The Behrend
Beacon
Commencement of Fall 1998
by Jon Stubbs
features editor
Penn State - Behrend awarded as
sociate, baccalaureate or graduate de
grees to one hundred and ninety-four
students during its fall commence
ment ceremony on Saturday, Decem
ber 19, 1998. Combined with the
other graduates who received their
degrees at spring or summer com
mencement, Behrend awarded 490
total degrees in 1998.
Among the graduating class were
nine Schreyer Scholars. Two of the
Scholars, Lisa A. Fuhnnan (commu
nications and media studies) and Gary
E. Brockway (English), both from
Erie, graduated with honors.
Behrend Provost and Dean Dr. John
M. Lilley welcomed guests and
awarded degrees. Dr. Lilley was as
sisted in welcoming guests by Maria
A. Madigan, a Behrend psychology
major from Clarendon, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Robert E. Farrell, associate pro-
fessor of engineering and director of
the Plastics engineering program at
Penn State - Behrend gave the com-
What's
Inside
Police and Safety:
Open Stitches
SPC Movie:
“Urban Legends w
Calendar of
Events
Editorial: Behrend
blue over snow
Campus News:
MBA Internships
World and Nation:
Flying Jesus
Page 6
Who died in 1998
Sports in 1998
Behrend Men in
Conference play
Erie, PA 16563
mencement address entitled “The In
fluence of Technology: Past, Present
and Future." Mr. Farrell’s daughter,
Wendy, decided to receive her B.S. in
German at Behrend’s commencement
instead of University Park where she
attended classes. She was unaware
that her father was going to be the
I will trace developments in
technology in 25 year segments
of time going back to 1950
when your grandparents were
graduating. I will then move
ahead through time to the year
2050 when your grandchildren
will be graduating,”
Robert E. Farrell
associate Prof of Engineer-
commencement speaker.
Farrell began his speech discussing
the technology of the past ended with
his predictions of furture technology.
“I will trace developments in technol
ogy in 25 year segments of time go
Examining “The Dream”
by Danielle Marshall
staff writer
The time has come again for us to
join together and celebrate a man who
once had a dream. This famous, in
fluential man is known as Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Sunday, January 17,
1999 marks the beginning of
Behrend’s annual campus-wide cel
ebration of Dr. King’s birthday on
January 15th. On Sunday at7:3op.m.,
the movie “Panther” will be shown in
the Reed Lecture Hall. On Monday,
January 18th at 7:30 a.m., there will
be a Family Breakfast in Dobbins
Hall, Oazebo. At 4:00 p.m., there will
be the Campus-Wide Birthday Cel
ebration entitled “The March” in the
Reed Commons.
“The idea came from Chimira Wil-
ehrend is Buried
•y Shannon Weber
•Jews Editor
The second semester is usually a
hectic time for returning students and
new students at Behrend. This semes
ter has been even more hectic due to
the amount of snowfall Behrend has
received. One Behrend student felt
nositive about the snow. “I think the
>now is awesome,” Mandy Gay, 02
Elementary Education. Another stu
dent felt a little different about the
mow. “I don’t appreciate it, “ Kristin
January 14, 1999 Volume XLVII No. 16
ing back to 1950 when your grand
parents were graduating. I will then
move ahead through time to the year
2050 when your grandchildren will
be graduating,” Farrell said to the
graduating class in the opening lines
of his speech. However, he talked
not only of technology, but of basic
values as well. “As you can see, the
future will be full of moral and ethi
cal challenges. You will have to
wrestle with questions of how many
and who will be born, how many and
who will die. When does a manmade
entity posses life?”
Electrical engineering major and
winner of the nationally competitive
Goldwater Scholarship Alan Hall
also participated in the commence
ment ceremony. The final farewell
speech was given by Tadd A.
Moreland, who received his degree
in mechanical engineering technol
ogy.
After the ceremony, family and
friends of the graduating class moved
over to the Reed Union Building for
a post-graduation reception.
liams. We wanted to reenact the fa
mous march on Washington that took
place on August 23, 1 963. It will con
sist of a short skit with four students
reading selective parts. It gives stu
dents the opportunity to see and hear
the entire “I Have A Drean” speech.
I’m trying to focus on other influen
tial people in the Civil Rights move
ment who we don’t recognize or
know the names of,” said Janique
Caffie, Director of Educational Eq
uity Programs.
At 7:30 p.m., the Martin Luther King
Jr. celebration dinner will be held in
the Reed Commons with musical se
lections from Behrend’s Gospel
Choir. At 8:30 p.m., the featured
speaker will be Mr. Bobby Seale,
cofounder and former chairman of
Jordan, 02 MIS. Some students have
never experienced a winter Pennsyl
vania. When Hazel Sadiarin, 02
Econ, from Virginia was asked how
she felt about the snow she stated,
“At first it’s great, but after trudging
through the slush every minute of the
day, it can be such pain.”
For students going to class and
dealing with the cold can be tough,
but also receiving inaccurate infor
mation about school closings also
compounds the problem. On Janu
ary 13,1999, WJET-TV wrongly an-
Alan Hall and Dr. John Lilley at the commencement
the Black Panther Party, which will
be in the Reed Lecture Hall. Caffie
stated, “I encourage students to speak
with Bobby Seale at a roundtable dis
cussion on Monday, Jan. 18th at 5:20
p.m. in the MCC Resource Center. I
liked to get a sense of the new Pan
ther movement that’s taking place in
California and t 'her places.” You can
also take a walk through history by
visiting the time-line on display
throughout the Reed Union Building
beginning on Jan. 18, 1999 and end
ing on Jan. 20, 1999. “This could not
have been done without the help of
some of the student organizations like
NSBE, ABC, and ASO and some of
the hall council," Caffie stated.
So, let’s come together and see how
the season for struggle is still continu-
ing today.
nounced the closing of Penn State
Erie. On the computerized listing ol
schools, they happened to put the cur
sor next to Penn State Behrend in
stead of Penn Crest. Anne-Marie
Welsh, Manager of Publications anc
Public Information, stated, "In addi
tion, whenever the area is experienc
ing critical weather, I leave a daily
voicemail at the main switchboard by
5:30 a.m., verifying whether or noi
offices are open. You can always re
ceive accurate information by calling
898-6000 and selecting 3 for this mes
sage.”
PEN
Committee to allo-
cate $19,000
by Will Jordan
editor in chief
The Student Activity Fee Commit
tee is preparing to allocate $19,000 in
funds for the Spring 1999 Semester.
The Committee is inviting students,
faculty and staff to submit suggestions
and proposals on how to use the funds.
Student organizations, which were not
satisfied with the previous SGA allo-
cation processes can now submit
suggestons to the Student Activity Fee
Committee by proposing program
ming that encourages student partici
pation and increases student interest.
Buck Goedicke, SGA president, and
Ken Miller, Interim Dean of Student
Affairs, gladly welcome any input
from Behrend students.
The money that will be allocated
comes from the increase in the activ
ity fee for this year as well as the in-
Acting Dean of Student
Affairs, Ken Miller.
h 1 liGUJfifc
mm
* 'I wt.
photo courtesy of Ann-Marie Welsh
crease in student enrollment. “SGA
doesn’t manage the process, the Ac
tivity Fee Committee which is jointly
appointed by Buck and myself does.
It’s the students’ money and they need
to provide as many suggestions as
possible. The Committee will actu
ally be interviewing random students
to get ideas for the $220,000 to be
distributed for the 1999-00 academic
year,’’ Miller stated.
The deadline for any suggestions on
how to use the $l9OOO is 5:00 p.m.
on Friday, January 22, 1999. Propos
als may be turned in to the Dean of
Students Office or the SGA office.
The Committee will be reviewing all
of the submitted suggestions on Tues
day, January 26.
Faculty and students are encour
aged to attend the meeting on Janu
ary 26.
photo by Andrea Zaffino