Page 4
Opinion
April Fools Day
Confuses Readers
We hope the news of not spotted locally; Behrend
Elvis being spotted in the has no plans of becoming an
Erie area didn't send too all-male institution; there is
many people running to no such thing as NlCO
comb the beaches. POINTS or Tobacco Road
Hopefully our April Warriors for that matter.
Fool's Day stories were And as far as that goes,
recognized and taken in the Behrend English Professor
spirit in which they were Greg Morris may not be
intended. For clarification's managing the Boston Red
sake or in case anybody is Sox after all.
really confused, Elvis was
Letter to the Editor
Did Collegian
Ignore Martial
Arts Club?
Dear editor,
On March 18, a karate
tournament was held here at
Behrend in which your paper
printed a very small article on in
the March 30 edition.
This Karate tournament was
the first of its kind on this
campus or any other Penn State
campus. Whether it was known
or not, the Behrend Martial Arts
Club sponsored, organized and
participated with great success in
the event.
We might add that the
tournament was aired on the 6
o'clock edition of the JET 24
Thanks for your letter. We offer our sincere congratulations on
your accomplishment.
But, we hope we can clear one thing up. Lately, it seems that we
have heard a lot about our failure to cover group's speakers and events.
Certainly, there are times when we make editorial decisions that
preclude such coverage. The presence of over 50 active clubs on
campus makes for an abundance of events to cover and we have to
make these decisions. Sometimes we make unpopular ones.
However, more often than not, the problem lies in communication.
Telling us what happened after it's already over, allows for only
limited coverage. Not telling us at all makes things very difficult.
Like we've said many times before, we do want to cover as many
campus events as possible, we just have to know about them. - ed.
The Behrend Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by the
editor, with the editor holding final responsibility. Opinions expressed
in the Collegian are not necessarily those of the Behrend Collegian or
the Pennsylvania State University.
Letter Policy: The Behrend Collegian encourages letters on news
coverage, editorial content and university affairs. Letters should be
typewritten, double-spaced and signed by no more than two persons.
Letters should be no longer than 400 words. Letters should include the
semester and major of the writer. All letters should provide the address
and phone number of the writer for verification of the letter. The
Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for length and to reject
letters if they are libelous or do not conform to standards of good taste.
Postal Information: The Behrend Collegian (898-6488) is
published weekly by the students of the Behrend College; The Reed
Union Building, Station Road, Erie, Pa 16563.
News, in which our instructor
was interviewed and your staff
never mentioned or inquired about
our participation in the Karate
tournament.
The tournament was so unique
that the martial arts clubs at main
campus traveled to Behrend to
participate. Although it was
newsworthy enough for a local
news team to air it on their news,
we at the Behrend Martial Arts
Club can only guess that it
wasn't newsworthy enough to
make our own newspaper.
Thank you, Behrend
Martial Arts Club
Editorial Policy
School
by Rob Prindle
I don't know about you, but when I have a lot
of school work to do between Friday and
Monday, I always have a good weekend. I enjoy
just about everything when I'm avoiding
homework or a paper. I even enjoy little things
that I would think of as boring if I were enjoying
a pressureless vacation.
It was in this frame of mind that I spent most
of this past Sunday at my sister's house talking
to my nephew.' His name is Brian and he is a
sophomore at my alma mater, Tech Memorial.
Normally the only things that we have in
common are driveway basketball and a certain
hate towards Mr. Trott, a rather constipated
teacher who stalks the halls of Tech looking for a
life.
This Sunday, maybe because I had a ton of
work that I should have been doing, I found that
we had almost too much to talk about. Brian is
doing pretty lousy in school. I always did well in
school, but I also remember that I always felt
like a whore. It always seemed that I was playing
a stupid game. They wanted me to do problem
after inane problem because they had to keep me
in class for 55 minutes. Brian seemed to feel that
way also.
Before I go any further I must admit that my
nephew is lazy, that is a given. He doesn't like to
use any bodily energy. None. I once saw him
sleep all morning, then get up looking for food.
By the time.someone got around, to making him
-something, he was too ,tired -to eat. Brian is not
an energetic person.
He is also not prone to show intelligence or
talent, unless you count Nintendo or possibly
small engine repair, which is his shop at Tech,
but he isn't dumb either. When I talk to him I
can see that he has something that could set him
apart from the crowd.
He made some comments on the shape of
teaching at Tech, and high school in general, that
were really quite insightful.
Teaching in public high schools is perhaps
dead, or if not dead it is certainly choking up
blood. Like I said, I never did feel really
comfortable with high school. When I did well I
could never figure out what it was that I had
done. I hated to go to sleep every night because I
hated to wake up to school.
It was hard for me to tell Brian that he should
stop flunking classes. It was almost too easy for
me to sympathize. He hates high school. I hated
high school. Still, I felt the uncley urge to set
him straight, but I'm afraid that I wasn't overly
convincing.
I know that my nephew and I are not the only
people to have reason to resent grades nine
through 12. Even people who come from small
hick schools can certainly relate to lazy tea „hing.
The teachers are dead and they blame their
lethargy on the apathy of the students. It isn't
tough to realize that teachers and their charges are
mutually dependant. It also isn't hard to figure
out that that the teachers are the ones with all the
training, the teaching theory and psychology. All
students know is now. And right now working as
a hydro-cleansing specialist at a restaurant
making $BO a week is better that sleeping in
school. In Brian's case he said that he fell behind,
and once he is a little out of it, there doesn't even
seem to be a reason to go.
Brian makes it to work more often than
school because he gets paid for washing dishes.
He might make it to school a little more often if
the teachers were more than re-runs of the last 20
years that they have taught.
I know that teachers are under paid and over
worked. I'm sorry. I also know that life isn't all
about pay check zeros. I understand that not-every
Love
The Collegian Thursday, April 6
Rob
Sucks
child can be reached, but trying for a few more
couldn't hurt.
I also know that it is dangerous to generalize.
Some teachers do a great job. In fact, one of the,
classes that Brian is failing is taught by a teacher
I respect.
Eva Tucker is aprofessor here-at Behrend and
he is also. the Erie School Board President.
Perhaps he can tell me why it is that so many
people find high school so painfully boring (I
don't mean to imply that school should be a
Monty Python skit, but we all know that good
teachers try new things).
Maybe he can also tell me why the only
function of a school counselors is help with
discipline problems. Or maybe he can tell me
why I got detention because my car wouldn't
start. Never absent, never late. Detention for a
dead battery. Let me tell you that taught me a
lesson. I am definitely a better man for having
sat for an hour in a classroom with a teacher
yelling "Shut up or I'll keep you till [sic] another
hour." Thanks for the help.
I suppose that I sound bitter. It is too bad that
so many people tend to feel bitter. It is hard
enough to show a student reason to get a
diploma. It is hard enough to argue against the
philosophical sentiment that maybe an
uneducated animal is no worse off than an
educated one. Hard enough also to explain why
someone who wants to work in a shop or factory
will need Macßeth or George Washington. It is
hard enough to do all of this in a perfect school
and even harder when you make people feel bitter
by imposing idiotic rules that seem to cater to
ease of enforcement rather than improvement.
Brian needs help from his family and from
himself. Everything cannot be blamed on the
school., It only delivers what the community
wants. Still, everyone knows how hard it is to
wake up in the morning when you hate what you
have to do.
Rob Prindle