MOE MOM
ttl Collegian
Sot:resew to THE FREE LANCE, est. 1887
Published Tuesday through Saturday mornings inclusive
daring the College year by the staff of The Daily Collegian
al The Pennsylvania State College.
Entered as second-class matter July 5, 1934, at the State
College, Pa., Post Office under the act of March 3,• 1879.
Collegian editorials represent the viewpoints of the writ
ers, not necessarily the policy of the newspaper. Unsigned
editorials
are by the editor.
Maw
Editor Mgr.
Managing Ed., Ron Bonn; City Ed., George Glaser;
Sports Ed., Ernie Moore; Edit. Dir., Bud Fenton; Asst.
tis the Ed., Moylan Mills; Wire Ed., Len Kolasinski; So
ciety Ed., Carolyn Barrett; Feature Ed., Rosemary De
labantr: Asst. City Ed., Paul Poorman; Asst. Sports Eds . ',
DIPPO Colton, Robert Vosburg; Asst. Society Ed., Greta
Weaver Librarian, Bob Schooley; Exchange Ed.. Paul
Heft/den Senior Board, Lee Stern.
Asst. Bus. Mgr., Jerry Clibanotf: Advertising Dir.,
Sward Boleky; Local Adv. Mgr.. Bob Leyburn; Circu
lation Co-Mgrs., Jack Horsford, Joe $ utovsky: Personnel
Mgr-. Carolyn Alley; Promotion Co-Mgrs., Bob 'Koons,
Glaser: Classified Adv. Mgr., Laryn Sax; • Office
Moe. Tema Sieber; Secretary, Nan Bierman; Senior Board,
Dpn Jackel, Dorothy Naveen, Joan Morosini.
ST'AFF THIS ISSUE
liragilt editor: Mary Stark; copy editors:
Moak Henderson, Janie Reber; assistants: Lix
Newell, Sbe'don Smoyer, Laura Badwey, Ed
Ralf.
Advertising steM Bette Agnew, Terry Mos
.und Camiyn Ailey.
Attack On
Sororities Biased
There is not a system created by man which
does not have its shortcomings. This can be said
of democracy, the university system, the Con
stitution of the United States, and the rulebook
of major league baseball.
It can also be said of the sorority and fra
ternity system.
Ti is a pity, however. that Look magazine
has given the dignity of print to an attack
upon the sorority system by Rosanne Smith
Robinson in the issue which hit , the news
stands Tuesday.
Miss Robinson's writhag should stand as one
woman's opinion. Rather than being factual,
it is a personal experience story, colored and
emotional, written by one who makes no at
tempt to conceal her opposition to the sorority
and fraternity system.
Miss Robinson advocates putting an end to
sororities and . then cites extreme examples
about the girl who rented a Cadillac convertible
during rush week, and of another girl who
sewed expensive labels in her clothing so as to
make an impression.
Speaking of the influence the sororities have
on their members, Miss Robinson writes, "Her
individuality, her intelligence, her very beliefs
are sacrificed to the mold of conformity."
If sororities are anything like fraternities,
beliefs and intelligence are not sacrificed to
anything. IT anything, the intimacy of frater
nity and sorority life encourages the expression
of ideas that might not- be made under other
circumstances.
Miss Robinson goes on to say that sorority
women brag about "Daddy's boat" that turns
out to be "a rowboat with an outboard motor
on it," that dirty jokes and gossip are the fa
vorite topics of conversation among sorority
women, that fraternity men date sorority wo
men to the virtual exclusion of independent
women, etc., et aL •
Miss Robinson gets factual and cites the
record at Northwestern University, where, she
says, the independent women had higher ave
rages than the sorority women. Miss Robinson
is evidently determined to make her point, so
she has apparently not bothered to look into the
matter further. Had she looked at Penn State,
she would have found that sorority women
generally have higher averages than indepen
dent women.
Not that this fact is very important. All it
shows is that there may be some doubt that
what is true at Northwestern is.true everywhere
else. We do not imply, as Miss Robinson does,
that such an isolated fact has any particular
significance. She utilizes the propagandist's
trick of taking a specific example and applying
it to a general situation.
Miss Robinson's article comes to a rather
passionate, and, in our opinion, putrid and
not too soon an end, with the story of a so
rority girl who turned down a proposal of
marriage by an independent man because .
she would have to look in the eyes of her
children "and tell them their father didn't
belong to a fraternity."
We have given the editors of Look credit for
more intelligence than to allow such trash to
get into their magazine. We are beginning to
have our doubts ater this.
Gazette . . .
Thursday, May 24
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE organization, 304 Old
Mn,lin 6:45 p.m.
COFFEE HOUR, cabinet and dean of men,
109 Old Main, 4 p.m.
DE MOLAY CLUB, 203 Willard Hall, 8 p.m.
NSA, 233 Sparks. 7 p.m.
SKI CLUB, elections, 3 White Hall, 7:30 p.m.
WRA OUTING, 2 White Hall, 7 p.m.
'Alta SW•I6III.ING, While Nail pool, 7,:3o,paia.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
Register For
Draft Tests
Selective Service, alarmed, at the large num
ber of college stucients who have not register—
ed for draft qualification tests, has extended
the application deadline to tomorrow midnight.
The best available figures indicate that almost
2000 draft-eligibles at the College still are not
registered for this examination.
Leading educators, government chiefs, and
military men have repeatedly urged students to
take these qualification tests. It seems evident
that draft-age students have everything to gain
and nothing to lose through the examinations.
Of first importance, of course, is the fact that
local draft boards have been advised by Selec
tive Service headquarters to exempt from the
draft college students ranking in top percentiles
of those taking the exams. While local boards,
by Congressional order, do not have to abide by
these instructions, a good many of them cer
tainly will. So the tests, at best, offer exemp
tion from the draft so that the student may
finish his college career.
But a secondary advantage was noted re
cently by General Hershey. Even if a student
should be drafted, the test scores will be a
factor in determining whether a man may be
asigned to officer candidate school. College
students may be expected to place high in the
qualifications tests, and should therefore
have good chances for the OCS training.
At any rate, the student has absolutely noth
ing to lose in taking the tests—there is no
charge, and testing centers are located through
out the Country. Any students at the College
who have not registered for the examinations
should certainly do so at once, taking advantage
of the new deadline. Applications are available
at all local draft boards, including Belifonte's
Local Board No. 44.
Safety Valve
New Kind Of Government
TO THE EDITOR:
The plan to have coeds live in West Dorms
provides an opportunity to see just how a single
student government for both sexes would work
at Penn State. Judging by the steps taken by
the dean of women and those planned by West
Dorm council, the opportunity is to be ignored.
Despite the fact that both the men and wo
men living in the West Dorm area next fall will
have many problems in common, two student
goverment'agencies--West Dorm Council and
WSGA—along with the office of the dean of
women, are expected to solve them.
We can see a need for a separate student
judicial for women. We cannot see a need,
however, for two or more government agencies
to consider problems which concern all stu
dents. Cabinet, that "highest student govern
ment body," is quite capable of helping to mold
women as well as men.
Experimentation in the West Dorms would
- demonstrate the fallacy or validity of such a
plan. We ( think it would show that women can
hold their own in an all-student government
just as they are expected to do in a world where
females do not have their own Congress or UN.
—John Ashbrook
Points For D.P. Loan
TO THE EDITOR
Tonight cabinet will be asked to consider
once again the "D.P. Loan" question. Mr. Fen
ton's Tuesday editorial did not mention the
following points:
These D.P.'s are being brought over by stu
dents and townspeople to become students. The
Campus Committee for Displaced Persons is
made up of students for student welfare. The
foremost reason that these D.P.'s might not
enter Penn State after their year's employment
would be for lack of funds. By giving them
financial aid in the form of a short term loan
at the beginning we are helping them get start
ed in their job of earning and saving enough
money to matriculate the following year.
Mr .Fenton suggests that the merchants be
asked to allow installment buying. The towns
people found jobs for these 25 students, they
are willing to provide immediate essentials at
cost—can we ask or expect them to also ex
tend terms? There is a limit!
Since first approaching cabinet the commit
tee has modified its request in one degree. We
shall return to All-College Cabinet all money
they appropriate to the loan fund. In other
words, we are asking Cabinet for a loan (which
incidentally would come from this year's sur
plus—not next year's budget.).
As an example of why these loans are needed
I thought you'll like to know that Gyoergy
Geczy, who arrived this week, did so with
exactly $lO with which to start his new life
here in America .Can you say that he does not
need help?
—Ralph Cash
Chairman, Campus Committee
for Displaced Persons
COLLEGE PLACEMENT
Further information concerning interviews and jlib place
rents can he obtained in 112 Old Main.
Columbia Malable Casting Co. will interview freshman,
sophomores, and juniors for summer work Thursday, May 24.
Koppers Company will interview June graduates in M.E.
Monday. May 28.
Roving Re
—Ron Bonn
Congress has revived one of the most distasteful evils of history
and that is the Inquisition. Today, in line with refinements in think
ing, it is called an investigating committee, but like its ancestor, the
Congressional investigation disregards some of the ordinary rules of
procedure.
Nevertheless, using the press and
television along with other me
dia, Congress has subjected wit
nesses to a trial by headlines for
a jury of millions to pass judg
ment on. Too often this jury is
not fully prepared to" make a
just verdict.
Therefore, the reputations lost
by false accusations made inside
Congressional hearing rooms are
usually difficult to repair or re
store in the aftermath.
On Monday the U. S. Supreme
Cou r t sharpened one of the
spikes Congressmen use to spit
their victims upon. The Court in
an eight to one decision reversed
a lower court decision and main
tained that legislators cannot be
sued for damages wrought to a
person's reputation if that dam
age is done under the protection
of legislative immunity.
Congressmen Speak
In sessions Congressmen may
speak the most damaging words
with impunity. And while we are
in agreement with the general
principle of legislative immunity,
we quote the lone dissenter in
this particular ruling as food for
thought.
Said Justice William 0. Doug
las, "If a committee departs so
far from its domain to deprive
a citizen of a right protected by
the Constitution, I can think of
no reason why it (the committee)
should be immune."
He was referring here to the
right of a person to sue his de
tractors if the accusation made by
them are false. Moreover, all
`Radio Moscow'
Hits Penn State
We have always been told that radio was a wonderful thing.
Now we realize the truth of those words.
It seems that whenever there's something on the radio that we
don't like we can turn it off. Sometimes we wish some of our friends
were on the radio.
get something on short wave--
very little can we get on either
side of 1450 on the dial with the
regular band.
There were some shrill whis
tles and a lot of static, and then
we settled down to listen to some
hard-to-pronounce - even-harder -
to-figure-out classical music by
a Russian composer with a ditto
name.
orter
Reprinted from March 1951 issue of Esquire
"I've done my best to cheer him up, Doctor, al
ways telling him to forget losing his job . . .
forget the bills piling up . . . forget the
threat of ill health . . forget , .
Fundamental Issues
Congi*ss
Probes..
The trial is not by ordeal, that is fire, water, combat, or torture.
A short time ago we were huddled around our radio trying to
The music stopped shortly
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1951
By LEN KOLASINSKI
abuses by the committees by us
ing legislative immunity cannot
be corrected within the member
ship or by self-discipline.
It seems Congressmen, who
should know the rights and privi
leges of citizens as defined in the
Constitution, are crushing some
basic principles of freedom. There
was a time when a grand jury
studied evidence in secret before
presenting an indictment against
a person for a crime. That right
seems to be by-passed.
Duty-Bound
The fact of the matter is that
Congressional committees are du
ty-bound to gather information
but not to disseminate informa
tion or more particularly misin
formation. Congress must inves
tigate before corrective or pro
gressive legislation can be. passed.
It has practiced this system since
1789.
However, like Justice Douglas.
we must ask whether Congres
sional hearings should be al
lowed to supplant trial by jury
with trial by committee. It may
be that the Communist-inspired
hysteria among lawmakers has
made them careless in their treat
ment of witnesses.
In the final analysis a corollary
of the process of Congressional
investigation, the smear, has
seemed to become more widely
accepted as a method of politi
cally killing the opposition—whe
ther it be Republican or Demo
crat.
By 808 FRASER
afterwards' and a sweet-as-honey
voice which sounded very much
like the girl next door began to
tell us of American . brutality
down through the years. _
American History
She said that the Spanish-
American War, "one of the out
standing periods in American
istory,'• was completely over
-- (Continued on page five)
Copyright 1051 by Esquire, ine