I The Behrend Beacon
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or |
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ~ The First Ammendment to the U.S. Contitution . j
Social Cues
By Jennifer Haight
News Editor
There are certain things that a
person just does not do when he
or she is either in the presence of
others or in a more public setting,
especially a college campus,
namely Behrend. These things
consist of: sitting on the steps in
front of Perry Hall, smoking in
the elevator and the elevator
stairwell, walking in groups of
four or more wide on the path-
ways, etc
There are two sides to the steps
in from of Perry Hall, presum
ably. one to go up and the other
side to go down. This is a very
high traffic area and is usually
pretty easy to get through, except
when those few boneheads block
one side and could care less. This
causes frustrations for everyone
trying to get from the top to bot
tom or from the bottom to the top
So for those of you who make it
habit to use these STEPS as
chairs, please, have consideration
for the thousands of other people
who use these steps and MOVE.
Smoking; Enclosed: spaces.
These two don’t really go togeth
er. do they? Think about it peo
ple. there are a lot of us who use
the elevator behind Senat Hall.
Just because one person can’t put
off his nicotine addiction for a
two minute ride up the elevator,
Just like the “Green Day” Song
By Kristen Comstock
Editoral Columnist
Holy cow!” My friend leans
over and says to me, “We’re sen
iors" (Well, those were not her
exact words, but you get the idea.
Being a senior is a bizarre con
cept 1 Especially because it feels
like just yesterday I was an eager
freshman moving in to Almy Hall
I can vividly remember how
excited I was to meet my new
roommate and how she and I ven
tured off to our freshman orienta
tion, stole a pizza, and made a
bunch of guy friends because of
that looted pepperoni and cheese
delight.
Every year since then I have
helped move in the first-year stu
dents and I have had the opportu
nity to see how anxious they were
to begin the next chapter of their
life. And every year the freshmen
seemed to get younger and I had
less in common with them as the
years progressed.
This year, however, I realized the
freshmen were not getting younger,
I was getting older - much older -
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The Beacon welcomes readers to
share their views on this page.
Letters and commentary pieces
can be submitted by email to
chrishvizdak@gmail.com or direct
ly to the Beacon office, located in
the Reed Building.
Letters should be limited to 350
words and commentaries should be
and Dont’s
doesn’t mean the other people in
the elevator should have to suffo
cate. The other day I was waiting
for the elevator to come back
down so I could take it up and
then someone comes up next to
me with a lit cigarette; he then
had the nerve to tell me that he
wouldn’t take any hits while he
was in the elevator car. No, he
was just going to let it burn and
still fill the elevator up with
smoke. We’re in college here
folks; why not just put it out?
Save whatever of the cancer stick
that went unused and burned in
the elevator, simultaneously cre
ating a copasetic environment for
all those using the elevator.
Smoking in the stairwell is
objectionable, but not as much.
Please keep in mind that the
entire structure that holds the ele
vator is closed in, with the only
fresh air coming in through the
doors at the top and bottom of the
building. The smoke lingers,
causing it to really stink. This is
one of only three ways to get
from the learning part of campus
to the residential part; don’t make
it uncomfortable for others
because you’re too lazy to put out
your cigarette for two minutes.
First of all, let me differentiate
for you what I mean by “wide”
and “deep.” Four people wide
means walking in a group of four
(maybe more) people who are
the finding-gray-hairs-and-getting
wrinkles older. But even with this
age gap and differences in skin
complexion, I came to the realiza
tion that freshmen and seniors
have more in common than they
Hear me out!
First-year students have just ven
tured into the "great unknown" -
and no, I'm not talking about a fra
ternity basement, although that is
one of the only remaining uninhab
itable places on earth.
Freshmen recently spent the last
four years in high school working
their way to the top of the totem
pole, only to be thrown into the
bottom of the big pond once again
and needing to learn how to swim
all over. They are in a new, unfa
miliar, and complex environment,
where the people and places are
strange.
The freshmen experience is
scary, overwhelming, exciting, and
compelling. Interestingly enough
however, those emotions are exact
ly what the seniors will be feeling
as they near graduation and start
their job search.
Behrend first-year students have
Letters to the Editor
limited to 700 words. The more
concise the submission, the less we
will be forced to edit it for space
concerns and the more likely we are
to run the submission.
All submissions must include the
writer’s year in school, major and
name as The Beacon does not pub
lish anonymous letters.
OPINION
- High prices in the book store.
- Chains that block walking access
from Erie Hall to the Reed parking lot.
- Group project dead weight. You
know who you are.
lined up next to each other, key
phrase here being “next to,”
whereas four (maybe more) peo
ple deep means walking two by
two perhaps in a sort of filed line,
key phrase here being “filed
line.” When people are short on
time and have to make it from
room 41 in Kochel and have to go
to room 37H in Hammermill in
ten minutes, it’s a mad dash on
many activities and people to help
acclimate them to this foreign
environment. Unfortunately, FIG
mentors, RAs. and academic advis
ers do not exist in the real world.
To some seniors it seems like after
we leave Behrend we will be
thrown into that enormous ocean to
fend for ourselves.
Of course we will use alEthe
skills we obtained at Behrend to
avoid floundering in the real world
- especially those late-night skin
ny-dipping sessions in the Glenhill
Pool (just kidding, Dr. Burke).
The good news is Behrend has
helped most of the seniors grow
and mature. We have learned many
life lessons, made friends who will
last a lifetime, and all that other
mushy stuff that should go in a
Hallmark card.
With less a year left, I can hon
estly say I do not regret one thing
about my college experience.
And if I could give first-year
students some advice, it would be
to meet as many people as possi
ble, join a ton of clubs and organi
zations, obtain and complete an
internship or two, and have the
time of you life!
Deadline for any submission is 5
p.m. Tuesday afternoon for inclu
sion in the Friday issue. All submis
sions are considered, but because of
space limitations, some may not be
published.
All submissions must include
consent to be edited before they can
be edited for publication.
the big path that goes from one
end of campus to the other. It is
especially hard trying to make it
on time when people are walking
four or more people wide, block
ing a big majority of the path.
This is why people who walk
“widely” should learn the ways of
the “deep” walkers and make it
easier for everyone.
There are going to be things in
Person of the Week
THE BEACON URGES ALL
STUDENTS AND FACULTY TO
DONATE TO HURRICANE
KATRINA RELIEF CHARITIES
Quote of the Week
“The ink of a scholar’s
is more sacred than
pen
the blood of a martyr.”
The Behrend Beacon
I’uhlislu'il Wcckl) In ilu- sUkk'iils of IVmi Slate laic
T\THE BEHREND
beacon
Assistant News Editor
Stephen Finch
Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College Contact the Beacon at:
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Telephone: (814) 898-6488
Union Building Fax: (814) 898-6019
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563
Friday, Septmeber 9, 2005
life that we’re all going to have
to put up with, but for now, while
we’re in college, let’s all just
meet half way and make every
one’s lives a hell of a lot easier.
Be respectful of everyone around
you, be aware of your situations
and what others are trying to
accomplish and most importantly,
do for others what you would
want done for you.
Ray Nagin
Mayor of New Orleans
The Beacon recognizes Ray Nagin’s
superior leadership response to the severe
circumstances of the Hurricane Katrina
aftermath. Although criticized for stern
language, Nagin effectively voiced the
frustration of his constituents who were
unable to flee New Orleans prior to
Katrina's landfall on the gulf coast.
-Muhammad
Annie Sevin, Editor in Chief
Rob Frank, Managing Editor
Courtney Kaplin, Advertising Manager
Jerry Pohl, Public Relations Manager
Kim Young, Adviser
News Editor
Jennifer Haight
Sports Editors
Chris LaFuria
Opinion Editor
Chris Hvizdak
Cartoonist
Zack Mentz
ZACK MENTZ
Student Life Editor
Jeff Barber
Calendar Editor
Siobhan Conway
Humor Editor
Jerry Pohl
Copy Editors
Kate Kelecseny
Michelle Vera Suroviec
Rachael Conway
Allison Gray
Trade Kendziora