Editorial Opinion
Especially in college, we
are barraged, almost inun
dated, with a ceaseless flow of
information. All of it can't be
true some is colored by
prejudice, some only half
true, some hasn't an iota of
truth in it.
Who should you believe?
Your professors? Your text
books? Your girlfriend or
boyfriend? Cr, B. Trudeau?
Walter Cronkite? The Daily
Collegian? Would you believe,
say, a man called "The father
of the hydrogen bomb? "A
man described as a world
renowned researcher in
thermonuclear reactions with
16 honorary doctoral degrees
Letters to the Editor
Enlightened
I would like to thank The Daily Collegian for their
enlightening interview with Director of Univeristy Safety,
David E. Stormer in Friday, Oct. 20's edition. Unfortunately,
this enlightenment came not by way of understanding Mr.
Stormer's stand on the issue of arming University police of
ficers with guns, but rather by illustrating how well currently
important questions could be entirely evaded.
The questions asked were well. worded and to the point and I
started the article naively expecting to read some equally
informative answers. This however, was not the case.
The responses given were some of the finest examples of
"bureaucratic double-talk" I have read in quite some time. I
realize it is not always politically wise to voice strong opinions,
either pro or con, in the press. However, I think that as con
cerned students, many of us would like to know the views of the
prime movers in this debate and continually evading the
subject comes far from achieving this.
TV guilty of shielding the facts
Ex-con 'Kaz' is disturbing fiction
One of the more disturbing piedeS:Of
fiction to emerge from the new television
season is the show "Kaz." It's the story
of a street-wise, cynical and sassy ex
con who, through Horatio Alger deter
mination becomes a lawyer.
Unfortunately, this show's underlying
premise is a ruse and sham in almost
every state in the union it's legally
impossible for an ex-con to become a
lawyer ( or, for that matter, almost
anything else).
Worklife, the magazine of the Com
prehensive Employment and Training
,Administration (CETA), reports that
offenders "are virtually shut: out from
practicing as lawyers, doctors,
psychiatrists, veterinarians, physical
therapists, real estate salespersons,
insurance agents or brokers, funeral
directors or engineers. Forty or more
states restrict the licensing of offenders
for each of these professions."
Of course, ex-cons normally can't
obtain these upper strata jobs due to
other restrictions education, poverty,
lack of good contacts. However, these
are not the only positions ex-cons are
structurally prohibited from getting. An
American Bar Association study found
that all 50 states have nearly 2,000
licensing laws restricting offenders from
over :300 occupations. A quick sample
proves how outrageous these laws are.
Offenders can't be licensed to practice
as: registered nurses in 49 states,
practical nurses in 4$ states, barbers in
46 states, beauticians-cosmetologists in
47 states, plumbers in 10 states,
government jobs in 4 states while 12
Credibility
and countless other awards?
Would you believe this man,
Dr. Edward Teller, if he told
you "The free world as we
know it is not going to sur
vive?" Teller told a lecture
audience at the University
last week that because of a
lack of technical development
with respect to improving
energy sources, and a lack of
conservation, the world
cannot expect to maintain its
current standard of living.
Jimmy Carter believes
him. Carter has been
promoting a comprehensive
national energy pldn since his
inauguration, and until
recently, with only marginal
' Lisa Thorsten
4th-division of undergraduate studies
Oct. 23
other states permit arbitrary rejection
or firing based on an offense record and
21 other states place special conditions
on ex-cons in government employment.
Ten states restrict offender employment
in any business dealing in the
manufacture, distribution or sale of
alcoholic beverages. Thus, even working
as a dishwasher in a tavern or a file
clerk in a brewery often is illegal.
Offender laws not only cover a large
number of jobs, they also affect a great
many workers. Department of Labor
figures show that 32 million labor force
participants, one worker in three, have
arrest or conviction records. CETA
regulations deem these people offenders
and CETA estimates 30 percent of their
clientele are offenders, though only 5
percent admit so. Additionally, 13
million people still incarcerated or too
young to be in the labor force are
offenders.
Mistrust of all ex-cons, based on false
stereotypes and hard-core felons, has
spread to many trades and has been
incorporated into law. Our state
legislatures foster irrational fears that
giving ex-cons a chance means mur
derers will be wielding knives during
your hernia operation.
Certain facts about crime are ignored
in this hysteria. Over 45 percent of
No respect
International amateur competition is one of life's greatest
experiences, both for the participant and the aficionado. The
volleyball match Friday night in Rec Hall between the
national women's teams of the United States and Japan was
certainly a rewarding experience for everyone there.
All the unique dimensions of Olympic competition were
present: the patriotism in the stands, the extraordinary talent
of the players, the audience's unanimous recognition of
exactly what was going on.
Many Americans would be surprised to know that in terms of
number of participants world-wide, volleyball ranks second
only the the collective varieties of football. It is frustrating to
be a member of a world-class team and not receive recognition
and support from your fellow countrymen. I am sure tht our
U.S. volleyball team was gratified and uplifted by their
reception at Penn State, and that many of us who saw the two
teams play will follow their progress with interest as the 1980
Olympic games approach. Bob Strong
Mark Harmon
success.
The attitude of the Congress
and of certain nations has
been to hem and haw - to
stand around digging their
toes in the dirt while great
scientists and statesmen act
as harbingers of doom,
warning of an energy disaster
before the end of the century.
Their attitude, in fact, has
been to not believe the
( educated) handwriting on
the wall.
At this crucial time for the
future of the world's energy
resources, we are simply
asking our readers to ask
themselves: Who are you
going to believe?
arrests are for victimless crimes like
prostitution and public drunkeness. Only
20 percent of all arrests are for serious
crimes and only 4 percent are for serious
personal crimes like homicide, rape,
aggravated assault and armed robbery.
It's a cruel joke to call our "prison and
punishment" system a correction or
reform system. Our system doesn't
advance correction or reform. In fact,
we legally prohibit the hiring or
promotion of offenders. The real story of
"Kaz" would not make good family hour
entertainment:
Kaz, encouraged by a few isolated
examples of ex-cons beating the system,
takes some pre-law courses while in jail.
He tries to finish his studies but finds he
isn't eligible for financial aid because
he's an ex-con. He lies about his past and
gets a job washing dishes to pay tuition.
He graduates but can't get licensed or
hired as an attorney because he's an ex
con. Unable to get a good job he sup
plements his income with petty crime
and/or turns to alcohol and drugs. He is
arrested, convicted, and becomes one of
the 80 percent of ex-felons (and high
proportion of all offenders) who return
to jail.
The legal barriers to the hiring of ex
cons must be lifted immediately. Until
then, our current model of "Kaz" should
be moved from the Sunday night
spotlight with 60 Minutes to Friday
night. There it can accompany other
fantasies like Wonder Woman and The
Incredible Hulk.
Mark Harmon is a 10th-term broad
cast journalism major_
Journalistic means to what end?
Play by the rules
When Bob Woodward came to town
many people, especially journalism
students, started thinking about the kind
of investigative reporting that even
tually removed Richard M. Nixon from
the White House. Sometimes thinking in
a slightly romantic way.
After Woodward and his Washington
Post colleague Carl Bernstein published
a series of articles exposing the
Watergate affair, enrollment in jour
nalism schools skyrocketed. Many
young people strived to expose "that big
story" with their own Deep Throat.
At a recent informal gathering of
investigative reporters, some of them
described their own experiences un
covering the news. Much of their in
vestigative work seemed tedious and
unexciting, quite unlike any images
conjured up in my mind by the names
Watergate and Woodward.
They would attempt to examine "
public" documents and if they could not
obtain access to these, they would
merely go elsewhere for the information
they were after.
Checks, balances
On Oct. 20th I was refused the privilege of purchasing ap
proximately $6 worth (sic) of cheese with a personal check at
the Creamery because I am a student. If I were a member of
the faculty or staff, my check would have been accepted. The
reason for this policy is, of course, because students are a "bad
risk."
In spite of the fact that students do tend, for whatever
reasons, to have a high incidence of bank overdrafts, I find it
rather appalling that this most blatant case of anti-student
discrimination is practiced within the confines of our very own
university. In anystore in State College, a student can pay for
a purchase with a local, personal check, provided he or she has
proper identification. At our Creamery, the only proper
identification is a staff or faculty identification card.
I was informed at the Creamery that this check policy was
put in effect due to a high incidence of bad checks during a
time when the Creamery would not only accept checks for
purchases but would also simply cash checks. It was also
related to me that in all probability the majority of the bad
checks were those simply cashed, and not those accepted for
merchandise. Why, then, I wonder, the over-reactionary
measure of simply refusing to accept all student checks?
I was highly indignant at having my check refused. The
reaction my indignance caused from the floor manager was
one that clearly stated this gentleman had no time for
students. The management ,of the •Creamery,,the. College of
Agriculture; and perhaps the administration in 'general, ap
pear to overlook the fact that the University exists for and
because of the student population. This is obviously a hard pill
for many people to swallow, people who earn their comfortable
wages simply because we exist, but that is simply the fact,
folks.
graduate-finance
Oct. 22
,
I feel the present arbitrary policy practiced at the Creamery
should be immediately halted. I further recommend that my
fellow students avoid doing business there until redress is
made.
Deprived
I count myself among the several hundred students, faculty
and staff who have been unnecessarily inconvenienced and
deprived by the recent decision to close the main gym in Rec
Hall from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The purpose of the closure is supposedly to insure "secret"
practice for our varsity basketball team. The fact that those
practices are hardly secret can be ascertained by anyone who
wants to walk the corners of the main gym in a matter of
only a few minutes I found half a dozen places where I could
"spy" to my heart's content. Meanwhile, the track which
probably services anywhere between 200 and 500 persons per
week during these hours remains unused.
To the recent closing of the track can be added the thousands
of dollars spent on partitioning a part of the weight room,
purchasing special Nautilus equipment, and then hiring
personnel to ensure that this equipment is used only by varsity
team members.
,
As a sport psychologist and health educator, I am hardly an
opponent of varsity athletics or the financial costs of
developing top quality varsity teams. There is, however, a
difference between the single-minded pursuit of athletic ex
cellence and the encouragement of Health, Physical
Education, and Recreation (which is, after all, the name of the
College ).
One maverick reporter disagreed with
their approach, however.
His approach was more aggressive. If
public records containing information he
deemed necessary for his research were
denied to him, his solution was slightly
dishonest and many reporters there
resented it.
"I'd put on a three-piece suit, cut my
hair real short, and go into the office and
act like a lawyer," he said.
Sometimes, the reporter boasted, "I'll
even have a secretary there Xerox some
of the documents I need."
In fact, this young reporter said he
thought nothing of breaking several laws
in the process of proving that someone
else was doing something illegal.
"This is guerrilla journalism," he
said, "and if someone is doing something
wrong, I'm going to get him."
He went on to say that he felt that the
mx;•iilktzußriS>
These recent moves to strengthen varsity athletics at the
Mark Techner
ra GOO
TOOV 06
.
David Ross Adams
graduate-sociology
Oct. 23
or make
ends, in this case, justified the means
Later, I learned that this reporter had
participated in anti-war and civil rights
demonstrations during the 19605, as well
as the actual fighting in the Vietnam
War.
He also expressed the belief that in
order to correct injustices today in his
profession it is necessary to do some
shady things in his role as an in
vestigative reporter.
At first, his attitude seemed ad
venturous and admirable to the college
students present at the investigative
reporting seminar. This guy is out to get
"the bad guys" and that's great.
But the elder journalists present
disagreed, because they didn't see the
difference between a reporter com
mitting crimes in order to get a story
and the possible wrong-doings of the
subject of the story. Both persons are
wrong, they said.
These reporters are not being totally
honest and straight-forward in their
work either though.
They believed that saying "I'm from
the Times," and leaving it go at that,
GONN I
5 8K.
uP
expense of the health and recreation of the larger University
community are, in my opinion, contrary to the nationally
recognized and commendable spirit of Penn State athletics
(voiced 'most often by Coach Joe Paterno) that sports ex
cellence should not overshadow the personal satisfaction
derived from participation and the physical enjoyment of the
activity.
Cross-culture
It would be bias to claim that the campus is lacking in inter
cultural openness by simply counting the empty seats in Ree .
Hall at the past United States vs. Japanese women's volleyball
game. A good athletic event like that obviously wasn't viewed
as an inter-cultural enrichment by many folks.
One of the things that won't be delivered to your door is this ,
"elite" knowledge of cross-cultural understanding.
Here at our "little unreal world," international students
have had few chances to meet with others on a non-official
basis. The degree of inter-cultural openness, to me, will mount
up if individuals just make a little effort to show their in
telligence and sympathy on this matter. Recent Indian test
tube baby cartoon controversy could be looked at as a good
lesson for beginners. I advocate inter-cultural communication, : 4 A
not in 'the,supprior-inferior basis, but,in a newness of humane
understati'ding•of People.whe knoiAr where they fit in the sphere ,
among other diversities of Adams and Eves.
Don't simply count on the Pope to do the job for you, but take
the initiative step if you care. 1..
L;Collegian
Dave Skidmore
Editor
BOARD OF EDITORS: Editorial \ Editor, Bob Frick; News
Editor, Mike Mentrek; Assistant Editorial Editor, Patty,,,,6
Rhule; Assistant News Editors, Pete Barnes, Jerry 'Micro;
Copy Editors, Matt Benson, Harry Glenn, John Martellaro;
Andy Ratner, Diana Younken, Jim Zarroli; Photo Editor,
Lynn Dudinsky; Assistant Photo Editors, Chip Connelly, Joe
Tori; Sports Editor, Joyce Tomana; Assistant Sports Editors - ,- ,
Gary Silvers, Rick Weber; Features Editor, Gina Carroll;
Arts Editor, Joyce Gannon; Graphics Editor, Della Hoke; ';';'?.)
Contributing Editor, Jeff Hawkes; Office Manager, Vicki
Butler.
BEAT COORDINATORS: Consumer-Business, Lynn Osgood;
Faculty Administration, Tom Peeling; Local Government, j
Allen Reeder; Minorities, Pat Kiger; Politics, Mark Leiden;
Student Government, Mary Ellen Wright.
BOARD OF MANAGERS: Sales Manager, Steve Kornblit;
Office Manager, Dave Niderberg ; National Ad Manager,
Margie Schlessinger ; Assistant Sales Manager, Tony Frank;
Assistant Office Manager, Don Hanley.
LAYOUT COORDINATORS: Cindy Bond, Terry Dolinar,
Missy McKelvy. ,IT:
ND
MC
RE,
KEYS„
Michael J. Mahoney
professor of psychology
Oct. 18
Judy Stimson,,
Judi Rodriek
Business Managers,
them
allowing the person to construe that the
reporter meant The New York Times to ~
loosen a subject's tongue, was okay. is
Likewise saying "I'm calling from the
police station," while standing in the
actual police house was all right. too.
Never mind that the obvious in- a.
terpretation would lead the other person
on the line to believe the caller was a
police officer.
Somehow the difference between the
ethics of the younger reporter and hi:42;
older cohorts doesn't come through '-
clearly.
Maybe what Bob Woodward said here ,;
the other night about the press over
stepping its bounds is true.
What scares me just a little more is the i
realization that episodes in our nation's ;,•
history such as Watergate, the Pentagon
Papers and the ClA's heavy handed '
activities were uncovered by just such
tactics.
Just think what we would never know i i
about if all reporters played by the c
"rules of the game."
Mark Techner is a 7th-term jour- i
nalism major.
Thang Nguyetirifi
10th-broadcasting;,
Oct. 23