Eileen Falkenberg, Editorial Page Editor
The Behrend Beacon
,„„ „ „„, „ „ ,„ s,„ „,( „
News Editors
Courtney Straub
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Kevin Fiorenzo
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Eileen Falkenberg
Features Editor
Erika Jarvis
Greek Life Editor
Eileen Falkenberg
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Giving thanks
by Amy Wilczynski
calendar page editor
Since I began college I have really
developed an appreciation for my fam
ily. I still live at home with my parents
and siblings, and the thought of mov
ing away from "the nest" is both ex
citing and scary as hell. I remember
when 1 was in high school and how
embarrassed I was by taking family
trips to the mall or movies. I prayed
no one would see me hanging out with
my whole family. I was at the age when
no one ever was seen with their fam
ily; it just wasn't cool. Looking back I
feel that is the stupidest excuse to be
cool. I wouldn't even be here today if
it weren't for my family. I can go one
step further than that: if my parents did
not fall in love with each other, I would
not be here, nor would my brother or
sister.
My family means the world to me. 1
may not tell or show them enough, but
they know that they are what have
helped me develop into the woman 1
am today. Every bit of sibling rivalry
or arguments with my parents has in
some profound way had an effect on
me. My parents have taught me to re
spect others; my siblings have taught
me how to handle the difficult people
in the world that I will inevitably face.
I cannot imagine a life without my
family.
I can make fun of my brother and
sister all I want, but the second some
one outside the family makes fun of
them, big sis will step in and save the
day. I can't stand it when someone else
picks on my siblings, because I take it
offensively. I love my brother and sis
ter so much that I can feel their pain.
If my brother is ticked off at his room-
Recently two Maryland high school
students were suspended for kissing in
a cafeteria. This sounds normal enough,
but there's a major wrinkle in this story.
The two students, Katherine Pecore and
Stephanie Haaser kissed in order to
protest. They leaped up onto a table in
the cafeteria, shouted "end homophobia
now" and kissed.
The Beacon feels that their suspension
was warranted. The students are not
being suspended because their act was
homosexual, but because it was
inappropriate. It is important not to
confuse this action by the school as anti
homosexual.
If a guy and a gal would have jumped
up onto a table in most high schools
across this country, shouted something,
and then started making out, they would
Editor in Chief
Lauren Packer
Managing Editor
Robert Wynne
Assistant Managing Editor
Scott Soltis
1
11 1 -., Calendar Page Editor
Amy Wilczynski
)
Healthy Living Editors
--- ..."- Courtney Straub
Erika Jarvis
THE BEHREND Adviser
Beacon Cathy L Roan, Ph.D
Copy Editors
"A newspaper by the Carolyn M. Tellers
students for the students" Kristin Bowers
for family tip s
the situation. If my siste rying ut
the jerk that made a nasty comment to
her. I feel just as sad. Maybe it's be
cause they are the only people I can
truly say I have grown up with. As I
get older, I realize that I need my sib
lings as my support, my backbone, and
my confidants.
We all remember times when our
little brother did something to embar
rass us in front of someone important,
like the time little bro listened in on a
private phone conversation with my
boyfriend and I, then made fun of me
for the way I sweet talked for the next
3 months. It's aggravating; however,
those are the things I remember. Or the
time when my little sis decided to try
out all my makeup and pretend she was
innocent. Did she think I wouldn't no
tice the tooth mark in my lipstick of
the broken eyeliner tip?
As the old saying goes, you never
know what you have, until it's gone'. I
don't believe this saying holds true for
me because 1 still spend a good amount
of quality time with my family and I
love it. I get excited when my parents
ask if I want to go to the movies with
them. When I am in a bad mood, a good
shopping trip with mom always cheers
me up.
This Thanksgiving I am more thank
ful for my family than ever. This may
be my last Thanksgiving at home. Of
course that doesn't mean I won't come
home for the holidays, because I vow
right now to make coming home for the
holidays top on my list of priorities.
Family is the most important thing in
my life, and they are not something I
plan on putting on the back burner.
Whether I stay in Erie after gradua
tion or move a couple states away, I will
carry with me the values I learned from
my family, after all, that's what made
have likely received a similar
punishment.
While the two girls do have a noble
cause, there were many ways they could
express their view without violating
school policy. The two girls aver very
proud of the attention drawn to their
cause, and it is a good discussion to have.
However, the school's Gay-Straight
Alliance club could have easily
organized something within the
parameters of school policy to bring the
issue to the forefront.
It is important to discuss as many
issues facing students as possible, as long
as they are approached in the right way.
Acts that violate policies or laws under
the guise of a good cause are just as
wrong and punishable as those done for
the wrong reasons.
DITORIAL
Advertising Manager
Ryan Russell
ASE Editor
Daniel J. Stasiewski
Friday, November 21, 2003
Dance steps on other organizations' toes
by Eileen Falkenberg
editorial page editor
Snaps to Ohio Hall Council for try
ing to pull off a Homecoming this year.
Good idea, but it's not, and should not,
work. This is why.
The number one reason is that Ohio
Hall Council did not do their homework.
Hundreds of colleges across the United
States have Homecoming events each
year local colleges included. Who puts
on these events each year? I'm no sci
entist and I couldn't find any solid num
bers, but from personal experience I
can tell you that Homecoming is usu
ally put on by social Greek organiza
tions.
Why? It is because one single orga
nization, especially a hall council, would
have a hard and stressful time planning
such a big event. With a homecoming
organized with Greek help, there would
not only be two councils but seven chap
ters that would be able to pick up some
of the workload and stress.
I'm certainly am not saying Greeks
could do it better. I am saying that there
are more Greeks than Hall Council
members. Within these large numbers
are people that plan semi-formals, date
auctions, Greek Fair, Greek Week, High
• i 1 - wards . • formals
Top 10 most underpaid
jobs in the United States
by Chris Pummer
CBS Market Watch
Many Americans complain they're not
paid enough, but most of us are nowhere
near as shortchanged as the country's se
verely underpaid workers.
The degree to which someone is under
paid isn't just a matter of how much money
he or she earns: Two of the 10 jobs below
pay more than the U.S. median of $37,500
a year. Rather, it's a function of how valu
able, or loathsome, the work is relative to
the earnings.
To suggest elementary school teachers
are underpaid is to risk being branded
"anti-education," but they earn $38,000 a
year on average- the equivalent of $48,000
based on a full year, for a potentially ful
filling and enjoyable job.
The same holds for nurses, who are in
fierce demand. While median income is
about $49,000 for staff jobs, experienced
RNs who scale hack during child-rearing
years can earn up to $40,000 a year or more
working two 12-hour per diem shifts a
week. Not bad for part-time work with the
flexibility to set your own hours.
Some underpaid jobs are just transi
tional. College teaching assistants
($12,665 a year) are the Sherpas who carry
the load for tenured professors lecturing
to auditorium classes, whose claim to fame
may be a 20-year-old published text. They
move on from there.
Stay-at-home parents earn nothing for
all they contribute, including cooking,
housekeeping, accounting, tutoring, chauf
feuring and crisis intervention. It's their
household that ultimately is underpaid for
the lifestyle choice they made.
The underpaid are more like the hospi
tal and nursing -home assistants who serve
meals to and encourage sick and old people
to eat, help them to the bathroom and wipe
them when not emptying bedpans, and ex
tend a bit of humanity to those whom the
medical system often treats antiseptically.
What follows is a list of 10 of the most
underpaid jobs in the United States, with
salary and wage figures from the U.S. Bu
reau of Labor Statistics and Salary.com.
They are in no particular order, since one
could argue any of these is the single-most
underpaid:
*Restaurant dishwashers ($7.25 an
hour): The germs and bacteria these people
are exposed to are scary enough to make a
cat walk backward up a wall hissing the
whole time. The mountains of garbage
they scrape off plates, the grease that per
meates pores opened wide by steaming
commercial dishwashers and the general
thanklessness of the job make it horrible
work at twice the pay.
*Consumer Loan Collection Agents
($22,826): The financial-services industry
enriches a lot of its employees, and then
pays these people peanuts to lean on dead
beats. If they've got you on the line, don't
blame them for applying some pressure
and unload a verbal assault on them.
Blame the last zero-percent financing of
fer you bought hook, line and sinker.
*Pest Controller ($24,120): In eradi
cating vermin from rats to cockroaches,
they must crawl into the dark recesses that
rodents inhabit, administer all manner of
chemical "treatments" and retrieve rotting
each year which leads to more event
planning experience. Ohio Hall Coun
cil plans...okay, point made.
Did Ohio Hall Council, knowing how
well-versed in this planning Greeks are,
and knowing other colleges' traditions,
ask or even consult any Greek organi
zation on-campus? No, they sent around
a general questionnaire to all clubs ask
ing how they "feel" about Homecom
ing. The Greek organizations have got
ten the message, loud and clear; Ohio
Hall Council doesn't want help.
But, they do want to infringe on other
traditional Greek programming in the
process. One of Ohio Hall Council's
goals is to crown a Homecoming King
and Queen. Which, in and of itself,
sounds like a good idea- until you do
your research.
Alpha Sigma Tau has, over the past
few years, rebuilt its sorority and begun
to put an amazing amount of effort into
its on-campus programs, such as the Mr.
and Miss Penn State Behrend Pageant.
This program is not only a vital one for
the sorority but also a fun event for all
Behrend students, especially including
those who are not in Greek organiza
tions.
When does the Mr. and Miss Penn
State Behrend Pageant occur? Every
s 'fin semester. When does Ohio Hall
carcasses on their periodic service calls.
We pay them a pittance to make the noises
in the wall go away, and rid our kitchens
of creepy crawlers we don't want to ad
mit to hosting.
*Slaughterers and Meatpackers
($20,010): Unlike their often well-paid
counterparts unionized supermarket
butchers these heavy lifters of the meat
processing industry are doing the work
that we never want to think about as we're
marinating our strip steaks or searing our
baby backs on the grill.
*Police Officers ($41,950): For all the
strain the job puts on their psyches, cops
don't earn nearly enough, never mind that
they're always in harm's way. We pay
them to be society's voice of authority,
and then shy away from them. No man is
an island except for a police officer.
*Substance Abuse Counselors
($31,300): This is the real missionary
work of the social-service system, trying
to rehabilitate lost souls. Many are former
abusers who can't find gainful work from
suspicious employers and risk falling
backward from being around dopers and
drunks. They generally fail to save a
population most of us have written off,
including relatives and friends we've
abandoned but persevere for that one
they'll help recover.
*Medical residents ($40,000): These
doctors in training work 60 to 100 hours
a week the equivalent of the dishwasher's
hourly wage. The medical industry skirts
overtime laws because the pay is deemed
a "stipend." Sure, they move on from four
years of residency into six-figure jobs, but
if we paid them more at this stage, maybe
they wouldn't feel so entitled and anx
ious for the hefty income awaiting them.
*Funeral Home Attendants
($19,200) and Morgue Attendants
($26,167): They see dead people, in the
flesh every day. They check in corpses
and comfort grieving relatives in the most
depressing work environment short of the
front lines of a battlefield. A cancer ward
is cheery by comparison.
*Emergency Medical Technicians
and Paramedics ($25,450): Down the
road, their patients will be treated by well
compensated doctors if they survive; it's
these front-line medical experts who
greatly enhance survival chances. Look
for their pay to increase as overweight
Baby Boomers discover their mainte
nance meds failing them in the damnedest
of places.
*Preschool Teacher ($21,907): Day
care workers ($19,900) are notoriously
underpaid, but the real dishonor is paid
to the preschool teachers who lead our 3-
and 4-year-olds in ABCs and 1-2-3 s in
our vast, dual-income absence. Birth to
age 5 are critical years in the develop
ment of a child's personality and intelli
gence, yet we pay these people little more
than we fork out for a babysitter on a Sat
urday night.
The vast majority of Americans would
never consider doing these 10 jobs, ei
ther because of the poor pay or what's
involved. Still, in every case, they're per
forming an indispensable service, and we
all owe them a debt of gratitude for it.
The Behrend Beacon
Council want to crown their King and
Queen? This spring semester.
Effectively, Ohio Hall Council has ig
nored another organization's event to
promote their own. OLAS practically
owns Friday Fiesta. If another organi
zation put on an event with a different
name, but with the same purpose, just a
few weeks before Friday Fiesta, how
would OLAS react? Alpha Sigma Al
pha has Date Auction, Sig Tau Gamma
has an annual volleyball tournament,
SGA has THOSI same situation.
Personally, I support any organization
working to create effective programming
for the Behrend community. What I do
not support is ignorance. Stepping on
other people's toes for your
organization's own personal program
ming gain is not only unethical but ludi-
Why couldn't Homecoming be in the
fall? We have athletic teams in the fall
that are just as important as those that
play in the winter and spring. Why
couldn't Homecoming be an event like
it has in past years at Behrend an alumni
and student event promoting unity?
Have a Homecoming dance. Boogie
all night long. Just don't crown and won
der why you're getting frowned upon.
Serving up a
cup of cheer
by Erika Jarvis
features page editor
The holiday break is coming up and I
don't know about you, but I am ridicu
lously excited to get home. Everyone has
been talking about all the food they'll be
eating over Thanksgiving and how nice it
will be to get away from the food served
at Dobbins and Bruno's. Not me. The holi
day season for me means holiday drinks
at Starbucks!
Yes, Thanksgiving will be nice, but for
some reason I'm not a big fan of traditional
Thanks&lying food. Hold the turkey, stuff
's* man berry saucs,aad pumpkin pie; I'll
hay elgrtog'latte.
When you enter Starbucks during the
holiday season, the store is filled with the
aroma of fresh brewed coffee and cinna
mon spices. The store is decked out in holi
day decorations and people are gathered
around catching up over Frappuccinos or
just leisurely sipping their hot cider and
reading the paper. How does one not feel
merry just being in the presence of all this
holiday goodness?
What I don't understand is why Erie
doesn't have more Starbucks. The only one
in Erie is near Gannon, and then they have
that faux Starbucks in Barnes & Noble.
How can one possibly make it through
their day without passing at the very least
two Starbucks?
From my house a Starbucks is just
about 5 miles away every direction you
drive. Remember 'Cheers' and the song
"Where every body knows your name?"
That song reminds me of the employees
at the Starbucks in Wexford. I love going
in there before I head to work. They al
ready have my Iced Venti Soy Lane ready
and waiting for me, and we're all on a first
name basis. You may be thinking that that
is so stupid and cliché, but hey, knowing
the employees has it perks.
When I order a tall chai, I'm presented
with a venti chai. The employees often up
my beverage size free of charge. When
these fabulous people are in the holiday
spirit, I'm often handed free beverage cou
pons and even given a discount sometimes.
Man, the holidays are so great!
I know many other people don't entirely
see my viewpoint of how when I think of
the holidays, I think Starbucks. Blame it
on society. We're stuck in a world where
image is everything and brand names are
the only way to go. Starbucks is the band
wagon of the new millennium and I en
courage everyone to jump on board.
Not feeling the holiday spirit just quite
yet? That's tine, take a trip to Starbucks
and indulge in their gingerbread latte. I
promise you, you won't be disappointed.
If you can manage to escape Starbucks not
humming one of the many holiday songs
they have playing, or even feeling that
twinge of holiday cheer then I congratu
late you. They have got me hook, line and
sinker. I've been a Starbucks-aholic for a
good 5 or 6 years now. I'm thinking I need
a support group.
So when you're home over break and
still a little hungry after your Thanksgiv
ing feast, head on over to Starbucks for an
after dinner coffee. If you're in Wexford
over Thanksgiving break you'll be sure to
find me soaking in all the holiday cheer
the employees have to offer.
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