December 6, 1995 — LION'S EYE — Page 5 Opinion Lt Review Affirmative Actions Hurts Those It Tries To Help By Janine Furillo Affirmative Action is a program designed to help increase the success of minorities. The public has many different views about Affirmative Action. Usually, if you are at an advantage because of the program you agree with it, but if you are at a disadvantage, you may disagree. However, the value of the program can’t be based primarily on personal perceptions. Solid facts should help form valid opinions about the program. People of all races should be well aware of ~ these facts determining their futures. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1990, the United States was roughly 80% white and 13% black. However, is a question of race really needed on a college application form? Why not simply review the qualifications of each student? At the University of Texas Law School blacks are recruited from across the nation and admitted with an average 3.3 GPA vs. 3.52 for non-blacks and 3.24 for “ Mexican- Americans”. White applicants with GPA of 3.8 who were in 83rd percentile of the LSAT were turned away in favor of minority students with lower GPAs. Why should expectations be lowered because of skin color? According to the August 2, 1995 Political Debate Page from the Worldwide Web, at some colleges, Affirmative Action students have preferential enrollment, allowing them first choice at classes each semester. However, they also have the highest drop rates from classes as well as from school. This causes much needed space in classes to go empty. Another source is Dinesh D’Souza’s Illiberal Education He found that Affirmative Action hurt minorities by putting them in grade competition with better prepared students of other races. When they couldn’t compete, they usually ended up dropping out. Another problem Dinesh found out through many interviews was that even the talented and prepared minorities were assumed to have not had to work for their position. “ Personally I think that the government is underestimating the intelligence and capabilities of women and certain ethnic groups by using Affirmative Action. I find this to be an insult.” said Lisa Collucci (First Semester). As a woman I find Affirmative Action to be unfair and a form of discrimination. Qualification other than sex or race should be the deciding factor of who will get a position in the workplace. Yes, society has helped women in the past get ahead in the workplace, but I want to get ahead through my own efforts. Ido not want to get a position over a man who is more qualified than me simply because of a quota. Maybe some people shouldn’t be so liberal. Our country is culturally divided to certain degrees. To cross over and understand a culture other than your own is one thing, but to sit from afar and act like you know is simply an insult to all cultures. Affirmative Action takes opportunities away from everyone. It sets a quota to maintain peace. But in the core of society it creates hostility. Success should be achieved by the degree of skill, not our sex or the color of our skin. . . . But Gives Hope To Disadvantaged By Bill Campbell Where do you live? Do you live in a small shack the size of an efficiency apartment on a plot the size of a Burger King parking lot where there are eight other shacks of about the same size? Do you share a dirt-covered back yard with families from these eight other shacks? Do you live in this shack with your parents and two brothers and two sisters? Probably not; Neither do I. But, growing up in Southern California’s South Bay strip, just outside of Los Angeles, I had a lot of friends who did. They were all Latino. They were all very poor. I lived just across the street from the eight efficiency-sized shacks. Tortilla Flats was the neighborhood gang. I wasn’t part of the gang. I wasn’t Mexican. I might have felt left out if [hadn't been among my teachers’ favorite students. I was white. As far as the teachers were concerned,.I had a chance—a chance to make something of myself, a chance to be somebody. My impoverished Mexican friends did not , at least that's what the teachers thought. The teachers neglected them. Affirmative Action denounces this neglect. Affirmative Action is designed to reach into the heart of impoverished minority groups and help lift them, individual by individual, out of the impoverished circumstances to which they were born. Affirmative Action is designed to make leaders and role models for impoverished minorities who feel overwhelmed and hopeless by their condition. Affirmative Action is not an apology. It is not a hand-out. Affirmative Action is an earnest effort for equal opportunity in education and in life. Affirmative Action is about giving strength and hope, and easing suffering. Poverty breeds poverty. If action, Affirmative Action, from communities outside the impoverished minority communities is not taken, then the plight of these impoverished groups is hopeless. Oxfam Portions Out Education (Continued from page 3) Every year, hunger and poverty- related causes claim the lives of an estimated 13-18 million people-the equivalent of 100 fully loaded jets crashing every day. Service Corps President Matt Shroeder hoped that: Oxfam would help people “open their eyes “ to the problem of world hunger, and that they might make “an effort to help people” who aren’t as fortunate as they are. Music Review Vaughan’s Strong Identity Imbues His “Greatest Hits” By Bernard F. Mount Few days linger in my memory as does the day which would become known as “Blue Monday” to music lovers worldwide. It was around noon on August 27, 1990 and I was on my way to have lunch with a friend when the news came over my car radio. I had been hearing bits and pieces of information all morning about a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin. Five fatalities, including a “musician.” Later, the mysterious “musician” incorrectly becomes a member of “Eric Clapton's entourage” and then “a guitarist.” Shortly after noon, the noticeably shaken voice of a radio disc jockey announced that Texas blues guitarist/ singer Stevie Ray Vaughan (SRV) was aboard the doomed craft that slammed into a fog-shrouded hillside near southeastern Wisconsin’s Alpine Valley Ski Resort. Vaughan was 35 years old. As with anyone whose life was in some way touched by Stevie Ray Vaughan, word of his death filled me with shock and disbelief. I had to pull to the side of the road and regain my composure. After the initial shock wore off, I was filled with the personal memories of the exceptional guitarist. In the Winter of 1989, I attended his concert at the Spectrum: in Philadelphia. It was his first Philly show since his successful treatment for substance abuse (cocaine) and alcoholism, and his playing reflected it. I was absolutely galvanized by his performance. I'll always remember the way he played that night. He probably shook the guy in the last row. Recently, Epic has released a compilation of the artist's works entitled Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Greatest Hits recorded with his band Double Trouble (named after Stevie’s favorite Otis Rush song). The tracks on the compilation consist of material chosen from the four existing studio recordings with Double Trouble and one previously unreleased track: a cover of the Beatles “Taxman”. The music on Greatest Hits reflects Vaughan'’s passion for Chicago, Texas and Mississippi Delta Blues, early rock'n'roll, r+b, jazz/bebop and swing. Vaughan'’s influences include such diverse guitarists as Jimmy Reed, Freddie, Albert (perhaps SRV’s greatest influence and who dubbed him his godson), and B.B. King, Kenny Burrell, Albert Collins, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, and Jimi Hendrix. Nevertheless, the songs on Greatest Hits present Vaughan as a musician who had forged his own identity; a characteristic most contemporary artist lack. From the deep blues of “Texas Flood” (which became Vaughan’s trademark song) to the slightly-behind- the-beat Texas shuffle of “Cold Shot,” Greatest Hits is thoroughly enjoyable. Vaughan’s talents are easily appreciated when listening to tracks like “Little Wing” (an instrumental take on the Hendrix classic) and “Couldn't Stand The Weather.” My only complaint is that the compilation is only. eleven. tracks: long. Epic should have included atiéast6ne live track to give the listener a taste of Vaughan's improvisational skills. Epic also failed to include one of Vaughan’s jazzier compositions, like “Lenny” or “Riviera Paradise,” which would have further demonstrated Vaughan’s diversity. Overall, SRV’s Greatest Hits is a must-hear for those who have never been exposed to the soft-spoken Texan whose music spoke volumes. Vol. XXVII, No. 4 Janine Furillo Pete Howard Bernie Mount Janine Furillo Barbara Daniel THE LION’S EYE The Pennsylvania State University Delaware County Campus EDITORS-IN-CHIEF James Foltz Nicholas Felici STAFF William Campbell Tim McLaughlin Judy Dhrupcola Michael Menichini John R. Duffy Melissa Patrizio Jaclyn Fried Jackie Roth PHOTOGRAPHERS Bernie Mount ADVISORS 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 Club Room. 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. December 6, 1995 David Whiteman Laurie Koechert Pete Howard John Terrell
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