PAGE stx 3li? Sally Collegian Successor to THE FREE LANCE, est. 1887 Published Tuesday through Saturday mornings inclusive during the College year by the staff of The Daily Collegian of 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 viewpoint of the writers, not necessarily the policy of the newspaper. Un signed editorials are by the editor. Dave Pellniis a&£«g2Sio Franklin Kelly Editor Business Mgr. STAFF THIS ISSUE Editorial: Mary Lee Lauffer, Dick Rau, Gus Vollmer, Bill Jost, Mimi Ungar, Nancy Ward, Betty Allen, Chiz Mathias, Dick McDowell, Mary Angel, Tammie Bloom, A 1 Goodman, Phil Austin, Marshall Donley, Chuck Obertance, Lix Newell, Barry Fein. Advertising: Phyllis Kalson, Frank Kelly, Bette Agnew. Freshman Customs Can Be Clean Fun Beginning Monday at 7 a.m. almost 2700 freshmen will begin customs. In the last two years, since the inception of the first customs program following World War 11, there has been much discussion over the value of the customs program. Many feel that customs are silly; a few consider them vicious, but the majority of students, we feel, recognize the customs program for what it is —an attempt to further acquaint new students with the ideas and traditions of Penn State. We came io the campus :as a sophomore, after spending our freshman year at a center. We had undergone customs at the center and found them enjoyable. When we came to State we knew little of whaf to expect. Frankly, we never got around to learning the Penn--Staie songs until almost the end of our second semester. Many freshmen don’t know just what to ex pect of customs. Some view the next few weeks with apprehension. There’s really nothing to fear. There is no viciousness in the customs program at Penn State, and any attempts at hazing (activities not specifically defined in the Freshman Customs Regulations) should be re ported to the Freshman Customs Board. All upperclassmen and women are asked io enforce customs, but usually ihe job falls chiefly io ihe haimen and haiwomen. These people are noi io be feared, but rather, re spected. The black hals of ihe men and ihe gray hais of the women do not signify power and authority, bui rather denote that ihai student has been honored by ihe College and fellow students for outstanding service io ihe College in athletics, publications, government, politics, or other fields. It should be remembered by the frosh that customs are not a form of punishment. The green hats and green bows worn, by the frosh merely denote someone who is new or “green” on campus. The freshman should not feel guilty because of this. Rather, he should be proud that he is now a member of the great Penn State family. Customs can be a lot of good clean fun for both the frosh and the upperclassmen. When the program ceases to be kept free from viciousness and silliness, then it ceases to perform its job at Penn State. When that time comes, customs should be abolished. Un til that time, however, every Slater should •work toward the betterment of the program. AIM Organization Unites Independents The Association of Independent Men is the only organization under which independent men can have any semblance of unity. For this reason AIM is as important to the inde pendent man, as a cohesive agent, as fibrin is to blood. Under AIM. independent men have a voice on All-College Cabinet, a liaison is established between the independent man and the College administration, dormitory councils have a chance to solve problems together, and a social outlet is provided for the men in the dormitories. AIM got cU to a lowly start three years (Complete .Service (Between the - New College Diner THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA ago. Since that lime it has made good pro gress, but AIM still has a long way to go. However, the progress made since its incep tion is something of which the Association of Independent Men can be proud. Critics of AlM’s social programs are con stantly pointing to the usually successful activi ties of fraternity men. But they fail to realize that fraternities form a more unified group because a man entering a fraternity usually remains there until he’ is either graduated or flunked, or he transfers.'Every year there is. a large turn-over in the dormitories. Unification of this transient group is a huge task one which AIM has accomplished with some degree of success. Dances which AIM held in the West Dorm lounge last year are only one example of the unity which AIM has achieved. Independents in both AIM and Leonides were drawn to gether under the bond of their social program. These programs are limited by the facilities available. This is no reflection on AIM. The men in AIM and the women in Leonides have done the best job possible. It’s true that AIM has hai them serious. However, these iplits were usu ally the result of differences of opinion on policy. The main concern of the men of AIM is the welfare'of the independent men. Uniting approximately 4000 men who are scattered * throughout town and in dormitories requires a lot of work. The odds are overwhelming, but the courage AIM has shown in the past in the face of these odds gives rise to the hope of some day seeing a truly united group of inde pendent men, Cooperation Shown In Fraternity Case Student-administrative cooperation has been a thing much talked of in the past. But an example of how these groups can work to gether when a common problem arises shows, better than any philosophy on the subject, that all the talk has not been just that—talk. The example involves a special committee of the College student welfare committee, the Dean of Men’s office, the executive committee of the Interfraternity Council, and a fraternity which got itself “in dutch” with the administration. Of course, the situation was not without its bad moments. The alleged violations of the College rules by Beta Sigma Rho took place late last semester; and action on the matter was not taken until after most students had left the campus for the summer. As a result there were no student representatives on the committee which was formed to determine the disciplinary action in the case. The IFC execu tive group, however, had made - recommenda tions as to the punishment which should be inflicted. Apparently these were ignored by the special committee: The penalty agreed on by the committee— one semester's social _ probation was defi nitely not to the liking of the IFC group. We feel their dissatisfaction was justified since they were not consulted before the decision was rendered. It looked then as if student administrative cooperation was just a myth. Social probation means that the fraternity may not engage in any social function during the penal period. As the punishment origi nally stood, the house involved would not have been able to engage in rush week activities — a disastrous blow to any fraternity. But the IFC was not content to allow things to remain as they were. Eventually, through sessions with the Dean of Men’s office, an agree ment suitable to the majority of the members of the special committee was reached without the necessity of calling the group back into session. The new ruling places the fraternity on an eight-week social probation, period beginning Monday. While the house will be out of cir culation for Homecoming Weekend, the broth ers have plenty to be thankful for and undoubt edly appreciate what has been done on their behalf. The current affair has shown that the ad ministration does not make a decision and then stick to it regardless of the arguments presented. It has shown, too. that the Inter fraternity. Council and its executive commit tee mean business—that they are groups look ing out for their constituents, but willing to admit mistakes too. We trust this type of cooperation will con tinue in the future. It is to the best advantage ■ of all groups concerned. id splits, some of —Dick Rau little Man oh Campus "An' remember, Fritzgerald, when you're lookin' over the other houses, don't forget that the Sigma Phi Nothing fraternity has the biggest television screen on campus." A six-week summer course was our official excuse for a trip to Mexico, but the experience of a few jostling rides in a Mexican bus or cab is reason enough for the trip south. Mexican busses are of two classes—first class, insuring you of a seat and rather uneventful trip for your three-cent fare, and second class—promising adventure in the raw for two cents. With all the romance in our soul blossoming (and because they came more often), we students usually took the latter. From the flying leap necessary to safely board the vehicle before it took off, to the forced mastery of de scending from a still-moving bus at your destination, second-class riding provides no end of enter tainment. Why all the hurry, you ask, es pecially among Mexicans, noted for their matter-of-fact, lazy man ner. Managers of the bus lines, real izing the national habit, pay driv ers for the number of round trips made each day, not the number of passengers carried. Hence the fast take-offs, often leaving passeng ers stranded waiting for the next bus, and the straining of each driver to pass every bus he meets . . and the lineup of several buses taking the same route, fol lowed by a long lull before a similar bus shows. Busses are a very popular means of transportation because of the great masses who cannot afford a car. That’s why they crowd to gether till several people are hold ing on to the rail in the bpen doorway and stand five lines deep between the two rows of seats. Because of the great opportunity for pilfering in such conditions, we developed a “Mexican clutch” C^re&wi FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1925 Spices of Life By GINGER OPOCZENSKI on our handbag that lingers still. Mexican traffic lives up to every word of its gory reputation. The stop light is virtually un known and only on the busiest corners in heart of cities are there traffic cops. At other intersections, it’s every man for himself, and the bravest one pulls out into the engulfing traffic first. Just as you’re sure your driver won’t make it this time, someone stops. They -say the only ones who get in accidents are foreigners. Most cab drivers own their own cars, and can charge just about anything they please for trips around town. We had been warn ed to bargain with taxi drivers before we came to Mexico. Our Spanish, however, must have been a little shaky at our arrival, for the driver wouldn’t accept less than 5 pesos (about 60 cents Amer ican’) for our first ride. Later trips, with more experience in Spanish and'a few companions to back us up, cost only 3 pesos (36 cents American). Since rates are based on dis tance and not the number of pas sengers, oft times one of us step ped out of the house to bargain for a 3-peso ride and then signaled (Continued on page seven) By Bibler
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