opinions
editorial opinion
Bleeding for the blue and white
The Nittany Lion’s win over the Pitt
Panthers on Saturday was the second victo
ry Penn State logged against Pitt in less
than a week.
The third annual Pitt / Penn State Blood
Donor Challenge ended last Wednesday
leaving Penn State fans way out in front of
their competition with more than 7,000
donations.
University President Bryce Jordan ac
cepted a plaque on behalf of the iJniversity
at the Pitt / Penn State game Saturday.
Beyond symbolizing a victory for Penn
State, that plaque also represents the com
passion displayed by the 12,667 donors from
both schools who took the challenge.
Nittany Lion fans defeated Pitt last year
by collecting 4,405 donations to Pitt’s 3,594.
This year, more Penn Staters than ever
took the opportunity to give a different kind
of support to the University as they logged
7,097 donations.
“Penn State fans wanted to beat Pitt in
blood as well as on the football field,” said
Connie Schroeder, blood drive coordinator
for the Johnstown Regional Red Cross. By
donating, students, faculty, staff and area
residents not only defeated archrival Pitt,
but also donated life-saving blood that will
be used in Centre County.
Some University students made the chal
lenge a more personal contest. For the third
consecutive year, members of Tau Phi
reader opinion
Star Wars ban
Your very brief story reporting the
Nov. -17 “march for a meaningful
summit” saw fit to omit at least one
item which we believe merits atten
tion. That was a statement by Profes
sor G■ Barsch of the Physics
Department to the effect that over
half of that department’s faculty
have signed a pledge to neither seek
nor accept money for research in the
Star Wars Program. The stated rea
son is that “we believe that the Star
Wars Program is technically dubious
and politically unwise,” serving “to
escalate that arms race by encourag
ing the development of both additio
nal offensive overkill and an all-out
competition in anti-ballistic missile
weapons;” thus “we believe that the
Star Wars Program represents not an
advance toward genuine security, but
rather a major step backwards.”
Very similar statements and pledg
es have been signed by over half of
the faculty in the top 14 Physics
Departments in the U.S. and by the
President of the American Physical
Society. In parallel with this, over
half of the members of the National
Academy of Sciences and 20 U.S.
Nobel Laureates have urged a ban on
such space-related weapons.
People desiring to know the mind
boggling history of the unwise and
dangerous Star Wars Program
should read a Centre Daily Times
article of Nov. 17, page B-7. Those
interested in understanding the tech
nical deficiencies of Star Wars should
read relevant articles in the October
Personal Best:
Believe in yourself. Believe that tomor
row will be a better day than was today. Not
by chance but because you will make it so.
The human spirit is something that not even
the rainiest of Penn State Mondays can
dampen. Every day there is a chance to find
yet another good thing about yourself and
the people around you. Regardless of the
achievements of others you must do the best
you can for yourself. Your “Personal Best.”
hf"
Survival Tactic No. 1 do not compare
yourself with your peers.
As someone once said the grass is always
greener on the other side. There will always
be another side. The person who consistent
ly gets the A. The girl who dresses well, is
gorgeous, nice and has a personality. Heav
ens, she is every jealous girlfriend’s night-'
mare. Comparison only works well in those
Delta fraternity contributed the highest
percentage of blood of any student organi
zation.
“We consider it a social service obligation
that helps the community and the guys all
give willingly because we feel it is a good
cause,” said Tau Phi Delta member Steve
Essig. “To us, raising as much blood as we
can is even more important than raising
$20,000 for (a charitable organization). You
can’t put a price on a pint of blood (that goes
to) save a life.”
It is impossible to guess what generated
the added interest in this year’s challenge.
But Rich Pirotta, Penn State student orga
nizer for the drive, said fan support was a
contributing factor. In addition, he said,
students are getting used to the idea that the
blood donor challenge occurs every fall, so
students are more aware of it.
Whatever the reason, those who gave
blood during the 7-day drive at both univer
sities especially the many who gave for
the first time deserve the thanks and
admiration of the people who stand to
benefit throughout the Commonwealth.
Clearly, members of the University com
munity can take a great deal of pride in
their efforts to support the Red Cross by
giving blood.
Without a doubt, the Pitt / Penn State
Blood Donor Challenge has given a new
meaning to “bleeding blue and white.”
1984 and December 1985 issues of
Scientific American.
Milton W. Cole
Peter B. Shaw
Physics Department
Nov. 18
Deplorable act
Through my four years at Penn
State, there have been many issues
that I have almost written a letter to
the editor about. Somehow they all
ended up in a pile of good intentions.
This morning I saw something that I
could not keep silent about; it made
me sick. Some people decided they
were above the law and disfigured
Pattee.
The content of the statement that
these misguided people were trying
to make is laudable, but their method
is deplorable. How foolish they are
also of those standing with me and
gazing in horror at the hideous
smears of red paint, none were dis
cussing the issue, they all expressed
deep anger towards those who could
do something like this. Such a child
ish and destructive method of ex
pression can only lead to the
conclusion that these characteristics
are shared by the perpetrators. And
therein lies the real crime.
This action is so unfair to those who
have worked dilligently and eloquent
ly in-the protest against pornography,
and who do not condone actions such
as these. Now they must bear the
brunt of anger this crime has caused.
The absolute arrogance of this ac
tion astounds me. How dare these
people assume that they are outside
Looking out for No. 1 with self-esteem survival tactics to live by
freshman English 15 essays it shouldn’t
be applied in real life.
Each has his own place in this world.
Each of our contributions, no matter how
small, is essential to the whole picture.
When we compare ourselves to others we
just demean the self-esteem that we’ve
worked so hard to build up. We lose the
pride in ourselves as we look at the pride
that others have built up in themselves, and
loss of pride in oneself constitutes loss of
who we are.
Survival Tactic No. 2 Do not achieve for
anyone but yourself.
Life is too short and the world too small to
pursue the dreams of another. If every child
of every career-pushy parent pursued the
dreams of his bearer, the world would sadly
resemble a war-torn meadow in a remote
section of Vietnam. The war rages on at the
command of a faceless hierarchy.
Soldiers, powerless and empty as the cold
steel bullet shells that litter the once-flou
rishing meadow, fight each other, human
against human, because they have been told
so. The injustice of it all litters their camou
flaged faces as the bullets howl by their
ears. They fight for their country, not for
themselves. They fight because they have
been trained to do so. Drilled to believe
what the majority wishes. Camouflaged,
the law because their cause is
“just?” Heinous things have been
done in the name of “justice.” The
primitive dangers of an eye for an eye
are obvious. How ironic it is that a
protest against obsenity was regis
tered through an obscene gesture.
Maryeilen Kiernan, senior-speech
communications
Immature
As I looked at The Daily Collegian
on Monday, I saw the article entitled
“Pandemonium breaks loose after
lion victory.” I, being a student and a
proud Penn Stater, was outraged.
TRADITION??? How can Penn State
continue a tradition of vandalism? I
thought people on campus were re
sponsible, mature adults. Instead, the
picture I see is of immature children
who cannot see the implications of
their actions. Don’t you realize the
eyes of the nation are upon us now,
scrutinizing our every action?
Isn’t it a shame when we are
looking at the possibility of cutting
some of our athletic teams some of
whom are also national champions
and world class athletes due to
financial reasons, that we carelessly
throw away money on a tradition that
is dangerous, against the law, and
brings no pride to the University.
Clean up your act and get with it.
Leave traditions of vandalism be
hind; it costs too much money for the
University and for the student body.
Let’s be Penn State Proud, not van
dals.
Patrick J. Lenz, senior-political
science
they defend themselves from humans who
should be their peers.
• I see too many faceless combatants in this
career-oriented world. We do it for the
money or the prestige or for our parents.
Ourselves we lose somewhere between the
lines at the Shields Building and the depart
ment store Master Card machine. More and
more I’m beginning to like the concept of
the starving musician who performs for no
one but himself. He has the raging internal
fire.
I feel sorrow for the ones with the fire for
education yet without the funding to keep
kindling near the hearth of opportunity.
It makes my heart ache to see those with
potential, and firewood, burning their kin
dling in a quaint brick fireplace, when they
well know that it-should be a bonfire with
monstrous orange tipped, blue flames
whose fiery arms extend into the night sky
and lick the stars that provide the nightly
lumniscent glow. . . and boil the water from
the big and baby dippers.
"Star light, Star bright, first star I see
tonight...”
Survival Tactic No. 3 Believe in
self.
Believe in yourself like you believed in
Santa Claus and reindeer hoof pitter-patter
on the rooftop at Christmas time. People
Things iouKe supfvsep 7o Bei/eve„,
The airport is
COMPLETELY SAFES'
MY ABStm--
X MEAN GOVERNMENT
HAP NOTHING- To DO
WITH THE HIJACKING-/
daily Collegian
Tuesday, Nov. 26,1985
©1985 Collegian Inc.
Gail L. Johnson
Editor
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.
Board of Editors Managing Editor: Mark DiAntonio;
Opinion Editor: Doug Popovich; News Editors: Patrick
Collier, Bill Ferrell, Anita Katz; Copy/Wire Editors: Bob
King, Anita Yesho, Phil Galewitz, Sue Graffius, Colleen
Barry, Lori Goldbach, Ron Yeany; Town Editor: Pete
Baratta; Assistant Town Editor: Megan O’Matz; Campus
Editor: Anita Huslin; Assistant Campus Editor: Kim
Bower; Sports Editor: Chris Lindsley; Assistant Sports
Editors: Mark Ashenfelter, Chris Loder, Chris Raymond;
Arts-Editor: Jett Bliss; Assistant Arts Editor: Pat Grand-
jean; Features Editof: Amy Fellin; Science Editor: Nan
Arens; Graphics Editor: Tony Ciccarelli; Photo Editor:
Jett Bustraan; Assistant Photo Editors: Dan Oleski,
Gregg Zelkin; Business Page Coordinator: Rich Douma.
Board of Managers Sales Manager: Susan Shamlian;
Assistant Sales Manager: Dawn Kelley: Accounting
Manager: Cathy Reese; Marketing Manager: Roland
Deal, Jr.; Office Manager: Wendy Metzger; Assistant
Office Manager: Amy Norris; Layout Coordinator: Co
rinne Salameh.
Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian encourages com
ments on news coverage, editorial policy and University
will try to rob you of this belief. They can
snatch it as easily as the muggers in New
York City will snatch a purse or gold chain.
If you let them.
Now, remember last weekend’s date that
“had other plans” and stood you up. Re
member the physics test that you stayed in
a whole weekend to study for and got a 62 on
when it seemed as though the rest of the
class had aced it. Remember your devasta
tion. And you swore for the rest of the
weekend that you were failing out of school
. . . and you drank excessively at Friday
night’s party.
Now, think. Hey, that date that stood me
up doesn’t know what they’re missing by not
going out with me. I know I could have
shown them a good time. I had some extra
cash to spend and if they don’t want to be
friendly then forget them. Never let reject
ion lower your self-esteem. Never settle for
someone who doesn’t appreciate who and
what you are. Realize that there are always
fish in the sea. The problem is not the
fisherman but the bait used.
As for the physics test, you did your best
on that test. The double numeral in red at
the top of the test page signifies nothing
negative about your intelligence or capabili
ties as a student or as a person.
Heck, you gave up a Penn State party
affairs. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced,
signed by no more than two people and not longer than
30 lines. Students', letters should include semester
standing, 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.
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 cannot guar- :
antee publication of all the letters it receives. All letters .
received become the property of Collegian Inc. ;
Mail letters to: The Daily Collegian; 126 Carnegie Build- "
ing; University Park, Pa. 16802. Names may be withheld “l
on request. Letters may also be selected for publication
in The Weekly Collegian.
Karen L. Jaret
Business Manager
Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be
presented to the editor. Business and advertising com
plaints should be presented to the business manager. If
a complaint is not satisfactorily resolved, grievances
may be filed with the Accuracy and Fair Play Committee
of Collegian Inc. Information on filing grievances is
available from Gerry Lynn Hamilton, executive secretary,
Collegian Inc.
About the Collegian: The Daily Collegian and The
Weekly Collegian are published by Collegian Inc., an
independent, non-profit corporation with a board of
directors composed of students, faculty and profession
als. Students of The Pennsylvania State University write
and edit both papers and solicit advertising material for
them. The Daily Collegian is published Monday, Tues
day, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the semes
ter, and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during
the summer. It is distributed on the University Park
campus. The Weekly Collegian is mailed to Common
wealth campus students, parents of students, alumni
and other subscribers who want to keep abreast of
University news.
The Daily Collegian
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1985
OUR BULLETS
ONLY STRUCK
THE N/JACKERSS
HEH, HEH, HEH,„
NEVER AGAIN.,,
HAH!
weekend to stay in and study for that test,
you gained five pounds because you had to
nourish your brain while studying through
the night and heck. . . you’re damn proud of
the fact that you didn’t cheat like the person
next to you who received an 85 percent.
Now think. I did the absolute best I.could
do on that test so why should I compare
myself with the cheater next to me? Then
think . . . heck, physics isn’t even my ma
jor. And then swear at the University for
making you take the dumb course anyway.
In a world of cut-throat, back-stabbing
and blackmailing competition, the only way
to keep our sanity is to remember how
important we are to others and especially to
ourselves. Yes . . . especially to ourselves.
At this time of Thanksgiving, as you and
your family join hands around the dinner
table for grace, remember how special
those at the table and those in our thoughts •-
are to us. Remember to save a place inside
to thank yourself.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and
may you always believe in yourself and
“The Great Pumpkin.”
Megan Culhane is a sophmore majoring in
journalism and a columnist for The Daily
Collegian. Her column appears every other
Tuesday.
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opinions
The Far Side
Usually the only reason I even look at a newspa
per is to read The Far Side, but one day I happened
to open the Collegian to the opinions page and
began to read an article by Michael A. Moyer
about what the United States should do about
terrorism. I guess I’m just a “bleeding heart
humanist” because I, unlike Mr. Moyer, would not
enjoy seeing anyone, including a terrorist, pub
licly dismembered.
And I suppose it’s only “liberal bullshit”, but I
see no point in risking innocent lives by bombing
suspected terrorist headquarters.
By the time I was finished reading his column I
was enraged! Maybe if I was lucky I would never
see another one of his crappy articles again! No
An outlook six months would provide
Alice Kramden is home, waiting for the vet’s
report on her mother’s ailing collie, but she is
being secretive so that Ralph won’t find out about
the ten dollars she spent on the examination.
Ralph, too, is awaiting the results of his recent
physical examination. As any Honeymooner’s
fan might expect, the vet’s report arrives while
Alice is out and Ralph is soon under the impres
sion that he has the dog’s arterial monochromia'
and six months to live!
Naturally, Ralph calls on Norton to serve as
audience to his tragic account, a responsibility to
which Norton is most passively obliged. The
audience sees the scene as still another of
Ralph’s overly dramatic reactions. Of course it ? s
not overly 1 dramatic to Ralph, because as far as
he knows, he’s got six months left. Or as Norton
so eloquently phrases it,“ln six months, blimp
takes off!”
“Six months” has an interesting ring to it as
far as time goes. It’s enough to get your act
together before you take off, but, on the other
hand, it’s not so long that you would be forebod
ing over your impending death for an unreaso
nably long period of time.
You gotta’ wonder whether or not it would be to
your benefit to actually know when you had but
six months left in this sucking, swirling eddy of
despair that we so affectionately term “life.”
If everyone was entitled to know when the six-
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NIGHTLY: 7:15, 9:15
such luck. As I was searching for the top twenty
countdown in Wednesday’s issue whose column
should I see but Mr. Moyer’s. “Give him another
chance,” part of me said, “it couldn’t be worse
than the one on terrorism.” I was wrong. The topic
this time around was capital punishment.
Mr. Moyer wanted to know why the death
penalty shouldn’t be used. First of all, it serves no
use as a crime deterrent that would enter the mind
of an irrationally thinking criminal.
Secondly, why should a murderer who causes a
lifetime of pain and anguish to the victim’s loved
ones suffer only a few seconds in the electric
chair? Extermination of a criminal, besides not
being our own choice to make, is not good enough!
By suffering in a harsh prison for the rest of his
life, with no chance of parole, maybe this individu-
month countdown was to start, it would add an
interesting new facet to each individual’s overall
personality, since for some, the outlook on life
might be concentrated on what to do when the
bell sounds for the final six. At such time that this
warning bell signaled that the end was near,
people would have some major league decisions
to make. In the case of the college student, the
question of whether or not to stay in college
would arise. Then if one chose to stay, would he
start attending classes, or just live it up to the
beat of the clock winding down?
In Ralph’s case, as he sits down to write his
will, he realizes that he has nothing of any worth
to leave to Alice. Well beneath all that spare tire,
Ralph has a big fat heart, and he decides to sell
his story to a magazine so Alice will be able to get
by when he’s gone. American Weekly offers him
$5,000 for a week by week account until the day
he “drops dead.”
However, since I have never seen a copy of
American Weekly on a newsstand and since they
probably wouldn’t squeeze my death bed story in
front of the Geneva Summit, I’d have to figure
out another way of wasting a half of a year. First,
I’d make a point of getting my snooze button
fixed (or removed) so I could avoid sleeping
through the better part of my remaining time.
The chances of my being able to salvage my GPA
would be slim, but I guess I’d give it a shot (not
that I’m making any great effort as is).
I guess I really can’t make a valid judgement
as to how I would handle such circumstances
since I happily (I think) have more than six
months left (I think).
I doubt that too many college kids devote a hell
of a lot of time preparing for their departures. At
least I haven’t seen any carbon copies of any
one’s last will and testament lying around the
dorms. But bring the death concept up after a
party or a drunken Trivial Pursuit marathon,
and you’ve got the coolest convo since Donald
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al might feel a fraction of the pain he has caused
friends and family of the victim.
“What about the taxpayers,” screams Mr. Moy
er, “why should they be forced to house this
degenerate!”
OK. Put the degenerate to work. Have him dig
ditches, make license plates, or use him for
medical experiments. Maybe by testing different
drugs on criminals, a cure for cancer or some
other benefit to humankind might result. All I am
saying is anything is better than another senseless
murder in the name of justice.
So, Mr. Moyer, don’t think we’re turning our
backs on justice.
Justice and death are NOT synonymous!
Dave Pasquarelli, freshmen-computer science
Nov. 13
Sutherland’s drug induced “Atomic Universe”
theory from Animal House. Everyone will get
real serious except for one comedian who’ll mock
everybody else and try to scare them. After a
while, it becomes obvious that this guy is the one
who’s really scared.
So when you’re driving around later, you can
just turn to this guy, look him straight in the face
and yell “BOO!” Then, as he slams his head
against the windshield out of sheer terror,
eveyone else in the car will be laughing so hard
that the beer will be coming back up through
their nostrils.
Adults seem to spend even less time discussing
the topic of the ever approaching end, just like no
one usually talks about tomorrow morning’s
comp-sci final. People who finished college in or
around 1962 must feel the end just around the
corner. The more desperate of this group may
devote a lot of their time to composing nasty
letters about young news columnists who are
merely trying to entertain the masses with some
light hearted and innnocent sarcasm (sort of like
David Letterman). But I seriously try to stay
away from abusing my elders, unless they se
riously deserve it, as they so often do.
If I heard my six-month-warning whistle
sound, I guess I’d stay at PSU, if for no other
reason to continue my reign of practical joke
terror on my dorm floor. Then I’d tell my
roommate that I was on the way out and that he
was automatically entitled to a 4.0 when I finally
bought it. It would be cool watching him party
like he didn’t have a worry in the world. Then
we’d see if there is any true relationship between
perfect grades and dead roommates. After those
two projects I’m not sure what I’d do. Maybe I
could finish that symphony I’ve been working on.
Brian O'Leary is a freshman majoring English
and a columnist for The Daily Collegian. His
column appears every other Tuesday.
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