Attend borough council meeting tonight at 7:30

Penn State students, your rights are in danger. As you've probably heard, the State College Borough Council is considering amendments to current housing ordinances that will severely limit student housing. Why? Because they don't want students ruining their neighborhoods.

That's discriminatory -- plain and simple. If the council can pass these ordinances, imagine the other possibilities. For example, what's to stop them from making last call at your favorite downtown watering hole at midnight instead of 2 a.m.? How about passing a ban against gatherings with more than 10 people?

The council is setting a trend where they can restrict students' every action. You can fight back tonight. The borough council will meet for one final hearing on the proposed ordinances at 7:30 tonight in the State College Municipal Building, 118 S. Fraser St. Your attendance is imperative.

Imagine the possibilities: If 5,000 students -- all there in opposition -- crowd the meeting room and the street outside, how can the council possibly pass these ordinances?

This is your opportunity to get active, to make a difference, to change things . . . to "Get Loud!"

Before the meeting, at 5:15 p.m., students will meet in front of Old Main to start a march around campus and through town. If you can't make it then, join the march as it goes through your dorm complex or by your apartment.

We look forward to seeing you tonight, as we join in the fight against discrimination.

ACLU Co-Coordinatorsr

'Outsider on the inside' tells the real USG story

As an outsider on the inside, I have been able to see the Undergraduate Student Government in a way that many students have not. I refer to myself as an outsider because I am a non-secret society executive who worked this year under a secret society president, vice president, chiefs of staff and other executive branch chairs.

What do I see? There is a visible separation in the office politics -- this I cannot deny. However, when it comes to projects and intra-office work, the status quo disappears.

This is how I've seen campus politics in my four years here: I was co-director of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance two years ago. My co-director told me about secret societies she was in at the end of the year. She graduated, and told me to keep my eyes open for who was in these societies, and that after identifying them I should "try to impress them so that I could be 'in' my senior year."

I was so disappointed that her parting words were, "to impress them" -- not to continue fighting for our cause. This was the largest factor in why I took off from campus politics the next year. I paid no attention to who was "in." It was during that year that I realized I had energy to spend that was being wasted because I was annoyed with campus politics. So, I got involved this year.

Next year will mirror this year in USG -- secret societies will be "running" USG. A lot of people are fed up with the results of USG elections and will want to run away. My advice to those people is -- DON'T. Get involved and fight for your cause. In the end, it all comes down to you -- a concerned student.

If you want to change something, do it. Don't sit back and complain that it isn't getting done because some people are too concerned with "impressing" each other and alternating pats on the back.

Karolyn Hicks
Outgoing USG Women's Affairs Chair

How can Playboy help women gain respect?

In Pam Luu's March 27 letter to the editor, she mentioned that she's using the bare naked pictures of herself in Playboy to, "help market myself and better open doors." In other words, naked pictures of herself floating around the country are going to help her find a job. Really? Is she aspiring to become a stripper? Or maybe she's hoping to become a naked secretary or a nude advertising agent. I highly doubt this, although you never know.

How can her naked body aid in acquiring a job? The answer to this question would bring us to the discussion of respect for women in America. If I am made to feel as though I need to pose nude to help me get a better job after college, I'm living in the wrong country.

How many men have said, "I'm going to pose in front of a camera in order to better market myself in the workforce, because selling pictures of my bare body will help me get a job after college?"

Let's hypothetically say that posing for Playboy helps these women acquire wonderful jobs. Will male bosses respect them for their intelligence and charisma? Or will they respect the fact that they look gorgeous naked, lying on a bed?

I feel that before posing nude, women need to think about their futures and the level of respect which they would like to attain in life for themselves.

There are many, more respectable opportunities for women to better their chances of acquiring a good job after school. Write an article for an educational magazine, volunteer your time or apply for a co-op or an internship. All of these are extremely beneficial routes to take -- and you can keep your clothes on!

Kimberlee Koch
junior-math education

Column doesn't lose sight of basic freedom

I found Tim La Rose's column (April 4) on gun ownership to be insightful and profound. Many people today lose sight of our most basic freedoms -- the right to chose our own government.

Kudos for an excellent article!

William Ames
senior-English

Civilians can still buy 'assault rifles' in Pa.

I was AGAIN pleased to see Tim La Rose writing about an interesting topic in the Collegian (column, April 4). Although I agree with his concern that problems could result if government personnel were the sole bearers of firearms, he is unfortunately misinformed about assault rifles.

Assault rifles, regardless whether you are talking about a semi-automatic "assault rifle" or a fully automatic assault rifle (the classical definition of the term), are NOT illegal for the vast majority of civilians to own and use.

As a former firearms dealer, I am thoroughly versed in firearms law including the newest additions due to the Federal Crime Law. None of these laws makes it illegal for a civilian to possess an "assault rifle" in the state.

Also, the manufacture of semi-automatic "assault rifles" for civilians continues now legally with only a few minor COSMETIC differences and obeys the newest Federal Crime Law (which allegedly "outlawed" assault weapons). The manufacture of fully automatic rifles for civilians is no longer possible, BUT civilians can legally purchase fully automatic weapons that are already in circulation with civilians.

So, if you have an extra $2000 laying around you can purchase a fully automatic UZI, AFTER your BATF background check, etc.

Christopher Lee Frame
faculty member