The Daily Collegian
Elections Commission's decision
will allow discussion of issues
The University doesn't have a
' primary to narrow the field of
- .potential Undergraduate Student
`Government presidential candi
- dates, but rest assured, the field
has just been narrowed.
The USG Elections Commission
ruled on a little-known USG
::bylaw regarding the eligibility of
• ',candidates. In the interest of get
:ting the story straight, here's
, what happened: On Feb. 14, the
„Senate Appointments and Review
_t Board held interviews to choose
elections commissioners for the
:upcoming race.
But the elections code says that
any person who participates in
the interviewing of potential elec
tions commissioners forfeits his
or her right to run in the same
elections. Seems pretty cut and
dry, right? If you want to run, you
can't have a hand in picking the
people who will preside over the
election.
Besides the obvious ethical
dilemma violating this rule would
present, it also makes sense that
anyone who wants to be USG
president should know how the
organization works and therefore
would not attend those inter
views. Again, cut and dry.
Last week, in a rare showing of
wise judgment, the USG Supreme
Court decided that the interviews
should be conducted by informed
Senators. The court did not rule
on whether the people involved in
the original meeting could run.
The opinions page is an open forum for discussion for the entire
Penn State community. Diverse viewpoints in columns, reader
forums and letters to the editor are encouraged to promote an
ongoing intellectual dialogue on issues important to our readers.
Collegian
Thursday, Feb. 29, 1996
©1996 Collegian Inc.
Editor in Chief
Courtney Cairns
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
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Complaints: News and editorial complaints should
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Students
T. he centennial. One hundred
:. years of State College. Robin
Williams, in a concert on
campus in the spring of 1986,
called this the "last generic town in
Ainerica," obviously a reference to
:ale unique and imaginative name,
One that then University President
Lisenhower tried to change. The
name survived and the town has
'thrived, for 100 years.
Now, to celebrate this moment in
this generic town, the Borough has
decided to put a bronze pig in front
of the Tavern Restaurant as a sym
bol of the town and its agricultural
roots. Many of us locals laughed
o;nd others among us were dis
inayed, but in reality a pig as the
symbol of State College is a perfect
match.
As students, you must have real
ized by now that you are not a part
of this town. You are a tolerated
outsider, someone who visits for
four (or five, or six) years, spends
a lot of money that keeps the town
alive, and then leaves, making way
ffor a new batch of disposable resi
det►ts.
You are the slop that fills the
Finally
You might be wondering why all
this was necessary, because the
names of the candidates have not
yet been announced.
Well, if you haven't guessed by
now, certain senators who were
present at the meeting wanted to
run.
But a USG component the
elections commission handled
this situation admirably. The com
mission decided that potential
candidates who attended the
meeting are now ineligible from
running. And that's where it
stands for now.
Still, the buzz is that some USG
members think it's unfair that
senators who were present at the
Valentine's Day meeting are
barred from running, since par
ticipation in the interviews was on
a volunteer basis. They felt they
should have been informed of the
rule.
It bears repeating: If you don't
know the rules, how can you run
the organization?
We commend the elections com
mission for their quietly powerful
decision as well as their speed.
If they had waited until after
spring break, when campaigning
begins, the possible violations
could have turned into a much
bigger and more troublesome
issue.
With the squabbling aside, there
might actually be time for the
candidates to discuss some issues.
But then again, we'll see.
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. Forums must
also be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer
than three pages.
Students' letters should include semester standing,
major and campus of the writer. LetLim 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. Let
ters 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 Col
legian 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.
are slop that
pig's trough, you are the source of
food that lines the pig's belly.
Look at it this way: without the
University, the town would not be
here, as evidenced by the fact that
the University predates the town
by 40 years. Without the students,
the University would not be here.
So, by using the transitive property
of existence, we see that without
the students the town would not be
here. It is logical to see this, even
though many would argue other
wise. But, I ask them, why would a
town grow here without the
Farmer's High School population?
It is really hard to get here, even
with the roads built in the last 50
Opinio s
What is your impression of the
Republican presidential primaries?
years. State College has no major
waterway, it is surrounded by
mountains, and there was no major
route that existed prior to 1855 that
ran through Happy Valley.
One hundred years of State Col
lege have not yielded a train sta
tion, a real airport (although that is
improving) or a major highway. In
fact, the nearest interstate is closer
to Bellefonte and Milesburg, both
towns with longer histories than
this one.
The bottom line is that without
the University, and more impor
tantly without the students, there
would be no State College.
I grew up here, and I know that
many of the locals see the students
as nuisances that have to be toler
ated.
Why else would they 1) protect
their neighborhoods with that
unconstitutional, ridiculous "no
more than three unrelated adults in
a house" law, 2) find new ways to
keep us contained in already
"infested" areas with protectionist
zoning and this landlord responsi
bility garbage and 3) treat the stu
dents as second-class citizens by
"Right now I'm not caught up
into it and it's a lot of backlash
ing and degrading each other,
and it's a turn off. It shouldn't
be like that. Who needs the
slander?"
—Wil Smith —Debbie Goldberg
freshman-athletic training junior-administration of justice
Hammer of truth
The Madagascar Revolutionary Council
would like to respond to the whinings and
grumblings from certain campus politick
lers at the Feb. 20 USG Senate meeting
regarding campaigns that flaunt the so
called "authority" of USG. I'm not really
certain of the details; who has time to follow
the masturbatory words and nonexistent
deeds of The Great Nittany Sham, aka USG?
However, let me reiterate our position,
so that we may all be perfectly clear: We,
the MRC, will not be placing our candidate
on the ballot for the election of the Clown
Prince of the Sham of Shams, the honor
able presidency of USG. Where we're
going, my small friends, we don't need bal
lots. We will be taking our message to the
people, and asking them to write our can
didate in on the ballot. Please, we beg you,
USG try to fine us you can't even de
fine us. Are we a campus group, a grass
roots political organization, a coalition of
anti-establishment forces or simply mem
bers of the lunatic fringe? Betcha can't
wait to find out.
One thing is for certain, though. The last
thing this campus needs is another glad
handing, resume-building, pearly-toothed
snotjob as student leader we have
enough of those in the administration. The
undergraduate population of Penn State
needs a leader who can muster public opin
ion. A leader who understands the needs of
real students (as opposed to these bureau
cratic pseudo-government clowns), a
leader not afraid to stand up for his
beliefs. A leader who will not stand idly by
as the administration appropriates zillions
of dollars to keep the flower beds pretty
while real problems go unattended.
Problems such as the decreasing value
of your dollar as a student/customer of the
University. Safety issues like inefficient
campus lighting, and simple fair-play
issues like the profiteering of the parking
crunch (town and campus), for example
all are drowned out by the chorus to "Dear
01' State," thrust upon you by the market
ing juggernaut that is the true identity of
this so-called "learning institution," and
perpetuated by the mind-control victims
on the second floor of the HUB. This is
OUR Revolution, ladies and gentleman of
USG, and it fills me with joy to say that
your rules have no jurisdiction over us.
You've had opportunity galore to change
the way you do things, and you've failed
miserably every time. You've had your
feeds pig known as State College
"I think Dole has been around a "I think it's entertaining. I'm a
little too long. Some of Democrat so it's nice to see the
Buchanan's views are a little Republican Party going through
radical, especially his views on the whole process of trying to
gays working for him. He's come define the party. And the candi
right out about his opinions on dates are taking extreme views
blacks and Jews...l don't think a to try to get the nomination."
bigot should be in office."
having an open container law,
unforgiving noise violations, and
impossible parking restrictions?
Over the last 100 years the town
has grown, but mostly due to the
forty thousand 18- to 22-year-olds
who each year dump disposable
wealth all over State College.
Would there be countless pizza
places, 4 bagel stores, 5 CD stores,
12 bars, numerous clothing stores,
8 downtown movie theaters, a
96,000 seat stadium, a 15,000 seat
arena and thousands of apartments
without the students?
Obviously, the answer is NO
The pig (State College) has gotten
fat on the slop (all of us students).
Downtown businesses have high
prices. Retail rental property rates
are artificially high downtown
because building owners know the
average student won't go to a store
that is not in walking distance from
his or her apartment. Apartment
owners charge increasingly higher
rents because there is no real other
option, thanks to neighborhood pro
tectionist measures. Service in
most downtown restaurants is
abysmal. And most jobs pay the
MitrtflNlgt::filr7"i , , , -,.:: l •''Z..:l;;iotitTiN*it '. -•::'."'"'"''"-.-"'"'' - 92gvp.
time to do things your way now it's our
turn.
And the Hammer of Truth belongs to us.
Chris Larkin
Class of 1995
minister of propaganda-
Madagascar Revolutionary Council
HUB bowling alley
This letter is to announce my candidacy
for Undergraduate Student Government
president. My campaign focuses around
taking the activity fee money and putting
it towards something useful, something the
students really need and want. I'm going to
convert the upper floor of the HUB to a
bowling alley. My plan has 50 lanes and we
would have half price happies from 8 p.m.
to midnight every Monday, Wednesday
and Friday. Screw the cultural center crap.
We the students of Penn State are in
need of a bowling alley that all students
have easy access to. My running mate has
yet to be determined but I am willing to
accept applications from anyone who can
consistently bowl over a 200 and will dedi
cate themselves to my dream. Thank you
for your time.
sophomore-economics
and mechanical engineering
Icing on the cake
When people think of Penn State sports,
I'll admit, it is nearly impossible not to
immediately think of football. With one of
the most successful programs in the coun
try since the inception of collegiate foot
ball, Paterno and Co. have no doubt
brought not only large amounts of money
to our university, but have - lso built
tremendous school spirit. But for those of
us who really know our PSU sports, we
shall recognize that the most successful
sports team at Penn State for the past 15
years has been "Joe-Ba's" team. I know, I
know. You're probably saying to yourself,
"Who the hell is Joe-Ba?" Well, let me
enlighten you.
Joseph Battista, head coach of the Penn
State Icers hockey team, is one of the most
respected and well-known coaches in col
lege hockey. The truth is, my friends, that
watching a live Penn State hockey game is
one of the most exciting activities at Penn
State. Even if you don't like hockey, just
minimum wage because, as one
merchant has been heard saying,
"if one quits there are twenty more
to take their place."
Why do we put up with this? It is
hard for me to be part of either
"we" because I am part of both.
But my heart is as a Penn State stu
dent. My parents love the students,
as do some of the locals.
But the police hate us, the mer
chants exploit us, and the local gov
ernment protects the mouth being
fed instead of the hand doing the
feeding. Why?
Because as a group, we are frag
mented. We are not, by and large,
registered to vote in State College.
If 40,000 students registered and
voted it would create a block that
the town could not overcome. Stu
dents unite. Register and vote. Get
rid of a Borough Council full of
people who do not care about you
or your interests yet have a pro
found impact on your life and
choices while you are here. Let's
run our own candidates. Let's take
charge of the town built with our
money, our loans and our parking
fines. Let's fight back. Contest
Thursday, Feb. 29, 1996
LlautE ,
—Tor Winston
graduate-economics
being there with that die-hard crowd is
worth the $2 price of admission.
And while I budget my time well enough
to go see most of the Icers home games, I
cannot help but think o .while I sit and watch
them kick the snot out of the other team,
how much better the program could be if it
were considered a varsity sport by the Uni
versity. Without this status, the Icers are
forced to play in the ACHA, a club hockey
league in which they win the championship
almost every year. There is low funding for
the team, consequently hurting their
chances to enter NCAA collegiate hockey.
If the Icers were in the official colle
giate hockey league, the benefits to the
University would definitely be worth the
effort. In the past four to five years, par
ticularly the past year or two, many people
have compared our school to the Universi
ty of Michigan. Let's go down the list here
for both schools for a minute ... great aca
demics —check; a bargain education for
in-staters check; national powerhouse in
football and basketball check; a nation
ally competitive hockey team —check for
Michigan, no check for good 'ol State. Not
only does Michigan have a Division I team,
it is among the top five programs in the
nation. It kills me to think how many hock
ey recruits pick Michigan over Penn State
every year because of the huge difference
in competition. I strongly believe that if
we had Division I hockey, eventually we
could start getting some of the top recruits
and the best sport in the world would sim
ply take off at Penn State. And, in some
people's eyes, we would finally be "equal"
to the University of Michigan, whatever
that means.
Scott Okrent
A few weeks ago, being the detective
that I am (yeah), I inquired to some author
ities on the subject as to why the Penn
State athletics department cannot or will
not simply elevate the Icers to varsity
sport status. The answer I got was the
same everywhere: NCAA rules say that no
university shall have more "varsity" men's
sports teams than women's, and vice
versa. If hockey were to be made an offi
cial "sport," the University would need to
find a new counterpart for the women
(perhaps women's ice hockey!)
Sigh. Now, here is my challenge to you,
athletics department: Find some way to
promote the Icers. Go out and recruit some
female equestrian jumpers or create a
women's basketweaving team for all I care.
Just do it and do it right.
=11. 1111.1.7 7, 1 "1
A
-
Tell us what ou think
"At this point I don't have an
overwhelming interest in any
one of the candidates. Most of
them don't stand for things that I
agree with."
—Rebecca Hayes
sophomore-business
David Pressman
freshman-communications
every parking fine and clog the
system. Live with six people in one
house. Drink a beer on a street cor
ner, and when they arrest you ask
them why it is legal to do it at the
stadium (where 75,000 non-student
sources of revenue party). Com
plain about lousy service, demand
to be treated better by people who
make their living on your money.
For one month intervals we
should boycott a different group of
downtown businesses until they
change policies. If we could all get
together, things would change.
They would have to change
because in reality we have all the
power. We have their slop and if
we make the trough run empty for
a while they will notice.
Everything State College is and
has flowed from us and those who
came before us. Let's make its ben
efits flow back to the source.
One hundred years ago a town
grew around a population of stu
dents. And for 100 years the pig
has gotten fat on the slop.
Scott Paterno is a senior majoring
in political science and a Collegian
columnist.