Editorial opinion Is a University administrator a public official? Is the University part of the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" because it receives $127 million in state funds each year? Or is it, for reasons of academic freedom and administrative integrity, completely independent of control by bureaucrats in Harrisburg? These were some of the legal hairs split recently when the state Ethics Commission ruled, at University lawyers' request, to exclude the University from state ethics legislation. If the University was included under the law, administrators with power to make important financial decisions would have to file financial disclosure forms, which reveal sources of income more than $5OO, but not the actual amounts. Under the legislation, if a University official in charge of buying beds is on the payroll of a bed manufacturer, the public would know about this potential conflict of interest and maybe that administrator would be transferred to, say, buying sinks. However, University administrators TV rates tops in class By DAVID MEDZERIAN Daily Collegian Staff Writer Being new to the College of Business Administration, and not knowing anything about the courses I had somehow ended up with this term, I was surprised to walk into my Accounting 101 class and find, instead of an authoritative looking teacher, a 21-inch portable. Yes, I was about to experience my first class-by-television (Commonly called "Videoclass"). As the proctor passed out our TV Guides (instead of a syllabus), she ex plained that the University has researched the effectiveness of videoclasses. "Eighty-five percent of students surveyed preferred a small videoclais‘ a.class in ,the Forum," she told us '-t Ninety-five percent -of students in videoclasses scored the same on tests as those students in a class of 30," she continued. "And four out of five dentists surveyed recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum!" "Besides," she continued, "the University makes a fortune from commercials during the show. Did you know that in last week's Nielsen ratings, `Accounting 101' was third, behind only 'GO Minutes' and 'Laverne and Shirley' ?" "you mean it beat 'Three's Com pany' ?" someone asked. "That's right," the proctor said. "Hey, 'Wonder Woman' is on Channel 48," someone yelled from the back of the room. "You dummy, we don't get Channel 48," the blonde in the front row replied. "Besides, I wanted to watch `Donahue.' " "But 'Carol Burnett' is on now!" "Who wants to watch 'Carol Burnett' when 'Wonder Woman' is on?" "But Carol Burnett does her salute to 'Gone with the Wind' !" "What about 'Donahue'? " Abortion bill Anyone who thinks. Supreme Court decisions are distant, vague speCtres having little real effect on Americans' daily lives should consult Rep. Gregg L. Cunningham, R-Centre County, to learn the tragedy of this assumption. Well, perhaps citizens of Centre County won't think twice about his latest proposal to deny state welfare funds for abortions to women whose lives are not endangered by pregnancy. ' And maybe that is the real tragedy, for the effects of the legislation which Cunningham has introduced will be far reaching. They will reach into the poor sections of Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Reading . . . and vir tuallly any metropolitan area where kids must grow up fast and tough, where pregnancies among 10-, 12-, and 14-year-old girls are not uncommon, or slipped under the rug of middle class mores and dollars. Present Pennsylvania law, passed in 1978, limits Medicaid funding for abortions to cases in which pregnancy endangers the mother's life or is caused by rape or incest. But the law was stricken from the state books when the Third U.S. Circuit Court orAppeals ruled it unconstitutional. Bolstered by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision af firming the constitutionality of similar federal legislation, Cunningham introduced a bill limiting the original state law still further to allow Medicaid funding for abortions of only those pregnancies which endanger the mother's life. He defends his proposal as legislation that will "spare the children of the poor by refusing to fund their slaughter." And by his own admission, this legislation discriminates. "My bill is discriminatory against the children of the rich whose slaughter will continue unabated," he points out. The logic is convoluted. Cunningham recognizes that the bill Disclosure policy would prevent conflicts of interest without hurting academic "QUIET," yelled the proctor. "We're going to watch Accounting 101." . ."That's not listed in my TV Guide," said the blonde. "What channel is it on?" asked the Carol Burnett fan. "SHHHH," the proctor said. "The show's starting." The orchestra struck up a lively tune, and the announcer began. "Live, from State College,. It's 'ACCOUNTING 101'!" The audience cheered, but the class remained silent. "And here's your host and the star of our show, YOUR PROFESSOR! " The professor came on stage, and the studio audience cheered louder than ever. My undaunted classmates, however, remained silent. *The blonde broke the silence. "Miss Proctor, could we please Watch something else?" "Well, Tom and Jerry' is on Channel 10," the proctor said. An overly studious freshman spoke up. "But how are we supposed to learn our accounting if we don't watch the show?" We glanced on screen and saw that our professor, now finished with his monologue, had begun chatting amiably with Ed McMahon. "So, Ed," he said, "how are your accounts receivable?" "Fine," Ed replied. "But you should see my accounts payable!" The studio audience roared "Please, please," the blonde begged. " 'Mr. Ed' is on Channel 4." We were getting desperate. The proctor finally agreed "Besides," she said, "today's show is really bad." Someone in the back objected. "Wait until Rita Moreno finishes her song," he said. And I thought classes in the Forum were rough. apparantly didn't think it a good idea to abide by the legislation, and sent the University's attorney, Delbert J. McQuaide, to Harrisburg to argue their case before the commission. But why? The administration and the law firm will not discuss their reasons for requesting the University's ex clusion, refusing comment on the matter until they receive a written copy of the ruling. At this point, their motives are subject to speculation. Does the application of state ethics legislation to a state-related university threaten the University's independent rejects basic rights for poor women will not stop abortions altogether but fails to realize that it hangs yet another price tag on free choice in a society in which dollars already dictate democratic principles. Cunningham was correct about the discriminatory nature of his legislation .. . but neither he nor any of his constituents tucked snugly in Happy Valley can fully grasp the import of that discrimination. For the indigent, whom Medicaid legislation was designed to protect, these funds allow safe, sanitary abortions in governmentally controlled facilities. ~'•v`N if w - WV . • 'RIGHTS a FETUS Once the state yanks this funding, poor women will be forced to either carry their pregnancies to term or seek less adequate abortion services with whatever money they do have. In either case, the state would be legislating its personal brand of morality, its own definition of life . . . of which there are many. Despite the fervor with which Cunningham describes his mission to spare the slaughter of unborn children, no one not the courts, nor legislatures, nor medical practitioners has determined when life actually begins. Is the fetus an individual from conception or is there some time in its nine-month development when it becomes a person? Isn't there a time when the fetus is considered a part of the mother and thereby subject to her discretion? Many contend so, but no interpretation prevails thus far. An open book No answers at all On Sept. 3, NBC. aired a White Paper on Cuba and the Caribbean, and in the space of one and one-half hours of prime -time TV managed to convey more half truths, gross distortions and blatant lies than could possibly be corrected in one letter to the editor. The program zeroed in on Castro, portraying him as a revolutionary hero with a "near psychotic ego" who exercises a mysterious power (by insinuation) over the gullible masses of Cuba, and who is exploiting the volatile situation in Central America to his own ends. It cannot be denied that the situation in Central America is explosive; neither can it be denied that Castro's own idealogical position commits him to working towards revolution in other countries than his own. But to focus attention on Castro as the ultimate I , IK-41114K HAW ABBIE HOFFMAN:THE FAMOUS lIFPIE... UPAGANST 114IRIY! OFD 114 E PIGS! 11.1 E CHICAGO SEVEN! - me 10 RSMEMSSR, „ status? This is perhaps the most legitimate complaint University ad ministrators might have. Perhaps complying with the law would set a weak precedent, encouraging future state intervention in the University's internal workings. However, the issue of ethics itself has nothing to do with decisions of academic policy, nor does it interfere with the right of University officials 'to make financial and practical decisions. Rather, the question is simply whether or not to cooperate with a law designed to promote openness and honesty in Letters to the Editor M ORAL 1 threat to American security while barely mentioning the complex causes of suffering of the Central American peoples is to commit a crime against the truth. And to ignore our own country's direct participation in that suffering (often in the name of freedom and democracy) compounds the crime. Why didn't NBC mention the ClA's involvement in the downfall of Arbenz's • democratically elected govern ment in Guatemala in 1954 (a government im plementing reforms which could have conceivably prevented the situation that prevails today)? Why is NBC so concerned with the postponment of free elections in Nicaragua now? Did they shed tears for the Nicaraguans, who fore years were bled dry by the Samoza regime.(a regims y we helpedsinstall)•? Why. didn't they mention, the fact. that we have BENZ By contrast, the mother is uncontestably a person, entitled to all the rights and safeguards guaranteed by the Con stitution. To allow the questionable rights of tho fetus to ride roughshod over the mother's rights, which our democratic system emphatically pledges to protect, seems both in consistent and illogical. Specifically protected in the Constitution is the freedomof choice, traditionally broadened by the courts to include the right to privacy. Certainly that privacy privilege must include • • such an intimate decision as whether to terminate a pregnancy. At least that is what the Supreme Court has told us on more than one occasion. For example, in deciding the case of Eisenstadt vs. Baird (1977), concerning abortionlegislation, the court concluded: "If the right of privacy means anything at all it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as whether or not to beget or bear a child." And in Roe vs. Wade (1969) the court decided similarly: "This right to privacy, whether it be found in the 14th Amendment concept of personal liberty or the 9th Amendment reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to en compass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her public institutions. If educators cannot be expected to be candid, who can? Paul Smith, chairman of the Ethics Commission, pointed out that the University could choose, as some state institutions have, to voluntarily abide by the ethics law even though not required to. This would not compromise the University's independent status, and might boost Penn State's image among legislators who will be voting on ap propriations for education. Perhaps the forms area lot of trouble to fill out? Sandy Christiansen, general counsel to the the commission, said the Illustration by Scott Smith freedom tratlonby Scott Sm military advisors in El Salvador now, and that organizations such as Amnesty International have requested our state department to reconsider proposed assistance "intended to improve the operational capabilities of the Salvadorian security system" which,, will very likely "contribute to worsen the human rights situation in that country?" Reports such as NBC's White Paper simply fuel the fear of leftist governments that lead us to support the worse kind of right wing dictatorships instead of ex posing the bloody by-products of American foreign policy. One letter cannot correct NBC's failure to present an accurate portrayal of the situation in Central America, We urge you to look deeper, beyond the reductionist arguments and simplistic answers which ,are no aig sweis at all, : 11-% Vicki Markley-Sairs , "" 1/ Reuben Sairs Friends of Central American Liberty Sept. 9 Could co-ed living improve dorm life? ProponanO argue that it could increase security and cut down oii vandalism. Opponents cite lack of privacy and promiscuity as some negative aspects. If given the choice, would most students choose co-ed housing? For what reasons? On Tuesday, Sept. 16, The Daily Collegian op-ed page will focus on the pros and cons of co-ed housing and the reasons for its absence at University Park. Studentq♦ faculty and other members of the community are en couraged to submit letters to the editorial editor, 126 Carnegie. All letters must be typed, double spaced and no longer than 30 lines. Deadline Friday, Sept. 12, 5 p.M. Thursday, Sept. 11,. 1980—Page 2 Betsy Long Editor VW Ai pregnancy." Cunningham and proponents of his proposal would, I . : course, argue that the legislation would not outlaw abortio , entirely, but merely limit the use of tax dollars for suer operations. But that is exactly what is most unfair about the legislation. If a group of legislators could push legislation through which: would outlaw abortion entirely, then we could assume they: were acting by mandate of a majority of the population a;: large who had decided that abortion was •so rnorall3 reprehensible that no one should be allowed to terminate he t ; pregnancy. Granted, this proposal comes from a legislator representing a fairly affluent community which elected him on a strong anti-abortion platform. However, what he proposes will havr, ; little or no effect on the people he represents, except to giv them the satisfaction of imposing their dogmatic ideology o an entirely different group of constituents, a group with a l ; less political clout to make its voice heard in Harrisburg. Of course, some could also argue that Medicaid recipient would still have private abortion facilities available to then just like everybody else. Or could they? These people art receiving aid for a damn good reason . . . the money just isn': there, so neither is the opportunity. The Supreme Court also pointed this out in Maher vs. Roe an abortion case decided in 1976: "For a doctor who cannot: afford to work for nothing and a woman who cannot afford to. pay him, state refusal to fund an abortion is as effective an interdiction of right as would be necessary to foreclose the: option entirely." How many rights are already foreclosed to these people! because of financial 'and social limitations? And how many', more can we foreclose to them while still calling our systeN: equal? Cynics among us would say that no society is truly: equal. Agreed. But when the hingepin of equality under the law? becomes the dollar, our system goes pretty far afield from the; highly-lauded principles outlined in the Constitution. Passage of the legislation which Cunningham proposes; would be an abortion of a different kind, an abortion of basic', rights which the Constitution guarantees to all, regardless of; financial status. Lynne Johnson is a 14th-term journalism and political science! major and copy editor for The Daily Collegian. forms are only a page long and require no legal expertise. Smith said he has heard the complaint that ethics legislation for the University threatens academic objection is irrelevant, Smith said, - because the law automatically excludes all teaching personnel Perhaps, rega i rdless of the issues involved, University officials simply don't want to disclose their financial sources for fear of embarrassment or worse. Who knows whether ad ministrators might be moonlighting for other companies, receiving generous fees for expertise and influence? Taxpayers cannot do much but speculate on this possibility, but speculate they will unless University officials prove them wrong. In this era of tight budgets and dwindling appropriations for the University, the last thing Penn State needs is for taxpayers and legislators to lose confidence in the officials who spend their money. Legal finagling aside, for this university there is no reason why education and ethics cannot mix. Living together =Collegian • freedom © 1980 Collegian In*c. Kathy Matheny, Business Manager' arter, Reagan trade long distance insults United Press International President Carter and Ronald Reagan traded insults yesterday each accusing the other of bending the truth about the energy shortage. Reagan was first, promising in a speech in Cleveland to free the United States from OPEC oil domination and charging Carter with misleading' the public by claiming there is an acute shortage of energy resources, while "the truth is America has an abun dance of energy." "When Mr. Carter says we don't have enough energy at home, what he really means is his policies won't let Americans find and produce the energy they need," Reagan said. Carter, in the White House, accused his Republican foe of making false allegations and demanded "one shred of evidence" that administration policies have discouraged discovery and production of energy in America. "Goyernor Reagan is wrong," Carter said in a statement in the Oval Office. "Again he has made accusations without checking the facts." "I do not intend to let my Republican opponent misrepresent facts about this administration," he declared. 41 t (- • Ift)4 Lloyd Cutler, White House lawyer, testifies before the Senate subcommittee investigating Billy Carter's relationship to Libya. The House yesterday demanded that the White House submit all files it has on the Billy-Libya case. ryTHESTUDENT ASSOCIATION announces its first meeting Thursday, September 11, 1980 SPEAKER: Sara Parks R.D. "Professionalism in the Dietetic Field" Ul7B LIVING CENTER H Dev. Bldg. I /7A. I / ~/ As i ; 1 4 4 fi r) • 0' a , Y , ' 4" O e —lllt •• ... •,.•., :: ••• -..... - ,,..•,:::- . ..t',: . , , , •? , 5•;,-...:...,•,... .. , .. , , , ; , :;:'..',',':::',...f..:: , ...:. 7 7......'':. :";`' . 4.,.•':-.', , , , .... - :..... , :•,:. --.- .'• , -.. Cermilic and Bronze Soleri "-Cosanti Ori3inals"i beautifully Soo( tins . Decohktioris Foy 54." Dormitory Wfildow", Balcony-4afio-/rree. 7 ,4 SororNy N fhafernity Reagan said, "President Carter called for the moral equivalent of war and created the' Department of Energy which is the bureaucratic equivalent of surrender." He said conservation is necessary, but "any president can reduce our energy use if, like Jimmy Carter, he deliberately puts 2 million people out of work." Carter, who announced that Deputy Energy Secretary John Sawhill has been named chairman of the new Synthethic Fuel Corp., went on: "It's ironic that on a day like this we have to respond to false.allegations made by the Republican nominee for president, Mr. Reagan." "Let me tell you the truth," he said to reporters, citing an all-time high for coal production, increased crude' oil production for only the second time in a decade and predictions of another record yield next year. This form of long-distance presidential debate ap parently will have to substitute for the staged con frontations planned by the League of Women Voters. Attempts yesterday to work out a format to which Carter might agree failed, and the league said it would go ahead with a Sept. 21 debate in Baltimore, with Stop in ar►d J;scover. Prievits beln'inti owe mystical Name... too sou ill Fraser Pa ly 10-530 White House has 7 days to provide Billy-Libya files WASHINGTON (UPI) The House demanded yesterday that the White House provide within seven days all documents and records it has on Billy Carter's relationship to Libya. Rep. Peter Rodino, D-N.J., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, argued against the move, saying reams of material already have been submitted to th Senate. "Not more than a dozen members took the opportunity to review these materials that had been so sought af ter," he said. But Republicans nevertheless pushed for a resolution demanding the material, and after Democrats failed on a 260- 124 vote to kill the measure, it was approved by voice vote. Bert Lance will appear before a closed meeting of the Senate panel in vestigating Billy Carter provided his written replies to the panel's questions are made public immediately, it was announced yesterday. President Carter's former budget director refused to give a sworn deposition to the panel's investigators Tuesday unless reporters were allowed in the room. He had said he feared he would be "smeared and vilified" by selective,. leaks of what he says by Gt Ig ed at The Daily Collegian. Employers are looking for the kind of ex perience you'll get writing for one of the nation's top rated college papers. Tryouts for Collegian Candidates School will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, in 162 Willard. Bring a Blue exam book. Reagan, independent candidate John Anderson and an empty chair on the stage. The league always uses an empty chair to symbolize someone who has been invited to participate and has refused, explained President Ruth Hinerfeld. Anderson, in Los Angeles, dodged several op portunities to criticize Carter personally fui refusing to debate Sept. 21. He blamed Carter's aides for scuttling the plans. Carter's rejection sets up a Reagan- Anderson confrontation. "I want to leave it to others to assess his motives. I don't have any difficulty assessing Mr. (Robert) Strauss' motives," he said, referring to the president's campaign manager. Asked why he believes Carters' aides not the president—made the decision, Anderson said: "There is perhaps a higher obligation and heavier responsibilty on the man who has had the steward ship . . . of our national affairs for four years to render an accounting, than there is on any of, the other can didates involved. . , "That's why I find it difficult to think the president would make that decision, but is relying on the advice of campaign managers who are looking at this as a purely political thing." ,11:.";•-•'‘,.,;'.,.''..,''',',',. • *';',;• : .-''...:, ' --,44 ..`:;`:r`; , . .' , i , .:% , :: , ',.;:. . .- ....,, government "powercrats." But Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., chair man of the panel investigating Billy Carter's dealings with Libya, said yesterday 'staff attorneys worked out an agreement with Lance's lawyers to obtain Lance's sworn statement. Lance will appear before staff in vestigators Sept. 18, Bayh said, "for the purpose of preparing a statement by Mr. Lance on all matters pertinent to the subcommittee's inquiry." "At the close of the meeting, the statment will be immediately made available to the public and the press,", Bayh said. Lance has said he knew little about Billy Carter's dealings with Libya, and had no dealings with the White House on the subject. In the Senate, a special judiciary subcommittee continued hearings into the Billy-Libyan connections. The panel heard yesterday from Lloyd Cutler, the president's White House lawyer. Cutler testifed he had forgotten to inform the panel previously of a con versation he had with the president July 8 or 9 about the Billy affair. Cutler said in that talk, he informed Carter his brother had finally agreed to register as a foreign agent for Libya. Congress sell India nuclear fuel WASHINGTON (UPI) Despite a last-minute State Department ap peal, Congress yesterday dealt a blow to the administration's controversial plan to sell nuclear fuel to India, when key House and Senate com mittees voted to block the sales. But the actions of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees do not yet kill the planned sales of 38 tons of enriched uranium for use in India's Tarapur reactor, Both houses must adopt the resolutions of disapproval by the end of September to block the two export licenses for 19 tons each ap proved by President Carter over the opposition of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Senate panel voted 8-7 to ap prove the resolution offered by Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio. A similar resolution was cleared by voice vote in the House committee. Before the vote, Secretary of State Edmund Muskie told a closed session Iranian Parliament approves Ali By United Press International Iran's Parliament• gave Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Rajai an overwhelming vote of confidence yesterday but the hard-liner said he saw no early prospects of agreement with President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr on the formation of a full cabinet. The infighting threatened to further postpone Parliament's debate on the fate of the 52 American hostages, but Tehran Radio said the'assembly would next meet Sunday to consider a Foreign Relations Committee reply to a letter from U.S. congresssmen seeking an end to the 312-day crisis. The political clashes in Tehran paralelled reports of serious, new fighting along the border with Iraq. Tehran Radio reported that Iranian forces shot down two more Iraqi MiG fighter jets and two helicopters. This brought the number, of Iraqi aircaft Iran claims it has downed in the latest fighting to four jets and three helicop- •;::!'.17.•!!" ‘J-.7. -- •! . T7! •-:FT.' 130 Heister St. The Arena's New Luncheon Buffet. Includes Soup, Salads, Fresh Fruits and an Assortment of Sandwich Meats. All you can eat only $3.25. 130 Heister St. (next to the Cinemas) • • • " :••• • ..•••.: • • .•.•. KEEP RIMY VALLEY BEAUTIPUL. DOW? LITTER The Daily Collegian Thursday, Sept. 11, 1980-3 blocks plans to On the political front, a leading cleric, Ayatollah Golpaygani, sent a telegram to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini asking him to step in to "end the crisis" in the government because the political "differences have reached a stage where they seriously threaten the revolution and the government," the radio reported. Bani-Sadr, a moderate, has rejected seven of the 21 names Rajai submitted to make up his cabinet, and the president later said even the 14 ministers he ap proved did not have his full support. The radio, monitored by the BBC in London, said Parliament voted 169-14 with 10 abstentions to show support for Rajai. Rajai thanked the assembly for its backing but indicated it would not end the government crisis. - /irr "A.; ' viL 110 1 11 °USE OF FINE B°" of the Senate group the State Department agreed to a proposal by the panel's chairman, Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, to make only one of the sales now. The remaining 19 tons, Muskie assured the committee in a letter, will not be shipped for at least a year subject to specific conditions. • "Export of the second fuel ship ment," Muskie said, "will not be permitted to occur at all if the president finds that India has ex ploded a nuclear device, is preparing to explore a nuclear device, or is engaging in other activities that would require termination of ex ports." Opponents concerned about the sale because India's nuclear reactors have not been opened to international safeguards and inspection. India, which detonated a nuclear device in 1974 built in part with U.S.- supplied materials, has not joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Rajai In Iraq, the Baghdad regime said it intended to recapture territory it claims on the Iranian side of the frontier. 237-0361
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