Editorial opinion All settled in. Bags unpacked, posters hung, rent paid, damage lists filled out. ' But if you haven't completed your apartment damage list, you aren't moved in yet. Those eight cigarette burns in the carpet, the borken couch leg and that little nail hole in the kitchen wall might look like minor inconveniences now. But in the spring, those damages will take on another look when .your landlord deducts money from your security deposit. To .protect yourself against needless bills, get a damage form from your landlord or take a plain piece of paper and fill OL:t the damages yourself. Be as specific as possible count every scratch, burn, hole and. stain and then take the list.to your landlord. Try to get him to sign it even though most landlords will decline to check out your claim with his time and effort. „.. 1 / 4 .c,` 14 ~ 11001 66 41441110.W74. Thw.,. VW ccuAwaa I. I . %MST' MINK-. TtiekE'S Sc.pMETttING t05(2046. ii3tTh4 ‘A•MiM' T C ) ctkoos.S_ 3rr-T"tAle-E*3 Z 0416,)(,,. Nlcx)(2. 300tc,s (2 'lN`i tl' G '%1,00(2..-TOtTIO,JI', ' _ Beauty and the Beast We are under suspicion. We have been accused of sinking into an age of anti-intellectualism. Fingers have been pointed at us, claiming that we have become a generation of illiterates who would rathei• devote an evening to the actions of Kojak than to a few acts of Shakespeare. Educators are disgusted with us; even our flag-burning, slogan-slinging predecessors of the 60s are seen as a more noble lot. We have been charged with slipping back to the complacency of the 50s where a chocolate malt, a candy red Chevy and a date with a 'well endowed' cheerleader•were vital keys to success. But while we have traded thick, creamy shakes for a colder, carbonated beverage (one that is also made with malt) and while we now associate hot cars with Bellefonte 'townies,' we still cling to one vestige of that by-gone era. As intellectually-oriented as we may claim to be, we still rank physical ap pearance extremely high on our priority list. When a group of male students get together to discuss the 'haves and the have nots,' chances are they are not contemplating the economic supremacy or inferiority of foreign countries. Rather, they are probably discussing the relative proportions of certain females' anatomies. But male students are no less exempt from such scrutinzation. The macho, the Issues come and go but solutions never arrive Issues surround, frustrating our dreams. Readers read, reactors react, Fuses are set, pots boil over. And no one reads further. Nothing ever changes Issues ... every fourth year there's a mysterious outbreak of them. Uncontrollably they spread infection to every con scientious voter until the American electorate is so distraught with pain and melancholy that millions are seen smashing their skulls against voting booths on election day. Issues whether large or small or reachable or not are modern day characteristics of the Democratic System. Indeed, what a number comic George Carlin could do on the phenomena of ... issues. John Harvey Media critics say most media do not adequately cover the issues "the voters need to know where the candidates stand" is one of their pet sayings. Critics say the media exploit each candidate's habits, personality traits and trivial interests (and I thought everyone loved reading about Carter softball games). Others criticize politicians for sidestepping, flip-flopping or otherwise evading the Issues. They say the Pols should begin devoting their energies to intelligent and informative exposes of the issues. Hey, landlord Don't give ul5. Get a friend to check your apartment against your list and go with you to 102 Boucke where, for a dollar, you can have the damage list notarized. Then simply hold the original and give your landlord a copy for his files. While you're- making things of ficial, drop by the Organization of Town Independent Students office in 20 HUB with your lease. The OTIS people will read it for you and let you in on some fine print secrets. One particular danger in leases is an automatic renewal clause stipulating tenants must tell the landlord before the last 90 days of the current lease whether they want the same' apartment next year. If you don't discover this trap now you may wake up one fresh April morning to find that you're forced to live in the same diVe next fall. jock, the sun-bleached blonde in a cable knit sweater and battered Pumas, scores higher than the timid horticulture major in a gray sweatshirt, thick black glasses and Pro-Keds. Unfortunately, male or female, we still play a rating game before we play a dating one. Janie Musala We learned the lessons young. Cinderella was no more than a tacky, unsophisticated char-woman (probably collecting a primitive form of food stamps) before her fairy godmother blessed her with a face-lift, an ensemble from Saks and the latest in transparent footwear. The fairtytales we avidly consumed as children were full of evidence that beauty was a much more valuable asset than intelligence. When the princess .softly kissed the grotesque frog, it turned into a handsome prince not a. 4.0 mining engineer. , Years later, our attitudes were .rein forced by the fantasy-like success stories of the 'beautiful people' Zsa Zsa Gabor, Robert Redford, Bobby Kennedy. Granted, many of them possessed the added benefit of in telligence, but it was their physical appearance that propelled them into the limelight. Even among the most devoted feminists, it is murmered that Gloria Actually, I'm inclined to agree. Politicians and media alike sequester issues. But are issues so almighty important? Prior to the 1976 primary season a CBS poll indicated the five major issues of this year's campaign were, from top to bottom: unemployment, inflation, crime control, the energy crisis and' international relations. These were mandated the issues to be discussed by the candidates. An April Gallup poll registered a significant change In those issues: crime and energy were omitted. Their replacements were the "Panama Canal" and "Integrity in government". the latest Harris-ABC poll indicates the five major campaign issues are currently, from top to bottom: Inflation, peace, controlling the federal budget, Integrity in government and unemployment. These are, one would assume, the weapons Ford and Carter will choose in their duel. Not coincidentally, the electorate's conception of the issues changed from January to April to the present, obviously because the candidates via the media changed them. Ronald Reagan made the Panama Canal an issue, but with the Californian's exit went the Canal. The "integrity in govern ment" issue lives not so much because of Watergate as Jimmy Carter's effective use of Watergate. There can be no doubt that issues are created by speech writers, campaign managers, and candidates not voters. Ample evidence is available that before this election year the public had great concern about problems of crime and energy, yet because the candidates ignored these issues the public began Ignoring them also. If you don't have a lease to bring to the OTIS office, come in anyway a verbal lease is a situation in which student's word is matched against landlords. The student almost ' always loses. OTIS can help you get your lease in writing and your agreements secure. This summer the State College Municip3l Council ammended the building code for apartments requiring locks changed each time the residents do. Within three years, landlords must install dead bolt locks on all apartment doors. Before this change, the only State College requirement for apartment security was that each unit have a door not much of a deterrent to would-be burglars. If you ask your landlord for a new lock now he may charge you since it isn't yet a requirement. But maybe you haye Steinem would not have achieved so much for the women's movement had she herself not been such a 'good looker.' Perhaps the attempt to de-emphasize physical appearance Is a lost cause. Physical attractiveness is the unique facet of the male-female relationship that make the social game interesting not to mention tantalizing. But it is a shame that in our never ending search for a mate, we overlook some very worthwile human beings. We're guilty a hundred times a day. When we sit in Willard waiting for class to start, when we lounge in Findlay dinihg hall after supper, when we sneak to the basement •of Pattee for a Tastycake, we set ourselves up as judges of those we see and use the shakiest and most anti-intellectual standard for friendship: looks. Eunice Shriver would never have won a beauty contest, but she probably has done more for the handicapped than any voluptuous entertainer on a money raising telethon. Truman Capote would never cause a horde of young ladies to swoon, but he has contributed more to the world with his pen than any actor with his smile. Old attitudes die slow deaths, but their demise is nothing to grieve about. Good things come in small packages; but they also come in ugly ones. Or in gray sweatshirts with thick black glasses and Pro-Keds. an enlightened landlord who will view the cost of added security as a small improvement to his proper ty and a benefit to his tenants. Your landlord, however, is not liable for stolen property. If you cherish your brand-new $5OO stereo system it might be a good idea to insure it -;.- no - one else is going to compensate you fol . its loss. OTIS estimates that only .3 per cent of major housing complexes and reconversion units are vacant. Many of these apartments are far from campus or in less than desirable conditions. Because of this housing shortage, some students, notabley graduates and international students, have no place to live. If you could'fit an ex tra roommate into your prefab palace drop by OTIS and get con nected with an instant roommate. From the Editor RAs can Marcel Marceau could take a lesson from the University's Resident Assistants (RAs). When it comes to zippered lips and speechless gesturing on any University matter, the French master of pantomime has stiff com petition.- . Ask any question—even one that does not relate directly to University policy. "How do you like mock drumsticks," you may ask conversationally. Watch your RA turn into a pet rock. Your RA will curl his or her fists, slink back a few steps as if you were con taminated and then curl Into a fetal position like a porcupine with Its belly exposed to a predator. "I'd like to tell you," the RA will say in a properly lowered voice. All the while he or she glances furtively down the hall as sif expecting either a 400-pound hamster or a human mock drumstick or both. . . . "I'd like to have an opinion. Even plain old vocal chords would do," the RA will apologize. "But I lose my job if I say anything about the University." The RA's attitude makes the University look very bad at first. Buying RAs and then shutting them up for good just doesn't make sense at a place dedicated to dissemination of ideas and opinions. But the fact is, the University has no gag order on RAs. Or anybody for that matter. Collegian reporters talk to many administrators and faculty members who disagree publicly with University policy. They still have their jobs here. Letters to the Editor Out of sight TO THE EDITOR: While waiting for an Orientation activity to begin in West Halls Quad (about 2 p.m. on September 2,1976), I hung my blue-jean jacket (Levi brand) on the handrail on the main steps. Not more than five minutes later it was missing just plain out of sight! I'm not sure how or why it disappeared, but I am extending a plea to the person or persons who might know of its whereabouts: please return it! That jacket is a part of my skin: It is the only one I have here at PSU,and like a typical student my finances are a bright red. If you want to keep the few patches that were on it, be my guest. But please return the jacket: It gets cold running Orientation activities outdoors these days. In this presidential election year the two top issues are inflation and unemployment. Ford has seized inflation, owing "There can be no doubt that issues are created by speech writers, campaign managers, and candidates —not voters." to the steady upward economic trends Ford credits to his in difference. Carter has seized unemployment, owing to the Dems habitual tendency to Increase government spending for the "good" of the people, and the Administration's seeming lack' of compassion for those out of work. Unfortunately for Carter, more voters are touched by inflation (100 per cent) thap unemployment (8.2 per cent). Hence, Carter's large lead (the Harris poll gives Carter 52 to Ford's 37 per cent of the vote) is built around the issue of "integrity in government." Ford, though viewed by most as being honest, has been mortally wounded by "The Pardon" for which polls give Carter a clear lead on that issue. But Ford wins resolutely on the remaining issues, according to the Harris poll. The "peace" issue is always a favorite of VNIELL ) BIG FELLOW, so mucH Fog 1- 1 - ‘- C 6- NVE-I•ritoN ! 'Now, oN To TNE. Gelitgrkt_ ELEcTioN! StG VELLoW....BIG FELLOW "?. speak no evil Those people have just as much, if not more, to lose than RAs. Sometimes administrators don't want it known that they disagree with University President John W. Oswald and they keep their comments "off the record" or anonymous. V mIPP , - Sheila t.,;. ...... • d ? s. 'Age McCauley . -..,, ‘ p 4 Not so RAs. Their comments aren't there publicly or anonymously. One reporter doing a story on "the dorm drinking policy for the first Fall Term Collegian encountered RAs who turned mute mouths on him. I've heard RAs plead job security for three years now and somehow it always seemed plausible. Even if they were not fired, I could see RAs feeling pressure or catching hints to be less outspoken if they disagreed with University policy. But I have no idea where they got the idea the University would silence them for good even if they commented anonymously. And I don't know why they think the University would want to find them at all. Monica A. Germ 10th-recreation and parks dtzCollegian SHEILA McCAULEY Editor BOARD OF EDITORS: EDITORIAL EDITOR, Brenda Turner; • I EDITORIAL ASSISTANT, Deanna Finley; NEWS EDITOR,', Pamela Reasner; ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, Phil Storey; STATE-NATIONAL EDITOR, Leah Rozen; CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, Jerry Schwartz; COPY EDITORS, Mike Joseph, Jim , Lockhart, Charlene Sampedro; OFFICE MANAGER, Laura Shemick; FEATURES EDITOR, Janie Musala; SPORTS. EDITOR, Brian Miller; ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS, Tom McNichol, Barb Parmer; PHOTO EDITOR, Julie Cipolla; a, ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS, Eric Felack, Barry Wyshinski; GRAPHICS EDITOR, Lynne Maimed. Republicans and the "controlling the federal budget" issue is, Ford's Easter egg. Ford wins three out of five issues but trails: Carter by 13 points. Undoubtedly, issues are not solely what! give Carter the lead he enjoys. And why not? Issues are only beneficial to those politicians' using them as bait to hook hungry votes. Issues are only symbols issues are sops to the citizenry. In reality, elections are not occasions in which issues should be the sole priority. Elections are occasions in which we must hire the elite of the governmental bureaucracy. During , elections we do not legislate, we hire and fire the bosses. Like store managers, we consider past experience and qualifications, intelligence and personability when we hire. Prospective employes are rarely asked where they stand on lingerie or toys. They are hired regarding criteria such as recommendations, personality traits, smiles and appearances. This is not an attempt to make play out of the presidency. But the bottom line does remain the same. Presidents area managers. After they are elected they discard cumbersome, issues to get down to the business of managing the bureaucracy Nonetheless, voters and critics insist on being fed issues. Though issues are important, a balanced diet is recommended. f, We must not over-Indulge in tempting delicacies like welfare ! and tax reform, health insurance or crime control. Sadly, such issues only frustrate our wildest fantasies; we soon discover in January, every fourth year, that the promised ISSUE was a forgotten promise a broken dream. What the RAs really scream through their self-Imposed cone of silence is though no RA has ever been fired for disagreeing with University policy, and though no 400-pound hamster has ever cruised the dorm halts, both of those terrors await those who dare to break the - RA code of secrecy. Fortunately, not everyone cowers at the thought of speech. Some treasure the right to speak and the importance of discussion more than they treasure paid tuition. A job to those people which intimidated their speech would not provide for their basic needs—one of which is thought. One of those people, Zechariah Chafee Jr, taught law at Harvard while he wrote about First Amendment rights, in, particular freedom of speech. "No free speech problem can be; satisfactorily solved by men who think , only of the risks from open discussion,"' Chafee wrote. "It is indispensible to: balance against those risks the deeply: felt realization that one of the most• important purposes of society and government is the discovery and spread of true facts and sound judgements onl subjects of general concern." The enforcement of the dorm drinking' policy is a "subject of general concern" in this campus society. But just try to find an RA willing to, have his views known to you and to thei rest of campus. RAs go one better than. Marcel Marceau. At least he speaks,; tf through movement and facial ex..: pression. NADINE KINSEY • Business Manager
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