Editorial opinion
Money's worth
Economists Know that “what
will be produced” is determined by
dollar votes from individuals. If
people aren’t willing to pay for an
item at its current price, the price is
lowered until it will be bought or
the producers go out of business.
At Penn State this basic
economic law may someday put
the University out of a job as the
tuition bill continues to rise at a
faster rate than the cost of living.
Recently, the University Board
of Trustees approved a tuition hike
for University Park students of 9.9
per cent, or a total of $1,263 per
academic year.
Students who are forced to
take such enriching courses such
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Letters to the
Tenure troubles
TO THE EDITOR: In a letter published in the Collegian, the
Issue of faculty selection standards was addressed. Unfor
tunately, due to necessary limitations on space, an adequate
distinction between the cases of Jo-Ann Farr and Jack Wikse
was not preserved in our final draft of that letter. We feel the
need to express that distinction.
The point is simply this: the decision in the case of Jo-Ann
Farr was one to not renew a one year contract, but in the case
of Jack Wikse, the decision was to not grant tenure after a flva
year period of association with the department. The distinction
is an important one because of the different processes in
volved in the two separate decisions. At University Park it is
the tenure process that predominates as the method by which
faculty members are given permanent appointments. This is
why we' felt that the case of Jack Wikse needed to be
publicized. ,
The tenure process, as it exists in most departments of this
University, is closed to student participation. Moreover, as the
case of Jack Wikse demonstrates, it can be closed to public
scrutiny as well.
These issues transcend individual cases. What is needed is
a re-evaluation of the entire processes used in this University
to determine how people will be tenured in their specific fields
of wdrk.
Cops and students
TO THE EDITOR: While walking back from classes, my
roommate and I stopped to admire a-new Pontiac Sunblrd
parked in lot 80. When we started to walk away from the car. a
police cruiser descended upon us, and we were questioned as
to whether we owned the auto.
Drastic action needed against violence
Item: An eight year old boy was killed when he was thrown
from the roof of an apartment building in Brooklyn.
Item: An unemployed construction worker shot himself after
stabbing his four children to death In their beds.
Item: A 15-year-old Long Island girl was charged with
beating her mother to death.
Item: A woman and a male friend apparently committed
suicide after stabbing the women’s two children, ages seven
and eight.
No, these items are not plot summaries of recent television
shows. Yes, they are frightening. Yes, they shock the senses.
Yes, they provoke nausea.
But, these tragic cases are real and they represent only
excerpts of a week of violence in the New York Metropolitan
area.
The situation is not that much different in other major cities
throughout the nation. Crimes perpetrated against children
and by children are Increasing dramatically.
The fact that nothing is being done about such crimes
makes them all the more frightening. Why is it that crimes
Involving children are so prominent today? Are we just
Imagining that times are changing, or was It always like this?
Or has something so grotesque happened to society that
events like this occur.
Something must be responsible for the problem.
Some people will blame the media for manufacturing
as Speech 200 or Bi Sci 3 can
legitimately question the benefit of
paying $1,200 for a year.
Perhaps, a more equitable way
to pay for an education would be
not by the term or even by the
course, but by the class.
At the current tuition rate, it
costs $3.20 per class for a 12
credit term at University Park.
If the instructor were to stand at
the door of his class and collect
the $3.20 fee (his salary) before
each period, the number of no
shows might convince him to
either change his course material
or to find employment elsewhere.
In this way, uninteresting or
very easy courses could be skip-
Tom Dumm
Students to Unveil Normative Criteria
ped by the student with a great
saving of money, and the student
could have a direct control over
the cash he pays for the
knowledge he receives.
Professors might start running
ads reading something like: "Take
Nuclear Agriculture 109 at just
$2.95 a class (That’s a 15 per
cent saving!!!!), if not satisfied,
your money back!"
With the new tuition rate, the
average student will pay about
$3.50 per class period.
Think about that the next time
your head begins to nod asleep in
class. The thought should help
keep you awake.
Motionless, the dorm room curtain
separated the dark, silent cubicle from
the chaos of nocturnal noise outside the
window. Inside, two bodies In
somniousiy tossed and turned on top of
University sheets now wet with sweat.
The dead air weighed oppressively on
them like the steam from a football
team’s locker room.
Through the wide open window,
strident stereo,reverberations shook the
tiny first floor dorm room although the
music's source was six floors up. The
thundering song appropriately
enough Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s
"Welcome Back, My Friends, To The
Show That Never Ends” taunted the
dorm complex, not once, but over and
over and over: either the result of a
malfunctioning eight-track system or
conceivably of a first termer’s limited
musical taste.
After we told the officer that neither of us owned the car, he
advised us that charges could be pressed against us for
leaning against the aforesaid vehicle. I almost started to laugh
until I realized that the CP hiding behind his dark shades was
serious. The merciful officer decided to cut us a break and just
give us a warning. He told us that In the future we should
consider the consequences of our deviant actions.
As the officer zoomed away (probably in pursuit of someone
he had just seen spitting on the sidewalk), my roommate and I
stood stunned in disbelief. How is one to have any respect for
the Campus Police if they pull asinine stunts such as this one?
Maybe instead of hassling innocent students between classes,
Kojak driving car number nine should be at home watching the
Gong Show!
Kiss me Kate
TO THE EDITOR: Since the end of Fall Term, I’ve been taking a
survey of randomly selected males to see who is really the
most popular of Charlie’s Angels. Farrah? Guess again! Here’s
how the seventy males responded when asked which of the
three is their favorite:
Kate Jackson 28 40 per cent
Jaclyn Smith 24 34 per cent
Farrah Fawcett 18 25 per cent
100 Percent 70 100 per cent
Seventy males may not make an official survey, but you can
clearly see that more people watch the show because of Kate
than you may think. And once you’re hooked on Kate . . . it’s
for life!
sensational news. They will argue that newspapers report
these crimes only to sell more newspapers. Others will blame
television networks for scheduling violent programs when
children are watching.
Yet, others will suggest that our society has become too
permissive and that children, today, are being victimized by a
generation of parents who are sparing the rod and practicing
amateur psychology, instead.
However, violent crime involving all age groups Is on the
upswing. Murder and rape threaten to turn America’s major
cities Into battle zones.
Crime and violence in America has become more and more
of a problem for society since the late 60s.
Psychologists blamed America’s involvement In the Vietnam
College
Still able to penetrate the stereo’s
auricular onslaught were the
superhuman yelps from the men of fifth
floor Packer echoed by the women of
second floor Bigler.
"Hey Bigler!” hoarse male throats
hollered.
“Wha’ dya want?” replied a chorus of
voluptuous voices.
Mark Schade
6th-mechanlcal engineering
Mike Reinert
9th-broadcast Journalism
7Z~
life: more than survival
“We’re horny,” was the rejoinder and
the vociferous conversation between the
two dorms further esculated beyond the
point of absurdity.
This is East Halls in the summertime
Welcome.
Of course, these are only my im
pressions of a one night visit to Packer
Hall two summers ago. The" happenings
of that particular evening remain fresh in
my memory because it was my first stay
in. a college dorm and I was not to enroll
for my first term until the upcoming
September. I marvelled at how quickly
my former high school buddy I was
visiting had adjusted to the insanity of
college life. I grew apprehensive about
whether I could ever survive at Penn
State living among strangers in an
unexplored world.
UCC cares, but...
TO THE EDITOR: Everybody here at the Pennsylvania State
University experiences some dissatisfaction. Recently, I had
the opportunity to investigate one area of this discontent:
concerts. As a member of a Speech Communications 200 task
force, I found out some of the issues involved.
Firstly, we are victims of top name artists who demand a lot
of money to perform. The University Concert Committee must
contract only those artists that fit their budget.
Secondly, the University has inadequate seating facilities for
concerts. Rec Hall only houses one sixth of the University
population.
Thirdly, there are scheduling problems for getting Rec Hall.
The Average White Band was supposed to perform here Fall
Term, but they cancelled at the last minute due to illness. UCC
had to get another date a Rec Hall. This was a problem due to
the fact that scheduling for Rec Hall is completed during
March for the following academic year.
What can we, as concert-goers, do about this problem? My
task force is submitting some recommendations to UCC and to
the Rec Hall Scheduling office in an effort to alleviate some of
the immediate obstacles. More action and less talk is what we
need to be effective perhaps we could be less critical of a
system that truly cares about the quality of performers it
contracts. It is time to increase our awareness and ask our
selves, “Do we care enough to do something about it?"
Sheila Marie Wenzel
10th-health planning arid administration
Dave Boas
6th-psychology
Save mediocrity
TO THE.EDITOR: Presenting Itself to the student body of Penn
State University is the newly formed Committee to "Dump Jo-
Ann Farr.” After careful scrutiny of the pro-Farr committee, we
War for the increase. The theory was that a nation which
condoned and supported violence abroad legitimized violence
at home.
Sociologists maintained that the increase in crime was due
to the frustration of racial minorities, who learned that a
statute guaranteeing equality did not necessarily result in
Instant equal opportunity.
Today the courts are being blamed for the upsurge In violent
crime. Critics contend that judges are too lenient. Short
sentences, early paroles, and prison furloughs encourage
criminals to become second and third time offenders, ac
cording to some critics.
Judges, however, point to the number of cases they must
hear In one day. One California judge recently complained that,
he heard more than a hundred cases In an eight hour working
day.
No one single cause can be Isolated and blamed for the
increase in crime. However, the roots of the problem must be
determined, so that government can take action to make
American streets safe again.
The late 60s saw the public relations offensive against crime
by the Nixon Part of that effort was aimed at
giving local governments more leeway In fighting crime. This
interpreted Into more federal dollars for local governments.
Last week one local government was denied federal crime
fighting funds by the Carter administration. The local officials
-OteDWl-Y.
COUJS&H*
Tr
, jeff
hawkes
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HOUJTO SET itaoo F©(\ A $ €OO ,
I suspect East Halls this summer Is
again overflowing with freshmen as
apprehensive as I was.
I survived. Most of you will too.
But I think it unfortunate that many
students merely survive. They never
realize that a university atmosphere is
one of the best places in which to live.
Despite the midterms that must be
studied for and the papers that must be
written, the opportunities for students to
enjoy their stay at this University, the
little day to day events that can make
these years the best of your life, are so
numerous and varied that often I wish I
could remain 20 years old forever to have
time to experience all of them.
After six terms here, I have two pieces
of advice for those of you just embarking
on your college career.
First, experiment. Experiment with
Just about everything. Try different
courses, even though they may be
unrelated with your major. Try a new
sport. No where in the state do I know
where the athletic facilities are more
varied, numerous and inexpensive as at
the University. Drop in on any of the
countless speakers who lecture on
campus throughout the year. Attend as
many jalays and concerts as you can
afford. Get out to different types of
parties and dances. Meet new people.
The possibilities of things to do which
most people have never tried are
practically endless. Dive in.
Second, get involved. Most important,
get involved with your studies. In your
major courses, do the best you can do.
Time permitting, do additional reading
beyond what a course requires. Get to
know the professors in your field jso that
they know you personally. Drop in their
offices often. Let them know you are as
serious about the subject you are
learning as they are in teaching it.
And almost as important, get involved '*
in some sort of extracurricular activity.
Teach a Free University course, join the
choir, go camping, play an in
tercollegiate or intramural sport, play an
instrument in a group, join a fraternity or
sorority, broadcast at a campus radio •
station, work with student government,
or do volunteer work at a help center.
have found it necessary to explain our viewpoint of the con
troversy.
it will never be confused for Harvard or Princeton. Another fact
is that Jo-Ann Farr is an excellent instructor. This is a
disturbing situation that cannot continue. We consider Jo-Ann
Farr to be a threat to the mediocrity of this University. People *
like her are the kind that give this school a good reputation. To
maintain this lackluster image, Jo-Ann Farr must go!
This committee is disbanding at the end of the term due to a
heavy overload of graduation. Without any prospects of em
ployment in sight, we believe next year’s graduating class has
no right to be in a better position.
Collegian
JEFFREY HAWKES
Editor
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wanted to buy a blimp to patrol the community at night.
It is a novel idea, but it would accomplish no more than if the
funds were allocated to hire more police. However, the point is
that many other local communities have been wasting federal
dollars on questionable methods of fighting crime.
Some small communities with little crime annually restock
their motor pool. Some money has been sent to redecorate
offices. Some money has even wound up in officials pockets.
The crime problem is so serious at this point; and of such
consequence to society that the federal government must take
more initiative in devising methods to control and curtail crime *
on American streets. <
It is not enough to preach the immorality of crime. The
Carter administration must take some immediate and drastic
ac tion
The President needs to put some energy into a crime fighting
package that would deal with overcrowded and antiquated *
prisons, overworked judges, and police forces that have to
battle municipal budget crunches as well as crimina s.
No crime fighting package would be complete w ut some
measure controlling the flow of dangerous 1
Although politically inexpedient, the Carter aidministratlon has
to deal with America’s incestuous love affair wltn gu .
Otherwise, the country will not have 1° ab ° u * an
energy shortage In the 21 st century. By that-time we may have
all become items in a police crime report.
I believe you should attack life like it j
owes you something. Your college years
are the best time to get started. And
when other people have little else to do W
but scream out the window late at night, t
you’ll be too exhausted and too sound ]
asleep to be bothered by it. ,
SCOTT R. SESLER V
Business Manager 1
in USA '
Robert Wolff
12th-accounting