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Vol. XLVIII No. 5 14 pages
Fall Festival features family and fun
by Jason Snyder
editor-in-chief
Penn State Behrend has invited the
parents and families of Behrend stu
dents to join in a three-day celebra
tion of the past, present and future of
the College. This weekend, Septem
ber 24-26, the campus will host Fall
Festival / Parents and Families Week
end, including a variety of different
events representing all areas of life at
Behrend.
The weekend celebration was pre
viously called Homecoming / Parents
and Families Weekend, but has taken
on a new name in 1999 to go along
with the many new events planned for
all who attend. Director of Students
Activities Chris Rizzo said of the
change. "this year we are calling it
Fall Festival / Parents and Families
Weekend to reflect the new theme of
the weekend as a celebration for stu
dents."
The Homecoming portion of the
arambee Dinner pulls together a diverse community
peaker captivates audience
by Chantel Gray
staff writer
On September 15, 1999 at 6:00
p.m., the Harambee Dinner was held
in Reed Union Commons. Harambee
is a Swahili word meaning "pull to
gether," which was the theme for this
event. The Harambee dinner has
been held for about 5 years. Many
students attended this celebration.
"I felt the dinner was a big suc
cess. We had 220 people this
year,usually we only have about 100
people who attend," said Shamira
Williams, president of the Multi-Cul
tural Council, who helped sponsor
this event. Williams feels that the
Behrend community as a whole pulls
together because of events such as
these. She especially appreciates the
fact that the keynote speaker came
to speak under stressful circum
stances and on short notice.
"I'm pleased with the
turnout...people were more focused
on the dinner rather than socializing,"
said Student Government Associa
tion representative Michael Ross.
Bench war breaks out in dorms as Perry and Niagara battle it out
by Angela Majoris
staff writer
Niagara Hall's porch tilled with 60
to 70 angered and determined students
at 9:45 last Sunday night. The group
assembled and marched toward Perry
Hall in an effort to retrieve two of the
porch's benches, which had been
taken by residents of Perry.
Expecting the benches to be on one
of the porches of Perry Hall, the
Niagara residents found that they
were going to have to go farther than
they expected to get their benches
back. When they found that the
benches were not outside, Niagara
students got into a pushing battle with
';`` WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK
sgb
event has been removed from the list
of activities for the weekend and re
placed with Fall Festival. The ma
jority of activities that took place dur
ing Homecoming weekend involved
Behrend alumni. This enabled the
Office of Students Activities and As
sociate Director of Development
Mary Negri to move the alumni gath
ering to the Annual Alumni Weekend,
held in June.
The Office of Student Activities,
with some help from various College
offices and student organizations,
have planned the events for the week
end.
The weekend celebration will kick
off on Friday night with many activi
ties planned. Dinner will begin at
6:00 p.m. at the Ski Slope (foul
weather - Reed Commons) and is
available to all students. The meals
can he purchased through students'
meal plans, dining cards or cash.
Following the dinner, at 7:30 p.m.,
Behrend will welcome Gathering
"I think that the Harambee dinner
went very well and the cake was
good!" says Cheon Graham. Several
changes were made to this year's
menu due to costs.
"This was the first Haramhee din
ner I have ever been t 0... it was nice,
and the speaker was interesting and
informative," said Greg Loyed.
Before the speech, Ultimate Praise
danced to a song entitled "Melodies
From Heaven" by Kirk Franklin.
The keynote speaker was Paul Hill
Jr.. author of the hook Coining OfAge.
Mr. Hill spoke on his job as a social
worker. He works at a center with
special needs children who are psy
chologically, physically, and paren
tally neglected. Senior citizens who
were abandoned by their families also
get services from the center, such as
Wheels On Meals. As part of his re
search, he has spent time in Eastern
and Southern Africa.
In his speech, Mr. Hill also stressed
the importance of unity, community,
and spirituality. "We are not born
male or female," he said, "hut we are
socially developed into men and
women."
Perry students to get through the doors
and into the lobby.
"I saw a whole bunch of people
coming down from Niagara. Niagara
came over here and there was a long
pushing battle as they tried to get in.
They couldn't get in the door so they
came around from the other side.
When they came in, Niagara threat
ened to take all the furniture if we
didn't give them their benches back,"
said Jason Tomcho, 03 ME, and also
a resident of Perry Hall.
Arguing between Perry and
Niagara students continued as Perry
Resident Assistants contemplated
what to do about the uproar. Brad
Wathan, 04 DUS, and also a Perry RA
See page 2 for full POLICE AND SAFETY
weekend forecast.
Field, a popular hand from the Pitts
burgh area. Gathering Field will per
form music from their new, best-sell
ing (Pittsburgh) CD, Reliance. Ad
mission is five with free food and bev
erages. Activities will continue until
10:00 p.m. and will consist of roast
ing hotdogs and marshmallows on a
bonfire at the Ski Slope.
Eric radio station. 102.3 The Point,
will help kick-off the events on Fri
day, conducting a live remote in front
of the Reed Union Building.
Saturday's events will begin at 8:00
a.m. with breakfast in Bruno's Cafe.
Breakfast will run until 10:00 a.m. and
will he followed by campus walking
tours to the library/Academic Build
ing, complex of engineering buildings
and other areas of interest. The tours
will depart every half hour from the
Reed Wintergarden until 2:30 p.m.
Also scheduled to take place in the
early afternoon will he the Admis
sions Open House, giving students an
opportunity to meet faculty and staff
announced that Police and Safety had
been called to assist in the matter.
Niagara students refused to leave un
til their benches were returned.
"I feel that I want what's ours," said
Christian Darling, 03 Education, and
also a resident of Niagara Hall.
Two officers came in and spoke
with members of both parties. The
benches were finally brought out of a
bathroom where they were hidden and
returned to the Niagara residents.
Both officers refused to comment on
the event.
"A minuscule occurrence turned
dramatic," said Wathan, "I don't see
how else it could have been handled.
Everyone got their benches back."
THE BEHREND BEACON INDEX •
NEWS PAGE 1
QUESTION OF THE WEEK.. PAGE 3
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
(. . I.
Friday, September 24, 1999
and learn about majors and career op
portunities. The Open House will run
from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Lunch will he available from 12:00
p.m.-1:30 p.m. at both Bruno's and
Dobbins.
Students and their families are en
couraged to attend the Carnival, be
ginning at 12:30 p.m. on the Reed
Front Lawn (rain - Erie Hall). Carni
val foods and activities will he avail
able. Student Club and Organization
sponsored games and contests will
also highlight the day. Games such
as a hungee run, rock wall climbing
and the gladiator joust will give stu
dents and their families a chance to
engage in some athletic activity. The
carnival will run until 3:30 p.m. "The
carnival should he a great deal of fun
with student organizations donating
fundraising proceeds to the United
Way," said Rizzo.
Festival continued on page 2
After Niagara residents returned
back to their hall they had a meeting
in the lobby about what had happened
and how to prevent such a situation
in the future. The students that had
gone to Perry had chipped in early that
afternoon before they retrieved the
benches in order to buy a chain so that
the bench could be secured to the rail
ing and would not be stolen. They
proceeded to chain the benches when
they returned to Niagara.
"The biggest thing is that we can't
have this happen again," said Bran
don Dineff, 06, RA for Niagara.
Bench continued on page 3
PAGE 2
PHOTOS BY JEFFREY MILLER
CALENDAR PAGE 5
WIRE SERVICE PAGE 7 PENNSTATE
Erie
8 s
FEATURES PAGE 9
SPORTS PAGE 11
Humanities & Social Sciences hosts
picnic for major-hungry students
tudents and faculty enjoy the food at the H&SS picnic
by Becky Weindorf
staff writer
This past Wednesday, September
15, faculty and students in the Hu
manities and Social Sciences
(H&SS), gathered for a picnic at the
Wilson Picnic Grove, from 5 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. for those interested in ma
jors in the school, meeting faculty,
or getting more information about
the different programs.
A complimentary dinner for ev
eryone present was offered, and stu
dents were able to have the chance
to meet faculty currently teaching in
the program, students who were ma
joring in the school and others who
were simply curious about the dif
ferent programs and opportunities
offered.
Several freshmen that were hesi
tant with getting involved with Psy
chology or English majors attended
the picnic and enjoyed the opportu
nity for some social time with fel
low students and finding out more
about the school. Dr. Clare Porac,
Director of the School of Humani
ties and Social Sciences, was at the
picnic and enjoyed meeting new stii-
"This is a great way to get together
with other new students and intro
duce it [the school' to them, so they
know what's available to them," Dr.
Porac said, "more and more students
are staying at Behrend to complete
their majors instead of transferring
down to University Park."
"We're also looking at improving
Niagara bench home at last!
A Penn State Erie Student Publication
PHOTO BY MIKE FRAWLEY
some programs, too. We are think
ing of having some new minors in
foreign languages. - Dr. Porac said.
"The website of H & SS may he re
vised, and we're looking at starting
more computer-intensive courses so
our students are more computer lit
erate after they graduate and look for
a job."
Lisa Henry, a Psychology major
and senior at Behrend, is studying
the effectiveness of the Freshman
Seminars and First Year Interest
Groups (FIGS) as her senior thesis.
"For the thesis, we re using surveys
on freshmen involved in the semi
nars," she said, before getting up to
get a hotdog, some pasta salad, and
a handful of chips. "The class I
scheduled currently is Advanced
Psych Research, which is generally
scheduled for me to do the research
needed for the major."
The picnic also brought about a
smorgasbord of information, an op
portunity to he known by professors,
and some advice for choosing ma
jors. The School of Humanities and
Social Sciences offers several de
gree programs, including Psychol
ogy, English and Communications.
As an alternative, the school has
various other programs, such as In
ternational Studies, Studying
Abroad (a program for those who
would like to study outside the U.S.),
and a sth year Teaching Certifica
tion Program.
H&SS continued on page 2
PHOTO BY JEFFREY MILLER