opinions editorial opinion An old problem brought to light By announcing the results of its best/not so-best survey, the Undergraduate Student Government has pointed up once again the long-standing question of the value of teach ing at the University. , Unquestionably, USG's attempt to identi fy instructors who stand out in the class room and those who don't represents a concrete idea. Student evaluation of teach ing capability is the only true measure of an instructor's classroom effectiveness; and therefore the quality of education. But with only 2,500 students participating in the survey no doubt a result of the usual student apathy the results of the survey 'can be considered only mediocre, and certainly not representative. While the results that did come in pointed ly indicated some of the University's best and not-so-best instructors, the apparent lack of student interest diminished the sur vey's effectiveness and impact. By tackling an academic issue, USG ap pealed to what should be of interest to every student. Unfortunately, it appears that even a better education cannot rouse most Penn Stater's from their seemingly endless apa thy. In an effort to put the results to some effective use despite the low turnout; mem bers of USG decided to recognize the 29 instructors who were overwhelmingly de scribed as being outstanding, and give the names of those who were rated "very much reader opinion :Tasteless Isn't it great to be able to open the paper at breakfast - :and see such uncommon moments captured in their climax such as a car rolling over a human. Concerning the photo on page 10 of the April 5 Collegian: tasteless. Is TV violence no longer enough for us? Has our desire 'or the morbid and shocking gone beyond today's gore -films? We need reality here. I vote to revive the gladiator :fights myself. Seriously to the editor(s) responsible with the , -variety of AP photos the Collegian receives, why this one? And if this was the only one available, why even bother to • print it? Use a little taste, Rhonda Bershok, sophomore-English ;•April 5 -What's next? First came the Semicid contraceptive suppositories ad, ,complete with coupon. In logical progression, an at-home -pregnancy test followed (in case we overlooked that :coupon). On April 3, an ad for Shiek condoms appeared, :complimented by a huge push for the May Playboy on April 4. After reading, ". . .pleasing and provocative features. Like Playmate Patty Duffek initiating the rites • Imaginative leadership could help solve Arab-Israeli conflict Editor's Note: The following is the third in a series of forums by Associate Professor Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. on the continuing problems in the Middle East viewed through a historical perspective. By ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT, JR. Associate Professor of History Chairman of the Middle East Studies Com mittee = The letters printed here lately about Is rael and the Palestinians remind us that the Arab-Israeli conflict remains unresolved. Your correspondents' one-sided intransi gence, all too representative of the opinions - of many Israelis and Palestinians, suggests that the conflict is going to last for a long time The Palestinian question is older than nearly everyone now on the PSU, faculty. The Arab-Israeli conflict has been around longer than almost the whole student pop ulation. Some experts ascribe nearly every other Middle East crisis to the Arab-Israeli conflict. I disagree. But we still need to know what it is. forum Essentially, the Arab-Israeli conflict is a contest between two nationalist movements, both having religious undertones. One movement is Zionism, or Jewish national ism, the force behind the creation and maintanence of Israel. Because Christians have been taught to regard Jews as a religious group, they often :. fail to see why there should be a Jewish •• nationalism, let alone a Jewish state. Al though Judaism is a religion, with beliefs about God, the Cosmos, the Bible and per sonal ethics, it is also a system of rules and laws that seek to prescribe a comprehensive life style for observant Jews. • Although Jews have been scattered among other nations for most of their histo- below normal standards" to their depart ments. USG Vice President Beth Saylor said the number of students who cited the 13 instruc tors below standards was great enough to merit bringing them to the attention of department heads. One of the instructors recognized in the top 29, Richard Labunski, assistant profes sor of journalism, said the University needs to do more to reward good teachers to improve the quality of teaching. "The only things that count for promotion and tenure are research 'and publication," he said. The apparent lack of emphasis on teach ing for promotion and tenure has been discussed repeatedly in academic arenas. And, it will continue to appear until the publish-or-perish problem professors here face is resolved. USG's survey is a much needed means of recognizing the instructors at Penn State who have outstanding teaching capabilities and those who don't. The survey is not the whole answer, though. Until the University takes a more serious look at teaching for promotion and tenure purposes, the probability of improving classroom capabilities appears grim. Whether or not the survey will improve the quality of education will be determined by whether or not University officials act upon the results. of spring," I felt cause for concern At least I feel safe in that neither men nor women are identified as solely responsible for the consequences of sex. However, we don't need reminders that a wide range of carnal activity exists at Penn State. We're bombarded subliminally everyday with sexual innuendos. Is there no discretion? What's next? Photographs of brothers getting "poled" outside their fraternities? "Free Lance" running a special on posing nude by the Lion Shrine? Lifestyle is a personal choice. Penn State sponsors a very good PCEP (peer contraceptive) program for this reason. Health Ed 46 is designed to educate students about their bodies and sex drive, and certainly anything the course deletes can be learned from friends, photojournals or magazines. (Catch the latest porn flick coming to a Forum near you.) Whatever happened to tasteful sponsorship? I see no purpose for these ads in the Collegian. We don't have to be blatant about our hedonism in a newspaper that rep resents us outside of State College. Visitors and alumni read the paper. Copies travel home on weekends where families may pick them up. I find it hard to believe the quality of sponsors has deteriorated to suppositories and prophylactics OOPS. I have just become living proof that people read Collegian ads. Kim MacMullan, junior-marketing April 5 ry, their observance of these laws has helped them feel that they were one people. In modern times, with the rise of national ism in Europe, Jews in some countries have suffered persecution and even annihilation. Many Jews responded by espousing political Zionism, the drive to set up a Jewish state in the land of Zion, or Israel, their historic homeland. Others called it Palestine. As one of your readers pointed out, there never was a state called Palestine. It was a geographic expression used mainly by Christians for the lands of the Bible. From 1516 to 1918 the region belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Britain conquered Palestine during World War I. It later became a League of Nations mandate assigned to Britain, which had officially promised to support a Jewish national home in Palestine. The British government denied any plan to make Pales tine a Jewish state, but many Zionists hoped to create one by bringing in Jewish settlers from Europe and America. Even though Britain later turned out against Zionism and Nazi Germany de stroyed most of Europe's Jews, the Zionists did set up the State of Israel in 1948, follow ing a United Nations decision to partition Palestine between the Jews and the Arabs. This was a compromise solution which the Zionists accepted and most Arabs opposed. Zionism since 1948 has been the movement, mainly by Jews outside Israel, to support the Jewish state. The other party to the dispute is Arab nationalism. This, is the effort by the Arab speaking peoples of the Middle East to create an independent and united Arab state, including Palestine. Although most Arabs are Muslims, some are Christians. Indeed, before Israel's creation, almost one million Arabs were Jewish. No more that one-sixth of all Muslims are Arabs. Arab nationalism is not Islam. Arab nationalism began before World War I as a struggle by Syrian Christians and Muslims for independence from the Otto man Empire. Aided by the British, notably "Lawrence of Arabia," the Arabs revolted in 1916 against the Ottomans. By the end of World War I, the Ottoman Turks had been driven from Arabia, Syria, and Iraq. But Arab nationalist hopes were dashed when the Allies divided their lands into mandates. France took Syria and Lebanon, while Brit ain got Iraq and Palestine (later split to form what is now Jordan). In Palestine, 92 percent of whose inhabit ants in 1918 were Arabs, Britain's pledge to create a Jewish national home seemed to negate the people's national rights. As the number of Jewish settlers grew, so did the nationalism of the Arab Palestinians.. So, too, did the support they got from other Arab countries, notably Egypt, Syria, Jor dan, and Iraq. In the late 19305, the Palestinian Arabs rebelled against the British mandate and the influx of Jewish settlers from Europe. Pressured by other Arab , countries, Britain decided to limit immigration. This angered the Zionists without calming the Arabs, who saw Palestine as their land. By the end of World War H, the situation of the European Jews had become so per ilous that some Zionists turned to terrorism against the British to remove the immigra tion limits and to set up a Jewish state. But the Palestinians and other Arabs felt that they were being punished for Germany's persecution of the Jews. All the Arab coun tries opposed the UN plan to partition Pales tine, arguing that the Arabs, two-thirds of its people, were being given less than half of its land. To protect their rights, they vowed to fight against the creation of Israel. Divided by internal rivalries, they lost the war of 1948. In fact, the birth of Israel led to an Arab refugee problem, as many Palestinians fled from their homes and lands. Once Israel was established, most coun tries recognized the Jewish state. But the Arab states refused to do so, arguing that Israel should have readmitted the Palestin ian refugees. Israel responded that the refugees had departed voluntarily and that the Arab states had expelled their Jewish inhabitants, most of whom ended up in cc; Collegian Wednesday, April 11, 1984 0 1 984 Collegian Inc.. Alecia Swasy 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. Board of Editors Managing Editor: Marcy Mermel; Editorial Editor: Harry Weiss; Assistant Editorial Editor: Ron Yeany; News Editors: John Schlander, M. Lee Susan M. Melle Business Manager Israel. The Arab states maintained a state of war, but were defeated by Israel in actual armed combat (which each side accused the other of starting) in 1956 and 1967. In the June 1967 war, Israel defeated the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, taking territories from each of these countries. Specifically, these included the Sinai Penin sula and. the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. This changed the world's perception of the combatants and also the terms of the con flict. Now the Arab countries began de manding the return of their lands, while the Palestinians called for a state of their own. The Palestinians have come to see them selves as distinct from the citizens of the Arab countries. Although Egypt fought against Israel in 1969-70 and both Egypt and Syria attacked the Israelis in October 1973, the Palestinians came to regard themselves as the vanguard of the struggle against Zionism. Under the banner of the Palestinian Liber ation Organization, some turned to acts of terrorism, while others waged a political and diplomatic struggle. Sadat's Jerusalem journey in 1977, followed by Egypt's signing of the Camp David accords and .the peace treaty with Israel, confirmed the belief of many Palestinians that only they could regain their homeland. Supporters of Israel, for their part, hoped that the other Arab states would make peace, as Egypt had done, and that the Palestinians would gradually become as similated into the rest of the Arab world. Indeed, the. Palestinians, whose numbers have grown to nearly five million, have become highly trained and educated. Only a minority have stayed in refugee camps; most are playing vital roles in the econ omies of the various countries in which they are living, including Israel and the lands it continues to occupy. While many Jews and Arabs still claim that Israel and the Palestinians cannot live The Daily Collegian Wednesday, April 11, 1984 Schneider; Sports Editor: Greg Loder; Assistant Sports .; Editors: John Severance, Chris Wightman, Matt Michael; ~ Photo Editors: 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 Collegian Editor: Michele Jo Pupach;, Weekly Collegian Assistant Editor: Laura Dunhoff. Board of Managers Accounting Department Manager: Mary T. McCaffrey; Office Manager: Kathy Connolly; Sales Manager: Merri-Kay Smoluk; Assistant Sales Man ager: Michael Meyers; Layout Coordinator: Susan Kiser; Marketing Manager: James F. Emmerling; National Ad Manager: Marianne Smulski; Assistant National Ad Manager: Laura Helbling. together, the fact is that many actually are doing so. There are currently 650,000 Israeli Arabs and about 1.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Although Jews hold almost all power positions with Israel, Arabs increasingly dominate certain t occupations, such as construction and trans portation. The potential ability of the Israeli Arabs to apply political leverage through their representatives in Israel's Knesset (parlia ment) may enable them to pressure future governments to make concessions toward peace with the Arab countries. The Arabs states, too, must make conces sions. Let them note that Egypt, through - negotiations with Israel, recovered the Si nai, whereas no Arab state has yet suc ceeded in regaining lost lands in battle. If Syria wishes to recover the Golan Heights, or if Jordan wants a federation as pro posed by King Hussein in 1972 = with the West Bank and Gaza, let them offer to negotiate with Israel. Those Palestinians who want to live at peace with the Israelis should have the option of returning to Israel, in accordance with the resolutions repeatedly passed by the U.N. General Assembly. Furthermore, U.N. Security Council Res olution 242, endorsed by the Superpowers ~`: and by virtually all parties to the conflict, calls for mutual recognition, an end to all claims to belligerency, Israel's withdrawal from lands occupied in the 1967 war, and a settlement of the refugee problem. It is not a perfect solution, but it is the first step toward peace in the Middle East. The policies now pursued by both sides are politically inept, economically ruinous, and militarily dangerous to themselves and, potentially, to their supporters. Let Israel, the Arab states, the Palestinians, the USSR, and the United States all come up with some better ideas and more imaginative lead ership, so that the Arab-Israeli conflict can be relegated to the dustbin of history. And so peace will finally come to what once was ' called the Holy Land. reader opinion . 10 All so simple Regarding Manjula Saxena's article of March 30, sar castically suggesting alternatives offered by the Hire Krishnas to world problems, Imust first emphasize that Krishna Consciousness is not at all offering pretentious, pseudo-scientific simplicities. We are well aware that logical positivism has histori- Oily claimed exclusivity for the empiric-analytic method, o dominating the educational systems of the West that no alternative system of organizing the pursuit of scientific Muth has even been suggested here. are at the same time aware, though, of the fallacies f empiricism and induction and of the contradictions of scientism, that bluff of the part playing the whole where- Ly . , as Whitehead observes, "Modern philosophy has been Vuined." :Therefore .by "science" we certainly do not pretend to be a merely'empirical science, but rather a discipline that adopts scientific structures of data accumulation and .Verification, providing instrumental injunctions, immedi- Ate dati apprehension, and communal confirmation. The data realms of Krishna Consciousness, however, are not limited to gross sense objects or ideas. ;One thing properly understood by a discipline with access to more subtle data is the law of karma, the subtle rffects which are produced by every action and which have a special relation to individual human will and its iinalgarnated expressions in society. It is this which has always produced in humankind the concepts sof Fate and Destiny, never completely sup planted by "scientific" concepts of chance and necessity, which %moved Tolstoy to call kings "the slaves of Afstory," observing that "every action of theirs that seems to them an act of their own free will, is in an Eistorical sense not free at all, but in bondage to the whole burse of previous history." Even Machiavelli no starry-eyed mystic titled the twenty-fifth chapter of The Prince, "What Fortune Can ffect in Human Affairs, and How to Withstand Her." : . .The laws of karma and other essential knowledge are methodically explained in the more than fifty volumes of Sanskrit literatures translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, which have been very favorably teceived worldwide by hundreds of scholars, in light of which Ms. Saxena's facile observations must, unfortu PENN STATE BLUE BAND MAJORETTE AND DRUM MAJOR AUDITIONS _April 28-29 Applications available in 216 Chambers Building Rl6O La• Career Plannkg•B4 Is your education preparing you for life as well as a career? Find out how a Liberal Arts education fits into your future at the Liberal Arts Career Planning Day. • Opening forum (12:30 p.m. -1:30 p.m. HUB Assembly Room) Herald P. Fahringer (1950 graduate in Arts and Letters ; 1951 graduate Speech Com munication) now a trial attorney for Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Schuller & James. Defended the Claus von Buldw and Jean Harris appeals. Paul Adams (1967 graduate in Economics) now president of First American Bank of Maryland, Silver Spring. Darla Wilson, college recruiter, manage ment employment division of AT&T Infor mation Systems. • Enjoy informal conversation with alumni representing many diversified professions in the social services, govern ment, law, communications, languages, health professions, and business. (1:30 p.m. -, 4:30 p.m. HUB Ballroom) • Talk with representatives from the Career Development and Placement Center. ,Learn more about Penn State's Alumni Association and what it can mean for you. (1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. HUB Ballroom) La• Career Planning• 84 Thursday, April 12 In the HUD 12:30 p.m. 0 4:30 p.m. nately, appear as naive. Actually, "it" is all so simple; unfortunately we are not. Necessarily disingenuous in our fantasy of indepen dence from God, we are unable to "simply" glorify Krishna and depend upon Him as a part naturally depends upon the Whole. Instead, we seek our own illusory glories: "Did you read that clever article by So-and-so? Isn't she a real Third-World ironic wit!" Nonetheless, our lives, devoid of substantial truth, will be filled by the unfortunate results of spiritual , ignorance, which can never be neutralized by our stylistic diversions and intelligent games. "I know, I know," replies the Devil in Mann's Doctor Faustus, "parody. Yes, it might be a merry game if it were not so melancholy in its aristocratic nihilism. Would you expect much happiness or greatness from such subterfuge?" Stambha das, adviser-Krishna Yoga Society March 30 Different interpretation I'd like to take this opportunity to clear up some of the misconceptions Mr. R. Thomas Berner evidenced in his April 5 response to The Daily Collegian editoral (A no-win situation) of Mirch 30. Mr. Berner listed four assumptions allegedly made by the Collegian which he considered "faulty" and then offered facts that were seemingly inconsistent with those assumptions and would therefore invalidate them. I'd like to list those same assumptions, and then offer a slightly different interpretation of the "facts." (I want to apoligize to Mr. Berner for copying his style, but originali ty was never one of my strong points.) Assumtion No. 1: The Inserra brothers were prosecuted because they were students. "The fact is that the Inserra brothers are property owners in the borough of State College and are expected to follow the law just like any other property owner. . ." This is certainly an undisputed fact, but as Mr. Berner well knows there is more to the story. The case is significant not because the Inserras are students/property owners, but because the precedent setting ruling in favor of the borough directly affects student renters throughout the borough. Regardless of the ATTENTION VETERANS_ COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS— • The Penn State University —BUSINESS MAJORS Veterns Organization Mooting The Kinney Shoe Corporation will be interviewing Wednesday, April 11, 8:00 on Campus April 18th and April 19th. Located in Harrisburg, PA, this Major Retailer offers entry level positions in an aggressive, state-of-the-art environment that includes: OS . - On-Line Systems - Data Base (IMS) alp 0 - Information Center - Point-of-Sale (Nationwide Polling) - Micro Applications 227 E. Nittany Vet's House Corporate Wide Exposure IF YOU: - Have significant computer course work Refreshments Served - Are interested in a business oriented Data Processing career Upcoming Event: April 28-29 - Are an agressive self-starter Statewide Softball TournamentA27s COME SEE US if If (Contact the Career Development Center for details) wise intent of the ordinance (which is open for debate), enforcement of the ordinance in practice is directed at student-occupied houses. How many houses have you seen being rented by more than three unrelated "stonemasons?" It is the Collegian's responsibility to inform students of events which concern them. Assumption No. 2: Enforcement of the law is an attempt "by State College residents to dictate the actions of their student neighbors." "The fact is enforcement of the law is an attempt of ensure that our neighborhoods are reasonable places for everyone to live in. . .1 can't believe that 35,000 students at ' this campus would rather scream the night away than study." I think that Mr. Berner is quite right, but what the hell do 35,000 screaming students have to do with a zoning ordinance? The answer, of course, is nothing. I find it very disturbing that a Borough Council member can be so seriously misinformed. Assumption No. 3: The bad actors are students; stu dents are bad actors. "All I'm saying is that every time there's a complaint in a neighborhood, don't assume a student is the source of the ptoblem." This is very nice suggestion, although I'm not sure I understand how it relates to the Collegian's editorial. But of course we all know that this is exactly what happens in practice. If you don't believe it, check the Borough Council minutes. Assumption No. 4: "A string of unrelated events con strued with a few assumptions can easily be molded into a false accusation." "The fact is that the people who developed the evidence against the Inserra brothers didn't do it overnight and didn't collect it without cause." Once again, I can't argue with Mr. Berner. I'm sure the neighbors were spying on the Inserra brothers for quite a while, and for a very specific reason. But this misses the point. The point is that the potential for mistrust and animosity among neighbors is inherent in the newly legislated situation and this does not bode well for commu nity relations. This is an important issue for both Town and Gown and must be kept free from misconceptions. If we are to achieve the better relations between students and home- The Daily Collegian Wednesday, April 11, 1984-11 owners that we all want, we must be realistic and well informed, willing to talk, and more importantly, to listen. Mark J. Foley, senior-pre-law April 10 Drop the personal judgment This letter is in response to both Reginald Arford and Steve Diano, who are the main persons involved in the West Halls Radio controversy. Having been the general manager this year, I would like each party to realize that blaming each other for the current problem is useless, for both parties are equally responsible. • Steve Diano claims that "the room the station was located in was locked due to the impossibility of running the station without operable turntables." This, I believe, is very far from the truth, for the only people with keys to the station were myself, my assistant, Diano, and two ARHS representatives I was told at the time in question that all keys were being revoked, and the station was being closed for the rest of the year. The station management had encountered Di:- ano's bureaucratic red tape all year, but was totally powerless to prevent the action that Diano, as president of West Halls, took to close the station. Reginald Arford, on the other hand, felt a burning desire to wrest control of the station from the West Halls council. Though this may have been a good idea, the way in which Arford conducted his campaign was to antagonize the West Halls council, using threats and a knowledge of the area's constitution to achieve his skillfully designed power play. Communication, however, is something that Mr; Arford refused to.consider during all of his activities. Having spoken to many council members, as well as Diano and Arford, it is obvious that both sides would like td resolve this problem. All that is necessary to achieve this resolution is for Arford and Diano to drop their personal judgments of each other, and work on resolving the maid problem that of getting WHR back on the air. Rich Glass, junior-business logistics April 6
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers