opinions
Exposing a silent fear
With the pressures of making the grade or off campus that might irlterfere with
academically, fitting in socially, and pre- academics and cause mental or physical
paring for a life in the dreaded “Real discomfort or injury. .
World,” college existence already has more Along with the University, Interfraternity
than its share of psychological torment. Council, Panhellenic Council and 67 of the 71
Why then would we create our own special Penn State fraternities and sororities asso
brand of physical and mental abuse to add ciated with national chapters also already
to this already intimidating list, and in have their own anti-hazing statements,
typical college fashion, pass it off as good So far so good.
clean fun? Enforcement is where the problems lie.
We do, believe it or not. It’s called hazing Disciplinary action cannot be taken until
and it can indeed be considered physical someone complains of wrongdoing. IFC, for'
and mental abuse. Sometimes more. example, cannot act unless a report alleg-
In 1978, Chuck Stenzel, a student at Alfred ing hazing violations is filed with its Board
University in New York, died while trying of Control. Considering the secrecy with
to'drink alcohol in 9-degree weather as part which fraternities guard their initiation
of a fraternity’s hazing practices. rituals, chances are most violations will go
This incident confirmed that fraternity unreported,
pranks and rituals, previously considered But if the letter of the law is not easily
harmless or perhaps ridiculous, are becom- enforced, its spirit is hard to avoid. The
ing increasingly dangerous. main purpose of the legislation is to deter
The state House of Representatives hazing,
passed a bill earlier this month that would The fact that pledges have some leverage
make hazing harsh initiation rituals to fight back against severe hazing prac
during which pledges prove their loyalty tices ought to be enough to keep the worst
and endurance a third-degree misdemea- potential offenders in line. Given the fears
nor punishable by a $2,500 fine and one year of liability currently hitting so many organi
in prison. zations, greeks ought to realize that they
Currently, hazing isn’t covered by any are responsible for the saftey of their mem
specific law. This proposal, which is now bers. And the new law would make it easier
under the state Senate’s consideration, for individuals to hold the University and its
would require colleges to adopt a written organizations accountable in court,
anti-hazing policy and a method for enforc- Taking into account the secrecy sw
ing it. rounding hazing and the nature of its intan-
In the 1985-86 Policies and Rules for gible mental damage, proving criminal
Students, Penn State outlined its hazing mistreatment might be an imposing chal
policy, stating that registered student orga- lenge. But at its best, the law will make
nizations may not engage in any activity on greeks rethink their rituals.
Write
HU A
Redundant regulation:
snafu or cure to society's maladies will win the Legislative Turkey Award?
Which political
"The more control, the more that re
quires control "
It seems as though every day brings news
of another piece of legislation being intro
duced, voted upon, passed or amended, the
purpose of which is to fix a problem, control
an excess, channel funds, or initiate action.
The sponsoring politician holds it up as the
answer to society’s maladies. Recently,
many laws have been passed in the name of
the public good; the action instigated by a
vocal minority, not necessarily desired by
the majority, but accomplished in the name
of all. There has also been a trend to throw
legislation at a problem without considering
the ramifications of the “solution.”
Of course this is not new. However, be it
due to increasing technology, scientific re
search, the changing economy, or just plain
complacency, many present laws that were
once considered excessive in nature are
now thought of as common sense. Exam
ples: motorcycle helmet laws, mandatory
drivers insurance, state-operated liquor
stores. Perhaps the current barrage of laws
will all be thought of in the same way come
10 or 20 years. But for now, let’s
examine some of the more noticeable bal
derdash ...
Here we are in the heat of the
summer in Happy Valley. If you think
there are HOT issues out there that
need to come te people’s attention,
why not write a letter-to-the-editor
telling us what you think should be
done.
The Daily Collegian’s opinion-edi
tor welcomes letters from students,
faculty, staff and area residents con
cerning issues and topics of interest
to the Collegian's readership.
* •tsssisl
JKREDHE
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HCNMXty
Unknown
We’ll start locally. The most recent exam
ple has to be the new anti-cruising law in the
State College Borough. Enough opinions on
the virtues and idiocies of this law have
been printed over the last few days, so I
won’t go into a dissertation on this one.
Suffice it to say that I feel it is a useless
piece of drivel which may end up producing
more problems than it solves.
Another local snafu is the open container
law that was enacted a couple of years ago.
The idea behind that one was to eliminate
the “practice” of public urination during
the Phi-Psi 500 and the Arts Festival.
Tougher enforcement of disorderly conduct
and public drunkeness laws would have
been much more effective toward achieving
this end. (How interesting that the wording
Authors must present letters to the
editor (no more than \ pages,
double-spaced) or forums (up to
three typed pages, double-spaced) to
the Collegian in 126 Carnegie.
Students’ letters should include the
term and major of each writer. Let
ters from alumni should include the
author’s major and year of gradua
tion. All writers should provide their
address and phone number for verifi
cation of the letter.
of the law allows one to possess an open
container in one’s car.)
As we move on to the state level, let us
stop to consider the Liquor Control Board.
The Thornburgh Administration has repeat
edly tried, to no avail, to disband the LCB
and open liquor sales to the private sector.
The LCB is an overly bureaucratic agency
that has held the monopoly on the liquor
industry since Prohibition. I feel that local
ly-owned and -operated stores would be
much more willing to pass down distribu
tor’s discounts to customers than an agency
that has a 20 percent off sale once a year.
The state government came up with a real
dilly with my next example. Legislation was
proposed that would require the suspension
of a drivers license until the age of 21 for
any person under that age who was caught
in possession of any amount of an alcoholic
beverage. (Note: Not drinking and driving,
just casual possession.) The purpose of this
was to keep our kids from driving while
intoxicated.
Anyone who frequents the downtown
night scene has surely noticed the changes
in “Happy Hours.” Limits have been placed
not only on the number of different drinks
that can be “discounted,” but on the amount
of time that any special can run. There have
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B "FAMILY TIES:
reader opinion
Contra Aid
As a voter, a member of the student
government, and an American serv
iceman, I am disappointed and angry
at Congressmean William Clinger’s
vote, to renew U.S. assistance to the
Nicaraguan Contra rebels. Although
he claims that such aid will help to
keep the United States from becom
ing directly involved in the conflict, it
will actually assist in further en
trenching us in the affair.
I find it particularly discouraging
to observe that, while representatives
of our government assert that we are
attempting to establish a democratic,
human-rights oriented government in
Nicaragua, we continue to support
the economic interests of South Afri
ca, which systematically denies such
rights to its 25,000,000 blacks.
Clinger must reconsider his posi
tion on this vital issue, and begin to
realize that the United States cannot
afford to continue contradicting itself
on foreign policy matters which di
reclty affect millions of human lives.
Executive Assistant
Undergraduate Student Government
Soccer Squabble
Part II
America has the right to feel proud.
Sportwise, the country has been able
daily Collegian
giMm
Nan Crystal Arens
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.
IK
1 V
to succeed in almost every competi
tion there is. There’s almost nothing
that America can’t prove to be the
best at. Almost nothing. Did anybody
mention soccer? Nah. Soccer is a
dumb sport, anyway. Isn’t it? I’d
rather watch pro-golf, or “The Brady
Bunch” re-runs, instead of a soccer
match. Who the heck cares about
soccer?
NBC mentioned that three billion
people are expected to watch the
World Cup final. Three billion. Two,
according to our Sports Editor, but
what’s the big difference between two
and three. Zeros, old pal, like the ones
you would expect to get if you won
any tournament in Amerca. Of
course, you’d get them after some
commas, in checks. Doesn’t it sound
stupid to give everything you got only
to attempt to win an ugly $5 chunk of
gold? Yessiree.
If Reagan held a press conference
to announce a nuclear war against
Russia, he wouldn’t have three billion
people watching him. Or two. Exclud
ing communists, half of the world’s
kids wouldn’t give a darn. How come
a boring, perhaps scoreless game,
attracts so much attention? Man, I’ve
seen a black dude named Pele doing
TV commercials. I think he’s Brazil
an. He’s the King, and we’ve got him.
We’ve got the best. Nevertheless,
soccer in the U.S. is a commercial
failure. Everything in the U.S. that
fails commercially fails undoubtedly.
Bob Bender
Monday, June 30,1986
©1986 Collegian Inc.
William G. Landis Jr.
Business Manager
been many mixed feelings on this one, but I
believe that this type of regulation restricts
the free enterprise system of the tavern
industry.
As we move out of our home state, we
encounter the winner of the Legislative
Turkey award. The New York State Seat
Belt Law. Yes seat belts save lives I wear
mine when I travel. However, by regulating
their use we allow Insurance Companies yet
another way of shirking payment. Clauses
are written into some life insurance policies
which void payment in the event that the
insured is killed while perpetrating a crime
that is, the breaking of a law. Hence, if
you are killed without your seat belt on,
your family receives nothing. In this case,
the people that the law is designed to pro
tect, become the victims of the law.
Now let’s hit the national level. The
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Bud
get Act. Need I say more? While it is
necessary, in the light of the ever increasing
deficit, the letter of the law was grossly
overlooked. The individual agencies were
given no guidelines on where the cuts in
their own programs were to occur. As such
they were forced (or allowed) to “rob Peter
to pay Paul.” Had the wording of the law
mandated a straight across the board re
duction in all agency programs to include
The Daily Collegian
Monday, June 30, 1986
...NEXT TO NT/
cm OF COURSE.
Board of Editors
Managing Editor Amy Fellin
Assistant Managing Editors
Chris Raymond, Kris Sorchllla
Opinion Editor Jill Graham
News Editor Anita Yesho
Wire Editor Doug Popovich
Copy Editors
Sonya Baum, Kim Bower,
Heather Malarkey, Sheryl Weinerman
Sports Editor Matt Herb
Assistant Sports Editor Mark Brennan
Arts Editor Pat Grandjean
Science Editor Kathi Dodson
Graphics Editor Tony Ciccarelli
Photo Editor Gregg Zelkin
Assistant Photo Editor Dan Oleski
Sales Manager David M. Profozlch
Office Manager Mary Lynn Johnson
Assistant Office Manager
Amy Constantine
Accounting Manager K.C. McClure
Layout Coordinator Nancy George
salaries and/or manpower, we’d have seen
administrators tripping over themselves to
cut out the real fat.
There is an adage referring to machinery
maintenance that our leaders would do well
to remember: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix
it!” I am not a Libertarian, a Liberal, a
Conservative, a Populist, a Socialist, or any
other type of -ist, -el, -al, -an, -er, or -ie. I
just feel that if our elected officials would
spend more time rewriting the existing laws
to close the loopholes that allow murderers,
rapists, child abusers, and other felons to
become repeat offenders, the rest of the
world would be able to take care of itself.
And I doubt very much that the human
race faces extinction if I don’t wear my seat
belt while circling the block on my way to
the 2-for-l drink special at the corner bar.
“That government is best which governs
the least, because it’s people discipline
themselves.”
Mark Johnston is a senior majoring in
mechanical engineering and minoring in
English. His column appears on alternate
Mondays.
Who wants to watch three hours of
play for a couple of minutes of thrills?
Especially when either team hardly
scores, and maybe nobody wins?
Three billion people. Or two. They
must be crazy.
I wish I wouldn’t have written this,
Mr. Herb, since it shows that I read
your colunn. Obviously you’ve nei
ther played nor understand the es
sence of soccer in the least. To you it
might not mean nore than a dull way
of exercising. To three (or two) bil
lion people it means more. I shall not
attempt to tell you why. I was just
responding to a growing concern
among some of us who are disgusted
by the poor and offensive coverage of
the stupid World Cup, for which three
(or two) billion stupid die-hard fans
care.
Maybe it would be better if you
ignored the subject, as America has
done till now, instead of presenting it
in a wrong way. What might seem
facts to you is really an attitude
which has prevented soccer from
reaching in America the magnitude it
enjoys everywhere else in the world.
That attitude makes America the
winner in almost every competition,
but not in soccer. It could never be
profitable to recall that winning is
merely an excuse for playing the
game.
Carlos A. Leon y Leon D.
graduate-chemical engineering
Board of Managers
Thomas Jefferson
Vets' health care funds declining, Edgar says
Bob Edgar
What’s The Difference?
Notice the Q on the left. The
outline is rough, density is uneven
and quality— well, it just isn’t
there. This Q was printed by a
daisy-wheel printer and enlarged to
show detail.
Now, look at the Q on the right.
The outline is perfect. The density
of the letter is equal all-around and
the letter is crisp, clean and clear.
This Q was set by a typesetter and
enlarged to show detail.
Typesetters are designed to produce
perfect letters. Everything is con
sidered-letter width, vertical
128 Carnegie Building
ff VI University Park, PA
863-3215
collegian I production 8:30-4:30, Monday-Frlday
By KARL HOKE
Collegian Staff Writer
Veterans health care benefits will be reduced by $234
million in the next year if the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings
deficit reduction guidelines are followed, said U.S. Senate
candidate Bob Edgar.
Edgar, six-term comgressman, D-Delaware, told Penn
sylvania members of the Disabled American Veterans
Friday that 35,000 veterans seeking health care in this
country, including 1,700 from Pennsylvania, are already
turned away every month.
“Every major health facility is turning veterans
away,” Edgar said. “There has been a net decrease in
health care expenditures while the number of veterans
seeking health care has increased,” he added.
Edgar, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Com
mittee, is seeking to unseat incumbent Senator Arlen
Specter, R-Philadelphia, in November. Specter spoke to
the veterans Thursday.
Edgar said that while medical care expenditures for
veterans have increased from $3.5 billion in 1975 to $9.6
billion in 1985, those expenditures, if adjusted for infla
tion, have actually declined during the period.
“The adjustment for inflation is equivalent to $3.2
billion. Therefore there has been a net decrease in real
DOES SALLY DETER THOSE WICKED
SCOUNDRELS THREATENING TO TAKE A
BIG BITE OUT OF HER WALLET?
SHE CAN WITH THE CASH
SHE EARNS BY DONATING
PLASMA IN HER SPARE TIME
Sera-Tec Biologicals
120 S. ALLEN ST. (REAR)
237-5761
9-5:30 MON., TUES., THURS.
9:30-3:30 WED., FRI.
height, spacing between letters
-both horizontally and vertically
- and density of the letter.
Little PC’s just can’t offer you that.
' Why settle for poor-quality work?
Wouldn’t you rather present a
r6sum6 of crisp, clean, clear letters.
Think of the overall appearance.
Don’t just show your interviewers ,
qualifications, show them
QUALITY. .
If it’s quality you want, come to
Collegian Production;
dollars spent for health care,” he said.
In a brief news conference afterwards, Edgar respond
ed to Specter’s optimistic outlook Thursday on veterans’
healthcare programs.
“Obviously (Specter) hasn’t spent as much time at
veterans’ facilities as I have,” Edgar said.
Edgar also criticized Specter, a member of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, for refusing to take a stand on two
controversial Reagan Administration judicial nominees,
Jefferson Sessions and Daniel Manion.
“(Specter) voted against them in committee, but then
voted to report the nominations to the Senate floor,”
Edgar said. “He says his excuse is the full Senate has the
right to confirm. But then why have a committee? . . .if
Manion’s credentials were so poor he should have been
rejected outright.”
On Thursday, Edgar challenged Specter to a series of
televised debates. The location and number of debates
would be determined at a later date if Specter agree? to
the televised meetings, he said.
“I believe we should go to all six major media markets
with the debates,” Edgar said, adding that he would
prefer 12 debates.
Specter had no immediate response to the challenge,
but Edgar said he expects his opponent to agree to the
debates.
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