opinions
editorial opinion
USEC's e . . growing pains?
After one full week for the "new" Univer
sity Student Executive Council, it is time to
look back on what's been accomplished.
Looking back so soon, in most instances,
would be premature. But in USEC's case, it
is simply less frightening than looking
ahead.
USEC has failed to grasp its role as the
channel for student input to the University
administration and thus has the potential to
fail in that role. What it has done is to
undermine this same role by putting it aside
to satisfy individual USEC members and
the group.
At last Thursday's meeting, members of
USEC unanimously agreed to allow the Seat
pf the Associated Student Activities Budget
Committee chairman to vote. The question
of voter eligibility on USEC for this position
which was originally an ex officio post
was brought before USEC by Greg Cable,
who currently holds the position.
"It's not fair to have input but no vote,"
Interfraternity Council President John Roo
ney said in support of Cable. But former
USEC Chairman Adam Levinson said last
year's council decided a vote would give
ASA's position too much power because
ASA oversees budget needs of organizations
on USEC. Also, voting power had only been
given to USEC members elected by student
organizations, with the exception of the
student trustee who is appointed by the
goveinor.
The. Council discussed it, but with Cable
still seated in the room, none of the mem
bers even if there were some who op
posed the idea were willing to speak out
reader opinion
Get with it, USG
On Wed. March 27 and Thur. March 28, students gave
their time to sit at tables for the Undergraduate Student
Government elections. Supposedly these students were to
be paid for the time they put in. I, being one of those
students, was told that I could pick up my check any
where from one week to two weeks thereafter.
It is now almost four weeks since the time of the
elections and I still have not received the check. Every
time I go to the Associated Student Activities office to see
if the check has arrived, I get the two same replies: "We
(ASA) are still waiting for the treasurer (of USG) to sign
the checks" and "You'll have to check with USG to see
what is holding up the process." I then went over to the
USG office to find out what the holdup was about, and on
four separate•occassions I got the same two replies: "We
(USG) are still waiting for the treasurer's signature" and
"It should be in by the end of the week."
I would like to know why the treasurer is taking so long.
It is not just the people who sat at the election tables that
are waiting patiently to pick up their checks. There are
others also. For instance, my roommate has been waiting
for a check of a substantial amount for work he did on a
magazine for USG since Spring Break, almost two
months ago.
If USG can't solve a simple problem like getting their
treasurer's signature, how do they intend to solve larger
problems that might arise over the course of the next
school year. Come on USG, get on the ball!
Thenson Dialectos, junior-business management
April 25
Asset, not. liability
State College businesses and local residents: stop
taking advantage of students. Rent in the downtown area
is outrageous. Prices downtown are high. Our activities
are restricted because of ordinances. And now, the
borough of State College is pushing for a noise ordinance.
Penn State University has stimulated the economy of
the downtown businesses. In addition to the everyday
business generated by the students' needs, there is the
patronage of the alumni, friends and relatives of the
students. This is in addition to the considerable revenue
The many thoughts collected on the first warm night of sprin•
The first warm night of spring brings
sadness on its winds. I'm sitting on a porch
swing in State College feeling the wind
against my face. The , wind also brings
happiness, the kind you feel when an opti
mist dies. Memories won't let you be sad.
The air tastes like water in my lungs. I'm
slipping under the waves and seeing the
heaven of summer nights. I hope I'll always
feel this alive on the first warm night. I'll be
twenty-one in two months. I'll walk into
bars without the adrenalin flowing. Tonight,
I'm a child.
• • •
I'm sitting on the beach at Point Pleasant.
The sea scares me, but I like it anyway. My
! ys~
against the person who holds the purse
strings for their organizations.
Perhaps worst of all, though, the new
USEC laid some dangerous groundwork. It
voted to keep confidential the results of the
USEC chair elections between Panhel presi
dent and newly-appointed USEC chairwo
man Laurie Maser and Mary Weaver, vice
president of the Undergraduate Student
Government. The reasoning? Some USEC
members said a split decision would signal
a rift among members of the organilation
which would undermine the-unity the coun
cil should maintain.
But USEC's mission as the representative
of students to the administration contra
dicts its decision to keep voting results
confidential. And while it may be true that
the results Of that particular ballot are not
vital knowledge to University students ; the
idea and the ease with which the council
unanimously decided on secrecy could set a
precedent for far more crucial decisions in
the future.
After only one week, USEC members
have made it obvious that they have a lot to
learn about representing student concerns
to the 'University.
USEC members were right about one
thing: solidarity is necessary to success
fully, convey students' viewpoints. Howev
er, that solidarity cannot be used as an
excuse to stamp everything "confidential"
and to leave USEC's constituency which
is essentially every Penn State student
without an accepted channel for their con
cerns.
generated from University-related tourist attractions and
sporting events.
Penn State also offers State College residents cultural
experiences, plays, concerts, museums, etc. Besides the
bars and movie theaters, what do downtown State College
merchants offer the students and local residents?
Where would State College be without the University?
Isn't it time that you begin to look at the University as an
asset instead of a liability?
Jim Coder, freshman-Division of Undergraduate Studies
April 12
Important accomplishment
The completion of the final report of the Governor's
Commission on the Financing of Higher Education is an
important accomplishment for Pennsylvania. It reflects
the hard work and dedication of its Chairman, Robert E.
Kirby, immediate past chairman of Westinghouse Elec
tric Corporation, and the 24 other persons Governor
Thornburgh appointed to this important group in Decem
ber of 1983. We were optimistic that the governor's
commitment to the exploration of new ways to finance
higher edUc'ation in Pennsylvania would be productive,
and we have not been disappointed.
Pennsylvania's public research universities Penn
State, Pitt, and Temple are particularly pleased that
the report advocates_ the concept of differential funding
based on differential missions within the higher education
community.
We supported that concept before the commission on a
number of occasions, based on .our belief that the high
level and complex educational opportunities we provide
for the people of this state in accordance with the
mission outlined for us in the current Master Plan for
Higher Education in Pennsylvania are more costly
than are the programs at colleges and universities with
narrower missions. For example, the state's public re
search universities collectively offer undergraduate and
graduate programs that include engineering, medicine,
advanced science and agriculture. Our costs in these
areas are increasing dramatically, largely driven by our
need to keep pace with new technologies and by burgeon
ing student enrollments in high-demand areas like engi
neering, business, and computer science.
Uncle Bill went out for a swim. He swims
like a dolphin. He said he had to pull the
plug on the Atlantic Ocean. I believe him.
Once he , returns, he's going to tell me of the
pirates up around Asbury Park who last
week attacked an 80-foot squid with nothing
but their sabres and peg legs. I believe him.
I wait in my Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda
shorts.
All the money in the world couldn't bribe
the first warm night. All I hear is the wind,
the swing's chains and Ralph faintly yelling
"Bang-zoom" from my neighbors' flicker
ing blue-light living room. This feels like
home for the first time. Tonight, I'm the
one. Billions of people are in the world —l'm
the one. Only one out of ten thousand writers
is published I'm the , one. Drop a 16-ton
weight on me, because tonight I'm the one.
I've been drinking too much pride. In the
haze of my drunkeness I see the faces of
those who weren't the one. Those who never
even believed they were the one. Those with
their names written in stone. Tonight, I'm a
teenager.
• • •
They found him in the garage. He'd
worked on the car's engine with the garage
door shut. He was drunk. He was sad. Which
should I believe? I prefer both. He wasn't
dumb, so why didn't he . open the door?
Because he was drunk. It doesn't matter if
he took his life or his life took him. We won't
be shaking hands at high school reunions.
I go to his wake out of respect. He's in a
box surrounded by flowers and well-dressed
people with white faces. I look at his face. I
see death wearing lipstick and powder. I
don't know this thing in a box. I decide that
God must exist, because this thing never
joked with me in the back of homeroom.
Someone says he looks almost as if he's
sleeping. I don't believe him. This is my last
wake out of respect for the living.
• • •
The sky is dark tonight. The clouds are
purple ships sailing a black sea. The town's
lights are the only stars. A light blue haze
outlines the mountain's horizon; it looks like
a stained-glass window. I used to stare at
the glass on Sunday mornings. My grand
mother made us sit in the front row. I
confessed my sins like a patient giving a
kneejerk reaction.
When we were younger, we'd go out in our
backyard on the first warm night and chase
d a tt i l l e y
Collegian
Friday, April 28, 1985
01985 Collegian Inc.
Gail L. Johnson Michael A. Meyers
Editor Business Manager
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
Daily Collegian and related publica-'
tions, is a separate corporate insti
tution from Penn State.
Board of Editors Managing Edi
tor: Mark DiAntonio; Editorial Edi
tor: Ron Yeany; Assistant Editorial
Editors: Dan Levine, Terry Mutchl
er; News Editors: Brian Bowers,
Brenda Bogut and Christine Kay;
Sports Editor: Chris Lindsley; As
sistant Sports Editors: Chris Ray
mond, Chris Loder and Mark
Ashenfelter; Photo Editor: Paul
Chiland; Assistant Photo Editors:
We have argued that these costs must be recognized
and supported, in part with increased state appropria
tions to the state's public research universities. We
believe differential funding based on the concept that
differentiated missions require differentiated support
from the state is critical to the future of Pennsylvania's
public research universities and key to the contributions
they collectively will make to economic development and
revitalization in the Commonwealth.
The task before us now is to ensure that the forward
looking thinking that is in the commission's final report to
Gov. Thornburgh is incorportated into the upcoming
Master Plan for Higher Education in Pennsylvania, that
is currently under revision by the State Board of Educa
tion.
Bryce Jordan, president
The Pennsylvania State University
April 17
Dr. Jordan, as immediate past Chairman of the Commis
sion for Commonwealth Universities, was the spokesman
on behalf of Penn State, Pitt, and Temple before the
Governor's Commission on the Financing of Higher
Education
•
Danger, decibels at work!
Hey, what in the devil are decibels?
They're the ratios of the logs of sound levels.
Did you say radios?
Or was that stereos?
No, it's their noise the ordinance quells.
(Also, shouting and barking and ringing of bells.)
David M. Silverman, State College
April 19
Unite against prejudice
You may have, noticed lately that there have been
several articles in The. Daily Collegian pertaining to the
subject of racism. I myself do not have a degree in any
social science or sociology fields, but I do have my own
Bill Cramer, Thomas Swarr; Arts
Editor: Diane DiPiero; Assistant
Arts Editor: Jeff Bliss; Campus
Editor: Anita Huslin; Assistant
Campus Editor: Kris Sorchilla;'
Town Editor: Patti Diacont; Assis
tant Town Editor: Bob King; Fea
tures Editor: Anita Yesho; Graphics
Editor: Tony Ciccarelli; Wire Edi
tors: Joe Ditzler and Leslie Persin;
COpy Editors: Bill Ferrell, Pat Col
lier, Cindy Davis and Julie Rasicot;
Weekly Collegian Editor: Laura
Dunhoff; Assistant Weekly Colle
gian Editor: Christine Anderson;
Weekly Managing Editor: Marcy
Mermel.
Board of Managers Assistant
Business Manager: Karen Jaret;
Sales Manager: John Manson; Dis
trict Sales Managers: Rose
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counting Manager: Catherine L.
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National Advertising Manager: Lau
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fireflies. We'd grasp them in our hands and
drop them into Mason jars. Stars in jars.
We'd let them flicker for a while, then open
the lid and let them fly away into the apple
blossoms. My grandmother would laugh as
we chased after them in our pajamas and
flip-flops. Tonight, I'm a young man.
• • •
There was a thump in the bathroom two
days before my seventeenth birthday.l
knew it was her. She'd been ill the past few
weeks, worse than usual. It was June 16th,
and a heat wave had just begun. My sister
called downstairs to get an ambulance for
her. She was still alive.
The ambulance came, and the neighbors
watched, because this was much more
interesting than "All in the Family". They
were taking a long time getting her down
the stairs. I waited in the kitchen, trying to
remember her last words to me. They came
down.
The last time I saw her was as they
wheeled her across the back porch. I stood
at the screen door. Her head was leaning to
the side, and she was pale. Through it all, I
looked right into - her eyes, and she into
"ICU MU FEE
WIEN READY,
MIN.
opinion about this problem
I come from a small town about 120 miles east of State
College and I was never really exposed to prejudism or
racism. The reason for this I believe is that no one ever
paid much mind to this subject and treated everybody
quite equally. There is a mixed population present in my
community and even with this, prejudice did not occur.
Since my arrival two years ago at Penn State, I have
learned through various articles that prejudism is defi
nitely a problem, if not in my community, in others. My
opinion is instead of stereotyping and grouping blacks,
whites, and other races as separate, I think the situation
would be more readily solved if human beings against
prejudism united against prejudice.
George Lehan, senior-microbiology
April 5
Who's Who-vian
So, Gay Students Services elected new officers on April
15. Why is this group being publicized so well?
I was elected President of the Whovians of Penn State '
on the night of April 17 for Fall Semester. But was there
an article on our elections and meeting? No!
If The Daily Collegian is going to have articles on small
student organizations, especially newly-formed ones,
they should do a story on all of them.
Soon after forming, there was a story written on us and
Doctor Who (the British science fiction series which we
follow) in general, by a Collegian staff writer. What
happened to it? It was rejected for not being newsworthy.
All we were asking for is equal time.
. Just to make sure the results of our elections get into
the paper, here are the results: vice-president Tim
Wugofski, treasurer Craig Ruch, secretary Paul
Callahan.
mine. I saw those fireflies drifting up into
the apple blossoms. If eyes could talk, her's
would have said, "Keep chasing." I believe
them. They didn't see my seventeenth birth
day.
No matter how many friends I have, part
of me is alone. When I have a wife and
children, part of me will be alone. That part
sits ona porch swing the first warm night of
spring. It laughs and cries in a single sound.
It hears the "National Anthem" at two
o'clock in the morning. It feels the wind and
sees the stained-glass horizon. It believes
life is too sad to be taken seriously.
Something greater than me is in the air
tonight: the opium of the poor and the write
off of the rich. Dogs bark in the distance,
and the communion is broken. I fall asleep
and dream of infinite seas and apple trees in
summer. One day I shall be released from
.my Mason jar on the first warm night of
spring.
William S. Repsher is a junior majoring in
English and is a columnist for The Daily.
Collegian. His column appears every Fri
day.
The Daily Collegian
Friday, April 26, 1985
Complaints: News and editorial
complaints should be presented to
the editor. Business and advertis
ing complaints should be pre
sented to the business manager. If
a complaint is not satisfactorily
resolved, grievances may be filed
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mation on filing grievances is avail
able from Gerry Lynn Hamilton,
executive secretary, Collegian Inc.
About the Collegian: The Daily
Collegian and The Weekly Colle
gian are published by Collegian
Inc., an independent, non-profit
corporation with a board of direc
tors composed of students, faculty
and professionals. Students of The
Pennsylvania State University write
and edit both papers and solicit
advertising material for them. The
Daily Collegian is published Mon
day, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
during the summer, and distributed
at the University Park campus. The
Weekly Collegian is mailed to Com
monwealth campus students, par
ents of students, alumni and other
subscribers who want to keep
abreast of University news.
Michael Leahy, senior-meterology
president-elect Whovians of Penn State
April 19
• • •
opinions
Being greek is more than a chariot ride
To most people at Penn State, the
week starting with the Phi Psi 500 and
ending with the Beta Sigma Beta Sy
Garish Regatta means fun in the sun,
blowing off some work to celebrate
the end_ of -the winter blues, and
taking part in the myriad activities
that have suddenly popped up all over
campus.
However, this is a week of hard
work and the culmination of months
of dull meetings to the people behind
the scenes who are responsible for
bringing most of the fun about.
Now, some people may call them
different names from "frat rat" to
"sorority bitch" but, like it or not,
these are the people who have given
up a lot of , time to make spring at
Penn State what it really is.
At one time in our college "ca
reers," we all have probably ponder
ed what our lives would have been
like if we had taken a different social
path. If you are greek, you have
thought about how carefree life would
have been if you didn't have to spend
hours of your lifetime holding a can
out on a street corner. If you are not a
fraternity or sorority member, you
probably have had visions of a cal
endar full of semi-formals and theme
parties. No matter which side of the
fence you are on, greek life is an
important part of Penn State, and
doesn't deserve the reputation a lot of
people try to give it.
When I was a freshman,. I went
through sorority rush. Everything
happened so quickly that by the time
I figured out what "philanthropy"
..': reader opinion
.-,
Learning through interaction classes, friendship is formed through informal organiza
' lions such as the interest groups and the various college
When we think of college, most of us have foremost in student councils. Many times, one joins a fraternity,
mind a place of learning. We are all here to learn, no sorority or clubs for who he knows and the people that
doubt. We go to classes, attend' lectures along with make up that particular organization, not so much for
hundreds of cothers. College is too a place of socialization. what the organization stands for. One only has to look
We do not merely sit in class, take notes, listen to lectures around to see that there is much more than mere class
- we all interact with each other, with friends, profes- learning that goes' on in college. We learn values that
sors, fellow students and school administrators. We often only be learned through being with others, and acquire
sit next to friends in classes. We would all* rather have new insights on things from seeing how differently each
someone to walk along,with when we have to go from one individual views the world. We also assure ourselves of
side of campus to another. our own performances by keeping in touch with others.
We tend to form cliques among ourselves. Outside Betty Choum, freshman-premedicine
meant, I was out selling raffle tickets
for Derby Days. By the time that was
finished, I was full of gluey tissue
paper as I learned how to "pomp" the
float during homecoming.
As I look back on these days, I
realize that the hectic pace forced me
to budget my time well, and although
the activities were sometimes mun
dane, I learned a lot about Penn State
from the participation and the people
involved.
I realize that you don't have to be in
a fraternity or sorority to get in
volved with the University, but from
my experience and observation, I
think it opens doors for other kinds of
involvement in campus activities. •
Being greek encompasses more
than collecting as many sweatshirts,
formal, glasses and lavalieres as you
can get your hands on. Those are the
surface things that stereotypically
label those groups. Once you are a
"sister" or a "brother" you're in for,
a lot more than a chariot ride.
Contrary to popular belief, it is
impossible to be best buddies with 50
guys or 80 girls in your organization.
You have to -learn how to cooperate
within a group, sometimes putting
your personal likes and dislikes aside
for the greater good of the cause.
When everyone has to work together
to raise money for an event like the
Dance Marathon, you can't refuse to
participate because you don't the
attitude of someone in your group.
After four years ip a sorority, I have
had my ups-and-downs with several
people. If I had been living with them
on a regular dorm floor, I could have
written them off permanently at the
end of the year. But, because I knew
that they'd be there again, I was
forced to re-evaluate the situations
and to respect them for who they are,
not dislike them for who they were.
I have learned a lot of worthwhile
lessons in the .greek system. The
importance of - carrying out responsi-.
bilities because another person, not a
grade, was counting on it has been
impressed upon • me. As the years
have gone by, I have spent less time
in sorority-related activities, but the
experience I've gained from them
has often helped me to follow through
in other areas.
Of course, there are many things I
would like to change about the greek
system. Rush, in both sororities and
fraternities can be very superficial.
The process of picking and choosing
is difficult no matter whether you are
the chooser or the chosen. The unoffi
cial "ranking" of Sororities and fra
ternities makes this process even
worse. As a rush counselor during
last fall's sorority rush, I saw more
tears than I had seen through all my
years at school.
Rules and regulations are often
emphasized over the individual to
preserve the .erganization's laws. In
several cases, I have seen a fraterni.:
ty or sorority so caught up in "going
by the book" that they lost sight of
one of their most important roles to
provide support to their individuals
members.
Like it or not, however, once we
step out into the working world we
will all have to deal with these things.
Working with the same people day in
and day out, following rules which we
don't necessarily agree with, and
learning about rejection are all parts
of the "real world" that are waiting
for us.
So, as "Spring" week goes into its
final burst of glory with this week
end's Regatta, I hope that people
recognize the hours of work and the
people behind this Penn State tradi
tion and others like it. Without their
planning and responsibility, both the
students and the charities would lose
out.
Judy Jansen is a senior majoring in
English and is a columnist for The
Daily Collegian. Her column appears
every Friday.
Glue, glue, who's got the glue?
By RUSTUM ROY
Thirty thousand students are buy
ing an education from Penn State; for
the same price they could get a Volvo,
if not a Mercedes. The cost of a
Harvard education would buy you a
Rolls. But such a buyer would never
buy a car in bits and pieces: fenders,
engine, headlights and bumpers
jumbled together in a crate. A few
hobbyists do in fact buy model cars
and assemble them, but the majority
buy toy cars all assembled.
forum
Why then do 30,000 students buy the
education kit instead of the assem
bled car? Mainly, of course, because
that's what
q. the University offers.
Yet the administration and , many
members of the faculty in the senate
and elsewhere are dedicated to doing
better; to providing an education
which would be integrated into a
"vehicle" to, literally, carry one
through life. But if so, why hasn't
Penn State been' doing better at it?
Let me suggest three reasons:
• There is no, what in the business
world is called, market-pull or de
mand. The students haven't de
manded such an education. Shouldn't
it be obvious to a student that a fully
assembled car is much more useful to
her or him than a crate of parts? Well
it should, but it clearly isn't, and you
may understand why if you think of a
bushman in• the Kalahari or a extra
terrestrial visitor buying a "car."
How would they know an assembled
car from the kit in a crate and which
was, better for their purpose if
indeed they had a clear purpose for
the purchase? I submit that most
Penn State students are not fully
aware of what a good education could
do for them; if they knew, they would
and should march on the senate with
their demands for a much more inte
grated set of courses, articulated into
the best curriculum which clearly
must be something more than the
mere sum of course audits.
• The structure of the University
is such that we have 101 departments
producing 101 parts but no one is in
charge of assembling these parts.
The student makes up a tray-load of
parts (sorry, courses) in the cafeteria
(sorry, registration) line and gets
her/his check-out slip (diploma) at
the end of the litre. Go back to the
ilitlimestore kit analogy. Read the fine
print carefully and you find on the
side of the box, "Glue not provided."
So you see, Penn State has excellent
precedent no need to provide the
glue. Just let students figure out how
to put the physics and philosophy and
engineering and sociology together.
And indeed there are the very few
who really learn more by doing this
assembly. But it is surely cheating
the majority not to provide the in
struction and glue, if not an assem
bled car.
• The third reason may be the
most important of all. Perhaps Amer
ican education has forgotten how to
put it together; perhaps they are not
even sure what a car looks like any
more. Indeed there is no shortage of
those who say there is no need to put
it all together. The world they say
is clamoring only for parts-makers
and parts specialists let's make
headlight B.S.'s and left-fender spe
cialists and not worry about all this
putting it together. Perhaps all the
king's teachers and all the king's
professors can't put it together again.
They were not at all sure what an
assembled car looked like. They'd
never heard of glue, either.
But there is a group of faculty with
strong encouragement from the very
highest levels of this University's
administration struggling with put
ting it all together. The University
Senate is debating "general educa
tion" at length. It is only every ten or
15 years that this happens. (Yet,
more in sadness than in anger, I note
that any one minor sports event gets
more space in the Collegian than the'
entire debate about the future of the
educational content of ten genera
tions of Penn State students' educa
tion.) Edward Burke wrote "The only
thing necessary for evil to triumph is
for good men to do nothing." The
many deeply concerned students
must speak up in every forum open to
them Collegian, USG, the Senate.
Now throughout the nation, indeed
the educational world, there is a
firestorm of suggestions for such
integrative education for putting it
together. At the end of this article I
list a few relevent quotes. It is absolu
tely essential that we, as professors,
show the connections between all the
courses we require of students. How
does Plato's philosophy relate to to
day's social problems; or how do the
findings of modern radio astronomy
square with the Biblical insights on
which this country was founded? En
gineers and the handicapped; politi
cal science and acid rain.
What then is the glue which could
link the parts into an articulated
whole? In the past the glue of any
society - was its culture and its heart
was its religion. And in many cultures
from Iran to China, the deeply-held
religious (in the broadest sense) or
cultural values "shape" all educa
tion. But the glory of the United
The Daily Collegian Friday, April 26, 1985-13
States is its pluralistic tradition. So
what can now serve for our glue?
Well, one glue which has emerged
in the last decade is a field called
Science, Technology and Sotiety. STS
is neither a panacea, nor the only glue
around; but it is one that has been
developed and recommended nation
ally to do some of this integration. We
should support faculty groups with
any neva> ideas for other integrative
themes, since at this point in history
glue and integration are the principle
needs of college education. Penn
State's STS Program, triggered by
senate action in 1969, became one of
the national pioneers. The adminis
tration and senate together, aided by
the demands of concerned students,
could not only make PSU a leader in
general education, but what is more
important they could decide in the
next several weeks to vastly improve
the quality of the education of every
Penn State graduate by providing a
glue for the parts we now proVide.
"A beginning understanding of the
integration of the natural sciences,
social sciences and mathematics;
familiarity in integrating technolo
gies with experiences in the sci
ences" (emphasis added)
"Educating Americans for the Twen
ty-first Century," report of the Na
tional Science Board Commission on
Pre-college Education in Mathemat
ics, Science and Technology (1983).
"Liberal education requirements
should be expanded and reinvigo
rated to ensure that (1) curricular
content is directly addressed not only
to subject matter but also to the
development of capacities of analy
sis, problem-solving, communication
and synthesis, and (2) students and
faculty integrate knowledge from va
rious disciplines" (emphasis added)
"Involvement in Learning: Realiz
ing the Potential of American Higher
Education," Report of the Study
Group on the Conditions lof Excel
lence in American Higher Education,
National Institution of ,Education
(1984).
"... recent national reports on the
status of graduate education suggest
that the graduate curriculum today
may need to address issues and prob
lems that cut across disciplines and
that are not usually embraced by
primarily discipline-oriented pro
grams." Northeastern Association
of Graduate School's policy
statement. ' •
Rustum Roy is an Evan Pugh Profes
sor of the Solid State Chair in the
Science, Technology and Society Pro
gram.
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