A year or so ago, I wrote a letter to the editor that was largely ignored. In it, I stated that the students of Penn State could overwhelm the State College Borough Council and control the borough and the university if only 2,000 of them voted locally.

Now, we will have Big Brother watching our every move downtown, and this is despite what the Collegian called "overwhelming student opposition." I know most students don't consider this to be their home, but the student body at large is the largest permanent part of this community, and without that voice, well, it's how things like security cameras get installed.

In George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith laments that, "If there is any hope, it lies with the prols." He knew this was hopeless, though, because the proletariat didn't care enough to overthrow Big Brother, and Big Brother knew this, and that's why he let them be.

Orwell's words will echo in Beaver Canyon for a long time, for if there's any hope, it lies with the students; but so long as they consider their "home" to be where their parents live, local politics will continue to ignore them. It really is a shame.