I Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 TM I l) \i i 1 Collegian Rossilynne Skena lidiior-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 spnng semesters as well as the second six-week summer session. The Daily Collegian publishes Monday through Fnday. Issues are distributed by mail to other Penn State campuses and individual subsenbers. 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 edito rial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion. with the editor holding final responsibility. 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It’s time for tuition Student football tickets will cost the same per game next season as they did last season, something this editorial board unequivocally supports. Now for the important news. Right now, state appro priations rank fifth on Penn State’s list of rev- enue sources, after tuition, Hershey Medical Center clinics, research and self-supporting enter prises like the Bryce Jor dan center and athletics. That information demonstrates two themes of Penn State’s relation ship with Pennsylvania. First, it shows how much the university gives the state: medical clinics, research, sports and entertainment. Those are all important to our society. They all contribute to making caglecartooHS.com Pregnancy centers mislead public By Caitlin Cullerot If you’ve ever faced the uncertainty and fear of an unplanned pregnancy, there's a chance you may have encountered one of these questionable clinics. Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) are popping up MY OPINION all over the country. These centers are notorious for provid ing women with inaccurate information on topics such as a supposed link between abortion and breast cancer rates and false facts about sexually trans mitted diseases and the effec tiveness of contraceptives. Here’s how it usually works: A young woman sees an ad for a clinic that offers free pregnancy tests, counseling and other serv ices. The woman calls the cen ter to ask about birth control. A staff member suggests she come in to talk about it. Upon arriving at the center, the woman is advised against birth control and is encouraged to practice abstinence. Or perhaps the woman is already pregnant and consider ing abortion. She decides to see a counselor at the center to dis cuss her options. The counselor then gives her scary “facts" about abortion. According to a 2006 congressional study, one CPC staffer advised a caller that infertility was common following a first trimester abortion. Yikes. According to Allie McDonald, a national campus organizer for Pennsylvania a better place ‘to live. Second, it shows how lit tle the state gives the uni versity. Appropriations make up eight percent of Penn State’s operating funds. Last year’s state appropriations did not cover the university’s budget increase. Tuition for next year could increase somewhere from 2.9 to 4.9 percent. This isn’t good. If Penn State President Graham Spanier and the Board of Trustees are concerned about tuition they'say they are then why can’t they do something about it? Tuition has steadily increased under Spanier’s presidency. We applauded the fact that Penn State had no mid-year tuition increases. We'd like to applaud a more substan- the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) there are about 3,500 CPCs nationwide posing as compre hensive women’s health clinics CPCs rarely have medical professionals on staff, and McDonald said they sometimes use astonishing tactics to mis lead women, such as having staff members don white lab coats to give the appearance that thev are medically certified. Even worse, CPCs seem to target college campuses and low-income areas, where abor tions are more prominent. According to a press release issued by FMLA, A Woman s Concern in State College meets the criteria of CPCs. I visited the clinic's Web site and. sure enough. A Woman's Concern pushed the claim that women who have an abortion 'face an alarming 50 percent increase in breast cancer,” a "fact” that the congressional study refutes. The site provides even more misleading information under its "Relationships & Sexual Health” section. According to the site, "75 per cent (more than half) of the reproductive population is infected with Ill’V (genital warts) ” The Web site cites a study from www.worththewalt.lnfo/STD.htm Talk about a red flag. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that only I percent of sexually active adults in the U S have genital warls at anv given time. "I can't believe this CPC is claiming that 75 percent of the sexually active population has genital warts," McDonald said when I shared this with her. solutions tial piece of tuition-related news. If Pennsylvania legisla tors are concerned about having successful state universities and they should be, considering the contributions mentioned above then why don’t they help alleviate some of the strain on Penn State’s budget? They could do this by making sure that what happened with last year's budget doesn’fhappen again and by giving more fitting appropriations for what is still, in part, a public uni versity We have two more ques tions but they’re ones we’d rather not have to answer: How low will state appropriations go, and what will tuition and Penn State look like when they reach their lowest point? O/rr "Talk about trying to scare peo ple out of having sex." The site goes oh to compare sex to a plane crash, claiming that condoms only protect you from HIV 85 percent of the time. I pulled this analogy directly from the site: "If you were on a plane and the pilot... told you that there was a 15 percent chance the plane would ... have a fatal crash, would you get off that plane? What if the pilot said there was a 50 percent chance that the plane might crash, but you would live, you may just have some permanent injuries and damage. Would you get off then? Would it be worth the risk?" What?! The site continues: "Bv definition of the word safe, using condoms to protect your self if you're having sex outside of marriage isn't safe." Note the not-so-subtle inclu sion of the term "outside of mar riage." Talk about agenda pushing. The fact of the matter is, these CPCs aren't going any where, regardless of congres sional studies and public out rage. But that doesn't mean I’('tin Stale women have to fall victim to them. If you're search ing for more information on sex and pregnancy, rely on respect ed organizations such as the ('DC and University Health Services And if you turn to a smaller, lesser known organization, make sure you research it first to make sure it lacks an agenda or bias. Caltlln Cullerot is a semot maioring in journalism and is the Collegian’s Wednesday columnist. Her e mail address is cmcs2l7@psu.edu. The Daily Collegian Excessive heat in dorms unnecessary and wasteful Waking up in a sweat when you have an exam at 8 a m. (on the opposite side of campus, no less) is not dm. When I was a prospective student, I heard the dorms were blasted with heat in the winter, but boy they weren't kidding. My fellow floor mates and I have noticed the increased heat in the dorms, especially since return ing from winter break. We even joke that it feels like summer is here as we lounge in T-shirts and shorts. The worst is at night when you're trying to sleep and even with a fan you're still miserable. Most of us have resorted to cracking the window at night and having it halfway open during the day. With the recent warmer temperatures, shouldn't Penn State give the heaters a rest? Turning the heat down would save energy, cutting costs for the university and, in turn, the students. In addition, lowering the temperature by even one degree could significantly reduce harmful emissions. There is no reason to have the windows open in the middle of January. If we wanted the heat, we would have gone to a school in Florida. Basketball program needs new coaching personality It's this simple: Ed DeChellis needs to be fired. DeChellis has been a symbol of medi ocrity for Penn State basketball since 2003, and those who defend him base their claim on a National Invitational Tournament title run. Since when was a NIT title considered a successful season for a Big Ten basket ball program 0 Other Big Ten schools are able to bring in legitimate recruiting class es year after year without jeopardizing the football program. Look at Ohio State: Not only is it the best football team in our con ference. but as of now. it has locked up one of the best basketball recruiting classes for 2010. The Penn State basketball program needs a major jolt. Recent close losses should be looked at as a sign that change is needed. Penn State needs to bring in a coach with recruiting prowess. Villanova. Pittsburgh and Temple have a monopoly on in state recruits, and until this changes. Penn State will never achieve more than that one annual thrilling upset win at home. DeChellis must go. and a fiery, enthusiastic personality must be brought to State College. Without a jolt to the current system, we are looking at 10 more years of the mundane cycle that is Penn State basketball. Robert Roselli freshman-advertising and public relations There is No Name on My Ballot Both democratic candidates for Pennsylvania's 2010 Senate seat denounced the Supreme Court's Thursday ruling that put an end to a nearly 40-year battle over campaign financing. The court voted 5-4 to end lim itations put on campaign donations made by corporations and unions, stat ing that the ban violated the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. Incumbent Arlen Specter called the ruling "judicial activism," while his chal lenger. Congressman Joe Sestak, accused Specter of voting in favor of judges who supported the ruling during their congressional hearings. Read more from There is No Name on My Ballot and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucollegian.com. Small World It may sound strange for a Penn State girl and suburban native to say she already feels at home in the hustle and bustle of London especially one who was freaking out in the weeks leading up to departure. But with everything from my first tube ride, my first fish and chips and my first "legal" beer in the local pub, this girl can say London has already stolen my heart after a few short days. I have by no means conquered the city yet, especially since I have only seen a glimpse of Big Ben across the Thames, and I have not yet ridden a double-deck er bus. I have however, been to St. Paul’s Cathedral, perused the Tate Modern Museum and ordered my first cafe americano. which is what most people would just call black coffee. Read more from Small World and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucollegian.com. Hardwood Hits Penn State sophomore guard Chris Babb appeared at a wing-eating contest Tuesday in the HUB-Robeson Center. At about 12:30 p.m., six competitors squared off in an eating competition to determine the "Ultimate Fhn" of Penn State basketball. The contest? Who could eat 10 wings (sponsored by Wings Over Happy Valiev' in the fastest amount of time? Babb threw T-shirts out to the crowd that gathered on the first floor of the HUB and encouraged the competitors as they ate. He stuck around after and handed out fliers to students walking by. Read more from Hardwood Hits and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucolleglan.com. Christina Johnson freshman-biology
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