Fox, Matt Hunt, Lisa Malask,
Trinh Ngo, Jason Sandhaus, Stacey Simmers, Michael Stone, Angela West,
Terry Wolf, Andy Zee and Hilary Zeiders
Capital Times is published by students of Penn State Harrisburg. Concerns regarding the con
tent of any issue should be directed to the editor in room W-341 of the Olmsted Building or by call
ing 944-4970. Opinions expressed are those of the author and arc not representative of the college
administration, faculty or student body. Capital Times welcomes signed letters from readers. No
unsigned submissions will be printed; however, a writer's name may be withheld upon request.
SMPC
pru
rr miN./
3Caren Tl. Putt
Ecfitor-in-drleJ