6 The Daily Collegian
Personnel happiness
To humanize the University,
employees must feel welcome
At the end of each semester,
students are given evaluation
forms for their professors.
Recently, these faculty mem
bers, along with University staff,
were given the chance to do some
evaluating of their own. The
results are disturbing.
According to a recent survey
conducted by the University,
more than a quarter of the Uni
versity’s faculty and a third of its
staff said they would leave the
University for another job offer
ing equal pay, benefits and work
ing conditions.
Fortunately, Spanier appears to
have taken notice and vowed to
take steps to “humanize” the Uni
versity. What this means in the
long run remains to be seen.
Talking is great, but Spanier
would do better to respond to
those who have shown they are
unhappy at the University.
Spanier should outline no fewer
than 10 things about the Universi
ty that will be changed or imple
mented to make the University a
better place for “humans” to
work.
Let’s face it, Penn State is a big
place enormous by most mea
sures.
Students regularly complain
that they feel like they’re little
more than an ID number here.
It looks as though many of the
University’s employees feel the
same way. Such sentiment is
bound to find its way back to the
students. A professor’s attitude
about the place he works will like-
s, Collegian
Friday, July 25, 1997
©1997 Collegian Inc.
Editor in Chief
Rachel Hogan
Business Manager
Christopher A. Taylor
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
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State.
Board of Editors
Managing Editor
Amy Brosey
Opinion Editor
Bridgette Blair
On-line Editor
Molly K. Fellin
Campus Editor
Patricia K. Cole
Metro Editor
Erin Horan
French student faces 'big' culture
When I first came to the
United States, I was really
shocked how people mixed
food. I remember being struck by
the sight of a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich. I thought it was
pretty disgusting.
In general, if I were to compare
France with the United States, I
would be more likely to end up
writing a whole novel!
In short, when thinking of the
United States, the first thing that
comes to my mind is “The Simp
sons.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not say
ing this is what America is all
about.
But if you were a foreigner such
as myself or an alien coming from
some unknown planet, visiting
Uncle Sam, it would certainly be
useful watching it.
On the one hand, such a popular
TV program shows a lot of Ameri
can habits such as eating dough
nuts, eating quickly and watching
TV.
ly affect the students in his class.
Spanier would do well to take this
into account as the University re
examines how to make working at
Penn State as rewarding as
attending it
Staff members of Office of
Housing and Food Services, the
Office of Physical Plant and other
University services may also feel
unappreciated at a place so big
that their hard work often goes
unnoticed. University faculty
may enjoy the spotlight here, but
staff enables it to function so effi
ciently.
Without staff members, there
would be no dining commons food
and Old Main lawn would be little
more than a pasture for Universi
ty bovines. Imagine sun bathing
in three-foot grass.
Families with young children
who work at the University have
come to depend upon a central
ized day care center. It needs to
remain so.
At the rate the University is
expanding, “humanizing” is not
going to become any easier. It
may be impossible to make every
one happy, but Penn State has an
obligation to make itself more
welcoming to those who work so
hard to make the University what
it is.
Talking is great, but Spanier
should respond to those who have
shown they are unhappy at the
University.
When the talking is over, hun
dreds of employees will be watch
ing and waiting to see that he
makes good on his promise.
News Editor
Todd Ritter
Copy/Wire Editors
Tim Hyland, Kerrylee Nadeau, James Reid
Day Sports Editor
Nick Zulovich
Night Sports Editor
Krista Hawley
Board of Managers
Advertising Manager
Michael J. Zambotti
Accounting Manager
Megan A. Hennigan
Layout Manager
Letters Policy: Letters must be typewritten, double
spaced and no longer than 500 words. Mall letters
to: The Daily Collegian: IZ3 S. Burrowes St.; Univer
sity Park, Pa. 16801-3882.
E-mail letters to: bdbl4o@psu.edu.
Guest column
On the other hand, it also hints at
cultural references that you
absolutely, positively have to
know! Think about movies like
“Throne”, bands like “The Red Hot
Chili Peppers...”
In comparison, France looks so
small, not only in surface but also
in terms of size. Most French peo
ple own small cars, have tiny
refrigerators and can barely chan
nel-surf six TV channels.
Even McDonald’s hamburgers
look far smaller in France. How
come? You may be wondering. I
wouldn’t be able to give you a
straight-forward answer. I guess
French people don’t necessarily
view things that big.
Another answer could lie in the
fact that, unlike Americans, they
don’t seem to have this urge for
conquest.
Arts Editor
T.R. Deckman
Photo Editor
Man Sherman
Graphic Editor
Walter Barrueto
Maria E. Crespo
Sales Manager
Laura Young
Office Manager
Seth Isaacs
So our different ways of living
highlight our cultural differences.
As far as college goes, French
and American students don’t
always deal with the same issues.
When you go to college in
France, you don’t have as much
choice for your major as you have
here.
You really can’t have two majors
that are completely unrelated in
France, whereas here you could
basically major in nutrition and in
racket-ball at the same time.
Besides, there is no such thing as
fraternities or sororities though
sometimes, freshmen may go
through hazing. It is now more and
more unlikely to happen since such
practice has been illegal.
Of course, French students like
to hang out in cafes and bars any
time of the day. Regarding alcohol,
people are not supposed to drink
before they are 16. So turning 21 is
not as much of a big deal.
I also noticed that food is almost
as important in France as it is here,
9 «
I
\ /O
Letters to the editor
North Korean communist leaders
failed; citizens isolated, starving
I was once again reminded of the failure of communism when I
read about the worsening food problem in North Korea.
It is absolutely intolerable that a government would force its
own people to remain in isolation just to live out some communist
fantasy and in the process starve its own children to the point
that they look like little stick figures.
Acts such as these cannot be tolerated and I call upon the mem
bers of the United Nations to bring the leaders of North Korea to
justice and charge them with crimes against humanity.
Unfortunately, the UN is inept, so I doubt anything positive will
result from their actions.
What is your opinienabout the
State College housing crunch? The Daily
Collegian wants to know.
WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR AND
LET THE UNIVERSITY KNOW WHAT
YOU THINK!!!
Hey Readers! The Daily Collegian needs to hear from you!
"Most French people own small cars, have tiny
refrigerators and can barely channel-surf six TV
channels."
although maybe French people like
to sit down and enjoy their lunch a
little more.
On the contrary, Americans
seem to run out of time when it
comes to eating. When I celebrate
a birthday or something special
with my whole family, we would
share a big meal that could last for
hours.
It is amazing how many fast-food
places you may encounter across
America. Back in my small coun
try, you really have to look for one.
Apart from McDonald’s there
are basically no other fast-food
restaurants except maybe for one
called Quick, which turns out to be
fast-food “a la francaise.”
I could go on and tell you all
MARS JUST ISN'T
READY FOR THIS!...
LET'S TELL THE PUBLIC
WE ONLY FOUND A
WEAIUER BALLOON!
rs to the editor can be sent to
Daily Collegian, James Building
S. Burrowes St.
in the United States
about my feelings about how dif
ferent America is from France. But
you would only get a slight idea of
what it is like.
The best way to learn about
French culture and your own is to
go abroad.
Take one semester off and go to
France. Experience another way of
living by immersing yourself into a
another language, another environ
ment.
While you’re there, don’t just
hang out with Americans, but try to
meet and converse with French
people.
I know it will be a challenge. It is
not easy, either, to adapt and take
up new habits. I also know that it
takes some money and time. But
More realistically, I hope that the North Korean people will
realize that they have been grossly wronged by their leaders and
peacefully overthrow them.
They should look toward their southern neighbor as a role
model.
I remember speaking to two East German soldiers while in
East Berlin in 1983 and stating that I truly believed that there
would be a single Germany within my lifetime especially after
witnessing the stark contrasts between the two German nations.
Now there is a single German nation and East German commu
nism is dead.
Korea will inevitably follow as the people realize that the com
munist system is a magnificent failure.
I can only hope that it will be as peaceful a transition.
Christopher Lee Frame
associate engineer
ersity Park, PA 16801
nd E-mail at bdbl4o@psu.edu
Friday, July 25, 1997
PATHFINDER
a a A
_ ® 9
the money and time you may spend
is not always lost.
I think studying abroad is defini
tively worth it. All in all, you will
get a better understanding of your
own culture by learning about
someone else’s culture.
You may go through ups and
downs and miss home sometimes.
It is called “culture shock.” But it
is so little compared to the things
you will learn.
It will make you more open
minded. To some point, you’ll
become proud of your own country.
And there is one last thing that
you shouldn’t forget.
No matter where you go, people
will remember you as the ambas
sador of your country. You could
be the only American person they
will ever meet.
Rozenn Trebossen (emouille @
eseml.univ-orleans.fr) is a junior
majoring in English and interna
tional business at Sorbonne-Nou
velle in Paris.