opinions editorial opinion A sad tribute to inhumanity The United States' participation in World War I was triggered by a German U-boat sinking of the Lusitania, a civilian luxury liner carrying 128 American passengers and 1,070 other passengers Today, most of the free world is probably watching in shock, awaiting the Soviet Union's explanation of why it shot down a Korean 747 that flew into Soviet airspace Wednesday. The parallels between the two incidents make one stand back, mouth open in horror, and wonder "what's going to happen now?" Both involved the slaughter of innocent people under the guise of military protec tion. Both involved nations whose relations were strained at best. However, this is not the first time the Soviets have fired on civilian aircraft. In April 1978, another Korean aircraft wan dered into Soviet airspace en route to Paris from Seoul. It was fired upon and forced to land on a frozen lake in the Soviet Union. Two people were killed and 13 more were injured. Perhaps that was supposed to have served as "fair warning" to the world not to get lost over the Soviet Union because, this time, the Soviets left no survivors. Two hundred six ;. ty-nine passengers reportedly perished be :, cause of the Soviet Union's. disregard for human life and its paranoia concerning the secrecy of its air and naval positions. One of them was U.S. Rep. Lawrence P.. McDonald, D-Ga., on his way to a ceremony South Korea cominemorating the 30th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea de fense pact. While no official counts are yet available, another 29 Americans may have been on board. This atrocity is even more gut-thumping ',.considering the consequences of the shoot- Of tenants, landlords, neighbors The ongoing saga of student renters and their neighbors in the community finally opened a new chapter this week, a chapter full of dialogue, promise and compromise. At the inaugural meeting of students and State College residents to discuss student housing in single-family neighborhoods, both side's came away with hopes that some long- and short-term solutions to controver sies like the three-person occupancy limit aren't just pipedreams. • Students claim that the shortage of hous ing and the astronomical rates some land lords demand force them to break the three to-a-unit ordinance. Other students insist that because some apartments can easily accommodate more than three renters, it should be allowed. Despite the differences of opinion among students and townspeople, there should be some resolution in the offing, provided that students help to see it through. The Centre Region Council of Govern ments' Rental Housing Advisory Committee is compiling data on the total holding capac ity of downtown apartments. Also, the State College Planning Commission is examining student housing in single-family neighbor hoods as part of a report on municipal housing ordinances. These are first, and crucial, steps to determining if the limited occupancy ordi nance itself is valid. Likewise, the hearing on a housing case by District Magistrate Clifford Yorks on Sept. 13 may set a prece dent in the limited occupancy controversy. In the past few weeks, code enforcement director James Quigley has received about 15 complaints regarding more than three students living in a housing unit. Before the controversy surfaced a couple of months ago, complaints were sparse. However, due to what Quigley terms "the complete urbanization" of State College, residents are forming neighborhood groups, "a natural tendency of urbanization," he said. And these groups have started talking daily Collegian Friday, September 2, 1983 Suzanne M. Cassidy Editor 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. ©1983 Collegian Inc Judith Smith Business Manager The decision to destroy the civilian jet wasn't made on the spur of the moment by an inexperienced fighter pilot. News reports say the eight Soviet fighters tracked the aircraft at alternate times for, nearly two and, one half hours, remaining in contact with ground control. Reports also say at least one of the Soviet fighters was close enough to visually identi fy the plane as civilian. The 747 was coldly eliminated as it left Soviet air space. Although the Soviet news agency Tass said the aircraft ignored "warnings and signals," it gave no indication of what those warnings and signals were. For now, the decision that must be made is how to retaliate, if at all. Military retalia tion, like that which followed the Lusitania, would be out of line in this age of nuclear one-upmanship. Some congressmen say the United States should pull out of our recent grain agreement with Moscow. But this move would be unfair to American farmers, and its past ineffectiveness does not indicate that it would safeguard against future inci dents of this kind. And nothing the United States decides to do will bring back the 269 who died. If there's a lesson to be learned from the Soviets' erasure of a Korean Airlines mis take, it may be in the fact that while weapons systems have become more ma ture since 1915, international brotherhood has not. • And while this probably will not go down in history as the incident that started World War 111, it will go down as a sad tribute to the fact that the same mentality that sank the Lusitania still existed 70 years later. more lately about their concerns that too many student neighbors will downgrade their areas. These fears may account for the seemingly resurfaced anti-student attitude in the community. And despite the fact that more apart ments are available, students are still try ing to pack more than three people into apartments in order to cut costs. Those costs, of course, keep increasing because students have continually been willing to pay them. Any uneducated consumer is easily ex ploited and few students have made any effort to educate themselves. Only by banding together and vocalizing their opinions and strength can students protect themselves. _ "If students get involved in the process, they will have a voice," Quigley said - . "If they have a voice, they will get the govern ment to respect their suggestions." If they sit at home with their two room mates, however, students will accomplish nothing at all. University students who contribute such a great deal economically to the community aren't exercising their potentially powerful voice as they should. For example, COG's Rental Housing Ad visory Committee has yet to receive any applications for its advertised student rep resentative position. • "That disappoints me," Charlene Harri son, committee chairwoman, said, "be cause here is a place students can voice concerns. Clearly, here is an opportunity that exists and no onels picking up on it." The committee, which is composed of residents and municipal representatives, wants to look at non-govermental solutions to housing problems using hearing boards instead of ordinances. Someone is ready to listen, but save a few student leaders, most students aren't saying much. Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian encourages com ments on news coverage, editorial policy and University affairs. Letters should be typewritten, double•spaced, 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. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor. Business and advertising com plaints should bd presented to the business manager. 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 Hafnilton, executive secretary, Collegian Inc. • • • 'CIAV 'RE 'cog 1400,110 c •td:' , 0.• f v ea , • ' Ni` It witigitimAkliAlkill u qtA,10 41 41 11 411 1, , akllit' akuriNg/Itl, .116-441tv‘ _.,\‘......a....\\ ---Al-2 _/ .‘ reader opinion Different strokes I've noticed recently that about half the students here at Penn State are somehow different. They live in' their own dorms, use separate showers and dress differently. Some how they even look different. I'm not sure, but I really think I'm on to something here. I'll keep you posted. Charles Canning, senior-computer science Sept. 1 Pump protests Thank you very much for printing the picture and story about the anti-pump activities on the Delaware River in Bucks County. As a former resident of Bucks County (this is my first semester at University Park), I voted for the referendum last May to stop the building of the water Professors must be introduced Today marks the completion of one week of classes under the new semester calendar. By now every one has learned that having 50-min ute classes is heaven while having only 15 minutes in between puts a damper on one's social life. Most students have been to each of their classes at least once and know the office hours of their professors. In some cases, this is all they know of their professor his office hours. ' 04.6.0 6 4.101 , )1e70,1,1104 Penn State is fortunate to have many superior professors in all the disciplines. Some have obtained their degrees from prestigious schools and are doing significant research in their respective fields. Others have worked with high gov ernment officials, published works in national magazines or received outstanding awards for their achievements. All are unique indi viduals. Unfortunately, students rarely know such information before they take a particular class. Students rarely know such information even after they take a particular class. Brief summaries of all profes sors' backgrounds and special in terests should be Made available to all students prior to registration. The professor should then elab orate on this information during the first class meeting. This year, all entering freshmen pumping station in Point Pleasant. The pumping station will draw 95 million gallons of water from the Delaware daily 45 million gallons will be the main water supply for the soon-to-be-completed Lime rick Nuclear Power Plant which is subsidized by the Philadelphia Electric Co Although a majority of the citizens in Bucks County voted to stop the building of the pump, construction has not ceased. The will of the people is flagrantly being denied as construction continues. Residents have main tained a constant, peaceful, non-violent protest to show Philadelphia Electric that we will not be silenced. I commend The Daily Collegian for bringing me news from "home" as well as excellent coverage on national and local levels. Lenore Loftus, junior-psychology Aug.3o received the University's 1983-84 Course Selector. This booklet con tains information on 350 courses, baccalaureate degree require ments, evening division courses, independent study by correspon dence and study abroad. However, it does not elaborate on any professor beyond listing his name with, the course description. Likewise, the University Bulletin for undergraduates (the blue book) fails to mention professors, and the Graduate School Bulletin stops with a listing of professors and their degrees. Professor information placed in each of these publications or added to each semester's sched ule of classes would provide stu dents with at least some idea of their would-be instructors. To supplement printed back ground information, professors should tell their students about themselves, especially during the first class meeting. From .a stu dent's point of view, nothing is worse than a professor who begins without any introductory remarks. The student may never even learn the proper pronunciation of the professor's name. Many professors, do realize the need to convey information about themselves to their students. One professor went so far as to remark at the beginning of class that he remembers what it was like to be a student and be curious about a professor's background. He then described his background in detail and included where he did his un dergraduate and graduate work, his special interest of study and his notable accomplishments in the field. Such an introduction estab lishes a professor's credibility, sets him apart from other professors in The Daily Collegian Friday Sept. 2, 1983 LEIS MT OVEREACT, his field and makes him seem more human. Other professors, however, stick to the prisoner of war motif name, office hours and telephone. A few choose to say nothing. The average student's penchant for a syllabus may be partially to blame for the extreme cases when a professor relates no background information. Perhaps the professor did give a detailed introduction once, only to have a student in the third row interrupt by raising his hand and requesting a syllabus. Class size may also determine whether a professor gives a de tailed introduction. Some profes sors may feel that the larger the class, the less contact they will have with individtial students, so they make fewer introductory re marks. In these Forum-sized classes, however, just the opposite holds true. The less chance a stu dent has of personal communica tion with a professor in a class, the more detailed should be the profes sor's introduction. Often a student is advised to take professors, not classes. And yet, without a written guide or first hand knowledge of professors, the selection is a stab in the dark or the result of a roommate's suggestion. Many Penn State professors can hardly know each of their students personally. University students, however, can know something more about their professors than just name, office hours and tele phone, Students and professors need to communicate with one an other. They need to be introduced. Karen Kmetik is a senior'-biology major and a columnist for The Daily Collegian. Her column ap pears on alternate Fridays. reader opinion Laps for sale This is in response to the article, "Swimmers must pay fee at Nat and White Building." , Without sounding insensitive to the University's need of funds for the aquatic facilities, I would like to say that I find it unfair to charge students for an activity that was once offered to them free as part of their affiliation with the University. John Holt's article on swimming pool fees quotes Lou Mac Neill, director of aquatic programs, as saying, "I don't know who has been supporting us, maybe it's athletic money from the football pro gram." It seems a little strange that the director of the department in need of funds does not know, where the funds are coming from, and if it has been from t e i lleirn tot, Trip a journalist today. football athletic funds, one would think that after winning the national championship last year, funds would increase, not decrease. Money is scarce for other athletic programs as well. As a member of the track team I am aware of the problem there, but I wouldn't want the Univer sity to resort to charging 50 cents per lap to run on the track. It may sound more ridiculous, but it is the same concept: taxing students for University facilities that in the past (and rightfully so) have been considered a benefit of being a Penn State student. With the recent rise in tuition, it appears unreasonable to' ask this to become routine for all athletic facilities on Campus. Sharon Greene, sophomore-science Sept. 1 Find Everything You Need for Fall! Largest Selection of New and Used Textbooks, and All Your School and Office Supplies, Reference Books, Art and Engineering Supplies, Photo- Processing and Penn State Gifts and Clothing. at the • Penn State Toostore aso on campus Beginning of Semester Hours September 1 - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. September 2 - 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. September 3 - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. September 4 - Noon to 4 p.m. k Owned and operated by the Pennsytvania State University Now thru SepKids r 18 ternth Eat That's Ponderosa. The Biggest Little Steakhouse in the USA! If you've B th kids, bring them along. Because now thru Sep tember 18th, kids eating with adults get a hamburger or hot dog and french fries, free. From the best family restaurant in the USA! r IMO 1011111111 MOM NEIN mom rue woo MOS NMI SOW 0111 1, i likis Ribeye Steak Dinners Vikri,99----- - I Big Chopped S teak Dinners 1. Eat 2 r 5.99 I Sirloin Tip Dinners I II Free!. 2 for Otter good anytime now through 91883 to Includes all-you-can.eat salad bar baked potato children under 12 accompanied by an adult purchasing a meal. Choice and warm roll with butter. No carryouts cannot be used with other discounts . Tax not MI Al partici mimosion _wow mein mom paling steakhouses Coupon good 01 hamburger or hot dog with IF IL trench tries. ?tots* tor any party size. Valid until 918 83 WNW MIMI Min MOO NMI Ribeye Steak Dinners _____j-._Y_r_z-c-tzjPScj-all--'_ 2 fol:2sL.9l___-- Sandwich with Big---7-Chfyl7odrSstseak.99Dianers Salad Bar or Fries I Sirloin Tippinners 2 for $.9952.19 11 AM - 4 PM. Mon. thru Sat Your choice of single Chopped Steak Burger or Includes all-eat -eat salad bar baked potato and warm roll with butter. No canyouts cannot be used with other discounts. Tax not incl At partici- L Sandwich with alllou-can.eat salad bar or french Ines No carryouts cannot be used with other discounts. Tax not Ind Al partici. paling steakhouses. Coupon good paling steakhouses Coupon good for any party size. • for any party size. VADOPL ions o.o. Vali sime d until 9 0001 18 83 ?emist:°:PrjSl°"' miss sion Valid un ion... tit 9 17 81.0.33 swim 1630 S. Atherton St Chopped steak is U S 0 A inspected 100° o chopped beet steak ( At University Drive . ) I I AM = Titillating tidbits An open letter to Lisa Vendura and those mem bers of the Undergraduate Student Government who are responsible for this year's Penn. State Calendar a most informative publication. I would like to compliment you on the completion of a tabloid which is a veritable wealth of informa tion a tabloid which transcends the usual gamut of boring dates to remember. After all, who needs to know when the Drop/Add and Preregistration deadlines are when they can be titillated with tidbits Such as the dates of Sorority Post Offices and the Management Science Club's first meeting. Colleen M. Young, executive vice president, Liber al Arts Student Council Sept. I PONDEROSA STEAtitiOUSil 14 11 .- 21 e ;i: 4r, r • • ! PONDEROSA' . sitmoioust. I c 1983. Ponderosa, Inc. • ,/,- .44k> 1,9, : 104 0- AVM- I* n '‘; The Daily Collegian Friday, Sept. 2, 1983-9
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