-Editorial Opinion
Anger, confusion with BDR may be fixed
Nothing is more confusing such as computer science or
than the maze of different accounting. But, the world is
courses each college and made up of more than com
major department demands puters and accountants. What
for a student to graduate. separates man from the rest
Many students find it mind- of the animal species is his
boggling to pick courses ability to create beauty in
which fulfill basic degree reality or abstract from his
. requirements and major mind.
courses along with electives. Contrary to popular con-
And those poor souls who census in this economically
transfer into a different conscious decade, students
college often find their come to college not only for
courses aren't acceptable and marketable skills but for an
they are delegated back to education.
' about third term. A large percentage of
However, the University 'students change their major
Faculty Senate hopes to once or several times during
remedy the situation by their college career, and the
separating required courses reshuffling of credits should
into four categories so that make the process a little
; students checking into 'dif- easier.
ferent majors can clearly see When colleges and
what they need to transfer departments decide how they
into another college or major. will reshuffle the credit
Six credits in arts and requirements around, they
humanities will also be added should remember that while it
to University basic is important for students to
requirements, Daryl K. prepare for a career, it also is
Heasley, chairman of the important for the students to
• Senate Committee Affairs, experience a complete
said recently. Instead of the education.
: I present six credits alloted for The credit requirements for
. arts and humanities, students the colleges in the University
• : will have to take six credits in .. vary. from 124 for the College
each area. of Liberal Arts to about 140 for
The change doesn't the College of Engineering.
necessarily mean an extra six Some degrees allow a lot of
:• credits in total credits for leeway for electives while
' : graduation, Heasley said. The others allow about three
total number of credits will credits for electives.
depend on each college and Students should have ample
•
departments being asked to opportunity to take courses
revise or redefine their which interest and intrigue
majors into four categories: them and not just those
University standard "practical" courses. The .
requirements, college colleges and departments
requirements, major courses with stringent rules should let
i • •
.and electives. students have some breathing
So for one major, it may space for taking courses for
mean one extra course of their own enrichment, such as
three credits; for . another arts, literature, religion or -
major, none at all. ~ .; )(I•, r ;ievenibasket weaving, if they
• Some students will frown on' i§ h 1 .2 ' 1 .
the change, saying they 09,1.4:, li An college education should .
; want .to take extra "junk," be the time of life where a
such as art or humanities, but student prepares for life in all
more "practical" courses, aspects. .
Pope brings brotherly love back to Philadelphia
Making a pilgramage to see Pope John Paul H was quite an
;xperience, a once-in-a-lifetime one, as some people along the
away remarked.: • Many persons expected that anyone who
journeyed to Philadelphia lag week would be deeply religious.
"Are you Catholic," a few persons asked.
"No," was my reply. After that it became necessary to
:explain that the papal visit was somewhat historic for the city
;Of Philadelphia, that perhaps a million people would attend the
ftstivities, and that the pope, as head of the Catholic Church,
still retains a powerful influence in many parts of Europe,
:Latin America and Asia which sometimes supercedes
:respective heads of states.
Most people in the United States, or at least the ones I've
:come across, including my mother, believe the pope to be just
:he head of a religion, akin to a glorified preacherman. His
:4ffice, of course, carries international stature for the holder,
'but in a country based on secular principles,, that fact is
;sometimes hard to accept.
"Oh," was a typical response to my long-winded reply, at
'least, on this side of Harrisburg. Once across the Susquehanna
;giber, however, I ran into more people indirectly connected
:with the papal visit, such as Joe, the AFL-CIO public relations
officer.
Joe told me that he had gold tickets, the ones reserved for
;the to the pope's Holy Mass on Logan Circle the next
:day. But he said he gave them to his wife, a fact we both
:regretted since he said he would have given them to me.
We parted in Philadelphia, where the television was oc-
John Paul II smooth as silk, Smock simply slick
BDRrrrrrr
"John Paul 11, we want you," the
100,000-person crowd shouted throughout
Saturday night, clinging together to keep
warm, much like Penn State students do
on the overnight lines to get concert
tickets.
It was an event that will long be
remembered throughout this country . I
was in Washington, D.C. this past
\ weekend, and the pope's visit made me
cupied with pre-visit papal coverage. The Market Street
Subway carried persons so anxious to see the pontiff that they
left home at 2 a.m., and the first wave of police officers settled
in to maintain crowd control downtown.
Along Logan Circle and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway,
reserved for last Wednesday's outdoor mass and spotlighted
by a huge cross atop the raised altar, the initial shift of police
officers was friendly.
However, it was still very early, about 3 a.m. The area was
still nearly deserted as city workers put the finishing touches
on the enormous platform, set up chairs and often slipped
away from their duties to catch some sleep in the wee hours.
Food vendors, anticipating huge crowds in the morning, slowly
began taking their curbside spots.
Three hours later, I realized I was in a priviledged position,
inside the police barricades, which simply were not there
earlier and which proved harder to enter than leave. My
While the pope was in Philadelphia,
Penn State students were 'treated' to the
exploits of a different evangelist, and
there was quite a different reaction.
John Paul 11, whose baby-blue eyes,
boyish smile, humor and humility en
thralled Catholics and non-Catholics
Slightly sarcastic
Penn State and its wonderful housing staff have
struck again. Doing all they can to make the Words
efficient and Penn State housing mutually exclusive,
housing has taken down the tiles from our ceiling. Now
we have the great fortune of hearing conversations
from the other end of the hallway. Instead of wasting
our time by sleeping at 2 a.m., we get to catch up on all
the gossip.
Since we damage a lot of tiles, housing gets rid of all
of them. The reasoning behind the removal of our tiles
can be termed as a typical housing reaction.
Applying this great logic to other aspects of residence
hall living, I propose that all windows be filled in to
prevent breakage, and that all fire extinguishers be
emptied to prevent any discharges that could lead to
further depletion of our general deposits.
As a note to housing, this letter was intended to be
sarcastic. I don't really expect you to be dumb enough
to fill in the windows and empty the fire extinguishers
maybe, just empty the fire extinguishers.
Remove the plank
To Jed Smock, do The Daily Collegian
In your lecture, if I may use that term in its most
pedantic sense, on Oct. 3, you made an issue of the fact
that there is sin because there are sinners, murders
because there are murderers, theft because there are
thieves, etc., ad nauseum.
There is also, Mr. Smock, libel because there are the
libellous. In your blanket moral implications about
certain female groups here at Penn State two
sororities and a female dorm area in a previous
tirade, you have not only blantantly insulted every
member of these groups, be they "virtuous" or not
(which is really none of your business anyway), but also
set yourself up for a dandy of a lawsuit. Unless you have
some personal seamy experiences to relate, complete
with witnesses, perhaps you should be a little more
cautious in your verbal assaults, lest ye lose the three
piece off your back.
I'm not a Biblical scholar, but I seem to remember
somewhere from your Good Book a line about taking
care of the plank in one's own eye before minding the
splinter in someone else's. There is something to be said
for preachers who push storybook Christianity upon
insecure masses and in the same
.breath slander
whoever seems convenient. Perhaps in your next
lecture you could explain exactly what you call that.
Misguided logic
Monday's issue of The Daily Collegian devoted three
pages to an interview with evangelist Jed Smock
heditedleSifiligtq. the pope tomes •to AMeriCa and
'merits O . ' k'threC'lbiu - m - n's.' 3 *AhlioUgh 'this leave§
question to the Collegian's priorities, the point of this
"letter is to air our disagreements with the basic logic of
Mr. Smock's statements in the interview.
The following, we think, are some of his more notable
points:
One
"The person diligently seeking'God is the one
/ 1 1 itte/
71m,ixe/t/
think about religion, evangelism,
souvenirs, politics and many other
Letters to the Editor"'
• Mark Berkowitz
11th-psychology and' ociology
Resident of 3rd floor Beaver Hall
Oct. 8
Michael Peters
7th-architecture
Oct. 5
temporary headquarters was the television news control van
that KYW-TV used to coordinate its broadcast coverage.
"I think this whole thing is silly," the elderly man guarding
the van told me. He said Mayor Frank Rizzo had caused a lot of
trouble using city funds to pay for the altar.
"He isn't paying for it. You and I are, and what good does it
do me? It's a great honor for the city, sure, but what are we
getting for the money," he asked, not really epecting an an
swer.
As we talked, more barridades went up, anxious nuns and
others started taking their seats for the mass, and the few
students from Temple University began waking up from under
the trees, where they camped out to reserve vantage viewing
points, The mid-morning rain, appearing ominous at first,
began to clear up, putting everyone, especially the policemen,
in better spirits.
I was soon joined at my own waiting spot by three men, two
with cameras to record the event, and who happened to be
elders of a local Protestant sect. One had very definite ideas of
the pope.
He told me that the pope was "the Beast" mentioned in the
Book of Revelations. His description of the pope brought to
mind the legendary figure of the anti-Christ, a sign of the
Apocalypse.
"Oh, well," I thought to myself, "it takes all kinds to make
an event like this." Some were amusing, such as the many
spectators carrying signs such as, Hello, P.J. H We love
you. Some were distasteful, such as the two men holding up
alike, arrived in the United States and
was immediately labeled "the people's
pope."
George "Jed" Smock, on the other
hand, a former self-professed "hippie
freak-turned evangelist," was met with
animosity, insults and verbal fireworks
by several hundred University students.
Smock, a very polished orator, was
very successful in getting students to
think about his style of "confrontation
evangelism." He was not very suc
cessful, however, at getting people to
believe in what he was saying.
Commenting about atheism, the pope
did not dismiss non-believers, instead
commenting that all the peoples of the
world must work together toward
universal peace and brotherhood. Smock
instead told people that if they chose not
to accept his interpretation of the Bible,
they would be damned forever.
I sat and talked with Smock at great
length to find out why he was doing it,
where he was getting his money from
and to see what his crusade was all
about. He said he was confronting us,
with our sins "sex, drugs, booze and rock
and roll," because he didn't want to see
students wander down the path "toward
eternal damnation."
God is going to reveal himself to in most cases."
The Bible provides many cases in which God revealed
Himself to people who were .by no means diligently
seeking Him; for instance, Moses at the burning bush,
Paul as he was going to persecute Christians, Mary as
she slept, and Cain after he slew Abel.
Two "Sorcery comes from the Greek word phar
makia which is our word for pharmacy. Anyone using
drugs illegitimately for altering the state of con
sciousness is practicing sorcery."
The word sorcery comes from the Middle French
sorcier, which comes from the Latin sors, sort, which
means fate, not drugs. Fate and drugs are hardly in
terchangeable.
Three "And then some of these women may fly off
.to New York City on Sunday morning to get an abortion,
to murder their own babies."
Are abortion clinics open on Sunday mornings?
Four "College campuses are 'hotbeds' of
homosexuality. On practically every campus there's a
thing called a 'gay student union.' "
A representation of a small minority does not a
"hotbed" make. What does he mean by "hotbed,"
anyway? Do gays converge on Penn State in huge
herds; or do the colleges offer many courses in gaiety?
We could go on to cite more examples of the
misguided logic which is abundant in Jed Smock's
interview, but the point should be clear by now: The
yea'rs he spent as a hippie on the beaches of North
Africa have apparently left deposits of sand in his
cerebral membranes. '
He has twisted and fabricated facts to no end. Indeed
most of Mr. Smock's points may have some valor, and
he may be eloquent in his quotations from selected
passages of the Bible, but his over-all distorted* com
prehension only tends to make his purpose much less
effective, as his logic appears to be in desperate need of
salvation.
Can't ignore him
In response to Timothy Daily's letter, printed Oct. 9:
Since Jed Smock arrived at Penn State, many people
have had the chance to form opinions about him both
favorable and unfavorable. Many dislike and are of
fended by Smock's style of evangelism, but these same
people apparently find it difficult to ignore him.
These are excellent reasons for printing an article on
Jed Smock. The reason we have newspapers is to keep
us informed on current issues and events.
Some people don't like nuclear power or tuition in
creases, either, but they will agree that these topics are
newsworthy.
The coward's way
I resenilfOilger`Frank's accusation niade in the Oct. 5
edition of The. Daily Collegian that by stating my
disagreements with Jed Smock I am defending opinions
that I "really don't belieVe." While listening to a portion
of Mr. Smock's condemnation crusade, I found mysdf
being repeatedly insulted, and it was impossible to view
his prejudiced comments with "quiet acceptance."
Just as Jed Smock has the right to express his
Gary W. Clark
Bth-community development
Daiv Schneider
7th-food service and
- housing administration
Oct. 8
Paul Hebestreit
4th-liberal arts
Oct. 9
I was very offended at many of the
things he had to say about my Jewish
heritage. For example, speaking about
Adolph Hitler he said: "If the world
would have allowed him, he could have
brought peace." He did clarify his
statement by explaining that the key to
the statement was whether the world
would have allowed peace at any cost.
** • % - v,le
47
•
iff
Meanwhile, the pontiff was eloquent in
his speech to the United Nations, in his
moving references to Auschwitz. It is
"most distressing and overflowing with
contempt for man and his fundamental
rights -- the extermination camp at
Auschwitz, which I visited during my
pilgramage to Poland last June," he
said.
In my four years at this University,
Bro Cope, Steve and the rest of the local
evangelist 'group have always been
tolerable, while preaching what they
opinions publicly, I also have the right to challeng
those opinions if I so choose.
Passivity, Mr. Frank, is the mark of a coward
'You may be next-
The brothers of our fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, 1
Would like to take the time to thank the Collegian for the \
chance to speak out on the evil of racism, an injustice to ,(
any human being of such magnitude and occurence,
must be considered evil. Is • racism a significant '
problem at Penn State? Racism anywhere is
significant. It's as subtle as cancer and should be dealt
with in the same manner immediately. Our nuinbe
and location in an area with no real black Community .
with which to relate makesus especially susceptableA
to attack. We are further isolated in - the way of air time r /
of black music, concerts, or something as basic as food.
Very, very, very infrequently are we even covered in
your paper. What can be more evil than the systematic
erasing of a people's culture?. Think about. it and i
you get a chance, do something about it. After
cancer doesn't stop- - it spreads: Your people may b
next.
Face the music
With this season's coming of Pure Praric League
and Chuck Mangione, the University Concert
Committee has answered many of its critics.
Yet many students still express- disatisfaction
over the entertainment brought to Happy Valley. A
common complaint is the big-name bands that play
'Philadelphia and Pittsburgh rarely pass through
Happy Valley, even though metropolitan ticket
prices frequently do.
By the same token, the UCC is strapped by a
location far from the maddening concert tour
routes, very ,limited on-campus facilities and the
seeming unpredictable music tastes of University
students.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, The Daily Collegian will
focus its weekly Op-ed page on the topic of on
campus concerts. If you have any gripes concerning
past performances or requests for future acts,
please write to the Daily Collegian Editorial Editor,
126 Carnegie (across from Willard).
=Collegian *
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 1979 Page 2
© 1.979 Collegian Inc.
(11.,
Pete Barnes Marjie Schlessinger.
Editor Business Manaai'
COMPLAINTS: News' 4ditorial complaints should _he
presented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints
should be presented to the business manager. If the complaint
is not satisfactorily resolved, grievances may be filed with the
Accuracy and Fair Play Committee of Collegian Inc. In
formation on filing grievances is available from Gerry Lynil
Hamilton, executive secretary, Collegian Inc.
high their middle finger to the crowd, cursing 'all the bullshit!'
under their breath.
And others were mildly annoying, like the five virginal
looking girls from Scranton Prep sitting next to us having
sing -along of modern Christian "popular" music. •
A student from the Philadelphia College of Art standing next
to me complained about the singing.
"Don't they have any feelings for the rest of us," asked the
girl, whose only concern was to get a couple of good pictures.
Although it was difficult to criticize a person for getting into
religion at the site of a papal visit, one's perspective doeS
change somewhat when sitting next to it.
The pope was delayed in New York City for about 45
minutes. The authorities decided to quicken the motorcade's"
pace from the scheduled five to 20 miles an hour. This spoiled
the day for the many who waited patiently several hours
because the pope simply came and went much too fast. It
seemed that it was more important for the "big guys" in
Logan Circle to hear their mass on time. Ordinary people take
second place.
Nevertheless, the general attitude was ecstatic. People felt
good about themselves and the day. They had seen the pope,
and would tell others about it. -
Too bad it took a pope to get people feeling that way. Maybe
he should play the U.S. circuit every year.
Marc Techner is a 10th-term journalism and Latin American
Studies major and a columnist for The Daily Collegian. ,
believe on the steps of Willard Building.
Unlike "Brother Jed," the, pope;
preaching the same basic message, was
a pleasure to watch." John Paul ll's
message was at least as strong' . and
powerful as his Penn State counterpart,
but I came away with opposite
pressions.
While I had trouble agreeing with the
Pope's pOints, his approach appealed to
all people. In a heavily-accented
English, John Paul H said his purpose hi
coming to the United States was to
"serve the cause of world peace, in
ternational understanding and the
promotion of full respect for human
rights everywhere."
When the pontiff spoke to the crowd
that had gathered overnight on the
Washington mall waiting-for the mass to
begin Sunday, the pope responded to the
chants of "John Paul 11, we want you,"
by saying "John Paul 11, he loves all of #
you."
John Paul 11, you are an inspiration
to us all regardless of race, creed,
color or religious belief.
Alan Schlein is a 10th-term political
science major and columnist for The
Daily Collegian.
Susan Kacmar
2nd-liberal ar
.OCt•
Kevin Brockenbrough
Alpha Phi Alpha
Oct.
rob ems hinder
'Continued from Page 1.
"Instead of selling it, we could use the
'material in Centre County," he said.
.',"Half the material could be burned as
fuel. We could try to sell it to local in
; lustry, or another option would be using
it to heat government buildings such as
,the courthouse in Bellefonte, • the State
Correctional Institution at. Rockview,_
/ schools or the University," Regan said
According to the report, glass could be
used for road patching material, clean
paper could be traded for cellulose
based Insulation material, and leaves
) could be used as mulch.
I would have to talk to industries
such as Chemcut Corp. in State College
SAB seeks more student input, consultation
The University Student Advisory Board yesterday
asked.the administration to work with students before
making decisions affecting them.
"We're called the Student Advisory Board, but if
we're not told anything, how can we advise the ad
ministration?" Mindy Morrison, student trustee
liaison, said. Morrison spoke for student trustee Dave
Hickt6n at the meeting.
4 "All we want to do is give you student input. We're
'just asking that you consider our opinion," she said.
The request came amid discussions of the Campus
; Loop fare increase and the automatic tuition increase in
the University budget.
However, Steve A. Garban, controller for the
j. University, said there has been student input.
, "There was student input, very well expressed at the
\O P ' University Board of Trustees meeting, about 'the
.„ 1 automatic 5 percent tuition increase," he said.
Morrison said, "This was a drastic change in policy,
and what we all find objectionable is that no one told us
nor even asked us about it."
to find out if they would have a use for
these reclaimed materials," Regan said.
However, SCS Engineers rejected the
refuse-derived fuel systems that Regan
is proposing because, "their cost is high,
their market uncertain, and storage and
transportation of the product can be
expensive.
"Ferrous recovery alone is • out,
because the costs are high and market
price fluctuations which large-scale
systems can risk and sometimes profit
from make small systems insecure,"
the firm said. "Composting is out
because the cost is high, the capital
investment is high, and next to no
market exists for the product," it said.
Incineration for heat, recovery and
Garban said he takes the opposite view.
"For the first time in several years we gave in
dications that there would be a tuition increase.
"We're saying to students, 'let's be realistic,' " he
said.
Garban said the University has never been able to
deliver the promise of no tuition increase in the past.
"If before you had gone to the:board," Morrison said,
"you had just asked for our input, that would be more
than we have now."
"Maybe the increase in tuition was inevitable, but
we're being educated with / innovative _ldeas. All we
want is to be informed and maybe discuss it with you,"
she said.
L. Furtado, director of planning and budget,
reminded the board that tuition has not been 'set.
Tuition could be higher or lower, depending on whether
the state Legislature passes the budget.
Mark Berg, USG Sehate president, presented the
preliminary results of a Campus Loop survey con
ducted by the senate.
local recycling
source-separation got high ratings_ in
reliability, waste volume reduction and
marketability of products. It also has the
lowest net cost per ton $11.68, SCS
Engineers said.
If the Resource Recovery Plan is used
by the borough, one problem would be
how to encourage and maintain public
support and cooperation, Regan said.
"There are two groups of people in
State College those who own and those
who rent," he said. "How can people be
turned on to recycling, especially people
who rent?"
, Three ways to encourage the public - Philadelphia, asking the agancy to come
would be to use recycling revenues to and talk to the council about what op
reduce the annual solid wastg charge or tions are available for resource
to fund municipal improvements and recovery, Regan said.
Concerned consumers read Collegian ads. Right?
special municipal projects, the report
said.
According to a survey taken last
spring by the State Energy Extension
Service, 75 percent of 106 local residents
surveyed want a recycling system and
are willing to contribute money to
recycling.
"The borough is responsible for
taxpayers' money, so it can't squander
the money on whims," Regab said. "It
has to find the best use of public money."
On Sept. 14, a letter was sent to the
Environinental Protection Agency in
The survey, based on 1,056 responses, shows a 44.5
percent decrease in student ridership. If first term
students and students with unchanged ridership habits
are excluded, the survey shows an 88.2 percent
decrease.
"We can conclude from the survey that student
behavior concerning ridership has changed as a result
of the fare increase," Berg said.
"We request that the USG Senate see current
ridership figures for the fall" so a group„working with
the administration, can study the results and discuss
alternatives, Berg said,
He said the senate considered the Loop a student
service and that the. University should underwrite its
Ralph E. Zilly, University vice president for business,
said the Loop system started in 1972 and has operated at
a loss every year. The Fullington Bus Co. owned the
route before, but had increasing losses and decreasing
ridership.
TMI president says
plant closure okay
HARRISBURG (AP) Herman because the governor has indicated
Dieckamp, president of the company he favors plans to go ahead with
that owns Three Mile Island, said purifying contaminated water at the
yesterday he would not mind if site of the crippled Unit 2 reactor.
citizens voted to close the facility Attempting to explain the con
forever if they agreed to compensate flicting reports given to the public
its owners. • after the accident, Dieckamp said
"If a group of citizens wants to vote two to three days passed before plant
that in their minds they don't want operators had a reasonable idea of
nuclear, plants, I would assume they what had happened.
would readily accept the costs of "It was an unfolding event," he
'alternative energy and the costs of said. "The population was on ten
confiscating the property involved," derhooks. This was not an airplane
Dieckamp, president of General crash. It was a continuing saga."
Public Utilities Corp., told the Society The utility executive denied any
of Professional Journalists. conscious cover-up and said company
"I would be concerned about that representatives revealed what they
choice because I'm not sure we have knew at the time.
adequately prepared the public to "If our people were guilty of
make that choice in an informed anything, it was inadequate
way," Dieckamp said. awareness of what they didn't know
"I don't think it's wise. I would be at any point in time," he said.
against it. But I have no trouble with Dieckamp repeatedly compared
it." the situation to the DC-10 plane crash
Dieckamp, also acting president of this summer in Chicago, which he
Metropolitan Edison Co., the plant said took experts several days to
operator and a GPU subsidiary, understand.
accused local officials and politicians He said the Federal Aviation Ad
of "seizing upon the accident for ministration wrapped up its DC-10
short term political gains, using it as investigation in two weeks while the
an opportunity to vent emotions and Nuclear Regulatory Commission is
resonate what their constituents want going to take at least a year to decide
to hear." whether to re-open the undamaged
Too many leaders are unwilling to reactor at TMI.
"step forward and move in a con- "I think we know now it will be
structive vein," he said. sometime late next summer before
However, he excluded Gov. Dick we even have a chance of TMI-1
Thornburgh from that description operating," he said.
Allegheny Reproductive
Health Center
Abortions
Menstrual Extractions
J! Free Pregnancy Tests
And Related Counseling ' ' "• '
: Call ColleCt " '"
1-412-661-8811
The Daily Collegian Wednesday, Oct. 10, 1979-3