February 7, 1992 — LION’SEYE — Page 7 oP DESK : by Ed Tomezsko Campus Executive Officer Now that 1 have your attention, welcome back. I warned you that the first semester would g0 by quickly, and it surely has. Get ready for May, that’s pretty close too. Another year of college done - almost, but there is still work to be done in this year. Let’s get on with it. You will notice that the library is quiet. This comes about because a large group of students told me that they were tired of noise while trying to study. These students also asked that we consider AULT HTT providing some quiet study places in all of our buildings. How can we do this? How about sending suggestions to the Lion’s Eye? The Cultures of Africa semester has started. This is an impressive program and it has educational value for each of us and for all of us. Hopefully, each of us will take the opportunity to participate, to take pride in our own culture, and to learn to appreciate cultures different from our own. Some people have told me that they do not understand why we are doing this program. No amount of talk will change these minds. These people see knowledge as a threat to their own predispositions on how things should be. An unwillingness to open a mind should not stop us from trying to open minds. That’s the purpose of the university. Knowledge is freedom. Freedom needs to be defended routinely. That is why quiet study spaces are important. One cannot learn in a noisy place. Well, maybe you can learn what noise is, but nothing else. Quiet allows you to be with your own thoughts and with your own knowledge. Solitude allows you to think. Noise can help people avoid doing what needs to be done. “I can study in the noise; I just can’t seem to learn this stuff!” Sound familiar? If you are honest with yourself, you will know what I mean. When you get out into the job market and build your professional life, you will find people who make nothing but noise - more like static. Lots of noise, no substance. Always challenging something, with no suggestions or recommendations on what are the alternatives to the something challenged. You have heard the comment, “What do these people want?” You never get to know who “these people” are, only suggestions that “they are them.” The noise causes confusion in most and frustration in all. Noise disrupts the solitude. Your job as a professional is to bring order to the confusion by using common sense and knowledge. Here’s the point. Your job here on campus is to work at understanding the nature of the world. That’s a tall order - understand the world! But the operational phrase is to “work at understanding”, not “understand the world.” Understanding of the world is not possible, working at understanding is possible; at least for your part of the world. We need to create the environment which makes the work of learning possible. If it takes quiet to learn. then it takes quiet to learn. Be prepared to give and to do what it takes. : WASH YOUR HANDS. POTTY TRAINING FOR THE EXCREMENT WALL DECORATOR ) TAKE THE TOILET PAPER AND WIPE YOUR BOTTOM. FLUSH THE TOILET AND NOW WALK OUT THAT DOOR AND SIN NO MORE. Cheating: A Fool’s Paradise By Don Roberts As a sensible person, would you spend over $3000 per semester to sit through 15 hours of lectures per week and learn nothing? Surprisingly, many college students are doing just that. Cheating was not left in high school; it sh--ws its face on every large and -mall universities and colleges every day. It is a rare crime in that its victim is also its perpetrator. Is it wrong to want to achieve higher grades? Young people are pressured to do well in school academically; however, social and economic forces drive many young adults to the point of cheating - boys cheat, girls cheat, nerds cheat, masterminds cheat. In a junior high school it’s as easy as cake. In high school cheating gets to the point where teachers just overlook it. It is in these two areas where teachers and other school officials must have an iron fist and choke it out of schools. 5 oF | Let's face it, we live in a dumb society. Many people hobble through life with a splintered cane. The same holds true with their education- just getting by was good enough; however, there are some things in the world where getting by is not just good enough. There is no way: to just get by Japan. There is no way to get by a recession. If we are to compete in a free- market world, we ought to know what free-market means. Cheaters are not proud of their grades and pride is the basis for American survival. Foreign Cars’ Reliability Questioned (Continued from Page 6) Many Asian and European cars have been silently recalled including; - Porsche 944 1988- “suspension part could break and cause accident,” - Peugeot 405 - “too much fuel might leak out in rear-end crash,” - SAAB 9000 1988 (automatic transmission) - “electrical circuitry in center console could overheat and cause fire,” - Volkswagen Jetta - “brake line could leak causing possible brake failure,” - Subaru 1980-1984 (except 4- wheel drive) - “road salt could rust rear suspension component...causing loss of control,” - Volvo 740 1986-88 - “drive shaft could contact with fuel tank causing leak and fire,” - Jaguar X]JS 1986-88 (convertible) “fuel tank could leak creating a fire hazard,” - Subaru Legacy 1990 -91 “screws in the front door assembly could loosen and prevent either door from being opened from the inside,” - Honda and Acura 1992 - “faulty switch that leaks engine oil.” The list goes on, but somehow the public does not hear about it. We as consumers should no longer be spoon fed by advertisements. We must open our eyes and minds, evaluate the real performance and value, and make our own independent decisions. *Recall information from Consumer Reports 1991 Buying Guide Issue *Datsun being a modified Apollo, information from 100 Years of the Automobile, pub.1986 : *The author would like to thank Dr. B. Salim for generously sharing historical information on the subject. -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers