I TUESDAY, FEB. 9, 2010 111111111111MMVW.F' 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 edito rial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding 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., publishers of The Daily Collegian and related publi cations, is a separate cor porate institution from Penn State. Editorials are written by The Daily Collegian Board of Opinion. Members are: Lexi Belculfine, Matt Brown, Kevin Cirilli, Adam Clark, Rich Coleman, Caitlin Cullerot, Abby Drey, Kather ine Dvorak, Michael Fellet ter, Matt Fortuna, Mandy Hofmockel, Allison Jack ovitz, Phenola Lawrence, Andrew McGill, Dave Miniaci, Nate Mink, Eliza beth Murphy, Dan Rorabaugh. Erin Rowley, Heather Schmelzlen, Caitlin Sellers, Shannon Simcox, Rossilynne Skena, Kevin Sullivan, Jacquie Tylka, Alex Weisler and Bill Wellock. Letters We want to hear your com ments on our coverage, edi tonal decisions and the Penn State community. ■ E-mail collegianletters@psu.edu ■ Online www.psucollegian.com ■ Postal mail/ In person 123 S. Burrowes St. University Park, PA 16801 Letters should be about 200 words. Student letters should include class year, major and campus. Letters from alumni should include year of graduation. All writ ers 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 Collegian reserves the right to edit letters. The Collegian can not guarantee publication of all letters it receives. Let ters chosen also run on The Daily Collegian Online and may be selected for publi cation in The Weekly Colle gian. All letters become property of Collegian Inc. CCSG takes wrong approach Last Wednesday DJ Ryan stood up and deliv ered a speech criticizing the treatment of Com monwealth Campus stu dents. But instead of mak ing it a goal to fix the problem, the former Council of the Common wealth Student Govern ments Liaison to the Uni versity Park Undergradu ate Association abruptly resigned and left UPUA members surprised. Ryan cited a disconnect between University Park students and Common wealth Campus students saying Commonwealth students are treated as "second-class students" and resigned with very little warning. So ON GOES YoußHciW RA A GMNaW wHns - V4ousy IN 2012. sSA4Wi? 0 . 0.61:4 9 #6"02.09Y0 (./5.9 www cagiecancons corn Patin illustrates cable news flaws By Kevin Sullivan 1. N case you don't follow these things. one of the biggest stories in American politics this week involved .. Sarah Palin and it the word "retard." ' No. it's not ' NV what you're thinking. . t, But a few weeks after bemoaning "politically correct"-ness in an interview with Glenn Beck, Palin called for the resignation of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for his use of the "R -word" at a private meet- Mg. Later in the week, when radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh used the word to describe "liber al activists," Palm shot right back at the host like the maver ick she is. The context Limbaugh used the word in was acceptable, she said. arguing that liberal groups "are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh." When is the media going to hold Patin to her own word? It is absurd that no one has called the former governor out for not decrying the political correct ness of the Black Eyed Peas 2003 hit, "Let's Get Retarded." Why the news outlets love these sorts of stories I don't know. Wasn't anything else hap pening this week other than some politician turned television personality playing tattletale? C SPAN broadcasts what happens inside the chambers of Congress, doesn't anything go on there? It is understandable that a claim like this would make Ryan upset, but simply walking out on the matter rather than dis cussing it and finding a solution doesn't seem like the right approach to uni fying and bringing about change. What is even more con fusing about Ryan's leave is he said a strong rela tionship exists with sever al executive members of UPUA, including Presi dent Gavin Keirans, Assembly Services Direc tor Samantha Miller and reprentatives Samuel Loewner, Chrissy Boggs and Christian Ragland. Upon resigning, Ryan thanked these members I guess these stories aren't really all that shocking. They're like the "Jersey Shore" equiva lent for the concerned class. Easily packaged, effortlessly consumed, slightly edgy and pretty much pointless. Here is your check, Snoold, now enjoy these messages from our spon sors. Another great aspect of these little stunts is how they are essentially open-ended. People don't watch the news to get information. They watch the news to have their opinions and beliefs adulated. MY OPINION You can really get whatever you want out of a situation like this. If you think Palin and the Republicans are as infallible as Dr. Gregory House, Limbaugh was just being "satirical," or something. If you think this group is as idiotic as some "Borar sketch, then congratula tions, you cultural warrior you. Either way, there is a news net work there waiting to be proud of you. For example, in this particular scenario, Fox would probably be the former and MSNBC the lat ter. And for the free thinking and civil, there's CNN, who can't touch an issue with a six-foot pole. That the major news net works are set up in this manner isn't really that shocking as viewed in hindsight either. In their 1988 book, `Manufacturing Consent," Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky put forth that news outlets are fighting for profit against one another, essentially, by having a scoop. Because these stories require politicians and corporate figures for legiti macy coverage is constantly dis torted in their favor. To be rele- for their support of Com monwealth students. But instead of working with them to fix the problem, he left his position. These two bodies are supposed to work togeth er and have a responsibili ty to focus on Penn State initiatives. Ryan didn't do that. He cut off all communication with UPUA and walked away. How can CCSG expect change when, instead of staying and standing up for his goals, Ryan simply decided to go the other way by trying to make a statement and simply leaving? Walking out isn't putting up much of a fight. vant, they must make those they report on happy to ensure future relations with sources whose words become the news Fox News, for example, recently has taken such a strong aim at Barack Obama that the president attempted to deny the network interview privileges. The tactic failed when the other networks stood up for Fox, real izing that government could the oretically do the same to them in the future. But Fox News has been built out of conservative commenta tors and former Republican political insiders. As such, it has a solid base of viewership among conserva ' tives. According to a poll by Public Policy Polling, while 74 percent of Republicans trust the network, only 30 percent of Democrats do, which is quite a discrepancy The fact remains: Fbx News is the only network brave enough to stand up against the Chomskyan propaganda model. This is something that all net works should be doing; however, and Fbx seems to be the only one in the position to do so. Now if only it wasn't paying Sarah Palin to launch a promo tional operation for her electoral campaign, didn't a give dispro portional soapbox to "independ ents" like Bill O'Reilly who always side with conservative principles and took shots at Republicans on occasion as well At least there is always `Jersey Shore" season two to look forward to. Kevin Sullivan is a senior majoring in English and is the Collegian's Tuesday columnist. His e-mail address is kjssoB9@psu.edu. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Commonwealth Campuses deserve two THON dancers In response to the Feb. 5 article, "Some Commonwealth Campuses left out of THON, - I realize it must be difficult to cre ate and enforce the rules and regulations pertaining to THON. But a fairer and more equitable way to determine who gets dancers must be found. The Commonwealth Campuses should all be allotted two dancers with no contingency on how much money they raised. After the initial two dancers, the Commonwealth Campuses should then be placed in the lottery according to how much money they raised for additional dancers. We are one Penn State no matter where we are located geographically. Students choose to attend Commonwealth Campuses for a variety of reasons. Let's not punish the hard work and dedication of their THON committees because of it. Kim Hummel iun,uf-information sciences and technology THON Family Relations Co-Chair Penn State Dußois Students should not be able to dance multiple times Immediately upon reading the title of the Feb. 5 article. - 708 students selected to dance in THON 2010." I was met with an onslaught of emotions. My eyes began to water and my heart pounded as I remi nisced of this day one year ago the day my best friend and I were picked to dance in THON 2009 from the dancer lottery. As a past independent dancer, I can relate per fectly to the intense feelings of anxiety leading up to the lottery when what you worked so hard for since the first day of fundraising was decided. However. I can only relate with a select number of students. who were actually picked to dance. in the excitement and joy. My heart truly goes out to those who were not picked. in essence the unsung heroes of THON 2010. While independent couples are aware there is no guarantee of being picked. countless pairs pursue their dream of dancing each year. There is, however, something about this scenario I cant seem to figure out. Each year. there are also stu dents dancing in THON who have already danced in previous years. I cannot under stand why some individuals are allowed to dance multiple times. while others work just as hard are not be picked to dance once during their college career. THON is a cause that is near and dear to many hearts at our university, and to some, dancing is the highest of honors. With that said. the students who dedicate their lives to running the largest student run philan thropy in the world must acknowledge that dancing should be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and should therefore be an opportunity for more students to enjoy. State Patty's Day tradition deserves to live on in future To the students who think State Patty's Day should be banned: At some point in your college career. I'm sure you, like the rest of us. have made bad decisions or got ten entirely too intoxicated. It's part of col lege and part of growing up. Now, mistakes such as these may be prevalent on State Patty's day. but things like this happen every weekend at every college campus across the country. Penn State is one of the largest institutions in the country, made up of diverse people who lead different lifestyles. As in any situation in life, there are people who take things too far and thus the rest of us must deal with the stigma a few have created. . . State Patty's is a day where the majority of students responsibly enjoy the festivities, partaking in an event that although fiction al is no less enjoyable than actual holidays. You like to throw around your statistics about arrests and violations 45 people arrested in 2008. A significant increase in normal activity, but 45 out of a few thou sand participants? This minuscule percent age is going to be the basis of your argu ment? Semantics. I challenge you to observe State Patty's through unbiased eyes, put your personal opinions aside about Penn State being a party school and consider the majority that upholds Penn State's integrity on such a festive and enjoyable day. Small World My first weekend excursion in Ireland was a blast, with many side stops on a trip that led to the city made famous by the catchy Steve Earle song "Galway Girl." Maybe Earle didn't make the city famous, but he was right when he sang that he lost his heart to love in the city of Galway. The pedestrian-friendly, colorful city sits right along the coast of Galway Bay. It has a lot of amazing stuff that makes me want to go back, and I've only recent ly left! It offers young people a thriving nightlife with pubs and night clubs galore and great shopping during the day with artisan jewelry and sweater shops lining the cobbled and brick streets. The locals are chatty and help ful, willing to point you in the right direc tion or recommend their favorite pub or restaurant. Read more from the study abroad blog Small World and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucolleglan.com/blogs. Angie Schlosser Class of 2009 Jeff Daniels senior-history
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