opinions
editorial opinion
Football follies?
Football fans across the country
will settle down in their armchairs
this Saturday and watch Penn
State battle Nebraska. CBS cover
age of the game will bring Penn
State $500,000 and the prestige of
being broadcast on national tele
vision, which is always gratifying.
But along with the fame and
fortune comes an added danger, a
danger that will be minimal if the
fans sitting on hard benches in
Beaver Stadium keep a few things
in mind.
Tailgaters will have two extra
hours before the game. And rather
than stay at home watching car
toons, most tailgaters will show up
at the stadium the same time they
usually do and party a little longer.
With the game beginning later in
the afternoon, fans will have more
time to drink and will be more
likely to drive home drunk.
Which is related to the next prob
lem getting out of the stadium.
Because the game will not be over
until later, people who would usual
ly stay for tailgates after the game
will be leaving en masse, clogging
the outlying roads for at least an
hour. '
Spring Creek's comeback?
`Spring Creek has been able to
regenerate itself time and time
again be.cause there are so many
good streams feeding it. But no
body ever helps it. As soon as it
starts to make a comeback, some
body dumps a load of chemicals in
it.'
—Joe Humpheys, a conservation
ist and expert trout fisherman
ThOrton Spring Creek in Lemont
has survived man-made pollution
in the past and probably will again,
but this time the company respon
sible for the pollution is apparently
making an attempt to clean up the
stream.
HoweNier, it seems this clean-up
is the least Ruetgers-Nease Chemi
cal Company Inc. can do about an
almost hopeless situation.
Frances Benton, who owns the
creek, said last year that the dete
rioration of Spring Creek began in
1957 when the former Nease Chemi
cal Co. built its plant. After the
plant had been built, Benton said
the water began to smell and yel
low 'slime formed on the creek's
bottom. Benton suspected the com
pany was responsible.
Raper spells success at Penn State and beyon.
By ROGER KARAPIN
Liberal Arts Student
Hold on to that paper
Hold on to that paper
Hold on because it's been taken care of
Hold on to that paper
—David Byrne
(Copyright 1979 Index Music/Bleu Disque
Music Co. Inc.)
To the sophisticated University student,
paper is where it's at. Syllabuses, exams,
graduation requirement checklists, letters
of recommendation, transcripts, resumes:
with these papers, the student can chart her
way through a degree at Penn State and
emerge with the future he or she wants. If he
or she does the course work (on paper) in
the right major and gets good grades, then
he or she will graduate with the right de
gree, receive so many dollars and be suc
cessful.
The procedure for succeeding is deter
mined and well-marked; every student
needs only to carefully execute the formula.
Control the paper and you will be a success
at the University and be on your way to
winning in life too.
Of course planning is not itself an extraor
dinary human activity. It seems as though
we spend much of our time trying to grasp ,
and control the future, to write a script and
then live it. The University may (among
other things) teach us to apply rationality
And all that traffic will be strain
ing to get out of the stadium under
a different type of lighting. Jim
Tarman, director of intercollegiate
athletics, has said that, after the
game, some of the lights used dur
ing the game will be turned around
to face the parking lots. Fans will
have to adjust to the new phenome
non of maneuvering out of Beaver
Stadium under the glare of bright
lights.
So, should the University tell the
boys at CBS to pack up their bags
and go home? Should the Universi
ty scorn the $500,000 booty in the
name of increased safety for all?
No. The University's athletics
program can use CBS money to
help fund other sports.
Although Penn State game has
never started this late, Penn State
has weathered similar situations.
Fans have left Pitt games under
similar lighting.
Saturday's game should be an
enjoyable one. That is, if fans
drive, drink and behave properly.
After all, Sunday's headlines
should read Penn State kills Ne
braska and not 500 killed in wild
stampede..
Benton's suspicions were con
firnied when the state Department
of Enviromental - Resources discov
ered kepone and other cancer caus
ing chemicals in the stream came
from the storage lagoons, located
beneath the plant site on Route 26,
which were deteriorated by acidic
rain.
After years of legal maneuvers,
in June 1981 the DER ordered the
company to remove the wastes
beneath the plant and build a better
groundwater facility.
As part of the clean-up, the com
pany will have to pump the waste
out of the lagoons, treat it and
move 350 to 400 truck loads of the
Chemfix soil-like material to a new
disposal site in Ohio.
DER officials are optimistic the
stream will recover if Ruetgers-
Nease completes this clean-up
process. But DER official William
Parsons said it might take several
years before the stream is rid of the
Kepone and other chemicals.
It seems Spring Creek might
make another comeback. No one,
however, is willing to say that the
clean-up will bring the stream back
to its original state. That would
take a miracle.
(the rationality of deductive logic) to our
planning. Mimicking the University, we
might try to logically analyze a personal
problem, discover a rational solution, and
apply it in order to produce an assured
outcome.
We seem to have strong reasons to accept
and rely on a purely logical method of
making decisions. The University, a re
spected institution, is a thoroughly ratio
nalized structure. At every turn, it teaches
us implicit lesions about the authority of
rationality: at registration, at drop-add,
through computer scoring and calculation of
grades, and•even in the division of the day
into periods of standard length. Everywhere
we go a specified procedure seems to pro
duce a completely predictable conclusion.
forum
But this search for control and logical
certainty is dangerous in several ways.
First, it leads to unrealistic expectations
about how predictable the future is, and
perhaps to shock or refusal to recognize the
truth when things do not work out as
planned. Second, many problems and chal
lenges in our daily lives are not susceptible
to logical analysis and controlled solutions;
they include any situation which involves
• I. 1.1 t•
\
...SIR,COULD you
SU- U$
P. 11.6
KONOtti t GUI
1011JRN POUR
reader opinion
Rivals
When I read Kathleen Pavelko's comments
about newpapers and competition in the Sept.
13 issue of The Daily Collegian I couldn't
believe my eyes. She is quite right in saying
that competition can be a spur in a journal
ist's side but some other remarks and insinua
tions cannot go unchallenged.
She should realize The Centre Daily Times
and the Collegian are not even close to match
ing the Pulitzer Prize performances of the
papers of Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The
Philadelphia Inquirer had tough competition
for years from The Bulletin, and still does
from the many suburban publications.
The only competition I see between the
Collegian and the CDT is who prints the most
pages. As stated, the Collegian caters to the
students and the CDT is for everyone else.
Philadephia is anything but journalistically
deficient and if Ms. Pavelko visited the local
newsstand occasionally she would see that the
Inquirer even has a strong following in this
area.
One point overlooked in her article - was the
new Sunday edition of the CDT. I feel this was
a legitimate step toward improving the image
of that paper. Yet a paper that publishes only
d t ail; Collegian
Friday,•Sept. 24, 1982 C)1982 Collegian Inc
Phil Gutis
Editor Business Manager
The• Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is
determined by its Board of Opinion, with
the editor holding final responsibility.
Opinions expressed on the editorial
pages are not necessarily those of The
Daily Collegian, Collegian Inc. or The
Pennsylvania State University. Collegian
Inc., publishers of The Daily Collegian
and related publications, is a separate
corporate institution from Penn State.
people, (even if only ourselves), their feel
ings, thoughts and actions. When confronted
with such problems, we may be tempted to
do one of two things: redefine and change
the problem to make it entirely logical, or
attempt to directly control the unpredict
able elements, notably other people.
For example, for purposes of planning
rationally, people sometimes reduce the
problem of attaining personal happiness to
the problem of accumulating wealth. Even
more serious, people often approach rela
tions with others from the standpoint of how
to control and make predictable the other
person's actions. People want friends and
lovers they can count on, but often this
means attempts to control; the resulting
games and power maneuvers can poison a
relationship, cause mutual antagonism, dis
trust, disrespect and ultimately, destroy
love.
Finally, even attempts to control simple,
material aspects of the environment are not
guaranteed success. The future is not very
predictable in a society as complex as ours.
Accidents (fortunate or unfortunate) are
likely to play a large role in our, lives,
whether we like it or not. Job forecasts can
change rapidly, or a diploma may secure a
first job but not a second or third. The best
job on paper can turn into a dead end or
unemployment, the most stable marriage
into angry divorce, economic security into
widespread economic depression, nuclear
superiority into nuclear holocaust. The
six (or five) out of seven days still has room
for improvement in that area.
One last issue nementioned in the article
concerns mistakes. Whether they involve
grammar„ photography or editorial policy,
each paper could gain much on its'competitor
if the large number of mistakes were re
duced. Everyone is human, but how many
times can you let a 1929 Westinghouse refrig
erator make the front page or read an article
unfit for English 10?
The two papers do an adequate job of
reporting the news and I am a more-than
occasional reader of both. Yet there are days
when I find my math book more appealing.
However I am hopeful that as rivals"; each
paper will give it the "ole college try" and ,
start satisfying their readers.
Kenneth Fioravanti, 10th-metallurgy
Sept. 17
Works of art
I have made my peace with the gazebos.
When I returned to University Park after a
six-month absence, I noticed that the campus
had been transformed into a formal garden
complete with two gazebos: My first reaction
was one of appreciation, my next was one of
disgust. The same disgust that the French
peasants felt for Marie Antoinette's extrava
gance or the Iranian populace felt toward the
Shah's ostentatious monarchy.
Is Penn State plagued by the same diseases
as those monarchs: too much money and too
little conscience? I can answer no, because I
have seen the light: I see the magnanimous
intent in those gingerbread pillars. Not only
are the gazebos fine examples of art, but they
are also creating artisans gaiebo makers.
Penn State has the ability to exploit this
situation,, rejuvenate skilled craftsmanship
and give it the prominence it deserves- in
American society.
Paul Rudoy
To encourage this revival of craftsmanship,
the University could develop an interdepart
mental option entitled gazebo studies. The
quest for certainty in all aspects of life is
doomed to failure.
Why can't we, control, or at least accu
rately predict, the future? The answer flies
in the uncertainty inherent in all human
activity. For_ one thing, communication be
tween people is , usually very uncertain:
difficulities arising from different experi
ences, language conventions, and concep
tual frameworks and, from the
misunderstanding of subtext and intentions
limit attempts to communicate.
For another, our emotional lives have
great impact on our behavior, but they are
usually poorly understood, add in any case
notoriously difficult to control or predict. So,
much of human behavior (even our own)
will appear spontaneous to us. Trying to
control people can come to no good; only
each person can attempt to determine her
life and herself.
The sun should rise tomorrow,
Just like today.
I'd like to guarantee it,
Bait's more than I can say.
I see the world around me;
I act in the play.
But I won't make predictions,
'Cause it just don't work that way.
—Scott Synder, 1980 PSU graduate (Copy- .
right 1982)
Ths does not seem to leave us with very
much: no certainty, no control, no 'hope of
seeing our plans acted out. But to know that
processes in society must be spontaneous
011!IDEVIiYt,411
..OILSORF. 114 E. Ull4
..., , - OMNI •
N... 1N1*...,A11.. OWN_
:A1....UK6,Y0u Oa s t. , AL
AND., OH,. SO, AV ER..........,
:1 .•
&s," : •
architecture department could sponsor a'
course in design analysis of gazebos while the
department of man-environment relationi;
could offer a course on behavorial aspects or:
student-gazebo relations. There could be 4:
history course called gazebos through the
ages and the political science department-
could create a seminar on gazebo7class.work
ers' impact on the' American political struck
ture.
Now, when I stroll past those romantic
pavilions, I sigh with pleasure, and reflect one
the contributions they can make to society. Y,
And to think all this can be possible because otl:
a 00,000 donation.
Louise Witt, 10th-political science
Sept. 21 _
The crowd usually follows the cheer inic;
tiated by the pep squad and the Penn State;
cheerleaders. This year at -the helm of the:
squad is one Gregg Cook, alias "Mr. Mike."
believe Mr. Cook is a very poor choice to head
an otherwise A-1 group of people as the Penh:
State cheerleaders.
The current "Mr. Mike" doesn't know when'
to start a cheer and when he tries, he has a ,
hard time getting audience participation. I've,
noticed that he fails to utilize two popular,
cheers, namely the "Go Bananas" cheer anct
"Get the Ball You All" chant during the ,
game.
Mr. Cook, why don't you resign and bang uZ
your microphone. That way, the enthusiasm;
the fans bring in with them won't be wasted,-c,
Sal Bronti, sth-agricultural business manage;
meat
Sept. 20
and uncontrolled does not prevent us from
setting goals or from acting to reach them.
However, in setting goals, we must respect
the unpredictability of people's actions, and
cope' with the unpredictability of our com
plex world; these limits make any goal less
than certainly attainable.
We should also appreciate the importance
of accidents in our lives. As an exercise; list
the important people and activities in your
life, and try to decide if you first came
across them mostly intentionally or mostly
by accident. Knowing that accidents pro=
vide some of our best opportunities helps us
to recognize them in the future; it frees us
from the closed-minded attempt to execute
a chosen plan. ,
• Another major benefit comes from adjust-
Ang to uncertainty. Personal relationships
have a much better chance of benefiting the
people involved if attempts to control others
are abandoned; and everyone's spontaneity
and right to attempt self-determination are
recognized and respected. People are not to'
be controlled; the best of life flows freely,
spontaneously, and cannot be delivered by
the cold, iron grip of control and certainity.
Uncertainity can be frightening; however, it
also opens up dimensions for everyone to
make his own life, uncoerced, and that is a
valuable thing. No one can live on paper.
Don't think I can fit it on the paper
Don't think I can get it on the paper
Go ahead and rip up, rip up the paper
Go ahead and tear up, tear up the paper.
—Daivd Byrne (copyright 1979 Index Mu
sic/Bleu Bisque Music Co. Inc.)
The Daily Collegian
Friday, Sept. 24;
Wasted enthusiasm .1
Whenever there is a home football game 'at
Beaver Stadium, countless numbers of fans
get psyched for the game by tailgating. Eacg
one of the fans there carries a great deal of,
enthusiasm and spirit into the stadium, ready
to cheer on the Lions. 112,
Handcrafted Gifts from around the world'
Unusual Jewelry and Toys
Craft, Photography, and Art Books
Beautiful Prints and Posters
Sculpture, Wall Hangings, Museum Postcards
and Notes.
The Pennsylvania State University Museum of Art,
_ between the Creamery and the Forum on Curtin Rd
Tues.-Sun
What Is A
Quaker Meeting Like?
It is a gathering of
Friends who sit
quietly together,
who search for
meanings and a
'better way to live,
who share their
thoughts and
visions with each
other.
It follows no
program and it ends
with a handclasp.
A worship based on
silence
Quaker Meeting House
every Sunday
at 11:00 a.m.
611 E. Prospect Ave.
MUSEUM OF ART STORE
Charles
D. ,
Reighard
is proud to announce the opening
of his salon for contemporary
hair care at 512 E. College
Avenue in the very near future.
He apologizes for any
inconvenience this interruption
of service may cause his valued
customers.
For more
information call
355-0093.
People with foresight read The Daily Collegian. But you already knew that, didn't you?
HALSTON PACO RABANNE LAGERFELD
DESIGNER FRAGRANCES
FRASER Si . entle/ N.4
MINI MALL 10‘ 238-4050
11-4:30
MICHAEL'S CLOTHING CO.
NOTICE
The Campus Loop will not operate on home
football Saturdays between the hours of:
11:00 a.m. - 6p .m.
The Daily Collegian Friday, Sept. 24, 1982-11