I’d like to add my opinion to recent debate concerning dance marathon. I agree with Laura Hennessey that 48 hours of dancing is inhumane. I can appreciate the symbolic gesture put forth to inspire those who suffer from cancer, but could those 48 hours be spent better in some other way? Perhaps there could be eight hours of speeches ("I am here because..."), eight hours in silent thought, such as prayer for the victims, survivors and families, and 24 hours of dancing. Maybe the other eight hours could be spent writing letters (to victims, families, government officials, etc.). Or maybe Thon doesn’t have to be 48 hours; It could be 40 or 36, or maybe it could be done on consecutive weekends.

My point is that we should consider what is important about Thon, and then do what will best support those who are forced to live with and fight cancer.

Corey N. Bender
senior-biochemistry and molecular biology

I would like to comment on Laura Hennessey’s interesting portrayal of Thon -- an inhumane way to show support for a great cause. Perhaps I misread it, but it seems the focus of the article was on the negative aspects of Thon, rather than the positive. This event was founded to aid Four Diamonds Fund kids and their families. It was not created to test the strength of the students and dancers. It’s not about the students; it’s not about you and how much your feet hurt or whether you’re hallucinating. It’s for the kids.

While it is true that a person who stays awake for 48 hours subsisting on sandwiches, bagels, fluorescent beverages and the support of their moralers cannot even come close to experiencing what the families go through, it does not negate the purpose of trying to empathize in the first place. We cannot duplicate the experiences, but we can certainly share our time and help these kids feel like there are people who care.

The feeling of engaging in a selfless act for the benefit of another made the pain in my swelling feet disappear when I danced a few years ago. And going through my own comparatively insignificant bit of hell brought me one step closer to understanding the tremendous pressures that the Thon families take on. Empathy, they call it.

Often, the best challenges you can encounter are the ones just beyond your grasp.

Yes, 48 hours is a long time, and your feet do swell and a zombie-like sleep threatens to overwhelm you in waves. But if it was easy, what would be the point? On that note, best of luck to this year's dancers. Believe in foot rubs.

H.A. Char
senior-business logistics and international business

As many of you are pouring into University Health Services for care and going to complain about the wait, stop and realize that there are multiple factors affecting the situation.

First, unlike many other schools, Penn State has no medical school on the campus, and the many amenities that benefit the undergraduate student body. Second, UHS provides numerous services in addition to emergency healthcare, including a pharmacy with reduced-price medication, women’s clinic, nutritionist, blood test laboratory and others.

Third, to give the highest quality health care, medical professionals may need to spend additional time with some patients. Although this may seem inconvenient, you’ll appreciate it when it’s your turn. Finally, let’s consider our other options. At a local physician the wait could be days. At Centre County Community hospital, the wait is generally substantially longer than with UHS.

Students looking to minimize their wait should call in the morning for same-day appointments. Other suggestions are to visit the East Halls clinic or to call the advice nurse. While the wait at UHS is not bad, there is always room for improvement. UHS is always open to suggestions in their efforts to continually improve. Student advice and understanding will make the situations better for everyone.

Trevor S. Gibbs
USG health services director

The headline of a recent report on the Undergraduate Student Government Academic Assembly, "Group votes to test non-native English speaking TAs" is misleading. International students who wish to qualify for appointment as a teaching assistant are required to take a test of spoken American English. This is Pennsylvania and Penn State policy that has been in place since 1981. The test is administered at the beginning of each semester and Summer Session.

In referring to those required to take the test, international is a better term than "foreign" or "non-native English speaker" because an international group may include students who speak English as a native language but whose variety of English is not familiar to Penn State undergraduates.

There is a need to distinguish between oral communication skills and teaching skills. Both are important. Support for inexperienced teaching assistants (both U.S. and international) is provided by the department in which they teach.

However, teaching competence can be greatly enhanced through interaction with interested and cooperative students.

International teaching assistants represent a valuable campus resource. The knowledge, experiences and perspectives they bring are essential to the internationalization of the undergraduate experience. Those of us who are responsible for international teaching assistant assessment and training invite undergraduate student government representation and participation in this process. For international TAs enrolled in speech communication courses, there is a final assessment, known as the "post-evaluation," that requires a demonstration of oral communicative competence in both informal and formal instructional contexts.

Representatives of the Undergraduate Student Government as well as international TA departments are routinely encouraged to attend these post-evaluations and provide feedback on the students’ performance. With cooperative efforts of this kind the result is improved communication for all concerned.

Sandra J. Savignon
professor of speech communication
director, Program in English as a Second Language