T) 111 E B E II R E N Drs
JF Beacon"
A PENN STATE ERIE STUDENT PUBLICATION
pennState
SPRING 2001
I WEATHER
FRIDAY - Mostly
Cloudy
High - 43
Low - 32
Check page 2A for the
weekend weather outlook
INSIDE
PAGE 12A
s" il, vl >. lil I ,N
Review of Academy Award
winner “All About My
Mother” which will play on
campus this Tuesday.
PAGE 14A
?*SC. \ N l \
From his days as Mr.
Boombastic to these days of
being a “Hotshot,” we’ve got
Shaggy covered.
PLUS...
The Beacon’s monthly installment
of Your Money and You on BA.
NEWS
WEATHER
WORM.* N V\ HON
NATIONAL CAMPUS....
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
MARK W)i R ( AITNDUi <>A
EDITORIAL
STAtf EIHTORIAI
FEATURES
HO'! SPOTS IN LRU:
SPORTS
BEHRENS) 5P0RT5.,....,. IB
NATIONAL SPORTS ..Mi
NEWSROOM: 898-6488
FAX US: 898-6019
ON THE WEB:
www.clubs.psu.edu/beacononline/
Offices are located downstairs in
Reed Union Building
111 No. 23
Dean Lilley may be moving on
by Liz Hayes
news editor
While the Behrend community has become
accustomed to rapid change over the past five
or ten years, an even more radical change may
be in the College’s future: Behrend’s longtime
Provost and Dean Dr. John Lilley may be
moving on. Lilley is currently being considered
for a position at the University of Nevada,
Reno.
Dr. Lilley, who has been with Behrend for
20 years and is one of only three executive
officers the College has had since its inception
in 1948, is one of four candidates up for the
presidency of UNR.
In a press statement released earlier this
week, Dr. Lilley made the following comments:
PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA
Despite the “official” beginning of the spring season, Behrend’s grounds are still feeling the effects of the
white season. And just as the remaining snow patches on campus melt completely, as seen in front of
Behrend’s Glenhill Farmhouse, more snow is expected to cover Behrend’s spring grass again. See page
2A for the weekend weather outlook, which predicts...yeah, more snow.
Effectiveness of first-year seminars questioned
by Erin McCarty
assistant news editor
In 1999, Penn State University revised its
General Education requirement to make First-
Year Seminars mandatory for every freshman.
These courses, primarily carrying a weight of one
credit, are designed to serve as an introduction to
college life and to allow students to work closely
with a professor in a small-class atmosphere. Each
Penn State student must complete a seminar that
corresponds to his or her course of study during
the freshman year.
But, how effective are these classes? According
to a university-wide study done last year, the
seminars are doing their job. The majority of
students who responded to the survey reported
Play review on page 12A
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John Lilley
search committee is considering.
“I am delighted that Penn State Behrend has
reached the level of national attention that
caused the search firm to be interested in my
that the FYS helped them to adjust to life on a
college campus. They appreciated the small class
size, group discussions, and opportunities to get
to know the professor. The students also cited
library and computer skills, knowledge of the
correlation between the choice of major and a
career, and time management skills as some of
the major lessons they took away from the
course.
At Behrend, the response to the seminars has
been positive, but not overwhelmingly so. While
the FYS may be the only small class which a
student at University Park will have freshman
year, small classes are more typical at Behrend.
So, too, is close interaction with professors. The
class setting is therefore nothing extraordinary,
though it does present an opportunity for
MARCH 23, 2001
“A search firm has
contacted me about
the presidency of
the University of
Nevada, Reno, the
flagship, research,
and land-grant
university in the
state system, I gave
permission for the
search firm to talk to
the University about
me, and my name is
one of several the
being a candidate.
“Penn State Behrend has come a long way
with your help, but it still has a big agenda
about which I am very excited. The University
of Nevada, Reno, presidential search will not
distract me from that agenda.”
UNR is currently searching for the
replacement of longtime president Joe
Crowley. An ad hoc Presidential Search
Committee was formed to interview and
narrow down the more than 70 candidates
who applied. These candidates were
narrowed down to eleven by February 21,
2001. Two of these semifinalists dropped out,
and the remaining candidates were narrowed
down to six earlier this month.
These six candidates were asked to attend
a daylong series of interviews at the Airport
. I
students within a given major to get to know
one another early on. Content, however, is
another matter.
“I think the seminars are a really good idea. I
wish that I had something like them when I
started college,” says Charles Brock, lecturer
in religious studies who teaches an FYS on the
American Dream.
“Introduction to college study, book lists,
different styles of teaching, unusual content,
integrative material, etc. are all what education
is about.”
While these are some of the standard
objectives for the courses, each seminar is
FIRST-YEAR SEMINARS
continued on page 3A
18 pages - 2 SECTIONS
Plaza Hotel in Reno. Last Thursday, March
15, these six were cut down to four, who then
were invited to return for follow-up visits
within the next few weeks. The candidates
asked to return were: Joann Boughman, vice
president for academic affairs and graduate
school dean at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore; Richard Davenport, provost and
vice president for academic and student affairs
at Central Michigan University; R. Michael
Tanner, interim director of the Silicon Valley
Center and former vice chancellor at the
University of California, Santa Cruz; and Dr.
Lilley.
The Search Committee, which consists of
members from the Board of Regents of the
University of Nevada, is expected to choose
the new president by April 17.
Residence
rates
increasing
at Behrend
by Jeff Miller
managing editor
Penn State’s Board of Trustees has approved
increases in residence community rates for the
2001-2002 school year, which will boost costs
to $4,910. The increase is largely due to Penn
State’s continuous expansion.
“We’ve reached a debt ceiling ... so we have
to raise rates to make up for the deficit,” said
Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs at
Behrend. For a standard double room the charge
will increase from $1,205 to $1,340 per
semester, a total increase of $135. The most
common meal plan, meal plan three, will
increase $6O per semester, from $1,250 to
$1,310. This increase is university-wide.
The funds generated from this increase will
be directed to upgrades in housing. Due partly
to recent fatal fires in residence halls at other
universities, namely Rutgers and St.
Bonaventure, vital legislation has been passed
to ensure the safety of students. Therefore, $5O
million will be used to add sprinkler systems
and make other improvements to the older
residence halls on campus Perry, Lawrence,
and Niagara Halls and the apartments. This plan
to retrofit residence halls is estimated to take
ten years to complete and is already under way.
Other improvements to housing are being
planned. An addition to Perry Hall is expected
to add 150 spaces in student housing. The new
construction will bring the building down over
the hill between Bruno’s and Perry so that the
residence hall will almost connect with the Reed
Union Building. It will also make the Stair
Tower and its new elevator more easy to access
by students in Reed, thereby making the whole
campus more handicapped accessible. The
shape will be similar to the letter H. The Perry
Hall expansion is expected to be completed by
fall of 2004.
Housing and Food Services is a self
supporting Auxiliary Enterprise. This means
any money spent on food or lodging by students
and guests are only to be used for maintenance,
operation, and construction expenses; state
funding does not support on-campus housing.
The food and housing monies from all the
campuses are consolidated at University Park
and then allocated for various campuses. A total
RESIDENCE RATES
continued on page 3A
2 5 mi
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