Friday, March 24, 2006
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right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution
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Finding money in your pockets
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Quorum? We don't need no stinkin' quorum
At Monday's special SGA meeting, which was called in such incongruity
regards to the constitutional legit
imacy of the Deepti Soni/Ross
Zambanini ticket. Presidential
candidate Meredith Straub's run
ning mate. Ken Middlemiss. said
something that was extraordillarN.
At the meeting. SGA did not have
the fifteen votine memhers nec-
essary for quorum: meaning the \
did not have enough voting mem
bers present to make any deci
sions. SGA President Alex
Henderson made everyone aware
of this fact. The number of voting
members needed for quorum is
specified in
Constitution, which is the docu
ment that serves as the official
written rules governing SGA and
its procedures. Middlemiss
raised his hand to speak and w as
called upon to do so. He asked. "Is there any way we can suspend hope is that Ken middlemiss's hard work will pas off and fostei
the constitution to get quorum'''' a deeper appreciation of irony that is in all of us.
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By Jerry Pohl
humor editor
cdLi
"Ir on
Incongruity
between what
might be
ed and
actually occurs."
,
,
-, Ir 4 ' 41
op: - 6 1 11 wo: ""a1 ip: .111111
1 N IP 1 N . I N.
Snow in springtime
- Suitemates hoarding garbage bags
- Automatic paper towel dispensers
- Unibrows!
- People with bad breath who want to
tell you a secret
Unorganized Organizations
Dictionarv.com defines the noun "irony ., as follows:
a. Incongruity between what might he expected and
what actually occurs
h. An occurrence, result. or circumstance notable lot
expect
what
Those who were there that
day should feel privileged to
have heen present for such a
perfect example of irony. Being
Humor Editor. I knew right
away that this was a great
moment in the history of irony
and wrote it down immediately,
so as to not forget the exact
wording of the quote.
Allow me to help you appre-
elate the irony better. Ken
NikkilL:miss wanted to "sus-
penal the constitution to get
quorum - so that a decision
could he made regarding the
interpretation 01 the constitu
tion. Also. quorum would he
needed to make the decision to
suspend the constitution. My
Abortion before
the Supreme Court
By John Bigus
contributing write►
jih244o , psu
Reproductive rights are sacred. The
idea that conscious and responsible citi
zens of the United States would fight to
give up such a right is reprehensible.
Choices will always be available, and no
one will be forced to abort a desired
pregnancy. Control of the self does not
appear to he the issue in light of the more
pressing concern of self-control: some
believe the government must legislate
morality to a suffocating degree.
The most consistent and logical anti
abortion position is the distinction
between personal responsibility in taking
emergency measures and the irresponsi
ble use of abortion as birth control. This
is most tangible in application to partial
birth abortion, which is a third trimester
operation where childbirth is instigated
before the skull of the fetus is pierced or
crushed. An awareness of one's health
and timely efforts to make life-altering
decisions ought to make these operations
rare, necessary only in response to a loss
of resources or a life-altering change
(abandonment or illness, for example).
Partial-birth abortions in the third
trimester will likely be eliminated when
Gonzales v. Carhart comes in front of the
Supreme Court. It was accepted onto the
docket in late February. This case deals
with federal law instead of state law as in
Sternberg v. Carhart, which was recently
decided in favor of maintaining the sta
tus quo. With Justices Samuel Alito and
John Roberts on the bench and the mod
erate vote thrown out the window with
O'Connor, a right-wing conservative
decision against the right of abortion
appears likely.
The Behrend Beacon
puNishcd Weekly by the students of Penn State Erie
Beacon'
Assistant Managing Editor Calendar Page Editor
Patrick Webster Siobhan Conway
Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College
First Floor, The J• Elmer Reed Union Building
Letter to the editor
Dear Sports editor
After reading your article in the 3-17-06 BEACON, we were driven to set your
way of thinking straight. As fans of NASCAR we did not appreciate the contents of
the piece on NASCAR not being a true sport, or the drivers being non-athletes.
First let us help you to a dictionary...SPOßT-active pastime; recreation; specific
diversion, usually involving physical exercise and having a set form and body of
rules. ATHLETE-one who partakes in competitive sports; person who is trained or
skilled in exercise, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.
When you see grown, physically fit, men get out of a racecar after 3-4 hours being
exhausted and sweating profusely, you can only assume the job they performed was
physically exhausting. Along with the mental fatigue of concentrating on the big pic
ture of winning the race while going 150-200 mph only inches apart from each other
for hours. Plus, as a team, the decisions and strategy that must be planned to make
the right calls, and abide by the rules set forth. My husband and another who went
in a 3-lap ride along with a racecar driver commented, that when you see the force it
takes to maneuver the steering wheel, one has to have good upper body strength, and
to sit confined to such a cramped and hot space for hours, one must be conditioned
as an athlete to endure this feat.
NASCAR has come a very long way from the days of bootlegging moonshine in
the hills of VA. to be the sport it is today, and now there are professional race tracks
that have sprung up all over this country with a following that encompasses many
people from all walks of life.
So, Mr. LaFuria, you can see that we definitely do not agree with you; we think
NASCAR fits the criteria of a sport, as well as its drivers fulfilling the meaning of an
athlete. VROOM, VROOM
Karen Hein and Mary Tuzynski
Operations/Human Resources
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
814-898-6000, FAX 814-898-7777
The Behrend Beacon I
The issue is not clearly viewed
through the lens of barbarism versus
moralism, although appeals to emotion
might be successful in this vein. The true
nature of the dilemma is multifaceted.
The most honest pro-abortion position is
the distinction allowed between human
beings and the parasitic clump of cells
without brain activity which grows in the
womb. The most wretched pro-abortion
position concerns the inalienable right of
self-determination: if a woman desires
an abortion, she will have one. This was
one of the prompts for Roe v. Wade, the
sheer number of deaths due to amateur
abortions.
The raging debate is a distraction from
the issues of corruption. cronyism,
extreme and detrimental fiscal liberal
ism. liberal expansion of the govern
ment's power. and irresponsibility to the
oaths sworn by our representatives.
Never-ending religious debate flavors
these arguments because in defense of
one's religious views, one will not stop
fighting. It is the immoral application of
marketing tactics to ensorcell poor souls
who will revel in buzz words. It is absurd
to believe there is such thing as moral
murder.
Moral murder is oxymoronic and anti
thetical to rationality: it is a nonsense
term. Rationally, citizens' morals guide
their actions. Ignore distractions and
hand-waving. Remember that the rights
of citizens supercede everything, and
legislating morality is an insult to the
capacity of the American citizen. Life is
defined differently person-to-person, and
by law. The destruction of the right of
any person to make their own decision
about the nature of life would be a dis
gusting blow to the freedoms won for us
by our forefathers.
Annie Sevin, Editor in Chief
Rob Frank, Managing Editor
Courtney Kaplin, Advertising Manager
Randy Martell. Public Relations Manage!
Kim Young, Adviser
News Editor
Jennifer Haight
Sports Editor
Chris LaFuria
Opinion Editor
Daniel Mitchell
Humor Editor
Jerry Pohl
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563
Contact the Beacon at:
Telephone: (814) 898-6488
Fax: (814) 898-6019
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Sean Mihlo
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Michelle Vera Suroviec