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The Behrend Beacon
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BEHREND BRIEFS
Aerosmith to rock Bryce Jordan Center
Aerosmith will appear at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's University
Park campus Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Having sold more than 75 million albums in
three decades, Aerosmith continues to thrive despite the changing face of music.
Throughout the years, Aerosmith has been recognized as one of the top bands in
its class, having received five Grammy Awards, as well as a number of MTV
Music Awards and American Music Awards. In 2001, the band was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tickets go on sale Saturday. For more informa
tion, call 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336 or visit http://www.bjc.psu.edu.
Burke accepts Collegiate Challenge
Dr. Jack Burke, interim provost and dean, participated in WQLN's Collegiate
Challenge on Thursday from 6 to 9 a.m.
The event was part of October Fest 2002, a radio campaign designed to build
awareness and support for public radio. During the Collegiate Challenge, the
leaders of Erie County's four higher educational institutions engaged in a friendly
competition to generate the largest number of pledges in support of WQLN-FM
91.3.
In addition to gaining pledges for WQLN, the Collegiate Challenge offered an
opportunity for Burke to talk about Penn State Behrend's progress and the latest
news from campus.
The Collegiate Challenge took place during Morning Edition, a show that many
people already enjoy. Penn State Behrend Ecomugs went to the first 20 people
who pledged, and a Behrend "variety pack" was available for additional callers.
Penn State enrollment up
Following a year of record applications to the University, Penn State has seen
enrollment growth, setting a new record while staying within the University's
plans for controlled and modest growth.
According to official figures, enrollment at the University's 24 locations has
reached 83,038 students this fall--an increase of 1,334 students (1.6 percent)
over 2001-02. At the University Park campus, enrollment has grown to 41,445,
an increase of 617 students (1.5 percent).
"These latest enrollment figures demonstrate that the high demand and value
placed in a Penn State education are stronger than ever," said Penn State Presi
dent Graham B. Spanier. "We continue to be one of the nation's most popular
universities, and we are pleased that the incoming class this fall was more di
verse and more talented than ever."
The figures reflect a continuing effort to maintain steady enrollment at the
University Park campus while fostering modest growth at other campus loca-
Minority enrollment increases
As has occurred every year for more than a decade, enrollment of minority
students at Penn State University has increased again. Minority enrollment at
Penn State increased five percent, or by 483 students, over the numbers for fall
2001. There are now 9,352 minority students attending the University's 24 loca
tions around the Commonwealth.
The number of African-American students attending Penn State increased by
167 this year, with 79 additional African-American students at the University
Park campus. The increase represents a five percent gain in African American
students at University Park, for a new total of 1,654. There are a total of 3,741
African American students attending all Penn State locations this year.
"Penn State continues to be one of the key educators of minorities in Pennsyl
vania higher education," said Terrell Jones, vice provost for educational equity.
"The real keys to our enrollment success are our high minority student retention
and graduation rates."
POLICE AND SAFETY
After opening the west side academic buildings for the
day, an officer discovered the license plate had been
removed from the cruiser.
A complainant called to report a camcorder missing.
They were not sure if a student had taken it and forgotten
to sign it out.
10/9/02 06:00
10/11/0213:35
A staff member reported that some signs were taken from
the Junker Center lot earlier in the week.
An officer observed a student throwing a can over the
fence into the Maintenance and Operations vehicle area.
An officer escorted the student into the compound while
he retrieved the can. The student was referred.
A staff member relayed information regarding an assault
that occurred off campus on or about Oct. 13.
An officer encountered an intoxicated male outside Erie
Hall.lt was determined that he was underage.
An officer was dispatched to Perry Hall for a distur
bance.
10/15/0216:20
10/15/0220:10
10/15/0222:20
10/18/0221:40
10/20/0202:37
A student reported that an item was taken from their mail
box.
10/18/0212:00
A complainant reported seeing a car on fire in the Reed
lot.
10/21/0216:01
A complainant reported receiving obscene messages.
A complainant's vehicle was struck in the Reed lot by
another vehicle. The striking vehicle fled the scene
without leaving notification requirements.
10/21/0221:05
10/22/0214:30
"Good manners, disciplined behavior and civility are the
very glue that keeps organized society from flying apart."
- Chief Justice Warren Burger, 1971
Janet Neff Sample Center
for Manners Civility
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Friday, October 25, 2002
Blood drive goes to the dogs
Poet Parker infuses reading with humor
by Erin McCarty
news editor
On Oct. 17, Behrend welcomed Alan
Michael Parker, accomplished poet and
former a Behrend professor to the Smith
Chapel for a reading of his work. The
second speaker in the Creative Writer's
Speaker Series, Parker has written three
books of poems: "Days Like Prose,"
"The Vandals," and "Love Song with
Motor Vehicles," which will be
published in 2003. He currently serves
as associate professor of English and
creative writing director at Davidson
College.
Behrend English professor Dr. Diana
Hume-George introduced Parker,
announcing that she would be wearing,
both literally and figuratively, two hats
during her opening speech. She began
by listing Parker's professional credits
and giving a sample of other poets'
critical responses to his work. She then
switched hats and discussed her own
association with Parker as a colleague
and friend.
She recounted how Parker went
through a period in which the creation
of the vandals poems overshadowed
every other aspect of his life. During
this time, he slipped his poems under
George's door as he finished them,
seeking her comments and allowing her
to be one of the first to see what would
become a widely acclaimed book ,of
poetry
"These are poems that will outlast
their author and me and everyone here,"
said George.
Although Parker read several
selections from "The Vandals," he did
not limit himself to those poems,
promising when he took the podium that
he would read "old work, new work, red
work, blue work." Before launching into
"Gents," one of his older poems, Parker
explained to the audience that he had
broken his thumb while signaling left in
heavy traffic. This set up a recurring
theme, with Parker intermittently
CORE and FHC merge to prevent teen
pregnancy
by Katie Hinman
staff writer
The Center for Organizational
Research and Evaluation and the Family
Health Counsel (CORE) has
collaborated in order to decrease teen
pregnancy and its results for teens,
parents and the rest of society. This
group effort is called the Peer Power
2002 Parent and Professional Track.
A reception with wine and hors
d'oeuvres was held Oct. 17 from 5 p.m.
until 7 p.m. in the Smith Chapel. This
function officially announced what the
two groups will accomplish by working
together.
"CORE wants to work closer with
FHC, and our hope is for FHC to have a
stronger presence in the Erie area," said
Kimberly Skarupski, director of research
at CORE . "We want people to be aware
that there are very serious consequences
to their actions. Many people don't want
to talk about teen pregnancy or other
issues; however, we need to face these
problems and do our best to correct
them."
The Peer Power conference took place
FOCAL POINT
interjecting fabricated reasons that his
thumb was broken. He followed up
"Gents" with "Up," another older poem
describing a cityscape made beautiful by
the presence of snow.
Next, he read three newer poems:
"Two Questions"; "The Piano," which
he described as a love poem, wryly
indicating that this admission was
foreshadowing, not announcing; and
"More Bees," one of the many poems
he has written which deals with bees.
The bulk of the reading consisted of
poems contained in "The Vandals." He
started with "The Vandals" and moved
on to "Another Poem about the Vandals."
It was not long before he inserted some
humor into his remarks between poems.
"I like microphones," he said. "Me
and my microphone are friends. If you
were a poet, you could be friends with a
microphone too."
Next, Parker read "The Vandals,
Dying" and "In the Pre-dawn Light
which is the Poem." Before reading
"Cruelty, the Vandals Say," Parker told
he audience of his early decision to kill
animals in his poetry, largely because
people have become desensitized to
violence against humans. He recalled
that the first time George read one of his
poems depicting the death of an animal,
she responded with a shocked "oh!"
"I kill animals in this book like you
wouldn't believe," he said. "It allows
me to write about pain and suffering."
He also noted that the poem included a
cameo by his father. "And You and I"
centers around the lovers, recurring
characters in the book who appear in this
poem in the distorted image of a Chagall
painting.
For "The God of the Vandals," Parker
adopted a southern dialect with which
he has become quite familiar while living
in North Carolina.
"There's a little Arlo Guthrie in that,"
Parker quipped. "Sue me, after you buy
the book:" While reading "At the Car
Wash, the Vandals Sing," Parker sang the
words which the vandals sing in the
at the Avalon Hotel in Erie from 7:30
a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The conference was
created for teenagers in the Erie area so
that both youth and parents will have the
opportunity to learn about various issues
that teens face today.
The topics that were discussed at the
meeting were eating disorders,
pregnancy, drugs and alcohol, STDs
(sexually transmitted diseases), dating
violence, HIV and AIDS, men's issues
of relationships, abstinence and teen
parenting. There were also a few
sessions for adults, only.
"FHC is mainly located in the
Pittsburgh area," said Dr. Carl KEdlgren,
Director of Administration and Outreach
at CORE. "Having an office in Erie is
such a great help for the youth in this
area and in turn helps us. We are
delighted to be working with FHC on
various projects because we will be able
to expand and reach out to teenagers,
parents and teachers by bringing more
sex education into the schools and also
to special populations, such as the Barber
Center and other youth organizations."
CORE was originally designed in
order to "provide research, evaluation,
Erin McCarty, News Editor
lbehrcolls@aoLcom
poem. The final vandals poem he read
was "In Abundance, the Vandals."
"It's amazing how amazingly
fortunate I feel to be in a position where
people will sit through my work," Parker
said. He went on to debunk the notion
of a "starving artist," saying that he
didn't write poetry when he was starving
because he was too busy starving.
"My new work is very involved with
how lucky I am," he said. He concluded
his reading with two newer poems,
"Books and Money" and "Driving Past
my Exit," describing the blissful but
rather hazardous phenomenon of
temporary insanity.
Parker stayed to answer audience
questions and sign copies of his books,
which were available for purchase. The
Creative Writer's Speaker Series
concludes in March with Amy Hempel,
writer of fiction and nonfiction.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Alan Michael Parker, former Behrend
professor and author of three books
of poetry, was the second writer to
speak in Behrend's Creative Writer's
Speaker Series. He currently
teaches at Davidson College.
and grant writing services to teen
pregnancy prevention service providers.
CORE has also expanded its focus
beyond teen pregnancy organizations to
include other social service agencies,
health care organizations, educational
institutions, and industry in
Northwestern Pennsylvania."
The goals of this association are "to
enhance community agencies'
productivity, to identify and transfer
'best practices' in service delivery to
local agencies, and to assist agencies in
securing funding."
One project it will work on together is
taking surveys in the state to understand
what adults think about sex education
whether or not adults want this in the
schools. More projects are creating
clinic services in order to understand
different areas, sustained healthy youth
development so that visits will be
continuous and not a one-time deal, and
media campaigns to make people more
aware of teen issues.
For more information, call the CORE
office at 898-6397, or go to the CORE
website at www.pserie.psu.edu/hss/
core.htm