opinions
editorial opinion
Help choose a leader
Most students haven’t lost their summer
tans yet and September is still a few days
away. But it is not too early to start thinking
about the November elections.
Students not only have an opportunity to
help choose who will serve as the country’s
leader for the next four years, but also to
elect Centre Region politicians to important
legislative posts. ,
For many, this year will mark the first
presidential election in which they are eligi
ble to vote. This is no small event. Each
voter must choose between increasing taxes
arid increasing nuclear arms; no abortion
and no school prayer. Also, the president
that we elect will probably have the oppor
tunity to appoint at least three new Su
preme Court justices.'
Moreover, students should consider the
local races which could have far-reaching
effects on the University and local commu
nity. The candidates that we elect will have
an impact on the amount of financial aid
students receive. Ultimately, the candi-
dates will even influence tuition
Ten years ago tuition accounted for only a
'little over one-third of Penn State’s expendi
tures. But last year, tuition paid for nearly
half the University’s expenses: In other
words, state appropriations continue to
• provide a lesser percentage of Penn State’s
general funds budget.
For State College residents, taxes will be
a key issue in the race one which all
potential candidates should address.
Republican Lynn Herman is seeking his
second term as state representative of the
77th Legislative District. Opposing him are
Consumer party candidate Tom Ortenberg
of State College and Democratic candidate
Annabelle S. Wenzke, a University English
composition lecturer.
In the 171st Legislative District, Republi
can candidate Charles Witmer is challenge
ing imcumbent Ruth C. Rudy, D-Centre, for
the position of state representative.
reader opinion
Intentions
Recently we all received a letter from the executive
vice president about the new computerized billing and
registration system. We at PSSSGBSDBT (Penn State
Society of Second Guessers and Back Seat Drivers of the
Board of Trustees) feel that you should know what was
really meant to be said in this letter. Thus we are
publishing here selected parts of the letter sent to you,
with what the University really meant to say. Please note
that this is not the original, only its intentions.
As you probably know, Penn State has implemented a
computerized billing, housing and registration system to
screw you and other students more effectively. Since
going on line this summer, the system has been a farce,
and the majority of you will not get your requested
schedules completed (or have other problems).
The system also provides a quicker response to the
billing needs of the University, while not allowing the
student to make changes, or the secretaries to live
peaceful lives. We have also ensured that the system will
fail at least once a day during drop/add thus allowing you
all to pay an additional $6 for this joy.
Nonetheless, the process of bringing the system on-line
has not been without its problems, and you and your
family should have been adversely affected. We have yet
to solve the problems with drop/add. At present we
estimate that the average student must spend 2.7 hours in
line per credit to drop/add. We feel that this is much too
fast, and are pleased to announce that during the fall
drop/add we hope to set a new national record for time
waiting in line! (The current record stands no pun
intended at 5.8 hours per credit.)
We anticipate that a system of this magnitude will
present some glitches in its shake-down period, but we
are deeply sorry if you ail are not yet inconvenienced by
this new,system. Our goal is to have each student be
adversely affected, by this new system by Spring ’B5.
We realize that this is a major task, thus we ask that if
you received your bill on time, had no troubles with the
On their own or not, they are a forc6 to be reckoned with
Earlier this summer, I had the distinct
pleasure of learning that I would be sharing
an apartment with three women. I wasn’t at
all hesitant about moving in with members
of the opposite sex, in fact, I was really
looking forward to it, Four days into the
semester and still no complaints.
MS
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I had heard all sorts of horror stories
about living with women: the fact that they
always fight, are moody and just generally
hard to get along with. But I, in my infinite
wisdom, shrugged it all off and decided to
And it is State Rep. Bill Wachob, D-Elk
and Clearfield, against U.S. Rep. William
F. Clinger, R-central Pa., in the race for the
23rd District seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
University students have shown in the
past a desire to make their thoughts known.
Last year’s borough council elections
showed the type of impact the student vote
in State College can make. A record number
of student voters resulted in three of the
four USG-endorsed candidates elected to
council seats. - 1
The importance of these local races, in
addition to the presidential race, is the force
behind the Undergraduate Student Govern
ment’s extensive voter registration drive.
This year, USG will push for voter registra
tion more than in past years.
USG officially kicks off the drive Sept. 12,
when consumer advocate Ralph Nader
speaks in Eisenhower Auditorium. USG
members'plan to visit residence halls and
major off-carripus housing complexes to
encourage voter registration. The group
also plans to phone registered students to
inform them of current issues and encour
age voting.
USG will also work with the Council of
Branch Campus Student Governments to
conduct a similar drive at the common
wealth campuses.
The deadline for voter registration is Oct.
6. *
Voting is not only a right but also a
privilege. And while it is hard to think about
November when it is still warm enough to
wear shorts to classes, the elections are
really not that far away. Thanks to USG, it
will be easier than ever to register and stay
informed about the candidates and issues.
The first step students must take to pre
pare themselves for the elections is to
register to vote and to start watching the
candidates now.
billing system, had no troubles .with your class schedule,
and did not need to drop/add, please contact us. (Since
there should be only a few of you, there will be a minimum
amount of time waiting in line.) Those of you who are
wondering about such trivial things as student ID stickers
for the football games, car parking stickers, or organiza
tion registration, don’t worry. We promise to screw it up
royally.
For the majority of you who have been inconvenienced,
forced to pay more, or dropped from school by the
computer because you took more than six days to pay
your bill, you must understand, this was our intention. If
you will simply re-pay the fees, double pay your tuition,
and allow us to keep both your security deposit and your
first born, you will be allowed to enjoy Penn State for one
more semester.
Harry Goldman, senior-quantitative business analysis
President PSSSGBSDBT, An Equal Opportunity Heckler
Aug. 27
Don't blame the pitcher
The findings of a study of beer drinkers reported in an
Aug. 28 The Daily Collegian article seem unfounded based
on the other information given in the article.
Granted that there is a correlation between the amount
of beer consumed and the use of pitchers. But do the
pitchers cause people to drink, as suggested by the
article, or do people who want to drink more buy pitch
ers? What is the source of Mr. Geller’s statement:
“People don’t want as much beer as they get in that
pitcher, but they figure it’s cheaper and feel compelled to
‘clean the plate?’”
Is this inference from observing beer drinkers or did he
conduct interviews, or obtain this information from some
other source? It seems pathetically simplistic to blame
the pitcher for the amount of beer consumed.
have a go at it. As it turns out, these three
ladies could possibly turn out to be the best
roommates I’ve ever had.
I consider myself to be fairly unbiased
when it comes to dealing with females. I
don’t expect a woman to cook my meals,
clean up after me or wait on me hand and
foot. I believe in doing my fair share of the
work and I don’t expect preferential treat
ment.
I like women (I’m, sure all of my male
friends will be breathing a collective sigh of
relief after hearing that), but more than
that, I also respect them. However, after
watching the endless speechmaking and
hoopla of the Republican Convention, I
came away with the distinct impression
that the women of the GOP are little more
than hostesses to their male counterparts,
serving up large doses of subservience and
obedience to the party, and receiving little,
if any, respect or recognition in return.
Take, for instance, the party platform. No
mention of the Equal Rights ‘Amendment
there. Sorry ladies, says Reagan, you’ll
have to do it on your own. Obviously, Rea
gan felt that 44 percent of the delegates at
the convention had nothing worthwhile to
offer.
I found this rather disturbing in light of a
recent political first, namely the nomi
nation of a woman for vice-president. I don’t
claim to be an ardent fan of Walter Mon
dale, but I do respect him for finally recog
nizing that a woman is capable of handling
the second highest office in the land, if not
the presidency itself.
Jimmy Carter, while not one of our more
popular presidents, had the commendable
trait of asking his wife Rosalyn for advice
on domestic and foreign policy matters.
Hey, Nancy Reagan offers her husband
advice too. When Reagan was recently
asked how negotiations on nuclear arms
talks were going, Nancy mumbled “Doing
all we can,” to which the President added,
“Doing all we can.” While I’m not ridiculing
Nancy Reagan (her work to curb drug and
Columnist applications are still available in 126
Carnegie and will be accepted through Sept. 1.
daily Collegian
Thursday, Aug. 30,1984
©1984 Collegian Inc.
Susan M. Melle
Business Manager
Alecia Swasy
Editor
The Daily Collegian’s editorial
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Board of Editors Managing
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OF COURSE.,
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The reasoning behind the statements concerning group time in the bar, they may be less drunk when they leave,
drinking seems equally poor. Groups of. people drink I cannot fault the concern of Mr. Geller about drunk
more beer per person, over a longer period of time, than driving. However, his findings as reported in this newspa
solitary drinkers. tethat a fault, or the nature of group per are very superficial. In order to make changes in the
drinking? And what is the relationship between group system, more relevant information is needed about the
drinking and drunken driving? " • links between who drinks, how they drink, and how it
The fact that people in groups drink more is not in itself affects drunk driving. Examining beer drinkers in bars is
a problem. Do people who drink in groups get involved in inadequate and misleading,
a disproportionate number of accidents? That is the
relevant question. On the face of it there seem to be
reasons why group drinking is good. People in groups
may take care of each other and since they spend more
-ANDTHS NOMINEE ISu.
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alcohol abuse among the young is com
mendable), it does seem as though she is
more of a housewife, doing “a woman’s
work,” things like redecorating the White
House and choosing new china.
Sure, Reagan has appointed \yomen to
positions of responsibility in his administra
tion Ann Burford and Rita Lavelle at the
EPA, for example. They ended up being
called before Congress and losing their jobs
all for the sake of saving Reagan’s image as
an ardent environmentalist. Granted, he did
hire Burford back, and ended up shooting
himself in the foot in the process. All the
uproar from environmentalists and ensuing
bad press sent Ann packing again.
Is this any way to treat a woman?
. But alas, all of this is not completely
Reagan’s fault. Many women in the Repub
lican Party are just plain conservative. A
Los Angeles Times survey of the women
delegates at the convention showed that
more of them approved of the Moral Majori-
Alan Wintersteen, graduate-French studies and business
administration
Aug. 28
ty (46 percent) than of the National Organi
zation for Women (21 percent), and more of
them wanted a constitutional amendment
prohibiting abortion (34 percent) than ap
proved of the ERA (29 percent). It appears
that the GOP is on such a rightward swing
that the women of the party are choosing to
give up the struggle for equal rights that has
gone on since women were “granted” the
right to vote in 1920.
Reagan seems to be in a pretty good
position to repeat his landslide of 1980, but I
hope that his complacent attitude doesn’t
keep him from realizing the fact that wom
en are a force to be reckoned with at the
polls. And part of his future success as
president will depend on his (and his par
ty’s) concern towards the issues concerning
women.
Chris Reilly is a senior majoring in journa
lism, and is a columnist for The Daily
Collegian.
The Daily Collegian
Thursday, Aug. 30, 1984
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maim!
ry-w- .mmm
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* m
1 jj ||
opinions
“ NOW WHOS P6.Y Pew z -THIS MESS, YOU Blfr APB ? *
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t. I
THERE'S MORE THAN
ONE WAY TO
SERVE YOUR COUNTRY.
The Army is anything but a one-way street. You
have all kinds or options.
For starters, there are Active Army and Army
Reserve. If you choose to go into the Active Army, you
can enlist for 2 or 3 years. And you can take your choice
from 1 over 300 skills you may qualify to train in. If you’re
thinking about college, you should certainly look into
the Army College Fund..
If you’re already committed to a job or school,
you can still serve your country part-time in the Army
Reserve, one weekend a month and two weeks a year,
learning a useful skill and earning over $1,200 a year
to start.
The Army has many ways for you to serve
your country. For the one best suited for you, call your
Army Recruiter.
State College Recruiting Station
431 East Beaver Avenue
238-1262
ARMY. BE ALLYOU CAN BE.
Choosing Ferraro designed to divert attention
Walter Mondale he is perhaps
the foremost champion of the welfare
state on the American political scene
today. He has devoted his career,
almost all of which has been, in gov
ernment, to undermining the very
institutions which have made Ameri
ca strong: private enterprise, indi
vidual initiative, national defense,
and so the list could continue.
At the moment, though, he finds
himself the underdog in a race for the
office he has coveted for years, the
presidency of the United States. His
opponent has for years promoted
those very ideas and institutions that Admittedly, the selection is an his-
Mondale has sought to decimate, toric one. But I cannot share the view
And, like many politicians betore that this in some way liberates Amer
him, Mondale has attempted to dis- ican women politically. Further
tract national attention from his un- more, I contend that Ferraro was
popular and failed agenda. He still chosen in adherence to the basest of
makes the standard Robin Hood political motives: her presence on the
speech to the union crowds and other ticket will clearly distract attention
special interest audiences that cling from the issues and substantive de
to the failed tax and spend liberalism k a f e that ought to decide the election,
of the past. But he has done some- Don’t misunderstand me; I believe
thing provocative, although not en- women should have every opportuni
tirely unexpected, that was carefully ty in politics that men have. Presu
designed to divert national and media mably, that is the goal of most
attention from the issues to some- feminists that sex should be irrele
thing of secondary importance. yant insofar as worthiness for public
I am referring, of course, to Mon- life is concerned. What I find infuriat
dale’s selection of New York Con- j n g, however, is that Mondale has
gresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as opted for an affirmative action vice
his running mate. Many people view president. Ms. Ferraro was chosen
this as a landmark decision, reflect- because she is a woman, and that
ing Mondale’s abiding sensitivity to criterion for selection is not in the
the political concerns of American nation’s best interest.
women. It is hailed as a courageous i reach this conclusion by consid
choice and the most notable stride to ering what would be the case if Ferra
date for women seeking equality in ro were a man with the same political
American society. leanings. First, she’s as liberal as
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H-A MCK
and th& 1
fcstwdnf PST *** Bernard Fowler
WITH VERY SPECIAL GUEST STAR
sreei poise
SATURDAY,
SEPT. 8,1984
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The Daily Collegian Thursday, Apg. 30, 1984—7
Mondale, so her presence certainly
doesn’t balance the ticket ideological
ly. Second, she’s from New York,
traditionally a Democratic bastion.
Usually, some effort is made to bal
ance the ticket geographically, but
Mondale chose to forego this. Instead,
he chose an individual who is a liberal
partisan operator, not particularly
distinguished in Congress or any
where else.
But she’s a woman, and that seems
to make a difference. I don’t 7 think it
should. It is potentially very danger
ous for utterly irrelevant things like
gender to come into play.
Instead of playing on the political
libido of unthinking feminists, Mon
dale would be well-advised to stick to
the substantive concerns of the Amer
ican people. Then again, though, Wal
ter Mondale has not made a name for
himself by relying on substance.
David Klingler is a senior majoring in
political science, and is a columnist
for The Daily Collegian.