PERSPECTIVE ON A STUDENT CONTROVERSY
There has been a great deal of media attention given to the "Sex Faire" that the student organization called Womyn's Concerns recently held on the University Park campus. A number of radio talk shows and other news outlets have reported on the student event.
For that reason, we want to bring Penn State Newswire subscribers some factual information about it.
This event took place from 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, Feb. 3, in the Pollock Commons. The displays at the event included information on HIV-AIDS, women's and men's reproductive health, acquaintance rape, respect for one's partner, and differing views of sexuality. Displays included educational materials, books, and games that student organizers designed with intentionally provocative adult themes focusing on anatomy, physiology, relationships, and sexuality.
One Pennsylvania legislator has been very vocal about his opposition to the event, suggesting the creation of a state oversight board that some fear would in essence require review of Penn State student and faculty speech with the implication that free speech activities deemed inappropriate by certain legislators will be prevented in the future.
Student organizers posted a sign on the door leading into the event saying "This room contains sexually explicit materials -- enter at your own risk," so that students and others could avoid the materials if they so chose. The same elected official, however, has shared his description of the material he saw there broadly in numerous public forums.
Student affairs staff and police present at the event, along with University attorneys, confirmed that nothing done by the students was illegal. But in a statement made by Penn State President Graham Spanier to members of the state legislature, he said there were components of this student-run event that were embarrassing and beyond the bounds of good taste. Nevertheless, the University stood behind the right of students to exercise freedom of expression and the right of students to make decisions about how their own funds are spent.
Residence hall buildings such as Pollock are paid for by students through their room and board fees, not through taxpayer funds as indicated in some news reports, and the upkeep of those buildings is also funded entirely by the students living there. Despite the legalities of the situation, Spanier was troubled by what he saw at the event.
"I want to apologize to you, as I have to others, for any discomfort or confusion caused by the actions of some of our students who, while presenting what they felt was an educational program, exceeded the bounds of good taste expected by most Pennsylvanians," Spanier told the legislature. "I found components of this event offensive and embarrassing to Penn State," he added.
"I pledge to have our staff work with the students to help them plan events that retain their educational value but at the same time minimize the shock value that has been the hallmark of recent programs," Spanier said.
To provide some perspective, Spanier said, it may be worth noting that during the same evening that a small number of students were attending the Sex Faire, there were 16,000 people in the nearby Jordan Center for the Penn State-Indiana basketball game, more than 5,000 people in Rec Hall at the men's and women's gymnastics meet, and several thousand people at the HUB watching movies, playing games, attending a dance, eating and socializing. There was a standing-room only crowd of more than a thousand students in the HUB's Alumni Hall alone attending the regional finals of the national a cappella student singing competition.
Moreover, this past weekend, thousands of students participated in the largest student-run philanthropy in the nation. Months of hard work culminated in raising a record-breaking total of $3,609,830. for support of children with cancer, their families, and cancer research. Spanier said that he is proud of Penn State's students and regrets that one of the University's more than 500 student organizations might leave a negative impression with the public.
NEWSWIRE PLUS — THON COLLECTS RECORD OF $3,609,830
Hundreds of Penn State students finished their 48-hour Dance Marathon with a cheer, celebrating a record-breaking result of raising $3,609,830. A portion of the money will support cancer research at the Hershey Medical Center and the rest goes to the Four Diamond Fund, which provides services for children being treated for cancer at the center. For video of interviews with Marathon organizers, supporters and dancers by Melisande McCrae and Paul Blaum, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/thon2001/index.html.
RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE MORE CRUCIAL THAN ICE AGES
Climate always changes and what we are used to today is about as stable as climate gets, says Dr. Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences who has investigated climate records from both poles. While ice ages that come on over tens of thousands of years have periodically covered large areas of the globe with glaciers, Alley is more concerned with rapid climate changes -- within a decade -- that effect the northern and southern hemispheres differently. Alley told attendees at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this weekend that "The seesaw effect of rapid climate change is probably caused by ocean circulation and the keys to this change are locked in the polar ice." While during an ice age the whole Earth becomes cold together and warms up together, episodes of rapid climate change have chilled only the northern Atlantic and warmed the area around Antarctica or warmed the Atlantic and cooled Antarctica. For more on this story by Andrea Messer, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/climate.html.
DAGUERREOTYPE PORTRAITS IN AMERICA AT PALMER
Daguerreotypes, one of the earliest forms of photography, give a haunting glimpse into our past, and some of the finest from the last century are now on exhibit in the Palmer Museum of Art, through May 20. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a rare, signed daguerrotype portrait of Mexican War hero colonel James Duncan taken in1848 by Mathew Brady, also known for his Civil War photographs. The show, "History Past, History Present," also includes examples of other photographic processes used in the 19th century — ambroytpe, tintype and paper photographs. The exhibit is a collaborative project of the Palmer Museum of Art, WPSX-TV and the Penn State Libraries and is the focus of a special outreach project to students in grades 4 through 7. A gallery talk on the show will be held on Friday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. For photos and more, go to http://www.psu.edu/dept/palmermuseum/daguerre/daguerre.html.
SCHREYER SCHOLAR NAMED TO ALL-USA COLLEGE ACADEMIC
Annina Burns, 21, a junior majoring in media studies and nutrition in the Schreyer Honors College, has been named to the All-USA College Academic First Team by USA Today. She is one of 20 students chosen from 682 nominees. Judges considered grades, activities, leadership and how students use intellectual skills outside of the classroom in selecting the team. Burns was awarded a trophy and a $2,500 cash award. Burns is the founder and director of the Nutrition Service Project, which teaches disadvantaged students about health and nutrition, researches how media shapes their nutritional knowledge, and sponsors an alternative spring break trip to teach local high-school students about nutrition. In the past, both TIME and Glamour magazines recognized Burns for her efforts with the Nutrition Service Project and a similar organization that she founded in high school called, "Y-Not." This summer Burns hopes to work at the National Cancer Institute to research how eating right might prevent cancer.
HATHEWAY NAMED TO NASDAQ ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD
Frank M. Hatheway, assistant professor of finance in the Smeal College of Business Administration, is one of three new members to be named to The NASDAQ Economic Advisory Board, which deliberates and communicates specific policy recommendations to NASDAQ. The board provides a forum for research and discussions relevant to NASDAQ such as access to market data. For more, go to http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/depth/feb01/hatheway.html.
NOTED AUTHOR BERNARD ASBELL DIED FEB. 1
Bernard Asbell, retired associate professor of English, died Feb. 1. He was the author of 12 books and approximately 200 non-fiction articles for national publications. Asbell was a president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and was named its Author of the Year in 1996 for his book The Pill: A Biography of the Drug that Changed the World. In 1999, he won the ASJA's Robert C. Anderson Memorial Award for his contributions to fellow writers. He also was a longtime panelist on public television's "The Pennsylvania Game." From 1984 until his retirement in 1992, he was associate professor of English at Penn State, where he taught non-fiction writing. For more on this story, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_2001/Feb15 and click on Obituaries