I FRIDAY, OCT.
z
O
N --I
THE DAILY
Collegian
Elizabeth Murphy
Editor in Chief
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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