PSH professor writes book on objectivity in the political science classroom By ALLISON MILLS STAFF WRITER MXA932@PSU.EDU In the current age of objectivity, politicians and voters accuse media of promoting a political bias, and media regularly attack themselves on similar charges of bias, but attention may shift from biased media to biased universities. Researchers are exploring universities for evidence of indoctrination, the promotion of professors' personal political agendas. Penn State Harrisburg's Dr. Matthew Woessner, Associate Professor of Public Policy, has been researching this topic with his wife, Dr. April Kelly- Woessner, a Political Science professor at Elizabethtown College. The Woessners wrote a chapter in "Reforming the Politically Correct University", which comes out this year. The Woessners are currently working COMPETITION: Students proving to be the brains behind the computer Continued from page 1 Demarco has never competed in the ICPC, but he has plenty of experience with computers. During the spring of 2007, he helped redesign Penn State Hershey Medical Center's Web site. Now, he explained, the site is more consistent and organized. Demarco will graduate at the end of this semester with a Bachelor's degree in Computer science. He practices three days a week for the upcoming competition. Christopher Jackson, a junior, practices twice a week. He makes up another three-person team with Andy Anske and James Hammond. His interest in computers began in seventh grade. Jackson applied to PSH this year because of the low cost and the "decent computer science program," he claimed. His education began at Rochester on a book of their own, which Dr. Matthew Woessner predicted will be completed in the next year or two The Woessners began their research by focusing on political views in universities' faculties, but for their book they broadened their study to include opinions and issues within universities, using views from students, faculty and administrators. They are exploring issues like politics, power struggles, the purpose of universities, and methods universities use to reach educational goals. Ultimately, the Woessner's book will look at all different perspectives to demonstrate the formation of opinions, views specific groups hold and the most important controversies that exist in academia, according to Woessner. The Woessners completed research on why liberals have a larger presence in graduate Institute of Technology. The regionals will also mark his first experience with the ICPC. A team from Penn State Harrisburg has yet to attend a final competition. During the 2000 regional competition, however, Penn State Harrisburg took first place out of 136 teams. Dr. Linda Null coached the winning team. Mr. Doug Heintzman, director of strategy for IBM software group, will host the final competition in April 2009. He has been the Sponsorship Executive of the ICPC for six years and looks forward this "battle of the brains" each year. "We see participants from China, Eastern Europe, Australia...and it is very exciting to see everyone get together in one place," Heintzman explained. The ICPC was organized 33 years ago by the Association for Computing Machinery Dr. Woessner and his wife, Dr. April Kelly-Woessner, are work ing on a book to be released within the next couple of years. school than conservatives, which Liberals do not necessarily they published in their chapter get better grades, enjoy college in the upcoming "Reforming the more, or maintain closer Politically Correct University." relationships with professors than (ACM). Since then, the amount of participants has grown significantly. Students from 2,000 universities across 90 countries will compete. Only 300 individuals will make it to the final round in Stockholm. Last year, St. Petersburg State University of Optics and Mechanics took the world's smartest trophy. Winning teams gain an amazing experience through their hard work as well as tremendous career opportunities, Heintzman emphasized. IBM, the ICPC sponsor, will gain the world's smartest recruits. Heintzman also explained how the benefits of the competition may reach even farther. "There are big challenges facing the world, and it will take hard work and excellence to face these challenges. So that's why we do this," he said. Cell phones, now an everyday item, turn 25 By WILLS KING STAFF WRITER WPKSOO4@PSU.EDU The next time you take a step outside of your home, take a quick check to see what you are carrying in your pocket. The three most common items you will find is a wallet, keys,and a cell phone. The birth of the cell phone was on Oct. 13, 1983, and it has since gone on an incredible growth spurt. Just one quarter of a century later, cell phone subscriptions across the world total over 3.3 billion, or just over half of the human population. With the convenience of having communication handy at all times, the cell phone has opened a world of possibilities for this generation. "Without the cell phone in everyday life, it just becomes hard to function," said Tamzid Mahfuz, a 20 year old native of Miami, Fl. "It's weird to think that we used to have to remember numbers and ask people to use their house phones." conservatives said Woessner. "We know that conservatives are more practically oriented. They are more likely to go into fields that do not require Ph.D.'s like criminal justice or business. They are more interested in earning higher incomes and more interested in raising a family," said Woessner. Woessner believes these values could account for lower numbers of conservatives with doctorates. "All of the traits which we associate with getting Ph.D.'s, conservatives tend to lack, which makes liberals more emotionally and perhaps even practically oriented toward getting a doctorate and serving in academia," said Woessner. If more conservative professors existed, numbers of conservatives attending graduate school would Please see POLITICS on page 5 Text messaging, contacts lists, and call history provides us with tools that make it hard to remember how we ever lived without them. From the earlier versions of the cell phone, such as the Motorola DynaTAC 8000 x, which weighed almost two pounds and cost nearly $4,000, to the sleek modern day version, has been evolving as fast as the society it has been introduced to. Some people now use the cell phone for calls less than they use it for other applications. "I think most people nowadays use it more for text messaging than anything else," said Mahfuz. "It makes it really convenient to communicate without having to call." Texting, music playing, video recording, internet browsing and picture taking are all within the realm of possibility. "There is not a chance I could go back to not having a phone," laughed Mahfuz. "How we used to live without it, I have no idea."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers