- THE CAPITAL TIMES Wednesday, December 10, 1997
Editorial: What Are You Getting For
Your Educational Dollar?
"...the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is Man Thinking. In
the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker,
or, still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking." —Ralph Waldo Emerson, The
American Scholar
Good afternoon. Welcome to Penn State Harrisburg, what can I get for you today?"
"Hmm . give me a business degree with a side of marketing. Can I get the diploma
for that? I' m going to need it for my employer."
Universities across the country are slowly but surely turning into"fast food" style
diploma mills. They are becoming cash-and-carry outlets selling a piece of paper that
qualifies you for the job of your choice. This trend in higher education is symbolic
of market-driven America and its subtle as a sledgehammer push toward sterile
efficiency.
Penn State Harrisburg is no exception. The college must offer classes that will sell.
It is a business after all. Since society, and thus students, are beginning to put a
premium on a trade-school type of education, PSH will have no choice but to provide
just that.
Many students are buying into the same doctrine as well. "Give us the courses that
will fit easily into our schedule for the future," they demand. Provide us with the
quickest path to our future of money, a family, a dog and a house with a two-car
garage.
In other words, we all want to hop on the fast track to success. The problem is, the
fast track inherently excludes courses that will educate in valuable areas other than
our own majors. So, students miss a chance for a holistic education, and the university
misses a chance to produce holistic people (who will later claim to be alumni).
We are in danger of becoming "mere thinkers" rather than "People Thinking."
This change is already evidencing itself. Look at your resume. Have you listed two
GPA' s, one overall and one for your major? Your overall average should be enough
to tell employers that you are (or are not) going to be a good employee. Even so,
companies want specialization, and we are willing to provide it at our own expense.
The school also exhibits the push toward specialization. PSH, to stay in business,
provides courses of study that will attract students. If students want a "trade school,"
the school must respond in kind. For now, the college requires a range of other classes
in addition to major-specific courses, but will the student "market" allow this
continue?
Will the market demand "mere thinkers" and change the school's goal of creating
"People Thinking?"
Hopefully not—we can not afford such a change. We would only be getting a
partial education, as our occupation is only a part of our lives. There is more to learn
in life than a chosen trade, and our studies must reflect that.
American education reformer and philosopher John Dewey said: "Education is not
preparation for life. Education is life itself." He realized we are constantly learning
about all facets of our existence. Since all these fragments of our lives are a vital part
of our education, why would we pay a university to enhance only one?
As paying customers, we should demand a holistic education. We must ask the
question, "What are we getting for our educational dollar?" and answer it critically
and fairly.
In upcoming issues of the Capital Times, we will examine this question to see if
PSH is providing the necessary educational opportunities. More importantly, we will
see if students are both demanding these opportunities and taking advantage of them
when they are provided.
We all must specialize our education to some extent. Obviously, we cannot observe
situations promoting "mere thinking" that arise in areas we do not experience. You
will see some as well, and when you do, contact us. They may be, by nature,
somewhat controversial—all the better for positive changes. You can E-mail us at the
Cap Times office (captimes@hotmail.com).
OPINION/ EDITORIAL
Smells Like School Spirit
By Paul Smith
Guest Columnist
I was certain I had never seen her before in my life. "You've got a lot of
nerve," she said. I scanned her face again carefully. I was worried I had
encountered her on one of those hazy nights in my reckless youth.
"You've got a lot of nerve," she repeated. Then she added, "Wearing that
jacket today."
Whew, momentary relief. Then it dawmed on me I was wearing my Michigan
Wolverines jacket at Penn State Harrisburg. Michigan pasted Penn State the
previous Saturday, 35-8. That never crossed my mind since I had worn the
jacket several times. Before I had gotten nary a stray look.
The woman's reaction was the closest thing to school spirit I have seen since
coming to PSH. It is easy to forget this is Penn State if you don't go in to the
bookstore every once and a while. I know, we have the Blue and White signs
in the parking lot. They fade into the scenery after a while. What I mean is
atmosphere, or the lack of it, here at PSH.
You might take issue with this. My aforementioned accuser certainly would,
but you and she are in the minority. Take a look around.
The school paper had a near death experience earlier this semester. Did you
see the infamous "non-issue?" Probably not, since about as many people read
it as write articles for it. Then, just when we thought the Capitol Times had a
pulse, the lastest issue was cancelled at the last minute.
As for Student Government Association, their number one goal is to have
enough warm bodies to fill all of its offices. Pathetic. Does anyone know what
band the compus radio station is on. Of course not, it is not broadcasting.
Is there a solution? Can we breathe some life into "Undei the Aiiport U."?
Maybe, but student apathy is a big hurdle at a commuter campus. Perhaps some
sort of sports program would give the school something to rally around. We
have a recreation center and no teams.
Maybe participation in a club or activity should be a requirement. Maybe we
need to have a big protest or play some pranks on HACC. I don't know the
answer. But Ido know there is more to college than the classes. I'm not getting
that here. Neither are most others.
"Meade" From Page One
changeover time between residents is
short, those moving out are expected to
clean the unit.
"Some students leave late, and we have
new students coming in," Coleman said.
For students with jobs or internships that
keep them later than the semester, "We
try to be lenient," she added. The rush in
between outgoing and incoming residents
does not always allow time for the con
tractors to get the cleaning done.
In those cases, departing students are
expected to clean the unit. However,
housing services can not always be sure
that happens. Coleman said they try to
set an appointment to check the unit, but
that is not always possible. This is when
a unit may show up dirty or with broken
furniture.
In such cases, the outgoing residents
will be charged for extra costs needed for
any cleaning or repairs. Normally, it is
not necessary to charge much if anything,
Coleman said. Since it is a small amount,
it is just charged to the students' semester
bills.
For problems that arise despite housing's
measures, help is always a phone call
away. Coleman said the housing staff
itself will clean if necessary. They have
done it before when contractors refused
to come back after dealing with some of
the units.
However, no such staff was necessary
on moving day. "There were cleaners
available all day," she said. "All they
(residents) had to do was call."
Insect control is also contracted. "Each
unit is exterminated bi-monthly,"
Coleman said. "They (exterminators)
are on campus three weeks out of every
month."
All residents are given a schedule of
exterminations. Each unit is sprayed on
a routine basis. However, problems may
sometimes occur. Again students can
call for an emergency extermination.
Other problems occur as well. For
example, if a unit is empty in spring and
unoccupied until fall, the cleaning and
exterminating may result in some "resi
due bugs" Coleman said.
She explained, the cleaning is done when
the place is vacated, but the spraying is
continuous. Therefore, bugs may wan
der into the sprayed areas after the unit
has been cleaned. Generally, this is rem
edied with a simple sweeping, Coleman
said.
"Problems vary from year to year," she
said. "There is always help available."