Vehicle Break-ins and Vandalism Under Investigation
By Jennifer Hemme
staff writer
Behrend has had seven incidents
of vehicle break-ins since the twenti
eth of January. Most of the break-ins
occurred in the South Apartment Lot.
A wide range of items were stolen
including compact discs, compact
disc players, a fog light, and a turn
signal lens.
The investigation of these vehicle
break-ins has involved the Millcreek
Townships and the City of Erie Po
lice Departments, as well as
Behrend’s Police and Safety Services.
According to Bill Donahue, manager
of Police and Safety Services, “We
have a very good lead at this point as
to people who may have been in
volved.” However, Donahue declined
to name the suspects because of the
Behrend tours D.C.
able to supply commentary on the re
alities of our national government.
Dr. Speel and Dr. Davies put
much time and effort into planning ac
tivities for the group that would be en-
From March 7to March 13, nine tertaining as well as educational. Free
Behrend students spent an exciting lime was also providcd for the students
week studying politics at the center (o cxplore (hcir own inle rests around
of American political life, Washing- Washington students used the Wash
ton DC All of the students involved j n g ton Metro System for transportation
came away with a greater understand- around Washington, which was a first
ing of how politics works through a ljme expcriencc for many .
myriad of activities that bridged the Students were exposed to all
entire political spectrum. The stu- three branches of the federal govern
dents were accompanied by Dr. Rob- menl _ Xhc trjp began on a bigh no te
ert Speel and Dr. Matt Davies, both wj(h a tour of Capito , Hi n on Monday,
of whom are Assistant Political Set- Roaming thc us . Capitol was an ex
ence Professors at Behrend, who were per j ence that everyone in the group en-
Friendships formed at
by Michael Frawley
Assistant Editor
uses
cam
Elizabeth Guelcher
Layout Editor
Geographically, Behrend might
seem disconnected from the rest of
the world. The closest fast food res
taurant isn’t even within walking dis
tance. But as far as a social life goes,
Erie area students should not feel
short changed. Erie is home to four
major colleges: Behrend, Edinboro,
Gannon, and Mercyhurst. Not only
does this open up a wealth of oppor
tunities for academic improvement,
but also the chance for students to
expand their social horizons.
Do students from Behrend hang
out with students from Gannon? Will
students from the Boro spend their
weekends with kids from the Hurst?
An informal survey of students at all
these schools suggests the answer is
yes.
The first reason is that Erie high
schools feed Erie colleges. John
Grippe, a freshman psychology ma
jor at Gannon, has friends at all four
schools. His explanation: he grew
up here. John said, “I think a lot of
students at the four Erie schools went
to high school in Erie and just de
cided to stay put for college. When
you have a lot of contacts where you
already live, it makes sense to start
fhe Behrend
eacon
ongoing investigation.
There have also been two cases
of car vandalism that are not related
to the vehicle break-ins. Police and
Safety has not identified any suspects
of these two cases, which may be ran
dom acts or may be a result of a per
sonal vendetta. In one case, the trunk
of a car was dimpled with a sharp ob
ject; in the other, paint on a vehical
was scratched.
In order to prevent break-ins,
Donahue advises students to not leave
items like CDs, CD players, books, or
any other small things in plain view.
Students may even want to remove
any valuable items from their cars
when they have to park for long peri
ods of time.
Another simple precaution,
which seems to have been forgotten
in some of the incidents, is to check
your career there.” Grippe went on to
explain the networking effect that takes
place as students enter college. "I went
to Mercyhurst, and a lot ot my friends
went to Mercyhurst College. But some
of them went to Behrend, and some ot
them went to Edinboro, too. So I’ll
hang out with them on the weekend,
and I’ll meet some of their new friends
who might not even be from Erie. You
kind of develop a network of people
that starts with your best friends and
grows into a bigger group.” Carrie
Camino, a freshman at Edinboro,
agreed. “I went to McDowell, and I
think most kids wanted to get out of
Erie. But what ends up happening is
that you meet people coming to Erie
schools from other cities and you have
the same experiences as the people who
went away. No matter where you go,
you’re going to meet new people.”
The second reason area students
spend time together is the size of Erie
colleges. Undergraduates at University
Park cannot expect to know even a frac
tion a fraction of its almost 40,000 stu
dents. The average enrollment of the
four Erie area colleges is about 3,400.
Edinboro is local school with a stu
dent population of about 7,200.
Mercyhurst is the smallest at about
2,900 students.
Dave Reiser, a graduate student and
Erie, PA 16563
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March 18 1999 Volume XLVII No. 23
S Lot, site of recent break-ins
that all doors are locked. Students
should also report anyone who doesn’t
seem to belong in the area, is looking
in cars, or is wandering around any
parking lot.
If students have to park their cars
for long periods of time, they should
during Spring Break
joyed. From there, they traveled to
the House and Senate office build
ings, where the group was able to see
where the Congressmen and Con
gresswomen that they elect spend
much of their time. Some of the of
fices that they took the time to visit
were Pennsylvania’s local Senators
and Representatives; Rick Santorum,
Phil English, and Arlen Spector. Also
they took time to visit the office of
the immortal Strom Thurmond, the
oldest serving member of Congress.
Dr. Speel set up meetings with Rep
resentative Phil English and one of
Senator Arlen Spector’s legislative
aides. In these meetings, they were
able to ask questions and find out
local
assistant hall director at Mercyhurst
told the Beacon that, in his mind,
the size of the schools is what most
encourages interaction among stu
dents. “You look at other Pennsyl
vania schools in the bigger cities and
you’re looking at an enrollment
around lOtimesthatofErieschools.
When the student body is so small,
it gives you a chance to interact with
kids from others schools just be
cause you’re lookins for some di
versity. My residents [spend a lot of
time with] Gannon students.”
Gannon and Mercyhurst are only
about 3 miles away from each other.
Behrend students, although a little
bit farther away, seem to have the
same habits as Mercyhurst students.
Mike Hopwood, an eighth semester
Communications student at Be
hrend, Behrend says he met people
from other area schools through mu
tual friends. “As a freshman, I had
friends from home over at Gannon
and the more I went over there, the
more people I met.” Hopwood said
that being from out of town didn’t
affect his social life in a negative
way. When asked if he still spends
time with his friends from freshman
year, Hopwood said, “My friends
transferred, but I still hang out with
the people I met through them.”
photo by Michael Frawley
periodically check them for damage
of any kind.
These precautions may seem
very obvious, but following them can
save the time, money, and trouble it
takes to repair a damaged vehicle or
replace stolen possessions.
what working on Capitol Hill was
like. The final event on Capitol Hill
was a photo opportunity with local
Senator Rick Santorum, who after
wards took time out of his busy
schedule to talk with the students. Gil
Jordan, 02 History, who is currently
taking a political science class with
Dr. Speel said, "In Dr. Specl's class
we talked about these people, and it
was cool to see them in person."
While a great deal of time
was spent learning about the legisla
tive branch of the government, stu
dents were also able to see some parts
of the workings of the executive
branch. Mike Coursey, 08 PoliSe,
was able to set up a tour of the White
Behrend students on the steps of the Capitol pho, ° by Mike Course y
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ball
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House on Tuesday. Even with the
eight inches of snow that fell in Wash
ington that day, they were still able to
get into the White House. The por
traits and antiques front past presi
dents gave the White House a great
sense of history.
The group also took a tour
of the Department of State Diplomatic
Reception Rooms. While the Depart
ment of State is housed in a very mod
ern building, going up to the Diplo
matic Reception Rooms on the eighth
floor was like stepping back into the
Colonial period. The entire floor was
remodeled to give visiting dignitaries
as great sense of U.S. history. Many
different antiques complemented the
Yankee
Slugger
Joe
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rooms, such as a set of silver made
by Paul Revere and the desk on which
the Treaty of Paris, which ended the
Revolutionary War, was signed.
For the judiciary branch,
there was to be a tour of the Supreme
Court. The first attempt, which was
scheduled for Monday morning, had
to be postponed because of the death
of former Associate Justice Harry
Blackmun, who was lying in state at
the Court. Justice Blackmun was fa
mous for writing the Roe vs. Wade
abortion decision. The group was able
to finally tour the site on Thursday,
D.C. cont. page 2
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