14 I Monday, Aug. 23,2010
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Collegian
Elizabeth Murphy
Editor in Chief
Kelsey Thompson
Business Manager
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Council balks at student rep.
In the past, State Col
lege Borough Council has
complained about a lack
of student interest in bor
ough issues. But earlier
this month members
turned down a proposal
from UPUA President
Christian Ragland that
would address just that.
Ragland proposed to
institute a non-voting stu
dent member on the coun
cil to bring a the students’
perspective to the bor
ough’s agenda.
Several council mem
bers did not like the idea
of a student having a say
on the council, with or
without a vote.
However, these individu
als should realize that
Penn State students make
ONCE PRESIDENT OBAMA
APROVED A MOSQUE NEAR
ground zero, everything
else became fair game...
iVnv.CHRiSTOON.com
New year is time to try new things
By Katie Sullivan
Happy first day of school!
There’s nothing like
short classes, easy syl-
labus read
throughs and
‘syllabus week 1
celebrations to
ease you back
into the'swing of
the school year.
The crack of
a textbook
spine, the con
fused looks on
the faces of freshmen and the
smell of an old building are the
everyday normal things that
welcome you back to school
But it’s more than that it’s
running into your Mends down
town while shopping for new
PSU gear, munching on a
Peachy Patemo ice cream cone
from the Creamery, hitting up
your favorite party spot or bar
while taking ridiculous pictures
and strolliiig through a blooming
campus bustling with excited
students.
That’s what keeps us coming
back eveiy year.
Though these comforting
things make us feel at home at
Penn State, it’s always good to
up the majority of the bor
ough during the school
year. We are here, like it
or not.
In short, the council
should stop being nega
tive nancies.
This is an excellent
opportunity for students
to voice their opinions
about real issues that will
affect us.
The idea of a non-voting
member is not unheard of.
Other Big Ten universities
like lowa, Michigan
State and Indiana all
have a student represen
tation on their local gov
ernments.
If a non-voting student
member has worked at
other large schools, there
should be no reason why
step out of that comfort zone
and try something new. It’s the
simple things that can take your
Penn State school year to a
whole new level of fun intro
ducing you to new people and
epic experiences.
Join a new club that none of
your Mends are in. Go for a run
through a part of campus you’ve
never seen (I’d recommend the
pond and garden near the old
President’s house.) Break it
down in a class that involves
dancing of some sort, even if you
think you have no rhythm. Take
a class that involves traveling or
sign up to study abroad. Be that
kid who bonds with his or her
professors after class. Sit next to
someone new in class and strike
up a conversation about Jersey
Shore, because love it or hate it,
everyone has an opinion on it.
Explore downtown and grab a
bite to eat at a place that looks
like a hole in the wall those
spots are usually the best.
Stepping outside of your
Happy Valley box will open up a
whole new world of connections
and possibilities, not to mention
memories that will last you a
lifetime and Mends that you’ll
never forget, and the beginning
of the school year offers you a
Penn State can’t have the
same.
Kudos to Ragland for
coming up with a well
thought-out and feasible
plan to open the lines of
communication between
State College and Univer
sity Park.
He should not give up
on the idea and take the
comments from the coun
cil as constructive criti
cism.
Hopefully, now that stu
dents have come back to
campus for the start of a
new school year, other
student leaders can get
behind Ragland’s proposal
and prove to the council
that students not only
want to be heard, but
deserve to be heard.
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Afghanistan,
perfect opportunity to expand
your horizons. Whether you are
a brand-new freshman away
from home for the first time, or
a seasoned senior like me look
ing to make the most of your
last year of heaven on Earth,
take the time to meet new peo
ple and try new things.
Set down the paper after you
finish this column and look at
the person sitting next to you in
class, on the bus, in the cofee
shop or where ever you happen
to be reading. Introduce your
self.
Make the first move in step
ping outside your Happy Valley
comfort zone and creating new
relationships and memories.
Who knows, maybe that per
son next to you will play a key
role in your upcoming school
year, maybe you’ll learn some
thing fascinating. But even if it’s
just a casual conversation, it’s a
step toward enhancing your
Penn State experience and
growing as a person.
Isn’t that what college is all
about?
Katie Sullivan is a senior majoring in
journalism and is the Collegian’s Mon
day columnist. Her e-mail address is
lunss424@psu.edu
Penn State destroys Phi Delt
without giving a good motive
/n|.OIW«SEW
The Daily Collegian
I have to start off by saying that I am a
bit biased in regards to the Aug. 13 article
“Former frat house demolished,” for I am
an alumni of Penn State and the
Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of Phi Delta
Theta. I get that the house needed repaired
and I understand that there were violations
assessed against the chapter. What I don’t
understand is how Penn State can let a his
torical building, and the property it was
positioned on, fall under a bulldozer’s
destruction. Regardless of who had the
upper hand in court, Penn State should
realize that the parcel of land was historic
to countless alumni who either belonged to
or were associated with the fraternity or
students who lived nearby and simply
walked down the historic stretch of
Burrows St.
I suspect Penn State could have made
that property into academic offices and not
simply place another green space on cam
pus. I will never think of the present-day
Penn State the same way I did when I was
an active student. I’ve always been an
advocate for expansion on campus.
However, when the university started to
take down historic buildings simply for
green space, the Penn State that I know
disappeared. I will no longer support Penn
State financially or by positive press due to
its lack of compassion during this somber
transition.
Bottles not as bad for earth
as stated by July columnist
Though I give columnist Andrew Metcalf
credit for being concerned with making his
campus more environmentally friendly and
for acknowledging bottled water as vital in
times of emergency, more information is
required before jumping to his conclusions
in his July 29 column “Bottled water hurt- •
ing environment and your wallets” about
bottled water, its environmental impact and
its relationship to tap water.
I have been with Nestle for more than 21
years and am a proud graduate of Penn
State’s College of Engineering. We at
Nestle Waters are pro-water and support
strong public water systems and clean
water accessibility for all people.
We compete in the bottled beverage
industry and 70 percent of what people
drink comes from a package. We test our
water 200 times on every bottling line
everyday to ensure it meets FDA stan
dards.
Our water is tested 60 times more fre
quently than most municipal water sup-
plies. Nestle Waters’ spring waters come
from groundwater sources, more isolated
from contamination exposure. Our purified
bottled water puts tap water sources
through extra filtration steps. The bottle
protects the water quality until the moment
you break the seal to drink.
Bottled water is actually a better envi
ronmental choice than other packaged bev
erages. According to a recent Life Cycle
Analysis study, bottled water has the' light
est environmental footprint of any pack
aged beverage, and plastic water bottles
make up less than one percent of the U.S.
solid waste stream.
In the end, eliminating bottled water is
not the answer. Bottled water provides a
healthy, hydrating choice. And in our active
on-the-go culture, it is a part of people’s
everyday lives.
EDITOR IN CHIEF
New front page ads debut
Don’t judge a (newspaper) by its
cover.
Today you will have seen a long strip
ad alongside the bottom of your Daily
Collegian. It may not seem like a big
thing to you, but this topic has been
hotly debated in our basement office for
years now.
But whether you like it or not, it’s
time. Many newspapers, including sev
eral college media outlets, are following
the trend of front page advertising.
Today, we continue the trend in our first
fall issue of the year.
SMALL WORLD
Gift search part of process
In less than two weeks, I will meet
the Russian family who will generously
take me in during my four months in St.
Petersburg. My program recommends
that students bring a few small gifts for
them that represent where we’re from.
Luckily for me, there is no shortage
of souvenir stores in Happy Valley. Old
State Clothing Co., Rapid Transit
Sports, Lions Pride, Lion and Cub:
These are just a few of the stores down
town that specialize in everything Penn
State. As I browsed aisles filled with
keychains, stuffed animals, clothing
and every possible Penn State-related
knickknack one could imagine, I tried to
imagine what objects would be most
appreciated by my future Russian
housemates.
Read more of The Daily Collegian’s blogs at
psiicolleglan.com/blogs.
Matthew Blake Edwards
Class of 2004
Tom Uhl
Class of 1986
Elizabeth Murphy
Editor in Chief
Erin Rowley
Small World blogger