Local District justice
accused of racial comments
By Anne Rajotte
editor in chief
Harborcreek’s District Justice Pe
ter Nakoski is known at Behrend for
being notoriously hard on students
who have to appear before him. Re
cently, however, he has been getting
publicity for another reason.
According to the Erie Daily Times,
during a training session for district
judges that took place a year ago, a
criminal law instructor asked the
judges in attendance, “It’s not unlaw
ful or illegal to be a black man, is it?”
The Judicial Conduct Board, who
brought charges against Nakoski, al
leges that Nakoski replied, “Yes, it is
unlawful to be a black man. They’re
all in jail. They are the ones doing all
the burglaries and robberies.”
The board also alleges that after he
Do you know the medical uses
for cow spleens?
Join the Beacon and
find out 898-6488
A private celebration for faculty, staff, and students is
being planned for the Reed Union Building Wintergarden
and Commons on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 5 to 6 p.m.
Please plan to join with your friends and colleagues to celebrate
and enjoy the spirit of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.
Hosted by John and Gerrie Ulley and the Lion Ambassadors, the
one-hour program will include remarks and a presentation by
Richard Sayre and his brother, William, grandsons of Ernst and
Mary Behrend.
The choir will perform, artifacts from the Behrend family will be
on display, the anniversary video will be shown, and cake and
punch will be served!
In addition, any individuals or groups of friends and colleagues
who would like to leave a message on the 50 th anniversary video
time capsule will be invited to do so beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Lantern tours of the campus, which will be lit with luminaria from
the Reed Union Building to the Glenhill Farmhouse, will be
available for those who are interested in learning more about the
history of the college and the Behrend family.
Please plan to join in this once-in-a-lifetime.
made this comment he said to Nancy
Matos-Gonzales, another judge in at
tendance and a Hispanic woman, “Oh,
no disrespect to you.”
If a special disciplinary court finds
these allegations to be true, Nakoski
could be censured or removed from
office
Nakoski is currently serving his
fourth six-year term. He is up for re
election next year. Nakoski’s jurisdic
tion covers Harborcreek, Wesleyville
and Lawrence Park, including Be
hrend.
Nate Crawley, 06 DUS, is one Be
hrend student who has appeared be
fore Justice Nakoski. Crawley was
given a ticket for parking in a handi
cap parking space in the K-Mart park
ing lot on Buffalo Road. He explains
that he was having car troubles and
Penn State Behrend at 50:
A Golden Opportunity!
golden opportunity!
had to push the car into the nearest
space, which happened to be the
handicap space.
When he returned to get his car, he
had received a ticket. He tried to ap
peal the ticket, hoping that his car
trouble would be a valid excuse to
have his fine reduced or thrown out.
Crawley stated that Nakoski “acted
like anyone under 25 was a teenager
that needed to be punished. He treated
me like a little kid who needed to be
dealt with.”
Crawley did not get his fine reduced
or thrown out, and had to pay court
costs. He felt that if he had been a
little older, “I would have at least got
ten a little more respect. [Nakoski]
would have treated me like I was on
his level.”
News
What advice would you give Behrend
student Trista Rupp, who’s lived for a
month in a Volkswagen Beetle?
“Get out.”
-Meggan Allen, 01 Mechanical Engineering
“Push them out of the car when they’re
sleeping.”
“They’re crazy. How are four people
going to share one car (if it’s a draw this ||f
will happen) without any arguments?” P'
-Miranda Moore, 01, Nursing
“People like that need Jesus and all the
prayer they can get.”
-Brian C. Atterbury, 03, Accounting
tart eating a lot of chili and stink them
page 3 ■ The Behrend College Beacon ■ Oci
-Mike Linhart, 05, Elem. Ed
-Seth Leslie, 01, DUS