8 I WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2003 THE DAILY. Lynne Funk Editor in Chief 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 EDITORIAL Campaign should not lead to enrollment increase More and more and more. Despite enrollment exceeding 80,000 students statewide and classrooms filled with more than 300 students on a regular basis, Penn State officials are embarking on a new marketing campaign to bring more mainly in-state high school students to the university. On the surface, officials say the marketing pitch is intended to polish the luster of the Penn State name and to influence prospective students to apply to Commonwealth Campuses that are closer in vicinity to their homes. Penn State should be given kudos for its efforts to keep the name of the university among the elite of the nation’s colleges. And by placing impor tance on the maturation of the Commonwealth Campuses, Penn State will only make its overall institution that much stronger. But at what cost do we have to achieve such means? The campaign calls for plac ing 30-second commercials on cable networks such as MTV Comedy Central and ESPN2 channels that are likely to attract a large number high school viewers. Billboards, posters and radio advertise ments are also being employed. However, how much money, time and manpower will such a large-scale public relations operation entail? Who we are The Daily Collegian’s editorial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor hold ing final responsibility. The letters and columns expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of The Daily Collegian, Collegian Inc. or The Pennsylvania State University. Collegian Inc., pub lishers of The Daily Collegian and related publications, is a separate corporate institution from Penn State. Editorials are written by The Daily Collegian Board of Opinion. Members of the Board of Opinion are Pat Abdalla, Steve Bien-Aime, Lindsay Bosslett, Brent Burkey, Reid Coploff, Lynne Funk, Alison Herget, Laura Michalski, Sarah Rothman, Caleb Sheaffer, Mike Wal bert, James S. Young and Erica Zarra. Write a letter . We want to hear yew comments on our cov erage, our editorial decisions and the Penn State community in general. ■ EonN: collegianietlefs@psu.edu ■ Postal maH/ln patera: The Daily Coflegian James Building 123 S. Bunowes St University Park, PA 16801-3882 Letters must be no longer than 250 words. Stu dent letters should include class year, major and campus. Letters item alumni should include major and year erf graduation. COLUMN Mother Teresa proved that hard work, not miracles, is needed to help society By Jyothi Karthik Raja Mother Tere sa, who will now official- Iy be known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, was beati fied as a step in the process of canoniza tion, by which the Catholic Church designates saints. People who are beatified can be venerated by their local church and their religious orders; people who are saints can be venerated by the univer sal church. Mother Teresa dedicated her life and work to the poor and the destitute. The process was hastened after the Vatican deemed that she had miraculously healed a woman. The woman was Monica Besra. She had a tumor in her stomach, and after her prayers to Mother Teresa, she Claims her cancer disappeared and she was miraculously cured. Another mira cle has to be attributed to Mother Tere sa before she can become a saint. JIOLLEGIAN 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. When class sizes are growing at an alarming rate and avail able housing continues to become an issue, the need for more applicants becomes less desirable at University Park. Penn State would be better served to continue to improve on the institutions it has in place, such as faculty and class rooms!, rather than dishing out money to an attractive market ing campaign. That way, a pres tigious, valuable education will become a drawing point all to itself. Should a university that prides itself on being a top notch public institution have to drum up so much enthusiasm, especially when nearly 86,000 prospective students are apply ing to Penn State each year? Also, the university should consider that the more students it tries to attract, the higher the enrollment could rise. If enroll ment rises, and state appropria tions continue to plummet, the amount of money given by the state per student will fall even further. Penn State already ranks dead last in the Big Ten in state funding per student. While it is admirable that the university is concerned with keeping Penn State a sought after commodity for high school students, the focus should be shifted toward improving cur rent institutions. AH writers should provide their address and phone number for verification, letters should be signed by no more than two people. Members of organizations must include their titles if the topic they write about is connected with the aim of their groups. The CoHegan reserves the right to edit letters. The Coßegan cannot guarantee publication of aH letters it receives. letters chosen also run online at The Digital Col legian and may be selected for publication in The Weekly Collegian. AH letters received become the property of Collegian inc. When skeptics questioned Besra’s doc tors, they claimed that she had been under medical treatment, taking tuber cular drugs for nine months. They claim that there is definitive medical evidence against this miracle. Pope John Paul II celebrated his 25th year as Pontiff. Over the course of his pontificate, he has beatified 1,315 peo ple and canonized 476, far more than his predecessors of the past 500 years combined. At one miracle per beatifica tion and two for canonization, more than 2,200 miracles must have been MY OPINION performed. How many did we see? How has it changed our world? In India, Sai Baba is a veiy popular miracle-worker. His miracles have gained much adulation and speculation throughout the world. He is known to have presented guests with gold and precious gems that he made appear from thin air. As always, there are skep tics with their claims of evidence against these miracles. There are videotapes that claim to have captured Sai Baba’s sleight of hand. Many Web sites have sprung up to discuss these miracles. Flew discuss his teachings and charities. Why do we need mira- Rebecca Novae Business Manager LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Athletes’ bad decisions do not affect students The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was established to protect our freedoms of speech, press, assem bly and petition. Freedom of the press does not exist to justify inflammatory and sensationalist fluff, such as the front-page article in Tuesday’s Daily Collegian (“Johnson to face alcohol charges,” Oct. 2D. In the true American entertainment-news fashion, the Colle gian chose to relegate more significant issues, such as local zoning debates and national Supreme Court cases to the inside pages to make way for what was essentially a glorified police bul letin with a public name attached to it. Apparently, an individual’s involvement in athletic activities makes a poor deci sion into front-page news. I sympathize with this person, whose name and pho tograph appear next to descriptions of illegal actions even though he is con sidered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The unfortunate over-celebration of intercollegiate athletics is no excuse to throw journalistic integrity to the wind for the sake of a catchy headline, espe cially at the expense of an individual's public image. It should be the goal of the Collegian to transcend entertain ment-news sensationalism and present issues that actually affect our lives. Brian A. Morrison junior - film and video production Leaf blowing expensive, pollutes environment Yes, the ritual of collecting leaves has begun (“Leaf removal provides com post,” Oct. 21). What a noisy racket! Leaf blowers are among the most annoying of modern conveniences. They generate unwanted noise and air pollution from their inefficient motors. They blow up dust and fungal particles that may contribute to fall allergies. Most importantly in these budget crunching times, they cost money to maintain and operate. A simple solution exists that will cre ate compost and reduce the need for leaf blowers: return the leaves to the soil with a lawn mower. Simply chop ping up the leaves with the final clip pings of the year will return them to the soil where they will decompose among the grass. This will reduce the need for leaf blowers, which will reduce expens es and unnecessary pollution. This practice improves lawns by increasing soil organic matter and structure and providing needed nitrogen. Therefore, less fertilizer would need to be applied cles? What is the power that it yields on a human being? We live in such a strenuous world, constantly fighting the odds to stay afloat, that we would accept any help, the more miraculous and swifter the better. There are so many opposing faiths that to elevate one true one over the other, a great miracle needs to be performed. It is always the unknown that fright ens us the most, and the power of this unknown is the conscience that will make us do right. But a miracle is also personal belief To a hungry child, find ing a piece of bread is a miracle; to an unprepared exam taker, cancellation of school due to heavy snow is a miracle; to a sick person, a doctor curing him is a miracle. A miracle yields such mind-control that people who stake claim over the creation of that miracle immediately rise to great power. Thousands of fake god-men and god-women have sprung up, claiming to be miracle workers. The focus is shifting from genuine kind hearted people to these miracle work ers. Even those that do real charity work have come to be criticized because of their miraculous stunts. to lawns the following year, thus saving the university and borough more money. Eliminating leaf blowers on campus is a measure that should be considered for the health and quiet of the community. Balanced diet possible through vegetarianism In all the years I’ve read the Colle gian, I’ve never found a letter as fraught with misinformation as Chris Kovalchick’s (“Eating meat natural; essential part of diet,” Oct. 21) on vege tarianism. As an individual who has chosen vegetarianism primarily for health reasons, I feel an obligation to clear up a few things. Although we are in fact omnivores, whether humans are carnivorous by nature is irrelevant. Even if eating meat is natural doesn’t mean it’s good. Rape and murder are naturally occurring phenomena, yet we abhor such activities. Kovalchick has his facts wrong. He claims that humans cannot fulfill their nutritional requirements without meat, but this is simply not true. While no vegetable by itself is a complete pro tein, defined by providing all 20 neces sary amino acids, eating enough differ ent vegetable sources is as good as eat ing meat. In fact, it’s better, because vegetables usually contain far less fat. He further wrongly states that vege tarians will have health problems in old age. Quite the contrary: according to numerous medical studies, a proper vegetarian lifestyle significantly decreases the risk of heart disease, stroke, many cancers, obesity, diabetes and other diseases. Vegetarianism is not only more environmentally friendly and more ethical, but it is indeed healthier for you. Gay marriage provides no benefits to society This is in response to Mary Ann Zim merman’s column (“Acceptance of vari ous sexual orientations and lifestyles will lead to a more just America,” Oct. 21). The main point you made which I take contention with is the legalization of gay marriages. Before a law is passed, one should ask what would be the effect if every citizen of this country followed through on the opportunity offered by this law. An answer to this question regarding homosexual unions is that the human population would cease to exist. This is Caring for the poor is no longer enough. A-miracle is imperative. Mother Teresa founded the Mission aries of Charity in 1950 and over the years the charity has spread to over 130 countries and has over 700 houses. All over the world, the Missionaries of Charity devout their time to the poor, the ill and the aged. Mother Teresa opened orphanages, schools, homes for the needy and AIDS centers through out the world. Thousands of homeless eat at her soup kitchens everyday. In 1982, at the height of the siege in Beirut, she rescued 37 children holed up in a front-line hospital by requesting a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas, and this was after she received her Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. The Sri Sathya Sai Organisations carry out charitable activities for the continuous welfare of the needy. Polio, blood donation and eye screening camps are conducted regularly, schools and orphanages have been setup, vil lage betterment programs have been started, and food and clothes are dis tributed daily. The Sri Sathya Sai Organisations Ihist also helps in con the major setback of gay unions. It pro vides no benefit to the human society as a whole. If every person were to join in a gay union, the world would stop with that generation. That theory alone should lead you to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with gay unions. Loren Byrne graduate - ecology Clio’s reaction to letter offers insight, laughs Everyone who attended the Distin guished Speakers Series lecture by Margaret Cho on Monday night had a good laugh when the absurdities men tioned in James Bascom’s letter (“Coming Out Day rally does not belong at PSU,” Oct. 20) were read aloud. All who were not able to attend the lecture but read Bascom’s letter to the editor should hear what she had to say in response to it. First, Cho pointed out that there is no homosexual agenda, and that homosexuals are simply trying to live their lives and love whoever they choose. Secondly, she noted that nature in itself is abnormality, with many changes and unique differences Ip all creatures. Lastly, Cho noted that bes tiality child abuse and terrorism are not alternative lifestyles they’re crimes. Perhaps Bascom should have attended Cho’s lecture and been enlightened of his close-minded atti tude. ‘Normality’ standard impossible to define This is in response to James Bas com’s letter (“Coming Out Day does not belong at PSU,” Oct. 20). You claim that homosexuality is an abnormality. What exactly is normal, Mr. Bascom? Perhaps heterosexual relationships are normal, maybe eating three square meals a day and getting eight hours of sleep every night is normal. Or perhaps having blond hair and blue eyes is nor mal, yes mein freund? It is my belief however, that there is no “normal.” Humanity is a vast and diverse species. We are of different colors, languages, beliefs and behaviors, and we define ourselves by our own combination of these attributes. How dare any of us be so arrogant as to say that our own set is more normal than any others. I am who I am. I do not claim it is normal, or the right way to be. But it is my way to be, and that is what truly matters. M. Dominic Eggert senior.- philosophy straction of hospitals, culture halls, and helps to promote unity amongst all. The Ihist facilitates the availability of drinking water to many drought-hit areas in India This is real work. This is the work that requires focus and the work that needs to be rewarded. God men and god-women should stop per forming small miracles just to drew a tribe to them. Every precious gem pre sented to a rich man by Sai Baba could have been used to pay for the needy. The sooner people stop looking for divine intervention and realize that the power lies in doing real work, the bet ter. Those in power should educate the people to this effect and should stop looking for miracles and miracle work ers to spread their faith and should just reward the real work. Mother Teresa didn’t wait for a mira cle to help. She went into the streets to help. She doesn’t need a strange light behind her head, a miracle, to make her a saint For most, she already is. Jyothl Karthlk Raja is a graduate student in industrial engineering and operations research and a Daily Collegian columnist. His e-mail address is kart@psu.edu. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Greg Schuster Class of 2003 Kara Cummings junior - biology John North sophomore - secondary education
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