opinions
r—editorial opinion
One more line
The 'll th line' gives dorm dwellers a choice
Like early settlers braving the
elements to secure a homeland,
many Penn State students wait out
side for days to secure a residence
hall room. Most are not thrilled with
their little adventure, but consider it
the only way to make sure that they
get a dorm contract. The theory
must be that if one suffers enough,
one deserves reward.
An alternative to the spring ritual
of suffering is a lottery system.
Students hand over their contract
request to the bowels of the Universi
ty bureaucracy and a computer de
termines their fate. This arbitrary
decision-making apparently hasn’t
appealed to most students at least
those surveyed in the pre-standing
in-line era. According to a survey
two years ago by the Association of
Residence Hall Students, 71.3 per
cent of the residence hall students
said they would prefer the line sys
tem.
But in the spirit' of compromise
and common sense, the “11th line”
system has been developed by the
Office of Residential Life Programs
in consultation with ARHS. Such a
system would consist of 10 lines for
those rugged individuals willing to
spend hours/days waiting, and an
“Uth line” for students wishing to
submit their contract request to a
lottery instead.
The idea seems to make sense.
Give the people what they want. If
three-quarters of the students want
to stand in line, let ’em. If the other
quarter feels lucky, give them the
lottery option.
It is not, however, the ultimate
solution to the mess that is the dorm
contract submission process if
there is such a thing as a solution.
Under any system, some people just
will not get contracts.
Under the present first-come,
first-served system, the administra-
W REALLY GNBtfIHE CREEPS IS THAT ONE MY... MILLIONS Of
YEARS FROM NOULI COULD EVOWE INTO JERRY FACWELt...
Reagan-Khadafy affair just a three-ring gossip item
. Not since Sue Ellen walked out on J. R. Ewing
and Maggie and Jigs disappeared from the comic
strip pages has the public been treated to such an
interesting pile of soiled linen as they have in the
current tiff between Ronald Reagan and Moam
mar Khadafy. The violent accusations, potential
for gossip and intensity of emotions make this one
of the most interesting affairs in years; by com
parison, the petty squabbles of Billie Jean, Far
rah and Jackie cannot hold a candle.
m s*
Perhaps it is because Ronald Reagan is the first
former movie actor to become emotionally in
volved with a Mediterranean head of state since
Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco a
quarter of a century ago, or perhaps it is the
difference in ages. But whatever the reason, the
current fling between the 39-year-old Libyan
colonel and the septuagenarian American presi
dent has captured the attention of the American
press and public.
Like most domestic squabbles, the current spat
Suitors*-
tion calculates, after all the con
tracts are submitted, what
percentage of the total applicants
can get dorm contracts. That per
centage is then applied to each of the
10 lines. In the proposed system, the
same percentage would also be ap
plied to the “11th line.”
But a big problem with the 11th
line system is the uncertainty about
how many students would choose the
“11th line” (lottery)- option. If a
large majority of students decided to
try the lottery system and only a few
had chosen to stand in line, a line
containing only 30 people would see
the last eight left without contracts,
if for example the acceptance rate
were calculated at 75 percent.
This problem could be partially
solved by announcing ahead of time
the number of students who opted for
the lottery, an announcement that
ARHS President Chris Calkins said
his group supports. But that could
force the students who didn’t want
the lottery to get in line even earlier
than in the past.
Calkins also said there are other
problems to be worked out with the
proposed 11th line option most
importantly, the question of whether
roommate requests would be filed
together.
. Despite its problems, the 11th line
proposal seems the best way to
make thb dorm contract submission
process fairer. If the plan is imple
mented, however, it is vital that
students be made fully aware of the
risks associated with each option.
If they’re left in the haze with only
a vague idea of the consequences of
their choice, the ever-present dorm
contract “hassle” will grow into
pandemonium.
The Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is
determined by its Board of Opinion, with the
editor-in-chief holding final responsibility.
between Reagan and Khadafy defies analysis,
and although the fruits are comic it does contain
the seeds of tragedy.
The whole romance is so complicated that to
start from the beginning would severely overwork
our powers of logic and yet leave us no wiser than
before, so let us get right to the point: Reagan has
bluntly stated that he has every reason to believe
that Col. Khadafy has commissioned a gang of
thugs to kill him and several other prominent
American politicians; and Khadafy has more or
less responded by saying that if you really mean
all that you are saying to me darling, prove it!
Let us arbitrarily examine some points in this
case:
Is it wrong to violently dispose of the president
of the United States or any head of state for that
matter? A high school social studies teacher
would probably reply: “Yes, even if it is Richard
Nixon.” But transcending the nursery garden
atmosphere of high school subjects, let us remem
ber Edmund Burke’s warning that it is the cir
cumstances which surround an event and not the
event itself which give any action its moral
character. After all, could the world have been
much worse off if the British had picked a
Khadafy rather than a Neville Chamberlain to
deal with Hitler? Therefore, this question cannot
be answered out of context.
And while we are on .the subject of dumping
heads of state let us not forget that only last May
Alexander Haig a man who, we should all pray,
is at least more intelligent than he is articulate
opinion
Diverse crowd
This letter is in response to the forum article in
the Dec. 10 issue of The Daily Collegian by Kevin
Mosley regarding the introduction of interest
houses into Beaver Hall. In his forum Mosley
described interest houses as “another clique of
people, but worse, who have the same classes,
study, eat and basically live tpgether 24 hours a
day with little or no variety or change, which
would be sparked by individuals of varying
colleges.”
We feel that Mr. Mosley is uninformed about
interest houses. We are residents of the Foreign
Language Interest House and would like to
present our view of the situation.
On our floor we do have some language majors
(about 10 percent); however, most of these
people ae double-majoring. There are also stu
dents enrolled in engineering, business, educa
tion, recreation and parks, political science,
' architecture, management, economics, bioche
mistry, pre-dentistry, theatre, journalism, En
glish, nursing, biology, art, math, and
metallurgy. Obviously we are a diverse group of
students.
Far from being “a non-interactive clique”
floor residents participate in such varied activ
ities as intramurals, ROTC, women’s chorus,
Glee Club, Thespians, Society of Women Engi
neers, Collegian staff, Women’s Soccer, College
Young Democrats, International Student Orga
nization, honor societies, National Inter-Colle
giate Flying Association, National Organization
of Women, Recreation and Parks Society, Audi
torium Ushers, Student Government, Debate
Team, Outing Club, AIAA, bands, classical gui
tar, College Bowl, folk groups, religious organi
zations, University Scholars Program, Monty
Python Society as well as Language House
dinners, conversations and projects. We even
have a Women’s National Collegiate Powerlift
ing Champion on our floor!
Although there are many advantages to coed
living, we did not apply to live in an interest
house because it is coed. In fact, my roommate
and I did not even know it was coed housing until
arrival day! Many students on our floor have no
time to take foreign language courses within
their crowded schedules, so the interest house is
the only opportunity we have to get to use the
•language skills we have learned.
We understand and sympathize with the posi
tion of the residents in Beaver and we hope that
die situation can be resolved to everyone’s
satisfaction. We do not have any answers to the
problems presented by so many special groups
(such as sororities and interest houses) in South,
Halls. Our purpose in writing this letter was only
to correct any false impressions about the inter
est house program at the University.
Jennifer Gromada, 2nd-engineering
Dec. 11
Sicko system
I’ve just been initiated to Penn State’s infa
mous “red-tape” system. Everyone’s battled it
suggested that the state department might be
making plans to dispose of' Khadafy. If you
threaten to run your neighbor out of town, you
should hardly expect much sympathy when he
replies by threatening to blow your head off.
Ultimately the difference between Khadafy and
Reagan is ideological. Expecting the two men to
understand each other on the others’ terms is like
expecting a six-year-old to understand an empty
Christmas stocking in terms of inflation, unem
ployment and high interest rates. The Weltans
chauungs are simply incompatible.
Reagan’s world is one of Anglo-Saxon pragma
tism. It is the world of Adam Smith and John
Stuart Mill; it is a world that measures things in
material terms and equates happiness with con
sumerism. The leaders of this world are driven by
visions of rising gross national products and
favorable balances of trade.
On the other hand, Khadafy is a devout Moslem
who governs his nation by the laws of the Koran.
He is a mystic contemplating an image of a united
Arab world stretching from Morocco to Baghdad,
and he sees himself as the head of this pan-Arab
state which would present an effective challenge
to both Washington and Moscow.
Nowhere is the difference between the two
viewpoints better exemplified than in the fact that
when faced with a n>an like Khadafy, the United
States government’s first reaction is to threaten
to hit him in the pocketbook by not buying his oil.
* Khadafy is in a precarious position. Unlike
Castro, he has no powerful friends. The Soviet
at one time another, this I realize. But during
this specific run-in with the system not only did
they harass my mental health, but showed no
concern about my physical health.
My battle arose from a need to drop a course
retroactively (after the eighth week) due to
illness. I’ve had infection for nine
weeks, and visits to Ritenour and a local doctor
proved that rest was needed. I promptly dis
cussed the matter with my instructor and de
partment head, who both approved of my
dropping the course. At this point I thought that
their approval and a letter from my doctor and
Ritenour would be sufficient to drop the course.
Wrong! They wanted blood.
A visit to a secretary in the appropriate office
produced a list of papers required before the
drop could be made. I needed a formal letter
from myself, a letter from my instructor, a letter
from my adviser,, a letter from my doctor to give
to Ritenour so they could write up a letter
themselves, a signed drop-add slip, my tran
scripts from Shields ($2 charge) and a check for
$6.
If I were a healthy student, maybe I’d only
grumble a little at such a list and go about the
crazed scavenger hunt (finding people in their
offices was the toughest) running to Shields, the
doctor’s and Ritenour, and catching my instruc
tor after her classes. But I’m not a healthy
student. Being ill and needing rest was the crux
of the issue. If I’m sick and need rest, how can I
go running about the campus toting papers to be
signed? This is a perfect example of “defeating
the purpose.”
When the list was first given to me, I quietly
protested on the grounds of my illness. “If I go
running around the campus for all these things I
won’t get any better; in fact, I might get even
sicker.” No matter who I complained to, I got the
same reply: an unsympathetic-that’s-the-sys
tem-“ Uh-huh.”
I’m open to suggestions as to whom I should
talk in order to discuss this system problem. If
there was some loophole I should have taken to
bypass the “late course drop due to illness”
conflict, then I’d love to know about it.
I value my health and I think the University
should, too.
Dead students can’t pay tuition.
Betsy Barnicle, Bth-computer science
Nov. 15
-Collegian
Monday Dec. 14,1981 —Page 2 ©l9Bl Collegian Inc.
Paula Froke
Editor
Union finds his Islamic zealotry and dreams of
Arab unity more disturbing than we do, and even
many of his of his fellow Arab heads of state have
little use for him.
In the final analysis, one can respect Khadafy’s
idealism, and because of his isolated position, one
must admire his courage. However, given the the
Debby Vinokur
Business Manager
The Daily Collegian
Monday, Dec. 14
Puttin' it in
Listening but not hearing.
It’s a problem at the University, one that many
say obstructs communications between students
and administrators.
But is that the real problem? Do students
really have input into administrative decisions
and don’t use their power properly? Or is student
input a farce, an illusion?
On Thursday, Dec. 17, and Tuesday, Jan. 5,
The Daily Collegian’s Op-ed page will examine
the question: Can students really ever have an
effective voice in the workings of this Universi
ty? And if not, why?
Part One will represent the student point of
view, Part Two the adminstrators’.
If you feel you have something to contribute, '?
bring your letters (one page, typed and double
spaced) and forums (two to three pages, typed
and double-spaced) to 126 Carnegie. Part One
material must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Tues
day, Dec. 15. Part Two material must be sub
mitted by 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19.
Now's the time
This is to all of you who’ve been begging for
Springsteen, demanding the Dead, and com
manding we bring in a comedian. To all of
you, you who’ve cared enough about concerts
up here to complain, we’re listening.
You’re probably aware of some of the
University Concert Committee’s problems:
our middle-of-nowhere location, small sized
halls, scheduling struggles, etc. There is not
much that you or we can do about this. The
only solution would be to build a large indoor
arena seating perhaps 10,000 at a time: Many
University people do recognize this need, but
the money is not there to undertake such a
project. So, when you engineers and comput
er programmers become well-to-do alumni,
you can help the PSU concert scene and
contribute mucho funds for the UCC Memori
al Arena. Then we can try for Springsteen.
Until then, there is something else you can do.
UCC has several thousand surveys just
waiting to be filled out by you. Of the meager
bands available to us, we’re giving you a
chance to tell us what exactly you want to see.
These surveys are piled up at the HUB desk
and the usual record stores. If one isn’t right
in front of your nose, ask. Go find one, fill it
out, bring one home for your roommate,
retrun the survey. Do it thisweek.
We’ve amassed a team of talliers, a corps of
keypunchers, and yes, even the computer.
We’re going to analyze these surveys to
death, and then use them when we meet to
decide who to try for. That’s our part. Please
do yours.
Audrey Allison, UCC policy board member
Dec. 11
magnitude of his audacity assuming that the
Reagan administration’s charges hold up one
can hardly blame the president if he sends in the
marines to bring Khadafy back in a circus cage.
Sean de Hora is a graduate student in history. His
column appears on Mondays.
tiff LB
-reader opinion
Reach out
I am a patient in an Ohio hospital and expect to
be here about six months. Because of the length
of my stay I am unable to attend college and will
miss college life very much.
One benefit of college life is that you get to
meet interesting people from all walks of life.
This is something I don’t want to give up because
I’m in a hospital. Therefore, I’m interested in
corresponding with people and interested per
sons at Pennsylvania State University.
I’m male, 5’10”, 180 lbs., light brown hair, blue
eyes, cheerful disposition, and have many inter
ests including all kinds of music, Zen, Christiani
ty and travel. ■'
So please feel free to write.
Jack Allen Gladding, 2611 Wayne Ave.
Dayton, OH 45420
Dec. 7
Outrageous
The first week of the term, all students find
themselves faced with the problem of buying the
books so necessary for college education. Ob
viously, purchasing them at the book stores is
the simplest method of obtaining these books,
and for most people, the only obvious one.
l’m sure the book stores are well aware of this,
as is evidenced by their prices, the magnitudes
of which never fail to elicit gasps of disbelief,
banshee-like screams, and cries of “I don’t
ing believe my eyes!”
Most students angrily pay the required prices,
muttering doubts about the human ancestry of
the book store’s owner, and stalk out, vowing
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never to return, only to find themselves in the
same position next term.
I have always done the same, and found myself
caught in the ritual once more upon the arrival of
Winter term. When I apprehensively peeked at
the price of my Electrical Engineering 414 text, I
blacked out and awoke floor of the book
store with a crowd of people around me. I guess
it was a kind of innate defense mechanism; my
brain knew I might die'if I saw the price. As it
turns out, (after intensive therapy allowed me to
return to the book store) the text cost $44.50!
Mind you, this is not Gray’s Anatomy or a
medical encyclopedia, but merely a book which I
will use for one term.
The next day one of my classmates told me he
purchased the book from the publisher for $2O.
After tapping a few keys on my calculator
(which, incidentally, cost only $3O and does a hell
of a lot more than a textbook) I found that, with
60 people in my class, the book stores stand to
make $1,440 (minus shipping) on just that one
class! I, personally, think this is a bit out of hand.
Now I shall put forth a suggestion which may
help 1) ease the bankbook pain of textbook
purchasing, and 2) bring these outrageous prices
back to earth.
Those tired of overpaying for their books
should find out from their college what texts they
will be using, and write to the publisher asking
for ordering information. Granted, it takes up to
six weeks to get the books, and it takes a little
more effort than the “Gasp of Disbelief” meth
od, but those of us who are scraping for every
peeny we spend will certainly appreciate the
dollars saved. Keep it in mind to stop this
tyrannous monopoly!
Miles Wroblewski, 12th-electrical engineering
Dec. 9
Trendy ignorance
I tried to refrain from acknowledging the
senseless rambling of a deranged mind, but I
could not resist the temptation to respond to Sean
de Hora’s column in the Dec. 7 issue of The Daily
Collegian. De Hora exemplifies the very igno
rance and isolation that he attributes to a majori
ty of the WASP, population in America today.
Sean, there is no better source than a black
person if information is wanted about blacks.
And believe it or not, most of us are self-respect
ing enough to be open and honest in the case of a
sincere inquiry.
Equally impossible for you to grasp, I’m sure,
is the fact that planning daily strategies for
“milking the beaurecrat” is not a primary
priority in most of our lives. I resent the invid
ious implication that we are all deviously striv
ing to get all the governmental support we can
get our hands on, by hook or crook. You need to
adequately support your conclusions when sub
mitting them for publication or continue to
espouse them only while mingling among your
narrow circle of associates.
. You’ve failed to realize the superficiality of the
gestures made by the majority of those “intim
idated” WASPs (who for some unfathomable
reason feel a sense of guilt about this country’s
treatment of minorities). It is evident in the lack
of real progress minorities have made in this
society. Surely in 1981, with the enormous
amounts of “intimidation” from minorities the
male WASP has been subjected to, there would
be a repesentative minority of some type in the
top leadership position of a respected institution
such as the University. University President
John W. Oswald is neither black or female.
Neither are most federal judges, executives of
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large corporations, or politicians with pervasive
political power and influence.
Your looseness with the label “fashionable
minority” implies another basic ignorance. The
benefits you assume to abound in being a mem
ber of a “fashionable minority” are minute in
comparison to the costs of such membership in
this society.
Sean, be careful, your white hood is showing. 7
Shelna Joyce Arthur, graduate-human devel
opment and family studies
Dec. 10
For the people?
The Dec. 10 issue of the The Daily Collegian
reported that recent action on the “Abotion
Control Act” included that the House “reversed
a previous decision and voted 100 to 93 to reject
an amendment that would have allowed the
voters to decide whether the Abortion Control
Act should take effect.” Does this mean that
your legislators do not think the people of Penn
sylvania are capable of making such a decision?
Or, does it mean that the people of Pennsylvania
might vote aginst the Abortion Control Act?
In Italy (a rather Roman Catholic country), a
recent referendum was held to determine if
abortion should/would be severely restricted.
The Church campaigned vigorously for the anti
abortion legislation, but it was substantially
defeated by the voters. Perhaps Pennsylvania
legislators fear that a similar referendum would
mean a similar fate for the so-called Abortion
Control Act. Contrary to so-called pro-lifers’
claims, a majority of the American people do
believe that abortion should remain/be legal in
at least some, if not all, cases.
The Dally Collegian Monday, Dec. 14, 1981—3
Anti-abortionist legislators Gregg L. Cunning
ham, R-Centre County and Stephen R. Freind, R-
Delaware County, have claimed that “all of
Pennsylvania wants” this anti-abortion legis
lation, yet there seems to be some reluctance to
submit such legislation to “all of Pennsylvania.”
The restrictive abortion language was amended
into a Senate-passed bill; the Collegian did not
report the nature of the “Senate-passed” bill, but
I suspect that it had little to do with the abortion
issue. Supporters of the Abortion Control Act
claimed tat the amendment strategy was nec
essary to keep Senate leaders from burying the
bill in committee. I wonder why Senate leaders
were reluctant to put such a bill up to a vote, and
I wonder if they will easily pass the “newly
amended” version, as well as go along with
House refusal to let the people decide what “all
of Pennsylvania wants.”
Jean S. Guertler, graduate-higher education
Dec. 10
LETTERS POLICY: The Daily Collegian encourages
comments on news coverage, editorial policy and
University affairs. Letters should be typewritten, dou
blerspaced, 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,
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Opinions expressed in columns, cartoons or letters to
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Mail letters to: The Daily Collegian; 126 Carnegie
Building; University Park, Pa. 16802. Names may be
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