The Behrend
Beacon
Housing camp-out
turns into chaos
by Nicole McGee
staff writer
This Sunday night the
Wintergarden was full of students
waiting to submit their housing con
tracts. Housing and Food Services be
gan collecting them at 6:00 am Mon
day morning.
Eighteen hours beforehand, stu
dents began lining up and waiting in
front of the doors to the Reed Com
mons. Students relocated all the fur
niture from the first floor of Reed
Union Building to accomodate their
wait. They took the couches from the
back lounge and the student organi
zation lounge. They brought stereos,
videogames, chairs, bean bags,
books, cards, pillows, blankets, and
even a few televisions with them.
Traditionally the camp-out had
taken place outside the office of
Housing and Food Services, but this
year it was moved to accomodate the
students.
Although the Office of Housing
and Food Services doesn’t encourage
this kind of sleeping out, they figured
it would be more beneficial to com
ply .
Acting Associate Dean of Student
The Future site of
Gateway Rehabilitation
Center on East 38th
street
Photo by Andrea Zaftino
Owner puts 2 million
price tag on Gateway
Elizabeth Guelcher
Layout Editor
Although residents of Wesley ville
and Haborcreek have been waiting out
the drama of Gateway Rehabilitation
for about the past three months, it
seems that the end is in sight. With
the victory of Gateway in the most
recent appeal, all that stands between
them and Kanty Prep is $2 million.
The Gateway Rehabilitation Pro
gram was created for inmates who
have been recently released from
State prisons as a drug and alcohol re
habilitation center. This will be
Gateway’s second facility with the
other located in Alaquippa, Pennsyl
vania. All of the residents of the Gate
way facility would be Erie residents,
which will house about SO men and
women.
The building is supposed to be leased
to Gateway, but Ken Lochbaum,
Affairs Linda Lombardi explains, “If
students are choosing to sleep out, we
want to make it safe for the students;
we want to keep them warm.”
Manager of Housing and Food Ser
vices Ed Malftnger, adds, “Our plan
was to open [the Commons] at 9:30
pm, and everyone could line up then.”
The plan did not work excactly as
planned though. With over two hun
dred and fifty students, some esti
mates over three hundred, in the Reed
Building it was hard to keep control
One problem was line cutting. Stu
dents at the end of the line pushed their
way to the front, stepping hundreds
of places before those who had been
waiting hours longer.
Other students started chanting,
yelling, pushing, and name-calling.
This activity began as early asl eight
hours before contract submission
would even start.
Lombardi says, “The students
showed no regard or respect for the
students who had stayed out since
noon...they showed no membership
and no respect for the Behrend com-
munity.”
Malfinger adds, “It was like a mini
riot. I was very concerned about
owner of the fromer Kanty Prep build
ing, told residents at a meeting two
weeks ago that the building is on the
market for $2 million. At this point,
buying the building is the only way
community members can keep the re
habilitation center out of their neigh
borhood.
The Haborcreek residents, who op
pose Gateway occupying the former
Kanty Prep building, cite sercurity is
sues as their main concern. Gateway
has stated that no resident of thier fa
cility in Alaquippa has commited a
crime while in the program. In con
trast, four years ago, while 500 col
lege students were housed in the build
ing. There were a total of twelve ap
pearances on front of the district jus
tice. Greg Loyed, 08 engineering, is a
member of the Sigma Kappa Nu fra
ternity, whose house is located up the
road from the proposed site said,”l
think it will effect us but it could be
Erie, PA 16563
Fights during
the Housing
Contract
camp-out
January 28, 1999 Volume XLVII No. 18
safety issues....! can’t believe stu
dents would do that to each other.”
Bryan Katzenmeyer, 02 Chem
supports those who were pushed to
the back, “”I feel bad for the people
who were here before all them who
cut. They probably had a legitimate
shot at the suites until we had to
move into the Commons; they lost
their place.”
These problems were not, how
ever caused from disorganization.
There had been planning and vari
ous meetings beforehand. There was
also student representation involved
in the planning. Also at 7:30 (one
and one half hours before the doors
opened), Lombardi and Malfinger
went down the line speaking to stu
dents. They made sure students were
aware of their place in line, and of
which direction the line took.
Lombardi notes, "People’s atti
tudes completely changed irom ‘how
ya doin’?’ to screaming, yelling, and
name callling. It was really alarm-
Eventually, students proceeded to
Continued on Page 2
postive or negative. It’s a good op
portunity for community service.”
The building sits on property com
pletely surrounded by land owned by
Behrend. Lochbaum didn’t sell the
Kanty Prep building to Behrend sim
ply because school officals were not
looking to buy. He stated that the col
lege wanted the building donated,
and that was not an option.
Governor Tom Ridge has the power
to prevent Gateway from occupying
the building, but has made no efforts
in that direction thus far.
The Beacon contacted Ridge’s of
fice; however, the Governor has no
official statement. Jerry Feeser,
Ridge’s representive on the issue
only told us that the Govenor,”...has
done everything he can to facilitate
meetings between (the involved par
ties), and that he will continue to do
so until the situation comes to a
close.”
SGA UP AND RUNNING
by Ayodele Jones
managing editor
It’s the third week of the se
mester and now that classes
have taken their usual course,
students at Behrend can begin
to ask what exactly is Student
Government Association do
ing?
SGA has already begun plans
for the spring semester. SGA,
which meetson Thursdays at 6
P.M. In Reed 113, has started
to transform the budget pro
cess. The budget committee
wants to make the budget pro
cess shorter and quicker; this
will save student clubs the
hassles and aggravations nor
mally associated with this pro
cess.
SGA also wants to improve
student life; one particular as
pect being the way in which
housing contracts for the fol
lowing year are accepted. Stu
dents camped out in the Reed
Commons on Sunday night in
order to insure that they would
receive the residence of their
choice for next semester. Un
fortunately, students who had
spent the entire night in the
Commons were skipped by
people arriving at 6am.
The SGA is especially proud
of the "book co-op” that was
held the first week of school.
The book co-op provided stu
dents an opportunity to buy
books at a cheaper price than
that of the book store. Of the sixty
books that were dropped off for the
sale over half of them were sold. SGA
only hopes that, with the participation
of more students, it will be more sue-
The Beacon would like to run a correction in regards to the Clark family article
The Clark family, owners of Snap-tite, INC. established an endowment of
$850,000 in scholarships for the employees of Snap-tite and the employees’
children.
Good home
cookin’ at
Chuck and
Ginny’s
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r ' >,
I * . J % '
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cessful next semester. "I hope more
people get involved in SGA, espe
cially since there are going to be open
ings on the SGA Senate, 1 hope that
Lady Lio
undefeat
in AMC
play
iimlll
"<■ . I.
people participate in the upcomig
elections. SGA wants to prove itself
and do things for the students,” said
Andrea DiPlacido, vice-president of
SGA.
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