Environmental event of interest to all

The conference is free and everyone is welcome. Beginning at 9:30 a.m. on both tomorrow and Sunday and with events running well into the afternoon, there is sure to be something for everyone. There will be informational exhibits in the HUB Fishbowl and a series of workshops given by local experts in the HUB and the Osmond Building. Topics for the workshops include nuclear and fossil fuel issues, vegetarianism, ecological benefits of hemp, sustainable agriculture, acid rain, endangered species, forest and wetland protection and many more.

For more information, call Eco-Action's office at 863-1972 or simply stop by the HUB. Thanks for your time, and we hope to see you this weekend.

Penn State Eco-Action

Heicklen challenging government's role

The majority of the letters written appeared to be centered around the idea of, "Two wrongs do not make a right." Let it be known that the whole idea behind civil disobedience is to bring a case to court that has the potential to become nullified by a jury (i.e. marijuana). Pennsylvania district attorneys and juries are no longer apt to try cases that have fallen into this category (i.e., fornication: sex between to consenting, unmarried adults).

The underlying concept behind the Libertarian Party (United States' third largest political party) is that we want the government out of our personal lives.

Drug laws, marriage laws and sex laws reflect an absurd belief that people do not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves. I think it's time to realize that voting Republican or Democrat is just the same as throwing yourself in jail. And for the benefit of student enrollment, I think it's a pretty good idea people are no longer being arrested for fornication.

Ryan Matlock
vice president Campus Libertarian Movement

Athletes already get enough financial aid

This statement is an insult to the entire student body. Many students do not receive any type of financial aid, and those students who do may only receive low-interest loans from the government. The students who are fortunate enough to be awarded grants are still often required to pay for their housing, books and other incidentals. Sometimes, the grant does not even cover the base costs of tuition.

Student-athletes have no right to complain that they are strapped for spending money, while many other students struggle just to make tuition payments. If the athletes must beg for money from their friends for food, then perhaps they ought to consider changing their eating habits. For instance, athletes could eat at the dining commons like most of the student body.

Or, they may choose to work during the summer to earn spending money. If the athlete needs to train, he or she may get a part-time job.

One of the points that Pete Lisicky made in his statements was that he feels like he is getting an allowance when he has to ask his parents for money. Instead, it is better to ask the University for more money and go begging to the educational institutions for an allowance.

This is a case of Oliver saying "Please sir, may I have some more." The University already provides many of the athletes more money than the average student will ever receive from the college.

If spending money is such a large issue for the athletes, then maybe they ought to re-evaluate their active playing status. Life is full of trade-offs. If the athletes spent less time whining about not getting enough money, they might have time to earn some of their money and not rely on other people for the rest of their time at Penn State.

Melissa R. Kowalski
freshman-English