THURSDAY. JULY 20. 1961 Letters Mr. Blum. and TO THE EDITOR: Mr. Stephen R. Blum, author of an article in this newspaper on June 29 entitled "No! Dr. Pepinsky," had twice done me the courtesy of mentioning that article to me before its publication. Once, some weeks after learning third-hand of what someone thought I had said in a talk to the. Faculty Luncheon Club on May I. of this year, he called to ask whether I had made the statement: "the function of a university is research, and stu dents can go hang." I replied "of course not!" I explained what I had said, and offered to provide him with the outline of my talk. Mr. Blum then confessed that he had prepared an article based on rumor, but that after learning he was misinformed he would discard the writing. • I invited Mr. Blum and his mis-informant to talk over with me some of the problems which, from his conversation, appeared to interest both of us, and suggested that we do this in the comfort of my home rather than over the telephone. I was somewhat surprised to have a second phone call from Mr. Blum on June 27, in which he informed me that he had changed his mind for , a second time, and that his article was to appear in the next issue of the Collegian. I explained that I was just leaving for ,confer ences, elsewhere, for a 10-day period, and, that I would look forward to reading the Col legian article on my return. Two points ought to be made, before I discuss Mr. Blum's published remarks. Firs tI y: nothing is more important to all members of a university community than to re-examine the purposes of the institution, and to do this continually. Mr. Blum is to be congratulated for his interest in doing so. Secondly, however: the sub ject of university purposes is an ancient one—some eight or nine centuries old—and a tre mendous amount of thought has been devoted to it. Inde pendent thought is a trait to be prized; but why try to speak in the face of the wisdom of centuries without exposing oneself to at least some small portion of recorded thought on a problem? In such examination lies much of the joy of scholarship. To avoid it places one at a tre mendous disadvantage in , any public utterance. The Collegian's reporter, in an article on May 2, also re versed much of what I had said, incidentally. For example: "It is surprising how easily a university will give up the most heartfdlt principles when the smell of money is in the air." This I did say. But I did not add, as the Collegian stated, that "fortunately there is no evidence of this at Penn State." These is ample evidence that the tendency toward abandon ment of university principles exists here as elsewhere. Let us look at a paragraph from Bruce Truscot's "Red Brick University." "But to the idea of a university only the 'Fellows', the researchers, are es- CANDY HEADQUARTERS •Pennsylvania Dutch Candies • Callard and Bowser' English Candies • Tobler Swiss Chocolates *Drake's Dietetic Candies •Kemp Nuts in cans - Russell Stover Candies in State College only at GRIGGS PHARMACY 120 E. COLLEGE AVE. Across from Old Main the Windmill senile!. There could perfectly well be a university which, like All Souls' Col lege, -Oxford, had- no undergraduates at all; and, instead of teaching, re plenished its ranks by the choice of scholars who had taught. elsewhere, devoting itself entirely and exclusively to the pursuit of knowledge. But there could never be a university which had no researchers at all and which en gaged in nothing but teaching. A -sec ondary school can never be a university, though in its highest forms. given scholarly teachers, there can be much of the university spirit. A university without research would be nothing but a super-secondary school." Here is a more formidable opponent than myself for your knight-errantry, Mr. Blum. But don't take him out of context; read him through. Otherwise he can turn on you. The Pennsylvania State Uni versity, if it is a university, exists as an institution encom passing • a group of persons "dedicated .to the guest and transmission of truth." These are Karl Jaspers' • words, in quotes. "Because truth is accessible to systematic searches, research is the foremost concern of the university . The university's second concern is teaching, be cause truth must also be trans mitted." No university scholar owes instruction specifically to Mr. Blum, no matter what taxes the latter pays. He may be ac corded the privilege of joining the community of scholars and students, as long as he is cap able of learning and applies himself in study. Mr. Blum im plies that scholars do "not want to teach." I know of no scholar on this campus in that category, and none elsewhere. Quite to the contrary, scholars want good students. Not every one has time regularly to teach both undergraduates and graduates, nor did all of us join the Uni versity to do so. Mr. Blum has no concept of what a university is or does, so far, if one must • judge him from his writing. He lays claim to territory whose borders he has not yet entered. Whether Mr. Blum wants to learn is the question before us. Will he now start to read and think? Or will he hang him self on more windmills? A university does not exist "of the benefit of its students"; it exists for the benefit of scholarship and the search for truth. That is the basic concept, Mr. Blum. Chew on it. Truth and its communica tion: .these are our. aims. By serving these aims does the university serve its students and the State. The university is not a secondary school and it is not a service station. My invitation to Mr. Blum stands: let us sit down, to think and talk about these matters. A group of students is wel comed every Sunday evening to our home on Whitehall Road, for discussions with other university men of university You are welcome to join us, Mr. Blum; but leave you steed and your lance at home. No horses are permitted in the Peripatus and no weapons oth er than reason. sLeifer cut Ray Pepinsky Research Professor of Physics SUMMER COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA The consumer price index has actually dropped in the past several months, but the cost of attending Penn State has risen consider ably for many students. Much of this increased cost, which has been due to little publicized changes in Univer sity policy, has burdened those students who can least afford strains on the already - stri gent budgets. A sharp r vision in r fund rates fl students fore 4 to with dr a from the "CM versity becaw of illness, n ancial scholastic re sons, increas food • prices at the HUB Terrace Room and a general deposit head the list of changes which amount to in creased costs for many stu dents. The unannounced and sur prising change in the schedule of tuition refunds will burden students who are already plagued by medical bills, finan cial trouble or scholastic prob lems. The revision of these rates does not even appear in the summer timetable, called the "bible of the summer term" by one Old Main official. Previously, students could obtain a refund of 90 per cent of their tuition if they with-. drew during the first week, 80 per cent of their tuition if they withdrew during the second week and so on through the ninth week, Under the .new policy, only 50 per cent of the tuiti:m is re funded if a student withdraws during the first two weeks of the term, and nothing is re turned if he withdraws in the third week or later. An increase in food prices at the HUB Terrace Room, also unpublicized and unexpected, has strained the budgets of the University's most economy minded group the town in dependent men. Many patrons and several employees of the Terrace Room believe this increase in prices was prompted by poor adminis tration rather than increased costs of food and preparation. A $25 general fee, $5O for entering freshmen, to be levied on all students this fall will replace the individual deposits for chemistry breakage, mili tary equipment, residence hall deposits, and towel and locker deposits for men. Although this money will be returned upon graduation, it will be out of the reach of stu dents during their most eco nomically-depressed period their college days. Since few students require all of these deposits and most upperclass men require none of them, it is felt this new general fee is unfair. We realize that some of these price increases might be an at (Continued on page eight) Snowed bIY FRS Campus Beat Prepare Now; You're on the "back stretch now students—you have only 30 school days left." We pro fessors are looking forward to seeing what kind of a reaction you are going to give us when we hit you with all your final exams on your last two days. • Heard the infirmary is al ready preparing for a bigger than-ever epidemic of finals virus. All. you ,students , who make it a practice of becoming hospitalized during exam time it's easy to cram in bed—better start thinking up your excuses now. • Rumor has it that it will be harder than ever to get ad mitted during the last few days. Slashing your wrists might prove adequate. • Didn't happen to get around to the dedication of the new FAMOUS LOCK'S RESTAURANT DUNCAN HINES APPROVED Victorian Room—Exclusive and Elegant Ballroom—Local Indian Decor Lounge—Col. Shoemaker Antique Collection Three Beautiful Drives-30 min.—Routes 220, 64, Jacksonville "CLOSED ON SUNDAYS" • Banquet Facilities to 300 OPPOSITE COURT HOUSE Special Prices to Parties LOCK HAVEN 5470 COST OF LIVING? PRICE OF ELECTRICITY? Good for the fella way down here. He's our boy. For while the cost of living has gone to the top, the price of electricity is still deep down. Fact is, electricity is about the bestbard gain in your entire budget—and it is cheaper by the dozen, too. The more you use it, the less it costs per average kilowatt-hour. That's electric service! WEST PENN POWER inrolitgrr•ekYnEfs tix-paytnii.oeMM) Wegarti Penmybriutla 'Nutty Play' "Kee" hall up in the West Halls area. Heard they held it at night. The signs in front of Schwab have told me that Claude Frank is going to come to campus. He's due on a Wednesday the posters say, but I've been going to the auditorium every Wednesday night for almost a month and all I see are 4H clubbers, boy scouts and school administrator conferences, The current Boal Barn play is supposed to be real "nutty." You get to throw .peanuts at the players. This novice device ought to be incorporated into more dramatic endeavors. A peanut concession outside the State legislature could prob ably make some real good money. 'Way up here! 'Way down here! PAGE FIVE —Prof Wayne b O#. o OZ*7
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers