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Get involved
Many times, lack of student understanding is shrouded
by a blanket of apathy. And too often people only complain
about apathy instead of taking action to correct it.
Well, as far as the Undergraduate Student Government
Department of Political Affairs goes, the talking’s over. In
an attempt ta increase student awareness of political
issues, the department is sponsoring a series of student
debates next semester.
“We want to increase student interest in the political
world. Students don’t always know how what’s going on in
Israel and what’s going on in Nicaragua affects them,”
said William Bailey, chairman of USG’s student debate
committee.
Students are the lifeblood of this University and their
opinions should be heard and more importantly rep
resented by the student goverment. USG is making this
opportunity available for students to voice their opinions
and broaden their perspectives on many issues.
Todd Sloan, a member of the debate committee, noted
that organized groups have strong opinions on current
issues and many times shut out other student views. The
debates will open the door to public opinion but if you
choose to ignore this chance to make yourself heard, you
shut yourself out and have no right to complain.
A golden rule
Offering a hand in friendship when another is in need is
the greatest service a person can perform.
As University administrators and faculty struggle with
programs and seminars to make Penn State attractive to
minority students, two programs at the University are
extending a hand in friendship to make the job easier.
The Buddy System, a three-year-old program run by the
Paul Robeson Cultural Center, brings students and faculty
members together in a one-to-one relationship so students
can become acclimated with the University,
Director of the Center, Larry Young, said faculty inter
action allows students to become familiar with University
operations and also puts them in touch with sources of
information.
Wayne Detwiler, assistant professor of vocational edu
cation, and his wife Kathryn, decided to be bilddies at the
beginning of the semester.
“Being a buddy keeps me in contact with the younger
generation and helps to establish mutual understandings,”
Wayne said.
If buddies aren’t enough, students can also turn to “The
Family..”
An informal support group that originated in East Halls
in 1983, The Family offers what one member calls, “true
friends,” who help out.
Darryl King, Family member and Black Caucus Presi
dent, said Family members do a variety of activities
together. Briefly, they do what any other set of friends
would do go to dances, go to bars, or just sit around and
talk.
The goals and ideas of both programs are worthy. Both
have made positive strides in helping students adjust to
the University Community.
. , ... and There
Grain of SALT
Amid spectacular disclosures of back-channel arms
deals with Iran and secret Swiss bank accounts for the
Nicaraguan Contras, the Air Force quietly and carefully
made the world slightly less safe than it was before. The
United States exceeded one of the numerical sublimits
contained in the 1979 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.
Now that the U.S. has flouted the treaty, it will be much
easier for the Soviets to ignore its ceiling. In such ways
does the fabric of nuclear-arms control become unraveled
and the security of the U.S. become imperiled.
Courage to stand against death
Although polls show that more than 80 percent of the
American people favor capital punishment, Gov. Toney
Anaya of New Mekico does not. The governor commuted to
life imprisonment the sentences of five murderers await
ing execution.
Anaya hopes to set a precedent for other governors. We
don’t feel optimistic about that prospect. But we do
applaud Anaya for exhibiting courage in his own state.
Greensboro News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.
Abusing power to give life
Gov. Toney Anaya has abused his constitutional power
to commute death penalties by issuing mass commuta
tions for the five men on New Mexico’s Death Row.
The power of a governor over death sentences was
intended to be used on a case-by-case basis to weigh
whether each individual has done something to warrant
the state’s mercy.
Anaya has imposed his personal convictions and extend
ed a blanket commutation to those who do not merit
clemency.
He sent the wrong message to criminals: go ahead and'
commit your murder and mayhem, and our state’s
softhearted, softheaded governor will guarantee you a life
in prison with room and board provided free.
The opinions expressed by other newspapers are not necessarily those
of The Daily Collegian’s Board of Opinion.
The Milwaukee Journal
Santa Fe New Mexican
The LCB fiasco:
Will rational thought take Pennsylvania out of the Dark Ages?
" Wouldn't it be terrible if I quoted some
reliable statistics which prove that more people
are driven insane by religious hysteria than by
drinking alcohol? ” W.C. Fields
The other day I read with interest and excite
ment of Gov. Thornburgh’s order to disband the
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. I was disap
pointed, but not really surprised to'read the
following day that a union filed a suit in the
Commonwealth Court to restrain the disband
ment machinations pending a review of the
state’s Sunset Law.
The LCB debate is a classic example of politics
and bureaucracy in inaction. This state-funded
operation is responsible for both the sale of
alcoholic beverages and the enforcement of
Pennsylvania’s liquor laws.
The last real piece of legislation to continue the
53-year-old agency was passed in 1975 and ex
pired last year. A one year extension to the LCB’s
life was passed last year, theoretically to allow
the General Assembly time to review the laws
and reform them as necessary, or to develop an
argument and procedure for disbandment of the
LCB.
What seemed to happen in reality was that the
entire Pennsylvania legislature tried to take the
argument to the people without really telling the
people all the facts. Dealing with the LCB issue
was delayed just long enough for the'election
results to be tabulated. It is now dumped on a
lame-duck administration for action.
The state’s Sunset Law stipulates that any
state-funded agency, program or bureau that is
funded on a temporary basis, that has not been
refunded or whose charter is not extended by the
ending date of the original funding shall have six
months to cease operations beginning on the day
after the final day of funding.
Thornburgh’s order to begin a six-month wind
down of LCB operations is both a valiant and
futile last ditch effort to accomplish something
he has been trying to do for years; disband the
LCB.
It is valiant in its intentions and futile in its
destiny. Even if the court reaches a decision
quickly and approves the disbanding order, and
even if no further suits are brought to bear, and
even if the procedures to disband are actually
started, in January a new governor takes over. A
governer who has already stated he wants the
LCB to stay around.
The biggest problem with all of this is that no
one has to my satisfaction provided any sound
logical argument for either keeping or disband
ing the LCB. I’d like to state some of the mytholo
daily Collegian
Monday, Dec. 8, 1986
©1986 Collegian Inc.
Anita C. Huslin
Editor
William Q. Landis Jr.
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.
Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian en
gical arguments that I’ve heard concerning both
sides, shatter them and then state a few more
logical suggestions toward resolving the issue:
Myth: The LCB was established by an act of
legislature. It should therefore be an act of
legislature that disbands it.
Fact: The Sunset Law is an act of legislature.
It was designed not only to prevent automatic
cutoff of monies, but to prevent unwanted bu
reaus from lingering on and using up state
money.
Myth: It is a conflict of interest for the same
agency to both enforce liquor laws and promote
alcohol use.
Fact: First of all, how many underage drink
ing violations are actually passed out by the
LCB? Most are handled by local and/or state
police. Second, with the exception of the few 20
percent-off sales that have popped up within the
past year, the LCB doesn’t do much in the way oi
promotion.
Indeed, the prices charged for some items, and
the inavailability of others, particularly wines,
have caused many people I know, who have the
opportunity, to skip the border to Maryland or
New York to make other than general purchases.
Therefore, if the LCB neither promotes nor
enforces, what does it do?
Myth: Disbanding the LCB will increase the
incidences of underage drinking and drunken
driving.
Fact: The logic of this one entirely escapes me.
The penalty for providing alcohol to minors is
severe. Any private store owner would risk his
livelihood by violating this law. If we assume the
general public is so much less competent anc
responsible than a state employee, we have
reached a very sad state of affairs.
It would also be assuming the managers of al :
bars and taverns that serve alcohol have beer
courages comments on news coverage,
editorial policy and University affairs.
Letters must be typewritten, double
spaced and no longer than one and one
half pages. Forums must also be type
written, double-spaced and no longer
than three pages.
Students' letters should include se
mester standing, major and campus of
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include the major and year of graduation
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verification of the letter. Letters should
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Names may be withheld on request.
The Collegian reserves the right to edit
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standards of good taste.
Complaints: News and editorial com
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with the Accuracy and Fair Play Commit
tee of Collegian Inc. Information on filing
grievances is available from Gerry Lynn
Hamilton, executive secretary.
*-**• o t*;
Desert "Rjo
Arms sales: Watergate again?
Is the United States facing an
other Watergate scandal? Is the
media exaggerating what’s hap
pening with the Reagan adminis
tration? Is President Reagan
fessing up to the secret White
House arms sales to Iran and
money transfers to Nicaraguan
rebels? Should a special Congres
sional Committee be appointed to
investigate the situation or should
private counsel be hired to take a
look at what’s going on?
The Daily Collegian’s Board of
Opinion would like to know what
the faculty, students, staff and
area residents think about the
situation.
Deadline for letters-to-the-editor
and forums is 1 p.m. Monday,
Dec. 8. Materials should be di
rected to Opinion Editor Terry
The Daily Collegian
Monday, Dec. 8, 1986
grossly incompetent and should turn over theii
jobs to state employees.
As far as drunken driving is concerned, the
current attitude of “ban the drink because ban
ning driving is too inconvenient” has resulted in
many reforms to the alcohol laws. Very few, if
any, of these has had much effect on eliminating
drunk drivers. The biggest factor in lessening the
amount of these incidents will be stiffer penalties
for those found guilty of the infraction.
Myth: Disbanding the LCB will produce a
greater availability of alcohol to minors because
there will be more stores selling it.
Fact: This one is not quite the same argument
as the previous myth, however, I can use some of
the same logic against it. I can also ask, “Says
who?”
Current laws on the books limit the number of
liquor licenses distributed in a certain area
based on a per capita assessment of the area
involved. Because of this, liquor licenses in State
College are being sold for six-figure dollar
amounts. And that is just for the license, not for
the building itself. (That’s right gang, we’ve got
all the bars we can handle right now.)
Why can’t the same type of limitation be
applied to retail liquor stores?
Myth: Disbanding the LCB will leave thou
sands of workers unemployed.
Fact: This one is conditionally true. The condi
tion is that they have no desire to be anything but
a State Store employee. The Thornburgh admin
istration has already stated that current employ
ees would have first crack at purchasing the
defunct stores. Any group of employees who are
on the ball should be able to negotiate a part
nership and/or a small business loan to buy out
the store they worked in.
Another good side to this would of course be the
reduction of the state bureaucracy. That alone is
a convincing argument.
Unfortunately, many of these suggestions and
compromises will be ignored or forgotten in the
political arena of absolutes. The LCB will most
likely be around for a while, doing whatever it is
they do. And Pennsylvania will remain soundly
in the archaic dark age that it feels so comfort
able in.
Mark Johnston is a senior majoring in mechan
ical engineering and a columnist for The Daily
Collegian. His column appears every other Mon-'
day.
Mutchler or Assistant Opinion Ed
itor Jim Higgins.
All authors must bring the
materials to the Collegian office,
126 Carnegie Building, in person
and present proper identification.
(If there is more than one author,
all must be present).
Students’ letters should include
the semester and major of each
writer. Letters from alumni
should include the author’s major
and year of graduation. Names
may be withheld on request.
The opinion editors reserve the
right to edit letters for length and
to reject letters if they are libelous
or do not conform to standards of
good taste.
Due to the large number of let
ters received, publication of each
letter cannot be guaranteed.
reader opinion
Fan of the fans
Dear U.C.C. Concert Fans:
Now that our Fall concert season is over, we want to
take a moment to thank you for the major contribution
you made to its success.
The Hooters, Robin Williams, and Steve Winwood all
made a point of telling us what a wonderful time they had.
Without exception, they were overjoyed by the warm,
enthusiastic response they received. They were especial
ly impressed with the Rec Hall audience’s ability to
express its excitement in such a friendly way with out
getting out of hand. R’s a positive example of Penn State
spirit. Let’s keep it going.
A smiling crowd is our motive from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. the
day of a show. The 130 UCC members would like to give a
standing ovation to those of you who made up our
audience of over 14,600.
Tune in
In response to an article criticizing the new music of old
rock and rollers written by your sadly misguided, cultu
rally deprived columnist Brian Schaffer, we feel obli
gated to enlighten Mr. Schaffer’s understanding of
musical talent.
Although we can’t deny that Bruce Springsteen’s more
recent efforts have fallen short of the Boss’ par, Schaffer
goes on to make some swooping statements regarding
other artists, in particular, Peter Gabriel and Stevie
Winwood (or, as he sarcastically put it, “Stevie Gabriel
and Peter Winwood”), claiming they sound the same.
Schaffer should try to look beyond the similarities of those
voices and listen to the incredible music they are contrib
uting to the 1980 s.
Schaffer is too musically simplistic to accept that other
artists have matured and are letting their maturity come
forth through their music.
Furthermore, Mr. Schaffer should stretch his limita
tions beyond his Chuck Berry, three-chord progressions
(which set the standards for rock ’n’ roll in the 50s and the
years to follow, but are less than substantial in keeping
rock ’n’ rolj interesting) and listen to how rock music has
evolved.
We won’t hesitate to agree that rock, in general, has lost
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the “kick” that it once had, but it is no longer a means of
rebelling against a disfavored establishment. It is now an
extremely polished form of art. And it is true that many
rising artists today seem to be “sappy” in their efforts,
but it is incredibly naive to close your mind to the
musicians who continue to write thoughtful rock music.
Oh, poor Mr. Schaffer, please take a walk to one of the
record stores downtown and purchase the latest albums
by Peter Gabriel and Stevie Winwood. Also, take a listen
to the latest contributions of other artists, such as Peter
Townshend and Lou Reed.
There is so very very much music out there, Brian.
Please add a few more albums to your Boston collection
before writing another article about today’s music scene.
Alan Friedman
Junior-Advertising
Religious Freedom
Brian Schafer’s column “Secular Humanism” is one of
the better columns to appear in the Collegian this semes
ter.
The only reason Fundamentalist Christians want to ban
secular humanism is because' they believe it promotes a
“Godless society.”
If that’s what they want to believe, that’s their right.
But, if there are those who wish to believe and live in such
a society, that’s their right also.
Religious freedom and the belief that “all men are
created equal” are the bases upon which this country was
founded. Take either of them away, and you’ve destroyed
the very concept of America.
I am utterly appalled when I hear about book bannings,
record burning and other suppressionist movements to
rid society of Godless beliefs.
This is not religious freedom. It is one part of society
trying to force its will on the rest of society. It is also what
Adolf Hitler did in Nazi Germany, what the Ayatollah is
doing in Iran, and the main reason the pilgrims fled
England.
It completely baffles me how America can condemn
such actions in foreign countries, yet condone them on her
own shores.
I’m not condemning the fundamentalists for their
beliefs. But I have heard the beliefs of their religion and
do not wish to be part of it. And when they try to force
their beliefs on others, they’ve gone too far.
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If America, as we know it, is to survive, all people of all
religious faiths, regardless of what they may be, must be
allowed the right to believe and worship as he pleases.
Playboy Publisher and Editor Hugh Hefner best de
scribed the American way when he said, “If a man has
the right to find God, then he should have a right to find
the Devil.”
Rethink
Once again, I am amazed at the total inability of the
university administration to take its mission seriously. As
they demonstrated in their uniformed opinions on divest
ment, President Jordan and the members of the Board of
Trustees, most prominently its president, Mr. Obie Snid
er, have surely neither read, marked, nor inwardly
digested the very words of the charter which called the
Pennsylvania State University into being. These may be
read, for those who remain similarly unenlightened,
engraved in stone over the portals of the Administration
Building, Old Main. The essence of these words, penned
by none other than President Abraham Lincoln himself, is
that this university is dedicated to “liberal and practical
education.”
It may be the inveterate prejudice of a rapidly aging
classicist and historian, but it seems to me that “liberal”
entails the root meaning of “free,” and “practical”
entails the root meaning of “active.” Hence, I do not quite
understand, unless we have reached the era of Orwellian
Newspeak, why it is that Mr. Snider keeps insisting that
the purpose of a university is “education, not activism”
and Mr. Jordan keeps insisting that “politics,” which is
surely praxis in its most broadly understood sense, has no
part in a university, let alone Penn State.
I know where Mr. Jordan received his education - at a
highly respected university. I do not know where Mr.
Snider received his, but if he is a Penn State alumnus, he
managed to avoid Penn State’s celebrated commitment
to excellence in education, and certainly managed to
avoid elementary logic. Otherwise, I doubt whether either
Mr. Snider or Mr. Jordan could suggest with a straight
face that they, as administrators of this university, have
nothing to do with politics. Aristotle tells us that the art of
politics teaches us not only to live, but to live well. Mr.
Jordan and Mr. Snider appear to think that politics is
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The Daily Collegian Monday, Dec. 8, 1986—11
other persons’ insistence on freedom, social justice, and
the constitutional right to free speech. “Politics” surely
has nothing to do with inviting a high-ranking member of
the Republican administration to raise funds for this non
political university. "Politics” similarly could have noth
ing to do with a celebrated football coach’s endorsement
of a Republican candidate. “Politics” could certainly not
be involved in the Board of Trustees’ refusal to allow free
and open “public” debate at a meeting of the Board which
is open to the public.
I urge Mr. Jordan and Mr. Snider to take seriously their
own contention that “the business of a university is
education.” Become educated, gentlemen. Learn to read -
and to reason.
Gail Paterson Corrington
Asst. Prof, of Religious Studies and Classics
Religion
While claiming that the universe is unknowable, Brian
Metrick, in his “Brotherly Love” column that appeared in
the Nov. 11 edition of The Daily Collegian, unabashedly
teaches us the “inside truth” about who (or what) God
really is.
It is evident from his proposition, “God is just another
name for the natural world and nothing more,” he does
not believe in an infinite, personal, loving God. Yet, in
accord with the humanist faith (see Humanist Manifesto,
books I and II) he claims if we would all just throw away
our belief systems and religions, humankind could then
be united in love and harmony
However, if we are realistic about ourselves, we would
say that each of us is essentially selfish (in motive if not
likewise in action), “looking out for No. 1.”
The Christian God calls this concept sin and this is what
prevents our world from living in harmony.
Jesus calls His followers to love all people, because
even though all sin against God, all of us were created in
His image. Only when we forsake ourselves for this Christ
(see Matthew 10:37-39) can we all be united in Him and
for Him.
It’s not mine to judge whether Jerry Falwell or anyone
else is a true Christian. I only know the infinite-personal
God who sends His only Son to die for me to love a whole
lot more than a god of an unknowable natural world.
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