I THURSDAY, Dec. 6, 2001 THE JIII Leonard Editor in Chief - mots. Csls( The Daily Collegan and The Weeldy Collegian are published by Collegian Mc., an independent, nonprofit corporation with riboant of directors composed of students, fac ulty and professionals. Pennsylvania State Uni versity students write and edit both papers and selka adliedishig for them. Dish* fall and spring semesters, The Daily Calle- Oh publishes Monday thnxigh Friday. During the eland sixweek summer session, The Daily • 'EDITORIAL Switch by threatens John Lawless. A name now infamously con nected to Penn State, conser vatism and the Republican Party • But Lawless the Democrat? - Yes, the man who condemned ...the university and its students for their liberal programming has now switched parties to become a left-wing state repre sentative. " Lawless said he decided to switch parties because the Republican party has restricted his divetse views. • "I will continue to be the same independent thinker that I have always been. I will simply be representing my con stituents as part of a caucus that embraces diversity ..." Laden said. The events Cuntfest and Sex Faire, both of which presented and fostered diverse views, were openly and publicly con demned by Lawless last semes ter. Lawless, in fact, successfully pushed the Pennsylvania state legislature to subtract a small amount of state-sponsored .funding from Penn State as "ptmishment" for hosting these controversial events. The two events were meant to promote empowerment of -.:.:women and education. - WEB 11118 :The INV Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor hold ing final;iesponsibility. Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of The I)aat taikelan, Collegian Inc. or The Pennsylvania State University. Collegian Inc., publishers of The :Dal* Celleaan and related publications, is a separate corporate institution from Penn State. Editori 'els are eaten by The Daily Collegian Board of Opinion. .Members of the Board of Opinion are: Steve Bien-Aime, Elena Caracappa, Jared Cohen, Heather :co,c Lynne Funk, Alison Kepner, Alison C. Kistler, Jill Leonard, Justin Stranzl and Colleen Sullivan :LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Abortion no easy choice :lor Women in situation • 4 This is in response to Brian Blase's • been on abortion. There are a few • that I would like to address. First, • refers to the pro-choice argument "stale and shallow." I have never eard a more stale argument than • pro-life advocates such as Blase including the idea that abortion is a of birth controL Labeling abortion Ailinh control" allows pro-life advo -' tettoh4rdhe and simplify one of the complex and profound decisions a can make in her lifetime. a Whether or not a woman chooses to • nthme a pregnancy is not easy. If it then maybe he would be right in • • someone shallow. However, it is indescribably difficult decision that u cannot fully comprehend unless in that situation. You, Mr. Blase, no idea. Second, the question of "life" begins depends on your def t. of life and what you believe. Is it conception as a few cells, or the pres of a functioning heart? There is no • - answer. And lastly, he states that those people pluneue pro-life have a "higher moral ' than those who are pro choice. That is a pompous, arrogant, •end inaccurate statement. A person's • on abortion is one of belief. Do presume to classify half of the popu • on one complex and highly debat able issue. Aowmnnent isn't fixed ;by skiiply complaining taillechdly the con 41111ructhre kind from informed individuals me how to do my job better: What I dont like is the type of unin -"Armed ignorance displayed in yester COLLEGIAN Amy Hibbard Business Manager Collegian publishes regular issues Monday through Thursday and Venues, the weekend guide, on Fridays. The Daily Collegian is distrii). uted by mail to other Penn State campuses, alumni, sports fans, parents and other sub scribers. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. Lawless diversity Each provided educational workshops with pertinent infor mation for college students that merely exercised the right of free expression on the Penn State campus. If diversity is what Lawless believes he supports, then he needs to find a dictionary and read the definition of diversity. According to an easy access, information filled Web diction ary (www.dlctlonary.com) the defi nition of diversity is "differ ence." The definition states, "The fact or quality of being diverse; difference." Lawless, of the 105th district and Montgomery County, said he wants to represent his con stituents better. Lawless was originally elect ed to the state house of repre sentatives as a Democrat in 1990. He switched sides before he was sworn in. On top of switching to be a Democratic representative, Lawless plans to run for lieu tenant governor. Lawless has ambitious plans, and his change comes suspi ciously close to his announce ment of his lieutenant governor bid. But voters should be as concerned as the Democratic party and question whether he switches his views as fast as his parties. day's staff column. I understand Drew's gripe. Frankly, I agree that student gov ernment, specifically the senate, has not done its job due to sandbox politics. However, that is not the single fault of student government leaders but of everyone at this university. Well, guess what? We're all student government members according to the USG constitution and instead of com plaining about those wannabe politi cians, do something about it and use that power run, vote, go to a senate meeting. Otherwise you are using Penn State apathy to their advantage and damaging the reputation of the students of this university. They are making student government worthless, how? They are using people like you, Drew, who feel that reporting on USG is a waste of space. Maybe if we could get students more involved in the governing of this university we would have laptops and a lower tuition, but instead we have people like Drew who have it all figured out, but they don't share that infinite wisdom in a construc tive way. So how about this, if anyone has a way to fix student government and this university, look me up on the Web and let me know, or get involved. You're getting shortchanged by your student "representatives" —.not so much the university. There are some very dedicated representatives for stu dents in USG and CCSG. Unfortunately, they are drowned out by the noise caused by those there to represent their resumes, or those who are there because of their hunger for power. Drew, its up to you and every student at this university to change that. Sara A. Dols senior-biology Coverage of Celestin might be misconstrued In recent weeks reading The Daily Collegian has left me feeling frustrated and angry. Due to media coverage on COLUMN Santa hat could improve campus mood By Adam Kapp Ithink that cam pus would be a better place if everyone wore a Santa hat to class this week I mean, something has to be done to jump start this holiday . season, and the unseasonably warm weather MY OPINION we've been having is not going to do it. "But Adam!" they'll say, "not every one celebrates Christmas! You're very narrow minded!" Therein lies the beauty of this plan. You see, Santa Claus transcends such artificial bound aries as religious practice and national origin to represent the spirit of the hol iday season. Its safe to say that the Santa of today has little to no connec tion with the Saint Nicholas of Chris tianity. When was the last time Santa threw a sack of gold coins down your chimney to pay your dowry? There is no mention of Santa performing any religious rites in any Christmas carol or other yuletide tale. At best, "Saint Nick" has become nothing more than one of the many festive monikers attached to the man in red. If Santa still carried any kind of association with Christianity, opposition groups would have put an end to him long ago. Shrewdly Kris Kringle has distanced himself from anything remotely contro versial to find broader appeal amongst the masses. Santa is, in this respect, "bigger than Jesus." Jean Celestin and the charges brought against him, many have felt the need to voice their opinions and reactions to the hearing and his subsequent conviction of sexual assault. I fully believe that those individuals have the right to express their opinions and, as a friend of Jean Celestin, and a person who fully believes in his innocence, I feel the need to express myself as well. My anger came to full force with the Tuesday issue of the opinion page in the Collegian. Daniel Carter, the senior vice president of Security on Campus, wrote an article in response to Queen Nworisa's forum that Mr. Celestin should be allowed to graduate (which I agree with completely). It also stated briefly that Security on Campus was not concerned with campus security when former Black Caucus President Lakeisha Wolf and several others received death threats. My fault with Mr. Carter's article was in his implication that Mr. Celestin raped the alleged victim. Because of how deeply upset I was, I contacted and spoke to Mr. Carter personally. While I know that Mr. Carter did not intentional ly imply that Mr. Celestin raped the alleged victim, I was still deeply con cerned. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. However, Mr. Carter is not a student and his opinion affects how others think Those opinions can be mis construed as fact. Horowitz should look closer at conservatives Kristopher Ankarlo CCSG President David Horowitz, in a presentation sponsored by the Penn State College Republicans, warned of the influence of "The Hate-America Left on College Campuses" and their "dangerous views ... in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks." The very first prominent academic to rush before television cameras and blame America's own culture for this Santa Claus has evolved, if you will, into a higher form, a form that cannot only appear in every shopping mall in America at the same time, but that represents the collective holiday spirit of America. In fact, Santa often appeared in political cartoons dressed in red, white and blue alongside the political figures of the day. But you do not need to be American to love Santa Claus, either. The only requirements to join the Santa fan club are selflessness and willingness to get into the spirit of the holidays. And by "the holidays," I refer only to about a five-week period that begins the day after Thanksgiving and ends when we ring in a new year. You don't even have to celebrate a holiday during this period as long as you feel the excitement of the freshly-fallen snow (well, maybe not this year), of the strings of lights that appear on build ings and in trees downtown each year, and of finding the perfect gift for that special someone. Everyone is a winner in this situa tion. By disentangling Santa from Christmas, we avoid the nasty Santa- Jesus conflict that the clergy expound upon yearly. Plus, all of the "heathens" can still enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling of exchanging gifts without the nag ging doubt that they may have inadver tently celebrated the birth of the Mes siah. And now, Santa can visit during Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter sol- terrible tragedy was, however, the pres ident of Liberty Baptist University, Jerry Falwell. As Falwell's comments were given wide publicity on Sept. 11 and 12, I doubt that Horowitz could have missed them. Perhaps the College Republicans and Horowitz's Center for the Study of Popular Culture might be persuaded to broaden their inquiry just a bit and to examine the dangerous views looming on their right Equality not encouraged by Pride Week funding This letter is in response to Maggie Sullivan's letter from Wednesday. Mag gie closes in saying "I think that the strongest statement of our student gov ernment's credibility would be to stand by its students in their fight for equali ty" The implication here is that the USG is not treating the organizers of "Pride Week" equally (I'm sure I must have missed Straight Week in all of its grandeur). Anyway, what exactly is the real issue here? If the concern is violence, why not start an anti-violence group? If the con cern is harassment or intimidation, why not pass a general rule against it? Why create a division where we can't even know for sure who is classified in that division or out of it unless we're mind readers or spy on bedrooms? Because we are a free nation, we are fortunate that Maggie's perception of "equality" does not mean we must all live under her conception (or miscon ception) of it. Personally, my view does not coincide with Maggie's because I feel you just can't translate "all people are equal" to "all actions (sexual or oth erwise) are equal." To me, there is no apparent civil liberty there, no matter how you attempt to manipulate or con trol it. Tina-Maria Simms sophomore-English If someone is having problems with USG simply because it doesn't immedi Everyone wears a Santa hat, and campus becomes a happier place. It's just impossible to get mad at someone wearing such a fun hat. Or be grumpy. Aldon Lynn Nielsen professor, department of English THE DAILY COLLEGIAN slice,. Festivus or what have you. This exponentially increases the amount of loot to be had by kids the world over, thereby making all children a good bit happier. Then these children grow up happy, and in 40 years we have world peace. You see how well this works? Of course, the same principle applies on a small scale. Everyone wears a Santa hat, and campus becomes a hap pier place. It's just impossible to get mad at someone wearing such a fun hat. Or be grumpy. The hat has the magical effect of imbuing the wearer with some of the same jolliness enjoyed by the jolly old elf. These hats will also be the great fashion equalizer. Abercrombie does not sell Santa hats, so we will all get ours at Wal-Mart or from the cart in the mall (you can have your name spelled out in glitter for an additional charge). Also, the hats are relatively inexpensive compared to everyone owning their own reindeer. It's sporty and economical! Santa Claus, world peace and pres ents. What more could you ask for? With this column in print, you can all rest assured that by wearing a Santa hat you are not making a political statement of any kind. C'mon, people, let's see those hats this week. Happy holidays to all, and to all a good night! Adam Kapp is a senior majoring in English and psychology and is a Collegian columnist His e-mail address is MadHalteMpsu.edu. ately give in or agree with a perception, then I can tell you there are going to be rough roads ahead. Certainly, you should be able to find alternative fund ing if you're truly "felting for equality" USG is doing the right thing if they have been misled and I am sure they will continue to provide support and protection to every student, regardless of accusations or labels of being "homo phobic." Write a letter We want to hear your comments on our cover age, editorial decisions and the Penn State com munity in general. ■ Email: letters@pau.edu ■ Postal mall or in person The Daily Collegian 123 S. Burrowes St University Park, PA 16801-3882 M In person: The Daily Collegian James Building 123 S. Burrowes St Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 250 words. Students' letters should include semester standing, major and campus. Alumni's letters sflould include the year of graduation of the writer. All writers should pro vide their address and phoncriumber for verifica tion. Letters should be signed by-co more than two people. Members and officers of organiza tions must include their titles if Abe fopic they write about is connected with the aim of their organization. The Collegian reserves the rigi'\ edit letters for length and to reject letters if thyare libelous or do not conform to standards_of good taste. Because of the number of letters \received, the Collegian cannot guarantee publiqrtion of all let tem it receives. Letters may also be selected for publication in the Weekly Collegian. All letters received become the property of Colle gian Inc. Steve Mottle Class of 1998
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