The Behrend College Beacon published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College News Editor Shannon Weber Editorial Page Editor Natalie Galliano Business Manager Jaime Davis Photography Editors Jason Blake Andrea 2'affino Layout Editors Mike Perkins Elizabeth Gueh her Wire Services Editor Katie Galley Features Editor Jon Slubbs Postal Information: The Beacon 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 Beacon can be reached by calling (814) 898-6488 or (814) 898-6019 (FAX). ISSN 1071-9288. A view from the lighthouse What were they thinking? There is a general consensus of the on-campus residents that the locking up of residence halls at seven p.m. this Friday is a heinous idea. What were they thinking? Housing failed to consider the needs of residents w ho live in other states and/or are unable to get a ride home until Saturday or Sunday. And, to put the icing on the cake. Housing had the audacity to slip pa pers, which outlined hotels through out the area that residents can stay at. under residents' doors. Docs Hous ing really think that students, who are already paying at least $l,lOO a se mester for housing alone plus meal plans, tuition, and personal expenses, are able to afford another $4O to $ 100 for a hotel room ? So, where are all these residents supposed to go if they cannot leave until after seven p.m. Housing's an- Going Greek; a lifelong enrichment by Rose Forrest copy editor As Copy Editor, it is my responsi bility to correct articles on grammar and structure, but I have no control over content. Last Wednesday I laced my hardest night at layout ever as I realized I had no authority to keep the anti-Greek editorial (“Face it Greeks, vou’ve asked for ridicule" 2/25/99) from running in the Beacon the next morning. I might have had problems with the article, but I respected his First Amendment right and planned a rebuttal for this issue. I hope to dis pel his arguments and perhaps some local problems. Many of the problems I had with this piece involved the author, Ryan Van Winkle, from Syracuse Univer sity. My preliminary analysis of him reveals his ignorance of the situation. I’m assuming he is not Greek and could not understand as much as he claims he does. I will concede that there might be certain chapters at cer tain campuses with bad reputations but one can not judge an entire sys tem from this. He stereotypes the whole Greek system as “a big, ugly, binge drinking, black pants wearing, roofie dropping, legs spreading.... He also mentions several times throughout his article that he could care less for Greeks or the whole situ ation. Why then does he feels the need to vent about this? Somehow I get the impression he cares a lot. It takes strong feelings to write such an edi torial; perhaps he is jealous. There is a lot of which he has to be jealous. Fratemity/sorority life can Editor in Chief IV/// Jordan Managing Editor Ayodele Jones Letter Polic encourages letters to the editor. Letters should include the address, phone number, semester standing and major of the writer. Writers can mail letters to behrcoll2(s , aol.com. Letters must be received no later than spm Tuesday for inclusion in that week’s issue. swer is too bad. They do not care. Why should they '.’They have a place to 20 home to that is nearby. 'Hie purpose of Housing is to con sider the needs of students and to act upon those needs in an effective manner. Housing should not just as sume that students will he O.K. with every decision made, especially if the decision made tails to consider resident needs. Housing, this is your wake-up call. Your job, in itself, is to cater to students' needs, not to ignore them GIUU&M fl - POR B] SENATE i y FORCE O* be the most rewarding tiling a colle giate can partake in. I’ve been an Alpha Sigma Alpha for over a year now, and 1 can honestly say it is the best thing I ever did. Besides mak ing friends I’ll have for life and knowing I’ll always have someone to call on for help. I’ve been given many opportunities I would not have normally had. Being part of a So rority provides you with a network. I have connections through the school and even the community be cause of my sisters. I’m part of a group of people that are all com pletely unique but share the same ideals and love each other very much. It provides me with a good feeling that I’m sorry so many don’t understand or can’t associate with this. I admit, I’ve heard students here at Behrend make many of the same arguments that my friend in Syra cuse does. Many non-Greeks think that Fraternity or Sorority members are ‘just buying their friends’ or 'need letters to make them feel cool.’ They don’t realize that Greeks share a history and heritage that bonds them. I’m closer to my sisters than anyone else on this campus. Seeing three pledge classes go through has enabled me to see how much these young women grow dur ing their time in the Sorority. Per haps it is the self-confidence they develop or the role models the older sisters provide but being in a Soror ity is a very satisfying experience. Another stereotype Greeks deal with is that they are 'binge drinkers.’ Sports Editor Jason Snvder Advertising Managers Erin Carey Snath Copy Editor Rose Eta rest Associate Editors Angela Rush Jessica Tucci Assistant Editor Mike Craw ley Distribution Manager Mark Greenbank Advisors Robert Spec I Jim O'Loiijdhhn The Beacon Live From Guyana Why don’t we read? Extra!! Extra!!! Read all about it. Unfortunately, we, as college students, seldom do so. What exactly am I talk ing about? Well, you tell me. When was the last time, that you read a news paper? Was it for that current event article in third grade or was it last week when you lined Furry’s cage? Let’s be real, some of us don’t even read The Beacon, unless we are wait ing outside our professor’s office, and one just happens to be on the Boor. Let’s be real, some of us wouldn’t even know that the U.S. was bombing Iraq if our favorite television show was pre empted. If our only source for news was the newspaper, we’d be a campus full of zombies wondering whatever Teens and sex: the lure of forbidden fruit? By James Wagoner Knight-Ridder Newspapers In the United States, why do about 700,000 teens become pregnant and 3 million teens contract a sexually trans mitted infection each year’? Why do 50 percent of all new HIV cases occur among young people under the age of 25? Why, despite recent declines, is the U.S. teen birth rate three times that of Germany, nearly six times that of France, and over seven times that of the Netherlands? Advocates for Youth led a fact-find ing team of experts and graduate stu dents to Germany, France and the Netherlands to examine the different approaches to teen sexual health, hop ing to find a solution to teen pregnancy, abortion and HIV infection. Could it be a mass media campaign like those in Europe that boast a single, consistent message - safe sex or no sex? How about public health systems that make contraception available con fidentially, at little or no cost .’ Or maybe it’s all about communication - the open, honest, and early conversa I put up with a lot of remarks that Greeks are responsible for the drink ing problems on campus. I don’t see how this could be possible. I work with the head of Mercyhurst Police and Safety, a Greek-free campus, and he is constantly reporting of parties and drunk people. The author of the edito rial even admits in his piece that he is a drunk and he is not a Greek. To be honest, I feel much safer going to a house with a bunch of Fraternity mem bers with a group of my Sorority sis ters whom I know I can trust. We would never leave each other and we always watch out for one another. I think this is a much safer situation than the one at the bars. I hear a lot of complaints from the student body that Greeks are taking over this, that, and the other thing. I find this ironic, because I’m simulta neously hearing that there is no par ticipation in Behrend activities. Greeks are involved because of their dedica tion and desire to be involved. The rea son they join SGA and other clubs is the same reason they pledge a Soror ity or Fraternity. The Greeks are hardly the “pathetic...lousy sheep” Winkle feels they are. They are role models for students. Although I’m angry with the stu dent at Syracuse for insulting Sorori ties and calling us names, I feel sorry for him. Sorry that he will never expe rience all the wonderful things I get to from being Greek. If printing that in furiating article putting down the Greek system really makes him feel that much better, I guess I’ll let it go, but I’m glad I can say my part too. Editorial happened to Michael Jordan and Da Bulls. The University has sponsored a program, which provides students in the residence halls, suites, and the apartments with a free assortment of papers to choose from. These news papers include The New York Times, USA Today, and The Erie Daily Times, and yet unfortunately many of the papers remain in their respective stacks at the end of the (.lay. Students refuse to lake advantage of this op portunity. I know that many of our classes require a heavy reading load, and that it is often difficult to find the time to even complete those assignments tions about sexuality that families, educators, and health-care providers hav e w ith teens We discovered that success does not rest on a single program or strat egy. Values and attitudes are equally important. The German. French and Dutch nations present sexuality as a normal part of growing up. These countries expend little time and ef fort trying to scare young people about sex. Instead they focus on edu cating and empowering young people to think and act responsibly in regard to sex. Is this a formula for lax morality and promiscuity .’ No. Dutch teens - grow ing up in the most open and lib eral system - begin sexual intercourse later, have fewer partners, and expe rience a teen birth rate eight times less than ours. "In the Netherlands, teen-agers can find out anything about sex,” says Cindy Grot/.inger, a 16-year-old Dutch student living in Washington. D.C. "We are open about it, because there's nothing to be ashamed of. Teens shouldn't have to explore sex Coping with the aftermath o rape hy Nicole Stuart The Indiana Daily Student Indiana University It's been a year and a half now since I was raped. During that time I have had to endure many careless comments and a lot of downright stu pid advice. It was up to me to convince a pros- ecutor to pursue my case. It was ac quaintance rape, so it would just be my word against my attacker's, the lawyer had said at first. The prosecu tor finally saw a case worth pursu ing when I took my attacker through the university's judicial system, where he stated we didn't have in tercourse that night because I said no. Now I wait for the DNA to speak for itself. I had to fight for my life when I was so depressed that I didn’t want to live anymore. I had to fight to get my financial aid back after the uni versity took it away, because I was too distraught to continue with school. Officials at the Office of Student Ethics told me I would have to learn some coping skills after the univer sity made special concessions to let the rapist back onto this campus. Of course, they could have just expelled him in the fust place, but I guess they would rather have a rapist at their uni versity than the women he has and will rape. But the biggest insult of all came in the mail. It was a bill from Bloomington Hospital for $330.70. Emergency Room $2OO, Lab/Bacter & Micro $BO.OO, Lab/Immunology $24.00, Laboratory $26.50. This is my bill for my rape examination. That’s right, I have to pay the bill for the exam I had to endure to collect evidence after I was raped. The attack took place in Septem ber 1997. I immediately applied to the state of Indiana’s Sex Crime Vic tim Services. At that time I was also suicidal and nearly catatonic. I couldn’t deal with the situation so I didn't. Because of my inability to function, I was late in deciding to prosecute. I missed the deadline Thursday, March 4, 1999 - The Behrend College Beacon - page 5 However, just think of all the things you’re missing when you don’t read a paper. I hate to break this to you guys, but MTV 1515 doesn’t exactly cover world and news events, and talk shows, like Rikki Lake and Jerry Springer, only give us a small piece of the American apple pie. Before the advent of the television and the In ternet, newspaper provided us with our news for the day. Don’t get me wrong: television news shows like Dateline, 20/20, and 60 Minutes do provide us with news about what’s going on at home and what happen ing abroad, but just think if you can sit down and watch a show for an hour, you can probably read or cover to find out what it means.’ These societies subscribe to the three R’s of teen sexual health: rights, responsibilities, and respect. Young people have rights to accurate infor mation and confidential health ser vices. In return, they are trusted to behave responsibly by postponing sex until their later teen years and by protecting themselves and their part ners when they become sexually ac tive. Young people are also respected, seen as a resource rather than a li ability, and valued for who they are, not just for what they will become. In the United States, we are un comfortable discussing sexuality and. especially, teen-age sexuality. A recent Kaiser/ABC poll found that 63 percent of Americans believe we are “uptight” about sex, and 68 percent believe that, if we talked more openly about sexual issues, unplanned preg nancy and STDs would be less of a problem. We send confused and conflicting messages to teens. Advertising and entertainment programming too of ten send messages that seem to say, (which wasn’t listed in the paper work 1 was given by the hospital) to be eligible for a fund that would cover my expenses. It took me more than three months to try that route because that’s how long it took me to look at my mail. I tried to call the office directly to see if I could appeal. I’m on full scholarship and an independent stu dent. I don’t have money to get the turn signal fixed on my car, let alone pay for this atrocity. So I called, and the phone was answered by some one whose first language was not En glish. That was upsetting because when dealing with something of this magnitude, I want to talk to some one who I can understand clearly and I know will understand me. I was told that I missed the dead line so too bad. The woman on the other end of the line told me, the rape victim, that it was too bad that I was so horribly damaged psycho logically by what that monster did that I was unable to make their short deadline. With that, I contacted Victim’s Assistance at the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office and asked them what I could do. They said they would take care of it. But they haven’t. So now, a year since they reassured me this matter would be handled, I’m sitting here with a bill for $330.70. I’m also still waiting for the crime lab to finish with the evidence that was collected to see if charges will even be filed. I wonder why I went through all of this crap. I mean really, did the Boulder, Colo., police send the bill for the testing done on Jon-Benet Send Letters to the Editor to Behrecoll2 @ aol.com AYODELE JONES some of your favorite sections of the paper in the same amount of time or less. So take my advice, this Spring Break when you’re in Spain, Daytona Beach, or maybe just home relaxing, sit back, relax, and pick up a paper. I promise it won’t bite. After all you don’t want to be one of those zom bies walking around campus asking whatever happened to New Kids on the Block and MC Hammer. Ayodele Jones is the managing editor oj the Beacon. Her column appears every three weeks. "Just do it!” Meanwhile, the congres sionally mandated, government mes sage to students is "Just say no until you're married," despite the fact that the average age of marriage is nearly 26, and by the age of 18, 70 percent of teens have had sexual intercourse. "Because of all we see and hear about sex (in France), it is less of a forbidden fruit.” said Marianne Malicet, 18, at a Capitol Hill hearing on adolescent sexual health. "The temptation and the curiosity might be reduced by the knowledge we have acquired." Maybe we can use the experiences of the Dutch, the Germans-and the French to help us find more balanced approaches to adolescent sexual health - approaches that really work. We can start by adopting the three R’s of sexual health - rights, responsibil ity and respect - to help us achieve social consensus on sexuality as a normal and natural part of being a teen, of being human, of being alive. Ramsey’s body to her parents'? Why am I expected to pay the bill for the autopsy done on my life? When I took another look at the bill tonight, 1 had to fight the overwhelm ing urge to turn over rocks until I found the one that criminal who raped me had crawled under so I could sever his dis gusting head from his loathsome body right before I beat his corpse to a bloody pulp. Not that I’m bitter, of course Instead, I went to my room, popped two tranquilizers, put Toad the Wet Sprocket’s "Walk on the Ocean” on repeat and began to compose. God only knows how I’ll be able to endure my classes tomorrow, but I’ve found a way before and I will do so again. Let’s just pray that I don’t run into him on my way to class. Of course, I am not going to pay that bill. I have paid enough for what he did to me that morning, but this is being done to women several times every day. If any thing, this system is set up to deter women from coming forward, report ing and prosecuting their attackers. At every turn I have hit yet another brick wall, but I have not given up. Did you know that one in four women and one in 10 men will be raped in their lifetime? Think about your friends, girlfriends, wives, daugh ters, grandmothers, sons, grandsons, brothers, mothers ... Is this how you want them to be treated after the ulti mate violation? Let your state legisla tors know how you feel. I am, and the state will pay my bill even if I have to ask the governor to pay it out of his own pocket. I refuse to pay another cent for what that cow ard did to me.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers