I Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
Z
o
The Daily
Collegian
Elizabeth Murphy
Editor in Chief
Kelsey Thompson
Business Manager
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E 0 110 ft i A L
THON meeting lacked results
There has been a lot of
controversy recently
regarding the new regula
tions for Penn State’s
Interfratemity
Council/Panhellenic
Dance Marathon, involv
ing the greek community,
independent organizations
and THON Overall Com
mittee members.
Upon invitation from
IFC President Max Wend
kos, leaders met on Sun
day to discuss concerns
and to look into ways to
continue involving stu-
dents and the THON com
munity in important deci
sions.
We applaud these lead
ers for taking a step
toward a solution by call
ing for and participating
2009 White Out
Youth should embrace outdoors
By Joshua Potter
In a 2002 British study,
researchers asked 109
schoolchildren to identify
20 flash cards
—lO common
species of
wildlife drawn
randomly from
a set of 100
cards and 10
Pokemon char
acter cards
drawn from a
set of 150
By age eight, children were
able to identify three-quarters of
the PokOmon cards, but were
capable of identifying only half of
the items found in nature.
With an understatement that
is typical of academics, the
authors remarked that, “conser
vationists are doing less well
than the creators of Pokemon at
inspiring interest in their sub
jects.”
Research indicates what
many of us already know intu
itively that children are losing
their connection to the natural
world.
By extension, their under
standing of the fundamental
principles of how our planet
works has diminished. Without a
relationship with nature, chil
dren may never develop an ethic
of care needed to be a steward
of the planet.
In the 35 years Shaver’s
Creek Environmental Center
has been in operation here at
in this meeting. It is good
to see that all parties are
ready and willing to listen
and discuss.
However, no concrete
decisions resulted from
this meeting, and there
are no additional meet
ings scheduled to discuss
ideas in the future.
This is a problem.
Opinions, suggestions
and ideas brought up at
the meeting need to be
explored further at anoth
er meeting if they are
going to be seriously con
sidered by THON leaders.
They also need to be
acted upon and turned
into concrete actions and
solutions to power strug
gle.
THON officials have
Penn State, we have seen a.
change in the way in which chil
dren interact with their environ
ment.
Many studies reveal that chil
dren today are spending much
less time in the outdoors, and
more time indoors in structured
activities than just a generation
ago due to lack of public space,
safety concerns and übiquity of
electronic media. A 2006 study in
“Pediatrics” reported that over
the course of a year the average
American child spends 1,023
hours in, front of the television
compared to 900 hours in school.
There has been an undeniable
shift in the way children experi
ence nature.
This concept has reached the
mainstream media in recent
years. “Last Child in the Woods:
Saving Our Children from
Nature-Deficit Disorder,” the
Richard Louv bestselling book,
sparked national debate on the
need for children to spend more
time in nature. Louv’s book cor
relates the reduction of time
children are spending outside
with a multitude of ill effects,
including attention disorders,
obesity, stress and depression.
His call for reconnecting with
nature by getting children out
doors has resonated with par
ents, educators, health profes
sionals and even the First Lady,
culminating in a national cam
paign to “Leave No Child
Inside.”
At Shaver’s Creek, part of
Penn State Outreach, we are
promised to continue this
dialogue between their
committee and THON
supporters throughout
our campus. We expect
them to live up to their
word.
The community
specifically the students
and smaller organizations
involved in THON is
looking for more input, so
THON leaders should put'
their differences and dis
agreements aside and lis
ten a little more to what
these groups of students
have to say.
More input from more
organizations would allow
for more informed and
universally accepted deci
sions from the Overall
Committee members.
Slight
2010 A «p£Out
doing our best to combat
“nature-deficit disorder.”
Through our Penn State course
offerings and programs for ele
mentary and secondaiy school
children, we use nature as a
means to nurture cognitive
development, support emotional
maturation and strengthen peo
ple’s capacity for creativity, ~ -
problem solving and decision
making.
We believe that the best way
to relate natural science con
cepts to children is to engage
them in hands-on learning in
the outdoors. According to Yale
University researcher Stephen
Kellert, all forms of contact with
nature are valuable in their own
right, but only direct experience
provides the “intimacy, adven
ture or surprise, all of which
(and much more) provide the
basis for substantive develop
ment.” Here at Shaver’s Creek,
we encourage our visitors to
“never stop discovering.” We
believe that a healthy relation
ship with nature will lead to
more personal well being, as
well as a healthier planet.
We invite Penn State students
and the community to get
involved and to reconnect with
nature. Shaver’s Creek is a
resource for you.
Joshua Potter is the marketing coordi
nator of Shaver's Creek Environmental
Center. His e-mail is ] potter@psu.edu.
This column also features research by
Rob Andrejewski, doctoral candidate
at Shaver’s Creek.
The Daily Collegian
Undeniable that Americans
should not be welfare state
A recent study has confirmed what
many Americans have feared: America is
now the Welfare State. Fifty million of the
300 million people in this country are now
dependent on Medicaid, which is a social
welfare system for the poor, and 40 million
people receive food stamps. Citizens are
eligible for unemployment benefits for up
to 99 weeks. Think about 99 weeks and
comprehend what it would take to be with
out work for that long. We have made
recent “strides” to supply health care to
the general public and there are rumblings
of “cap and trade,” which would supply the
Protection Agency the
‘right to tax nearly any citizen based on
their individual carbon dioxide production
(seriously, hold your breath).
We must ask ourselves what is all this
government spending really doing? Do
these policies of welfare and regulation
really have the best interest of the
American people in mind? Although the
answer to these questions will be debated,
the results are undeniable. Expanding wel
fare programs and handing out entitle
ments to the public only increases depend
ency, causing a snowball effect that will
ultimately bankrupt and ruin the country.
Let’s reclaim the American dream (life,
liberty, and pursuit of happiness) and get
things'the old fashioned way through
ambition and relentless hard work. Let us
never forget there was once a time when
working yourself out of poverty was the
only option.
America’s ‘greed’ is better
than economic complacency
In response to Thursday’s letter “Greed
destroys America,” which stated, “we, as
Americans, are never satisfied with where
we are at” as if it were a bad thing.
I, for one, would hate to live in a country
where people were economically compla
cent. What Corey calls “greed” is what oth
ers call self-interest, which is the driver of
innovation and growth in a free economy.
Corey goes on to say that we pay people
too much for certain jobs because we are
“paying for things that are a want instead
of paying for necessities.” God forbid
greedy Americans desire to live in some
thing more than a subsistence economy. If
that’s the definition of greed, then I say
“God bless America.”
Going vegan is the best way
to become energy-efficient
I enjoyed reading about Penn State’s
creative methods for sustainable living in
Thursday’s article “Penn State researches
canola as energy source.” However, there
is a much cheaper way to make dining
halls more sustainable: add more vegan
food.
According to an extensive United
Nations study, raising animals for food
contributes more to climate change than
all cars, boats and trains combined.
The amount of resources wasted on pro
ducing animal-derived products is stagger
ing. We currently feed more than 70 per
cent of the grains grown in the U.S. to ani
mals raised for food. Similarly, nearly half
of the water and 80 percent of agricultural
land consumed in this country are used for
livestock, rather than direct consumption
by humans. Passing these resources
through animals who use up 90 percent
of the energy they consume simply by liv
ing their lives requires exponentially
more land, water and other resources than
simply eating plants directly.
Drew Winter
College Campaigns Assistant, peta2
SNAP, CRACKLE, POP
Sampled music vamps rap
So I’ve never been the type to go for
hip hop. I’ve always enjoyed the occa
sional Top 40 rap hit or the classics that
everyone plays at their parties. But late
ly, I’ve REALLY been into it. And I think
I’ve found the perfect blend of my old
and new music tastes.
Ladies and gentlement, I give you...
“The Kids” by 8.0.8. A perfectly
remixed blend of my new favorite genre
and the music that has always been my
favorite...
CAN YOU DIG IT?
Breakdown of first matches
Home fans will have their first chance
to see the Penn State women’s volley
ball team this season when it hosts
three matches this weekend.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions will put their
3-0 record and 105-match winning
streak on the line against Seton Hall,
Colgate and VCU. Here’s a breakdown
of each team.
Player to Watch: Outside hitter
Sarah Osmun. Though she’s hitting just
.162, Osmun is the Pirates’ go-to attack
er and leads the team with 4.00 kills/set.
Ryan Loy
Women's volleyball reporter
Read more of The Dally Collegian's blogs at
psucolleglan.com/blogs.
Andrew Chansky
senior-science
Kai Kaapro
graduate-law
Lindsey Cryer
Music reporter