The Capital Times
More letters
to the editor
Applauds column
questioning diversity
Dear Editor
I am an international student in the gradu
ate program in American Studies at Penn
State Harrisburg. I am writing to react to the
tremendously well written and enlightening
article of Makito Yurita that you published
in your January 22 issue of the Capital Times.
First, I applaud Makito for being a coura
geous voice that raises the complex issue of
the lack of communication between U.S. stu
dents and international students at Penn State
Harrisburg. Common sense and facts make
it obvious that there is a detrimental and in
commensurable lack of communication be
tween U.S. students and international stu
dents in our campus. Though this is true, we
have to recognize that this type of problem
is present in almost all colleges and univer
sities in the U.S.
The sad part is that, we students should start
a new heroic action by breaking the ice of
denial and stereotype that we develop about
one another. At first, the lack of communi
cation between us is a direct effect of a com
mon stereotype that we develop because of
the cultural and linguistic differences that
exist between us. From my daily informal
discussions with some of my fellows, I have
found that some U.S. students are often re
luctant to interact with international students
because they are afraid of making comments
or cultural "faux pas" that may hurt the feel
ings or sensibilities of the international stu
dent.
In the same way, some international stu
dents do not fraternize much with U.S. stu
dents because they are afraid that their for
eign accent be misunderstood or mocked af
terwards. By holding these irrational stereo
types, we all detrimentally reinforce our lack
of interpersonal communications. As Makito
suggests, one way of overcoming the prob
lem is to throw away our unjustified beliefs
and start building bridges.
I sacredly agree with Makito when he
points the invaluable exchange of knowledge
that we can learn from one another. I recog
nize that without my personal interaction with
U.S. students, I could not have acquired much
of the intellectual, cultural and folkloric
knowledge that I often use in my personal
diary and my American Studies research
projects. In the same way, a few U.S. stu
dents are happy when I discuss with them
issues touching the literature and the politics
of my beloved Senegal.
I wish other students of our campus will
follow Makito's path by investigating further
the issues that he has already raised. We can
learn a lot from these issues and help build
the bridge of communication. Thank you
very much for your attention.
Sincerely,
Babacar M'Baye
OPINION/EDITORIAL Thursday, February 19,1998
Yin and Yang, Fung Shui and fish tanks?
by Makito Yurita
Have you ever visited the home of a Chi
nese family? Even if you have not, you have
probably been inside of a Chinese restaurant
at least once. Whether you were in a Chinese
household or restaurant before, you may have
wondered about its unique design and fur
nishings. For example, were you
curious about the small, octago
nal mirror hanging above the en
trance? Did you wonder about the
pair of bronze lions that you saw?
Since there are many supersti
tious beliefs within the Chinese
culture, much consideration and
planning is put into the design,
furnishings, and layout of any
building. In Hong Kong, despite
the rapid Westernization that took
place during British colonization,
nearly all buildings are designed
in consideration of fung shui, or
"wind-water beliefs." The Chi-
nese believe that there are eight essential el
ements of nature and spirit related to Yin (fe
male-passive) and Yang (male-active) forces
which rule everything in this world. They feel
that these eight elements must be
carefully balanced in order to maintain har
mony in their lives.
Thus, whenever businessmen arrange their
office, or a family moves into a new home,
they must first consult a master of fung shui
to find the best alignment and location for
their chairs, tables, and other furniture. The
location of walls, doors, and bathrooms
Thank God for computers
by Devin Graham
I enjoy getting mail. I think everyone en
joys peering into their mailbox to see what
the mailman has brought them. Several
weeks ago I went to my mailbox and had a
look. Oh glorious day, there were several
letters inside, each one bearing my name. It
was the usual assortment of junk mail, credit
card applications and a mailing from Penn
State. I opened it on my walk back from the
mailbox and discovered my semester bill. I
scanned down through the itemized list and
noticed the unusually high tuition rate. Next
I saw the amount of student aid that has been
subtracted from my tuition; that made me a
little bit happier. Finally, I saw $75.00 listed
as a computer fee.
I would not mind paying this fee if the com
puters at Penn State actually worked, or if
the fee went to fixing or buying new equip
ment; but it doesn't seem to be. More often
than not there is a problem with not one, but
several of the computers.
My main use of the school computers con
cerns my e-mail service. I have used Eudora
from the time I started attending Penn State
York to the present. The whole time I used
the same disk. It functioned flawlessly for
two years. Shortly after my arrival at Penn
State Harrisburg the computers began tell
ing me they could not read my disk. I asked
the computer lab assistant to help me. He
within a building are also carefully examined
by fung shui in order to find the right bal
ance of elements. It is thought that, without
the right balance, disharmony will occur.
In many Chinese households, restaurants,
and offices, you will probably find an
aquarium somewhere. The Chinese believe
that if you do not have a view of water from
"Most Chinese households or
restaurants will have a mirror
hanging above the doorway
because it is believed that evil
spirits will be scared off when
they see their reflections."
your house, restaurant, or office, you must
bring water inside. This is because water
represents the pool of wealth in fung shui.
Thus, it is not unusual to see large numbers
of fish-tanks in places wherever money is
involved, such as restaurants and offices.
The Cantonese, or Southeast Chinese, have
many superstitions about numbers too. Some
numbers that are considered to be particu
larly auspicious are three, eight and nine. In
Chinese, the number three sounds like "life",
eight has a similar sound to "prosperity", and
nine recalls "eternity." When the Hong Kong
told me that my disk was "fraudulent" and I
should buy a "name brand disk" which the
computer center conveniently had on hand.
I buy the disk and it works fine. Splendid,
my troubles are over, or are they? About an
hour later I returned to the lab to finish mail
ing people and my brand new, name brand
disk could not be read by the computer. This
time, I went across the hall to talk to Terry
Majzlik. She wasn't there. So, I was put on
the phone with a "computer expert" at Uni
versity Park. He took a look at my mail, de
cided that I had no important mail and then
deleted it for me. His advice was to wait an
hour before using my account again.
Hours later my account was still not work
ing. I found Terry Majzlik and asked her to
help me with my problem. She ran a diag
nostic test on my disk that would have put
the launching of the space shuttle to shame.
It was determined that there is no problem
with the disk—even though it still will not
work.
The next day I entered the computer lab
full of hopes of using e-mail and what hap
pens? My new disk is fraudulent. I am not
sure whether I want to cry or be violent.
I planned to go through an elaborate set of
tests designed to protect my disk from any
and all possible modes of deterioration. I
purchased a pair of latex gloves. To my ad
vantage, I do not live under any high-tension
government auctions off car license plates at
charity events, license plates which contain
these "lucky" numbers are often sold for over
a million dollars!! Can you imagine paying
over a million dollars for a license plate?
By now you are probably wondering about
the significance of the mirror and lions found
within a Chinese home or restaurant. Most
Chinese households or restau-
rants will have a mirror hanging
above the doorway because it is
believed that evil spirits will be
scared off when they see their re
flections. The mirror deflects any
evil influences from the house.
Likewise, the bronze pair of li
ons also serves as a protective
barrier: lions looking toward the
outside will protect the wealth
and occupants of the dwelling or
place of business.
After learning these interesting
aspects about the Chinese culture,
you may want to apply some of its ideas and
beliefs into your own life. If you are worry
ing about the growing pile of bills arriving at
your doorstep, perhaps a little aquarium of
water is the solution you are looking for. No
guarantee is promised here of course, but it
wouldn't hurt to try, would it?
Makito will help present the Japanese cui
sine on the menu for the next PSH "Lunch
with an international Flavor. " This month's
dinner will be held in the Gallery Lounge on
Wed., Feb. 25.
. . . I think
electric wires. And the only nuclear testing
occurred thousands of miles away, so the
electromagnetic pulse should not have af
fected my disk.
This experiment may have yielded some
interesting results, however, it took only two
hours for this disk to become fraudulent. This
in turn leads me to the conclusion that either
this is an elaborate conspiracy on the part of
Penn State to get the students to buy more
disks, or the computers are junk. I am in
clined to believe the latter.
I am not the only person who has experi
enced trouble with the school computers.
Expletives can be heard coming from numer
ous students on a daily basis. They have lost
papers, files, even entire projects.
This raises various questions, such as what
happens when a student is turned loose to
look for jobs? How many qualified computer
instructors are going to want to teach here
once they see the outdated computers they
will be working with? And finally, why
should I have to pay the $75.00 computer fee
if the equipment only works part of the time?
I feel I should only pay part of the fee.
The computer fee is not negotiable, all stu
dents must pay it. I would gladly not pay the
fee and in return never touch one of the
school's double-booted, non Windows 95
supporting computers. Unfortunately, I have
no choice and neither do the rest of you.