opinions editorial opinion The other side of the fence When Canadian Prime Minister John N. Turner and his Liberal Party were soundly defeated in elections last Tuesday in our neighboring country to the north, the people of Canada seemed to be sending a message to all those watching. And to America's delight, their message, one of both ngtional and international unity, was heard loud and clear. Brian Mulroney and the Progressive Con servative Party won a resounding 211 of the 282 seats in the Canadian parliament, the most lopsided majority in Canadian history. The Liberal Party, which Pierre Trudeau kept in power for most of recent memory, lost 107 of the 147 seats it held after the 1980 elections. There are many implications of Mulro ney's victory, both for Canadians and for relations between Canada and the United States. The Progressive Conservatives, better known as the "Tories," have been sounding a theme that appeals to the population of this often fractious country. Mulroney and the Tories are promising a national unity for Canada. During the years of Trudeau and Turner, the Liberals' policies in Canada had divided the population over several issues. dat Collegian Monday, Sept. 10, 1984 ©1984 Collegian Inc. Susan M. Melle Business Manager Alecia Swasy Editor The Daily Collegian's editorial opin ion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding final responsibility. Opinions ex pressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of The Daily Collegian, Collegian Inc. or The Pennsylvania State University. Collegian Inc., publishers of The "(co SLAM UP lit WINDOW AND Stick YOUR HEAD out AND Y5l-I,; \ I'M MO AS NELL, ANI? I'M NOT GoING TO TAKE IT ANY mon Ht ,R I NON, CAN WV HAVE ri 14 4 4111.1 „? A full house, playing with half a deck, attends the Great Porn Debate I was disgusted. And if I had gone on my own accord instead of as an assignment for a journa lism class, I would have left. The crowd was a rowdy lot nothing new for Penn State. I doubt Delores Alexander knew what she was getting herself into. It was the Great Porn Debate, and there was standing room only. The ushers filled row after Eisenhower row, seat after Eisenhow er seat about 2,000 turned out for the event. A 41' The stage was set. The mediator, in a futile attempt to keep the crowd controlled, asked that "we" respect each of the speak ers and save our comments to the question /answer period following the debate. A good portion of the audience failed, miserably. The crowd took sides very early even as the contestants walked onto the stage. Dolores Alexander, founder of Women Against Pornography, was met with an imosity: the crowd booed her. Harry Reems, the star of Deep Throat, was met with wild applause. Many rose to their feet, chanting "Harry. Harry." Daily Collegian and related publica tions, is a separate.corporate insti tution from. Penn State. Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian encourages comments on news coverage, editorial policy and Uni versity affairs. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced, signed by no more than two people and not longer than 30 lines. Students' let ters should include the term, major• and campus of the writer. Letters from alumni should include the major and year of graduation of the writer. All writers should provide their address and phone number for verification of the letter. 617- But the astounding victory of the Tories has solidly put them in control the electo ral landslide of the election speaks for itself. Even Rene Levesque, the Premier of Que bec who wants independence for his prov ince, expressed his readiness for cooperation with the new government. And for Americans, the Tory victory strikes a chord of cooperation also. One of Mulroney's chief selling points of the Progressive Conservative party has been his intentions to improve relations with the United States. In recent years, the Liberal party has not expressed a desire to work closely with America. Trudeau and Turner effectively kept their neighbors on the other side of the proverbial fence at arm's length. Now, with next Monday as the likely starting date for the new Canadian govern ment, both the United States and Canada have a new opportunity to mutually and beneficially open the somewhat rusty lines of good communications. In these times of repressive governments, coups and civil wars, it's encouraging to see a new government with a strong majority behind it, promising unity both within and beyond its borders. From that moment on the debate went downhill. It was no fault of Alexander, who remained relatively composed throughout, even though the crowd was less than recep tive to her attitudes or philosophies. Alexander began her 20-minute speech explaning what points she planned to make. But she lost her place. Obviously shaken, she told the audience: "You guys really scared me with all those boos." The audience listened unsympathetically. As Alexander spoke about - posing for "crotch shots," some of the men in the audience made comments that were espe cially rude. "Just try it some time," she told them. She went on to explain her first experi ence with porn, which led her and others to form her group. It all •took place on the corner of 50th and Broadway in New York City at an establish ment called Pussy Cat Enterprises, which offers its customers triple-X movies, topless bars and sex supermarkets. When Alexander told the audience she and others checked out the establishment "to see what they were all about," the guy in front of me asked repeatedly: "WHY?" His friends laughed. Alexander said the bargains offered by the club including 25 cents for a look at the topless women and $1 for a "feel" shocked, disgusted and angered her. The guy , in front of me was amused. "That's cheap. Two-for-one on Wednesday nights," he joked At this point he turned around and caught me glaring at him. 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 number of letters received, the Collegian can not guarantee 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. About the Collegian: The Daily Collegian and The Weekly_ Colle gian are published brCdllegian "I wasn't cheering, it was him," he said, pointing to his buddy, who looked away. Alexander continued. She said what frightened her about Pussy Cat Enterprises was its customers: they weren't freaks or weirdos but average normal men. "Porn is in every aspect of life," Alexan der stated, including videos, song lyrics, movies (other than X-rated ones) and books. The guy in front of me added: "And in my bedroom." When Alexander said pornography breeds the mentality that the "boys play, and women are their toys," one woman in the back cheered. The guys chimed in. Then as 20 minutes wound down to a close, someone yelled, "Your time's up." Two points for the guy in front of me. "That's not cool," he said. However, he reminded her of the time limit less than two minutes later when Alexander made anoth er controversial statement against porn. Alexander closed her speech telling the members of the audience "what you can do about porn." She told us not to support the industry that her group and others believe is degrading to women. The guy in front of me had other ideas. He said: "What can I do about porn? Buy it!" Another guy, sitting a few seats away, agreed: "I'm going to go out and buy Playboy right after this." Then it was Reems' turn. And the crowd gave him a welcome that only Joe Paterno and a No. 1 Penn State football team can relate to. With nearly 99.9 percent of the crowd reader opinion A pep rally. . . cate, Harry Reems, turned into a real circus thanks to the raucous pro-porn portion of the audience. On the evening of Sept. 6, the students of Penn State Although Reems believes that pornography promotes came out to Eisenhower Auditorium and truly showed "adult" attitudes about sex, and "mature" sexual their colors. Colloquy sponsored what was touted as "The relationships between (consenting?) adults, I fail to see Pornography Debate," though what actually occurred how any of those screaming pro-porn morons in the more closely resembled a high school pep rally. ' audience could possibly ever have any kind of mature/a- Women Against Pornography representative. Delores dult relationship with another human being. Sorry boys, I Alexander was showered with booing and other assorted just don't buy it. verbal abuse during the presentation of her opening comments, while Mr. Reems received vigorous applause Barbara Weaver, State College when he - announced an upcoming television appearance. Sept. 7 with Telly Savalas. Reems was presented further kudos when he treated the audience to his subtle wit, describing himself as a "lay person." . at Penn State? But the truly pathetic part of the evening was yet to come. Judging from their response, the majority of the Why would a large group of intelligent people waste audience seemed to be in favor of Reem's viewpoint of precious time by going to hear two people debate a pornography as a healthy expression of the beauty of open controversial issue, and then not give them a chance to sexuality (though the beauty of a how-to book on child speak? This is the question that pervaded my thoughts molestation eludes me). However, at the first mention of this past Thursday night, as I sat in an almost full lesbian and gay rights, the audience immediately reacted Eisenhower Auditorium with loud booing. What a travesty! Though, admittedly, expecting serious debate between student body, or maybe the value of the minute has an involved political activist and anyone described as declined in recent, times, but I was under a different "The King of Porn" is asking a bit much, one would impression. I had assumed that Harry Reems and DO expect an audience comprised of the recipients of "higher lores Alexander were invited to the University as guests. education" to be able to maturely consider a fairly Most of the audience, however, seemed to feel that they simplistic question. themselves were the focus of attention. A barrage of loud and rude comments were made throughout the debate to the embarrassment of both speakers and the rest of the audience. The remarks were humorous, but only to those who made them. The jokers laughed uproariously at the mere mention of rape and guffawed in reference to bestiality. Granted, pornogra phy is a steaming issue with the potential to make us feel . . .for pornography. . . uncomfortable, but the behavior of this audience was nothing less than upsetting. As a result of this behavior, I went to last night's Colloquy actually expecting a the strongest thing demonstrated at "The Pornography fairly tame audience response to a serious topic of debate. Debate" was the stand Penn State is capable of making Silly me. I keep forgetting that, though I keep getting on idiocy. John F. McGuire, senior-marketing Sept. 7 older, PSU students just get younger every year. The debate between Dolores Alexander, founder of Debbie Caplan, senior-communications Women Against Pornography, and pornography advo- Sept. 7 "ou - r PA Mt SPOT " behind him or a loud minority Reems ripped Alexander's argument to pieces point by point. He easily won the debate, a simple task given the crowd. Reems opened his speech with an exam ple that brought pornography close to home. He told us that the women who escorted him from the airport explained to him how they saw porn flicks often and enjoyed them thoroughly Reems seemed to think thcise Penn State women spoke for the rest of us. Alexander's speech was canned, whereas Reems' was spontaneous and dynamic. Because of the age of pornography, Reems said, we have become more com fortable with sex, adding that the exposure has been a good release for sexual energy. "Playboy brought us out of the closet," he said. The crowd cheered. In fact, the birth of home videos, Harry said, has brought pornography into the home and under the control of women. The guy in front of me listened attentive- When Reems quoted the 1968 Presidential Study which found that pornography and rape were not related, a woman shouted a rebuttal. A guy from the front of the auditorium yelled: "Shut up, bitch." More cheers. Another yelled: "She wants it." "What about the MX missile?" another woman yelled, after Reems noted that por nography would be banned if it constituted a "clear and present danger." The Daily Collegian Monday, Sept. 10, 1984 Perhaps I've overestimated the intelligence of the The guy in front of me turned to his friend, laughed and said, "She wants it, too." Two points for Harry. He reprimanded the audience for its narrow-mindedness. "Why did you boo when Dolores Alexander spoke about gay and lesbian rights?" he asked the crowd. "What the hell is wrong with you?" The guy in front of me slunk into his chair. Reems then praised the freedom of de mocracy and the First Amendment rights which allow pornography along with other kinds of free speech to exist. Reems said to rid ourselves of pornogra phy, we should "let it die its own natural death." The guy in front of me said, "No way." Reems closed, stating: "People like me are a dying breed.", Harry might be right. Last summer my roommate and I made the trek to Forum to see "Deep Throat." We left our apartment 45 minutes early, hoping to avoid the long line of freshmen who usually see the film their first semester. We beat the crowd. In fact, the crowd never showed. We waited I'/2 hours outside of the Forum before we gave up and went home. Inside, the projectionist sat alone Sharon Taylor is a senior majoring in jour nalism and is wire editor for The Daily Collegian. opinions Why do you go to college? It is the ultimate question that sticks in the minds of parents and relatives when you tell them you are going to college. What are you going to do with it? I guess they have a right to ask, but there's no law that says I have to know. I've had this argument on the value of education at least a million times. I used to tell my relations that I was in liberal arts and they would cringe. The carcasses of liberal arts majors litter unemployment offices through out the nation. Why not study some thing useful, they would say, like nuclear-missile engineering or ac counting something practical? Then I would tell them that I hope to be a writer at some point in the future. That got them off my back. Usually, the palor of severe motion sickness swept across their faces and they would rush to a neutral corner. It doesn't disturb me; pragmatism is for the squeamish. The security of knowing that I am going to get out of college and earn big bucks would ruin the thrill of the chase. It would be like hunting caged animals. , Anyway, I don't think college should be a career training center. That is part of the function, but col lege should be more than that it should be a life training center. A place where a person can explore the limits of their abilities. We are here to discover ourselves —that's life, and college can be an important tool in that quest. The PROFESSOR PUBLISHING PUTS THE CLASS INTO COURSE MATER kinkoss° 224 W. College Ave. 237-1317 ATTENTION FRESHMEN AND UPPERCLASSMEN LET SERA-TEC BIOLOGICALS SHOW YOU HOW TO EARN sss IN 3-4 HOURS OF YOUR SPARE TIME PER WEEK. Become a Sera-Tec plasma donor and start earning $BO-$lOO per month for your personal and recreational needs. For more information on our safe and relaxing medically supervised program call or stop by: Zt SERA - TEC BIOLOGICALS 120 S. Allen St. (entrance rear of Rite Aid Discount) 237.5761 Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8.6:30 p.m., Fri. 8.3:30 p.m. facilities on a college campus offer a cornucopia of activities for the adven turous soul without the consequences of failure in the real world. College life is not real life. It's a sheltered area on the battleground of reality. If you take a course or enter a curriculum and then decide you don't like it, you can just drop it. There may be some hassles involved or a minimal payment, but the costs are minor. _ Try changing direction after com mitting yourself to a job or a relationship and you'll find out it's not that easy. There are the bills to pay, the lawyers to pay, the alimony to pay and the loss of security. In col lege it's very easy to fit in, to find a niche, while in the real world you have to struggle in order to get your self situated, The'majority of working people you meet are somewhat dissatisfied with their situations. You hear a lot of "if onlys" being tossed about. Talk of a time when the opportunities were there and were passed up. That's college, opportunities un equalled. I've had a long and illustrious col lege career. So long, in fact, that some people think it is my career. I've taken enough different courses, in enough different fields that I could contend for the Guinness Book of Records longest lack of commitment. But all my studies, except very early in my college life when I didn't want to be there, have been enjoyable. At another school, I was in a curric ulum called "general studies." What it meant was that you could take anything the school offered. There were no requirements; it was free form education. Every semester, I'd just sift through the course catalogue picking out subjects that looked inter esting, from art history to Zen Bud hism. After all the experimenting, I have to feel ashamed of myself. I tell nally found a subject that enthralls my relatives that I'm in liberal arts me. So what if it took this long' to get with pride in my voice. Of course, I Get the most out of your classes WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE presents a 2 part workshop Mon., Sept. 10th & Mon., Sept. 17th Featuring Study Skills How to take tests Time management Taking good notes 301 Ag. Admin. 7:30 p.m. • Everyone Welcome Rpm College of Business Administration Students 4th - 7th Semester Internship Applications Available in 101 BAB September 17 is suggested date for submitting applications for 1985 Spring The Free University Will Hold an Organizational Staff Meeting Monday, September 10 at 7 p.m. in 223 HUB • Here's your chance to join one of PSU's more liberal student organizations. Committees forming Publicity Movies Layout For more information call 863.0038 FREE (YO)U ... because you shouldn't let schooling interfere with your education! Take an Independent Learning Penn State offers more than 200 credit and credit-free courses through Independent Learning. For a free catalog of course descriptions and costs, stop in the Independent Learning Office at 128 Mitchell Building or call: 865-5403 at University Park Campus, 1-800-252-3592 toll-free from , anywhere in Pennsylvania. here, at least I'm headed in the right direction. And whenever someone tells me that they've got to get some where in a hurry, I remind them to "take the long way home." Now at the family reunions, I don't Semester positions. Education is an end in itself. eree Advertising Publicity Activities SOMAt Course and Others clarify the statement with a quick "econ." No longer do they give me a pathet ic pat on the back and a sorry shake of the head. No longer do I have to suffer through dinners where I get served, "we really shouldn't feed him, he won't do anything useful with it," along with my food. Come try our new evening menu including hearty burgers, club sandwich specials, 10-cal treats, deli sandwiches, soups & saWs. The Daily Collegian Monday, Sept. 10, 1984-9 They just will never understand that the best education is a well rounded education and that high mon ey value isn't the determining factor in higher learning. Mark H. Smith is a senior majoring in economics, and is a columnist for The Daily Collegian. The Waffle Shop NOW OPEN EVENINGS Clip out this ad and get 1 FREE BEVERAGE with anything on evening menu. (Offer good till Sept. 17, 1984) 364 E. College Avenue open 6AM-9PM Monday-Saturday 7AM-SPM 237-9741
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