Thursday, February 20, 1992
"If it
by Andrew Festa
For as long as I can
remember, I've stuck my
neck out hoping to open
peoples' eyes to die fact that
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
doesn’t work when you don’t
look at something hard
enough to see if it’s broke or
not.
During my stay here at
Behrend, I’ve heard countless
complaints from many
students about things that
needed fixing, but those
complaints are rarely voiced
outside mutually exclusive
social circles.
Prior to the implementation
of the smoking ban several
years ago, I held a rally.
Though it was a smokers’
rally, my focus was on the
continued eradication of
American rights.
Several hundred students
signed the petition I had
circulated (supporting the
ban, but calling for ap indoor
smoking area), but few
people had the nerve to stick
their necks out.
Students Today For
Tomorrows Earth, a group
supporting action now for the
protection of Earth tomorrow,
is falling apart for lack of
membership participation, but
Race has nothing to do with Tyson
by Mike Royko
Mike Tyson has been found
guilty by a jury, and that ought
to be it. But it hasn’t been. All
sorts of social significance is
being found in his trial and
conviction. And some of it I find
strange.
First, there is the view by
some blacks that Tyson is the
victim of some sort of white
conspiracy to bring down
successful black men. On the
black radio call-in shows, these
conspirators are known only as
"they,” which means white
society.
The trouble with this theory
is that it would mean that white
society somehow persuaded a
young, black beauty contestant to
go along with its plot. And other
black contestants were persuaded
to testify about what a slob
Tyson was.
And they also found a few
blacks to serve on the jury and
join in on the scheme.
I suppose it could have
happened. But why would white
racists go to all that bother? Is
there a blond, blue-eyed
heavyweight contender waiting to
become champion? The current
champion is also black. And so
are all of the other contenders.
What is to be gained by putting
Tyson in prison?
Looking at the trial, one could
ain't broke..." doesn't
Greek organizations are
flourishing. A new group
I’ve heard about but have
never seen (Habitat for
Humanity) isn’t a registered
organization because it barely
has 1/2 the twelve members
needed for SGA recognition,
yet Bruno's can draw 'em in
like a magnet. Am I the only
one who sees something
broke with this picture?
The purpose of a
columnist, as I see it, is to get
people to think about the
'broke.' A columnist's
greatest triumph is when he
or she touches someone’s
mind. I try to create a medium
from which solutions might
be brainstormed.
When I have gone farther
out on a limb than what I do
in this column, I've found
people will tend to agree (or
disagree), but most invariably
offer some excuse as to why
they can't get involved. I say,
"If you're afraid to rock the
boat, it's more than likely
because you’re afraid it might
sink. If this is the case, get
the hell off the boat!"
I will not, within the
medium of the newspaper, go
so far out on the limb as to
distort the truth (as the
University Park columnist did
when he totally disregarded
just as easily say that white,
middle-class America - and it
doesn't get any more white and
middle class than Indianapolis -
was showing that it would go to
considerable lengths to defend the
virtue of a young black woman
who was set upon by a cruel
man.
Of course, that's not
necessarily true, either. If the
victim had been a black motel
cleaning girl and the rapist a
black street-corner lout, it's
doubtful that the case would have
come to trial.
So in a way, Tyson was a
victim of his own success at
beating faces to a pulp for
multimillion-dollar fees. If he
beat people up only for their
wallets and wristwatches, he
might be off the hook.
Then there is the theory,
stated by many women's advocate
groups, that this will send a
message to society that date rape
will be taken seriously.
At least that's this week's
message. It wasn't long ago that
the not guilty verdict in the
Willie Smith trial was supposed
to be sending a gloomy message
that a date-rape victim will not be
taken seriously.
Qut when that trial began, the
message was that because Smith
was being prosecuted, date rape
will be taken seriously.
So we'll just have to wait
The Collegian
the cultural significance and
societal implications of
people). I won't malign the
living with the actions of the
dead.
A few weeks ago in an
English class, I took a
position which put me at odds
with the women of the class.
I wouldn't cave in to
intimidation (they
contemplated the thickness of
the window and how hard
they'd have to throw me to
send me through it).
During those tense
moments, I was the only one
defending my point. When
class was over, several guys,
close-lipped in class, came up
jtHnedn the hall and agreed
until the next prominent person
goes on trial to see what the next
message will be. If there is any
message.
I don't believe that there is. In
the Tyson case, we had a young
woman who is intelligent, well
educated and not lacking
sophistication. She had to be
aware of his highly publicized
divorce, in which he was
ought to be caged. And she surely
knew that he was not the kind of
guy who would bring flowers and
suggest a movie and a malt.
But she still wound up sitting
on his bed in the middle of the
night. I'm not Mike Tyson's
type, but I wouldn't want to be
sitting on his bed in the middle
of the night.
So if any message comes out
with me. Where were they
when they had the chance to
speak?
I try to live by some basic
principles: if it's worth
doing, it's worth doing right
the first time. If you're going
to do anything, do it big. If
you begin something, reach
for a conclusion. If you have
something to say, speak if
you speak, make sure you're
heard. And, don't
compromise your beliefs,
values or ideals.
May sixteenth, many of
you will be graduating.-You
people will be the newest in a
long line of American voices
and innovators.
Engineers, don't just create
new technologies and let the
Japanese apply them (as has
been done in the past); YOU,
Americans, APPLY THEM!
Lawyers, don't do
something because "that's die
way it's always been done."
DO IT RIGHT instead!
Doctors, don't put
technology before the patient.
People are not replaceable -
machines can wait.
Advertisers, radio and
television people, do your
part, however small it might
be, to get the industries to say
"Thanks, I needed that"
rather than "I’ve fallen and I
of this, it should be that you
ought to have a movie-and-malt
date with a guy before you visit
his bedroom. We teach little
children to run like hell if a
stranger offers them candy and
invites them into a car. If kids are
expected to show caution, why
not young women?
It's amazing, though, how
much trust people place in
strangers. We have a trial going
on in Milwaukee. Gay young
men went to a stranger's house.
They were murdered. The rest of
the grisly stuff you'll have to read
elsewhere.
So the message from
Milwaukee to gay men should be
that you do not accept an
invitation from a stranger to go
to his apartment to engage in
sex, pose for kinky pictures, or
even have a cup of tea, right? Add
the risks of AIDS and such visits
are unthinkable, correct?
Wrong. I recently looked at
one of those computer bulletin
boards in which people send in
messages on all sorts of subjects.
You can take part in forums on
just about anything.
But the single biggest forum,
with thousands of messages, is
the gay forum. There you will
find strangers seeking out other
strangers from all over the
country for ... well, more than a
cup of tea. If the Milwaukee fiend
had been a computer hacker, he
Page 5
work
can't get up."
Teachers, don't just pump
bullshit into the minds of
your students and ask them to
regurgitate from memory,
teach them how to learn, then
teach them how to apply what
they’ve learned.
Parents, and many of you
eventually will be, everything
your children learn,
everything your children do,
everything they are and can
be begins with you. Don't
shove education on them as
many parents tend to do;
instead, show them the value
and the adventure of a good
education. I'm sure you can
figure out how.
As for those not yet ready
to graduate, you're next in the
same line the graduates are in.
And the most obscure
group of all, those
considering a career with
Penn State: IT'S BROKE!
IT'S BROKE! IT’S
BROKE!
Andrew Festa is a tenth
semester English major. His
column appears every other
week in The Collegian.
wouldn't have had to bother
cruising the bars. A few strokes
of the keyboard would have
brought him his next victim.
Another goofy reaction is that
of some whites who believe that
Tyson’s behavior shows that
blacks, even those who become
millionaires, are beasts at heart.
Well, Tyson might be a thug,
as most successful prizefighters
are, but he hasn't cooked and
eaten anyone, as that very white
young man in Milwaukee did. Or
buried them under his house, as
the very white John Wayne Gacy
did. Or slaughtered women en
masse, as Richard Speck did.
Is there something in the
white man's genes that makes
him a potential mass murderer? If
you believe that Tyson represents
a racial tendency, then it stands to
reason that the Milwaukee
gourmet does the same.
So maybe we ought to look at
it the way the jury did. Tyson is
black and rich and famous. But
he's still a mean, vicious guy.
Michael Milken is white and
brilliant, but he is still a
swindler. Gacy was an amateur
clown but also a fiend.
There should be room for all
sorts in the prisons.
Mike Royko is a Chicago
based, nationally syndicated
columnist. His column appears
weekly in The Collegian.