PAGE FOUR Viablished Tuesday through Saturday mornings. during the University year. the ! Daily Collegian is a student operated newspaper. Entered es second-clans matter Jody a,' 1934 at the State College, Pa. Post Office ander DAVE JONES, Editor Managing Ed., Marshall O. Donley: City Ed.. Chuck Asst.. Bus. Mgr., Mark , Christ: Local Advertising Mgr., Obertance: Copy Ed.. Chiz Mathias: Snorts Ed.. Sam Pro- • Robert Carruthers: National Adv Mgr.. Shirley Musgrave: 'copio: Edit. Dir.. Len Goodman: Wire-Radio Ed.. Bill Jost: Circulation. Mgr., Frank Cressroan: Promotion Mgr. Ruth Photo, Ed.. Bruce Schroeder: Soc. Ed.. Lix Newell:* Aast. Israel: PerSonnel Mgr.. Patience Ungethuent: Office Mgr., Sports Ed. Dick McDowell: Asat. Soc.: Ed.. Gus Vollmer: Gail Shaver: Classified Adv. Mgr.. Jean Geiger: See.. Carol Feature Ed.. Nancy Meyers: Exchange Ed.. Lorraine Gladut: ichwing: Research and Records Mer.. Francis Crawford. Librarian. Al Goodman: Senior Board. Jack Reid. STAFF THIS ISSUE: Night editor, Nancy Fortna; Copy editors, Bill Snyder, Roger Beidler; Assist ants, Jackie Hudgins, Ted Serrill, Bill Eisenberg, Bill Pete, Doug Millar. Ad Staff, ' Pat Dickinson, Louise Caspary, Mona Signorine, Steve Wyman. Elections: Leading the Horse to Water This spring's experience with decentralized voting was a bitter one, and it will be a long time before students attempt it again. Decentralized voting was an experiment in the spring elections designed to increase in terest in student government. Four polls were located throughout the campus to expand vot ing facilities which were formerly located in Old Main. By increasing the number of polling places and making the voting process readily available to more students, the All-University elections committee expected an increased vote percentage. Advocates of decentralized voting thought it might increase the percentage by as much as 10 per cent. Even the most skeptical thought the percentage would rise 5 per cent or more. Decentralization was , opposed because of the increased shance of error and the extra work that woul`i be involved; opponents felt hand counting- the ballots would not be worth the percentage increase that would result. Contrary to what opponents feared, the elec tion went off without any apparent mistakes. No error crept in and no one voted twice. The downfall came where it was least expected— in the percentage of increase. This spring, 46.8 per cent of eligible voters Campus_ Grass and the Military Step The efforts of the University and portions of freshman and sophomore men, and of juniors the student body to make the campus beautiful and seniors seeking commissions upon entering seem to be futile gestures when the military the armed forces after graduation. steps into the picture. ROTC students must drill, and they must The University has spent thousands' of dol- have a place to drill. Since construction was lars planting grass seed and fertilizing lawns, started on the new Student Union Building, An estimated $5OOO will have been spent by Holmes Field is unavailable, and the lawn in the end of the semester. front of Old Main seems to be the only centrally- Campus organizations have launched cam- located area large enough to be used as a drill paigns urging students and faculty members to field. take pride in the campus and avoid shortcuts. The ROTC departments should, as a part of Alpha Phi Omega, men's national service fra- the University, feel a responsibility for the ap ternity, has spent time and energy posting signs pearance of the campus. Rainy day drills are reminding pedestrians that a few extra steps no indication of any recognition of this re can mean the difference between attractive sponsibility. green lawns and unsightly brown paths. , , Monday was a rainy day. Rain is supposedly Similarly, the University, as a land grant beneficial to lawns, but only if the grass is un- institution, is obligated to support the military trampled. Monday was also the day when sev- training program, and nas the responsibility of eral thousand men in Air Force Reserve Offi- providing adequate space for use in the train cers Training Corps were scheduled for leader- ing program. ship laboratory. An investigation of the problem is needed. Within a few minutes after the cadets began Unless _a. solution is found, attempts to improve to drill, the turf in front of, Old Main had suf- the appearance of the largest, most central, and fered immensely. most potentially beautiful lawn on campus can Obviously this is not desirable. only end in wasting energy. However, ROTC is required of all able-bodied Harder Steel Reading over again the effects wrought by the hydrogen bomb explosion, one can only sigh at the possibility of a future war. That the world has been stirred by the effects of the blast is putting the situation mildly. To say that we have harnessed a tremendous energy is by now a mere platitude. And, to say that this energy may be used for horribly de structive purposes is also a platitude. Prime Minister Nehru of India called for a standstill pact which would bar any more hydro-, gen bomb explosions. Prime Minister Churchill assured Britain the H-bomb in the hands of the United States serves as a deterent to war. Pre mier Malenkov warned Russians that an atomic war could mean the destruction of civilization. For once, we must agree with Premier Malen kov. Must we forever live under that sword of Damocles, war? But, worse yet, we seem no closer to a solu tion of our differences, and the lessening of tensions throughout the world. Even now, we project renewed warfare in Indo-China while an Arab-Israeli conflict threatens at any mo ment. Renewed efforts are surely needed for a_ lessening of world tensions: we should strive for a modus vivendi between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Perhaps a meeting of the president and the premier is called for. Actually, it is not the case that we are closer to an atomic war; rather, the hydrogen bomb should mean that we ought to be sobered by the new destructiveness made possible in a future war. The sword doesn't necessarily hang by a thin ner thread—it is just that we have hardened the steel. STUDENT EMPLOYMENT The following camp will interview at the Stu dent Employment Service, 112 Old Main: Camp Skycrest on April 12. Sign up for inter views in advance. 'tLav with experience in electronics work. Elattg Cultrglau Sueetosor to THE FREE LANCE. est. 18112 —Len Goodman THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVAMA VINCE DRA.YNE, Business Mgi. cast ballots. Last spring, . a then all, time high of 44.9 per cent voted. Decentralized voting, then, may be credited with increasing the vote - percentage only 1.9 per cent. Of course, the percentage may have been much lower without decentralization. Yet, there is no way to predict it would have been. Decentralization ruled out the use of voting machines in this year's election. Thus, the elec tions committee hand-counted every ballot, a count which lasted until 1 a.m. Friday. The small percentage of increase was obviously not worth the extra work involved. The elections committee chairman and his committee members are disappointed with the outcome. The chairman has said he will recom mend only two polls for next year. Based on this year's experience, two polls may bring 'a 1 per cent increase. If having two polls next spring would mean hand-counting, the elections com mittee had better drop this idea also. Decentra lization must be forgotten unless machines' can be employed.. Student - government attempted to take the voting process to more students. The students still did not care to lake part. This may well be a lesson for the future—and a familiar les son it is: you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Safety Valve Chapel and Faith TO THE EDITOR: The Collegian of April 6 carried the first account of student reactions to, the proposed Georgian All-Faith Chapel. The members of the student body sincerely interested in their chapel, and •it will be their chapel, .must have been glad indeed to see the immediate movement on the part of their fel low students towards a contemporary design rather than the announced pseudo-GeOrgian design. The idea of a building tied by tradition to certain ideals and faiths cannot possibly be ex pected to represent all faiths. It would surely be more appropriate to have a contemporary building which could truly express its purpose and function. Let us hope that the new chapel will not represent a combination of denominations but will instead represent faith. Gazette • • . Sunday ADVERTISING CLINIC, 7 p.m., Alpha Sigma Phi PROMOTION AGENCY, 8 p.m., CENTRAL Carnegie HILLEL - UPPERCLASS p.m., Hillel 'Foundation LION PARTY STEERING COMMITTEE, 2 p.m., 317 Willard Monday ZOOLOGICAL, SOCIETY. 7:30 p.m., 14 Frear INFIRMARY Jesse Arnelle, Paul Bengston, Lois Beim, Rob ert Broomfield, Beth Casey, Weichung Chen, Harriet Cohn, Joyce Frank, Baylee Friedman, Joseph Geubtner, Richard Goldbeck, Gerald Kates, Harry Kline, Samuel Lewis, Howard McKee, Barbara Olson, Robert Prickett, Mar garet Roberts, John• Shafer, Helen Sidman, Hygin Starry, Muriel Stein, Roger Vogelsinger. Editorials represent the viewpoint of the writers, not necessarily the policy of the paper. Unsigned edi torials are by the •editor. tics a third, 3. ISM. —Tammie Bloom —Judith A. Byrn e INDEPENDENTS, 7 tie Man on Campus ' ~ ~~~ .Eta!:!. ~ ;-- ES' to both your questions—Th re IS a way out of it." Ka h ler Sa Background Mirrored in Kafka's Works . To understand the writings of Franz Kafka, one .of the most widely translated German authors of this century, the city in which he lived, the medieval life which lingered there, and the prominence of the family must be considered. Speaking Thursday night at the second Simmons lecture, Erich Kahler, historian and professor in the German department at Cor-' nell University, impressed upon his audience the extreme impor tance Kafka's background had on his writing. Kahler said that what transpires through all Kafka's works is the story of the predicament of mod ern man. Kafka felt the problems of his own personal life were universal in man Kafka, who lived from 1883 -to 1924, was a native of Prague, Czechoslovakia. This city was the capital of Bohemia in Kafka's youth. The lecturer, who is also a native of Prague, said the whole city had the character of a ghetto. Nature was kept out. He con tinued to describe the city and said that Prague was unique in that it was not a mere museum of medievalism, but that medieval life lingered on in the manner and habits of the people. Within the city, Kahler said, was a large Jewish community with approximately 20 syn a gogues. "His (Kafka's) visions and his style of experience grew out of this atmosphere," Kahler said. Speaking about the family life during Kafka's time, Kahler told his audience that the prominence of the family was most predomi nant in the Jewish family. The people carried their childhood through all their life, he said. Kaf ka admitted this himself, Kahler said, when be wrote, "I shall nev er grow up to be a man." Kafka's f a t h e r, the lecturer said, though a naive, impulsive tyrant, was very efficient. He was a loving man, but despotically ruled his family. Kafka, Kahler said, had a father complex. "His whole work is an attempt at self justification," he said. Referring to the writer's rela tion to God, Kahler said_ that Kafka hardly ever used the word `God', but his whole thinking and writing centered around a su preme being. He quoted Kafka who said, "Man cannot live with out a permanent faith in some thing indestructible in himself." Explaining Kafka's style, Kah ler said the writer had a style of flawless purity. Kafka's thinking, he said, expresses itself immedi ately in visions. Kahler said in Kafka there is no transposition between thinking and seeing. It is this, he said, which makes Kaf ka so difficult because people usually seek something behind SATURDAY. APRIL "10.-1'954 Mini 111 1 ' 31 4 rA k 'se 4 s THE r E 4B 4 r p s B ,Sry " PE- R - IS a required course and By NANCY FORTNA these visions. However, he said, "Kafka's stories are not symbolic." "The great fame and influence of Kafka," the lecturer said, "is not just an accident. It is due to the metaphysical concerns of the writer which became the inner most concerns o€ every man of his time." Press to Run Cheney Photo A picture of Alyce Cheney, Penn State's entry in the Pitts burgh Press campus queen con test; will appear in the ROTC sec tion of the Press tomorrow along with pictures of queens from 29 other colleges and universities in the Tri-State area. Students will be given an op portunity to vote for the final winner through ballots which will be printed in the Press. A picture of the final inter collegiate campus queen -will ap pear in full-color on the front page of the ROTO section some time in May. Miss Cheney, a second semester education major, was chosen by student vote in March. She was sponsored by Beta Theta Pi. To Air Parcifar , Station WDFM will broadcast the complete op er a "Parcifal" (Wagner) from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. tomorrow. "Parcifal" is a tradi tional Easter opera presented an nually by the Metropolitan Opera Co. This Weekend On WDFM 7:25 ------___ 7:30 8:00 8 :30 ______ Paris Star Time 9 :00 Music 10:30 10 :50 a.m. • Chapel Service 7:25 p.m, Sign On 7:30 Opera House--"Pareifal" Sign Off 7:25 ___ Sign On 7:30 Sportlight 8:00 —__ - Top Drawer 8:15 ------ Hamburger Stand 9:00 Just Out :---------- 9:15 9:30 By Bible ".• MP• 4. 91.1 MEGACYISLES Tonight ____ Music of the People Jazz Moods Tomorrow Monday ..._ Broadway in Review News Symphony Ilan Sign On Sign, Off Sign - Off
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers