The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, April 13, 1981, Image 2

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    daily
collegian
editorial opinion
It's a good time
By JOE GOW ' being held, I do not think I would want to go watch it.
10th-journalism The race would not be protested, either.
I had a smile on my face Saturday afternoon as I I suspect that in a strange way the protesters were
watched the women's mudwrestling contest held on the glad the event took place. It provided them with a forum
front lawn of Delta Sigma Phi. for their views. An event featuring women rolling over
The contestents, all girls wearing bathing suits or T- each other in a ring filled with mud while an audience
shirts and gym shorts, also were smiling throughout the cheers them on is quite nicely extrapolated into a much
better portion of their time in the brown slop. greater conflict. If, of course, that is what you're
And most of the people in the audience had smiles on interested in doing.
their faces. But I don't think the people came to the Delta Sigma
. The only people who weren't smiling on Saturday Phi lawn on Saturday afternoon for the purpose of
afternoon were those who had come to protest the event debating equality of the sexes or whether the equal
as sexist exploitation. rights amendment is a good idea. They came to have a
I guess this all has to ilo with the nature of the good time, to drink a few beers and to be entertained.
contest, or should I say spectacle. I and most of those It's nice to be able to escape reality on a Saturday
who showed up to watch, I'm sure had never seen afternoon, and if a few dollars can be raised for charity,
anything like it. Oh sure, you see this sort of thing on TV, the American Diabetes Association, all the better. -
P but the live experience . is more interesting.
.., Grantecl, all the participants were female, and they
"T -- edail - nof begin to descifte'wEaVii felt v iewliketo all were wearing less than a normaliinounfof clothing,
• the wrestling, but suffice to say it was weird. And that's but this was not a skin show. Believe me, mud is about
: why I went, because most weird things are are a hell of as sexy as a pimple. When the girls came out of the ring,
: a lot more interesting than the predictable occurrences it was hard to tell that they were, in fact, girls. As I said
:we are so used to in our lives. If a running race were before, this was quite a strange spectacle.
Mudwrestling and mudslinging
A funny thing happened on the way to
the women's mudwrestling contest.
Someone else said "no."
As pairs of women grappled in mud at
Delta Sigma Phi fraternity on Locust
Lane on Saturday, April 11 to raise mon
•ey for the American Diabetes Associa
tion, the point was passionately argued
that it was all in good fun and for a good
cause.
The point was also passionately argued
that it exploited women's bodies, and
• encouraged the image of women as play
things
But the critical difference between the
two passionate groups was that those
, who argued for women's mudwrestling
shouted in one voice of about 150 people.
• Those who argued against it shouted in
one voice of about 10 people.
In addition, the smaller group had mud
'and ice thrown at them; were heckled
and discredited through name-calling,
and were taunted and provoked.
One thing can be said 'for this small
group who said "no" to the festivities and
'revelries when it would have been far
easier to say "yes," is that they are in
good company.
-reader opinion
No problem
In refute to Anne Bickford's letter in the April 9
issue of The Daily Collegian: We, as participants in the
Delta Sigma Phi Women's Mudwrestling Contest, do
not feel this was a sexist event.
Ms. Bickford was correct in stating that the wres
tlers wore T-shirts and some wore bathing suits but
what were we supposed to wear, head-to-toe wetsuits?
The attire suggested by the Delta Sigma Phi brothers
was not meant to be provocative, rather it was meant
to be practical.
The members of the crowd were not there to oogle
the wrestlers, but to cheer them on as in any other
athletic event. And an athletic event is what it was. The
crowd, consisting of both males and females, chose the
recipient of their spirited encouragement by the wres
tler's athletic ability, not by their appearence.
, Ms. Bickford mentions in her article that the names
of the wrestling categories were demeaning to a
women's athletic capabilites. But we feel these names
had nothing to do with our athletic capabilites, rather
they simply alluded to our femininity. After all, what
should the categories be named: Bovine, Moose and
Bison?
It is true that mudwrestling may not have had any
direct connection with diabetes. But we have seen our
share of marathons, fun-runs and walkathons and
would like to commend Delta Sigma Phi for being
innovative enough to try something new.
We would like to extend our thanks to Delta Sigma
the
opinions
Susan B. Anthony, in 1860, wrote:
"Cautious, careful people, always cast
ing about to preserve their reputation
and social standing, never can bring
about a reform. Those who are really in
earnest must be willing to be anything or
nothing in the world's estimation, and
publicly and privately, in season and out,
avow their sympathy with despised and
persecuted ideas and their advocates,
and bear the consequences."
For the women protestors on Saturday,
neither the brave nor comforting words
of past or present are consolation against
their most pressing reality the threat
of having their opinion obliterated be
cause they said `!no."
A large part of feminine acceptance
Phi, the crowd, and our fellow wrestlers for making
this an event that was not only fun, but worthwhile.
And we would again like to let Ms. Bickford know
that when this contest is held again next year, we will
be the first two to sign up.
Kim Boeshore, 3rd-meteorology
Liz Poplawski, 3rd-petroleum and natural gas engi
neering
April 11
Drink up
I would like to relate an unusual experience I had
recently. On Thursday, April 2, I was down at the
Saloon listening to Backseat Van Gogh (the best damn
band around!) like I do most Thursday nights. Near
the end of the second set, I was asked to leave by the
manger because I "wasn't drinking enough" to satisfy
him. He went on to say the Saloon has no cover, of
which I was fully aware, and that he expects people to
drink a lot more than normal to make up the money
lost from no cover charges or something to that
effect.
When I went down that night, I had planned before
hand to stay for only two sets, so I didn't drink as much
as I usually do when I stay for the full three sets.
Actually, I only drank one beer less than I usually do
and I never got hassled before.
Why should I buy I full night's worth of drinks when
I'm not going to receive the benefit of a full night's
Fun in the mud
It would have been better if they were naked, though
As the weather turns warmer, what we all
need are new diversions on the weekends.
. How about if we all get together and raise
some money for charity? Great idea. But we
need a unique idea because every weekend
some social organization is sponsoring a differ
ent fundraiser.
Our fundraiser should be innovative. Some
thing that people will really want to attend. Sex
and violence usually bring out the crowds. How
about something involving women and fight
ing? •
Mudwrestling is the latest rage in Califor
nia and Europe. That's the perfect solution.
OK: The rules will be that only women may
enter and must wear shorts or bathing suits
during the bout. With a minimum of clothes on
the wrestlers, •we should get a maximum
number of men to come.
Since we do not want the women to be
portrayed as real wrestlers, we'll make up
some cutesy weight classifications, like prim
rose, carnation and daffodil. That way, people
still revolves around the readiness to say
"yes." "Yes" to marriage when she may
not want it, "yes" to sex when she may
not feel like it, "yes" to motherhood
when she may not desire it, "yes" to a
lower salary when she may not deserve
it.
Saying "yes" makes a female a good
woman, feminine, and loveable. Saying
"no" makes her, in the eyes of men and
even other women, an evil woman, an
oddity, and hateful.
The history of dissent has always been
a trying and discouraging one, whether it
be the anti-monarchy leaders who cre
ated our nation, the anti-war demonstra
tors who urged the end of slaughter, or
the "anti-patriots" who revealed a cor
rupt president.
For women, dissenting has been even
more difficult, whether it be against
sexist roles, against unequal pay, or
against sexual harassment.
Because, not only is saying "no" unla
dylike, it's viewed as just plain crazy. In
Women and Madness, Phyllis Chesler
documents how women, since the days of
Sigmund Freud, have been institutiona
lized for being depressed, anxious, ag-
that's all
As for the fact that the paiticipants were female
and this seemed to bother the protesters one can only
imagine that if a sorority were to sponsor a similar
event the participants would probably all be male.
Contrary to what some people say, there is a difference
between the sexes. The management of Mr. C's, where
male strippers were featured until the Liquor Control
Board decided it would try its hand at governing
morality, knows this fact, but more importantly knows
the fact that men and women like to have a good time.
And I had a good time on Saturday. So did most of the
people, both male and female, whom I talked to.
The most interesting part of the day, though, wasn't
the contest, but the events that took place after it had
ended. At this point things deteriorated . into a free-for
all, with many p eople, , guys as well as girls, ending up in
the mud whether they wanted to or not. It was quite odd
seeing people walking -through -the streets of State
College as it they had just come out of a jungle.
I sure as hell didn't want to be tossed into the mud, so
I fled the area and went back to reality, with a smile on
my face.
worth of music? I was going to leave at the end of the
set, which was almost over, so the table would be
empty for any of the few people who were standing.
I've seen a lot of women there that drink less than I do
and I've never seen any of them get asked to leave.
The manager also said that I had been sitting there
for 25 minutes after the waitress had removed my
glass and that is totally untrue. I wasn't that buzzed
that I couldn't remember something like that. I know
that it was only two songs after the waitress had
removed my glass that the manager came over.
I feel I was treated very unfairly, and because of
this man's actions the Saloon has lost me as a custom
er, permanently. And as the saying goes, "you need me
more than I need you." There are other places I can go
to listen to BVG and not get hassled. I hope the manger
will think the next time he considers this type of action.
It's not very good customer relations. D-D-D-D-Desola
tion, there's nothing you can dp about it.. .
Bob Fray, 12th-accounting
April 6
cLtCollogian
Monday April 13, 1981—Page 2
Paula Froke
Editor
will know this wrestling tournament is strictly
for chicks. •
To make it even more interesting, referees
will hose the women down between rounds,
kind of like a glorified wet T-shirt contest.
Naturally, the tournament will raise money
for a good cause. That way we won't have those
radical feminists on our backs. After all,
what's wrong with some good clean fun that
benefits someone in need?
Next year, we'll come up with something
really good. How about, a slave auction selling
women students out for a weekend to 'do
Cooking and cleaning? Or maybe we could
have women participate in a burlesque or
striptease show.
Obviously, when if we're raising money for
charity, it doesn't matter whose dignity we
sacrifice.
The Daily. Collegian's editorial opinion is determimed
by its Board of Opinion, with the editor-in-chief holding
final responsibility.
gressive, angry, or stubborn. In short,
women are called insane for saying "no"
to the female stereotype.
Studies have shown that the desire to
be the same in a large group is partly
inherent. Pigeons reject the pigeon that
is painted differently. We "pack drive"
our cars. We wear "alligator shirts" if
they are in style. Saying "yes" is easy.
But often, as history has shown, saying
"no" has led to needed change and im
provement. Those who seek to obliterate
dissent do a great disservice to their own
right to say anything at all, as well as
threatening to impede progress.
Frances Wright, in 1829, said, "Happy,
most happy shall it be for human kind,
when all independent individuals, male
or female, citizens or foreigners, shall
feel the debt of kindness they owe to their
beings, and fearlessly step forth to reveal
unbought truths and hazard unpopular
opinions."
Some things never change. One of
those things is the certainty of dissent.
Diane J. Salvatore is a 10th-term jour
nalism major and a columnist for The
Daily Collegian.
Debby Vinokur
Business Manager
01981 Collegian Inc
'Stop name-calling
and start listening'
By DOUGLAS GREER
3rd-liberal arts
(In response to Gene Grygo's column
of April 7: )
When the alarm rang at 10 Saturday
morning, I told myself not to go to this
idiotic presentation of corporate idealo
gy. The presentation was organized by
General Public Utilities to extol to the
community the virtues of nuclear power.
While driving to the Three Mile Island
observation tower (where the presenta
tion was to be held) I wondered about the
purpose ;of' all. I 'arrived at .the tower
aroun. !loon, promptly lost parking
space' to a new Cadillac , and was stared
at by three men in pinstriped suits.
Inside the tower I was confronted by
pamphlets. I picked up one titled, "Nu
clear Energy The Cheap Alternative,"
and one about nuclear energy with Adam
the Atom and his friends, Mr. Electron
and Joe Neutron. Many mechanical
sights greeted me, such as women with
slacks'and long coats on. It was hard not
to notice their money.
Unfortunately, none of the visitors
brought their children. I assumed they
were too busy climbing trees at home.
However, the area was not without its
childish behavior. Many stupid people
arriving at the tower were turning into
the parking lot at 50 miles-per-hour, and
driving through the lot at 30 miles-per
hour.
Some strange people were there also,
-men in suits (gray believe it or not),
and I saw one woman wearing a mink.
There she was with the skin of a dead
animal lying right across her shoulders.
A man remarked to me about her and
said she had probably just finished
watching Jerry Falwell on television.
I noticed that some of the more intelli
gent members of GPU had prepared
little charts and graphs for our enjoy
ment. The even more intelligent ones
were showing a movie in an adjoining
room. Another man remarked to me that
he thought, "the entire experience had
been a basically successful attempt at
informing the populace."
Of course, I did meet some poor people.
Most interesting was the man who had
graduated from Middletown High School
and was now working for Armstrong. He
said he didn't know what was going on. I
speculated that perhaps making floor tile
all day, day after day, had somehow
affected his brain.
When the speakers finally took the
platform, most of the people were too
tired to care. Of course, the engineer who
spoke was very mundane, and spoke
barely loud enough to be heard in a
mortuary.
He argued that no one had been killed
or hurt in the accident, and that the only
reason our electric bill was 40 percent too
high was because Metropolitan Edison
couldn't start Unit 2, not because the unit
had been out of operation more than , in
operation, or that a poorly trained em
ployee had created a monstrous acci
dent.
The engineer ignored the debate over c
past exposure, and the debate over the
effects of low-level radiation because no
one had been killed and it wasn't at all
important. One man commented ,to
me,"You have to expect things like this
at presentations by Met-Ed."
Alas, before I left I checked out tl
movie. It attempted to glorify capitalism
and its wondrous benefits to mankind
and stockholders: alike .
, The people with
the new dadillacs seemed to enjoy it, as
did those people with only a limited view
of the world (i.e. American capitialism).
I speculated that these people either had 0
the mentality of a bowling ball, or that
they had the intelligence of Einstein
without the concern of a decent humqn.
As I left I noted the music playing in the
background (made by people who speid
their lives producing music to be plaiqd
in high-rises where people find happindss
balancing the books and punching pri- 40
grams into computers).
Need I go on, Mr. Grygo? I'm sure you
realize that subjectiveness works both
ways, as do cultural norms. Your article
did more to blast non-materialistically
inclined people than it did to promote the
real issue the safety of nuclear energy.
What do you have against people who
don't follow your concept of normality,
and why do you wish to imply that people
who don't follow convention are all crazy
and have nothing valid to say?
As an avid anti-nuclear worker aid
frequent attender of rallies, I resent::'
being implicated with craziness, stupidi
ty, and drug use. Rallies are not orga
nized to be an all out freak-out. Thoy are
organized to present some of the issueS l af
the other side, and to boost the moral :of
anti-nuclear workers everywhere.. Mqst >
importantly, they are organized :to
arouse interest in the issue so that, thoia
people you are so concerned about can
begin to sort it all out.
Socialists go to rallies, drug users go:to
rallies (they go to college, too), 'Ad
mostly concerned people to rallies. If you
consider people who are concerned abo'u!i ;
the world and their own health and safely
"faddist liberals," that is more your
problem than anyone else's. Is being a
faddist liberal any worse that being, a
faddist conservative, and should it mat
ter? Perhaps we should stop woiryiog
about the characteristics of • either side
and start worrying about what is beifig t
said.. One side or the other cannot be
dismissed because of perceived stereo
types, both sides can be equally absurd.
What the people stuck in the middle (as
well as those in both extremes) need to
do is stop name-calling and start listen
ing..
i
1*
Dean honored with title of University Professor
The Dean of the College of Engineering Nunzio
J. Palladino will be honored with the special title
of University Professor when he retires in July.
University Professor is a rare position
' awarded to distinguished scholars from Penn
it, State who represent the University instead of a
college, Provost Edward D. Eddy said.
As a University Professor, Palladino will be
l qecturing here and on the Commonwealth cam-
Aises, writing a book on nuclear design and
" v teaching courses in nuclear design this winter and
spring.
ilk', Palladino will report directly to the provost in
'This new position.
( , 1 " "We have done this before, but not often,"
°Eddy said. "it's to recognize a particular scholar
'''and use his knowledge on a University-wide basis.
L)t.t .
"His knowledge will be available to a much
wider audience," Eddy said.
*I •
!
tii'
RICHARD
BENNINGHOFF
THE 4 5(1 Lc)GDD
101 HiEsTER
serving Pepsi• Cola
1:11
-11f1
Kee
EVENING/SATURDAY OFFERINGS INCLUDE
Accounting (Intro. I & 11/Managerial)
Biology (General I & II)
Business Management (11 courses)
Chemistry (General I & II)
Computer Science antro./COBOL/FORTRAN/,
Data Base/Assembler)
Economics (Macro/Micro./Money & Banking)
Engineering Technology (Strength of Materials/
Properties/Heat Transfer/Engineering Geology/
Surveying/Drawing/instrumentation Design) .
English (Comp./Lit./Speech)
Journalism (Copy Read'g/Journ. Writing/Photo.
Math (Algebra/Statistics/Trigonometry/
Calculus //Calculus /I/Linear Algebra)
Psychology/Sociology
Palladino was awarded the position a year ago
when he first announced his retirement. The
administration announced a successor to the
dean's office two weeks ago Wilbur L. Miere Jr.
from Purdue University. Miere will take over as
dean in July, and Palladino will assume his new
position.
Palladino said that he will hold the post until he
fully retires in June 1982, and that he is pleased
with having the position.
"They have not had many (University Profes
sors)," he said. "I would like to do this and I think
it will be beneficial to the University."
Faculty Senate elections for the College of
Science are being held today and tomorrow.
The elections will continue from second
through sixth periods in the lobby of Osmond
S 7 ROx.9n~lL.~l44~K.ox49ltOltOltOlt 01t.9.91t401ce49x~1u9x~1i
FOCUS YOUR FUTURE
*All Students are invited *
Valley beautiful. Doiet litter.
Summer
Sessions
DOWNTOWN
FOUR START DATES,
TWO BEGINNING AFTER MAY
The College of
Business Presents:
CAREER
DAY
Thurs., April 16th—HUB
' t49X. 1e'•‘:; ',t 4; ;.X6).1 49 1 t4:7 1 4i> , t.45i'1L47 , L0R..g ,
EVENING/MID•SESSION
Laboratory
The Tyrone Area High School, Clay Avenue,
will be filled with the sound of music when jazz
musician great Maynard Ferguson takes the
stage tonight at 8 in a benefit concert for the
Second Mile.
Second Mile, a program to help troubled boys,
said the proceeds of tonight's concert will to
toward the construction of a home on 20 acres of
land on Bernel Road in Patton Township. It
completed payment on last week.
EVENING/DAY TERM I
(6% weeks)
MAY 4 - JUNE 16
EVENING/DAY TERM II
(6% weeks)
JUNE 17 • JULY 30
(9 weeks)
JUNE 1 • JULY 30
SATURDAY TERM
(I'2 meetings)
MAY 9 - AUGUST 1
Campus briefs
•%',
.'7;f:;'
Indians need role models,
program director says
By SHARON TAYLOR
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Minority groups have always shared
the problem of not having an effective
number of their own people in adminis
trative positions to provide role models
and American Indians are no excep
tion, the director of the University's
Native American program said.
Grayson Noley said there are 435 to 450
Indians in administrative positions at
public schools where 98,000 or more Indi
an children are enrolled. To reach an
effective number of administrators, at
least 1,000 more Indians would have be
hired, he said.
"For the number of Indian administra
tors to reach parity with the students
served, the present total of Indian admin
istrators in public schools would have to
be increased two times, at least," he
said.
There also is a shortage of Indian
teachers, he said. Because this is so,
Noley said data regarding education in
the United States shows the eduation
offered to Indian students does not Com
pare with that offered to white students.
In attempting to alleviate this prob
lem, the federal government has funded
programs such as the University's Na
tive American program, which funds
graduate Indian students while they are
enrolled in an educational administra
tion program at the University.
But because the program is expensive
costing over $16,000 a term to fund 14
students the number of Indian admin
istrators is not increasing substantially,
he said.
"Obviously, 14 people a year is not the
kind of progress we need to have," he
According to University linebacker coach Jer
ry Sandusky, who had the original idea for the
Second Mile program, the planned house will
have four or five bedrooms, but will be able to
accomodate later additions as the program ex
pands.
Sandusky said he hopes that as the Second Mile
program expands the original building will be
come a central dining facility-recreation area.
A picnic area and a sports field are also
planned, as well as an outdoor basketball court, a
small animal barn, a garden, an orchard and an
ice skating area.
Second Mile plans to hire full-time house
parents to care for the boys, Sandusky said.
Four Tyrone student organization, the Student
Council, the Varsity Club, the Key Club and the
Golden. Eagle Band, are helping sponsor the
concert tonight.
• r 31!• )- brt ,
, f
The Daily Collegian Monday, April 13, 1981-3
Students now enrolled in the program
feel these programs are important be
cause they do make a difference.
Larry Ray Brayboy, a Lumbee Indian
from North Carolina,' said, "It is the
responsibility of the administration to be
an outlet for parents to voice their con
cerns. When Indians see that their own
people are in these positions, they are
less hesitant to open up it gives them a
direct line for communication."
Room locks in Hartranft Hall were changed
Friday in response to a report that students had
master keys to the building.
Patricia Peterson, associate director of Resi
dential Life, said information was received from
a student Wednesday afternoon that other stu
dents had building master keys;
Residential Life decided something would
have to be done to the locks, and acted quickly,
she said.
Harry• Meyers, a locksmith for the University
said that beginning Friday morning, a pin in the
core of every room lock was changed.
Changing only a pin in the lock, rather than the
whole core, he said, prevents the use of a master
key, while allowing residents' to use the keys they
now have.
1,1
Other universities such as Harvard,
the University of North Dakota and the
University of South Dakota have pro-
grams similar to the University's Native
American program; but because they
are also funded through the federal gov
ernment, they' cannot enroll many stu
dents, he said.
"Because education is not high on the
list of President Reagan's priorities, the
situation is not going to improve funds
are going to be tighter," he said.
However, the University program has
made some progress, he said. Because
students who enroll in the program are
committed to serve in an administrative
position in a school with Native Ameri
can children, the majority of partici
pants do hold positions after graduating,
he said.
According to a 1981 progress report, 92
percent of the program's former stu
dents now occupy a wide variety of
positions in Indian affairs and education.
He also said Indians in these positions
provide role models for the children.
"Knowingly or unknowingly, we act as
role models for our children," he said.
—by Dianne Garyantes,
Joseph Kays and Iris Naar
.?-0-O•4>•G^G•-P0