THE BEHREND BEACON
A View from the Lighthouse
Let's pick up the pace
Have you tried dialing-in to
campus lately? Not very fast, eh?
Although the Behrend link boasts
access through a 56K connection,
the website does explain the fast
est speed is around 48K. Behrend
is all about computers and technol
ogy, right? A lot of majors on this
campus depend upon the latest
computer technology. It seems that
there is always some kind of up
grade in the works. The point of
this editorial is to let students
know that there is light at the end
of this tunnel somewhere, and no,
there won't always be slow
Internet access on campus, we
hope. Yes, it is slow, but there are
many issues involved in making
access quicker.
What's my machine
hooked up to?
If you're a residence hall stu
dent, don't come to the computer
center asking for assistance. Hous
ing and Food Services administra
tion is in charge of you guys. How
ever, the administration, academic,
and student networks are all tied
in a CISCO router. The problem
with the slow connection is what
the technicians call the "pipe ef
fect.- Some people have very fast
computers, but the connections are
only 10 Megabits. So whatever ex
tra speed your computer can put
out doesn't fit through the current
"pipe
The size of new programs also
has a lot to do with the current
slowness. New applications are re
quiring more gas to run them, and
what results is a continuing battle
between technicians and the new
programs. Who will be faster?
Behrend
vs. University Park
Amazingly enough, Behrend
doesn't have complete control over
the way technology is handled here
on campus. Rather, University
Park has a lot to say about what
new equipment to buy, and who to
buy it from...if there is money to
buy it with. It's been recently ru
mored around campus that there
should he a T 3 Internet connection
(which is three times the band
width of the T I Behrend currently
has) for faster access This T 3 unit
would provide quicker access by
replacing the current slower Ti's,
and Behrend will be getting the T 3
upgrade in the near future. This is
one of the matters that Behrend
THE BEHREND BEACON
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
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handles with the Office of Telecom
munications (located at University
Park), and it is due for installation
during the summer.
Maybe now that U.P. let up its big
foot on computer control, things will
happen a bit quicker around here.
More control makes it easier for the
Behrend technicians to monitor
equipment and make necessary
modifications.
What else are we getting?
In addition to the T 3, Behrend may
become involved with the "Internet
2 Initiative." With only 96 other
universities on this system, this su
per cool improvement runs at opti
cal cable speed through a super com
puter center at Carnegie-Mellon. It's
quite expensive we're talking
about $24,000 a month! Wow, that's
a lot of money! This system will al
low for extra bandwidth when using
the internet. And yes, more and more
people are using the internet, so
we're definitely going to need that
extra band-width. Behrend is also
upgrading from a 100 megabit
ethernet to a gigabit ethernet, which
will make response time between lab
computers quicker.
So what's the hold up'?
There are lots of things that are
taken into consideration when the
university has to buy more stuff.
Mainly, who will give us the best
deal on prices? Companies like
CISCO Systems and 3Com would
all like business from a major uni
versity. And of course, another hold
up is the funding. Do we have
money for all of these improve
ments? Hey, if it's about technol
ogy, we'll find the money!
Yes, the connections arc slow, and
yes, there will be improvements.
We're just waiting to see when.
Editor-in-Chief
Jason Snyder
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EDITORIAL
The
What's the point?
Well, another semester is off to its
usual stumbling start. And of course
it is time for me to start writing edi
torials again. Maybe this time around
I can be a little less controversial, but
somehow I doubt it. Anyway, poli
tics is always good for a laugh, so let
the fun begin!
Well, it's a Presidential election
year, and even with the pitifully low
voter turnout among people in the age
group of the average college student,
it still should he very important to us.
Whoever is elected will have a ma
jor impact on our lives, and for some
reason very few of us seem to care.
Shouldn't we he paying attention to
how the race is shaping up and what
the candidates stand for, or have we
been so flooded with political crap for
so long now that an American Presi
dential election has become one more
media sideshow that we just breeze
by on our way to see what episode of
South Park is on (Oh my god. they
killed Hilly! That Bastard!)?
Isn't it a little ridiculous that the
election doesn't take place until this
November, hut we've had to put up
with this crap since the day after
Clinton was elected in '96? I'm a po-
This is E
Dr. Martin
American,
I recently attended the MLK Forum
this past Tuesday, during which I stayed
pretty quiet. Not that I didn't have
anything to say, but mainly because I
was there not only as an interested
student, but also in my "official"
capacity as a Beacon editor and writer.
And there is a slight ethical problem
with reporting the news when you are
a part of the news. Besides, while
debating on whether or not to step up
to the mic, it occurred to me that I could
tell the whole student body what I
thought in my new editorial column,
and that is just what I am about to do.
For those of you who could not
attend (just where the hell where you?),
let me tell you that a majority of the
comments/questions brought up by the
audience were either directed at a
certain panelist's views that affirmative
action no longer has a place in
American society, or at another
panelist's statement that very few white
people attended the MLK events, and
those that did were mostly required to
go for a class. It is the latter's
statements that I would like to address.
This particular panelist was angered
by the fact that the only white people
who attended the majority of the events
were those that were forced to go
because they are in the RA class this
semester or are current RAs. While I
can certainly see the point that more
people should have been at the events,
I do not necessarily agree with the
argument that one should he offended
by the measures taken to get students
to participate in campus events.
The View
Defining the laws of physics
If you're wondering who's writing
this, I don't blame you one hit. I'm a
new face around here at Behrend, but
you'll probably be hearing plenty more
about me if you keep reading the Bea
con. If you really care about my back
ground, I'll give you this much: I'm
an 02 ENGL major. Generally, I'm
an easygoing and somewhat tactful
person, which is why my column may
be too demure for an editorial. Hope
fully that will change through the se
mester; but, as I see, you're still read
ing, so I'll go on.
Rumors of starting college ran as
rampant as fire through the halls of
McDowell (a local high school, and
from where I graduated) about every
thing from the "all-nighters" to gain
ing the freshman fifteen (or losing fif
teen, whichever fit you worst). These
were, in general, called the physics of
college a scientific view that had
specific rules that could not be broken.
So, what kind of expectations does
one get from entering college with all
JANUARY 21, 2000
Z e o
litical science major, and I still find
it hard to care. Now don't get me
wrong, I go out and vote in every
election, but it is getting to the point
where one candidate is blurring into
another. You don't see things like
this happening in other countries.
Many other countries even have laws
that state how long the campaigning
process can be. With the circus that
our elections turn into all the time
maybe this is something that our
government needs to look into.
And this digging into the personal
lives of our politicians does not serve
any purpose. Who cares who these
politicians sleep with or what in the
hell that they have or haven't
smoked, snorted, inhaled, or ab
sorbed rectally. As long as it does
rth ha
Luther King, Jr.
not just black
I have been required to go to several
events on campus. such as
organizational meetings, speaker
series activities, student presentations,
and so forth. While it may he true that
I wouldn't necessarily have gone to
these events if I hadn't been required
to do so, it doesn't mean that I didn't
enjoy them or learn from them.
I do agree that participation in
general on this campus, and probably
on many college campuses around the
nation, is sorely lacking. I don't,
however, believe that the cause of this
particular lack is only a racial issue.
If the All-College Celebration had no
racial connotation whatsoever, would
the participation have been any better?
I don't mean to sound naive, I am sure
that race relations played a part in the
turnout of the MLK events, but I'm
not so sure that it is the only cause.
I think it is rather sad for all of us,
especially those who were kept away
from this week's activities because of
racial or ethnic issues, that Dr. King's
holiday is always considered as a
"black" holiday. While he certainly
From U
these thoughts running around in your
head?
I'll tell you this: I have a friend who
is complaining about gaining weight
(no, it's not you) and a friend that is
ecstatic about dropping twenty
pounds in a semester. What's the se
cret? Well, the latter is in a culinary
school and has paid attention to what
goes in her mouth, even if it is three
in the morning with an English test
waiting for you at eight in the morn
ing. And she's also decided to give
up that black sludge (coffee, Pepsi,
not affect how they do their job, then
why should I care? The only reason
that things like this get any airtime
to begin with is that we have become
so obsessed with scandal, that like
lemmings, we sit in front of the TV,
mindlessly watching the parade of
stupidity in front of our eyes. And I
know that someone out there right
now is gearing up to write me a nasty
letter, saying that things like this can
corrupt the youth of our nation. Well,
news flash, kids don't give a rat's ass
about what some 50-year-old, over
weight guy in a three piece suit says,
does or screws, all they care about is
the newest Pokemon card and
whether they can go beat the hell out
of the little kid down the street for
it. But we can't have politicians cor
rupting our youth, now can we? Half
the adults in this nation don't know
who their elected officials are, so
why should little kids know or care?
So what do we have to look for
ward to over these next eleven
months of Presidential campaigning?
A lot of garbage television, that's
what. Everything may seem to be
somewhat calm and civil right now,
but just wait until the primaries get
e met?
was instrumental in the Civil Rights
Movement in our country, he stood for
so much more. He was an activist for
humanity, not just for racial equality.
Perhaps, in the future, when
planning MLK celebrations, those in
charge should concentrate on
portraying Dr. King as an American
personality, not just as a black hero. I
don't mean to strip him of his ethnicity
so that he will be more accepted by the
mainstream, but to try and show people
that his dream encompassed so much
more. Perhaps it is the "blackness" of
his portrayal that is keeping white
students away, simply because they
believe that King is not "theirs." Sure,
if people came to the events they would
hear all about what King stood for, but
if they are under the impression that it
will be an event that only blacks can
appreciate, an event in which whites
will he sorely outnumbered, they will
never go in the first place.
Campus integration was also
mentioned in the same context, with
the examples of how white students
stick together and only allow a select
few minority students to enter their
cliques. While I'm not denying this is
true it is probably more prevalent
than most of us think doesn't it also
happen the other way around? I walk
past the MCC suite at least a dozen
times a day. I could probably count on
my two hands the number of times I've
seen a white person inside. Yes, this is
in part because of prejudice on the part
of a lot of whites on campus. I like the
to think that a lot of prejudice exists
Here
whatever it is) in exchange for some
clear, wet water. If it's a good day,
make that carbonated water.
And so, like all the other freshmen
in-training here at Behrend, we find
ourselves wincing at the scale every
morning or throwing a shirt over the
mirror every time we walk in the
room. But the difference is that I fig
ured those Twix bars and Pringles cans
start to get real old, real fast. It's a
fast fix for the sudden hunger attack,
but let's face it, why are you still star
ing in the mirror and complaining
about your newfound love handles?
Have you recently popped a piece of
a tangerine in your mouth lately?
They taste really goo-ood!
And another thing I've realized:
I've been sitting on my butt for too
long. That's all I did last semester,
and about the only good it did was
leaving indentations on the couch that
could engulf my 6-year-old sister.
Winter is a time for the human body
to store up some insulation (read: in-
a little closer. Then we'll have the
fun of seeing who can dig up what
on whom. I am willing to bet that
the Enquirer will have some front
page layout about a cheap hooker
who slept with whomever the front
runner is at the time. Oh wait, that
already happened, didn't it? And
why is this important to the Presiden
tial campaign: because it's fun to
read and sells tabloids. Will it affect
our relations with China or Russia?
Not likely.
And we know what we are getting
ourselves into when we elect some
one to office. I mean, really, did we
all think that Clinton was squeaky
clean when we re-elected him? We
knew that he was scum, but hell, the
economy was good, so why rock the
damn boat? I have an idea that could
clean up this entire campaign and
election process. We can take all of
the people who want to run for an
office, toss them in a big pit, and let
them beat the shit out of each other
until only one is left standing. Hey,
it might sound a little crude, but it
would accomplish the same thing as
our elections do now and it would get
better ratings.
more out of ignorance than from true
spite, but the fact is that it exists.
However, I as a white woman
personally have not really ventured
through that door simply because I feel
I would be so outnumbered and
ostracized. In reality, I am little
different than any of the people who
do sit in that office. But I still don't
feel welcome. Maybe that is my own
misguided perceptions, and I hope that
is true. Maybe I am a latent racist,
though I don't think so. Regardless of
my thoughts, I am segregating myself.
However, I don't think I'm the only one
doing the segregating. I don't think it
is intentional, but I'm not so sure that
the diversity-focused organizations on
campus always portray the aura that
they protest to. While MCC may be
for all cultures, and there are a hell of a
lot of white cultures out there, it seems
to be predominantly for minorities.
Maybe it is a backward type of
justice that such a segregation exists.
Maybe it is sort of appropriate that
whites feel the other side of the burden.
However, it certainly isn't going to help
us form a more equalized society.
Regardless of who is doing the
segregating, the end result is still the
same. I am not trying to offend anyone,
and I truly don't believe that MCC or
any other of the related clubs on campus
are doing this maliciously, or even
intentionally. However, it is still the
end result, and it might be a wise move
to try and correct the situation before it
becomes impossible to do so.
sulation is spelled F-A-T). I've de
cided that, because I've already got a
winter coat, I should put that extra in
sulation to good use: burning. Burn
ing calories that is. I've decided to take
up the sport of skiing, which gives you
a high that can defy gravity, as well as
a sore ass to match. But that's not the
entire point either.
Something I've discovered from my
first semester here is that there is a little
secret to getting through the monster
syllabi you get for many of your
classes. The body needs play time, too.
And let's face it, any physical, strenu
ous activity clears the mind and will
make that term paper type up real easy,
all it takes is a little bit of your time
for 2-3 days a week, and that work load
you're carrying will be lighter.
And since you're still reading, I sug
gest you take up skiing too. I know my
sore ass will be thanking me someday
when I can still fit in my college jeans
when I'm forty years old.
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