6 I Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010
Z,
o
TII K D UI.V
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 Cirilli, Beth Ann
Downey, Amanda Elser, Ash- .
ley Gold, Stephen Hennessey. I
Allison Jackovitz, 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
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 mail/ln person
123 S. Burrowes St.
State College, PA 16801
Letters should be about
200 words. Student letters
should include class year,
majoT 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.
No alcohol in dorms a good step
The university has
decided to prohibit all
alcohol in residence halls
starting in the 2011-2012
academic year, even for
those who are 21.
Prohibiting alcohol in
on campus residence
halls is a great step for-
ward taken by the univer
sity to combat the prob
lems of underage and
excessive drinking.
Minimizing the interac
tion in the dorms between
those of age who have
access to alcohol and
those who are underage
and do not will help limit
/J£j
wwwcaglecartof^Tl
Holiday cheer is good for everyone
By Amanda Elser
There are very few things
that I love more than the
holidays. My favorite
movie is “Babes
in Toyland” (the
Drew
Barrymore ver
sion), my
favorite drink is
hot apple cider
with cinnamon,
my favorite
Pandora sta
tion is White
MY OPINION
Christmas and if Bing Crosby
was my grandfather I wouldn’t
be that strongly opposed.
Point is, everything about the
Christmas season is shinier,
brighter and happier, but even I
have to admit the excess of good
tidings.
It started when the day after
Thanksgiving I was in the gro
cery store with my mom and I
heard a customer say “Merry
Christmas” to the deli lady. I
actually did a double take.
Though everyone gets into the
holiday spirit come November,
the actual big day was about a
month away.
As much as I hate to admit it,
we are a product of commercial
ism and big businesses making
a profit over exploiting a holiday,
turning a grouping of holidays
into a two-month long shopping
season.
So for my last column of the
access to alcohol.
Also, attempting to cur
tail the excessive binge
drinking that can happen
in dorms will cut down on
the amount of drinks any
underage student could
start his or her night with.
The university has pre
sented a noble goal that
should be pursued vigor
ously. They should pres
ent real consequences
that will make underage
students think twice about
drinking heavily in the
dorms.
Giving an exception to
White Course apartments
■I- \
\
1 W»
semester I am going to remind
all of you of the true spirit of
Christmas (don’t worry, I am not
going to get all Catholic school
girl on you).
The Christmas season isn’t
about gifts, as a childhood spent
watching “The Grinch that Stole
Christmas” taught me. It’s not
about the decorations or 24 hour
Christmas radio stations
(though they do add a festive
flare). It’s about spreading cheer
and love.
There is a reason why movies
set during the holidays are usu
ally so successful everyone is
a tidbit more vulnerable come
December. It is suddenly social
ly acceptable to believe in hope
and wishes (I never said I wasn’t
going to get corny).
And though it may be a
Hallmark enhanced holiday, so
what? If you spend a little
money to bring joy to someone
else let the businesses make
money. I quite frankly enjoy the
YouThbe videos of kids freaking
out over a video game or a doll.
Those five minutes of opening
the gift you have wanted all year
is pure bliss and I wish I could
have bottled it up and saved it
for a rainy day.
I know people say that exces
sive gifts are sending the wrong
message about Christmas, but
even the simplest thing can
mean the world of difference.
My mother grew up in Italy
and she will tell me every year
is understandable,
because there are rarely
underage students housed
there, whereas in the resi
dence halls there are
mostly underage students.
It won’t stop excessive
drinking in its tracks, but
it is a step in the right
direction.
And for a university fac
ing a consistent drinking
problem, taking a stance
against alcohol as a whole
is a wise move.
We believe they are
being put in place for the
greater good of the stu
dent population.
BIPARTISAN
/ SHIP!
until I die about the time she
only got a pincushion for
Christmas. Yes, a red pincush
ion, for sewing. That was her
one gift from “Babbo Natale.”
She tells me this story so that
I am grateful for everything I
get on Christmas Day (including
the clementine at the bottom of
my stocking).
The funny thing is, I cannot
even tell you how many plastic
toys have gotten thrown away,
but her pincushion has been
used for every rip and tear in a
favorite dress or hem on a brand
new pair of pants.
That is the personification of
the Christmas spirit. It is tradi
tion and gratitude mixed with
family and friends.
So don’t be a grump this sea
son. If you’re one of those people
that can’t stand Christmas
music until December 25 then
don’t feel the need to pass on
your hatred.
Smile at someone passing you
on the street Hold the door
open for someone a few steps
behind. Drop in some of your
spare change to those lovely bell
ringers on the corner of College
Avenue and Allen Street
And if you don’t want to do it
for your Christmas, try doing it
for someone else’s.
Amanda Bser is a senior majoring in
journalism and is the The Daily Colle
gian’s Thursday columnist Her e-mail
is aleso4s@psu.edu.
The Daily Collegian
Alcohol will remain in dorms
No matter what the administration does,
there will always be alcohol in the dorms.
Students will always find some way to get
it, and the university can do barely any
thing about it. I understand that they are
dying to stray away from the idea of a
“party school,” but simply banning alcohol
in residence areas will not solve the prob
lem. They banned alcohol previously for
students under the age of 21, and yet there
have still been incidents reported in the
residence halls. This policy will be difficult
to enforce, and won’t totally solve the prob
lem at all.
Sean Flynn
junior-health policy and administration
Disparity inherent in genders
As I mentioned in my previous letter, the
article “PSU addresses disparities" made
several good points including the different
percentages (as opposed to number) of
men and women receiving tenures. I agree,
that should be addressed. In fact, I at no
point discounted a single point made in the
initial article, I simply wrote about a differ
ent point within the topic of equality.
That being said I at no point, as Liz
Campo accused in the letter ‘Disparity- not
mothers’ fault,” supposed any specific rea
son for the tenure disparity. I was trying to
make the point that the numbers them
selves don’t always tell the whole story.
I assume you’re not suggesting that 100
job openings should be filled with 50
women and 50 men regardless of if there is
4:1 or 1:4 ratio of men's to women's applica
tions. Still, the cause of the application dif
ference, as “PSU addresses disparities"
suggests (and I never refuted), should be
resolved at the source, not faked at the hir
ing table.
Ideally, applications would contain only
initials or ID numbers: no names or gen
ders, which will eliminate that factor entire
ly. Why is it that there are significantly
more women than men who go into college
interested in elementary education”
I can’t prove that it is due to interest dif
ferences, but it would make sense. In
almost every other species on the planet, it
is a mother’s instinct to take care of her
young. Is it so unfathomable that women
may be more programmed toward child
care than men? And I never suggested that
a man would miss his child's birth due to
work, but somehow I don't see myself tak
ing turns to stay home and breastfeed my
children.
Mike Kaiserian
senior-mechanical engineering
CAN YOU DIG IT?
Rose reflects on success
With the Big Ten having the most
NCAA Tournament success of any con
ference through the first two rounds, we
asked Penn State coach Russ Rose on
Tuesday afternoon his thoughts on how
the conference has fared.
“I think the fact that there is six
teams remaining is a reflection of the
quality of teams and players and coach
es that exist in the conference," Rose
said.
“There’s also four left from the Big 12
and there’s also four left from the Pac
10. Some people want to point out that
it’s teams from the BCS conferences.
And I think you can make an argument
for that but I don’t think that's what it's
all about because Hawaii has won
national championships and Long
Beach State has won national titles and
there was a time that Utah State was
one of the great teams in college volley
ball...’'
Jake Kaplan
Women's volleyball reporter
Band keeps tune for team
Penn State coach Russ Rose usually
points out the flaws of his team after
each match, win or lose.
But no matter what happens during
home matches, there’s usually one
group Rose is always happy with: the
band.
Gregory Drane, assistant director of
athletic bands, is responsible for build
ing up the Pride of the Lions volleyball
pep band to what it is today. I sat down
with Drane a few weeks ago to talk
about his job at Penn State. Here's what
he had to say:
Q: How do you determine what to
play and when to play it?
Drane: “Quite frankly, our main job is
supporting our team, so I try to choose
songs that may help to get the crowd
behind the team at different times. At
different times, we’re just being the
entertainment for the crowds.”
“A lot of the times that is dependent
upon what is going on at that event.
We’re pretty flexible as far as that is
concerned. There are particular things
that are traditional. For instance, being
at a football game, after the third quar
ter everybody is waiting to hear ‘Hey
Baby.’
“And quite frankly, at a volleyball
match after the intermission, when the
volleyball team comes back out to warm
up, they also expect to hear ‘Hey Baby’
as well. So, there are certain things that
are tradition, that we’ve plugged into
certain spots where there’s an expecta
tion for the crowd to hear particular
songs at particular times...”
Ryan Loy
Women's volleyball reporter
Read more of The Daily Collegian's blogs at
psucolleglan.com/blogs.