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