1 Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 1 r 1 o The Daily Collegian Rossilynne Skena Editor-in-Chief Holly Colbo Business Manager About the Collegian: The Daily Collegian and The Weekly Collegian are pub lished by Collegian Inc., an independent, nonprofit corpo ration with a board of direc tors composed of students, faculty and professionals. Pennsylvania State University students write and edit both papers and solicit advertising for them. During the fall and spring semesters as well as the second six-week summer session, The Daily Collegian publishes Monday through Friday. Issues are distributed by mail to other Penn State campuses and individual subscribers. Complaints: News and edito rial complaints should be pre sented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. Who we are The Daily Collegian’s editori al opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding final responsi bility. The letters and columns expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of The Daily Collegian, Collegian Inc. or The Pennsyl vania State University. Colle gian Inc., publishers 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 are: Chris Bickel, lan Brown, Matt Brown, Adam Clark, Rich Coleman, Matt Conte, Abby Drey, Katherine Dvorak, Beth Ann Downey, Stacey Federoff, Mike Felletter, Stephanie Goga, Mandy Hofmockel, Patrick McDermott, Andrew McGill. Dave Miniaci, Eliza beth Murphy, Michael Oplinger, Dan Rorabaugh, Erin Rowley, David Rung, Alexa Santoro, Heather Schmelzlen, Shannon Sim cox, Rossilynne Skena, Danielle Vickery, Alex Weisler, Aubrey Whelan and Julie Wolf. 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EDITORIAL: NUISANCE GATHt Advocacy must last until decision To students, it was dear from the start that the Nuisance Gathering Ordi nance would face much opposition. After students, residents and even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fought the ordi- nance, the State College Borough Council derided to postpone final judg ment until February 2010. One ACLU of Pennsyl vania staff attorney said that the ordinance being delayed signified “a victo ry for civil rights.” However, the fight is definitefy not over —judg- ment on the ordinance is merely postponed. Stu dents, residents and all those opposed to the measure will have to con tinue advocating against it and continue telling Bor ough Council members their opinions. Some changes to the ordinance include raising the number of people that COLUMNIST Columnist upset as time runs short By Chris Bickel Do you know what I hate? Time. It seems that this phenomenon is working against me and everything I know and love. It eludes me as to why I never listened to my parents, grand parents and teachers. I was also told to cherish the moments you have because you will never get them back. This weekend, I finally real ized how true that is. Two Mends of mine turned 21 on Sunday morning, so of course we went to Phiyst right at mid night so they can experience their first bar-bought alcoholic beverages. It was a great time. So as I’m being forced to stand on the bar table and take my Surfer on Add shot while singing and dancing along to a cover of a Journey song, I look around at my friends and realize how soon the tunes like these will be coming to an end at least for me. And recently, my thoughts have pummeled me this week end like a ton of bricks. Hie fall semester is almost over, and it has hit me that I only have a few constitute a party from three to 10 and removing tiie threat of jail time. The borough staff also estab lished a “Safe Harbor” provision that allows hosts to cadi police for assis tance if a party becomes unmanageable. While some of these changes are for the better, they still don’t get to the core of the issue: mis placed accountability. And perhaps most alarmingly, the borough is showing a problematic misunderstanding of stu dents. Consider the Safe Har bor provision. Except in true emergencies, stu dents are not likely to call the police on their own parties. Fbrther, Borough Council President and Mayor-elect Elizabeth Goreham said something she would like to see is hosts registering parties, specifying the loca tion and submitting a guest mm fmmtMrm g omm more months as a college stu dent That scares the hell out of me. Fellow Collegian columnist Stephanie Goga wrote a column not too long ago titled ‘Soft ques tion now has hard answer,’ and now I realize how true it was. I, like Stephanie, would brush off the question “What are your plans after you graduate,” or I’d give some general answer. But when it comes down to it, the thought has been furthest from my mind. MY OPINION So now, when I should be enjoying the little time I have left at Penn State, I have to start thinking about my future. Heaven forbid I have no post college plans or else I may get the same looks that college dropouts get. Still, this isn’t meant to be about the future, but more so about the past and making the best of the present. Since I’ve Med to heed the advice of my elders, I implore to those who still have a significant amount of time here at Penn State to live it UP- If you are like me and don’t listen to the older generations, listen to one of your peers. With graduation looming, time is up several touchdowns on me because there are so many things I haven’t experienced at Penn State. I never got to sit in the S-Zone at a football game. I list. Will that mean that if you have more than 10 people in your house at once and put on some music, you’re going to have to register it? To the borough, that might be a party. But to a college student, that might just be hanging out. Though we were happy to see the Borough Coun cil listen to students, there is still a clear dis connect between the two groups, which presents a clear danger when it comes to a document like the Nuisance Gathering Ordinance. Students must continue to verbalize their opinions to prevent the passage of an unfair ordinance. We implore council members to have open minds and use realistic vision. The council has shown it is willing to listen, but resolving this issue will take a real exercise in understanding. never had the honor of being involved with THON, for one reason or another. I didn’t throw Frisbee out on Old Main’s lawn when it was nice out, and I never took the time to play the Zombies vs. Humans game. Granted, I still have some time remaining in the last semester of my college life to catch up, but in some cases, I missed out on a lot of scoring opportunities that I will never likely be able to take advantage again. It’s my loss, but it doesn’t have to be yours. Sure, I’ve made some big plays in my time, like when I went backstage at the All- American Rejects concert in the Bryce Jordan Center my fresh man year or meeting the multi tude of people I’ve encountered through the years even mak ing it onto The Daily Collegian’s news staff. But take my nostalgic trip down memory' lane to heart and learn from my mistakes. I still might be able to get the win over time in the end, but I need to work my butt off to do so. For the juniors, sophomores and freshmen: Don’t rely on the last quarter of the game to catch up. Chris Bickel is a senior majoring in public relations and is The Daily Collegian’s Friday columnist. His e-mail address is cdbso67@psu.edu. The Daily Collegian News of professor’s situation shocks past pupil, assistant The Dec. 10 article “Students want lec turer to stay” was shocking. As a 2008 grad uate of Penn State in the Crime, Law and Justice Department, I was privileged to have professor Jose Texidor for four class es during my undergraduate career in addition to being his teaching assistant my senior year. Professor Texidor offers real life experi ence to students pursuing the idea of law school post-college, as well as law in the military arena. He brings real-life meaning to textbook readings and lectures. Through his teach ing techniques, he forces his students to think critically. If you were to ask any stu dent, Texidor’s classes fill up the fastest during scheduling days and kids even “go standby” outside on the first day of classes in hopes to get a seat for the semester. The administration would be doing Penn State students a great disservice by not renewing Texidor’s contract. He brings life to the Crime, Law and Justice Department at Penn State and always captures the attention of his class room, something not every faculty member can master. Christmas celebration talks overlook true origin of holiday Stephanie Goga’s Dec. 10 column 'Christmas always worth celebrating,” much like the novel she references, attempts to defend Christmas in light of overwhelming consumerism. Unfortunately, there is the elephant in the room about which nothing, in neither Graham’s novel or Goga’s column, is spo ken. First and foremost, Christmas is a cel ebration. To more than two billion people on this planet, it’s the most important birth day on the calender. I suggest, without proselytizing, that the real issue at hand is the divorce of the holiday from its origins. It's a noteworthy piece of the discussion if we are going to critique the holiday we see today honestly. Trashed classroom appalling to parent with teenage son Penn State Pride what happened? Did it get left at the football stadium gate? I had the opportunity on Monday evening, along with my youngest son, to come to the University Park to hear a visit ing lecturer from Clemson University. My son, always looking to see what col leges campuses are like and to experience what his older brother’s life is at college, asked that I attend this lecture with him. What I found when I entered the lecture hall were some very energetic student leaders preparing for the evening, with appropriate handouts and reading materi al, all the while engaging the visiting lectur er. As I entered the room, I stopped and looked at my son, and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me?” As I begin to find a seat, I noticed garbage of all kinds newspapers, fliers, empty coffee cups strewn about the hundred plus chairs. I actually had to kick garbage out of the way, so I could sit down and put my book bag on the floor. Students in attendance were totally oblivious to the mess. Is this Penn State Pride? Where is the decorum of cleaning up after yourself? I fully recognize that the buildings, such as the Thomas Building, receive a lot of students throughout the day and it is diffi cult to keep clean, but what I found in the classroom was no different than what I found in the restrooms both appalling. As a visitor, I was not impressed and nei ther was my youngest son, who is making his decision of where he goes to college next year. So, to Dr. Thomas, former Penn State president, don’t take any visitors or friends to see the building that has been so hon ored with your name. You won’t be happy, because the pride and respect for Penn State obviously doesn’t extend to the edu cational environment. Above the Net UC Irvine head coach John Speraw sees the talent disparity between East Coast and West Coast volleyball shrink ing yet said being on the West Coast still gives him an advantage with recruiting. “I'm sure there are some challenges that Penn State and other East Coast East Coast universities have that we don’t. ” Speraw said. “By sheer numbers alone, you see a higher level of talent... Read more from Above the Net and the rest of The Daily Collegian’s blogs at psucollegian.com. Footblog Jeff King has been a teacher for 12 years. He has taught at State College Area High School for the last seven. This fall, he has served as a mentor to Penn State student Stefen Wisniewski, whom Footblog readers might just be familiar with. When not working his day job as as the Nittany Lions’ starting center, Wisniewski can often be found at... Read more from the Footblog and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucolleglan.com. Samantha Schonfeld Class of 2008 Rob Nagel senior-finance Dennis Correll Montoursville
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