page 4- The Behrend College Collegian. Thursday, April 9, /998
The Behrend College Collegian
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
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Nathan Mitchell
Photography Editor
=Elea
Business Manager
Dana Greenhouse
Features Editor
Jon Stubbs
News Editor
Chan Kung
The Collegian
is published weekly by the students
of Penn State Erie, The Behrend
College; First Floor, The J. Elmer
Reed Union Building, Station Road,
Erie, PA 16563. The Collegian can
he reached by calling (814) 898-6488
or (814) 898-6019 (FAX). ISSN
1071-9288.
'mull In
=lffi
Some housing
complaints
unwarranted
Recently, there have been a lot of
complaints about the quality of hous
ing offered at Behrend. Most of these
complaints are from students living
in Perry, Niagara and Lawrence Halls.
However, some of these complaints
also come from students living the
suites and apartments. Of course, hav
ing cramped living quarters is an ex
pected part of college life, however
the conditions of these three dorms are
below what the residents of the suites,
Almy or the apartments have to offer.
Every year students line up all night
for a chance to live in the suites in
stead of the three dorms.
Students who live in the dorms have
some valid complaints. The rooms are
old, there is limited shelf space and it
is hard to control the heat. It is gener
ally agreed that there needs to he some
kind of improvement. Perry has new
furniture, though Niagara and
Lawrence are still waiting. Lawrence
was supposed to receive new furni
ture this past year, however, there was
not enough money in the budget.
All this aside, sometimes students
can take their complaints too far. At
last week's Coffee with the Provost
and SGA Open Forum, students took
the opportunity to let administration
know about their complaints. The
majority of the complaints were about
Sorority leader disgruntled about SGA president's remark
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the ar
ticle printed April 2 regarding the
SGA Open Forum. In this article, it
was noted that the turnout for this
forum was much better than for the
last forum. SGA President Mike
Zampetti thanked everyone, "...for
coming out of the kindness of your
hearts or because your sorority
forced you to." I cannot speak for
all Greek women on this campus,
but I was personally very offended
by this comment. Approximately
twelve Greek women were at the
forum, making up the majority of
the attendance. We were not there
because our sororities forced us to
s;'=
Editor in Chief
Andrea A 4 Zatfiput
Managing Editor
Anne Al Rajotte
Sports Editor
Dylan Ste wa rt
Associate Editor
Brian A shbaugh
Advertising Manager
RJ Frelin
encourages letters to the editor.
Letters should include the address,
phone number, semester standing and
major of the writer. Writers can mail
their letters to behrcoll2@aol.com.
Letters must he received no later than
spm Tuesday for inclusion in that
week's issue.
not being allowed to write on the side
walk with chalk and the renaming of
the apartments. The two issues were
brought up at both the Open Forum
and Coffee with the Provost. This
seems like a very trivial thing to be
complaining about. Some students
had legitimate complaints concerning
the quality of their apartments. How
ever, it seems like an undue amount
of time was spent discussing incon
sequential subjects like writing with
chalk on the sidewalks or the fact that
it is sometimes unpleasant to walk in
the stairwell between the suites and
Perry Hall. The new rule prohibiting
writing on the sidewalks with chalk
brought about angry responses deny
ing administration's reasoning behind
the rule. Other things students ad
dressed were the fact that the desk
lamps in some cases were not lit ad
equately or to their liking, which is
something most people could prob
ably remedy themselves and does not
warrant a complaint to administration.
It seems there are important valid
complaints that need to be looked at
by Housing and Food and adminis
tration. When students spend so much
time complaining about sidewalk
chalk and building renaming, it takes
away from issues that really need to
be addressed.
go. Members of our Pan Hellenic
Council had read in the Collegian
how disappointed Zampetti was
over the last forum. He made a plea
for greater student interest and sup
port, and we were there to provide
it. I certainly did not expect to be
mocked by him for attending.
I think that all three sororities on
this campus work very hard to dis
pel the myths and stereotypes that
people have about us. Why
Zampetti wants to make this job
even harder for us is a mystery to
me. When I took the position of
Panhellenic Representative to SGA,
people wished me luck and warned
me that he was very anti-Greek. I
Advisor
Robert Speel
Advisor
Alan Parker
Kt b, You
Gar pulcix REF#I)4Es.
Penn State needs a Fall Break
If I were to take a poll around Be
hrend and asked if students would be
willing to begin the Fall semester a
week earlier in August, the answer
would most likely he a resounding
"no." But what if the reason for the
early start meant having a Fall Break
halfway through the semester? Well,
that might change a few minds on the
issue. Unlike the Spring semester, the
Fall semester lacks a break in the mo
notony. Both semesters are the equal
in academic length, yet the Spring
seems to be the one chosen for the
break. Would a Fall Break benefit or
hinder the students, faculty, and staff
on campus? This is a question that
Penn State has considered regarding
the inclusion of a week-long break in
the Fall.
With information compiled by Penn
State's Council of Commonwealth
Student Governments President Greg
Bednarski, a paper was found which
was first presented to the American
Psychological Association in 1978 on
the idea of having a Fall Break. The
paper, called "Intervention and Evalu
ation in Campus Environmental As
sessment" was a project performed by
the Student Counseling Center of Il
linois State University after the inser
tion of the Fall Break into their cal
endar. The project searched for re
duced anxiety, tension, sickness, and
pressure at mid-semester as a result
of the break. And although the evalu
ations proved to be generally incon
clusive, many important points were
taken from the tested individuals on
the Illinois State campus.
The results of the research are as
follows: University staff reported con
sistently that the break affected them
positively; the staff reported that the
Fall semester was the calmest com-
pared to previous Fall semesters; Aca
demic Advisement and Financial Aid
areas experienced a sudden increa s e
in student appointments following the
break, suggesting the time off may
have been used by students to speak
to their families regarding financial
and academic plans; 65 student advi
sors reported that students had de
scribed the break as enjoyable. The
comments were totally unsolicited;
quantitative data provided no clear
resolution on the effect of a break on
students, while the qualitative data
clearly showed the break eased ten
sion and it was a period of cooling
off for students; and impressionistic
staff data collected were generally
strongly supportive of the break.
It is evident that the results of the
survey were, for the most part, posi-
tried to keep an open mind about
him. I wish he would give us the
same courtesy. Our sororities are
not about forcing people to do things
against their will. We are about last
ing friendships, excellence in schol
arship and service to others. When
another organization, SGA, asked
for support, we're happy to provide
it, and I was shocked that Zampetti
would insult us for doing so.
Respectfully,
Melissa Musante
Pan Hellenic Representative to SGA
07, Biology
Editorial
tive and reihforcing in support of the
Fall Break. But would this system he
as effective on a smaller campus like
Behrend? According to Shawn
Benson ( 10, MEBD), a graduating
senior, the size of the campus does lilt
matter. "College students are under
tremendous pressure these days.
School work coupled with employ
ment can make stressful situations.
Inconsiderate roommates become
bothersome. A Fall Semester Break
would be beneficial to many students
as well as professors," says Benson.
Lock Haven University, a campus
of comparable size to Behrend, has
implemented a Fall Break. Bednarski
contacted the Associate Dean of Lock
Haven and found out that finals week
Gun ban: A step
The Los Angeles Times
President Clinton's action Monday
to ban the importation of 58 types of
assault-style rifles means that as many
as 1.6 million of these murderous
weapons will not enter the United
States this year and countless others
will he barred in future years, assum
ing the ban survives expected chal
lenges in Congress or the courts. Re
gardless of what the National Rifle
Association may claim, this step
means lives will he saved.
The president made permanent a
suspension ordered last November so
Treasury experts could study im
ported arms modified to be classified
as sporting weapons. As such they
would have eluded a 1989 Bush ad
ministration ban on semiautomatic
assault rifles. Of 59 types studied un
der the presidential suspension, only
one was deemed to fit the definition
of a sporting weapon.
Women took Clinton's side
for the right reasons
By Barbara T. Roessner, The Hartford
Courant
A lot of us have put ourselves
through the drill a hundred times:
Why, why, is it that we immediately
sit down when Susan Carpenter
McMillan exhorts "the women of
America" to stand up for "our hero"?
Is it Paula's baby-doll voice, her
formerly big hair, her notable absence
of Ivy League pedigree?
Is it our own raw partisanship? Is it
because ol' Bill, for all his personal
foibles and flaws, is steadfast when it
comes to public policy that protects
and advances women's rights?
Or is it, as some particularly pig
gish commentators have suggested,
that we harbor some kind of secret
crush on the square-jawed president
with the rogue reputation?
And the answers have always come
back: No, no, no and no way are we
that desperate.
Within minutes of the news last
week that Paula Jones' entire case
against President Clinton had been
thrown out of court, a friend and I ex
changed gleeful grins. knew there
was a reason why so many intelligent
women had a problem with the Jones
case," she said. "It's bogus!"
an instructional week alleviating the
extra class days created by the break.
The professors there have the option
to either give a final exam during that
week, or teach a class if there is no
exam.
Bednarski also spoke to the head
Registrars at Millersville and
Shippensburg Universities as well as
other state schools about their situa
tions. He found that most Fall Breaks
were instituted to balance the fall and
spring semesters. Mr. Dempsey at
Shippensburg stated that "both stu
dents and faculty enjoy the break and
find it beneficial."
With the information compiled by
Bednarski, it's not difficult to see the
advantages of having a yearly Fall
An estimated 600,000 weapons al
ready approved for importation were
held up pending the study. Requests
for an additional I million weapons
piled up while the study was under
way. Now, none will enter the coun
try.
The NRA insists that Clinton's ac
tion is cosmetic and that these guns
are not the criminals' weapon of
choice. But imagine, 1.6 million more
semiautomatic assault rifles than we
already have in our homes and streets.
Just think how many of these would
have found their way into the hands
of criminals, terrorists or disturbed
people bent on exacting revenge for
some perceived wrong. Or consider
how many accidental deaths of men,
women and children might have been
caused by the careless handling of
these weapons, no matter how well
intentioned their owners.
Assault rifles with large-capacity
military-style magazines—many of
It's always nice when one's gut in
stincts not only survive repeated bouts
of personal soul-searching, but are
summarily affirmed by the cold rea
soning of the judiciary.
Even if Jones' allegations against
Clinton are true, there was no sexual
assault, said U.S. District Judge Su
san Webber Wright. There was no
sexual harassment. There will be no
trial. Go back to Long Beach, Paula.
That's not to say this has been an
easy season for feminists. The line
between sexism and sexuality has al
ways been a treacherous navigation
for us, and the Jones case, with all its
tentacles, has only made it more so.
Sex and sexual harassment are not
the same; clearly, Jones was not sexu
ally harassed. Sex and sexual assault
are not the same; it's clear she wasn't
sexually assaulted. I do wonder,
though, about that old term "indecent
exposure." If a guy abruptly drops
trousers in the park, he's a pervert. But
in a hotel suite, he's making a pass?
The Jones case also brought sexual
talk -- in its overt form, anyway --
back to the workplace. This is good, I
think, though not without untold com
plications. The recent cultural notion
that sex is an unsuitable topic of of-
lAN A
Penn State is seriously considering
putting forth the idea and I am not sure
who is in charge of making this deci
sion. But one thing is for sure, it is
being made at University Park, many
miles away from Erie. Any student
opinions about this situation would be
greatly appreciated. pro or con. I, for
one, am greatly and whole-heartedly
in favor of the Fall Break proposal,
and I hope I am not the only one. Un
fortunately, one person cannot make
the wheels turn. If anyone out there
cares about their academic well-be
ing during the long Fall semester,
write a letter to someone important,
someone representing your views, and
we can all make this happen.
A Day in the Life appears every three
for life
them variations on the Uzi and the
AK-47 -- were not designed to hunt
game. They were designed to kill
people.
Considerable credit goes to Sen.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has
been the vanguard of weapons con
trol in the Senate.
Clinton's decision should serve as
an example to wavering members in
the California Legislature facing a
decision on AB 23, to overhaul
California's assault weapons law.
The president's action Monday
makes this country a slightly more
civilized place. Think of the deaths
and wounds not caused, the funerals
not held, the grief not expended. Now,
the California Legislature's support of
AB 23 could he another decision for
life.
This editorial appeared in Tuesday's
Los Angeles Times
fice conversation is absurd. Life may
as well be off-limits. Love may as
well be taboo.
But where's the line between sexual
talk and sexual photos? If we can talk
about sex around the water cooler,
does that mean we can put centerfolds
on the bulletin board? Maybe the only
way to keep the lid on sexism in the
workplace is, after all, to put the lid
on sex
These are the kinds of underlying
issues which, according to my news
paper, had women coming to near
blows in a local bar the night the Jones
case was dismissed. These are murky
waters, indeed. Confusing. Conflict
ing. Opaque.
A few things are clear, though.
It's sexist to contend that women
who don't embrace Paula Jones as a
"hero" are merely classist.
It's sexist to contend that we
haven't thought the issues through,
considered their ambiguities, con
fronted our own ambivalences.
We aren't stupid. We aren't rigid.
We aren't blindly partisan. We've
done the drill. We've listened to our
instincts. We've used our heads. And
guess what? We're right.
Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-
Washington Post News Service