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THE BEHREND B A
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Friday, December 9, 2005
THON off to a strong start
By Earl Gordon
engsl)(l2 psu.edu
The ongoing fundraising event known as
THON. which helps children and families
with children who have cancer, has achieved
another excellent canning weekend. Their
second event, which took place from Dec. 2
until Dec. 4 was well supported by everyone.
In that weekend. THON raised $1,404. This
Students at University Park celebrate last year's THON, which raised four million dollars
brought the total money that they raised since
(et. I to $4,598. THON's goal is to raise
'!0,11110 this semester.
;aryest student run philanthro
py in the world. Every cent donated goes
directly to the children, in an effort to erase
cancer in children. They assist the
Pennsyl ania State Children's Hospital,
which is located in Hershey, Pa. Students
Cfilktew ,
News
Editorial
Humor
Student Life..
Sports
ootact
Newsroom
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail
editorinchief@psu.edu
Our offices are located down
stairs in the Reed Union
Building.
staff writer
Seniors prepare for Commencement
As the snow piles up in the Penn State Erie campus
and the nervousness of finals week approaches, the
2005 fall graduates are preparing for the end of their
college careers. There are expected to be 165 fall grad
uates this year, although this number changes due to
grade fluctuations. The commencement ceremony is
planned to take place on Saturday, Dec 17, at noon in
the gym of the Junker Center. The graduates will be
meeting in the Junker Center at 11:30 a.m. and should
notify their guests to arrive on campus around the
same time to secure desired seating. The fall graduates
are not limited to the number of guests they wish to
bring and there will be adequate seating provided for
all that choose to attend. As there will be no number to
the amount of guests, tickets are not necessary and
Behrend students, faculty and community members
are encouraged to attend.
...1-3
4
...7-8
.9-10
Blue and white will be worn with pride as the candi
dates for graduation that choose to take part in the
commencement ceremony will be dressed in the tradi
tional caps and gowns. These gowns were purchased
by the graduates during Senior Salute Days in the end
of October and beginning of November. The graduates
will be assembling around the track of the gym as they
perform the honored graduation march. In the Penn
State system, final grades for fall semester are not offi
cially calculated until January, so the graduates will
not be receiving their diplomas at the ceremony. Once
involved with THON have raised more than
$3O million in the past 30
years. Ever since the Four Diamonds Fund
(which assists the Children's Hospital) was
created, survival rate of children with cancer
has increased about 60 percent.
On Tuesday night, THON held a bowling
night to help raise money. The event produced
a decent attendance number. "We're hoping to
have more bowling nights next semester,"
said Meredith Straub, director of THON
Thursd, THON also held a bar n'
for those 21 years of age and older. There was
also interest in Juniors Comedy Club some
time in the future. More students have been
aiding THON and their goals "We also had a
couple informational sessions which more
students came to," replied Straub.
THON's next canning weekend will be Jan.
20 through Jan. 22. Everyone is welcome to
participate and aid in any way they can. Also
in January, there will be the MiniTHON,
which will be a smaller version of THON's
dance marathon to celebrate everyone's par
ticipation and the fundraising for those less
fortunate. People can also help in other ways
rather than dancing and rasing the money.
The deadline for registering is the end of
this semester. Email Meredith Straub or
Kenneth Middlemiss to reserve your place.
"We really want to thank everyone, including
the faculty and staff, for being really helpful
and caring," stated Straub. "I joined because
it's a great cause and something to be a part
of."
THON not only helps the families and chil
dren suffering, but also the students involved.
By Ashley Bressler
staff writer
arb27 I @psu.edu
Vol. No. 15
A Penn State Erie Student Publication DEC 1 1005
Holiday contridms on the decline
Even as the sweet smell of pecan pie and sugar
cookies continue to linger in homes filled with fam
ilies during the holiday season, other aspects that
make Christmas the charitable holiday it should be
are now absent. That's also the feeling expressed by
an elderly Pennsylvania resident who recalls past
holidays as being filled with kindness, goodwill and
love. Eighty-year old Sylvia Marie Berecek of
Ambridge says she remembers days from her child
hood as much different in terms of generosity. "The
food hasn't changed. Why change the food? The
spirit and overall caring has definitely changed,"
said Berecek. "I'm eighty. I've been around long
enough to see the difference."
Born in 1925, Berecek lived on Maplewood
Avenue in Ambridge; two blocks from the railroad
station. Some of Berecek's fondest memories
involve her grandmother's generosity around holi
days, such as Christmas, as she made certain that
even the poorest, most untbrtunate person had a hot
meal. Berecek's grandmother, Stella Zivic, would
invite homeless who stumbled off railroad cars into
her home for a hot meal of bread and soup.
Even though Berecek was "scared of the yucky
hobos in dirty clothes," she eventually looked up to
her grandmother years later for performing such a
noble deed. "People are not kind today like they
were in years past. They're actually rude to each
other."
Sylvia Berecek's daughter, Donna Houghton, also
noticed the difference in holiday spirit. Houghton,
52, recalls Christmas at their home when she was
young as much more eventful. "It didn't matter how
far the family was spread out. Everybody still made
the effort to
together at
that time of
the year,"
said
Houghton.
"When 1 was
young,
remember
Christmas
dinners with
over 25 fam
ily
bers."
La st
Christmas,
Houghton
had
family mem-
bers make
the trip to
her home.
The decline in holiday generosity is also reflected
in the declining contributions experienced by chari
table organizations as the Second Harvest Food
Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania.
the grades are finalized, the diplomas will be mailed to
the graduates at their home addresses.
This year's Fall Commencement ceremony will fea
ture a number of speakers, some from the graduating
class and some selected education enthusiasts.
Graduate George Morgan 111 will be giving the student
welcome presentation. The commencement guest
speaker will be Dr. Mary Beth Pinto, the associate pro
fessor of marketing and the director of the Center for
Credit and Consumer Research at Penn State Erie.
Leisa Mills will be leading the student song as all join
in the singing of the Penn State
Alma Mater. Miss Nicole
Pacinelli will be delivering the
traditional student farewell. The
Behrend Ceremony Brass and
Percussion Band will be provid
ing the background music and
the graduation march theme for
the ceremony. Members of
Behrend's ROTC color guard
are expected to perform as well.
For graduating students who
have earned a baccalaureate
degree with 60 credits or an
associate degree with 30 credits
and are in the top 12 percent of
their college's program will be
recognized during the commencement as distin
guished, hardworking and motivated individuals.
Immediately following the ceremony, graduates will
have the opportunity to have a professional photo-
By Kelly Houghton
staff writer
k h 5 000(a psu.cdu
'The Second Harvest Food Bank, in Erie, PA, has
evidently felt the strain of decreasing revenue.
Revenue fueline, the food bank comes from grants,
contributions, programs and services. membership
fees and dues. In 2002, the food hank had revenue
of S 10,482,043.
However, in 2004, the bank's revenue dropped
significantly to 57,960,197, according to Executive
Director Karen Seggi.
Seggi, the Executive Director of the Second
Harvest Food Rank of Northwest Pennsylvania, also
has noticed a decline in volunteered hours and dona
tions over the last few years.
Seggi, who has worked at the food hank for the
last 16 years, has seen the number of regular volun
teers dwindle from roughly 100 to 60 over the last
five years. Senior citizens are the ones who are con
tinuing to donate their time, possibly because they
are also the individuals who have experienced
hunger and have lived at a time when there weren't
food banks. "If you've never experienced hunger.
you're not going to know the importance of food
banks, - said Seggi.
According to Seggi, major companies like Nabisco
and Kraft have also significantly decreased their
donations to the food bank, selling their flawed
products to secondary markets instead of donating
them for the hungry and homeless, for which they
only receive tax cuts. Seggi also believes that
Hurricane Katrina may have had an impact on the
amount of recent donations, since many families
shifted their focus and gave donations to those
affected by the disaster.
"It's great that people in our area helped with
Katrina, but there are also people right here at home
who need food everyday," said Seggi.
Even though she realizes that times have changed
and customs are irreversible, memories of days past
are still clear to
Second Harvest
Food Bank in years to come will illustrate the con
tinuing decline or hopeful incline of generosity dur
ing the holiday seasons.
graph taken with Chancellor Jack Burke. There will be
receptions within each of the four schools of Behrend
after the ceremony. The Sam and Irene Black School
of Business will be holding their reception in
McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building. The
School of Humanities and Social Sciences reception
will take place in Bruno's Café, which is located in the
Reed Union Building. The School of Science will
receive graduates and their guests in the lobby of the
Otto Behrend Science Building and the School of
Engineering and Engineering Technology reception
will be held in Roche Hall in
the Engineering Complex.
Parking will be available
for graduates and guests in the
Junker Center parking lot, but
space is very limited.
Additional parking will be pro
vided in the parking lots of the
Reed Union Building and Erie
Hall. As the weather is cold,
transportation from the park
ing lots to the Junker Center
will also be provided by means
of school buses. If there are
guests with disabilities, there
will be Behrend police officers
around the parking lot com
plexes to assist any needs of the guests. Lion
Ambassadors will he present at the entrance of the
Junker Center to help with the needs or concerns of
guests as well.
Berecek
Berecek
addition to
Seggi, would
love to see the
return of the WI-
iday seasons that
were filled with
giving, tender
ness and extreme
generosity.
Although it may
be difficult to
follow the num
bers of individu-
als who invite
homeless into
their households
for warm meals,
tracking the rev-
of the