I —Editorial opinion It is the ninth week and you’ve probably forgotten the terrors of registration. Cattle lines, bull horns and roped off mazes are buried deep in your mind. But try to recall memories of the phys.ed. table on the floor it’s the table that always has the biggest, rowdiest mob in front of it. Every few minutes someone stumbles away from the table clutching a ticket to Canoeing or Tennis I. However, they may not realize that they might not get credit for the course. Faculty Senate regulations state that phys. ed. 5 may be repeated fora total of three credits (or four credits if you took health when it was listed as phys. ed. 25 under the old system). If a student takes additional phys.ed.s courses as electives he will not get credit for them, just as he would not receive 6 credits for taking English 1 twice. If a student wants to take a phys. ed. 5 course, but already I6MRV % LETO6 GIVE "THANKS «« EbUALD Jesus Brigade marches on: Don't love thy The Jesus Christ Brigade has claimed another victim, and there is much rejoicing within the ranks. It really wasn’t much of a fight, after all. On the one side, there were the multitudes of starry-eyed, clean-cut, entirely vapid Campus Crusaders, Bibles poised and teeth bared for battle. They flooded Municipal Council chambers, demanding that a blasphemous resolution submit to the Inquisition. The proposed law would have forbidden discrimination in borough hiring because of marital status or sexual preference. “No," said the Jesus Freaks, and sure enough the answer was no. On the other side, a small band of homosexuals sought some reassurance that they, too, are American citizens, with the same rights as other Americans. “Please,” said the gays, and sure enough, they were not pleased. Along the way, the gays had to put up with the usual character assassination of closed minds. “How could a homosexual policeman enforce laws they themselves violate? They should be of the very highest moral caliber," one man said. Another continued the harangue. “Discrimination is a basic right every person has. If a homosexual turns from his perversion, and becomes a Game rules has fulfilled the required 3 credits, he must register for phys. ed. 100 and pick up the specific course card he wants on the floor at registration. (He will actually take a phys. ed. 5 course, but the code number will be 100.) This is the only way to receive credit for he course. The problem is that many students are not aware of this rule or are confused by it. Therefore several people from the phys. ed. department and Shields plan to meet Monday morning to discuss registering for phys.ed.s and 100. They want to identify the easiest, fastest way to register for phys.ed. electives. They will also try to come up with an efficient and effective way of communicating the rules to students. Righi now, the course catalog has a short footnote in fine print stating that phys. ed. 5 may respectable citizen, then he could be hired," he said. They quoted the Bible, they invoked High Moral Principles, they did everything but bring Christ in as a witness. Fifty years before, their spiritual forebears invaded a Tennessee court room, attempting to prove in the Scopes Monkey Trial that mankind was not descended from the ape. Now, in Central Pennsylvania, they were proving that Darwin was right, after all. Jerry si S chwartz The gays couldn’t have expected much more, even in this era of enlightenment. Although many Jesus Freaks will tell you that love is at the heart of their religion, the true bedrock of all fun damentalism is intolerance. In other words, if an archeologist suddenly found a commandment forbidding stamp collecting, I would expect a campaign to’ outlaw philately to begin shortly. not be repeated for more than 3 credits. But it’s easy to miss fine print. Phys.ed.instructors also afe told to announce the policy to each of their classes,- but that is a cumbersome way pf handling the problem. If you plan to graduate soon and realize that you have taken extra phys.ed.s courses for which you need credit to graduate, don’t panic. Your dean can straighten things out. Rest assured that no one is trying to penalize students who misunderstood the rule. Meanwhile, if you want to take a phys.ed.s course as an elective, pre-register for phys. ed. 100. But be aware that Monday’s meeting may result in a rule change. Watch the Collegian next week for details about phy&ed.electives. The only way to take four years of courses and graduate without getting tangled in' red tape is to know all the rules and follow them. Brother, In the movie “Class of ’44” a group of hapless fraternity pledges was forced to participate in a strange “relay race.” Instead of a baton, they used an olive but they could only use a certain part of their body to carry it. The curtain was tastefully drawn on this little scene before the race began. Rituals like this one are a tradition at many fraternities and for the most part they are a well-kept secret. But every so often a disgruntled fraternity member (or ex-member) will attempt to blow the lid on these strange practices as “Alan” did this past week. Alan, who had the misfortune of getting pre-engaged, said he was pelted with garbage, dipped In a freezing creek, and forced to jog two miles down Tussey Mountain. He also said his ribs were bruised when pledges tackled him on cement. Fraternity members say Alan was exaggerating that he knew what he was getting into and they would have stopped if he wanted them to stop. But it neighbor Far-fetched? Not at all. They’re still trying to force school children to pray in the schools. Many would like to outlaw alcohol, but in the meantime they're satisfied with keeping the juice from 18- year-olds. Name any progressive cause, and they’re on the other side; they’re everywhere, telling us what to do, what to think, how to love. It is that last injunction, that heterosexual love between married adults is the only kind allowable, that spelled disaster for the homosexuals and all who believe that a man's private life should be just that private. The puritans rallied their considerable strength to turn back the clock to the Dark Ages. Their victory scares me, if only because it may be the first of many victories. Perhaps the battle over this one law in State College is insignificant, but what of the larger issues of human equality and progress and freedom? As La Rouchfoucauld, the French writer of maxims, once wrote, “Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything that reaches beyond their own understanding.” What if the mediocre minds gain control? That is why the analogy of the Jesus Christ Brigade is so ap propriate armies destroy to gain control, they don’t build. Religious zealots do the same, given the chance. In State College, we've given them the chance. can you spare abuse? is safe to say that physical hazing does exist both at Penn State and at other fraternities nationwide. Cathy Cipolla Once in a while you'll pass a Greek lettered jacket on the mall and hear glowing reports dealing with "Boy, we really abused our pledges last night." Fraternity members will defend these rituals as “all in the spirit of fun.” But sometimes it’s hard to see how being tied to a table or pole and pelted with garbage is fun. “Tabling" and “poling" are practically inevitable fates Letters to the Editor Bring back tent TO THE EDITOR: This past Gentle Thursday if you had been walking in the vicinity of Old Main lawn you may have noticed architectural structures being erected by the groups of Arch 361 students. Recall last year they built geodesic domes on the mall. Unknown to most students is the fact that these structures are actual structures theory class projects required to stand for a minimum of one week. One group constructed a nylon tent structure on campus, and devoted much time and labor constructing their project. Unfortunately it was stolen that night by someone who must not have known or realized its importance to the group’s grade. It would truly be unfortunate, if because this year’s structures were unsuccessful due to vandalism (rather than structural failure) similar projects in the future would be discontinued. We request the vandal to have the decency to please return the structure, so that the project may be com pleted. There will be no questions asked. For the sake of our grades, please return it. Thank you. A few questions TO THE EDITOR: I’ve got a couple of questions for all you students who are choosing classes for Fall Term. Would you want to take a course with a professor who was very anti the course? How about a professor who had very little experience with the course but would have to devote all of his or her time to the course? Would you choose a course just on the basis of the professor’s smile or the face that someone said that he or she was honest and candid? Or how about if this professor at one point said there would be no term paper, and later on said that there would be a term paper? How would you know what to expect If he or she kept taking different positions? Would you take this professor’s word if he or she said “trust ," even though you knew very little about him or her? Surely a rational, intelligent student would say “no” to these questions. I doubt there are any professors here at the University that are like the one mentioned above. Being a former student, I know I would not want a professor like this. But I just though I'd bring up these points, just in case a professor like this is ever discovered. (Could you imagine this prof being president of the University? The thought makes me shudder) Being intelligent people I am sure that you people would see right through this person and that he or she would not get very far. Busted TO THE EDITOR: Recently a friend of ours was busted at the Bruce Springsteen concert. “For what?” you ask. Not an ounce, not a nickel, not even a joint but for a completely dead, ash-filled pipe (in analysis it was later proven to contain resin and ashes). We are not arguing the pros and cons of pot smoking, nor the issues of whether nearby listeners were offended by this activity although no one voiced any com plaints. Granted one is not allowed to smoke cigarettes, much less pot, in Rec Hall, however, the practice of the “dedicated” University Police in arresting students for such infinitesimal amounts of pot makes one wonder just exactly where the University's priorities are, or if in fact this is simply an example of the policeman trying to earn his brownie points for the month, resulting in harassment of the student. Dr. Suit’s office provides us with yet another example of screwed-up priorities when he informed our friend thaf her parents must be notified of this Incident. Now unfortunately our friend's parents are not quite that liberal, thereby creating for brothers who decide to leave the flock by getting pinned or engaged. And sometimes it's hard to see where the fun ends and the danger begins. In one famous case at a west coast university, a fraternity member died of exposure when his "brothers" took him up a mountain and left him there overnight. Pledges at another college were forced to dig their own graves (literally!) before initiation. These beastly practices certainly don’t belong in an organization that exalts brotherhood. It's the type of scene that belongs only In grade-B movies that give everyone nightmares. Occasionally a horror story crops up at Penn State too. A fraternity friend once told me that pledges were forced to eat excrement during a "Hell Week" ritual. A group of sorority pledges on a scavenger hunt was greeted at one fraternity with a shower of condoms filled with water.* At least they could have substituted balloons. Jan Zimmerman 3rd-architecture Laurence J. Carlin town resident an obvious problem as anyone who has been "exposed" to their parents knows. “Now what's wrong with this policy of informing parents?" you ask. Perhaps the unfairness is not evident until one realizes that the district magistrate’s office (yes, our friend is being prosecuted by the city) is not going to inform the parents, in fact similar cases have actually been thrown out of court completely. What purpose could be served by notifying one’s parents? Will it really stop a college student from smoking pot if he or she wants to do so? In effect the only purpose is to create a definitely unwanted hassle between this person and her family. We’ve felt compelled to relate this "tale of sorrow" to the readership as but one example of the ridiculously backward policies of the university, as well as other organizations, concerning pot and other contemporary issues and also as a warning to fellow tokers to beware; the "man" is still definitely after the so-called little people and will continue to be after them until the current laws are modified. No visits TO THE EDITOR: Next year, we, the girls of third floor Hiester, are faced with the decision of moving out, or living on a floor with a policy we did not specifically request. The housing office has arbitrarily chosen our floor as one of those with the limited visitation policy. This restricts male visitors from only our floor in the dorm between the hours of midnight and 8:00 a.m. We signed our dorm contracts in the belief that we would be able to choose our own visitation policy, as it has been done in the past. We are now faced with the ‘option’ of moving into vacancies in the Pollock area, or remaining where we are under imposed conditions which infringe upon our rights. We understand that the housing office is faced with a dilemma of increased requests for limited visitation. However, we feel that their solution creates more problems than it solves. If we move out, we will not be assured of rooming with our requested room mates, or living near those we have come to know. This also means that we could not invite our escorts up to our rooms after a date. Instead, we must bid them good night at the door, while other residents and their escorts are able to continue socializing in the privacy of their rooms. A large portion of incoming freshmen that requested a limited visitation floor probably don’t realize that the social life at Penn State doesn’t end at midnight, therefore, many may change their minds about living with limited visitation. We feel that the best solution is as it has been done In the past, and that is waiting until all the residents, old and new, arrive in September, and then vote on what kind of visitation their floor will have. The interests of the present residents and those of incoming residents were not equally considered. The housing office seems to feel that at Penn State you’re just a number instead of an individual with rights, thoughts, and feelings. The housing office has violated all of ours. -Collegian Mailing Address: 80x467, State Pa. 16801. Ofiice: 126 Carnegie NADINE KINSEY Business Manager sheila McCauley Editor Fraternities fill many needs for those who decide to join them. Some want an alternative lifestyle because they dislike dorms or apartments. Others want to get involved. Some join to be with their friends. And a few join because they really want the brotherhood that fraternities say they offer. At any rate, they shouldn't be forced to go through dehumanizing hazing rituals. Many houses realize this they have abandoned "Hell Week" for programs where pledges do house projects like painting or repairs. But I just can’t see how throwing garbage at a naked captive reinforces the feeling of brotherhood. Brotherhood implies equality and so many of these rituals show little respect for human dignity. Maybe I've got it all wrong. But if any of you can convince me that hazing is “good clean fun,” I’m willing to listen with open ears. Greg Ford, 9th management• Terry Wineke 6th-liberal arts Debbie Nicotra 9th-social welfare Sook-Hee Pak 3rd-liberal arts
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