PAGE FOUR
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m Mrcnd-rlau matter July 5, 1934 •( tti« State College. P** Post Office under the aet of March 1, 1879.
MIKE FKINSILRER. Editor
MIKE MILLER, A«*orUte Editor
STAFF THIS ISSUE: Nigh' Editor, Rog Alexander; Copy Editors, Evie Onsa, Judy Harkinson; As
sistants, Bob Franklin, Ginny Philips, Joe Boehret. Barbara Martino, Dave Bronstein, Pat Evans.
TV Courses: Free the
At least some r.tuder.w who were only able
to grumble about it—will be able to talk back
to television.
This is welcome news for the growing num
ber of students who each semester find them
selves staring at a television receiver rather
than a professor. They are the students who
are being exposed to the University’s project
in television for teaching, sponsored by the
Ford Foundation’s Fund for the Advancement
of Education.
The installation of talk-back microphones in
two classrooms in Sparks, allowing students to
ask questions verbally to their instructors, will
eliminate one of the chief and most frequent
student complaints about the TV scheme.
But it won't stop all the griping.
As noted in a 102-page report on the first
project, “An Investigation of Closed-Circuit
Television for Teaching University Courses,”
issued last summer, some students are totally
unhappy with getting even a fraction of their
educaiion via the flickering screen. One re
action quoted in the report: "This is a crime.”
But reactions taken from students after one
semester of TV teaching show that most of them
don’t care, one way or another, about it. A few
are enthusiastic; a few damn the entire project.
Critical students often fail to realize that the
television project is research in a new field,
research made necessary by a desperate need
in the Commonwealth for more college facili
ties and faculties.
But the University must remember that sub
jecting students to television against their wills
is unfair as long as TV-in-lhe-classroom remains
an experiment, not a proved and adopted prac
tice.
The report, in a footnote, glibly states: “Stu
dents accept many educational practices, e.g.,
term papers, examinations, required class at
tendance, towards which they may not have
‘favorable attitudes’.”
This is hardly a defense of compulsory TV
viewing, "1384" style. Students coming to col
lege know they are going to have to lake tests
and go to classes. They do not know they will
be taught by a screen.
And students who object to television should
not be required lo become involuntary partici
pants in a research project. Nor should it be
made difficult for them lo avoid television.
If the University finds that it must adopt
television as a regular part of its program—an
ultimately regrettable but coming decision, we
feel—students should be told of this when they
apply for admittance. But until then, they
should not be subjected to it against their de
sires.
This, of course, means that the television
researchers will not get a perfect cross-section
111. Culture’s Status: B
This is the third in a series of editorials
on the status of culture at the University.
Now that we have given reasons why people
believe the cultural level at the University is
getting lower and explained, according to find
ings of our study, why this is an erroneous
belief we think the next step should be to form
ulate some sort of pattern to broaden the scope
of intellectual activities and enlarge the par
ticipation in them.
The first thing the University is expected
to do is lo introduce students to culture. Be
cause Penn State cannot afford to be very selec
tive in its enrollment acceptances it must pre
pare itself to meet the incoming student on
his own level of pre-established aesthetic under
standing. The student who starts his college
education never having heard a symphony
orchestra concert or never having seen a 'good'
art exhibit does not always enjoy his first en
counter with them. He must be taught lo ap
preciate them. This the University has accom
plished by requiring an art and a music ap
preciation course for some undergraduates. To
expand this type of general cuWure introduc
tion. drama appreciation, similar to the Dra
matics 61 course, might be made compulsory.
Since it is important that the technical stu
dent especially be exposed to these cultural
subjects in as pleasing way as possible we cer
tainly suggest that the utmost care be taken in
organizing these introductory-offer courses.
For instance, if the intent of the course is to
make a student take an initial interest in
philosophy, laborous accounts of Aristotles’ sub
tle arguments with the other Greeks will do
little to arouse the second semester chem eng
major. Contemporary philosophy, which every
one is aware of even though he doesn't think
of it as such, would seem to be a much more
appropriate starting point. Everyone knows
something about religion and even the most
|
Sigma Tau Pledges jPlayers to Hold Shop
Sigma Tau, engineering honor p or Advertising Crew
societv, will have a pledge meet- . . .
ing at 7 tonight in 209 Main En-! Students interested in working
-jnpprinff ion die advertising crew for ‘An
c _ * I Inspector Calls/’ the last Player’s
. »*r*ii a< a. (show for the season which will
Supreme Court Will Meet |t>e p resen ted May 10, 11, and 12
The Supreme Court will meet;in Schwab Auditorium, should at
at 8 tonight in the Board Room tend a workshop at 7 p.m. today
ia Old Main. 'or tomorrow in the Schwab loft
OTljp Hally Collegian
SoteoMor to THE FREE LANCE. cat. IM7
Uncaptivated Captives
ut What Can Be Done?
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA
ROGER VOGELSINGEE. Business Manatee
of the student body in TV classes. But that is
no unusual problem facing social researchers;
it is one which must be contended with almost
always.
To make it possible for students who dis
like TV courses lo avoid them, all television
sections should be clearly indicated in the time
table. This has not been done.
Required courses offered on television should
be offered live. too. This has been done. But
unless the students know which sections are
on the screen and which are person-to-person,
they have to take a chance.
Offering students the opportunity to switch
sections after they find themselves in a class
room-without-a-professor is not enough. Some
times it is inconvenient, sometimes impossible
for students to reshuffle their schedules to
avoid TV. Nor is telling students at registration,
when it is too late to conveniently rebuild
schedules, enough.
Exposing students to TV against their wishes
is an unfortunate practice, 100, in that stu
dents who don't like it are less likely to do well
in TV classes. This was understood in the re
port where it points out: "The "absence of dis
traction' which some students called a virtue
other nominated as a vice, saying that the
limited center of attention, the television screen,
induced boredom and sleep. Their inability
lo participate in class discussion was also
thought lo foster boredom."
Other faults listed by students who had taken
TV courses were: the lack of interaction be
tween instructor and students; the lack of
color; and the fact that the cameraman de
cided for the student-viewer how long he
would watch the blackboard and when his
gaze would shift.
These are serious shortcomings of the tele
vision project and should be recognized as
such. They are made more serious when the
student doesn’t like TV learning in the first
place.
We realize the project is still in its elemen
tary stages. But this argument hardly convinces
the students who view television with dis
pleasure and who find themselves in one. two,
or three sections of it.
Perhaps the answer is to offer a wider variety
of courses via television so that the chance
of a student finding himself in ‘more than one
TV section is lessened. This would also have the
effect, fa’vorable to research, of putting a truer
cross-section of students behind the flickering
screen.
Television may become necessary, but we
doubt if it will ever become a completely satis
factory substitute for face-to-face learning. As
long as it remains an experiment, it should not
be forced on students who want no part of it.
—The Editor
literary have some inkling of scientific con
cepts, so it seems more plausible to use this
sharp ground breaker in the field of philosophy
than the contrastly dull obscurities the an
cients dwell upon.
We still can't understand why the administra
tion turned down student requests channeled
through AU-Universily Cabinet last year fo
schedule a series of big-name personalities in
Rec Hall. With only 50 cents per semester per
student at least four well-known people could
be brought here for students lo go to see with
out having to worry about the expense of a
ticket.
Even more prominent people than the fading
Community Concert Series -is able to get would
certainly be available with such large sums of
money.
Gazette
ASSOCIATION FOR CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. 1 p.m..
Alhcrton Lounjre
DAILY COLLEGIAN Circulation Staff Junior and Inter-
mediate Board. 6:30 p.m.. Colleician Office
MARKETING CLUB. 7:30 p.m.. Phi Kappa Pai
NEWMAN CLUB Choir “Practice, 7 p.m.. Church
RIDING CLUB. 7 p.m., 217 Willard
SIGMA TAU Pledge Meeting. 7 p.m., 209 Main Engineering
WORLD AGRICULTURAL SERVICE SOCIETY, 7:30 p.m.,
209 Hetre) Union
WDFM Music Library Staff Candidates. 7 p.m., 307 Sparks
Student Employment
HULETTS ON THE LAKE GEORGE. New York—Apr. 14
CRADLE BEACH CAMP. New York—April 14
CAMP CONRAD WEISKR. Pennsylvania— April 18-19
TRAIL BLAZER CAMPS. New Jersey—April 21
University Hospital
Harold Albrecht, Jean Bodman, Robert Bohninj?, Ralph
Brower, George Carrick, Louise Chaplinsky. Mary Claar.
George Dishorn:, Eleanor Duffan, Frederick Clreenleaf,
Morton Kaplan, Charles Larson, Andrew Maretr.ki. Robert
Mover. Mary Murphy, David Patterson Phyllis Rubenstein,
James Sahlin, James Strucher, Frank Woodrow, and Roy
Vollmer.
Ag Ec Club Will Meet Friday
The Agricultural Economics
Club will meet at 8 p.m. Friday
at Alpha Zeta fraternity. The
club will hold a bowling party in
Recreation Hall after the meeting.
Marketing Club Will Meet
The Marketing Club will meet
at 7:30 tonight at Phi Kappa Psi.
Editorials represent the
viewpoints of the writers,
not necessarily the policy
of the paper, the student
body, or the University.
—Jackie Hudgins
Little Man on Campus
(3^
£ Cf
"And on the Psych. 17 blue book no exira credit will be
given for practical experience, Worthal!"
UN Police Action . . .
To Calm Situation
In Middle East?
By J. M. Roberts
Associated Press News Analyst
The possibility that the United Nations w.ill organize' another
police action in the Middle East—a contingency which seems for the
moment to be the principle base for consideration of use of American
troops there—is very remote at this time.
Nobody, and least of all the non-involved nations in the area,
such as Greece, Turkey and Italy, wants to get involved in another
Korea
If force is required io keep
the Israelis and the Arabs from
lighing a fuse which could lead
to world war, the odds are very
great it will have to be Anglo-
American force. France would '
throw in political weight
which, because of her involve
ment in subduing African reb
els, she would not have the
men to back up.
But this idea of bilateral action
by the United States and Britain
has been very carefully skirted
by President Eisenhower's policy
statement Monday and appar
ently, also, by Secretary Dulles
in his briefing of' congressional
leaders Tuesday.
Indeed, the effect if not the in
tent of the President's statement
seems to be more in the nature
of a reassurance to the British of
partnership than a notice to the
disturbers of the peace that war
will not be tolerated.
It does sound, however, like
a promise of firmer policy in
the future if the parlies lo the
dispute pay no heed to the rep
resentations of Secretary Gen
eral Hammarskjold of the UN
and others who are bringing
pressure for reinstatement of
the 1949 truce.
That’s something Britain has
desperately wanted.
But in addition to their com
mitments to the UN, if the UN
were disposed to act, Britain,
France and the United States
have a commitment, a corollary
of the UN truce, to guarantee the
borders between the Jews and
the Arabs.
The borders imposed by Is
raeli military force at the close
of the 1948 war. however, ra
ther than by UN action, have
never been accepted by the
Arabs, and this whole business
has remained up in the air.
Events in the Middle East are
moving so fast that the “maybes”
of American policy today may be
come the urgencies of tomorrow.
That is obvious from the briefing
given the congressional leaders
by Dulles. Through this, the na
tion is informed that the situation
is fluid and moving toward a pos
sible climax. There may be time
for Congress and public to figure
out what to do with the ball if
they have to carry it. The Presi
dent’s statement serves as a sort
of first step toward that. -
WEDNESDAY. APRIL 11. 1956
Bv Bibier
m*gg£e**»*
Violin-Piano Duo
To Appear Tonight
In Schwab Concert
A violin-piano concert will be
presented by James de la Fuente
and Herbert Stessen at 8:30 to
night in Schwab Auditorium.
The violinist, de la Fuente stud
ied at the Julliard School of Mu
sic with the late Albert Spalding,
and held a six-year fellowship for
graduate work there. His violin,
a Montagnana dated 1723, was
willed to him by Spalding.
Stessen, a native of New York,
is a graduate of City College of
New York. He studied with the
noted concert pianist, Sascha Go
rodnitzki, and in 1950 made his
debut in New York’s Carnegie
Hall.
.The concert, sponsored by the
State College Community Con
cert Association, is the third of
the series for this season! Elena
Nikolaidi, contralto, originally
screduled for a concert Feb. 29,
will close the season with a con
cert April 23 .
Graduates to Sign
For Caps, Gowns
Seniors and graduate students
who expect to graduate in June*
should sign up for caps and gowns
at the Athletic Store.
Seniors in education may sign
up today. Seniors in engineering
are to sign up tomorrow, Friday,
and Saturday.
Seniors must give their hat size
when ordering the cap, and make
a deposit of $5 on- the cap and
gown. The cap, gown, and hood
for graduate students requires a
$lO deposit.
Invitations and announcements
may be ordered at the Hetzel Un
ion desk on the day students sign
up.
Tonight on WDFM
*l.l MEGACYCLES
7:13
7:20 j
New*
7:25
7:30 _
8:00 _
8:50
9:00
9:15
Sport*
Marquee Memories
Open to Question
Music of the People
BBC Weekly
News
Virtuoso
- Sign o lt
9:30 I_
10:30
Siffn On