PAGE FOUR Editorial Opinion Repeal the Loyalty Oath .s....ate bas a law on its books requiring teachers to sign a loyalty oath. The law, the Pechan Act, has been on the books for six years. It affects Penn State's teaching staff. The hill, an outgrowth of the Red scare, should be repealed The loyalty oath is an invasion of academic freedom. Freedom is not only in danger from Communists but from those who went the government to regulate mind and spirit. The external Communist threat should not, drive Americans into surpressing their own liberties. Former President Harry S. Truman drew this analogy: "Those who want the government to regulate matters of mind and spirit are like men who are afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassina tion." In other words, bills like the loyalty oath, designed to oppose communism, impair the very freedoms Americans cherish, and the very freedoms which are their best safe guards against communism. The loyalty oath should be repealed because it de stroys the American tradition of free inquiry and free expression of ideas without fear of reprisal on intimida tion. It also imposes a limit on the pursuit of truth. Dr. R. A. Tsanoff, professor of philosophy at Rice Institute, says the Chief function of a college or university is the perservation, the transmission and the expansion of knowledge. Its main purpose is the attainment of truth. Truth, says Tsanoff, car be defended in only one way. by being proved and established by fair inquiry. And error, he says. is not destroyed by being prohibited, but by being disproved and refuted. Communism cannot effectively be fought by prohibit ing the teaching of it and penalizing persons who believe in its doctrines. It must be fought by proving it wrong. The oath forces good teachers, the thinkers, the seekers of truth, to compromise in their quest for truth. There is a chance they may become timid and may not follow wherever truth may lead, and thereby no longer be good teachers. The loyalty oath is not even effective. The loyalty oath hasn't rid the colleges and universities of Communists, for if Communists have the complete lack of morals, the complete disregard for truth, which their critics claim, they will take the oath without protest. And the loyalty oath cannot measure freedom, as trea son cannot be prevented by registration. Loyalty can best bit measured by deeds. The loyalty oath, therefore, should be repealed be cause it is an invasion of academic freedom, because it limits free inquiry and the pursuit of truth, and because of its ineffectiveness. America—and especially backward Pennsylvania— must wake up to the fact that - free men must be free to live a life of intellectual integrity, to seek and find the truth. The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless pow er without abusing it —Thomas Babington Editorials are written by the editors and staff members of The Daily Collegian and do not necessarily represent the views of the University cr of the student body. A Student-Operated Newspaper 011 r Bak Tallegiatt Successol to The Free Lance. est 1887 rsib.lll.lned Tuesday throes!' petards, morning during the inteersity year. The. Dane trAsUaglan is a stesient-operated newspaper. Entered u second-class !natter Judy S. 12311 It lb. urste Coliege Po. roe Whet ander the act of Idareb I. lei Moll lobeeripttoo ?noel 13.00 pet StMatti 11.3.0111 PSI lOW S. Editor ED DUB ktoromorop Ldite. Judy Harkroont Citr Editor. Robert Prastkikat Sport* Editor Vine* Corocri: Cop' Editor Anne Friedkera: Mondani Copy Editor Marian Beatty; Poristput Sports EiSten Matt Mathews and Loa Prato: Malni.ep Editor Ginn.? Phillip: Pho tography Editor Come Ilarripoia Asst. ties Mgt. ere atortensoni Local Ad. Mgt.. Marilyn Elias; Aut. Lent Ad. Mgr- as.. Ann Gongs National Ad Mgr.. Joan Wallace: Prossetion Mgr- Medians Maier: Perissnael Ater. Lynn Slasinern: Classified Ad. Mgr.. Steve littflideiri; Co -Circatattoo Slim Pat litiorstriri and Weston" Uproot Roorardt and Renard. *arbors %all. Witco Secretary. Marlene Marks. STAFF THIS ISSICE: Night Kditor, Mary Kelly: Copy Editor. Pitt Earley: Aitaistanta. Ruth Hillis. Jeanttte Save, Lucy newt% Norm Lockman. Neal Friedman. Jim Xs"' and Dale Dial, STEVE HIGGINS. Bus. Mgr. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA Safety Valve Student Wishes Disregarded? TO THE EDITOR: Is student gov ernment making an effort to rep resent the views of the students, or are those who represent us merely glory seekers who, once elected to office, disregard our wishes? At the last meeting of the Sen ate Committee on Student Af fairs, a few days before the Christmas holiday there was a The Daily Collegian welcomes letters from its readers an topics of public in terest. Letters shoutd be brief and to the point and all are subject to editing for apace requirements ■nd good taste. All letters meat be signed. and the withhold ing from publication the names of writ ers. when requested. will be left to the discretion of the editors. strange occurrence. The social calendar for Penn State culmi natez with a group of evens called Spring Week. Approximately one - half or more of the students take some part in at least one of the events. In a surprise decision. the senate committee suddenly decided to curtail Spring Week to a three day period. The schedule presented by toy. Spring Week chairman was simi : lar to those of previous years in that it called for a 4-day cele bration. It should be clear to ev eryone. including the Senate' Committee on Student Affairs, that it is almost impossible to in clude all the events (which have ben approved by the committee) in three days. If this could be ac complished, it would entail more work by the students, crammer( into a few days. Another important factor to , consider is the threat of rain. la previous years we have had 'enough time to schedule a rain date for the carnival and other out-door events. This year there (are three events that should be held out-doors--the carnival, the float parade and the he-man con gest (this could be held indoors, but doing so is quite impractical.) Since most of the expenses are paid from the carnival re ceipts. and since the net profit is given to the Student Scholar ship Fund, a rained-out carni val would mean the financial downfall for*Spring Week. In conclusion, it seems that the ! Senate committee would like to see an end or a sharp decline in 1 1 the week's activities. But where 'our real concern should lie is in our student representation. Why did the All-University president, the All-University vice• president, and the president of WSGA, all of whom have seats on the Senate Committee on Stu • dent Affairs, vote for the cut in Spring Week, without first de termining student opinion or without consulting the Spring Week chairman, who incidentally is appointed by the All-University president with the approval of All-University Cabinet? It seems that our student representatives are again not very representative. Gazette - TODAY Americas. Society of Agricultural Ertel- neers. 7:110 p.m.. 206 Au Eng AIM Judicial. 7 p.m., 2IK HUB Amociation for Childhood Education. 7 p.m. Grange Playroom Bible Fellowship. 12 noon. 218 HUB Cabinet School Year Committee. 6 p.m.. EMERI!EMME MEMENIM Frooh A driaory Hoard, 6:30 p.m., 303 Gnduate Student Auociation, 8 p.m, 218 HUB Neu Bavarian Scbuplattlera, 7:30 p.m I White Ne."11111lS1 Club Novena. l p.m.. Our Lady of Victory Church Newman Club Lecture Series, Dr. Case. 7 p.m.. 104 Program Center Newman Club Choir Practice, 7:30 p.m., Our Lady of Victory Church Phi Delta Kappa. 4 p.m., 214-16 HUB Phys Ed Student Council. 8 p.m.. 215 HUB Riding Club. 7 p.m.. 217 Willard Soph Ads isory Board. 6:10 p.m.. 209 HUB TIM. 7 ~m.. 203 RUB WSGA Honor Code Committee. 8 p.m.. 209 HUB SUA Senate. 8 p.m.. '209 HUB 9:49: Sign on and news 7:00: Telephone Bandstand: 7:50: State Neves and National Sports; 8:00: Jazz Panorama; 9:00: Local. National and World Neva: 9:16: At Your Service: 9:30; Music of the People: 10:00: Newel 10:(16: Virtuosos 11: 0i .tiews and gaiwat—, . ki.. Dan Keiner. '59 Spring Week Variety Show Chairman '57 and '5B TONIGHT ON WDEM le Man on Campus by Dick Bibles. til (17 , p Ar /1,, "Are we around to grading finals again Professor Snarl?' An Olcitimer Opens Sputnik Congress WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (P)—Sam Rayburn slumped so low in his chair that only reporters in the front row could see him at his news conference today. Only occasionally did those in the back get a glimpse of him, yet even this meagre look at his familiar bald head. was somehow reassuring. In this day of Sputniks, what appear to be Russian tri umphs, this thought keeps bob bing up Problems come and problems go, but House Speaker Sam Ray - burn and the democratic pro cesses he represents—seem to go on forever. Rayburn took note of the Russian successes by saying he thinks most of us feel "greatly humiliated." But he quickly left this to go on to plans for meeting the problem: How much money should ue spent? And where? And as ha wandered all over the legislative lot—the gas bill, the civil rights bill, the Hawaii-Alaska statehood bill, the education bill—he finally .reached this conclusion: "All down the line there'll be plenty to bring about contro ' - versy, I think." Many find the built-in ineffi ciencies of democracy irksome— the long delays, the long debates. the long conferences. But Rayburn spoke of contro versy matter of factly, like an old time surgeon who discusses a dif ficult operation, aware of prob lems ahead but also confident that the patient will come out of if !healthier than ever. Well, Rayburn has been around long enough to build up his con fidence. He arrived in this town before many reporters listening to him were born. March 4, 1913. Great excite rnent in Washington that day. A, - new President, Woodrow WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 8. 1958 By ARTHUR EDSON with its steady succession of son, was taking over, the first' Democrat in the While House in 16 years. "The great government wa loved," Wilson said in his inaug ural speech, "has too often been made use of for private and sel fish purposes." Wilson, of course, planned to change all that. Even then congressional inves tigations made big news. Next to the inauguration itself, the big gest item in the paper dealt with a proposed investigation of what had happened here the day be fore. A bunch of females had been parading, urging woman suf• frage, and police had been un able, or unwilling, to stop roughnecks who broke it up. Appropriately, words were spo ken in the House March 4, 1913, that could have had special mean ing for Rayburn. The 62nd Congress was winding up its work, and Speaker Champ Clark for 10 minutes turned the gavel over to a former speaker. !Uncle Joe Cannon, who wouldn't* be back in the new Congress. "The office of the speaker of "the House is a great office," Can non said, "with great responsibil 'ities." And no one was to believe this more sincerely than the young Texas congressman who was to stay around until he was (Continued on page eight) YEG, 140 LO T BOY, 14E 1 5 REALLY ABOUT TRAV GOITRE RIGI-IT IDEA! 4 Isw) ttT • D• 4 1 0 GOOD o(, ' DOCTOR GPOCK! e .40 . rrr, OO' 60 ,
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