the daily collegian editorial opinion Locked doors Must Pattee shut down for Labor Day? The scene: A student climbs the many steps to Pattee. She tries the door. No luck. She peers into a win dow. No sign of life. She shrugs her shoulders and walks away. Five minutes later the scene is repeated. And again in 10 minutes. Pattee was closed for the Labor Day weekend. The University saw fit to shut down that most revered of academic facilities foi the holiday. As a matter of fact, it was closed every weekend during term break and every weeknight during break. Tough luck for the professors and graduate students who wanted to take advantage of the break from the hustle and bustle of classes to work on research. Tough luck for the undergrads who wanted to use the reference facilities over the week end. Tough luck for freshmen and their parents who wanted to get oriented to the library after they moved in. Pattee was closed. Perhaps if State College,.like Phil adelphia or Pittsburgh, had more than one research library that had extended hours; Pattee would not be so sorely missed when it goes on The lowdown from our Freshmen, transfer students and other newcomers: Welcome to The Daily Collegian, Penn State's student newspaper. Let me tell you a bit about us. We are worse than dorm food. Our writers are English 10 dropouts. Our editors are English 4 dropouts. We maliciously perpetrate stereotypes and each night plot the best way to discredit all the poor, hard-working student government and University administration leaders. We specialize in making up facts and especially quotes. We are good for nothing but Doonesbury and the crossword puzzle. we are evil, elitist, inept and irre sponsible. That, at least, is what you'll have either, heard or surmised within our first week of Fall Term publication. - _ If you'd ask me, of course, I would assure you that none of it is true. I would tell you that we care intensely about the quality of our product, that we criticize ourselves more than you ever could. I would try to convince you that our mistakes are innocent, honest ones not meticulously conceived schemes to "get" someone. Not surprisingly, that was my intent when I began this column. But by now I've become so conditioned by the University's fondness for introductory courses that I feel I should give all the facts and figures before venturing into the hows and whys. You probably think you have enough to worry about already without being bothered with Collegian trivia. Perhaps. However: This is your newspaper. Apologies for the rhetoric, but the paper does exist to serve you. Without the Collegian you would know virtually noth ing about what goes on at the University, whether it's the details of the switch to semesters or the time and place of this week's offering of "Deep Throat." You would be subject to the whims of University honchos left to deny coed housing or choose a new president with no Encam• ment blues From the University's 1981 Encampment last Thurs day and Friday, I had anticipated volleyball, sunlight on the lake at Stone Valley and invigorating dis cussions with seriously academic people over strong coffee in the morning. Maybe the week-long rain precipitated my case of "encampment blues." The lodge at the Engineering Camp was filled with soggy, earnest people about 130 administrators, faculty and students all "Reaching for Excellence," if one takes the theme for the event seriously. It was more like groping than reaching. In three decades, the Encampment ritual probably has solved few of the University's problems. But for me, this Encampment provided something much more useful however ominous than pat solutions: an element of clarity. I was shown a little bit more of why things are the way they are. First the facts: Penn State's tuition makes it one of the most expensive land-grant colleges in the country. It costs Pennsylvania residents less to pay out-of-state ' premiums in 23 states than to attend Penn State. Why is tuition so high? Because the University is financially strapped, its budget already cut partway to the academic bone. University Provost Edward D. Eddy admitted he is often preoccupied with cost-bene fit calculations, looking for programs to cut back instead of finding ways to make them grow. In a conversation about the "life of the mind" at Penn State, Eddy acknowledged that smaller classes are one path to an intellectual environment, but also had to recognize that most lower-division Penn State opinions Aster - vacation. But Schlow Memorial Li brary is not a research facility. It seems odd that the University would shut down perhaps its most extensive academic facility to cut costs, while at the same time keep ing open its most important athletic facility Rec Hall. As Philip A. Klein, chairman of the Faculty Senate Committee on Li braries, said earlier this year after Pattee was closed over Christmas break, "Research left undone be cause the library is closed could depriVe us of potentially significant advances which are impossible ever to measure in advance. ".. . The library is enormously important both in actuality for re search and as a symbol of the Uni versity's involvement and commitment to the constant pursuit of scholarship and truth through research. "It sounds unconvincing to tell the public that we push back the fron tiers of human ignorance, as best we can, but not during the holidays." The Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor-in-chief holding final responsibility. outside questioning of their decisions. You would have no chance to express your opinions to more than 20,000 people. Quite possibly you would have little or no exposure to parts of student life outside your own dorm room or major. In short, you need us. But to be effectively served by the paper, you also need to understand how it operates. So, the basics: . z' ' Ad The key fact of Collegian life is our independence. Most student newspapers are controlled in some way by their school, usually through university funding or direct affiliation with the journalism department. That subservience can mean that if the paper publishes, for instance, too many stories and editorials on the school's foul-ups in changing calendar systems, it might soon find its offices locked if the stories were printed to begin with. The Collegian, however, is published by an indepen dent corporation Collegian Inc. that concerns itself primarily with finances and allows the news, business and production staffs to operate autonomously. That independence means . . . well, wait for Part II of "All About the Collegian. More facts: We have an all-student news staff of about undergraduates never take part in classes of fewer than 30 students Tight finances also work their way into the quality of teaching at Penn State. One teacher told me that he got heat from . his department for scheduling a heavy reading load in a required class, because fewer people took the class when he taught it, and the department lost money because it receives subsidy on a per-pupil credit-hour basis. Why are finances so tight? Because the Pennsylva nia Legislature's support for higher education has been, in the last decade, among the worst in the nation. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Penn sylvania's average annual increase in state support for higher education has ranked last of the 50 states over the last 10 years. And Pennsylvania gives fewer dollars per capita to higher education than 44 other states. No one among the legislative and administrative leaders in Harrisburg is pushing very hard for higher education. Why such weak support among state legis lators and a governor who, come election time, will inevitably claim credit for keeping higher education on its feet? Because those politicians are under a lot of pressure to get re-elected, and they are very vote conscious. Students don't vote, and no amount of earnest demon strations and rock music on the Capitol steps is a substitute for the ballot. The University's full-time lobbyist in Harrisburg, Fred Ciletti, said the University will probably have to settle for 5 or 6 percent increases (less than half the inflation rate) in its state appropriation over the next two years. That means tuition will have to increase at least as fast as it has recently, and administrators will have to keep preoccupied with cost-benefit calcula tions. What I gleaned from Encampment is a loss of faith. Students have lost faith in the electoral process. Politicians, preoccupied with getting votes and staying elected, have lost faith in education as a generally good investment of state funds. And the University adminis tration has become afraid (or unable) to support education for its own sake or support research purely head honcho ? Na/X 2 OP 10toN I ,~ 145 reporters and 30 editors, of whom all the editors and maybe 45 reporters do 90 percent of the work and put in 25 to 80 hours a week. The business staff, responsible foi selling advertisements and keeping us on the streets, consists of about 24 sales people and office workers and seven managers, also all students. We have an adviser and two assistant advisers, all employees of Collegian Inc. and not the University. In addition to the student staffs, we have a profession al production staff that handles news and advertising typesetting and paste-up. The paper is printed under a contract with The Centre Daily Times. Our circulation is 20,000, with an average paper size of about 20 pages. We have been rated by the Associated Collegiate Press as one of the top five student newspapers in the country for the past several years. We receive no academic credit for our work, but top reporters and editors get grants-in-aid paid from our revenues ranging from $6 to $lOO a week. We write, edit and produce advertisements entirely on computers, and receive Associated Press news and photo service. Finally: As much as you need us, we need you. By ourselves, we can't possibly find every story that needs to be reported, or stimulate thinking and debate, or catch and correct our mistakes, or revise our coverage and emphasis to meet your needs. So you're welcome to complain but please, com plain to us, not just about us. Write a letter, call or come to the office in 126 Carnegie And if you're really interested in getting involved with the paper, bring yourself and a Blue Book to candidates school tryouts at 7:30 Sunday night in 162 Willard. Paula Froke is a 10th-term journalism major and editor of The Daily Collegian. for the benefit of more knowledge; everything at Penn State has to be cost-efficient. I am writing this three days after the end of Encamp ment, and it's still raining outside. Like the weather, the dynamics of the University will change sooner or later. But no one is responsible for, the rain, and we must all take the rap for this University's problems. Tom Boyer is a 10th-term political science major and editorial editor of The Daily Collegian. =Collegian Tuesday Sept. 8, 1981—Page 2 Paula Froke Editor Business Manager BOARD OF EDITORS: Managing Editor, Phil Gutis; Editori al Editor, Tom Boyer; Assistant Editorial Editor, Becky Jones; News Editors, Cindy Deskins, Dave Medzerian; Sports Editor, Mike Poorman; Assistant Sports Editors, Sharon Fink,• Ron Gardner; Arts Editor, Elaine Wetmore; Assistant Arts Editor, Judd Blouch; Photo Editor, Stelios Varias; Assistant Photo Editors, Janis Burger, Renee Jacobs; Graphics Editor, Lynda Cloud; Special Projects Editor, Maryann Hakowski; Copy Editors, Cindy Cox, Karen Konski, Denise Laffan, Jackie Martino, Iris Naar, Lynda Robinson, Leslie Zuck; Campus Editor, Joyce Venezia; Assistant Campus Editor, Chuck Hall; Town Editor, Rosa Eberly; Assistint Town Editor, Margaret Ann Walsh; Features Editor, Scott McCleary; Weekly Colle gian Editor, Neil Axe; Assistant Weekly Collegian Editor, Charlene Gowarty. LETTERS POLICY: The Daily Collegian encourages com ments on news coverage; editorial policy and University affairs. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced, signed by no more than two people and not longer than 30 lines. Students' letters should include the term, major and campus of the writer. Letters from alumni should include the major and year of graduation of the writer. All writers should provide their address and phone number for verification of the letter. The editorial editor reserves the right to edit letters, and to reject letters if they are libelous or do not conform to standards of good taste. Opinions expressed in columns, cartoons or letters to the editor are those of the writer and artist and not necessarily the opinion of the paper.' • Mail letters to: The Daily Collegian; 126 Carnegie Building; University Park, Pa. 16802. Names may be withheld on request. Letters may also be selected for publication in The Weekly Collegian. ~..._ ...., ~---•. 01981 Collegian Inc. Debby Vinokur ~: , ~ Choosing a new president: Do students have a say? While most University students were home, enjoying their summer vacations, a drama began to unfold. John W. Oswald announced his re tirement as president of the Univer sity. The selection of Oswald's successor will have a major impact on the operation of the University. One of the groups which will be affected is students. It already ap pears however, that students will be excluded from any meaningful par ticipation in the selection of the new University president. The group which will have the most influence in the selection of the new president will be the Universi ty's Trustee Selection Committee. According to Richard Grubb, exec utive secretary of the committee, the Trustee Committee consists of eight members of the Board of Trustees. It was this group which set up the University Search and Screen Committee. This committee, which consists of 14 people, only includes two stu dents. This is fewer than half of the students that sat on a similar com mittee when Oswald was hired as University president in 1969. Even more disturbing is that the Search Committee, on which those students will sit, has no real authori ty in the selection of the new presi dent. That authority will lie with the Trustee Selection Committee, whose recommendation will most likely be accepted by the full board. That the final decision will lie with the trustees does not bother me. They are the group legally empow ered to hire the University presi dent. What does concern me is that there are no students or faculty members on the Selection Commit tee. In 1969, the trustee committee ignored input from the faculty sen ate advisory 'committee, which was equivalent to the current Search and Screen Committee. In 1969 . . . all four students who interviewed Oswald ranked him last out of the three men who were then being considered for the post. According to accounts in The Dai ly Collegian, all four students who interviewed Oswald ranked him last out of the three men who were then being considered for the post. Robert Bernstein, a student mem ber of the advisory committee, said, "On the basis of the Senate Commit tee's comments to the trustees, I do not feel Oswald merits further con sideration." Another student commented in her report that: "Candidate C (Oswald) indicated a serious lack of under standing of students and young peo ple." The fact that the number of stu dents on the Search and Screen Committee has been decreased indi cates that the trustees have no inten tion of allowing any more serious involvement by University students this time around. In 1969, Oswald was also the last choice of a majority of the faculty members on the advisory commit tee. One faculty member com mented in the faculty senate report that Oswald "gives impression of being an old pro, appears to be an able administrator Question: has he lost touch with students?" Another of the faculty committee members rated how effectively he believed Oswald would deal with various groups: students, poor; fac ulty, poor; administrators, good; legislature, mixed, poor to good. One way to solve the problem of a lack of serious student and faculty involvement in the new selection process is to place a student and a faculty member on the Trustee Com mittee. This could be done easily without decreasing the legitimacy of the trustees as the group authorized to hire the University president. Paul Bell, who is both a student and a trustee, could be named to the selection committee along . with a faculty member. In this way, all groups that have an interest in the selection of the new president would be represented. The alumni already have a rep resentative in Helen Wise, whom they elected to the board. The only non-board member would be the faculty member. It appears, however, that the trustees are not interested in giving students or faculty any real voice in the selection of the new president. The best we can hope for is that the recommendations of the Search Committee will be taken seriously. Unfortunately, as we can see from the actions of the trustees so far, the outlook for any real consideration of students' interests is extremely dim. Jeff Goldsmith is a 9th-term com munity development major and col umnist for The Daily Collegian. the daily 06 collegian .Those incompetent undergraduates By STEVE BRACKIN Graduate-mathematics Six weeks ago, in a series of three forum articles, I said that most Penn State undergraduates are academi cally inadequate; that several attitudes common among • Penn State undergraduates are antithetical to learning; and that Penn State's faculty and administration, by catering to weak and wrongly motivated students, have made Penn State into what is largely a mockery of a university. I also suggested possible reforms, including requiring remedial courses and defending the-faculty against student intimidation, which could help solve • these problems. My tone was harsh, and I didn't make it clear, by describing the causes of poor attitudes and academic weaknesses, that these problems are not unique to Penn State or its students, and that Penn State's students are only partially to blame for them. I also didn't realize that most undergraduates might think of their fields or beliefs, or what they were learning, as personal matters • which they wouldn't talk about around a stranger. These things were frequent topics of dinner-table con versation when I was an undergraduate, and I believe it's sadly wrong that current social expectations force such discussions to be special. I still stand behind the accuracy of every significant 0 thing I said, though. What follows describes, with summaries and excerpts, the main ideas in my earlier articles. I'll be happy to provide copies of these articles on request My first article described a Math 260 class I taught last spring, with students I assumed were better than Penn State's average, who couldn't read instructions, write grammatically correct sentences, or do arithmet ic accurately. These students usually used blind, laborious calcula tions to solve problems they could have solved easily by seeing as instances of general facts. They did these computations even when they were ridiculously compli cated or produced answers that weren't worth the time it took to get them., They couldn't define terms that had • been used in class for weeks, couldn't concentrate in class, and had very poor retention of material they'd supposedly learned in earlier courses. That first article ended as follows: "People who can't pay attention in class, can't write coherent sentences, can't read exam instructions, can't produce results without detailed instructions and then Can't produce these results accurately can hardly be expected to participate in meetings, write memos, use technical documentation, or make deci sions that require insight or judgment. They're going to manage a business, or become engineers? Fine, but who's going to do their work?" My second article began with these paragraphs: "Unfortunately for everyone, most Penn State under graduates are immature. They're insecure, irresponsi ble and unconscious of their own cruelty. They're telongers' too unsure of themselves to stand on their own, and more concerned with fitting in than with being what they'd like to be. "This is natural,.though, and wouldn't be so bad if the community they were adapting to were a good one. It isn't. A passive, shallow mindlessness pervades under- -reader opinion Boiling blood In reading the second of Steve Brackin's three part forum, I am appalled at the vague generali zations that he presents, and I'm only halfway through with it! In response, let me begin by saying this: I am mature enough to know better than to group together the entire undergraduate population of • Penn State, and then dare to make such harsh generalizations about them (as if we were made from one mold!) ; I am secure enough to know when to retaliate when I have been insulted; and I am responsible enough to treat this in a rational manner (although my blood is boiling! ) Mr. Brackin, what right do you'have to call me • a "belonger?" As for being "unsure" of oneself, your statements only bring up questions in my mind of how sure you are of being a teacher. Granted, there are a few students who might fall into any one of the categories you write about. The emphasis, however, is on the word "few." I could respond by taking a few cheap • shots at teachers (including graduate assistants) as a whole, but I wouldn't stoop to such tactics as you have. In effect, what you have done is no VI yesm MR, DIU.INeeRWAs ReTißeDoi BUT TNeFtoR ate [VAR dusr coucDITT MAKe IT ANYMoRe 014 Nis (VIAL seCuRITY, ic NAVE Wu Noma. wow EAsy ITS BEEN to GET PHIGh'ARMONIC TICKETS SINCE REAGAN cor THE ENDOWMENT' 70 THEARTSZ .:.. forum graduate life. Most undergraduates talk about courses and grades, but not what they're learning. They talk about jobs, majors and requirements, but not their fields. 'They laugh at the poor madmen who preach to them, but don't question life or death. They talk about each other, but not what they want or feel. Their attitudes discourage both thought and caring. "Many undergraduates don't want to learn, don't want to think and don't try to understand. They've chosen their fields on the basis of money or availability, don't love them, and don't want to accomplish things in them. They want to put in their 30 or 40 hours a week, then spend the rest of the time partying. "These students see the University as a series of hurdles: They want comfort. To get it they need money, jobs, degrees, required courses, passing grades and answers on exams which they believe classes are there to give them. They'd like to be told the answers to all exam questions, and would like it even' better if the instructor just gave everyone As. They wouldn't learn anything, of course, but wouldn't care. "These students criticize covering material in class that isn't on the exams as 'wasting time.' In mathemat ics, they criticize everything except giving instructions in how to solve problems as `wasting time with theory.' They call exam questions that require intelligence or theory `unfair.' They depend on partial credit, try to lower course, standards and criticize 'unfair' grading. (One physics student complained, 'Quizzes in the physi cs department are biased so that people who know more make higher grades.') They also cheat." That second article then tried to explain why these attitudes are wrong. It described the attitudes as based on misunderstandings about the purpose and nature of education and testing, and the nature of jobs which require college training. 'Many undergraduates don't want to learn, don't want to think 'and don't try to understand. They've chosen their fields on the basis of money or availability, don't love them, and don't want to accomplish things in them.' The main objection I had to the attitudes, though, was that they deny and destroy real pleasures. I tried to describe some of the freedom and sense of wonder that learning can give, and advised "A 'work when you have to, then party' mentality makes sense for someone who's stuck in a bad job, just making a living. A good job, though, one every student here should be preparing for, is worth doing for its own sake. Work's ideas and materials, the people it deals with and the tools it uses, should be attractive every mathematician should love patterns, and every shoe salesman should be a bit of a foot fetishist. The job market isn't so harsh as to make it impractical to dream." My last article began by acknowledging that students who aren't adequately prepared for college, or don't want to learn, or only want job preparation, can deserve worse than taking three students, "Johnny Short," "Jimmy Fat" and "Mary Ugly" and conclude that the entire student body at Penn State is short, fat and ugly. If I seem to be taking all of this personally, it's true! It could be true for every other undergrad uate you have so maliciously slandered. I'm sorry if this seems to be short, but I really can't waste any more time on this nonsense I came here to study! That's where you will find me. now. And now, just maybe, if I'm lucky, I might fit in an hour or two of enjoyment this weekend. Oh, by the way, if you haven't read Dante's "Inferno," maybe you should before you insult me again. You just might find out how serious your offense is. Gregg L. Caren, Ist-human development July 23 Better way? As a part-time (summer only) student and a full-time educator, I have read with great inter est the remarks of Steve Brackin. Much of what Mr. Brackin states is obvious, observable and true. a hot summer debate Many of the undergraduates are immature, somewhat mindless and undisciplined. I would, however, like to remind Mr. Brackin that it is his job to take these immature, mindless, undisci plined people and show them a better way. As a public school teacher, I have had to deal with students who must surely have been less devel oped than any Penn State undergraduate. It is also unfortunate that in the public schools one does not get strong administrative support, even when one's position is obviously the just one. It has been my experience that criticizing students in the manner of Mr. Brackin, however insightful it may be, is counterproductive. As educators, our job is to help the students grow, regardless of where they are now or where we • believe they ideally should be. Glenn D. Deavan, graduate-music July 27 What to do? Steve Brackin's intelligent and heartfelt que ries deserve to be answered. The howl of student protest was to be expected =: many of their a place in a university especially a state-supported university in a state whose public education system has failed. It then continued: "What people who aren't adequately prepared or don't want to learn do not deserve, though, is power power over an institution supposedly dedicated to truth. They shouldn't have the power to prevent material from being taught, lower grading standards, disrupt classes, decide academic worth, or inhibit free expression not by other students, and especially not by the faculty. 'Unfortunately for everyone, most Penn State undergraduates are immature. They're insecure, irresponsible and unconscious of their own cruelty. They're 'belongers' too unsure of themselves to stand on their own, and more concerned 'with fitting in than 'with being what they'd like to be.' • "At Penn State, however, these students have changed basic subjects into pretentiously titled 'Linear Algebra' or 'Technical Calculus' courses that teach little more than odd forms of arithmetic. They've caused'grading standards to be lowered until even some instructors consider it 'unfair' to give exam questions that test more than rote memorization. They're free to insult instructors and the material being presented in classes. They're allowed to influence tenure decisions with their student evaluations. They intimidate other undergraduates, and make it impossible for a faculty member to say a 'controversial' sentence like, 'Most undergraduates are immature,' in public without fear ing retaliation." I then described good students at Penn State, and urged them to set the tone for undergraduate life here, and gave a list of suggestions for both the University and the mathematics department. I described the process by which Penn State has transformed itself from an institution which sells ideas into an institution which sells grades and diplomas grades and diplomas it is making less and less valuable and warned that employers would eventually choose to train high school graduates rather than buy Penn State degrees. I described the repulsion I feel for the perversion of grade-selling, and for the climate of feat' and intimidation I've found as a graduate assistant here. My last forum ended as follows: "I don't love Penn State; I did love M.I.T. I don't care whether Penn State survives the 'Bos. I don't care about grades and requirements. I care about pretty theorems, and true sentences, and those students who'll let me care. I love mathematics, and, God help me, I love to teach." Hard words. Unfortunately, I believe they were true Steve Brackin graduated from the Massachusetts Insti tute of Technology in 1974 and worked as a programmer and consulting engineer for three years. Editor's Note: 'These forums and letters appeared in The Daily Collegian in July. They are being rerun for the benefit of those who were out of town during the summer. May the debate continue. A reply: Students need confidence, not cut-downs By DIANA GREENE 10th-finance • Steve Brackin, could spare a few min utes to come down from you pedestal and talk to me? Good, thank you. First of all, I'd like to clarify a few points: • This is Penn State, not MIT. It is not supposed to be MIT; it is not trying to be MIT; and we don't want to be MIT. • Critical cut-downs of students or faculty are not becoming to an instructor at this University. • A negative attitude and frequent use of the word "can't" tends to be a mind narrowing experience. This will not be a defensive opinion. I believe that I'm one of those undergrad uate students who you seem to think has become extinct; there are several of us walking around. In fact, I'd venture to say if you opened your eyes and mind, the bleak picture you paint of undergrad uate students' abilities would appear rather promising. 'I believe that I'm one of those undergraduate students who you seem to think has become extinct; there are several of us walking around. ih fact, I'd venture to say if you opened your eyes and mind, the bleak picture you paint of undergraduate students' abilities would appear rather promising.' There are students who come here unprepared in basic skills. There are those who care only about grades, not knowledge; partying, not serious study. It must be frustrating to yield class time for review sessions and personal time for tutoring. No doubt you do this, and are very much concerned about the snowbal ling situation you describe in your forum. This is admirable, and I must say that the majority of instructors here do de serve this commendation. However, a negative attitude toward letters .were also intelligent and raised good questions. But no solutions were suggested. The facts of the matter are than many undergrad uates do not want to learn, that these people bring psychological pressure ( through evalua tions and more direct methods) on instructors for easy grading and undemanding course con tent, and that there is no effective force to counter this pressure. There is no question in my mind at all that, as Mr. Brackin asserts, "most of Penn State's faculty care," and "there are good students at Penn State, lots of them;" nevertheless, I be lieve it is also true that Brackin is correct when he states that we are approaching the point of allowing students to go through the motions of learning and still obtain a degree. I also believe that there are many students, faculty and admin istrators who agree with these propositions. So what are we going to do? I do not mean the question to be rhetorical: What are we going to do? John D. Palmer, instructor, food service and housing administration July 29 Cartoons forum News The Daily Collegian Tuesday, Sept. 8, 1981-3 the people you are teaching, influencing and shaping into tomorrow's workers and citizens will not give answers to differential equations, create parallel sentences or buy you a cup of coffee in the Human Development cafeteria. What will do this, and more, is confidence and faith in fellow students and their ability to achieve and aspire to the expectations of someone they respect. Your qualifications seem excellent, well-deserving of respect from a student. With that admiration comes the will ingness to apply oneself and do well. However, without the hope of acceptance and expectation of success, which only parents and instructors can give, a stu dent gets lost in the sea of self-motiva tion. This motivation can range from gain ing satisfaction in learning something or achieving in order to begin a successful career, to getting a master's degree or taking a four-year vacation in Happy Valley. You have to realize these differences, because motivations are as individual as the people you are teaching. They are variables, not coefficients. Whether such drives can be channelled productively has a lot to do with you as our teacher. It's a pretty tough responsibility, but if you believe in an ability, you'll see it. There are a lot of incoming freshmen and parents 'who may have read your forum. My advice to them, instructors and students is to have faith in the abilities and shortcomings of all involved in the educational process at Penn State. A boundary is as difficult to cross as a pedestal is to step down from, Mr. Brack in. Undergraduates are as capable of exhibiting and cultivating their abilities and talents as an instructor is capable of believing it can be done. Insulting When I read the first paragraph of your forum, I knew in advance everything you were going to say. What I find disappointing is. you recognize a well-known problem in education, but you do little to explain how the situation got that way, and absolutely nothing to offer solutions. In doing this, you show that you have not devoted much time to thinking about the problem, and it makes me wonder what your motivations are in publishing what is essentially an extended insult to the undergraduate students. I think in the end you are only hurting your own image. I would expect much more of an MIT graduate. Maybe attending Penn State will teach you something about people. Michael Olscheske, sth-philosophy and religious studies July 23
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers