The Daily Collegian
Reality check
Female condom newest addition
to safer sex options
A few decades ago, it would
have been bizarre for newspaper
readers to see an editorial cheer
ing the arrival of a new type of
condom.
But evolving attitudes toward
sex and deadly sexually transmit
ted diseases demand that type of
response to the new Reality
female condom.
Preventing unwanted pregnan
cies and halting the spread of
STDs are responsibilities that
must be shared between men and
women.
Aside from abstinence, con
doms are among the most effec
tive ways for couples to act
responsibly when it comes to pro
tecting themselves against STDs.
Reality provides another pre
caution during sexual activity.
But this newly dubbed chapter
in the Book of Love does have a
drawback when it comes to the
issues of cost and dependability.
Reality costs about $2.75 per
condom, while male condoms are
only about $1 apiece. That price
difference has prompted
Ritenour Building to initially
carry Reality in limited supply.
The extra cost for Reality is
worthwhile because it is made of
polyurethane, which is stronger
ythe Collegian
dail
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1994
01994 Collegian Inc.
Angela Pomponlo
Business Manager
Danielle M. Gray
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.
Board of Editors
Managing Editor
Ramit Plushnick
Opinion Editor
Melanie Cox
Assistant Opinion Editor
Paul Resch
Campus Editor
Courtney Cairns
Assistant Campus Editor
Deepika Reddy
Metro Editor
Julie Nash
Assistant Metro Editor
Heidi A. Shubilla
News Editors
Bonnie Harman, Ann Marie Sradomski
Copy/Wire Editors
Juliet Greer, Rebecca Logan
Michael A. Rabkin, Matt Volpi
Weekly Editor
Michele Marchetti
Assistant Weekly Editor
Jason Alt
Student apathy as
When I first came to the
University two years ago,
I was shocked at how con
servative the campus actually
was.
Not politically conservative
we all pretty much know the cam
pus is full of liberals but not
concerned enough to take a stand
on anything. I imagined a campus
with more than 38,000 students
would take a stand on every issue
international, national, state and
local.
But the reality is that student
apathy is something that seems to
run as rampant as drunk people on
College Avenue on Friday and
Saturday nights.
I thought that students would
be up in arms when the State
College Borough Council received
a proposal from the Coalition of
State College Neighborhood
Associations this summer.
The proposal requests that an
amendment be added to the zoning
ordinance that waukl limit student
density in residential areas in an
effort to curb annoyances.
I figured the student masses
would go wild with such news. But
than standard male-condom
material and is less likely to tear.
But convincing sexually active
students to kick in a few extra
bucks may prove to be a tough
task. Efforts should be made by
both University Health Services
and Reality's producers to keep
female condoms available to stu
dents at a reasonable, practical
price. And if enough students
respond favorably to the contra
ceptive, then Ritenour and down
town businesses should keep
them in stock.
And despite early praise from
the medical community about
Reality's potential to prevent
unwanted pregnancies or STDs,
those people who use female con
doms should approach them with
some caution.
Sometimes contraceptives don't
turn out to be what everyone
expected. Past horror stories
most notably the problems that
surrounded intrauterine devices
have taught us that the world
of safe sex isn't always black and
white.
But female condoms used along
with other contraceptives may
prove to be what couples need to
give their Book of Love a happy
ending.
Day Spcitts 'Editor '
-..., MIN Welnreb
Assistant Day Sports Editor
B.J. Reyes
Night Sports Editor
Adam Cohn
Assistant Night Sports Editors
Cameron McGaughy, Michael Signora
Arts Editor
Jason Cherkis
Assistant Arts Editor
Mark Correa
Photo Editor
Debi Winkler
Chief Photographer
Jennifer Plumstead
Graphic Editor
Geoffrey Vaughn
Board of Managers
Advertising Manager
Timothy A. Kerns
Zone Managers
Karen L Arnold, Paul Bitterolf Allison S. DeKosky
Accounting Manager
Stephen K. Breininger
Marketing Manager
Scott A. Myers
omce Manager
Holly B. Corson
Assistant Office Manager
Ellen H. Jacoby
Layout Manager
Kevin C. Foster
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
comments on news coverage, editorial policy and
University affairs. Letters must be typewritten, dou
ble-spaced and no longer than two pages. Forums
must also be typewritten, double-spaced and no
longer than three pages.
Heidi A.
Shubilla
the coalition strategically present
ed the proposal to the council in
the summer, when most
University students are away
from State College. And the stu
dents who were here didn't make
much noise either.
Undergraduate Student
Government President Mike King
did counter the coalition's propos
al. King's counterproposal sug
gested a square-footage plan that
would base the allowed number of
residents on area rather than a set
number. King also wants to delete
the three unrelated person occu
pancy amendment, which prevents
more than three unrelated people
from living in a residential home.
Opinions
rampant
The timing of the proposal was
unfair I couldn't cry student
apathy because most students
were away from Penn State. The
State College/University Park area
was the furthest thing from their
minds. I thought when all the stu
dents returned for the fall semes
ter it would be a different story.
Or so I thought.
Now it's September and stu
dents are officially apathetic in
my book and my faith in the stu
dent body is slowly wearing thin
ner and thinner each day. King
seems to be in this fight alone.
I don't think it's a matter of peo
ple not caring. I just think that, in
general, Penn State students are
too lazy to care a fact that real
ly sucks. We are letting the coali
tion get away with saying all sorts
of horrible things about us, which
may or may not be true.
The coalition listed several com
plaints about students in its pro
posal. We make too much noise,
party around-the-clock, drive
drunk, litter, urinate and vomit in
public.
Personally, I do not fall under
any of those categories. Those
C;wml:walFall
Copy wrongs
I loved Melanie Cox's column about
fighting any system that is unjust or
attempts to squash one's individuality and
creativity. I think it is great that she calls
for action and change.
But because I admired her column so
much, I feel compelled to point out one
misconception Ms. Cox apparently has.
She laments the costs of reading packets,
claiming that "instructor(s) could just
photocopy everything anyway."
Instructors simply can't just photocopy
the material anyway, unless their last
names are Kennedy or Rockefeller.
Our departments do not provide unlim
ited free copies to instructors.
My department, for instance, limits me
to 10 copies per student or 400 per course.
I can barely run off syllabi, assignment
sheets and exams.
Yet, the more important question here
is why the packets are so expensive and
there is another issue Ms. Cox can tackle
(I'll gladly help!).
Most instructors originally used read
ing packets to keep costs down for their
students.
Instead of buying $lOO worth of books,
students could get a few samples of each
book for around $l2 in a packet.
Needless to say, the publishing compa
nies didn't like that idea and pushed for
even stricter interpretations of the copy
right law.
So now we instructors are faced with
an almost impossible dilemma.
Do we really want to make our students
pay $5O or $6O for a flimsy package, sim
ply because copy centers are so nervous
that they insist on expensive copyright
clearance of even a few lines of a poem?
If not, what should we do? Have the stu
dents go back to buying all those books?
Students, instructors and maybe even
the overly cautious copy centers should
unite in fighting these new draconian
interpretations of the law.
Don't fight each other. Fight the real
reason for the sudden absence or prepos
terous price of those packets!
To quote one of my colleagues: this is
not about copyrights, but about copy
wrongs.
So do something;
instructors
liT
NON
LIES
RI
Calling all seniors
Hey seniors! This is your chance to
have your voice heard at Penn State! Do
you have an idea for the Senior Class Gift
of 1995? Would you like to see that dream
become a reality? Well, now is your
chance. Between Sept. 6 and Sept. 12
there will be suggestion boxes for the
1995 Senior Class Gift located on the HUB
Desk, Pattee and the Career Placement
Center. Please drop any suggestions that
you may have in one of these boxes. Who
knows, maybe your suggestion will follow
the legacy which dates back over 100
years.
The tradition of the Senior Glass. Gift
began with the class of 1861, Penn State's
first graduating class, when they present
ed a portrait of Evan Pugh to the
University.
Other classes followed with such notice
able gifts as the Clock for the Tower of
Old Main (Class of 1904) and the Nittany
Lion Shrine (Class of 1940). The most
recent gifts include the Ritenour Urgent
Care Unit (Class of 1993) and the
Extended Hours Room at Pattee (Class of
1994) that generated a record collection of
$115,000 to serve the future students of
Penn State. Construction for the 1994 gift
will begin in January.
It is now our turn, the Class of 1995, to
plan our gift. Do not forget, if you plan to
graduate in May, August, or January of
1995, you are a member of the Class of
1995. Also, if you are interested in helping
out with the Senior Class Gift Campaign
Committee, please drop your name and
phone number in one of the suggestion
boxes or call the Senior Class Gift
Campaign Office at 863-2052. Be a part of
the tradition!
don't blame the
Meggi Schongen
graduate-English
as drunks on College Ave.
"Now it's September and students are officially
apathetic in my book and my faith in the
student body is slowly wearing thinner and
thinner each day."
complaints unfairly lump all
University students into a rowdy,
inconsiderate bunch. Stereotyping
is not the way to go about propos
ing a solution to a problem that
seems to be never ending.
Yes, there are students who fall
under the coalition's categories.
But can they say that all students
fit this mold? Should all students
be forced to live in Beaver Hill
apartments or other such down
town apartment complexes?
I hate the fact that some stu
dents find it acceptable to puke on
somebody's lawn hell, I get furi
ous when people throw bp in my
apartment building. But not all
students do this some of us
actually wait until we get home to
vomit.
And one council member, Jerry
Wettstone, said he believes
yI. L•fJ... {.
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April Campbell
1995 Senior Class Gift Campaign chair
All grown up
Melanie Cox, I understand that your col
umn on Aug. 31 was supposed to be your
opinion, but what exactly was it? I'm con
fused. From what I gathered from the col
umn, you would wish total anarchy on the
University; and all would be well? Maybe
here in central Pennsylvania, it takes a bit
longer to vent the youthful feelings of
angst and oppression. From my short
amending the zoning ordinance is
important for the preservation of
single-family homes.
Students cannot be blamed for
occupying so many residential
homes. Talk to the landlords who
convert such dwellings into apart
ments for students. I'm sure
they'll tell you having students as
tenants is much More profitable
than other residents.
A student wants to have a nice
place to live just as much as any
townie wants to. Students should
be allowed to pick and choose
where they want to hang their col
lective hat.
I consider State College my
home, too. And there are many
people who say that if it weren't
for the students, State College
would just be a hick farm town on
the way to Altoona. We have rights
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1994
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WOLOGKAL
is
UP?
tenure here, I've found Pennsylvania to be
quite a bit behind the times. But the point
of the matter is: you probably should have
outgrown that stage, at least by now.
Every adolescent feels "the system" is
going to suffocate them, but really, it
passes. You realize that not everyone is
working day and night to remove any
unique thought from your mind: they gen
erally could care less about your
thoughts! Not to show Them, but for your
own personal sense of pride.
OK, so I'm Mr. Conservative Bad Guy
here, squashing all your wonderful free
thoughts, right? No. Back in my day I was
rehashing revolutionary ideals from the
'6os. Everyone was out to get me. I may
have even written an underground news
paper or two (and when the statute of lim
itations is up . . .) Again my point: I real
ized that in order to change a system one
doesn't have to yell, scream and whine. In
fact those tactics are usually pulled by
those insecure, unsure, or just clueless
about their positions. Working within the
system to achieve change, though, will.
So you're bored in class. Fine, leave.
Don't make an ass of yourself by bashing
desks around and proclaiming your oh-so
elitist boredom.
Better yet, raise your hand and pose
this question, "Is this topic really relevant
to us?"
If it's so boring that you don't even care
about the subject, boy, what in the hell are
you doing there in the first place?
Try a different major before dropping
out. Become a forest ranger in Oregon
before taking a firebomb to the lion. An
interviewer asked me where I'd be in 20
years, and I said it was either Oregon or
running a bar in Maine.
The fact of the matter is this: Penn
State is a huge impersonal conglomerate.
It's a city. If you even had thought that a
school, 20 times larger than your already
imprisoning high school, would be any
more personal, you were mistaken. Deal
with it. Take up a club: the canoe division
of the Penn State Outing Club does some
of the roughest white water rivers on the
East Coast. Get out of the house and get
some fresh air into them lungs.
There have been some bad My Opinion
columns, especially this past summer. But
here we're talking pure nonsense.
Daniel C. Richardson
graduate-industrial engineering
and we deserve the privilege to
live wherever we want. We should
not be afraid to stand up for some
thing we believe in.
I'm not asking for the protests
that universities like Berkeley or
Kent State had during the late
1960 s and early '7os. Begin by
talking about the issue before
class with your classmates.
Question those in power positions
the mayor, council members
and University administrators.
Quite frankly, I would be happy
enough to see a handful of stu
dents attend borough council
meetings or write a letter to the
Planning Commission.
I don't think my requests are
extreme. We need to let them
know that we do care about State
College and that we won't tolerate
being pushed around any more.
And in case you were wonder
ing, the State College Borough
Council meets at 7:30 tonight in
the municipal building.
Heidi A. Shubilla is a junior major
ing in journalism and political sci
ence and is the Collegian's assis
tant metro editor.