WPSE loses activity fee money
by Scott Woznicki
Collegian Staff
The Behrend radio station,
WPSE, will no longer be funded by
the student activity fee, starting the
next fiscal year.
Last year, $40,000 was allocated
to the station as a loan to get the
station back on its feet. This
money was allocated from the $25
student activity fee that every Penn
State student pays as a part of
tuition. "The only place that I
know of where money is actually
going is WPSE, but it isn't
funding; it's a loan. They are just
borrowing from Peter to pay Paul,"
said Valerie Engelleiter, the Traffic
Manager for WPSE.
WPSE-AM 1450 is a 1,000 watt
commercial station that airs the
Business News Network, CBS
News and Sports, the Penn State
Scholarships for science/engineering
by Sara Prosser
News Editor
As of Spring '97, only 185 of the 377
students enrolled in science majors at
Behrend were women, according to the
Division of Science. In Fall '96, the
School of Engineering reported that only
54 of the 444 students enrolled in
engineering majors were women.
To help encourage more female students
to get involved and continue their interests
Poster dismays professor
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my dismay
on discovering a poster on a bulletin
board outside the college computer
center. This particular poster was
advocating a boycott of the paper
because of complaints regarding the
management of the paper. My
dismay was caused by two things.
First, it was clear that the author of
the poster was airing sow, grapes
and ,personal gripes in a public and
inappropriate manner. A more
appropriate way to handle his/her
grievance would have been a letter
to the editor or a personal meeting
with the parties involved. Second, it
is extremely unfortunate that he/she
chose such a medium to publicly air
his/her prejudice and lack of
information regarding "biology
majors." It is this second problem
that I wish to address in this letter.
I have spent most of my time here
at Behrend trying to convince
scientists that writing is a critically
important skill for EVERYONE,
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EDUCATION LOAN FUND
FOR WOMEN
The PEO Education Loan Fund makes
loans to qualifying women who desire
higher education and are in need of
financial assistance. Maximum amount
available: $5200.
Each applicant will be evaluated by
PEO trustees who will determine exact
amount to be awarded. For more
information, contact the Financial Aid
Office at 898-6162.
AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
Penn State Erie's chapter of
Amnesty International will
meet on Thursday, Feb. 20 at
12:15 p.m. in Reed 3.
Now in its 36th year, Amnesty
provides anyone the
opportunity to become
involved in protecting and
defending human rights
throughout the world.
Sports Network, as well as other
community programs.
The station has to pay back this
$40,000 loan and is well on the
way to its goal. The goal of
WPSE and Penn-State Behrend is
for the station to become fully self
sufficient, and not have to rely on
donations or University funding.
Last year, University Park cut the
budget for all commonwealth
campuses and Behrend had to decide
which programs were the biggest
priority for funding. "We did not
put it at the top of the priority
list," said Chris Reber, Dean of
Student Affairs. When University
funds could not he gathered, the
administration decided to use the
student activity fee moneies to give
the station a loan as a last ditch
effort.
Ron Slomski, station manager of
WPSE stated, "I am very pleased
In the science and engineering programs,
The Women in Science and Engineering
Institute (WISE) has awarded funds to
support two undergraduate scholarships for
women in science and engineering at Penn
State.
The Clare Boothe Luce Scholars awards
were established to encourage women fo
pursue science and engineering careers.
The awards consist of two, two-year
undergraduate scholarships. This includes a
two year tuition/fee waiver, and a $6,000
especially scientists. A scientist's
professional career depends upon
his/her ability to write concisely and
with absolute clarity. Without such
skill, research cannot be published,
grants cannot be obtained, and
students in the field cannot be
educated. Furthermore, if the
general public is ever to understand
and appreciate the importance of
science to the non-scientist, we must
train scientists, as journalists. ,and
authors who can correctly, clearly,
and sympathetically present science
to the public in a way that makes
its relevance obvious. We no longer
live in a world where scientists can
lead intellectually isolated lives,
interacting only with other
scientists.
I also have spent much time at
Behrend trying to convince non
scientists that they must become
scientifically literate. Non-scientists
should be demanding to know the
results of scientific research, and
they should be insisting that the
results be presented by people who
NOM/MO . ION forms are now available for the following awarok-;
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that student activity allotment of
$40,000 was made to WPSE for the
96-97 academic year. This
allotment has enabled the station to
solidify its financial standing ard
build for the future. For the first
time in its history, this station has
projected to be self-sufficient
through advertising funds. We will
be entering the next year with
advanced sales commitments to
replace the $40,000 which was
invested in us this year."
WPSE has made a lot of ground
with its new Partners for Business
program, in which chairmen and
CEOs from prominent businesses
around the Erie area pay forthe
airing of one to four minute
advertising spots.
However, the station is also
stipend for the first year with a $7,000
stipend for the second year.
To qualify, applicants must be full-time
Penn State students and be either a
sophomore or a junior with at least a 3.3
GPA. Students in the pm-med program
are not eligible.
The deadline for applicants is March 7,
and applications can be obtained by
contacting the WISE Institute at 510
Thomas Building, University Park, PA
16802; (814) 865-3342; or e-mail to
wise@psu.edu.
actually know something about
science so that the information
presented is correct. Science
permeates every aspect of all of our
lives, and it will affect what each of
us does personally, professionally,
and politically whether we want it
to or not. Thus, it behooves each of
us to become scientifically literate
and informed. The only way that
can happen is for young scientists to
learn to communicate through the
news media in a professional and
ethical manner.
How DARE the author of that
odious poster imply that biologists
do not need to be able to write and
never will become professional
journalists or authors? Next time
you read the science/technology
section of the newspaper, pick up a
copy of National Geographic, or read
an article addressing the latest
cancer-fighting treatment, stop and
ask who wrote the words and what
sort of training they had.
16 - Sunday
undergoing major transformations
to an automated system, which
means less student involvement.
"The automation will limit student
involvement . . . Students won't
really get a chance to do much
anymore," said Jack Marroni, a
board operator at the station.
"Yes, student involvement is
limited," said Reber, "however, the
automation will free up students to
do higher quality experiences
anymore," said
Jack Marroni, a
board operator at the
station.
"Yes, student
involvement
limited,"
Reber, "however,
the automation will
free up students to
do higher quality
experiences."
Dr. Pamela S. Botts
Assistant Professor of
Biology
Think about content
Dear Editor,
I have never written a letter to the
editor. I am so angry, however, I feel
that this needs to be said. Recently a
poster, requesting a boycott of the
campus newspaper, was brought to
my attention. I would like the
opportunity to speak to the author of
this poster. I am a returning adult
student, I also happen to be a Biology
major. Whoever wrote that poster is
in for a rude awakening when he/she
enters the real world. First of all, any
work experience is relevant, regardless
of your chosen field. Work experience
that shows organizational skills,
communication skills, leadership
skills and the like are always
relevant to prospective employers and
may often be the difference between
getting hired or not. So wake up!!!
In reference to the stipend paid to
the editor, I am curious as to what
he/she thinks the pay scale at a large
corporation is like. With
responsibility comes compensation.
This is true in the business world, in
science, in education and any other
field you can think of. Regardless of
who does the work, ultimately it is the
editor's responsibility to see that the
paper gets to press on time. That is
what the editor is getting paid for.
It's called management.
Next, I would like to address the
fact that people in the humanities and
social sciences seem to believe that
scientists do not know how to write
and communicate their ideas
Shocked by flyer
Dear Editor,
I was shocked to see the anti-
Collegian postings around campus
at the beginning of this week.
Apparently the party who designed
the signs was not aware of the
writing requirements bestowed upon
a Biology major once they are
enrolled. On this campus, a Biology
major must take two classes in their
major which are writing intensive,
English 202 C (a critical writing
Students, groups, faculty and staff may submit
nominations to the Provost's Office by March 14, 1997.
Nomination forms are available in the Library, at the
RUB Desk, the Computer Center, Academic Unit Offices,
and the Provost's Office
13 - (Thursday 14 - Friday 15 - Saturday
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6:30 pm Reed 112
Newman
8:00 pm Reed 3
17 - Monday
Thursday, February 13, /997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page 3
These other experiences were
stated by Slomski to be
"interviewing, editing, and
producing segments resulting from
contacts with the business
community."
This semester there are no
students taking the radio practicum
class, but a handful are working at
the station for pay. Many
students do not consider the station
to he a student activity for this
reason.
18 -Tuesday
Auirok
Music at Von
Reed, 12:00 pm
Persona! Growth Group
for Women
The student activity fee allocation
committee, consisting of seven
students and three faculty/staff,
recently met to propose futkire
allocations. Some of the
allocations, which are subject to
change, may be for the blue bus,
the fitness room, a new varsity
track and field team, intramurals, all
registered student organizations, and
a part time student government
account clerk.
effectively. Excuse me!! Has the
author of this poster ever picked up a
scientific journal and actually read it?
Granted, the writing we as scientists
do is extremely technical and often
tedious. That, however, makes
literally skills even more important.
It is a constant challenge to write in a
manner that is intelligent, concise and
readable. I wonder how many grant
proposals, original research papers, or
laboratory reports the author of that
poster has written in the last year? I
know that I personally have written
five of the above in the last week
alone. The professors in the Biology
Department are constantly stressing
writing and communication skills
whether the course is designated
writing intensive or not.
Finally, if this person has a problem
with the use of press lines, I hope
he/she never picks up a local
newspaper, or listens to the local
news broadcasts. They all use press
lines for their stories. That is how
information is passed, and the last
time I checked, information is what a
newspaper is all about. The next
time the author of that poster gets the
urge to go public with his/her
thoughts, perhaps they will think
twice about their content. The author
was misinformed and thoughtless to
say the very least, in addition to being
way out of line!
Jane Stidd
Senior BIOBD
course), and English 15 (a creative
writing course). Biology majors need
the experience of editing just as
much as an English or
Communication major. I feel the
chance to edit a school paper could
only make a person's writing and
grammar skills stronger, which
would help later down the road in
the writing of a scientific paper,
journal, or book.
Kim Wolbert
08 BIOBD
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