Penn State Welcomes NSA Conference Delegates
. 4
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NSA .t .
411, NSA
EXTRA ~,u mnirr (:,,,L-„,;;- T o ti rgian
„T., EXTRA
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE STUDENTS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE
fOL. 26—No. 1
PRUSNA Maps Future Policy
Controversy Rages on Question
Of USNSA Affiliation with lUS
Affiliation of USNSA with the International Union of Students
has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in NSA's short history.
After many hours of discussion last year, the Constitutional Con
vention voted to send a four-man negotiating team to the annual
lUS International Assembly to discuss affiliation of NSA with lUS.
On March 1, NSA announced that it had accepted the resigna
tions of its interim representatives on the lUS Secretariat at Prague
and had withdrawh its negotiat
ing team. This action followed a
series of incidents connected with
the Czechoslovakian coup.
Controversial Question
This announcement touched off
a storm of controversy. Delegates
will be confronted with the ques
tion of whether or not NSA is
shirking responsibility to the
world student community in ter
minating relations with lUS.
lUS is the only existing organ
ization of its kind. From its
headquarters in Prague it con
ducts annual international as
semblies. Despite the fact that
the present lUS Secretariat is
predominantly communist, NSA
decided to negotiate for affilia
tion in the interest of interna
tional cooperation and under
standing.
An interim representative to
the secretariat, and a proxy, were
dispatched to Prague. During the
winter, a four-man negotiating
team was picked from student
applicants throughout the U. S.
to go to Prague this summer and
negotiate for affiliation on behalf
of American students.
The interim representative,
William Ellis of Harvard, left for
Switzerland because of illness,
and James Smith of the Univer
sity of Texas, his proxy, took
over.
Student Demonstration
A student demonstration
marching to see President Benes
was dispersed after five student
representatives had been per
mitted to enter the presidential
palace during the Communist
coup. One hundred eight stu
dents were arrested subsequent
to the demonstration. Communist
(Continued on page four)
NSA Sponsors
Student Ships
U. S. Maritime Commission and
Coast Guard Waiver Acts, whose
authority was to have expired on
',larch 31, have both been extend
ed by Congress for one more year.
This extension, for which NSA
stagt an intensive campaign,
will ha's, a far reaching effect on
American student travel abroad
this summer.
Provides Student Ships
the, Maritime Comndssion
had Jeen permitted to lapse, the
student ships it operated would
not have sailed this .summer. tin
der the provisions of the Coast
Guard Waiver Act, the stringent
standards for the fitting and con
ditioning of ships of American
registry were relaxed to some ex
tent tc cover the wartime emer
gency. If this act had expired,
many ships would hal,: had to
stay in drydock all summer, re
conditioning to .neet the old qual
ificati Lis.
PRUSNSA Urged Action
L_ the Pennsylvania Region.
NSA urged students and student
;overnments to write to congress
men on the committees consider
in the extension of the acts. A
list of these congressmen was sent
to every Pennsylvania college and
junior coll
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1948-STATE . COI YGE, PENNSYLVANIA
Workshop Plan
Replaces Panel
Pennsylvania Region of NEA
has discarded the panel method
of discussing current student
problems in favor of a more in
formal "workshop" method.
Students who are well informed
ox- the topics fix each workshop
will act as discussion leaders. Dis
cussion will center around current
programs and problems.
Workshops will attempt to
bring in new ideas and programs,
and will formulate concrete plans
of action for regional implemen
tation. Regional committees will
be set up on various -ampuses to
carry out the programs.
Interest and participation will
be stimulated ay discarding the
formaity of the panel procedure.
Plans and programs originating
in ea,..n grout will be explained
at the plenary sessions, where
criticisms and suggestions will be
made, and final approval voted
on.
History Reveals USNSA Growth
From 25 Delegates to Prague
United States National Student Association was conceived by 25
American students who gathered in New York to sail to Europe for
the World Student Congress at Prague, Czechoslovakia, in August,
1946.
Ten of the United States delegates had been elected by the stu
_
th the remaining 15 representing
dent bodies of 10 universities, w
national student organizations.
While on their ship these stu
dents realized that they could
not democratically represent tne
students of American colleges
and universities to the students
of the world.
When the delegation returned
home it was decided to call a con
ference of American students to
sound out campus opinion on the
desirability of forming a na
tional student organization.
Preliminaries
Over 700 delegates represent
ing 800,000 students of 300 col
leges and universities and 20. na
tional student organizations met
at the University of Chicago in
December 1946 to discuss the pro
posed national student organiza
tion.
A continuations committee was
elected to arrange the Constitu
tional Convention and draft a
proposed constitution. •
The Constitutional Convention
was held at the University of
(Continued on page three)
Meals
Delegates zo Ine LRUSNSA
aonvenzion will eat in the ban
duet room on the second boor
az the State College Hazel at
12:30 and 5:30 o'clock tomcw
row, and at 12:30 p.m. Satur
day.
Temple Dean Keynotes Convention
As 150 Assemble for Plenary Session
Dr. A. Blair Knapp, Dean of Students at Temple University and
one of the nation's foremost educators, will be the keynote speaker
of the Pennsylvania Region of the National Student Association's
second conference in 119 Osmond Laboratory at 6:30 o'clock tonight.
Regional President James T. Harris will deliver salutations to
the assembly. Charles S. Wyand, administrative assistant to the
President of the College, will extend greetings to more than 150
delegates on behalf of the ad
ministration. William Lawless,
recently elected All - College
President, will welcome the vis
itors for All-College Cabinet and
,the student body.
Tomorrow each delegate will
attend national affairs workshops
in the morning and international
affairs workshops in the after
noon, where discussion will be
guided by a delegate particularly
well informed on each topic to
be considered. Each workshop
will discuss various aspects of
the student problems on its
agenda, plan a program of defi
nite action within the region and
assign various phases of the pro
grams to PRUSNA colleges hav
ing a special interest in the work.
National Workshops
USNSA To Meet
At Wisconsin
USNSA's first National Student
Congress will be held in Madison,
Wisconsin, from August 23 to 28.
Approximately 600 delegates
will evaluate NSA's progress dur
ing the past year and establish the
program and policies for the com
ing year.
Only colleges that have ratified
the National Constitution and
paid their national dues are eligi
ble to send one to seven delegates,
depending on enrollment. Mem
ber schools are also eligible to
send as many alternates as regu
lar delegates, although alternates
will have neither a voice nor a
vote except under the proxy rules
to be set up by' the congress.
The National Executive Corn- 1
mittee has arranged four interna
tional and six national workshops.
Reports and proposals will result
from discussion in panels and
workshops and will be submitted
to plenary sessions for further ac
tion. Constitutional amendments
will also be considered, as well as
the election Jf national officers
for the coming year.
A travel pool has been arranged
so that delegates traveling from
distant points will receive some
ti.avel reimbursement. The pool
applies, howex, er, only to dele
gates, and not to alternates or
observers.
News Coverage
Best in Nation
Informing every American stu
dent of the aims and diversified
programs Jf NSA is one of its
most difficult problems. National
ai.d regional publicity offices have
been established to provide com
pete coverage of NSA news.
PRUSNSA Publicity 'Best'
News coverage in the Pennsyl
ania region has been exception
ally complete, according to the
NSA National Executive Commit
tee, whi h called Pennsylvania
publicity "the best in the is
tit_.
.Headed ay Ralph Lee Smith, Jf
Swarthmore College, the Regional
Publicity Office has emphasized
campus distribution nd coverage
Copies of a bi-weekly News Let
ter go tc the president of each of
the 79 colleges and 18 Junior col
leges in the state, to all student
goy ?rninents, to every campus
newspaper, to NSA delegates, a1..-nates
.. - nates and observers on regional'.
campuses and to a list of publicity
"specials."
In this way items like NSA::
tri-nutic-► tour this summer reach
ed Pennsylvania campuses in
time `or interested students 4,0
participate.
Students Take
Tri-Nation Tour
National Student Association's
International Activities Commis
sion is completing arrangements
for a tri-nation tour, a travel and
study trip through France, Hol
land and England for 90 Ameri
can students chosen by the com
mission from approximately 350
applicants.
Foreign Students Assist
Arranged by NSA in coopera
tion with the British, Dutch, and
French National Unions of Stu
dents, the tour is the first of its
kind. The group will visit large
cities and well-known areas in :he
three countries. Prominent local
citizens will be on hand to guide
the study and sightseeing.
Students selected for the tour
wil' embark from Quebec, Can
ada, aboard the Kota Inten, a
Dutch troop transport, on June 18
ane will return either to Quebec
or New York on September 15.
Cost of the trip, including passage
both ways and all accommoda
tions abroad, is $550.
More Tours Next Year
NSA plans to arrange more
tours of this type next year for
American students. It will also
continue to work with the World
Student Service Fund in organiz
ing and publicizing the many
WSSF tours abroad. In this way
NSA hopes to accomplish its ob
jectives of promoting opportuni
ties for tra -, el and a greater un
derstanding of world problems.
Students were selected on the
basis of a questionnaire and a
brief essay stating the reasons fur
wishing to participate in the tour.
Ralph Lee Smith, Pennsylvania
Region Publicity Director, was
among those chosen to make the
tour.
Who's Who Among NSA Officers
One of the most successful of all the thirty NSA regions during
this first year of operation has been the Pennsylvania Region. Par
ticularly responsible for this success are the regional officers. among
them two students from Penn State.
PRUSNSA was fortunate in selecting SUCI , a capable list for its
inaugural year. The choice of succe-4surs to these officers will be con
sidered in a plenary session of the convention here on Saturday
Ted Harris Regional presi
dent; a June graduate, cum laude,
of LaSalle College, Philadelphia;
intends to , attend law school.
Spends most of waking hours on
NSA work
Bob Troxell Regiumil vie.--
president; active. in campus stu
dent government and past vice
president of the Penn State All-
College Cabinet; graduated this
week with a BS in Industrial En
gineering.
Bill Heckler Regional vice
president m charge of the domes
tic affairs program; a student at
Temple University with interests
many student activities. Alias
"Wild Bill."
Harry Brown Regional vice
wesident in charge of interna
tional affairs; another Penn Stat
er; member of debate team and
A student government work
shop will analyze the work al
ready done in this field and con
sider several proposals for the
improvement of student govern
ments, their relations with NSA
and with each other. Discrimina
(Continued on page two)
1.94 Colleges Ratify
USNSAConstitution
One hundred ninety-lour col
leges have ratified the USNSA
Constitution, 14 mom than the
quota necessary to place the con
stitution on a permanent basis
the national office has announced.
According to the ^oastitution
written by the Madison conven
tion in September, 1947, a major
ity of the student bodies repre
iented at the conference had to
ratify the document within nine
,tiontlis. Otherwise the constitu
tion would be considered provi
-ional.
Ratification was accomplished
either by a vote of the student
body or by action of student gov
ernments on each campus.
past All-College Parliamentarian
also chairman of 'Tribunal, the
Inc, judicial body.
Karen Knaplund Regional
.-a.u.'elary and only coed officer.
Student at Bryn Mawr where she
is particularly interested in stu
dent government and helps out at
the NSA - established Student
Government Clinic there.
Harry Reitz Treasure'. at
tends Bloomsburg State feathers'
College where he is past president
of the Community Government
As aeration, and an assistant dean
of men as a student.
Ralph Smith —Publicity Direc
tur; respunsible for the meaty
n.. 1. letters distributed in the
Pennsylvania Region. lie will go
:abroad this summer on the txi
nation tour spunsuied by NSA.