opinions editorial opinion Condoning violence If the Rev. Jesse Jackson truly wants to be the preeminent leader of black Ameri cans, he had better start paying closer attention to who his friends are. And unless Louis Farrakhan, leader of a Black Muslim sect called the Nation of Islam, stops threatening journalists who report negatively on Jackson, Farrakhan shouldn't be counted among his associates. Farrakhan's the one who referred to Mil ton Coleman, a black reporter for The Washington Post, as a "Judas" and a "no good filthy traitor" to all blacks for report ing that Jackson had called Jews "Hymies" and New, York City "Hymietown." Then Farrakhan told Coleman, "One day soon we will punish you with death." Although Farrakhan' later said no physi cal harm would come to Coleman or his family, the atrocity of these remarks and of Jackson associating with the man who uttered them defies common sense. First, the very idea that a black journalist —or a white or Hispanic or Asian one for that matter is responsible first to his racial or ethnic group and then second to accuracy and his audience as a whole, is foreign to the fundamentals of journalism in this country. Also, anyone, let alone a religious leader, daily Collegian Friday, April 13, 1984 ©1984 Collegian Inc. Alecia Swasy Editor reader opinion An all-time low : I have always known that the university system is very impersonal toward the student and in certain instances, downright cold, but now they hit an all-time low. On April 5, I needed to give a friend some papers and had arranged to meet him at Lyons Halls around 7 a.m. Since the CATA bus service does not run that early, I decided to use my vehicle for this short errand. I parked my car outside the dorm on McKean Road. The parking area was virtually empty. I ran in and gave my friend the papers, while leaving my vehicle unattended for four minutes.. When I,came out I saw a campus police officer walking away from my vehicle and a slip of paper on my windshield. I asked him if he gave me a ticket, to which he said no, it is just a warning. Then he asked if I were a Penn State student. After I said yes, he proceeded to write out a ticket that had a time of two minutes greater than the time on the warning. As if this were not bad enough, he told me that my vehicle had been parked there for at least 45 minutes. This statement was totally asinine on his part since I was not even awake 45 minutes before and for all practical purposes he called me a liar. When I went into the traffic violations office I found I had to pay a $2O fine, $l5 for not having a registered vehicle and $5 dollars for not parking in the proper area. Creationism has not survived the crucible of a science By Jeffrey A. Kurland Assistant Professor of Anthropology Unfortunately I missed Mr. Sunderland's Campus Crusade for Christ presentation of "origin theories" on Sunday evening, March 25. This forces me to try to make sense of the arguments reported in The Daily Collegian (Monday, March 26, p. 20). forum To begin with: Mr. Sunderland is not a "prof," he is an aerospace engineer who works for General Electric. What are his credentials for lecturing on evolutionary biology? What original research on evolu tion has •he conducted? In what reputable science journal has he reported his find ings? To respond to all of Mr. Sunderland's reported comments would require several pages. Let me note a few. Richard Leakey, an internationally recog nized authority ' on human evolution, has never stated that "there is no definitive evidence for man's evolution." Rather he opens his PBS-TV series on the "Making of Mankind" by categorically stating that noone can reasonably deny the occurrence of evolution, in general, or the evolution of humans from nonhuman creatures, in par ticular. Mr. Leakey is of course professionally concerned about the exact sequence of forms that eventually led to present-day human beings. And it is here that he dis agrees with other anthropologists and pa leontologists. But this is how normal scientific research is conducted; alternative who threatens the well-being of another individual in this country for refusing to be prejudiced and for expressing his version of the truth should be denounced unabashedly by all presidential candidates who will have to represent all Americans. By refusing to disassociate himself from Farrakhan, his methods and his beliefs, Jackson is, in effect, condoning violence and prejudice. This makes one wonder about his cam paigns goals. In addition to bidding for the Democratic nomination based - on his non discrimanatory "Rainbow Coalition" idea, Jackson has been vying for acceptance as the first leader of black Americans since the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But if Jackson truly wants to follow in King's daunting footsteps, he should re member that King preached honesty not deceit, unity not division, peace not vio lence. King would certainly disapprove of Far rakhan's thinking. Maybe when Jackson understands that, he will also realize that it's not enough to disassociate himself from any "violence or threats of violence," as he said. ' Jackson must apologize for and separate himself from prejudice in any guise. 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. Susan M. Melle Business Manager (Which is the proper area to park in for 4 minutes at 7:10 a.m.?) To top it off, on the ticket is a statement that says, ". . .Violations not paid or appealed within 72 hours will have a $l.OO late penalty assessed." However, faculty and staff members get a two dollar deduction in their penalty if they pay theirs within 72 hours. This seems all very contradictory since it is the stu dent's tuition that pays both faculty and campus police salaries, yet the system is weighted against the student body. To me it is absolutely ridiculous that the University would expect a future alumnus to contribute to the University when as a student he/she was treated as a second-class resident. Perhaps the University should consider this in future policy. hypotheses about a natural phenomenon are offered (in this case alternative evolution ary sequences of hominids). Several hypotheses are found consistent with presently available data. With new data (new fossils, experiments, or improved measurements) some of these hypotheses may be falsified until, hopefully, only one remains. It too might some day be falsified only to be replaced by a better "model." But neither Leakey, nor his worst scientific critics, nor certainly this anthropologist, doubt in the least, the fact of evolution. It is the detailed working of the evolutionary process that is our main concern. Precambrian soft-bodied (the Ediacaran fauna) and single cell (the South African and Australian chert bacteria) fossils have been discovered over the last decade. The claim that "no evidence of multicellular life is found before the Cambrian" is patently false. The reporting of Mr. Sunderland's com ments about the transitional form known as Archaeopteryx is garbled and does not do justice to the detailed studies of biologists. We are not certain of how it used its feathers (again there are alternative hypotheses). We do know they could not have been used for flight: the lack of a large breast bone keel implies a lack of large and weighty flight muscles. It is however a beautiful transitional form: reptilian teeth and tail, avian beak arid feathers, and a host of skull and limb bones that are a mosaic of reptil ian and avian features. Archaeopteryx was not a "crocodile" with feathers; a clever rhetorical technique that serves only to mislead the listener. The existence of teeth in other reptile (? ) or bird ( ?) "subclasses" and the presence of claws on -some living primitive birds do not weaken evolutionary Sean Leighton, junior-mechanical engineering Greg Spayd, junior-electrical engineering April 6 Highest virtues Grace Harris' letter (reader opinion, April 5) is typical of those which twist history in order to promote state sponsered endorsed religious activity. Our forefathers "fought to win freedom from a tyranni- theory, rather they are predicted by it Evolution, that is, descent with modifica tion, implies that evolutionarily closely re lated forms (those with a recent common ancestor, such as birds and reptiles) should reveal shared traits in anatomy and embry ology. The distinction between living forms is a matter of degree: All living entities are related to each other, some more closely than others (e.g., apes and humans) and others only distantly (maple trees and hu mans). But we all share DNA as the vehicle of evolutionary information. The maple outside my window and I do have a few genes and traits in common, but there are a vast number of differences. My African "cousin," the chimpanzee, and I share more than 90 percent of our DNA in common, as well as much of our anatomy and physiology, despite again some (I guess) obvious differences. But this is all nitpicking in return for the typical Christian Creationists' nitpicking, Let me ask the Creationists: How old exact ly is the earth? When did the first living (you pick the definition) entity appear? When exactly were all the animals and plants created? How were they created? What are the data that you have discovered by your research that would allow anyone to see that your dates and hypotheses about the ap pearance of living forms are accurate? Geologists and paleontologists can and do offer dates and data corroborating their dates. Creatonists are long on rhetorical pyrotechnics, quotations out of context, and obfuscation, but short on alternative testa ble hypotheses about the earth and its inhab itants. At a time when American education Seems to be faring poorly in comparison to other industrial societies, it is distressing CAUSE I'l's A DEFICIT ,QN NO NOT PE.FICIT NIGNT .. AND I COULD , TIIRILL`rOU MORE THAN TIP 0' NEII. COULD EVER ME Tr ("3 ° ON , • =SI tWv MICHAEL COULD HAKE THE STA, INTO A SON( 50 WE'D ALL WEAR tr...sENERAL TIMES A PAX- EVEN CONSTANTLY! cal mother country" precisely because the tyranny includ ed persecution of those faiths which differed from the one posed by the state. America was founded on the principle of those faiths which differed from the one imposed by the state. America was founded on the principle of religious freedom and our great founding fathers had the wisdom to place this as one of our highest virtues. If Ms. Harris really wants to follow the example of such men as Jefferson and Lincoln, then she should worship God in her own way, according to her own faith and leave others to do the same in peace and freedom. John F. LaFemina, graduate-chemistry April 5 In appreciation We'd like to take a moment to respond to the harsh treatment inflicted upon the University Concert Commit tee (UCC). Looking back over the past four years that have made up our Penn State experience, we would like to make note of the many achievements of the UCC and how they have made our lives just a little bit richer. Events such as the mysterious Elvis Costello perfor mance as well as the clandestine Carly Simon show NAY nuiricAL ?ARM LETS a few reasons and dangerous to find such a narrowly conceived interpretation of Christian doc trine promulgated as science. A rejection of evolutionary biology is a rejection of modern physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology, for it is only by means of these physical sciences that we have been able to work out the evolutionary timetable for our precious blue marble. A rejection of these sciences, is a rejection of the scientific method. A rejection of the scientific method is a rejection of aerospace engineering, computers, video games, re combinant DNA technology, etc. A rejection of these applied sciences is a . . . . Science is not a political system based on dictatorial authority or democratic "equal time" for alternative "origin theories." Scientific hypotheses and models also evolve. Indeed, only those that withstand the concerted efforts of hundreds of critical and skeptical scientists, seeking once and for all to falsify this or that hypothesis, will survive the honing process of science. In this scientific enterprise of "survival of the fittest," evolution has made it. Not the Darwinian evolution of 1859 but a much more detailed and powerful explanatory theory. To teach creationism as an alternative to evolution in a science course is to give creationism . the scientific respectability it has not earned. This, of eom'se, is just what politically motivated Fundamentalists want. , Like astrology, creationism has not sur vived the crucible of science. That is why it is not taught and ought not to be taught in science classes. There is no need of a popu larity contest, open and free elections, or state legislation to determine what should be taught in a biology course. Evolution is The Daily Collegian Friday, April 13, 1984 NOMINATE 51MEOK WHO CM REAW( GET to elect THE FOPLIA VOTE" ".r..7 . .. , .• '4-.i, President • in 'B4 ,1 INAEL. WOULD 13f. LOTS OF F N Fog FoREIbt4 HEADS OF STATE. MRS.IIIATCM,TiIMS SC4STIIItti hoTT rriNCTLIKE CrrtiEsz GUYS! M. WO' a=k Elm I.m• i I etgAT 11 - 1 le, 1 )1 tl) WE'D Mg Nt THE CUBANS, , THEIR PCTIVITII WMOO. (who'd have ever thought she'd come here) quickly come to mind. Fond memories such as these compel us to approach the administration of this prestigious educational institution with the following proposal: To establish the days of May 7-12 finals week as "UCC Appreciation Week." A landmark outdoor concert in Beaver Stadium would highlight this gala event In the spirit of the UCC, we are considering or have already sent bids to such legendary acts as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and, of course, Greg (catch ya next time) Kihn. Due to unforeseen scheduling difficulties, we were remorsefully unable to work out arrangements with Elvis Presley. Feeling that tickets would already be low-priced at $25, we refuse to burden any local radio stations with the novel idea of co-sponsoriiig this event. Besides, they've done enough for us college students already. As open-minded members of this college community, we not only render this proposal but further invite ideas on how to make this long-overdue tribute the kind of worthy happening it deserves to be. Jim Gray, senior-architecture • Jeff Olszewski, senior-pre-law Adam J. Trott, senior-architecture, urban design March 28 there because it works, not because it is required by law. Should astronomers pro vide equal time for astrology in their classes, geologists flat-earthism, psycholo gists temperamental humors, or anthropol ogists creationism? Perhaps, only to illustrate the pre-scientific history of the subject. Fundamentalist Christians have a well developed set of religious beliefs of which creationism and flood geology are only two. Along with other religions views, creatio nism properly belongs in the home and church. The separation of church and state established by our constitutional govern ment guards against religious tyranny by protecting us from those who would allow their religious beliefs to enter the school room and thus shape society in their image alone. Rather than being taken in by the theat rics of trained debators, anyone here in the Penn State community has an unlimited opportunity to find out about evolution. Every year courses on evolution are offered by the departments of biology, geology, and anthropology What we know about evolution, and how we know it, takes up much more than an hour and a half's performance. It is a fascinating story to which we humans are , simultaneously observers and participants. Evolutionary biology began in its modern form in Victorian Europe and has been maintained over the last century by the labor of scores of scientists. Many of these women and men of science also were and ate devout Christians. Modern evolutionary stience is a triumph of the scientific meth od. How sad it would be to politicize it by requirements of "equal time" for religious dogma. DINNMS M=M reader opinion The hidden Phi The Daily. Collegian and The Centre Daily Times cov ered the Phi Psi 500 race beautifully. The CDT even had color photos! But the tragic story that has been covered up by both papers has yet to be told. It• is a bleak, ugly picture of alcoholism in State College that touches students and townspeople alike. Yet, in such "charity.drives," we ignore such facts and laugh our way through, trying to convince one another "it's for the fun of it." Alcoholism is NOT funny. For some, the race will never end. For some who find themselVeg just barely making it to class EVERY Monday morning, the Phi Psi 500 was just another weekend of drinking.. 'Unless people speak up and remove those who continue to promote alcoholism in the guise of "fun" and "charity," the Phi Psi will continue to take its toll. Will this problem 'of alcoholism stop with, the termi nation' of the - Phi . Psi? No. • But let's, stop deceiving ourselves by thinking that such a drinking event doesn't do any harm, and start thinking of constructive alternatives. The Collegian and CDT would never, touch a story like this. Perhaps it's just too sobering. Ann E. Mancini, non-degree graduate April 9 Must confess Having attended Luther Sunderland's lecture on evolu tion March 25th, it was with interest that I read Professor Schmalz' letter about it (reader opinion, March 30). However, I was quite disappointed that Prof. Schmalz merely stated an opinion rather than any counterargu merits. He even questioned "the.evolutionary views of an , • - The brothers and little sisters Of AE.,4) 0103 The Brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha congratulate our newest little sister initiates would like to extend special thanks to Sue Schiding Lisa Epps Jbanne Flight Becky Robinson . Richard Stephenson and Weis Markets, along with: Abigail Roscoe Vicki Defier Forrest Deßandi . • Campus Barber Shop Professional Travel T&R Electronics • . • Family Clothesline Something Old, Something New . The Way Bookstore. prt --L--t.4•4( • Fetterolf's Barber Shop State:s Choice Vesuvio's Resaurant • Jim's Army Navy Tiffany Deli • Watering Can And warmly welcome our spring little sister pledge class - Traveller's Luggage • •Kristine Gornbita , Barbara Kiss • Laurie Prate Maurpen Fenn . • Karen Lassiter Patty Wirth , . for making the "Carwashathon" a success. Dianne O'Donnell Dawn Lurie Sally Greg 'We would also like to thank The Witch Doctor for his generous suppor Jill Cambell Kirstan Laird ' k %,( Film Fest IN CONJUNCTION. 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Only • 11•••••••••0mommirnommimmilionmaim0imimemmummailsommummimansmainuimm AAmerican Heart NrAssociation WE'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE 3 STOOGES FITNESS CENTER The State College Racquet Club and Fitness Center 1445 WEST COLLEGE AVENUE, STATE COLLEGE, PA, PHONE 237-5108 aerospace engineer," while not relating that Mr. Sun derland.— the."aerospace engineer" —.quoted extensive ly from published articles of scientists . (some of which I had already read for myself). • • ' • As a philosophy major perhaps I have no business buying and reading science magazines, but I must confess to having done so. Flipping a few pages at random in the February 1984 issue of Scientific American, I read these words contained within a single column on page . ss: "may go back much further in geologic time,"."it seems likely," "probably first mulated," "They have presumably;" "may have etherged," "Some apparently," "inust have accumulated," "probably forced the 'development," and "probably exerted considerable adaptive pressure." This is typical terminology for scientific publications on this subject, as any Penn State student exercising ."crit ical caution" may read for himelf. While scientists• continue to use their "perhaps" terminology and science articles become dated in a matter of decades, archeolog ists continue to collie up with proof •after proof of many things related in the Bible. Why is that? ' • To set the record straight, Mr. Sunderland stated he was not going to talk about God or "that you-know-what theory;" instead, for two hours he cited published scientif ic items. In addition, he asked why a Vast censorship enforces the teaching of the Darwin theory to public school children when "no scientiit; worth his salt still believes in it," and when they have, come up withnew theories.., As for an "aerospace engineer" daring to discuss evolution and using Prof. Schmalz'' measure .of what constitutes one's right to 'comment on subjects I ask what right atheistic scientists -- Stephen J. Gould, for one have in questioning the religious beliefs of others when they know nothing about the subject themielves? ' Loretta J. Willits, senior-philosophy April 2 . 7&9p.m.. $1.50 Donation Announces its f o ”4, ff',o Blowing off steam I would like to add to Kathy Neel's editorial in Wednes day's paper. I agree that it's about time that the treatment of women at. Penn State (and everywhere) as objects should end. . • • There tends to be a philosophy among some men at this university that women at Penn State only go to parties to meet men. Does that mean men only go to parties to pick up women? Did it ever occur.to anybody that some people go to parties just to have a. good time? God forbid women should be allowed to blow off steam by going to parties. The same phildsophy tends to serve as an explanation as to why women join sororities. Do you really think that people would waste theirrnoney to belong to these organi zations, just to 'meet members of the opposite sex? Prostitution cheaper. Furthermore, some men seem to think that there are two types of women at Penn State: those that Come here to . g 4 an MRS. D.egree; and those that are aggressively pursuing a career and don't want anything more than being at the top of their field. Well, maybe some women do fit into these categories, but don't carry that stereotype too far.• Some women are here for the same reason that men are: to advance their •education, both in and out of class. These women are serious about their work and like to have a good time once in •a while too. We deserve to be treated as people, not objects. . Cynthia Hasper, sophothore-economics, English April 4 Respect • ourselves Kim Clark, senior-English This letter concerns David Klinger's article on the April 4 • The Daily Collegian Friday, April 13, 1984-15 merits of a liberal education. I find it frustrating that liberal arts majors are constantly tempted to defend their major by attacking other disciplines. If David were secure in'his choice of a profession, he wouldn't feel compelled to defend it by criticizing engineers. . I am in the College of Liberal Arts and. I have had numerous conversations with students in the technical fields. I have found their'comments on my major to be, for the, most part, very complimentary: They would rather work with numbers than words, but they don't view themselves as superior just different. I resent . David's generalization that "most of them are in it for the money." College students in general want a good job when they graduate. Don't 'make engineers out to be unfeeling money machines they're not. An engineer is contributing a skill to society, that many people don't have, just like a novel writer is achieving what many people couldn't. If engineers really abhorred the work they will be doing for the next thirty years, no •amount of money would compensate. David states that we liberal arts students are resigned to either poverty or graduate school. Speak for yourself, David. Motivation is the key. If you would spend your time sending out cover letters and resumes instead of writing articles that attack engineers, you might discover a lucrative career in liberal arts. An engineer's curriculum isn't intellectual enough for you? I would like to see a class of us "intellectuals" trying to do triple integrals. But engineers don't appreciate the contributions of liberal arts, right? I suppose engineers never read a newspaper, go to a movie or listen to Billy Joel? Engineers are human; they aren't robots. They're willing to respect liberal arts majors, if we are able to respect ourselves..
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers