PAGE FOUR Editorial Opinion Floating Half-Holiday Best Chance in Years After fumbling the half-holiday ball miserably for years, student government has picked it up and may throw the long pass that could lead to a touchdown next year for that elusive dream of the student football fan— an away game weekend without class-cutting. All-University Cabinet will get the ball tonight in the form of a report from John Bott and Patricia O'Neill, student members of the Senate Calendar Committee. When Bott and O'Neill kicked off . on the half-holiday issue before the committee on Monday they were asked to get a recommendation from Cabinet. Now, since the committee members apparently think they need coaching on the students' wishes, it is up to Cabinet to ask for a floating half-holiday plan—and to ask for it in no uncertain terms. Probably the best immediate plan is the one sug gested by Bott and Miss O'Neill: one floating half-holiday for each semester, with the exact date on which classes are to be called off determined by Cabinet or by a method sot up by Cabinet. The plan should be included in the calendar on a permanent basis, beginning with the 1959.60 year. But action must be quick and sure, for the clock is running out and the opposition is likely to be stiff. A definite calendar for the 1959-60 year will have to be agreed upon in a matter of weeks, it is reported. And even a prompt and strong student government resolution may have to make an end run around determined opposi tion by some administration and senate members. These is, in fact, the chance that a student half-holiday request may get "lost" in the mazes of administration and Senate channels, where so many other student requests have been "investigated" until they have been forgotten by unthinking student leaders. The issue of the student half-holiday has a long his tory, often scarred with defeats for the student body, students must share the blame for these defeats. Times have changed radically from the days when President Edwin Earl Sparks declared an occasional recess in classes for a baseball game with Bucknell or for some other college athletic event. The last football half-holiday was declared in 1954 for the Penn football game, and it was granted on the condition that no request would be made for time off for the Pitt grid contest. Since that year the only holiday given was the half day extension of the 1956-57 Christmas recess. And that one was granted only after students and parents united in protest after they realized that some students would have to travel in dangerous New Year's Day traffic if the recess was not extended. The 1955 Student Encampment recommended "that a committee work with the proper administration in scheduling for 1956-57 or 1957-58 two half-holidays in the fall and one full holiday in the spring, all to be floating and determined by Cabinet." Repeated student requests for time off from classes have been turned down, it would appear, because of sev eral reasons. These include both lack of student foresight (asking too late) and administration and Senate unwill ingness to change calendar plans. Equally important to the half-holiday proposal but less persistent over the years has been a plea for more time between the end of a semester's classes and the be ginning of final examinations. Many times finals follow classes by only an hour, or finals and classes are separated only by a lunch hour. Student action on both these issues now stands per haps the best chance for success in years. There does not appear to be any reason why these extra days cannot he provided for in the 1959-60 calendar. A Student-Uperatea Newspaper 01le oElattu Totlegiatt Success°, to mg Free Lance est 188? Published Needs, through denudes morning during the University year. Ths Daily Collegian Is a student-operated newspaper Rntered as second-class matter Jail 1 1931 et the State College Pa Post Office multi the art of March 1 1170. M•U tiattactiptlnt, Prlre• $3 00 pit teoteatet 15.99 Got feat ROBERT FRANKLIN Editor 60ZiO'', STATE' THIS ISSUE: Night Editor, Cathy Fleck: Copy EditorAianne Corderro Wire Editor, Denny Malick. A. ,, iivtantii, John Root, Carol Illake.ilee, Kati& Hai it. Hex Illitchina, Phyllis. Hamilton, Malty Rite , Ginny Croft, Barbara Fatter lad Vat Vail% THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA RIADTK VOJTASEK Business Manager Letters Ed Big Sister Plan Explained TO THE EDITOR: An apology is due you (freshmen) women, in education who anticipated a big sister for this fall and have not been contacted by one. Last year the Education Stu dent Council initiated this pro gram with great expectations. Unfortunately, however, the ap pointed Chairman transferred to another school and was unable to have this project completed on time. Therefore many of those who were to be your big sisters did not receive your names. As co-chairmen we would like to explain why we cannot com plete this program. There is no master list available, and for a college as , large as the College of Eductaion, it is physically im possible to rematch the names in time to be of any benefit to you. Therefore we must start anew to plan a successful program for new education students in Febru ary, and we hope that you have enough interest in being a big sister to apply at a later date. We urge the upperclass women who did receive, names to get in contact with their little sisters. (Persons with) questions or prob lems may call the co-chairmen. —Jody Miller, '6O, x1334J --Jeanette Butler, '6O, x 1053 Dean Renamed To Coal Post Edward Steidle, dean, emeritus of the College of• Mineral Indus tries, began a third 3-year term in July as chairman of the Fed eral Coalmine Safety Board of Review. He was renominated by Presi dent Eisenhower and the appoint ment was confirmed by the Sen ate on June 30.' The post has „taken Steidle on three world trips concerning mine safety, traveling more than 150,- 000 miles. He left for a 3-month trip to the south seas in October 1957. Gazette TODAY American Rocket Society, 7 p.m., 105 Mechanical Engineering Androcles, 10 pm., Phi Sigma Del ta Bridge Club, 6:30 p.m., HUB Cardroom Bryan Green Publicity Commit tee, 2:30 p.m., 218 HUB Chimes, 4 p.m., 212 HUB Chiistian Fellowship, 12:45 p.m., 218 HUB Christian Science Organization, 7 p.m., 212 Chapel Cwens, 8:30 p.m., 216 HUB Eastern Orthodox Society, 7 p.m., 216 HUB - Frosh Customs Board, 6:30 p.m., 217 HUB Froth Board of Directors, 6:30 p.m., 212 HUB '‘ Graduate Student Convocation, 9 a.m., HUB Ballroom Hillel Governing Board, 7 p.m., Hillel Foundation Hillel Membership Committee, 8 p.m., Hillel Foundation Insurance Club, 7 p.m., Beta Theta Pi News and Views, 6:45 p.m., 14 Home Economics Outing Club. 7 p.m., 121 Sparks Philosophy Lecture Series, 8 p.m., 10 Sparks State Future Farmers of America conference, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., 217 HUB 7-10 p.m., 214 HUB Travel Film, 7 p.m., HUB Assem bly Hall Waits Mixer, No. 1,2, 6:30 p.m., HUB Ballroom UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL Judith Bausch, Sandra Biber, Barbara Carney, Jrrnes Brett, Cerald Cooper, Vit.. ginia Dean, Patricia Frank, Joan Hamil ton, Robert Jones, Stanley Katzman, Wil. clam Krum. Francis McGowan, Carol Mc- Michael, Stuart Medwin, Beverly Miller, Richard Pikrossi, Clarence Rime!, Richard , Sabel, Walter Shanks, Rocket Society Meeting The American Rocket Society will meet at 7 tonight in Mechan ical Engineering. After the organization meeting the movie, "Road to the Stars," will be shown. . , „ , non Campus by Dick Bibier Little Ma from here to infinity Sunglasses In Snapping Ever drop a pair of sunglasses 1200 feet over Whipples Dam? Actually this feat isn't as hard as it may sound. It is the price I paid for wearing sunglasses while taking aerial photographs. The picture-taking safari into the wild blue yonder finally materialized this week after three weeks of prepara tions. Actually it amounted to about 15 minutes of planning and another two weeks, six days, 23 hours, and 45 minutes of waiting until the conditions were exactly right for pictures. One of the biggest problems confronting me was the weath er. State Col lege isn't no' ed.for its goon weather, a n last week wi no exceptio) Then wh e there we; ideal days ft piciuretakin, the photo rapher had full slate classes. Finally, the THOMPSON day arrived when the weather and the scheduling office a greed. I made the arrangements with the pilot, and he assured me that all would be ready as soon as I arrived. I got to the airport and found everything ready all right, but we didn't leave the ground for another half hour. Seems in my haste to get to the airport before the weather changed, I grabbed a dirty white shirt off the hook instead of a white windbreaker. We had to search the airport for something warm for me to wear. Finally, looking like some thing out of Lindburgh's mem oirs, the photographer strode to the plane, camera in hand. THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 25, 1958 Sail Safari by bob thompson It wasn't until I got in, the plane that I realized why the pilot had been so hep on my getting a jacket. There wasn't any door on the plane. This, I thought would be the easiest thing going. All I had to do was sit back and snap the button whenever I thought I had a good picture. Had I been taking pictures of cloud forma tions, this would have been ideal. However, to see the ground —which held my major inter est—l had to lean (safety belted) out of the door that wasn't there (as the plane cruised along at 80 miles an hour!) All went well on the shots of Stone Valley—after I got the knack of leaning out of the plane with one foot resting on the step. • The wind in my face wasn't too bad. I had a pair of sun glasses on to shield my eyes. I had them on, that is, until the pilot motioned for me to look at something behind the plane. As I did, I discovered, much to my surprise, that sunglasses have the same properties as do the sails on a sailboat. And this sailboat wasn't tied up to the dock. Away they went, sailing groundward in th e vicinity of Whipples. I reached for the sailing spectacles—too late. By the way, you're all• in vited to my funeral in 73 parts of Whipples tomorrow. STOP BREATHING ON IMETI-10VeN
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers