Friday, January 28, 2005
Should we have a shuttle , service to transport students to
drinking establishments?
"Yes, it's a lot safer to trans
port people to and from bars
than to risk them killing each
other."
Brittany Hess,
ELISH 10
REALITY CHECK, from Page 1
where most of the Alternative Spring
Breaks included 12 members. They en
courage all students to join and are hop
ing the group grows during the next se
mester.
If interested in joining the organiza
tion, contact De' Adra Walker, presi
dent, or Kelly Shrout, coordinator at the
Smith Chapel 898-6609. They hold
weekly meetings every Tuesday at 5
p.m in the Smith Chapel.
Car Accidents
Drunk Driving Defense
Criminal Defense
Grant C. Travis, Esquire
"Yes, it could lessen underage •
•
drinkin(s."
Brenda Starr, •
ACNTG 05 •
Have a suggestion for Question of the Week? Email your question to us at: behrendbeacon2qtaol.com
First woman completes computer science degree
When Lindsay Patton walks up to re
ceive her degree May 14, it will not only
signify a major change in her life, but in
that of the School of Science. Patton will
be the very first female computer science
graduate from Penn State Erie.
Patton's graduation may serve to attract
more women to the computer science ma-
"I have really had senioritis," said
Patton.
She has been searching for employment
close to her home and family in Roches
ter, NY. Logical Solutions. Net, Incorpo
rated is her top choice. They are always
looking for programmers and there's an
advantage to being a woman, according
to Patton.
www.paautoinjury.com
www.duilawyema.corn
By Lacy Buzard
copy editor
100 State Street
Suite 210
Erie, PA16507
455-3839
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"I'm not letting that come out
of my tuition."
Issue Rules,
BLASC 07
During the job search, Patton will he
going through the same interview pro
cesses as men in her field. In the industry
now, applicants will more than likely in
terview with a group of people as opposed
to just the head of human resources, ac
cording to Mr. Gary Walker, lecturer in
computer science and Patton's senior de
sign advisor.
Being the only girl in her upper-level
classes has been challenging for Patton.
"It's kind of difficult because you have to
compete with all the guys and it's like, yes.
I'm capable," she said.
Patton has been interning for the Penn
sylvania Sea Grant since September up
dating an extensive website on aquatic
flies. The website was last updated in
2002.
Patton and her group are now in the de
sign phase of their senior design project.
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• "It would be beneficial only if •
•
•
it's on certain hours, and certain •
days so it doesn't waste our
They are developing a user-friendlier pro
grain to perform a subset of the Maple pro
gram, which evaluates certain calculus
functions
Patton has taken charge of the report
ing and presentation part of the project,
according to Walker. Each member of the
team contributes to the overall planning
of the product by tackling a separate as
pect.
The team will complete the design
phase of this yearlong project in Febru
ary, when they will actually begin to build
the product. "Now they're starting to treat
me like I'm one of them," said Patton in
reference to the men in her major and se-
nior design group.
Walker says that the teams for senior
design go through the "formin', stormin',
normin — cycle where the teams form, then
accustom themselves to working as a team
Greener Behrend Task Force Tips for January 28:
Too "plugged in"?
The economic boom in our consumer-oriented society, the growth of new
technologies, and the changing workforce-more people working from home
have dramatically increased the number of products that require power in the
average home. Some of today's homes sport multiple computers, printers, faxes,
TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, and hair dryers.
Computer equipment is the fastest growing electric load in the world. Unfortu
nately, much of the energy for computers is wasted because they are often kept
on while not in use.
Furthermore, many idle appliances-TVs, VCRs, cable boxes, DVD and CD
players, cassette decks, cordless phones, burglar alarms, microwaves-continue
to consume energy when switched off. This energy keeps display clocks lit and
memory chips and remote controls working. Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory calculates that these energy "leaks" account for 5 percent of total
domestic electricity consumption, cost more than $3 billion annually, and spew
18 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
Idle TVs and VCRs alone cost U.S. consumers more than $1 billion a year, or
some $3O per household. Emissions from power plants supplying that electricity
are equal to the pollution caused by 2 million cars! New technology in EN
ERGY STAR qualified TVs and VCRs will reduce wasted energy by up to 50
percent.
Activate your "sleep" feature on ENERGY STAR qualified home office equip
ment (PC, fax, printer, scanner)-so that it automatically powers down when not
in use to save up to $7O annually in electricity bills and improve product lon-
gevity
Turning off your computer during long periods of non-use cuts costs and
improves longevity.
Each year, Americans spend more money to power home audio and DVD
products when turned off than when actually in use.
Every kWh of electricity you avoid using saves about 1 1/2 pounds of CO2
from being pumped into the atmosphere. If over the next 15 years, Americans
bought only ENERGY STAR qualified products, we would shrink our energy
bills by more than $lOO billion and eliminate as much greenhouse gas pollution
as is produced by 17 million cars for each of those 15 years! ( http://
www.energystar.gov/)
(Information provided by: Alliance to Save Energy, 1200 18th Street NW, Suite
900, Washington DC 20036)
IllollCll
Stephen Oyler,
INTL BUS 02
GREENER
BEHREND
TASK FORCE
The J3ehrend Beacon 3
"Yeah, it will help prevent
drunk driving."
Emily Widdowson,
MTHBD 02
and finally normalize their working be-
havior.
"So far, Lindsay's team has done a lot
of formin', but not a lot of stomin'," said
Walker. "But they will."
Unlike other colleges, Behrend's senior
design projects in computer science have
a 100 percent completion rate. Walker
hopes to continue on this trend indefi-
nicely.
Jason Jennings, Patton's teammate in
charge of interface and graphics. thinks
it's about time for a female to graduate in
their major. "I'm kind of surprised she is
the fu - st," he said. "It just seems like some
thing either sex can do."
"There's no capability difference be
tween men and women in the field," said
Walker. "I've worked with women, for
women and managed women and there's
absolutely no difference."