alob Batty Collegian
Successor to 11 1 / 3 MEE LANCE, est. OW
Published Puesday through Saturday mornings inclusive
during the College rear by the staff of The Daily Collegian
of The Pennsylvania State College.
Entered as second-class matter July fp. 1.934. et the State
College. Pa. Post Offiee under the eat of Mirth. 8. 1879.
Collegian editorials represent the viewpoints of the writ.
ere, not necessarily the polies of the newspaper. Unsigne*
editorials are by the editor
Mary Krasnansky Edward Shanken
,45f , pmo
Editor Business. Mgr.
STAFF TI-US ISSUE
Night editor, Lynn Kahanowitz; copy ,editors,
Millie Martin, Jim Gromiller; assistants, Mar
jorie Cole, Nancy Meyers, Jim Peters, Norma
Zehner.
Ad manager, Betty Agnew; assistant, Frank
Kelly.
'Railroad' Charge
Is Not Factual
(Ed. Note: This is the second of a series of
five editorials designed to present the back
ground and clarify the issues on a subject
which has been the cause of much discussion,
the proposed Student Union building and the
$7.50 student fee recommended to the College
Board of Trustees by All-College Cabinet
and approved by the trustees in 1950.)
11. "Railroading"
Even if we were to disregard the long history
of the Penn State Student Union campaign, the
charge that the fee was "railroaded" could not
stand up to the facts. Cabinet approved for the
second time the proposal for the $7.50 per
semester fee May 25. The proposal for the fee
had first been presented to cabinet better than
three weeks prior to this date, May 3.
Opposition to the fee was given three weeks
to materialize. With but one exception, it did
not. The exception was the Nittany-Pollock
Council which presented a petition signed by
740 students who asked for a referendum. The
charge was that the SU fee had been hushed
up, then railroaded through. The valid question
asked of the petitioners then—and just as valid
today—was if the SU fee was hushed up, how
then was it possible to get 740 signatures on a
petition decrying the hush-hush tactics?
In addition, more than six months prior to
the approval of the fee by cabinet, the Daily
Collegian carried, on Nov. 11, 1949, a story on
the SU with a banner headline across the top of
page 1 which outlined plans for the SU. The
story was based on a report made to cabinet
by James MacCallum, then All-College secretary
treasurer, chairman of cabinet's SU committee
and one of the five student representatives on
the College's SU committee. The Daily Collegian
of - Nov. 11, reported:
"Because the building is not of an 'academic
nature,' state sudsidies would not be available
to finance construction." Therefore, MacCallum
said, Penn State would probably follow many
other col:lieges' financial plan.
"Many other colleges which boast a student
union have paid for it through income rea
lized through its services; from gifts from,
alumni and friends of the college, AND from
a continuing student union assessment of $5
to $lO a semester."
The fact is that had it been the wish of those
responsible for the handling of the SU and the
assessment to railroad the fee, they could have
gone straight to the trustees, cited the previous
student approval of the fee,. and -asked the
trustees to approve it on that basis.
ECAC Is Balked
The efforts of the Eastern College Athletic
Conference to find a cure-all for the ailments of
college athletics do not• seem to be catching on
too well, especially in other sections of the
country.
The ECAC, which is made up of 91 major
and minor colleges in the East, got down to
business this week at a four-day convention
with plans to cover the hot sports problems of
the day.
Important among an impressive list of re
forms including television
_rights, eligibility
rules, bowl games, and the two-platoon sys
tem is the question of whether spring practice
should or should not be abolished.
Is this such an important decision to make?
Will the elimination of spring football practice
solve anything? Two of the country's biggest
and most influential football conferences, the
Big Ten and the Pacific Coast Conference don't
seem to think so.
Both conferences went on record this week
to continue football operations as usual, and
have decided to continue spring practice.
If the ECAC should insist on maintaining its
crusade against spring practice it's going to
find itself cheating no one but itself. Its teams
will be playing teams with the benefits of two
or three more months training, and probably
with disastrous results.
There are many reforms of college football
which are merited and certainly needed, but
'what good would come of eliminating spring
practice as long as outlandish scholarships
are still being awarded, and the many other
evils of rope^•e thletics are still being allowed
to remain on a scandalous level?
—Bob Vosburg
• AA - az - all • 7 , - rENDisYLVAANLA
'Thou Didst Mold Us'
From The Pitt News, Nov. 30
"Results of the Student Congress poll showed
student opinion saying an overwhelming "yes"
to women cheerleaders."
Monkey sees, monkey • does
From The Daily Pennsylvanian, Nov. 29
"Women baton twirlers did not perform
during halftime at the Cornell game Saturday
because the student affairs committee refused
to reverse its decision withholding university
sanction for the majorettes."
—Monkey sees, monkey doesn't
Bafety Valve--
Do Not Abolish the
Student Union Fee' •
TO TI4E EDITOR: Do not abolish the Stu
dent Union fee! This campus needs a SU build
ing and the present set up insures one in the
future as soon as conditions permit. Everyone
will - benefit directly when it is erected, students
and alumni. By abolishing the fee we would be
defeating the purpose for which the fee was
established.
Granted that the fee is too high. Instead of
asking the All-College Cabinet to recommend
the abolishment, why not ask them to ask the
Board of Trustees to reduce the fee to $2.50 per
semester. This fee of $2.50 will not put un
necessary hardships on the students Thus, the
money would be accumulating so that when
construction began, a larger part of the build
ing would be paid for.
- Let's not let the class of 'sl's contribution
grow musty with old age. If the classes of
'52,'53,'54,'55, and future classes continue the
fee, a Student Union that will be a credit to
Penn State can be had on campus. I think that
it is about time an initiative on the part of
students is undertaken to build a bigger, better
Penn State, especially when we ourselves will
benefit directly as students and in the future,
as alumni.
$7.50 Is a Lot to One
Who Can't Spare It
TO THE EDITOR: I am a single veteran
having an extremely hard time trying to live
on my monthly check of $75. Seven-fifty may
not be a lot of money to some people, but it is
a lot to one who can't spare it.
Notwithstanding the fact Chat the All-College
Cabinet in 1950' voted for the Student Union
assessment, I consider it to be highly arbitrary
and completely undemocratic, to say the least.
In speaking to quite a number of fellow stu
dents, I find the consensus of their opinions
seems to be that the Cabinet did not, by any
means, represent the majority opinion of the
student body when it voted in favor of the
assessment. If this is true then "student gov
ernment" here at' Penn State is a farce and a
disgrace! The only fair way, to decide this issue
would have been to hold" a referendum in
which every student on the campus had the
privilege of voting 'for or against. I under
stand that although many students at the time
petitioned for this right, it was not granted.
I do not' believe that on such a matter as the
Student Union the All-College Cabinet should
have the right of deciding whether or not a
student should be assessed—this right should
rest only with the students themselves.
What if the Cabinet had voted for each stu
dent to pay a hundred dollars?
It is my sincere belief that the vast majority
of the students share thiq view.
Gazette ..-.
Thursday, December 13
AMERICAN FOUNDRYMEN'S SOCIETY,
Foundry - lecture room, 7:30 p.m.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEERS, two filmg, 10 Sparks, 7 p.m.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ORGANIZATION,
304 Old Main, 6:45 p.m.
CIRCLE AND SQUARE, Armory, 7 p.m. .
COLLEGIAN freshman editorial board and
candidates, 9 Carnegie Hall, 7 p.m.
NEWMAN CLUB. lecture, 317 Willard Hall,
7:15 p.m.
NITTANY GROTTO, 318 Frear Laboratory,
7:30 p.m.
PHI SIGMA lOTA, speaker, Phi Kappa, 8 p.m.
POULTRY CLUB Christmas party, Alpha
Zeta, 7 p.m.
SCABBARD AND BLADE, Armory, 7:30 p.m.
TAU BETA PI pledge meeting, 1 Main Engi
neering, 7 p.m.
WRA SWIMMING, White Hall pool, 7 p.m.
COLLEGE HOSPITAL
Lavonne Althouse, Anna Bailey, Meyer Bush
man, Gloria D'Antonio, Karen Gold, Louis Gom
lick, Elaine Gottlieb, Barbara 'Holzka, Kenneth
Landis, Nancy Misner, Thomas Mulligan, Philip
Nemchek, Conrad Nagel, Knox Phillips, Joy
Rosenbloom, Ray. Schaeffer, Norma Waters.
AT THE MOVIES
CATHAUM: Journey Into Light, 2:13, 4:06,
5:59, 7:52, 9:45
STATE: Lorna Doone, 2:11, 4:03, 5:55, 7:47,
9:39 •
NITTANY: Secrets of Convict Lake, 6:25,
8:19, 10:15
-R. B.
—Frank Reese
—Louis Boyar,
also John Blanchard,
Dale Jones
Little Man On Cathpus
..- .---
rf VG
"It's a time out—Now run in there an
losing,team of mine ALL about ARM
A rather frightening thing happened. to us last weekend—o
draft board decided it was about time to check up on our physica
condition.
.This 'latest manifestation of paternalism in government met no
very warm response here, but the • board pressed its invitation so
earnestly, we really had no choice. At least, we figured, we'd get a
government-paid trip to Philadel-1
phia, meals included, to see the I
gentlemen. We were debating
whether to charter a plane or not,
and if pressed duck at the Ben.
Franklin would be more appetiz
iv:g than pheasant under glass at
the Adelphia—we'd teach you
taxpayers to draft us; by heaven!
—when we learned that the board
only pays expenses from its door'
to the point of examination. Our
total profit on the deal was two
Philadelphia car tokens.
They sent us out to the Schuyl
kill Arsenal, a grim gray, building
well suited to use as a prison
or examining center.
This was phase one of a pro
cess that did not cease until 250
of us were parading coldly
around in our altogethers. It's
a psychological tactic: if you
have an argument with an of
ficial, you'd be . amazed at the
mental advantage the fact that
he has clothes on and you don't
gives him. -
In rapid succession, we were
thumped, tapped, and inspected,
by the seediest looking crew of
doctors the medical profession has
yet been able to assemble.
One elderly MD peered briefly
through the cracked lenses of his
glasses - into each ear, and then
certified that we ,were normal
for head, face, neck, scalp,. nose,
throat, and • sinuses. A s e coo n d
gentlemen grabbed a .foot as if
he were about to nail a shoe on it
and snarled, "anything wrong
with yer feet?"
"They're flat," we noted smugly.
'."I asked you if there was any
thing wrong with them," he re
minded, and sent us on. ,
Still a third lad lined up, 25. of
us and said, "Bend t 6 the right."
We bent. "Bend to the left.' We
bent. "Touch your toes. "We
laughed. He certified that we
were normal for all upper ex
tremities
They gave us a psychology
examination; to wit:
"Ever had a fractured skull?"
"No." s,
"GO out with girls?"
"Yes."
Whereupon we were certified
stable, normal individuals.
They gave us an intelligence
fliUftSpAY, DECEM3ERII3, 1951
I'
•C'
A Bonn
Mot
By RON BONN
test—by this time we had our
clothes back on. They gave us the
sentence, "Close the door," with
"close" underlined. We had to'
find a synonym from among these
other words:
shove ,
impregnate .
antidisestablishmentarianism
shut
But the high point of the after
noon came when a sergeant wan
dered into the room where some
30 of us were sitting, worrying.
The sergeant asked if any of us
were from southwest Philadel
phia, and seemed greatly sur
prised to learn that we all were.
Isn't that a coincidence?" he
cried ingratiatingly. "I'm the re
cruiting sergeant for southwest
Philadelphia." We all agreed hol
lowly that this certainly was a
coincidence. Then the sergeant
became real friendly—looking out
for our "interests, because we were
all from southwest Philadelphia.
"Do you guys know -what
happens to guys drafted' in -
December?". he whispered, with
a furtive glance over his shoul-'
der. "What?" we asked. •
"They all go in the Marines.
Nor, I have some enlistment
papers right• here . . ."
We didn't sign. They can't
draft a seventh semester senior.,
Goodbye. •
Gazette ...
COLLEGE PLACEMENT
Equitable Life Assurance Society of the
U.S. will interview January graduates in
C&F Thursday, Dec. 13.
Railer, Raymond and Brown; Inc. will
interview graduates at all levels in E.E..
Phys., and Math Monday, Dec. 17.
Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. have
opportunities in sales leading to retail
management or wholesale , sales. Further
information may be obtained in' 112 Old
Main.
STUDENT EMPLOYMENT
Women for waitress work from 7:30-to
11 •p:m. in dairy store.
Busboy for Mondays from 9 to 12 a.m.
Woman for housework five days per
week from 11 a.m: to 5 p.m.
'The concrete used in the con
struction of the Golden Gate
Bridge at San Francisco is enough
to• build 10-foot sidewalks „on
either' "side of the highway from
Omaha to Chicago.
By Bibler
tip i v.
6,
d tell that
Y LIFE."