Editorial Opinion
Will students ever be represented in local government?
The lone student candidate in this year's
elections for seats on the State College Borough
Council isn't even in the area to campaign.
Illness forced John Tobin (6th-community
development) to temporarily set aside an at
tempt to land one of the four council seats open
in November's elections, and head home his
"real" home.
His departure is a definite handicap to some
students' wish for one of their own ranks to
represent them once more on a governing body
that is now composed only of State College
residents and University faculty members.
But it also underlines what is by now an old
sad story: a lack of a student voice in local
government specifically, the governing body
that limits how many of us may live together in
certain residential buildings, raises the gar
bage collection fees that indirectly raise our
rents, tells us where we may park our
automobiles, etc.
The student who wishes to get involved with
State College's major governing body faces all
sorts of obstacles (not.the least of which is his
fellow students' ignorance of the importance to
them of Council).
Unless he runs as a freshman, he must stick
around past graduation until his term runs out,
Ruskin' in where
the sane among us
should fear to tread
If there's one thing I can't stand, it's
people who can't deal with future shock.
You know the kind I, mean. When the
great, hairy egret is endangered by
pesticides, they fly to some God
forsaken tropical hellhole with banners
and petitions. Or, when the 24th bolt in
the chasis of a new model car is found to
be missing a thread, they picket Detroit
And bring in Ralph Nader.
Found in all walks of life„ from the
angry young man to the aging armchair
liberal, these bleeding hearts can
usually be recognized by The sunflower
seeds they carry around in little,
biodegradable paper bags and by their
subscription§,tp,consumer Reports,
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The Three Mile Island incident
brought them out of the woodwork. Just
because they can't understand nuclear
power and its benefits they must cry
bloody murder when a few valves
malfunction. Why aren't they bitching
about coal and all the people's lungs that
have been eaten away from inhaling its
fumes?
The answer is simple. They just can't
deal with technology technology and
its by-products just don't fit in with their
Thoreau-Euell Gibbons-Goody Two
Shoes World. They're frightened that the
pasteurized, processed, freeze-dried,
artifically colored and flavored food
they pull from their freezers (leaking
poisoned gas), will give them a
technology-induced cancer.
They're frighted to go into a bathroom
with its hairdryers spewing hot asbestos,
its fluorocarbons rushing from
pressurized cans (or bombs if they get
too close to the radiator) and the hair
dyes that cause brain tumors.
They're frightened to go on their
honeymoons because Niagara Falls
might open up, dropping them into a
chemical dumping ground. They're
paranoid that the government might be
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clandestinely exposing them to radiation
and/or mind-altering drugs and/or
microwaves to see what would happen.
These people, primarily '6os
holdovers, should learn a lesson from the
'7os. They should learn how to deal with
their problems, become laid back, treat
it as a game. They should play Rushin'
Roulette.
Rushin' Roulette is a game much like
Russian Roulette. You know, a revolver
with at least one blank chamber and . . .
well . . . see "The Deer Hunter" if you're
still confused. Great game. Nobody
really wins, but the losers don't shed any
tears either.
~ ;4). yay, - - life in modern 'America is
like Russian Roulette. We rush headlong
from - invention to inventioli,'cOnstantly
researching, producing, marketing,
buying and using with only Ralph Nader
between us and oblivion. The govern
ment is so eager to gain information it
risks the public's lives in pursuit of
knowledge or it just can't imagine what
could go wrong until it does.
Part of it is our scientific arrogance.
We think we know everything there is to
know about chemicals or nuclear
physics until the next generation
discovers new theories and properties.
But from reading the papers and the
quotes from the men and corporations
behind modern blunders and tragedies,
you get the impression they just didn't
know what was going on at the time.
But no matter who or what is
responsible, the result is the same:
Rushin' Roulette. Industry, government
and individuals have done things and are
continuing to do things that will explode
in our faces, today, tomorrow or in our
children's futures.
But don't fight it, go ahead and play.
Get excited. Spin the chamber, pull the
trigger and hop into a Ford Pinto with
Firestone radials. Spin the chamber,
pull the trigger and eat a maraschino
cherry in that whiskey sour.
Rushin' Roulette isn't a lot of fun, but I
wish the bleeding hearts would quit
crying it is, after all, the only game in
town.
Bob Frick is a 13th-term journalism
major.
THE WI MI %CHINE (Reg. USißt.ol:o
and few students, it seems, are willing to do
this. And yet it's a rare , freshman who is
familiar enough with State College government
to feel confident enough, or be qualified enough,
to have his name put on the ballot.
We think this needs to be changed.
Council President Ingrid P. Holtzman says a
worthy and truly committed Council candidate
would not object to staying in the area past
graduation.
But in the world we live in, graduating
students, who, perhaps a bit naively, see the
choices they make at 22 as make-or-break ,
decisions, are reluctant to sign up for a four
year Council hitch when, during their fourth or
fifth terms, they consider running. And each
year, those students they leave behind are a
little the worse for their departures.
It may seem capricious to suggest a change
in the length of councilmen's terms from four
years as defined in the Home Rule Charter, to
two or three years, but the idea is worth con
sidering.
The long involved process required to make
such a change would• at least focus on the
problem of a lack of a student voice on Council.
During that time, a better way may be found.
A week for all
Spring Week is a very old and beneficial part of
Spring Term activities. But as an independent, I find
myself becoming more and more uninvolved with
Spring Week because of its Greek nature. I may not be
the most responsible human being, but I failed to read
any notification that indeed Spring Week is open to
independents. Granted, even if a dorm or independent
team entered, the chances of that team winning would
be small.
When Spring Week goes all Greek next spring, as
planned by the IFC, the planners will be defeating their
own cause. Spring Week's roots go back to a period of
time when Froth magazine, an independent
organization, ran a Froth Week, and my mother, a PSU
graduate, remembers those. Sure, "apathy runs high in
the spring," but look at how many independents turn
out for the Regatta, the Phi Psi and Gentle Thursday.
And they've entered not to win but to have fun. If the
IFC "tried a hell of a lot to get independents involved,"
where were the signs stating so, at the dorms?
Also, more than a fair share of independents,
dedicated independents, enter the dance marathon, and
the Homecoming Parade is open to any group, not just
Greeks. Yes, closing the door to independents during
Spring Week may be good for the IFC. But maybe
someday you, being independent or Greek, can tell your
child about Spring Week, because that is what Spring
Week was created for . . . everybody.
Full of bull
"This reverse discrimination is full of bull. . . • I mean
we didn't put them there. Besides, minorities have just
as good a chance of making it as I do."
This is a segment of a statement I overheard from a
white student as he was talking to his friends. His
statement implies two things: (1) that minorities have
the same opportunities as whites, and (2) that the
present white generation is not at fault and should not
be victimized by affirmative action.
First of all, any open-minded person would agree that
minorities do not have the same opportunities as
whites. A prominent example would be education. If
black students were accepted to colleges based upon the
same criteria as whites, a black student's chances of
attending a respectable school would be much more
absurd than they are now. The reason is not that whites
are more intelligent, but that the qualifications for
acceptance are set by the white man for the white man.
As for the second implication, if he would just try to
understand affirmative action he would realize the
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Letters to the Editor
Richard Miller
6th-mechanical engineering
May 4
Jerry and Linda, on the
Art Buchwald admitted during his
recent visit that reality is funnier than
anything anyone can invent. Persuaded
that he is correct, I have been following
the strangest story in recent weeks
the African safari of singer Linda
Ronstadt and California Governor Jerry
Brown.
As best as I can piece together the
story from anonymous sources, the
safari went something like this:
Brown and Ronstadt, after hacking
their way through a dense Congo forest,
sat down in a clearing to catch their
breath.
"Okay, Jerry," said Ronstadt, "we're
in Africa now. Not a reporter in sight. I
want to clear up our relationship."
"Baby, you've been on my mind. You
know I go crazy on you," pleaded Brown.
"I can't help it if I'm still in love with
you."
"It doesn't matter anymore. You're no
good, not if we can't go public," sobbed
Ronstadt.
"Don't cry now. I can almost see it,"
declared Brown. "I'll be elected and
you'll tour as the singing first lady."
"Jerry, I've been cheated, been
mistreated, when will I be loved? Go
public now. Love has no pride."
"I bet no one ever hurt this bad," said
Brown, "but please be patient." They
got up and continued their arduous
journey.
invalidity of his statement. If discrimination were only
a matter of individual prejudice, there would be no need
for affirmative action. But minorities have been ex
cluded from economic, education and social op
portunities for years by laws and social norms. Af
firmative action is a means to overcome this type of
discrimination.
Putting it very bluntly, the white man is the reason
that minorities are where they are. It seems that until
something better occurs, affirmative action is the
minorities' only way out.
The uninformed
I do not agree with Rev. Gomulka's statement "that
disemination of contraceptives and contraceptive in
formation among teenagers will motivate them to
precocious sexual activity, but by no means the
practice of contraception."
I would like to ask one question. What type of in
formation is being taught? People who are taught the
correct information concerning their sexuality would
not abandon what they have just learned. They would
become more aware of the importance of practicing
contraception and the use of contraceptives. Problems
arise from people who are not accurately informed and
do not practice the correct methods of birth control. It is
what people don't know that can hurt them.
Money, the sickness
I strongly disagree with Brian Golden's stance that
health care costs should be left up to hospitals to control
(Monday's Collegian).
The BAD (Buck-a-day) Program currently being
used by 25 Pennsylvania hospitals is only a minor cut in
the giant tree of health care costs.
I am happy with the voluntary action of the hospitals
to comply with President Carter's anti-inflation
program. But what good is slowing the rate of
something that is already too expensive in the first
place?
Sure, we're disappointed with the rising hospital
costs, but our main concern has been the overall high
costs hospitals and doctors have socked us with for
years and years.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which can only be af
forded by middle-class-and-above families, doesn't
nearly cover the full cost of any serious or long-term
'-'‘
Willie McClairen Jr.
6th-pre-medicine
May 7
Dave Coveney
3rd-engineering
May 6
After a few miles they stumbled upon
a great city. The residents were tanned
dwarves and their bronze bodies shone
as they bodysurfed on a blue bayou.
Some listened to• Beach Boys and Randy
Newman songs. Others paid homage to
their gods, huge stone poneys.
The wealth of the city was evident
everywhere; several residents lolled on
the beach sewing with silver threads and
golden needles. Ronstadt was hesitant
but Brown marched defiantly into the
city. Immediately he called a press
conference.
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One native asked, "Would you favor a
cut in the mango tax?"
"No," said Brown, "the mango
management problems would be too
great."
The native retorted, "But 70 percent of
the natives want it."
"Then," explained Brown, "I'm glad I
was here when this movement started
and will continue to figlit for it."
illness. Any middle-class family, despite its insurance- - '
coverage, is in grave danger of losing all its savings.
What about people who are too poor to afford irk=
surance, yet make too much to qualify. for welfare?: .
That is the position I am in. I can't even afford a dentisll:•
let alone a friendly visit to the hospital.
Health care and doctor costs have not been 4":
government problem, but one that has affected thif
common person. And it is the duty of our government lk.
abolish that problem, even if it takes all of us to write
letters to congressmen, hold protests or vote for Ta
Kennedy. Health care is one thing that none of us should
be deprived of, and leaving the responsibility to control
costs up to hospitals and doctors is a joke.
They've had the responsibility 'up till now, and still
many families are in the dark. What makes Brian
Golden think the future will bring anything different?
Now is the time for a National Health Program to
cover every one of us. Even if the government fails us in
all other areas, it must not fail us here. Hospitals have
already shown they cannot handle it. Money is a
sickness they'll never be cured of.
.Collegian
Tuesday, May 8, 1979—Page 2
Pete Barnes
Editor
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road to Kenya
Another native asked, "My brothOi
unjustly rots in a South African jait.:
What can be done?"
"I believe we need a flexible policy fol•
these dynamic policies," chimed Brown.
"The desert," mourned a visitor, "has
moved onto my land and my family is
dying. Can we get aid?"
"In this era of austerity and humanity,
a balance must be struck," noted Brown.
"Say, where's a good place to stay
around here? I haven't seen a Holiday
Inn, Taco Bell or hot tub for miles. My
Guccis are killing me." :-.
The natives slowly pulled knives and
converged on the couple. Inches froth'
death, the native chief yelled, "Wait, do
you not recognize Linda Ronstadt from"
the posters? Let her and her boyfriend
go."
They scampered into the forest add
soon were joined by a huge African guide
in drag who called himself Idi. ThEy
asked him to lead them to safety and he
amenable to the idea. "Who are
you?" he inquired. ..,
"I'm Jerry Brown and this is Linda - - ,
Ronstadt."
_. _ ,
"Right," he said, "and I'm emperor
for life, conquerer of the British Em
pire."
"Well," whispered Ronstadt, "he
looks like Margaret Thatcher."
Mark Harmon is a 12th-term broad:
cast journalism major. •
mgrs rPe
it
Robert Montgomery
Bth-journalism
May 7
© 1979 Collegian Inc.
Marjie Schlessinger 4i,
Business Manager