Friday, November 5, 2004
Lion Ambassadors do
more than required
By Kara Schmiemann
staff writer
Due to a lack of applications, the Lion Am
bassadors have decided to postpone the dead
line until today. They have received about 12
applications, therefore, you still have some time
today to get your chance to join in the fun. Do
not let this opportunity pass you by.
Today is the latest day that the members of
the Lion Ambassadors can extend the applica
tion due date. This was done to give everyone
a greater opportunity to submit their applica
tions.
“The reason that the Lion Ambassador appli
cation due date was extended was because we
had several students tell us that they were still
waiting for letters of recommendation from
people and we felt that it would be beneficial
to extend the application due date,” said Donald
Hackworth EEBD 07. “This will allow us to
expand our application pool so that we can se
lect the quality of students deserving of the or
ganization allowing us to expand our services
to the campus as well as to the student body.”
The Lion Ambassadors are an organization
who has goals and ambitions, as stated in the
Ambassadors mission statement posted on their
website. They want to “help alumni, students
and friends of the University realize that their
involvement with Penn State can and should
be a lifetime experience.”
Some of the activities Lion Ambassadors can
look forward to participating in over the years
are Penn State Behrend’s Open House, Spirit
7 Heart Huckabees' is
existentially incredible
FOX SEARCH LIGHT PICTURES
Jude Law, far left, stars as Brad Stand in the not-so-popular new movie by Fox Search Light
Pictures.
By Aaron J. Amendola
Staff writer
Sitting alone in my seat, I was wondering if possi
bly I walked into the wrong theatre. I casually strolled
out the door and looked up. Theatre #2, showing “I
Heart Huckabees,” with myself as the sole viewer. I
assured myself there was an actual showing and took
my seat again. I unsealed the Pepsi I smuggled in
along with leftover Halloween candy my parents had
and silently decided that perhaps some people
weren’t ready for a film like “I Heart Huckabees.”
The lights came down and over the next two hours I
experienced something akin to enlightenment.
“I Heart Huckabees” centers around two dueling
personalities: Albert Markovski (Jason
Schwartzman) and Brad Stand (Jude Law). Where
Albert is the shy-natured, altruistic environmental
ist, Brad is a people-pleasing, capitalist executive.
When the two have a falling out of sorts, Jason raises
the all too powerful question of “What’s it all about?”
and seeks answers with a team of existential detec
tives (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin). What Albert
is led on is a journey through the mind, body and
soul of his being. As it turns out for Albert and Brad,
discovering who you really are isn’t the answer, it’s
only a part of the question.
It all sounds pretty heady right? Well, it is, but it
works. Director David O’ Russell seems to weave
the plot around his fingers as he constructs a narra
tive that never fails to keep you guessing where it is
going next. O’ Russell juggles so many themes in
the movie, all philosophical and “out of the box” so
to say, that I’m surprised he presented them all so
equally. Every character throughout the film has a
wholly different outlook on life, with the basic “why
are we here?” motif. If it weren’t for the comedic
STUbINT Lira
Day, Founder’s Day and the Logan Wintergreen
Series.
“We like to do other things outside of the re
quired events such as dinner, going to Otter’s
games, skiing and movies,” said Kassi Hindman
COMB A 05.
The Ambassadors have noticed that students
at Behrend are less clear about their reasons to
be here. The Lion Ambassadors took it upon
themselves to ensure that our school spirit and
mentality toward being here is heightened.
“That’s one of the main reasons Lion Ambas
sadors took over Midnight Bingo. The organi
zation wanted it back because we knew that the
student body was sad to see it retired during the
2003-2004 school years.
“We are currently looking into more ways to
involve the organization with the students again,”
said Hackworth.
Individuals in the Ambassadors are extremely
friendly and will go out of their way to lend you
a hand if you asked for it. This is yet another
reason to join the Ambassadors.
“I found that they were easy to talk to and fun
to be around,” said Hackworth.
“Each spring we have a CNC conference with
all other Ambassadors from the other Penn State
campuses,” said Hindman, the social chair of the
Ambassadors. “Last year it was actually held here
at Behrend but this year we will once again be
traveling to University Park.
“I feel the Ambassadors to a wonderful job
making us feel good about our school,” said
Jenna O’Block COMBA 01.
nature of the film, it would all be too much to take in
but the players here create great multi-faceted charac
ters to watch.
Schwartzman’s Albert Markovski essentially plays
the audience, asking the questions we want to know
the answers to but struggle to achieve.
Jude Law gives an Oscar worthy performance as
Brad Stand who may stand as the most relatable char
acter brought to film this year. We all know a Brad
Stand, we may not know it, but in everyone’s life there
is a Brad Stand. All the quirks, idiosyncrasies, words
and thoughts all are marvelously ripped from real life
it seems and Law just works wonders with it.
Naomi Watts may just be the most gorgeous woman
working in cinema today but her looks only accentu
ate her talent, as she delivers some of the funniest
scenes in the film along with Mark Wahlberg who just
molds into perfect shape as Albert’s “other.”
The film is, at best, not for everyone. It’s clearly
made not for a conclusion, but for more questions. The
whole point of the movie is to challenge us to think
outside of the box and help us draw our own conclu
sions. David O’Russell has made an incredibly deep
movie with substantial meaning but it will not be re
ceived well by audiences simply because of it’s over
the-top narrative and the fact that most people don’t
want to go to a film to be preached upon. They want to
be entertained.
Most will sit down to watch the movie and immedi
ately be confused, waiting for a punch line or an ex
plosion. You won’t find that here folks. Just good ol’
plain commentary in the form of great acting, smart
writing, and a genius director. I’m hoping the film gar
ners some sort of recognition from the Oscars or
Golden Globes but I won’t hold my breath. If you’re
feeling existential, why not drop by the theatre and
catch a showing? I doubt it’ll be there much longer.
Reality Check taking
students to NYC
On campus helps those in Staten Island
By Jenna O’Block
staff writer
Are you looking for something to do over
your winter break? Well if you are, Reality
Check is sponsoring a trip to NYC Jan. 2-7
and it’s for any Behrend student who is in
terested in going.
“It’s a great time to fill up the breaks and
give you something to do,” said Kelly Shrout,
the coordinator of Community Service and
the Smith Chapel.
During the course of the trip you would
be working with the Catholic Charities
Project Hospitality.
“It is not a religious thing,” said Shrout. It
is a community service project that is work
ing with the homeless. Not only do you do
community service, but you also can listen
to a few seminars that talk about the home
less and living with HIV/AIDS. The Reality
Check will be doing these things during the
day; however, the night is free to do what
ever you want in the city.
“Everyone knows NYC is awesome but we
feel the great city needs a little reality check,”
said Eric Marker. “We are going to give it to
them.”
Some of the things the group is going to be
doing with the homeless will be working in
the soup kitchen and making and distribut
ing bags of food to people with special medi
cal needs. You can also volunteer at the drop
off center where homeless people come to
change their clothes, eat, shower or just to
get away from being outside. Some other
places you can volunteer at are the Scatter
j, DOMINO’S PIZZA VALUE MENU
JUk Gannon, Mercyhurst and Penn State Behrend
students can now choose any item from Domino’s
Pizza’s new Value Menu for Only $7.99*
1. 1 Large Pizza with cheese and 1 topping only $7.99
2. 1 Medium 1 topping pizza and and order of Cheesy bread
only $7.99
3. Choose any 3 bread products (Cinna stix, Cheesy bread,
Breadsticks) only $7.99
4. 10 Buffalo Wings or Domino’s Pizza Buffalo Chicken Kick
ers and an order of Breadsticks only $7.99
5. 2 individuals size (8”) pizzas with 1 topping plus 2 20 oz
Cokes only $7.99
BONUS: PARTY SPECIAL - 3 MEDIUM 1 TOPPING PIZZAS
ONLY $15.00 OR 3 LARGE 1 TOPPING PIZZAS FOR ONLY
$21.00.
Domino’s Pizza has 2 great locations here in Erie: 128
W. 12th St. (459-4599) serving Gannon and Mercyhurst stu
dents and 3303 Buffalo Rd. (898-8400) serving Penn State
students.
Domino’s Pizza is open for lunch everyday at 11 a.m.
and is open late until 1 am Sunday thru Thursday and 2 a.m
on Friday and Saturday **.
* VALUE MENU PRICES ARE ONLY VALID FOR ON CAMPUS DELIVERY OR
CARRYOUT
** Hours may vary seasonally
Get the door. It’s Domino’s.
The Behrend Beacon |
Site Housing, where people are living with
HIV/AIDS or at a woman’s shelter.
“Not only are you helping others it is an
amazing learning experience,” said Chandra
Giger. “Not to mention an awesome week with
a great group of kids!”
The group will be staying at a hotel that is
called Jazz on the town. It is located right on
14 th street on Staten Island.
“It’s a great way for them to be introduced
to travel as cheap as possible,” said ShrOut.
The whole trip only costs $5O per person.
“Fifty dollars for five days is a great deal,”
said Shrout.
Reality Check is a student run organization
that has been at Behrend for nine years. The
organization started after the first alternatitve
spring break took a trip to Maryland. Every
year the group sponsors a trip somewhere. In
the past, they have gone to Alabama, Kansas,
Florida, Baltimore, Cleveland, and New York
City where they are going again in Jan.
Reality Check is a great club to be a part of
if anyone out there is looking for community
service opportunities or any kind of out reach.
“I went on the trip to Nashville this past
spring,” said Eric Marker. “This trip was like
a mini- Road Rules or Real World. For me per
sonally, this was a mind expanding and eye
opening experience.”
“I promise you this will be one of the best
weeks of your life, should you choose to get
on the bus to NYC,” said Giger.
“The great thing is there is no joining” said
Shrout. Anyone can go to NYC; it doesn’t mean
that you have to be part of the organization.