November 10, 1994 — LION’'SEYE — Page 7 Opinion & Review Editorial: ‘Natural Born Piracy A Problem By James Foltz “Some times you have to use a little common sense,” somebody said to me when asked about their opinion regarding this article. I agree. If common sense were used at the beginning of the situation being discussed here, there would be no need for discussion. Even though Delco is a satellite campus, the students here represent Penn State University as much as those at University Park. If a Delco student shows academic excellence, then Penn State's honored. If a student fails to achieve, then Penn State’s image is tarnished. If a student is honest, Penn State is elevated. If a student is dishonest, then Penn State is degraded. ; A movie was recently unethically obtained and shown at the campus’ “Movie Night.” It was a bootleg, or a pirated copy. The movie was obtained in Philadelphia by an unnamed member of the sponsoring group. This was determined through long, thorough discussions with members of the group. All of these members, however, stated that it was not known that this movie was going to be shown, let alone that it was a pirated copy, until “Movie Night” itself, when the copy finally arrived. This brings up questions about both common sense and honesty. First of all, the movie being discussed was still out in the theaters at the time. How on earth could the sponsoring organization get a hold of a current and “hot” movie such as this one, without thinking it might have been pirated? When I asked that question, some members responded that they thought it was a demo tape. Others responded. with a shrug or silence. Fine. Maybe they honestly believed that it was a demo tape. But when the movie was shown, it should have been perfectly clear that it was not a demo tape. Viewers present that night said that the movie was very “grainy” and of “poor quality.” : Why wasn’t it turned off immediately? The answer to that question was that there wasn’t another movie available to show and the audience was already there. The entire incident was unfortunate. I also think that the defensive reaction of many of the sponsoring organization's members was unfortunate. The controversy comes down to one thing: the movie should not have been shown because it was obtained illegally. At least some of the group's members agree because an apology letter appeared shortly after the showing in What's Happening. When asked if they would they do it again, a few members insisted that there was nothing wrong with what they did. And Penn State is degraded. PERE STATE DOVES IEW 0 ENT er ( <> THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNWERSI TY BD tou TECHNOWDO EY CLASSROOM RUILDING. OF ALL. THINGS MENTIONED, THIS OBJECT WAS, FOR. SoME REASON, NoT AMONG THEM, What's the Limit? By Emmanuel Seabrooks Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, married? Roseanne and Tom Arnold, O.]. and Nicole Simpson. Who cares? Why does it seem that America is so obsessed with everyone else’s lives? The power of today’s media is constantly growing greater. In our society today most could tell you Bruce Willis ‘s family background before explaining their own. Yes, it is good that we have a great deal of information to choose from, but shouldn’t the media try to give more information to educate audiences rather than turn them on to gossip that is of no great benefit to the public? Yes, everyone would like to know a little about their favorite actor, or singer, but do we have to surround our lives with theirs? The media hasa purpose, which is to provide the news people want to hear, but too much of one thing can be a bit extreme. This past April brought us the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's frontman. One day after his devastating suicide, his suicide letter was made public by his wife, only with the intentions of giving a message left by Cobain to his fans from a section of the letter. For about two weeks we heard the note being read over and over by his wife off a recording. Was that so important? Was there something the public was supposed to get from this over - broadcasted incident? Three days after Cobain’s death, a fan committed suicide. He figured, “Hey, it worked for Kurt!”. No one can truly say they know nothing about the O.]J. Simpson case. From day one when his wife was killed, before he was even arrested, the media attempted in subtle ways to persuade us to believe he was the culprit. When questioned, many feel even if he did commit the murders, the media has ruined any chance of him having a good life if he is set free. In short, why do we care so much about star gossip? It’s always good to know some things, but not everything! THE DESK by Ed Tomezsko Campus Executive Officer ! Ne 4 jo GUEHH HITT {MMi EVERY ONE SHOULD READ THIS! Why does the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provide $5,000 to each of the undergraduate students at Temple University, $4,000 to Pitt, $3,900 to the State System while, you, the Penn State student, gets $3,000 each? These numbers are derived straightforwardly - take the Temple Commonwealth appropriation for education and general funds and Penn State’s appropriation for the same funds, divide by the number of full time undergraduate students at Temple and at Penn State (that’s you) and the resul is the dollars per student. : Now here is one given reason why Penn State’s appropriation is so low. “Some” say that Penn State gets the largest dollar amount of any appropriation, that should be enough. What those “some” do not say is that Penn State is also the largest University in Pennsylvania and we have grown over the past twenty years by more than 50% in student population while the other state-related and state-owned institutions have had flat enrollments. Do these numbers bother you? They bother me, if for no other reason than one of fairness. There are plenty of other reasons these numbers bother me, but fairness will so for now. When I look at you, our students, and when I look at those who have graduated, our alumni, I see what a tremendous value you are to the future of our Commonwealth. There are only a very few institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania that can come close to delivering quality education similar to a Penn State education. It’s quiz time. Who are the institutions cited by U. S. News and World Reports among the “tier one” national universities? Here's a clue - Penn State is one. Who are the 101 of the Nation's Best Colleges and Universities? Another clue - Penn State is one. Who are the ten most efficient universities in the Unites States? One final clue - Penn State is eighth. Over the past several weeks as student shave learned of the changes on this campus caused by the University budget situation, I have had a lot of conversations about what can be done. We almost had a student demonstr: tion at the groundbreaking. Unfortunately it did not happen. If campus changes really bother you, then let me suggest one thing for you todo. Your State Senator and State Representative will listen to their constituents - that’s you and me. I have already made it quite clear to Senator Bell and Representative Ryan, my Senator and Representative, that Penn State gives to our community significant support and that our students need significant support from the Commonwealth, if for no other reason than one of fairness. I can give fifty other reasons why we need the support. But [ am only one vote. Here's the point. If you are really bothered about the situation beyond the complaining stage, then get yourself to your Senators and your Representative’s office and let them know about your concern. Letters do very little, if anything. Face to face is a different story - it is very difficult to say “no” face to face. And if you remember what they say to you relative to what they do about Penn State’s appropriation, then you can remember it on election day 1995. There are a lot of Penn Stater’s around, we could be more influential - but only if we do something. By the way, welcome back!
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