The Daily Collegian Rally brings students together against racism, hatred During the past few weeks, an individual or several individuals began changing the atmosphere around the University. Swastikas and "KKK's" appeared on stu dent's doors, message boards and in dormitory bathrooms, and "Happy Valley" became a place of fear and uncertainty. Students could have reacted negatively. A rift could have been created. Instead, students came togeth er. People who look differently, act differently and have many different ideologies have come together because of the one belief they all share: The racism and the hate-crimes must stop. At 11:45 a.m. today, stand up and go to Schwab Auditorium to show your support for a Universi ty where everyone is welcome. Show the individuals who pro mote hate that you do not support their ignorant opinions. Show these people that you are proud of your beliefs and you do not have to hide behind anonymous graffiti or threats. The rally itself begins at noon with opening remarks by Tuvia Abramson, director of the Hillel Foundation. Following Abramson are: ■ Sandra Choute, one of the stu dents who had graffiti on her door ds;Collegian Friday, Nov. 10, 1995 61995 Collegian Inc. Editor in Chief Courtney Calms Business Manager Randy Abrams The Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is deter mined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding final responsibility. Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not nec essarily those of The Daily Collegian, Colle gian Inc. or The Pennsylvania State University. Collegian Inc., publishers of The Daily Colle gian and related publications, is a separate corporate institution from Penn State. Board of Editors Managing Editor Heidi A. Shubilla Opinion Editor Mark Correa Assistant Opinion Editor Kathy Broderick Campus Editor Erin Strout Assistant Campus Editor Nicole Ostrow Metro Editor Jon Feinberg Assistant Metro Editor Amy E. Oakes News Editors Jason Alt, Julia Geis Copy/Wire Editors Michele DiGiacinto, Michele E. Johnston, James Kwasnik, Rebecca Logan, Scott Perry, Nicole Radzievich Weekly Editor Nanette Bitting Assistant Weekly Editor Lisa Haarlander Peace, understanding, tolerance Twill never forget those flicker ing black and white images. I was still in pony tails then, sit ting in a darkened classroom in Germany. That particular fifth grade history lesson, we watched skeletons walking haltingly, in orderly rows, rows like the ones we made in the recess yard. But these men and these women were walk ing across another yard, in another time. That day, as we watched them walk across our canvas screen, we discovered that they had been walking slowly to their death. The grainy footage we saw was of a "KZ" - a concentration camp. We saw piles of skulls and naked bod ies . . . to describe the shock . . . I can't. I don't remember any thoughts, any words. My horror was and remains ineffable. Back then, I did n't know any Jewish people. I asked my mother about it, and she said that when she was growing up in Egypt, she had many Jewish friends. Stand up ■ Terrell Jones, deputy vice provost for educational equity ■ Arthur Goldschmidt, profes sor of Middle East history ■ Arun Unni, Asian American Student Association member ■ Anne Ward, Unity Coalition of Centre County member ■ Graham Spanier, University president ■ Celeste Delgado, assistant professor of English ■ Ellen Broido, Coalition of Les bian, Gay and Bisexual Graduate Students member ■ Andrew Miller, Amnesty International member ■ Elisha Nixon, Multicultural Resource Center ■ Bill Welch, State College mayor ■ Fernando Gapasin, assistant professor of labor studies at New Kensington Caippus ■ Floyd Cochran, former mem ber of the white-supremacist organization Aryan Nations Closing remarks will be mad by Edna Hernandez, Latino Caucus president, and Maggie Kutzler, Association of Residence Hall Students president. Certain events are more impor tant than classes, and helping to rebuild an atmosphere of safety and understanding is one of them. A year later we moved to Cana da. I was very excited. This initial enthusiasm was soon shattered. During that first week, I made friends with a boy in class. But one day he came to school, walked up to me, struck out his arm straight, and yelled: "Heil Hitler!" Suddenly, I was the object of hate and ridicule. He had men tioned me to his parents, who had straightened him out about my "true nature." His parents weren't even Jewish. They were Dutch. Day Sports Editor Jonathan Bombulie Assistant Day Sports Editor Michaet•Paim Night Sports Editor Matt Volpi Assistant Night Sports Editors Paige Mundy, Don Wagner Arts Editor Melanie Cox Assistant Arts Editor Davis Schneiderman Photo Editor Jennifer J. Plumstead Chief Photographer Aaron R. Bandell Graphic Editor Matthew Zitelli Chief Graphic Artist Benjamin Scanlon Board of Managers Advertising Manager Allison S. DeKosky Zone Managers Scott A. Boetig, Kevin C. Foster, Audra L Smith Accounting Manager Melinda R. Hennessey Marketing Manager Carrie Elmer Office Manager Beth Eichler Assistant Office Manager Karen E. Shontz Layout Manager Antonia I. Schaefer 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 Hamil ton, 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 two pages. I was called a "Jew-Killer." I was 10. I didn't fight back. My mother said to "just ignore it." So I became an easy victim. All the kids ganged up on me. I put up a good front, in those years, but secretly I would cry in my room often, very often. I must say I wasn't the only pariah. There was chubby "fatso" Lois, Kim the "smelly" Korean, Gen eroso the "wop," and "tissue tits" the girl who got caught stuffing Kleenex into her "training bra," but whose real "crime" was that her dad was "white trash" and her mother Native American. Later, at 18, I had a summer job as a tour guide. I was standing in line with my group of French Jew ish tourists, on this brilliantly sunny day, waiting to get on a boat to see Niagara Falls from up close. Suddenly, in the midst of our conversation, one French woman I was speaking with contorts her face, points up the line, and says to me in French, in a venomous tone: "Oh, how I hate these Germans. I can smell them a mile away. Evi- Take a stand Take a stand against violence, bigotry and ignorance. Take a stand in favor of a safe, accept ing community It's time we take a stand for ourselves and for each other. That is the theme of the Association of Residence Hall Students' button campaign. ARHS is committed to making our commu nity safe and free from ignorance. This is an ongoing commitment which we all take very seriously. That is why we have joined forces with many other concerned stu dents to promote acceptance and let it be known that we won't stand for hateful, vio lent behavior. You have the opportunity to make that statement too. We invite you to walk out of class at 11:45 a.m. today and join us on the steps of Schwab for a rally. If you would rather not walk out of class, stand up at that time for a moment of silence as a symbol of your support and join the rally after class. We invite all members of the University community to join us as this matter affects us all. It starts with us. We must educate our peers and we can't wait any longer. Wear a button to show your pledge for an accept ing community and take an hour out of your day Friday to join us as we TAKE A STAND. Maggie M. Kutzler president-Association of Residence Hall Students Lack of understanding I am writing in response to your article about English as the official language of the United States, printed Nov. 2. I was aghast by the comments of Robert O'Con nor, an associate professor at this Univer sity, quoted as saying he "cannot see how a language can promote unity." Common lan guage is THE basis for all modern nation alistic movements, with the notable excep tion of Zionism. Immigrants to Palestine in the early part of this century spoke any number of languages: Yiddish, German, Russian, Latino or any number of Slavic dialects. The Zionists understood that lan guage was all important to national unity, so they revived the Hebrew language, which is now their official language. We could also talk about Irish and Welsh nationalists attempting to preserve and revive their language for the very same reason. De•a ‘k.or, `4O 6.letke, VAe 9re4p are, :•0.0 $244. \\N"..k. everiore 4.0%1 a Noe, cAoce, Volecati\-. ^TV'S SeeriS ko lye \N f oC.cikiCOA. Acke, Cy . aft'S are, AVAXIS ykitah 3 ‘034 Cev,io...\ioN. Om Nit kolleto:\k. ratk, Vco, ivo 600. "I can understand all too easily pain, hate and the desire for vengeance. Yet violence begets violence. It is futile and it must stop." dently I had evaded her keen olfac tory sense. Actually my name tag must have confused her, for "Gottschild" could easily be Jewish, and clearly the idea that they'd put a German girl on a Jewish bus had been inconceivable for her. I tried to tell her "they're not all bad . . ." She wanted no part of such an argu ment. I then felt obliged to tell her that I was German myself. Her face dropped. She averted her eyes in embarrassment and mumbled something. . . Why do I mention these inci dents? Because they aren't isolat ed, and they didn't just happen to me. Cruelty, vengeance, petty self righteousness and blind hate is endemic to the world. The mere act of "being," or being different suf As to Professor O'Connor's stating that "(the proposed official language law) is a `screw you foreigner' message," to what country does he propose to move without learning the language of the country? Would he move to France and never learn French? How about Finland? Tajikistan? He also accuses the American people of scapegoating. How is having one official language scapegoating? It makes sense to have one official language. It simplifies bureaucracy, it simplifies the task of edu cation, and it does indeed promote national unity. No one said that by having an offi cial language, people cannot speak their own language or retain their cultural iden tity. I frequently ignore the foolish asser tions of students in The Daily Collegian, but I am frankly astounded that a profes sor of political science should lack under standing of these things. Americans for what? This letter is in general response to the increasing racial tension at this campus and is specifically about one campus orga nization's role in this current problem. Recently, I saw a swastika displayed on a T-shirt worn by a member of the campus organization Penn State Young Americans for Freedom. I am not saying that it was any member of PS-YAF who painted any of the racists symbols or slurs that have popped up around campus in the last few weeks. In fact it almost certainly wasn't, since the members of PS-YAF seem to be the kind of people who stand up for what they believe in and would not engage in the cowardly act of vandalizing someone's door. Howev er, it is the policies and thinking of that organization and its members and sympa thizers which is leading to increased intol erance and hatred in State college. I also don't feel it would be right to reveal the identity of the wearer of the shirt in question. It is certainly his right to wear it, but I do feel that I should warn you of the nature of that group, and hope fully come to the source of some of the problems we're currently experiencing here at Penn State. Now, certainly the views of one member of a group does not automatically reflect the views of an entire organization, howev er, an individual's views would affect the group whenever there's any sort of deci sion-making progress. It is also safe to say must be taught early fices. Your skin, your language, your God, your body . . . as long as it is different from the majority or from those more powerful than you: You're in for it. Last Saturday night Yitzhak Rabin was murdered - at a peace rally. I was watching CNN as the news broke. Women and men in the crowds were shown weeping. See ing their pain, tears streamed down my own cheeks. Maybe I cry too much, too easily. Why should I care? Watching the report on Rabin brought back a flow of my own bit ter memories. I can understand all too easily pain, hate and the desire for vengeance. Yet violence begets violence. I mean any violence, from the taunting of words to the terror of war. It is not the solution. It is futile and it must stop. Friday, Nov. 10, 1995 that other members of a group would have views similar to those who feel comfort able in that group. Recently PS-YAF has come out against multicultural curricula. They attack multi culturalism by saying it divides us. At the same time they want you to become assim ilated into the American culture. Not all of us want to be a member of the dominant culture and religion in America. It seems however, that driving us to be that is a goal of the Young Americans for Freedom. Poli cies that "serve the just interest of the United States," (a quote from YAF's found ing statement) often causes injustice to the other peoples and cultures of the world, including those living within U.S. bound aries. The freedom they're really after is freedom from having to deal with other cultures and different ideas. Furthermore, have you ever noticed that every PS-YAF member you've ever seen is a white male? I've never seen a female member and I've certainly never seen an African-American member. I think we both know whose interests they're serving. It's not that they discriminate against peo ple of other backgrounds who would like to join their group; it's that the policies and values the organization pushes benefit only white males. The founding fathers who they love and quote so much kept blacks as slaves and excluded women from the decision-making process for 150 years. In a Nov. 6, letter, vice president of stu dent affairs William Asbury spoke of the virtue of tolerance. He said how tolerating those who are different than you is the key to diverse, democratic society. Judging from their antics at National Coming Out Day (where members shouted "sodomy is a perversion" to disrupt the event), PS YAF is not an organization of tolerance. Judging from their other policies and val ues which I've touched upon here, they are not an organization of tolerance. And judg ing from the Nazi symbol proudly dis played by a member, they are in fact an organization of hatred Larry Hill senior-history PS-YAF will almost certainly respond to this and they'll probably say that I have no idea what I'm talking about. They'll say that they are for diversity and for various freedoms. I just want you to really look at what they write in their response to this. To really think about what they are saying and what the group and its members stand for. It seems to me, that what they really stand for makes a better explaining of their acronym: Young American Fascists. Joe Fleckenstein junior-astronomy and astrophysics iii Rabin was killed because he was willing to end years of tears and bloodshed. He was murdered because he was willing to compro mise. This man who dedicated the last years of his life to bringing peace, was assassinated by another man, of his own country, who preferred continued vengeance and war. Rabin's murder need not be the assassination of peace itself, but it is a bitter reminder of how little humanity has learned over the past hundreds or thousands of years. The best thing would be to accept, or to forgive and forget. Yet if we cannot love our neighbor, we must at least be willing to live beside them. If we want peace, we must teach tolerance, and we must start with our children. For it is there that the seeds of hate and intolerance, pain and suffering, or love and acceptance are sown. Karoline Gottschild is a graduate student in mass communication and a Collegian columnist.
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