4 The Behrend Beacon
The Behrend Beacon
,„„,,„,,
Calendar Page Editor Assistant News Editor
Rob Frank Dan Snedden
Beacon Copy Editor
Lacy Buzard
"Professionalism Jenn Haight
with a personality" Sarah Weber
Opinion Page Editor
Andy McNeil
Photography Editor
Danielle Faulkner
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
Penn State Erie,
the Behrend College;
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building,
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563 .
Bandwagon fans
turn my stomach
Amy Frizzell
managing editor
I honestly believe that last Sunday was
the most depressing day yet this year. As
many of us sat in front of our televisions
watching in disbelief as the Steelers were
pummeled, I began to feel sick to my
stomach.
This feeling came from way down un
der and it was not caused by my consump
tion of El Canelo just days before. It came
from what I was watching.
It wasn't the score that made me sick
(it just made me want to puke), it was
what I saw in the stands. There was no
one in the stands, just disgusting yellow
seats!
What happened to all the supposed die
hard Steeler fans? What happened to their
"commitment" to the team, their "dedi
cation" to support them no matter what?
If there's one thing I hate more than any
thing else it's a bandwagon fan.
I've lived in the Pittsburgh area for six
teen years of my twenty-year existence
and even when I wasn't living there I was
still a Pittsburgh fan. I grew up in a fam-
Daniel J. Stasiewski, Editor in Chief
Amy Frizzell, Managing Editor
Courtney Kaplin, Advertising Manager
Alyssa Peconi, Public Relations Manager
Dr. Cathy Roan. Adviser
Student Life Editor
Lori DeFabio
Contact The Beacon at:
Telephone: (814) 898-6488
Fax: (814) 898-6019
ISSN 1071-9288.
ily where if you had tickets to a Pitts
burgh sporting event you stayed till the
end, no matter what!
If you're a Pittsburgh fan you're a
Pittsburgh fan end of discussion. So
in honor of bandwagon fan haters ev
erywhere I've decided to define a few
keys words for those who just don't
get it.
According to my Webster's New
World Compact Desk Dictionary and
Style Guide, commitment is a noun
meaning to hind, as by promise: a
pledge. This word is extremely im
portant when becoming a die-hard fan
so, write that down.
One characteristic of a bandwagon
fan is commitment phobia. Every
week they like a new team, what's that
all about? Either you like a team or
you don't. Don't claim you like a team
and you're such a fan when you're r►ot,
that just makes you a liar.
Next, the WNWCDDSG defines de
votion as loyalty of deeo affection. So
pretty much it means you have to like
the team a lot, like more than a friend.
You're there day and night defending
your team to the death. You have the
jersey's, the t-shirts, even the under
wear. You spend the day in the park
ing lot freezing whatever that under
wear covers off. No exceptions!
How can anyone claim they're a die
hard fan but leave a game early. That
is completely absurd. The whole sea
son Steeler fans were talking the team,
up, which they did with good reason
ing. But as soon as the team needed
them they abandon, leaving only a trail
of spilt beer, which is another absur
dity!
The world is littered with absurdity.
Do you're part, don't add to the band-
" ' :?::',?., ..... ._.,:::.. ..,
ic ..:::„,.,
r V
-1
News Editor
Brad Stewart
Sports Editors
Sam Cibula
Sara Kamber
Beacon Assistant
Carolyn All Tellers
An open letter to Behrend Democrats
Dear Behrend Democrats,
While some of you are still driving
around with Kerry 'O4 bumper stickers
still on your cars, the President of the
United States George W. Bush has de
clared war on the world. We are going to
spread the American "fire of freedom" to
"the darkest corners of the earth." If that's
not a metaphor for blowing up people
who don't shop at the Hollister or go to
Wal-Mart, I don't know what is.
It's a sad time for the world. It's time
to realize Bush was elected for four years
and it's sort of a major catastrophe on the
part of his public relations people, he'll
stay president for those four years. We
will invade Iran before he's gone. The
president will set up for a successor to
take out other countries who won't kneel
at the feet of our freedom-loving coun
try.
I say let him, for now
The worst thing you can do is continue
to publicly berate the president and his
War in Iraq with sophomoric comparisons
to Hitler and Vietnam. The average
American doesn't care about either un
less Steven Spielberg makes a movie
about them.
Sen. Diane Feinstein knows this. The
democrat from California, on Tuesday
broke ranks with party leadership to con
firm Dr. Condoleezza Rice as Secretary
of State. The confirmation was a bold
move for a democrat from California, but
Feinstein, her relationship with Rice
aside, may have seen the confirmation
hearing as the farce it was.
The Rice nomination was a losing
battle. Sen. Barbara Boxer, the democrat
who theatrically cried when the Bush win
was certified, used the hearing to again
Supernatural assualt: Motives
Once again the subject of my column
has been radically changed this week at
the last minute. Initially, I was going to
set out to write about the Steelers great
season and devastating loss, as well as
backing up the claims and boasts that I'm
sure I made to many a person at the bar
over the course of this season. Today
something more pertinent and supernatu
ral grabbed my attention.
While sitting quietly at work in the
Chapel, a friend instant messaged me
about some peculiar events that had be
fallen him the night before. Rico (name
obviously changed) claimed that he was
lying in bed the night before and had
heard footsteps. He looked up to see a
shadowy figure, evidentially human,
loaming before him.
He remained in a frozen, helpless state
for sometime, when suddenly the ghost
proceeded to strangle him. He claimed
that he could not breathe or fight back.
When I asked him if it was a dream he
swore that he was wide awake and that
the attack had happened three separate
times.
With quick Scooby-Doo like thinking
I deduced that the ghost was really his
girlfriend, most likely angry for some
mess he had made in the apartment. But
WoRLdS LARGEST sum. NOW ON SALE...
• A:i~~'r ~<~t
.8~::'`t. ...
Dan Stasiewski
editor in chief
get on her soap box and beat the dead
horse of the War in Iraq being a lie.
Like Boxer, you know the war was
wrong: the rest of American just doesn't
care. At the start of Bush's last four years
as president, the democrats in Congress
are still falling into place as Bush-bashers
instead of politicians.
It's time for a change in the party. It's
time for the party to look forward at the
aftermath and how to clean it up.
Bush's policies are bound to self-de
struct. Maybe not for four years. Maybe
not for 40. That's the chance the demo
crats are going to have to take in a coun
try that Bush has scared with vague warn
ings of future terrorist attacks. The ad
ministration invade countries, lose the
moral high ground and eventually exhaust
the American people.
Should we challenge the president? Of
course. But there is no glory in futility.
The challenges need to be oriented toward
the future. Democrats don't need a party
that still thinks Gore is president or that
Andy McNeil
opinion editor
he denied such allegations, claiming that
she was sleeping right next to him.
Do ghosts exist? If you saw the
Beacon's humor page last week you'll see
that they certainly do. I think the ghost
of Bruno is what makes the free M&M
jar disappear from the coffee shop from
time to time.
I've been pondering the question of
spooky afterlife existence for years, yet
the answers to my queries remain, well,
ghostly.
.... ~~s;t..
Friday, January 28, 2004
the Ohio election was rigged. They
don't need to challenge the Rice nomi
nation or the Gonzales attorney general
nomination. They don't even need to
challenge the Bush's Supreme Court
Justice appointment after conservative
Chief Justice William Rehnquist leaves
the bench. (If there is a second nomi
nation we may need to put up a fight.)
The hope lies in the future. If you
start planning now and quiet down pub
licly when it comes to the Iraq war de
bacle, maybe. just maybe. you will have
regrouped enough to show the country
just how right you really were. Action
won't ever change Bush's mind, but
there are four years to change the minds
of the American voters.
Democrats, you need to pick your
battles. The next four years are going to
be full of Rice nominations and $BO bil
lion deposits into the war fund. If you
stay the course. the word "quagmire"
isn't going to be used to describe the
Bush war. Instead, it will describe a
party that couldn't get its head of the
sand long enough to realize that Bush is
a popular enough president to
marginalize potential voters with whin
ing and regret.
You need to say something. Take a
stand. Find an issue. And for God's
sake don't complain. You could be in
one of the countries Bush is invading.
Instead, you're in America and have
1,375 days to find the right way to take
on the administration's hand-selected
successor. That is the only opponent
with which we can really be concerned.
P.S. Please. I beg you, please, do not
support Hillary Clinton. I don't like
watching a person salivate over the
thought of power.
remain ethereal
In my later high school days on one
hot summer night, burnt out on boredom
and cigarettes. we came up with a bril
liant plan. We would go ghost hunting,
drunk if necessary, and catch a ghost on
camera. The "stupid idea" became a re
ality that spawned several teams of ghost
hunters and an official website. We
wandered around old houses, cemeter
ies and lakes with compasses and
electro-magnetic field scanners (pur
chased by the geekiest of the group).
What did we find'? We found that we
could most definitely scare the crap out
of each other in the dark.
Rico. on the other hand, is overly ex
cited and said he cannot wait to go to
bed tonight. I asked him if he was scared
and he was. I'm trying to remain opti
mistic in hopes that the specter that vis
ited Rico was that of the late Johnny
Carson. A beyond-the-grave autograph
would be worth thousands on eßay.
As for proof of the existence of ghosts
and other supernatural spirit, the jury is
still out. The best source for such infor
mation lies somewhere between the hi
larity of the "Ghostbusters" movies and
the sensual pottery wheel scene from
"Ghost". Man that was a hot scene and
boy was this a pointless editorial.
LI"`" 1,
~.:',.....,:,:......,;.,4..:-.::".,!::-......::::.::,,,,,..
.. . • ....
....- -.1.
• ... .
.......... .
.........,......:
...
" '...
."-• ~,,,..:. „.
~..
a .~i.... ~ ..
- AND ir
comes Willi
A HUMMeR
To DRive
youRSeLF
UP TO The
PASSeI 4 I6eR
CoMPARTMeNT!
....., , ,f.i.F . :'j:?;::
4.:'- . .-;:,-.1!.',::::::-011..j.:',,.:;
- .•',.!;>:,:,:-.........:.
a~: ~,.
._