PAGE TWO Editorial Opinion Don't Sacrifice a Future For One Burst of Speed Three years is. a long time. . Three years is most of the length of a college educa- I'ori. It is the length of many military service programs. Three years can be the period immediately following graduation in which a young man gets on his feet in the business or professional world. A lot can happen in three years. Three years can mean a marriage and children. It can mean achievement and success, It can mean a new environment, new friends. Or it can mean the difference between a life well lived and injury or death. Since Christmas vacaiion 1954, three years has meant Just that to 56 students of the University. Seven who were living full lives, learning for their chosen careers, enjoy ing all the rights and privileges of Penn State students. Seven who died violent deaths amid the thundering crash of steel on steel, the smashing of flesh and bones against unyielding concrete. At this benevolent season of the year, we especially remember Carmen Palmiero, a promising young basket ball standout, and Sidney Goldstein, a civil" engineering student. The two sophomores were driving home to Phila delphia on Dec. 21, 1956, when their car crashed into the rear of a truck, killing both. We remember Jim Snyder, the genial sports editor of the Centre Daily Times, who was driving home last Dec. 22 to visit his family in Dushore, northeastern Penn sylvania. He died instantly when his car rammed a truck head-on on Route 220 near Lock Haven. We remember Richard Dose, an outstanding fresh man wrestler, who died the day before Christmas 1954 in an automobile accident in his home town, Merrick, N.Y. We remember Ihes men because we miss them, be cause Penn State has lost in them ihe character and achievement that might have been. But more than them, we mourn for you—you, the student who this vacation may sacrifice a future for one unthinking moment, for one failure to caution yourself against the unpredictable “other guy,” for one “for the road,” for one burst of speed. . - All the warnings, all the statistics ,all the newspaper editorials, all the “scare” techniques failed to save the seven of your fellow University students who were smashed to bits in auto accidents over the past three years. Only one thing can save you: individual and-eternal vigilence on the highways. Portable Coffee Break “Bring your thermos bottle along, we’re going to the HUB.” The Lion’s Den in the Hetzel Union Building will be dispensing free coffee today and tomorrow for drivers to take with them for quick coffee breaks on the road. J. R. Amacker, manager of the Lion’s Den, said coffee seems to be a good safety precaution for weary drivers, and so it will be given away free to all homebound drivers who bring a thermos bottle into the Lion’s Den after 5 p.m. today and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow. ! Why not make the Lion’s Den your last stop before the Big Trip? Better Be Early - Don’t forget Eleanor Roosevelt. Tickets for Mrs. Roosevelt’s talk, to be given on Wed nesday, Jan. 8, will be available on Monday, Jan. 6, the first day after the end of the Christmas vacation. Since there will be only about 1000 student tickets, there’s likely to be quite a rush. The tickets can be picked up beginning at 8 a.m., at the Hetzel Union desk. Anyone who wants a seat had better remember to be there early, for the tickets probably won’t last long. Fifty-font Years of Student Editorial Freedom Sty? Daily (Eollrymn , Successor .to The Free Lance, est. 188 7 Pnbllthed Tu*,d»j through Saturday morning during tha Univerlity year. Thu Dully Colltfflan ii a itudent-operated newspaper. Entered aa aecond-dasa matter July 3, 1334 at tha Stata College, Pa. Poat Office under the act of March 3. 1818. Mall Subscription Price: 83.00 per aemeater 85.00 per year. ROBERT FRANKLIN Editor City Editor* David Fituraant Managing Editor* Richard Drgyne; Sports Editor* Lou Prato; Associate Sports Editor* Matt Mathews; Personnel and Public Relation! Director, Patricia Evans; Copy Editor, Lynn Ward; Assistant Copy Editor. Dicfe Fisher; Photography Editor* Robert Thompson. STAFF THIS ISSUE; Night Editor, Linda Segar; Copy Editor, Sandy Fadwe; Wire Editor, LoiH Neubarth; Assistants: Betsy Anderson, Katie Davis, Bill Barber,. Alice O'Donnell, Judy Robertson* Brenda Pm&er, Eddie Chun* Emily Nisaley, Phyllis Pack, Marilyn Bishop. • * v Little Man on Campus * ku. PLAYER A# 9i ROBERT PICCONE Business Manager , •*» . Mlg Highway Horror A Crash, a Siren—then Quiet By 808 THOMPSON Collegian Photography Editor A crash, a siren scream and quiet. It happens hun dreds of times each day from coast to coast. You read about it, you shake your head and "forget it. You never think it could hap pen" to you. I’ve seen the results of these accidents. I've accompanied police offi cers to ihe homes of survivors. I've seen teen-agers draw their last painful breath, then die. I've been present as the doctor pulled a blanket over a victim. Speaking for Safety Officials Urge Highway Car “It took a long time for Christmas to get here—let’s be careful in the few re maining days we have be fore beginning our vaca tions at home.” Those were the words of El wood F. Olver, director of safety at the University, ip cautioning home - going stu dents. Olver urged students to ob serve these safety rules: • “Don’t be overconfident, especially with snow tires they aren’t-chains. ' - • “Don’t have too many pas sengers in a car. • “Beware of icy spots. • “Have proper ventilation in the car to prevent groggi ness. • “Keep the windshield and other windows clean. • “Have a spare tire that is Letters Majority Seen Liking 'R & R' TO THE EDITOR: Since the installation of the new sound system in the Lion’s Den, let ters have appeared in The Daily Collegian pleading the cause of jazz enthusiasts. The goal of these music-lovers is the addition of more jazz plat ters and the strict limiting of rock and roll. We would like to ask these jazz fans a few questions. What determines a recording company’s choice of new re leases? What influences the type of discs placed on juke boxes and on sale in record shops? The answer just might be demand!- If a majority favored jazz, wouldn’t the companies cater to this group? The present type of popular music is put on the market to satisfy a majority! This is shown by the rating of this music in record sales, juke box tabulations and request shows. If the so-called “atrocities” on the HUB juke box were not liked, the juke box would re main silent. When we frequent the Lion’s Den, we are greeted by. the familiar sight of stu dents tapping their feet and snapping their fingers to the after poronuncing him dead. I’ve seen mothers in a state of severe shock as the bodies of their little children are carried off in a hearse. I’ve seen veteran ambulance crews cry as they removed bat tered, bloody bodies from man gled cars. I’ve seen it before, and as long as I’m a photographer, I’ll see the same sights hundreds upon hundreds of times again . . . again, because drivers re fuse to slow down, because drivers won’t -yield the right of-way, because drivers will not refuse to drive when they are drunk. As long as teen-agers will continue to see how fast the car in good condition. • “Be sure your car is set for the trip. „ •“don’t Speed.” Colonel Lueien Bolduc of the Campus patrol urged stu dents to exercise you can come back,” he said. “Please, please be careful on your way home,” Bolduc said, “for your family’s sake as well as your sake.” Chief John R. Juba of the State College police stressed the importance of speed as a factor in traffic accidents. “More accidents occur when the speed limit is exceeded than when any other factors are the cause,” Juba said, “partly because when you hur ry you have to disregard other people’s rights. “It is better to be a little late,” he said. “The only place to hurry is to the hospital after the accident.” All-University President Jay Feldstein asked students to beat of America’s most popu lar music. We believe enjoyment of music to be - based on indi vidual tastes. When denoun cing a form of music, one de nounces individual taste and arouses personal feelings. It is not a comman feeling among rock and roll fans that jazz should be done away with, but this is not true of jazz fans’ feelings toward rock and roll. —Labache Club Dick Kruppa, Chuck Parry, Cliff Wright, Tom Thomas, Dick Austin,'Joe Cocco, James Mellow Student Protests Fin# for Parking TO THE EDITOR: It has al ways seemed to me that the payment of a traffic fine was a personal punishment for dis obeying a law which was put into force for the goo'd of all. For reasons unknown, to me. parking privileges on one side of West Beaver Avenue (400 block) were suspended, last. /mi, I DON'TKNO(jd.?> PERHAPS WECOi/LD POT IT, LITTLE STRONGER,,. J will go, they will be picking up pretty 18-year-olds and placing them in the undertaker’s litter, while a young driver spends the rest of his life regretting. Only when drivers stop tak ing "one for the road" will in nocent people be spared the agony of compound fractures, concussions, scars—and worse. Only when motorists stop driving too fast for conditions, cutting corners, letting their eyes wander off the highway, will fewer citizens becqme cor oner’s statistics. • Only caution and sense on the highways the horror of agonized twisted bodies and v death. consider all the other whom their injury would affect. “Not enough of us the-importance of driv ly,” - Feldstein said, think of nothing el Christmas, think of i] you love, and make it one for them by getti safely.” O. L. Shipley, direct! state Bureau of Highw ty, said: “I sincerely urge all who plan to drive horn holidays to take it eas live any distance from j pus, don’t drive homl diately after the close es. Get a good night’s s start fresh the next i If .you have a great to travel, don’t drive or too long at one tir for a coffee break e> miles or so, and rru your car is in good : travel." Monday and' the appropriate sign was put up in pla :e of the previous one which 1 ad read “No Parking 2 a.m. tc 6 a.m.” I was tagged, along with several other car owners, (Wednesday) morning, at a cost of $2. It is not re isonable that several people would pur posely park in a ‘"No'Parking Zone” all at one time. It fol lows then that very likely none of us noted the new ■words (“No Parking at any Time”) on the old sign. 1 would say that I have read the old words at least 50 times as I have parked on that block (both sides) almost every day this semester. All this seems to boil down to saying that anyone who is not constantly alert to the mi nutest detail is a potential criminal and should therefore be punished where it really hurts, especially for at college student: in the wallet. - I dp hot feel I am being ov erly. critical of the- situation because ,! know others who have had similar • incidents, and this is not my first one. —Gene Poleto, '6O IM GLAD TO ABLE TO DO IT,L!NUS...NOW, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO-HAVEMESTAGT HOlCf ABOUT, s D€ACN : „ .O- Why Did They Happen? Our record would be bad if only one person had been injured in auto accidents in the past three years. But 54 University students have been injured or killed since the Christmas holiday in 1955. Of the 54 students involved in automobile accidents, seven students were killed and 12 re ceived serious injuries. These are the accidents. ' What were the causes? The last fatality, a double one, to occur over the Christ mas vacation period occurred when a car carrying Stanley Golds'tein, sophomore in engi neering, and Carmen Palmiero, sophomore basketball standout, crashed into the rear of a trac tor trailer on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as they were travel ing to Philadelphia. The cause—driver falling a sleep at the wheel. The most recent death oc curred after the Christmas va cation last year. Jack Welsh, junior in forestry from New Castle, was killed when a car driven by a fraternity brother left the highway and crashed into a ditch on route 545 four miles east of State College. What was the reason for this accident? No reason was found for his car leaving the road. Maybe it was speed, faulty brakes, or any of the other un seen killers. Ann Elders, junior in home economics from Cumberland, Md., died of a fractured skull in May, 1956, after the car in which she was riding left the narrow mountain road and smashed into a tree near Plea sant Gap. Again, was it mechanical or driver failure? Some Spots Cause Most Accidents The University’s more than 14,000 students who will be traveling homeward today and tomorrow will encounter a number of dangerous inter sections, stretches of highways and other traffic hazards. Some of them are: common :an stop ;creams, olent • The curve on Route 545 in Pine Grove Mills. At least two west-bound drivers lost their lives in recent years when their cars struck a bridge abut ment there. • Route 545 through the Spruce Creek valley is a nar row, twisting road. • Route 322 descending to the west from Skytop is un expectedly steep and is a rough road in many places. - *Route 220, a major 2-lane road, is narrow and winding in many places between Port Ma tilda and Altoona. persons >r death realize ng safe- ‘lf you Ise this he ones a happy lg home •The intersection of Route 322 and Route 45, Boalsburg, has been the scene of a num ber of accidents among drivers who have not been able to stop suddenly. • Devil’s Elbow, the sharp bend on Route 322 as it des cends to the east from the Se ven Mountains. >r of the ay Safe- students is for the ; f. If you the cam i; imme-, of class deep and : norning. distance too far ne. Stop fery 100 ke sure■ shape to . ©Refute 322, passing through the Seven Mountains, is poorly surfaced in many places. •Three-lane sections of Route 322 between Milroy and Lewistown and between Lew isto'wn and Miflintown invite speeding and i n d i s criminate passing. •The Branch Road detour of Route 454 between State Col lege and Bellefonte is harrow and twisting. 3-Lane Roads Natural Killers, Expert Says Three-lane highways are nat ural killers. So says O. D. Shipley, direc tor of state Bureau of Highway Safety. Three-lane roads account for only about 800 of the 41,000 miles of state-maintained high ways, but they are far more dangerous than other types of roads. A total of 128 of the 1698 traffic fatalities in Penn sylvania occurred on those 800 miles of 3-lane ; highways. . The 3-lane highways most likely to be encountered by, students are sections of Route 322 to the east, between Milroy and Lewistown and. between Lewistown and Mlflinburg. . Shipley has, listed three basic rules of safety on 3-lane roads: ‘ - 1. Never attempt to pass any car that is traveling at the maximum legal speed. 2. Never attempt to pass when there is a solid line of. cars coming from the opposite directions—one of these drivers might try the same .thing at exactly the same time (it hap pened a few summers ago oh Route 30 near Atlantic City, N.J.—lO people died).;' 3. If you must pass, get into the passing lane .at-least,'7s-or 100 feet back of th’e car di rectly ahead of you.' %j|AyssTf© ing action is equal on all - wheels.. On a slick surface even - tlim T. *. ,, ■> ft’ flight /‘pull” can- mean a Iniervawity.ChrisllanFeUow. . treacherous skid. r Add brake , _■ fhip. > 12:45p.m., 218 KUB._. fluid,if needed, but'if you do, Pennsylvania Hi s sMjUtrnaid find; out why. Good .brake fluid Comwttee,lo a. 211Hlffl:: doesn’t evaporate;, if much is - Pennj SiaießAle .fellowship,; 'gone, check for leaks.-General ' :• v ly»?mot.brakes wear, out.be* y ]_ TPMOHROW. >■fore.rear ljrakes. Save,money, Stale Grange Youih Commit/ therefore, by replacing only tee, 10 aun., 218 HUB.* ' ' brake linings that are worn. Be TO THE WEST TO THE EAST In May; 1957, James Moore, sophomore in the division of intermediate registration from New Kensington, died from head injuries received when his car failed to round a curve at Weaver’s railroad crossing on route 20 west of Milesburg. It becomes evident that the causes for many of these acci dents just can not be deter, mined. John Dortar, graduate stu dent in mineral preparations from Barnesboro, was fatally injured in an automobile acci dent in November, 1957. His car crashed into the rear' of a tractor trailer on the steep grade of Cresson, Mountain 15 miles west of Altoona. During this period, two for mer students also.died in auto mobile accidents, In March, 1957, Anne Hilton from Carlyle and transfer to Dickinson Col lege died after the car in which she was riding hit a bridge ablittment near Mount Holly and tumbled into a shallow creek. Clarence Getty, a transfer student to St. Francis College, died of a fractured skull re ceived in an accident near Ty rone in October. 1956. Police said his car went off the road anci crashed into a bridge. The question keeps arising, and we still have not found the answer—what are the cau ses of these accidents? Many of the accidents in volving students fortunately, in a sense, resulted in injuries instead of deaths. In the same crash that killed Welsh, his fraternity brother and the driver' of the car, James Burnes, suffered a se vere eye injury that eventually resulted in the loss of his eye, as well as a dislocation of the right hip and cuts about the face. In October, 1957, three stu dents received serious injuries 10,000 Killers Loose Driving 10,000 Cars Ten thousand killers, pre sently at liberty, deceptively normal in appearance, will take the lives of more than 32,000 Americans during the next 12 months. Who are they? They’re all motorists—and pretty good drivers, too. Why do they kill? Because they don’t know that tomorrow’s burst of extra speed or last month’s failure to have the car properly ser viced will result in death. According fo the National Safely Council, the great bulk of the 32,000 fatalities and 348.000 injuries on the road each year are avoidable. Young drivers are responsi ble for more than their share of accidents. A study of two University of Nebraska professors, in which they clocked cars by ra dar, found that drivers in the 16-25 age group have the least regard for speed laws. Drivers 25 and under held only 17.5 per cent of the li censes among the drivers checked, but they were respon sible for 36 per cent of the speed law violations. The survey also shows that 50 per cent of the total viola tors. were under 30 years of age. i , To go along with the en thusiasm of 14,000 undergrad uates leaving State College for the Christmas vacation, here are some tips for student driv ers to help them combat the dangerous effects of the holi day mood. Students who have offered to drive friends home or have filled their cars from the “Ride Wanted" lists in the Hetzel Union Building have been asked to remember their responsibilities to their passen gers and check these sugges tions before leaving their class es! • Know the weather forecast Modern Cars Need Modern Care Habits The winter care and feed ing of the family’s personal transportation was once a relatively simple affair. You rubbed him down with liniment, fed him a bucket of oats, threw a blanket over him at night and made sure he hadn’t stepped on any thing sharp during the day.. But' ever since Henry Ford learned how to cram a nerd of ' Dobbins underneath a tin hood, the problem has become far ; more complicated- The. modem .automobile, for all its rugged ness ahd dependability, needs, care. And, like its four-footed ancestor, with the coming of cold weather it demands just : a Wee bit more attention. , Suppose you. asked 10. top mechanics—five from the city, 1 five from the - suburbs—how theyget their cars ready for . winter? What, advice would they give you? - That’s what a “Prestone” anti-freeze <-research x team did - recently and here, boiled down to their essentials, are the re sultsof'more than IQO years , of combined.mechanical know how. Tak# these experts' advice ' . to heart and you’ll get where ever you’re; going- safely—all - winter long. Brakes. Make sure that brak- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1958 when their car was struck by another automobile driven by Gerald Bretts, also a Univer sity student. Judith Trench fractured her left clavicle and also suffered a dislocation of the left humerus. Diane Mor rocco was taken to the hos pital in a state of shock with numerous cuts of the face. Ro bert . Teifeld sustained a con cussion. In this case, the human ele ment was to blame —Brett sim ply lost control of his car. In March of the same year, Glenn Weidler received a puncture wound of the left side of the head and brush burns and abrasions of the right shoulder and the right side of the face. This accident happened when the car he was hiding in went off the road, hit a railroad signal standard, bounced off and hit a utility pole and then skidded 100 feet Rebecca Zahm, former Daily Collegian copy editor, and Earl Seeley, former All-University president, were involved in an accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in November, 1956. Miss Zahm sustained a broken right arm and bruises of the hip and face, and Seeley suf fered a broken artery above the eye, possible broken ribs and a badly bruised leg when his automobile smashed into the rear of a tractor trailer carrying steel pipes. Three other students were injured in November, 1955, when their car skidded on a wet road. Lynn Oberman re ceived a minor fractured skull and facial bruises, Bernard Magdovitz received a bruised shoulder, and Susan Chapman received a possible fractured thumb. What were the reasons for these accidents? Was it speed? Was it alsohol? Was it faulty brakes Or was it any one of the other unseen killers? before starting any trip and learn road conditions by try ing brakes before reaching heavy traffic. • Check anti-freeze, battery, brakes, tires, wiper blades, heater, defroster, muffler and chains. • "Jack rabbit” starts on slippery pavement are risky. When starting on ice, it’s wise to use second gear. • Follow others at a safe dis tance. •On slippery streets a light pumping action on the brakes will bring car to a safe stop. • Turn your steering wheel in the direction of the skid— the same direction the rear of the car is going—and do not apply brakes until the side ward motion of the skid has stopped. •A pail of sand and a shovel are “must” equipment and may save a towing bill when driving near ice and snow. • When stuck in a snowdrift, use a shovel first and then rock the car back and forth by shifting gears and enlarging the tire tracks each time. Besides these bits of advice about cheeking on the mechan ical aspects of driving, holiday motorists should observe these following suggestions about their own condition for driv ing: •Be sure you’re physically fit to drive. , ®Be prepared mentally to drive. •Know your car and be sure it is in top condition. • Learn the fundamentals of turnpike, or freeway driving. • Master the fundamentals of'night driving. • Don’t speed, don’t speed, don’t speed, don’t spebd. • Remember—Christmas is a time of giving—don’t take a life. , % sure to adjust your emergency brake, too. Cooling system. It should ha flushed thoroughly before add ing anti-freeze. And if you make it a point to do your win tering well before the first threat of frost, your mechanie will be able to give you more time( for the same money) than he can during the “first frost rush.” Check other possible sources of cooling system failure, too, Exhaust. A leak in your ex haust system or muffler caa cause a lot of noise. More im portant, a leak can bring car bon monoxide fumes into your car. And during the winter months, when windows are of ten closed, a carbon monoxide leak can be fatal. Lubrication. Change oil peri odically. It’s safest to follow the manufacturer’s specifica tions, unless you live in an area with more than average dust in the air; then change more fre quently.. Spark plugs. Periodic inspec tion and cleaning is necessary to maintain starting efficiency and engine power. If it is ex tremely cold, have your me v chanic change the spark plugs for ones a step higher in heat range, to prevent fouling while the choke is in operation. Steering. Wheel alignment, wheel balance and steering wheel play should be cheeked twice a year. Make one of those times just before winter sets in. Tires. Check often. Tire pres sure that is only 5 pounds low;, er than normal can shorten tire life bv one-third! You're better off if pressure is a bit on the hard side'. You. The most important part of your car. One good idea i* to think of' all the wonderful things you have to live for.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers