I MONDAY, Nov. 1
Tiir DXIII
Collegian
Elizabeth Murph
bliwr a (iticl
Kelsey Thompson
Business ,Ifunaixr
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, 2010
Effort brings gradual change
Last Tuesday, members
of Eco-Action met with
President Graham
Spanier and other admin
istrators to discuss a stu
dent/faculty coalition and
future plans to improve
Penn State's sustainability
and decrease its carbon
footprint.
We applaud both Eco-
Action and the adminis
tration for taking the
steps to enact change.
A student/faculty coali
tion is a great initiative to
ensure that there will be a
formal mode of communi
cation and a free-flowing
exchange of ideas be
tween faculty and stu
dents.
' f
rh11(
Celebrate holiday in the voting booth
By Katie Sullivan
Iwas supposed to be born
on Halloween, but thank
God or Buddah or whoever
that I was two
days late.
Having to share
my birthday
with sugar
loaded hooli
gans running
around like the
demons they're
dressed as and
having to eat
MY OPINION
my birthday cake in a costume
would have made me angry as
a child.
By being born two days late,
Nov. 2, you'd think I wouldn't
have to share my birthday with
any other holidays. But if you're
a devout Catholic, as my family
pretends to be, I share it with All
Souls' Day. This is a whole 24
hours of praying for people who
are in Purgatory/limbo because
they were crappy church-goers
like me.
Not the ideal holiday to cele
brate a birthday, either.
If you're of Mexican heritage,
Nov. 2 is the Day of the Dead
celebration, a holiday dedicated
It's also good to see stu
dent activists, like the
members of Eco-Action,
opting for quiet, but effi
cient means of helping
their cause, instead of just
planning loud and flashy
on-campus protests.
However, both parties
should also realize that
they have to be commit
ted to this coalition in
order to get things accom
plished. The administra
tion has a history of meet
ing with student groups
like Eco-Action, but this
increased communication
rarely results in action.
The administration has
a great opportunity to
enact change, now they
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to honoring the memory of lost
love ones. It's better than damn
ing the memory of the loved
ones, but still a little creepy
because of all the candy skulls.
But this year, my birthday
falls on the most important holi
day of all.
This year, Nov. 2 falls on
Election Day
This is a holiday I'm proud to
share my birthday with. If any
body asks me what I want for
my birthday, it's for people to
celebrate this day to the fullest.
Celebrate our country's free
dom. Celebrate your individual
rights, and that if you lived any
where else, they wouldn't be the
same. Celebrate your voice
that you get a say in who repre
sents us in our government.
Celebrate by voting in the
mid-term elections.
Helping to elect Pennsyl
vania's next governor, congress
men and women and county
representatives would be the
best gift this soon-to-be 22-year
old could ask for.
I know it's frustrating some
times our perception of
Harrisburg and Washington is
jaded. Squirrelly, shifty politi
cians seem to always do one
need to follow through.
These meeting should
also continually involve
the members of the
administration that make
these big decisions. A lia
son should never be sent
in their place.
Eco-Action should con
tinue to take the long
term into account, and
realize that the university
has limitations as to what
can be done immediately.
Change is possible, but it
will happen gradually.
Through an extended
process and sustained
effort by both parties, we
believe growing a greener
Penn State is both possi
ble and necessary
j i p
fro
EXERCISE.
/1 .
thing and say another. Our econ
omy and job situation are dis
mal.
But Nov. 2 will be a day where
we can celebrate change, a
fresh start and a new candle on
the cake of our country's history
Go out and cast your vote for
who you think can switch our
perception of government from
one that is struggling into one
that is thriving.
With my new age and
therefore wisdom I can safely
say an active political society is
the basis for a functioning
democracy where citizens are
the ones who thrive. As a soon
to-be college grad, nothing
would make me more pleased
than leaving the Happy Valley
bubble for a real world where
the economy is on the up and I
can find a job.
So help me and my fellow sen
iors out. Vote tomorrow and help
take part in what our state and
our country needs.
Celebrate this birthday and
Election Day to the fullest!
Katie Sullivan is a senior majoring in
journalism and The Daily Collegian's
Monday columnist. Her e-mail is
kmss424@psu.edu.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
PSU hurts home affordability
In response to Friday's article "Happy
Valley avoids pain of recession," a recent
article printed in Voices of Central
Pennsylvania has a different take on Penn
State's impact on the local economy. For
example, housing is much less affordable in
State College than in neighboring cities and
counties throughout the state, and this
problem has only worsened during the
recession. The university is the reason for
this inflated expense, which impacts all res
idents, not just students, and puts hun
dreds (including families) on waiting lists
for government subsidized housing
throughout the county
Republicans not considered
In my five years of reading The
Collegian, you have not once endorsed a
Republican. The full-page ad for Obama
(I'm sorry "Opinions Page endorsing
°barna") during the 'OB election was proof
enough of your liberal bias, but seriously.
Goreham for mayor, Casey for Senate, and
now Sestak and Onorato? Do you guys
even consider other parties? If you want to
be an "objective" and - unbiased" organiza
tion, why not endorse someone not on the
Democratic ticket for once? It may help
any remaining credibility your news
department has.
Tea Party initiative won't hurt
In response to Thesday's column, "Tea
Party scarier than a nightmare. - if many of
the things the writer said would come true.
it wouldn't he so had. Federal Income Tax
being taken away great! Now people can
afford to pay for health insurance.
Firehouses and police stations would still
exist. how do vou think we lived before
1932? Social security will be bankTupt when
our generation is old. so get rid of it any
way! Again, how did the elderly survive
before 1935? If public schools were torn
down. then there would be many more pri
vate schools and their rates would go down
because they would have to compete with
each other. But we'd have more money
anyway to pay private schools with no
school tax and all the other taxes cut. And
the schools would probably be more effec
tive then public schools because if there
were no teacher unions. teachers would
actually have to teach. Some government
agencies could go away and most could be
downsized. The Department of Agriculture
does not need to be three city blocks long
and one city block wide. With more money,
more local would businesses open. giving
'ay to more jobs. The roads could still be
funded. or if not. toll roads would be ram
pant but we could pay for them because of
less taxes. The unemployment benefits
would be drastically reduced. What an
America we would have if taxes were only
at 10 or 13 percent.
Below the surface
I was lucky enough to visit the
islands of Hawaii this summer. My
favorite part of that trip was snorkeling.
I had purchased an underwater camera
before the trip.
Snorkeling is like being in an aquari
um or Finding Nemo. It was amazing.
So here are my tips on underwater pho
tography:
1: Try not to go where everyone else
does.
This is because with many people in
the water, like in Hanauma Bay in
Oahu. everyone is swinnning and there
fore kicldng up the sand and other dirt
that's in the water. When this happens
you end up with pictures where you can
see all the dirt. Also, if you are in this
situation to not to use the flash
because it will make the dirt more obvi
ous.
2: Go early!
Go early this way you can avoid
crowds, and the fish are more active. I
went to a small beach along Ali Drive in
Kona on the Big Island pretty early in
the morning. My father and I were the
only ones at the beach. The fish were so
active and picture perfect...
Amanda August
General assignment photographer
HARDWOOD HITS
Poll tells all
Talor Battle is not a preseason All-Big
Ten selection.
The first Big Ten Media Poll of the
season was released Thursday after
noon at the conference's media day in
Park Ridge, 111., and Penn State's senior
co-captain was left off the list.
Battle, who finished second in the
conference in scoring in 2010, is a two
time All-Big Ten selection. The 6-foot
guard was on the first team in 2009 and
the second team last season.
Michigan State which returns
three starters from last year's squad
that went 28-9, earning its second con
secutive trip to the Final Four was
selected to finish first in the Big Ten...
Emily Kaplan
Men's basketball reporter
Read more of The Daily Collegian's blogs at
psucollegian.com/blogs.
Dr. Trish Campie
Pittsburgh. Pa.
Kurt Bopp
Class of 2010
Philip Rossi
Class of 2010