Editorial opinion If you don't like 'em, join 'em and try to change things. Grant Ackerman, Undergradu ate Student Government presi dent-elect, has launched a cam paign to involve as many students as possible in USG operations. Here's the chance for students to do something about the student government which so often comes under fire for its role (or non-role) in student life. Getting into USG at the organi zational level gives the opportunity, for students to discover exactly what can be done about issues they feel are important. But USG does not need people willing only to work when they can spare a few minutes. The future of USG rests with the people who Letters to the Editor Farr side TO THE EDITOR: For the past several days we have been inundated with letters to the editor, editorials and news items concerning the release of Jo Ann Farr. These publications have ranged from emotional outbursts by students to rational appraisals by professors. However, one person's point of view has been totally disregarded, i.e., Jo Ann Farr's. We feel that before anymore is said (if indeed, anything more needs to be said) on the issue, Jo Ann should step forward and give her account of the situation. the C da ly ollegian JEFFREY HAWKES Editor BOARD OF EDITORS: EDITORIAL EDITOR, Marty Smith; EDITORIAL ASSISTANT, Sally Heffentreyer; OP-ED EDITOR, Joanne McLaughlin; NEWS EDITOR, Mike Mentrek; ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, Dave Skidmore; CAMPUS EDITOR, John Martellaro; COMMUNITY EDITOR, Jay Book man; COPY EDITORS, Carl Brown Jr., Tom Erdner, Ivy Goldberg; WIRE EDITOR, Karen Egolf; FEATURES EDITOR, Patty Rhule; SPORTS EDITOR, Pete•DOugherty; ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS, Tom McNichol, Jerry Lucci; PHOTO EDITOR, Randy Woodbury; ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS, Ken Kasper, Tim Woodbury; GRAPHICS EDITOR, Lynne Maimed; OFFICE MANAGER, Anita McKelvey State College life fosters Nestled in the mountains of central Pennsylvania is the tiny sleepy com munity of State College. Located directly in the center of the state about halfway between . Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, State College seems more like an oasis than a real-life community struggling to survive the turmoil of the 1970'5. . Sociologists usually talk about the '6o's as being the turbulent period in our history, what with the racial violence which tore our cities apart and the assassinations of so many vital and dynamic public figures. Yet, the 1970's have not really seen an end to that turbulence. It has just become less noisy. Today the assassin is called the terrorist and the violence among the disenchanted has been replaced by a passive acceptance of the status quo. However, the problems which led to the turmoil in our cities and the tragedy following the untimely deaths of our national leaders have not disappeared at all. The problems of American life are real, and they are visible if you look hard enough to find them. RaclA,m still chacterlzes American qr,r,iptv all the screeches and bloodshed Join 'em join and give as much time as it takes to make life at the University better. Sitting around complaining a- . bout the make-believe politicians who make up USG won't solve anything. Get up, go out and fill out an application to become part of changing it. USG is a student or ganization and it needs students from all different areas of interest. This is the only good way for USG to learn about student interests. Ackerman and his senators went to reorganize USG commit tees to assure that all committee members know the activities of groups they are not working on directly. This will keep the chan nels of communication open within the organization. William S. Hickey 12th-psychology David Zehr 12th-psychology SCOTT SESLER Business Manager of the '6o's failed to end racism, because we learned it was something that could not be erased with the stroke of a presidential pen or a legislative package. By now, we know racism is a matter of the heart and it can disappear only with society's psychological growth a slow evolutionary process which may never run its course. During the 1960'5, Americans saw their families split up so men could die to maintain peace in the world. It was the communist philosophy which we considered the enemy. Still today the communist philosophy is the enemy. The basic ideological conflicts between the free world and communism are becoming more and Final say TO THE EDITOR: I am pleased to see that certain people have such deep insight into the mind of God that they are able to unequivocally announce His judgment. I think, however, they may have been a little hasty in their proclamation. To say that Black Sabbath, a commercial rock band, is demonic and their music is satanic —that's amazing to see how much these men know about musicians whom they have never met, whose intentions they know so intimately. As for wizardry I don't really think It was meant in a literal sense in the advertisement. i believe that, taken in context, it was meant that the effects In the multi-media show were very well manipulated. As for cleverness being an abomination before God has He not given us a sound mind with which to think and invent? Or are cameras, speakers, lights, etc., an abomination? Admittedly, "If I Should Die . " may produce an un desirable emotional reaction to accept Christ, rather than a calm decision of the will. If those presenting the Paragon. Experience had let things go at that, then certainly the presentation would have been ridiculous at best, corrupt in the least. A follow-up, however, Is being carried out, to make sure those who said they had accepted Christ understood what they had done. It- is not a Campus Crusade recruiting service. Consider the fact that people from other fellowships are taking part in the follow-up.' Fear of death and Satan are not the best reasons for ac cepting Christ. The life He offers here on earth outweighs those things. Yet, if a testimony was presented, would 3,000 people have attended? And if they had, would they have thought about what was said? Finally, if God really is against what Campus Crusade did, why don't we all wait a few weeks and see what fruit has been produced? Let those who accepted Jesus during the presentation be the final say. c7e...4.:> 4 1ie Channels of communications between USG and the outside world the student body only will be opened if students are will ing to give it a try. USG could be so much and could do so many things it's ridiculous to waste the oppor tunity to make it work. When Ackerman takes office, ' he's going to need a lot of help. So students can either laugh off another year for USG or lend him a hand. Whatever USG does or does not do is for the students. • If students are not willing to help themselves by helping USG by de voting time and ideas to it, then when things go wrong or issues never get resolved, who will be to blame? From the edito Newspaper work a 24-hour job Drawn curtains block out only part of the morning sunlight glowing over the cluttered dorm room. A groggy assistant news editor rolls out of bed to grab the Collegian left by his roommate before leaving for first period. He glances through 15 pages and Intently examines page one. Proud of the front page layout he designed eight hours earlier, he rewards himself by falling back in bed, thus cutting his second period class for the third time that term. Meanwhile at the Collegian office, a reporter politely answers the first of the day's countless phone calls "You say you want a .correction run? . . . No, the editor hasn't been in yet . . . You want his phone number? . . . Okay, hold on a minute." At 10:20 a.m., another reporter exits class early and hurries to the municipal building to report the regional trans portation committee's discussion on expanded University airport usage. Back at the office, the office manager bustles in, sets down her books and asks why the wire machines are off. "Oops," a day desk reporter responds, running to the silent AP and_ UPI machines, plugging them in, , 'and throwing the switches. The black boxes more apparent as Carter ' presses the case for human rights throughout the world . and as this nation tries to negotiate settlements aimed at reducing the number of armaments. The war may not be taking place on a battlefield right now, but it is a war which will never end until the one system has dissolved the other, or until the two dissolve themselves. EconoPc conditions which deteriorated in the late '6o's have really never recovered. It has been a 10-year period of inflation, stagnation and recession. Major unemployment still plagues the nation, and prices continue to rise beyond what could ever have been imagined 10 years ago. Though these problems seem per plexing on paper, they appear senseless in reality. For example, it has never made sense that the most prosperous and most powerful nation on earth could allow people to starve and children to die because of neglect. But, that is what Is happening every day In this nation. The school systems of our urban centers are in disarray. If the school systems are not suffering. from a tack of funds, then they are the centers for the jump Into their Incessant chatter. At half past noon a line forms at the Classified Add desk. A harried business manager slams the receiver on the phone and trudges downstairs to the production shop to find a missing grocery ad. Ten or 15 reporters mill around the copy desk leafing through newspapers, trading the latest off-the-record gossip, tying up the phone. Some even are working on stories. A bearded campus editor discusses a story Idea with a rookie reporter. A senior reporter pins an assignment sheet on the bulletin board to be read by his team of reporters. The red light -bulb glows above the darkroom indicating that a photographer Is developing pictures. Students enter the office asking where Name Withheld false sense of security manifestations of 200 years of racial prejudice. Though we are not stuck any longer by the violence in Vietnam, Watts, Detroit and Newark, none of these places have disappeared from the•rnap. Neither has State College. ' Living in State College can tend to make those, problems seem to disap pear. War or the threat of war is as much a reality in these hills as an outbreak of the swine flu. State College has no serious problems with racism. No riots. have occurred here. Though shoppers here have not had any relief from the economic decline, as the prices in the local supermarkets Indicate, the town has not been seriously affected by the layoffs which have occurred In the auto Industry and other labor markets. State College Is a fairly stable and prosperous area. History books indicate that this was one of the few areas not affected seriously by the Great Depression of the '3O a. The Depression made Its way around the world, but It hid its face whtm It headed for State College. Living In State Collene is an unreal Jeff hawker , ,_. / letters to the editor go and requesting Collegian note forms. The news editor sifts through the Junk on his desk to locate his log book to note what stories will be coming in during the day. He fills out a couple of photo assignment forms. Phones and typewriters ring amidst the dull roar of voices and wire machines. The afternoon chaos finally slackens after 5 p.m., the dinner hour, but more importantly, the deadline for early stories. The news desk's tray is stacked with stories that met deadline. By 5:45 p.m., the news editor is again in the office meeting with the campus, community and photo editors to decide on which pages to play which stories. At 6, the copy editors arrive, clear off the horseshoe shaped ' copy desk, sharpen their pencils and settle down to a long evening of proofreading copy, re . - writing stories, creating headlines and gnashing their teeth. By 7, Collegian reporters and photographers are showihg up at local government and student organization meetings, Colloquy lectures, basketball games and the numerous other events where news is happening on and off campus. existence. The problems so evident every evening on the national news broadcasts just cannot be taken seriously if you live in State College. And how can they be? The governing body of this com munity, the municipal council, rarely proposes anything of consequence or anything more controversial than remodeling the State College Municipal Building. • Where else but In State College would a member of the Community Appearance and Design Review Board walk through torn with a tape rule measuring business establishments' signs to determine if they comply with local ordinances? And where else but in State College would government officials sit around a table for two hours pondering such an Important question as whether the parking places In a shopping center are lined properly? Obviously, these are not earth-shaking events, yet apparently necessary to maintain a peaceful and somewhat perfect existence in State College away from the congestion, Complexity and roakitv al whop life, Unfortunately, all thls is reflected in , the people who inhabit this peaceful and tranquil community, especially; students. Students participated in mild: protests during the late '6O s and early, '7O s, but not as strongly as in other', areas of the country. • The major concerns of students here, are their weekend dates and their; weekend drunks. There is very little: concern among students on this campus: for educational issues beyond getting, good grades. Not even elected student represen-i tatives seem all that concerned about the; rising costs of their education. No one: seems concerned about knowing where! and how the University spends its, . money. There seems to be very little; concern for the quality of education: students receive at Penn State and the, effects, if any, of faculty tenure on that: education. ' 1 Yes, it is a very quiet and un- , controversial life here. It seems one: ..* designed to create very quiet and on controversial adults, who will be very satisfied to continue and perpetrate the same policies and attitudes which In the pant have almost ruined our Rackety HELLO.,, DAVID FROST,. h %IP! 1 PW7/#4tAiii Aroundlo, someone volunteers to run 1 to Waring snack bar, the nearest place , for mid-evening fortification. By 11, the reporters and photographers are back In the office with deadline pressing upon them. Downstairs in the production shop computers are spewing out tapes. These : are fed into other computers which in turn produce stories in the desired column width which are finally waxed' onto make-up pages. . By 12:45, most of the copy and, headlines and photos are downstairs 4 the hands of the shop. At 1 o'clock 4' deadline the news editor runs hiN completed lay out of page one dow - n i stairs and he and the copy editors go home to sleep, or more often than not, t4:• 1 , study. ti It The only persons remaining are the: layout workers and the night editor who proofreads stories as they are being pasted onto the pages. It it By 2:45 the last page is driven tc/ Himes' printing press on the Bennei Pike, the night editor turns the wirii machines off, and silence reigns in the Collegian office until, in just a couple hours, sunrise announces the start t;:if, it another day and another paper. 11
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers