6 I Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010
H
o
Thk Daily
Collegian
Elizabeth Murphy
Editor in Chief
Kelsey Thompson
Business Manager
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The Dally Collegian's edito
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Caitlin Sellers, Laurie Stern.
Katie Sullivan, Jessica Uzar,
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PSU admissions yield on track
Though Penn State
admissions officials have
increased the number of
offers they extend to
incoming freshman, it was
only in an attempt to keep
up with national trends of
lower acceptance rates
from incoming students
due to them applying to a
number of schools to max
imize their options.
We commend the uni
versity for recognizing
MREATPWCHINA.
PiMipauii^ja-lw
T i V- L T
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•it ‘-T.V.W,
THON regulations hurt
By Jessica Uzar
Penn State Dance
Marathon is one of the
most wonderful events
that takes place
on this campus.
I am a THON
chairwoman for
La Vie, the uni
versity’s year
book, and I am
very proud to
say I will be
representing
MY OPINION
the organiza-
tion as a dancer in February.
I know this will end up being
one tough weekend. I have
wanted to do it ever since I set
foot into the Bryce Jordan
Center freshman year. I was
lucky enough to be on the floor
for part of the time I was there,
doing yearbook errands, work
ing on spreads and helping our
four dancers get through it.
I have a lot of respect for
those who volunteer their time
to be overalls and captains. It’s a
big time commitment to organ
ize the largest student-run phi
lanthropy in the world. Those
who volunteer certainly love
what they do, which is exactly
why this event is so amazing
every year.
Though I have plenty good
things to say about the THON’s
overall goal, the event itself and
the incredible things it does for
kids and their families, I also
have complaints about the way
the organization is run.
All of the changes this year
and in the past two years I
think have made things harder
for student organizations who
simply want to be involved. The
event only continues to grow
every year, so I understand that
regulations and rules must be
put in place to organize the
how important the size of
the new freshman class is
to the current students.
Because a decrease of
acceptances could mean a
tuition hike and an
increase of acceptance
would do the same to the
on-campus and off-cam
pus housing markets,
we’re glad Penn State is
citing trends to ensure
that it is staying on target
in admissions numbers.
L ~i I ■ i
-• 1 t
u u
event. However, they should be
made in order to make things
easier, both on the organizers’
and participants’ ends.
Placing so many rules and
restrictions on when, where and
how organizations and students
can raise money discourages
them from being more active.
Fundraisers have to be regis
tered and approved. Instead of
making it easier for organiza
tions to give money, THON offi
cials have constantly been mak
ing stricter rules.
Student organizations just
want to raise money for kids
with cancer. They don’t want to
have to memorize a rulebook
that is two inches thick.
Another aspect that will hurt
organizations’ eagerness to par
ticipate is that THON overalls
are sending out envelopes to
potential donators before organ
izations have a chance. My aunt
received a generic letter hum
THON already, and she almost
donated that way instead of
through my organization. THON
officials say that their money
will be credited to the organiza
tion that they donated the previ
ous year, I don’t think that is the
best solution. My co-chair-
woman for La Vie raised money
for a different organization last
year, so her money would not
get credited to us.
The focus of THON certainly
shouldn’t be about who can raise
the most money, but I think that
healthy competition is one rea
son our total has been rising in
recent years. Being announced
at the end of THON as one of
the highest money raisers is one
way the students’ efforts are
recognized.
Yes, all the money is going to
the same place and the same
good cause, but I was still upset
because, as a dancer, I am
C t PT.4N C ES
Officials should continue
to pay attention to these
trends and keep these
numbers stable.
The university should
also continue to expand
their ideas and initiatives
in making Penn State a
world campus.
A diverse student body,
whether they are taking
classes in campus or
online, can only be an
asset.
fundraisers
eagerly trying to raise more
money than usual. The donators
who get these generic letters
don’t understand how raising
money for THON works, so they
might not wait until they hear
from the student or dancer they
really want to support.
For every dancer pair, the
organization must raise at least
$2,600 as per THON regulations.
So, though mostly everyone in
our organization helps to raise
money, I am technically sup
posed to raise $1,300 myself for
La Vie. THON sending generic
letters to those who would give
me money does not help my
cause if they donated before
receiving my personalized
THONvelopes.
For all the good that THON
does, I think that leaders should
be focused on making fundrais
ing easier for students rather
than putting more restrictions
on it. I understand why THON is
already strict about how student
organizations interact with their
families, and they should contin
ue to do so. I think it’s great that
they put so much effort into
making sure things go well for
the families because after all,
that’s who this whole event is
really meant to benefit.
I am realty excited for
February and cannot wait until I
walk into the BJC to start one of
the most amazing weekends of
my life. I know organizers will
continue their commendable
efforts, but I hope that they also
think of helping to make it easi
er on student participants.
In the end, though, it’s all
about the kids.
Jessica Uzar is a junior majoring in
journalism and political science an is
The Daily Collegian’s Wednesday
columnist. Her e-mail is
Jlul2s@psu.edu.
The Daily Collegian
LEIT 11
Disparity not mothers’ fault
In response to Monday’s letter, “Sexes
hold different interests,” Mike Kaiserian
supposes that the gender inequality in
tenured faculty positions is due to the fact
that more men than women are applying
for a given position. This reasoning should
not be an answer to the disparity, but
rather raise the question “why are more
men applying for this job than women?”
The Dec. 3 article, “PSU addresses dis
parities,” clearly details multiple reasons
why this may be, citing a need for pro
grams that would provide more flexibility
for working mothers, as well as a lack of
mentors for women graduate students and
higher expectations set for women in cer
tain fields. His belief that women are the
“primary caregivers for children” is also
contradictory to the article’s message,
which clearly explains how balance be
tween work and family life was not just a
women’s issue.
Flirthermore, his argument that "men do
not have to leave work to give birth...” does
not apply for women who decide not to
have children (though, I also believe you’d
be hard pressed to find a future father who
decides to stay at work while his partner is
giving birth). Tenured faculty hold a distin
guished and sought-after position in acade
mia. If the number of tenured men and
women is not sufficient in providing
insights about gender disparities, then
what can be used as a basis for determin
ing equality?
Liz Campo
graduate-mechanical engineering
Students can make a change
My time at Penn State has been an inter
esting one, full of good friends and times I
will never forget, experiences I will never
relinquish. Should I tell you how much fun
we had? What should I do? If I had one gift
to give back, one opportunity to express my
gratitude towards Penn State, and my fel
low students, it would be to show the
propensity towards change students have.
We are constantly harassed with ever
increasing tuition, exorbitant living costs
downtown, random fees and much more;
but for what benefit?
We benefit from the relationships with
students we meet here, the experiences we
have with other students, conversations
with students from cultures different from
our own and from students whose ideals
we don’t necessarily share. We benefit from
each other. If we united our voices, could
we make a difference? If the students boy
cotted all businesses downtown, what
would happen? If we stopped going to bars,
gave up caffeine and tobacco, if we stopped
getting subs, pizza and wings, w'hat impact
would we have?
Since education is treated like a business
in a competitive industry, but colleges
aren’t cutting their own costs to compete
for students, why do prices continue to
soar? If students decide to be proactive and
act up, we should fight for a voting student
representative on the State College
Borough Council, lower apartment costs,
lower tuition and pay cuts for individuals
who”ve grown fat gorging on the student's
dollar.
The ultimate class gift is to show the dif
ference we make here, the change we can
create. We can hold that power and make
change, if we want to.
SMALL WORLD
Back in her habitat
I write this from my own bed in
Randolph, N.J. My cat, Lucky, is sitting
here with me. This is home. A semester
in Washington, D.C., was a great expe
rience, but this? This is home.
I’m not a city person. I’m not a savvy
policy wonk who can fit into the
Washington politics scene or an urban
fashionista who can turn heads in New
York City. I hate relying on public trans
portation. I hate feeling like I have to
watch my back on a sidewalk after dark.
In State College, I can walk back alone
from the White Building at midnight,
and it’s no big deal. I think cities smell
bad. Washington in particular is known
for its terrible air quality. A week into
the semester, I developed a nasty cough
that lasted two months.
I think in my very first Small World
blog, I said something about missing
the smell of cow at Penn State. This is
still true. At least cows are natural...
Erica Brecher
Small World blogger
FOOTBLOG
Football freebies
With the glory that goes along with
playing in any bowl game also comes a
lot of neat stuff. Besides the actual
games and the money that goes to the
universities, the players get some great,
free gear.
This year each player in the Outback
Bowl will receive a $l5O Best Buy gift
card, a Fossil watch, a cap, a Jostens
ring as well as a $25 Outback
Steakhouse gift certificate. Trust me,
college kids love free stuff and I would
n't be surprised if maybe some of these
bowl rewards are used as delayed holi
day gifts for family members...
Read more of The Daily Collegian's blogs at
psucolleglan.com/blogs
Alexander Bertotto
senior-general science
Audrey Snyuer
Football reporter