the
daily
collegian
editorial opinion
Student participation made to look easy
Without mass demonstrations, letter-writing
campaigns or any other pressure tactics, the ,
Interfraternity Council put itself on the winning end of 'a
decision by the State College Municipal Council this
week.
The council decided on Monday to concur with a State
College Planning Commission recommendation that re
zoning the Hillel Foundation property to allow for a
parking lot was not a good idea. And some well
informed, carefully planned and tactfully worded input
from IFC members —who didn't want part of their
fraternity district re-zoned —helped the commission
and the council reach that conclusion.
Fraternity members didn't want the re-zoning for
several reasons: The parking lot would set a bad
precedent, perhaps paving the way for commercial
development among fraternity houses; it would
increase traffic in the area and perhaps cause safety
problems for, pedestrians; and building the lot would
involve cutting down quite a few gorgeous pine trees
which the municipality has an historical penchant for
wanting to save.
So IFC community action chairman Luke Taiclet, who
had read the couple-inch-thick zoning manual and knew
the law, contacted planning commission members
individually and voiced his concern.
He then brought IFC's case to the Oct. 15 planning
commission meeting and explained everything again
for the record.
"We went down as citizens and part of the community
and said, 'Look, did you see it this way?' " Taiclet said.
IFC pointed out that the intent of the boroughs zoning
regulations is to preserve the "aesthetic integrity" of
borough neighborhoods such as the fraternity district,
and to discourage proposals like the Hillel re-zoning.
IFC also showed that the Hillel case constituted "spot
.zoning," zoning for individual properties and not for the
interests of a community area.
The planning commission and municipal council
agreed with those arguments and will look for other
sites for the seemingly inevitable parking lot.
"People I worked with were really receptive, and if
they weren't, I'd be the first one to scream and yell,"
Taiclet said.
But, as IFC's experience shows, screaming and
yelling often aren't necessary to get things
accomplished outside University boundaries, at least.
Draft update
The Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by its Board of
The Selective Service said this week it is undaunted by Opinion, with the editor-in-chief holding final responsibility.
=reader opinion
Keeping up
"The United States has decided that it must be
prepared to fight and win a 'limited' nuclear war
in order to be able to deter the Soviet Union from
starting one . . ."
It is improbable that the United States and
Soviet Union were in the mind'of the anonymous
author who coined the phrase, "keeping up with
the Joneses," but this seems to be the attitude
that these two countries have developed.
Memories of the hook-up between the U.S.
Skylab and Soviet space lib of less than a decade
ago are apparently permanently stricken from
the two governments' minds.
They no longer seem to care to venture upon
present, let alone future, joint expeditions for the
sake of mankind. Instead each country wants to
be the top family on the block and intends to
accomplish this task by • stockpiling nuclear
arms. It appears as if each of these two major
world powers are trying to outdo the other.
The Reagan administration's stand on nuclear
armament is clearly outlined in the Oct. 5 issue
of, Newsweek : "As the President and his men see
it, meaningful negotiations cannot begin until the
nuclear imbalance betweeen the United States
and Soviet Union is redressed."
It seems uncertain as to how far the United
States will go in order to be the leader in this
nuclear chess game.
Where will this administration acquire the
needed funds to finance this stepped-up produc
tion of weapons? Will they make monetary
cutbacks in the allotments for other government
programs in order to finance this present ma
nia? We are already witnessing a decrease in the
sums available for student loans.
This, however, should not cause us to look
unfavorably upon our president's decisions. We
don't really need people in college who can't
afford to pay the necessary bills, so what is
wrong with a little step backwards? Isn't it more
important for us to prepare as well as we can for
the obvious nuclear war threat?
Let us be sensible, we can't have everything.
Doesn't the man in the White House always know
what is best for our country?
Remember Vietnam?
Ed Leszcynski Jr., 6th-English
Oct. 27
Unfair loss
Last weekend at the Penn State-WVU game an
incident occured in the senior student section
that upset quite a few people. I was one of them.
The first 15 rows of seats in the senior section
to the right of the Blue Band were "reserved" for
opinions
—Newsweek, Oct. 5, 1981
Topics
people working with the balloon derby (which
were Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Alpha
Kappa Lambda fraternity).These seats on the
40-yard line are the best seats in the senior
section. These seats belong to students holding
senior or graduate tickets. They are in the senior
section and as I understand policy, only students
holding senior or graduate tickets can sit here on
a first come, first serve basis.
I take this to mean that there aren't and
shouldn't be any reserved seats, except for the
seats for the Blue Band, in any student sectien.l
would like to know how people doing these
projects get the best seats and why on earth they
should have any seats reserved in the first
place?
I'm not putting down the various groups that
do have projects for good causes it's fantastic
that they do this but I don't see why they
should have the best seats reserved for them
when people holding senior tickets have gone
maybe two hours early to the game to get their
seats in the proper manner of first come, first
serve.
If they have to save these "project people "
seats, put them somewhere else not in the best
seats in the senior section. Furthermore, many
in these groups ' hold freshmen/sophomore or
junior tickets and by rules, again, shouldn't be in
the senior section.
This trend of reserving seats in the senior
section started at the second home game when
• two rows were reserved for ushers; the third
game, about six were reserved; then at. last
Saturday's game 15 rows were reserved. At this
game seats were reserved for the balloon derby
people and ushers ushers that are to be
working in the stands at the games and not
sitting and watching as a regular fan. There is a
shortage of ushers 'at games where are they?
They are sitting in "reserved" seats in the senior
section.
I resent greatly the fact that as the season
progresses I am forced to sit farther and farther
back in the stands and for no legitimate reason I
can see. Another thing that puzzles me which
occurs in all student sections is hoW Grandma,
Grandpa, Mom and Dad can sit in the student
sections. They are not students and therefore
shouldn't be sitting in student sections taking up
student seats. There are barely enough seats
now.
I hope that these incidents don't occur for the
remaining home games they are unfair and
not following rules. It would be a shame if a fight
were to break out over this but, it wouldn't
surprise me because one almost broke out last
Saturday.
"Reserved" student seating better stop the
policy 'is first come first served or so I
thought!
Denise Stockunas, 10th-chemical engineering
and polymer science
Oct. 30
figures indicating that nearly one-fourth of the nation's
18-year-old men about 300,000 in all have failed to
register for the draft this year.
Steps already have been taken toward putting more
pressure on the 800,000 men born in 1960-63 who have not
yet registered.
They face huge fines and a 5-year prison term if •
convicted, and the names of 183 registration-resisters
have been forwarded to the Justice Department for
possible prosecution.
Ten months into his presidency, President Reagan
has not taken a position on the draft, though he said
during his campaign he was opposed to a "peacetime"
registration and draft whatever he meant by
"peacetime."
The Washington Post reported that Selective Service
officials expect a statement from Reagan perhaps as
soon'as next month, after Reagan reviews a report from
his Task Force on Military Manpower.
One local draft counselor, however, may have
predicted Reagan's position quite accurately by
pointing out that when the Reagan administration
finishes buying about $1 billion in new military
hardware, somebody's going to have to man the
equipment. •
Incidentally, if Reagan disregards his campaign
rhetoric and endorses compulsory registration, he may
actually help his political standing. A Sept. 24 Harris
Survey showed that 83 percent of the American public
favors registration for the draft.
A germ to live in infamy
Some time ago, public image-conicious members of
the American Legion tried in vain to change the name of
Legionnaires' disease which was christened such
after several Legionnaires died from the mysterious
pneumonia-like illness after attending . a conference in
Philadelphia.
Well, the American Legion's PR department has lost
again. Scientists at the National Centers for Disease
'Control in Atlanta said this week they have isolated
bacteria that appear to cause the disease.
The bacteiia's name? Legionella pneuinophila.
And finally
Just about one more week, everyone
Correction
Because of an editing error, the number of
the Race Relations Board was given incor
rectly in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Colle
gian. The correct number is 863-0295.
Male aggression:
Honesty and respect don't belong on
He knows all the tricks. He has the right
looks, the right lines and just the right timing
to make it all work. He'X a man who orders his
life's priorities like this: sex, money, food.
Jack is the personification of male aggres
siveness, yet he's so subtle. And if you don't
look too deep, he's so sincere. At least the
women think so. Perhaps it's something in his
eyes or the smoothness of his voice, but once
he baits the hook and drops the line, he usually
makes his catch. He is not one, however, to
have his catch preserved. He takes what he
wants, uses what he needs and tosses the rest
overboard.
I grew up with Jack. I know his life almost
as well as I know my own. And as much as I
reject his hedonistic lifestyle, I cannot bring
myself to condemn him for it. He tells me
there are plenty of fish in the sea and that he is
simply an accomplished fisherman. To argue
that is futile.
Honesty and respect have their places —but
not when he's fishing. He refuses to accept
any other point of view.
It was 3 Sunday morning and the last bar
open in town had just swept B.D. out the door.
The combination of being too riled up to sleep
and too lazy to walk home pulled him' in the
general direction of The Wall. The Wall is
always awake and, if nothing else, always
interesting. Some interesting conversation
was all B.D.'was really looking for.
When he got there, two guys were railing
each other up and down. A loud, heated
argument. The argument was familiar to B.D.
and listening in, one pointed barb caught his
attention: "Just because we have something
in common doesn't mean I have to agree with
you."
B.D. recognized the person that barb was
pointed at as someone he knew to be gay. He
quickly ,made the connection. No problem,
though. B.D. has no qualms about gay people,
although he has no such inclinations of his
USG
PoES
NOTHING!
Friday Nov. 6, 1981—Page 2 01981 Collegian Inc.
Paula Froke DeJby Vinokur
Editor Business Manager
BOARD OF EDITORS: Managing Editor, Phil Gutis;
Editorial Editor, Tom Boyer; Assistant Editorial Edi
tor, 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, 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.
own. So when the guy he didn't know anything
about came over and sat next to him, it looked
as if B.D. might find some interesting conver
sation after all.
They exchanged pleasantries and traded ia
few stories, but it was getting cold. Much too
cold for worn jeans atop the cement wall.
Telling B.D. his apartment was nearby, he
asked him if he would like to take the conver
sation back there. With little hesitation, B.D.
agreed to go along. He neither feared the guy
nor condemed his lifestyle. But he didn't want
him to get the wrong idea about his decision to
go along.
Before they got in the guy's car, he assured
B.D. everything was above board. It seemed
that some interesting conversation was all he
was looking for too. B.D. took him at his word.
Unfortunately, he didn't see the fishing rod
the guy was carrying.
Gin flowed over ice and tonic back at the
guy's apartment. And the conversation floWed
as well. It was friendly; it was topical; and it
was interesting. They discussed the double
standards forced upon the sexes, how it was
accepted for two women to express platonic
affection for each other, but not accepted for
two men to do the same.
In the guy's apartment, they sat a few feet
apart at the bar and B.D. felt rather comfort
able just drinking and talking with the guy. He
was smooth and sounded so sincere. But
subtly, he was baiting the hook.
PENN STATi.
IS Too
CalseßvAllge
d t a n d e y
Collegian
41. it t 4
4 .
i )
WE SHOULD
Do
SoNiE.THINE7
ABOUT 171
~~ IGj'y~ti
THE PAiLy coHE(HAN
COMPLAINTS: News and editorial complaints should
be presented to the editor. Business and advertising
complaints should be presented to the business man
ager. If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved,
grievances may be filed with the Accuracy. and Fair
Play Committee of Collegian Inc. Information on filing
grievances is available from Gerry Lynn Hamilton,
executive secretary, Collegian Inc.
ABOUT THE COLLEGIAN: The Daily Collegian and
The Weekly Collegian are published by,Collegian Inc., a
non-profit corporation with a board of directors com
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and distributed at the University Park campus. The
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students, parents of students, alumni and other sub
scribers who want to keep abreast of University news.
'fishing' expeditions
More gin and less tonic. The , conversation
became less general and more particular.
Seeing eye to eye on the virtues of expressive
platonic relationships between people of the
same sex didn't seem that important any
more. The guy's gaze had changed. He was
now looking into 13 : D.'s eyes. And telling him
how beautiful they were. And telling him how
attracted he was to him. And moving closer to
him. And dropping the line.
The gin hadn't affected B.D. nearly as much
as the guy he was with, and.his advance was
easily brushed aside. But any trust that B.D.
placed in the guy had diminished. It was time
to go.
It was nearly daybreak when B.D. left the
guiy's apartment. Initially, he was disap
pointed about what happened, but later he
became incensed. It wasn't that the guy tried
to kiss him, but rather that he lied. It seemed
that everything he said from the moment he
invited B.D. to his apartment was designed
for a result.
To 8.D., it didn't matter whether the guy
was gay or straight; the ulterior motives were
the same.
Male aggression. To 8.D., the whole situa
tion stunk of male aggression wrapped around
a typical chain of events that many women
know well: the casual pick-up, the smooth,
seemingly harmless conversation, the steady
flow of liquor, then with any luck, a chance to
reel in the victim.
Having heard this story; I couldn't help but
think about Jack, the accomplished fisher
man. I wonder how he would have reacted if
placed in B.D.'s position. I wonder if.he would
have recognized himself in the mirror. I
wonder if it would have made him think twice
before going fishing again.
Justin Catanoso is a 10th-term journalism
major. His column appears on Fridays.
REY'.
WERE LATE..
FOR
Breakdown
Why is it that top administrators receive
their information on issues that are extremely
important to the students through The Daily
Collegian rather than through their own es
tablished communication system?
Bridging this student-administration - gap
will require a mutual effort on both sides to
restore the effectiveness of the one commu
nication channel offered students for the ex
pression of serious and intelligent concerns.
We have put forth the effort in the past and
we are committed to doing so in the future. We
do not feel the corresponding effort has been
offered by the administration. •
We can no longer assume full responsibility
for the two-way communication that is essen
tial at a university of this size.
A system that offers a single channel for
input is not adequate.
Alternate paths must be established to
correct the inherent weakness in a hierarchy
that necessitates dependence rather than al
lowing for independent expression.
ARHS demands that our concerns be heard.
The established system is not effective. Steps
must be taken to correct the problems that
exist, in order for ARHS to remain true to
ourselves and the concerns of our constitu
ents.
We need an administration that is sensitive
to the student voice..
This is the statement that we read at our
press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 4. We
felt that it was important for everyone to
know what we said and how we said it. We are
still committed to working to solve the prob
lems that are present in the communication
channels that exist now. We hope that other
student leaders and students in general are
also committed, so we may have a stronger
more effective student voice. ,
Christopher Calkins, ARHS President
Karen Gravlin, ARHS Vice president
ICK CaIiCHON. COWER Our THERE WANTS TO CASH A IVITY 'DOIX 045:1(
.reader opinion
Pro-individual
Charles F. Dougherty, R-Philadelphia, (Daily
Collegian, Nov. 2) is quoted: "the best abortion
poll was in November 1980 when the American
people sent a pro-life president to the White
House." Mr. Dougherty was (ostensibly) rebut
ting the idea that different (public opinion) polls
say most Americans are in favor of abortion in
some form.
I've lost the exact figures, but at that "elec
tion" only about 50 percent of registered Ameri
can voters voted. From that figure, we get the
media-manufactured "landslide" of electoral
votes. Reagan's popular vote total was just about
the same as Mr. Carter's popular vote; each
man had almost 50 percent of the total; that boils
down to popular vote (public opinion?) of only
about 25 percent of registered American. voters
who voted for Mr.• Reagan (as well - as the 25
percent who voted for Carter). The electoral
system made Reagan's slim margin into the so
called landslide "mandate" we are constantly
hearing about.
Mr. Dougherty also claimed that, "It's one
thing for a legislator or a pastor to speak out
against abortion, but it is much more effective
when young people take a stand." If the legis
lators legislate a morality which makes abortion
illegal for young as Veil as for old people read
"women" the stand(s) that those women take
will be irrelevant. Mr. Dougherty continues: "To
have a young college girl (sic) say she is against
the taking of an innocent life far outweighs
anything we can do."
Can we assume, Mr. Dougherty, that if a
college woman chooses abortion, that choice for
abortion far outweighs anything the government
can do? Can anyone assume that a young college
woman's stand on abortion is the same as would
be her choice for herself? Abstract choices/con
cepts are somtimes very different from the same
choices/concepts when they become personal.
What about a young college man's choice? Is
his stand on abortion going to be the same as his
personal choice for himself; will he choose to
continue his pregnancy or to end it even
though he may (in the abstract) take a pro-fetal
life stand?
As long as these social majority deCisions can
be abstract and impersonal, they involve (for the
most part) BLACK AND WHITE decisions;
when problems/choices/concepts hit close to
home, become personal, the questions,, issues,
and alteinatives multiply. For decisions of per
sonal morality, I would think (and hope) that
there are no easy answers; when decisions are
based on social and/or legislated morality, the
answer exists before the question is raised and
"society" makes human/individual/personal de
cisions.
Jean S. Guertler, graduate-religious studies
Nov. 2
Great idea
Bravo Professor Roy! Your letter in the Nov. 3
Collegian was excellent. There is definitely a
lack of awareness of faculty accomplishments at
Penn State. Your suggestion that.the Collegian
can afford half a page to hold up Penn State's
other heros should be looked at seriously.. After
Group works against world
By CARYL ELLIOTT
State College resident
I've been walking around town,
.putting up
flyers for Amnesty International's annual fund
raising wine and cheese party. From the ques
tions people have asked me when I've shown them
the flyer to post on their bulletin board or in their
store window, I've decided the community here is
in need of an explanation of what Amnesty Inter
national (AI) is and how it works.
I am a newcomer 'to AI. I had heard of 'the
organization several years ago, but until some
more worldly city-living friends informed me
otherwise, I erroneously pictured Amne'sty Inter
naional as being composed of people stranded in
the protest mentality of the sixties and seventies,
noisily proclaiming vague ' plans for achieving
their idealistic dreams. My friends corrected by
misimpression; AI is an international human
rights organization, they told me. The organiza
tion is based in idealism but the thoughtful, well
informed and well-ordered approach to achieving
the ideals works. AI won the Nobel Peace prize in
1977. "Get involved," my friends said. "It'll make
you feel good."
I did contact AI - in State College, headed up by
Noreen Herzfeld, a graduate student. I was given
a packet of information, from which I began to
learn much about the organization. Amnesty
International grew from a letter written by a
London laWyer, Peter Benenson, printed on May
28, 1961, in the Observer:
Open your newspaper any day of the webk and
you will find a report from somewhere in the
world of someone being imprisoned, tortured or
orr***************************************
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all, how important is the football team when
compared with academic accomplishments?
When you get past all of the emotionalism that
question can raise and consider it objectively,
academics should outweigh sports accomplish
ments by a wide margin. I believe most students
at the University do have these priorities in the
proper order, perhaps all students do. The ma
jority of varsity athletes put academics before
athletics.
So the question is again raised. Where can
students read of the accomplishments of the
faculty and for that matter, of graduate and
undergraduate students who make important
contributions in their field? Perhaps the Colle
gian can cooperate with the colleges and create a
regular feature. Others who share Professor
Roy's views, please tell the Collegian. This idea
needs good input to work.
C. Green, 6th-civil engineering
Nov. 4
Fair weather fans
This is in response to the cruel comments that
I've heard regarding the unfortunate result of
our last football game. One of the things which I
am very proud of here at Penn State is our
excellent football team and the abundant school
executed because his opinions or religion are
unacceptable to his government. There are seve
ral million such people in prison by no means
all of them behind the Iron or Bamboo curtains
and their numbers are growing. The newspaper
reader feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if
these feelings of disgust all over the world could
be united into common action, something effec
tive could be done.
forum
The network for that common action became
the organization now know as Amnesty Interna
tional. The organization, as the small print at the
bottom of AI stationary says, ". . works impar
tially for the release of prisoners of conscience,
men and women 'detained anywhere for their
beliefs, color, ethnic origin, sex, religion or lan
guage, provided they have neither used nor advo
cated violence. Amnesty International opposes
torture and the death penalty in all cases without
reservation and advocated fair and prompt trials
for all political prisoners. Amnesty International
is independent of all governments, political fac
tions, ideologies, economic interests and religious
creeds . ."
The main thrust of the common action advo
cated by Mr. Benenson seems surprisingly simple
to me: that, is, letter-writing. Letters are written
The Daily Collegian Friday, Nov. 6, 1981—
spirit and enthusiasm which it employs. It's
great to see these quality athletes work together
to produce an outstanding team one which
Penn State is very lucky to have.
The pride of Penn State students was widely
expressed while we were ranked No. 1 in the
nation. "We are No. and "Penn State is the
best" were heard all around campus. Unfortu
nately, when we lost our last game and, conse
quently, lost our No. 1 title, we also lost the
loyalty of quite a few fans. I was totally awe
stricken and extremely dissappointed to hear
such comments as, "They blew it, those jerks,"
"Those 9 !*//*s lost out title," and "They
s_k."
To those unloyal "fans": Football players are
human too, unfortunately they- make mistakes
like everyone else. If you won't stand by them
when the going gets tough, they don't stand by
them at all. Your insensitivity and cruelty to
wards the football team and their loss are
nauseating.
And to the football players: There are plenty of
us loyal fans out here. Win or lose, we'll always
"luv ya, lions." Best of luck during the rest of the
season we'll be rooting for you!
Elizabeth Bonino, Ist-biochemistry
Nov. 3
injustice
with the hopes of bringing individual cases to the
attention of officials who might have the power to
grant that person amnesty and to let those offi
cials know that people the world over are aware of
and care about an individual's predicament.
Amnesty International is composed of more
than 2,000 local groups in 39 countries. Each group
is responsible for following the case of at least one
individual and writing letters on that individual's
behalf; thus local groups are know as Adoption
Groups. 'ln the State College Adoption Group we
have been working on the case of Frantisek Lizna,
a Czechoslovakian priest who is currently in
prison in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, on charges of
illegally publishing and distributing religioUs
literature for profit. In a separate case, we have
begun making inquiries into reports of torture in
Italy.
Members are expected to write at least one
letter a month, and are schooled in the interperso
nal skills and customs appropriate to the country
to which the letter is being written.
Although I am just becoming acquainted with
the State College members, it seems the group
here easily incorporates the work of individuals
motivated by a diverse range of ideologies and
interests. The involvement of individuals varies
as well, from those who can afford no more time
or energy than it takes to appease the humanitari
an instincts from the arm chair, to those who can
contribute much at the organizational level.
Amensty International in State College meets
the first Thursday of each month at 8 p.m. at the
Wesley Foundation, 256 E. College Ave.