opinions
editorial opinion
100 years young
Eighteen hundred and eighty seven:
a year of celebration and of firsts.
The medical field experienced a
breakthrough as another analgesic was
discovered; Queen Victoria celebrated
her Golden Jubilee; and Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle tantalized the world with
his first Sherlock Holmes masterpiece,
A Study in Scarlet.
And in April of that year, the Free
Lance Penn'State's first news mag
azine graced the presence of the
College community.
One hundred years, tens of thousands
of students (and hundreds of failed
exams) later, The Daily Collegian cele
brates 100 years of service, dedication
and commitment to both the fields of
business and journalism.
The University has long endured
wars, the Great Depression, student
sit-ins, riots and demonstrations. It has
celebrated two national football
championships, academic excellence,
a man on the moon, desegregation of
schools with the Supreme Court's deci
sion in Brown vs. Board of Education,
and the world's first test-tube baby.
Through space shuttle tragedies and
the loss of great leaders like the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. and John F.
Kennedy, it has cried.
And through it all, The Daily Colle
gian has reported with candor.
In the past 10 decades, every Penn
State president from George Atherton
to Bryce Jordan and many others have
atone time or another had a gripe with
the Collegian's reporting or editorials.
daily Collegian
Tuesday April 14, 1987
©1987 Collegian Inc.
Chris Raymond
Editor
Glenn B. Rougier
Bu - siness 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 Editor Bob King
Opinion Editor Terry Mutchier
Assistant Opinion Editor Jim Higgins
Editorial Writers
Donna Saber, Kathy Casey,
Christine Negley
News Editors
Phil Galewitz, James Stewart
Copy/Wire Editors
Susan• Kearney, Theresa Pancoast
Eric Schmidt, Damon Chappie
James A. Stewart
Town Editor Christine Metzger
Assistant Town Editor
Jane Kopacki
Campus Editor Nancy Funk
Assistant Campus Editor
Carolyn Sorislo
Sports Editor Matt Herb
As students, we have learned, we
have grown, and yes, we've even made
mistakes. Undeniably, we are not fault
less. •
For example, the paper suffered the
consequences of inadvertently running
racist help wanted advertisements in
January 1979. "The Collegian Inci
dent" brought forth many internal
changes at the paper, but ink from the
advertisements continued to blot race
relations between the black and white
communities for quite some time.
Clearly, we were wrong and we were
justly chastised. .
We've made other mistakes since
then as well and we've displeased
many readers by publishing stories
that some people thought should never
have seen print. .
When students who opposed Univer
sity investments in South African-re
lated companies built a shantytown in
front of Willard Building last spring,
critics objected to the constant play the
protesters received on Page 1.
This year, articles and editorials that
take a hard line against the role secret
honor societies play in campus life, or
criticize ineffective student govern
ment, or cite the University adminis
tration for its latest insensitive
blunder, have brought complaints that
state the Collegian is being ignorant,
insensitive or biased.
Quite often our critics are right.
Many times our articles omit facts or
lack perspective or rely too much on
one side of an issue. And, there are
Assistant Sports Editors
Rob Biertempf el, Bob Williams
Stacey Jacobson
Arts Editor Beth Brestensky
Assistant Arts Editor Ron Swegman
Science Editor Kathi Dodson
Graphics Editor Tony Ciccarelli
Photo Editor Cristy Rickard
Assistant Photo Editor Dan Oleski
Board of Managers
Assistant Business Manager
Lori Spossey
Accounting Manager K. C. McClure
Office Manager Curt Sayers
Assistant Office Manager Kelly Moffat
Sales Manager Joe Palastro
Layout Coordinator Annie Corson
Marketing Manager
Dante Orazzi 111
Assistant Marketing Manager
Kristy Burgess
Complaints: News, and editorial com
plaints should be presented to the editor.
Business and advertising complaints
should be presented to the business
manager. If a complaint is not satisfacto
rily resolved, grievances may be filed
with the Accuracy and Fair Play Commit
tee of Collegian Inc. Information on filing
grievances is available from Gerry Lynn
Hamilton, executive secretary, Collegian
Inc.
Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian en
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
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.
Worthy Words
"Aim for professional excellence
but never at the sacrifice of human
pride."
Paula Froke, former editor of The
Daily Collegian, 1981-82
reader opinion
Congrats
Congratulations upon the 100th an
niversary' of one of the best college
papers in America, The Daily Colle
gian.
The Society of Professional Jour
nalists, Sigma Delta Chi has honored
The Daily Collegian as "best" in
recent years, so my compliment is
well-founded.
The crucible of a college newspaper
where students are primarily respon
sible for the quality of the publication
is among the best ways to learn about
the joys and pressures of real journa
lism. As a one-time student newspa
per editor, I can appreciate what a
wonderful opportunity it offers for
testing the realities of enterprise,
talent and judgment.
Just think of how many journalists
worked in 100 years of publication,
who went on to serve the public!
times when our columns and editorials
avoid taking any sort of firm stand.
But if we had allowed the fear of
making mistakes deter us from putting
out our newspaper, the first issue of the
Free Lance never would have made it
off the printing press 100 years ago.
And today Penn State would not have
its financially independent student-run
newspaper a truly rare phenomenon
in college journalism which, despite
its flaws, has won myriad national
honors and serves as an important
check on the power of administrators
and student leaders.
We cannot promise to be perfect; we
never have. What we can do is promise
to do what we have done to work as
hard as we can and subject our work to
constant scrutiny in the light of the
journalistic principles we strive to
uphold:
To the alumni and current staff
members who worked so hard to bring
the Collegian to its centennial, happy
birthday. This. is your day. And to the
Penn State community we have served
for the last hundred years: thank you
for reading faithfully.
As we have realized, journalism is
not a profession, it is a calling. And,
because of the love and dedication that
countless staff members have had for
the Collegian we have reached the
hundredth year plateau. While we are
proud to recall our past, success, we
will continue to reach for the milleni-
Urn.
Sigma Delta Chi knows the value of
student journalism; 10 students
founded SDX on a college campus, 77
years ago, and students comprise
one-fifth of our total membership.
Happy 100th.
The system
It is so nice to know that Secretary
of Education William J. Bennett does
not understand our education system
well. I have little hope for any policy
that he might put out. Classes will
become easier if we all just study
more. Tell that to my roommate who
studies harder than most people I
know. You can't convince him that
will solve all problems. Do I think
that it could just be him that
maybe he can't handle those classes.
No way! He's as smart as anyone else
in his major. It's the education sys
tem.
Ever since the school system be
came an agent by which we assimi
late all people into our society to be
"Good Americans," it hasn't been the
same. It seems to be more important
to educate our children to live in
society than to teach them skills. Why
then, must you ask why high school
classes are so hard? It is easy. Many
teachers simply can't teach. That is
certainly apparent on campus as well
as in high school. One can go to class
everyday, take notes, and read the
text book and not have learned a
thing. Then, students are expected to
take a test on what the course had
covered. A test, according to
Webster, is defined as a series of
questions . or problems designed to
determine knowledge or intelligence.
A test according to many teachers
seems to be either how much one
knows of material not covered in that
class (like Math 140 of which a knowl
edge of some Math 141 concepts are
certainly helpful), how well one can
guess, or how well one can guess what
will and will not appear on the exam.
Oh yes, and how well one cheats,
which still occurs in college much like
it. does in high school. Do these tests
really reflect what materials one
does know. Some do and some don't.
It is however the ones that don't that
Russ Tornabene
Executive Officer
Sigma Delta Chi
The tales of hockey
players and politicians
In the last four months, I have
answered a great many questions
concerning the Collegian's 100th
Anniversary and the role of the
collegiate press. Most of them
have • required a simple public
relations answer.
One question has crossed my
path repeatedly, however, and it
certainly merits closer attention
than the others. Though it may be
of only fleeting interest to the
more than 20,000 readers who will
likely scan this page, I believe it is
worthy of such a forum.
And because Art Buchwald,
Andy Rooney and George Will all
have prior commitments, I have
agreed to take the reigns on this
discussion of the all-important
question concerning The Daily
Collegian's political stance.
Since my first day in office as
the editor, I have defended the
paper's stance on more occasions
than I care to remember. In that
time, the "Carnegie Club" as
the Co/legian staff has recently
been dubbed has been accused
of housing an army of "bleeding
heart liberals" and an equally
loathsome army of "staunch con
servatives." Not to mention, the
ever popular "dead centers."
As far as I know, the only orga
nization capable of maintaining
such a crossbreed of left wings,
right wings and centers exclud
ing, of course, the U.S. govern
ment is a professional hockey
team.
I myself have been criticized for
being a conservative and a liberal
in addition to a few other things
which I don't care to mention in
this newspaper column. Of course,
if I could change allegiances that
easily and over such a broad scale,
there would be no need to debate
this issue.
For the most part, however, I
think the confusion over the Colle
gian's political stance stems from
a misunderstanding of its role as a
college newspaper. University ad
ministrators often view the paper
as a public relations tool; student
leaders see it as a vehicle for
mobilizing student opinion and
others view it simply as a nuisance
an organization of nosey, over
ambitious, self-righteous kids.
Though everyone admires the
work that goes into publishing a
daily paper, few acknowledge that
the Collegian operates under the
same standards and guidelines
that govern almost every profes
sional newspaper in this country.
That misconception isn't altogeth
er unjustified, however, because
there are so few concrete exam
ples by which to judge the Colle
gian.
Today in this country, college
newspapers run the gamut from
eight-page weekly tabloids to 44-
page broadsheet dailies. They can
be further distinguished by the
extent .of professional input they
receive, their degree of financial
independence and the range of
technology with which they are
The Daily Collegian
Tuesday, April 14, 1987
published.
In order to judge the Collegian
by other college papers, therefore,
one must recognize that it aver
ages 24 broadsheet pages a day;
that students make nearly all deci
sions concerning news content;
that it is financially independent
from the University; and that its
equipment and facilities are fairly
advanced.
Those distinctions alone sepa
rate the Collegian from all but a
handful of college newspapers na
tionwide. They also provide its
editors with a lot more options
than most college journalists
have.
Collegian editors can afford to
extend their coverage into state
and national issues. They can af
ford to buy a continuous flow of
wire service reports from around
the world. And most importantly,
they can afford to make decisions
concerning news content without
the fear of disciplinary action
from the University and other
officials or a cut in financial aid.
That final distinction is what
very often determines a reader's
opinion on our political stance. If
we touch a nerve with our cover
age, we are liberals. If we don't,
we are conservatives.
The prevailing atmosphere on
campus can also play a role as
Ivan Holmes pointed out in a re
cent study of college newspapers:
"Today the important thing on
campus is to make the university
look good," he wrote in the The
Columbia Journalism Review. "So
a university newspaper that tries
to publish honest hard news is cut
off on every front. If enrollment
goes down no one wants to release
the exact figures.; if a student is
arrested no one wants to release
the facts; if a coach is caught
cheating, or a professor is found to
be incompetent, the newspaper is
at fault for bringing the news to
the attention of the public."
Thus, no matter how hard col
lege reporters work, they will al
ways be beset with cries of foul
play from both sides the liberal
and the conservative.
The Daily Collegian is not im
mune to the pressures applied to
all newspapers. Our reporters can
be refused entrance into press
conferences. They can be bullied
and badgered by outside sources.
And our editors can be threatened
in any number of ways.
The key to our success, howev
er, is that we can afford to make
decisions contrary to those threats
and still survive as an organiza- .
tion. We can afford to exercise the
same news judgment as profes
sional newspapers though we may
be criticized for being radicals or
lapdogs.
I don't mean to imply that we
are above reproach. In fact, we
welcome criticism. But in this, the
100th year of publication, we are
an institution of liberals and con
servatives, democrats and repub
licans, hawks and doves.
We are an institution deVoted to
uncovering the issues on this cam
pus whether they concern the ad
minis tr ati on, the student
government or simply the student
population.
And that, my friends, is the
strongest stance we take.
Chris Raymond is a senior ma
joring in journalism and the editor
of The Daily Collegian.
will make a class impossible.
Studying under conditions of poor
teachers, books, and exams is vir
tually a waste of time. There are just
some classes you could study all year
and still fail. Is requiring more
courses like his proposed three years
of science going to solve anything? I
had four years of science in high
school and am none the better for it.
What is the purpose of taking a class
and learning nothing? Why don't we
spend more time and money to teach
teachers the "art" of teaching and
the "art" of making up exams. How
ever, we will have to find teachers
willing to do this.
I'm sure that most teachers think
that they are good, and many right
fully so, but what does that prove. I
knew a teacher who was ashamed to
give an exam, because it was too
easy. The mean on that exam was a
50 percent. What are we learning
when the mean is 50 percent? Are the
sociology and psychology classes
really helping teachers to operate in
the classrooms any better? Maybe, if
integration into society is important.
No if teaching skills for careers is
more important.
If we had more teachers like Dr.
Keynes (professor -political science)
who is the best. teacher I've had,
maybe then would studying really
matter. Damon C. Ault
freshman-business administration
opinions
Some other Top Tens
Speaking of macaroni and cheese flavored
lollipops, did you know that David Letterman's
90th birthday was last Sunday? Since Congress
is still up in the air about whether they should
declare his birthday a national holiday or not, I
will dedicate my column to this great man by
listing a number of Top Ten lists that deal with
Penn State. However, as we all know, Penn
State is cutting back on everything, so none of
the following lists actually have 10 items.
. .
. • • t z,..
•
So, direct from the home office in Scottsdale,
Arizona, here are today's Top Ten lists.
The top seven most popular works read by
Penn State students:
7) Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
6) Cujo by Stephen King
5) Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
4) Life of the Harp Seal by National Geo
graphic
3) "Spiderman meets Godzilla's nephew" by
Marvel Comics
2) Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
1) "Here I sit broken hearted and other
assorted bathroom wall poetry."
The top six most common things lost at a
fraternity party:
6) Scarf
5) Coat
4) Umbrella
3) Date
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TENNESS - E.E
W IL L IA MS'
2) Dinner
1) Virginity
The top six duties of any USG president and
vice-president:
6) Attend all University demonstrations and
sell popcorn
5) Tell Bryce how "becoming" he is
4) Pick out clothes for Joepa to wear for next
day
3) Sing "Old Man River" at Fiji Island
2) Clean up marshmallows in freshman sec
tion after Penn State-Pitt game
1) Throw out the first drunk at the annual
faculty-alumni baseball game
The top eight things read in the Collegian by
students:
8) Police Log
7) Personals
6) Peanuts
5) Doonesbury
4)*Elloom County
3) Far Side
2) Any column next to a picture bf a really
geeky looking guy
1) Any article with the words "sexual
dysfunction" in the title
The top seven things least heard at a Penn
State Board of Trustees meeting:
7) "Just who do we think we are?"
6) "Let's try to recruit more minorities to
Penn State."
5) "Let's build a free parking lot on campus
for students instead of faculty."
4) "Let's stop treating the students like
babies and start treating them like adults."
3) "Why don't we lower tuition this year?"
2) "So it's unanimous. We'll divest every
thing from South Africa, tomorrow."
A tie for the number one spot,
1) "Let's change the Lion Ambassador's
uniform to leather." and "Luke, I am your
father, you can't resist the Dark Side."
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April 17, 18, 21-25, 1987
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April 22nd at 7:00
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The top four April Fools Day jokes:
4) "Your folks called, they'll be here in five
minutes."
3) "Don't study now, the Physics test isn't
until next week."
2) "It's not raining today."
1) "Johnny, guess what? The rabbit died."
The top six things heard on College Avenue at
two on a Saturday morning.
6) "I fall down and go 'boom'."
5) "Close your eyes and touch your nose with
your index fingers."
4) "I don't feel very well."
3) "Hey chickee, chickee, chickee."
2) "We're off to see the Wizard."
1) "You have the right to remain silent."
The top five Penn Staters and their famous
relatives.
5) Milton Eisenhower and his brother Dwight
D. Eisenhower, former President of the United
States
4) Eric Walker (of Walker Building fame)
and his third cousin Jimmy Walker of Good
Times
3) Fred Lewis Pattee and his granddaughter
Peppermint Patty, close friend of Charlie
Brown
2) St. Joe Paterno and his uncle, The Big Guy
of heaven
1) University president Bryce Jordan and his
favorite son, Michael Jordan, pro basketball
player
The top nine things said by a freshman at a
fraternity party:
9) "What's your name?"
8), "What's your major?"
7) "Where do you come from?"
6) "Where do you live up here?"
5) "I love frat parties. Do you love frat
parties?"
4) "My name's Felix, I'm pre-med."
3) "I'm a junior."
5) Had mono but traded it in for herpes
4) Grandparent died
3) Other grandparent died
2) One grandparent died, other got mono
1) Roommate superglued face to bed while
asleep
The top four lines used to pick up girls:
4) "Wanna be married for a night?"
3) "Hi, Pm on the football team."
2) "I'm majoring in marine biology, do you
want to go upstairs and see my mussels and
cockles?"
1) "Would you like to help me with my Health
Ed 46 homework?"
The top five techniques taught in subliminal
advertising:
The top five things that the University hasn't
restricted in the last 10 years. (See top five list
above).
1) "Wow man, did you know you have gray
hair?"
Matt Gross is a junior majoring in English
and psychology and a columnist for The Daily
Collegian. His column appears every other
Tuesday.
2) "Do you say 'soda' or 'pop'?"
1) "When do I get my bid?"
The top seven reasons for not taking a test
7) Had mono
6) Have mono
The top five comments on my columns
5) "It's interesting."
4) "It's different."
3) "It's unique."
2) "It was, you know."
The Daily Collegian Tuesday, April 14, 1987
Please Write
Are you angry at a recent edito
rial, article or column printed in
The Daily Collegian and are your
friends are thoroughly bored with
the fact that you've rehashed it at
dinner for the last three nights in
a row.?
Don't bore your friends or ruin
a good dinner, write a letter-to
the-editor and let others in Happy
Valley know what's on your
mind.
The Daily Collegian welcomes
letters from students, faculty,
staff, alumni, and area residents
concerning current issues and
ideas locally, nationally or inter
nationally.
All letters should be typed,
doubled-spaced, and no longer
than two pages. If you believe a
topic merits more of an in-depth
statement then you may submit a
forum. Forums also should be
typed, double-spaced, but may be
up to three pages long.
Author or authors should in
clude name, ID number, local
address and telephone number on
each letter. Writers should sub
mit their letters in person to the
Collegian office in 126 Carnegie
during business hours, 8:30 a.m. -
5 p.m.
Due to a large volume of let
ters, we cannot guarantee that all
will be printed. Opinion Editors
Terry Mutchler and Jim Higgins
reserve the right to edit letters
for length and also hold letters
that are judged libelous or in poor
taste.