Page Two LION'S EYE December, 1969 EDITORIAL Delaware Salutes Agnew Wednesday, October 15, was National Moratorium Day all over the country, except at Penn State Delaware. While campus activities in support of peace raged every- where, the Chester campus remained silent and inactive, unharried by the whole affair. The only sign of life in the school came from the student lounge where a few ROTC members were engaged in a game of pinochle. The Penn State Administration ruled that classes would go on as scheduled but the students here at Dela- ware were unbelievably adamant in their support of the school administration’s apparent anti-Moratorium senti- ments. Not a breeze was stirred; the campus was con- spicuous for its total absence of activity. No one was even talking about what was happening outside the cloister. There are a few conclusions one is forced to draw from observing the conduct of the Delaware students on Moratorium Day: 1) They wholeheartedly support the war in Vietnam and do not want it to end. 2) They support President Nixon’s contention that Moratorium Days are harmful to national goals in Southeast Asia. 3) They (in agreement with Vice-President Agnew) did not wish to participate in any programs run by an “effete corps of impudent snobs.” 4) They value education so highly that Moratorium activities are undesirable if they interrupt a school day. The question remains, can history repeat itself, or more appropriately can Delaware ignore the next Mora- torium efforts as completely and irreverently as they did the first? The New Mobilization Committee Against the War in Vietnam plans to expand the moratorium to two days (November 14-15) this month, three in December, adding a day of protest each month as long as the war goes on. There is a national rally scheduled for November 15 in Washington. Surely, Delaware won’t allow these days to go un- observed; November's activities may even be recognized in the White House. (The Lion’s Eye went to press immediately after November 14’s Moratorium activities at Delaware. The newspaper staff is gratified to see an interest at the campus.) Student Hits R.O.T.C. “Takeover” To the Editor: On September 22 I returned from my summer vacation and started my first day of class at P.S.1. : As I walked into what I thought was the S.G.A. office to visit a friend of mine I was attacked by three R.O.T.C. students and handed all sorts of literature ex- plaining why I should enlist in this program. When I explained to these three All-American boys that I hadn’t the slightest desire to join any branch of the armed forces and that I was looking for the S.G.A. office they told me that the S.G.A. office is now lo- cated in the school’s broom closet, and that the former S.G.A. office is now the R.O.T.C. office. Within the next week I talked to some of the S.G.A. officers and a representative number of the student body and I found out two things. The first is that none of them appreciate the over-emphasis of R.O.T.C. on our campus. Sec- ondly that none of them want to express their opinions in the school broom closet. On this campus we have four chartered organizations, S.G.A., R.O.T.C. Raiders, The Keystone Society, and The Student Tri- bunal. What I would like to know is why the R.O.T.C. rates such elaborate accommodations, when the other organizations have to settle for a desk in a crowded office. The R.O.T.C. affects 102 students while the S.G.A. touches the whole student body. By having an office where stu- dents. can go to express their opinions and views we can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble on campus. And since the R.O.T.C. was relocated into the S.G.A.’s office without any ballot on the student body’s part we should have a referendum to see if the majority of students want their office back. John F. Cannizzaro Housing Is Still Tight At The Park UNIVERSITY PARK (APS)— University housing officials have begun checking residence hall vacancies so that students living in temporary quarters may Tre- ceive permanent room assign- ments. : Officials reported that 975 of the 12,593 undergraduates as- signed to residence halls are lo- cated in temporary staging facili- ties within the buildings. The residence halls have a capacity of 11,618 beds for undergraduate students. ; Spaces have been provided for 1,079 students in lounge areas and other emergency staging fa- cilities. Officials hope to move students from these areas upon confirmation that students as- signed to permanent rooms are not coming to the University. According to housing officials, the practice of staging makes it possible for the University to ad- mit more students than campus housing facilities normally accom- modate to prevent the denying of admission to qualified students. Otto Mueller, director of hous- ing and food services, explains that the excess of qualified stu- (Continued on page 3) Eye Zeroes In On Anarchist By Tim Rumsey If one sees a group of students athered in the campus’s main rallway he will invariably detect 1 red-bearded youth in the center yf the action. Feverishly discuss- ng ethical, metaphysical, and po- ‘tical questions, he has aroused admiration, outrage, scorn, and bewilderment alike in all who ave listened to, or debated with ‘im. His name is Joe Bacanskas, 2 philosophy major who calls him- elf an “intellectual revolution- ary.” : Officially, he is a member of the Society for Individual Liberty (SIL), a group which formed as 1 result of a split with the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), a national student organization. The Libertarians believe “man’s right to his own life is basic” and they reject all forms of govern- ment coercion. (Bacanskas re- cently turned in his Selective Service registration card at JFK Plaza during October Moratorium Ceremonies and plans to burn his -lassification in the near future.) The following are a few of his statements concerning his own philosophy of individual liberty. EYE: What type of philosophy is Libertarianism? JOE: It is sort of a political philosophy which entails a moral and ethical basis—that of egoism. EYE: What is your definition of egoism? JOE: Selfishness. Acting in your own rational self-interest. EYE: If you had to apply a catchword or slogan to your phi- losophy what would it be? JOE: “Freedom in our time.” EYE: Describe. your idea of freedom. JOE: An individual acting any way he wishes as long as he is non-aggressive. EYE: What is the biggest im- pediment to this ideal of freedom? JOE: Government. The United States government, for example, has some 2,400 laws already passed. There are so many re- strictions on the individual it is absolutely absurd to think of free- dom in this context. EYE: What is the overall aim of the SIL? JOE: The institution of indi- vidual freedom. Our immediate purpose is to get rid of restric- tions and start an intellectual, non-violent revolution by chang- ‘ng the minds of the people. We hope to bring out the best in each ‘ndividual through education. EYE: You said “get rid of re- trictions.” Does this mean your solitical aim is total abolition of yovernment . . . Anarchy? JOE: Yes. This is not, however, the anarchy that advocates bomb throwing and the like. It is a laissez-faire theory, that is, letting 'n individual alone in order to ecome the best he is capable of ecoming. It means not restrict- ‘ng any non-violent action. The basic premise that governments un on is that you have the right “0 initiate force against other peo- yle—if you're right. I support individual rights, rule of self by elf. EYE: Do you think America ‘an achieve this particular ideal f liberty? JOE: Well—men can. If you are to use a collective term I vill. Yes, America could do this 'f they followed the right path and removed all restrictions of non-aggressive acts by individuals. EYE: Who would take care of criminals, foreign invaders, and legal disputes? Joe Bacanskas (with beard) holds court in hallway. Bacan- -skas often meets informally with philosophically-oriented stu- dents or, equally often, with anybody willing to listen. JOE: Those who have the most to lose will initiate and support things such as armies, police forces, and court systems. For example, who has the most to lose by foreign invasion? The businessmen who are making pro- fits. Standard Oil, the Chamber of Commerce, G.M. and places like these would support an army to protect their interests and the country’s because they need the consumers to buy their products. Also, regular citizens would pay for their own protection. The court system I advocate would be a voluntary system. In other words, two parties in dis- pute would voluntarily pick a judge, both paying him an equal fee. After a decision had been made, if a person didn’t want to abide by the decision, he would have to initiate force to free him- self. Once one initiates violence an individual has the right to retaliate. EYE: What are your ideas about violence? JOE: I am adverse to any type violence. The greatest initiator of violence I’ve seen is the gov- ernment. Witness their jails; they've jailed marijuana smokers and prostitutes for doing nothing. [t’s scandalous. There are so nany laws at the present time, t’s difficult to do anything with- ut breaking one. The government reates a lot of this violence. My idea is this; no individual as the right to initiate force, or its substitution — fraud — against nyone else. When you have to chrow bombs and kill people rou’ve lost. As I said, I am an ntellectual revolutionary, trying ;0 change the minds of the people. EYE: What are your ideas on sducation? JOE: Well, the public school jystem is immoral because the overnment forces people to sup- ort it with guns. They say “support it or else!” This hap- ens to people who have no chil- lren or who send their children o Catholic school or whatever. 3esides that, I think the present nethods of teaching are not the Jest. So much force is used it s destroying people’s minds. The rivate schools I advocate, where yeople would be free to go to school or not, would be the best way to facilitate education. EYE: You advocate pure capi- talism as an economic philosophy. Could you describe this for me. JOE: Capitalism is the eco- nomic application of the moral ‘philosophy: To Let One Be. In a collectivist society some pro- duce and others get the benefit of the labor. In a laissez-faire sys- tem when one works, he gets all the fruits of his labor. One gets what one works for and pays for. Welfare is an example of the immoral collectivist ethic. 1t forces some people to pay for the lives of other people. EYE: What are your ideas on big busines? JOE: Well, there are two types of big business. One is the type nurtured by government; the other has built itself up on its own. Naturally, I support the latter. Many people today com- plain about high prices brought about by big business and seek more government control. attitude is this—Ilet big business alone and competition will take care of exhorbitant prices. EYE: What is the highest func- tion of man? JOE: To produce. EYE: What is your idea of the ideal man? JOE: One who acts consistently for himself and rejects force as a means to an end. EYE: Do you reject a Supreme Being? JOE: Yes, emphatically. Simply because he doesn’t exist—he is a contradiction. EYE: What do you mean by that? JOE: Existence is identity. To exist, it has to be something in particular. God is described as infinite. That means he has an infinite number of attributes, which means he is nothing in par- ticular. The question on the Philosophy Club bulletin board (Can God make a mountain he can’t climb?) is a philosophic proof that God is a contradiction— and contradictions can’t exist. EYE: Right now you are (theo- retically) a member of a collec- tivist society which is run by government coercion. What is your personal plan of action for the immediate future? JOE: To resist as many govern- ment programs as possible. A more long range goal is to help in educating people in the phi- losophy of individual freedom. The intellectual establishment tells the government what to do. The day will come when the gov- ernment will turn helplessly and ask the intellectual establishment what to do and the only answer will be “laissez-faire” —let us alone. My ~——
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers