April, 1990 — LION'S EYE — Page 5 ‘Sorry, My Parents Are Prejudiced’ “Sorry, but my parents are prejudic- ed.” That is the response I have received from three young men here at PSU Dela- ware County over the course of the past three semesters. I had never encounter- ed parent prejudice until I attended this campus. Yes, all prejudice in any form is hurtful, and I have had my share, but nothing hurts more than for someone to tell you, “Sorry, but my parents are pre- judiced.” Nothing hurts more than not being able to meet someone’s parents, although they can certainly meet yours. I am going to share with you three ex- And the Survey Says... by Susan Ware Here are the results of a quick survey of students’ opinions about the Lion's Eye. They provide some interesting in- sights into the expectations many more of you may share regarding the role of our student newspaper. Most respondents indicated that they read the Lion’s Eye to find out what’s going on at the Delaware County cam- pus. They urged more letters and opi- nion pieces, more stories on the accom- plishments of campus students, better coverage of campus social and cultural issues and more reporting on the issues “troubling” students at DELCO. Several students felt that the Lion’s Eye could be improved by providing more comprehensive coverage of Univer- sity Park issues and activities. “‘Per- haps,” it was suggested, ‘‘a full page called ‘At the Park’ with stories from the Collegian, since it’s delivered here so irregularly.”’ Articles about the rising cost of student housing and the possibility of tuition increases were mentioned in particular. On a lighter note, the Lion’s Eye staff was told to do just that, “Lighten Up!” Many asked for more comics and sports news, more humorous stories and an ex- panded and improved creative writing and poetry section. On behalf of the Lion’s Eye staff, 1 would like to thank all the students who responded for their thoughtful com- ments and suggestions. However, the newspaper staff cannot respond to them without the help of every interested stu- dent on campus. You, the Delaware County campus student body, must write letters to the editors, submit opi- nion pieces and alert the Lion’s Eye staff to the issues that you want to hear more about. The survey said that the Lion’s Eye is a good newspaper; with your support and participation it can be a GREAT newspaper! CLASSIFIED ADS LISA GALLEN’S COMPLETE TYPING SERVICE. We handle all of your typing needs. 2410 East Col- onial Drive, Boothwyn, PA 19061. Call us at 215-485-0638. Reasonable rates and student discounts. SALESPERSON WANTED: Inte- rested in making extra money on Sat- urday and/or Sunday in April, May, and June? (And possibly into the summer and fall?) Looking for a responsible, trustworthy person in- terested in working independently in a sales position selling video tapes. Must have car. Will he paid salary and commission. Call 664-2580. periences of this type of prejudice I have encountered on this campus. First Experience. I'm asked out to a movie by a certain young man and what a wonderful time we have. However, after two weeks of him coming to my house for dinner and to meet my family, I begin to wonder why I haven’t met his. One night when I call him and his mother answers the phone and is ex- tremely nasty to me, I know something is wrong. When she puts him on the phone, I ask, “Why was your mother very rude to me when she hasn't even met me?’ He then starts to fumble around with the phone and tries to change the subject. After an hour of stupid talk from him, he finally tells me his parents are prejudiced and they don’t want to meet me. Well, after he clears the big lump in his throat he goes on to tell me they are not prejudiced against Black people, but against people of mixed races. Which is me; I am both races. Well, this was certainly a big curve thrown in my life. Here I am riding along and then this roadblock hits me. You can imagine my gut feeling right about now. As if that wasn’t enough, he tells me I can’t call him but he can call me; I can’t go to his house, but he can come to mine. First, let me calm down because just writing this is raising my blood pressure. By not telling me straight out about his parents, whether he knows it or not, he put my life in jeopardy. What if I had gone to his home, not knowing his parents were prejudiced and had a big surprise when I arrived? Secondly, he is 5’3” to my 5’8’’. How would he like it if I discriminated against him because he is short? Thirdly, he tells me he is 100% Italian. So in other words, they have the right to be prejudiced because they are from Ita- ly. Right? Wrong!!! After telling him nicely what he can do with his 100% Italian, I told him no one is 100% anything. You can only trace your roots back so far and then you don’t know what happened. Many Black slaves were sent and mingled in everywhere, in- cluding Italy. I for one have Italian in my family, among other nationalities, in- cluding Black, and my brown skin cer- tainly doesn’t come from being out in the sun. : : Second Experience. 1 notice this real shy young man in one of my classes, and I figure he is really shy and would pro- bably take forever to ask me out. So I ask him out because why waste time when you could be out having a good time! I ask him if he would like to see a movie. His response is, ‘“Yeah, abso- lutely!”” So we exchange phone numbers and we are all set. Well, after two weeks of me trying to call him and him never returning my calls, I confront him. “Just two weeks ago we agreed to go to a movie. What happened?” After three days of me try- ing to figure out what is wrong he comes up with, “I'm not dependable.” I then say, “In other words, you can’t take me to your home, right?’ He could say nothing, and I just walked away sadden- ed because I really liked him. Third Experience. By this time I was pretty fed up. I was getting tired of mak- ing the first move and then having it blow up in my face. I couldn’t even get past the first or second phone call. Then I came across this third young man who is presently in one of my classes. We fre- quently sit next to each other and talk. He seemed very nice, so come Spring Break I asked him he he would like to do . something, for instance see a movie! We then sat after class and told each other about ourselves and exchanged phone numbers. Our first phone call went great. We had many things in common. However, I did feel the need to ask him two questions before we went any fur- ther because of past experiences. I asked if he believed in God and if his parents were prejudiced. He said ‘‘yes” and “no.” Great, finally! I was happy to hear that. After a week, he calls me and sounds angry. I ask him what is wrong. He tells me he had a very bad weekend. First, he tells me he had nothing but bad ex- periences with black people over the weekend. Second, he tells me he can’t promise me anything and that he can’t handle it. “Wait,” I say ‘“‘tell me right now; we aren’t ever going to go out, are we?’ He says, “If I tell you the truth will it ruin our friendship?” I couldn't believe it. Here we go ‘again!! He tells me he doesn’t want to go out with me because he couldn’t handle it. “Handle it” meaning he had one weekend of bad experiences with Black people and now he is scared, and that it will always be like that. What a wimp!! He also said his parents were prejudic- ed!! Now wait; let’s back up. Didn’t he tell me they weren't? So guess what; he lied to me. Nice person!!! What also gets me is he has one eye very different from the other. But I didn’t care. What if I or anyone else told him, “I’m sorry I can’t take you out because your one eye is dif- ferent from the other?” Every one of these guys had something about them, but did I care? No. I don’t care if you are short, have different eyes, or are really shy. I see a human being, which I wish the young men on this campus would see me as. I know a lot of PSU students live with their parents and have to abide by their rules, but prejudice doesn’t work as a rule. You can’t say I'll be one way while I'm with my parents and then another when I'm on my own. You're either prejudiced or not, and if you abide by your parents’ prejudice then you are too. That is all there is to it. This is not directed to all because I do not know everyone's parents. But, to those of you who know your parents are prejudiced don’t lead someone on until you see how it ends up. I would like to ask you some questions. How would you like to see the pain in your mother’s eyes when you tell her why you won’t be go- ing out with the guy you were so in- terested in? To hear her sadly ask, “Why isn’t my daughter good enough to take home, just why?’ How would you like not to be able to go out with someone? How would you like to have someone ashamed of you? It’s a painful and sad feeling when you know nothing is wrong with you. When I look at a lot of you on this campus, I think you have a lot of nerve to discriminate against me and others like me. You need to take a long look at yourselves in a mirror. I think very highly of myself and have come a long way to get where I am. I do not and never will let my appearance go to my head. But this could happen to you one ay. Wake up an stand up to your parents about prejudice PSU, because it hurts! “Separation breeds prejudice, prejudice breeds more separation.” Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra Six Tips for Surviving Spring Semester Blues by Judith R. Belson On March 21, spring officially began. But here at Penn State, thanks to the most bizarre weather that has been seen in a long time, spring has already started. Despite a few winter throw- hacks. (For example, on the night of March 20, it turned bitterly cold, windy, and it snowed. But the following morn- ng, it was sunny and in the fifties! And ;he previous week it was so hot, that some classes were even held outdoors as seople laid out to get a tan!), it appears ‘hat spring is officially here! But it seems that we STILL can’t en- - joy spring weather, longer days, and brighter nights. Why? Registration, finals, and dozens of assignments, quizzes, and tests that demanding teachers insist on giving in spite of the weather. Aw, come on, guys, — lighten up! Even if you DO have a lot to do, take an hour off and enjoy Mother Nature, the ozone layer, and jet streams. Here are a few tips to remember for en- joying (and surviving) the last weeks of the semester. e TAKE A BREAK IN BETWEEN STUDYING OR DOING HOME- WORK. Even if it’s only fifteen minutes, go get something to eat, call a friend or read — something to clear your minds from all that tedious work! e DON'T CRAM EVERYTHING IN AT THE LAST MINUTE. Spread things over a couple of days; other- wise, you might overload. e¢ MEMORIZE THINGS A FEW DIF- FERENT TIMES. Try memorizing and reviewing a few nights before, the night before, an hour before, and five minutes before a test. It sticks in your head that way. e IF YOU HAVE TO LAY OUT, AT LEAST PUT ON A SUNSCREEN. It is proven that chances for skin cancer increase the more that you stay ‘out in the sun. OK, it’s messy and it smells. But what good is a tan now if you get painful cancer and die in 10-20 years? e USE DARK PROTECTIVE SUN- GLASSES — Hey — that shouldn’t be a problem. Shades are cool anyway, besides saving you from harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. e DRINK LOTS OF LIQUIDS, ES- PECIALLY WATER. Liquids are needed to replace all of those fluids lost when you sweat. This goes par- ticularly for those who exercise a lot, like playing volleyball or football. HAVE A GREAT SUMMER, AND GO FOR IT!
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers