—Editorial opinion
Minority strike?
Teamsters Union Local 8
last week authorized its leader
to call a strike this fall, and
University students have
nothing to gain and much to
lose no matter how it is re
solved.
The union members reject
ed the Univer.s.ity's offer of a
5 per cent wage increase. The
union leadership had demand
ed an 8 per cent hike, saying
its members cannot maintain
their standard of living with
just a 5 per cent increase.
If the University gives in to
the 8 per cent wage boost in
order to avoid or end a strike,
then students may expect a
room and board, and tuition
increase Winter Term.
If the union of 2,600 Univer
sity maintenance and techni
cal employees follows through
with its strike threat, students
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We of the newly organized SLA (Silliness Liberation
Alliance, etc.) have noted your paper to be lacking in proper
coverage of silly affairs. True, silly people may be, at this
moment, in a minority on this campus, but such is not the case
at progressive universities and homes. If PSU and its student
newspaper do not wish to fall behind the Times (or the
Washington Post, for that matter), it should immediately
remedy the situation. For. example, the recent Martian in
vasion of the Garden Theatre (last Friday night I believe) was
photographed by your people, was applauded by the lines for
Star Wars, and was absent from the next Monday's Collegian.
Obviously a case of prejudice ggainst silly people on the part
of the editorial staff.
So far, violence has not been tried . . . successfully. There
was the attempt to kidnap Jeff Hawkes' pet rock, but that fell
through ( those things are vicious). And the attempt to steal
Sparks Building for ransom. Wouldn't fit in the paper bag
we're new at this, you understand.
Press might promote
Two weeks ago, three Girl Scouts were
found murdered in their tent in an
Oklahoma camp. Last week, another
Girl Scout, this one in Florida, was
dragged from her tent by the hair
fortunately, she escaped her captor
without being harmed.
Although the two crimes may not have
been committed by the same person,
there still may be a connection between
them.
In March, when a group of Hanafi
Moslems seized three government
buildings and held more than 100
hostages, U.N. Ambassador Andrew
Young placed at least part of the blame
for the incident on the shoulders of the
news media.
Ile claimed that this country's
: newspapers, radio and television usually
:over-publicize incidents of kidnaping
• and violence, thus inciting other sick or
:frustrated individuals or groups to
: perpetuate this type of activity.
• Since then, Andrew Young has become
:famous for his rather brash statements.
• But in this case, perhaps he hit on
:something. Perhaps the publicity at
:tained by the Oklahoma Girl Scout
. murders planted the germ of an idea in a
:man's head in Florida the idea that it
:wouldn't be difficult to remove a girl
.from an unguarded tent in the woods.
And perhaps the news media should
• consider altering the way in which news
concerning violence is reported.
• Of course, there is much to be said for
.freedom of the press and the "public's
'right to know." I can't imagine any
•significant act of violence or kidnaping
being completely ignored by the media.
The people want and need to know that a
radical group is terrorizing an area of
the country in which they live or that a
kidnaper of a certain description is "on
the loose."
And yet, the media have a great deal
or power. For example, many noted
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can expect countless incon
veniences such as poorer din
ing hall service and unre
paired and uncleaned dorms.
The union leadership has
said it expects students to be
sympathetic to the striking
Teamsters, to understand
their cause to seek a decent
living.
Perhaps many students
would not object strenuously if
their room and board bill in
creased to pay the Teamsters'
demands. Perhaps many stu
dents will not fill maintenance
positi6ns vacated by striking
workers. Perhaps many stu
dents will sympathize with the
Teamsters as long as their de
mands are justified.
But last week's strike vote
raises doubts , as to how justi
fied the demand for an 8 per
cent increase is. Only one-
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sociologists and psychologists have done
studies which show that violence on
television can cause violent behavior in
human beings. And nightly news
programs are sometimes as full of
violence as police shows and
documentaries on violence in America.
There are two possible ways in which
the media could perpetuate violent
behavior. By describing an act of
violence or terrorism in detail, the
media could serve to suggest a new type
of violence to some frustrated in
dividual.
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Or, if an oppressed group wants to
bring its cause to the attention of the
public, it need only perform some act of
seizure and it will win instant publicity
via the media.
For example, during the recent two
week seige of a Dutch train by Moluccan
terrorists, the story made the top of the
broadcast news for several days, and
also often made the front page of
America's newspapers.
And when a New York news show
reported on the recent Croatian seizure
of the Yugoslavian Embassy to the U.N.,
one of the reporters on the station talked
for five minutes on "Who are the
Croatians and what do they want?" As I
said before— instant publicity!
The pinnacle of publicity was reached
earlier this year by an Indianapolis
kidnaper. He called a press conference
and spoke to several reporters while he
held a sawed-off shotgun to the throat of
a real estate agent. He got his face on TV
Letters to the Editor
Anyway, even now as you look about you, you may notice
silly people. You may walk faster and try to avoid us, but we
are organizing and soon we will be too powerful to ignore!
(Whew. Hot stuff, huh?)
I suggest that you, and others like you, submit to silliness
now before you find yourself on the wrong side of insanity. It
may be the most sensible thing you do.
Perhaps.
Squeeze play
I note with some interest that a spokesman for the Florida
orange growers has indicated that Anita Bryant will not be
removed from her advertising position unless it appears as
though her involvement in the campaign against human rights
is negatively affecting the industry. I think that it would
behoove all those concerned with the cause - of human rights to
make this a self-fulfilling prophecy.
third of the union's member
ship bothered to show up for
the strike vote.
More than 1,500 Teamsters
stayed home. Apparently,
they do not feel that their
livelihood is threatened by
just a 5 per cent increase.
Such apathy over something
as important as one's salary is
not going to lend credence to
the need for an 8 per cent in
crease.
Most students face enough
financial hardships without
having to support higher sala
ries for Teamsters who are not
concerned enough to partici
pate in the strike vote.
A strike called for by a mi
nority of the members does
not seem justified and stu
dents will know it.
Political
By WALTER R. MEARS
AP Special Correspondent
More often than not, commencement
addresses are good occasions for a nap.
Lt. Gen. Donn A. Starry would have been
better off if the graduating class had
slept through his.
Instead, part of the audience paid
attention, and he became embroiled in a
new installment of the old argument
over the proper boundaries of political
and foreign policy comment by military
officers. .
Starry's indiscretions were political
and diplomatic or undiplomatic.
Officially, his error was that he failed to
get Pentagon clearance for the speech
he made to graduates of the American
High School in Frankfurt, Germany.
It didn't cost him much, just a day's
inconvenience to stop by the Pentagon
for a half-hour lecture from the boss. He
was admonished;.then sent on his way to
a new job and a promotion to four-star
rank.
Both were arranged before he gave the
speech that stirred the trouble. He is to
take charge at the Army Training and
Mike "Mick" Mahan
town resident
violence
and aired his gripes because he made
big news through his stunt. That stunt
might appear to be appealing to
someone else looking for an outlet for his
frustrations.
Who knows, perhaps the media can
even help a criminal-at-large remain at
large a while longer. For all New York's
44-caliber killer has to do is turn on the
local news and he will see how many
policemen and cars are on his trail and
the exact amount of progress being
made towards his capture.
I think this proposed connection
between media coverage and violence
can be most clearly seen through the
example of Lynette "Squeaky"
.Fromme's attempt on then-President
Ford's life. When the attempt was made,
newsmen threw themselves full-force
into the story. Television recreated the
scene of the crime several times a day;
and it was not unusual to see three ar
ticles on the subject on the front page of
one newspaper. When it was discovered
that Fromme was a member of the
Manson family, the publicity rose to a
fever pitch. Fromme's picture even
made the cover of Time magazine.
Soon after all of this occurred the
number of threats on Ford's life in
creased three-fold from 100 to 300 per
week.
Surely the entire blame for incidents
of violence and kidnaping does not
belong to the media, and yet, perhaps it
is time for the media to take a long hard
look at the way they cover such in
cidents. They might take some cues
from experts in the social sciences, for it
must be determined as soon as possible
whether the media are doing more harm
than good in the way they handle certain
stories.
For if our bad news is either altered or
cut back to some extent, perhaps the
media will have more good news to
report.
WELL,LO
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comment caught General
Doctrine Command, which runs the
service's schools. The promotion to four
stars awaits Senate confirmation.
In the offending speech, Starry told his
young audience that within their
lifetimes "the Soviets will fight the
Chinese, possibly simply continuing
their 10-year-old border conflict, but
more probably in a major war." He said
it is likely the United States would
become involved.
He also took•out after "the liberals,"
saying they had tried to bury God, and
that they dominate a press "which is not
interested in the truth, only in the 5 per
cent or so of the news that deviates from
the norm .. ." •
'Starry thus made the 5 per cent.
His case hardly ranked with that of
Maj. Gen. John K.. Singlaub, ordered
home from South Korea after saying
President Carter's planned withdrawal
of U.S. ground forces would lead to war
there. Singlaub contradicted the policy
of his civilian commander. There isn't
any policy on the issue Starry raised,
although it is reasonable to assume that
the United States would prefer not to see,
A boycott against all Florida orange products and by
products would be the best way of achieving this. Hopefully,
this gesture will not be seen as one whose purpose is to deny
this woman a job; rather, an attempt to focus attention on an
industry which benignly tolerates a denial of human rights.
Radically angry
I would like to answer Mr. Jeffery Imm
Let me point out, Mr. Imm, that while your letter made me
angry, it has improved my impression of you. Imagination,
courage, and conviction of values are admirable qualities;
Modern revolution looks out for people of these characteristics
to fill its ranks.
"Revolutionary," and "Crusader," Yes, I guess I will
accept those titles; they fit me accurately enough. But then,
they describe more and more people these days. I repeat, Mr.
Imm, you do not understand the purposes or the extent of
revolution. you have been exposed to too much SLA craziness.
There are more dimensions to revolution these days than you
have imagined. And I won't try to define doctrine; that would
take hours of discussion and accomplish little.
Think large, of human issues. We are entering a new phase
of life on this planet. We cannot continue using up human life
and potential, energy, and resources as we do. We have to pay
closer attention to economics, over-population, food
production and agribusiness, government corruption and
bureaucracy, big business, ecology, education, and more. The
human race cannot for long use its home and its members as it
has and survive. Humankind has to learn to take respon
sibility for itself.
The revolution operates to provide method for forward
reaching and visionary people to learn and teach, to explore
new sciences, arts, political ideas, and social systems. Some
of us classify what we do as working for the development of
human potential. New ideas shock a society, but often turn out
to be worth the shock. Examine revolution carefully, un
derstand it, before you judge it.
"Fight in any way you know" means exactly that, Mr. Imm.
If your way is peaceful political action, I applaud you and wish
all power to you. Gandhi is one of the greatest of revolutionary
heroes. If you are a writer, write; a scientist or an artist, think
and create; if you are a businessman, do business; just direct
yourself towards revolution. Do what you do best, in whatever
way you devise, to fight.
The ecology movements, feminism, and the NAACP and
black movements are responsible and ideal parts of
revolution. You don't have to carry a gun to be a revolutionary
some of us loathe the damned things.
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let alone become involved in a major
war between Russia and China.
So the issues raised by Starry's
scolding are more difficult. "If our
generals are slowly silenced to the point
that they cannot discuss with young
people matters that do not come under
announced policy of the commander in
chief, then, we are in for real trouble,"
said Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz.
But the Pentagon has told U.S.
military commanders that even before
policy is set, it may be contrary to the
national interest for top military men to
discuss it publicly.
That message went out with a
reminder of the requirement that
speeches, and statements be submitted
for advance clearance by the Defense
Department's Directorate of Security
Review and Freedom of Information.
If Starry had sent his in, a Pentagon
official said, it probably would have
gone back to him with a letter suggesting
that he reconsider the implications of his
statements on war between Russia and
China, and that he also consider whether
he should involve himself in domestic
Paul H. Stevenson
State College resident
Then again, freedom and growth are only possible, wheli
people are willing to fight to guard them. %
It is not my intention to convert you. I just wanted to ex
plain. :I
To close, let me remind you of the tar-baby principle, "You
become attached to that which you attack." Welcome to the
revolution.
Fight in any way you know
da th ry Collegian
JEFFREY HAWKES SCOTT R. SESLEH
Editor Business Manager
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Letters policy
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coverage, editorial policy and campus and off-campus i'''
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cannot be returned.
IF I %JUST
politics with his comments about
liberals.
In other words, it doesn't take a censor
to make the point to a general. Over the
right signature, a suggestion is enough.'
There's nothing new about the system,
and it has caused controversy before.
Fifteen years ago, a Senate in
vestigating committee said it was ap
propriate for the Pentagon to check an'd
clear public statements in advance.
Despite the controversies over
Singlaub and Starry, the Pentagon's
civilian managers still are urging
military men to speak to the public and
to reporters. They want it done with
care, and in keeping with policy, and
with clearance for the speeches.
That's a tall order, but Secretary of
Defense Harold Brown tells military
commanders it is part of the job. It will
be a difficult part, especially now that
they have seen two of their colleagues
called on the administration carpet for
saying the wrong things.
For a while,- at least, a good many top
military men may decide that silence is
the better part of valor. ..
William Carl Eichmaii
11th-general arts and sciences