8 The Daily Collegian Editorial Opinion Students need to attend USG debates to help plot the University's future Aldo Barovero. Roger Czulewicz. Courtney Malveaux. Leslie Osborn. Mark Stewart. Jim Van Horn. Do you know who these people are? You should. One of them will be the next Undergraduate Student Government president. He or she will serve as the liaison between the University administration and the students. Here are the candidates and some of their main goals: ■ Write-in candidate Barovero hopes to restructure USG's legis lative branch while maintaining USAB and Academic Assembly, to eliminate the office of USG vice president and to visit Harrisburg to address recent state funding cuts to the University. ■ Czulewicz and running mate Janine Salomone plan to address inadequate student health care and understaffing at Ritenour Health Center, to help eliminate tuition increases and to address inadequate student parking. They have also expressed concern about commu nication between USG leaders and the student body. ■ Malveaux and vice presi dential candidate Saul Trieman want to stop USG infighting, funding for radical speakers and backing of left-wing political issues. They plan to redirect the USG Department of Women's Concerns and create three new departments to address finan cial, 'academic and community services. ■ Osborn and Michael LaFlam want to create a Department of Higher Education Affordability to fight tuition increases and open Uni- daily Collegian Tuesday, March 19, 1991 01991 Collegian Inc. Editor Ted M. Sickler Business Manager Ty D. Stroh! 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. 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, some grievances may be filed with the Accuracy and Fair Play Committee of Collegian Inc. Information on filing grievances is available from Gerry Lynn Ham ilton, executive secretary, Collegian Inc. Letters Policy: The Daily Collegian encourages com ments on news coverage, editorial policy and Univer- Remembering Mom, Dad and Nostalgia is part of human nature. People like to sit around and remember how great everything used to be when they were younger. I mean, that's what movies are for, right? High school memories, college memories, falling in love, getting married and having children are popular movie subjects. Am I the only one who's noticed the absence of movies about middle school? You remember middle school . . . it's that holding tank we're dropped into to sink or swim through our pubescent years. In my mind, no matter how bad high school got, middle school was a thousand times more hellish. Many of us try to block out those few years of horror. Especially if we weren't "cool." At least in high school if you aren't cool you can tell yourself it's because you don't want to be. You can rationalize. But in middle school, you haven't learned a key lesson of life yet: "Rationalize to Survive." And so, not only are you fighting your first battles with acne (and losing badly), but you are yanked hard from elementary school Get smart ■ Stewart and Merryl Werber plan to increase and improve stu dent services such as allowing stu dents to use their meal points downtown, providing buses to away basketball and football games, add ing weekend HUB Eatery hours and establishing an 800 number for class scheduling. ■ Van Horn and Kim Thorsen plan to restructure USG by combin ing the USG Senate, Academic Assembly and USAB into a 40-nem ber USG Assembly, lobby the Uni versity's Board of Trustees for an open budget, bring fast food restau rants into HUB eateries and extend HUB student organization office hours. Perhaps the biggest issue to sur face in this year's USG election is the inclusion of the sexual orienta tion clause into the University's non discrimination policy. Czulewicz/Salomone and Mal veaux/Trieman do not support add ing a sexual orientation clause to the University's non-discrimination pol icy. The other candidates support the clause. In the end it is up to the voters to decide which issues are most impor tant. Know the facts. Go to the USG election debate at 7 tonight in Find lay Commons in East Halls and the final debate at 7 p.m. Thursday in the HUB Assembly Room. And vote wisely, because the direction of the University is in your hands. 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. Letters may also be selected for publication in The Weekly Collegian. All letters received become the property of Collegian Inc. Letters and forums from University Park and State College: Please deliver any submissions in person at the office of The Daily Collegian; 123 S. Burrowes St. All authors must be present with picture identi- fication either University ID or photo driver's license when presenting the letter or forum. - - - . Mail other letters to: The Daily Collegian; 123 S. Burrowes St.; University Park, Pa. 16801-3882. 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 profes sionals. Students of The Pennsylvania State Univer sity write and edit both papers and solicit advertising material for them. The Daily Collegian is published Monday, Tuesday Thursday and Friday during the summer. My Opinion Laura Wexler security into a world where, if you don't fit in, you stick out. You're doomed to be a very small minnow among a mass of adolescent sharks Okay, so maybe I had it worse than you all did, seeing as I was a middle school geek, but I really believe middle school mentality is the same everywhere. Let's face the facts: There is no place on Earth ruled so tyrannically by the majority than middle school. Everybody wanted to be so average no smarter, no taller, no nothing. But who were we kidding? And why the hell did we turn our backs on ourselves in order to fit in with a bunch of people who were turning their backs on themselves? I wish someone had taken pity on versity budget expenditures. They also plan to increase student rep resentation on University commit tees and increase involvement with the State College Borough Council. - . 4-0.544'ff. ()pinions C) , oy - s.ii.mzx4 l, tN-_Ps oll ' ll xlim! 4 • ,o / Reader Opinion Policy of hate We have been avid supporters of Penn State women's basketball during the past two seasons. Not only has it been great fun to watch a team that plays well together, it is nice to see that so many team members get playing time; a true "team" rather than five or six players and 10 or so bench-sitters. As a team, they are deserving of much praise for hard work and outstanding performance. However, we were hurt and disappointed after reading recent accounts of Rene Portland's pol icy concerning the sexual orientation of athletes. Mass media reports indicate that Portland discriminates against Penn State students, or potential Penn State students, who are homosex ual. . We suggest that University students, faculty and staff members boycott Penn State intercol legiate athletic activities until it is clear that dis criminatory practices are eliminated from all of those activities. If any representative of Penn State, including an athletic coach, is engaging in the administra tion of policies of hatred, then the University community has a responsibility to censure those policies. An institution of higher learning should foster an environment free of hatred and fear, recog nizing the inherent worth of each individual, rather than to facilitate oppression. Anthony Fleury graduate-speech communication Mary Dineen Fleury graduate-communication disorders 'Explore the fantasy' It is hard to believe that the sun will ever shine again in State College and that it will ever be spring. Despite the weather outside, spring is right around the corner Spring Week 1991 begins April 13 and registration takes place Thursday and Friday in the ground floor of the HUB. Since January, the Overall Committee has been hard at work creating new programs and restructuring Spring Week, keeping in mind the goal to make this year's event University-wide me in middle school. You know, tapped me on the shoulder and said, - Yeah, Laura, you're pretty much a geek. But, hey, it's better to be a geek than an identity-less carbon copy." But, alas, no one clued me in (besides my parents, and what kid listens to their parents at age 13?) and so I tried my hardest to convince everyone that I was just like them, that I was normal too. But I had a few disadvantages that put me behind from the start. First of all, my parents were weird and embarrassed me nonstop through my middle school years. People routinely asked me if red was my natural skin tone. My father was a kid's nightmare. Yes, Morris Benjamin Wexler gunned through the neighborhood every day (at the exact minute I stepped off the schdol bus) in his run down, two-mile long Cadillac, tipping his ten-gallon cowboy hat to us in passing. Here I was in suburbia . . . where everyone else's dads wore Levis and Adidas on the weekends and my dad wore plaid floods held up by rainbow striped suspenders. And then there was me. While all the other girls had long straight hair, I was known as "Sonny" to anyone life as a middle school geek Here I was in suburbia . . . where everyone else's dads wore Levis and Adidas on the weekends and my dad wore plaid floods held up by rainbow-striped suspenders. over 30 because my hair was crew-cut short. Everyone else sported the Jordache label across the tight seat of their jeans. Not me. I had generic jeans three sizes too big (growing room, according to my mother, who was not known for her compassionate fashion sense.) It was eighth grade before I convinced my practical-to the-point-of-ridiculousness mother that I was tired of the neighborhood boys recognizing their outgrown clothes on my body. She finally stopped buying my clothes at garage sales. By far, my biggest disadvantage was the elementary school teacher who decided to include me in the elite group of "Gifted and Talented" children (fondly remembered to all as the geeks. ) "No, no, not me," I screamed to my parents after the first day of seventh grade. "I'm not smart. I'm normal. I'm average. There's been a mistake Where to write State College and University Park residents may submit letters in person at 123 S. Burrowes St. with photo iden tification. Others may write to: The Daily Collegian Letters to the Editor 123 S. Burrowes St. University Park, Pa. 16801-3882 All writers must provide phone number and address for verification. Letters may be no longer than two typewrit ten, double-spaced pages. Letters of up to three pages may be submitted as forums. The Collegian reserves the right to condense or reject submissions. Submis sions become•the property of Collegian Inc. D ear Con, and open to all students and all organizations. Because Spring Week presents such a unique opportunity to have fun plain and simple we expect a diverse range of participating tea ms this year. However, in order for this to occur each orga nization must make the choice to participate. By joining any organization or club, you become friends with many people. By registering on Thursday or Friday you will be participating in one of Penn State's greatest traditions. You and your friends will be able to partici pate in the jello relay, the obstacle course, the spaghetti eating contest, the carnival after the Blue and White Game, and many other activities and events. Imagine all the lasting memories you and your group will have after Spring Week is over. It is these kind of memories that last well beyond your stay in Happy Valley. Because there are so many organizations on campus, this year we have created registration categories for joint, sole and small teams. No longer will a group of less than 50 have to pay the same registration fee and compete in the same category as groups many times their size. The opportunity is there for all. There has been an obvious effort to include even the smallest orga nizations in this year's event. and it's ruining my life! - Useless, all my screaming was useless. I was branded a GT dreg, thrown into the pits of unpopularity to rot until the last day of eighth grade when I would finally be free. What a nightmare. I never want to go back to middle school. But if I did, I would do things a lot differently. Because by this time in my life, I like myself a little more and care a lot less about the majority. And what a relief it was to stop acting like someone I wasn't. What a relief it was to stop acting like I didn't know my parents. I never ever thought I would say this, but I have to thank my parents for being so nonconforming. Because I shudder to think of the woman I would be today if my parents had allowed me to try to shove myself in a certain mold. When my mother tried to comfort me, her poor geek daughter, by saying, "Those other kids are all Tuesday, March 19, 1991 T - PUT 11-1 K PLACE MARKET... DIC O /011 IS RACE ON 'W MARKET? However, there is only so much a seven-mem ber committee can do. The Overall Committee has done all it can to make it as easy as possible of the entire University population to "Explore the Fantasy." It is up to you and your friends whether or not you participate or let this tradi tion pass you by. Registration once again is Thursday and Fri day in the ground floor of the HUB. We invite all students to make the most of their time in Happy Valley with Spring Week 1991. Paul Moses overall chairman, Spring Week 1991 Congrats! I would like to take this opportunity to con gratulate and to thank the Penn State men's and women's basketball teams for an absolutely tre mendous job well done. While most people were thinking about the "last this," the "end of that," and the "it's over syndrome," I was thinking about firsts. I was thinking about the many firsts accomplished this year by the two programs. For the men, 1990-91 was the first time they won the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Consequently, this season they were in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 26 years. They won their first game in the tournament in 36 years by beating UCLA for the first time ( in as many tries.) And, finally, Bruce Parkhill became the first head coach to win a tournament game his first year in the tournament. Congratulations and thanks for the memories to graduating seniors Lem Joyner, Marty Joyce, Tony Soskich, C.J. Johnson and James Barnes. The 1990-91 season was one of firsts for the Lady Lions as well. They were the first Lady Lion team to win 29 games. They were the first Lady Lion team to be ranked number one by the Associated Press poll. They were the first team from the Northeast to be ranked number one in the AP poll, which has only had 14 other teams occupy that spot in the history of the poll. Finally, this was the first season they drew more than 5,000 and 6,000 fans for the Rutgers and James Madison games respectively, Congratulations and good luck to Terri Wil liams, Shelly Caplinger and Tanya Garner, the graduating seniors. It's been a great year and a hell of a run, but let's not forget the most important "first" of all; the Nittany Lion and Lady Lion basketball tea ms will always be first in our hearts. Thanks again for a fantastic year! R. Michael Kuney senior-international politics jealous of you," I know she was lying But what she was really saying was, "Be you, Laura. And screw the other kids." I just didn't want to hear that then. Things are so different in college (thank God). In fact, they're opposite. People are more interested in you if you aren't normal. I don't mean if you're mentally imbalanced. I just mean that if you have your own style, whether it's dyeing your hair purple or burying your nose in a book, you have a better chance of people wanting to know you. Somehow, most of us have matured from our middle school days. And that's good to know. Things aren't perfect here, but at least you have a better chance of being accepted, even if you don't follow the latest trends or any trend at all, than you did a few years ago. I feel I must end in due homage to my parents who suffered with me during my adolescence. For they always said, "As you get older, your parents seem smarter. - How true. Laura Wexler is a sophomore majoring in English and a Tuesday columnist for The Daily Collegian.
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