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The Behrend Beacon
THE BEHREND BEACON
,„,b/ishedi.,,,o,.bythe,nedents of Pena State Erie, 11w Be/irciul Calleta'
News Editor
Liz Laves
Sports Editor
Mike Bello
Asst. Sports Editors
Kate Levdanskv Petriki.s
Editorial Page Editor
Ben Kuntiman
Features Editor
Karl Benacci
Asst. Features Editor
Erin AlcCurry
A&E Editor
Jeanine Noce
Wire Service Editor
Guy Reschetulzaler
Health Page Editor
Sarah Orr
•Postal Information•
The Beacon is published weekly
by the students of Penn State Eric
The Behrend College;
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed
Union Building, Station Road.
Erie, PA 16563
The Beacon can be reached by
calling (814) 898-6488 or
(814) 898-6019 (FAX).
ISSN 1071-9288.
A VIEW FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE
The next chapter of
American history
This editorial is being written on
Wednesday, Sept. 12. It has been
just over 24 hours since the world
as we know it has toppled into
rubble. Had we been able to wait to
write this editorial on Friday, when
this edition of the "Beacon" will
appear, would we then know what
to say? And would we know how
to say it? We certainly don't now.
And what about a week, a month, a
year, a century from now? Will we
have the words then?
National symbols that are
recognized the world over are lying
in ruins. And while the economic,
political, and military systems the
World Trade Center and the
Pentagon symbolized are still
standing, our perceptions of our
country must be radically altered.
Our former vision of ourselves is
buried amidst the destruction.
This is both an end and a
beginning for our country. The end
of these buildings is obvious as the
television channels continue their
endless coverage, filling our eyes,
our minds, and our hearts with
scenes that continue to unfold. But
there is a bigger finale for America.
No longer can we stand apart
from the world. While we certainly
haven't been uninvolved in the
problems of other countries, we
have been able to separate "their"
problems from "ours." While we
have assisted others facing terrorism
and the defeat of democracy, we
have considered ourselves safe from
those threats. While we have
expressed sympathy for foreign
suffering, we have been able to
remain aloof.
But now their problems are ours.
Now we are threatened by terrorism.
Now American citizens know
firsthand the amount of suffering
that terrorism causes.
Never again will we presume to
be safe from the atrocities we have
seen elsewhere. Since the
consolidation of our country more
than 200 years ago, we have
considered ourselves lucky for ow
natural defenses. Our country is
surrounded by two oceans that
provide us with distance from the
world. Our only neighbors are
countries we maintain comfortable
relations with, and we have made
certain we are the big brother of our
continent no one has ever
questioned our authority, at led m not
Editor-in-Chief
m,berr ►t'r nnr
Managing Editor
Jefficv nnn, I
Asst. Managing Editm
l'art:e fli
Professional Publication Mgi
I)ave Rig
Advisor
Aft - John ki onn
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 behrcoll2oDaol.com. Letters
must he received no later than
5 p in Sunday for inclusion in that
too loudly.
Hu! all th
Cl) aII e d
OEM
Aincric
solidarity
collapsed.
can no lo
Presume
power, OUT
denweratic
con v ictions
and our resources will he enough to
keep predators at hay. Our borders are
no louver impenetrable, if they ever
Now, while this is an end for us, it
is ako a beginning. And while at first
that beginning may appear grim and
foreboding, it needn't remain so.
We have been shown in the most
powerful way possible that we can't
rely on our natural defenses to keep
us sate. But we can take new measures
to ensure our safety while not
endangering our basic freedoms. And
we can begin to see ourselves as
members of a new global alliance.
We have always considered our
country the leader of democracy and
justice in the world. Maybe we have
thought so partially because we have
been able to avoid the situations other
countries have found themselves in.
But now America is a member of an
unfortunate group, as deeply mired in
conflict as the rest.
Rut we can take advantage of this
new distinction by becoming more
united with the other members of this
global alliance. We can rely on others
just as they have relied on us in the
past. Our country can now understand
the position of others more clearly. We
are not alone in this battle, and they
110 W have a formidable partner in
obliterating terrorism.
It ould he wonderful if we could
ha‘e understood the position of others
who have experienced terror without
experiencing it ourselves. But then we
could forever remain aloof to that
Si., we have reached the conclusion
of a i.haptei in our history. But the
hook is far from over. A new chapter
is beginning. It may be in a different
language, it may require some
studying, and it may take some time
before we feel comfortable turning its
pages. But we will learn to read and
understand it. We don't have a choice.
Associate Editor
Keiry waish
Photo Editors
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Ann Marie Haver
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Katie Galley
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Jason Alward
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technical Support
Ittalcrworlh
•Letter Policy•
week's issue
'
,
Friday, September 14, 2001
`A date which will live in infamy'
The following editorial appeared in
Wednesday's "Washington Post":
WASHINGTON -- Tuesday's horrific
terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington, D.C., will rank as one of the
greatest calamities in American history, and
will confront the United States with one of
its most demanding challenges. Not since
Dec. 7, 1941, has the U.S. homeland
sustained such an aggression. The nation
responded then without panic but with iron
determination to defend itself and punish
the aggressors. The response today must
be as decisive to the mass murderers who
planned and carried out the attack, and to
any nation or nations that gave them shelter
and encouragement.
It will be days or weeks before we can
know the particulars of the death and
destruction at the World Trade Center, at
the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania, and can
absorb the magnitude of the losses; but
what we know already is shocking,
wrenching and infuriating.
Thousands of American civilians,
travelers, businessmen, tourists,
government employees, and children were
systematically targeted and slaughtered out
of the blue sky of a late summer morning
by an enemy that did not, and probably
will not, willingly identify itself. In the days
to come America must do what it can to
ease the suffering of those who have been
injured, comfort the families of those who
were killed and quickly repair or clear away
the physical damage. The Bush
Administration must move aggressively,
as it did Tuesday, to defend the country
against possible follow-up attacks. And
with soberness and determination, the
nation must prepare itself to fight its first
war of the new century, one that will begin
with identifying and punishing the authors
of Tuesday's mass murder, but one that
must continue until the sources of support
for the terrorists have been eliminated and
the country's defenses against such
unconventional warfare is decisively
strengthened.
The challenge today is in many ways
different from that of 60 years ago, and in
West Nile Virus welcoming committee
Erie Times-News" may have recently
read the article "West Nile Virus Back
in Erie."
This article is completely biased
against the West Nile Virus. It fails
to interview the Virus, and has a com
plete lack of interest in finding the
virus' point of view. I think that rather
than harboring fear of the West Nile
virus, we should embrace it.
Erie is a town in need of an image
enhancer. All we have right now are
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some ways more complex. The attack at
Pearl Harbor targeted military forces, not
civilians, and when it was over the United
States knew who the aggressors were and
where to find them. All we know for sure
about the enemy that struck Tuesday is what
the terrible wreckage in New York and
Washington tells us: that this was an
adversary capable of meticulously planning
and executing a large-scale attack, one that
draws on good intelligence and abundant
"No matter how long it may take us to
overcome this premeditated invasion, the
American people in their righteous might will
win through to absolute victory. I believe I
interpret the will of the Congress and of the
people when I assert that we will not only
defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will
make very certain that this form of treachery
shall never endanger us again."
resources. It is an enemy that has proven it
has the ability to penetrate U.S. homeland
defenses, perhaps more readily than the
country has faced in modem times. And
though it may have no single fixed address,
it probably has the support or complicity of
one or more foreign governments.
If the enemy is more elusive, Tuesday's
attacks were not, or should not have been,
as unexpected as was Pearl Harbor. The
United States for years has been fighting a
low-grade war against terrorists, and for
years counter-terrorism experts and military
planners have been warning of the
possibility of a massive strike against U.S.
domestic targets. Some earlier attempts,
including a previous plot to topple the World
Trade Center, were narrowly averted. Steps
have been taken in recent years to tighten
airport and border security, and the FBI and
CIA have mounted broad efforts to identify
and uproot terrorist networks both at home
stupid fish. It's corn
tled 21 pletely obvious that the
fish are just a blatant rip-
Kundman off of the Moose
, (Mooses? Meese?) Of
Toronto, the Cows of New
York City, or the Giant Cocks of
Rooster, Ohio. The fish do nothing to
put Erie on the map. I think we should
allow Erie to become the West Nile
Virus Capital of the United States.
When I travel out of state, and I tell
people I am from Erie, they usually
have one of two reactions: 1.) I told
you to leave me alone, you creep. 2.) I
thought that was a lake.
Erie needs the national recognition
that a West Nile Virus outbreak would
bring. People would sit in Erie cof
fee shops and ponder things such as,
"Why is it called the West Nile Virus?"
"Does it only exist WEST of the
Nile?" "What if you go on a boat im
mediately after contracting the West
Nile Virus, and you go from the west
ome of
ou who
ctually
cad the
rivet
known
as "The
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ben Kundman, Editorial Page Editor
and abroad. A few terrorists were
apprehended and put on trial; a couple of
cruise missile strikes have been launched;
the networks of one leading suspect in
Tuesday's attacks. MUM bin Laden, were
said to have been seriously disrupted.
But the terrible message of Sept. I I is
these steps fell far short; the nation's
commitment was not enough. Despite the
increased airport security, the attackers
managed to hijack four large airliners from
Franklin D kom.evelt.
former PreNiAent of the I'l - Med of America
three major airports at Boston, Newark and
Dulles almost simultaneously, and flew one
of them into the Pentagon's restricted
airspace apparently unchallenged. More
broadly, an attack that must have required
extensive preparations and a substantial
support network api)ears to have gone
entirely undetected by the FBI and
intelligence community. These are large
failings, the causes of which will have to
be meticulously identified and remedied.
The challenge ahead will require
strengthening U.S. defenses and
intelligence at home in ways consistent
with American values. Not just foreign
embassies and military bases hut also
domestic airports and other civilian targets
must be better defended. At the same time
the country cannot allow terrorists to alter
the fundamental openness of U.S. society
or the government's respect for civil
liberties. Americans will have to make
side of the Nile to the east side; is it
still the WEST Nile virus?"
We could change the name of our
local AAA sports teams to names such
as the "West Nile Virus-Carrying
Mosquitoes" or the "Encephalitis."
(This is the potentially deadly swell
ing of the brain sometimes caused by
West Nile Virus.) Re-naming our
sports teams would let other teams
know, "Hey, we're from Erie and we
mean business!"
In order to spread the West Nile Vi
rus throughout Erie, I recommend a
three-pronged assault. First. a massive
smear campaign against other viruses
should be implemented. An example
of a daily headline could read: "Ebola
Virus Forces School Bus Full of Chil
dren Off Road." This will make the
West Nile virus seem more appealing
to Erie residents.
Second, Erie will announce a cam
paign to "bring the tires hack into
Erie." Tax rebates for those with more
behrcoll2@aoLcorn
sacrifices that a state of war requires, such
as accepting greater inconvenience in
public places. They may also need to
acquire some of the civic alertness that
other open societies, such as Israel or
Ireland, have cultivated.
A state of war also means a national
commitment, nurtured by bipartisan
cooperation in Washington, to attack and
defeat the country's enemies. This means
more than merely tracking down and
arresting individual suspects, as has been
done before. With time, it is likely that it
will be possible to identify the larger
network behind the attack; it should also
be evident where it is based or obtains
support.
In the past the United States has shied
away from squarely confronting regimes
that were linked to terrorist attacks against
Americans, such as Iran in the case of the
1996 Khobar towers bombing in Saudi
Arabia, or Afghanistan in the 1998
bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya
and Tanzania by Osama bin Laden's
network. It can no longer afford to do so.
Instead, it must seek to assemble an
international alliance to identify and
eliminate all sources of support for the
terrorist networks that would wage war on
the United States. If necessary, it must act
alone. There can be no greater purpose to
foreign and defense policy in the coming
years.
Though the circumstances arc
different, what President Franklin D.
Roosevelt said after Dec. 7 in Pearl Harbor.
"a date which will live in infamy," applies
to Sept. 11 just as well. "Always will we
remember the character of the onslaught
against us," Mr. Roosevelt said. "No
matter how long it may take us to
overcome this premeditated invasion, the
American people in their righteous might
will win through to absolute victory. I
believe I interpret the will of the Congress
and of the people when I assert that we
will not only defend ourselves to the
uttermost, but will make very certain that
this form of treachery shall never endanger
us again."
than 10 used tires in their backyard
will be put into place. These used
tires help encourage the breeding of
West-Nile Virus Carrying Mosqui
toes (the insects, not the sports team).
Third, the mayor of Erie will present
the West Nile Virus with the Key to
the City. When the West Nile Virus
has the key to the city, people will
start to realize how cool the West Nile
Virus really is.
Erie is in need of a makeover.
There are many different ways this
can be accomplished. The largest ball
of twine? It's in Minnesota. Rubber
Capital of the World? Akron, Ohio.
The largest freestanding fiberglass
cow? Kearsey, Pa. A West Nile Epi
demic? That, my friend, we could call
our own.
Kundman's column appears
every three weeks.