PAGE FOUR Editorial Opinion • 'Deglamorizing' Ruckus A state-wide ruckus has resulted from last week's Associated Press report that President Eric A. Walker called for a deglamorization of sports and extracurricular activities, in a speech before the Pennsylvania School Administrators at Hershey. The lead sentence in the wire service report, which was carried substantially intact by Collegian, apparently misinterpreted a statement which Walker made late in the speech: "Somehow, someway we must find means of making studying and learning at least as attractive to our students as winning football letters and playing in the band." The AP took this to mean that Walker had "urged a deglamorizing of sports and extracurricular activities," a conclusion not supported by the text of the speech. As Walker himself was quoted later in a release from the University's Department of Public Information, "Unfortu nately, there must be a feeling abroad that you can't build up one without tearing down the other," Within 24 hours after the AP dispatch was printed, Walker was receiving letters and telephone calls about the "deglamorizing" from alumni and sportswriters, who themselves were receiving inquiries. Since then, Walker is reported to have received an apology from the Associ ated Press. In handling the story, Collegian has been accused both publicly and privately of indulging in erroneous report ing, participating in a misrepresentation of facts, failing to help correct the situation promptly and a number of other journalistic crimes. The Associated Press is the oldest telegraphic news agency in the United States and generally is considered the most accurate. Its reliability is so widely accepted that hundreds of editors throughout the country use AP reports daily without questioning the facts contained in them. Indeed, to check each wire dispatch at its source would be physically impossible. However, Collegian attempted unsuccessfully to ob tain a copy of the Walker speech before publishing the article. This was done after the differences were discov ered between the AP report and the releases handed out by Public Information, which occurred after Old Main had closed for the day. Collegian was remiss only in not explaining the more recent developments in the speech story earlier this week —there was never an intended misrepresentation or neglect of the facts on our part. Greek Week Aftermath Fraternities and sororities have been praised by rep resentatives of a number of State College organizations fort utstanding community service during Greek Week. Praise came from a recreation director, a minister, the borough manager and downtown merchants, The community work projects sponsored by the Inter fraternity Council and Panhellenic Council during Greek Week represent perhaps the best method of cementing Greek-town relations. Much of the bad publicity which has unfortunately and unwarrantedly accured to fraternities can be, and undoubtedly is, reversed by such constructive work. And the fraternity system deserves the praise being given its members for this work. A Student-Operatea Newspaper OtIr• Battu Totiggiatt Successor to The Free Lance. est 188? Published Tuesday through Saturday mornlfia during the tlahrerslty year, The Daily Collegian is a student-operated newspaper Entered as seeond-class wetter July i 1934 at the State College Pa Post Office under the art of March S. 1171. ♦tail Sob.eriptian Pole*, $3,00 per semester $5.10 pet Isar ROBERT FRANKLIN Editor 'Oa*. City Editor, David Fineman: Managing Editor. Richard Drayne; Sports Editor, Lou Prato; Associate Sports Editor. Matt Mathews: Personnel and Public Relations Director. Patricia E‘ans; Copy Editor, Lynn Ward; Assistant Copy Editor, Dick Fisher: Photography Editor. Robert Thompson. Credit 4gr., Janice Smith; Local Ad Mgr.. Tom [turkey: Asst. Lees! Ad Mgr., Robert Pirrone: National Ad Mgr.. Betsy Brarkbill: Promotion Mar.„Ritty Bar. serf: Personnel Mgr.. Mickey Nash: Classified Ad Mgr.. Barbara Ryan: CO. Circulation Mgrs.. Mary Anna First and Murray Simon; Research and Records Mgr., Mary flerbein; Office Secretary, Myla Johnson. STAFF THIS ISSUE: Nisiit Editor, Bobbi Levine; Copy Editor, Loth Neuharth; Wire Editor, Denny Malick; Aisirtnnts, Cannella LaSpada, Berl Bronstein, Bar. tiara .Graeuwald, Helen McCafferty, Mike Heller, Betsy Anderson. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA FRANK VOJTASEK Business Manager Letters Steele Blasts Speed, Report TO THE EDITOR: Once again, through what I assume is simply carelessness, The Daily Collegian has allowed itself to participate in an unfortunate misrepresentation of facts. In your issue of April 24, you reported a speech made by President Walker with the follow ing headline, "Prexy Hits Sports, Activities Emphasis." Your lead sentence s t ate d, "President Eric A. Walker yester day urged a deglamorization of sports and other extra-curricular activities in schools and colleges, the Associated Press reported last night." First, it surprises me that the Associated Press could interpret Prexy's speech as they did. How ever, more important, it amazes me that The Daily Collegian would blindly publish such an account. I have read Prexy's speech, which I would incidental ly recommend to Daily Collegian personnel, and believe that the above interpretation is a rather fantastic one. In a speech urging strengthen ing of scholastic programs for students, Prexy made the rather harmless comment that, "Some how, someway we must find means of making studying and learning at least as attractive to our students as winning football letters and playing in the band." To read into this statement that Prexy wants to deglamorize sports and activities seems to me to be not only a negative inter pretation, but quite erroneous In the strategic position The Daily Collegian occupies as the campus newspaper, I cannot im agine the paper indulging in such erroneous reporting. Located as it is, just a few hundred feet from Old Main, The Daily Col legian not only has the perfect opportunity to check such a story for accuracy, but has the definite responsibility to make such an inquiry. In the past The Daily Collegian has indicated that it has been pleased with Prexy Walker's ad ministration. This being the case, I think you might then do him the courtesy of correctly report ing his views, even if the real facts do make for a slightly less glamorous, less sensational story. —Robert Steele '5B Tobacco Spit Tilt 'Stains' His Record TO THE EDITOR: I reckon you are - all hankering to know why I, as Forestry Field Day chair man, allowed such a scandalous contest as the tobacco spitting competition to be scheduled. Sure represents a stain (tobacco, that is) on my record. Well, it's kind of hard to corn. pare two Ivy League schools with our own. But if we stick to our own rank and file and consider such schools as West Virginia, Duke, Oklahoma and Purdue, strangely, all of them have for estry schools and schedule tobacco spitting contests as part of their field days. Seventeen of the largest Pacific coast forestry schools will meet this month at Augusta, Ga., for a combined field day. Heaven for bid! Tobacco spitting will be the main contest, as it has been for years in the past. Rumors have it that professors at these colleges are out-chewing the stu dents. Stranger yet is the fact that enrollment has increased over the years rather than the opposite as Mr. Pressman pre dicted (in yesterday's Letters column). Of course, there hasn't been ample time to air the views of such public spirited groups as Lion's Paw, Daughters of the American Revolution or the Sen ate Rackets Committee. Reper cussions have already started. Tobacco sales have dropped low er than during the cancer scare. Spittoons are giving way to flow er pots on the open market. All this in a recession! Honestly, Mr. Pressman, I can see your view or that of any other person who might have read of the event. However, if you had observed the contest in person, as close to 100 persons did, you might agree with them that it represented one of the humorous highlights of the afternoon. Be lieve me, it was far from un sanitary, —Robert Laßar. '59 , • Field Day claim= Little Man on Campus by Dick Bible. ) . • .;•.) ela ‘ 9 1`": 1 / 4 ,,,•..• r • • OE: . • • < -: „Yr 'Eddie! Eddie Boyl—Ya Jus' set a record! Where are ya Eddie?' 'Offshore Buying Causes Complaint By J. M. ROBERTS Associated Press News Analyst The United States has saved considerable money by meeting some of its foreign military obligations under mutual assistance agreements by "offshore" purchases. It means that, instead of paying American prices for manufacture of war materiel and shipping it abroad, the United States pays foreign prices to manufacturers in the recipient countries. Repayment schemes have been tailored to fit the needs of the Allies in maintaining a generally solid military - and economic front. Part of the re payments have been used to pay for U.S. operations in the various countries. Sometimes repayment, in foreign cur rency, is rebated for use in foreign developments of value to the general welfare of the free world. This is also the case with economic aid. During the business boom, this has not attracted much at tention in this country, since a major portion of foreign mili tary equipment has been made here. Widespread complaint has developed, however, as a re sult of the recession. With heavy unemployment in the automobile industry, for instance, revelation that ve hicles for the Japanese military are being bought in Japan by the United States has aroused opposition. The Defense Department re plies that 85 per cent of this year's appropriations for for. eign military aid will go to American manufacturers. That is about 1 1 / 2 billion, more than PEA CUTS. 'COWBOYS AND L... 7.1 INDIANS FRIDAY, MAY 2, 1958 tE%. - 7 t CiP 6 -2, g "-:r•*rf . ...il.ii , , :I:. • / f " .4 ' " ‘" 7 : • . -3 :-* • • • e • • ..*•-• • • ..... j ,z,..,5••••••' v•••• • e... .•' ...IN.. • 'a idea Jr" . . a third of the total requested for foreign economic and mili tary aid. The ways in which foreign aid is spent have always caused disagreements in Congress. A case currently in point is that of the Dominican Republic, whose Dictator Trujillo is re ported to be spending about a million dollars a year on a son who is studying in the United States. His country, almost a personal fief, is earmarked for slightly more than that in aid. The general object of the aid program, of course, is to maintain the ability of the par ticipating countries to resist communism. Almost without exception, they are having eco nomic troubles. Even West Germany, which has been booming along side the United States, is showing signs of trouble. Gazette American Society for Metals, dinner, Nittany Lion Inn. Fluid Mechanics Seminar, 4:10 p.m., 1 Sackett. Hillel, Sabbath Eve Service Illustrated lecture on French Painting in National Gallery, 8 p.m., HUB Auditorium Penn State Bible Fellowship, 7:20 p.m., 214 Boucke Players. "Tonight at 8:30" by Noel Coward, 8 p.m , Center Stage. COPS AND Nop E l ROBBERS? r t' ft -, st v rE LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES!! (ot 4400. 7423".„7, NOPE! TODAY
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers