li _,Allll.l] Alison Kepner Megan Janke Editor in Chief Business Manager About the Collegian: The Daily Collegian and The Weekly Collegian are published by Collegian Inc., an independent, nonprofit corporation with a board of directors composed of students. fac ulty and professionals. Pennsylvania State Uni versity students write and edit both papers and solicit advertising for them. During the fall and spring semesters as well as the second six week Seminars should mix basics, outlook As undergraduate represen tatives and Penn State faculty prepare to evaluate the fresh man seminar program, it's a good time for all students to think about what worked -- or is working and what hasn't, since this brand of classes expanded to become a require ment a few years ago. What most people can agree on is that these small, discus sion-focused classes for first year students have been posi tive additions to the offerings at this large institution. Close course contact with tenure-track faculty and well respected instructors here lets students get to know top profes sors at an early stage in their college careers. The smaller enrollments involved some classes have as few as nine peo ple can foster long-lasting friendships that start in the seminar room and go beyond. The best seminars, we've found, have been those that introduce freshmen to the resources of the university while focusing on interdiscipli nary topics and giving them a hint of what they might expect to see in upper-level classes within their majors. We have valued the variety of course topics offered. and clon't think those choices should be watered down to over-standard ize the program. Give fresiitwAi the basics, but also give thin Who we are The Daily Collegian's editorial opir.,t,,r ing final responsibliit v Daily Collegian. Coliek , ~ - Daily Collegian and rel trC. als are written by The ^. Members Members of the Board Li L,r_ L t Cooke, Mary DiMegho i Chris Korman. Emily Morn, Stopping Saddam akin to destroying bin Laden Going to war with Iraq is imminent and must be undertaken for the citizens of the United States to remain sale in an unstable world. Eliot Walker's Oct. 4 col umn and Andy McKinnon's Oct. 8 letter are extremely naive. and it their policy was to be undertaken. Americans would probably perish in subsequent attktl.-; upon the United States. I would like to remind thesc . blame America first" advocates that nearly 3,000 Americans died on Sept. 11. The president stated after the attacks that. "If you harbor a terrorist. you are a ter rorist," the president told the American people that these nation states would he dealt with accordingly. if they continue their policy of harboring terrorists. I would like McKinnon, Walker and any other pacifist to consider this sce nario, and any reader to think about what these same people would be say ing if the circumstance I'm about to present had actually played out. It is July 11, 2001, and the president comes on television for an evening address to the nation from the I val Office. He says that at this moment. the United States military has launched a pre-emptive strike in Afghanistan to capture Osama bin Laden and destroy al-Qaida. The United States is going to remove the Taliban government, which is extremely oppressive to its citizenry. free enslaved women, and help bring democracy to the people of Afghanistan. The president says the threat posed to the nation is too great to ignore. and that pre-emptive action is necessary. What would have these two gentle men said in response to this policy it it were to have happened? I'm a betting man, and I'm willing to bet that they would be pushing the same "Can't we all get along" rhetoric that they are now. summer session, The Daily Collegian publishes Monday through Friday. Issues are distributed by mail to other Penn State campuses, alumni, sports fans, parents and other subscribers. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. College 101 specific content to help them decide if this is the college or major where they want to be. Instructors should be flexible in designing their seminars. They should be open to engag ing the ideas and concerns each student brings to the sem inar table. And they should be sensitive to the fact that some among us adjust to college life more quickly than others. Scheduling the bulk of fresh man seminars in the fall semes ter would increase the effective ness of activities designed to help students settle in such as going to the library, visiting campus museums, learning about Penn State history or just having a fun forum to complain about dorm living. By the spring, many are past the basics and would find some of these aspects boring. Also, keep seminars informal to make students feel more comfortable about opening up and talking about the questions they really have about attend ing university We understand that last minute changes force some instructors ,0--be thrown into leading theSe seminars, but most of the teachers for these class periods should really have a passion for making them var ied and exciting. We look forward to seeing how this good program gets even better. . Board of Opinion. with the editor hold oges are not necessarily those of The ir , 'iH..ers!ty Collegian Inc.. publishers of The tar. , , orate institution from Penn State. Editor] Bier, AiroP Heather Cook, Jeremy R. • Matt Hymowitz. Alison Kepner, Science ideas change; evolution isn't doctrine Shonna Days's recent column ("Faith, science may help to heal depression," Oct. 8) shows that she doesn't under stand how science works. For scientists to advance their understanding, they must discard mysticism and replace it with skepticism. In other words, mysti ,•;sm is the antithesis of science. If we relied on religious dogma rather than healthy investigation of phenome na without preconceived notions, then we would still believe that we live in a Earth-centered solar system. Human society would be without modern medi cine and the microelectronic devices that we use every day, because accord ing to mystical dogma, all of these dis coveries should have been impossible. Ms. Days also attacks evolution as "doctrine," a common argument among creationists. Personal opinions about creationism aside, it's improper to char acterize a scientific theory as doctrine. The theory of macroevolution is the best nonmystical explanation that currently exists to explain the evidence available. If evidence emerges to disprove the theory, biologists will discard it and develop a new one that considers the Mathias R. Shaner ,er,[y r isrul lAN r lnn TrapPll and Alissa Wisnouse Write a letter We want to hear your comments on our cover age. our editorial decisions and the Penn State community in general. ■ E-mail: letters@psu.edu ■ Postal mail/In person The Daily Collegian James Building 123 S. Burrowes St. University Park, PA 16801-3882 Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 250 words. Student letters should include semester standing, major and campus of ANYI3oOY UP FoR 500* SECurgrrY DEr3Are? •0 tcrs) Seek a real challenge in studying By Daniel Moore In her latest col umn on Oct. 1, my fellow Colle gian columnist Ellen Tappen rel ished her recent experience of living with an interna tional student from "such a different culture" as her own. Ms. Tappen recounted several "deep debates" with her British roommate, Heather including a clash over the appropriate colloquialism for a genre of music that stoops to include the likes of Britney Spears. Ms. Tappen favored the expression "pop," while Heather much preferred "cheese." (In my opinion, the most fitting expression is a synonym for "unadulterated excrement.") Ms. Tappen then implied that in jousting against opinions that "com pletely contradictiedl" her own, she was thankfully bucked off her horse named Ignorance. As the fairy tale goes. she miraculously matured to "become more open-minded and grow as an individual." If Ms. Tappen's essay were a song. I would label it "cheese." but since it's not, let me say what a bunch of baloney. But the bashing stops here. Rather, I hope to salvage the golden idea she was espousing by plucking it from the wreckage of her delusional epiphany. Ms. Tappen seized upon a very timely issue: she was just lured off the track by the siren of college entrance essay imperatives: Describe the most meaningful experience of your life. So, what is the treasure, glint ing from the bottom of all this silt? It's Ms. Tappen's encouragement of the water. Letters from alumni should include major and year of graduation of the writer. All writ ers should provide their address and phone num ber for verification of the letter. Members and offi cers of organizations must include their titles if the topic they write about is connected with the aim of their organization. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for length or potentially libelous statements. The Col legian cannot guarantee publication of all letters it receives. Letters chosen for publication can run online at The Digital Collegian. All letters received become the property of Collegian Inc. new information available. There exists no devotion to evolution as a doctrine. That's how we scientists work we only accept propositions that are direct ly supported by evidence available for observation. Ms. Days, as a nonscien tist, doesn't understand this and there fore is unable to comment intelligently about how science works. Stephen Segal vice president, Society of Physics Students Religion doesn't negate evolution understanding In response to Shonna Days' column: She states a conversation that took place between her and another student regarding faith and evolution. I was the student she was speaking with and I'm extremely offended by the way she por trayed my opinions. After two minutes with me, Ms. Days concluded that she knew enough about my thoughts on reli gion to categorize me as an atheist. I'm offended that she referred to my text book as my "bible." That's certainly not accurate. Actually, I happen to believe very strongly in my religion. I think Ms. Days is missing the point of biology and science. It's not saying there's no place for religion in a world students to open up an international dialogue at home and abroad. I would like to amp up the volume on that rally cry, and run it through an equalizer Because now is the time for us all to seek international dialogue. preferably before the word "war - finally cuts our tongues and the taste of iron whets out palate. If you think diplomacy is not the work of students, think again. But dofft worry I'm not going to implore you to protest. begin a letter-writing cam paign or intern in Washington. D.C. All I'm asking is that you make bet ter use of the resources for interna tional cooperation already in place at this university. The Office of International Pro grams (OIPi goes to great lengths to diversify this campus with foreign stu dents and scholars. From 1991 to 2001. the number of international students at University Park nearly doubled. But that figure is effectively meaningless. because the last time I checked. minorities at this university (under standably) stick together like motor oil in milk. For every U.K. student who floats as freely as a talcum moth around campus, spreading her "radi cal" ideas and effecting a change for the better in people. there is a Pak istani student with equal. if not greater potential to promote understanding hut whose lips are sealed by the dark wax of segregation. And frankly, discussing current world affairs with a student from the U.K. is about as useful as con ferring with a best friend: debating with the choir does not bring about international understanding. MY OPINION The Office of International Pm grams also tries very hard to offer a diverse selection of study-abroad opportunities to as many students as possible. Consider, for example. that the number of Penn State students where there is scientific evidence about human evolution. I may not believe that God created heaven and earth in seven days. but I pray and believe in religion as a valuable asset to everyday life. Maybe religion could have helped Timo thy Kulp turn away from suicide. but how could knowledge about evolution have hurt him? I'm proud to say that I take religious and scientific classes at Penn State. and I can defend my opin ions with solid facts and pride. if some one were to give me the chance. Groups should think before using mascot I recently saw that the National Com ing Out Day (NCOD) participants were wearing T-shirts depicting the Nittany Lion coming out of the closet. I abhor the use of our mascot in this way. When someone uses the Nittanv Lion. he or she implies that they speak for the entire university. I have no argument with NCOD: in fact. I believe it is benefi cial to many people. But they have no right to speak for Penn State and no right to use our mascot. I recently was discussing making a T shirt with some of my friends. with whom I play in a Christian hand. They wanted to make a T-shirt with the Nit tany Lion praying at the foot of the cross, but I objected to this because I understand that we as a Christian com munity cannot misappropriate symbols like the Nittany Lion for our own us, have the respect for my fellow student , not to misuse the reputation of our school. and I'm both disappointed or 1 angry that other groups on camliu don't have the same respect. I have a great deal of respect for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgf dered community and its allies (LGBTA), and I wish only to object to their speaking for Penn State as a whole. I expect that all groups. inciuctai, MR. PRESIDENT, T)-IF DEMOCRATIC PRE SIDI/471AL CANDIDATE CAUCUS wOULO 10 ADJouRN ki4D DO SOME LING ALL THIS- TITUS LIVIUS ONCE sAit) THolzr ThiNGS vou gc ctepSt is rNE Afkis,p4 WHO 00E5 NOT 1-4URRI ti - THEREFORE oROPOSE OUR SoujVCIN t3E N LATIN. Mallory Podolsky freshman-division of undergraduate studies Nijio Rani NUKE I-11M RIC,HT NOW I VAPaR I7 E SAPDAM D; ; ,ADAM Off, c 1// ~~ ~~;~ ALL Ti-105,- 5 pc - px • J* - VOICE ( c --- I AYE T -1 9~%5~~i'!.. '*" MEM ~,. , P the 1 1 ._el 1 the , 1 I ntetaph4 wit di ;01 of dr-E-,:1,1-11. -h aC, • Raffles combat ot,lation ink 111, everv‘)nt CO11111it;i1 f 111 C.; f,t_{ at all would call point that numity arc nut IMMO \ i 11 1 by puffin: to ific (;rctnc belw% ranthu hand: , v. and \,\ oil , de' bur , ;), everydLt The 1.4. i ',alit , ( HEIM z•ltuk , lll acittlL.s. Shin,: ecitu.alc, i()+1 Lt;(.- (k 11L- effort-, :!i, ..e bled on ,t hat! t'~: ~. ~. ; 4 qoad 111 , :•t1;1 t,nt OJcate, , i, 'Ol 1 1 'ld 1.1( t rr( i' , tilt I 1 _on] ~!'-"tinsi Find 1111)“1. MELO= ~. ~~ II 1 , ~ .11 ~.iY Andy Shingle
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