Weather-
Fair and
Cooler
VOL.: 55, : No. 5
Town
2 Women s Dorris
Entered by Prowler
Reports that prowlers entered two woman’s dormitories this past
weekend were confirmed . yesterday afternoon by Dean of Women
Pearl O. Weston. " v
A man entered Thompson Hall about 2:30 a.m. and Atherton Hall
shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday/ Miss Weston said. It is not known if
the same man entered both dorm
Ray Probe
To Continue
Says Sheriff
Deputy Sheriff Abner Dear, of
McAlester, Okla., said yesterday
he intends to continue his investi
gation into the confession of Jack
Ray who admitted' he killed Ra
chel Taylor, University coed, 14%
years ago.'
Ray signed a confession to the
murder and later admitted "it was
all a hoax.
Dear said he believes.. Ray, who
is serving -a life sentence, at Okla
homa State Penitentary, knows
more about the case than he could
have read in a detective maga
zine. . '
“I’m convinced that if this guy
didn’t kill that girl, he was there
or knows who did it,” Dear said.
Dear said he bad hoped to have
an interview with Ray and' his
mother over the weekend.. How
ever, Mrs. Ray did - not come to
visit her son on Sunday as was
expected.
Dear indicated that when he
talks to Ray. and his mother, he
hopes to learn the whereabouts
of the gun Ray said he used to
beat Miss Taylor.
“I’ni . sure I’ll get something
constructive when I. talk with
both of them,”', he said.
Ray said he killed Miss Taylor
when she came into possession of
a letter involving him in a cam
pus dope ring.
He later retracted ; the confes
sion saying he had made it up
after reading about the case in a
detective magazine. He said he
hoped authorities • would find it
plausable' enough to give.; him • a
lie 'detector /test. If such' a test
could , prove him. innocent in the
Taylor case, he hoped it would al
so is innocent of the mur
der for. which he is now serving.
time.
State • police have called off
their special concentration on' the
case, althoughrthey are still, main
taining the case in the active file.
Ag Hill Newspaper
Will Be Distributed ‘
.Ag Hill -Breeze, the ..weekly
newsletter sponsored by the Agri
culture Student Council, will be
distributed today, at buildings on
Ag Hill.
Harrington Ml Case, seventh se
mester animal husbandry major,
was recently elected editor of the
Breeze.. ' "•
HEe Tea Room,
Cafeteria to Open
- The Home Economics-cafe
teria and tea room, redecorated
during the summer months,
will open for the fall semester
at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. ...
Thereafter, cafeteria service
will be . available Monday
through Friday from 11:50 a.mi
to 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:30
p.m. Tea room service fOr din-'
ner is' available Tuesday
through Thursday from 5:30 to
6:30 pun.
As a part of the remodeling
program - new furniture and .
have been added to ;
the cafeteria and tea room.
©lj? ©nil
STATE COLLEGE, PA.. WEDNESDAY MORNING,'SEPTEMBER 22. 1954
Name Change Proposed
Mt. Nittany
Suggested by
Committee
litories.
The prowler entered Thompson
Hh'H through'" the doorway adja
cent to Jordan Hall. Atherton
Hall was entered through the door
on the courtyard facing Simmons
Hall.
Mrs. Maybelle Spenser, head
hostess of Atherton Hall, said she
believed the door was not-prop
erly locked when' the man en
tered. She • said the door was
locked by the night hostess prior
to the dormitory closing hour af
10 p.m. However, Mrs. Spenser,
went on, a coed leaving the dorm
itory _ before 10 p.m. may have
opened the door. In that case, she
said, the door may not have auto
matically. relocked.
- • The dormitory door locks have
been checked and are in good
condition, Miss Weston said.
The prowler got no higher than
the ground floor in Atherton, Mrs:
Spenser said. Despite rumors to
the contrary, she. said, he entered,
only one or two rooms . and then
went no farther than the door
way.
. Much the same was reported by
Mrs. ‘Gladys Gummerson,, head
hostess of Thompson Hall. In
Thompson, she said, a man
knocked on a room door near the
Jordan entrance and said, “Hi.”
• The occupants screamed and
rushed to the door, she said, but
when'they opened it he had dis
appeared.
In both instances campus pa
trolmen making 'rounds near the
dormitories were summoned.
They arrived almost immediately
but were unable to find any traces
of the prowler.
Town Council to Hold
Nominations on Tuesday
Nominations for Town Council
have been postponed until next
Tuesday night, Donald Weidner,
president of Town 'Council, an
nounced at a meeting held at 7
last night in 107 Willard.. %
Nine prospective , members ap
peared for last night’s meeting.
Each student introduced himself,
rafter which Weidner explained
the .division of wards arid their
representation.
Thespians' Tryotits
Students who tried out for
Thespians Sunday or Monday are
requested to-, see the bulletin
board in Schwab auditorium,
Frank Cressman, tryout director,
Has announced. The .-list, of those
who haye been selected for the
show and crew work has been
posted.
Segregatfan Closes Delaware Schools
By The Associated Press
Telephoned threats of violence
led to the. closing of two public
schools again Tuesday at Milford,
Del., possible court action loomed
at Hillsboro, Ohio,. and a strike
of white- students continued * at
Madison, W. Va.
. Elsewhere in the South the seg
regation situation continued calm,
with no incidents reported.
At Milford, Dr. Raymond C.
Cobbs, school superintendent, or
dered, the schools closed after re
porting telephoned threats of vio
lence fi Negroes were allowed to
attend classes' in the previously
allrwhite high school.
Delaware Gov. J. Caleb Boggs
declined comment. A scheduled
parade featuring the Milford high
schooLband-was-.cancelecL.
FOR A BETTER PENN STATE
... Prexy Expresses Views
On Borough Name Change
Following are excerpts of a letter from President Milton S. Eisen
hower to Mr. Herbert R. Imbt of the State College Area Chamber of
Commerce explaining the attitude of University officers on the ques
tion of changing the name of the Borough.
"Perhaps I should have made our point of view known earlier,
but I have felt that the initiative of such a matter should not come
from the University ...
“First let me say that the name of our institution was, by unani
mous: vote of the Trustees, ' and with the approval of all relevant
official agencies, changed from the Pennsylvania State College, to
the Pennsylvania State University for very cogent reasons ... A
university is an institution offering both undergraduate and graduate
work, and with a well-developed research program.
“Obviously, then, Penn State has been a “university” in fact, if
not in name, for many years. 'Unfortunately, however, even as Penn
State gained recognition for the excellence of its educational pro
gram, peopie generally had come to think that the name “college”
accurately described its status" .T.
"So the change in name was made in older to have Penn Stale
recognized locally, nationally, and internationally ...
“I’m sure that throughout the’ 99-year history of the University,
its trustees, officers, faculty, and staff, have been proud that the
citizens of the local community have thought so much of the institu
tion that they wished the Borough name to be, in fact, a description
Rally Will Give
Football Squad
Illinois Send-off
An All-University pep rally
sponsored by the Hat Society
Council will provide a/send-off
for the football squad at 7:30 to
night in front of Recreation Hall,
regardless of the weather.
Hatmen and htawomen will -en
ter the dorms • to round up fresh
men and upperclassmen but there,
will be no pre-rally parade, Rob
ert Smoot, council president, an
nounced. The only pep rally par
ade this year will be before the
Homecoming game with West Vir
ginia, he said. •
The Marching Blue Band un
der the direction of James Dun
lop will be on hand for the rally.
Bruce Coble, head cheerleader,
will lead his'ls-member squad in
cheers and songs in honor of the
Nittany Lions, who leave Thurs
day for Champaign, 111. and the
University of Illinois game on Sat
urday.
Co-captains Donald Balthaser
and James Garrity will be inter
viewed by. Alec Beliasov, seventh
semester agriculture economics
major. Coach Rip Engle may also
be present, Smoot said.
LA Lantern Staffs
. Students interested in work
ing on the editorial and busi
ness staffs of the Liberal Arts
Lanterri will meet at 8:10 to
night in 104 Willard.
School doors were" shut yester
day after the school board learned
of a protest march planned by
anti-integrationists. Plans to re
open them were abandoned short
ly after 8 a.m, today.
■ • Dr. Cobbs said in a statement:
“Members -of -the Board of Ed
ucation since- making an earlier
announcement have received nu
merous calls threatening violence
in case any negro children atterid
school. In the interest of the safe!'
ty of all the children the board
hereby^serves notice that the
schools are' closed until further
notice.” '
Five, policemen . guarded the
school"" arid! tension was reported
mounting in the southeastern Del
aware community.
Harry E. - Mayhew, one of the,
(Continued on: page eight)
First Froth Issue
Is on Sale Today
The first issue of Froth, the
University humor magazine, will
be on sale today in front of Car
negie and in front of the Corner
Room.
The> issue, called the “Potpourri
Issue,” will include such features
as “Engineers Live Too,” by Jack
Joyce, a parody on Punch, the
British humor gazette, and jokes
and cartoons.
This particular issue has three
Froth Girls of the Month. They
are the. McCloskey Triplets,-Julie,
Joyce and Jean, -who enrolled at
the University this fall.
Men's Debate Squad
Will Meet Tonight
Returning members of the men’s
debate squad will meet at. 7 to
night in 316 Sparks to discuss fall
activities.
Tryouts for the squad will be
held Sept. 29 and Oct. 6; accord
ing to Benjamin Sinclair,- team
manager. Candidates will be re
quired to give a five-minute
speech on either side of this year’s
intercollegiate. debate question,
“Resolved: That the United States
should extend diplomatic recog
nition to the Communist govern
ment of China.”
Home Ec Mixer Delayed
The Home Economics Student-
Faculty Board mixer, originally
set for tonight, has been post
poned because of tonight’s pep
rally for the Illinois football game.
The new date will be announced
later. ' •
four members of the school board,
resigned, but did not discuss the
reasons for his action. There was
no immediate decision as to
whether 11 Negro pupils would
be allowed to take up their high
school studies.
School board president Dean
Kimmell said that in addition to
the telephone calls, a delegation
of citizens opposed to integration
came to his home, about midnight
Monday night and told him that
some of their number had “gotten
out of hand and there might be
violence.”
Kimmell said the school board
members were not threatened at
-any time, but that the delegation
indicated violence might take
place if Negro pupils tried to
enter toe school.
egtatt
Contpus
Parking
See Page 4
State College residents wiH
decide Nov. 2 whether to
change the name of the bor
ough to Mount Nittany, pro
posed and backed by the
Chamber of Commerce to
erase present confusion fol
lowing the University’s name
change last November.
, The question was placed cm the
ballot this summer after 760 sig
natures—2lo more than necessary
—were placed on petitions asking
the change.
The issue is one of the most
controversial to face State Col
lege residents in recent years,
with-many “old timers” maintain
ing that the traditional name
should be retained.
Letter Appears
Portions of a letter by Presi
dent Milton S. Eisenhower, ex
plaining the attitude of the Uni
versity on the issue, appear in the
adjoining columns.
The petition stated that the
signers constituted more than the
ten per cent of registered electors
of State College .Borough. A min
imum of 520 signers were needed
in order to ..place -the proposal on
the ballot.- The present registra
tion shows a total of 5099.
Mount Nittany,' however, was
not the only name suggested for
the borough. Supporters of the
names Keystone and Centre Hills
also circulated petitions. These
petitions were never filed because
those who were opposed to chang
ing the present name and adopt
ing the proposed Mount Nittany
could better accomplish their ends
by having just one petition filed..
Choice Made
The choice was made after sev
eral dozen other nominations
were screened since Penn State
became a university in Novem
ber, 1953. This is when town resi
dents began thinking of changing
the town’s name.
A “committee of 50” which fi
nally selected the name, Mount
Nittany, felt it best fitted the
(Continued on page eight)
Bullet Indicates
Simeisko, 69,
Was Murdered
The bullet which caused the
death of Michael J. Simcisko, 69-
year-old Moshannon - man, was
found during an autopsy perform
ed Tuesday.
The bullet penetrated his lung
and lodged in his spine.
Centre County District Attor
ney John R. Miller said there is
no question that Simcisko had
ben murdered.
It is believed that robbery may
be the -motive for the killing. Sim
cisko’s pockets had been rifled
and were inside out when the
body was found.
Neighbors of the dead man told
police he carried a large sum of
money on his person. According
to reports the amount was over
$lOOO. However, police found fold
ing money in excess of $2OOO hid
den in a wallet in the victim’s
mattress.
County Coroner John Weber
said' an inquest will be held as
soon as reports are received on
the bullet and other material sent
to Harrisburg.
• Simcisko; who lived alone in a
shack near Moshannon, 20 miles
from Bellefonte, was found Sun
day after neighbors failed to no
tice him around and became sus
picious.
HVE CENTS