the daily collegian editorial opinion Educator ethics PSU officials should show income sources Have .you ever wondered whether University Presi dent John W. Oswald' gets paid for sitting on the board of directors of General Pub lic Utilities Corp., owner of the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island? Ever wondered what other University officials hold paid positions with companies outside Penn State or, if you're really curious, wheth er there could be any connec tion between those jobs outside the University and administrators' perfor mance within? Too. bad. That kind of infor mation just isn't available. Penn State officials don't have to file financial disclo sure statements. Administrators at state owned colleges have to pro vide the statements. Elected state officials have to pro 7 vide them. And last week the state Supreme Court ruled that all local government officials, appointed and elected, have to fill out the forms, which reveal sources of outside in come but not specific amounts. The state's ethics law, one of the better of its kind in the country, was enacted in 1978 after what seemed like half the state Legislature was in dicted on charges of. corrup tion. The core of the legislation, financial disclo sure, means that if there are conflicts of interest involving public officials and private sources of income, the public must know about it. For example, if an official in charge of buying asphalt for the state Department of Costly joke Congress shows high-class hypocrisy The United States Con gress can be accused of a lot of things, but it can't be ac cused of not having a sense of humor. • Last week, those crowned princes of Capitol Hill turned into court jesters when they realized they were butting up against the midnight dead line for passing an emergen cy spending bill. Senate Republican leader Howard Baker sternly of fered this one-liner: "The whole government of the United States stops func tioning if we don't pass this bill." More comic words were never spoken. But with the government theoretically about, to go broke, Senate leaders, somehow maintain ing a straight face, ordered , all clocks stopped at 11:50. p.m. Who says time can't stand still? That hilarious illusion lasted about 20 minutes when the senators ordered time to proceed, but their real knee- ■ d t a h 4 c o ll egian Tuesday Oct. 6, 1981—Page 2 Paula Froke Editor BOARD OF EDITORS: Managing Editor, Phil Gutis; Editorial 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; Wire 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; Assistant Town Editor, Margaret Ann Walsh; Features Editor, Scott McCleary; Weekly Collegian Editor, Neil Axe; Assistant Weekly Collegian Editor, Charlene Gowarty. opinions Transportation gets "consul ting fees" from asphalt firms, his financial disclo sure forms would reveal that information. University administrators are not state employees the benefits of their indepen dence from state control in everyday matters is clear. But there's no reason why their sources of income shouldn't be made public just like all other public officials in charge of millions of tax dollars. Most of the local officials who came under the ethics act last week didn't object to having to file the forms. Among their comments: "I find no problem with it . . . It sounds like more of invasion of privacy than it really is." "I personally have been filling it out, and I don't view it as invading my privacy." "I am for disclosure of sources for all elected and appointed officialS." "I don't think it hurts any one it probably keeps some people honest.:" We haven't heard that kind of talk out of University offi cials, but maybe we should. If the law can bolster public confidence in the efficiency with which the University spends its money, University administrators would help their cause in Harrisburg by voluntarily filing financial disclosure forms. If not, the ethics law should be strengthened so they don't have, any choice. The Daily Collegian's.editorial opin ion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor-in-chief holding final responsibility. slapper was still in the hop per. With the austere, budget tightening words of Presi dent Reagan echoing in their ears, those diligent lawmak ers, dedicated to the task of reducing federal spending, truly outdid themleves. Just for laughs, they voted them selves a pay raise, while lift ing limits: on their tax deductible spending ac counts. Get it? The Reagan admin istration goes about taking free lunches away from grade school children and cutting welfare benefits to millions of needy people, and Congress, which saw fit to pass those thrifty proposals into law, could not pass up the opportunity to make their comparative lives on Easy Street even easier. Heck, congressmen make only $60,662.50 a year now. What a great joke! Those congressmen really are a funny bunch. What will they think of next? .el9Bl Collegian Inc. Debby Vinokur Business Manager Tell Mir..: , !... , :‘.:,-........ wi1ere he cap pub. his Missile... 0/4VVO;fatiVMAAS,' =reader =opinion No help For the past couple of years , a group of us have been getting together to go out to Centre Crest Nursing Home once a week. Through the University Volunteer Serv ice Center we were able to arrange these visits and organize activities for the elderly. Upon returning to school this year, we found that the volunteer center was dissolved. What we want to know is why? Was it another victim of the many budget cuts? Was it a lack of ' awareness, or just another case of student apathy? For whatever reason, we find it some what appalling that at a university with an enrollment of over 30,000 there is no such service. It seems a shame that more of the positive energy that exists at the University could not be funneled into an organization that would benefit both the community and the students. Kathy McMahon, 10th-individual and family studies ' Rita Dealy, 10th-general arts and sci ences Oct. 2 Stadium DMZ Last . Saturday I saw people climb up 10-foot railings. I watched them destroy a snow fence. I looked on as two 5-foot girls were crushed against a metal post. That was too much. I was supposedly a volunteer student usher at a Penn State football game. Instead, I felt like an observer in a DMZ. People were hurting each other. I will be back again on Saturday, doing what the stadium management tells me to do. I hope like hell the situation im proves. I would hate to see someone get a concussion, blinded, cut or hurt in any way. Whoever came up with "Fight on State" didn't mean the people in the stands. Student usher number 1087 Oct. 5 Federal sex discrimination law under fire By ELIZABETH ANGOTTI men and women separately, may not give preference to 14th-civil engineering and general arts and sciences one sex, and may not set limits on the number of This week has been designated National Title IX students of one sex. Discrimination on the basis of Awareness Week. Its purpose is to increase awareness marital or parental status is prohibited, as are pre about Title IX and to generate letters- to Congress admission inquiries into the marital status of appli expressing support for Title IX and opposition to any cants. proposals which would weaken it. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in academic, Title IX is a federal law enacted in 1972. In 1975, the extracurricular, research, occupational training and then-Department of Health, Education and Welfare other educational programs. Schools may not have published regulations outlining specific compliance different rules for male and female students. Recruit requirements. HEW's Office of Civil Rights is responsi- ment must not favor one sex. ble for enforcing Title IX. The preamble for Title IX Title IX stipulates. that a school must provide equal states: opportunities for male and female students to receive "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of scholarships. Single-sex scholarships may be offered; sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the however, the overall effect of such awards must not be benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any discriminatory. Financial aid and other awards or educational program or activity receiving federal finan- prizes given by the school itself must be distributed in a cial assistance." non-discriminatory manner. This includes graduate Thus, any school receiving federal aid must comply housing as a whole must be proportionate in quantity with Title IX regulations. Since nearly every college and•quality for both sexes. Comparable health benefits and university•receives federal aid, nearly every col- must be provided to men and women. If full health lege and university is covered. Some of the major services are provided, gynecological services must be provisions of the law are summarized below. included. Health insurance offered by an institution Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in school admis- must be non-discriminatory. sion policies; however, single-sex undergraduate Sex discrimination in athletics is prohibited by Title schools may remain single-sex. Schools may not rank-,,1X. Schools may have separate teams; however the 4. forum A teacher She was having trouble with the course. She'd done badly on the first few quizzes, was worried about the upcoming midterm, and had stayed after class to ask what she should do. "I guess I'll go home and memorize all the formulas." ' "No! Re-read the text, and try to figure out why what it's telling you is true." She stayed after class again a week later, after the exam. "I took your advice, and did very well on the exam. I wanted to let you know." "Thanks for telling me." I watched her for the rest of the term, checking to see whether she seemed to understand what I was saying, and encouraging her to ask questions. After the end of the term, I looked for the comments portion of her stu dent evaluation form. I'd used the computer-coded forms rather than the ones I usually use which request a signature, but I thought I recognized hers by her handwriting and use of words. She'd concentrated on criticizing "Mr. Brackin" for sometimes being ,late to class. She didn't do well in the course, but I liked her. She was outgoing, talka tive and good humored and one of the few people in the class who cared about my feelings. She'd often try to cheer me up: we once had a fun little conversation about crazy things we'd each done in a chemistry lab. I'd asked for definitions'of terms on an exam. His answers contained some of the right words and phrases, and several of the wrong ones, in "sen tences" that didn't contain verbs. I hadn't given him any partial credit, and he'd come to complain. "Look, what you've written here is garbage. I had to change six words in teaching fellowships and research assistantships. Ath letic scholarships must provide opportunities for both sexes to receive aid in proportion to the number of students of each sex participating in athletic programs. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in housing and health benefits. Men and women may have separate housing and be required to live in dormitories; however, housing rules must apply equally to both sexes and profiles six students this sentence just to get it to make sense." "But this isn't an ,English course!" It was about 10 p.m., but I was still in my office when she came by. I had said something in class about some infinities being bigger than others, and she wondered if I'd explain. Yes, I'd be glad to. We talked for quite a while about ideas close to the heart of mathemat icS: the concept of cardinality; the countability of the integers and natio nals; the uncountability of the reals. I told her that no one knows, or ever will know, which infinity is the num ber of points between two out stretched fingers. She listened, asked questions and tried to understand. I thought of myself as an old math push& giving a young Innocent her first fix. "You're becoming one of us, you know one of us math people. No one will ever understand you again." "I don't care," she said, laughing. "Most of this stuff is in the first chapter of a text I used as an under graduate. Would you like to borrow it?" "Yes, and thanks for the explana- "Gladly. Come by anytime." I don't know his name, though I could probably figure it out if I really wanted to. He was a student I almost had twice. I had been scheduled to teach a sixth-period lecture course, but my ® land • • e t airborne o other 10 111 MB MI ON •Esm im section was cancelled because there weren't enough people in it. I had been reassigned, but felt badly for the few people in the section I had lost: they weren't going to find out that their section was cancelled until they met a secretary sent to their first class, and they'd miss the first lecture, which was supposed to cover important material. I decided to go to that first class, and give them their first lec ture. One of the students in that cancelled section took a course under me a term later. He told my class, in my ab sence, that my earlier section had been cancelled because I was a bad teacher. He was taking a differential equa tions course, but had trouble doing high school algebra, and he'd just failed the first•midterm. He'd been an indifferent student for years, but now had a pregnant wife, and he was rapidly running out of money. He needed that' course, and an engi neering degree and a job, and he needed them fast. He came to me for tutoring. I told him I couldn't make any promises, but would see what I could do. I met with him two or three times every week. He worked hard, very hard, both at the overload of courses he was taking and at the work I gave him. After a few weeks, his math was much better. He passed the course he even came close to making a B and came to see me several months later. "I've got a daughter!" "Congratulations!" "And we've found a place where we can live rent-free if I fix it up!" "You know, I haven't told you this before, but I envy you." Good student. Good man. Steve Brackin is a graduate student in mathematics. His column appears on Tuesdays. overall program must provide equal opportunities for both sexes. Title IX regulations require every school to designate 3, \ an individual to be responsible for compliance with the law. A complaint and grievance procedure must he extablished. Some groups are exempt from Title IX. These groups include girl and boy scouts, and social sororities and fraternities. Title IX is under attack from Congress and thq, Reagan administration. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has introduced Senate Bill 1361, which would amend and weaken Title IX by narrowing the definition of federal assistance to exclude most federally funded student aid. This aid is the bulk of federal assistance to colleges and universities. The particular program or activity in which discrimination is alleged would have to directly • receive federal funds in order to be covered by Title IX. 1 Now, a program need only be part of a school receiving federal monies for other activities. The Family Protec tion Act (House of Representatives bill 3955 and Senate bill 1378) includes a provision that would repeal Title IX. The administration is considering rewriting Title IX regulations, which could accomplish all the provisions of the Hatch bill. Congress would have only 45 days td,) veto the proposed regulations. I urge all men and women who care about, equal opportunities for all people to write letters and make phone calls to their federal representatives expressing opposition to these attempts to undermine the educatio nal opportunities of women. Urge your representatives to vote against these proposed changes. Our rights are at stake. Faculty-student contact deserves attention Editor's Note: John Vargas is an assistant professor of environmental science at Dubois campus and served on the Freshman Year Experience committee. Because of his location, he did not "adopt" a team of freshmen as other committee members did. Daily Collegian Staff Writer Becky Jones interviewed Vargas on the phone about his work on the committee. The following tran script is edited for length and clarity. COLLEGIAN: What was the most significant fact that you thought the committee found out? VARGAS: The relationship between the freshmen at University Park and faculty was cited from time to time. But on the basis of my discussions with the committee members and by reading some of the par agraphs that were written for English 10, by examining some of the reports that were given to us, the aspect of personal relationship between faculty andstudents just wasn't coming out at University Park. There was a remoteness typically indicated by the members of the committee. It was a reccurring thing. I think we found some things that the University was doing well. I certainly wouldn't want to slight that. One of the things that came out strong was the registration procedure. There are a number - of concerns that we feel need addtional examination and additional consideration. One of them is faculty interaction with the students. I don't think the faculty or every faculty member should be expected to bring that home. I don't think that we're all qualified, nor are we all interested in establishing an aspect of personal relationship with the freshmen. COLLEGIAN: Do you have any recommendations to remedy the lack of interaction? VARGAS: I think the recommendation of the commit tee was that and this frequently happens in the University system we see a need to establish another committee to investigate means of dealing with that concern. I don't think it's something that exists even on our own campus. I think there are personality differences among the faculty that may not be conducive to the Research methods should be more precise By GREG HYDUKE 10th-communications and business Allow me to plead ignorance. I don't know Patricia Farrell'or any member of her special Freshman Year Experience Committee, created last year to measure the ups and downs of first year life at this University. I'm even less acquainted with the members of the Faculty Senate, whom along with Provost Edward D. Eddy, planned, appointed and imple mented the said committee. I do, however, know how to conduct a survey in a carefully valid and reliable manner with respect to the objectives of the investigative task. Consider this a normally listless, impassive observer's avenue into the thick of things. But somebody, somewhere at sometime dur ing the early stages of this committee exploration either neglected or ignored a few of the basic, yet imperative tenets of conducting information search investiga tions. paiticularly harbor suspicions con cerning three questionable features of the committee's research: the confusing relationship of the selected investigative style to the initial goal of the committee, the nonchalant data collection processes and the decision to relax the participants by taking them out for dinner and ice A 'clear Editor's note: Paul Bell was a member of the Faculty Senate's Freshmen Year Experience committee. By PAUL BELL Student Trustee The "Freshmen Experience" is a difficult concept to nail down. Each freshman has one, and each does with it what he will. In citing difficulties and concerns, the Freshmen Ex perience Committee pointed mainly to Uni versity-wide problems. These concerns are unique to freshmen only in that they have had less time to get used to them and are still freshly upset. Poor academic advising, remote instruc tors and bureaucracy are not problems for any one group of students at Penn State. Similarly, students at all levels experience a rich variety of educational opportunities, cream as settings for their group meet ings. These actions waver on a tightrope over ludicrousness. According to an informational report released by the committee, they at tempted to "broadly study the freshmen experience" selecting a "humanistic/im pressionistic investigative style" rather than "develop quantitative data" since other offices were working in this area. Professor of psychology George Guthrie, a veteran researcher in his own right, advised me upon inquiry that "humanis tic/impressionistic investigative style" is a nice way of saying sloppy and unsystematic. It's an inappropriate tack to assume when part of the committee's initial task was to "propose some possible solutions and perhaps most importantly to suggest specific administrative remedies which could be implemented where appropri ate." Imagine a specific administrative remedy based on what a random sample impression' University pays the price for size, variety great facilities and many excellent faculty. The freshman • gave encouragement for things that are done well and re-emphasized the need to work on the bugs in the system. Let us hope that some fresh ideas and motiva tion will come from this to improve the learning experience. However, I do not think this document should be taken as an inventory of the Univer sity's isolated strengths and weaknesses. The report is a good look at the realities of Penn State. If we want to know what Penn State itiEY DON'T Kt4olA) IHE WIAT WORDS :~ -•:::.;: development of that kind of relationship. Frankly, I don't that all faculty ought to be involved in doing that type of thing. I just think that simply because of our size here, and in reality we're in a small community, it seems that not only do we know the students, but quite frequently we know the parents. Or we know another member of a family. Within one generation we may know three or four family members and we begin to establish that relationship. op-ed interview But I just don't see how that could be possible at University Park. The majority of students there are not from the State College community, where here they are. I think size is an extremely important thing. In all of the areas for further consideration, I really think that many of them are problems that , relate to the size of the University, the bigness of the University, and I think that some of the problems that exist are related to the communications process within it. There are just things that are difficult to deal. with. I think the Univer sity deals in an admirable way with some of them, with many of them, but there are some problems. I think one of them was something with bureaucracy. I think it's a problem. I don't believe that it's really a bad thing or a totally negative thing that there is not personal .interaction between faculty and students. In many instances that's a good thing. I really don't think you can say this is the faculty's responsibility or it is solely ,a faculty problem. If a student really wants or needs that kind of interaction, if he pursues it, even at University Park he could find a faculty member that would be a listener for him. I feel as part of the learning process, there has to be a forum forum of freshmen talked about over ice cream cones at Baskin-Robbins. Another dispute is•over the negligent, yet intentional idea to allow committee members freedom to choose their own data collection approaches. What kind of systematic uniformity is achieved by mixing the disparately recorded results of open-ended or scale-item questions? To make matters worse, written ques tionnaires were distributed after periodi cally held group meetings of participants and their group leader, where issues were discussed and oral responses (to questions subsequently found on the questionnaires) were recorded. This ac tion borders on putting words in the mouths of possibly apathetic, neutral or deviant participants. Didn't the commit tee realize the pitfalls of group conformi ty (distortion, bias, reluctance to maintain a deviant position) when they decided on this team interview method? Thirdly, there is a researcher's maxim involved here that would sound some thing like this: Thou shall not act in any manner so as to elicit socially desirable responses. Taking participants to the Terrace Room is not the strictest adher ence to this rule of thumb. Buy me dinner and I'll tell you anything you want to hear. This isn't an accusation of at- really is, it serves us well to look at it through the eyes of students who have not yet become numbed to the ways of the University. The students involved in this study express ed frustration at being apparently insignifi cant parts of a large system. They spoke of the lack of personal advising and direct con tact with instructors, long lines and a thick tangle of bureaucracy. People who had been the elite in high school find themselves receiv ing little individual attention. As a Penn State student, I have always felt like part of a large system. I have had only rare flashes of cozy, personal education. There is often a feeling of having been placed in a huge pedagogical warehouse and told to forage for ideas. That is the flavor of Penn State. As much as we strive and long for an intimate learning environment, we can never achieve it on a University-wide basis. Penn State's mission is to educate the "children of the industrial classes." That means that it has to be big, accessible and efficient enough to maintain quality for great masses of students. Naturally, some •students and faculty are enjoying close, interactive learning. Some students 'have found friendly personal advis ers. All sorts of arrangements are possible since the system is, after all, just an aggre gate of individuals. However, the institutional philosophy is not to provide individual, specialized attention. It is geared to facilities, numbers of faculty and programs, cost-effectiveness. It starts there and builds the highest quality it can within that framework. The major problems and blessings isolated by the Freshman Experience Report can all be traced to the size, variety and complexity of the Penn State system. There definitely are things that should be done to improve the experience of freshmen (and all other stu dents). Some suggestions are offered in the report. But let's not kid ourselves. We can soothe the symptoms of mass education, but we cannot cure the feeling many students have that the system is too big to have much concern for the individual. That is the Penn State reality. The freshmen who participated in this study gave us a clear impression of the student experience. When they were disillusioned it was because they seemed to have expected fatherly advisers, spell-binding instructors, close interaction with faculty members and prompt personal attention. Why shouldn't they? Well, maybe we ought to tell the next group before they get here. limit to our guidance. We can give them materials that are available, with choices, and then they have to make decisions. COLLEGIAN: Because many of the concerns of freshmen deal with the largeness of the University, do you think that to a certain extent students can't come up here expecting the attention and same quality of relationship that they could have at a smaller school? That there is an inherent risk that the University will be impersonal? VARGAS: I think in part that that's probably so. The class president, the class valedictorian, who has been given all the attention throughout the years, is no longer the class president or the class valedictorian, and they have to cope with that. I didn't have problems meeting with my adviser and getting things worked out for me. And even today, if I have a question it seems I can call a department head, or a department information at University Park. COLLEGIAN: Where there any other concerns that you thought were more important than other besides the lack of personal interaction? VARGAS: I would have my own concern about the temporary housing type of thing. • I do think that the type of survey that was done with this committee could and should be done throughout the Commonwealth campus system. COLLEGIAN: Do you foresee anything like that in the near future any study of Commonwealth campuses? VARGAS: I can't really speak to that issue. I think that's something that would come out of University administration or Faculty Senate or a combination. I wish it were possible to compare the freshman experience at Commonwealth campuses to the experi ence at University Park. It is most important that the University community understand that the Freshmen Year Experience report relates specifically to fresh man at University Park. And I think also it would be good to look at the experience of students who start at campuses have when they enter University Park. I wonder if they're concerned with the same problems as freshmen? tempted subtle bribery. But I can't fath om why the committee thought going that "extra bit" was beneficial for the study, overlooking the ill-fated side ef fects. One participant I querried, who asked to remain unidentified, offered this re mark, "I guess I felt obligated to say more good things than bad because Pat (Patricia Farrell) was so nice." The study is not the brunt of my skepti cal reactions alone. Since being publi cized it's been batted around among faculty and students circles alike. I know of one marketing instructor beginning a lecture on research and primary infor mation gathering, who, on the basis of some of the same issues I've raised, utilized the study as an example of how not to run a survey. (In all fairness I should note that his interpretation was based on the eport of the study in The Daily Collegian, not a copy of the com mittee report itself.) Allow me to now plead aloof respect. An unreserved limb-walker would proba bly define the study as laughably absurd. I merely advocate and urge that the results, incompatible with the intital objectives of the study, and gathered on inept shaky methodology should be taken with a grain of salt. • The Daily Collegian Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1981-3 or... , 2m.,.i: : ::: : :: : :: : ::*.Ecl:: : ::: : ::: : :? ,, , :: ,,.. :1: i iii i i5 ,; :::11 m : • : : : • : : :1 , 1 ,•: .: • : : :. •: . ; :!: ,• : : :1: ,..0 : . : : : • : : : • : : :1: 1; . , : •r: ::: 1: : ... : : : ..: : •: < $.. : 1 : • : • : •...,• : ••• :: •. : • :: • : . : • : . : 1 : 1 : • : • : .• ::: •.• : •.•, , ,,....„• ; ,. ;: . 1 . 1 . 1 ...,•,• : ,. : •, :: 15 . :,.: . : . . ; , 0:::.:::::::4: . ,: , :.1::::::::?: .,. : ,.... :::::: „ : „. : . :4 „, : , :::: ,, :::::::::: , 4 ,., ::: : :: : : : :: . : ., ::: . 40 . : : : :: : : : : : : : : ::: : : : : >: : : : :•,: : :,4.. : ::::::::::::::::::::::::.:44::::::::::44-.44:4::4:-:- . 44,44.,4..-:-;;;.. 3 44 , ••••04 f.. ..., ,...,..:.4. _ ..:.:?. ........ ? •,....„, i - x .. :.:1.:.::5::::: , 0 ., : ... : .,.......,,...„..,,,,,. : . ::! ..„,.„..... : ....„,,..,.. : :• : :.....,:•:•.•,•:•:::•:•:•:•:•.,:::::::4..x..44..4444.:4:4:.444-444.4 , --4,44- -4. :4-7, /•,• ...: : :::7,..,;,...,4„ . • : 7a, : ,....,,,,, : ,. ::: . :% . ::: . : :: : : : : : . z . : : : : : : :; ,: : :,:.:.:....:: : „. ; : ; . ; :z : * : : : :.: , ..,::::::::;.:;:•.....:•:•:•:::::::•::::::.:::f. , :::::::::::::44::4. 4, :•:.:• 4 :::: 44 ::::: ,. .. - ....444:::Ki.:*:::::::::•44:: - 4.4.*:•:i4.,;,...:47. . : ; :.5.....4,.i , j . :? - :1 , ::; , : ,......... ::: ., :::; ... oz::: , ::::.:::::::::: ... :: „ :: „. : . ::: , ::::::::: , :: , : „.... x ... w .... ;;;;;;;;;; . : . : : : :. : :•:: : : : : : :::: : : : ; : : : * ; ; ; : : :.: : ::::•:.:::::•::::::::::::::•:”" ''''':::%:::•4•,.,# : :•.•......: : >:•: , ,x , ws,: , :•: ,, :•:•:•:•:•:•:•:Awx:;-: , :•:•:4%':•:-:•:•:•:•'"x:%: , > , :' ,, "::•:"':':' , ":'"'"''"il:'''''' : %: : ' ; '''''''''''' z i ::;: ' w .....,z,,....A.:.:*.:.:,,...::,:::•:•:::•.:•:•:•:4:4::•::,:•:,:•:::::•::%,:•:•::::::•$:•:6:::::%:,,t,..',,,,,::t%;';\::..%:-::'.::1:1'i:11?:::>*::::' ':::'::45 , / 'Ac .....4...,,,,hc::::,:*g.2i*::;::.:::;::::9)::!::::.:0i:i::•*:ii:::k.K:xV:,::::;:-%v:eek:.:::r7 .6,4 ; :, ; :?' •••••• 'taialikiblttenNi.Minititgg,:gi::gg:•g:''::Nßl:ls %ON •••• : r.. ) 44.ie.. % :MX05W1.0W W.55 ,,,,,, 4 , 4. ,,, . ,,, z.x.x.; ,,,, 5•&zm5;;M:2::::*%:: . *W0WX;::::; , .*;M „.......;x:?,..:::::.:::::::::.;:::::.::::•:•:•:;:•:•:,:::•:•:::::::::::, id& 4 • ...::::..„.....:•,...:•:•:•:•:•:•:. ••••••,....-„: 1 . ,::: •::„..$ •,::::::.:.:.:•:•:„ .• • ...:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•: . ..,...:•.,..„: ~::::::::::::::::: ~ • :•,....:•:•:•:::::::::::::•:: .r...:i : :!"- •••• • • • • .0,::::,::: . : mnio::::::::::• .::: • ....:•:,...4.•:. • • • .. ....,......... ih.s..wf: .• , . • • ....,,,,•:, ..,.......„..... -. • ...• , ........ ........,....,.. ~..:... Freshmen need help with social, roommate coping By MICHAEL McGEE Member. Joint Committee on Freshmen Experi ence During the Fall and Winter term of last year, the Joint Committee on the Freshmen Experience was formed to study the freshmen experience at the University. As a member of that committee representing Residential Life Programs, I was particularly concerned and sensitive about those in which residence halls impact on freshmen attending Penn State. Therefore, even though the committee's report spans a broad range of issues, I would like to confine my opinkins to only those areas dealing specifically with residence halls. The methodology used by the committee consis ted mainly of interviewing freshmen and cata loging their experiences in a sequence of temporal events or time frames beginning with pre-Penn State attendance up through the reac tions at the end of Winter Term. forum After interviewing many freshmen it became apparent that residence halls had a significant influence on them, and according to these fresh men it was mainly positive. Freshmen gave good reviews, in general, to Resident Assistants and Orientation Leaders, and even though these were subjective comments, they seemed to indicate at least a moderate degree of satisfaction with the present structure. When looking at other data, however, freshmen seemed to possess only a very meager amount of both social coping skills and academic orientation needed to complete the adjustment from high school and home to college and high density living conditions. This was of particular concern to me because I feel that this is one area that needs to be addressed immediately and on more than a trial or error basis. Surely some research or other steps could be taken into the whole area of easing freshmen into this high-voltage collegiate environment with emphasis on how to deal with raising their coping skills and simultaneously eliminating the more harmful obstacles that we, as a system, put in their way. In recommending action along these lines, His my feeling that freshmen are particularly appre hensive about roommates and being compatible with them. Dealing with these anxieties before hand by being more flexible in the way we assign freshmen could be beneficial. Grouping freshmen by major and simulta neously placing them in a room with an upper classman (or something similar to this) might provide at least a framework of compatibility Ode to Fellow Freshmen Here I am at Penn State It's left me all aghast Those wild and crazy parties I swear they are a blast Loose girls in make-up Sit down in my class They sort of giggle quietly When I pinch their ass Please don't imagine This is all a joke I believe I'll have another More rum please and less Coke I live in tempor And how it makes me sore It seems every day now They send us "just one more" I lost my pink slip Boy it made me blue They said we're sorry young man So sorry that you're through Those funny upperclassmen They think they are so cool They call heavy drinking The tough life here at school Others complain But the dorm food•is fine I get so hungry • • Just standing in line The food's cooked with care I like it that way I hit the bathroom Just six times a day Seventy-eight dollars for five measly books At least bank robbers admit they're crooks Those Nittany Lions never ever lose The fans love the games As well as the booze My midterm went nameless But others are dumber They're in real trouble Their tests had no number Got lost in the library Made the wrong decisions Next time I go there • I'm taking along provisions So when I'm home at term break And they ask how's "Good 01' State" I'll smile a while and then say "Oh it's really great." Brad Desch, lst-pre-law Oct. 5 (i.e. similar vocational interests) and provide freshmen with an informal avenue of information (roommates' experiences and knowledge) which could alleviate some initial anxiety. Also, allow ing a less restricted means of changing room mates than under the present system could greatly increase the satisfaction and even the longevity of the freshmen experience. Studies done by M. Lee Uperaft, director of Residential' Life Programs, and Pat Peterson, associate director of Residential Life Programs, seem to suggest that roommate compatibility is a very significant factor in freshmen leaving the University. Also studies show that if students (freshmen or otherwise) view their living envi ronment positively, they also view the entire University (academics, activities, etc.) more positively. Certainly temporary housing was a frequently mentioned and highly criticized area by fresh men. Combined with already stressful conditions of moving into a new environment, high expecta tions academically by parents, uncertain vocatio nal goals, and the previously mentioned low coping skills, the University undeniably does freshmen a disservice by adding temporary hous ing to the list of obstacles. Just when a freshman becomes acclimated to his/her new environment and establishes a routine, he/she may be con fronted a few weeks later with being uprooted again and starting the whole process over again. This continual interruptionin the freshman's cir cle of friends is certainly counterproductive and does not seem to be in the best interest of the freshman. Granted, many of the freshmen in this category are admitted late and as a result are placed in temporary housing as a last resort. It is my feeling, however, that temporary housing is not in the best interests of students period, and some thought should be given to revamping the present system to accommodate at least all freshmen with regular permament living space. I realize this may be a financial hardship, but I feel the University must recognize the limitations and hardships it places on students, and particularly freshmen. The freshmen experience at the University is, indeed, a unique and often undescribable world. It is a world of number two cards and all-nighters, OLs and RAs, social jitters and building friendships, Beaver Stadium and Deike Building a virtual RUBIK's cube of emotions, peer pressures, good times and values. In closing, I would like to state that as a Residential Life Programs staff member and a member of the Freshman Year committee I feel that it is my obligation and the obligation of all those who work with freshmen to help them solve that RUBIK's cube and in the process make their, freshman experience at the University a positive one. 4 81' fe -61mA ,15,61A14 MX
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