?larch 5, 1954
Mr. Georgez Mastroianni, Managing Editor
Hazl , ton ,Collegian
The PonnsylvPnia State Univ ,, reity
HighacrPs
RazletonlP-,nns3Tivania
Dear Mr. Mast,roianni
3Acently l roCcived a petition, bearing the signatures of some 112 students request.
ing the resumption of ping pong as one of our most popular r , 7,crsational activities
at Righacrns. lam addressing this lett ,, r to you, as ~d itor, in the , belief that the
,Oolleglan offcrs th^ b , 7,st means by which 1 may not only acknowl7dg' , r ,, c , - , ipt of the
petition but also pr - 7-s ,, mt our students with some background about the basic problem
involved in this matter,
May 1 say that our dlcision to remove the ping pong table from the Recreation Build,•
ing was reached very reluctantly and with full rOjization that this move would not
be exactly popular. The change was necessitated, however, not only because of in—
creasing damageto the Recration Building, but also becaus , 7 of student ob = jections to
the restricted floor space then available. Manifestly, accommodations for ping pong
in the Recreation Building are wholly inadequate.
should like to assur:' , the student body, particularly the ping pong enthusiasts,
that this matter did not become a closed issue with the remor=l of the table. Rola-.
cation of the tr , ..b10 has been discussed, re—discussed, argued, and studied by the
Center staff, by Student Council and by Student. -Faculty Be•.rd, As an outgrowth, the
whole problmn of increased recreational space has been pr-sented to our main campus
people and to our local advisory board, the Hazleton Educational Council. The latter
now has a Recreation Committee delegated to study our problem and to make recommenda—
tions for its solution.
The matur . 7? action and comnondo.ble for , night of Student Council in proposing a per—
snrrst-r ass - )ssramt to aid in the 'xpansion of lux r ,, cr , ,y , ..ti-nal facilities has boon
a great influence in focusing .th^ attontion of the UnivArsity and the Educational
Council on the general recreati - n situation.
While all of this does n^t of c^ursn answer the immediate problem brought up by the
student petition, it does lay the grlundwnrk for an eventual soluti-n to problems of
this kind.
However, tn return to the specific matter in questi'm the return of our late la—
mented ping pone table it should be pointed nut that this is actually a bigger,
knottier, and more invnlved problem than most of us appreciate. ;1401Cally, it's a
space problem rsulting from our current enrollment, which has pat out physical pl7mt
to the test simply to satisfy our primary functi n of instruction.
May Y repeat, hnwevor, that we still serking a selutiln tr the ping pnng dilemma.
Student suggosti - ns, morry -, r, always welcome. These may be submitted directly,
or through the est-blishod studmnt govmrnmnnt channels.
TTLZ 1,7 1 1 1 ON C OLILTT I
7t'obruar3r 27, 19514
Very truly yours,
Merle B. Campbell
Administratlmn Head
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