The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, May 22, 1953, Image 4

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    PAGE FOUR
Published Tuesday through
Saturday Rimming. inclusive
during the College year by
the staff of The Daily Col
legian of ties.,.Pensaylvanisi
State Collegm• • '
Entered as socoad-elase =atter July -5. 1934 at the . State College, Pa: Past Office ander, the • act •of March 3, 1579:
Managing Ed., Marshall O. Donley; City Ed.. Chuck Asst.' Bus. Mgr., Mark Christ; •Local. Advertising Are..
Obertasee; Copy Ed., Chia Mathias; . ' Sports E. am Robert Carruthers; National Adv. Mgr.; Donald Hawke;
Procopio: Edit. Dir., Dick Ran; Wire-Radio Ed., Bill Jost: Circulation Co-Mgrs., Frank Creasman , Diane .Miller:
Sot Ed., Lynn Hahanowitz; Asst. Sports Ed., Dick McDowell: Promotion Mgr., Ruth Israel; Personnel Mgr., Patience
Asst. Soc. Ed., Li: Newell; Photo Ed., Bruce Schroeder: Ungethuem; Office Mgr., Gail Shaver; Classified' Adv.
Feature Ed. ' Nancy - Meyers; Exchange •Ed., Gus Vollmer: Mgr., • Jean. Geiger; Sec., Carol Schwing; Research and
Librarian, .
Lorraine Gladus; Senior Beard, Mary Lou Adams. Records Mgrs., Virginia Bowman, Eleanor Hennessy.
DAVE JONES, Editor
STAFF THIS ISSUE: Night editor: Nancy .Ward: Copy editors: Diehi McK alip, Ann Leh: Assistanti
Anne Campbell, Janice Laird, Torn Werner, Jane Montgomery. Ad staff: Tom Garrett, Bill Nudorf
Steve Elabarger.
Annual Fight: Seniors vs. Finals
The College Senate -next month is expected
to discuss what has become of the Penn State
student's perennial fight: elimination .of final
exams for graduating seniors. Fortunately for
the Senate, most students will be home when
the decision is revealed. .
A final examination committee, which studied
final exam policies at about 100 colleges, is
presenting the proposal to the Senate to remove
final exam requirements in any course in which
a graduating senior has a 2.0 average. The com
mittee reports 25 per cent of the schools an
swering have a special senior final exam plan.
Elimination of senior finals is a touchy and
interesting problem. Students in genera 1—
especially seniors—feel a strong need for their
elimination. And as a freshman nears his senior
year, he gradually realizes that final exams for
seniors are the most terrible-, of all animals.
This is a natural feeling.
Looking at the exam problem in a disgustingly
objective way, the student point of view seems
merely an attempt to get out of work. Elimina
tion of senior final exams is supported mainly
by one argument: a student who has completed
seven semesters of college, and is passing in his
last semester, may flunk out merely by failing
one final exam. Sad but true.
Safety Valve---.
On the Class Gift . . .
TO THE EDITOR: Using the knowledge
gained from four years at Penn State we have
come up with an excellent use for the extorted
funds in the senior class treasury. Our idea is
to divide the fund by the number of people in
the class and make a refund. to each member.
We are sure each recipient will be able to put
the money to good use; whereas, the College
has to tax its ingenuity to find another useless
item to add to the collection of many others.--
—Ken Harris, Andrew A. Vicker,
• William F. Shaw, Morton Solo
mon, Danny Fagan
" Editor's note: Are these the five Penn State
students who never .sit on the campus benches,
never pose for pictures at the Lion shrine, and
never set their watches by the Old Main chimes?
Interpreting the News
When and if the three great conference with Russia, about value of risking a diplomatic
Western Allies hold their Ber- which the 'U.S. is skitty. Clement failure, with its consequent
muda conference, France and Attlee, former Laborite Prime spiritual let-down among free
Britain will be chiefly interested Minister; made some statements peoples everywhere, the pres
in relations with Soviet Russia which stirred great anger in the sures have been growing for a
and the first interest of the Uni- U.S., although later perusal of four-power conference ever since
ted States will be in relations his full text took out some of the Stalin died and Rdssia intena
with Britain and France. sting. For days statements have fied her talk about -the possi-
That was made clear in the been flying back and forth. bility of peacettir: settlements.
statements issued Thursday by Then, Wednesday, Churchill France, Britain, India the Vat-
Eisenhower, Churchill and May- was asked in Parliament if he ican . and many lesser poviers
er-didn't think he ought to get have taken official stands for it.
_ .
_ _
Mayer may, not be there—his Eisenhower over theike andAry Russia has , said it suits her.
cabinet fell Within hours of the to straighten out the policy dif- They just don't think the
announcement of plans for .the ferences between the two na.- dangers which preoccupy the
meeting, having tripped over tions, particularly with regard United States are as great as the
'strictly domestic issues. But his to Russia - and the Far East. possible benefits, or that, any
attitude is indigenous to France, Churchill carefully • replied that stone should be left unturned,
r and he or whoever forms a new he wasn't magnifying the dif- as an expression of
.attitucle,
Cabinet is expected to attend the ferences by any such idea, but even if benefits, are impossible.,
conference and work from the that he'd like to see Eisenhower The Prime .KiniSters' will come
same viewpoint. There may have over there, of course. ,to Bermuda eager on this point.
to be a change:-iri. date. Al the , sane time, in . Wash- Eisenhower will say let's get to-
The State department made it ington, a new- storm was being gether on these other things-
clear, after the French and Brit- created by charges in Congress Britain's warmish policy toward
ish Prime Ministers . had ex- that.. British ships out of Hong Red China, France's ratification
pressed their hopes that the Ber- Kong had been. used to transport of. the European Defense Treaty,
muda conference would lead to Communist troops in the Korean establish a common front toward
a larger one with Russia, that area. The iin plication was Russia and keep it that way_
the U.S. was not committing it- promptly and' flatly denied;: the and then -see about the time
self to anything beyond the British saying that if any such liness of a four-power confer-
President's expressed desire for thing occurred it involved ships ence.
"a further development of ' corn- captured by the Reds. Eisenhower and general State
mon viewpoints" among the Big But the storm was at a new department policy 'has made .11
Three.peak. Eisenhower held late ses- perfectly clear that there is no
. .
This was also implicit in the ions with his advisers Wednes- closed mind about such a con
developmbnts which led to the day, the suggestion for . a con- ference. The administration just
President's invitation. Just when ference went to Churchill and wants what it considers a proper
his idea began to germinate was Mayer overnight, and accept- lineup, including some indica
not known. Churchill made a ances were swift and eager. lions of good faith from Russia,
speech suggesting a top leiel Despite U.S. doubts_ about the before it plunges in.
Gazette ...
COLLEGE HOSPITAL
Joseph Bell, Ralph Brooks, Jose Carreiro,
John Connerton, Charles Diehm, Glenn Grove,
Kent Kiehl, Lee Kummer, Geraldine Lalli, Ralph
Laudenslayer, Lloyd Lupfer, Gino Mori,, Thom
as Owens, Walter Segl, Robert Thomas, and
William Wright.
. STUDENT EMPLOYMENT
Students from Philadelphia area wanted for
summer jobs in selling.
Men wanted for meal serving jobs on and off
atill Collegian
Successor •to THE FREE LANCE, 'est. 1887
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE, PENNg'YLITANTA.
VINCE DRAYNE, Business Mgr.
~.:
However, this argument overlooks one thing:
college is not seven semesters, nor Seven and
one-half, but eight. And the student who, rea
lizing he must pass a course and its final to be,
graduated, usually has no one to blame but
himself if he fails the final and flunks out
altogether.
It is hard, sometimes, to• see why final exams
should be eliminated fox seniors as a reward
for reaching graduation. If a student is worth
graduating, he should be able to pass the final.
Graduation in itself - is the reward, not the
elimination of finals.
This' type of thinking is contrary to student
thought in general, however.. Perhaps the stu
dents here have a right to look out for their
own welfare, especially when a college diploma
is at stake.
The committee's proposal that a 2.0 course
average be required for exemption from a course
final is a compromise. It may be a good com
?romise. It may inspire students to better grades.
.f.t may also remove incentive to try for a three
course grade by hitting the final.
One thing is sure: it will ease the end of the
trail for weary seniors. Another thing is sure:
no matter what the decision, the pToblem will
come up again next year.
On Exam. Editorial . . .
TO THE EDITOR: I would like to answer
your editorial "Do We Need a New Exam Rule?"
with this question: What is the purpose of an
- exam? Aren't exams designed primarily to ,give
the instructor a fairly reliable indication as to
the extent of learning . . . thereby enabling
aim to assign a reasonable grade to the student?
If that is the purpose, then what does - it
'natter how many exams are given in one week,
assuming that the student's physical energy is
- iot exceeded? Aren't we students supposed to
:earn the course material as we go along? .
No, I don't feel that an exam rule is neces
sary. I might even go so far as to advocate the
other extreme; that is, give the instructors-more
freedom in the scheduling of - exams.
',Letter cut —Joe Hanania
campus next fall.
Men wanted for• garden and lawn, housework,
and odd jobs. .
Men wanted for production work near Lan-
•
caster. Full time summer work.
Boy or girl with medical lab experience wanted
for latter part of July, beginning of August,
to work in State College.
Boy or girl with ability to take x-rays wanted
for first two weeks of August in State College.
Pottstown Community Camp will interview
waterfront man. May 23.
Collegian editogisis. rapre
sent the sviesrpoint of the
writers; riot ;neeiessarlil the
nOlitylof , this newspaper. Un
signed editorials are by the
editor.'
By J. Ro •ts Jr.
Associated Press News Analyst
Little' Man on Campus
*A 4- '''''
"No more pencils—no more books—no more teachers'
crosseyed looks."
glancing APOttliCif
Monday night I attended a borough council meeting. My at
tendance was not spurred by a driving interest in the phenomena
of borough government in State College, but by a professor's driv
ing interest in my receiving an 'education. I did.
There were quite a few of us there. Oddly enough they were
all from the same class. Probably all spurred by the same professor.
Everyone was there except one
student—and the borough council.
The meeting was scheduled for
7:30 p.m.; the class arrived at 7
p.m. The council and the profes
sor arrived at 7:30.
The class didn't arrive there
cold. We got. a briefing before
hand. We were told there would
be a pool 'table over which we
would have to peer to see the
legislators in action. Again the
wires were crossed. The pool
table wasn't there. The class
was disappointed. The antici
pated aesthetic impression of
observing the , councilmen coun,
.sel over a field of rich green
was one of the drawing cards of
the evening (along with the
professor's prodding).
Shortly after several of us ar
rived we discovered a very soft
and comfortable couch near the
door. It was also near the coun
cilmen. , The decision to use the
couch proved nearly disastrous.
The warm room- and low babble
of conversation had a most sooth
ing effect.
The council provided a type
written .agenda for the class' in
formation. There was only one
item listed for discussion. This
didn't bother the council. They
I Lalked for an hour and a half
' anyway.
The -item' scheduled for dis
zussion concerned the width of
-idewalks. It seems
_there's an
ordinance that says sidewalks
to be constructed will be five
feet wide. Someone in the bor
ough apparently took exception
to this ruling. • Their house was ,
only about four feet from the
curb line. The only way you
can get a five-foot sidewalk in
to a four-foot space is to curve
the ends up. Apparently some
one in the borough doesn't care
for this arrangement. I can't
quite see their objection. There
is nothing I like better than -a
sidewalk, with a built-in hand
rail.
There were citizens at the meet
ing two of them. They had a
complaint. It seems that one street
in the borough isn't. They want it
paved. One said the conglomera
tion of holes that the borough re
ferred to as a street put undue
mileage on cars, mileage going in
to 'the holes and mileage getting
out. •
The council sympathized with
the citizens, but told them they,
would have to. contact an ,engi-
rnrDAy,'lviAY 22;-:1953
By DICK RAU
neering firm in Pittsburgh about
sewers. This struck me as being
a bit odd, but council continued
the explanation. The council will
have to find out exactly where
and when sewers in that particu
lar area would be installed before
the • citizens could be answered.
It seemed like a lot of fuss to get
rid of dirty water and to fill up
holes.
A question also came up about
increasing the local income tax
from one half of one per cent to
one per cent. The tax had been
one per cent originally; but had
been cut to one-half of one per
cent - because they collected a sur
plus. The surplus was used and
now they need more money. Who
doesn't?
The class was jerked .out of
its semicoma by the• professor's
announcing that the important
business had been handled and
we could leave. I left with the
rest, later dwadled over a. cup
of coffee, and considered with
respect the weightiness - of local
self-government.
Posy Picking Pack
Pays Pretty Price
Per Posy Plucked
Tears ua the , eyes of members
of Kappa Sigma fraternity at the
University of California are from
flowers but hayfever isn't the
cause.
Catise of the tears is the ' bill
received for the flowers used to
decorate at the group's last dance
—slooo and suspension of social
privileges for eight months.
The group's last dance was the
group's last dance for • quite a
while.
The bill was high because the
flowers came from the gardens
of nearly two dozen homes—with
out authorization. The university's
faculty committee and the Inter
fraternity Council , ordered the
fraternity to make full restitution
and spend eight months on social
probation.
But they were mighty pretty
flowers!
Fehnel EleCted President
New officers of COaly Society
are Edgar Fehnel, president; Har
ry Roth, vice president; Morris
Brow n, . secretary; John Zug;
-treasurer; Ned Clark, seigeant rat
arias;. and Robert Dahle, historian.
By Bible
-'' ,--~ ~