Jeanine Noce, A & E Editor
behrcolls@aolcom
Miss America Pageant goes on with patriotic tone
by Jeanine Noce
a& editoi
First there were 51 women, then 20
women, then just five women until
one stood alone. The sparkling crown,
the flowing dress and the cutthroat
competition are just a few of the ele
ments. What is all of this') These are
the elements involved in the Blst Miss
America Pageant, w hich was held Fri
day in Atlantic City hefore a sell-out
crowd of 13,800.
Tony Danza (better known as Tony
from the television show "Who's the
Boss") was this year's host. He be
gan the show speaking of the tragedy
that has engulfed ever, American's
mind for the past 18 days.
"The Miss America Pageant pro
ducers and organizers had spent a
great deal of time discussing w hether
the pageant should have gone on or
not. The producers, the contestants
and (myself( have decided that we are
going to carry on and make the most
of it. We are going to dedicate the
show to all of those ins ()keit and their
families and to all of the Ame r j eans
who promise to carry on, - I )aria said.
Danza then addressed the crowd
with the most patriotic words that ev
ery American knows: the Pledge of
Allegiance. The entire audience also
spoke these words, along with the
host.
Then the lights shined and 51 beau
tiful and talented women emerged
throughout the crowd wearing glisten
ing white gowns. Each state ‘k as rep
resented along with the District of Co
lumbia and the contestants introduced
themselves and described their state
`America: A Tribute to Heroes'
by Breanna Bush
staff v,riter
With more than 26 TV stations airing the same pro
gram this past Friday at') p nt., what else was there to
watch'? This two-hour special, "America: A Tribute to
Heroes," united national television channels by rais
ing money and lifting the nation's spirits after the tragic
event of Sept. I I.
This special brought hTether entertainers and mu
sicians at a time w hen those in New York and Wash
ington D.C. needed help the most. During the show,
no entertainers or nmsicians were announced by name.
They were not present to promote themselves, but
rather to make the world av are that the U.S. is a strong
nation and the American people will rebuild them
selves and the parts of the country that were destroyed
by the terrorist attacks .
During the Special. ''Amer ica: , N Tribute to Heroes,"
donations could he made many ways, including tele
phone. Answering the phones were many actors and
actresses including Sally Held, Mike Myers, Adam
Sandler, Mark Vv'ahlhei Michael Keaton. Hanle
Berry, Whoopic Goldherg. Brad Pitt, Goldie Hawn, ' 6pringt_ opened the lie
Jack Nicholson and man‘ others telecast with the song, "My City in Ru-
Worldwide donations could he made to the Sept. 11 ins." Actors and musicians donated their
Telethon Fund, P. 0 .2011 03 HOUStOII, TX 77216. time for the two-hour telethon on Sept
Another way contributions could he made were by 21.
the Internet at www.trrhutetoheroes.org. All donations
collected were given to the United Way, which will determine the way that
the funds will he distributed to help those involved in the tragic event.
Multiple actors and actresses gave speeches. Tom Hanks gave a heart
felt speech mentioning that the country is "standing united." He also spoke
of the United States saying that the American people are "one nation indi
visible."
Will Smith and Muhammad Ali gave an extremely powerful speech. Ali
said that he is Muslim and that all Muslims are not responsible for the
terrorist attacks, but rather blamed the terrorists. Even though his speech
was somewhat hard to understand due to his medical condition - he has
Parkinson's disease - he gave it his all.
Jim Carrey seemed somewhat nervous during his speech, but he was
sincere. It looked as if his eyes were watering throughout it. This speech
was one of the few times Carrey has been completely serious.
Cameron Diaz's dialogue was about the children and their teachers who
were so close to the Trade Center as it collapsed. She stated that there
were 8,000 students in class surrounding the area of the Twin Towers. The
students are lucky to have such caring and brave teachers.
Robin Williams reminded everyone about the courage that men and
women have during this ordeal and asked to help the injured and deceased
Movies
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*Release Date: 9/28
in one patriotic sentence
The remaining 20 were then se
lected from this group of 51. This year
was the first time that 20 girls were
chosen instead of 15. Also, due to the
importance of peer respect and lead
ership in this event, the remaining 31
women stayed involved in the pag
eant. Also, for the first time, the
women who were not selected to con
tinue collectively became the eighth
judge for the competition.
The evening gown competition was
the next event. Tom Scott played the
clarinet accompanied by Louis Fonzie
singing "You Are So Beautiful." The
women were escorted by a family
member who played a significant role
in their life. While the women were
modeling their gowns, each
individual's baby picture was on the
screen behind them in the background
as a cute remembrance of the women
as young girls.
A portion of the 10 contestant's
lives was then shown to the audience.
However, this section of the evening
was not judged. The Miss America
Pageant organization traveled to each
state's titleholder to discover small
tidbits about their daily life, family
and hobbies. Danza then asked each
contestant a question pertaining to the
video.
One of the most relaxing parts of
the evening for the women was the tap
dance in which everyone took part.
Dana also showcased his tap danc
ing talent and danced alongside the
contestants.
The always controversial bathing
suit/fitness competition was the next
event. Each of the 10 remaining chose
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Many other entertainers and musicians also made an appearance on the
special. Each person involved did an excellent job raising money for such
an important and needed cause.
Throughout the show, families who lost loved ones showed their pic
tures in the hopes of remembering them across the world. People who
helped in this crisis, such as tire fighters and police officers were shown
along with people in foreign countries that had a moment of silence for
the tragedy that struck the U.S.
This special showed how everyone in the nation joined together to help
those who were struck by the Sept. 11 tragic event and showed the world
that the U.S. will not be overcome by terrorists.
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Friday, September 28, 2001
Miss Oregon Katie Harman was crowned the 2002 Miss
America. Harman was selected after judges reviewed and se
lected five finalists from the original 51 contestants.
a swimsuit to wear for the fitness judg- playing in the background. This was
then dedicated to the United States.
Finally, five women were chosen
out of the 10. A $lO,OOO scholarship
was awarded to the five who did not
make it. The artistic expression and
talent portion of the evening was
A contestant scrapbook was then
shown to the audience with pictures
of the 51 contestants throughout their
16 days together with Lee Ann
Womack's hit "1 Hope You Dance"
"rise up. -
Stevie Wonder sang while he played on the pi
ano. In his song he mentioned that "love is in need"
and Americans need to "start keeping peace before
it's gone too far."
One of the hits of the show was Neil Young sing
ing John Lennon's "Imagine." The key line of this
song was "the world will live as one. - Neil Young
sang with passion, which fit perfectly into the rea
son the show was put on.
New artist Alicia Keys proclaimed in her song
that "someday we'll all be free. - She gave her view
ers a marvelous performance with her incredible tal
ent and the beauty of her music. Celine Dion gave
the most amazing performance singing, "God Bless America."
Willie Nelson sang the final performance, "America the Beautiful." Not
only was this another patriotic song, but all of the actors and singers joined
together to sing with him. This showed how everyone, as a nation, needs
to come together and overcome this hardship which was thrown before
us.
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Special thanks to Media Play for providing information
by making donations.
Lucy Liu stated, "America's greatest enemy is
hatred itself." How true that phrase is.
Julia Roberts spoke about the Pentagon. As her
eyes became moist she stated, "Before we save our
selves, we save each other." This is how many
people survived both in New York City and in
Washington D.C; people cared more about help
ing others than themselves.
Besides speeches. songs were a part of the show
"America: A Tribute to Heroes." The special
opened with Bruce Springsteen singing and play
ing the guitar and harmonica. In his song, he sang
about a "city in ruins" and that the nation needs to
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shown then with the five remaining
girls. Piano playing, baton twirling,
ballet dancing and opera singing were
the phenomenal talents that the
women showcased.
A question and answer session was
a new addition to the pageant and was
the final step for the five remaining
women. Fight questions were asked
and the women's responses were then
shown to the audience. The tallies of
their correct and incorrect answers
were figured into their overall score.
The three runners-up were then an
nounced to the anxious crowd. Fi
nally, it came down to the last two
women, one would he first runner-up
and one would he the 2002 Miss
America. Miss Massachusetts Abbie
Lynne Rapine and Miss Oregon Katie
Harman were the two remaining.
Katie Harman was then crowned the
2002 Miss America. She won the
crown, the title and the job for the next
365 days. Harman also received a
$50,000 scholarship towards her
schooling for a career in bioethics.
But Rabine did not leave empty
handed. She received a $40,000
scholarship towards her schooling and
if Harman is not able to fulfill her du
ties throughout the year, she will be
come the next Miss America.
The pageant was held in Atlantic
City, however, the 51 women met in
Philadelphia for the beginning of their
16 days as Miss America potentials.
After spending time viewing the his
toric landmarks of our nation, they
traveled 52 miles south to the "famous
boardwalk by the sea" which is better
known as Atlantic City. The three-day
preliminary competition then began.
`Jay and Silent
Bob Strike Back'
by Rob Wynne
editor-in-chief
Perhaps you caught a scene of
them in "Dogma, - - Clerks," or
"Chasing Amy.'' hut this time
around Jay and Silent Bob have
the screen all to themselves. They
express bodily noises, sell pot.
and fantasize about women at ev
ery possible opportunity, but there
is much more to this comedy that
keeps the audience laughing.
The story is based upon two
stoners (Kevin Smith and Jason
Mewes) who waste away their
days beside a quickie-mart sell
ing pot and perfecting the use of
multiple profanities in one sen
tence. They quickly become in
volved with four sexy jewel
thieves while on their way to Hol
lywood to stop a movie that is
about, well, them. Interestingly,
the scope of the movie changes
to even poke fun at the audience
every once and a while.
Director and writer Kevin
Smith (who also stars as Silent
Bob) manages to flavor the movie
and establish a lot of credibility
by casting actors and actresses
Kevin Smith (left) and Jason Mewes (right) are Jay and Silent Bob.
Smith not only directed and wrote this movie, but has directed such
films as Chasing Amy and Dogma.
The Behrend Beacon
"Since its beginnings in 1921, the
pageant has reflected ideas about na
tional identity, community, and moltl
standards, as well as beauty, feminin
ity and the roles of women. - the or
ganization states.
The Miss America Organization is
the largest women's collegiate com
petition in the world and is the lead
ing provider of scholarships for
women. More than $4O million cash
and tuition scholarships were
awarded. Two thousand women are
chosen throughout preliminary pag
eants and then 5 I are selected to com
pete.
On an annual basis, Miss America
state and local titleholders, along with
the organizations' large network of
volunteers, participate in more than
12,000 community service projects
which provides the U.S. with more
than 500,000 hours of service.
The Miss America Pageant parade -
which is normally held on the Board
walk the night before the pageant --
was not performed due to the recent
tragic events. Authorities were not
able to safely secure the two-mile
route.
The title of Miss America sounds
very princess -like; however, when
Miss America Katie Harman was
crowned, she committed to traveling
more than 20,000 miles a month and
changing her location every 18 to 36
hours. This is done for the entire year
she reigns. She speaks for several
worthy causes daily and volunteers
her time across the
from his previous movies. In
what he announced would he the
last of the "Jay and Silent Bob"
flicks, Ben Affleek, Matt
Damon, Mark Hamill, Carrie
F.isher, Chris Rock, Shannon
Elizabeth, Jason Biggs, Will
Ferrell, and George Carlin
(among many others) all play sig
nificant parts in the movie and
help the stoner stars pull off a hit.
For the cost of one movie ticket,
the viewer gets to sec a whole re
union of starts this Jay and Bob
finale.
Viewers should exercise cau
tion in the movie theatres,
though. Aside from the humor,
there is a great deal of profanity
and sick uses of swear words that
were not even invented until this
movie. The movie is rated 'R'
for obvious reasons but still man
ages to carry a solid and hilari
ous plot with a number of stars
and guest appearances.
*** out of 4
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