Editorial Opinion
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a
two-part series examining the
Undergraduate Student Govern
ment. Today’s editorial will deal
with some of ’the problems within
USG; tomorrow’s will offer possible
solutions.
Problems at the Undergraduate
Student Goverment are like tribbles
from “Star Trek” they keep
multiplying and never go away.
During Hal Shaffer’s administra
tion last winter, USG executives
made a hasty merger of JEM pro
ductions with the department of pro
grams and services, and another
hasty merger of the department of
women’s affairs with the depart
ment of minority affairs.
A weak transition complicated
problems of communication, struc
ture and priorities in Joe Healey’s
administration, which has been
punctuated by sharp divisions of opi
nion. Although Healey claims inter-
Check the facts
As an historical researcher currently working on a project
designed to place the Penn State fraternities on the National
Register of Historic Places, I couldn’t help noticing some inac
curacies in The Daily Collegian Homecoming tabloid article
“Fraternity housesfull of tradition. . .and ghosts”.
The Phi Delta Theta house is not necessarily the oldest
fraternity house at Penn State, depending on how one defines
“fraternity house.’’While it is the oldest house originally built
as a fraternity and still in use as a fraternity, the Delta Upsilon
house on Locust Lane (which was built as a private residence
in the spring of 1891) is the oldest house being used today as a
fraternity.
Either the old Fiji house (214 S. Allen) or the old Sigma Chi
house (228 S. Allen), both built in late 1891 or early 1892, would
be the oldest houses built specifically for fraternity use still
standing. Both are among the oldest extant buildings in town.
The original Beta Theta Pi house, identified in the article as
the “first. , .at the was several years
thajii these tWo houses.'Also, the “new” Fiji house (1915) is the
third oldest'of current fraternity houses, not the second as
statbd by the article; if all houses still standing which were
originally buH't as'fraternities are considered, the Fiji house
ranks about 16th. Similarly, the Alpha Chi Rho house is not the
fourth oldest of current fraternaties.
The top five are Delta UpsiIon(1891), Phi Delta Theta(l9o4),
Phi Gamma Delta( 1915), Sigma Tau Gamma(l9l6) and Phi
Mu Delta! 1918)
I would also like to call attention to some inaccuracies in
the Collegian article of Oct. 2 on our fraternity nomination,
which only came to our notice recently.
We are the Historic Registration Project, not Historic
Register Program as stated. Also, the National Register of
Historic Places was referred to as the Pennsylvania National
Historic Register.
, The National Register, administered by the Department of
the Interior, is an official listing of our nation ! s architectural
heritage; inclusion on the National Register affords protection
for historic buildings through various means.
Paterno has rights
like everyone else
I am not Joe Paterno’s No. 1 fan. In
fact, I’m riot even close.
But, Joe Paterno has the right to
speak his opinion just like you and I
do.
Paterno has been viciously attack
ed this week by both The Daily Col
legian and students for speaking his
opinion an opinion that came in his
endorsement of the Republican
presidential ticket.
Paterno’s endorsement was
delivered during a talk by Barbara
Bush, wife of Republican vice
presidential candidate George Bush.
During the course of the press con
ference, Paterno lent his support to
the party ticket. For this, Paterno
was heavily criticized by the media
and students.
Paterno was crucified by his critics
who did not do their homework, and
now may be the time to pose some
questions to these critics.
Let’s start at square one. The
United States Constitution says every
person in this country is entitled to
the right of freedom of speech. Pater
no qualifies for this right. In this case,
the Collegian and some students did
not think so. It is tragically ironic that
the media, which live by this freedom
of speech doctrine, choose to lambast
a man for exercising his Constitu
tional right.
If the media think it was so
nal chaos has subsided, there is no
strong evidence that USG has put ef
fective government ahead of petty
political battles.
Healey says USG’s priorities are
twofold serving students and men
ding the internal structure and
dissension in the organization.
Healey does not believe that tackling
both priorities simultaneously is un
wise. But the problem is like riding
two horses at the same time;
Healey’s idealism has unintentional
ly led USG off the track.
For example, the Senate Appoint
ments Review Board and Healey
bucked and bickered about some
Fall Term appointments that should
have been made months ago, but
that were approved only this week.
Some department directors began
working without proper Senate ap
proval, a blatant violation of a bill
revising appointment procedures for
executive departments and a
dangerous bypass of basic checks
Letters to the Editor
unethical for Paterno to use his name
to support a political party and, in
turn, influence voters in next week’s
general elections, then why did the
media print the stories on the press
conference? Nobody forced the
media to publish these stories.
If the media disagreed with
Paterno’s motives, then why did both
local daily papers give the Paterno-
Bush press conference front page
coverage?
The media also failed to do its
homework on Paterno himself. Pater
no is one of the leading Republicans
in the state, according to David
Winkler, a former chairman of the
College Republicans.
Evidently, the Collegian believes
this does not qualify Paterno to en
dorse a member of his own party.
Does the Collegian know any more
than Paterno on the major political
issues?
“Famous” people have been endor
sing candidates for many elections
now. And “not so famous” people
have been endorsing candidates by
their votes on election day. Paterno’s
endorsement is not likely to sway the
opinion of the informed voter.
The media claim Paterno is using
his name to sway voters toward a
candidate for political office, but is it
not hypocritical of the media to use
their reputation to also influence
voters by endorsing a political can
didate on an editorial page?
The media, in this case, want to
suppress an individual’s right to
freedom of speech. The story line
goes something like this: “Hey, you,
the people, can’t say that; only we,
the media, can say that.”
Andy Linker is an lltii-term jour
nalism major and a copy editor for
The Daily Collegian.
Running on empty
Problems of disorganization, lack of unity plague USG
I feel that the writer of the article over-emphasized my con
cerns about this fraternity nomination. There is an excellent
chance that the Penn State fraternities will be duly enrolled as
buildings of significance to our community.
Douglas McMinn, researcher
Oct. 20
ANP NOW T GIVE YOU THE MAN WHO GAVE IB THE BEAUS®S.ANPWHT HOW IS TWINS WSS OUR PRISONER? IN
CUBA, A TREND IN NEED, A GREATGUYANP A BEAUTHDL HUM4NKING, l£lt HEAR IT RX,„ '
Politics beyond big business
These issues revolve around the fact that certain
huge corporations have such an effect on our lives that
they no longer deserve to be treated as private entities.
Due to several Supreme Court decisions of the late
1800 s, corporations enjoy constitutional protections
originally intended for individuals. These huge
economic machines, with influence undreamed of in
colonial times, now find refuge in the courts, and
cleverly manipulate public opinion, with words like
“freedom,” “rights,” and “government
harrassment.”
Corporations have rights, but these are the “rights of
capital,” not the political rights of individuals. In
mounting their subtle public relations campaigns
either directly through their cynical advertising, or in
directly through the pathetic nostalgia of people like
Ronald Reagan corporations rely on people confus
ing rights of capital with the Bill of Rights.
-Rights of capital entitle corporations to put their
money wherever it will yield the highest return, with
no one having outside the corporation having access to
the decision making process.
Agencies like OSHA and EPA can chase around after
violations, but the result is a huge bureaucracy that
can be outflanked by the brains in big corporations and
doesn’t have the flexibility to deal with small outfits,
too often clumsily bludgeoning them in the process.
The rights of capital insure that the only people with.
any say in corporate decisions are the managers. In
formal terms stockholders have power over the
and balances crucial to democratic
government.
The USG calendar is also taking a
licking because of “illegal acts” and
poor coordination. McDonald’s
Corp. is justified for requesting com
pensation because of the lack of
copyright marks on its adver
tisements and the added cost from
an extra free Big Mac coupon in the
calendar.
Ernie Hicks, former JEM
manager, resigned this summer and
left the chores of producing the
calendar behind without passing on
any procedures. Past procedures
should have been documented, and
Hicks, whom Healey claimed would
rather work alone than with other
people, should have stuck with the
calendar from the first day of plann
ing to the first day of distribution.
Poor communication and lack of
structure in business proceedings is
another sign of disorganization. A
This is part one of a two-part series on Barry Com
moner, the presidential nominee of the Citizen’s Party,
and its Pennsylvania affliate, the Consumer Party.
Eugene McCarthy asked people to vote a “protest”
vote when he was on campus two weeks ago.
Last week he came out in favor of Ronald Reagan.
Unless he intends this as a protest against rationality, I
have trouble understanding his reasoning.
Before this bizarre development, McCarthy told a
Daily Collegian reporter that affirmative protest votes
might make it “. . . possible to put together a new
political movement by 1984.”
Barry Commoner’s speech at the HUB Oct. 23 show
ed that this new political movement has already begun.
Commoner, the presidential nominee of the Citizens
Party, laid out his basic positions in a forceful, well
reasoned manner. His was a voice of sanity and clari
ty, one that stood in sharp contrast to the insane saber
rattling and muddled economic soothsaying of
mainstream politicians.
Commoner claims that the Citizen’s Party is a truly
new movement because it brings up fundamental
issues, ones the mainstream parties refuse to address.
Accusations
The Nader Vakili Forum printed on Oct. 23 cannot hide his
animosity toward the United States behind a facade of
fallacies and nebulous accusations.
In the first place, how is the United States responsible for the
declaration of martial law in Turkey? Although Turkey is a
managers, but in practice their most significant in
volvement lies in cashing their dividend checks. Con
sumers, whose miraclous “invisible hand” is supposed
to be the ultimate arbiter, are more like passive cash
flow conduits manipulated by advertising and in
timidated into apathy by the confusing- jargon of
“experts.”
The truth is that managers are responsible for cor
porate decisions; and these people are judged solely on
the “bottom line” the maximization of profit in a
relatively short time.
And what happens when the bottom line conflicts
with social good? Need you ask?
Ideally, the bottom line should never conflict with
social welfare. In Adam Smith’s idealized free market
the end results of thousands of selfish decisions was
supposed to yield the greatest public good. But we no
longer live in the 1700 s Exxon is not a harmless little
pin factory, and there is no free market in our major in
dustries, but rather multi-national oligopolies.
Have you ever heard mainstream candidates raise
these issues? Of course you haven’t. Democrats and
Republicans all join to sing the praises of the American
“free-enterprise” system. Either they do not have the
brains to analyze the situation or they lack the guts to
talk about it, but either way they have failed us.
This is why the Citizen’s Party was formed to ask
these kind of fundamental questions about the very
structure of the economic decision-making process.
The usual reactions to such questions are to dismiss
them as leftover 1960 s paranoia or to shrug one’s
shoulders with a “ya can’t fight city hall” cliche.
But is it so paranoid? Let’s examine the situation
without the distortion of preconceived notions like
“free enterprise” or “the rights of capital.”
Isn’t it the truth that our foreign policy to a large ex
tent follows along after corporate decisons?
In the 19505, oil company executives decided to shift
their production to the Middle East. This move has tied
us into an extremely volatile area for the past 25 years,
with no way to disentangle ourselves visible in the near
future.
perfect illustration is the $12,000 in
unexpected, unpaid bills from Shaf
fer’s administration bills . that
USG could not immediately pay
because of insufficient cash
reserves. These ghost bills were
eventually paid using funds from a
money market certificate.
A double standard of communcia
tion with the news media also exists.
USG would like The Daily Collegian
to look the other way during
meetings so members can bicker in
peace, but some of those same
members don’t mind airing their
“dirty laundry” against USG
anonymously.
Moreover, USG is hampered in its
effort to serve students by a con
tinual stream of resignations.
Senatorial departures often occur
because people move on to other
positions or do not attend meetings.
But North Halls senator Ray
Zarzeczny gave a more vivid reason
for his resignation,' saying he was
m. *
disillusioned with USG and that
some people “are too politically
oriented” and are in student govern
ment “for their own good.”
Other resignations from depart
ments have severely hampered ef
fective student government. Bill
Gluck and Vic Dupuis resigned this
summer as directors of the voter
registration drive over a
misunderstanding with Healey con
cerning key cards to the USG office.
Business Manager Tim Noonan was
the latest fatality on Oct. 20, at
tributing his resignation to
“academic and time constraints.”
A captain must be ultimately
responsible for .the sinking of his
ship, but Healey’s lackluster leader
ship is only partly at fault. Healey
does not and may never have a firm
base of support in. USG because
senators and other members con
sider him an outsider instead of a
leader with fresh ideas.
NATO member," NATO countries, best illustrated by the head
strong France, do not have a history of blindly following
United States dictates. '
Second, the delivery of'AWACS airplanes to Saudi Arabia;!
was deemed necessary to protect that country from an expan->
sion of the hostilities. The United States does not want them to
be used to monitor Iranian air missions for the use of Iraq.
Vakili seems to ignore the 1972 cooperation treaty between
Iraq and the Soviet Union. The Iraqi army has been equipped
and advised soley by the Russians. It is thus against United
States interests if Iraq conquers Iran, spreads its form of
socialism in the Mid-East, and leaves Iran vulnerable to a
Soviet invasion.
Concerning the hostage issue, what guarantee does the
United States have that the hostages will escape the war
unharmed and be released by the Iraqis?
With the Iranian Parliament finally deliberating on tlie
hostage problem, the United States must tread carefully arid
not disturb President Carter’s policy of “watchful waiting.” «
As to Secretary of State Edmund Muskie’s remarks concern
ing the hostages, although I do not have his exact words, our
own presidential shows .us .how be.’y
twisted and taken out of context! ........
The Iran-Iraq conflict must be seen for what it is: a te£,!'j (I
ritorial dispute between two Moslem neighbors and not, a’ ',j
United States plot to subjugate the people of Iran. Vakili has a”
right to his opinions, but that is what they are, opinions and not *
believable hypotheses. \
Alan S. Weber
Oct. 24
Thursday Oct. 30, 1980-Page 2
Betsy Long
Editor
The end result of these private decisions is flje'fi?
“Carter Doctrine” pledging that military force wili;b(J*s;
used to protect our “vital interests” in the Middle
Thus we,have the potential for war, and world suicictefjl
as well, for not very far behind any military action
the holocaust of nuclear war.
Can we continue to allow corporate decisions like
one made by those oil company executives to
these kind of far-reaching implications? What is good
for Exxon is not necessarily good for the country, but
under our current system executives are forced to
make their decisions with Exxon’s welfare as the
criterion. VrJ&wj
Other examples of corporate influence in foreign •
policy are numerous. Why is it we support so many** j
neo-fascist regimes? i!
The only reasonable explanation, other than naively jj
swallowing the “anti-communist” official line, is that s
our corporations have profitable investments overseas jj
that must be protected even if we prostitute our j
heritage of freedom in the process. !;
The same unacceptable corporate influence does f
place in domestic affairs. In “The Poverty of Power,"<t' |;
Commoner gives many examples of the far-reaching
impact of the decisions made by a handful of ex- j
ecutives after World War 11. |
The ecological balance, the health of millions of peo- J
pie, and the economy, both in terms of inflation and j
unemployment, were all adversely affected by thede ; , i
private decisions.
After World War II the petrochemical industry efc
ploded, resulting in a flood of non-biodegradaßle
plastics and inorganic chemicals being released irito v -.
the eco-system. The long-term consequences of these jri
ongoing practices are unknowable in principle. Hqvy |
many more ozone layer problems, how many more
PCP scares are in store for us? No one knows, and go '*
one can know. -
The electrical utilities moved into nuclear power and
we all know the expense and potential disaster >vj
associated with this move.
The automobile industry shifted to bigger, heavier i|
cars and the results were decreased fuel efficiency an<J /<
the formation of smog. I
The Citizen’s Party’s basic point is this —as showp j|
by these examples, corporate influence is now so per
vasive that it can no longer be made solely on the basis Jjj
of maximizing profit. ' • |
Will we have the courage and vision to move beyond $
the outdated notion of the “rights of capital?’’ Or will |
we hang on to it as the Democrats and Republicans
want us to, and continue on our slide into the twiner
suicides of ecological degradation and nuclear war?- -'*'
i£L i •
£) 1980 Collegian tnil^
Kathy Mathenjfyj
Business Manage)*:;#!
» # 5, .
"* V
Meetings are closed
USG business board bars public, press
y DAVID MEDZERIAN
aily Collegian Staff Writer
The board of directors of the Undergraduate Stu
mt Government’s business department yesterday
lanimously voted to bar the press and the public
om attending its weekly meetings.
“Board of directors’ meetings are never open to
le public,” Andrea Solat, president of the USG
mate, said.
As an example, Solat said even the Board of
irectors of Collegian Inc. publishers of The Dai-
Collegian —closes its meetings to the public,
editor’s iNote: Collegian board of directors
eetings are open to the public except for discus
ons on personnel matters.)
In support of closing the meeting, board chairman
ordy Beittenmiller said although the board is part
a student organization and not a corporate board
director's, “these are business decisions.”
SSenate appropriations committee chairman
« Ellie Sternberg said since decisions made by the
board are not. kept secret there is no need for its
ir eeting to be open.
“When we make decisions, they come out (in
ports to the senate),” Sternberg said.
USG President Joe Healey, who was not present
the meeting, said yesterday that the board voted
close its meetings because opening them could
irt competition between USG projects and other
ganizations. Healey used the Computer Date
atch program as an example.
tc
hi
0)
Highly radioactive waste to
lie routed through county
By* DENISE LAFFAN
l)sBly Collegian Staff Writer
The Pennsylvania route for the shipment of highly
radioactive waste runs through Centre County, a re
cent Nuclear Regulatory Commission report has
announced.
the report named routes in 33 states including
Interstate 80 from Youngstown across
Pennsylvania.
John ( Spearly, ,director| of f tfte t Jgeptrp Cpunty
ErSfe’rgency Agendy, saia if' the; route
had to go through Centre County, the 1-80 route was
probably the safest because it is a four-lane
highway with limited access,
adhere have been shipments of radioactive
materials through Centre County, but nothing with
as high a level of radiation as spent nuclear fuel,
Spearly said.
“The shipments are escorted then and the
vehicles are plainly identified,” he said.
M
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“The same reasons we used to close the meeting
are used in society,” Healey said. “Sooner or later,
(the press) will find out what went on hopefully
sooner.”
Healey said previous board meetings were not
closed to the public because no one had ever attend
ed them.
“It never came up,” he said.
After the meeting, Sternberg said the board had
voted to postpone the Date Match program until at
least Spring Term. On Monday, the USG Senate ap
proved the appointment of Ron Specter (9th
administration of justice) as coordinator for the
Date Match program.
Other items on the board’s agenda were a report
by USG treasurer Larry Atwell on any unusual pro
fits or losses by the organization last week; discus
sion of executive projects; update on the USG movie
and term break bus programs; and a report on the
selection of a new business manager to replace
former business manager Tim Noonan, who resign
ed last week.
Of six voting members, three were present when
the vote to close the meeting was taken. In addition
to Sternberg and Solat, town senator Anne Weidner
also voted to close the meeting. Absent board
members were Healey, vice president Andy Wein
traub and former business manager Ernie Hicks.
The board was formed by the USG Senate Spring
Term to help solve organizational and communica
tions problems in the department.
Gary Sanborn, public affairs officer for the NRC,
said there is almost no shipping of spent nuclear
fuel going on at the moment.
“In 1977, President Carter halted the reprocess
ing of spent fuels so that reprocessing is not occur
ing with commercial reactors,” Sanborn said.
“Instead, it’s being stored in spent fuel pools at the
sites of the reactors.”
This policy may change, however, when the spent
fuel pools become full, he added. The routes have
been established for possible future use.
The waste material is extremely radioactive,
Thomas Gerusky, director of the Bureau of Radia
tion Protection for the state Department of En
vironmental Resources, said.ln fact, the level of
radiation is higher in the nuclear waste than in the
fuel before it is used, he said.
Despite the high radioactivity of the spent fuel,
Gerusky said the transportation of such waste is
relatively safe.
“The fuel is shipped in casts which have to
undergo a variety of tests before they are approved
by the NRC,” he said.
These tests include: having a train traveling at 80
miles per hour crash into the cast; a truck towing a
cast andtravelingat 80milesper hourand crashing
into a concrete eMbankmehti 'and a yariety of tests
testing resistance to fire, water and falling off cliffs,
Gerusky said. 1 ' "
In all cases, the worst result was the cast was
dented but nothing escaped, he said.
“I can’t say there is no possibility of an accident,”
Gerusky said, “but I’d say they’re safe for 99.99 per
cent of all accidents that could occur.”
Sanborn said the NRC is also concerned about
safeguarding the casts against sabatoge.
r Ag Hill Festival
1 October 31,1980 at the HUB
I Dinner 5:30-7 pm in Terrace Room
I Activities after meal include:
I Slide show, Naming of Mr. and Ms. College
I of Ag, Bingo, and Square Dancing
I ri62 Come arid Enjoy Yourself 1
K-DEE’S! V
The Magic Number is # \!
Love,
The PELTSJ
237-0361
CAMPAIGN 80*
★ The Issues & The Answers ★
Hear tHe student representatives present the
critical issues & their candidates’ answers
that may sway the upcoming election!
Democrats 9 Republicans 9 Students for Rnderson
9 Consumer 9 Libertorions
Oct. 30
Main Lounge \rUjj
7:30 p.m.
RO2B 1
Concerned consumers read Collegian ads. Right?
Halloween
'treat'
walkers
Children of all ages gathered
downtown last night for State
College's annual- Halloween
parade. The State College Area
High School Band, above, led the
paraders along College Avenue on
their way to Memorial Field on
Fraser Street near the State
College Post Office. At right, a
young ‘Bugs’ gets a lift from a
fellow parader.
. ■■ j;.
Photos by Janis Burger
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