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The Behrend Beacon
The Behrend Beacon
, I, / „ / „ I, „ I ,( „
News Editor
Erin McCarty
Assistant News Editor
Jen Henderson
Sports Editor
Scott Soltis
Assistant Sports Editor
Lauren Packer
Editorial Page Editor
Paige Miles Beacon
Features Editor
Karl Benacci
"A newspaper by the
Staff Photographers students for the students"
Jeff Hankey
Heather Myers
The Beacon is published
weekly by the students of
Penn State Erie,
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.
I learned nothing
Because this is my final normal editorial, excluding the
goodbye editorial I will be writing in the last Beacon, I've
decided to spend some time on something that won't be cov
ered in my goodbye piece. Don't worry, I won't be writing
about war, because I think that subject has been beaten like a
dead mongoose hanging from a rope.
Instead, I will write about a few of the things I learned in
college. Yes, this sounds like a cliché, but this is what I learned,
and not what anyone else has learned. In my four years at
Behrend, I've acquired lots of educational ideas.
but no one wants to hear about that. They w
hear about parties, dancing, and chaos. Well,
want that sort of thing, talk to a real party su
Jack Burke.
Like I said, I'm here to talk about the
clean things, because if I talk about bad
things, my father will disown me and my
mother will make me sleep in the ga
rage.
To begin, I've learned that Lion Karl Benacci
Cash is the stupidest thing in the
world. Please get rid of it. My room
mate, Mike, can't wash his clothes because the Lion Cash
machine won't break his bills. This is rough, because my
roommate has to wear a toga to class because everything else
of his is dirty.
Speaking of unclean, I think it's safe to say that even if a
person is a pig, his or her roommates will be worse. I'm a
messy guy—l said messy, not dirty. I'll have papers every
where and CDs all over my desk, but there won't be dirt any
where near my things. My roommate, Mike, is the same way.
We keep our room messy, but clean. Unfortunately, our two
roommates act like disgusting slobs. They cook and leave a
mess, urinate on the bathroom floor, and blow food up in my
microwave. Would anyone like to live with people like that?
If so, please let me know, and Mike and I will gladly trade
our roommates for yours.
My favorite observation: the more innocent someone is at
the beginning of college life, the worse they will become. I
Pondering the word 'senior,' part 3:
I told you 'Squirt' would be in the next
editorial. Ah yes, it is the baby of the
Weindorf family, the little sister who is
12 years younger than I am. -
gets everything she wants.
Okay, maybe not every
thing. Perhaps more than I
do, but when you are an anal,
firstborn perfectionist like
myself, you tend to look at
your younger siblings that
way.
Part of my job as a non- - a n d
fiction and editorial Undressed f rom the neck up carry
writer is to bring to- Becky Weindorf acurd
gether two dissimi-
lar things and make some c " ' year-hip.
sense out of them. I hope that in Perhaps this is where the senior
my meanderings that I find something part comes in: if I never had a little
in common with 'senior' and 'squirt,' sister at home, I would have never
other than they both start with the letter learned the responsibility of taking
'S.' care of one, especially when I could
Sara (her real name) kicked my hand
when she was about six months old in
my mother's womb, and she's been kick
ing ever since. That is, she decided to
take up soccer about a year ago: scoring
goals here, giving a little defense there,
and always doing it with a huge, buck
toothed smile. She is often seen tagging
around the house on my sister Cindy's
heels, asking to come into her room and
Editor-in-Chief
Kevin Fallon
Managing Editors
Rebecca Weindorl
Robert Wynne
11111;26.--1
Professional Publication Mgr.
Dave Richards
Advisor
Cathy Roan
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 behrcoll2@aol.com. Letters
must be received no later than
5 p.m. Monday for inclusion in
sometimes crashing a sleepover or
two.
But this little kid is like my half
half-sibling because I al
's volunteered to baby-sit,
Inge diapers, give baths, or
latever else that my mother
predated. It made me feel
nportant, like I was really
doing something around
the house. I had a baby
stay in bed when it was time for her
2 a.m. feeding. And if I never learned
the responsibility, I might have made
a few straying decisions and not
ended up with a bachelor's degree. I
made it my own goal to finish col
lege no matter what, since I was one
of the reasons my parents weren't
able to finish their degrees - I at
tended my parent's wedding five
.p
TO RIAL
Advertising Manager
Christine Kleck
Calendar Page Editor
Erinn Hansen
A&E Editor
Daniel J. Stasiewski
Associate Editor
Mike Butala
Healthy Living Editor
Courtney Straub
Distribution Manager
Scott Soltis
that week's issue
know a number of individuals who came to college with
souls as white as snow, but now their lives revolve around
sex, drugs and other things we dare not speak of. It's these
people who make life interesting, though. I thank them all
because they make me feel like my life is wonderful.
Moving on, I've learned if anyone comes to a class sick,
they will sit next to you. This happens to me all the time.
These people make college a germ cesspool, and before one
knows it, everyone is sick.
I've also discovered people are quite apathetic toward
my things. I say this in part because I've never received
ttter from the editor concerning one of my editorials or
nies. Perhaps this is because nobody reads what I write
7ept for my mother, but I digress. Another example in
volves doing something nice for someone. One can give
an individual a ride to campus or help them out in
some other way, but will rarely receive a
'thank-you' from anyone. This makes me
Oh, you didn't know? frown.
I never knew people loved breaking and
pillaging things until I attended Behrend, ei
ther. Last Halloween, I bought a cardboard
scarecrow and put him in the grass in front of my apart
ment. What happened? Someone stole my damn scarecrow!
I ask you, why?! He was my friend.
One can also see all of the broken bottles around campus
I admit, it may be funny to watch people smash a bottle and
run off, especially when they're intoxicated, but it's not cool
to live in a quad with broken bottles everywhere. I've also
seen a tree ripped in half, cement blocks busted everywhere,
smashed windows, and lots more. It's crazy.
Finally, Rob Wynne, the managing editor, states a valid
point when he says that the freshmen class looks younger
and younger every year. Before long, there will be rows
and rows of Huffy bicycles in front of the Reed Union Build
ing as opposed to cars.
Well, this editorial took me 20 minutes to write. Can any
one tell? Enjoy the rest of the semester, everyone.
sister to take care of
Friday, April 11, 2003
`Cool' stuff sucks
First of all, I think that I should explain
that I hate pop culture. I took the class
pop culture of the 70s and I totally sucked
while everyone did well. I'm tak
ing pop media arts -
some people just don
Pop culture sucks,
takes the greatest this
and exploits them.
things that should ha'
never been cool till
eventually died out any
then came back. Let'
just put it this way, thi
original pop culture is
like acid, and when i.
comes back like five
years later, it's the
flashback. Everyone
knows acid is better the
first time.
Certain stuff will never be cool
again. Things such as "Rebel Rock,"
"skinny ties," and "bandanas," wait, those
were never cool. But some things died
away and came back that shouldn't have;
not that they were bad, they just shouldn't
have gotten exploited again. Here are a
few key samples.
Denim jackets These were all the rage
10 years ago and for whatever reason they
came back. It must be the comfort of lug
ging around a 35-pound, uncomfortable
jacket or the whole "indy rock-Eurotrash"
following. I had two, back in the day.
And Eurotrash is still kinda cool. Like
months before I was born.
My parents are happily married and
quite successful; a college education
wasn't what it is today. In experience, my
father could very well have a master's de
gree in software engineering. The point
is, little Sara was one of my adolescent
inspirations to behave and get myself to
this day, this moment, sitting in front of
my computer at midnight on Wednesday
pounding out an editorial. One of my last
editorials.
I'm not going to get too mushy here
since I have one more column at the end
of the year, and that's when I'll pour on
the sentimentalism. And many, many
people had a role in why I am about to
complete my BIGGEST GOAL EVER
(emphasis on BIGGEST here). But Sara,
just like my other siblings, had a role in
how I came to this moment.
I guess this is my way of saying thank
you to my siblings. There are other ways
to say thank you, of course, but everyone
has their own way. So go find your own
way and thank you to the people who
helped you to where you are today, sitting
in your room or on one of the Reed
couches. You might brighten their day
their week!
P.S. This is for those who will celebrate
this April 20: Happy Easter.
Mike Butala
`Squ
the Stones suck but Supergrass is
kinda cool and David Bowie is god.
Needless to say, denim jackets suck.
They were kinda cool when like one
wear one and people
ould say, "I remem
er those!" Now you
can't escape 'em.
Thick-rimmed
glasses My dad had
these things and I
thought they were
awesome when I
was 8 years old and
always wanted
them, but ya know,
where could you find
them? It's sad
that I had to wait
until they were
popular before I
could sport them. By the way, for all
who care, since Pitt lost my dad locked
himself in the bathroom with a bucket
of fudge and Fig Newtons. Doctors
say it's just a phase.
Handkerchiefs Okay, I don't know
who down the line brought these back
but whoever it was needs a beating by
yours truly in a dark, deserted alley. I
mean these things are ridiculous. I
think it's the whole emo movement. I
heard they go well with denim jack
ets.
Obesity Back in the day, men used
to pick their women according to how
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor
After reading Erik Woods' Letter to
the Editor in last week's Beacon (April
4, 2003), I realized Mr. Woods and I
have something in common: we both
support the attack on Iraq led by the
United States and Great Britain. Our
similarities, however, end there.
I confront Mr. Woods with his own
words from last week's letter: What is
your malfunction? Are you not an
American citizen? If your response to
that is yes, then I am embarrassed of
you. I am embarrassed because in his
statement, Mr. Woods expresses his
complete misunderstanding, or possibly
unawareness, of our First Amendment,
which expressly grants all Americans
the freedom to voice disagreements with
our government in peaceful assembly.
Under Saddam Hussein's rule, Iraqis do
not have this freedom Mr. Woods has
chosen to attack.
Mr. Woods calls Behrend's protestors
"un-American" and asks them to think
about the message they are sending to
our troops. I think their message can be
interpreted as one of confirmation. By
exercising their right to protest, protest
ors are reminding the Coalition soldiers
of the democratic freedoms they are
fighting to give to the Iraqis.
Woods wrote, "They fought with their
lives for freedom while you stood out-
To Whom it May Concern:
We are completely appalled at the
idea that people who protest war are un-
American. The fact that people are
voicing their opinions about what the
government is doing is exactly what the
Constitution encourages us to do and
protects for us.
When people say, "Have you forgot
ten 9-11?" do they also forget that it
was not completely an attack on the
United States? Do they forget that it
was an attack on capitalism, and the
world? It was an attack on the SYM
BOL of economic stability and the ex
pansion of Western Capitalism, along
with universalism. The closed
mindedness of the apparent majority in
the United States is sickening when we
think back to the ideas that this coun
try was founded on. Do you also forget
that what Hitler did to the Jews, gyp
sies, blacks, mentally handicapped, and
such people is an act of genocide, ex
actly what we did to the Native Ameri
cans? If you're a Native American in
the United States you face oppression
in so many forms other than racial; you
cannot even get a driver's license un
less you deny your own heritage.
Huzzah for the melting pot!
You say Hussein is a bully, but do
you realize that the United States of
America is also a bully? Who stuck
their nose into Vietnam and fought a
fruitless war only to stop an idea from
spreading? It just couldn't have been
the United States, where we put people
on trial just because they believe in
something called "communism" and
blacklist people for things that have
nothing to do with how good or bad a
Paige Miles, Editorial Page Editor
curvy they were. Not like stacked, but
like being obese. Well, this is like the
newest, greatest thing because EVERY
ONE is getting on this. I remember in
the early 90s Slim-Fast used to be really
cool. I liked those days.
Chuck Taylors Give me a break. I
mean these, things AREN'T comfortable.
"Yes, they are!" cries the little emo kid
in the corner, and to that kid I say this:
"You've let pop culture take over your
life so much that you've convinced your
selves these shoes ARE comfortable.
You know what? You're just about the
lamest group of people in the world. You
took something so personal and great and
exploited it to be mainstream and 'dif
ferent."' I might add I want a pair of
these shoes. I'm a size 10.
With all of that said, I have a few pre
dictions of things that will be pop cul
ture within the next year. Starter jack
ets, flannel shirts, Bugs Bunny, beer, any
thing with a rattlesnake on it, Harley-
Davidson, whiskey, John Denver, Fire
ball Island, the movie "The Wizard,"
mob movies, Fruit Roll-Ups, cottage
cheese, the Vengaboys, Boy George, the
Barrybostwickband, Pitt basketball, and
Magic Cards.
So before they all become pop culture,
stack up on all this stuff and be the trendy,
lame piece of feces that makes you a
Behrend student.
side holding signs saying what they were
doing was wrong." Yes, many soldiers sac
rificed their lives in the name of freedom,
but protestors will often admit that while
they do not support the attacks, they do
support the U.S. soldiers. As unlikely as
war may seem at the time, every soldier
knows when they enlist there is a chance
he or she may be called to combat. It is
President Bush who called for the attacks,
but it is then enlisted soldiers who must
do as their Commander-In-Chief orders. I
do not dismiss the significance of the pos
sibility of Mr. Woods' own friend being
deployed, but I remind him that a dozen
Behrend students have already been called
to active duty.
As absurd and disorganized as his argu
ment is, Mr. Woods himself, like Behrend's
protestors, is demonstrating his undeniably
American right to speak out. I hope he
realizes while he has falsely dubbed
Behrend's protestors as "un-American"
through his negligent words and immature
ideas, Mr. Woods has categorized himself
as an "un-American" as well. Although I
support the attack against Iraq, I also re
spect the opinions of those who do not.
Ryan Anthony
Research Technologist
person is. How about that Red Scare, guys?
Can't have a commie running around here!
And as for "Saddam funding the Sept. llth
bombing"—actually based out of Afghani
stan; the evidence fingering Saddam turned
out to be U.S. fabrications.
Now, we're not saying that war-support
ers are not valid in their thinking; we're
only saying that you have no right ridicul
ing us for our beliefs, calling us un-Ameri
can and such just because we support
peace. Sending our troops home is a
GOOD thing; it means that our brothers,
sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, uncles,
aunts, and so on are "safe" from harm.
Harm happens when force is used. We
don't particularly care to spend millions
of dollars on weapons of mass destruction,
just so we can go in and smash someone
else's weapons of mass destruction. Na
palm and Agent Orange were used in Viet
nam, but I didn't see anyone bombing D.C.
or New York.
We're sorry if you disagree with us, but
we cannot condone something that could
have been stopped years ago. Personal ven
dettas are fun and all, but I don't think it's
very wise to carry on Daddy's war just be
cause he didn't end it when he could've.
We hope that people reading this think
about why they do or do not support this
war, but please realize: the fact that we are
exercising our rights as Americans by pro
testing does not make us un-American in
any way. Honestly, it makes us more
American than the silent supporters.
Brittany Hess
English, 06
Chris Strayer
English, 02