From the home office in the Olmsted Building... Michael Stone Capital Times Staff Being a huge David Letterman fan, and having written over 100 of my own top ten lists to pass the boring hours of college radio, I hereby present to you my latest creation. These are "The Top Ten Changes I Am Hoping For At Penn State Harrisburg." 10) A building erected after 1975 with some decent chairs. The architecture here leaves a lot to be desired: pseudo-asbestos ceilings, drab concrete walls, and the aesthetic warmth of a northern Canada climate in mid-winter. I do understand this used to be an Air Force base, but let's renovate it more quickly. The chairs are another story. You haven't experienced pain until you have sat for two hours in the excuses for furniture located in W-12. They are nothing but rape upon your vertebrae. Penn State spent $lO zillion on the Beaver Stadium addition. A few swivel rockers to replace the chairs we said No regrets, but no point either Terry Wolf Capital Times Staff For those of you as tired of soap operas as I am, I have a treat for you. No more little tidbits about SGA strikes or student apathy. I've decided to write about something interesting for a change. What, you may ask? I wanted to make this column campus oriented. I wanted to address some things I felt needed attention. I thought I'd show Dr. Parisi I learned something in News and Society class about proximity. I didn’t want to lose my readers by writing about something they were unfamiliar with: the "real world." Don't get me wrong, I don't know any more about the "real world" than anybody else. After all, it’s created by the news departments of various broadcast and cable Racism runs rampant in world Jeff Hildebrand Capital Times Staff "White people are devils. White people will use anything and anyone to achieve their goals. 85 to 90 percent of white people are devout racists. Blacks should not trust whites. White people are the most violent race ever to inhabit the earth. Wherever white people have gone in this world, hell, misery and chaos have been the results." The preceding comments were taken from a column by Chino Wilson that appeared in the Jan. 28 edition of the Daily Collegian. If they've aroused your interest I suggest you read the entire column; it's available at the circulation desk in the library. Please, read his column. Once you have your copy, go directly to the nearest bathroom. Next, properly goodbye to in grammar school isn't a huge request. 9) An FM radio station. Our college campus broadcasts on carrier current AM. This means the signal is sent via electrical Etched In Stone lines- versus the airwaves Local high schools have FM stations, but we at Penn State go without because "we might say something naughty on air." Please, spare me. If disc jockeys get an FCC license-the cost is about $3O-1 can guarantee you they won’t say one word to lose it. This campus is supposed to prepare students for the real world. I can't wait for the day PSH graduates lose jobs to Middletown high school students that "joined a club for some fun." 8) Free Honda Preludes, or the car of your choice. Every semester there is about a 10% increase in tuition. How about some reliable and stylish wheels? networks, and spoon-fed to us in big helpings. It's always seasoned to taste and always altered. The "real world," however, is a lot Wolf's Den safer ground. After writing last month's column, I noticed a sudden change in temperature in the Olmsted Building, especially the second floor. If looks (or hate mail) could kill, I wouldn't be writing this now. I'm not sorry for anything I wrote, but I do walk the halls around here. I'd be a lot better off doing what everyone else around here does and avoid writing about stuff that might make waves. When people threaten to take their adjust your attire and sit upon the toilet. Then begin reading. What goes in one end will be what comes out the other. If the mental picture I have just drawn Just a Thought... for you is gross, wait until you read the opinions of Chino "I-have-a-defective brain" Wilson. I am very weary of hearing our world described in terms of black and white-or as hatemongers like Wilson see it, black versus white. Why is it reported that a black man raped a white woman, or that a white man beat up a black man? The news is that a man raped a woman and a man beat up another man. The root of the news is that one person 7) A computer network that's easy to access, doesn't lock up, and allows for more than 20 people to use Word Perfect at a time. Granted, our network is better than most. We each pay $35 per semester, whether we use the damn things or not. For those shcckles, let's see some free laser printing. 6) More naked statues in the sculpture garden. They force humanities/commun ications majors to take the ancient literature and culture courses; let’s see some more butts and busts. 5) A decision on one universally accepted name for this campus. Whatever the deal is with the "PSH" or "PS at Harrisburg" thing, let’s get it straight. And, if we use "Capital Campus," let’s agree on when and where we use it, and if we spell it with an ”AL" or an "OL." No two signs, or for that matter two resumes leaving this campus, have the same nomenclature on them. 4) Cable hook-up to the Playboy Channel (I like my smut). Sammons provides basic service for around $2O. Add anger about my involvement in this club (Capital Times) out on another club I'm involved in (WPSH), even though that club has nothing to do with my column, it's time to rethink. If my opinions (like dissolving SGA) piss people off-good. That tells me that someone at least thought about what I said. If people don't agree with my opinions, that's good too. I'm the last person who’d want to interfere with the first amendment. But some people don’t stop at that. Some people start to make threats. Some people use nasty words like "conflict of interest," and, in general, act like children. I have two part-time jobs, I'm president of a very active club that's trying to go to FM, I'm dealing with 17 credits of classes, I'm a resident assistant, and my wife just gave birth to our second child. did a very ugly thing to another person. Why must these stories constantly be presented to us as though they are race issues? I understand that we have a race problem in this world. Yes, I said this "world.” Racists are everywhere and of every race. It appears as though Wilson is unwilling to accept the fact that the "white" race does not have a monopoly on the fault that is racism. Why can’t we just view each other as people instead of colors? The media's penchant for constantly pointing out skin color serves to foster an increased awareness of the color issue. Crimes of hatred should be reported as such. Events where race is an integral part of the story should be reported as such. However, just because the individuals are of different color, does not make the CAPITAL TIMES 17 /t "I March 2, 1992 VA A m Alt U/A J- a pay channel, and you're up to $3O. If you want some culture and variety, "tier channels," such as The Weather Channel, Arts & Entertainment, and VH-1, are yet more money. But, for $2O, we do get C SPAN 1 and 2-wow, more lectures between classcs--and PBS, with the "History of Glue” documentaries. 3) A 20lh century, uncrowded college library -in its own building. This one’s been beaten to death-you know all the details. 2) Less manure fertilizer. Three Mile Island provides the radiation, and PSH fertilizes anything that still manages to grow in its wake. The first warm day you were here, didn't you feel like a horse farm was nearby? Okay, if we can't cut down on the "crap," how about if we get Billy Joel to play a concert in the afore-mentioned sculpture garden? 1) The bookstore lowering textbook mark-up to an acceptable rate. Let's put an end to the textbook conspiracy as well See Stone, page 16 I have a life, I don't need a soap opera. You're probably wondering what the hell the point of this column actually is. The point is there is no point. The Capital Times has been gracious enough to allow me to voice my opinions, and for that, I am grateful. Elin and Karen and the rest of the staff are good people with a good thing going, and they should be applauded for their effort to keep students informed. Writing an opinion column about things that are wrong on campus, however, was not one of my better ideas. The '9os will probably be remembered as the decade of political correctness. I was happier in the '7os, when all 1 had to worry about was making sure the weed I bought wasn't tainted with paraquat, and keeping my hair down to my ass. issue one of race. Let it go. Write about people. No, I am not so naive as to think that if we don’t talk about our racism problem it will go away. I do believe that we should toss this political correctness crap out the window and look at each other for what we are imperfect people. One of those faults is fearing those who are different from ourselves. We all do this. We are all racists to some degree. Admit it. You are. I am. Once we face our own racism perhaps we will be better able to understand that of others. Once we stop ignoring our own problem and blaming the other person, we may be able to make some progress. It is our problem. Yours and mine. People like Chino Wilson and David See Thought, page 17
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