The 1990 s may be
remembered as Penn
State Harrisburg's " RE—
ING DECADE." The College
is redesigning, refram
ing, rebuilding, reform
ing, reshaping, rework
ing, reengineering, reor
ganizing, reconstructing,
reconstituting, and rein-
venting its units and
processes for delivering
high quality education
and training.
Planning and imple
menting comprehensive,
long-term change mean
converting redesigned
visions into new realities
It requires strategically
rethinking and redoing
policy-making, adminis
tration, and service deliv -
ery systems, and relations
across units—both inside
and outside the College.
Values-based, mission-
driven responses occur
through entrepreneurial,
creative, and flexible
responses amidst a
seachange of economic,
social, technological,
demographic, ideological,
and political forces.
Attention must be
redirected toward rein-
vesting in human capital
to insure benefits for the
College's stakeholders.
Responding to customers
refocuses decision-mak
ers on results oriented
Student Government Association Senator offers his
insight and clarification of funding decisions.
Dear Co-Editors:
As an SGA member and a
former staff member of
The Capital Times, I feel
that a few things need to
be clarified regarding the
scandalization of the
funding decisions made
by the SGA.
First of all, the under
lying issue is that our
entire campus is clearly
not adequately funded.
Secondly, the campus
media gets the largest cut
of the funding allotted.
Finally, the decision of
SGA to allot the additional
$BOO was more heavily
criticized by students
than any other SGA deci
sion in my memory. The
overwhelming student
consensus favored saving
that money.
The content issued dis
cussed at SGA meetings
were primarily con
cerned with the repetitive
public humiliation stu
dents felt they were the
victims of in articles in
The Capital Times.
According to media law,
the SGA may not have a
right to investigate the
source of their disgust,
but it certainly has a
r -------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ------- -I
Do ijou have an opinion or a comet e n t. ?
We want to hear it! Write a letter to the co-editors and drop it in our !nail
box on our office door (W-341) or in our mail box in the Student Activities
!Office (Rm. 216). Be sure to include your name, major 8r phone #.
goals by rejuvenating
accountability and reject
ing bean-counts of false
successes. Facilitating
partnerships reempha
sizes collaborative rela
tionships.
The "RE—ING DECADE"
holds promise for revers
ing trends toward apathy
and revolts, and negative
reaction and rejection of
even good ideas and posi
tive change.
Restructuring lends hope
that the College can be
retaken, reclaimed, reval
ued, and respected by its
most apathetic.
A rekindled spirit and
institutional renewal and
resurgence depends, i n
part, on how reinventors
and reinventions are
reintroduced.
Other " RE Words" must
guide the experiment.
Remember to:
—Revisit, restudy, reexam
ine, reevaluate, and
rethink what has and has
not worked before.
—Reconsider and redefine
who does w hat, when,
where, why, and how.
—Reuse, recycle, retain,
recover, restore, recreate,
and reinvest—in good
ideas, people, programs,
and past successes.
—Reduce, repeal, relin
quish, retract, and release
what has failed.
responsibility as the gov
ernment of the student
body
Although I support the
responsible journalistic
endeavors of The Capital
Times, the recent publici
ty targeting my state
ments in this debate have
been taken out of context
My argument is that the
student newspaper must
diversify to better serve
the student community,
more effectively cover
campus events, and pro
vide a forum for all stu
dents (including those
who have been ridiculed
in recent editorials). My
original stand included no
implication that funding
should be discontinued. I n
fact, it should be noted
that my deliberate absten
tion was the pivotal vote
that allowed the additional
$BOO allotment to The
Capital Times.
The conclusion of my
argument encouraged
SGA members and dis-
g run tled visitors who
criticized The Capital
Times to join the staff and
make their voices a part
of the campus media. The
fact that a combination of
—Reveal facts.
—Relearn and retool as
requisites for reenergiz-
ing, reinvigorating,
recharging, reframing,
and renewing the modes
of College governance.
—Reawaken to a recom
mitment and rededication
to tolerance and coopera-
—Reacquaint and recon
nect students, faculty, and
administrative leadership
through reopened lines
of communication.
—Renegotiate our con
tracts with each other at a
time when "wants" are
often redefined to be
"needs" and " needs"
redefined to be "rights."
All stakeholders must
reinterpret, redefine, and
reeducate themselves
about the balance
between their rights and
obligations or responsi
bilities to the entire
College community.
Without that, there will
be no reemergence of
community, revival of
responsible institutional
citizenship, or a rein
vented Penn State
Harrisburg. The last half
of the 1990 s will simply
be a rerun of the past.
Beverly A. Cigler
Professor of Public Policy
and Administration
commendations, as well as
criticisms, of The Capital
Times w ere also included
in - my statements was also
omitted. Consider this:
objectivity and unbiased
coverage is dependent on
what is not reported, as
well as what is reported.
I wish you would con
sider a less aggressive
approach in dealing with
your critics and attempt
to accommodate the indi
viduals who could be
great assets to the future
of The Capital Times. I
understand that all citi
zens have Ist amendment
rights. However, consid
ering the pivotal nature
of this issue, I think it is
time to deal with each
other with civility and
respect. Although I
understand your right to
do so, I do not expect to
see or hear of any fur
ther degradation of uni
versity students in future
editions of The Capital
Times. Thank you for
cooperating in the spirit
of reconciliation.
Matt Fisher
Former SGA Senator At
Large
VIEWPOINT
Dear
Recently I was asked
to sign a petition that
requested Student Court to
suspend the operations
and assets of The Capital
Times because of alleged
violations of their consti -
tution. This petition
alleged that The Capital
Times was violating the
subsections of the consti-
tution concerning the
editor-in-chief. The peti
tion alleged that the edi
tor-in-chief failed to
oversee the business and
advertising of the paper,
disregarded rules that
undermined the students,
and failed to interact pro
ductively with the admin
istration.
This petition was sup
posed to be signed by the
president of all the clubs
and nrcrarliZatiOns nn
campus. Because I am a
president of an organiza
tion on campus, I was
given the petition. I was
appalled to see the some
presidents actually signed
the petition. It was evi-
dent to me that the stu
dents who were distribut-
in g the petition were
unhappy about the recent
money allocations and
remarks that had been
made about them in sev
eral editions of The
Capital Times. They were
relying on other clubs'
and organizations' dissat
isfaction with the money
allocations to get them to
sign the petition.
I would not sign the
petition on several
grounds. First, The Capital
Times is currently being
run by co-editors and not
an editor-in-chief. The
petition states the editor
in-chief is in violation of
the constitution. The fact
that there is no editor-in-
chief, in my opinion,
makes the petition
inyalid. Also, the petition
did not specifically state
Management/Marketing student speaks out -
the presence of the student newspaper and literary
journal should be carved in stone
Dear Co-Editors
LET"S BURN ALL CF
THE LITERATURE AND
HANG THOSE THAT CON-
T R I BITTED 'MIT. Is this
the message that the SGA
is trying to convey? As
students in the American
university system we
should be trying to culti
vate the artfulness that
comes from writing,
painting, etc. instead of
trying to suppress it.
The Capital Times and
theTarnhelm are essen
tial entities that should
not even be the subject of
debate; their presence
should be carved in stone.
The allocation of money
to various clubs should be
a supplement - not a sup
port program. The truth
comes to light especially
when the downfall of lit
erature and student
expression is at stake.
There seems to be a
udent voices concern over petition
shut down The Capital Times
Co-Editors
the actions of the editors
that were allegedly in
violation of their consti -
tution. How can one sign
a petition that requests
that our only college
newspaper be shut down
with such vague allega-
tions?
I am sure that the pro
duction of a school news
paper is very difficult,
especially when the
paper is severely under
staffed. Presidents of
clubs are not qualified to
make decisions about how
to run a college newspa-
Those who signed this
bogus petition, should
spend less time passing
around a vague and
unfounded petition, and
place those efforts into
making submissions to
the paper or assisting in
other more productive
ways.
As for the presidents
who signed the petition,
you should all be ashamed
of yourselves! You all
signed a petition repre-
senting you organization
and the members of your
organization. Being a
president of an organiza
tion is not a job to be
taken lightly. When you
sign a petition represent
ing your club or organi
zation, you should be sure
all your members also
believe in that petition. I f
they don't, then you are
not representing the
members of your club or
organization, and you are
doing a disservice to your
position.
The reasons behind
the petition will probably
never be known.
However, I believe that
one reason for the peti
tion is because The Capital
Times, received more
money than other clubs
and organizations. No
club or organization got
the money they request-
strong misconception
that only the Humanities
students contribute to the
literature on this campus.
This is an extreme false
hood with no real back
ing to support it. I am a
double major in
Management and
Marketing. I have sub-
mined articles to Rolling
Stone and Heartland just
to see my work in print.
Do not think for a split
second that the only con
tributors to the literary
works on this campus are
only Humanities or
Journalism majors. They
are not
Writing is a form of
expression that cultivates
the mind and gives an
education. Many think an
education is simply a
degree imprinted with
their name and that of
the university. It is not.
An education is an open-
CAFTMES, February 5, 1996
ed. If the paper got more
money, so be it. The deci
sion was made, and we,
the presidents, must live
with that decision. We
must make do with the
money allocated, or try to
get money elsewhere.
Another possible rea
son for the petition is an
attempt at retaliation for
remarks made about cer
tain students in the edito-
rial section of previous
editions of The Capital
Times. If they feel that
these remarks are
unfounded, then they too
can write to the co-editors
and dispute them. Rather
than being unscrupulous
and trying to shut down
the media, they should
use the media to speak
their mind and not try to
stop its production.
Whatever the reasons,
the possibility of a few
misinformed students try
ing to shut down our col
lege's most important lit
erary source is preposter
ous. Those who produce
the paper should be
applauded. It may not be
the best newspaper, but it
is the only one we have.
They make do with the
resources they have and
produce a quality news-
paper
I am writing this edi
torial as a student, and
none of the opinions stat
ed are necessarily those
of my organization. I am
sure that those who dis-
tributed the petition have
submitted it to the Student
Court. I urge the Court to
thoroughly investigate
the charges in the peti-
tion an dismiss these
unfounded allegations. I
hope that the members of
the Court will be more
responsible than those
who signed this unfound
ed petition.
Sincerely,
A concerned student,
(Name withheld by request)
- it's that simple.
ing of the mind to see
things in different ways.
It enables an individual to
seek out new ways of
doing things and opens
the mind to all possibili
ties. An education can
only be accomplished
through reading, writing,
and thought. DD not con
fine reading and writing
to only that which con
cerns a major. As
American students we
cannot let any organiza
tion attempt to suppress
our natural and constitu
tional rights to basic
freedom. Our Federal
Government is attempting
enough of that already.
Always remember: be
curious, take a stand for
w hat is right, and expand
your horizons. You will
have a better chance of
seeing the light.
Robert A. Ford
Marketing/Management