Letters to the Editor

Glimpse of Thon changes perception

This letter is in response to the affirmative action debate held last Thursday. I got into Penn State through affirmative action, and I am very qualified to be here. And, no, I probably would not have gotten into University Park without affirmative action help. I am not ashamed because I got a preference -- in fact I am proud of it and encourage other qualified people to take the same route I did into Penn State.

Racial and sexual prejudice is not dead in America or in Happy Valley. Our society is not perfect. Unfortunately, we still live in a society that needs the law to protect minority and women’s rights. Students such as me, who are qualified but got a bum deal in either schooling or in having the misfortune of taking the SAT (a test that doesn’t measure success in college), slip though cracks that affirmative action strives to fix.

Until we live in a society where brotherly love is abundant and have a society where freedom truly reigns supreme, we need affirmative action to ensure that something close to the founding principles of this country exist.

Kizzy Frey
junior-special education

I am writing in response to Martin Austermuhle’s column, "Multiculturalism threatens white domination of society," as it was a direct attack on a Young Americans for Freedom publication of which I was the editor. I feel it is my duty to set the record straight on a few errors in the column.

While I am flattered that Austermuhle used Young Americans for Freedom’s World Wide Web page and newsletter to look for ideas for his column, I think it would be appropriate if he did not misquote and misrepresent articles in the future.

First of all, the article, "The Cowardice of Multiculturalism," is a stinging indictment of people using their race to substitute for a perceived or real lack of proficiency. Removing the buzzwords and out-of-context statements Austermuhle pulled from it, the article really focused on how multiculturalism and so-called diversity programs assign us groups and remove any personal responsibility by making victims out of everyone.

Second, it is not those who want to end the forced diversity and multiculturalism who wish to divide society, but those who champion it. By constantly focusing on some perceived, long-lost ancestry, people are reminded they are different from others, hence dividing the society they wish to live in harmony.

Finally, I implore people to look beyond skin color, no matter if there is a threat from those who wish to force their ignorance on society or not.

You cannot solve the problem of racism with the implementation of programs based on race.

Rick Sollman
secretary, Penn State Young Americans for Freedom

This is in response to the article concerning a crackdown on theft in the Hub Eateries yesterday. The story focused on one particular event in which a student ate three pieces of fruit from her salad plate before she weighed it and paid for it. The manager confronted her over the "fruit theft," and she was held until the police came. When the officers arrived, she claimed she was handcuffed and brought to the university police station where she was given a citation.

If the details of this story are accurate, (they seem suspect at best) then this whole situation was handled very poorly. It is one thing to blatantly steal a sandwich or skip out on a bill, but eating a few pieces of fruit while you are waiting in line is a very common practice. To handcuff and cite someone for stealing a few cents worth of fruit is a ridiculous waste of time. Not to mention it causes a great deal of embarrassment for the person being handcuffed and a general feeling of negativity toward the university.

If this type of activity is a problem big enough to warrant being a story in the Collegian, I think the students at this university should feel pretty safe. After all, at the University of Pennsylvania, there are hundreds of auxiliary police officers roaming the streets and looking for dangerous criminals. Comparatively, Penn State’s auxiliary police merely want to make sure you pay the exact weighted price of your salad. Which school would you feel safer at?

Dan Perkins
senior-finance