iiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiii Editorial Opinion lllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllll
Blue Skies
BLUE SKIES and warm . tem
peratures are simply-out of place in a
typical Winter Term at Penn State. But
who’s arguing with. the beautiful yet
premature spring which arrived
yesterday? Most everyone just settled
back to enjoy it.
The social world at Penn State seems
to consist of two distinct, six month
cycles: one of hibernation, the other of
hyperactivity. Hibernation generally*
begins midway through Fall Term and
reaches its lowest point at the end of
Winter Term. •
, Spring Term is the perfect contrast.
Everyone meaning everyone, not just
students is outside having a great
time, regardless of how many exams
there are next week or even tomorrow
morning. Somehow, those things just
don’t have any.meaning then. -
IN PLACE OF the long cold winter
sleep the campus comes alive. Faculty
members' move whatever remains of
their classes outside to the Mall;
students mob the lawns of Old Main and
the Hetzel Union Building, throwing
Frisbees and playing ball, and the usual
dedicated group of Wall-sitters forms on
that familiar campus institution on
College Avenue.
Jumping on
Doing more
By DOUG STRUCK
Collegian Managing Editor
_ It is fashionable these days to jump on
the Ralph Nader”BandWa‘gon~but - it’s~
best not to put the cart before the horse.
The Central Pennsylvania Public
Interest Research Group is doing just
that. With the cry of “consumerism,”
this group has taken up the cause of the
littlepeople, but their blind haste may do
more harm than good.
The only definite action to come from
PIRG. so far is a,plea for money. John
Bittner, organizer of PIRG, claims he
needs $1 per student each term to get his
organization going, and with a petition of
13,000 student supporters will try to force
the University Board of Trustees to
collect the money.
All Bittner has promised in return for
this $75,000 yearly 'income is a sure-fire
formula for instant bureaucracy. He
said PIRG will hire “10 or 15”
professionals to “insure continuity.”
There is no proof of the need for that
Days-like yesterday” fit a mood of
activism, but the days of revolution and
. demonstrations seem , td' be only . a
memory. College campuses have lost
the old “radical” atmosphere; the only
political activism apparent now is in the
voter registration movement.
And with the weather we had
yesterday, only the ever-present
' ‘members of the Workers’ League,
selling The Bulletin in town, seemed to
have their minds on anything else.
THE--BEST THING about yesterday
was the change it offered. Fall Term
and most of Winter Term were not only
uninteresting but were downright
boring. Nothing happened to make being
a college student worthwhile; even the
weather was below average.
But for two days, or three or four if we
are lucky, we will get a taste of spring. A
trace of cynicism reminds us that 31
days of March must pass before April;
but knowing- that days like this will
return in that short a time makes the.
waiting a little easier.
&
SO ENJOY IT while it lasts and
start counting the days. Now we know
there’s more than snow to look forward
to.
Nader bandwagon:
harm than good?
many employees, only of the con
venience of having them around year
after year.
Nor does PIRG seem to have any
concrete idea of what, these
professionals will do once they are in
their comfortable, continuous jobs.
Bittner lists four main areas PIRG
might study, but the subjects are too
general to insure any more than con
sumer rhetoric about the evil by
products of capitalism.
Beyond that, PIRG doesn’t want to
name specific problems it will approach
for fear of arousing' special interest
opposition before PIRG is an entrenched
institution.
PIRG’s entire approach to the idea is
backwards: an organization is being set
up before goals are selected, people are
to be hired before their jobs are defined,
and students are being asked for money
before-being told how it will be used.
p r t.
YOU COULD SAY,“PLEASE' TRy’ D- ■
■STAY OUT OF THE RAIN BECAUSE
YOU'RE SuJEET LIKE SU6AR, AND
IF YOU SET (JET, YOU'LL MELT "
' that's my i pea of
SOMETH INS YOU CODLP
SAY. TO ME... -X
IT WA$ JU£T AN IPEA
S’ r^*
)
Students deserve better treatment for
the amount of money they are being
asked to donate. There are many other
*Hses”fbr activities fees which offer more
certain rewards. Two obvious examples
are a lawyer for the Undergraduate
Student Government (for litigation
involving the University) and a lawyer
for the . Organization of Town In
dependent Students (for civil and
criminal cases downtown).
There is ho doubt there are serious
problems in the State College area which
a consumer group could treat, but PIRG -
has ignored such real problems in favor
of an emotional pitch for public con
sciousness.
' Unless the group realizes its mistake
and comes up with some serious, con
crete proposals it is doomed to failure.
For even if it obtains the written support
of students, the Board of Trustees, which
includes ■ many ..hard-headed
businessmen, will see through its lack of
preparation and reject PIRG’s proposal.
IF you have ever had a problem with
ANY type of collection agency
Threatening letters or
' Threatening phone.calls, ,
or Physical threats
Send all information-to:— _
Jim Rodderv.
OTIS 5
20 HUB
"This information will be presented to State Bureau of Consumer
Protection at Public Hearings on the practices and abuses of
collection of past due accounts. ■ -
lnclude All Types of Accounts: . s
Parking Tickets (Private Companies too)
Books
Rent
Records
Any Merchandise
Letters to
Typist's confession
t WU KNOL) UIHAT
TOU COULD eMU
ME ON A RAINT
.DAT LIKE TOPAV ?
TO THE EDITOR': ’Tis I, a fledgling typist, and not
technolo'gy proper, who is to blame for the incorrect telephone
number for ARHS on the cyclists’ flyer. 0, that our budding
tender efforts would not be squelched by a stray index finger;
O, that our hopes will hot be crushed by the heavy heel of
mortal error the correct number for ARHS is eight six five
nine nine eight two.
Beyond Siberia
TO THE EDITOR: The East'Hall dorm complex of P.S.U. is
proudly procalimed by the administration to be able to house
3,814 students, making it the second largest dorm complex in
the world.
But few students know this.-They know it only as the dorm
complex on the' other side of Siberia, out beyond that vast
wasteland of asphalt, wind, and ice known as parking lot 80;
the place where the ratio is a disgusting four guys to every gal,
the worst on campus; the place where you can wait fifteen
minutes, in line for dinner if you are unfortunate enough to
have a sixth period; the one place on campus where you are
the farthest from both town and academic buildings; that
place where the animals run wild until one in the morning
every week night and to who knows what hour on the
weekend?
Oh, what memories I will have of_East and, for that matter
all P.S.U. when I look back on my days in'confinement here.
James E. Mullen
(2nd-economics-Holiand)
Milk production
TO THE-EDITOR: Regarding the Associated Press release in
The Daily Collegian of Friday, Feb. 25, and concerning how
cows make milk, to my knowledge neither Ross Silcock, a
former graduate student of mine, nor myself made the
statement that r “have come, as close as you can” to un
derstanding how cows produce their milk.
' My own philosophy about the science of natural phenomena
is that it is an ever widening darkness and that it is always
possible to leam.more about such matters. In any event I do
notfeelwe “have come as close as you can;” in fact, Isuggest
that we may have a long way to go. A more precise description
of Silcock’sandmy understanding (or lack of it) of lactation at
the cellar level is published in the February issue of the
Journal of Cellular Physiology. .
The Collegian was not in any way. responsible for this
misquotation. ", -
Individual rights
TO THE EDITOR: We all realize that there would be some
benefits to society in general if abortions were legalized and
.that some women would be saved from embarrassment, and
in some cases even from hardship. However, when we con
sider changing the law, we must, consider the rights of each
individual and be sure that no one’s rights are violated.
All Americans are supposed to be guaranteed the right of
life, as well as the rights of liberty and the pursuit of hap
piness. How then can we permit one person to decide that an
innocent life should be taken'without violating the most basic
of all rights?
Statements from recent pro-abortion opinion's appearing in
The Daily Collegian include, “Such a law (one which permits..
abortions only in the case of rape or incest) shows no con
sideration for the unwanted child” and “if a state clams
Dave Kanally
(sth-liberai arts-Port Allegany, N.Y.)
Stuart Patton
professor of agriculture
the Editor
concern for life, that concertfshould not stop when that life is
born.” It seems obvious to me that if the state denies abortions
and has good programs to take care of unwanted children, it is
showing deep concern for unwanted children. While children
raised by.>unloving mothers or by the state will not grow up in
an ideal environment, this certainly does not imply that they
will not have a chance to live happy.and normal lives. How
much of a charibe will an unwanted child have if an abortion is
performed? ’ .
These pro-abortion opinions also stated that anti-abortion
laws somehow contradict the idea of separation of church and
state, and implied that abortion is-a moral issue. They also
claimed that abortion'laws violated a woman’s “right to
control” her own body. However, when another’s basic
inalienable right to life is being infringed upon, abortion
cannot be considered a moral issue, nor can it be claimed as a
right. A woman can enjoy sex and, with nearly 100 per cent
efficiency, keep from becoming pregnant: so should we force
a child, without his consent, to pay for his mother’s (and
father’s) lack of Responsibility with his very life?
It is often claimed that abortions are done for the sake of the
child when the mother decides that the child is better off dead.
I really wonder whose well-being is usually given first con
sideration, deep inside, when someone decides to have an
abortion.
t Letter Policy
The Daily Collegian welcomes comments on news coverage,
editorial policy or non-campus affairs. Letters must be
typewritten, double spaced, signed by no more than two per
sons and no longer than 30 lines. Students’ letters should include
name, term and major of .the writer.
They should be brought to The Collegian office, 20 Sackett, in
person so proper identification of the writer can be made,
although names will be withheld~by~request. If letters are
received by mail, Collegian Will contact the signer for
verification.
QHtp Sailij (EnUpatan
Successor to The Free Lance, est. 1887
Member of the Associated Press
ROBERT J. McHUGH
Editor
DRUE HAYDT
Business Manager
Opinions expressed by the editors and staff of The Daily
Collegian are not necessarily those of the University
Administration, faculty or student body.
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Raffle 2 pr. Skis Transportation
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