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Editorial
What now?
Open forum.
The idea behind an open forum is a free exchange
of opinions and beliefs. The key word here is
exchange. Exchange entails giving and receiving, or
in this case, speaking and listening.
There was a fair number of students who turned
out to voice their opinions at last Thursday's
"Racism at Behrend: An Open Forum on Racial
Prejudice" sponsored by the Human Relations
Council and the Association of Black Collegians.
A wide range of issues and opposing views were
aired from various_ parties. Unfortunately, there was
not a full exchange. Plenty of talking was done, but
listening seemed to be lacking. People go to such a
forum to express their views, and, popular or not,
they have the same right to to be heard as everyone
else.
There may have been some rather uninformed
views presented at the forum, but that's part of the
ball game, too. There was a lot of talk about how
important education is to alleviating the problem of
racism.
Yet there was just as much moaning and groaning
when an unpopular view was expressed. Listening is
an important part of learning -- of education. By
learning what other people think, the education
process can be focused to needed areas.
Which leads to an important question. What now?
Year after year, an open forum on racism is held and
people come out and express their opinions and at the
end of the night everyone realizes that more
education is needed and that's that until next year.
A continuing process of education needs to occur.
A year long series of diversity and education
programs sponsored by student organizations, along
with periodic open forums to reassess the scope of
racial problems on campus may be a step, in the right
direction.
Only through education and understanding will
racism become a thing of the past instead of a reason
to hold an annual open forum.
The Collegian
Published weekl,
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.
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Robb Frederick
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the students of Behrend CoIIe•e, Erie, PA
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Letter Policy: The Collegian
encourages letters on news
coverage, editorial content and
university affairs. Letters should
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opinion
Letter to the Editor
Thank you
The Behrend Math Club
would like to thank all those who
assisted us in making Dr. Mary
Ellen Rudin's visit a resounding
success.
It is not often that students of
a campus this size have the
opportunity to interact in an
informal setting with an
accomplished research
mathematician.
Dr. Rudin's visit provided a
unique chance for mathematics
majors to gain insight into
graduate level study and the
research process from a world
class mathematical scientist. For
other students, her enthusiastic
approach to math, as expressed in
both of her public talks, made
How about some mail?
If you would like to voice
your views on an issue, why not
write a Letter to the Editor?
The Collegian encourages
letters on news coverage, editorial
content or University affairs.
Letters should be typewritten,
double-spaced and signed by no
more than two persons.
Letters should be no longer
than 400 words and should
quite an impact.
In her talks she made it a
point to address many of the
typical misconceptions people
have about mathematics and
mathematicians.
She particularly emphasized
the fact that mathematics isn't a
field of boring material practiced
by stuffy old professors. Rather,
it is a science which is
continually making tremendous
break-throughs and which is filled
with many varied and colorful
characters.
Dr. Rudin presented material
which spoke to everyone,
regardless of their level of interest
in mathematics and its related
fields.
It was only through the
generosity of several anonymous
donors that the Math Club was
include the semester and major of
the writer. All letters should
provide the address and phone
number of the writer f:lr
verification of the letter.
The Collegian reserves the
right to edit leuers for length and
to reject letters if they are
libelous or do not conform to
standards of good taste. All
submitted letters become property
Thank You Behrend!
_IIIIIIIIIIL COMMUNITY
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BLOOD BANK
Located in The Erie Center Mall Complex
456.4206
Your donation of 121 pints of blood will
help save lives. Whenever you see an
accident an the news you can bet we
need blood, that's why we need you!
Thursday, October 24, 1991
able to sponsor Dr. Rudin's visit.
Through the help of these few,
all of the campus was able to he
involved in this very special
event. We thank them.
We also would like to thank
all the students and faculty who
came to the public talks and
participated in helping to show
Dr. Rudin the Behrend College
campus and Eric itself. The
campus was well represented. Dr.
Rudin left with a very favorable
impression of the community and
high regard for Bchrend's
dedication to promoting
excellence in mathematics.
Again, thank you all.
of The Collegian
Letters should be submitted to
The Collegian office, first floor
of the Reed Union Building or
The Collegian mailbox located in
the SGA suite also on the first
floor of the Reed Building no
later than noon on the Tuesday
prior to the desired publication
date.
Jordan Feidler
Seventh semester
Mathematics