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Student apathy
If apathy were a fatal disease, about ninety percent of the
students on this this campus would drop dead.
There are some students on this campus who do get
involved and voice their concerns, and they can stop reading
here.
But most students on this campus do zero. They are
content to sleep, feed their heads and attend class. The
administration can raise their tuition and charge them for
nonexistent parking spaces; the Wintergreen Cafe can raise its
prices and make them stand in incredibly long lines; even The
Collegian can run articles, columns and editorials that outrage
students and still they will do nothing but grumble among
themselves.
There is an option. If you are upset with something on
campus or in The Collegian, write a Letter to the Editor. Just
comply with the Letter Policy in the staff box on this page.
If you really want to make a difference, you might even try
getting involved in student government or another student
organization.
Anyone can sit in the Gorge and complain, but nothing will
change without action.
Here we go again
University administrators are planning to raise tuition 6
percent for each of the next four years. This is unfair to
students, who already pay a hefty amount each year.
University tuition has risen every year since 1967. By the
time in-state residents of the Class of '94 are seniors, they will
be paying $4,738 per year. That cost doesn't include room
and board or the newly implemented computer fee.
Students should not sit idly by. Each 6 percent tuition
increase means about $250 slipping through their fingers each
year. If students are concerned about the rising cost of tuition,
they should tell President Thomas. Students can write letters
and lobby to express their concern.
Although they're becoming an annual event, tuition
increases don't deserve a permanent spot on any calendar.
The preceding is an excerpt taken from the September 24 editorial
by The Daily Collegian, University Park.
The Collegian
Published weekly by the students of Behrend College, Erie, PA
Editor
Todd J. Irwin
Business Manager
Christie Redmond
The Collegian's editorial opinion
is determined by the editorial
staff, with the editor holding
final responsibility. Opinions
expressed in The Collegian are
not necessarily those of The
Collegian or the Pennsylvania
State University.
Managing Editor
Mark Owens
News Editor
Lea Gotch
Features Editor
Jen Flanagan
Entertainment Editor
Robb Frederick
Sports Editor
John Musser
Layout Editor
Chris Kocott
Photo Coordinator
Jim Pierdomenico
Photo Coordinator
Michael B. Schell
Editorials
Offico Manager
David Mahoney
Distribution Manager
Leigh Stanesic
Advisor
Dr. Mike Simmons
Letter Policy: The 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. Letters should be
submitted to The Collegian
office no latter than noon on
Tuesday prior to the desired
publication date.
Postal Information: The
Collegian (814 898-6488) is
published weekly by the students
of the Behrend College; Reed
Union Building, Station Road,
Eric. Pa 16563.
The Collegian
inion / Editorial
Tucker misguided
Eva Tucker is a valued
colleague and long time friend of
many of us in the English
Department at Behrend College,
but on the issue of Huckleberry
Finn we believe that Mr. Tucker
is misguided and perhaps
uninformed.
Huck Finn is an acknowledged
American classic; many would
call it the great American novel.
Like all great literature, it both
reflects and transcends its own
time, and like all great literature
it fearlessly raises and seriously
confronts the moral issues of its
day. The moral issues of Mark
Twain's day, alas, were little
different from the issues of our
day-racism, individual freedom,
loyalty, the individual and
society, individual conscience and
social responsibility.
Being a Realist, Twain wrote
in Huck's dialect, and Huck's
dialect included the word
"nigger,'' which Mr. Tucker
rightly finds offensive, as do we.
It's a word that all of us wish
would disappear, along with all
the other hate words and slur
phrases that people have invented
to demean those of other races,
creeds, genders, or sexual
practice.
But banning a book from the
classroom, even in the backdoor
way that Mr. Tucker proposes,
will not make the hate words
disappear from students'
vocabularies any more than it
will eradicate the attitudes that
give rise to such words. All that
censorship can accomplish-and
make no mistake, it is censorship
that Mr. Tucker proposes-is to
restrict teachers to bland books
that offend no one, in other words
to dull, suite, flat, and
unprofitable reading.
There is no book written that
cannot or does not offend
someone. The books Mr. Tucker
he E
uses in his geology classes, with
their references to evolution,
geologic time, and the "big bang"
theory of creation, would no
doubt offend many Christian
fundamentalists to whom such
phrases and ideas are anathema.
But you cannot teach geology
without reference to evolution,
geologic time, and the "big bang"
theory, any more than you can
teach American history without
reference to slavery or the
American novel without
including Huckleberry Finn.
We need great literature to
stimulate our imaginations, to
challenge our moral
complaisance, and to force us to
confront our history. Huckleberry
Finn does these things and more,
for it contains the first truly
human portrait of a black man
that we know of in American
literature. As Huck and Jim travel
down river, we see friendship
deepen between them, resulting
in a resounding portrait of
understanding and affection
between a white boy and a black
man.
Does Mr. Tucker really want
to deprive students of the chance
to know Huck and Jim and to
learn from their examples? Does
he really want to turn literature
classes into bland exercises in
safe ideas? We don't think so.
What Mr. Tucker wants is what
we all want: a just and color
blind society in which all people,
like Twain's Jim, are judged for
what they are and not for the
color of their skin or the shape of
their beliefs.
Huckleberry Finn is Mr.
Tucker's ally in this struggle, not
his enemy.
Nine Members of the English
Faculty
Behrend College
Ed. Note: The Collegian’s
letter policy states that letters
Thursday, September 27, 1990
should be signed by no
more than two persons. In
order to abide by our policy,
the signature box above has
been changed accordingly.
The names of the nine
members of the English
Faculty who signed this
letter are available in The
Collegian office.
Soldier support
I think that it is safe to
assume that everyone knows
what it is like to go to a
mailbox, expecting or hoping to
get something, but nothing is
there. Just an empty box. It
stinks, right? It's no big deal
though, really, because there will
probably be something there
tomorrow, or else you can save
the hassle of writing and just
make a phone call.
Imagine being a couple of
thousand miles away in a desert,
where mail is about as scarce as a
good rainfall, and
telephones...well, good luck.
Now that stinks!
Now, it I may appeal to your
good nature, this is what I would
like you to do. If you have a
spare five minutes, how about
dropping a line to someone over
in the Middle East? I. don't think
that anything would be more
appreciated than a letter from
someone that cares. So how
about it?
When you write to him, wish
him a happy birthday, it won't
get there in time, but it's the
thought that counts. His birthday
is October 1. What a way to
spend your 23rd birthday, isn't it?
If you give a damn:
Cpl. Maik Rocco
S.S.# 196-62-0882
I. Co. 3/9
FP.D. New York
09503-5512
GregGeibel
Fifth semester
Communications