Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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USG Elections On March 30 and 31 of 1977. Grant Ackerman and Dennis Ru- port were elected president and vice-president of the Under- graduate Student Government with 2.175 votes. This was 346 votes more than second place candidates Ted Anderko and Dave Halyerle re- ceived. The campaigns were focused on the ever-spiraling tuition increases, end improvement in the student advising procedure, greater student involvement in their government end lowering the state's drinking age. Nine pairs of candidates ran in the spring elections. Bringing up the rear with 63 votes were Photon end Black Knight, most likely write-ins. ■ Halting Elm Blight Since the 1930's. Dutch elm dis- ease has been a major problem in Pennsylvania killing trees through- cut the state. The fatal disease is carried by elm bark beetles. In an attempt to save campus elms, the University has instituted a phere- monc trapping program, a relative- ly new procedure. The trap uses a chemical which attracts beetles and causes them to stick to it. Beetles are destroyed, preventing them from spreading the disease- causing fungus. Many methods of disease control have been tried, but none has proved completely effec- tive. u New Dorm Phones Santa paid dorm residents a visit aver the holidays. Students re- turned from Christmas break to find a phone in each individual room. Students now are able to make long distance calls, a luxury not available on the previous hall extensions. The service provided is Bell Telephone’s Student Centrex Service. Under this service, bills ad- dressed to each room number are sent once a month. ■ Evangelist led Smock preaching to students on the wall in front of Willord Building. Soapbox Crusade Student inspecting campus tree. Simmons coed enjoying her in-room phone. During 1977 Penn State students got religion — daily. Rain or shine, two or more preachers usually stood in front of Willard Building spouting fire-and-brimstone to in- terested. angered or indifferent lis- teners. Jed Smock. Max Lynch and Bro Cope were among the evangelists who preached to bc- twecn-class loiterers. In 1977 evan- gelism was on the rise at Penn State reflective of the national trend. m Wrapping Up ... In November 1977 Norman Albert set a world record when he tread water at the Natatorium for 52 hours. Two months earlier 1.733 PSU students played a game of mu- sical chairs which put them in The Guinness Book of World Records. Another game proved it has its dangerous points as Lion quarter- back Chuck Fusina received threat- ening letters for the second straight year. Speaking of dangers, early January saw the evacuation of 1,500 people from West Halls when a cannister of poisonous gas was released in the area. Stepping downtown, we saw a student bare her chest at The Bar to take first place in the Wet T-Shirt Contest. ■ 25

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News CAMPUS USG president Grunt Ackerman being interviewed on the State Capital steps about the budget crisis. Money Is Tight During the 1977-78 school year Pennsylvania colleges and univer- sities were in a monetary hind — they just weren't getting the neces- sary state funds. And Penn State, as students were well aware, was very hard hit. As a result, the Uni- versity vvos forced to make cuts in all departments to breathe life into its crippled budget. Cuts were made in the budgets of each of the col- leges. Education was hardest hit. partly due to decreasing enroll- ment. The colleges with the heavi- est enrollment pressures, such as Business Administration, had the smallest cuts. However, twice as much money was eliminated from University “support programs — library, physical plant services — as from academic programs. Staff cuts in all areas were made through con- sideration of the number of student credit hours per faculty members, the number of support personnel in ratio to those on the academic staff and the number of vacant positions which could be eliminated to avoid layoffs. According to Director of Budget and Planning Chalmers Norris, there was a loss of 11 faculty posi- tions. 33 clerical and 23 technical jobs. In addition, if sections of classes were not filled, those sec- tions were dropped. When the new budget act was finally passed, $408.8 million went to Penn State in appropriations, a figure still $900,000 less than Gov. Shapp had recommended. Although this is a two percent increase over funds the university received last year, it by no means ends budget problems. Despite the fact that current money problems paint a gloomy picture for the future, many administrators take an optimistic view of the situ- ation because they feel it will cause more intense planning and restruc- turing of priorities within each in- dividual college. The students probably felt the budget crunch hardest in the effects it had on library operating hours. Pattec, previously open until mid- night on Sundays and weekdays, started closing its doors at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Fall Term, a reduction of 17 hours per week and a cut of $120,000 in oper- ating expenses. Student response was angrily in- tense. The Academic Assembly conducted a student poll to dis- cover that 93 to 95% of students did not see the need for the cut in li- brary hours. The next step was a library study-in, conducted by the Assembly and USG, which pro- voked excellent student response. As a result, the library once again began keeping its doors open until midnight during Winter Term, but were forced to eliminate book fines and overdue notices. ■ Crime Rate Rises The greatest number of campus crimes occurred in the fall, prob- ably due to the crowds attracted to Penn State football games. From 3976 to 1977 liquor law vio- lations and drunkeness offenses doubled and indecent exposure tripled, while vandalism decreased. Campus police speculated that more people are reporting crimes, indicating that present statistics may be a more realistic assessment of crimes. Of offenses committed in 1977, police said 49% were by per- sons not affiliated with PSU. The year also sow many local fires and a student was arrested for setting six fires Fall Term — five in dorms and one in an academic building. Early one October morning, fires were set in Atherton Hall and Park Hill Apartments. While reported rape incidents fell in 3977 from four to one, eight cases were reported in State College over 1976's five. m 24

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NEWS LOCAL Science Fiction and Digitals Set Trends Lines tvere frequently this long for the science fiction Ih x office hit Stor Wars. Catering to the digitally minded consumer. Cinema in 1977 saw the come- back of science fiction, featuring intcrgalactic entertainment. Early summer brought Star Wars, a fa- vorite of Penn State students. Au- diences adored hero R2-D2, de- tested villain Darth Vadcr and pon- dered the force.” Cold weather brought with it a Steven Spielberg film. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which has excellent special effects. The film depicted the initial face-to-face meeting of earthlings with space aliens. Science fiction movies set trends in books, calen- dars. toys and even produced an X- rated. outspace flick. Another movie students saw time after lime was Rocky Horror Pic- ture Show. which encouraged the participation of a delighted au- dience. Persons attending made rain with plant misters, lit can- dles in the dark and threw rice during a wedding ceremony. Speaking of entertainment, long- running television programs made it big in 1977. After the precedent was set by the week-long serial “Roots,” countless other shows were produced which kept people glued to their T.V. sets for several consecutive evenings. “Washington Behind Closed Doors.” “The Godfa- ther and 79 Park Avenue” arc a few examples. When people turned off their tubes and started going places, they found a relatively new and inter- esting way to reach their destina- tions. Mopeds. bicycle-like two- wheeled vehicles with motors, had been introduced from Europe and were gaining popularity in the U.S. Used on highways like motorcycles. mopeds raised much concern over traffic safety. However, the in- dustry predicts excellent future sales, estimating that three to four million will be sold each year dur- ing the first half of the 1980's. Another line of items that made a heavy hit on the market in 1977 was digital articles. Calculators were slimmed and trimmed, digital watches adorned countless wrists, replacing the old sweep hand, digit- al clock radios kept people on schedule and even computer games flooded the market. ■ Audience lighting mutches during a scene in the movie Rocky Horror Picture Show.' 26