1 THURSDAY, Nov. 18, 2010
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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
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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.
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Who we are
The Daily Collegian's editcy.
nal 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 Bumham, Paul
Casella, Kevin Cirilli, Beth Ann
Downey, Amanda Elser, Ash
ley Gold, Stephen Hennessey,
Allison Jackovilz, Andrew Met
calf, 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
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Dialogue needed to fix flaws
On Nov. 12, the National
Federation of the Blind
requested that the
Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights
investigate Penn State for
failing to adhere to Title II
of the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
This requires public uni
versities to provide the
visually impaired with
equal access to facilities
and services.
Though these are cur
rently only allegations
against the university,
there have already been
promises of an increased
level of communication
between the NFB and the
university to remedy prob-
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Potter craze won't stop with movie
By Amanda Elser
It was June 19, 2000, and I
can still remember it like it
was yesterday. I was an
eager 10-year
old who was
pretending to
be asleep when
my mom
checked in on
me
In reality I
was awake
under my blan
ket reading with
a flashlight keeping a close eye
on the clock.
MY OPINION
When the clock struck mid
night it was the most disappoint
ing minute of my life I had
just turned 11 and Hagrid didn't
come pounding on my door to
take me off to Hogwarts.
I was in denial for a bit
maybe America's wizard school
waited until you were 12? And to
quote Mary Beth Henry from
the Three Broomsticks Club at
Penn State, "I finally accepted
the fact that I was going to have
to go to high school."
Now that I just admitted to
the entire Penn State communi
ty what a loser 10-year-old I was,
I'm calling the rest of you out.
I know I wasn't the only one
that felt a stab of disappoint
ment when they actually had to
come to terms with the fact that
Harry Potter wasn't real. But
the fact that the wizarding world
wasn't real did not make the
books any less magical.
Harry Potter was the first
lems the visually impaired
may run into on campus.
While we don't think
that Penn State con
sciously discriminates
against the visually
impaired, it is important
to recognize their rights
and to give them the
same access to higher
education as the rest of
the student body.
The university should
continually be investigat
ing every facet of the edu
cation process for the pos
sibility of discrimination
against any form of dis
ability. It should never
again wait for allegations
such as these to spur
action.
book I ever read in less then 24
hours. Before these books, my
library was limited to the Baby
Sitter's Club and Nancy Drew
Harry Potter was just the step
ping-stone. I found a love of
reading thanks to J.K. Rowling's
world, and she is probably the
reason why I am a journalism
major right now.
The point is. the Harry Potter
books were my childhood and
I'm not the only one that feels
this way.
The movie franchise alone
has made more than $4 billion
a testament to the dedicated
fans of our generation. This
Friday is a bitter sweet ending
to a high point of my youth.
Since 6th grade I have been
among the passionate fans that
waited anxiously for that July or
November release date.
The conclusion of the movies
is the end of a piece of my ado
lescence. They represent more
than just books, Harry Potter
reinvented the world of imagina
tion. Never before or after have
I been that immersed in an
imaginary place.
But the world won't end with
the wrap up of the films the
loyal fans will make sure of that.
I have been shadowing the
Three Broomsticks club lately
for a project I am working on in
my photojournalism class. I
have been following around
Mary Beth Henry, the captain of
the Penn State Quidditch Team.
This past weekend, Penn
State placed ninth in the
Quidditch World Cup out of 46
Officials should continue
to be proactive and take
this accusation seriously.
We do also commend
both sides for carrying out
an appropriate tone of dis
course, with the university
realizing the seriousness
of the situation and the
NFB not acting in an
accusatory way.
The best way to solve
this problem is through
dialogue.
The NFB also recog
nizes that many college
campuses are on the
same level as Penn State,
and if the university takes
action it could be an
example for other univer
sities.
teams participating in the
Intercollegiate Muggle
Quidditch Tournament. This
may sound like a joke and. yes,
adults running around Old Main
lawn with mops between their
legs because their brooms keep
breaking sounds funny. but
Quidditch is hard work.
The first practice I attended,
someone sprained their ankle
and this weekend Mary Beth
was sent to the hospital to get
stitches.
They sweat, they cramp and
they sprint; mock we may, but
they have a more rigorous exer
cise program then my occasion
al visit to the elliptical.
Now, these are the truly pas
sionate Potter fans the Three
Broomstick Club is not for the
faint of heart. And while they
have a weekly meeting to dis
cuss their Potter obsession, the
rest of us have to do it on a
smaller scale (ABC Family
Harry Potter weekend
marathon anyone?)
These books and this world
impacted the majority of our
generation on some level, and
though this column is seemingly
the most embarrassing thing I
have ever written, I will proudly
wait in line at midnight to see
the seventh film.
There are just some things
that I can't give up no matter
how old I get.
Amanda Elser is a senior majoring in
journalism and is The Daily Collegian's
Thursday columnist. Her e-mail is
aleso4s44su.edu.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Free speech is still important
In response to Tuesday's column,
"Political opposition needs compromise," at
first glance, the column seemed sound, log
ical and almost moderate. Then after a fur
ther read, he starts to lend political advice
from Kanye West and suggests that we ban
free speech. The answer to bad speech is
more speech, and I don't want to live in a
country where people get thrown in jail for
holding up a picture of our president with a
Hitler mustache.
That's why we debate. That's why there
are sides. And in most cases, there's a com
promise position where we can both give a
little, but when people like Michael
Oplinger start to suggest that we overturn
everything the First Amendment stands
for, people like me have no choice but to
stand strong for what we believe in.
blog lines
SMALL WORLD
Walk like an Egyptian
Last week I was twice offered 10,000
camels for my hand in marriage.
The first time it happened, my friend
and I had just arrived in Cairo for our
week-long Egyptian vacation, and I was
suffering from some major culture
shock
Hearing men constantly shout things
at us, seeing women in burkas, hearing
prayers over the loud speaker every few
hours and having my shirt pulled on by
a woman who was offended that a bit of
my back was exposed were just a few of
the cultural things I had to get used to
over the course of the week.
I should probably preface this by
mentioning that Russians are not
friendly. I love them, but they won't as
much as hold the heavy metro door for
a stranger who is standing right behind
them and they avoid eye contact and
smiles like the plague.
So the fact that Egyptians were eager
to interact with us (sometimes in
unusual ways) came as a bit of a shock.
We took some amazing trips that includ
ed Cairo's citadel, Alexandria and horse
rides around the pyramids at Giza, and
though we were surrounded by some of
the world's oldest and coolest sights, I
couldn't help but feel like a tourist
attraction myself.
Everywhere we went Egyptian chil
dren asked to take pictures with us and
men told us we looked like Shakira (not
true) and asked us if we were married.
Though Cairo is a very touristy city, we
quickly realized that it's still rare there
to see young white girls walking around
by themselves.
Our living situation in Cairo initially
seemed a bit sketchy. Our taxi driver
couldn't find the hotel we had booked
(I'm still not sure if the place actually
exists or not) so he took us to a hostel
instead. I was worried, but Atef, the hos
tel's manager, immediately said to us,
- Don't worry, your mother told me to
take care of you.-
And he really did take good care of us
Included in the price we paid for our
room were free rides to a variety of cool
places inside and outside of Cairo with
drivers who worked for the hostel.
This was a huge relief.
We had come to Cairo sans guidebook
and had just planned on taking taxis or
using public transportation, which
would have been very expensive/unsafe
We probably didn't plan quite as well as
we should have, but it all worked out,
because our drivers and the other guys
who worked at the hostel were so nice,
and through them we had a chance to
get to know real Egyptians...
SNAP, CRACKLE, POP
Award night preview
This year's American Music Awards
are right around the corner, providing
some guaranteed entertainment before
the rest of the country's universities let
out.
Flashy commercials featuring the
sounds of Justin Beiber, Kesha, Katy
Perry and Taylor Swift adorn the televi
sion stations, and advertising is surely
not hurting for the award ceremony.
Kicking off at 8 p.m. Sunday, live from
the Nokia Theatre LA., the red carpet
will roll out early to take in the artists
and their glamorized selves.
But in case you're a little unsure what
to expect, here's a preview.
This year, Eminem and Lady
Antebellum have racked up the most
nominations, each with five apiece, and
Justin Beiber is close behind with four.
8.0.8., Katy Perry Kesha and Usher
also each received three.
As for awards, anyone could take it
home. Here are my picks.
Up for Favorite Male Artist in the
Pop/Rock division, we have the choices
of Justin Beiber, Eminem and Usher.
While the teenager crooning of Beiber
is sure to make young girls swoon, I'm
feeling Usher taking this one. Not many
can compete with years of flawless per
formance and a relatively straight track
record, in regards to women and legali
ty issues.
Sorry Eminem— not this time.
Read more of The Daily Collegian's blogs at
psucolleglan.com/blogs.
Zachary James
senior-engineering
Erin Rowley
Small World blogger
Brittany Horn
Arts candidate