Page 4 — LION’'SEYE — April 17, 1992 oP d REVIEW Editorial Gag Rule Mentality Hurts Campus By Robin Longaker Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator, and change has its enemies.” Unfortunately, many of those enemies are alive and well on the Penn State Delco campus. Take, for example, the case of one of our students who was involved in a drunk driving accident. These are the facts: the student drank, the student drove, someone died, and the student now faces time in jail. This is obviously a tragic situation. However, by making other students aware that drunk driving accidents can and do happen to the average teenager, even to a student here at Delco, a negative could be turned into a positive, and accidents such as this might be prevented in the future. Here is where the element of change comes into play. Certain campus members must be willing to change their “sweep-everything-under-the- carpet-and-hope-no-one-will-notice” attitudes. Researching the story of this tragic accident was like pulling teeth because no one wanted to provide any information that might not be so flattering to the school. And when information finally was released, it was politely “suggested” that I not use a good deal of it. How can we as a community learn to deal with issues that aren't so pretty, if we aren’t allowed to know and talk about them? Something bad did happen. No matter how hard we try, we can’t ignore it. Our attitudes about dismissing negative situations and pretending everything is perfect must change, or else we will be forced into regression rather than progression. It looks as if good old Bob was right, after all. THE LION’S EYE Vol. XXIII, No. 8 The Pennsylvania State University April 17,1992 Delaware County Campus © The Lion’s Eye Editorial Learning Lesson of Responsibility By Andy McIntyre When I was growing up, my mother always tried to teach me about responsibility. Often she would say, “Andy, you have got to learn to be responsible, because someday you're going to be grownup and out in the real world where you're going to have to watch out for yourself.” Of all the things my mother attempted to teach me, responsibility was probably the most beneficial, and I'm glad that it was one lesson that I learned. However, I'm sad to say, that in this day and age responsibility is something some of us tend to simply forget, and the circumstances of our forgetfulness continues to feed the fire of retrospective regret. The next time you find yourself in a position which brings doubt, think clearly and do what is right. Instead of thinking only about yourself, think about those who could be endangered by your irresponsibility. The gravest example of such irresponsibility is drinking and driving. Sadly many have lost their lives and the carnage simply continues. How many more must die before we wake up? Think before you take that one last drink, and realize that a car in the hands of a drunk is as deadly as a gun to someone's head. Adulthood is something which we all want to achieve, but first we must learn the rules of the game. Before another innocent victim has to die from such carelessness, learn how to act like an adult before taking on adult responsibility. Current Issue Is Your Drinking Water Safe? aquifers. A study conducted by the EPA back in 1982 concluded that 45% of large water systems being fed By Donna D. Powell A recent pipeline break in EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSOCIATE EDITOR Angela Deal Robin Longaker David Rhoades ASSISTANT EDITORS PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Chuck Spector Diana Miceri Kaspar Stromme Roger Lee ~ STAFF REPORTERS Peggie Cahall Eric Forte Roya Sami Frances Callahan Roger Lee Andre Smith David Clements Andy McIntyre Kemba Vick Shawn Cullen David Miller Dorothy Watson Joe Damiani Don Roberts Jamie Wismer Jim Doolittle Liz Russo ARTISTS Roya Sami Dorothy Watson Ali Afshari Jamie Wismer PHOTOGRAPHERS Roger Lee Gina Lucchesi 4 ADVISORS Barbara Daniel John Terrell The LION’S EYE is published Monthly during the academic year by the students of the Delaware County Campus. ~ Submissions are welcome from all students, faculty and staff. Material must be typed, double spaced, and submitted in the LION'S EYE : mailbox located in the Lion’s Den. : Letters, articles and cartoons represent only the views of their authors. Advertisements do not necessarily reflect editorial opinion. THE LION’S EYE regrets it cannot guarantee the return of any material submitted. All submissions are subject to editing. nearby Edgemont raises the question “is the water safe to drink?” In this day and age, many of us are green consumers and environmentalists. We recycle our glass and plastic, put out the newspapers for pick up, only buy dolphin safe tuna, and try to do good for our Mother Earth. But how many of us actually know the condition of our drinking water? Leaking petroleum is a major contaminate to drinking water, but it isn’t the only pollution to hit the sink. It is estimated that over 50% of the country receives water from underground aquifers. The rest of our water supply comes from surface water, such as lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Many of us are concerned with the pollution of surface waters because they are exposed to human threat and not concealed underground like by aquifers were contaminated with organic chemicals. According to the Center for Disease Control, over 10 million children are exposed to unhealthy levels of lead in their drinking water. Senior scientist, Joel Schwartz, of the EPA, says, “Drinking water is now a major source of lead poisoning for a sizable portion of the population.” How do contaminates reach our water supply? It's easy, with the carelessness of humans and the work of mother nature, these chemical substances find their way into everyone's sink, shower, toilet, washing machine, dishwasher, hose, and everything else you use water for, including food. Also, run-off occurs when rain or irrigation water sweeps across the ground and collects everything in its path. Eventually this water finds its (Continued on Page 4)
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