The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, February 16, 1962, Image 4
PAGE FOUR Editorial Opinion University Status There is jarring dissonance among authorities con cernkng the legal status of what we know is The', Penn sylvania State University. The argument does not be in semantics, but in atti tudes and. commitments. If legal precedent is to be accepted as a foundation for, orderly government operation, Penn State is clearly the University of the Commonwealth. Current opinion or convenience aside, a legal precedent to this effect was set-in 1921. • There exists on thi part of state officials, a reluctance to grant the validity of this statusißy admitting that Penn State is an organ of the state, the Commonwealth would be :forced to commit itself to the maintenance of the Uni versity. Such commitment is held as unsavory by the state. By keeping our status hazy, stater officials can manipulate Penn State's climate in accordance with their own convenience and ambitions. This almost incoherent debate could go on ad nauseam. The act of .Feb. 22, 1855, P.L. 46, incorporated the - - '"Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania." The name of the institution has undergone three changes since that time. However; , because of these changes government officials apparently do not interpret this 'as creation of a state university by act of the legislature. • Thii then is what we call foraspecific act passed by She General Assembly designating Penn State as the`state . , universiO. _ Penn State officials then would have an uncluttered view of the channels from which they are to seek financial aid. The state would , be forced to stop playing political ping-pong with our officials and our budget in favor of responsible support. 'lnherent in this 'legal status would be a Board of Trustees which would in fact, as well as name, be respon sible to the people of the Commonwealth. This is also established in the legal precedent set in 1921 by - then deputy attorney George Roits - FlulL who wrote ". . . although the Trustees of Pennsylvania State College are k separate and distinct corporate body. they have received and now hold their property as trustees for the People of the Commonwealth." ; The . current Board of Trustees is only in small part responsible to the ,people, and even -that part is vague. Of the 32 members on the board, five- sit ex-officio. Four of these five represent the state government. In addition, six members are appointed by the Governor. The •rest of the board is composed of nine elected representatives of the Alumni Association and 12 elected representatives from 'the state's agricultural and engineer ing societies. Thus the only members to represent the state (the people) are the appciintees and ex-officio members. In :addition and inconsistent with a public function, the meetings of the ;Board of Trustees are closed to the public and the press. • To - make the functioning of the University a part of the state and to make its Trustees responsible -directly to the people of the state, we urge a change in the composi tion .of the board and the opening of the meetings. A Student-Operated News paper 57 Yeirs of Editorial Freedom Pt 801 - 11. Qiptitotatt - . Succesior to The Free Lance. -est. JUT Taraltalred Tarodaa Ummtga glatantas aermarag ° lanai tile rialmreartr Felt- TIM Daly Collegia n le • 4 , 04*0t-operated serreParem Zaterog 'so amearktiam matter Daly 11.11131 itNe eltate•C•llega ?a. Peat Offlee asaer, tai el Mardi L 1879 Mall tabseriptlea Prkei SIM a liar Atintaa Buz 111. SUM caws. tra. JOHN BLACX Edilor Member of The Associated Pre s City Editors. Lynne icrefice and Richard Leighton; Rditorlal Editors.' Meg Teiehkolts and Joel Myers; ,Near Editor. Paula Drawn' Personnel and Trailing Director. Karen lanireckeal; Assistant Personnel and Training Dirsoctor. Susan Irtherisl..Sporta Editor. UMW Earl: Assistant fiannin &Mem Dunn Dutch and Joni. Morris; Picture Editor. John BMW , . Local Ad Mgr.. Kam' Dos Oar: Assistant Local Ad Mgr.. Margin Zonis; IcatisssJ Ad Mgr., Marry Gress: Credit Mgr.. Ralph Friedman: dleildnitt Credit Wire. Kathy Notapolosa; Classified Ad Mgr.. Kathie ltdrotaonr arentatten Mar...lidnrern Choosier: Promotion Mgt.. ' Jane Irrraskie; reroenner M 1,.. Anita Roll; Orlin Mgr.. Lynn-Murphy. • • E • Penman with owardstote about The D i mity Collegian's editorial paler es .sewa sewerage -toes relit Ahem -in tint letters to tier editor releata or proseat Cam. in perses -or to writing. po the editor. 4 All reanplabsta will I. iavessisstos mod +Worts wade to remedy eltsatleas where this sewspapet is sit fault. TM Daily eelletisit. however *Aside the right to ishlotida Its , tolloPoslk'sto sad to otottise lis own Isidirsatet ss to whit It Woks is is the bed Wives! of the Ustiversity as • whole. - I- • I . i• .. WAYNE HILINSEI Businiss Manager THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. UNIVERSITY PARK. PENNSYLVANIA , Grad Student 'Criticizes TO THE EDITOR: Morplity, according to the Winston Dic tionary, refers to the teaching or practice of the duties of life; virtue, righteousness. It has to do with a sew of right and wrong: with justice. Reason, logic, and probability alsia bear upon the subject. Morality has to do with theories, principles and practices-of virtue. Roget's Thesaurus also brings into the pietbre ' incorrupti- bility, honesty,• scrupulousness, -conscientiousness. • Penn State University and the recent efforts to make us civil Defense minded? There has been a confirm -OM effort in the past months to channel University thinking into accepting a Big Lie, name ly the efficacy, and validity of CD generally. and of fallout shelters in particular. Civil Defense as a principle is basically immoral if you ap ply. the criteria from the dic tionary and the :thesaurus.. From the moral_ viewpoint, which is cpnsidered to be on a more universal than personal level, CD and fallout shelters'in particular are not concerned with righteousness, nor with justice, nor with a sense of right or wrong, nor with the teaching and • practice . of the duties of life and virtue.• There is a distinct, sense Freshman Asks 'What Can TO . THE EDITOR: One eve ning as I entered my dormi tory on the way to my room, I came upon a group of boys . discussing '.`world problems" as college boys sometimes do. Evi dently they had been .talking for some time as comments were diminishing and the • at mosphere was - filled with frus tration. Then, one. boy .shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hell, what can we do?" At this, he arose, and there followed a general dis=of- the group. . oast we do." I thought to myself. and realised that herii" was half the problem. My friend wasn't really asking"a question, buil expressing his resignation in the shadow of oversrhelmbn conflicts. _ ` Author John Steinbeck wrote in 'Grapes c , f Wrath": "Hell, you ain't never gonna know. Casey tries to tell ya an' you jest• ast the :same thing over. I seen fellas , like you before. You ain't askin' nothing; you're just singin' alcinda song., `What are we comin' to?' You don't wanta know.• Country's movin' aroun', goin i places. They's folks dying all aroun'. Maybe you'll die pretty soon but you won't know nothin'. I seen too many fellas like you. You don't want to know nothin'. Just sing Yourself to sleep with a song— 'What are we comin' to?'" What are the other songs of _ today?' "More aid!—No taxes!; Fight communism whatever that is; Hold South Viet Nam! • —No American blood!; All Myers Critic; Hit TO THE EDITOR: I woJd like to take exception to David - Johnston, who in the ' F b. 10 Daily Collegian, attacked a re cent Joel • Myers ediloriaL Johnston- attacked Myers be cause he felt some of Myers' statements could not be sub stantiated. One such statement Mr. Johnston pointed out was Myers' prediction that the Democrats would win resound-' ing victory in• the fall. To satisfy Mr. ' .lohnston. Myers could have gone on and listed several of the iMportant Democratic victories last year including: . i • The hotiy contested House •eat won by 'a liberal Democrat Lettets to the What has this to do with (where there is no obv self-righteous gullibility), ccnri* iptibility, commercial and having to doi with t Self-aggrandizement of 1. minds There is dishonest] promoting as fragile and ] adequate device as are gently designed fallout shel There is a 'cruel .decep, Which makes the whole ra j reek. ' In truth the purpose of 4 and fallout shelters is basi ally a scheme to makelour foreign policy 'appear stable. Somehow we have lost faithiin our:abil ity to win the•respeet and as surance of our sincerity in! our diplomatic relationS. so w(i fall back on .the treats of military Might and showof cilian backing through" such calcu lated measures as huge military spending and Cr? programs. Where is the virtue here? I . These actions by" us, how ever, are accepted as threats tiy other peoples. !Aren't uch measures as' , fallout shelters iind CD further l is rOof oil dur war-mindedness; ur willing ness .and expectancy almost . eagerness, •to take part in a nuclear war? There is a deep fallacy as .well a 4 immorality in the concept that bigger, and stronger arms will deter. so called enemies. • Where is the morality—the righteousness, the virtue, in Creating and arousing negative men .are created' equal—ex cept..." Actually most of the world's jlls are not overwlming. just that their lolutions are not easy. The overwhelming Issue is getting trople to ac cept the responsibility and ac evely participate, pooling their fforts to overcome them. Yet; if you hayen't the in terest then you *ill deserve what catastrophies befall you. But remember, these catastro phies don't just ,come. They are not acts of God. They are made by men. You and I have a part in them. If you and I don't do our share, we giV i e those who are acting that much more of a chance to be effective. And those who are aCting, are not all acting in our : interests (if we hale any). William J. Lederer and Eu gene Burdick, authors of 'The ,Ugly American," are aware _of ;this responsibility. "If the only , price, we are willing to pay is 'the dollar price, then we might as well pull out before we're ;thrown out.. "If 'we are not ptepared to pay the human price, we had better retreat to our shores. build Fortress Ainerica, learn. to live , without international :trade and communications, and accept the medio4zritir, the low standard of living, the loom of world communism which would accompany such d move." "How can a man 'be satis fied to entertain an opinion merely, and enjoy it? Is there any enjoyment din it, if his opinion is that he is ag grieved?" —Hera? David Tho- by . Sopl _ in Texas where, conservative Strength is suppOsed! to be ,so • high, the third (term victory achieved by Mayor Wagner in 'New York. and Judge Hughes' victory over his' more noted opponent, former; LabOr Secre 7 tary Mitchell , in , New Jersey. These three important elec tions Mr. 'Johnston f obviously " .1 skimmed over without gibing . their portents much! consider ation. I .• Ai for his inferring that a . reSounding Democratic victory in November would: lead this nation straight down the road towards crxnmunisrn,.Mr. John ston would do us aIU a favor if he would suh r Mantiate his statement in this; connection. , .411 chard Vie r , IFEBRUARY-16; 4962 Editor D • Efforts • emotions: fear, greed, suspic ion, jealousy? Yet that' is . pre cisely the .foundation fore ac- . ceptanee and action in' CD and fallout . shelters. These • all undermine good logic, sound reasoning;l . and virtues And do not students of psychdlogy de dare that fearing often brings ton the feared, actually promot ing it? We, as edupatelindividuals, -should n t be .tricked into il-:- lusionary Panaceas character ized by and fallout shelters, nor accept the monetary ado lescent kick .of following a cur-,• rent fadj but face up to the • fact thati nuclear warfare is- a matter of life 'and death 'and • nest to be confused with the semantically, contrived "war game" psychology of those currentlyl in power. A. positive answer to' this problem .lies in promoting within the University the moral values upon which important judgements can be made with some assurance of long-range hope. We need greater 'understand .-ing of, and honesty in, the eco nomics and politics which behind .our national policies. We need morality- when ac tively seeking out ways and means of contributing to hu man welfare the world over. —Eliiabeth R. S. Richards • Greduale student •Letter cut . ittle in ' in ! ur ers. - tion ket Do?' reau in • Civil DisObedietice." "We . c.n't ; defend what iwe don't un.erstand . . . The ifu ture for bur , kind of freedom dependi *ion • how well we explain, purselves—to others and to ourselves .If we Put our faith in • bullets and blank checks paSsed around by blank minds . 1 . it won't- be com munism that wins the world. It will be' democracy that loses -31." —Dr. ',Albert E. Burke, PhD. Of Chesirg, Connecticut. I cannOt tell you what you can do. The answer is within yourself. But the idea is to do SOMETHING, ,to do WHAT YOU CAN. —Joseph Bosworth, IS FMMin CI) , ! I , - I ! 1 • • 4. t ' 1 ; 1► -• 1d A 5 AFRAID OF RET - S5l 114 j