opinions
editorial opinion
Beckoning big
Money doesn't grow on trees
or on university campuses. In these
times of higher education funding
cuts, universities and colleges
must actively recruit funds from a
private source: alumni.
So Penn State, like other univer
sities caught in the btidgetary
Squeeze, has turned to a private
consulting firm to raise the hoped
for $500,000 to $BOO,OOO in alumni
contributions.
The new program, called Tele-
fund, begins today and continues
through June 1984. Its approach is
intense 50 to 60 students will staff
phones for 15 months, attempting
_to contact the more than 42,000
alumni who have previously do
:- -nated and the 20,000 alumni who
have contributed in the past, but
not recently.
Telefund is a much-needed pro-
gram at the University and de
: serves continued support to
guarantee its success a success
: --- that has greatly benefited other
reader opinion
Undercoverage
.As a. student from a predominantly Jewish neighbor
hood, I halie met numerous concentration camp survivors.
tatooed indeptification numbers on their wrists is a
minor indication of the horrors of the holocaust.
:They will tell you stories of their young brothers and
sisters who never escaped the concentration camps alive.
They will tell you about their parents about whom they can
dilly surmise as to the torture inflicted prior to death.
To remember such horrors is a painstaking experience,
but to forget is a crime. The dead cannot be brought back,
hut people must be reminded that their fellow man is
capable of commiting such atrocities.
- The Daily. Collegian, however, apparently considered
gip"recent Holocaust remeinbrance services important
Jjily as a news item after the vigil occured.
4.. Please explain to my friend, who lost most of his family,
41 - hy the Collegian did not inform him about such emotion
ally important events so that he could have participated.
Xiiis negligence is not unlike having a mother's funeral
egithout inviting the children.
Understanding minorities, their concerns and the mean
tag of serving the reading public is an area in which the
qpllegian should not lack.
Bill Kraftsow
ktsG Town Senator
P APril 21
Money earned
41,
'The one fact that has been ignored in the whole inane
debate about USG's Awards Banquet is that the $9OO was
*located from money which USG earns through its own
ilusiness activities.
earned and distributed approximately $34,000 to
student organizations that could not get funding from
Associated Student Activities (ASA). This $34,000 was
generated through the hard work and dedication of many
tISG members and in no way came out of any student's
tuition or fees.
this point one must ask a very important question:
:Journalistic judgment: Pragmatic process
More than one frustrated student
leader has asked "What do you
have to do to get Collegian cover
age?" It is the Catch-22 of the
newspaper business that everyone
wants an item in the paper if the
news is good (a speech announce
ment), but that nobody wants a
story if the news is bad (a scandal).
I received two letters this week
that asked that very question but
in different ways. The first reader
asked how The Daily Collegian
determines which public events it
will cover with an announcement
story (called a pre-story in journa
lism jargon).
The second reader. asked why the
Collegian had run stories on an
- • alcohol abuse program and on St.
Patrick's Day beer bashes side 'by
side on the same page.
These readers wanted to know
y. 'what it took to get a story in the
.paper, and how it would be treated
:after it had been covered.
The event at issue for my first
.•':, •:orrespondent was the recent ap
,....., pearance by the author Borges.
,:: "Yesterday the Collegian (had) a
... _ ,
bucks
universities and could benefit Penn
State.
At the University of Chicago,
almost $4 million has been raised
since Telefund began operation in
1979. And the University of
Maryland's Telefund program,
which began in November 1981, has
garnered more than $1 million in
pledges.
Another benefit the Telefund pro
gram brings to Penn State aside
from its obvious fund-raising effec
tiveness is jobs. Fifty to 60 jobs
will open for students.
Overall, Telefund is the highly
organized, effective approach to
obtaining greater alumni contribu
tions that the University needs.
And if it is as successful here as it
was at other large universities,
perhaps it should be continued as a
regular fund-raising strategy to
battle declining public support of
higher education.
Because chances are that Penn
State will need its alumni tomor
row even more than today.
what percentage of $34,000 is $900? The answer is 2.65
percent. On a per person basis this comes to $6 per person.
A $6 pat on the back, from money that many people
worked very hard to earn, in contrast to the fact that 97.35
percent ($32,980) of it was given to students seems quite
reasonable. Mr. Davis's assertion that "If you are using
our money then all students should be invited," demon
strates a completely uninformed and immature view
point. He obviously knows nothing of USG.
Before you start slinging mud, I would suggest a trip to
the USG office. If the only time you can spare to think
about USG is five minutes to write an uninformed letter
then I think there are very few people who would respect
your opinion.
The argument here is not between $750 for Mov,in' On
and $9OO for USG (from self-generated funds), it is
between $9OO for USG and $32,980 for students.
For those who disagree I would suggest that you form a
business department of your own, earn $34,000 of your own
and give every penny to whomever you see fit.
See you at graduation.
Edward J. Dougherty, assistant director
USG department of student programs for international
awareness
April 22
Town Day
On Thursday April 21, the Organization for Town Inde
pendent Students held its 10th annual Town Day. This
e tent was brought about 10 years ago from the realization
that the only interaction between townspeople and stu
dents was in the downtown businesses, offices and organ
ziations. Town Day brings members of the University and
State College community together with students to discuss
in an open forum mutual concerns and problems.
Town Day began this year with a retrospective view of
itself as given, by Paul Bell, student member of the
University's Board of Trustees. Mr. Bell illustrated the
role Town Day has played in increasing town-and-gown
communication.
Next Dr. Jerry Davis, director of research and policy
couple of lines in the Collegian
Notes which I did not notice; today
it had a picture in the front page
which I could not help but notice,"
he said. "Could it not have been the
other way round ( to) highlight
the speeches before they take
place? Perhaps the Collegian did
that because of some profound
journalistic reason which I do not
understand."
There is nothing profound about
the process of journalistic selec
tion. Collegian news editors must
decide each day what they consider
important, what they think their
readers will find important and
what they can fit into the paper.
This is not philosophy, but prag
matism. As Editor Suzanne Cassi
dy put it: "Everything deserves
coverage. We must decide what
will get coverage."
Newspapers cover announced
events like speeches, lectures and
governmental hearings in two
ways. One is the pre-story, which is
self-explanatory. The other is the
coverage story of the event after it
has happened.
"The pre-story gives readers the
information so they can attend, but
the coverage story tells all the
readers not just the ones who
attended what happened," says
Lisa Hill, Collegian managing edi
tor.
The Collegian receives dozens of
speech announcements each day,
in news releases, phone calls and
from reporters and editors who
read the posters displayed around
ilrE IXIICXT'RZI;S Mn•c»;.2 INlKiv!ois cmir+ri
campus.
Most of these announcements
end up in Collegian Notes, a group
of single-line listings of campus
.events published daily on an inside
page. But not all of them. "It
makes me sick how many Colle
gian notes are cut (for space) each
day," Hill says. "I wish I could
make everyone happy all of the
time."
But space limitations, as well as
editors' decisions, prevent univer
sal happiness. Collegian editors
must judge on the basis of their
own experience and education --
who and what is important enough
to cover. And under those circum
stances, sex manual author Shere
Hite may be judged worthy of more
coverage than an internationally
regarded Argentinian poet.
What the Collegian cannot do
what no newspaper can do is
write a pre-story or provide cover
age simply because the sponsoring
group needs the publicity. "People
have to remember that, though the
Collegian does its best, we are not
and should not be every organiza
tion's public relations agency,"
Cassidy says.
"We print pre-stories because
they're a service to our readers,"
Cassidy says. "The ones that get
covered are the ones that would
seem to appeal to the most people,
or, maybe, are a little bit differ
ent."
There is an old journalist's line
that goes something like, "if you
want to be sure of coverage, buy an
* DNIM
'\ .c.
--,
for PHEAA, gave the keynote address. The theme was the
economic interdependence between the University and
State College. Dr. Davis illuminated the fact that State
College and the University are heavily dependent on one
another.
After the keynote address there was a breakdown into
discussion groups. The first group discussed the effects
the University's switch to'the semester system will have.
This discussion brought out the concerns that apartment
owners and students have about the lease overlap due to
the calendar conversion.
Questions were raised as to what provisions the Univer
sity was making for those who get caught in the overlap.
The University_ answered that it could not implement a
,plan until it had some idea of the number of students, who
would' e affected.
For the most part the pro-dating of leases is going well,
thanks to cooperation between tenants and landlords.
However, it was pointed out that cooperation is necessary
between students to make the transition easier. So if you
are a student and will be leaving before the arrival date
for Fall Semester, help a fellow student by letting your
landlord know the apartment will be available.
The second group discussed the consumer relationship
between State College and the student. Merchants ex
pressed their hopes that students are aware of the things
they do for students. An example of this is prize donations
for various student activites. Also the Downtown Business
Association (DBA) stated that they were concerned how
students felt about businesses in town. The DBA said they
would like to work with OTIS so they could keep on top of
student opinion be it good or bad.
The last group discussed political cooperation between
the University, State College and the student. The main
point brought out here was that students are welcome and
encouraged to get involved in the governmental gears of
the University and State College. Students should not be
afraid to express their views to State College Municipal
Council members either tiy calling or speaking at a public
council meeting.
OTIS is proud to hold Town Day each year. It is our
sincere hope that Town Day helps to create the kind of
good relationship between campus and town that we both
ad:: It is unfortunate to report that
advertising remains the only cer
tainty when coverage policies are
ad hoc at best.
'But what of the second part of the
question raised by this week's let
ter
_writers the fate of the story
after it has been assigned and
written?
My correspondent complained
about two stories published on
March 16: "Bars prepare for St.
Pat bashes" was run on page two
right •next to the story headlined
"College reps to develop alcohol
abuse programs."
The University's Total Alcohol
Awareness Program (TAAP) was
no doubt pleased to have its confer
ence highlighted in the campus
newspaper., but may have been less
than satisfied with the company it
kept. "My impression is that the
paper is schizophrenic," the writer
said, "promoting awareness of the
dangers of (over) drinking and also
promoting drinking events."
The juxtaposition of stories was
unfortunate and in bad taste, I
agree. But the writer went on to
say, "I. think the Collegian staff
should consider trying to define a
coherent policy on alcohol . . . be
cause of the havoc that abuse of
alcohol can create, I would prefer
that the newspaper not promote the
consumption of alcohol."
But setting a policy on covering
alcohol is a very different matter
from avoiding embarassing ar
rangements on. a..news page. "I
don't think we can formulate a
SEIZE Ma
envision, thus making State College the type of commu
nity all can share and be proud of.
OTIS would like to thank everyone who participated in
this year's Town Day and a special thank you to the great
people who worked long and hard to make another
successful Town Day.
policy on something like alcohol,"
Hill says. "I don't know how we
would write it or how we would
enforce it. Besides, it would change
with every editor."
"Crusade journalism was very
popular at one time, and its still
popular," Cassidy says. "Crusades
win Pulitzers.
"But to devote your news pages
to one particular crusade, to make
policy on that basis, would be at the
expense of equal coverage of other
issues," Cassidy says. . "We don't
want to be the forum for just one
organization."
Hill, as the managing editor, had
a pragmatic response. "We used to
send a reporter to cover the bars on
St. Patrick's Day. We didn't do that
this, year because all they say is
that everyone is drunk and having
a good time.
"But we can't not cover St. Pat
rick's Day. The town is full of
people and it's a big event. It's part
of student life and we have to cover
it."
My suggestion would be only to
make sure that the arrangement of
stories doesn't present a policy or
an attitude the newspaper does not
intend.
The readers' representative is
available for reader comments or
suggestions. I can be reached at 126
Carnegie Building, University
Park, Pa. 16802.
Kathleen A. Pavelko speaks for the
readers of The Daily Collegian and
comments regularly on the news
paper's journalistic performance.
The Daily Collegian
Peter J. Cutrone
OTIS president
April 23
Who's important?
We, as students, find it hard to believe that the USG is
our representative body. It was our impression that the
student government should act in the STUDENTS' best
interest, not their own. That is why we were appalled when
we read The Daily Collegian's April 19 article concerning
recent USG actions.
Their decision to spend $9OO for a party while allocating
just half of the $1,500 requested for Movin' On is an
inexcusably selfish abuse of power.
We wonder just how many students would be in favor of
a party for those few students instead of concerts for,
everyone. We would like just one USG senator who voted
for the party and against Movin' On, to tell us sincerely,
that he or she acted in his constituents' best interest:
(We're sure no one can.)
It's a wonder how USG can preach that they are working
for the students and can beg for student support when they
make such decisions. Don't they realize that as long as
they continue to act in that manner, they will never be
taken seriously?
They will just be stuck with their image of being a bunch
of self-serving, power hungry egotists who are under the
misguided impression that they are more important than
the rest of the students.
Ken Bartuska, 6th-civil engineering
Paul Walsh, 6th-computer science
April 21
Monday, April 25'
Jk , 4 •
e . • ' • • 1
'l O4
rlh.►~;i.l k A; S 14
•
0 . ;
• :V ••:*:
deny Collegian
Monday, April 25, 1983
©1983 Collegian Inc
Suzanne M. Cassidy
Judith Smith
Editor Business Manager
The Daily Collegian's editorial opin
ion is determined by its Board of
Opinion, with the editor holding
final responsibility. Opinions ex
pressed on the editorial pages are
not necessarily those of The Daily
Collegian, Collegian Inc. or The
Pennsylvania State Unive'rsity.
Collegian Inc., publishers of The
Daily Collegian and related publica
tions, is a separate corporate insti
tution from Penn State.
Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian
encourages comments on news
coverage, editorial policy and Uni
versity affairs. Letters should be
typewritten, double-spaced, signed
by no more than two people and not
longer than 30 lines. Students' let
ters 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 Collegian reserves the right.
to edit letters for length, and to
reject letters if they are libelous or
do not conform to standards of
good taste. Because of the num
bers of letters received, the Colle
gian cannot guarantee publication
of all the letters it receives.
Mail letters to: The Daily Colle
gian; 126 Carnegie Building; Univer
sity Park, Pa. 16802. Names may be
withheld on request. Letters may'
also be selected for publication in
The Weekly Collegian. ,
reader opinion
North ignored
Question: What dorm area is celebrating spring with a
week of fun, games, 'an all day outdoor concert and
general insanity? Know yet? No? Perhaps you depend on
The Daily Collegian for information. This publication has
not been giving us a significant amount of coverage.
We are North Halls Beam, Holmes, Leete and Runkle
halls. We are half interest houses, half independent
houses. We are about 1,200 strong (or weak in this case).
Every spring we in North Halls devote (i.e. blow off) an
entire week (April 24 to 30, this year) to spring. We take a
break from the rigors the year has given us. We come out
of our Hollywood block prisons and let loose.
Some of this year's activities include a three stage
Almost Anything Goes contest, the famous Emperor of the
North competition and Thursday's all-day concert, North
stock. Floors battle each other for points to win the week's
contests.
But we in North are not alone. East, South, West and
other dorm areas, as well as those living off campus, have
their own spring weeks. The Collegian, however, sees fit to
print an entire spring insert and calendar devoted to the
greek spring celebration. '
We would like other students throughout the University
to join in the fun, but with no publicity this will be hard to
achieve. A Collegian reporter interviewed our Northweek
chairman before the spring tabloid was published, yet
UNIVERSITY CALENDAR
Monday, April 25
P.S. Aikido Club workout, 7 p.m., IM Wrestling Room.
P.S. Singers meeting, 7 p.m., Room 111 Chambers.
Alpha Epsilon Rho meeting, 7 p.m., Room 169 Willard.
Yachad film, 7 p.m., Rooms 320-322 HUB.
PSOC-Exec. Committee meeting, 7 p.m., Room 10913oucke.
Marine Science Society meeting/lecture, 7 pin., Room 109 Walker.
ARHS-NACURH meeting, 7 p.m., Room 258 Willard.
Students for Reproductive Rights meeting, 7:30 p.m., Room 117 Sackett
Students for Performing Arts meeting, 7:30 p.m., Room 227 HUB.
1 10
GSA needs someone to assist our
treasurer,with bookkeeping, budgeting, 1 0 , 4
and overall financial management. p•
KI Approx. 5 hours/week. If interesed:
P
4
'O7 SEND RESUME TO 305' KERN
R-091 c .
NIF • 4 ir 11, NO r • Nir
000000 0 0 0 0 0 OAPA
A.4111.416.A\ Allk
4 GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOC
SAVE 'Y
PNC Fire Safety Committee
And
nothing about North Week was in this insert.
Perhaps the North Halls Association of Students
(NHAS) should change its acronym to Nu Alpha Sigma.
Stephen Jerant, 9th-science
Raymond Oram, 9th-computer science
NHAS publicity/communication chairmen
April 22
Help Plan Activities Such As
MOCK DISASTER
FIRE SIMULATION
A
A
COMMITTEE CONDUCTED DRILLS
BLOCKED EXIT DRILLS
FIRE ORIENTATION PROGRAMS
Interested? Contact 865-6503
top by 127 Poli-ck Unio Building
Change needed
All right, I've had enough. No more apathy for me.
We've been reading for the past few weeks aout black
history month and the special admissions policies for
minority students. The Daily Collegian has been filled
with these topics and the controversy surrounding them.
If a fraternity or sorority stated that they'd accept only
white brothers or sisters, the shit would hit the fan. Yet all
the blacks join in with the Kappas or the Deltas (not to say
that there aren't a few token blacks in a few of the Greek
organizations).
This hasn't caused a problem; the blacks stay toghether
and the whites stay together at different •ends of the
University. Why? Can't blacks and whites be friends and
associate together? Believe me folks, they can. My room
mate and I happen to get along very well.
• I understand that there is a problem of racial disCrimi
nation. It has stemmed from decades of black oppression
39 0 Today Only!! 39 0
390 T i n i co!
Buy 2 at the Taco Monday price of 754
each and get a 3rd for only 39c
good w/coupon today only 4-25.83
131 S. Garner 234-4725 I ,
I Open Mon-Thurs 11am-midnight
I Fri & Sat 11-2:30 I
1 s pr i l DßOSSunday noon-midnight
139 39 0 '
1
Discover
and feelings of white supremacy. Okay, I also understand
why some blacks feel the need to "get back at the whites"
for what happened. But why live to get revenge? Can't we
put it in the past and continue on? Didn't we do away with
the theory of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"
long ago?
Because there are so many prejudicial feelings im
bedded in us from our parents (who got it from their
parents, and so on), I agree that there is a need for the
rules (unfortunately) for equal opportunities in job hiring
and student recruitment.
Penn State has been accused of being a lily white
community in the heart of Happy Valley (with a few token
blacks 2 or 3 percent). Why even ask on the enrollment
application what your color is, it's not mandatory that you
respond, who cares? Can't we just accept those students
who are the most qualified?
Granted, an opportunity should be given to a certain
percentage of students (black, white, yellow and polka
dotted) who never had a decent chance and some of
those kids get here and make it.
Then there are those who don't, yet there are plenty of
students who were well qualified and still failed out. There
are numerous reasons for a student's failure and it's not
completely based on their intelligence.
There are black organizations for this and for that,
along with special programs and activities. It's strange
that when I go to fraternity, dorm or apartment parties
UR SKIN
that there are rarely any blacks there. But why should
they be there, they're out with all the other blacks at those
"special places."
Penn State has created an unreal life for our black
students that will disappear the day they graduate. When,
my roommate gets a job in a large computer firm, do you
really think that the organization is going to have a black
social club for her and a white social club for my white
friends? Be real, folks.
If we're going to give the minorities a chance, we'd
better change our policies (I'm not going to ask for a
change in attitude, that'll just have to develop over time).
If we don't segregate them socially, maybe we will learn .
to accept each other without having our first comment be
"Look Mary, there's a black woman at this party."
And don't kid yourselves, the blacks say the same thing
when a white person shows up at their parties. It's going to
take time, a lot of time. I'm not asking for a change
overnight.
Maybe we won't even see a complete change in attitude I
in our lives, but what about our kids, should they, have to
acquire the same prejudicial feelings that we did? Don't;
you think that if we stopped the differentiation between:
black and white hang outs and black and white universi
ties, that we could start to live together in "perfect
harmony."
Kathy Tobin, 7th-psychology
April 22
Station Be
Junction of Coliel,e, 4, Garner.
The Daily Collegian Monday, April 25, 1983-9