PAGE FOUR
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not necessarily the policy of the
; of The Daily Collegian of the newspaper Unsigned editorials
1 V'eorterleitoio Stew Voirorottei Seeteasar ea THE MEE LANCE, eat. UM err br the editor.
Eattrs4 as wreaud-rJass matter
DAVE JONES. Ediformr
STAFF THIS ISSUE: Night editor, Roger Beidier; Copy editors, Tammie Bloom, Ed Reiss; Assistants,
Peggy Leas, Vera Wingert, Stan Frolic, Dave Bronstein, Marge Blank, Sue Coo Kim. Ad staff, Vince
Tempone.
Political Party Defiance: A Wise Move?
Tuesday morning quarterbacking indicates
two campus political parties have made an ill
advised move in publicly defying the All-Uni
versity elections committee.
L•nst week the elections committee incorpor
ated in the spring elections code a provision for
the r4tation of All-University offices be
tween independent and fraternity students. In
so doing, the committee felt it was merely codi
fying what has for years been an unwritten
gentlemen's agreement between campus parties.
Both parties, however, attacked the committee
as acting beyond its jurisdiction.
Both parties have denounced the committee
for meddling in internal party affairs, and both
have refused to obey the decision. The com
mittee action cannot become official unless All-
University Cabinet approves it within the elec
tions code Thursday night.
It was a natural reaction for the parties to
balk at this regulation. But was the reaction a
wise one? The parties can only retain freedom
they already have, but they could lose much
prestige. A wiser decision, it seems, would have
been for both parties to appeal privately to the
elections committee in attempts to solve the
matter. If this failed, the parties might then
reasonably defy the committee publicly, or on
the floor of cabinet.
Both parties have now shown their hands, and
opposition to the party stand may form. Had
the parties kept this discontent silent, they may
have been able to enlist enough power on the
cabinet floor to strike down the regulation.
The parties have said they will not obey the
committee ruling, but that they will obey cab
I® Elections Committee: The Past
(The first of three editorials on relations
between the All-University elections com-
mittee and campus politics.)
With spring elections about six weeks away,
it seems a good time to review past experiences
with election procedures and determine if these
procedures worked properly.
Past elections have been devoid of campaign
excitement. Candidates have not been willing
to attack the opposition. While this may lead
to a better Penn State by eliminating bad blood
from the campaigns—it has not necessarily led
to better student government.
The elections committee, by its control of
elections, has eliminated chances for such com
petition to exist. Platforms are meaningless be
cause the elections committee makes them so.
The elections committee has repeatedly with
held planks which are not feasible.
Because of this, little has been added to the
development of new projects by student govern
ment. If a party adopts an unfeasible plank, it
should be the duty of the opposition party to
charge that plank is unfeasible, and possibly
make a counter-proposal. If .the opposition party
failed to do this, it would discredit itself. In
other words, such a system would keep parties
on their toes and eliminate unrealistic planks.
The party should endorse its platforms at the
meeting of the party. The elections committee
should not have total power over what the party
says in the platform, as it now has. The elections
committee, by establishing unfair campaign
practices in the elections code, has gone far in
Today
ACCOUNTING CLUB, 7:30 p.m., Alpha Sigma
Phi fraternity
ALL-UNIVERSITY ELECTIONS COMMITTEE,
7 p.m., 103 Willard
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL EN
GINEERS, 7:30 p.m., 105 Mechanical En
gineering
ARNOLD AIR SOCIETY MEETING, 7:30 p.m.,
Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity
BELLES LETTRES CLUB, 7 p.m., North West
Lounge, Atherton
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ORGANIZATION, 6:45
p.m., 304 Old Main
COLLEGIAN AD STAFF MEETING, 7 p.m.,
102 Willard
COLLEGIAN AD STAFF CANDIDATES, 6:30
p.m., 102 Willard
COLLEGIAN BUSINESS STAFF MEETING,
6:45 p.m., Business Office, Carnegie
COLLEGIAN CIRCULATION STAFF MEET
ING, 6:30 p.m., Business Office, Carnegie
COLLEGIAN EDITORIAL CANDIDATES
MEETING; 7 p.m., 111 Carnegie
DE MOLAY CLUB, 7 p.m., Alpha Zeta fraternity
HOME ECONOMICS CLUB, 6:30 p.m., 105
White Hall
PENN STATE CLUB MEETING, 7 p.m., 411
Old Main
INFIRMARY
Audrey Arbuckle, Terry Bechakas, Richard
Chandres, Marsha Felman, Jerry Hassemer,
Joseph Humphreys, Raymond Klodziej, Joseph
Mitchell, Frank Norris, Virginia Norton, Joan
Pollock, Jeanne Riddle, Ronald Solovitz, An
thony Spinato, Stanley Stirman, Charles Stone.
Judy 6, 11934 SS Sias State Collea*, tai. ' Post Office On
Gazette ...
THE •D - AitY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE: PENNWLVANIA
VINCE DRAYNE. Business Mgr.
<es- ,
inet. This means the parties are saying nothing.
Since committee action must be approved by
cabinet, the parties must obey or defy cabinet.
They cannot obey or defy an elections committee
as such. A better choice for both parties would
have been to seek compromise or solution with
the committee, rather than to defy the commit
tee when defiance can profit . them little.
Whether the committee was right in codifying
the rotation policy is hard to decide. Parties
have traditionally adopted the rotational policy
of their own volition. It is natural for them to
want to retain this freedom. It is also natural
for the committee to want to make sure this
rotation policy continues. The policy was made
to prevent an all-out fraternity-independent
fight. On other campuses, this has deeply harmed
student government.
Some argue that, if the policy is to be in oper
ation, it should be a ruling. Others say if the
policy is to be in operation, there is ,no reason
for a ruling. Parties have been faithful in this
rotation. But what assurance is there the rota
tion will continue? More basic than this, is ro
tation desirable?
Unless something happens at tonight's elec
tions committee meeting, this problem could
develop into a cabinet floor fight. Unless the
parties reach effective compromise, they must
take the problem to cabinet. If they do not, they
must obey the elections ruling. And then, their
defiance will have been so much wind.
This is the position in which the parties have
put themselves. If the problem comes before
cabinet, a decision will be forced on an im
portant issue. The wrong decision could seriously
handicap student government.
stifling the competitive spirit in campaigns.
In theory the elections committee is an um-
Aire, placed by All-University Cabinet to referee
elections. However, it has not only been an
umpire, it has also become the director. It has
eliminated a basic reason for political parties:
the combination of persons seeking office to
further the principles of the group. The parties
are now only an avenue whereby individuals
seek glory for themselves. Parties cannot differ
in opinion if they are forced by the elections
committee to eliminate any real differences.
An entirely new approach must be set forth
in the elections code. This code should include
a system that would permit more student identi
fication with a political party, develop a con
tinuing party organization, establish a system
of primary elections, and delegate the elections
committee to a smaller—but more important—
duty.
A plan to reform the powers of the com
mittee will be presented in following editorials.
Under this plan, the elections committee could
handle cases of fraud and other voting irregu
larities. The committee, in this way, could be
come the prosecutor before judicial bodies of
students who violate the code. The committee
could retain its power to watch campaign finan
cial matters and supervise the elections pro
cedure.
The elections committee does have a place in
campus politics, but reform is needed to give it
that place.
PLACEMENT SERVICE
PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. will interview
graduating seniors in EE & ME on March 15.
PITTSBURGH CONSOLIDATION COAL will interview,
graduating seniors in Chem., Fuel Tech.,
& ChE; and
M.S. candidates in the above fields who have completed
at least one semester on March 15.
ROME AIR DEVELOPMENT CENTER will interview
graduating seniors in physics (non-nuclear) and EE (in
terested in electronics work) on March 10.
NATIONAL TUBE DIVISION OF U.S. STEEL (Lorain)
will interview graduating seniors in EE, ME, and IE on
March 15.
PHILADELPHIA GAS WORKS will interview graduating
seniors in ChE, CE, EE, lE, ME on March 15.
PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO. will interview grad
uating seniors in Bus. Adm., L.A., and Math. (actuary
work) ; M.S. candidates in Finance who have completed
at least one semester on March 15.
FEDERAL TELECOMMUNICATION LABORATORIES will
interview graduating seniors in EE and Phys.; and M.S.
candidates in the above fields who have completed at
least one semester on March 15.
PENNSYLVANIA THRESHERMEN'S & FARMERS MU
TUAL CASUALTY INSURANCE CO. wIl interview grad
uating seniors in Bus. Adm., Journalism, L.M.R., Ed..
Psy., and A&L on March 15.
PHILCO CORP. will interview graduating seniors in. EE
& ME; and M.S. candidates in the above fields who have
completed at least one semester on March 15 & 16.
PENNSYLVANIA FARM BUREAU will meet with seniors
interested in discussing employment opportunities at 7
p.m., March 2 in 105 Forestry. A schedule of interviews
will be set at this time for the following day.
CINCINNATI MILLING MACHINE CO. will interview
graduating seniors in ME and IE and a few Metal, and
EE on Mar. 4.
KURT SALMON ASSOCIATES INC. will interview grad
uating seniors in lE, and M.S. candidates in LE who have
completed at least one semester, on March 5.
KOPPERS CO. will interview graduating seniors in Chem.,
and ChE; and M.S. candidates in ChE who have completed
at least one semester, on March 5.
CONTAINER CORP. OF AMERICA will interview grad
uating seniors in ME & FE, on March 5. '
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF RETAILING
will interview graduating seniors in Bus. Adm., Acetg.,
Eco.. Finance, Insurance 8.: Real Estate, Marketing, Sec
retarial Science. Trade & Transportation, Education, Psy
chology. Home Ec. (women). A & L, Advertising, L.M.I?-,
languages, and Math. DU March 5.
der the aet ed !tared 3. 1873
—Phil Austin
Little Man on Campus
". . . Then on th' other hand Inever was sensitive about anyone
seeing my bluebook grades."
Excursion 3: Pinball Era
Walden Sea
I wonder, when the epic of America is written, how great a role
will be assigned to the cultural contributions of the pinball machine
mainstay of modern living, epitome of modern life.
It's interesting to note the vast number of these coin-eaters dis
gorging noisy sounds and bright flashes in bars and restaurants today.
Even more, it is significant to note
the number of males deeply en
grossed in playing these machines.
Can one ask "Why?" without
stepping on the dangerous
ground of guesswork to support
a generalization? Probably not:
caution must be the watchword.
Roughly, the crux of the matter
seems to be this:
Beset by pressures from all
sides—pressures of a vacation, the
draft, and passing bluebooks—the
men in question seem to have
sought for outlets of a "repressed"
(in the jargon of the specialist)
desire to rebel. To rebel; but also
to control events, and to make
themselves the "masters of their
own destinies," so to speak.
What a satisfaction comes from
maneuvering that steel ball, or
watching one's fortunes ride, for
the greatest number of noises and
the greatest number of flashes.
And what a prize—a whole free
game! Which, in a roundabout
fashion, brings me to my thesis.
Once upon a time liberalism
was fashionable in the U.S. It
seems no longer to be so. The
prevalence of the modern pin
ball machine is only one of the
outcomes of this demise. No
longer has the individual that
balancing mechanism that both
plans ahead, and rises to the
occasion. The individual seems
to be lost—but lost—in a sea of
public opinion.
"Liberalism," has become a
nasty word, the whipping boy
from both the extreme left and
the extreme right, especially the
right in the U.S. Many times the
Professed liberal has made a poor
showing for himself when asked
to account for his actions.
For these reasons, among oth
ers, a re-evaluation of the term
`liberalism" has become necessary,
along with a re-evaluation of lib
eralism in American society, and
its interconnections with our
friend, the individualist.
A modern-day liberalism must •
be that movement dedicated to
the fuller development of the
individual based upon an abid
ing belief in the worth and po
tential - of the individual. That:
our individualist must hold this
view seems rather obvious—by
definition of liberalism. But,
this view will result, it seems,
only if the individual feels an
abiding faith in, and a personal
responsibility for, society. It is
a two-way proposition.
The "liberalist" might be de
fined -as the "pretender to- liber
.
TUESDAY: MARO4 -- 2, 1954
By LEN GOODMAN
alism with a very foggy notion
of the role of the liberal.' He has
been seen bewailing his fate at
one'time, and deprecating society
at another. A few have been seen
before Congressional committees
—others, on those committees.
Maybe to prevent a smear
campaign of these two newly
defined words, liberal and lib
eralist, we should have taken
them from the dictionary at the
outset, hid them for a more un
derstanding age, and used math
matical symbols devoid of ' all
emotional overtones to signify
what we meant.
But, what is to preent those
symbols from gaining emotional
significance? Nothing, absolutely
nothing, and we are back where
we started.
Leader Training
Registration Set
Registration for the a nn.o a 1
leadership training -progr am
sponsored by All-University Cab
inet will begin at 7 p.m. tomor
row in 110 Electrical Engineer
ing, Charles McClintock, program
chairman, has announced.
The six-week training program
is especially designed for fresh
men, .sophomores, and juniors as
piring to campus offices. The pro
gram: will consist of six 90-min
ute instruction sessions.
Topics to be covered include
the responsibility _of leadership,
parliamentary law, floor leader
ship, structure of Penn State stu
dent government, reports, rec
girds,- correspondence, publicity
and public relations, delegating
responsibility, working with ad
visers, and program content.
Chess. Team Tryouts
-Tryouts for the chess team will
be held at 7 p.m. tomorrow in
3 Bparks, Peter Betley, president
of the Chess Club, has announced.
Tonight on WDFM
M.l MEGACYCLES
7:25
,Sign on
7:30 Record Review
8:00 - __._ UN Story
- 8:15 .—__ Call Card
8:30 - __ . Tops in Pops
-
0:15-- - Campus News
.
9:30: - • Radio Nederland
__
---___-_—_—_— =___ Music Hall
--*-- sign off
10:00
-
By Bibler