THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Embracing Playboy s injures cause for women's rights By Nicole Sutcliffe So, Playboy magazine wants to do a spread titled "Girls of Conference USA" next fall much like their "Girls of the Big Ten" issue where "beautiful" col lege women are to be featured. There are so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to begin. Yes, I am aware a woman runs Playboy. I am also aware that by opposing this, I could be accused of supporting censorship. I don't oppose the publication of the maga zine, and as a journalist. First of all, DePaul is a Catholic universi ty, which might not mean a lot to some see ing how diverse the university is, yet it should not allow its name to be placed in this magazine. I don't think St. Vmcent or the ideals he stood for, and what this uni versity stands for, would be accurately reflected. Secondly, on the advertisement they call for "beautiful" women to try out. What they mean by "beautiful" are busty blondes with a flawless body (at least they will be after all of the airbrushing and lighting) who fit their stereotype of the "typical" college co ed. What purpose will this serve? It won't be positive press for the university; rather it will be something for old men and prepu bescent males to gawk at for their own self gratification. They don't want the "typical college student;" they want a pretty face with modeling experience who is willing to lower her standards and take off most of her clothes. ************Panhellenic Pride Week 2000************ As Panhellenic Pride Week comes to an end, the Panhellenic community would like to recognize Alpha Sigma Alpha as the winner of the window competition. The 83 sisters of Alpha Sigma Alpha are greatly appreciated for their dedication to Panhellenic and the local community. Alpha Sigma Alpha facts In addition, Alpha Sigma Alpha raised $173,346.92 for Penn State Dance Marathon 2000. The Panhellenic community and Alpha Sigma Alpha wish their Thon child, Brandon Baumbach, good luck this summer. Thanks for all your amazing accomplishments and congratulations, ladies! Now that you are about to graduate, you are hereby obligated to carry on the traditions of Penn State alumni. Obligated to root and cheer and be unashamedly, unself- consciously proud of your alma mater. Obligated to stand up for and defend Penn State at your office or at any sports bar where you might happen upon a conversation as to who is Number One. Obligated to shout "Penn State!" whenever and wherever you hear "We are!" Obli gated to own at least one piece of Penn State clothing, hang one photo of the Nittany Lion, bear one blue and white bumper sticker on your car. Obli gated to befriend, be courteous to, and help a fellow Penn Stater wherever you might find one in a faraway town, or an airport, or on the highway. Ob ligated to speak fondly and frequently about the good old days at Penn State. And the Penn State Alumni Association is obligated to you, for being an alum. We honor you with a FREE one year's membership in the Penn State Alumni Association so that you can see what it means to be a Penn State alum. For more information about your free membership in the Penn State Alumni Association, call 800-548-LION or 865-6516. 800-548 -LION 814-865-6516 http://www.alumni.psu.edu Chapter GPA: 3.28 Local Philanthropy: Special Olympics Founded: 1914 - nationally 1962 - Penn State University You are obligated As long as men treat women as objects to look at or as just pretty faces, women will never be on the same level as men. With this type of image, how could any woman be taken seriously? As long as we let men treat us as objects, we are allowing for glass ceilings and unequal treatment. It's sad that this type of imagery is still occurring in the 21st century. The sad thing is that there will be women going to try out for the spread des perately hoping to get it maybe it will be their big break To all of those women: I feel sorry for you. Do you really want this to be the high point of your college career? Posing naked or half-naked in a magazine for men to masturbate to? I certainly hope not. We shouldn't and don't need these maga zines to tell us we are beautiful. All women have their own inner and outer beauty, which should be celebrated, not defaced in a magazine. A friend remarked to me this week that through my argument, art could be consid ered pornographic, especially those from the nude periods, and we should be happy that men are admiring this art, this beauty in magazines like Playboy. Perhaps in their day they were considered pornographic. Also, these images were created to praise and revere the beauty of women, not for men to look at for something to do in their ... private time. Nicole Sutcliffe is a columnist for The DePaulia at DePaul University. Her column appeared on the U WIRE. Penn State 8 Alumni Association OPINION Columnist vents about everything By Jason Fagone Because the next Collegian doesn't come out until June, you can't really respond to this column. I can write with impuni ty. So I've decided to throw caution to the wind and let my bitter ness truly roam free. Ready? Here goes nothing. The following people at Penn State are wast ing their lives: II French majors. Look, I've taken five years of French, and it's a beautiful lan guage. I've always hoped I could go to France someday and actually converse with real French people. But my faith in that dream was shaken the other day, when I struck up a conversation using my stilted French with two friendly employees at Ben & Jerry's. One of them had recently visited Paris, but when she tried to speak French to the Parisians, she said they responded in English. Ouch. Hey, there's always Quebec, eh? _ _ ■ Actuarial science majors. Let me get this straight: your field is devoted to placing dollar values on catastrophic, traumatic events deaths, fires, hurricanes with an eye on maximizing the profit potential of said traumatic events. So, essentially, you're —what's the word parasites? ■ People who criticize the Students for Accountability and Reform protesters. Seriously, lay off. Leave your Gen-X cyni cism in your Stussy backpack Martin MY OPINION NISSAN BIGGEST LONGEST WIDEST SENTRA EVER! -2000 SENTRA SE AVAILABLE WITH 145 HORSEPOWER • 2.0-LITER DOHC 4 CYL. ENGINE • FRONT-SEAT SIDE-IMPACT AIR BAGS • 16" ALLOY WHEELS • 7-SPEAK ER CD AUDIO SYSTEM • 6-DISC CD CHANG ER (IN-DASH) • ~Lettzinger ..xi ports DRWEN TO BE THE BEST W. College Ave. at Whitehall Rd., Rt. 26, STATE COLLEGE (814) 238-2447 • 1-800-323-3125 www.leitzinger.com •MSRP of Sl_Lti.iftfor 2000 Sentra XE. MSRP of 514,899 for 2000 Sentra SE. MSRPs exclude $520 destination charge, tax, title, license and options. Dealer sets actual pric 2000 Nissan North America, Inc., Nissan. the Nissan logo, DRIVEN and Nissan Model Names are Nissan trademarks. Austermuhle and Julian Catchen and crew are doing more than you (or I) ever will to make the world a better place. When you dismiss them on logistical grounds, saying they're unfocused or impolite, you ignore the results they've already achieved. Yeah, they're whiners, but the whining is informed by a worthwhile, ethically solid sentiment: Penn State should be more open with stu dents. It's hard to argue with that. Plus, the STAR, people are nice folks, and way more three-dimensional than they appear in the Collegian. They even laugh from time to time. Go see for yourself. ■ Girls who won't go out with me. ■ Every single employee at every com mercial alt-rock station serving the State College market. I couldn't have more con tempt for you. Because you live in mortal fear of offending advertisers your main source of income you select the blandest bands possible: the Filters, the Matchbox 20s, the Backstreet Boys of this world, bands you could take home to mother. To give yourselves a patina of rebellion, you hype talentless acts like Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock "Yeah!" you say. "Look how `down with the kids' we are! We're playing songs with bleeped-out curse words!" No! You suck! Music is a commodity now, bought and sold like everything else, and it's your fault Worst of all, because of your conservatism in choosing playlists, you erect an impene trable barrier to most good music, music with real emotion and soul. If one of your anthropomorphic mascots ever tries to hand me a station sticker again, I will kick this mascot in the shins. ■ People who think Thon should be 48 hours long. Hey fraternity and sorority peo ple: I know why you're fighting the movement to have it reduced to 24 hours. Interfraterni ty Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon is more about reducing guilty consciences than curing cancer. So it has to be grandiose, so that all your sins for the rest of the year can be forgiven. ■ Girls who wear Abercrombie & Fitch. ■ Marketing/advertising/public rela tions majors. The runaway growth and influence of the advertising industry has pretty much killed American culture. It's destroyed institutions that used to matter, like the independently owned newspaper, and it's reduced media that once had humanity-uplifting potential television, radio, the Internet into empty shells for ads. Listen: You don't have to actively fight Evil, but you don't have to be an employee of Evil, either. Get out while you still can. ■ Photographers. They're wallflowers and cowards, all of them, parasites of a dif ferent type, doomed to forever patch togeth er an ad-hoc identity from the lives of those they photograph. Plus they never stop talk ing about f-stops and shutter speeds. ■ Journalists. The worst offenders of all a bunch of camera-shoving, jostling, fast talking, misquoting, pain-exploiting, AP- Stylebook-reading misfits who would sooner chuck their steno pads and pocket tape recorders into the trash than actually show any sign of human compassion. Plus they complain a lot. And write bad columns. Jason Fagone (fagone@psu.edu) is wasting his life as a senior majoring in journalism and photography and is a Collegian columnist $5OO For 2-year or 4-year graduates (with Associate Bachelor or Graduate Degree) within past 24 GRADmonths, or upcoming graduation within 6 months. Requires verifiable proof of employment or of job offer, starting within 90 days. See sales staff for details. MSR PSTAPT. AT $11,649** SE MODEL .01. SIART,NG 11 514999 FRIDAY, April 28, 2000 11
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