THE BEHREND BEACON
The Behrend Beacon
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
News Editor
shawl( oi Weber
Features Editor
Deanna Symoski
Wire Services Editor
Angela Rush
Advertising Managers
Erin Edinger
Care• Smith
Photo Editor
Jelpey
Office Manager
/bad Met lel
Postal Information: The Beacon is
published weekly by the students of
Penn State Erie, The Behrend
College; First Floor, The J. Elmer
Reed Union Building, Station Road,
Erie, PA 16563. The Beacon can he
reached by calling (814) 898-6488
or (814) 898-6019 (FAX). ISSN
1071-9288.
A view
Making room
Penn State Behrend is supposed to
he the "Small College with the Big
Degree." However, with all the new
students that came to Behrend this
semester they may have to change that
line on all the brochures they hand out
at high school career fairs.
Enrollment is up by over 300 stu
dents. While this is great for the col
lege and great for all the students that
will receive a great education from
Behrend, it is detrimental for the re
turning students. Growth is great and
so is advancement, but when upgrades
are not made to accommodate all the
new students on campus, problems
First of all, there is the problem with
parking. There have been many new
parking spaces added... for on-campus
residents. The commuting students
have to fight over what little spaces
they are left with. They pay money
for the spaces, same as residents, how
ever, no additional spots were added
for them.
Next there is the task of trying to
eat in Bruno's or Dobbins at peak
times, especially in Bruno's. It takes
forever to get your food and then it is
impossible to get a seat, it's crazy.
People pay A LOT of money for their
BASS WE GC:Cr
send all
letters to
the Editor
to:
behrcoll2@aol.com
Editor-in-Chief
Jason Snyder
Managing Editor
Al tchael Frati ley
Advisors
Robert Sjwel
Jun O'Loughlin
The Beacon
encourages letters to the editor.
Letters should include the address.
phone number, semester standing
and major of the writer. Writers can
mail letters to hehrcoll2o`aol.com.
Letters must he received no later
than spm Tuesday for inclusion in
that week's issue.
rom the li_hthouse
for students?
meal plans and they are not always
accommodated to. It is not always
possible to plan your day around
Dobbins' peak hours.
In the end, it all collies down to
providing things that are essential fOr
basic happiness, such as an open eat
ing environment free of chaos and
places to park when you come to
class. Even though Penn State is
quickly moving towards the new mil
lennium with state of the art technol
ogy, it is all for nothing if it leaves
some of the students behind. So he
fore Penn State brings more students
to the Behrend campus. how about
dealing with the ones you already
have?
df,A,
Cosmetic surgery the end of originality
Every morning when I wake, I
fight those inner thoughts, which
capture me tightly under the sheets,
to get out of bed.
When the battle is finally won, I
stumble to the bathroom and look
into the mirror. I close my eyes hop
ing to escape myself, but when I shut
my lids together all I see is my true
self-being.Do you think I like what
I see? Not personally, but it's me and
nothing else.
Well, the groundhog officially
shrugged his shadow off, so spring
should he heading this way.
Great. Girls will soon he racing to
the tanning salons to darken their
pale skins for summer. Oh wait, tan
ning salons are open all year round
and half the town look like they have
memberships at Tan and Tone
America.! hope they're ready for
Editorial Page Editor
Katie Gulley
Sports Editors
Mat Wiertel
Craig Hazelwood (assi yam)
Calendar Page Editor
kw, Lurk
Business Manager
Krivine Harakat
Associate Editor
Eli;abeth Haves
Distribution Manager
Matt Heidecker
6t,sr__ .
''t. c • ''
by Jocelyn Wood
The Online O'Collegian
Oklahoma State University
EDITORIAL
A little bit o
It's all up to you
Have you ever lost someone dear
to you'? A friend, a relative, maybe
even a pet? At some point in our lives
we will or have already experienced
the loss of someone we care about.
don't think the pain we experience
can he compared to anything else.
It's an immensely emotional time
that takes time to overcome.
In my past, I have lost many rela
tives, pets and a very dear friend, hut
this summer took away two very spe
cial people in my life. The first was
a friend and someone I admired,
Kelly Thomas and the other was a
very dear gentleman, whom I called
"Grandpa".
Kelly Thomas was killed in a car
accident ( I will spare you all the de
tails). He was only 29 years old.
Kelly was a reporter at the newspa
per I interned with this summer. He
helped me with my writing skills as
a journalist and taught me how to use
a digital camera. He was well re
spected in the community he worked
in. The only flaw I could see that
this great guy had was the fact he was
a Pitt Alumnus. (We can't all he per
fect and attend Penn State.)
I took his death very hard. There
wasn't a moment that I didn't miss
him, or a moment that I stopped cry
ing. I had only known him for two
months and he had touched my life
so much that it will leave a lasting
impression. That was in June.
When my brother and I were
younger, an elderly couple that were
friends of our parents had asked them
if they could adopt us as their grand
children. (They didn't have any and
would love to have us as their own.)
My brother and I agreed. Why not?
For what it's worth
Sex, drugs
Is leadership lacking amoung
today's youth? Many people would
say that it is, arguing that today's
young people are simply more
intersted in "sex, drugs and rock 'n
roll" than in developing personal at
tributes that contribute to the well be
ing of that person as he interacts with
society. Others, perhaps more em
phatically, would disagree, saying that
our society has never had more young
leaders amoung our high schools and
college campuses than today. Both
have excellent points, but the question
of who is right and who is wrong will
most likely never he answered, so it
would he a worthless debate.
Instead, I think it would he more
worthwhile to focus on exactly what could he the hardest to develop. Atti
makes, or breaks a leader. What is it tude is simply put, a habit of thought.
about that 'mystique' of a leader that Like all habits though, it can continu
draws many people to their side? For ally delevop and change for the bet
without learning how to develop those ter. The impact of a leader's attitude
special skills, a leader somehow learns is profound since it affects the attitude
one could not reach that level of success. of those around him (or her). As often
skin cancer when 30 comes around
Speaking of unnatural body touch
ups, what is going on with cosmetic
surgery today?
Don't people like themselves any
more? Are we getting so ugly in our
own minds that we have doctors ad
vertising breast implants in the news
papers and girls actually calling for
appointments?
In Tulsa, a free seminar is being of
fered on all cosmetic procedures so
mark your calendars now.
You wouldn't want to miss out on
any important information on how to
take away that body fat or how much
the "monthly bill" is going to cost
you.
Who wants to change their appear
ance anyway? When I have to look
into that mirror each morning, most
of the time I gag at what I see. But I
would never think of letting a doctor
take the fat from my stomach and put
it in my breasts. I would no longer be
SEPTEMBER 10, 1999
This couple was so sweet and so
nice. It made us happy to know we
were bringing joy to them. Over the
years we became very close and at
tached to them. They were afterall,
family
My grandfather passed away in
August due to an illness. lam glad
he isn't suffering anymore, but I
know his loss has been hard on his
family, especially my grandmother.
My grandmother had told me at his
funeral that when my grandfather
was asked if he had any grandchil
dren he would never hesitate to say,
"Yes, a boy and a girl."
Hearing that helped me smile
through the tears and he stronger for
my grandmother. While my brother
and I could, we brouight joy to his
life.
Writing this now is still very hard.
I miss these two people so much. I
miss telling Kelly how terrible Pitt
is (who am I going to pester about
this weekend's game?).
It has taken me two months to get
over the intial shock of Kelly's death.
Although I am not completely over
it, I have accepted the fact I may
and rock 'n roll
or excellence that they dream to
achieve one day.
Probably the biggest key to unlock
ing the potential of leadership is atti
tude. It's such a simple idea, yet it
The gods above designed my body
and put my skin where they felt it was
necessary to be. Why are we reshap
ing our creator's master invention?
Come on, girls and boys.
Yeah, I know plenty of guys who
are supplying the money for these
implants and butt reductions for their
girlfriends.
Is that your way of saying, "I like
you just the way you are, except, you
could look better if you were differ
ent?" Nice booster, there, pals. You
are really helping out the world.
Girls have enough depression with
competing against each other on their
weight without their own boyfriend,
or husband, knocking them down as
well.
Who cares what the girls or boys
think in this world? They don't live
your life and they don't have to like
what you look like either.
Do you care what other people
think of you? Personally, I believe in
originality.
Kool-Aid and milk
never be. I can accept the loss of my
grandfather with a little more case.
He was very sick and now he doesn't
have to suffer.
In the time I spent mourning and
talking to people for advice on death,
I learned a lot. My advice may not
help ease the pain, hut here is my in
sight.
I am so glad that these gentlemen
came into my life for the amount of
time that they had. I would have
rather had them in my life and known
them and mourn their loss than never
to have known them at all.
Feeling guilty, thinking I could
have stopped the accident my friend
was in stayed with me for a long
time. But I have realized that no
matter what, it was his time to go.
And even had I been there with him,
he would have died that night. Feel
ing guilty is a natural part of coping
with a loss. We sometimes even
blame ourselves or others for what
has happened.
Don't blame yourself or anyone
else. No one could have prevented
what happened. It was meant to he,
that can he hard to accept, but think
of how wonderful that person made
your life while they were with you.
Take care of yourself and don't
deny your feelings whatever they
might he. It's okay to he angry, de
pressed, sad or mad - whatever your
feelings might he. Sonic people have
trouble concentrating. You have been
struck with something extreme.
Take your time with this and move
at your own pace. Let yourself cry.
Talk when you are ready. Write in a
journal. Some people even turn to
their faith during this difficult time.
stated, "Life is 10% of what happens
to us and 90% of how we react to it".
People just don't like to hang out with
those people who constanly complain
and grumble about the wrongs of so
ciety and the wrongs done to them.
One person's attitude can also set the
tone for the rest of the group, and
that's why it is so important to be
careful and set the standard for ev
erybody else and demonstrate a posi
tive and optimistic attitude.
A second key component to devel
oping leadership is self-discipline.
This is what separates the strong from
the weak. Self-discipline is maturity.
Now, I admit that this is a very slip
pery term. Some people would say
that maturity just comes along with
age, but I beg to differ. I would ven
ture to say that maturity results more
from life's experiences and the atti
tudes that contributed to the reactions
of those experiences, than soley from
getting older. A proper attitude, com-
Dare to be original! Without it,
you're just another face among them
billions of lifeless faces that already
walk this earth. I'm not lifeless, nor
do I look like any of you.
When I walk through campus, I get
enough stares at my hippy clothes.
Do you think I care'?
Just because I care to he myself and
nobody else, you have no right to
condemn me.
Try it yourself sometime. It's ac
tually quite an experience. It's almost
like being a superstar. Laughing or
admiring, you're still looking my
way.
My name may not be remembered
after I leave this school, but I guar
antee if I walked through campus
wearing my patchacoly pants and my
mother's old '6os shirt, you'll re
member my style.
I don't care if you remember me. I
care if I remember me and when I
grow old I don't want to be dishing
out more money to cover up the
No one understands your feelings
better than you. There are people that
have gone through it that can sym
pathize, hut can't truly understand
how you feel. You are the only one
that knows that.
I came across a book When a
Friend Dies, by Marilyn E.
Gootman, Ed.D. I definintely recom
mend this hook to anyone who has
suffered a loss. It can help explain
in a better sense some of the feel
ings you may he having. It can also
be a good tool to share with friends
and family about what you are go
ing through.
I found it comforting to talk to
people that knew Kelly and my
grandfather. We were all experienc
ing the loss in different ways, but
talking about the all the good things
was very consoling. It's hard. I felt
alone during each loss, but for me
talking about it helped me deal with
it much easier.
We don't know how long each of
us is going to he in this world. While
we are here, we should take the time
to let those we care about know how
much we truly care about them.
When can you fully he over the
loss of someone'? Personally, I don't
think anyone can. I think that you
are able to become stronger with han
dling your emotions. I have accepted
their deaths, hut I still miss them and
cry on occassions. And that's okay.
This is my way of dealing with it.
Find your way to deal with your
loss. It's all up to you. Try different
things. I can't guarrantee there won't
be a pain involved or that tears may
not fall, hut in the end you will know
what works for you and start on a
path to a recovered heart. Take care!
bined with experiences help breed
maturity, and maturity breeds leader
ship.
These three characteristics are im
portant not only to leadership, but they
are characteristics that are important
to life in general. It is the people who
lack these very skills, whose first pri
ority is "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll",
that by the time they do get their lives
hack on track, it will he so screwed
up that they will he too frustrated to
dig themselves out. They will he the
ones who will, when they are old and
gray. look hack on their lives with re
gret, saying what "could have been"
or what "should have been", instead
of reminiscing about what "was."
Remember, the weak believe that
they are determined by their circum
stances and can't do anything about
it. However, the strong look for and
create opportunites, and have the
proper attitude, self-discipline and
maturity to rise above circumstances.
wrinkles I paid to get 20 years ago.
How do you expect anybody to re
member you if you get hoob jobs and
face lifts and butt lifters? How do ex
pect to remember yourself?
Marilyn Monroe even once said,
"I want to grow old without face lifts.
I want to have the courage to be loyal
to the face that I have made."
I'm bored with gossip, everyone
looking alike and cliches.
High school is over, it's time to
move on but it's not time to reinvent
yourself because your nose is natu
rally and uniquely shaped, or your
chest just isn't big enough for the
whole world to see.
It's time to be ourselves. Be natu
ral for a change. Mankind made
makeup and blow dryers. It also in
vented cosmetic surgery.
Have you ever heard of exercise
or loving what's insideNou can stare
at me all you want. Keep on staring
and take a good look, because at least
it's me. I'm no wannnahe.
PAGE 4