pinion
For those of you new to
Behrend, welcome, and for
those returning, welcome back.
With a new year comes a new
Beacon, and we hope that you
have enjoyed what you've seen
and read in the newspaper so
far.
This year, the Beacon plans
to compete for national and
state awards with its writing,
design, photography, website,
and even business operations.
Over the past few years, we
have set the basis for this effort
by changing the structure, staff,
and even the technology that
the newspaper works with.
One thing we need, though,
is you. Maybe you are consid
ering a career in physics, or
electrical engineering, or polit
ical science, but we still need
you. This year, with the award
winning "School Pages" of the
Textbook prices pulverize bank accounts
BRANDON BOYD
opinion editor
Most students don't see text
books as being worth any more
than the paper they are printed
on.
Unfortunately for students,
colleges around the country see
their textbooks as valuable as
the forest that the trees used to
make the paper come from.
And, of course, the college
wins, as the freshmen will soon
learn.
It's why we pay $l5O for
something that becomes a pa
perweight after our classes are
done.
As if the debt that rises past
our eyeballs isn't enough, col
leges (not just Penn State
Behrend) have the audacity to
have us shell out hundreds of
Favre makes right decision in returning
BRANDON BOYD
opinion editor
The man who seems old
enough to have been a Viking is
back playing for the Vikings.
Brett Favre announced
Thursday that he would be re
turning for his 20th season in
the National Football League.
Favre, at 40, is old enough to
be a grandfather.
Scratch that.
He is a grandfather.
Favre has let word leak about
his aches and pains for years
now. If it's not his shoulder, it's
his ankle. If it's not his ankle,
it's his ego.
"There is nothing on me
that's 100 percent," he said dur
ing his press conference.
While he still may not be at
100 percent, I am 100 percent
sure that I love watching Brett
Favre.
Sure, he may be seen as a
prima donna, but he's just so
fun to watch.
Plus, it would be hard to see
Letter from the Editor
Behrend Beacon, we plan to in
clude as many students from as
many backgrounds as possible.
Want something only a handful
of engineering students in the
nation have on their resume?
Be an engineering reporter, and
cover news that matters to you.
We are also hiring ad sales
men and saleswomen for those
that want to supplement their
income by commission on ad
vertising accounts in the paper.
We are looking for students
majoring in marketing that are
interested in figuring out ways
to spread the news around
campus. We are looking for
web designers and web content
creators to design web pack
ages, artists to create graphic
design packages for the news
paper, even opinionated politi
cal nuts to send in columns.
Those positions are impor-
G. .
dollars on top of our tuition.
Even I don't have a pair that
big.
When your class is done, you
make an attempt to sell the
book back.
Then, and only then, do you
see how the bookstore actually
feels about the book they sold
you in the beginning of the
year.
Hand them the book and see
what number comes up. I dare
you.
You'll think they forgot a
Pay $5O; get $5 when you're
done. You would think you in
fected the book with the HINI
virus.
Plus, for those who do more
partying than breathing, there's
no way their book has been
touched. Their books can still
his career end on a pass com
pleted to the other team.
"I owe it to this organization
to give it one more try," Favre
said.
He owes it to fans like me,
too.
Although his hair is gray,
there is a childish wonder
about Favre, almost as though
he is frolicking about the foot
ball field. He makes football
fun for me.
Some may argue that the
drama surrounding his decision
is more trouble than it's worth.
During the summer months,
when Favre ponders his deci
sion, the NFL Network be
comes Favre Network. ESPN
becomes BFPN.
It can be a pain, but it's a pain
that just feels right.
His teammates, who have
Favre's decision looming over
them yearly as they enter train
ing camp, even agree with me.
"Brett Favre for President!!"
Vikings wide receiver Bernard
Berrian tweeted.
tant, but by far the most impor
tant role that must be played is
that of the student not involved
in the creation of the newspa
per. Let us know what you
think of our operations. My e
mail is listed below, and on this
page of the newspaper you can
find the contact information of
any of our editors. If you think
something's crap, tell us. Hell,
if you think we did a good job
once in a while, you can toss
that out there, too.
More importantly, if you have
information on a campus event
with which you are involved,
please do not hesitate to drop a
line. We will cover nearly any
thing that we hear about, given
even only a day or two of ahead
notice, but it's tough to cover
the things we don't know are
occurring.
If you are interested in get-
be classified as brand new.
This leaves students with a
choice. Get ripped off by the
bookstore year after year, or do
something about it. I'm not say
ing to abandon our bookstore; I
am saying to shop smartly.
There are plenty of other op
tions for students. Rental sites
such as Chegg.com are an op
tion.
However, I recommend buy
ing used books.
It may be too late for the
freshmen this semester, but it
deserves noting for the future.
Even our bookstore sells used
books. When students see the
difference in price between
new and used books, they
scoop them up. It's like choos
ing between an XBOX 360 and
a Playstation 1. It's a no brainer.
You'll want to buy your used
Please? Just president? He
gets more coverage than
Barack Obama!
His return is great for every
one involved. He will sell mer
chandise. He will garner
attention. And, maybe, he will
lead the Minnesota Vikings to
the Super Bowl.
While the Super Bowl practi
cally sells itself, Favre and his
superstar teammates such as
running back Adrian Peterson
will add to the glamour of the
finale of the NFL season.
I'm really not seeing any
drawbacks to Brett Favre's re
turn.
Of course, Favre's backups,
Tarvaris Jackson and Sage
Rosenfels, likely aren't dancing
in the streets at the recent
news. •
Vikings fans likely are,
though, as those two bums
won't be starting for at least an
other year.
And maybe fans that are
reaching their breaking point
on all news Favre are seeing the
ting involved with student
media, there are limitless op
portunities on our expanded
staff. We have spots kept open
particularly for freshmen, and
no experience is required.
Some positions are by applica
tion only, such as editor posi
tions - we encourage you to
contact us and get more infor
mation.
Getting involved is the best
way to make the most out of
your college experience, and
we want you to jump right in.
Connor Sattely is the editor-in
chief of the Behrend Beacon. He
can be reached at
editor@ psu.edu or can be found
in Reed 3, the Beacon office, on
the bottom floor of the Reed
Union Building down the hall
from the RUB Desk.
T r A irr , r f
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GIVAPWW6taIt6I3
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books in advance somewhere
online. Amazon is a good place,
as they will buy your books
back for store credit. Give the
books a week or so to arrive.
Of course, it provides little
leeway for dropping a class
later, but with the money you
saved you can buy another
used book for the class you just
added.
If preferred, you can keep
swiping that credit card to buy
expensive pieces of paper
bound together.
It's your choice.
Then again, the choices
you've made likely include tak
ing big bucks out of your tiny
bank account to pay for your
books.
The writing is on the wall
Or, rather, in the books.
drawbacks, but they just don't
get it.
They just don't understand
the mystique of the returning
Viking.
Plus, they might as well keep
Brett Favre around anyway.
Favre will pass his attention
hogging torch to Tim Tebow
just as soon as Favre retires,
which Le says is this year.
"I can promise you this: not
that I have ever set out as a goal
to play 20 years, it's 20 years
and I'm done," he said in his
press conference.
Sure, Brett. I believe you.
You say that every year.
And every year I hope you're
lying.
So whether you retire at the
end of this season or not,
thanks for lying to me the past
few years, Brett.
I've enjoyed your play, and
I'll certainly enjoy it this year.
And I'd certainly be alright if
your latest statement about re
tiring after 20 seasons was a lie.
Welcome to Behrend
BRANDON BOYD
piniun I .( /)1(11
It's a new year for Penn State
Behrend.
If Paul Revere was on cam
pus, he might yell out a phrase
similar to the one attributed to
him:
"The freshmen are coming,
the freshmen are coming!"
A little late, Paul - they're al
ready here.
Maybe, then, we should
quote someone a little bit more
modern.
In the words of Friends goof
ball Joey Tribbiani: How you
doin'?
Hopefully, the answer to that
question is a positive one.
Behrend is a very welcoming
college and it has a lot of things
going for it.
The beginning of the college
experience, however, isn't al
ways as welcoming.
Maybe you're homesick.
Maybe you're lonely. Maybe
you don't want to do any work
(that doesn't change).
I think it's a good time to tell
my story of how I ended up at
Penn State Behrend. I'm here
now, but I never envisioned my
self here.
The story starts with me as a
senior in high school. I was ac
cepted to P,enn State University
Park and made the four hour
trek to visit a few times. I was
sucked into the aura of what is
Penn State.
As the time for college ar
rived, I was anxious and nerv
ous, as I'm sure all freshmen
are. I got to State College, and
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Advice for freshmen
ANISSA CHAMBERS
contributing writer
Boom!
It's here!
Can you feel it? Can you
smell it? It's Penn State pride
bursting through the walls!
Never thought it would come
this quickly, huh? We all did the
Facebook countdowns as eager
freshmen to start at "The #1
party school in America," got
all the essentials to create a lux
urious dorm and even made
friends prior to moving so we
wouldn't be alone.
Get ready to crack-down
now, as classes start Monday.
I don't think any of us expected
it to be so close, especially not
those of us who moved in early
to start training at Dobbins or
Bruno's, and we surely didn't
expect to have to hike every
where we went.
Do you and your roommate a
favor and break the awkward
ness! You have to live with this
person you know nothing
BEHREND BEACON
August 19, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
unpacked my stuff. By this
time, I wasn't just nervous. On
the inside, I was in hysterics.
The reality hit me, and I real
ized something:
I wasn't ready for this.
I didn't stay at University
Park for long - in fact, if you're
reading this and you've been on
campus for a few days, you
beat me. Congratulations. If
you're from Erie or anywhere
close to Behrend, though, you
don't count. Sorry.
There are a few lessons that
can be learned from my story.
First, Behrend is a solid
school. Sure, it's a branch cam
pus, but you're getting a Penn
State education with the posi
tive qualities of a smaller
school.
It's a lesson I had to learn. I
overlooked Behrend for the
glitz and glamour of University
Park. We don't have Beaver Sta
dium or a Creamery, but our
dining halls do catch on fire.
That's pretty cool.
If the situation at Behrend
isn't working out for you, don't
be afraid to make a change. If
you've given it some solid time
and aren't happy here, it's un
derstandable. Don't grin and
Behr(end) it. It's really not
worth it.
Still, I think there's some
thing for everyone at Behrend.
It's a pretty cool experience,
and that's coming from some
one who wrote off Penn State
Erie.
Enjoy the ride, freshmen.
You'll learn a lot this year,
and not just in the classroom.
Sure, their style may not fit
yours, and you may not even
have the same background, but
if you at least try to become
friends it'll be easier to live with
one another.
On that note , there are a lot
of other things you're going to
need, too.
You need a car.
You need money.
You need a television.
You need an Ethernet cord.
(This is something someone
could have happily told me be
fore I registered my laptop.)
You need some form of
music. (Silence isn't that golden
in Erie.)
Last, but not least, invest in
some snacks...really.
While fun is, well, fun,
please do not forget the goal in
which you invested thousands
of dollars in: your degree!
Leave here with something
besides a hangover and debt.
Sleep after you've done what
you had to do, study before par
tying, and study after!
You'll need it.