MBER ti. 1957
SUNDAY. SEPT
' - rsity Community
Serves Uni
gian Begins its 53rd Year
dent-Operated Newspaper
Coil;
AsSt
The Daily Collegian with
this issue be;ins its 53rd year
. of publication as a student
operated_ newspaper.
The first issue was-published
in 1904 under thezname'of the
State Collegian. In. succeeding
years the name was changed
,to the Penn State Coltgian
.7 - and finally to The Daily Col
. • legian.
In its infancy the paper was
• ;an eight - column,, four-page
weekly.-/t has grown into an
'eight or 12-page daily tabloid
•-• published Tuesday through
• Saturday mornings.
Th?.. Daily Collegian is the
successor to The Free Lance,
a combination literary maga
zine and newspaper in booklet
forth established in 1887. After
- this publication folded because
= .of financial and mechanical
idifficulties, the Collegian era
~ 'came into being.
From the very beginning,
.The. Daily Collegian has been
` - ' - •-free from censorship by facul
' -- ty- or administration. It is one
-of the few college newspapers
with such freedom.
The late President Ralph
Dorn Hetzel was the first to
clearly set forth the principle
of. free pressrat-the University
when he told the new Colle
gian editor: .
' "No member of the College
administration - will censor
your copy in. advance of pub
= . •
This policy continues today.
Collegian Policy: 'For a Better Penn State'
(Below is reprinted the policy of The Daily
Collegian. The policy editorial was printed the
day the present Senior Board took over opera
tioni of the paper in late April)
The primary function of a newspaper is to
- pfirif the news—t 6 Communicate to the human
face what its . members do, feel and think, A,
relatively' new role of a newspaper is to tell
why something happens. It strives to do all
this as honestly, fairly and accurately as- pos
sible.
The Daily Collegian's position as a news
paper is unusual: it enjoys a•measure of free
dom of action and expression that many prides
zional and most collegiate newspapers do not
attain.
The Daily Collegian believes its readers—
mainly students—have the right to know what
is going on in the kvorld, with special emphasis
on what is going on at Penn State.
In this world there is much ugline4s. It
would be nice if all things were pleasant—then
all news would be pleasant. Because- a news
paper does not make the news but is obligated
to print the news, all that a newspaper prints is
not pleasant.
In reporting what it finds to be true, a news
paper sometimes makes enemies. People, by
nature, wish to know the truth' only so long
as it does not make them uncomfortable. It is
only when they find themselves distressed by
truth' that- they condenni what they consider
excesses of press freedom.
_ This newspaper will pursue its duty as it
sees fit: to find, write and produce the news
with maximum truthfulness and sincerity of
purpose and without bias, prejudice or hope of
gain, even if it knows that at times readers
would prefer not to face the truth.
For many years, The Daily Collegian has
striven "For a Better Penn State." This is our
single motto—our single goal.
"For a Better Penn State," however, does
-not mean "Penn State right dr wrong—but
Penh State."
It is The Daily Collegian's belief that the
best way to a better Penn State is to praise
its attributes, justly criticize its faults and pre
- sent the truth about it- For to-present anything
but the truth would-be a distortion and falsi
fication. And 'falsification is not the way to a
better Penn State.
Acting under its cherished freedom, The
Daily Collegian is able to present the news it
feels is significant to its readers. As a student
publication, Collegian feels obligated to print
campus news.'But it does not feel obligated• to
print the news of any specific grOup_or cover
any specific event.
Collegian will not print publicity as such.
. It prints• publicity only when what is beitfg
. publicized is also news.- Ultimately, this depends
on judgment. Few newspapers can print all the
news that comes into their offices. Therefore, to
day's editor must also be selective.
News is relative. to the other news of , the
day. The play any one story receives depends
on its importance in relation to the other stories
to be printed on the same day. Ultimately, this
too depends on jcidgment.,
Collegian reporters attendhli public meet-
ings, we 'feel, hive: the same rights the public
itself would have. If the public were at the
meeting, it would hear - and see all-that takes
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA
The Daily Collegian is the
only newspaper which gives
complete coverage of Penn
State life. Besides local cover
age, The Daily Collegian is a
lease-wire member of The As
sociated Press and provides
AP coverage of state, national
and world news.
The Daily Collegian is also
the best way for advertisers to
reach the more than 13,500
Penn State students on main
campus.
In serving readers and ad
vertisers; it strives "For a Bet
ter Penn State."
The newspaper is operated
by two staffs, the editorial and
the business. The editor, Ed
ward Dubbs, senior in journ
alism from Waynesboro, heads
the editorial staff. and Steven
Higgins, senior in journalism
from Philadelphia, heads the
business staff.
The . editorial staff is com
posed of four boards, senior,
junior. sophomore and candi
date. The senior board is com
posed of editors of the,differ
ent departments of the paper
and decides paper policy.
The junior board is the back
bone of the reporting staff, and
assists the senior board mem
bers in daily publication. The
sophomore - boarders and can
didates also aid in daily pub
lication by writing stories and
headlines and performing other
necessary duties.
In a regular eight-page edi-
place. Likewise; we feel that our reporters have
the right to report everything that takes place
at meetings they attend in their capacity as
Collegian reporters. Off-the-record remarks at
open meetings are, in fact, not off-the-record
. by virtue of the fact that anyone could walk
in and hear them.
Since the University is supported primarily
by public funds, most of its affairs are of public
concern. Collegian, therefore, believes it has
the right and obligation to call upon University
officials for information that is of legitimate
concern to the public and the student body.
The Daily Collegian supports no campus or
national political party. It has, however. the
right to comment upon platforms, candidates
and actions of any and all political parties.
We have mentioned Collegian's relative
freedom. To mention our freedom is- not enough-
With this freedom goes complementary re
sponsibility. We pledge ourselves to uphold the
responsibility we assume in publishing a news
paper—to keep, bias from creeping into our
news stories, to exercise our best judgment in
coverage and play of a story, to not knowingly
print a falsehood, to make corrections when
errors have been -printed and to continue to
maintain that treating all equally. and fairly
is the only way to operate a newspaper.
Printing the news is only one function of
today's newspaper. We mentioned that news
papers have been given the added responsibility
of explaining the news—telling why something
happened and its significance. Along with - this
goes the right to criticize. Correspondingly. col
legian recognizes it is open to fair criticism.
We feel that editorials must be fair and must
present an honest, well-thought-out viewpoint.
However, they need not present the popular
viewpoint. We will never criticize for the sake
Of criticizing, and when possible will make al
ternative suggestions.
Collegian does not claim to represent the
majority of student opinion, the faculty, the
staff, the alumni or the University itself.
At least one of the functions of Collegian
editorials, we believe, is to inspire students to
think for themselves. Often editorials pointing
out pros-and cons of an issue will be printed
toward this end.
in our editorials, we attempt to present
viewpoints, not dogma. Therefore, editorials will
represent the viewpoint of the writer, not the
paper. Collegian, however, assumes responsi
, bility for publication of its editorials.
Editorials and letters to the editor are select
ed for publication on the same criteria—good
writing, good taste and good sense. Letters
must be signed because we feel the writers
must assume the responsibility for what they
say. However, on rare occasions, Collegian may
decide to withhold names if requested. •
The Daily Collegian welcomes stories
brought or phoned into the office for possible
use. It also welcomes letters to the editor on eny
topic- of public interest.
Last of all, but not least of all, we welcome
criticism. You, the readers, have a responsibility
too—to see that we do not accidently stray
from our policy: "For a Better Penn Stite."
• These, then, are the policies we pledge our
selves to uphold. '
lion, four pages are devoted
mainly to local campus cover
age, one page to state, national
and world news and two pages
to sports.
The business staff is divided
into three departments, adver
tising, circulation and promo
tion. Each department has four
boards similar to the editorial
staff.
The advertising staff handles
bah local and national clients.
Staff members sell ads to both
town businessmen and campus
groups. The promotion staff
handles publicity, and the cir
culation staff delivers the
papers to distribution points.
. Distribution points include
- dormitories, fraternities, town
restaurants, and the Helsel
Union Building. Papers are al
so circulated to faculty and
town administrative offices.
The cost of Collegian to each
student is included in the fees
paid before registering each
semester. This fee, plus adver
tising revenue and subscrip
tions sold to faculty and staff
members, pay for the costs of
printing. The fee pays for
about half the operating costs.
Staffs will -be sending out
calls for candidates within the
next several weeks: Candi
dates need not be journalism
Majors nor have, previous
newspaper experience. Time
and place for, meetings_ will be
announced in this newspaper.
,Promotion is based on abil
ity. interest and effort.
" The Senior Board
Man on Campus
*;;;;;;;;;-..;
,
-7 73. r
).'
Student Government:
A Place Awaits You
(Editor's Note: The Daily Collegian has asked All-University
President Robert Steele to write a series of two articles informing
freshmen on how they can become active in student government
and its rewards.) .
At Penn State you will find a multitude of excellent activities
in which you can participate; both to broaden your ideas and inter
ests and to serve as an outlet for your excess energy. Naturally, the
area of endeavor which I have found to be most interesting and
satisfying is the field of student government and politicS.
Student government at Penn State is a very large and somewhat
complex field. There are many ,different ways in which you can -
serve Your fellow students through student government
Incidentally, I would like to call attention to that last phrase.
"serve your fellow students." It is my philosophy that you partici
pate in student government, first and foremost, because you want
to perform a service. You will, of course, find that in so serving, you
yourself, 'will benefit greatly from your activities. This is all well
and good.
'Poor' Student Leader Pictured
But the person who goes into student government merely for what
he can get out of it for himself makes a poor student leader, and
hurts himself and the whole of student government. You must be
willing to serve others first; then will the rewards in turn come to
you.
To get back to student government, the purpose of this writing
is to give you an insight into how you, as freshmen, can getltarted
in this field of activity. Space of course puts a limitation on how
complete and detailed this analysis can be. but I hope it will give
you some idea of where to begin. For further information. your
Student Handbook will be most helpful.
In addition, any of the upperclassmen already active in student
government will be happy to give you all the help they can. In stu
dent government, as in" the whole of your college career, the initia
tive rests squarely on your shoulders. There is available to you a
wealth of help and guidance. However, it is up to you to make your
wishes and needs known. .
'Glamorous' Offices Explained
Simply because these offices are generally thought of as being
the most glamorous, I. will begin with your freshman class officers.
Traditionally, the president and vice president have been men while
women have held the secretary-treasurer's post.
The presidents office is particularly important because he
represents his class on All-University Cabinet, the highest student
governing , body at Penn State. These three offices are filled by
means of a general election, usually held in October or November.
All freshman have an opportunity to vote for the people they de
sire to fill these positions.
In order to be a candidate for a class office you must first re
ceive the nomination of one of the campus political parties. There
are, at present, two parties, the Campus and Lion parties.
Within a few weeks after the beginning of classes, the parties
will begin their nominating procedure to select candidates for the
class offices. Candidates are selected by means of a nominating
convention, similar to those held on the national level, but which we
call clique meetings.
'Must Muster Enough Votes'
The clique is simply another name for a party, with each party
comprising its respective clique. Just as on the national level, you
must be nominated within the clique, and then muster enough sup
port to receive the nomination of the clique as a whole.
Once the cliques have made their final nomination of candi
dates for the offices, a campus-wide campaign is conducted. At
the end of the campaign. you and your classmates will go to the
polls and elect your officers.
This discussion, I must admit, is tremendously oversimplified.
As I said before, you can readily obtain all necessary details from
many sources. ' - •
By ROBERT STEELE
All-University President
PAGE ELEVEN
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bier