Vietnam: Where
Is the Passion?
Does anyone remember Vietnam?
ii’s still there, you know. We haven’t
sunk it to the bottom of the Sea of
Japan yet, though we’re making a noble
effort.
If seems that too many people have
shoved the war to the most distant cor
ner of their minds; have become numb
to the fact that the killing and the
maiming and the destruction if there
is any thing left to deslruct is still
going on at a more rapid pace than ever.
True, the politicians and the cler
gymen and the professors and the
college students still are talking and
writing about the necessity for peace.
But some of the passion is gone.
Seldom is Vietnam the subject of a
magazine cover story anymore. News of
the battles is more often on the inside
pages of the newspapers.
Most people probably don’t bother
to read the articles anymore. It all
begins to sound the same after a while.
So many North Vietnamese or Viet
Cong were killed at such and such an
obscure place in the jungle. Of course,
ten times fewer Americans and South
Vietnamese were also killed. The
“enemy” is about to launch a new of
fensive. Captured documents reveal
that the “enemy” is in trouble. And on
and on.
Most of the people seem to agree by
now that we were wrong to get into the
war and that we are doing ourselevs
and the South Vietnamese more harm
than good by pursuing it.
But no one bothers to verbally de
fend it or deplore it. The old arguments
for both sides seem dry and sterile. The
people just want to get it over with and
forget it.
The photographs and newsreels
depleting the horror are no longer horri-
Sty* lathi (Eollpnian
Publlshtd Tuudiy through Saturday during tha Pall, Wlntar and Spring Tarmt, and Thuraday during
fha Summar Tarm, by atudtnta of Tha Pamayivanla stata Unlvgralty. saeand daaa pgatasa paid at
Stata Collage, Pa. 11131. Circulation: 12,340.
Malting Address Box 437, state Cellogp, Pa. 13101
editorial and Business Office Basement ef Sackatf {North Bnd)
Business office hours: Monday through Friday, f:io a.m. to 4 p.m.
PAXIL J. LEVINE
Editor
Beard ef Editors: Managing Editor, William Epitein; Editorial Editor, Michael Sarrill; city Edltora, Judy
Rife and Gerry Hamilton; Copy Editora, Kathy Lltwak and Martha Haro; Sports Editor, Ron Kolb; Assistant
Sports Editor, Don McKee; Photography Editor, Pierre Bollictni; senior Reporters, Pat Gurosky and
Mars* Cohan; Waathor Reporter, Elliot Abrams.
Board of Managers: Local Advertising Manager, Edward From kin; Assistant Advertising Managers, Leslie
Schmidt and Kathy McCormick; National Advertising Co-Managers* Jim Soutar and George Bernier;
Credit Manager, George Geib; Assistant Credit Managers, Carol Book and Steve Lekht; Classified Adver
tising Manager, Mary Kramer; Public Relations and Promotions Manager, Ron Rasnlkoff; Circulation
Manager, Buster Judy; office Manager, Mary Gebler.
PAGE TWO SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1968
Up Against the Wall, UCLA!
•I
• I
o'
penn state
jazz dub
reminds you that
there are plenty of
tickets remaining for what
will be the most beautiful concert
at penn state this year.
these tickets are on sale now
in the hub to members.
general sales begin monday, 9 a.m.
BIG BROTHER
oct. 18
rec hall
8:30 p.m,
members $2.00
non-members $3.00
(very cheap)
Editorial Opinion
fying. The pangs of guilt or pity are not
so sharp when we see the bullet-ridden
body of a young Vietnamese girl, or the
emaciatod lump of napalm scorched
flesh that once was a child, or the rows
upon rows of mangled dead boys, Viet
namese and American.
We have placed a psychological pro
tective shield between ourselves and
Southeast Asia. The depressing and
frightening details of battle only come
bursting through when a student
receives his draft notice or his orders to
report to Vietnam.
For those who are too old or too
young or too female to comprehend the
horror through direct participation, the
message is delivered in a pine box when
relatives or their remains are sent
home.
But perhaps it is better that the
people at least partially block the horri
ble scene from their minds. Perhaps to
describe the sordid details of the war is
skirting the issue, missing the point.
While a knowledge of the suffering may
serve as a catalyst toward attaining
peace, it is irrelevant to that peace.
All of the nation’s intellectual
resources must be directed toward end
ing the war, not describing it. And it is
also missing the point when the politi
cians harangue about ending the war
“honorably” or “justly.”
A war that had a dishonorable
beginning and 'a dishonorable middle
can have no honorable end.
The influence and prestige of this
country have been damaged irreparably
by the irrational and monumental series
of mistakes which thrust us into Viet
nam. The black mark in our history
which is Vietnam will not soon be eras
ed no matter how or when—or if—we
end it.
Successor to The Free Lance, est. 1817
63 Years of Editorial Freedom
Matt Subscription Price: 512.00 a yoar
Phont US-2331
Member of The Associated Press
and the
HOLDING COMPANY
featuring
JAMS JOPLIN
WILLIAM FOWLER
Business Manager
"If it please the court, I'll stand
for the first few sessions!"
Collegian Invites Faculty Writers
University faculty are In
vited to submlt'articles to Col
legian’s “Faculty Forum.”
Columns of opinion from all
members of the faculty are
welcome.
tamm
. A Jb \(l HATE THE KICK-OFF. 1 ')
Collegian Letter Policy
The Daily Collegian wel
comes comments on news
coverage, editorial policy and
campus or non-campus af
fairs. Letters must be type
written, double spaced, signed
by no more than two persons
and no longer than 30 lines.
Students’ letters should in
clude name, term and major
of the writer. They should be
PHI MU DELTA
and
ACACIA
ITS A COMBINE!
SAT., OCT. 12; 9:00-12:30
FEATURING THE RHYTHM FACTORY
AT PHI MU DELTA
GUESTS AND INVITED RUSHEES ONLY
\\ isiraiwamiOTSPss
*';„«C' >. \ Accent with READ-THRU color
\k and find references at a glance
IN BOOKS, RIPORTS fcCLASSROOMNOTIS
.“ jiu o’**!! “ Ju.u« Major Accent* &oetce£ Accent..
Vc"»^T\aMßa».asgß^
- (gflj
The articles should be type
written and triple-spaced and
should not exceed 75 lines in
length. Interested faculty
should bring their articles to
Collegian office, 20 Sackett
Building.
brought to the C -llegian of
fice, 20 Sackett, in person so
proper identification of the
writer can be made, although
names will be withheld by
request. If letters are re
ceived by mail, Collegian will
contact the signer for verifi
cation. The Collegian reserves
the right to fairly select, edit
and condense all letters.
available at the
STUDENT BOOK STORE
Letters to the Editor
Realism and the Big 3
TO THE feDITOR: I compliment the Collegian
as a type of forthright, tempered avant guarde
of reporting. Presumably I am in the minority
of freshmen students who do not find the Col
legian guilty of “left-wing crap”.
Yet I find the political stance of .the
editorial board in respect to the current
political year to be contradictory, illogical and,
to a great extent, irresponsible.
With the satirical comments of editor
Levine (Oct. 4\ concerning the possibility of
Wallaconian neo-nazism, my views are in ac
cordance. The possible summum bonum of a
Wallace election would be the political revul
sion minority groups have been awaiting.
Nevertheless, radicalism has not matured
to the extent to which it can take on a Presi?
dent Wallace and win, and I am sure that you
will agree his crypto- “let the police do it”-
facism shall void American political democracy
as no other, save perhaps Richard Nixon’s “let
free enterprise do it” nonsense. '
Yet you advocate vote abstention from the
three candidates who have a reasonable pos
sibility of being elected. I laud 'your morality,
yet I find you uinrealistic, and therefore, ir
responsible.
Richard Nixon shall be elected in Novem
ber unless we are moved to mobilization for a
sometime liberal and political hasbeen, but
nevertheless, the only candidate who comes
close to being able to avoid political stagnation
and degeneration.
HHH; if nothing else, can give, us four years
of a political nihilism in which to attempt to ef
fect a reformation of the system, which we
need so desperately. Which ain’t so bad, con
sidering...
I allegorize your position to be that of a
convicted man already in the noose, who, being
granted a stay of execution, rejects it, saying
“I am innocent; a full pardon or nothing.”
- Come on, fellas. Be realistic.
Name Withheld By Request
Do the Freshmen Care?
TO THE EDITOR: There is a somewhat
familiar adage, when referring to the Presiden
cy, that the times and the environment
somehow produce the right man to fill the bill.
From my observations thus far, the Class of ’72
will have to rely greatly on this belief.
In a college which stresses and supports
free speech and scorns student apathy, I
helieve the manner in which the campaign for
freshman class president was handled is
deplorable.
The only means of being able to vote kno
wledgably was to have one of the candidates
residing in your hall or house; even then it was
still up to the voter to search out the candidate
and personally question him concerning his
policies. Consequently, the majority of the
votes cast in the last few days was the result of
the advice of a friend, nocturnal deliverance of
pamphlets and a series of posters presumably
placed in“key” areas.
It doesn’t seem too far fetched that the Ad
ministration could have reserved a night, a
time and a place at which those students in
terested could have heard exactly what the
candidates had to say. Before I pursue what
may be an area of false accusation, it is also a
strike against all of the candidates if they did
not attempt to initiate such action.
Granted, in ail probability the turnout
would not have been massive, but if we are
truly interested in erasing apathy, we must
establish some starting point. I think we could
feel far more confident of progress if, after
having read the- election results in the Col
legian, we knew what our leaders stood for and
not just their names.
We have been persistently plagued with the
poster: We care if you do.” Believe me, we
care; we’re just not sure about whom or what
Ron Errett
Pre-law ’72
Can Apathy Give a Damn?
TO THE EDITOR: Re. Mr. Harvey’s response
to my letter in Thursday’s Collegian:
I am attending Penn State for two reasons:
to prepare myself educationally for a role in
my chosen vocational, area; and to reach a
point of maturation where I can shape my
ideals and values as I prepare to enter an adult
society as a responsible individual.
I find that trying to accomplish these two
goals doesn’t leave me much spare time.
Perhaps this is why I don’t spend my Sunday
afternoons down on the Old Main lawn.
In the letter immediately preceding mine, a
music department faculty member wrote, “I
think that a young person with the opportunity
to attend Penn State has much to think about,
to be thankful for, and damned little to bitch
about.” I could not agree more wholeheartedly.
It seems to me that “student activism” has
become a magnetic term a sort of catch-all
phrase used to describe what surely must be
becoming a full-time curriculum. Granted,
Penn State is not a utopia. There are issues
which are important to all students and should
be dealt with accordingly, including housing on
and off-campus, student bookstores, and cur
riculum revision.
But I maintain a co-operative attitude is re
quired. Daily blasts of condemnation for those
who "sit in” nowhere other than .the classroom
is not the way to gain support for these
reforms Vociferation itself is only a word, not
a virtue. What the “shouting” students have to
say is the important thing. , T „
Perhaps the fact that Judy Rubin and Jeff
Sheaf suffered defeat in the election, while
Alan Krivoy won a race contested only by two
last-minute "write-in” candidates says some
thing for my “apathetic” majority. Maybe they
do “give a damn” after all.
' Gall Freunscb
4th Music Education
SDS: A Social Fraternity
TO THE EDITOR: I, as many others, have
been watching the growth of the SDS at Penn
State, their meetings, their activities, and the
presentation of their ideas.
I have come to the conclusion that the Stu
dents For A Democratic Society is misnamed.
In my opinion, this group is sheltered under
the guise of a political organization, but is, in
fact, a social fraternity for people who can suc
cessfully relate to no one but each other. While
I am glad these people are finding an iden
tity, it is unfortunate that this is being done un
der a pretense of politics.
Ironically, politics, their purported purpose,
appears to be the subject upon which they least
agree.
Thus far, the SDS's most conspicuous ac
tion has been to impede and seriously damage
the Free Speech Movement by attaching their
unfavorable name to it.
So very unfortunate.
Alan Gowell
Ist L.A.
Solution to Housing Mess
TO THE EDITOR: The subject of discussion
is: solution of student housing'by the scientific
method.
How grave is the shortage of housing in
State College? By American standard middle
class of 1950-60’s the problem of housing
shortage is real. However, since no student is
sleeping in the street, the problem is
non-existent in the physical sense.
The picture will be different if one wants to
plug in two constraints on the problem, such as,
cost and service. The abuse among some
landlords is genuine. Perhaps they don’t give a
damn to public relations. The self-righteous in
dividuals would wonder how these nasty
landlords can get away with what they are
doing. In the last analysis, it is the
“marketplace” that determines the interplay
between service-goods and the consumers.
Before stating my specific solutions to the pro
blem some background of the American
business should be presented.
It is generally recognized that the optimum
level of a business operation is between 80-90
per cent of its capacity. If we can’t keep the
downtown housing occupancy maintain a rate
of no more than DO per cent, then all the
landlords would smile and try their best to keep
the tennants happy..
Under such conditions, the student tennants
would obviously be pleased both in terms of
cost and service. For the knowledge of the
newcoming students, the shortage of housing
has been publicly acknowledged since the fall
of 1966. It may be added that the “tight
money” situation in the American economy has
existed simultaneously.
The first specific solution to the problem
would demand the good-natured and self
righteous students, say representing 10 to 20
per cent of the student body, to sacrifice their
'-comfort and conveniences by crowding them
selves in downtown apartments. Or, this may
be implemented by the help of the University
Administration to provide “dirt-cheap” dor
mitory facilities, for example, at $5 per person
per week for occupancy of four to six persons
in the same room. Thus, the pressure of over
occupancy (above the 90per cent mark) among
the commercial apartments is released. The
marketplace will keep the landlords in line.
The second solution to the problem would
require the assistance of the benevolent
organizations, particularly the Church groups.
In the heat of housing complaints last week, the
well-informed would know that a million-dollar
church is going to be completed in the Borough
soon.
Don’t we wish that the Church had just
delayed their project and, instead, in the same
place stood a complex of 200 units of decent
apartments renting on a non-profit basis.
It appears that the above two solutions are
workable only if the public-spirited individuals
and groups are willing to step in and rectify the
housing problem. Otherwise, one would have to
live, with the prerogatives of the American
capitalistic system. The writer wishes to con
clude by invoking the maxim: you get what you
pay for.
= The Brothers of =
| ALPHA KAPPA LAMBDA [
= and The Sisters of =
ALPHA OMiCRON PI (
= Cordially Invite the |
| Rushing Men of PSU to a |
RUSHING SMOKER 1
SUNDAY, OCT. 13 2-SP.M. |
= —AT— =
| ALPHA KAPPA LAMBDA |
|= COHNER FAIHMOUNT AND THOMPSON 238-6789 I
!= All Rushees Heartily Welcomed Coat & Tie =
?ininniniiiininnnniniiiiniiiniiniiinnniiniiiinniininiininiiiniirc
Men . . . Bring your favorite girl to
Armenara Lanes and for every game
you bowl She can bowl the same
Free of Charge. Friday Nights 9 to 1
Saturday Evening 12 p.m. fill ?
AH Hight Bowling, $2.00 per person—
Minimum 3 persons per lane.
Bowl for S&H Green Stamps
AH Day Sunday
Billiards 75c/hr. Weekdays ssntil 5 p.iri.
H. S. Liu,
Graduate student.