Professors angered by program change By CINDY DESKINS Daily Collegian Staff Writer Some of the religious studies • professors are angry. Four full ' professors and two assistant professors are leaving or have left and the positions are going unreplaced, the department is being changed to a program, and the director of the program was chosen five months after he department head resigned. Conrad Cherry,•one of the lepartment professors, said, "The changeover could have been instituted over a month ago. For some reason (the administrators in) Sparks Building have kept us waiting and waiting and waiting. For what reason? I can't believe they had any new information over the last six weeks. We were promised a decision on this on April 15. "Here it is a month later, we finally got a decision (on May 13)," Cherry said."As a matter of fact, the decision on the leadership could've been made on Feb. 15." The religious studies department will become an "interdisciplinary program" on July 1, with Ernest B. Lowrie, associate professor of religious studies, as interim director. Stanley F. Paulson, dean of the College of The Liberal Arts, said although he issued a memo to department faculty, saying he would announce the new director by April 15, Religious director appointed By DIANNE GARYANTES Daily Collegian Staff Writer Ernest B. Lowrie, associate professor of religious studies and American studies, has been named the director of the new religious studies interdisciplinary program, the dean of the College of The, Liberal Arts announced last week. The dean also approved the new 30- credit interdisciplinary program, developed by the religious studies faculty, that will now go to the Faculty Senate for approval. Dean Stanley F. Paulson said the postition needed to be filled immediately, and that Lowrie had been recommended for the position by most of the religious studies faculty. "He is also very well suited for the ' new program because he has a broad experience in both teaching and his own experience," Paulson said. Lowrie, who will take over the positipn July 1, said he is pleaSed with the appointment, but the work load will not be a change for him.' "It'll mean more committee work for me," he said, "but I can't say it'll be a big change. "I think that what we have to do is to continue to grow and develop," he said. It was announced last month that the structure of the religious studies department will be dissolved this summer because of financial problems and low number of majors in the department. The department will be reorganized into an interdisciplinary program by next fall. inside • Retiring baseball coach Chuck Medlar reminisces about his 1963 team, which went to the. Col lege World Series Page 9 • As tomorrow's primary elec tions draw near, the candidates comment on the issues in today's election section, Primary 'Bl. • Hostages and elections, se mesters and attempted assassina tions. It was quite a year internationally and at the Universi ty Page 28 weather There should be occasional sun shine today that will be dimmed by high cloudiness. After a chilly be ginning, temperatures will rebound to a high of 64. Partly cloudy skies and cool tonight with an overnight low of 43. Variable cloudiness and cool tomorrow with a couple of showers possible. Temperatures tomorrow should approach 60. last issue This is the last issue of The Daily Collegian for Spring Term. We will resume publication on June 10. Have a nice summer! W 202 PATTER he waited the extra month because he was hoping the division in the department about who should be the new director would change to a consensus. The department faculty held program planning sessions during April, the dean said, and Lowrie's outline proposal as applicant for the position "was basically what they came up with in their planning sessions. But there were sharp differences among the faculty about leadership." Cherry said, however, that Lowrie had majority support in Febraury and that was made official by a faculty vote in April, so Paulson could have made the same appointment with no delay. Even with the appointment of an interim director, there is some confusion within the religious studies department as to exactly why the change to a program was made. Arthur 0. Lewis, associate dean of the college s said in an earlier article in The Daily Collegian that one of the reasons for the change in departmental status was money. The college is expected to reduce its budget by at least $200,000. "This is purely an administrative thing," he said in the article. "A change from the department structure to a program structure will save some money." Continued on Page 6. studies Also, Yoshio Fukuyama, head of the department, will leave this summer for a position at the University of Chidago. But Lowrie said the new program is not entirely different from the old one. "What is new is the organization of the program," he said. "For the last 10 years, we've cross-listed many of the . same courses that are now included in the interdiciplinary program. The new program includes: 15 credits of religious studies courses, nine credits of religious courses in other departments and six supporting courses in religion and culture, Fukuyama said. Other departments that have courses dealing with religion include anthropolgy, philosophy and classics, Fukuyama said. "The continuity is the same; the novelty will be basically organizational," Lowrie said. "I frankly believe that we've had an interdiciplinary program from the beginning by conscious design." Lowrie said it is too early to say what plans he has as the new director. The most important consideration in terms of planning for the .entire University is the semester change, he said. As the new director he will be planning in that direction. ' "It's hard to say what structure changes will have to be made, but I don't foresee any radical departures," he said. "We'll be putting together a course of study for the semester shift. RAs tell all about responsibilities Editor's Note: This is the last of a three-part series dealing with the University's Resident Assistants. Today's article deals with how RAs feel. All names are changed. By MARY BETH HORWATH Daily Collegian Staff Writer The University asks a lot. Resident Assistants must be able to use good judgment, yet they are given a strict set of rules to enforce. RAs must be on duty three to four weekend nights per term, and are allowed only four weekend days out of town. Yet the material benefits are moderate: a single room and paid room and board and partial tuition, which totals about $950 each term. Page 21 With such a multi-faceted job, RAs interpret their jobs in different ways themselves. Ann is an RA in one of the University's 11 coed interest houses a different experience from a regular all-female floor. "People talk to each other more on a coed floor," she said. "They approach me leis for counseling purposes. "Some of the problems are different, too. There are the basic problems like noise, but I've had some guy-girl relationship problems, too. Sometimes I feel more like a marriage counselor." She added that any problem dealing with friendships on the floor is difficult because so many people are affected. "Group dynamics is such a sensitive thing; whenever something happens in a group it can have a rippling effect, and pretty soon everyone on the floor is involved," she said. Jim, an East Halls RA, said he agrees, but added that male floors don't seem to be as difficult to 4 II e•• • 1 5 „ the 0 . Monday May 18, 1981 daily . . . . Vol. 81, No. 174 36 pages University Park, Pa. 16802 • Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University Continued on Page 6 No doctor on duty after 10 By IRIS NAAR Daily Collegian Staff Writer Beginning May 25, students who arrive at the Ritenour Health Center after 10 p.m. and must see a physician will be referred to Centre Community Hospital because a physician will not be on call after that time. John A. Hargleroad, director of University Health Services, said that though a nurse will always be available at the health center, a physician will be on call until 10 p.m only, and after that, cases the nurse believes are serious enough for a doctor to see will be referred to Centre Community Hospital. Now, a physician stays at Ritenour throughout the night to see patients if necessary. However, physicians were "seeing relatively few patients," about two during the evening, Hargleroad said. "That's an awful lot of doctor time to see two patients," he said. counsel "I think women are definitly harder to counsel, only because they are more vocal, and they go to the RA more than guys," he said, "Guys tend to keep things within themselves." "Not that guys don't have problems, I get the usual stuff girlfriends, noise and I get the 'why am I here?' type of questions, too," he said. "Lots of times they're pretty worried about how much they drink or that they get high too often." One of the RA's most important functions is that of disciplinarian, and RAs disagree on the difficulty of this job. Ann says she thinks being a disciplinarian is more difficult than being a counselor. "The two roles definitely conflict, and it's much harder to discipline," she said. • "You can get yourself in trouble at the beginning if you're too lax they won't respect you. But you can't be too strict, either. Basically, you put the responsiblity in their hands, and if they can't follow the rules, it's not my fault." Jim says counseling is the harder part of the job "Sometimes a guy will come in and start hemming and hawing and you know something is on his mind. Not only do you have to caunsel him, but first you have to drag out of him what is wrong. It's really a delicate situation. With discipline, it's mostly just stating the rules and enforcing them." Paul, an RA in West Halls, also said disciplining is easier than counseling. "You can really discipline anyone, but counseling takes a special kind of relationship with the person. And if you haven't developed one, it can be really hard you have to get to know the person while you counsel." Also, many patients had to be referred to Centre Community Hospital anyway, he said. Hargleroad said he thought the new policy would benefit the majority of students because more doctors will be available in the day. The night doctor did not report until 4 p.m., and did not have to work the next day, resulting in less doctors during the day, he said. "We felt it would be better to have the doctors in in the daytime," he said. Students who need to go to the hospital after 10 p.m. will have Ritenour's ambulance service available to them if necessary, he said, but most patients who come in at night arrive by car anyway. However, students who use the ambulance are charged $2O and are charged an emergency room fee at the hospital. A Centre Community Hospital secretary said the emergency room fee at the hospital is $2B. Michael Cowan, a member of the Student Advisory Although writing people up is part of the discipline process, it can often create a sensitive and sometimes volatile atmosphere on the floor. "After a bust I usually try to keep it cool and let things ride for awhile because the person is upset," Ann said. "It's . . . emotional at first, but after a few weeks it usually works itself out." Paul said he agrees. "People get really mad when you bust them, especially if it was a party situation. But they know it's my job, and if they're at all reasonable they don't stay mad too long." John said writing a student up is not usually an important issue on his floor. "I don't feel bad about busting someone who walks into the hall with a beer, because they know they shouldn't do it. I can't hold their hands for them and always tell them what's right and what's wrong. Besides, there are no serious repercussions for the first time anyway. If it's not their first time, they should have known better." Stan Latta, assistant director of Residential Life said the University's alcohol policy is one of the most difficult rules an RA has to deal with. Although clearly stated, it is open to broad interpretation, and every RA has to handle it according to his or her own floor. "It's really frustrating because you can't ignore it," Ann said. "About the easiest thing to do is to teach them to drink discretly and responsibly," Ann said most RAs accept the fact that people will drink, but what they do in the privacy of their room is their own business, as long as they are discreet. "The really bad thing is when you bust someone for drinking three or four times, and you begin to suspect that there may be a serious alcohol problem," she said. Board of the University Health Center, said he sees a transportation problem with the new policy. "There's no effective way of transporting them (patients) from the health center to Centre Community Hospital," he said. Though the ambulance is available, it costs $2O and is primarily an emergency vehicle, he said. "Most students would probably not want to spend the $20," he said. The new policy will mean a large financial increase for students who have to use Centre Community Hospital's emergency room, he said. "This new system is a little bit of a concern to us," Cowan said. "Financially it's going to make a difference to students." Hargleroad said that because of inflation, the University is not getting many financial resources, and "when the resources of the University are shrunk, everybody suffers." Dean nominated to NRC position By DIANNE GARYANTES Daily Collegian Staff Writer Nunzio J. Palladino, dean of the College of Engineering, has been nominated by President Reagan to become the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the White House announced Friday. Palladino, 64, who was said to be the front runner for the position, now must be approved by the Senate before accepting the post. Palladino said he was informed of the nomination by the White House around 11:30 Friday morning. "I'm pleased," he said of the nomination. "Once you agree to have your name under consideration, it's nice to be chosen." Palladino said he has some plans should he be appointed to the position, but emphasized that the nomination still must pass through Congress after some checking by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "There are a number of things to be done," he said. "There are safety issues and licensing matters that are stalled right now." Palladino also said he would like to improve communication between the various plants across the nation. When asked about opening various plants now under construction all over the country and the possible re opening of Three Mile Island, Palladino said that the situations require further study. "I've been heavily involved with the TMI clean-up," he said. "That will have to be done as expeditiously as possible." The dean served as a member of the Governor's commission on TMI and participated on a NRC Special Task Force to evaluate clean-up activities at TMI. Palladino will replace NRC chairman Joseph Hendrie, who will leave the post June 30. The chairman's post has a salary of $60,662. Palladino, who has been dean since 1966, announced his request for retirement over a year ago. The University recently named Wilbur L. Meier Jr., head of the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University, to take over the position in July. Palladino did plan to write a book about nuclear engineering and speak at different campuses of the University on the subject, but these plans have since changed. "They're going to have to go by the board for a while," he said. Palladino said he hopes to maintain residence in State College, but will also probably get an apartment in Washington D.C. Palladino has served in various capacities in the nuclear engineering industry, including working for the Westinghouse Electric Corp. for 20 years before coming to the University as a professor and the first head of the nuclear engineering department in 1959. Palladino was in charge of the reactor core design for the Submarine Prototype Reactor, Mark I, for the • Shippingport Atomic Power Station and for the Nautilus Reactor while working for Westinghouse. Jim said although he enforces the policy to some degree, he isn't strict about all the details. "If we see a guy walk into the hall with a beer, we're supposed to follow him back to source to see if there's a party. But even if I know of a party, and I know it's under control, I won't bust it. Why should a bunch of people have their beer taken away just because one guy was indiscreet?" Paul said the University itself is very strict about the policy, even if the RAs aren't. "I think the alcohol policy more than anything else causes problems with RAs' jobs. When an RA fails to bust someone, they always come down hard on him." Jim said he agrees. "It's a real contradiction because we're chosen for this job for our ability to have such good judgment and perception, and then they tell us to follow the rules to the letter." Karen is an RA who almost lost her job because she failed to discipline floor members when she confiscated some beer in one of the rooms "They (Residential Life) found out and it was really an intense situation," she said. "But because I had a good record previously, they cut me a break. "Everytime an RA gets in trouble, it's an individual situation," she said. "But I know Residential Life can be really tough; I'm thankful." The RAs' overall attitudes are shaped by the types of floors they live on. If a floor needs strict discipline, it's the RA's job to administer it, although it may call for a few sacrifices. Ann said, "If people on your floor continue to be a problem, they're showing you that they obviously don't care, or don't like you. This could minimize other relationships on the floor if you have to be really hard all the time."
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