PAGE FOUR
Editorial
Our Pampered Students
No matter how much reassurance we may get from the
White House, Soviet gains in technology are impressive
and diarrr.ing
These gains can be traced directly to the educational
system in the Soviet Union, where scientific studies and
sewn u fie dedication reign supreme.
The average Russian high school graduate has been
exposed to 5 years of physics, 4 years of chemistry. 5
years of biology. I year of astronomy and a 11)-year pro
gram of mathematics ranging from arithmetic to cal
culus.
Thu ty per cent of these students. thoroughly back
grounded in technical subjects and completely dedicated
to science, enter Soviet colleges and engineering schools.
The eng"leering schools turn out 80,000 engineers a
year. compared with fewer than :SO.OOO annually in the U.S.
In addition to the strenuous schooling and the empha
sis placed on scholastic tchievement. an extensive pro
gram for gifted children is carried on in the Soviet
Union. These gifted children are sought out and en
couraged to work at full capacity.
The! e is no teacher shortage in the Soviet Union. This
is understandable since school teachers and college pro
fessors make up one of the few elite classes in Russia. They
are well paid and highly respected.
No one can deny the simple logical proposition that
good teachers in sufficient numbers are needed for a
satisfactory system.
It goes without saying, of course, that much of the
Soviet educational achievements are accomplished in a
way that is anathema to us.
There is little, if any, academic freedom in the Soviet
T_Tnior. The regime decides how many of which specialists
are neded and then dictates who shall train for the needed
positions
The Soviet student is worked to the point of endangering
his health. This practice has reached such a serious point
that Soviet doctors have condemned it.
Communist ideology is stressed in all phases of school
ing and no deviation from the norm is permitted.
Students may question neither fact nor opinion ex
pressed by teachers and professors.
But as numerous as these and other evils in the Soviet
educational system are, we can learn from the Russians.
And we can learn from those persons in our country who
have been fighting all along for a better system of educa
tion in the United States.
In comparison to the need, a small number of scholar
ships are available in the United States to qualified stu
dents. Much of the responsibility of providing more
scholarships rests with industry. It is true that many in
dustries support education, but not nearly enough.
The government, too, has a responsibility, we feel, for
providing scholarships and other grants for and above the
amount now provided.
The Soviet Union may push its students hard, but per
haps we are guilty of being in the opposite extreme.
How many primary, secondary and college students do
we know who consider school a necessary evil and take
it in the lightest vein? This is possibly the fault of so
called "progressive" educational systems which consider
finger-painting more important than reading and col
leges which consider football more important than
philosophy. literature and science.
The fine work being done now with gifted children
must be extended and better supported.
Perhaps Soviet achievement is a welcome challenge for
developing the great potential in our educational system.
Our duty is to meet it in the American democratic tra
dition—but to meet it nevertheless.
Editorials are writtea by the editors and staff members
of The Daily Collegian and do not necessarily represent
the views of the University or of the student body.
A Student-Operated Newspaper
1 04 ..t u
Successor to The Free Lance, est. 1887
Published Tamolay through Saturday morning daring the University year, The Dant ,
Collageon Le a etude/at-operated newspaper. Entered as amoruivelam matter July s.
et the "seta Collett. Pa.. Poet Office ander the set of March 3. OM.
Man liebeeriptuse nisei $3.11 per semester Mei pet Lett
ED DOBBS. Editor
STAIT THIS ISSUE: Night Editnr, Mtle Max.', Copy Edit.or. Ralph Mann•: Wire
Mitor, Lynn Vi•rd, AinLi.uivaus. Bobbie Tama. Ann Jaeohos, Loretta Aynardi. Carmel&
LaSpinin. Dian Hoc!, Jun Maras., Veal Freiman, Judy ,SVaeciberger.
.4 ,, T‘w STEVE HIGGINS. Bus. Mgr.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
iSatety Valve
'Respect Lost'
For Lion's Paw
TO THE EDITOR: Last Thursday
night, wanting to see what was,
going on in student government,!
I attended the meeting of All- 1
University Cabinet to hear dis-,
cussion of the proposed CD-ROTC
plan. As a Penn State student
this was a new experience for me,l
and one I hope everyone will take'
the opportunity to have
I was truly amazed at the
proceedings and didn't want to
leave—but in another vein I
was not very pleased. I saw ac
lions at this meeting, which I
never be f ore envisioned as
being possible at the top of stu
dent government.
I had heard a little about Lion's
Paw, and had always envisioned
' this group as an upright and
;honorable organization acting for
the betterment of Penn State. But
, after seeing their actions at Cab:-
net I have lost all respect I ever
j had for them.
I was able to pick out all of the!
Lion's Paw members on Cabinet'
just by their authoritarian man
ner of speaking and the way they'
seemed to have their speeches all y
prepared to give ahead of time.
Each one seemed to attack the
proposal from a different side
and seemed to speak in a set
order. The fellow who sat next
to me knew all of the members
of the organization and con
firmed all my "guesses" as being
correct.
It seems to me that a group like
Lion's Paw should not try to run
Cabinet and student government
hete at Penn State. Are individ
uals elected to head their respec-,
live groups supposed to be a vot
ing• representative of his OWN
organization? Or is he to offer the
views of a pressure group and so
slight student wants.
I believe that in a case where
a group of individuals ban to
gether and sacrifice the welfare
of the University and its stu
dents, it is time for the students
to organize and rid themselves
of such an undemocratic influ
ence.
After watching Thursday's Cab
inet meeting and the true inde
pendent thinkers who are in
r t y representing University
and student welfare. I offer my
congratulations to those persons
. who remain independent and
free from outside pressures . . .
•Letter cut
Prof Studies Ag
Communication
A study of communication pro
cesses in a farmer cooperative is
being made under the direction of
Dr. James H. Hopp Jr., assistant
professor of rural sociology.
The Agricultural Experiment
Station has received a $3OOO grant
from the U.S. Department of Ag
riculture to support the research.
Members of an advisory com
mittee assisting Copp are Dr.
Macklin E. John, professor of
rural sociology; Dr. Emory J.
Brown, associate professor of
rural sociology and agricultural
extension; Dr. Clare A. Becker,
professor of agricultural business
management; Dr. Howard Bonser,
professor of rural sociology ex
tension; and John Gauss, pro
fessor of agricultural economics
extension.
Girard Sentence--
(Continued from page two)
practice were told that scientists
complained last year they were
being "hamstrung by unrealistic
security requirements."
Syrian and Egypitian parlia
ments yesterday approved imme
diate negotiations for federal un
ion of the two countries and
called on other Arab countries
to join.
The proposed union is expected
to corer foreign, defense, econ
omical, financial and cultural af
fairs, though the two powers
would maintain internal indepen
dence.
Players Admen to Meet
Members of Players advertising
crew for the shows 'Amahl and
the Night Visitors" and "Apollo
of Bellac" will meet at 6:30 to
night in Schwab Auditorium.
Little Man on Campus by Dick Bible,
—Arnold Harris, '5B
"But he told ME it would leave a scar!"
Shop Talk
College Journalism
A la Hip-Hip-Hooray
The latest issue of Editor & Publisher, the Fourth Estate's
trade journal, reports that college campus editors "want to
give their readers something more than chit-chat and hip-hip
hooray journalism."
The article reports on the annual conference of the
Associated Collegiate Press
New York City two weekends,'
ago.
Editors from member papers;
(The Daily Collegian is not a.
member) took a dim look at cen-1
sorship of college papers, and)
came up with these ideas for
more editorial freedom:
•The newspaper should take
its own position on national and
world politics and even campus
affairs.
•The college paper, being a
monopoly, should not be just
a mirror; it should make stu
dents think.
•There should be a major,
award to stimulate editorial inde
pendence on campus papers.
•Readers become apatheticl
about causes when a newspaper ;
fails to follow through with con-f
structive remedies for conditions'
it criticizes.
•You don't print everything
that happens on campus: there
are rules of morality and ethics
that figures in editorial respon-
sibility.
•It's the fault of the news
paper if students are not fully
informed on a matter of inter
eat to the university.
• The force of personality is
needed for good editorials.
•It is the duty of every editor
to resign rather than serve merely
as a tool of a paper that is nothing
more than a journalism laboratory
exercise.
•Why have an editor if a fac
ulty board makes the decisions?
•Weakness in the college
press are only reflections in the
PEANUTS. AND NOW
THE NUMBER
ONE SONG 14IT '
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1957
general public press.
•An editor's freedom should
be bound only by the laws of
libel.
•To be a good editor you must
be willing to be unpopular.
After reading soin e of the
plights of other college papers
given in the magazine, we on Col
legian are proud we can boast
that Penn State has a student-run
newspaper with editorial freedom.
• * •
We mentioned in passing that
The Daily Collegian was not a
member of the Associated Col
legiate Press. This newspaper
dropped membership some
years ago.
The main reason: Most of the
members are small college week
lies and we feel our problems are
quite different from those of the
majority of the members; there
fore, we feel we have little to
gain by membership.
—The Editor
Pedersen to Talk
At Officers Dinner
Dr. Sven Pedersen, U.S. Army,
retired, who spent the past sum
mer in Libya, will address a din
ner meeting of the Centre County
chapter, Reserve Officers Associa
tion, Wednesday night.
Pedersen, who is from State
College, will speak on "Impres
i sions of Libya" at the meeting to
be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Hetzel
Union dining rooms.