8 I WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010
THE DAILY
Collegian
Elizabeth Murphy
Editor in Chief
Kelsey Thompson
Business Manager
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Increased fine needs guidelines
State Sen. Jake Corman
has proposed a bill to
raise the maximum fine
for underage drinking and
alcohol-related offenses
from $3OO to $l,OOO
The increase to a fee
that hasn't changed since
the 1970 s is meant to act
as a deterrent to under
age drinking.
While curbing underage
drinking is a challenge
that should be taken on,
this measure can only be
effective if it is marketed
properly.
Students must know
about the consequences
before choosing to drink
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High rise marks town-gown debate
By Jessica Uzar
FINDING student housing is
one of many stressful
tasks in college, particu
larly here at
Penn State.
Each fall, a
large number of
students flood
the on-campus
and off-campus
housing mar
ket,
MY OPINION
These stu
dents compete
mostly for a limited number of
the "most-wanted" places to
live.
The majority of students want
to live somewhere near campus
that has cheap rent. The condi
tion of the place or the amount
of space are sometimes forfeited
if the price is right.
But the apartments closest to
campus, mostly those between
the two Are You Hungry loca
tions, sell fast.
If students aren't on the ball,
they're forced to retreat further
away from campus and from
their friends.
Then their friends have to
walk 20 minutes to visit them
(Leah, you're lucky I like you
and your cooking or I would not
walk that far).
For those students, or those
who simply wish to be further
from campus, they must move
further out into the neighbor
hoods and surrounding areas. If
in order to be deterred by
the increased fines.
We doubt that the pro
posed change will stop
underage students from
drinking completely, but it
may make them think
twice about drinking
excessively.
The proposed legislation
also has a few kinks, like
fact that students or com
munity members could be
fined even more money
because they live in a col
lege town. This doesn't
seem like a just addition
to the new penalties.
Overall, the legislation
could be beneficial for
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that's what they wish for, then
they are happy and satisfied. If
not, they are grumbling, because
now they have to pay for bus or
car transportation to and from
campus for classes, meetings
and social events.
This problem of housing
shortage will only grow worse as
the student population contin
ues to grow every year.
So what's the solution?
More housing, like the pro-
posed high-rise apartment build
ing where Canyon Pizza is cur
rently located.
But the debate of its construc
tion marks one of the many
problems that arise between
town and gown. Gown wants
and needs more housing
options. But town rightly so
is worried about the contin
ued misbehavior of students in
these neighborhoods.
The town (and more specifi
cally the State College Planning
Commission) is running into a
few issues before they can make
a decision on the plans.
One issue is zoning regula
tions. Some are worried that
changing the zoning laws for
that address and allowing a high
rise will affect the look of the
area. It will, yes. But not in a
dramatic fashion. There are
already buildings like Penn
Towers and Beaver Terrance
that rise eight to 11 stories.
Adding another building that is
around the same height should
not be a problem.
Penn State, which often
targets the extreme and
destructive behavior that
stems from drinking.
But if the maximum fine
is to increase, there must
be a sliding scale to deter
mine the amount to which
each underage drinker
will be fined. The maxi
mum fine should be
reserved for the most fla
grant offenses.
If the fine increases,
there should be loose
guidelines established to
prevent unfair fines given
to underage drinkers who
maintain control and
aren't being destructive.
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catLitth
I don't think State College will
ever have to worry about look
ing like the downtown of a major
city
The charm of the campus is
one of the things I fell in love
with when I visited the school
and I believe the university will
work to always keep that charm
The committee is also worried
that another apartment building
would increase drunken student
foot traffic through the neigh
borhoods on the weekends. I
actually think the opposite
would be true. The more stu
dents you concentrate down
town, the more that aren't
forced to live in apartment build
ings further from campus, so
they don't have to walk as far to
get home.
An increase in the student
density is another issue brought
up by the commission, but this
is not the reason for the drink
ing problems the town has.
I think this new apartment
building is a great idea and
should be allowed to go forward.
I hope the borough council and
planning commission look to
student and university input.
This is an issue that could really
strengthen the relationship
between town and student lead
ers and the community in gener-
Jessica Uzar is a junior majoring in
journalism and political science and is
the Collegian's Wednesday columnist.
Her e-mail is jiul2s@psu.edu
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THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Penn State fans displayed
great behavior at away game
On behalf of my 'Bama friends and fami
ly (including my Alabama college fresh
man son), I want to let ya'll know what a
pleasure it was to have the Penn State fans
in Tuscaloosa last weekend.
It was our honor to encounter such a
wonderful collection of fans from "up
north," all of whom were very courteous
and seemingly happy to have made the
trip; the final game score notwithstanding.
The heat and humidity were challenging
for our visitors, but we sincerely hope that
everyone who made the effort to travel
such a great distance found the destina
tion to be entertaining and worthwhile. You
should know that, without a doubt,
Alabama fans think the world of Joe
Paterno and his friendship and cama
raderie with our beloved Bear Bryant.
Paterno and Penn State are class acts, and
we look forward to your return to Alabama
in the future.
My family, friends and I look forward to
our trip to University Park next year! Best
wishes for your remaining season.
Terry Calcote
University of Alabama. Class of 1979
Nittany Lions have best fans,
displayed that in Alabama
I am writing to thank and congratulate
some of the best fans in college football. I
thoroughly enjoyed meeting a number of
visitors in Tuscaloosa last weekend. I hope
you all were treated well and enjoyed your
visit.
I look forward to visiting your campus
next year. Again, thank you all for being
such wonderful ambassadors for your fine
university.
Perry Jackson
University of Alabama, Class of 1999
Islamic texts do incite the
violence of Muslim radicals
After reading Tuesday's column "Unjust
hate defies meaning of 9/11," I find myself
left with a question. Michael Oplinger
wrote: "Al Qaeda remains a small group
acting on a twisted interpretation of a reli
gious text.-
Mr. Oplinger, have you read any of the
Islamic texts?
The Quran and the Hadith (a critical tool
used by Muslim scholars to interpret the
Quran) are documents consumed by vio
lence and savagery. Even with the most
forgiving liberal hermeneutics, buttressed
by claims of mistranslation, a purely objec
tive look at the Islamic texts reveal an
inherently violent God. To be sure, Islamic
texts are just as violent as the other
Abrahainic faiths.
The knee-jerk reaction that Al Qaeda is
- distorting," "twisting," and "misinterpret
ing" the faith is false the fundamentalist
have the book on their side. Why be sur
prised by this? These texts were written in
a time when barbarism was a social and
cultural banality.
90IBLOG
Mid-week football news
Football reporters Audrey Snyder and
Brendan Monahan discuss the news
coming out of Joe Paterno's weekly
press conference...
Joe Paterno addressed the media and
discussed the Alabama loss and what
the team needs to do as it moves for
ward...
Jack Crawford was also made avail
able to the media and spoke about
bouncing back against Kent State...
Football beat reporters
CAN YOU DIG IT?
Volleyers at the White House
Check out these videos from NCAA
Champions Day, including a snippet of
President Obama's speech, a clip of
Sen. John Kerry meandering through
the crowd and a look at the TCU
women's rifle team and their very fes
tive wardrobe choice...
Emily Kaplan
Women's volleyball reporter
SNAP. CRACKLE, POP
I can feel your Halo
Do you know where you're going to
be at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday? Even though I
have a COMM 180 test Tuesday morn
ing, an eight-page paper for ENGL 487
due Thursday and hours of more home
work ahead of me this week, I'm going
out Monday night.
Not to the bars but to the midnight
release of "Halo: Reach."
Yeah, it's super nerdy. I'm even wear
ing Halo tshirts to mark the occasion,
and all three Halo original soundtracks
may or may not be stuck on repeat on
my iPod...
Zach Geiger
Police/fire/courts reporter
Read more of The Daily Collegian's blogs at
psucolleglan.com/blogs.
Saalim Abdul Carter
Class of 2007