opinions
editorial opinion
An open door
It's there!
It's there!
The light at the end of the tunnel. A
narrow ray of bright light coming through a
very heavy door a door which seems to
have opened just a bit. And this time, that
tiny ray made it all the way to Fayette
Campus in Uniontown to the University
Board of Trustees meeting.
The door: a reluctant University adminis
tration, unwilling to take meaningful action
on the issue of University divestment in
companies doing business in South Africa.
The narrow ray of light: student opinion.
At their meeting last weekend, the mem
bers of the Board of Trustees voted not to
make' a hasty decision on the issue of
divestment a decision guided only by the
information prepared by the administra
tion. Instead, the trustees decided to post
pone their decision for seven months until
student opinion could be gauged.
In a show of genuine student advocacy,
the board voted to listen to students on this
student-initiated issue rather than just to
the administration. And while the trustees
should be commended for their decision,
this one victory does not mean students
have won the war and will now have a say in
the workings of the University.
Several pitfalls lurk in the shadows
ahead.
The first pitfall is a deep one. From past
conditioning, University students are used
to being told about decisions on issues
affecting them after the decision has
been made.
Apathy is the most dangerous trap stu
dents could fall into.
No doubt, student and University agen
cies will make every effort to poll student
opinion and compile a report for the trust
ees that will give them some balanced
information on the issues relating to divest
ment, but only if students respond.
Undergraduate Student Government
President David Rosenblatt delivered a
thought-provoking message on the divest
ment issue to the trustees, but its effective
ness hangs in the balance of student
response.
If students do not jump at their chance to
be heard, that chance may not come again.
Another USG president may stand up at a
University Board of Trustees meeting one
day and call for more student input on some
crucial issue. When the speaker finishes, a
sleepy trustee could dismisses the argu
ment with one simple sentence: "The last
time we asked them, they didn't answer."
The divestment issue could be the avenue
by which University policy-makers can be
opened up to more student input . . . but
only if students take it.
Defense spending:
Forty years ago Tuesday, in a desert in
New Mexico, the first atomic bomb was.
detonated.
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At the Los Alamos National Laboratory,
J. Robert Oppenheimer and several hun
dred other scientists and technicians
worked for two years to develop the weapon
that would end World War 11.
In a recent interview with The Philadel
phia Inquirer, Robert Duffield, one of the
key scientists that worked at Los Alamos
between 1943 and 1945, said the reason he
got involved in the project was because he
believed the atom bomb would be so power
ful a deterrent to war that all other nations
in the world would not dare risk the lives of
so many people for a war.
Unfortunately, history has shown that
deterrents to war have not always turned
out to be as effective as they were supposed
to be. For example, the fighter plane was
supposed to be the ultimate weapon when it
was developed; so was the submarine.
So what's the new deterrent? That the
United States and the Soviet Union have the
capability to blow up the world five times
over? I guess three or four times wasn't
enough.
Some of the people who favor research
into newer and more "efficient" methods of
war are the same people who tell us they
When it's our turn to decide how to spend U.S. dollars, will we have the
The second pitfall students face from the
trustees' decision to wait centers around the
divestment issue itself. Clearly, the Univer
sity administration is not a whole-hearted
supporter of divestment. It could mean the
loss of some revenue a thought which
does not warm many souls in Old Main.
This student victory could easily turn into
a defaulted win for the administration if the
seven-month waiting period suggested by
the trustees is used to sweep the divestment
issue under the rug.
A lot can be forgotten in the hustle and
bustle of fall semester, and the administra
tion must hope the fervor over divestment
will be one of the things which does.
This booby trap will only spring shut if
students allow administrators to take out
their whisk brooms and sweep the issue out
of sight.
Again, there must be immediate student
participation and response.
As a rule, students are not asked for input
on major issues that directly affect them.
For example, student opinion was not polled
when the trustees voted to raise tuition, nor
were they consulted regarding the sur
charge levied on upper-level engineering,
and earth and mineral science students.
The trustees only heard the administra
tion's version.
But the door was cracked open a bit when
the ,trustees asked what students think
about divestment. •
This decision to wait for student input has
a dual meaning for students. Not only is it
an opportunity for them to voice their
opinions on the issue of divestment, but it is
a chance to send a message to the trustees
that students do care about the future of the
University and want an active role in shap
ing it:
Students can send a statement to the
trustees that their opinions are worth listen
ing to 'that they are concerned about
more than that next exam or who's having a
party this weekend.
But the opportunity is a fleeting one. Blow
it now and we may not get a second chance.
Using this opportunity to speak out on the
divestment issue may lead to more student
input on other issues relevant to student
welfare.
It's there!
It's there!
The opportunity for student input is there.
Although individuals may argue whether
University divestment is the right step for
Penn State to take, students must unite and
speak out no matter what their opinion is.
If students don't unite now, the light at the
end of the tunnel will disappear as the door
is slammed shut.
have seen the "other side." They've seen
their buddies killed in action and tiny vil
lages destroyed in minutes. And they tell us
that the only way to avoid war is to build an
arsenal big enough and strong enough that
no army would dare attack it.
I don't agree with this mode of thinking.
There has never been a single weapon that
was a complete deterrent to war.
But the idea of deterrence seems to be
popular because Congress continues to ap
propriate monies for arms. One reason
people may support arms build up is be
cause most of the U.S. populous has lived
through a war.
A man in his 60s today was probably in
World War 11. Veteran's from the Korean
War are in their 40s to 50s, and thousands of
men and women in their 30s still carry the
scars of Vietnam.
And so our defense policies and strategies
are developed and maintained by people
who remember what it meant to keep the
enemy out of their territory.
I spent my sophomore year living on a
farm with nine other people, one of whom
was in the Korean War. Everytime I com
plained about how cold my room was John
would jump in with, "You think you're cold?
You should have been in Korea during the
war." Then he would tell me about ways he
and his army buddies tried to keep warm.
He told me once they set an army jeep on
fire and warmed themselves by the flames.
When the marines invaded Grenada and
rescued the American medical students
there, John was prouder than anyone else I
knew. Those were his boys; maybe he knew
some of their fathers. I think he wished he
could have been right with them when they
landed in Grenada.
John has a conviction about communism
and the fight against it that someone who
has never been "there" can't understand.
He is all for an arsenal of MX's, ICBM's,
and Trident subs because he believes we
may need them someday.
But what if we don't need them? What if
several decades go by and all those people
like John who thought we would need them
are all dead? What will America's defense
policies be like in 30 years when the people
who will be forming our foreign policies
have a stockpile of weapons with which to
blow up the world but have never seen the
effects of them or been in a war them
selves?
I don't fully understand why we need 20
more MX's and a fleet of 600 ships. Maybe if
I had been in a war, I would understand. But
at what point will we say enough?
I support a strong national defense, but
how long will we continue to ignore do
mestic issues like social security and medi
cal assistance and urban renewal?
In 30 years, when the generation that
grew up after the hippies and flower chil
dren are the decision makers in Congress,
the issue of increased defense spending may
have to be pushed aside; because in 2015,
the baby boomers are going to be retiring
and waiting for social security checks, and
if the system is in the red now, what's it
going to be like when a great portion of the
population is expecting checks?
If we want to be able to deal with some of
these issues, we will have to change our
attitudes about how much money we are
going to allot for our national defense and
also how we will be spending the money.
Our generation has two important defense
issues to be concerned with: a defense
department that in a few decades may have
no wartime experience, and domestic ter
rorism.
In regard to the first issue, I'm not calling
Ai; Collegian
Thursday, July 18, 1985
©1985 Collegian Inc.
Gall 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.
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Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian
encourages comments on news
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versity affairs. Letters should be
typewritten, double-spaced, signed
by no more than two people and not
longer than 30 lines. Students' let-
for a war every ten years to keep our hands
wet. But in a situation where experience can
mean the difference between life and death,
classroom lectures just won't cut the mus
tard.
Two scenarios may occur if this situation
becomes a reality. One would be that our
leaders would become trigger happy, what
with having all these great weapons laying
around and none of them being used. Then
we would prbably have a world war and get
to see the world blown up five times.
The second scenario would be that no
more monies would be given to defense
spending and - more attention would be given
to domestic issues.
The second idea may seem appealing but
it is not the best, either. One reason the
economy has done so well under the Reagan
administration is the increase in defense
spending. The high interest rates and unem
ployment of the Carter administration
showed us what can happen to an economy
when defense spending dwindles.
A balance between defense spending and
spending on domestic needs is needed. And
the balance doesn't mean 50 percent of the
budget for defense and 50 percent for do
mestic. Balance means maintaining steady
but moderate increases for defense while
domestic spending is dealt with as nec
essary.
I know, you've heard it before. You say
I'm starting to sound like one of them. What
is meant by steady but moderate increases?
I'll do something no politician would. I'll
give numbers. My idea of steady but moder
ate increases means an increase of two to
three percent above the inflation rate each
year.
Included in defense spending would be
appropriations for defense against the sec
ond issue, domestic terrorism.
The Daily Collegian
Thursday, July 18, 1985
© 1985 Universal Press Syndicate
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
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verification of the letter.
The Collegian reserves the right to
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Mail letters to: The Daily Collegian;
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know-how to do it?
Experts in the field of international ter
rorism believe that the next attack on the
United States and its people will happen
within our own borders.
The Iranian situation showed us how
vulnerable our embassies are and how little
we understand about the philosophy of
Shiite terrorism. In the past four years, U.S.
military officers and newspaper correspon
dents have been kidnapped and killed by
terrorists.
The most recent incident in Beruit exem
plified how little we have learned.
The FBI has files on 18 organizations
residing in the United States with links to
international terrorism.
The Delta Force we heard so much about
during the Beruit crisis was formed several
years ago to deal with possible terrorist
incidents during the Summer Olympics in
Los Angeles last year.
More money should be appropriated to
train soldiers for a domestic threat. Terror
ists could pick any number of locations and
create a situation that would leave us with
no option but to give in to their demands. A
bus load of elementary school children, a
public water supply, our international air
ports could all be targets for terrorism.
Attitudes about our national defense
change every few years. Spend more mon
ey. Spend less money. Either way we are
entering a new age. This time we will be the
decision makers and the issues of weapons
stockpiling and protecting ourselves within
our own borders will be the primary con
cern.
Michael Kutner is a senior majoring in
finance and a columnist for The Daily
Collegian. _
Reagan's illness spurs public concern for cancer
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer
NEW YORK People worried
about colon cancer in the wake of
President Reagan's illness have
been calling hot lines and doctor's
offices across the country for infor
mation and appointments.
"All of a sudden, everybody and
his brother has decided to have a
checkup," said Jack Carter, presi
dent of Furguson Hospital in
Grand Rapids, Mich., which spe
cializes in colon and rectal dis
eases. "We can't get the phone to
stop ringing."
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Dr. Gordon Klatt, colon and rec
tal surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., said
area specialists have gotten up to
20 additional calls daily from peo
ple who ,want to be screened for
cancer.
"People are a little bit worried
now," said Dr. William Friend of
the Colon-Rectal Clinic in Seattle.
"I hope that we will be seeing
people who would have come in
much later otherwise."
Dr. John Rosin, a Baltimore col
on-rectal surgeon, is one of several
doctors who said many calls have
come "from patients who had poly
ps in the past who didn't come in
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for followups (examinations) even
though they got reminder cards ...
Now they want it done yesterday."
A history of polyps increases a
person's risk for cancer of the
colon or rectum, known as colorec
tal cancer, which is expected to kill
59,900 Americans this . year. Some
138,000 "cases are expected to be
diagnosed this year, according to
the American Cancer Society.
The cure rate rises dramatically
if the cancer is caught and treated
early before the symptoms of
bleeding from the rectum, visible
blood in the stool and bowel irregu
larity appear.
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For people over age 40 without
symptoms, the cancer society rec
ommends an annual exploration of
the rectum by a physician using a
finger. For people over 50, it sug
gests an annual test of the stool for
hidden blood and periodic "proc
to" examinations of the rectum
and lower colon by a physician
looking through a flexible tube.
If results of such testing hint at
trouble, the entire colon can be
examined with a colonoscope, also
a flexible tube, or a barium enema,
a sp e cial X-ray procedure.
A kit to test the stool for hidden
blood at home costs from $5 to $ll
in drugstores, but some local can
cer societies offer them in free or
low-cost screening programs. A
procto exam costs from $5O to $125,
according to a survey by The Asso
ciated Press. A barium enema can
run from $75 to $3OO, while a colo
noscope exam which can also
remove polyps generally costs
from about $3OO to about $7OO, but it
can exceed $l,OOO.
Colonoscopy "is not an inexpen
sive procedure," said Dr. Donald
Ostrow, chief of gastroenterology
at Northwestern University Medi
cal Center in Chicago.
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