opinions
editorial opinion
A clash of lifestyles?
Once again, the University's Office of
Housing and Food Service Operations has
taken the liberty to displace students from
their rooms without asking students for
input regarding the change.
Last year, residents of Shunk Hall were
told that their rooms would house the foot
ball team until the first day of Fall Semester
classes.
This year, residents of Atherton Hall were
informed that their dormitory would no
longer be strictly for graduate housing.
After all, with the demolition of Nittany
barracks and the construction of new grad
uate apartments, what better place is there
for displaced undergraduates to live than in
Atherton Hall?
Housing has told Atherton Hall residents
that the ratio.of students living in the dorm
Fall Semester 1984 would be two-thirds
graduate to one-third undergraduate. Dur
ing the 1985-86 school year, that ratio would
change to one-third graduate to two-thirds
undergraduate. By Fall Semester 1986, Ath
erton Hall would be strictly for undergrad
uate housing.
By itself, Housing's proposal doesn't
sound that bad. Graduate students would be
slowly phased out of the dorm scene into
apartments and undergraduates would be
moved in to take their place.
But what happens to those graduate stu
dents who don't want to live in apartments?
:And will the transition process work?
Frank Arlinghaus, treasurer of the Ather
jou Hall Association, said students living in
dorms have already turned down opportuni
ties to live in apartments. The graduates
apartments are more expensive, incon
'viently located, andiack common space for
socializing, he said. •
- And McKee Hall, another graduate dor
.mitory on campus,~ lacks the space for
reader opinion
Humanity
I am•not a journalist, nor am I an author, but I would
like to tell you a story; a story about a bunch of strangers
who proved to each other that humanity still exists in this
world of ours.
I had never met any of these people before, save one a
guy named Ken whom I took night courses with while we
were still in high school. Sad . . . but I didn't even remem
ber his last name until I asked him at lunch yesterday.
Well, here we were, a bunch of strangers drawn together
in Chambers building on a Friday morning by a dying girl
whom none of us knew and would never have the pleasure
of meeting:
I walked into Chambers before first period and was on
my way to the bathroom when I saw a girl lying
unconscious on the floor and an older man leaning beside
her in a state of panic (her roommate had run to call an
ambulance). I found out later that the older man was Leon
Alters, a tech-service man in the building. I thank Leon
Alters for his kindness and his prayers which kept us all
strong through the ordeal. •
Leon started shouting for help because the girl had
stopped breathing. I ran over, cleaned her airway and
proceeded to give her mouth-to-mouth, for she still had a
pulse and CPR was not needed. When she started breath
ing on her own again we both resumed breathing too. I
thank*God for giving me the courage to help a girl that was
dying the same way my father had died.
By this time, the rest of the small group of strangers had
come to help and her roommate had returned from calling
the ambulance. My friend Ken started taking down the
information to help the police and paramedics when they
arrived. I thank Ken for keeping a level head and for
keeping the technicalities out of the way so we could
concentrate on other things.
The girl's name was Lisa. Lisa stopped breathing again.
One of the people kneeling beside her checked for a pulse.
There was none. Two others started administering CPR.
Perhaps this is another good example of why everyone
Schools use questionable methods for drug discovery
When I was in high school, I remember it
was becoming a major problem. Every once
in a while I heard stories about someone
coming to school drunk or high. I don't
remember there ever being a policy on
drugs or alcohol though. One girl I knew who
was found passed out in the middle of class
was removed from the cheerleading squad,
but as far as any official policy went, nobody
was aware of any.
- •••••• , .`s* •
• - re Abe
. ,
In recent years, however, school districts
have become plagued with drug-related
problems and have been forced to formulate
some kind of policy to try to retain a drug
free environment in the schools. Parent-
students displaced from Atherton Hall.
Graduates with teaching fellowshißs have
expressed concerns over living with stu
dents who may be enrolled in the courses
they teach.
The age difference between the grads and
undergrads concerns many students too.
Arlinghaus said the graduates made a
request to housing to move only juniors and
seniors, preferably over the age of 21, into
the dorm. Those studemts would be closest
to the graduates in age and would not need
the guidance of a resident assistant, he said.
But Housing flatly refused that request,
he said.
The Office of Residential Life Programs
has suggested the initiation of a interest
house for University Scholar students. Paul
Axt, director of the University Scholar's
program, said honor students would proba
bly get along with the graduates and, adjust
to the quieter, more studious atmosphere of
the graduate dorm better than most stu
dents.
But honor students or not, graduates still
believe there is a world of difference be
tween themselves and undergraduate stu
dents.
At a meeting held last week with the
residents of Atherton Hall, Housing officials
and representitives from Residential Life
uncovered many of the issues at hand. For
the residents of the .dorm, it may have been
a little late for student input, but better late
than never.
• The issue of graduates living with under
graduates is not neecessarily the main
problem though. What is a problem is the
way. Housing makes its decisions without
consulting students beforehand and how
it considers problems only after its deci
sions are set.
should be certified in this technique. I thank those people
for knowing CPR and for keeping her alive until the
paramedics arrived.
I was on the other side of the hallway helping to comfort
Lisa's roommate when the paramedics arrived and took
over the CPR. They began to take Lisa to the ambulance,
and we got her roommate ready to go with them. They left.
We stayed. And just as we strangers began to disburse, a
policeman returned to tell us that Lisa was breathing on
her own again. He smiled. We cried. I thank the police and
the paramedics for their quickness and their competence
in helping Lisa to stay alive
When I turned around, the strangers had gone. The only
one left was Leon, with whom I stood in the hallway,
embracing. We prayed for the strangers who were with us
that morning, and for Lisa. _
So for those of you who believe that the world supports a
theory of Social Darwinism, and for others who believe
that everyone who has a smile on their face is going home
to beat up their girlfriend, please remember .the people
that I just thanked and the story of a dying girl who drew a
bunch of strangers together, in a - moment of humanity and
love.
P.S. When I called the hospital later,•l was told that
Lisa had died at 9:24 a.m. of natural causes. No further
investig, tion was warranted. •
Cory S. Colton, junior-marketing
Feb. 7
Space station Earth
The contrast section in last Wednesday's (Feb. 1) opin
ion page of the Daily Collegian featured views on Presi
dent Reagan's proposal for an $8 billion space station.
However, it is the accompanying cartoon that I applaud. It
pictured earth in space with the caption: "Mr. President,
why don't we just try to preserve the space station we've
got?"
teacher associations have become en
tangled in ways to keep drugs out of the
schools. Yet some solutions that appear to
control the problem on the surface may do
more harm than,good.
The school boards in two towns in Arkan
sas have come up with an inventive solution.
Students thought to be under the influence of
drugs or alcohol are subjected to breath or
urine tests. Of course this policy, adopted in
Arkadelphia, Ark. in 1982, does have its
stipulations.
According to The Phi. 'delphia Inquirer,
the policy states that students who act
strangely or smell of marijuana must be
reported by teachers. Then, depending on
the circumstances, the student can be re
quired by the principal to undergo breath or
urine tests to find if'alcohol or narcotics are
involved. Furthermore,. the student may be
required to take a lie-detector test to find out
the owner of confiscated drugs. This same
policy was adopted in nearby Hope, Ark.,
last month.
Not surprisingly, the Arkansas chapter of
the American Civil Liberties Union is ex
pected to file suit over the policies, claiming
that the students' Constitutional rights have
been violated. Administrators, on the other
hand, contend that the programs are work
ing well and have received little outrage
from the communities involved.
But there should be oatrage. The Constitu
tion protects us from such unreasonable
search and seizure. Except in cases of
consent or hot pursuit, a person cannot be
searched unless the officer has gone before
a magistrate, shown probable cause and
been served a search warrant.
Acting strangely or smelling of marijuana
are loose definitions irrespective of whether
or not a magistrate is involved. What exact
ly is acting stangely? Could not other fac
tors such as lack of sleep or illness cause a
student to "act strangely?" I would imagine
simply being in an enclosed area such as a
school bus or bathroom while others are
smoking marijuana could cause one to smell
of marijuana. Why must these people be
subject to tests? Why should any student?
If the principal has enough probable cause
to suspect a student of using drugs or
alcohol, he should not take it upon hiniself to
act free from the law. A warrant from a
Op-ed reminder
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State system will run tomorrow, Feb. 9in The Daily gian office in 126 Carnegie. Deadline for material is
Collegian. noon today.
■ Hungerford, Christine Kay, Marcia McGrath, Marcy Mer
oit
the met, Lori-Marie Vail, Rebecca Albert; Weekly Collegian
Editor:. Michele Jo Pu ach• Weekly Collegian Assistant
daily Col6gian E Editor: Laura Dunhoff.
Wednesday, Feb.: 8, 1984
01984 Collegian Inc.
Alepla Swasy
Editor •
The Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by
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pages are not necessarily those of The Daily Collegian,
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froth Penn State.
Board of Editors -- Managing Editor: William Scott;
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As I - read Mr. Chris Reilly's article supporting the
proposal, I noted the benefits he listed: "new super-alloys,
medical devices, super-silicon chips and a galactic garage
for satellites and shuttles." These benefits do seem
appealing, but an $8 billion price tag diminishes them.
More importantly however, a space station doesn't
seem appropriate in a world where starvation is rampant,
nations. spend most of their money on new ways to kill
each other and thousands of children are aborted each
year. I doubt that any of these benefits (with the exception
of medical devices) would do any more good to a starving
child in Asia or a slum than new-improved Easy-Off oven
cleaner. .
Instead of exploring "the final frontier," let's explore
the frontiers of our hearts and minds. The ones that will
tell us that might doesn't always make right, that it isn't
wrong to give each other a helping hand and that abortion
is murder.
Maybe then, after exploring our hearts and minds for a
while, we will find a better use for $8 billion.
Pat Kane, freshman-premedicine
Feb. 1
Morality trap
The issues of the Equal Rights Amendment and of
abortion, although not initially related, have been linked
in recent years due to the fact that moral/religious
aspects play a major role in both controversies. They are
both a part of the larger issue of the relationship between
the church (by which I mean most, if not all, traditional
western religious institutions) and sex roles and sexuality.
The church has traditionally delegated roles that each
sex should pursue. Men should be masculine: active,
Susan M. Melle
Business Manager
magistrate will allow proper testing to be
done. What gives these school administra
tors the right to search students?
James Ford, superintendent of the Arka
delphia schools, contends that schools wield
some parental power over students. I re
member that argument well. That is the
same one they used on us when the issue
arose whether teachers were able to physi
cally punish students. I didn't go for it then
either. Just how much power parents actu
ally.do have over their children is questiona
ble under the law. Many court cases have
been fought over just how much power
parents have in disciplinary measures.
Another gray area concerns that of lie=
detector tests.' Once again I can argue that it
should not be the schools' place to adminis
ter such tests in' the first place. But even
more questionable is the doubt raised on the
effectiveness of lie detector tests as a whole.
And what about the interrogation of an
innocent student? Surely, such interroga
tion is emotionally upsetting, especially if
done unnecessarily. •
Constitutionality itself is a hard thing to
determine and I will leave it to the courts to
The Daily Collegian
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 1984
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in The Weekly Collegian:
objective, aggressive, worldly, direct, and confident.
Women should be feminine: dependent, passive, subjec
tive, and easily hurt
Men should be providers for the family and should hold
masculine-oriented jobs: physical laborers, military offi
cers, doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Women need
support and should do feminine, service-type jobs: wife
/mother, teacher, nurse, domestic worker, switchboard
operator, and secretary. Men are born leaders, and
women are born followers. •
According to church tenets, human sexuality is to be
expressed solely as a function of pro-creation. Anything
which runs counter to these beliefs is seen as a threat to
the church, as immoral.
Among these are abortion, the Equal Rights Amend
ment, feminism, birth-control, artificial means of concep
tion (such as the invitro method), homosexuality, etc.
These are all, to some extent deemed immoral by the
church. Hciwever, the Scriiitures, by which the church
professes to be led, do not explicitly express that these are
wrong or immoral.
Why are they deemed immoral? Because they run
counter to the ability of the church to govern our behavior.
Those who wish to exercise their free will, to live their
lives as they truly want, to have control over their own
lives, are often alienated from the church and thus from
God.
This is a pity. Why, when we now have the ability to
correct mistakes for which we may have made, when
people can live happy, full lives in the way they wish to, is
the church, in the name of goodness and morality and a
God who supposedly loves us all, not allowing this to
occur?
Sim David Aberson, junior-meteorology
Feb. 6
decide this one. Yet I cannot help but make
judgements on the harm of such policies
such as adopted in Arkansas.
Problems with drug abuse in high schools
is not something that occurs in far- off
places like Arkansas and metropolitan
areas. The same type of problem arose in
the State College Area School District four
years ago. That school district adopted a
policy of searching students' lockers and
persons unde;• .reasonable suspicion or
cause with the prinicipal, faculty member
and student present.
The first and foremost purpose of schools
is to educate, though many times situations
arise that interfere with this goal. Schools
have every right, and indeed should be
commended, for trying to alleviate the drug
abuse problem that haunts them. But those
same schools that teach us the sanctity of
the Constitution should themselves observe
it.
Carol Frank is a junior majoring in political
science and a columnist for The Daily Colle
gian. Her column appears on alternate
Wednesdays.
1:11111E1
opinions
Marathon dangers
The annual IFC Dance Marathon is
once again rapidly approaching. The
IFC should be commended on their
altruistic work of providing financial
support to the Four Diamonds Cancer
Fund. The event, which will take
place Feb. 17-19 lasts a total of 48
hours. During these 48 hours of con
tinuous dancing, participants are al
lowed 5 minute breaks every 8 hours.
The purpose of this article is to com
ment on the unnecessary strictness
and outright health dangers of these
rules.
The rules for the marathon directly
contradict the true purpose of it. On
the one hand, the participants are
helping victims of cancer .gain a
higher level of wellness. On the other
hand, the participants are asked to
sacrifice their own well being in the •
process. One half hour in 48 is not
nearly enough time for the human
body to regenerate. The major prob
lems, not to mention body elimina
tion, muscle spasms, and all-over
body ache, are related to sleep depri
vation.
Hallucinations, illusions, mental
confusion, irritability, depression,
nausea, headache, blurred vision,
glazed and itching eyes often occur.
Is there a solution that would both
raise money for this very worthwhile
charity while at the same time de
crease these health hazards?
We think there is!
One is to separate it into two 24-
hour marathons. More people would
be able to participate, and more than
likely more people would want to!
Another possibility is to dance in
Marc!. 51
4aring
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teams, similar to the old dorm con
tract lines, two people taking turns.
At the very least, longer breaks
should be incorporated allowing for
sleep periods each night.
Regardless which solution is taken,
it will better than the stringent rules
that now apply. We must keep in
mind the purpose of the marathon
to raise money for a deserving char
ity, not to make PSU known for
having the "longest marathon." We
better do something before one of
those special people, giving ,of their
time and energy for the Four Di
amonds Fund, is seriously injured.
Robin Rhoades, nursing
Feb. 7
Success despite...
We, the brothers of Delta Sigma
Phi, would like to thank all the people
who came out on Saturday, Feb. 4, to
our 4th annual Sailor's Ball. Thanks
to their support, the• event was a
success.
However, we were surprised at the
number of people who turned out,
cot►sidering the poor coverage we
received from The Daily Collegian.
Twice, our personals were flawed or
omitted, our large ad had incorrect
letters bordering it, and there was no
coverage or publicity, even though it
was an all-campus event. We hope in
the future that the Collegian will be
more thorough.
Dean Ziegler, senior-economics
Mark McNeil, sophomore-mechani
cal engineering (Publicity Chair
man)
Feb. 7
A
,‘ll
Or check the
HUB tables for
details
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is holding an
OpEN, HOUSE
For exceptional graduates with bachelor's or advanced degrees in
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science
and Business Administration.
Monday, February 13th, 6:30 p.m. 9:30 p.m.
At the Sheraton Penn State Inn •
in the Cambridge Room
We invite you to meet some of our key management people. They look forward to an informal evening
of informative interchange that's particularly meaningful to you. They'll zero in on the direction Harris
Corporation is taking today and the avenues of opportunity and growth that direction is offering this
year's graduates in our Fortune 200 company.
Plan to join us for some enlightening conversation and refreshments.
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Make arrangements now at the Placement Office •
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The Daily Collegian Wednesday, Feb. 8, 1984