Editorial Opinion
Proposed advisory board may weaken student voice in CATA
The student seat on the Centre Area
Transportation Authority Board is in jeopardy.
CATA Chairman E. Emory Enscore, in his
resignation letter to the board, suggested
eliminating four at-large board positions in
cluding the student seat and replacing them
with an advisory board.
Under the proposed change, students will lose
the benefit of direct input into CATA decisions.
The face-to-face, head-on confrontations bet
ween the student representative and the board
would be nothing but a memory if students are
pushed into an advisory board with other
"special groups" like the aged and the
handicapped.
But students are not a special minority group,
hut a mainstay of CATA ridership. Students
comprise more than 60 percent of CATA's rider
ship. As such, they deserve and should demand
proper representation on this board.
If, in the inevitable chaotic shuffle of moving
positions around and redesignating authority,
the student's voice is .lost, students will suffer.
• I taio.Rreleftgonve...it
=Letters to the Editor
Inflated egos
On Dec. 5, a review on a recent Backseat Van Gogh concert
by Michael Kulp was printed in The Daily Collegian.
As a musician, I can appreciate Backseat Van Gogh's vocal
tightness and understand why a band must be "calculated" at
times to achieve success.
However, Kulp's use of the words smug, pompous and con
descending have never been used more correctly when he
referred to the group's nose-up approach to their music and
audience.
Who do they think they are? They are not great. They are
average musicians at best. Their original songs consist of
three-chord patterns so rehashed that it is a crime they call
them original.
Their egos would be quite understandable if they were play
ing Madison Square Garden this week. However, they are not.
They are playing the Phyrst for Happy Hours.
Greatness? Hardly.
John D. Dittmar, I lth-advertising
Dee. 8
Music mindreader
I am writing in reference to Micheal Kulp's review of
Backseat Van Gogh's HUB performance last Wednesday
night.
Empty seat
Award winning cartoonist Jeff Mac Nelly
is a new addition to the editorial page
Under this proposal, present student
representative Linda Roosa would not be
replaced after her term expires in September
1981.
While the student representative has input in
to crucial CATA decisions, he or she does not
have a vote. Major decisions are made by
representatives oU the five member
municipalities, but a group that makes up more
than half of the ridership should have at least
one vote.
Adding an advisory board could be an effec
tive move on CATA's part if students are given
an equal or increased role in decisions that af
fect the large number of students who ride
CATA buses each day..
Will this advisory board have a vote? We feel
it must, if it is to benefit CATA at all. An ad
visory board member could express an opinion
until he's blue in the face, but without a vote,
what is the use?
Will the addition of an advisory board jeopar
dize the right to representation students have
LET'S TALK
!NMEM=
/ •
‘.;
My intention is not to criticize Kulp's opinion. I am no more
qualified to do that than he is qualified to review rock bands.
However, I feel it is necessary to correct the inaccuracies in
his review
First, Kulp said the choice of music is the band's major pro
blem. I do not know which concert he attended, since of the
groups he listed, Backseat Van Gogh does not perform half of
them. So much for his knowledge of New Wave, not to mention
his credibility.
Secondly, Kulp uses words such as smug, pompous and con
descending to describe Backseat Van Gogh. However, he
chose to omit the fact that a portion of the proceeds from their
upcoming perforomance at The Main Point in Philadelphia is
being donated back to The Main Point to help the club stay in
business. That does not impress me as being very smug, pom
pous and condescending.
Lastly, I would like to request all reviews in the future, good
or bad, are done on the performances, not the performers' at
titudes. In analyzing Backseat Van Gogh's attitudes, Kulp has
put himself into the position of mindreader rather than critic.
Unfortunately he fails at both.
Chris Peters, 10th-general arts and science
Dec. 9
Master plan to heist no. 6 card.
Gym hoax: foils upper classmen lock out
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dancing and medicine ball crab soccer are :. • '..:i , ;;:..:*; : .:':'.: 1 •q!: .o',.
alright for some people but not for me. I wanted i'..:1i:..r: . :, : , 4Co. A r- ,
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racquetball or tennis or some other extremely , .4 . .:.:' : !!'•:,.;qtr'5 , ,..;; 4.•
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sg 4 ideas•started‘to enter my .brain:'lcould‘r.raWl , 4° , l' ktiar ';'1.41C 11 4 3 4. 1 0 4 1Liii;i 4 .4g....1Lii;.=4 , i 6 : , i-i-Nimi , 00. , .g49-^wvtirdti.We t -drove"tot.Shiehis In-bsilenqp.- wel:h*
on my hands and knees froM Shields to Rec Hall, So,' with.some;simple bribery; my -roommate rehearsed the plan too . many times. "D,0tq1.. 1. '
3i lots of publicity and they would'haVe tegive - --o,lted ariitthelreltglifettd - fOr . Of% 6redit'of" 'Worry; Eeese, 'everything will' be fine," - Strege - ., ,
me a class. I'd be a campus martyr, a comtem- physical education for me and I had to make her and got out of the car.
porary Joan of Arc. No, that wouldn't work, I bed for the whole term. A small price to pay for I couldn't smoke to calm my nerves, I donit -;
have sensitive knees. graduation. smoke..lt was too early for a beer and I'm afra4.:
I could cry and have a mental breakdown at Then, I began to sweat. What if she doesn't get •to take drugs. So all I could do is sit and wait.:::
the department head's desk. Most men hate to the class or what if she registers. after me or Two hourslater, Sue came running to the car :-
see women cry. But I hate to see me cry. I get the what if she flunks out this term? What if I blow with a big grin. "I got the card," she said, "pa:'
hiccups and gasp for air for at least two hours. It my cover and get caught? What then? When I sweat. Now let's go home so you can make nig ,
sounds hideous. And I hate weepy women was a kid, I was never any good at games where bed."
anyway. you had to be quiet and sneaky, like hide and Needless to say, I registered without a hitch,
I couldwait until I'm 12th term and then crawl seek. Everytime I would go into hiding, I'd get smuggling the card into registration in a seen
and cry at the same time. That would be a sure terrific stomach pains and have to dash for the ingly harmless baccalaureate handbook.
success. People always have pity for students bathroom. I got caught every time. Now, I have my last gym class and I can get
who are at graduation's door. Eight weeks of paranoia and skepticism the heck out of here in the spring. It just goes to
I kept leafing through my class schedule, hop- followed until pink slips came out. But this plan show you, you can beat the system if you've got a
ing by some divine miracle a good idea would was meant to be. My roomy registered before good plan, a cool head and a 7th-term roomate.
come to me. And it did. me, she could bring the card home with her. Con- Well, that's all there is to this story.
My roommate was 7th term. According to the fidence returned, I was sure the plan would Aren't happy endings great? Well, excuse nip,
rules, she could register for any gym she wanted work. I have to go make a bed.
and get it, just like that. She could preregister for The day of reckoning arrived registration. I Lisa Morano is an 11th-term journalism major
me and bring me the number six card and then I warmed up the car as my roommate put on her and the assistant editorial editor for The Daily
could pick up the class at registration. Simple, coat and picked the book that would conceal the Collegian.
The story I am about to tell you is true and no
names have been changed to protect the
innocent
The Great Number Six Card Heist idea was
hatched one humid night over a sixpack of Roll
ing Rock and a cold Brothers pizza. There I was,
10th term and one gym class short. Images of
cap and gown and diploma danced through my
head. No matter what, I had to get a gym
class. And I had this feeling I wasn't alone. There
were others like me out there and they needed a
sure fire plan that could work for them, too.
• • ~.
k, • •'4.i
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fought so hard for?
Perhaps the alternative which would best
serve the students' needs would be to leave the
student on the CATA board with a meaningful
vote, and also to be represented on the advisory
board along with the handicapped and
downtown residents.
It will be the duty of the student represpn
tatives on the advisory board to take an active
Fine line
This morning I read Michael Kulp's review of the free con
cert given by Backseat Van'Gogh last Wednesday night in the
HUB. I did not attend this concert, so my main reason for
reading the review was to learn how it went. Instead of getting
a clear picture of what was performed, I got the feeling the
night was a disaster. •
I have seen Backseat Van Gogh perform many times and
have always found them to be an exciting, creative, top-quality
rock and roll band. I would be surprised if they are capable of
being the absolute dogs portrayed by Kuip's review.
Although a critic has the responsibility of evaluating a per
formance and commenting on it, he also has the responsibility
of reporting an event. The review of Backseat Van Gogh was
unnecessarily harshand downright nasty. Maybe in the future,
Kulp should try to strike a balance between good reporting and
bad opinionating.
Lee Davinroy, 6th-Division of Undergraduate Studies
Dec. 5
role by relaying student sentiment on transpor
tation problems: Students have a right and a
responsibility to protect their interests in
transportation matters. Their input is too
valuable to be ignored.
CATA cannot seriously consider implementa
tion of an advisory board until it is sure that
students who make up over half of CATA's
ridership will not, lose or weaken their voice.
Back Seat Van Gogh
Well deserved kick
I would like to thank Micheal Kulp for his less than kindly
review of Backseat Van Gogh's Wednesday night HUB con
cert. It got the band so stirred up that they went out Friday
night and performed on of their best shows ever, featuring all
the spontaneous musical elements that Kulp claimed th€
were incapable of, and more.
There is no doubt they are very talented musicians who can
entertain exceptionally well when they put their minds to it. It
does concern me that it took a bad review to get the energy
flowing.
I hope Backseat Van Gogh takes the criticism positively and
realizes that everyone needs a kick in the butt now and then tfi
force them to take an objective and perceptive look at
themeslves.
Blow them away in Philly, guys!
Valeri Sprowl, graduate-public health nutrition
Dec. 9
=collegian
Wednesday, Dec.lo, 1980 Page 2
Betsy Long
Editor
1980 Collegian Inc.
Kathy Matheny
Business Managrx
Oak Tree to cost new owners almost $5 million
By VICKI FONG
!Daily Collegian Staff . Writer
Oak Tree Apartments, former Phase I and II
ti3Othe bankrupt Laurel Glen apartment complex,
• cost their new owners almost $5 million in
;the purchase agreement and more than $1
Imillion in renovations, a local realtor said.
Neil Donahue, president of Benchmark Realty
;Inc., said State College attorney Richard L.
Campbell, former Centre County Judge R. Paul
;Campbell and he are general partners in
Aritage Oak Associates, a group of about 15
.partners that bought the property last week.
Most of the other investors, who are limited
partners, are local residents, but he would not
reveal their names.
Heritage Oak Associates will pay $4.75 million
fc n' the 410-unit apartment complex, which is
Pined. by Rochester Savings Bank, mortgage
holder of the bankrupt property.
"We're very excited about the property and
''recognize its potential," Donahue said.
!`Absentee ownership has caused some of the
problems over the years. There's no reason why
there shouldn't be good affordable housing in the
tz,;ea by local owners."
CA TA may back out
of taxi management
Icy SCHLANDER Council President Mary Ann Haas said
Daily Collegian Staff Writer . the vote, in effect, was to remove the
Centre Cab, the taxi system owned and , responsibility of Centre Cab from CATA.
operated by the Centre Area Transporta-. When this could be done depends
eon Authority, may be sold by State Col- largely upon interested buyers, she said.
l'Qe to a private operator. But Joseph Biedenbach, • CATA's in-
State College Municipal Council voted terim manager, said, "They (council
.liits meeting Monday night to begin members) really haven't talked with us
nekotiations with CATA to permit the about it. It can't be classified as
municipality to consider alternatives for anything but preliminary."
ti!e - ,'cab•system next year. Biedenbach said Centre Cab operated
IWentre Cab is one of few, if any; taxi at a. loss during the first six months of
sfstems in the Northeast that is owned this year, but he said the deficit was
loCal government rather than a caused by the'expense of purchasing the
pflirate firm. . State College is the cabs.
riiplicipality with the largest interest in "We really got Centre Cab at the worst
CATA. possible time," Biedenbach said.
.* •
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David Sadowsky, vice president of the
Rochester Savings Bank, said the Heritage Oak
Associates' offer was not the only one
considered.
"We had a number of offers to choose from,
mainly from outside the State College area," he
said. "But the overriding consideration was that
we were dealing with local people who know the
lotal idiosyncrasies people who will be able to
make the project a success."
Concerning renovations, Donahue said, "That
should be another $1 million. We expect we'll be
spending subgtantially more in the next few
months.
"We're starting work by going through each
apartment and correcting violations," he said.
Donahue said he and the two Campbells have
experience with problem apartments because
the three also own University Terrace, formerly
Eastgate Apartments, which once had
maintenance troubles.
"We invested significant amounts similarly in
University Terrace," he said.
To finance the sale, the bank will approve a
10-year mortgage at 9.875 percent interest for the
investors, Sadowsky said. The interest rate is
(jumbo roll)
considerably less than the current market rates
of about 14 to 15 percent, he said.
"We realize to charge the current rates that
there would be no way the group can pay
operating expenses and the mortgage at the
same time," he said.
The bank will lose money despite the deal,
Sadowsky said. The original loan added up to
about $5 million for former owner Stanley
Melnick of Melnick Entreprises, Atlanta, Ga., he
said. The bank will also lose four years of in
terest at 9.5 percent, which adds up to about $l.B
million.
"In the interest tab alone, we literally received
nothing from June 1976 to now," he said. The
bank also had spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars in renovations this summer, he said.
Benchmark Realty Inc. will take over the
management from Property Management Inc.
The complex will be renamed Heritage Oak
Apartments. .
Richard L. Campbell, one of the partners, said,
"We've been interested for some time in the
apartments, but the opportunity was not present
until a couple of months ag(i."
Sadowsky said the bank was satisfied with the
State College telephones out for 2 hours
A "major communication breakdown" left State
College without phone service for about two hours
yesterday afternoon, a phone company spokesman
said.
Starting at 1:30 p.m. State College residents;
businesses and emergency services could neither
make nor receive phone calls, said James C. Walck,
manager of the State College Bell of Pennsylvania
office.
Bell restored phone service at 3:15 p.m., Walck
said.
A mechanical failure in the microwave system
which handles calls between State College and Al
toona caused a backlog in the State College office, 250
S. Allen St., meaning the local phone office could not
process calls, Walck said.
Bell is trying to update the microwave system in
Altoona, Walck said, and during this conversion a
mechanical failure occurred, causing the Altoona
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system to turn down all long distance calls.
"After the microwave breakdown in Altoona, the
State College system filled up," Walck said. Most at
tempts to make phone calls "reverted back to
dialtone," Walck said.
.Walck said service in Altoona was affected by the
system breakdown. Pittsburgh and Harrisburg also
experienced minor problems, he said.
Walck said that during the conversion in Altoona,
the problem could happen again and at any time,
especially when phones are being used extensively.
Emergency services, including all regional police
services, the Alpha Fire Co. and ambulance service,
and hospitals, encountered few problems yesterday
afternoon. However, each agency said it handled the
situation differently.
State College police said they handled the
breakdown 'by saturating the town with visible
patrols, especially in high-activity areas. A
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"We're 250 miles away," he said. "We're not in
the business of renting property. We feel much
more comfortable with Donahue and the Camp
bells. But there's a lot of work remaining to be
done. I know it, the town knows it, and the pur
chase group knows it.".
Heritage Oak Associates had to deposit a
substantial amount of money in an escrow ac
count to assure that needed repairs for the apart
ments would be completed," Sadowsky said. He
would not disclose the amount, but said it was
"in the excess of six figures."
"This has been a problem loan for five years,"
he said. "We intend to monitor the progress until
we know that the problems have been effectively
repaired."
Despite the heavy investment, Donahue said
rents should not be increased above local market
rates.
"Rent might be below market rates," he said.
"We hope to give the best of both worlds."
About 330 to 340 of the 410 apartments are now
occupied, Donahue said, and about 31 of the
unoccupied units need substantial repairs. -
The apartments, built between 1968 and 1972 by
spokesman said if the breakdown had lasted longer,
the department could have contacted local citizen's
band radio clubs and utilized radios in municipal
owned vehicles.
The Centre County Emergency Communications
System, dispatch&s for local ambulance, fire and
police, said they monitored CB channel nine to
replace phone service.
A spokesman at Ritenour Health Center said radio
contact with ambulance, police and the Centre Com
munity Hospital keeps the center from being cut off
in the event of phone failures.
University Police Services was likewise unaffected
by the cutoff in telephone service. A spokesman said
the police office was able to receive incoming calls,
but could not make outside calls.
Information for this story was compiled by Daily
Collegian staff writers Philip Gutis, Becky Jones,
Betsy Long, David Medzerian and Paddy Patton.
lolidav Gifts Created by
• Pmfessional Central Pennsylvania
Artists and Craftsmen at
RENRSCE
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ETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
135 EAST BEAVER AVENUE
In. S•io EKDAYS, THURSDAY EVENINGS TH. 9:00
INDAYS 12.5:00 AND BY APPOINTMENT 2375409
The Daily Collegian Wednesday, Dec.lo, 1980-3
Bertram W. Rudy of Feasterville, Bucks County,
have been plagued with a long history of finan
cial troubles. In spring of 1975, the Rudy opera
tion went into receivership.
The mortgage holder, Equity Financial Corp.
of Chicago, retained • Melnick Enterprises of
Atlanta, Ga., as the managing agent. The
Melnicks later bought the property from New
York state lending institutions, but in June 1976
filed for bankruptcy.
Despite its history, Donahue said he was op
timistic about dispelling the property's negative
reputation.
"There's no question of it. We expect Heritage
Oaks in September to be filled to capacity." he
said. "I think it has more to offer'than any other
apartment project."
Correction
In yesterday's edition of The Daily Collegian,
Janet Mazzullo's election as chairwoman of the
Undergraduate Student Government Senate's
appropriations committee was inadvertantly
omitted.