14-745 - €,,r, °'.de;e,6r i k I
International Affairs Association
recognizes contribution of Dr. Gilpin
Dear Editor,
International
Affairs Association
would like to thank Dr.
Clem Gilpin for his
devoted dedication, per-
severance and energy to contributes to lAA's con-
this organization
This club would
Alpha Sigma Lambda society
honors adult students
Dear Editor,
In your Feb. 13 issue,
the promo box above the
Capital Times nameplate
highlighted an inside feature
on Alpha Sigma Lambda.
When I turned to page 5, I
found the article actually was
about Sigma Gamma Rho, a
black sorority.
Nevertheless, I want
your readers to know there is
an Alpha Sigma Lambda. It is
the national honor society for
adults in continuing higher
education and Penn State
Harrisburg has the Theta lota
chapter.
This honor society
1996 PSH graduate unaffected by
changes to graduation ceremony
Dear Editor,
F irst of all, congratu-
lations on your impending
graduation this May! I hope
you enjoy your ceremony as
much as I did mine-which
brings me to the reason I am
corresponding to the Capital
Times
I really felt a need to
respond to the article pub
lished in the January 23,
1997 issue which I recently
received. This i tern addressed
some concerns and criticisms
of the December 14, 1996
graduation ceremony held at
the Hershey Theater.
chance" to display class
unity. Maybe I am a cynic (or
just a former night student)
but how much "class unity"
really exists at Penn State
the argument that this cere- Harrisburg?
I believe some corn-
ments I made during an
interview with the reporter
were indeed used to bolster
mony was substandard
I would like to per-
haps "round out" said article
by stating that I thoroughly
enjoyed our graduation cere
mony and did not really find
it lacking in any significant
area. Certainly, the jokester
in me would have liked to
hurl my mortarboard into the
air at the end of the ceremo
However, my desire to
throw away my cap was not
the driving force behind my
attendance at that ceremony.
For that matter, nei -
ther was the desire to panic-
ipate in a processional
These are but two procedural
never have continued to
be the strongest club on
campus if it was not for
Dr. Gilpin.
Recognition for
how much Dr. Gilpin
tinued success needs to
be made.
As club president,
has existed nationally for 50
years, and this spring we
will have this campus's fifth
annual induction. Eligible
students are those who meet
the society's membership
requirements and are in the
degree programs adminis
tered by Continuing
Education - the associate
degrees in business adminis
tration and letters, arts, and
sciences, as well as the bach
elor of science for registered
nurses
This year's induction
will be held May 4 at 2 p.m.
in the Gallery Lounge. I
would like to invite the whole
campus community to attend
traditions which perhaps
obscure the true meaning of
graduation for me
My greatest desire
was to have my family pre-
sent as I crossed the stage in
front of my peers, mentors,
friends and professors, all of
whom applauded in acknowl
edgment of me-the newest
graduate of Penn State
Harrisburg. This desire was
fulfi I led.
I would also like to
address your editorial
wherein you stated that the
processional was the"last
I did not know 90% of
the people I graduated with-I
literally only knew 4!
Participating in a proces
sional would not have
changed how I felt about
graduation or my fellow grad
uates. I was happy for myself
and everyone else. We had
finally done i t!
Any sense of unity
and camaraderie I felt during
the ceremony was developed
as we sat there in between
speeches and announcements.
We joked with each other and
pondered the possibility of
having to answer nature's call
right before walking up the
I had the pleasure of
working with Dr. Gilpin
and he is a man of dig-
nity, respect and honor.
Thank you.
George Daka
lAA President
this event, to show our sup
port for these adults who
balance work, home, and fam
ily life, and maintain an
exemplary academic record
as well.
For further informa
tion about the honor society,
please call me at extension
6025 at the Student
Assistance Center, W-117.
Sincerely,
Charlotte F. Spector
Student Affairs Assistant
and National Councilor for
Alpha Sigma Lambda
s tairs to the stage.
The PENN STATE
FIGHT SONG could be heard
down the rows as "someone"
triggered a little football toy
to chime out this melody ever
so quietly. We all giggled.
And we all howled during Dr.
Barton's phenomenal speech -
what an entertainer!
So this is just a long
winded way of saying that I
enjoyed my graduation cere
mony and would warn all
future graduates not to let
the absence of a couple of
procedural events ruin the
day for them.
I certainly did not
need to hear a rendition of
"Pomp and Circumstance" to
realize what I had accom
plished. Nor did I need to
walk down the aisle with 200
strangers to feel close to
them as they shared the
moment
At this level, I think
that graduation is no longer
about being part of a school
or ceremonial traditions.
Indeed, it is about
separating from those things
and joining the world as an
individual armed with sel f -
confidence and renewed
esteem. I am certain you will
agree on MaylB, 1997.
Sincerely,
Joanne C. Ramirez
Penn State Grad '96
VIEWPOINT
Nicole Lynn Me c k
Staff Reporter
When there are no
movie roles for you-make
your own. Clint Eastwood
does! He stars in "Absolute
Power" which happens to be
directed and produced by him
also.
Eastwood plays Luther
Whitney, a professional thief
who decides he does not like
the view he sees through the
looking glass. What he sees is
the President's Secret Service
men commit murder and then
cover it up.
(Gene Hackman) vows to catch
the killer. Only one problem,
he is involved in the murder
of his mistress. Umm, what's
a President to do when you
kill the wife of your biggest
supporter?
Judy Davis is Gloria
Russell. A no nonsense chief
of staff, she takes charge of
the cover up. Her days and
nights get worse as Whitney
decides to toy with those
involved.
Detective Seth Frank
(Ed Harris) leads the investi
gation of the bungled bur-
glary. Frank immediately
suspects Whitney but he
PSU Basketball: March
Sadness in Happy Valley
Michael Per ic ci
Contributor
A fter s tarting the
season 5-1, the Penn State
men's basketball team has
since gone on a tailspin
As of Feb. 26, the
Nittany Lions posted a 9-16
record with no hopes of
making the NCAA post-sea
son. With that in mind, one
must wonder why Penn State
hasn't experienced the suc
cess that was expected of
them upon their arrival in
the Big 10 conference.
From my standpoint,
Penn State has a very nar
row casted view on athlet
ics. Ask any student the
sport most associated with
Penn State and they will
most likely say football.
Plain and simple,
Penn State football is the
trademark of this universi
ty. Joe Paterno, coach of
Penn State football, is a
legend in his own right.
Paterno has been with the
university for 31 years,
which may be one creden
tial that attracts many
recruits.
So why doesn't the
basketball team benefit like
the football team does? The
underlying reason is that
basketball hasn't become
important enough at Penn
State.
Star athletes from
Pennsylvania, particularly
" m ''G "Absolute Power"
RgvlG, , Ny
an absolute must
President Richmond
knows that more than one the same can not be said
person has to be involved. Oh, about Kate.
did I mention he is single.
Laura L inney s tars as
Kate Whitney, Luther's
daughter. She is a prosecuting
attorney who knows her
father is a professional thief.
And although he is not in her
life, his presence is felt.
"Absolute Power" i s
good movie. It starts nice and
slow allowing you to capture
what is going on.
When the women at
the art museum ask Luther
"You work with your hands
don't you?" you can feel the
tension
And for once, I was
glad to see a girl get what she
really wants on the couch.
And if you ever wondered
what was on the other side of
the mirror.. . Oh, did I men
tion the chair?
The dialogue between
the characters is great. When
Detective Frank is in his
office and starts asking ques -
tions you feel right at home
with the barbs he gets. The
movie has quite a few of
excellent quotes.
Luther never gives up
hope that his Kate will
believe him and love him. He
is always there with her. But
the Philadelphia area, are
passing up Penn State for
bigger-name schools such
as North Carolina, Duke,
Michigan, etc. Penn State
needs to do a better job
keeping Pennsylvania play
ers close to home.
Injuries have also
plagued the Nittany Lions
Point guard Dan Earl sat
out the entire season with a
back problem. Freshman
Ryan Bailey filled the void
for Earl, while sharp- shoot
er Pete Lisicky handled the
off-guard position.
Booth needs to put
on at least 40 pounds if he
ever hopes to be anything
more than a wind chime.
Head coach Jerry
Dunn is in his second year
with the Lions, yet in that
short time he has made
many strides to improving
the team
Dunn's no-nonsense
approach has gained respect
from both the players and
other coaches as well.
Moving to the Big 10
seemed 1 ike the savior for
Penn State basketball, but
thus far i t has been any-
thing but that. The Lions
are currently 10th in the
Big 10 with no hopes of
moving any higher.
As I stated earlier,
recruiting seems to be the
downfall for Penn State bas
ketbalL Year in and year
out Penn State's football
program is nationally
CAPTIMES, March 6, 1997
The sub-plots for this
movie are good. You want to
see Seth and Kate live happi
ly ever after. And you just
know for once a President is
going to get what he deserves,
although not quite what you
expect
There are a few more
characters not mentioned but
they are fantastic.
The secret service
men tow the line just like
they are expected to do.
Gloria, trying to keep control
of them and not lose her
mind, is comical in the
beginning and toward the end,
annoying. It does work.
"Absolute Power" just
keeps the pace going. I t is two
hours and ten minutes but i t
seems about 90.
I f you need a reason
to go the movies instead of
renting, I recommend i t.
Better yet, rent "In the L ine
of Fire" on the way home
after seeing "Absolute
Power."
Score: 3.50 Gloria was
just too much for anyone to
take dancing.
ranked in the top five in
recruiting (this year they
were voted as high as sec
ond). The basketball team,
however, struggles to bring
in star athletes (they are in
such need of players that
two members of the football
team have recently joined
the team). With the Bryce
Jordan Center built, a big
ger arena is one way that
the basketball program has
gotten a boost.
Another thing that
strikes me is that Penn
State continually has its
football players drafted by
the NFL On the other
hand, how many Penn State
basketball players do you
see in the NBA? To my
knowledge—one!
The point being that
Penn State has a history of
producing star football
players and not many bas
ketball ones.
While 64 men's col
lege basketball teams cele
brate March Madness, Penn
State will be sitting home
wondering what happened
this year.
So all they can hope
for is that the 1997-98 sea
son will yield better
results for them, and that
maybe next year they'll
receive an invitation to the
"Big Dance."
al P.