PAGE 4, THE BEHREND BEACON, OCTOBER 1, 1999
NEWS
SGA
by Angela Rush
wire service editor
Andrea DiPlacido's term as Presi
dent of the Student Government
Association has gotten off to a rocky
start, but it seems now that the issue
of her possible stipend and future
outside employment are finally re
solved. Over the course of the last
few weeks, the Student Government
Association (SGA) has been debat
ing the issue of whether or not
DiPlacido should receive a stipend
of one half the tuition, roughly
$3,379 per year, for her services as
SGA President.
The new names of SGA
by Kim Zuck
calendar page editor
The Student Government Associa
tion (SGA), held their fall Senate
elections on Wednesday. September
22nd, and Thursday. September 23rd,
outside of Bruno's. Five open Senate
seats were available, including two
Freshman seats. The three SGA
Senator winners are Demian Blair,
Kolby Baker, and Jennie Ellison. The
two Freshman Senator winners are
Jenny Zhang and Keenan Hansen.
SGA is the legislative organization
on campus made of, and more impor
tantly, for the students of Penn State
Behrend. These newly elected Sena
tors will assist SGA in overseeing all
legitimately registered organizations
on campus and administering their
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Jen Miles, SGA Treasurer, 05
MKTG, said, "By issuing stipends
it will raise the expectations of the
executive hoard, which will improve
the quality of SGA and overall cam
pus life." Miles, as well as Vice
President George Leshnok, will also
receive stipends of $2,249 and
$1,687, respectively.
SGA member Karl Gressley, 06
BLASC, added, "Stipends will help
increase student participation in
SGA and it shows more responsibil
ity on SGA's part. -
SG A members have also been de
bating the issue of whether or not
DiPlacido should be able to hold a
funding. The Senators will also act
as mediators between the student
body and the administration and fac
ulty, working to keep both units in
tune with one another. SGA President
Andrea DiPlacido, states, "I hope
these Senators take these positions se
riously so the whole Behrend com
munity can benefit from their per
sonal insights.''
The newly elected Senators plan
on benefiting Behrend students by
implementing various personal ideas
to represent student interests and con
cerns. Dernian Blair's main concern
is the technology fee. Blair is cur
rently on the Technology Fee Com
mittee and is investigating where ex
actly the technology fee money goes.
Blair says. "my secret agenda for the
Behrend campus is to get a T 3 for the
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separate job while she is SGA Presi
dent. Many believe that if she held
another job it would interfere with
her position as President by taking
away time that could he used to
serve SGA. A committee discussed
this issue and came to the conclu
sion that she could hold a job while
in office, but she could only work
up to ten hours a week--seeing as she
is obligated to work at least 20 hours
a week for SGA. However, when
the issue was brought to the mem
bers, they voted yes to everything
but the ten hour work limit, allow
ing DiPlacido to work as many hours
as she chooses as long as it does not
campus this year."
Another new SGA Senator, Kolby
Baker, is extremely interested in get
ting more students involved in cam-
pus organizations. Baker comments,
''one project that I plan to be highly
involved with is instituting a student
run radio station on campus. I feel that
a student radio station would benefit
ever) member of the student body. I
also will he helping with the SGA
Book Sale. -
SGA Senator Jennie Ellison is con
cerned with seeing that Behrend or
ganizations get the financial hacking
they need. "I plan on seeing that cam
pus organizations, clubs, and students
get the money they need. Also, I plan
on making sure events are more pub
licized, so [that) students are more
informed, - Ellison commented.
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affect her work for the SGA.
The committee also brought forth
the argument that anyone on the ex
ecutive hoard that is receiving a sti
pend should maintain a GPA of 2.5
or higher, and can not be the presi
dent of another organization while
on SGA. One final requirement for
DiPlacido is that she must attend all
meetings, and that her 20 hours are
not just served in office hours, but
also in meetings and anything else
that is SGA related.
The funds to support these sti
pends come from student govern-
ment funds. Seeing as how other
colleges are giving their student gov-
Newly elected Freshman Senators
Jenny Zhang and Keenan Hansen also
have the concerns and needs of Be
hrend students on their agendas.
Zhang states, "Many thanks to the
student body for choosing me as your
Freshman Senator. I feel very encour
aged and trusted by your votes. I am
available to hear your concerns and
needs and I'm here to serve and work
with you for a more diverse, friendly,
and entertaining student life at Be
hrend." Freshman Senator Keenan
Hansen comments, "I'd like to thank
everyone that voted, and I'm looking
forward to a great year in SGA. Re
ally, my only goals are to makesure
everyone is satisfied with the work
SGA does and to get more people in
volved."
High-tech continued from p.!
Requesting hooks not available at
Behrend has become a more simpli
fied process as well. Instead of send
ing a hand-written slip to another
Penn State campus, students can elec
tronically find and request any of over
4 million books from libraries
throughout the Penn State system.
Big changes have also taken place
in the Hammermill computer labs. It
was here that five brand new high
speed laser printers kicked out the dot
matrix clan. Also, unknown to many
students, a color laser printer has been
added in the Hammermill labs. At a
cost of 10 cents per sheet (Lion Cash),
why not spruce up that term paper or
special project?
As far as computers themselves go,
seventy-five new ones have been
added or have replaced the old. Mr.
Ron Hoffman, director of five of the
Hammermill labs (including labs 130,
135, 137, and 138), said that the new
systems are Pentium 450's, some re
placing the old 166 systems. Mr.
Hoffman was also proud to announce
that 24 of the new systems were in
stalled in room 4 in the library.
So, what does an average Behrend
computer terminal have? The new 17"
surround sound monitors complement
the CD-ROM and new removable
Super Drive (120 MB), making all of
the machines full multimedia. 64 MB
of memory has also been added to all
of the computers, bringing the RAM
total up to 128 MB, enough to sup
port Windows NT 2000 next year.
Also just arrived is the new "En-
terprise" server (a server is similar to
a "mother" computer which houses
many software packages and data
bases). This massive system is ex
pected to go on-line this fall or early
this spring, and it is essential that the
current Alpha 4100 system he running
100+ software packages (plus some
of the engineering programs), said Mr.
Larry Kosin, the senior systems ana
lyst for student labs. However, when
the Enterprise system goes on-line,
the old 4100 system will be working
alongside its new counterpart, provid
ing true redundancy in the event of
any glitches or crashes.
Servers, printers, databases . . . the
list goes on. Keep your eyes open for
the latest technology in a Behrend
building near you!
r
I
ANNOVNCEMENT
The Beacon will riot publish a newspaper ors October 15.1999. btie to fall Break.
1 All CAlenbAr notices, Abvertisenients rut' CIASSifiC . OS thAt 40V1 wish to AppeAr before 1
1
then shoulb be submitteb bli next week's beAblines for the October stli issue. I
ernment officers money, Acting Di
rector of Student Affairs Ken Miller
thought that Penn State Behrend
should consider allocating the
money since it is now available. Sti
pends for the executive hoard--with
the exception of the treasurer--were
eliminated in 1993 due to budget
constraints. Funding for SGA has
changed dramatically since the ad
vent of the Student Activity Fee, and
Ken Miller believes reviving sti
pends for the President and Vice
President recognizes the amount of
time spent by the officers on SGA
matters and their responsibility for
advocating the needs of students at
Fall Break comes
to Behrend
by Karen McKim
staff writer
For the first time ever at Penn State
University, students will have a Fall
Break this year from Saturday, Octo
ber 9th through Tuesday,
October I 2th. Ken Miller, Acting
Dean of Student Affairs, said, "the
break was created in response to stu
dent interest." Mary Beth Peterson,
Director of the Career Development
Center, said, "I am very happy that
we are doing a Fall Break at Penn
State this year. I think that students,
faculty and stall will find the two days
as very helpful mid-semester. As a
staff member, I will be on campus and
will use the time to catch up and get
ready for the rest of the semester."
Assistant Professor of Physics, Dr.
Darren Williams, commented, "The
Fall Break will he welcomed by stu
dents and faculty alike. It is a great
time to enjoy family and the natural
beauty of autumn, as well as to re
kindle early-semester aspirations."
Dr. John Lilley, Provost and Dean,
replied, "Based on the information
available to the university, students
at all locations wanted the break, and
the university responded favorably.
RA continued from page 3
Residence Life is headed by the
Associate Dean of Student Affairs;
the Assistant Director of Residence
Life; three professional, live-in Co
ordinators; and the forty-two student
Resident Assistants.
If you are interested in becoming
an R.A. you will need to attend the
mandatory informational meeting
that will he held on Tuesday, Octo
ber 5, 1999. at 8:00 p.m. in the Reed
Commons. You will also need to fill
Lambda continued from p. 1
With the help of some members, the
officers have come up with a series
of community service projects open
to all Behrend students, entitled Com
munity Outbreak. Lambda Sigma has
asked the Student Government Asso
ciation (SGA) for an allocation of
money to pay for these service
projects. "The focus of Lambda
Sigma is service," said Edwards. If
the allocation is passed, the officers
and members will have the money to
achieve their goal of service. The
money that would be allocated would,
in a way, represent the money lost by
overspending last year. Heidecker
stated, "I feel that all four officers and
their advisor [Dr. Timothy Friehe,
who no longer teaches at Behrendl
should somehow reimburse whoever
covers our dues."
CORRECTIONS
The picture run in the intramural box last weekwasn't an
intramural event. It was the THETA PHI ALPHA ANNUAL
VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE. All proceeds went to the
`House that Theta Phi Built,' a national organization to help
the homeless.
This year's Harambee Dinner was the 13th annual dinner
rather than the fifth as reported last week.
J I JI ._
issues
Behrend
The stipends allocated to student
government officials at other col
leges vary greatly. The Student
Government President at Gannon
University receives $13,000, while
Duquesne University's President re
ceives 21 credits of tuition remis
sion. approximately $6.000.
Mercyhurst College grants its SGA
President $5,000. SUNY Fredonia's
presidential stipend is $2,400. Fi
nally, Edinhoro's President receives
$750.
SGA meetings are held every
Wednesday at 5:20 p.m. in Reed 114.
They are open to the public.
Comments I heard last year were
posime
Students are, indeed, responding
favorably. Christy Piccola, 01 Com
munications, replied, "I think it is a
good idea - it breaks up the semester,
and we don't have to wait until
Thanksgiving for a long weekend
home. It also gives us a chance to
catch up on things hack home, if you
don't live in Erie, and get caught up
on work, so that when we come hack,
we are fresh for the rest of the semes
ter. It's just the whole idea of it be
ing a break - and in a couple weeks I
think it'll he what everyone needs."
Students who are looking for some
thing to do over the break are wel
come to go on the Alternative Fall
Break to Cleveland's inner city. This
will give students an opportunity to
work with members of the commu
nity in many different ways. While
there, students will receive informa
tion about the neighborhoods in
which they are helping and will meet
new and interesting people. For more
information, call x 6171, or go to the
Office of Student Activities for a reg
istration form. Space is limited, so
reserve your seat soon.
out an application, which is available
in the Office of Student Affairs or in
front of Bruno's. All applications
must he returned to the Office of Stu
dent Affairs by 5:00 p.m., Friday, Oc
tober 14, 1999.
If }ou have any questions, please
contact the Residence Life staff at
x 6 I I I, or visit the Office of Student
Affairs, which is located on the sec
ond floor of the Reed Union Build-
The Administration and SGA have
both agreed to help Lambda Sigma
resolve their financial situation. The
national headquarters is looking into
possibly exempting the dues for
Behrend's Lambda Sigma due to the
situation that has occurred.
In the meantime, they are planning
fund-raisers to help raise money to
pay off their dues, granted the national
headquarters doesn't exempt them
from paying.
Lada has been actively pursuing a
solution to this problem in hopes of
moving Lambda Sigma positively
into the future.
Edwards concluded, "this year's
Lambda Sigma Chapter is not linger
ing in the past, hut looking toward the
coming year with an optimistic atti
tude."