I Tuesday, Sept. Tii h D \il. v Collegian Elizabeth Murphy Editor in Chief Kelsey Thompson Business Manager About the Collegian: The Daily Collegian 'and The Weekly Collegian are pub lished by Collegian Inc., an independent, nonprofit cor poration with a board of directors composed of stu dents, faculty and profes sionals. Pennsylvania State University students write and edit both papers and solicit advertising for them. During the fall and spring semes ters as well as the second six-week summer session. The Daily Collegian publish es Monday through Friday. Issues are distributed by mail to other Penn State campuses and subscribers. Complaints: News and edi torial complaints should be presented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints should be pre sented to the business man ager. 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 or Collegian Inc. Collegian Inc., publish ers of The Daily Collegian and related publications, is a separate corporate institu tion from Penn State. Members are: Lexi Bel culfine, Caitlin Burnham, Paul Casella, Kevin Cirilli, Beth Ann Downey, Amanda Elser, Zachary Feldman, Ashley Gold, Stephen Hennessey, Allison Jackovitz, Kevin Kline, Samantha Kramer, Bill Landis, Andrew Metcalf, Nate Mink, Elizabeth Murphy, Laura Nichols, Michael Oplinger, Edgar Ramirez, Heather Schmelzlen, Caitlin Sellers, Laurie Stern, Katie Sullivan, Jessica Uzar, Aubrey Whelan, Alex Weisler, Somer Wiggins, Steph Witt and Chris Zook. Letters We want to hear your com ments on our coverage, editorial 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 writers should provide their address and phone number for verification. Letters should be signed by no more than two peo ple. Members of organiza tions 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 cannot guaran tee publication of all let ters it receives. Letters 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. 7, 2010 Council needs to communicate The negative feedback from the State College Borough Council in response to UPUA President Christian Ragland’s proposal for a non-voting stu dent member is disheartening. It seems as if Ragland and the rest of University Park Undergraduate Association are taking all the appropriate steps to foster a better relationship with the council, but they are consistently being squashed in their ambitions. It is clear that the council has no desire to initiate a non-voting member as it has been proposed by Ragland, but the fact remains ifT Oft> 52 ip" \ N ' *0: -. J lW* 1 Obama’s religion is too old an issue By Michael Oplinger Enough is enough. As the Obama administration attempts to rectify a bleak economic situation in the United States, two old but scary rumors about the presi dent continue to flourish. Though they've been circulating since before he was elected, Barack Obama must still deal with comments that he is a Muslim and that he is not an American citizen. A recently released Newsweek poll shows that near ly a quarter of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. An early August CNN poll found a similar number reflect ed the belief that he was not born in the United States and therefore, ineligible to be presi dent. Both numbers are actually higher than polls released earli er this year, representing a daunting task for Obama as he tries to promote an economic recovery and deal with two wars while a significant portion of his constituency feels he doesn’t lawfully hold his position. Obama has clearly stated he is a Christian from Hawaii to no avail. As the country deals with larger issues, these false rumors based on fear, hatred and bigotry must stop. Obama finds himself in a prickly situation, especially when addressing the Muslim rumor. If he repeatedly and forcefully stated that he is not a Muslim, that Penn State students make up the majority of the borough’s population and their opinions and interest should be taken into serious consideration. Having a representative on the council is a sensible way to achieve this. We are baffled those borough council members who refuse to meet individually with UPUA tr explain their personal feelings on the issue, for denouncing this simple request seems to paint a larger picture on how members feel about working with stu dents. We also urge Ragland and other UPUA members he would imply that being a Muslim is a bad thing and a trait that inhibits one's ability to effectively govern. To make such an impliea!- could hurt could only worsen public perception of Muslims in a country where many misun derstand the faith. .J***''- Eaith is a challenge to i>> ove. No real documentation e:- - is to establish religious bet- ! Whatever Obama say h believes, he believes. There is no I)NA n tor reli gion and people are;ft bon* into them. MY OPINION Religious beliefs are chosen. Besides, the religions of lead ers shouldn't matter. Politicians seem to announce their faiths only to increase their eicr (abili ty. Once they enter office, most politicians seem to only fo'low the Gospel of then party any way. Perhaps more diversity is needed in a country that has continually elected presidents cut from the same religious cloth. But being different is ex--*ci lv what got Obama in the irndmo i the whirlwind of ridieulotr rumors. Were Obama a white man with a more common name, no one would question his religion .or citizenship. His name and skin color fuel the falsehoods, particularly the “Birther” movement, which bases its entire stance on racism. The most telling example of such bigotry is Terry Lakin, an Army doctor who refuses to report for duty in Afghanistan because he thinks Obama was not bom in the United State and therefore, not the commander in chief of the U.S. military . Lakin has served for 18 years OH COUNCIL PROPOSAL involved to keep pushing bor ough council's request until we see positive action. It seems as if the borough council is being fickle over the definition of a non-voting stu- dent member, and has instead defaulted to proposing out iandish ideas such as Ragland "tinning for borough council and - : eing out a four-year term. But we'd like both sides to communi cate and agree on a way for a non-voting student member to be appointed. If a working relationship is desired, then communication is required. under multiple presidents, yet hasn't questioned a president’s authority until now. He claims to want proof of - Ibama's birth in Hawaii, deny ing the legitimacy of the presi dent's previously released birth certificate. Couple tiie birth certificate with, a birth announcement in the local newspaper and Lakin ■ms no case, unless he believes Obama's presidency is part of a 50-year plot by his family, who just knew he would grow up to be an intelligent, well-spoken and popular political leader. Without any supporting evi dence for their wild conspiracy theory, Lakin and other Birthers get exposed for their blatant racism. Normally, such bigoted beliefs can be cast aside as the thinking of a small fringe group. But the' poll numbers suggest a disturb ing trend of racist behavior. As the president, Obama will certainly be scrutinized but cri tiques should be based on his fjolicies and leadership abilities, not his religion and birthplace. Obama's election represented a triumph of civil rights in a country founded on the freedom of all, regardless of race or reli- But should these movements continue to grow, Obama’s elec tion won't be nearly as historic or symbolic as originally thought. It will just be an example of how most of the country believes in equality, but a far too-large portion of the popula tion still practices bigotry and blind hatred. Michael Oplinger is a senior majoring in journalism and is the Collegian's Tuesday columnist. His e-mail is mjoso7l@psu.edu. The Daily Collegian LETTERS Economy warrants welfare This is in response to Friday’s letter, ‘Undeniable that Americans should not be welfare state." I have a question for you, Andrew: What is the alternative? That is, what else should we do with these millions of Americans? Let them go hungry and homeless? Allow their children to starve 0 Yes, several million people are depending on social welfare programs at this time, but there is a fact that explains these statistics: We are slowly emerging from a historic economic downturn. There are not enough jobs to go around. In some career fields there are as many as 70 appli cants for a single job opening. I am sure most of the people collecting unemployment benefits would much rather be working right now. given all of the bene fits of employment ie.g., higher incomes, health care benefits, self-worth). Also, because health care depends on employ ment, high unemployment contributes to high enrollment in Medicaid. Another fact you are overlooking: A large proportion of Medicaid recipients are chil dren. Children from disadvantaged families have no choice but to rely on social welfare programs. So, Andrew, rather than bemoaning this welfare state, use your energy to come up with a solution. U.S. balances greed, charity In response to Friday's letter, "America’s ‘greed’ is better than economic complacen cy," Kai Kaapro claims that dissatisfied self-interest is the necessary driver of progress in America. This view of Americans reduces us all to selfish beings who are only capable of acting in order to fulfill our private needs and desires. When our needs and desires are fulfilled, it is assumed that we will cease to act, like robots powering down. This is a pretty dismal view of people liv ing in our country, and I for one do not believe it to be true at all. What about char ity and helping others? What about raising healthy children? What about enjoying life and having fun? What about helping to cre ate a beautiful, harmonious and efficient society? Aren't generosity and selfless exertion the natural byproducts of a com fortable and secure attitude that doesn’t insist on possessing as many externals as possible? I disagree with Mr. Kaapro’s thesis. Self contentment does not equal inactivity. Efficiency, happiness and charity are much better for ourselves and for our society than greed and selfish interest. Students should pay gratuity term i mployee of the service •ndustn: it nrvei ceases to amaze me how little some customers understand the social custom of tipping. I keep hearing the argument how hard is it to bring food to a :abio°" or "in Em ope they don't tip.” Enough with the excuses! People who say serving is easy have clearly never worked in a restaurant, and those who serve in, Europe have a higher minimum wage. Do these people realize that the hourly rate of waiters and waitresses in Pennsylvania is only $2.43 an hour? That means, after an 8 hour shift of bringing food to tables, we have made less than $2O! My most recent, and also most humor ous excuse vvas "sorry bro. I’m a college student, I can’t afford to tip... you know how it i 5..." Why ves, Ido know how it is! Ido know what it's like to be broke, working my hands to the bone while waiting on obnox ious, arrogant and self-centered college students who single handedly change my job title from "server” to "servant.” Come on people! Life isn't free for all of us! My point is please have some consideration for those who serve you. Whether it be your waiter, bartender or cab driver, throw them an extra couple bucks. I’m sure they could use it. HUB preachers went too far In response to Thursday’s letter "Preachers do not disturb,” to say that these particular preachers who were on campus last week were not disruptive is simply not true. I sat listening to these peo ple for about 20 minutes and witnessed as they shouted to students that we were sin ners and going to hell. Others who had been there longer also informed me that they were saying distasteful things to stu dents who appeared to be from religious minorities. The First Amendment gives these people the right to openly state then beliefs as long as the university allows it. It does not, however, give them the right to publicly demean others because of their faith. Such acts should result in the loss of the group's privilege to preach on campus. Ben Frazer junior-classics and ancient Mediterranean studies EDITOR M CHIEF Collegian named finalist Congratulations to the staff of The Daily Collegian for being named a finalist in the 2010 Associated Collegiate Press Newspaper Pacemaker Award- Read more of The Daily Collegian’s blogs at psucolleglan.coin/blogs. Valerie Clark Class of 2010 Garrett Evans graduate-physics Steven St John senior-history Elizabeth Murphy Editor in chief
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers