PAGE 2, THE BEHREND BEACON, OCTOBER 1, 1999
NEWS AND WEATHER
Behrend aids in National Sea Grant Program
by Raechel Kiska
staff writer
A year and a half ago, Pennsylva
nia became involved in the National
Sea Grant program and since its in
ception Lake Eric and the surround
ing community have been drastically
improved.
The National Sea Grant program
began in the mid 1960 s in order to
promote the wise use of coastal re
sources. The program is administered
out of the Department of Commerce,
and almost every state that borders
salt water or one of the Great Lakes
is involved.
Pennsylvania joined the Sea Grant
Program to promote awareness of the
economic i.ind environmental issues
associated with the Lake Erie region.
Administration continued from front page
All in all, Behrend had $326,136 to
use in information technology areas
last year.
Ron Hoffman, manager of Net
work and Information Systems at
Penn State Behrend, and Dr. Jack
Burke, Associate Provost and Dean,
met with a committee of students
from the Student Government Asso
ciation about what the Information
Technology Fee money is spent on,
and who decides how the money is
spent.
,
Question 0
WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE DONE
WITH LION CASH?
"I think the system's all right now. In the vending machines
would he nice, though. -
-Dan Midberry, 01. Computer Engineering
"in local stores we should be able to use them like credit
cant~.'
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"I think you should be able to use it at the Bookstore."
-Lacy Micale, 01, DUS
Penn State Behrend is highly involved
with the program, and the main goal
Slut
Pennsylvania
is to promote awareness while work
ing hand in hand with the community.
Provost and Dean Dr. John Lilley
stated, "We are here to serve the corn
munity. Having a Sea Grant and Land
Grant is a major outreach program.
We have a special commitment to
western Pennsylvania."
So far, the community outreach pro-
Mr. Hoffman and Dr. Burke would
like to sec two students from each
academic school at Behrend on the
Information Technology Fee Com
mittee. This would create a much
more well-rounded plan on how the
money from the fee could he spent to
benefit all of the students at Behrend.
$360,649 of the money collected
in last year's Information Technology
Fee went to upgrades in the public
labs across campus. These upgrades
included new computers in various
"They should be added to vending machines because I get
hungry at night."
-Kimberly Miller, 01, COMM
-Stacy Miller, 01, CMDIS
"There shouldn't be two separate accounts [on your card]
They should combine Lion Cash and the meal plan into
one."
"I think you should be able to get cash back off of the card."
-Nettie Digel, 01, BIOL
grams have included work with the
Benedictine Sisters at their environ
mental education center and involve
ment with the Bayfront Center for
Marine Studies in order to provide
information, background and support
to the public about the ever-changing
environment.
The other component of the Sea
Grant Program is continuous research
and development. Liffey feels that it
is very important for the professors
and students of Behrend to he actively
involved with the research. He said
that the "faculty is expected to he
great teachers and scholars because
this is a preeminent research univer
sity" and having professors like this
is a direct benefit to the students.
Currently, professors of the university
are conducting research on different
computer labs across campus, free la
ser printing for students, repairs to
computer lab furniture, a new e-mail
kiosk in the Academic Building, and
payroll for student consultants for the
Computer Center.
Commuter students will also be
seeing the benefits of paying their
Information Technology Fee. The
Computer Center is planing on add
ing twenty-four new modems, bring
ing the total for students who use a
dial-up connection to 120 moderns.
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-Ryan Nease, 0 I , METEO
species of fish found in the lake and
also on the environment of the area.
The university, as part of the pro
gram, has begun many projects in the
area, which also gives students the
opportunity to gain first hand experi
ence in their field of study. Dr. Rob
ert Light, Director of the Pennsylva
nia Sea Grant Program, stated that at
the present time there are only a few
positions available for students help
ing out with research, but there are
some large projects coming up in the
future that will require additional
help.
"This phase of the Sea Grant is di
rected to outreach," Lilley said, "hut
the next phase will be more focused
on research." The future holds a great
deal for the Sea Grant program. For
instance, Eric Ohert, Coastal Environ-
This hopefully will cut down on the
amount of busy signals that off
campus students now receive.
The other fee that students
are paying this year is the
Transportation Fee. This is a
new fee for University Students
this year. Each student is re
quired to pay $l4. All of the
money collected from this fee
will remain at Behrend.
At University Park this fee is
used to fund the Loop, a hus
9/23/99
A complainant reported a student acting suspicious
9/24/99
A complainant reported that, enroute to campus, he had a problem with
another vehicle on Station Road. The other vehicle was driving recklessly
and followed the complainant onto campus.
9/24/99
A student went into the Police and Safety Office and - became irate
While on patrol, duty officers discovered three individuals around a small
fire.
9/25/99
There was a one car auto accident on Jordan Road which damaged PSU
property. Police and Safety assisted until the Pennsylvania State Police
arrived to take the report. One of the old stone entrance pillars was hit by a
student and was knocked over.
9/25/99
A complainant reported that his hood ornament was stolen from his vehicle
9/26/99
IN
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WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK
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Friday
MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH CHANCE OF SHOWERS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
IN THE LOWER 60'S. HIGH IN MID-60'S. LOW IN MID-40'S, HIGH
OF 60.
mental Specialist, said that money to
build a visitors' research center at
Presque Isle was allocated and Penn
State and the Sea Grant Program were
asked to head the research. Plans in
clude 10,000 square ft. of laboratory
and office space, but the facility won't
be finished for about five years.
"This is early in the planning pro
cess. They brought us in sooner
which is nice to see that we are part
of the community," Steve Curcio,
Coastal Tourism and Communica
tions Specialist, commented. "What's
been encouraging is that local media
have been turning to us for informa
To help promote the birth of our
state's project and get the word out
about it, the Pennsylvania Sea Grant
has produced a number of promo
that transports students to vari
ous locations across Campus.
The Transportation Fee that
University Park students pay
allows them to ride the Loop
free of charge.
It is still unclear at this time
exactly what the Transportation
Fee at Behrend will he used for.
Dr. Burke said. "The Transpor
tation Fee is to he used for on
campus accessibility issues.-
Some of the items that the fee
Police And Safety
F > 4E) FZ.
OCTOBER 1-3, 1999
Saturday
tional items including Sea Grant mugs
and water tight money holders, per
fect for a day at the lake. Also, in
conjunction with the Safe Boating
Task Force, whistles were made that
easily attach to life vests in case of an
emergency. Light said, - We are just
trying to get the word out that we're
here.-
In the short time since its onset. the
Sea Grant program has accomplished
a great deal and more benefits are still
to come. Lilley summed up the
program's actions h) saying that it has
done "well enough to attract national
attention. People who have reviewed
our work have been complimentary
and praised it and used it as a model
which is a direct credit to Dr. Light
and the Sea Grant staff."
could go for are: no user fee for
the Blue Bus. pa\ ing new side
walks. and creating new park
ing areas. One benefit of this
fee that can already be seen by
Behrend students is the new
Behrend Loop. The Behrend
Loop runs from the dorms to
the front of the Reed Union
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Sunday