Page 4- The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, December 4, 1997
The Behrend College Collegian
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Features Editor
Kristi McKim
News Layout Editor
John Grolier
Business Manager
Dana Greenhouse
Photography Editor
Jessica Trzeciakowski
Office Manager
Gina Gaskey
Advisor
Robert Speel
Postal Information: The Collegian is
published weekly by the students of
Penn State Erie, The Behrend Col
lege; First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed
Union Building, Station Road, Erie,
PA 16563. The Collegian can be
reached by calling (814) 898-6488 or
(814) 898-6019 (FAX). ISSN 1071-
9288
The
importance
of SRTEs
As the semester comes to a close,
student evaluations (SRTE'S) are
being passed out in all classes. Most
students seem to take these lightly,
the common feeling being that they
don't matter. On the contrary, these
evaluations are looked at carefully
and used to determine the future of
a professor's career.
SRTE's are one of the most direct
ways that a student has influence
over the future of her or his school.
The evaluations are anonymous, and
are not seen by the professor until
after the final grades are turned in.
This is a student's chance to let the
professor know thoir thoughtsabout
how the oxanvs , um.structifired;
what she or he thinks about how the
L R
THE EDITOR
Safer Sex Cabaret
applauded
To the Editor,
I would like to take this opportu
nity to commend Trigon and the
Joint Residence Council, co-spon
sors of this Tuesday's wholly suc
cessful "Safer Sex Cabaret." The
program was remarkably informa
tive as well as entertaining. To com
memorate World AIDS Day in such
a respectful and forthright fashion,
given the ignorance that so often
marks responses to this horrific
plague, seems to me invaluable, and
especially so in an educational con
text. Moreover, the integrity with
which difference was lauded in
terms of sexual orientation as well
as the cause of abstinence made
the evening profound for many who
attended. It was a pleasure to wit
ness such an open-minded presen
tation, and to feel as though my
work here at Behrend as a teacher
and a scholar is consistent with the
college's educational mission as a
social entity.
Sincerely,
Alan Michael Parker
Assistant Professor of English
Student responds
to Collegian
cartoon
Editor,
I found your comic the last Col
legian, about an unfair playing field
for minorities, very disturbing. I am
sick and tired of hearing minorities
complain about how bad off their
lives are. Slavery ended a long time
Editor in Chief
Andrea M. Zaffino
Managing Editor
Anne M. Rajone
Sports Editor
Matt Plizga
Layout Editor
Nathan Mitchell
Advertising Manager
Mike Advertising
Associate Editor
Brian Ashbaugh
Assistant Sports Editor
Dylan Stewart
Letter Policy: The Collegian encour
ages letters to the editor on news cov
erage, editorial content and Univer
sity affairs. Letters should be no
longer than 400 words. Letters
should include the address, phone
number, semester standing and ma
jor of the writer. Writers can mail
their letters to behrcoll2@aol.com.
final grade is determined. This is
also a chance to let the administra
tion know if you had a particularly
good or bad professor.
If there was ever a chance for in
dividual voices to be heard in the
midst of the huge bureaucracy that
is Penn State, this is it. These evalu
ations have truly affected the sala
ries and employment of Behrend
professors.
As students begin to get nervous
for the finals that professors will
give, take these evaluations seri
ously enough to make professors
nervous as well. This is an impor
taut, chance ,t 6 afloat the quality 'of
instruction' at•Behrend: • •
ILIMLM
ago, so GET OVER IT. If blacks
spent more time working and try
ing to succeed in life, instead of
dwelling about how the world is so
biased, this world would be a better
place. In my opinion, blacks and
other minorities have life better off
than whites. For instance, affirma
tive action helps minorities and
women, but not caucasian males.
In an example that hits closer to
home, at the Behrend College you
will find a National Society for
Black Engineers and a Society for
Hispanic Engineers. One may ask,
"Where is the National Society for
Caucasian Engineers?" Well they
don't have one because it would be
"racist." This is a perfect example
of why there are more and more rac
ists in our world today.
Special treatment and reverse rac
ism cause great anger and hatred to
build up inside of an individual. I
think you should look into the issue
more before publishing such an un
true comic.
Seeking the truth,
Jonathan Kolbe
01 chemical engineering
Child care center
funding defended
Dear Editors,
This letter is in response to the ar
ticle, "Student activity fee going to
Child Care Center," which appeared
on the front page of the November
20, 1997 issue. The article de
scribed a $20,000 allocation to the
Child Care Center approved by
Penn State-Behrend's 1996-97 Stu
dent Activity Fee Allocation Corn
mittee. The allocation has helped
Advisor
Alan Parker
Editorials
Barbie goes under, the knife
for a more natural bustline
By Charles Powell
Kentucky Kernel
University of Kentucky
So Mattel Toys goes back to the
drawing board with Barbie the most
belovedly controversial doll in U.S.
history.
America's favorite air head will get
a new look that may be rolled out
early next year and some would say
even that speedy schedule is long
overdue. But can the changes in store
really do enough to make Barbie real?
The main complaint about Barbie
has always been her physical traits.
This is fair: the doll packs a chest like
two beluga whales penned in unnatu
rally close quarters. Add to that a
candy-thin waist, perennially steeped
feet, and hips that resemble two min
iature poodles fighting under a blan
ket and you've pretty much got her
pegged.
Men have long defended their
creepy fetishization of Barbie by
pointing out that few male dolls are
physically realistic either and that is
also true: None of my friends has a
kung-fu grip either. But to get the
Barbie effect G.I. Joe would have to
carry a bulging package that hung to
his knees as standard equipment.
Would kind of make it hard to fight,
huh?
That's the problem with Barbie. A
figure like a balloon clasped in the
middle makes it difficult for her to
accomplish her mission, which is giv
ing little girls a positive role model.
A woman who totters like an in-pa
tient at a ancient Chinese foot-bind
ing clinic may garner huge amounts
of lust, but very little respect.
This hasn't been helped by the lack
of useful accouterments that have
been appended to Barbie in her ca
reer. The Barbie that burbled, "Math
is hard!" a few years• back isn't the
only image that seems predestined to
doom small girls to a life of subservi-
RS TO
cover a deficit accrued in the initial
years of the Center's start-up. I
would like to clarify several issues
raised in this article.
First, the article implied that this
allocation violated student activity
fee guidelines. It did not. The
guidelines specifically sanction
funding support for child care at lo
cations other than University Park.
Quoting from those guidelines, "Se
lected support services may be
funded. Some campuses lack basic
services which are readily available
at University Park. Consistent with
the allocation process outlined (be
low), campuses may plan to use
funds to enhance services where stu
dent need is evident. Those areas
eligible for enhancement are athlet
ics, career development and place
ment, child care services. health ser
vices issues and education, personal
counseling, and student activities."
The activity fee allocation process
is coordinated at each location by a
committee of seven students repre
sentative of the student population,
two staff, and one faculty member.
These committee members are ap
pointed jointly by the Student Gov
ernment Association President and
the Dean of Student Affairs. The
process ensures that students have
maximum, and majority, input into
all of the decisions.
Penn State-Behrend's Student Ac
tivity Fee Committee invited cam
pus-wide input last year into the
activity fee allocation process.
Written requests for suggested uses
of activity fee funds were sent to all
Behrend students, and two full-page
Collegian ads were purchased to
invite campus-wide input into the
center allocation. While the article
included a statement from SGA
President Mike Zampetti in oppo
sition to the child care allocation, a
majority of all committee members,
Barbie has periodically had her own
comic book, one issue of which con
tained overcoming incredible hard
ship. Was it about breaking the glass
ceiling at work, getting Skipper away
from an abusive boyfriend or fight
ing the chemical company that was
polluting her ground water?
It's none of the three of course
Barbie's success was getting
through work, a lunch meeting and a
dinner date with Ken by using her
only clean sash as a headband, scarf
and belt at different occasions.
Barbie's superpower is the ability to
accessorize.
Barbie's permanent fluffdom has
been defended by the toy maker for
years. "She's primarily a fashion
most of whom were students, ap
proved that decision.
The Child Care Center offers
quality care for the children of stu
dents, faculty, and staff, enabling
student parents to attend Penn State,
and faculty and staff to work here
without fear for their children's well
being. While the center is now fund
ing its direct operating costs through
center income, a deficit was accrued
in the initial years of the center's
operation and was associated with
very expensive start-up costs. The
student activity fee allocation has
helped reduce this deficit as an in
vestment in the center's present and
future ability to serve students.
While a relatively small number
of students are served by the center
at any given time, it is a critical ser
vice for those students who do need
it. Over time, many students pri
marily returning adults will ben
efit from the presence of the center.
In other words, the activity fee sup
port now will help a growing num
ber of students for many years to
come. These students also pay the
student activity fee.
If there are any questions about
the center or the student activity fee,
I would be happy to answer those.
Thank you for this opportunity to
explain the activity fee process and
the rationale for supporting the Penn
State-Behrend Child Care Center.
Sincerely,
Chris Reber
Dean of Student Affairs
,~
. ~. ,
doll," quoth Mattel's public relations
jockeys, meaning it is irrational to ask
mote from her.
But just as clothes don't make the
man they don't make the woman (or,
in this case, the doll) either; a look at
Barbie sans ensembles shows a gar
ish body, a blank stare and precious
little in the way of self-determination.
If she were real she'd either be a tro
phy wife, unemployed or attending
college
Not that Mattel hasn't tried to give
their favorite trollop some positive
jobs, but she just doesn't appear ca
pable of carrying the roles. A protec
tors seems slightly unreal somehow.
Not that attractive women aren't smart
or vice versa, but rather those implants
might make it difficult to see where
Erie online
by Anne Rajotte
managing editor
Admittedly, Erie can be an unex
citing city. Besides the mall,
Tinsletown and the few weeks that are
warm enough to enjoy Presque Isle,
college students seem to have few
options.
Erie is the third largest city in Penn
sylvania, though it does not seem to
match that title with the advantages
of a city that ranks just behind Phila
delphia and Pittsburgh. However, if
you look hard enough, you can find
that Erie might not be so bad after all.
There are numerous homepages
dedicated to Erie's community, busi
nesses, recreation and attractions. On
www.accesserie.com, there are links
to restaurant reviews, Presque Isle
events, schedules for the Warner The
ater and the Erie Civic Center, and
homepages of organizations around
Erie. You can find the Tinsletown
schedule without having to go through
the fifteen minutes of commercials
that accompany the schedule on the
phone.
The events at the Erie Civic Cen
ter, the Warner Theater and the Road
house Theater are not publicized a
great deal on campus. Well known
shows, bands and plays are at each of
these places frequently, and often in
expensively. On the Erie homepages,
there are also listings of concerts hap
pening in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buf
falo and State College. World Cham
pionship Wrestling is coining to the
Civic Center, the Warner Theater is
hosting Lord of the Dance, Stomp and
the Nutcracker. The Roadhouse The
ater is a small, nontraditional theater
that, in addition to plays, presents
etters to t
you operate.
So in come the Mattel plastic sur
geons for a makeover of our favorite
doll. Barbie will get wider hips, a
larger waist and a few letters whittled
from her bra size. I would suggest
freckles, feet suitable for flats and a
pulsating glow-in-the-dark brain but
I'm not holding my breath.
And no changes are planned for the
material from which Barbie is made:
sum up why Barbie is and always will
be shaped to the contours of the least
assertive features the market can stand
and that's why she will probably al
ways be popular.
Contributing Columnist Charles
Powell is a political science gradu
ate student.
things like drag shows.
Presque Isle has been named one
of America's top 100 swimming
holes, along with Pymatuning Dam,
which is only an hour south of Erie.
Erie has its own opera theater and
twenty seven golf courses. All of this
seems to be obscured by the overde
veloped Peach Street strip of chain
restaurants and shopping centers,
Searching is definitely required if you
are looking for something different in
Erie.
One of the easiest ways to do this
seems to be online. If you are inter
ested explonng the spiritual life in
Erie, there are links to several
church's homepages, including an im
pressive site for the Erie Assembly of
God. If you are looking for a nice
evening out and want to forego the
habitual visits to the Olive Garden,
there are reviews, price listings and
other general information about inde
pendent restaurants all over the Erie
area.
The sites also include free
classifieds, real estate and business
listings and city maps. In short, ev
erything one might want to know
about Erie and its immediate sur
roundings
Because of Erie's size in compari
son to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,
and lack of a concentrated downtown
area, such as found in State College,
it is harder to find a variety of things
to do. Erie can be made at least a little
more exciting if you know where to
look. For more information on events
and attractions around look for
www.goerie.com;
www.accesserie.com; or
www.erie.net.
e e
behrcoll2@aoLcom
itor