-Editorial opinion
Now's the
The Penn State Faculty Senate
will soon be passing judgment on
the old adage that an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of
cure.
In the upcoming meeting, the
Senate will vote on a $2.5 million
proposal to provide remedial
education courses at the Univer
sity for students deficient in the
basic skills. The results of that vote
will probably have an effect on
other University programs, since'
the money will have to come from
somewhere.
One of the factors that prompted
the proposal for remedial ed
ucation has been the decline in
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
VATICAN tWOHISItS ORWNAHoM OF WOMEN AS FRfESft BECAUSE
CHRISTS REfiJKENISTWGS MUST HAVE A NATURAL RESEMBLANCE Tt) HIM.
-NEWS. ITEM
Letters to the Editor
Live long and prosper
TO THE EDITOR: On behalf of the United Federation of Star
Trek Fans, I would like to express our appreciation to Colloquy
for sponsoring Leonard Nirpoy’s program Wednesday evening.
We hope Colloquy will endeavor to keep the quality of speakers
to Mr. Nimoy’s caliber and wish them continued success in all
of their future activities. We would also like to suggest that
they consider Gene Roddenberry for a future speaking
engagement. Live long and prosper!
Anne Marie E. Stranch
president, United Federation of Star Trek Fans, PSU
Modified behavior
TO THE.EDITOR: I am outraged by your story on behavior’
modification. I am particularly cjisappointed in two quotes you
use: /
a) Muzafer Sherif, professor emeritus of psychology, is
quoted, “These experiments only tell us what you can do with
rats and pigeons. They tell us nothing about human beings.”
Thousands of experiments with behavior modification tell us
about the behavior of human beings. I fail to understand a
professor of psychology who maintains a position that all the
data is irrelevant because it doesn't agree with the way he
views the world.
b) Joseph C. Flay, Associate Professor of Philosophy and
member of the Committee to Review Research on Human
Subjects is quoted: “You know, I wouldn't give this theory two
thoughts except this stuff really does work. If I had my way, I’d
stop what they're doing on campus. To me this stuff is
dangerous.”
At least Professor Flay is aware of ‘the evidence but he still
VlHo 6 TMT
UY THERE?
scores in recent years. Scores
have fallen steadily and educators
have begun a policy of
remediation. This course of action
is an inefficient way of ap
proaching the problem. The an
swer to the problem lies in the
prevention.
In evaluating its priorities, the
Senate should keep in mind that
this is an institution of higher
education. The state supports
elementary and secondary public
schools for the purpose of
teaching students the basic skills.
Money spent twice due to the
failure of these institutions in
dicates a weakness in the system.
State legislators and University
maintains a prejudiced position that no matter what the data,
he wants to stop research with behavior modification. How
does someone with judicial responsibility maintain an an
tagonistic position against the people the University is asking
him to evaluate? I think Professor Flay should be disqualified
from the Committee to Review Research on Human Subjects
because of his prejudices.
The behavior of humans has always been'affected by the
world around them. Some of them learn ways to have a
satisfactory life and some don’t. Science believes that
knowledge of how things work is more valuable than ignorance
or mystical explanations.
Muzafer Sherif and Joseph Flay can keep their mystical
explanations if they want. What I resent is their attempt to
affect my learning about the world around us.
Colorless justice
TO THE EDITOR: In response to Lynda Joyce’s letter, Feb. 7
You seem to have neglected a few points,in your attempt to
discuss South Africa in the fastest possible deluging of
rhetoric. Now mind you I don’t mean to condone the South
African government I know what it stands for and what it’s
trying to do.
But you state the problem as “white males (cannot) stand up
for our rights.” Frankly I take that as something of an affront.
Now I don’t mean to say I know everything that goes with being
black or female. But the real question is.whetheror not one has
the sense of justice which transcends ethnic boundaries. King
recognized this he always saw his fights as not white vs.
black but justice vs. injustice.
But you instead go along the line, amidst clouds of
x don’t mow. but he sure
LOOKS FUNNY when he RE/IDS
the .NEWSW¥R.
time
administrators should have the
foresight to' attack the problem at
its root. Funds should be given to
insure the quality of elementary
and secondary education
programs so that money for higher
education can be spent on
programs for higher education.
The logic is as simple as A, B, C.
The Associated Student Ac
tivities money is due to start
flowing Spring Term. As with
tuition, most students put off
taking action until it is too late.
Don’t face the bottom of the ASA
barrel again this year. The time to
think about next year is now.
Cupid's
“How do I love thee? Let me count the
ways.”
I don’t know the exact day on which
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote this
poem (Sonnets from the Portugese). But
there’s one thing I’m sure of. it wasn’t
composed on Valentine’s Day.
The reason is that 364 days out of the
year are set aside for experiencing love.
Only one, St. Valentine’s Day, is
reserved for celebrating love. There is a
profound difference between the two.
According to Webster's New
Collegiate Dictionary, experience is
defined as “the actual living through an
event or events; actual enjoyment or
suffering.” As far as love is concerned,
this refers to what one does with his or
her friends or, more likely, with that
special person he or she loves more than
any other. “Experiencing” includes
everything from dating to laughing, from
kissing to caring and it goes on
almost all year long.
But when Feb. 14 rolls around, things
are drastically different on Valentine’s
Day, love is celebrated. Webster defines
celebrate as “to perform publicly and
with appropriate rites; solemnize,” and
the definition describes perfectly the
strange things which occur on that one
strange day.
The difference between these two
words on Valentine’s Day is not too far
Lynn Carpenter
assistant professor of electrical engineering
"GOOD GRl£f t SPEAKER. O’NEIi-l- ... TH£ MEMBERS ARE ACTUALIX PRACTICING ETHICS "
arrow misses the target’
removed from the difference noticed on
any other holiday. On Christmas, we
celebrate by trying to outdo each other in
buying gifts and by feasting, singing,
and chattering. However, we experience
Christmas when the presents are un
wrapped, and our bellies are filled to
capacity by sitting around at the end of
the day, quietly sharing time and the true
spirit of the season with our families.
Mary Ellen
Wright
On Easter, we run around as kids to
see who got the most jellybeans and
now we run around to see who bought
the nicest looking new outfit. That's the
celebrating part, of course. But the
experiencing of the meaning of the
holiday occurs in church or, again, with
family and friends.
Valentine’s Day is no different from all
the rest. You can love someone as much
as one person can possibly love another
from Feb. 15 through Feb. 13 of the
following year, but on that other day,
something "weird happens this
celebration of love.
When you think about it, the “ap-
ideological bombast, that “they don’t understand us.” Such a
view encourages an “us vs. them" mentality with which it is
impossible to build a new South Africa, or any place else. Such
a view had one South African student leader state that he
wanted superiority, not equality, with whites, “to oppress
them as they oppress us.”
Finally, if I, as a white male, cannot stand up for women’s
rights, how can you really say, as a white female, that you can
stand up for black’s rights?
No insult for injury
TO THE EDITOR: To Gerald L. Palau: I think you should be
more careful about the conclusions you reach about the
“sadistic" attitudes of sports spectators. Your statement, “to
applaud the scene of a body being carried off on a stretcher is
sadistic,” is misleading. It is a long-established tradition to
applaud an injured athelete as she is leaving to show her your
respect, your respect for the fact that she is willing to suffer an
injury in pursuit of something she considers worthwhile. You
applaud her, not her injury, and she is probably grateful for it.
As for feeling “sympathy for Miss Donaldson and empathy
for the other gymnasts on both teams,” respectful applause in
no way precludes feeling sympathy and empathy for those
involved. In fact, it goes along with it. I sincerely doubt that
Rec Hall was jammed on Saturday night with drooling sadists.
I do think we should have real concern for'"how much en
joyment Americans seem to get out of violence;’’.However, I
think most of us are still sufficiently human that we wince at
the sight of violence and injury in the flesh. The real problem
occurs when we fit stark violence into a little glass tube and
make'it a comfortable experience for no justifiable aesthetic
reason. Why Americans enjoy this experience, and what this
experience does to their view of reality and their human
sensitivity are the real questions. Finding sadism under every
overturned stone and making petty reprimands for it may
simply cloud over a more serious issue concerning the
American psyche
Downbeat
TO THE EDITOR: I think it is high time that the University
Concert Committee gets the recognition it deserves, that being
the “Lightweight Organization of the Year.” Thanks to Paul
Riddle’s alleged illness and Marshall Tucker’s subsequent last
minute cancellation, the UCC was able to keep intact its fine
record for providing disciples of progressive, folk and country
music with good concerts here at Penn State (with the possible
exception of Billy Joel). Why, with the wonderful advertising
job they did forTuck'they took one more step toward insuring
that a concert of this nature never takes place.
Maybe they’re right, there’s no sense rescheduling the
concert, Penn State people don’t go for bands like Marshall
Tucker, after all only 2,600 tickets were sold. Well, I find 2,600
to be an amazing number when all the circumstances are
considered. I saw two newspaper ads, one poster, heard no
radio ads and found very few people who actually knew about
the concert. We had six whole days not only to find out that
there was indeed a concert, but to find five spare dollars as
well. I was not surprised at hearing a member of the dance
marathon committee say that she didn’t even know there was a
concert on Sunday!
I think it is far past time for the UCC to quit hiding behind its
patented excuses and do whatever It takes to bring Penn State
the bands it wants to see. There are 33,000 students, not to
mention faculty members and residents of State College. To
say that concerts other than the excuses we’ve had won’t draw
0k &
propriate rites” of this celebration are
some of the most involved in the year.
First of all, one.must send the perfect
Valentine card, whether the “Valen
tine” it’s being sent to Is perfect
or not. If it says more, the recipient
might be scared off. If the girl is an
incurable romantic and the guy sends
her a “Snoopy" card containing some
hilarious sentiment, the unfortunate
young man is doomed, and he’d better
face up to it.
And what if a girt should decide to
send a guy, whose male ego is easily
insulted, a box of 12 long-stemmed
roses? She, too ( had better prepare for
sparks to fly. For Valentine’s Day gifts
are another area of great concern. The
lady might be counting on a bottle of
Chanel, a huge box of chocolates, an
armful of roses, or even a diamond ring.
When the 69-cent grocery store
houseplant or the sleasy dime-store
novel arrives, she may smile weakly on
the outside but she’s sulking and
pouting on the inside. I’m all for sending
flowers or candy to guys, but I've done it
in the past, and boy, have I gotten the
strange looks!
And where should the two of you go
on Valentine’s Day? One party may favor
the dorm semi-formal or a candlelight
dinner in an elegant restaurant, while the
other wants to sit on the couch and
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Thomas Niksa
11 th-political science
Barry Boyce
Bth-bachelor of philosophy program
here is ludicrous, especially Vn view of the fact that much
smaller places like Edinboro.Lock Haven and Bloomsburg can
sell out to people such as Kansas, The Outlaws, Dave Mason
and The Dirt Band, every time.
I plead with the UCC to do one of two things: a) whatever is
necessary to bring in good musicians, not just “names" or b)
relinquish the monopoly they hold on concerts.
Common courtesy $
TO THE EDITOR: We would like to extend ourappreication and
thanks to Leonard Nimoy for the talk he gave at Colloquy on
Wednesday night. His speech was an Interesting and in
formative one in which he gave much of himself. We feel,
however, that some of the questions and reactions of the
audience were inappropriate and discourteous. Mr. Nimoy waa
here as a guest speaker, and we think that the question's
should have focused more on the topics of his speech rather
•than trying to put him on the spot.
It should be recognized that he was not producer, writer and
director of Star Trek and should not be expected to know all the 1
answers pertaining to the series. We hope that in the future
more courtesy will be accorded to guest speakers.
2nd-speech pathology
sheila McCauley
Editor
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"mess around" all evening.
Unless both parties have exactly the
same wishes, tastes and degree of
romanticism, someone’s going to be m
hurt. On the day after a disappointing I
Valentine’s Day, the girls may sit around
reading “Glamour" magazine’s article
entitled, “Whatever Happened to
Romantic Men?" while the guys sit
around grumbling, “What got her so
ticked off?” Well, sometimes you win,
frequently, you lose. sj'
But once again this year, people will
most likely be celebrating love on
Valentine’s Day instead of experiencing
it. I suppose it can't do too much harm
since it’s only one day a year; and yet, I /f
still hold secret grudges from disap
pointing past Valentine’s Days
“inappropritate rites” of celebration’
linger on long after the day in question.)
1 suppose .that when we begin to
overlook each social faux pas that will i
inevitably occur on Valentine’s Day, the
transition from celebration to experience
will have begun.
As it stands, however, I would make’/
one change in the last.line of Elizabeth .
Barrett Browning’s poem, to indicate the
feelings that return after the horror of
Feb. 14 is past. Instead of "I shall but
love thee better after death," perhaps it
should read "I shall but love thee better
'after Valentine’s Day.” , f
l
NADINE KINSEY
Business Manager
vs.
Tim Bowser
2nd-liberal arts
Beverly Wolfe f;
2nd-engineering
Carla Morgan