opinions
editorial opinion
A blow-out for consumer rights?
, A consumer rights case that will go before
the, Michigan Supreme Court tomorrow
sounds like something you might see in
"The People's Court."
"'Clarence Miller, 66, of St. Clair, Michigan
bought a new Dodge car from Colonial
Dodge of East Detroit in 1976. But when
Miller drove the car home from the dealer
. ship, he'realized there was something miss
itig from his new car it was missing a
spare tire.
.The dealership said the Chrysler Corpora
' tiOn shipped the car without the spare be
' cause of a 'rubber workers' strike that was
going on at the time the car came off the
assembly line.
.Regardless, Miller says he is the kind of
person who expects to get what he pays for
so he cancelled the checks he used to pay
i...for the car and left the car sitting along the
„curb in front of his house.
Now the case is going to the Michigan
'Supreme Court for a decision that attorneys
"agree will set a precedent for consumer
sights battles.
The case has wound its way for years
'through several Michigan courts. The deal
ership won the original case at the trial
level Avhen Miller was ordered to pay $l,OOO,
dathages and interest to the dealership.
'.=Miller agreed to pay . the damages, but the
..dealership was not satisfied they wanted
dn;Collegian
Wednesday, April 4, 1984
©1984 Collegian Inc
Susan M. Molls
Business Manager
Alecla Swbsy .
Editor
The Daily Collegian's editorial opin
ion is determined by its Board of
Opinion, with the editor holding final
responsibility. Opinions expressed
on the editorial pages are not nec
essarily those of The Daily Colle
gian, Collegian Inc. or The
Pennsylvania State University. Colle
gian Inc., publishers of The Daily
Collegian and related publications,
is a separate corporate Institution
from Penn State.
Board of Editors Managing Edi
tor: Marcy Mermel; Editorial Editor:
Harry Weiss; Assistant Editorial Edi
tor: Ron Yeany; News Editors: John
Schlander, M. Lee Schneider; Sports
. Editor: gregLoder; Assistant Sports
.Id4or;s: , 'John . Severance, Chris
Wightman, Matt Michael; Photo Edi-
THE LIFE
OF
JESSE
JACKSON
No Stone Left Unturned
ilD i fiedlW4lll246 Co4ls**
t Jesse, like Gary and
,; Fritz, is also a talented
mimic of 1960 s figures
f it ain't good enough for the governor, it ain't for us either
:The Philadelphia Inquirer published Sun
day an article about the traveling escapades
of Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh's
two'sons. It seems as if these two lads are
getting state trooper escorts to and from
4chools in Massachusetts while Pennsylva
nia is paying the bill.
The Inquirer, along with many readers,
are upset about the bill. I'm upset about
Massachusetts.
As an editor, I have seen an overload of
information on Thornburgh's new "Excel-
tors: Paul Chiland, Thomas Swarr;
Assistant Photo Editor: . Bill Cramer;
Arts Editor: Heidi Beeler; Assistant
Arts Editor: Diane DiPiero; Campus
Editor: Christine Murray; Assistant
Campus Editor: Lori Musser; Town
Editor: K.L. Kane; Assistant Town
Editor: Michael Newnam; Features
Editor: Jeanne Ann Curry; Assistant
Features Editor: Grace LoMonaco;
Graphics Editor: Tony Ciccarelli;
Copy Editors: Dina Defabo, John
Holt, Patricia Hungerford, Christine
Kay, Marcia McGrath, Lori-Marie
Vail, Rebecca Albert; Weekly Colle
gian Editor: . Michele Jo Pupach;
Weekly Collegian Assistant Editor:
Laura Dunhoff.
Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian
encourages comments on news cov
erage, editorial policy and University
affairs. Letters should be typewrit
ten, double-spaced, signed by no
more than two people and not longer
than 30 lines. Students' letters
shbuld include the term, major and
campus of the writer. Letters from
alumni should include the major and
.year of graduation of the writer. All
Jesse Jackson, born in
South Carolina, was,
shall we say, a rather
demanding child . ..
HAVE
A
SCHEME,.
ER_AAA-..
DREAM/
t '%
a settlement for the full amount of the car:
$5,697.
In two subsequent appeals, Miller has won
one and the dealership has won one. Now,
Miller has successfully appealed the case to
Michigan's highest court.
What is at stake in this case is just how
defective a product must be before the
consumer can draw the line.
In this case, Miller made repeated at
tempts to allow the dealership to compen
sate him for the missing spare. But how far
should Miller have had to go before he drew
the line? Obviously the agreement of pur
chasing a new car includes the spare tire.
And when Miller agreed to pay the first
settlement of $l,OOO in damages to the deal
ership, the dealer should not have balked.
After all, is not the dealer responsible for
providing exactly and completely what the
customer has paid for?
In the meantime, the car still sits, rusting,
where it has for the last eight years: in a lot
in St. Clair, 45 miles north of Detroit, where
police towed the car after the temporary
license tags expired.
As citizens' awareness of our legal system
increases, as well as incidents of consumer
fraud, the Michigan Supreme Court should
jump at this chance to send a message to
businesses who fail to provide satisfactory
service to their customers.
,I VAT WANNA
In 1979, he unwittingly
kisses off the New York
primary ...
lence in Education" program. Speeches,
press releases and the pamphlets have been
avidly promoting the goal of upgrading
Pennsylvania's educational system. From
what I have seen, I think Thornburgh's plan
may work.
Now, I read about how the Thornburgh
boys are going out of state for education.
Thornburgh's 17-year-old son is attending a
prepatory school in western Massachusetts.
His 25-year-old is a graduate student at
Harvard. I can understand going out-of
state for graduate schools. However, I can
not understand going out-of-state for a pre
patory school.
The Daily Collegian recently reported
that more than 145,000 eighth graders in the
state's public schools will soon be receiving
a message from Thornburgh. The message
is intended to inspire the students to "make
a commitment to a personal agenda for
excellence" by signing up for a solid pro
gram of academic courses during their high
school years. Private schools are also eligi-
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 numbers of letters
received, the Collegian cannot guar-
antee publication of all the letters it
receives.
Mail letters to: The Daily Collegian;
126 Carnegie Building; University
Park, Pa. 16802. Names may be
withheld on request. Letters may
also be selected for publication in
The Weekly Collegian.
Complaints: News and editorial
complaints should be presented to
the editor. Business and advertising
complaints should be presented to
the business manager. If a com
plaint 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 Hamilton, executive sec
retary, Collegian Inc.
He develops an ego
problem ....
And, just in case there
were any Jewish voters
who missed it .
ble for the pamphlet as well as many of the
other programs that Thornburgh is enlist
ing.
It is my understanding that what Thorn
burgh is saying is thoughtful course selec
tion and advanced placement course
enrollment will aid students in getting the
most from their education. Thornburgh does
not, however, say that a plan to implement
these recommended courses is underway.
Therefore, one assumes that the courses are
available and that a student should make a
conscious effort to enroll.
But, what happened to his younger son?
Couldn't he make a conscious effort to
correctly choose a beneficial course selec
tion? Or is it that the courses just weren't
there and he found them in Massachusetts?
It is a sad commentary on the state of
education in Pennsylvania when a top gov
ernment official who is so avid about
improving education sends his son to an
out-of-state school. So much for confidence
in the existing system.
reader opiiiion
A transition year?
The recent interview with Men's Basketball Coach
Bruce Parkhill has given a slightly distorted view of this
year's season. It is very unfortunate that a team with the
talent and athletic ability it, possessed only won five
games.
The team was previewed by most sports writers as
possessing quickness, speed, but lacking a big frontline.
It seems unfitting to have a system relying on posting up
with such a small front court. When you have .a center with
little ability inside and your power forward is 6'7"
weighing only 250 lbs. but is a very good outside shooter
with suitable ball-handlibg abilities this system seems
inappropriate. One can only conclude that Coach Parkhill
either used poor reasoning or just dismissed this season to
introduce his system.
This system restricted the game of one of his key
players. David Griffin showed potentiO for having an
outstanding season, but instead he was forced to play out
of position against much taller and heavier players. We
should'applaud his efforts even more because it appeared
he was the only one making any major sacrifices.
Could you imagine Lefty Drissell, (Maryland's Head
Coach), asking Adriam Branch, an excellent outside
shooter, to play totally inside when he weighs only 190 lbs.
and in his senior year?
Therefore, not only were the Nittany Lions one player
away from being a good team, but they lacked an Offen
sive and coaching system that fit the team's talents and
abilities.
name withheld by request
It ain't easy
Have any of you ever thought about what it would be like
to be blind, or unable to walk? Me neither. Well, last week,
A.B.L.E.D. (Association for Barrier-Free Living, Envi
ronment and Design) gave me and others the chance to
experience a few of the problems that the handicapped
face daily.
A.B.L.E.D. held a Capability Week at the HUB, and on
Tuesday (March 27) they had a wheelchair obstacle
course and an opportunity to experience a visual impair
ment,, conducted by Percy Wilson.
I participated in the obstacle course. I didn't think I'd
have any trouble maneuvering a wheelchair. Boy, was I in
for a big surprise. Something as simple as turning around
in a small area can become a major difficulty for someone
in a wheelchair. I didn't realize how difficult it can be to
get over a curb or get a book off of a shelf. Even going
through a doorway can be an obstacle that must be
overcome.
I thought I was aware of the problems that the disabled
face. Capability Week showed me just how,little I do know.
It opened my eyes even more to the many obstacles that
must be overcome daily.
I would like to thank A.B.L.E.D. for providing me and so
many others with the opportunity to experience a few of
the many problems those with handicaps must deal with. I
also thank God that I was able to get out of the wheelchair
and walk away.
Jeanne George, sophomore-nursing
March 30
Objects,
not
As I was skimming through the pages of Collegian
Magazine, I noticed an ad for electrolysis for both men
and women. The advertisement included a brief descrip
tion of electrolysis which supplied the appropriate infor-
individuals
I am not condemning the new educational
policies and programs that Thornburgh, is
attempting to set forth. But I am question
ing the timing of such propOsals.
When Thornburgh took office in January
1979, he was faced with many problems,
including education. For the most part, he
hasn't done a back job. Now in his second
term as governor, Thornburgh is taking a
hard look at education. But it was during his But, now the question is, are we too late?
first term that the issue of his son's educe- Are the commissions, the funding and the
tion came up.
programs going to work? An uphill battle
It must have been apparent then that the ' that must be fought is waiting for those
education available to his son was not ac- dedicated to "Excellence in Education." We
ceptable. If. it was acceptable, troopers shoUld not, however, wait until the problem
would not be escorting the boy to and from with education reaches our own backyards
Massachusetts. before we open our eyes. I believe Thorn-
State officials' and legislators have, over burgh waited and unfortunately found his
the past few years, called Thornburgh's backyard in Massachusetts. Now, I ask,
budgets harsh to education. This year, how- where do we find ours?
ever, the 1984-85 budget is being seen in a
better light. That's good news.
In his 1984-85 budget, Thornburgh has
proposed a 7 percent funding increase for
TONE MORE 11M5, I 'PARS YOU,'
mation designedfaroto attract the potential consumer. So
so good. -'
•
But why include the silhouette of a naked woman? The,
woman is the object (and I do mean object) that initiallr
draws attention to the advertisement, and even the mar-.
gin of the words folloWs the contour of the woman's shap4
Electrolysis has nothing to do with the female body, and
yet this is the central focus of the ad.'
I'm cOnfused. What is the cotrelation , between sik
houettes and electrolysis, and what is being implied by,
putting the two together? If I have electrolysis done, will%
look like this woman? And what about the man who had;
electrolysis, will he too look like this woman? Where is the+
silhouette of the naked man, anyway? Why do I get the
feeling electrolysis is for women to have to improve them„looks for men? 4. vie
It seems to me I am constantly (but oh, so subtly) belna!
given the message that a woman , is an object, not ant
individual, and that'a woman's worth is largely related to'
her personal appearance. If this is true, there must be a lot,
of wonderful human beings who are feeling pretty workh4
less. • la
•
Kathy Neel, freshman-arts and architecture
March 30
Who the enemy
As a food service worker, I take issue with The Daily*
Collegian's editorial regarding Nittany 9-5. The plight of
the clerical workers is totally unrelated to the technical;
service employees, and to infer this does a disservice to
both factions:,
In 1967, . the tech service workers voted in favor of,
unionization. , The clerical workers opposed this decisioC
In the past 17 years, tech service employees have paid!
Monthly union dues to insure job security, dignity in the;
work place, good benefits and decent wages. The clerical
staff has shared some of these benefits, without paying"
their dues.
They "opted" instead for close relationships with their
respective bosses. Now they realize that this amiability
does not pay the rent, or put food on the table, and.thus
"the grass is greener" syndrome comes into being: The
clerical workers' dilemma is an ideal example for union
justification. •
It's true the clerical workers are under-paid, however,
they deserve more money not because they are competing
with the tech service workers, but because they deserve to
live above the poverty level.
Organizing is certainly a necessary step, for without it
there is no bargaining power. It is also vitally important
that Nittany 9-5 vent their anger in the right direction if
they wish to achieve their goals.
They would be well advised not to wage war until they
determine who the enemy is, and in this case it is NOT the
tech service employees. • .1'
Jake Stanford, Pollock Dining Hall
March 23
Get
In the fourth paragraph of my letter about NBC's Robert
Bazell (rea - der opinion Apr. 3) I said "The average scien
tist knows there are more questions. than answers, so
scientists don't have all the answers." I did not say that
the average scientist knows the answers! •
Get it right this time!
Frank Cheng, graduate-chemistry
April 3
The D.aily Collegian
Wednesday; April .4, 1984:
it right!
elementary and secondary education. In
addition, the governor recently appointed a
25-member commission to ensure that state
funds are used to the best advantage for the
public good and to encourage sound man
agement and planning by each institution.
Steps are being taken in the right direction
to provide quality in the education available
to Pennsylvania's residents.
K.L. Kane is a senior majoring in journa
lism and town editor of The Daily Collegian.
opinions
Point is eclipsed
by representation
Regarding Michael Newnam's
opinion on dying alone he made,
perhaps, one valid point: it is unfortu
nate when someone dies alone. How
ever, the scenario he described has
an overlay of anti-feminism.
Newnam suggests that a wife's
responsibility is to stay with her
husband regardless of the situation.
In this case, because she was finan
daily comfortable and not "mis
treated" she (of course) should have
stayed. The outrage inherent in such
a situation is that Newnam didn't
know the particulars of the
relationship. The wife is stated to
have taken the daughter and aban
doned Iry who then dies alone 15
years later. The article is scarred
with anti-feminist statements about
Irv's interest in younger women.
Women are the villains which leave
'men to die alone and men are the
heroes coming to each other's rescue.
Newnam's point is thus unfortunately
eclipsed by his representation of
women.
Ann McDonough, graduatepsycholo
8Y
March 28
REC'YCIE
<7;
COLON AND
RECTUM CANCER
IS THE CANCER
NO ONE WANTS
TO TALK ABOUT.
\ iA
w'
4,,g,g
WELL THEN, AT LEAST
READ ABOUT 1T...
ABOUT A SIMPLE TESTING
PROCEDURE...ABOUT HOW
EARLY DETECTION
CAN SAVE LIVES...
CAMAZING!
BUT WHY DIDN'T
4 ,
, WWIS TALK ABOUT
r 7^„. /
i'..
.Ns iit
‘ A.A
LT'S TALK. For a tree booklet
on colon & rectum cancer,
contact your local ACS office.
American Cancer Society
mental Resource Mgmt. Club
presents the film:
truing (011111triligan"
ffective handling of an environmental disaster"
Wed. April 4th 301 Ag Admin.
Showtime: 7:30 p.m.
Everyone Welcome!
TELL ME
WHEN YOU'RE
FINISHED.
Socialist failures abound, even in this country
The conservative wave has been gathering
Momentum since the 1970's and now is sweep
ing the country, not to mention the world.
Thanks to keen policy making by the Reagan
administration, the U.S. economy may finally
be on a path of steady, long-term growth.
Those words are music to my ears.
hicio .
frrwl
Voters obviously have had enough of in
creasing taxes, inflation, unemployment in
short, mismanaged government. The neo-lib
eral movement, which began during the New
Deal period under Franklin D. Roosevelt, is
almost ,drained of its followers. Two people
who enjoy spending other people's hard
earned money, however, still come to mind
Walter Mondale and Gary Hart.
Of those two Democratic presidential candi
dates, one is too-close-for-comfort with inter
est groups and the other asserts "new ideas,"
which former Sen. George McGovern likens to
ARE YOU GOING TO BE cße g I I
HERE THIS SUMMER? or
HOW ABOUT STARTING A FREE U COURSE?
Course Forms are available at 223 HUB
or you can do it by phone 863-0038.
DUE DATE FOR SUMMER
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717,
Hitler's "new era" talk
You see, it's not the conservative Republi
cans who are reactionary, but the neo-liberals
(neo means new; today's conservatives are
yesterday's 1776-type liberals), who still have
not yet caught up to the latest voter craze.
That is, if you promise less government inter
ference, lower taxes, stronger national de
fense and long-term economic growth, you
will be elected president. If you don't, well,
just look at the Democratic candidates.
Even in Europe, conservatism has eroded
the proportion of Socialists (Europe's left) in
governments. As reported in Economist mag
azine on Aug 7 1983, Socialists now represent
only 36.4 percent of cabinet members.
Moreover, in England, a BBC-Gallup, pre
election survey done in June 1983 revealed
that 57 percent of voters would rather denatio
nalize British Steel and British Leyland,
which, by the way, did happen. And 61 percent
believed that unemployment should be reme
died by allowing private companies to keep
more of their profits
Those policy prescriptions sound like dis
guised Reagonomics, whereby deregulation
and tax cuts act as incentives for growth.
Indeed, my friends, 'socialism is a blatant
failure. It promised utopian-like equality,
which was more than it could deliver. In fact,
it is argued that socialism widens the gap
between rich and poor. Furthermore, through
,~~,
central planning, socialism has caused ineffi
cient resource use.
Take, for example, the Soviet Union. It is,
after all, a socialist country. What can be
derived from the CIA and Soviet "leaks" is
that Soviet socialism is not only destroying its
economy, but is rapidly depleting the world's
resources.
Specifically, a study done by Pameda Desai
and Riccardo Martin as reported in Quar
terly Journal of Economics magazine in Au
gust 1983 concluded that misallocation of
resources resulting from Soviet inefficiency
is, on a global scale, from at ,least three to four
percent to 10 percent. That, they argue, is
quite significant. Now all countries, not just
the Soviet Union, are the losers.
What's more, it doesn't look like any relief is
in sight. According to Economist magazine,
Sept. 3, 1983, with the emergence of Chernenko
as the new Soviet leader, central planning
thus inefficiency is expected, to increase.
Although Brezhnev's gang was partially to
blame for the do-nothingness of Andropov's
brief reign, few people realize that Chernenko
was one of . Andropov's main opponents.
Basically, good of Chernenko and his batch
of cronies the apparatchiks are too
entrenched in dogma to perceive the country's
needs. They thwarted all plans that resembled
reform.
Andropov with his fellow technocrats, on the
ALPHA KAPPA PSI professional business fraternity
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GARY BOWDEN
' director of Management Employees
MELLON BANK
on Interviewing Skills
Thursday, April 5 7:30 p.m.
217 Willard
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•
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6TATI 0
The Daily Collegian Wednesday, April 4, 1984-9
other hand, believed in reform by using eco
nomic levers and incentives rather than local
party interference. Thus, they argued, central ,
planning and party rule would be strength
ened.
Unfortunately, Chernenko an old Soviet
socialist who cannot bare the thought of his
group losing power will not improve the
Soviet economy.
Meanwhile, back in the states, young voters
like myself are more optimistic with each
passing day that our economy will stay
healthy. Still, though, we have the neo•liberal
Democrats who insist upon igniting inflation
by repealing tax indexing and monetizing the
debt.
Ultra-left-leaning Hart is becoming more
and more unpalatable as he floods us with his
increase-government-spending-on-everything
talk. While Mondale, who sounds more like_
John Glenn every day, is still a Socialist at the
core. Will they ever see the light?
"In the end, one agrees with the great
conservative economist Frederick von Ha
yeck," the Dec. 6, 1982 Forbes magazine said.
"Socialism is a return to feudalism. It is not
the wave of the future not in the Soviet
Union, not anywhere."
Jeffrey J. Diecidue is a junior majoring in
journalism and economics and is a columnist
for'The Daily Collegian.
Phi Psi 500
KAo
STRIVE FOR
"FIVE"
111
junction of college & garner
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