:f THE DAI
James S. Young
Editor in Chief
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UR OPINION
l'oor rally attendance
shows officals, USG
,wed to increase effort
Once again, the annual Rally in the
Rotunda was a sorry showhig for stu
dents from universities funded by the
state including those attending classes
at Penn State. Although organizers pre
dicted at least 300 students would show
this year, only about 150 students traveled
to the state capitol to rally for more
appropriations to be allocated to Penn
State in an effort to keep tuition costs as
low as possible.
Only 150 students from University
Park, across all the commonwealth cam
puses and other schools to which the
state gives money. And that's a lot. Only
150 students attended out of a total
Penn State population of 81,664, along
with about 100,000 students from the
other schools across the state. That ratio
is mind numbing. Last year, about 200
students showed, and while that may not
be fantastic, at least it's better than this
year. How can there be an effective rally
a rally that forces legislators to listen
the voices of students if there is
such a lackluster turnout?
r This is our chance as a student body to
emind the state we are more than just a
'number. It's our chance to show the legis
lators the people their decisions affect.
• Perhaps a general apathetic attitude is
The cause of the low student attendance.
Maybe, two days after a week of fun and
relaxation, students were just not moti
vated enough to participate.
However, as much as the Undergradu
ate Student Government (USG) may want
i tp blame the apathy of students, the truth
is their "campaign" was a poor attempt at
motivation. They claim there was adver
tising around campus for the rally. But
the fliers, some of which were seemingly
put up in a last-minute attempt to rally
support, were white eight-by-10 pieces of
paper with black print. Boring and hard
to read fliers are hardly a decent attempt
at garnering participation.
Not to mention the fact that our "stu
dent advocates" should have put their
own butts in vehicles bound for the capi
tol. There was also hardly any dialogue
on campus. The decision to excuse a stu
dent's absence was left up to the individ
ual professor, and two days after spring
break, teachers might be less than willing
to give another day off from class.
And the bus that was provided for a
maximum of 90 students transported only
15 students. In that regard, they couldn't
have made things easier for students to
attend. If students aren't interested in
attending the event, USG's hands are
tied. However, if students aren't aware
that the event is occurring, the problem
becomes solvable if our student gov
ernment would launch an enthusiastic
campaign that would_make students care.
Basically, everyone is to blame for this
half-hearted attempt to lower our tuition.
Who we are
ihs Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by its
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Collegian Board of Opinion.
Members of the Board of Opinion are Daniel Bal, Brent Burkey,
Allison Busacca, Jennette Hannah, Meaghan Haugh, Kathleen
Haughney, Alison Herget, Krystle Kopacz, Bridget Smith, Steve
Swart, Claudia Vargas and James S. Young.
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OLLEGIAN
kills Columbus
Business Manager
=!3=ini
I WEDNESDAY, March 16, 2005
nlezelniva posrteos
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dying painlessly not
to occur in Florida
Everyone needs to get his or her
facts straight on Terry Schiavo.
The whole premise of the court
case was "what did terry want?"
not Michael's right to kill her and
not the parent's right to keep her
alive.
According to the judge, only
Thrry could make that decision
The problem isn't with right to die,
but this case's specific circum-
stances
The first problem is that the only
evidence she wanted to die was a
comment only Michael heard dur
ing a TV movie.
.4' The parents doubt this because
he reversed his opinion, mention
ing this only after winning 2.5 mil
lion in insurance money claiming
he needed it to take care of her,
but most of which he's kept for
himself. Even worse, after the acci
dent, he stood by idly for six min
utes without performing CPR,
which he knew. This seems delib
erate, since seven minutes is when
most brain cells die from lack of
oxygen.
Considering there are also signs
of abuse, I'm very suspicious of
trusting this man.
The second problem is that the
parents at least want Harry to die
quick and painlessly, something
you don't get from starvation.
Ibrry is not entirely a vegetable
She smiles when her mother
enters the room and is capable of
some motion and speech, and
COLUMNIST
Loop myth could pay my tuition
By Trisha Fitzgerald
E VERY
COL
LEGE in
this country
has its own
campus
myths.
Whether
they are about
secret soci
eties, certain
buildings or
even your MY OPINION
occasional
ghost stories, myths continue to
make their way around every gen
eration of students.
Penn State is no exception.
Here there are myths about the
meaning of the word "Nittany,"
ones about Old Main and the
countless ones dealing with frater
nities and sororities.
%11, one of the first myths I
ever heard here was the Loop
myth.
lb my surprise. not everyone
has heard of the Loop myth.
However, I was told if I were to
accidentally get hit by the bus, I
would receive free tuition to Penn
State.
So over the past four years, as
my funds dwindled slowly, I always
joked to my friends about how I
was going to come up with a plan
to strategically get hit by the Loop
so I didn't have to pay for the rest
of my tuition.
But recently, I started thinking
that maybe this myth wasn't such
a good deal after all.
OPINION
kk% %\C4
because of this, it is believed she
would be in great pain.
The parents would rather a
more humane way to die, but the
judge will not allow it.
Isn't the whole purpose of right
to die dying painlessly?
Bono not the leader
King, Wolfensohn are
This letter was sparked by yes
terday's article by Jeff Danna of
Columbia College ("U2 rocker
Bono should lead World Bank,"
March 15). Bono is a rock star and
should be regarded as just that.
I understand the differences that
he has made in the world, most
notably in Africa, showing that he
is indeed a good person.
However, nominating Bono for
things such as the Nobel Peace
Prize, and now president of the
World Bank, does two things: 1) It
reduces those accolades or posi
tions and those who have earned
them before, and 2) It further
exemplifies the pathetic fact that
in the current world, money is
power.
With the almighty dollar as his
vehicle to make a difference, Bono
as depleted his fortune in order to
potentially achieve a rank with the
likes of Martin Luther Ling Jr.,
Henry Kissinger, and, as noted,
James Wolfensohn.
The aforementioned people
achieved their honors through
pure intelligence coupled with
Even though it is just a myth, I
began to deliberate on all the has
sles that I would be put through if I
ever was involved in this fictional
accident
Regardless of the amount of
pain I would feel from being in
such an event, there would be
numerous rehabilitation costs in
order to get back to my normal
life.
So I wondered, does this free
tuition really outweigh the all the
various medical costs I would have
to pay if this was far real?
Now, Pm sure no one has ever
seriously contemplated seeing if
this myth is true.
But if it were, I don't think Pam
State would be holding up their
part just by giving free tuition.
According to the Office of Stu
dent Aid's Web site, the estimated
tuition fees for an in-state student
for the 2005/2006 school year are
$11,480.
However, this amount does not
include housing, food, books or any
other personal supplies.
Because this is a myth and there
are no specifics on if Penn State
would pay for the extra costs, I
gave them the benefit of the doubt
and tallied them into the equation
as well.
Housing and meal expenses
would be about $6,500.
Books would cost about $l,lOO.
And other various expenses would
be about 61,5011
This adds $9,100 in extra expens
es onto the base tuition.
Fbr a total of $20,580, this myth
seemed like a pretty decent deal to
=2===
motivation and determination, not
through a rather deep bank
account stemming from a lengthy
music career.
If you had that much money, it'd
be a crime if you didn't try to make
a difference in the world.
James Tarlock!
Class of 2004
Minorities have right
to hold their events
Mr. Black or White Penn State?
Quick question Matthew Reed,
how are minorities treated differ
ently? From your opinion ("Minori
ties should not be treated different
ly," March 2), it seems that you
were irritated at the fact that an
African American sophomore was
elected Mr. Black Penn State.
After getting the shortest month
in the calendar as Black History
month, I feel the African American
population at Penn State and all
over the country has the right to
voice out their feelings and emo
tions to the community.
This is one way of raising aware
ness and Preventing history from
repeating itself. So what if they had
one contest named "Mr. Black
Penn State"?
It was an opportunity for the
African American community to
come together, unite and be the
majority for a change. A more pro
ductive way of dealing with this
issue Mr. Reed, would have been if
you actually tried joining the Mr.
Black Penn State competition.
So over the past four years, as my funds dwindled
slowly, I always joked to my friends about how I
was going to come up with a plan to strategically
get hit by the Loop so I didn't have to pay for the
rest of my tuition.
me when I first glanced at it.
Then I thought about the med
ical bills I would receive from get
ting
Medical expenses, including the
severity of the injury, length of stay
at the hospital and a multitude of
others vary in price, but always
add up greatly in the thousands
when the damages are this great.
Although it would be wonderful
to not have any more loans to pay
back, what about everything I
would have to go through and pay
for to get healthy again?
Getting hit by a bus of the
Loop's magnitude would cause
immense harm to any person.
Costs for surgery, medications,
testing, physical therapy and so on
are not all covered by medical
insurance allowing more fees to be
counted towards my expenses.
Hospital bills can be outstanding,
depending on how much a person
has to go through and getting hit
by a bus would surely cause
severe injuries.
So there I would be, broken
limbs and bruised, chilling in the
hospital just for Penn State to offer
me my $20,580 so I can have a free
ride. This amount doesn't seem so
great to me anymore.
Not to mention that I probably
Rich Doyle
sophomore-supply chain and
information systems
THE DAILY COLLEG
You will be surprised at the
warm welcome you will get from
you fellow "Black" students.
You can also get a first hand
experience of being a minority.
Then you might understand
what we, the minorities here, go
through each and every day.
Shatinda Pettis
freshman=chemical engineering
Statistics for CATA
are simply estimates
I'm writing in response to the
recent CATA story ("Loop, Link
ridership up, Centre Line down,"
March 14). There's a nice exact
number of people who ride the
Loop or Link 4,019,345.
First of all, the word million that
follows this number makes it seem
like four million million, which is
huge number.
But that's not important.
What I wanted to actually note is
that bus drivers often let people in,
then start driving and push the lit
tle counter button seemingly as
many times as they want.
It's pretty much a guessing
game.
I don't care, and the next person
doesn't care.
But if this counter is used for
making any kind of statistical
statements, Eric Bernier better
know that the number on the
counter is only an approximation
based on the whim of the drivers.
Yevgenly Kourinskl
junior -information sciences and
technology
wouldn't even be able to use it
because I would have to take time
off from school to heal.
If this myth were true, Penn
State would be getting out pretty
easy with just their free tuition
offer.
So with tuition rising every year,
it becomes a bigger stress to take
out higher loans to pay for college.
For once, I thought that maybe
this myth could solve my financial
dilemma and bring some hope to
desperate students around the
campus, yet it has ultimately
failed.
So watching the Loop fly on by,
weighing out my options, it
occurred to me that I could make
this myth a reality, sue Penn State
and get even more money than
this myth had ever intended to
gam•
My defense could be that there
is no sign on the bus stating "Cau
tion: Loop might hit you if you
stand in front of it."
I mean, it worked for McDon
ald's coffee right?
Anyone know Edgar Snyder's
number?
Maui Morald is a senior majoring in
journalism and is a Collegian columnnist
Her e-mail is tiflll9opsu.sdu.
ecartoons.com