I FRIDAY, OCT. z O N --I THE DAILY 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 Cinlli, Beth Ann Downey. Amanda Elser, Zachary Feldman, Ashley Gold. Stephen Hennessey, Allison Jackowl2, Kevin Kline, Samantha Kramer, Bill Landis, Andrew Metcalf. Nate Mink. Elizabeth Murphy, Laura Nichols. Michael (Winger, Edgar Ramirez. Heather SThmeizlen, Caitlin Sellers, Laurie Stern, Katie Sullivan, Jessica Uzar. Aubrey Whelan, Alex Weister, 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/In 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. 29, 2010 ENDORSEMENT: PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR Onorato will clean up capitol The next governor of Pennsylvania will have a lot on his plate when he takes office. After budget fiascoes, rising unemployment and conflict among the parties in Harrisburg, the gover nor will have plenty to work on for the next four years. Issues like the cost of education, Marcellus Shale drilling, the econo my and taxes seem to be at the top of this election's debate, and we believe Democratic candidate Dan Onorato is the man who best addresses all of these concerns. As students, what we like most about Onorato is his plan for higher educa tion. He proposed treating state-related and state owned universities the same and to double cur rent capital funding. He also wants to enhance community col leges and vocational schools to create a more educated workforce. IrTM S-8 1-14 Doter ASK... NNV4 TELL! COLUMNIST► Change comes with the youth vote By Hana Uman WH Y is the youth vote important in 2010 9 Where do I br As one of the lead campus organizers for ReEnergize the Vote at Penn State, a nonpar tisan youth focused voter mobilization campaign, I have spent almost every day of the last two and a half months encouraging students to vote in the upcoming election. We registered more than 2,200 students to vote and talked to thousands of students about the importance of voting. Now, with four days left until the Nov. 2 mid-term elections, we are down to the wire. In Pennsylvania, the race for governor, senate, the house and local officials are all up for grabs. Some argue that mid term elections are even more important than the presidential elections. For these elections in particu lar, we may see a significant shift in power in the House and/or the Senate, drastically changing the way that the gov- Onorato, who has served as the county executive of Allegheny County for the past seven years, has a record of suc cess. Under his leadership the area has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state and has operated on a balanced budget throughout Onora to's service something Harrisburg desperately needs. A balanced budget isn't the only thing about his plan for the state capital that we like. Onorato said he is willing to shrink the legislature to cut costs, and said he would be tough on leaders if the state budget is not passed on time, halting their pay permanently until they pass an operating budget. Our major concern with Onorato is taxes. His opponent, Tom Corbett, promised to cut taxes to keep Pennsylvanian's from paying out more money, where as Onora- ra,-:........./.) -„,_ „... i LINDIt4G ernment runs for the next two years, how funds are allocated and who will run for president in 2012. In the 2008 elections, young people more than 22 million that is -- came out to the polls in record numbers to cast their votes. For the first time, we proved that our generation had a strong presence in the political framework of our country, and the media and politicians took notice. We were noticed then, but that attention can easily fade. The issues that young people care about, particularly college students are often ignored because of our reputation for being apathetic about our involvement in the political process. Public institutions, like Penn State, are often the first to undergo budget cuts, which has caused tuition costs to rise all over the country in this time of economic crisis. Unlike special interest groups and segments of the population with lobbyists and money invest ed in political campaigns, we only have mobilization on our side. Why should we strive to be ignored by politicians? As young people, we should feel empow ered to take a stand for what to's plans involve increas ing taxes. However, we do agree with Onorato's support of the Marcellus Shale sev erance tax, which would charge drilling companies from outside Pennsylva nia, and return portions of the tax money to commu nities affected by the drilling. In a choice between the two candidates, Onorato seems more focused on the needs of students and soon-to-be graduates than Corbett. Onorato's plan for education, job creation, streamlining the govern ment and his stance on social issues reflect the needs of many Penn State students. Despite his push for competitive taxes, accom plishments and past expe rience along with initia tives to boost local economies and cut unem ployment lead us to endorse Dan Onorato for the next governor of Pennsylvania. CAGLECAECIOCMiS COM issues we believe in. When we come together and engage in the political process, we can show politicians that we are equal participants in bettering this country's future. On Oct. 31, ReEnergize the Vote, along with members of our PSU Votes! 2010 coalition, will be hosting Trick-or-Vote, a Halloween-themed event to encourage students to get out the vote. In addition, ReEnergize the Vote will be spending all of Nov. 1 and 2 ensuring that all registered stu dents get to the polls. We all have issues that we care about, whether it be equali ty, job creation, education costs or the environment. Voting is one simple, but vital way to fight for the issues that we care about. On Nov. 2, take 10 min utes to stand in line at the polls and cast your vote. As young people, we must end this cycle of apathy, and empow er ourselves to make our voices heard. Hana Uman is a 2010 graduate of James Madison University and is the lead campus organizer for ReEnergize the Vote at Penn State. She is The Daily Collegian's Friday guest colum nist and her e-mail is hana.uman@sierraculb.org. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Coal is still cheapest source In response to Tuesday's article "Eco- Action to fight coal," I am a large supporter : I ' of sustainability, but shutting down the cam-* pus coal plant is not the answer. There are: reasons that the plant has been in use pow-. ering campus buildings for almost 80 years.: Coal is cheap, available and a Pennsylvania. resource. In these days of rising tuition: costs, access to cheap energy is taken for,; granted. Should the plant be shut down in. the future, tuition costs would increase. Coal is also a regionally available : resource. Pennsylvania is the fourth leading • state in the nation in coal production. Coal also provides jobs for thousands of Pennsylvanians. In this time of recession if would not be the greatest of ideas to cut some of these important local jobs. The argument for pollution can be made, but the coal industry has made strides in no longer being an "old, dirty energy." Since 1970, coal generation has increased while pollutants have significantly decreased. I agree that the eventual goal of the campus should be carbon neutrality, but that doesn't mean shutting down the main source of energy for the school should happen anytime soon. Voters should mind factors Most people know the three major rules of intelligent voting. but they bear repeating prior to each election: No. 1. don't fall prey to the "Stockholm Syndrome," whereby intim idated people become sympathetic to their oppressors as happened in the 1973 Swedish hostage incident where after six days of captivity during a bank robbery sev-, eral kidnap victims resisted rescue attempts and refused to testify against their captors. No. 2. ignore anyone claiming to be a Christian who mocks "socialism" without realizing how central it actually was to the emergence of their own religion ("The believers shared what they had with one another, selling their possessions and dis tributing the proceeds among all as any one might be in need" - Acts 2:44,45). No. 3, give a political party at least four years to get the country out of any sinkhole into which an opposing party plunged it over a period of eight years. Ed Walsh State College Borough resident Greeks should forget details In response to Monday's article "Change in THON cans upset some." I think it's time • to say to the greeks. "Get over it!" The uproar over changing canning materials is ridiculous. Previous signs were cluttered. while new signs clearly display THON's mis sion. It's easier for people to see what can ners are raising money for and are more likely to donate. Greek leaders want to be kept informed. But, it's difficult since they - sensitive about preserving THON's greek origins. They're blinded from seeing that the Overall Committee's decisions betters THON, not one up the greeks. I was greek, ; an executive director of Greeks4Kids,' THON captain and dancer. I've seen this" "battle" from both sides. THON is bigger than the drama greeks inevitably create when they oppose decisions made within .• the THON Community We are Penn State, and this is the largest student run philan- • thropy in the world. It's time to simply look at THON for its amazing and unifying cause. Greek or not. we're all in this together and our ultimate goal is to help children fight cancer UPAC allocations not diverse As told in Tuesday's article "UPAC to fund concert," Makin' On recently attained stand- ; ing organization status, giving them an annual funding of 12.5 times more than ordi nary student-run organizations. At the same time, this semester UPAC changed a rule in its funding, which forces student organiza tions to pay the full 20 percent of their event. cost, even if they are able to negotiate that . much of the price. As a result, very few clubs are able to make use of their funds and Penn State's student-run events and speakers are noticeably less diversified. To make use of the $20,000 honorarium students are given, , they would have to raise $4,000, and in our small community there are only so many ways each club can fundraise. Why is UPAC giving a huge sum of money to Movin' On while it is making it impossible for other stu- , dent-run organizations to receive funding, making campus events less diversified? Additionally, why is the funding required for• this event more than double what last year's fiasco "Last Stop" was? Jarrett Hawrylak senior-computer engineering Memorial would honor friend The senior class gift that struck me in particular is that of a memorial to Lt. Michael P Murphy and all Penn State veter ans. Though I'm biased, Lt. Murphy clearly exemplifies a character of which any stu dent or university should deem worthy of extraordinary tribute. I prefer to speak about his Penn State , bond as a roommate and a friend a friend who always got on with things without corn plaint. A friend who would take me along to gymnastics meets to see his future fiancé perform, and then hang out with them later so I could meet the gymnasts. A friend who tried to teach me fitness for which we would , spend huge amounts of time changing . weights between sets as I was at about 20 • pounds and he at 320 pounds. A friend who I • always knew "had my back" I would like to make an appeal to the senior class this year to please vote for this worthy class gift. In this time have never seen a gift of such value to the Penn State community, nor a cause more worthy of recognition. Tommy McCann.' graduate-landscape architecture} Thomas Maksymiuk junior-history Alyssa Schaffer Class of 2010
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers