Page 4
Censorship stops
Ed. note: Todd J. Irwin's brain was on vacation this
week. We are running one of our favorite editorials from the
past. The following editorial originally ran in The Collegian
on Oct. 18, 1990.
There seems to be an interesting misconception on this
campus. Although it is completely unfounded and untrue, one
might understand how that could come about.
We have read a lot about censorship lately. It has been
rearing its ugly head everywhere. Music vendors have been
jailed for selling 2 Live Crew albums. The director of an art
gallery in Cincinnati went to trial for displaying the
photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe because some people
found them offensive.
Here in Erie there have been battles over the contents of
area high school reading lists. There was even an attempt to
keep the under-17 crowd from seeing the KISS concert
Tuesday night.
Censorship is running rampant across the nation, so it
should not be surprising that a student walked into The
Collegian office last week and asked how much we are
censored by the administration. The student did not ask if we
are censored, but how much we are censored.
If it is commonly believed on campus that The Collegian is
censored, then it is time that the air be cleared.
The Collegian is a student-produced newspaper. Student
reporters and photographers write the articles and take the
photographs. Student editors edit the articles, determine the
editorial stance, and make the final decision on what appears
in the paper each week.
The first time anyone in the administration or the faculty,
including our advisor, sees The Collegian is the same time the
rest of our readers do when it hits the stands Thursday
morning.
There have been attempts at censorship by some
administrators when they felt that a story was a touchy
subject. But The Collegian will not let anyone other than our
student editors edit the news.
As soon as a newspaper is edited by the people making the
news, it has lost all value and credibility; it becomes nothing
more than a tool for the news makers.
The Collegian has a responsibility to our constituency and
to ourselves to never let that happen here.
And we take that seriously.
The Collegian
Published week
Editor
Todd J. Irwin
Business Manager
Adrienne Shrewder
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.
Features Editor
Robb Frederick
News Editor
Mark Owens
Entertainment Editor
Christi Luden
Sports Editor
Greg Gebel
4 ilOralnittei
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Editorial
here
the students of Behrend Coll - fe Erie PA
Advertising Manager
Keiren Logue
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
standing 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 later than
noon on Tuesday prior to the
desired publication date.
Postal Information: The
Collegian (8144898-6488) is
published, wetikly stiakinat
sethe Relined Coiled; . Reed -J.
'Union 11foildinig,
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13rie. Pa 'lea, • -.1%f
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Advisor
Dr. Mks Simmons
opinion
Evolution of US. Education
Letters to the Editor
Hosed off
This is in response to the
editorial in the Oct. 10 edition of
The Collegian regarding the new
parking spaces in F Lot for
Brookside firefighters.
The parting spaces are located
in a resident parking lot. There
are currently more than enough
parking spaces for resident
students. Any night of the week
at least thirty empty spaces can
be found in the parking lot beside
the maintenance building.
Granted, this parking lot is
located more than a desirable
walking distance from some
resident's rooms, but is within a
couple minutes walk from most
student residences.
This couple minutes walk is
the problem in an emergency
situation. In three to four
minutes, I can walk from my
apartment to my car. In three to
four minutes a brain cell,
deprived of oxygen, dies. In sixty
seconds a structure fire triples in
size. Within sixty minutes of
injury a serious trauma patient
should be in an operating room.
Seconds are very critical in an
emergency situation. One of the
• purposes of the fire and
emergency medical services is to
minimize the damage created in
an emergency. The best way to
accomplish this is to bring well
trained and qualified personnel to
the scene of an emergency in the
shortest time possible. •
On Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 3:24
a.m., the fire alarm in Dobbins
Hall was activated.
Approximately fiftt firefighters
,from Brookside, ICeltl Hose,
BelloVley,)ad La*mnce fifty reiPowkiiill . th ose fiftY
people . weft four.
stalk& Evil dough 11walinit
. .
was caused by someone
activating the pull box at the
base of the main staircase in
Dobbins Hall, there was potential
for a real fire.
That rue could have quickly
spread to surrounding structures,
Lawrence and Porcupine Halls.
The best way to prevent this is to
bring well trained and qualified
personnel to the scene of an
emergency in the shortest time
possible.
If a student is dying from a
diabetic emergency, as has
happened this semester at
Behrend, they have a right to
prompt care from a well trained
person. The best way to
accomplish this is to bring well
trained and qualified personnel to
the scene of an emergency in the
shortest time possible.
Many Behrend students have
volunteered with a variety of
organizations in the surrounding
area, but few, if any, have the
time constraints of a fire
company. Some people never
require the services of an
ambulance or rue company, but
if you do, you have the right to
well trained and qualified
personnel to come to your aid
quickly. The purpose of the
parking spaces is to minimize the
response time of the firefighters
living on campus.
Brian Creager
Ninth semester
Electrical Engineering
... twice
Robert Martin
) 1 / 4 , .
• Chief
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Emerga*P4ediallmices..l. 44 .\ "flik: %. - ' . t-
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Thursday, October 17, 1991
mikg tirbilch
MO CalksTrfliTlio,
would like to take this
opportunity to share with you a
few facts:
• Time is a crucial factor in
the Fire and Emergency Medical
Services. A cardiac arrest victim
can die in four to six minutes,
and fire spreads six-fold in one
minute. Time delays can be
disastrous.
• Fire personnel undergo
numerous hours of fire and
emergency medical training with
no financial reward in order to
respond at all hours of the day or
night to help people in need.
This includes Behrend and all of
its students.
I also take offense at the
mention of an off-campus
organization "infiltrating"
Behrend. The Brookside Fue Co.,
which requested these spaces,
supplies Behrend and its students
with Fire and Emergency Medical
Services 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, which I feel makes
us an important part of your
college life. Behrend is
responsible for 10 percent of our
calls, even though the campus is
only a small part of our response
area. You, or any other student,
may require our services and time
is of the most importance.
I respect the volunteer services
that others are doing and
encourage them to continue their
efforts, but I wonder how many
of them volunteer in situations
where minutes can be a matter of
life or death? In the end, these
parking spaces benefit all
students at Behrend.