THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
March of Dimes walk
ready for Sunday start
By Elly Spinweber
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
With finals looming and warmer weather
approaching, students looking for a study
break this weekend can "join in the walk
that saves babies."
The March of Dimes State College Chap
ter is sponsoring Walk America 2000 begin
ning at noon Sunday.
The walk, which has raised more than $1
billion since its inception in 1970, will begin
and end at the Intramural Building, said
Tommi Minielli, community director for the
Keystone region.
"We are expecting about 400 walkers and
have a goal of raising $42,000," she said.
Walkers can sign up for the five-mile walk
until noon Sunday, and there is no mini
mum donation.
March of Dimes is an organization that
works to reduce birth defects and infant
mortalities by raising money for research in
related areas, Minielli said.
Money from the donations stays in the
area, funding several community and
research programs, she added.
Penn State associate professor of biology
and neurobiology Eva S. Anton is one of the
recipients of the March of Dimes fund-rais
ing efforts. Anton has received a two-year
$lOO,OOO grant from the organization to
study fetal brain development.
Anton said his research is of interest to
the March of Dimes because if anything
should go wrong in the early stages of
Local census workers unsuspecting of occasional negative responses
By Lily Henning
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Census Bureau sent out its workers
yesterday to knock on the doors of the 42 mil
lion households who did not return the
Bureau's forms.
Campus enumerators, however, did not
always receive warm welcomes.
Despite complaints some of this year's cen
sus questions were too intrusive particularly
on the long form that went to one in six house
holds some local census workers did not
expect the occasional negative responses they
received. Campus residents received house
calls from enumerators earlier than those in
households, said Andrea King, regional media
specialist with the Census Bureau. She said on-
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development, the nervous system could
sustain significant damage.
"They (March of Dimes) are an excellent
source of funding for people who study any
aspects of fetal development," Anton said.
Though the March of Dimes donates at a
national level as well, the organization is
always pleased when it can fund local
research, Minielli said.
"Dr. Anton is a very good local tie," she
said.
The Penn State Circle K and the Student
Health Advisory Board are two campus
organizations involved in the walk, Minielli
said. Leigh Hamilton, vice president of Cir
cle K, said the club is usually involved every
year and this year they will have not only
walkers involved, but also people helping
with the walk's setup.
Local businesses involved include The
Bon-Ton, 2957 E. College Ave., and Best
Event Rental, 140 N. Atherton St.
Best Event is donating a canopy as well
as some games for children and will be
building the balloon columns for the race,
said Anita Tibbens, assistant manager of
the company.
"We do this off and on for the March of
Dimes because we really like to spread our
selves out between all the charities in the
community," Tibbens said.
The Bon-Ton is in its third year of involve
ment with Walk America, and this year has
employees both walking and obtaining con
tributions from people, a store employee
said.
campus college housing is included in the
group-quarters classification and is enumerat
ed earlier than the rest of the population.
Elise Bartholomew, a census enumerator,
just finished going door to door in her dorm col
lecting census information.
Bartholomew (sophomore-education) said
she received mixed responses from the stu
dents she had to visit.
"Some people had issues with the census and
were upset about me asking," said
Bartholomew, adding she was surprised by the
negative responses she received.
"I didn't think people would be that bothered
by it," she said. "It was kind of scary."
Emily Turay (junior-human development and
family studies) said a census worker came to
her dorm room asking for her form, which she
LOCAL
Students swap books for cash
By Tim Swift
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
After three years of Italian, biology and'
chemistry classes, Kat Basile's bookshelf is
brimming with textbooks. But she doesn't
seem to mind.
Unlike many students, Basile (junior-bio
chemistry) is resisting the temptation this
week to convert her well-worn textbooks into
money for a late-night pizza or a pitcher at
the bar. Instead, she keeps her books and
refers back to them in later classes. She
even hopes she'll use them after graduation.
"They're good reference books," Basile
said. "When you get so little back, there is
not really a point to sell back the one you will
use later."
At the end of each semester, students and
bookstore owners share in a symbiotic rela
tionship stores fill their inventories while
students pick up extra cash.
Norm Brown, the manager of Student
Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., said his
store bought back about 125,000 books last
semester.
"Our best source (of used books) is from
the kids. But the demand for used books is
greater," Brown said. With used books mak
ing up about 65 percent of SBS's textbook
sales, outside wholesalers give the store
one-third of its used books while two-thirds
come from student buy-backs.
Although local bookstores buy back books
from students all year long, Brown said stu
dents can get the most money back after
professors have returned book lists for the
following semester on April 1 and Oct. 15 of
each year. If a book is in demand, SBS, Uni
versity Book Centre, 206 E. College Ave., and
the Penn State Bookstore generally pay stu-
said she had already completed but forgot to
drop off.
"I had mine ready to go, and I had it waiting
because I knew a census worker would come
for them," Turay said.
She said, however, that although she knew a
census worker would come for her form, she
was surprised when an older male knocked on
her door in her all-female dorm in which
unescorted men are not allowed.
She said the census worker was allowed to
walk about the dorm freely, which somewhat
alarmed her.
"It was a little iffy," Turay said.
Despite Turay's concern, King said all cen
sus workers are required to clearly identify
themselves with nametags and introduce them
selves as enumerators.
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The Student Bookstore, 330 E. College Ave., is offering students the opportunity to sell back
their unwanted textbooks.
dents half of the book's original price. But
books not on the list will have lower returns.
But for many students who hold on to
their books, the question lingers: Will I use
them later?
Although Regis Cleary graduated from
Penn State in 1969, he has kept many of his
college textbooks for reference in his career,
but he admits he sold others.
"You have to make decisions about what
is going to become dated and obsolete and
keep the fundamental texts," said Cleary, a
senior mechanical engineer for the Sear-
Brown Group in State College. Cleary added
that the field of study is also a consideration.
Census 2000 initial response rates
Geographic
area
Centre County
Pennsylvania
National
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
4. 1 "
•
Where to go when you need to know:
"Some things don't change like math ...
but with a subject like anthropology, you
would really want to have an updated text,"
Cleary said.
Jonathan Day, professor of neurobiology,
said his students usually keep their books
because those he uses are also used in high
er level classes and could be used later in
medical or graduate school. But he also cau
tions that in changing and expanding fields
such as science, textbooks can be out-of-date
by the time students leave college.
Brown said classes that require new edi
tions of textbooks are the main reason used
books are not bought back.
(percent)
V E
, April 28, 2000 5
Target
rate
•
"4 • •
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•
Initial
response
rate
(percent)
TO" :