2 The Daily Collegian Editorial Opinion Major step forward New legislation helps alleviate problems of people with disabilities Around the nation, people with disabilities must overcome obsta cles others consider trivial. Cross looks from strangers and discrimi nation in the workplace only add pain. In the past, legislation to provide services for people with disabilities has been limited in its scope. But the recent congressional approval of the Americans with Disabilities Act marks the passing of the most sig nificant civil rights legislation since the 1964 act prohibiting racial dis crimination. The bill, which has President Bush’s blessing, aims to alleviate some of the discrmination in the hir ing of people with disabilities and also requires transportation sys tems and public facilities to be more accessible. Among the bill’s key provisions are clauses requiring restaurants, stores and professional offices to make their services available to those with disabilities; businesses with 15 or more employees to disre gard handicaps in hiring decisions and make special accommodations for disabled workers; Amtrak, com muter rails, local and intercity bus systems to provide space for pas- daily Collegian Tuesday, July 24,1990 ©1990 Collegian Inc. Editor Ted M. Sickler Business Manager Ty D. Strohl The Daily Collegian’s editorial opinion is deter mined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding final responsibility. Opinions express ed 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 Lori Shontz Opinion Editor Jesse Fox Mayshark Campus Editor Stacy S. Niedecker Town Editor Mark Jones News Editor Linda D. Wahowski Copy/Wire Editors Laura A. Ward, Chino Wilson, LisaZollars Sports Editor Tom Esterly Assistant Sports Editor Laura Eckert Arts Editor Caryn Brooks Discovering the feel Long in my dream appears the land. The bare land is in serenity the tex ture of the land smoothly fluctuates, and the color of soil smoothly moves in the spectrum, from black to brown to red to yellow and then to white. I felt the urge of going closer and closer, to be close to the earth. My Opinion Clay, which is not quite the same as soil, gives me the touch of the earth. Both soil and clay are the result of rocks decomposed by natural erosion, wind and water, millions of years ago. Soil is grainy, while clay is more a body of con tinuity. In contrast to the soil lying relaxed on the surface of the earth, clay is usually found at some depth and can be mined out. Clay has similar color changes to soil, only more subtle. But there is one uniqueness about clay its plasticity. When you grasp a handful of clay, squeeze it slightly and then open your palm, your finger is a bit wet, and that piece of the clay clearly has your finger prints on it and takes the shape of your finger. The feeling is warm and cool, very sensual. Because of its plasticity, the clay can be stretched, spreaded, squeezed and molded. It will take the sengers with disabilities. The bill brings home the message that people with disabilities must be considered equal and capable in the eyes of society. They must be privy to the same facilities, luxuries and treatment as the non-disabled. The bill has even been called a 20th cen tury emancipation, but it can only be so if acted upon at local levels across the country. The University has taken some action to enhance conditions for stu dents and faculty with disabilities, making strides toward upgrading campus buildings to include hand icap-accessible entrances. Howev er, there is still much to be done. Not all campus buildings are wheel-chair accessible, and some buildings lack elevators as well. In light of the new federal legis lation, the University needs to con tinue its efforts to make the campus easily accessible for all community members. The federal bill is a major step toward eliminating the problems and prejudices faced by people with disabilities. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, disabilities will no longer limit the opportunities avail able to all people. Photo Editor Mike Orazzi Assistant Photo Editor Chris Gaydosh Art Department Art Director Amy R. Glass Board of Managers Assistant Business Manager Anne Cunningham Accounting Manager Michele Beccarelli Office Manager Wendy L. Frank Sales Manager Selene M. Yeager Layout Manager Courtney L. Caswell Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints 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 fil ing grievances is available from Gerry Lynn Hamilton, executive secretary, Collegian Inc. Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian encourages com ments on news coverage, editorial policy and Univer sity affairs. Letters must be typewritten, double spaced and no longer than one and one-half pages. Forums must also be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than three pages. Students' letters should include semester stand ing, major and campus of the writer. Letters from alumni should include the major and year of gradua tion of the writer. All writers should provide their address and phone number for verification of the let ter. Letters should be signed by no more than two people. Names may be withheld on request. 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 guarantee publication of all the letters it receives. form under your very hand, and be whatever you want it to be. I would like to believe the material the first human being was made of was clay. Pottery is made of clay. To pursue the cool sensuality and the lost touch of the earth, this summer I attended the pot tery class in the Hub Craft Center. I must have advertised this feeling viv idly, because I even made my friend, who usually shrugs at this sort of activ ity, attend. It is a wheelthrowing type of pottery class, and the clay we use is red clay, the same type of clay bricks are made of. Pottery making consists of several steps: centering, shaping, trimming, drying, glazing and firing. After the first three steps the pot has its feature, and the last two steps will give the pot its full color. At the first class, Rita, my pottery teacher, demonstrated the first two steps of pottery making. On the wheel between her hand, the clay rose and fell, opened up and took shape. The clay just flew. Watching the process of the clay smoothly taking form in her hand was a pleasure. When I tried to sit down to do the same thing, the result was not that great. The clay in my hand was either not centered, or twisted in the opening up; the wall of my mug or bowl or what ever was never quite round and even. I secretly peered at my friend who was skillfully manipulating his piece of clay, and his “reactor ” which was the prima ry shape of his mug series. I felt the bite of embarrasment and jealousy. But there was another feeling grow ing bigger and stronger to neutralize that bitterness. Ever since I grew up, I Opinions Reader Opinion Promote tolerance Recently there appeared in the Centre Daily Times a paid advertisement protesting “the Uni versity’s promotion of the homosexual lifestyle as demonstrated by their advertisement in the Centre Daily Times on Monday, January 22, 1990.” While respecting the right of others to offer criticism, the University categorically den ies that it has “promoted” this lifestyle or any other lifestyle through the eight advertisements developed by the various groups of students. The University is very concerned by the increased number of incidents of “gay bashing” which have taken place at this university and across the country. Members of this university community have an obligation to provide a safe and hospitable environment for all of its stu dents, faculty and staff. Until we achieve the desiredJevel of civility, the University will con tinue its efforts to eduacte and to promote toler ance. Robert E. Dunham Penn State Vice President and Vice Provost Not just women I take exception to Michael Newman’s column of July 17 attempting to distinguish between “pro-life” and “anti-abortion” positions for three main reasons. First, although I agree with his contention that to be truly pro-life one must endorse all policies which promote and take care of life, I have a problem with his exclusive focus on women. Of course women are the ones who get pregnant and then have to deal with the con sequences of pregnancy most directly, but to leave men out of the equation as partners and equally responsible citizens makes this only a women’s issue. This attitude is responsible for a large part of the abortion dilemma today. Males, and male legislators in particular, try to tell women what to do with their bodies and lives without acknowledging the crucial roles of wom en and children in society which require support, or males’ need to share in solving the problem. Second, it is simply not true that pro-choicers of the earth through clay and pottery never thought I would have such a chance to play so freely. With mud on my whole hands, and water here and there on my legs, face, hair and my clothes, there wouldn’t be a sigh from Mom to make me feel guilty, and there wouldn’t be a demand of washing my dirty hands and sitting tightly at the din ing table. On the contrary, I was playing a game of water and mud with some playmates and some sort of competi tion. I was much like a girl who was too fond of the fairyland in the mist to go back. Actually that type of game was not a part of my childhood. Thus, the hunger for the touch of soil, clay and the earth UMOUttfW BURNS) HE TAPES- grew stronger, gradually grasped me tightly, until I was relaxed by making my quite ugly pot. The idea of making wonderful pottery does not mean that much to me. First of all, I am quite clumsy at hand work, so most likely I can’t do it, at least in this sort of playing attitude. Second, I enjoy the process of work rather than putting the finished pot on the shelf. Third, just the possibility of breaking the wonderful pots upsets me God, they are fragile. The mixed feeling toward antique pot tery may be rooted in memories of my childhood. When I was a little girl, my grandma used to collect the pieces of broken china and wait for the worker 1*0)10* BURNS) cusnows. O e 0 view pregnancy only “as something that can be terminated” and not as “a marvel, a special bond between mother and child.” The decision to terminate a pregnancy is almost always a very difficult and painful one, filled with emo tional anguish and certainly not taken lightly. Women who decide to have abortions are no less likely to view pregnancy as a very special event, but are all too aware of the difficulties involved in bringing an unwanted child into the world given the current state of affairs in this country. This brings me to my third point. While New man presents many valid ideas for the way things should be, the reality of the situation for women now facing pregnancy, especially poor, young and single women, is that there is very little available in the way of support. Also, many women get pregnant through ignorance, misuse, or failure of birth control and should not have to bear the burden of those mistakes if they are not ready or capable. Yes, pro-lifers must demon strate support for life in all cases (and I would go even further than Newman with this concept, including opposition to capital punishment and war), but until the day when women and their young children are truly valued and supported, abortion must remain an option. Leigh M. O’Brien graduate-early childhood education Reject prejudice So, the church leaders have decided to use their power to highlight their own self-righ teousness so what else is new? My first response was to shrug the whole thing off as local ignorance, looking for attention it doesn’t who went around the street with a two wheel-cart to repair it. I would be very careful to stay away from her fine china and not to let her worry. When I was in China, I had seen many marvelous pieces of pottery in the For bidden City. Those pots, which con sumed years of craftsmen’s hard work, silently accompanied the emperor as time elapsed and witnessed the changes of history. They are very old and perfect pieces. Now they are kept in glass cases and adored by the people. Those antique pottery pieces seem to me as cold, fragile and far beyond my reach. I also adore them, but personally the reverse style of pottery is more Tuesday, July 24, 1990 I SWOUICNE BURNER. UU.DAN6. I FORGET.. deserve, in labeling certain groups undesirable. Undesirable, meaning the homosexual portion of our community, which this new-found “moron majority” labeled as immoral, among other juicy phrases, in a full-page advertisement they themselves sponsored. Though I admit I haven’t been to church since they were passing out the Ten Commandments, I have yet to meet a single person who was seriously religious that wasn’t a hypocrite, made even more contemptible by the fact that they won’t even admit what they think. Instead, they hide behind some invisible God they claim tells them what to think. And, of course, if they have to listen to God, whose fault is that? You might fool yourself, but you don’t fool me. In all fairness, I must add that Thomas Sear foss, Pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church, said that “the advertisement went against the Christian message of love and for giveness.” He also said that the groups that put out the ad were “a small portion of the Chris tians in this area.” Are they? Since only six churches out of 60 receiving letters protesting an ad Penn State ran in January promoting gay rights agreed to sign officially, it would seem so. But why is it we haven’t heard from the rest of you? Silence is compliance. Do you want to be lumped into the same category as these xeno phobic pinheads? When I was a child, I was stuck in Special Education, where I obviously did not belong, since I am a “B” student in college. It was more in retaliation for my refusal to obey authority and violent tendencies than out of any real desire to help me. The violent tendency I had was a result of the treatment I got from the other kids when they found out I was “one of the retards”; not unlike the treatment certain portions of our society have gotten, and still get, from those who preach love with one face and hatred with the other. The point is, I know what it feels like to get singled out for something that isn’t your fault. So hopefully, the majority of Christians will join this Atheist in telling those six out of 60 churches to shut up and mind their own business. close to me. I like the heavy and big pieces of pots in simple but original form, with one or more neutral colors flowing and mingling. They are closer to nature, and less fragile. I remember a piece of pottery deco rated with a pattern of a roughly sketched man’s face and fish. It was made thousands of years ago in an early civilization called Banpo. That piece struck me as the early exploration for beauty on functional daily utensils. The wheelthrowing brought me closer to pottery. During the time of the Arts Festival at Penn State, I lingered around the pottery booths and talked to the potters. I found I could appreciate their work more and understand more when they tried to explain some special techniques to me. One thing about pottery, they said, is its fragility. Even the most satisfying pieces could break. Another thing is its uncertainty. During the process of firing the glaze tends to flow in different direc tions, precipitate at different locations and mix with other glazes. The effect is unpredictable. Thus it is often a delight ful surprise to watch the colors and pat terns of the pots after firing. They often say: “Let nature do the work.” Right now the processing of pottery has changed a lot from the traditional way; the ingredients of clay and glaze are closely examined by advanced sci entific equipment, and the firing proc ess can be computer controlled. But no matter how it is modernized, to me the attraction of pottery remains as strong. It is the sensual touch of the earth. Without it, I will be homesick. Jinghong Mu, a graduate student in molecular and cell biology, is a colum nist for The Daily Collegian. I WOOD BURN NEILS TRUST FUNG. Steve Moore junior-com munications
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