6 I Tuesday, Sept. 28,2010 The Daii.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, f aculty 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 edk torial complaints should be presented to the edifor. 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 mall/ln person 123 S. Burrowes St. State College, 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. Students should heed message This afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden will speak on campus in what is expected to be an event encouraging student par ticipation in the upcoming election. While he is expected to rally support for Senate candidate Joe Sestak, D- Pa., and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato, Biden’s visit symbolizes Penn State’s overall importance on the political map. Because Penn State represents a large youth ■IN FACT, rwotftsa> TOWJANCe cf mb. Lh&ecfrF.c-ttiS,- DADT betrays founding principles By Michael Oplinger Our forfathers wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cre ated equal.” Those 13 sim ple yet powerful words from the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence established America as a MY OPINION new, unparalleled country that believes in equality. One of the most famous lines in American history, the phrase gave us the foundation for a nation that would be built on tol erance. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Unless those men happen to love other men, as evidenced by the filibuster of the legislation to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. While the “men” referenced in the Declaration of Independence literally meant only males at the time, legisla tion was eventually passed to expand the term to include women and people of all races. But, according to Congress, gay soldiers the very people who defend our freedoms are not equal to other soldiers because of their sexual orienta tion. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy gets it half right. Military superiors are not allowed to question the sexuality of sol diers. Of course, this makes sense in regards to privacy and because it’s of no concern to population within a swing state, students should voice their opinions to Biden while they have the opportunity. Whether they agree or disagree with his political views, students should show their interest by lis tening in on the vice pres ident’s speech and taking his call to the voting booths to heart. Biden’s visit also serves as a reminder that midterm elections are important. Non-presiden tial elections typically see anyone. If a soldier follows orders and is deemed a good soldier, there should be no issues, regardless of sexual ori entation. The “Don’t Tell” part of the policy is where rights violations occur. Gay soldiers must hide their true identities and person alities to protect their jobs. Soldiers who admit to being gay can be fired for that reason only. Since 1993, the year the policy was implemented, the military has discharged more than 13,000 soldiers for being openly gay or suspected of being gay, accord ing to reports published in The Boston Globe and The Guardian. While the repeal is important to the achievement of equal rights in America, the legislative process of the repeal represents the larger overall problems of the current government. Even in an era of partisan ship, the right of gay soldiers to be open about themselves seems to be a topic that would avoid the conflict between par ties. Yet Republicans in the Senate continue to deny soldiers this right by filibustering the bill. This action seems puzzling com ing from the party that claims to be determined to restoring the values the country was founded on. Those original values, as stated in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, include equality and freedom for all. The country’s founding values apparently only apply to a select group of people. The partisan nature of Congress can be seen in Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ support of the filibuster despite low turnout for Penn State students. But the election in November will determine how this state and coun try operate for the next four years. Students who care about the amount of funding Penn State receives from the state or expressed anger when the Pennsylvania budget did n’t get passed for 100 days in 2009 should remember those issues when con templating their participa tion in this midterm elec tion. her feelings that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unfair and immoral. She simply toed the party line. But Collins justified the block ing of the repeal due to the action of Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, who wanted to limit the number of amendments the Republicans could place on the legislation. Reid’s action shows more governing incompetence by the Democrats, who have allowed themselves to be influ enced by Republicans despite a Democratic majority in Congress. Given Congress’ inability to agree on even the most basic civil rights issues, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” seems to be on hold. However, there are signs that steps are being made in the direction of equal rights. Flying under the radar of the larger scale debate last week, a federal judge ruled that Margaret Witt, a flight nurse in the Air Force who was discharged for being gay, should be reinstated. Anecdotal evidence such as Witt’s case suggests that the courts will slowly overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Equality will most likely be achieved. But Congress will have missed an enormous opportuni ty to make a statement. A state ment almost as powerful as “We hold these truths to be self-evi dent, that all men are created equal.” A statement that Congress supports the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the country’s founding documents. Michael Oplinger Is a senior majoring in media studies and political science and is the Daily Collegian’s Tuesday columnist. His e-mail is mjoso7l@psu.edu. The Daily Collegian Sports teach college students what they can’t learn in class Regarding Monday’s letter, “Philanthropy Squandered on Sport,” Mr. Spiegler’s short-sightedness is very disap pointing. A certain Joe Patemo would likely dis agree with his opinion on the educational value of sport. Perhaps there is no better vehicle than team athletics for young men and women to learn valuable skills such as teamwork, leadership, work ethic, personal accountability and honesty. As a successful, practicing attorney in Pittsburgh, I dare say that the things I have learned from both watching and par ticipating in team sports have proven equally valuable to me and my career as those I learned in the classroom or the library. I heartily commend the Pegulas for their unparalleled generosity. I fully expect the $BB million donated to the new NCAA hock ey program to generate 10 times that amount for “traditional” education at our beloved university. TicketJiolding students need to tailgate less, support the team It is really beginning to grind my gears that a great number of students can’t be bothered to put down the Natural Light and Vladimir vodka for a few hours and take advantage of the fantastic opportunity you have to use your tickets and cheer on the Nittany Lion football team. It’s absolutely pathetic, disgraceful and embarrassing to see a huge, vacuous section of seats com pletely empty until the first half is nearly over, and even then it’s sparsely populated. You like to think that you’re the best stu dent section in the nation? What a joke. Showing up and being loud for a game or two each season is fair-weather fandom at its finest. Not a year goes by without hearing ver bal and written complaints from students about how they’re not allotted enough tick ets by the university, that it’s not fair that the donors and alumni get so many more tickets, that students deserve more, and various other forms of baseless whining. Well, maybe you would get more respect if you proved that you actually deserve it. Until then, I am in full support of continu ing to cut the number of student tickets available, or increase the price so that those who are lucky enough to receive them actually feel compelled to show up and support the team. Yes, games like Kent State and Temple don’t carry much cachet, but as students you only have a very limited number of games you can attend during yoifr tenure at Penn State. For many of us alumni, these are some of our best memories memo ries that are much more cherished than blacking out in the parking lot after a dozen games of beer pong. So show up, be loud, be proud, and if you don’t, please save your breath on the whin ing about not getting enough tickets. There are plenty of us in the public who would gladly pay full price for season tickets, and the athletic department would gladly accept the extra revenue. Student section dearth shows disgrace for the ‘great show’ As an alumnus, I am embarrassed that the students cannot fill their area, and they will be getting more seats next year? Large areas of empty seats does not look good on TV and make the “great show” look bogus. Please support your team! CAN YOU DIG IT? Downward spiral The Penn State women’s volleyball team (11-2) is No. 4 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll its lowest ranking since November 2006. The slide comes only three days after the then-No. 2 Nittany Lions fell to then- No. 9 Illinois, which snapped Penn State’s streak of 65-straight wins against Big Ten opponents. In this week’s poll, Stanford (11-0) is the unanimous No. 1 team in the coun try, gathering all 60 first-place votes... Emily Kaplan Women’s volleyball reporter FOOTBLOG Latest on the Lions -Right now, the biggest concern for die Nittany Lion offense is its struggles in the redzone. The Lions have moved the ball well, but haven’t been able to turn that into touchdowns. -Evan Royster had a career day, rushing for 187 yards while silencing his critics. -Collin Wagner may be the Lions’ most improved player this year. He went 5 for 6 to tie a school record for most field goals in a game. -Royster will have to adapt to a sea son that hasn’t gone as planned for the senior running back. Read more of The Daily Collegian’s blogs at psucolleglan.com/blogs. Chadd C. Colin Class of 2006 Andrew Smith Class of 2002 Eugene Rlsser Class of 1969 Football reporters
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