Blood donor debate to be held tonight

There is a 96 percent chance you are going to need blood at some point in your life, and you know this. HUB blood drives are tomorrow and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

What if you go to the HUB this week to donate the gift of life and are turned away? How could they possibly turn you away when there are so many people in need of blood?

One specific question asked of potential blood donors has turned away many willing and healthy donors: "If you are a male, have you had sex, even once, with another male since 1977?"

Is the Red Cross discriminating against gay males? This question was raised last semester and has been gnawing at our consciences. What are the facts? Is the screening process out-of-date? What can we do to change the rules?

The Student Red Cross Club in partnership with the Penn State Office of Health Promotion is hosting a panel discussion tonight to tackle this very issue and others at 7 p.m. in 102 Thomas Building.

The panel will be moderated by Elaine Jurs from the Penn State Office of Health Promotion and will include experts from the Johnstown Regional Blood Center of the American Red Cross, the Allegheny Health Department, the AIDS project and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Student Alliance. The symposium is open to the entire community.

Robin Brokaw
president of Student Red Cross Club

Breast-feeding about need, not aesthetics

So the sight of a woman feeding her child makes Jim Kinney squeamish (column, Jan. 24). Too bad for him!

The issue here is not one of aesthetic value, however, but one of necessity. I do not know of any woman who purposely breast feeds her child in public on a regular basis to have people stare at her. When a baby is hungry, a baby needs to be fed. If a baby is not fed, the baby will cry, often very loudly. I am sure that Mr. Kinney would be as quick to comment on the lack of parenting that led to such a display.

The fact is, it's a part of life, necessary for a baby to live. The problem is not with women, but with people like Kinney, who can't handle the sight of a breast! Grow up, get a life, and stop obsessing on breasts! To liken breast-feeding to decaying flesh just shows Kinney's lack of respect for women and babies.

I suppose Kinney's solution would be to keep all women in the home with the baby until they no longer need to be breast-fed! Yeah, while we're at it, why don't we keep all women barefoot and pregnant!

I would hope that we have made more progress than that, but articles like Kinney's really make me wonder.

John D. Van Eck
network administrator The Eberly College of Science

Breast-feeding shows love, caring for child

Jim Kinney's column, "The Dirty Details of Human Life Should Not Be Displayed," really depressed me in terms of what our culture has done to the young men in our society. He reminded me yet again how strongly young men are brainwashed to see women's bodies only as sex objects.

His statement upon seeing a woman breast-feeding her baby in a store (". . . I was treated to a display for which you normally have to pay at least a $20 cover") really sums up how strongly society has warped his mind.

This loving, nurturing bond between a mother and child that occurs during breast-feeding is something we males can never experience as adults.

The act of breast-feeding may not be the only way for a newborn to feel loved and nurtured, but it is certainly a wonderful beginning. I applaud all breast-feeding mothers who love their children enough to risk the scorn of the Jim Kinneys in the world, and I challenge all males to risk the scorn of their fellow males by actively rebuking the attitudes of the Jim Kinneys in the world.

I also hope Jim Kinney will someday be able to look back on his experience and see the love of a mother for her child, rather than the self-focused reaction taught by our culture. Our world can certainly use all the love we can give to our children and to each other.

Karl Spear
professor of ceramic science

General education needs students' help

As many of you probably already know, the University has been working to revamp the general education program to improve it in both quality and delivery.

The Special Committee on General Education has been attempting to form a program that would affect incoming freshmen and would correct some of the problems many faculty believe to be wrong with the present system.

Although the committee has not been able to reach a decisive plan, there are some important curricular changes up for consideration.

One of these changes includes the elimination or reduction of the mandatory physical education requirement. (Only one other Big Ten school, the University of Iowa, requires a mandatory physical education class.) Physical education would become an elective that students would still be able to take if they desired.

Another change up for consideration is the addition of a mandatory freshman seminar. Although the committee disagrees as to the content of this class, some of the suggestions include using the seminar to teach academic skills required at the University or to teach about social issues facing college students.

Another issue being addressed is the overall improvement of teaching and delivery in the general education classes.

We pose this question to you: What do you feel works in the general education system and what components do you feel are less successful? Also, as student representatives, we would like to know your thoughts on the issues of physical education credits and the freshman seminar.

Please drop off any suggestions at the Undergraduate Student Government office located in 203 HUB, or E-mail them to: usg@psu.edu.

The Administrative Contact Committee of the Ungergraduate Student Government