Wednesday, Jan. 28, 1998
Students have ability to make a difference
Although Penn State is probably one of the best universities in the country, there are definitely times when college life feels overwhelming, distant or even intimidating. Many of us attribute these negative emotions to the size of our school, but I don't believe that numbers alone condemn our student body to learn in passive isolation. Rather, I propose that students are accepting an implicit lesson from the University establishment: Control over learning is not a student responsibility.
To emphasize this point, let's ask whether some important spheres
of the University are governed by student control. How about infrastructure?
Does the University routinely attempt to consult students about
the construction and architecture of new buildings? Consider curriculum.
Shouldn't students have a voice in selecting courses that are
required for a major? Even more frightening is the number of corporate
interests influencing the Penn State community.
This power structure is discreetly perpetuated by the University
Board of Trustees, whose decisions are usually designed to prevent
the student body from questioning the "establishment."
Unfortunately, the establishment often views Penn State as a business
venture rather than a university, and students who are aware of
this inconsistency represent a threat to business as usual. By
cutting us off from critical decisions in our University society,
the board hopes to maintain the status quo by implicitly teaching
us not to challenge the isolation we feel as students.
Of course, we students also contribute to our predicament by passively
accepting every decree of the Penn State high command. Penn State
students are infamous for apathetically ignoring valuable opportunities
to influence University policy. (How many of us write more than
one sentence per question on a course evaluation?)
On the other hand, the willpower of 40,000 young, intelligent
minds should be more than adequate to convince a small board of
trustees to reconsider the dangerous path our University is wandering.
Rather than mourn our pitiful destiny, we must address the issues
dear to us and stop assuming that we are powerless. The fate of
Penn State University should rest in the hands of the students,
so let's stop acting like we can't make a difference and start
acting like we have a stake in the future.
Steve Allison
junior-biology
Aerosmith deserved more coverage
I am writing in response to The Daily Collegian's lack of coverage of Monday night's Aerosmith concert. Tuesday morning, I eagerly grabbed a Collegian to look for the concert review, only to find a 2-by-3-inch photo of Steven Tyler.
The caption underneath said that the review would be in Friday's
paper. Remembering all the coverage the Phish concert received,
I was expecting a full-page spread and review of the concert.
Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed Friday morning to
find just a small article that discussed the opening act almost
as much as Aerosmith. The article, which was on the last page
of the paper, was accompanied by just a single photo of Steven
Tyler.
So for the past few days, I have been trying to fathom why Phish
received so much coverage compared to Aerosmith. By no means am
I saying that Phish performed badly or was not worth of all the
coverage they received, but why didn't Aerosmith get the same
coverage?
After all, Aerosmith has made it through multiple breakups and
years of drug and alcohol abuse, and even though they're getting
older, they're as strong as ever. For the past 27 years, they
have been a major influence on the world of rock 'n' roll as well
as setting an example by now being drug and alcohol free. Surely
they deserve more publicity than they received.
Being a die-hard Aerosmith fan, I must say that I was offended
by Timothy Hyland's review. It appears that he thought it was
a decent concert, so why did he find it necessary to mock the
stage set-up and special effects? The entire show was filled with
smoke-filled explosions and fireworks.
When Aerosmith played "Dream On," the entire back of
the stage lit up with a waterfall of fireworks. Now if that is
a "less-than-thrilling pyrotechnic effect," I want to
know just what it takes to impress Hyland. He even goes as far
as ridiculing Steven Tyler's outfit. Personally, I loved Steven's
outfit, thinking that it fit perfectly with their "Pink"
theme.
To think that Aerosmith would ever put on a performance of "played-out
mid-'80s rock theatrics," all I have to say is "Dream
On."
Lisa Davidock
sophomore-biotechnology
Book gives insight into immigration
An article appearing in The Daily Collegian by Michelle Mittelstadt gave data that the national wages for the working poor have been depressed by 5 percent to 15 percent in 15 years; depending on two different organizations deriving the information.
Also in The New York Times on Dec. 10, 1997, two Harvard economic
professors, quote the National Academy of Sciences of the United
States, which concluded that 44 percent of the decline in the
real wages for 13 million poor workers from 1980 to 1995 resulted
from immigration.
The academy also concluded that in my own state, the California
Republic, each native household now pays an additional $1,200
a year because of immigration. If one really wants to understand
the role of immigration in California agriculture, all one has
to do is read John Steinbeck's book The Grapes of Wrath.
Roger D. Reimer
Students for a Democratic Society: SDS: weatherman faction
