I Thursday, Feb. TII 1 D\l i \ Collegian Rossilynne Skena liditor-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. Dunng the fall and spnng semesters as well as the second six-week summer session, The Daily Collegian publishes Monday through Friday. Issues are distnbuted by mail to other Penn State campuses and individual subscribers. Complaints: Mews and edito nal 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 torial decisions and the Penn State community. ■ E-mail collegianletters@psu.edu ■ Online www.psucollegian.com ■ Postal mail/ln 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. 18, 2010 Weekend a reason to It’s the largest student run philanthropy in the world, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Ask anyone who partici pates in the Interfraterni ty Council, Panhellenic Dance Marathon, and they’ll tell you that every year is a special year when it comes to THON. It’s no surprise either, considering nearly every year the total money raised for the Four Dia monds FUnd is higher than the previous year’s. Even in 2009 when the economic situation of our country was beginning to take a turn for the worst, the power of charity was not affected, as the total reached nearly $7.5 mil lion the highest yet. - .p -00""NI/ ~... .., .I 4‘ C:3;-; OP"' . . e .s c "_ „ re i1 50 p , ; .,„:,‘, ..... t5 :..... .iftor.s..., -1 1- , - ..- .... .... ~,, "THIS IS JUST AWFUL! Y3UFIXIT. I'M GOING HOME TO INDIANA/" Letter misses true Kiss Out point; event about love and equality In response to the Feb. 16 letter. "Lack of judg ment shown in front page photo selection,” a lot of people don't see the Kiss Out for what it is. It is about love that is rarely seen in the media or talked about. As a participant. I heard many hateful com ments made about something that is done often and only thought of as obscene if the participants are of the same gender. The LGBTA community has to often look at media that doesn't consider us worth mentioning. So rather than sit back and do nothing, we went and participated in an event that clearly was worth mentioning. Though often marketed as "left-wing only.” gay ideals actually aren't. I've met quite a few gay Republicans, so please don't say The Daily Collegian isn't thinking about Republicans when they feature the Kiss Out on the front cover, because they are. A person's political party does n't tell you everything about them. As for the Collegian covering each meeting the LGBTA community has, it helps out a lot of stu dents who aren't out and don’t know there is an LGBTA community here. It's important to remember that we are a part of Penn State, too. Lianna Newman senior-media studies President-Undertones Monday was a very interesting day for my boyfriend and I. We have been dating for more than four months and have struggled with having to hide our affec tion in public. Something as simple as holding hands downtown or around campus puts a knot in our stomachs. We attended the Kiss Out to help sort through our own fears. After we were published kissing in a photo on the front of The Daily Collegian, we received ver bal compliments and congratulatory texts from both people we knew and didn't know. Individuals were thanking us for actively standing up for LGBT rights. I wanted to thank the Collegian for publishing the photo. It showed us that we have more sup port here at Penn State than we previously thought and helped alleviate the stress of hiding our affection. But when Coleman Butterworth complained in his letter Tuesday about our kiss being explicit, appalling and biased toward the left, I can’t help but wonder how the right to kiss someone in pub lic is trying to push a political agenda? I am not a political science major, and I know little of Democrats and Republicans. I was just kissing the person I love in public, not realizing it had such political clout. I personally think the Kiss Out is an awesome idea. People should understand and give more respect to the people who want to be open and encourage the ones who might not be too sure No matter what the 2010 total is revealed to be this weekend, there is a cer tain element of pride that all those involved with THON should feel. Think about it. This year THON was thrust further into the spotlight thanks to celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Perez Hilton, who both wield plenty of influence on their fans and followers This year’s THON also showed generosity and a willingness to help fellow students when it came to raising money. Who can forget junior Pat Howley’s unexpected pledge of more than $1,500? It seemed like an unattain able goal for him to reach by himself, but the IFC -3 1 , , Jeremy La Master junior-biology be proud and alumnus Chris Bonzo pledged to match How ley’s donation, proving that charity and philan thropy are what matters most during THON. So whether or not the total surpasses last year’s, be proud of yourselves this weekend. With the money raised year in and year out, the chance of survival for chil dren with cancer can only increase. Today, up to 75 percent of children with cancer can be cured; let’s increase that number, too. To everyone involved in THON, good luck. The dedication you all show for the kids should be commended and just shows how dedicated we all can be. PARTISAN POLITICS \ ■IMP gjk _ p gi r about the subject. Loving yourself for who you are is how people need to live, and the people around them need to be supportive and not judge. I hope that this tradition keeps going in the future and more people become comfortable with their sexu ality. Decision on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ shouldn’t be purely a social one Kevin Sullivan's Feb. 16 column about repealing don't ask, don’t tell” was an interesting discus- sion on the topic. However, there are a few things that need to be addressed. First, the military is no place for social engineering. Second, while John McCain did indicate he would support such a move if the military leadership desired, he didn't mean political appointees. Third, the RAND study also noted that there was no appreciable negative impact on military readiness with the then-cur rent policy toward homosexuals. That aside, a study that's 17 years old is not worth much more than a footnote to today’s situation. Finally, the only issue of importance is what, if any, impact such a change will have on the armed forces' readiness, both short- and long-term. I’m not opposed in principle to repealing “don't ask, don’t tell;” however such a decision should be based on readiness impact, not social engineer ing. President Barack Obama’s commission won't be looking at it from that standpoint, which in my opinion, dangerously stacks the deck. Volunteers must show humility, avoid post-THON Facebook groups In my three years at Penn State, the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon has been without question one of the biggest parts of my life as a student. I have danced, been on multiple committees and canned numerous times. I lost multiple grandparents to cancer sind am firmly behind the cause. That being said, there is one specific part ofTHON that really irks me. After the total is raised, students scream, applaud and are filled with joy. I under stand that and share those feelings. These stu dents also go on Facebook and post the total in pride. Although some may consider it a little pompous, I have no problem with this either. However, in at least the past three years, a Facebook group has emerged titled, “Our school raised $X r ... What did your school do?” This I have a problem with. As the largest stu dent- run philanthropy in the world, it is our responsibility to set a good example for universi ties across the nation that model their philanthro pies after ours. A title like this sends the complete wrong message about THON. To the creator of these groups and the thou sands who join them, please refrain from doing so. It is important to remember that the best charity is anonymous. While it is OK to take pride in the year-long fundraising effort, it is imperative we remember that at the heart of these efforts are the kids we are helping. '“ <r - '/> imu Jessie Coughlin freshman-art education Stan Allsopp Class of 1970 Ryan Staloff junior-journalism and economics The Daily Collegian America runs risk of being too politically correct By Tanija Smoot White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel apologized to the Special Olympics after tactless ly calling a group of liberals who planned to run attack ads against the Obama administration "f retarded." Emanuel joined 54,000 Americans in an effort to stop the use of the "r-word." This obvious PR move on Emanuel’s behalf has raised an interesting question: Has America become too politically correct? Upon hearing the vulgar remark, Sarah Palin criticized Emanuel for his poor word choice. The mother of a child with Down’s syndrome. Palin compared the word "retarded" to the "n-word” and demanded that Emanuel should be removed from his position for one insensitive remark. Don Imus flashback, anyone? As tasteless and inconsiderate as Emanuel’s remark was. according to the First Amendment, every American, includ ing Emanuel, has the right to freedom of speech. However, it seems as though America has started to censor itself, almost to the point of extremity. Forty years ago, Americans would greet each other with "Merry Christmas" wishes and school halls would be decorated with Christmas trees and Santa Clauses without political backlash. Fast forward decades later, in a more diverse nation, some American schools forbid those Christmas trees and Santa Clauses, and many feel obligated to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" for fear of being seen as insensitive or worse. anti-Semitic. If Emanuel were to be fired, America would be contradicting the First Amendment and. in some ways, censoring Emanuel. In supposedly the freest nation in the world, the American voice is being drowned out by a wave of political correct ness. Like the Red Scare of the 40s and ’sos. Americans are becoming increasingly more afraid of expressing their thoughts so as not to offend anvone or be "blacklisted.” Say you are against affirmative action, and you are automatically deemed a racist. Say you do not support Americans invading Iraq, you are assumed to be "unpatriotic" or "against of the troops. ” What makes political correctness more damaging, besides scaring controversial or unconventional ideas or ways of thinking out the door, is that political correctness is not equally distributed among the American population. For instance, why is it socially acceptable for a black American to sav the "n word." but all hell breaks loose when a white person uses the ”n- word” in the same context? Isn't the word offensive either way? Why censor one and not the other 0 When will the madness end? When will Americans be allow ed to say what they want to say, where they want, and how they want to say it. without having to walk on egg shells 0 I'm not saying that Americans shouldn't exercise some restraint or sensi tivitv: we should. But at the end of the day. this is America, land of the free, home of the brave. Here, you are free to express your opinion but no one has to listen it. Tanija Smoot is a columnist for The Lantern and a student at Ohio State University. Footblog WPSU's online auction ended at noon yesterday, and the winning bid for Joe Paterno's glasses went for $7,550 to michelleoBl. With the online process over, the next step is the 18th Annual Connoisseur’s Dinner and live auction on Saturday. It is at this live auction that the online bidder or a proxy sent to represent the bid der has a chance to win the glasses. Read more from the Footblog and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucollegian.com/ blogs. Small World With her shoes, belt and coat off, and her laptop and iPhone out of the bag and on the TSA conveyer belt, she walked through the metal detector, self-assured and confident. Then the shoes, belt and coat went back on, laptop and iPhone flew back in the bag, then the bag was on her shoulder. Finally, she looked back ... and waved ... and smiled. Then she was gone. Read more from the study abroad blog Small World and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucollegian.com/blogs. Snap, Crackle, Pop For a moment, I almost forgot that women's roles in Shakespearean plays were acted by men. And afi great writers of the time, including Shakespeare and his contemporaries, were men. That's why I was so surprised to hear the first female playwright to have her work performed at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London will have her play put on this season. Read more from the arts blog Snap, Crackle, Pop blog and the rest of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucollegian.com/blogs.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers