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
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the
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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."