Editorial opinion Three times a term they con verge upon Old Main. Three times a term they huddle around each other and discuss the issues of the day. Each time when they depart no one outside knows what secret incantations they have chanted or what seeds of change they have sown. The Student Advisory Board meets in secret, even though the topics the student leaders discuss with the administrators concern every student administrator and staff member at Penn State. The SAB’s fewer than 20 members supposedly have these meetings to keep the channels of com munication open between Univer sity President John W. Oswald and the masses of students. We don't think that anything sinister is going on at these meetings. Perhaps nothing is going on at all. But students should be informed of any deals or stalls in student affairs. Education's scholars find First impression at the outset: An attractive - I think it began the year they decided to toss the Bible out of the classroom. Personally, I’d never really minded that original best-seller in school with me; it didn't detract from the day's beginning while, on the other hand, it never actually demanded that you learn from it, either. If it did anything at all, it was a steady reminder of and connection with the fact that the learning process was a unique symbiosis best realized between home and school. Indeed, the process never stopped. And the reading of a few lines from that Book each morning wasn't particularly religious, once you came down to it. In tone, texture and time, it was, for many of us, thqt initial encounter with some kind of discipline, something we couldn’t possibly understand, but wasn't exactly harming us on the other hand. So what hap pened next? They decided it wasn't good for us. Without asking us our opinion in the matter. Things never regained their composure, after that. I mean, let's face it, once you get rid of one discipline, others swiftly follow.. That Bible ban began the decade of non-discipline all over this country. Family ties dissolved, the gap between the generations widened, war took over first billing with race riots a close second. Instant answers abounded, from gurus to professors who gave the tag "liberal" a bad name, grinning that they “sympathized" with the alienation of the young, but never conceding how much they created that condition by ac cepting it or failing to .bring the young to task for a self indulgence theV’re'still paying tragically for. From apathy to‘ over-activity, all within the space of a single decade. Arid what did we all learn from it? Only to pass the buck with even greater skill True, education is the last refuge of the resourceful, hardly so for the righteous, yet the latter seems to be in control nowadays. Still, somewhere along the line, some not terribly bright soul decided that education was really something else, a passport to societal acceptance. That all one had to do was Hev! Au-«&url £r‘s #ea£! JTcai^V rr / « i Letters to the Editor Femme fatale TO-THE EDITOR: In response to Janie Musala’s column "Pope ap(Paul) ed at new role of women priests:" As for the “Bible’s famous femmes," study of the Scriptures will reveal that Genesis was written by the Hebrew elders during the Babylon captivity. In order to explain man’s origin and purpose on earth, these inspried writers depicted the fall of (wo) mankind by representing such under the names “Adam and Eve." It is not Eve's search for knowledge or education that caused the fall, but the quest of our ancestors for that which is evil—everything that is good was with them. Regarding the Immaculate Conception, the Catholic Church does not teach or believe that all that is pleasurable Is evil, as Janie seems to believe; but rather, that the gift of life Is meant to be reserved for the procreation of humanity. With a purpose as divine and beautiful as that, evil cannot be present. Not to confuse you with the facts, but both Matthew and Luke state that Jesus was conceived in Mary by the power of the Most High. And then Mary Magdalene—“everyone knows what kind of woman she was"—or do they? Touched by the presence of Christ, she renounced her past life and joined the "royal SAB secrets u/HAT? m The Sunshine law doesn’t apply to the SAB since it’s not a gover ning body. But even though no law requires their meetings to be held publicly, the SAB should play by the good guy rules, a code which says constituencies have the right to know what their representatives are doing for, or to them. SAB has made a half-hearted at tempt to go public by authorizing a post-meeting press conference at which SAB members can issue releases written by SAB par ticipants. This second-hand in terpretation cannot help but be slanted by special interests. An outside reporter with access to all sources is the only way the full story of meetings can surface. Open meetings would do the SAB no harm and students could be enlightened. It is, however, the rare student who attends any type of governmental meeting. The only students who attend Nobody could get that fabled myth called a “Job." Which only proved once more that America has no PR equal In Its marketing of dreams; maybe that's why it disappoints so many people who would gladly sell all of that superficial glitter... .for one shred of lasting substance. AUMosr eoeaw time X 60 loed itor Fc/l AM AfttYO£, <OMEOW£‘S «IWEO it Pi^THeeoc*,. priesthood" of Jesus. The four gospels tell us that Christ cast demons out of Mary Magdalene, and it was to her that He first appeared after the Resurection. St. Mary Magdalene was clearly a holy person. So renounce the “knowledge" you gained from "JCS” and “Godspell," and do a little reading and understanding for a change. “So, as a woman, there are the choices." You can answer Christ’s call to sanctity in his priesthood by accepting a vocation in the married, religious or single life. (Vatican II) Or, you can spit in His face, turn your back, and renounce all that is good. Or is it not enough for the Lord to personally call you to the priesthood (or personhood) of Christ? Missing a few TO THE EDITOR: The column by Corbett Klein in Wednesday’s issue is an example of the growing resignation the American public is taking toward the threat of nuclear war. His words “...that nuclear .weapons can be used as an effective in strument of war...without annihalation" is typical of con temporary thinking. In truth it is a resignation, almost ac meetings of USG, ARHS and OTIS are the few who can readily recite what these acronyms really mean. Academic Assembly, each college’s student council and the University Faculty Senate are mysterious bodies to most studen ts simply because they have never taken. an interest in their proceedings. The State College Municipal Council regularly sets aside time for citizen response at the end of their monthly meetings. They just as regularly skip the event for a lack of speakers. And only a few observers come to the important Board of Trustee meet ings. The prospect of open SAB meetings will not bring hordes of student activists to their meetings. But every student should have the opportunity to discover either first hand or by reading an objective published report just what the SAB is' up to. get good grades and the road from there on was paved with golf. Again, youth brought that hard sell without ever questioning its value, let alone its reality. But that's not too surprising. They don’t teach us to disagree with half the vitality they do to capitulate. fl - Davis Soooo ... for some, the. dream became a Cinderella won* derland (with the Seven Dwarfs still on welfare). And It’s a nightmare many continue to buy. Don't go to school to learn, go to get a job or get a guy or a gal or both, if you’re am bidexterous. Cram on the weekends, hope the prof likes you, don't get emotionally involved, you fool, you fool and don't for God’s sake, knock anybody up. When you're all finished, you won't remember a damn thing, that, was, supposedly "taught" you (the re-selling of textbooks at term's end testifies to that) < but, by golly, my boy, you'll have had one helluva time for four years, right? And what happened then? ttf£LL.X I IM tort 'TAVLA&fc-f'rtV [/ * n MW*, O\lM)o»**C -wcicxvui * fo Michael J. LoFurno Ist-landscape architecture <s> eternal disenchantment Second Impression at the midway: Kind of. But one maverick was different from the masses. He didn’t come to college to graduate, but to saturate himself with knowledge. To discover for himself evolution rather than revolution. And the accompanying ability to find the answers if he didn't always quite know the questions. His conceit was also his confidence, and he received what he came for. An education. In fact, he didn't get what he bargained for, he got far more than he could’ve ever hoped for. He discovered ... that the mark of the truly curious person is that what the institution cannot supply by its rigidity, you then go out and fetch it for yourself by your own research. When the entrenched so smugly imagine themselves to know It all, you notice how terrified they become of one single question: why? When the teacher has taught all he can, the taught must try other avenues of enlightenment. When you sincerely desire to know, when the quest can never be consummated, when all that's available isn’t all there Is ... that’s when one understands that education,'in all its many facets, is an endless diamond, eternal in its ongoing process, a procedure that cannot be accorded an arbitrary and worthless symbol of expertise. It can only be arrived at through a wealth of experience. In the process, he saw that academia produces many lemmings immobilized by their own ipeptitude, a small number of educated men, some learned personalities but precious few original thinkers. Which Is what a true scholar is. While on Pattee lies the quotations "The library Is a sum*, mons to scholarship" and "The true university is a collectlon of books." Maybe, I suppose, back during the humanistic academies of the Renaissance, though hardly so nowadays. ; Wouldn’t It be reassuring if all the thefts that made a burglar system necessary at Pattee were due to Interested seekers rather than people just hoping to ace a quiz next week? On the walls of Sparks are chiseled the names of cherished thinkers and men of genuine Imagination, stimulation and instigation ... Socrates, Dane, Shakespeare, Hippocrates, Michelango (I would’ve preferred Leonardo here, but that’s a question of connoisseurship). Yet, as J gaze up at these gentlemen, Viewers thirsty for suspense in greater Great Debate format By DICK WEST WASHINGTON (UPI) There is talk now of changing the format for the next “great debate" between President Ford and Jimmy Carter. In that regard I did a quick, man-in the-street type survey to see what the home viewing audience felt was wrong with the first debate. Here are some of their comments and suggestions: Newt Faglie said he thought the debates could be improved by sticking in commercials after each question. “It was impossible during the first debate to dash out to the kitchen for another beer without missing something," he complained. “If God had meant for us to watch television for 90 minutes without commercials, He wouldn't-have given us a two-beer thirst.”' Sidney Ploughfoot said he thought the debates could be improved a great deal with instant replays. “Any time one of the candidates comes up with an articulate verbal ceptance of the “inevitable". Following this line of thinking he proposes civil defense measures to physically and psychologically prepare the public for attack,,build a bigger and better military "defense" posture, and proposes all the other measures modern-day social darwinists clamor for. Well, Corbett you're missing a few points and blurring others. First, ypu quote Reader’s Digest, the podium of the Buckleys, Haags, Liards and Grahams. You owe it to yourself to get some divergent viewpoints. Secondly, the Digest has given you the illusion that the Soviets want to rule the world. Well, they want to rule the world as much as America wants to rule the world. What I mean is that they have the same ob jectives as America—to be strong and free. To rule the world however, even in a nuclear age, is a practical impossibility. The Soviets are aware of this; they cannot even maintain a stable Warsaw Pact of only eight countries. The Soviets, as well as the Americans, want armaments for the same reason that every other country in history has wanted weapons—to be able to Interfere with the internal and external affairs of other nations to the best economic and strategic advantage, to be able to secure materials, to have better bargaining positions, to pit ideologies against conflicting Ideologies and all the rest of Machiavellian politics. I’m not advocating an abandonment of defense. But I think thrust, a burst of eloquence or a brilliant riposte, they should stop the action and show it again,” he said. .. “Some of the networks gave us a review of the highlights after the debate was over, but that is nowhere near as effective as seeing them again right after they happen." Mrs. Lobelia Nightshade objected to the scoring system used in the first debate. "We had to wait for the pollsters to take post-debate opinion samplings before we knew who won,” she said. Next time, she said, they should keep a running score, updated after each question, so viewers would know who was ahead at each stage of the debate. “It would add a great deal of suspense and excitement,” she pointed out. “Suppose they came down to the last question with Carter still holding a slight lead but with Ford still having a chance to pull it out with a wide sweep on the abortion issue. You'd have the audience on the edge of their seats." The Daily Collegian encourages comments on news coverage, editorial policy and campus and off-campus affairs. Letters should be typewritten, double spaced, signed by no more than two persons and no longer than 30 lines. Students’ letters should include the name, term and major of the writer. Letters Should be brought to the Collegian office, 126 Carnegie, in person so proper iden tification of the writer can be made, although names will be withheld on request. If letters are received by mail, the Collegian will contact the signer for verification before publication. Letters cannot be returned. geniuses all and true, one persistent point can’t escape my judgment. None of them ever had a degree. Final impression at the end: He 11... And the eternal disenchantment continues. The prime Issue on campus these days is alcohol. Beautiful. Dean Martin would be in idiot’s heaven to hear this. I'm glad to see such a sterling example of scholarship being so endlessly debated. Just think you pay almost five thousand (and more) dollars over four years just to get all revved up over the issue whether you can get drunk out in the open or In the closet (which Is pretty crowded as it is these days). I have yet to see an ongoing dialogue on these pages about the relative quality of teachers, Instructors, professors (ope is not the other), or demanding that the quality be improved upon (which is an escalating issue, anyway, ’cause then you'd have to demand better Deans. Ain’t that right, Wally?). Plus, they're about to institute (oh, that word) remedial classes. Not only in.secondary or beginning education, but In the hallowed halls of higher instruction itself. A process of basic foundation-making that should’ve been hurdled years ago. Somebody Isn’t doing what they're supposed to. On both sides. Gypsy in my soul is how Shirley MacLalne describes the disease I have. And since it’s a symptom which Is incurable (except by a rarely sustained exposure to intelligence), the options are few. And when the gypsy can no longer learn freely, when functioning as an artist becomes slavery in the service of incompetence, when debate becomes an unwelcome pawn of the devil, and the teachers are so Insecure and con sumed by their own personal neuroses that to question theiqj rheoric is tantamount to committing a heresy ... then there's only one thing left for the gypsy to do. Leave. While the world will continue to revolve, regardless that Americans should learn the distinction between defense ! and “offense." The U.S. military is not agreed mainly to the | protection of Americans. Its major thrust is toward protecting ■ her vital economic interests abroad and implementing her Machiavellian policies. If defense were the sole reason, then ( only defensive materials would be produced, not in- ‘ terconinental ballistic missies, B-1 bombers, long range ('] Polaris submarines etc. Power politics has been the cause of , every major war In modern history. Civilizations have grown j and declined in predictable' patterns. America Is now in her ! "post-classic" in my opinion, and if we do not begin to [ downplay the role of the military in foreign affairs and begin to ' seek alternative means of acheiving our goals, America will fall from those very same enemies that she has created, just as every powerful nation has fallen before her. sheila mccauley Editor - Elray Limphet thought the debates could be improved by having the net works provide a canned laugh track. “In their regular programs, the net works wouldn't dare leave it up to the viewers to determine, when, to titter, where to guffaw or where to applaud," he said. "Viewer reaction is guided by a pre recorded laugh track that brings the appropriate response into the home. “We viewers are accustomed to this type of service and when we are left on our own, as during the, first debate telecast, we become disoriented and hesitant. “It would be helpful to have reaction ; cues in the next debate. If one of the i candidates made an unexpected charge \ about the other’s foreign policy, there | could be a recorded gasp to let us know what we should register surprise. >,'<i “Or if one of the candidates makes some witty, incisive, impromptu rejoinder, there could be a recorded gasp to let us know we should register astonishment." NADINE KINSEY Business Manager »* <S * Charles Stanlsh Tth-anthropology
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