THE BEHREND BEACON
A View from the Lighthouse
A little too much sex ed?
Psst Hey you, come over here
. . yeah, it's okay, no one is
watching you read this column.
We're going to talk about sex .
Okay, now that we have your
attention, the staff of the Beacon
would like to give some thumbs up
and some thumbs down (heh heh,
get it? up and down?) to a few recent
campus events. And just to keep
your interest, we'll talk a little bit
about sex.
First, hats off to Trigon for
holding the most attended event of
the semester The Safer Sex
Cabaret. Held in the Studio Theatre
(yes, we know it's a small building),
on Thursday, January 27, the group
promoted HIV prevention through
a number of silly skits. Topics
covered included forbidden passion,
body piercing, condom use,
homemade lubricants, dirty
dancing, and of course,
masturbation. What fun!
Congratulations, again, Trigon, you
guys found the key for successful
event turnouts!
Hold on, losing interest already?
Here's a little something to keep
you reading: A little boy returning
home from his first day at school
said to his mother, "Mum, what's
sex?" His mother, who believed in
all the most modern educational
theories, gave him a detailed
explanation, covering all aspects of
the tricky subject. When she had
finished, the little lad produced an
enrollment form which he had
brought home from school and said,
"Yes, but how am I going to get all
that into this one little square?"
Funny, eh? While sex is a prime
topic for jokes with your friends on
just about any occasion, the
openness on campus has raised
controversial issues lately, such as
the transgender student on campus.
The point to observe here is that
there is more to (college] life than
sex. You say that's a ridiculous
statement? Well, look at it this way,
you've probably heard more on
campus about the transgender
student than you have about some
of the other good things, like the
men's and women's basketball
teams and the increasingly focused
Student Government Association.
Last semester, the SGA promoted
and held a forum open to any and
all students who wished to voice an
opinion about campus life and
events. Yes, it was free, and yes,
SGA was waiting for you. No one
showed up. However, many
students did show up for the free
THE BEHREND BEACON
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
w f M
Advertising Managers
Carey Smith
Kim Zuck
Business Manager
Kristine Harakal
Office Manager
Brad Wiertel
Distribution Manager
Jeff Miller
Advisors
Robert Speel
Jim O'Loughlin
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.
food that was given away the week
before by SGA. Another point to
observe we all love fun and free
stuff, but when it comes to dealing
with the issues and doing some
work, well . . . "I had a lot of
studying to do."
So, theoretically, if SGA
promotes sex in some way when it's
time to go to the polls, will we have
to call Police and Safety for crowd
control?
Another big happening right now
on campus is the success of the
basketball teams. Yes, it's a very
big deal to the athletes, but is it to
you? The men and women are both
8-0 in the AMCC (Allegheny
Mountain Collegiate Conference).
This is REALLY big. Also, the
guys recently shut down Lake Erie
College with a score of 84-61!
There are some very talented
athletes here at Behrend, and they
are giving our good school a better
name. Why not go out and cheer
for them? Instead of supporting
these guys and girls, we'd rather
watch other guys and girls talk
about condoms and masturbation.
Lack of support to the athletics
program raises another issue. What
about the massive recreation facility
that's going to be built in the fall?
Oh yes, the athletes will love it, but
will they have to stare at 1400
empty seats instead of 300 empty
seats? If two superb basketball
teams can't fill Erie Hall, what can?
Now, we are in no way criticizing
Trigon's promotion of safer sex and
HIV prevention. It is the awareness
of some student's priorities,
however, that worries us. It's time
to look at the important issues,
people. There is a lot going on at
Behrend right now, both
academically and athletically. A
major point to realize, though, is
that involvement in all of Behrend's
extracurriculars will only enhance
student life on campus, and make it
possible to promote more "fun"
activities.
Editor-in-Chief
Jason Snyder
Managing Editor
Michael Frawley
News Editors
Liz Hayes
Karl Benacci
Editorial Page Editor
Katie Galley
Features Editors
Katie Przepyszny
Doug Smith
Sports Editor
Matt Wiertel
Calendar Page Editor
Nicole Green
Photo Editors
Jeff Miller
Kevin Bruner (assistant)
Associate Editors
Shannon Weber
Becky Weindorf
Rob Wynne
Letter Policy: The Beacon
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@aol.com. Letters
must be received no later than 5 p.m.
Tuesday for inclusion in that week's
issue.
EDITORIAL
Detours and Small Potatoes
Take your hate and shove it!
Have you noticed the flyers
around campus stating "Satan loves
you" and 'Embrace your bias, ig
norant stupidity"? I have, and can
I say that these signs are extremely
disturbing to me. They should
bother you too! First of all, I can
not see how Satan can love you,
when he represents hate and evil.
Second, even by connotation, Sa
tan is bad and brings despair and
hopelessness, so why say that he
loves you?
I have no idea where these flyers
came from; they just suddenly ap
peared down in Reed one day. And
about three days later they were all
ripped off the walls and thrown in
the garbage. It's good to know that
people don't really want evil and
hate in the halls of our home away
from home, but before you start to
feel all cheery and happy again, just
consider that they had to come from
somewhere. They didn't just magi
cally appear; someone put them
there for a purpose. The only pur
pose I believe these signs served,
Join Me In Reali
Is that your final answer?
Which of the following TV shows
has become the number one game
show in America in just a matter of
months?
Is it: a) Jeopardy, b) Wheel of For
tune, c) Duck, Duck, Goose or d)
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
The answer would bed) Who Wants
to be a Millionaire.
Final answer?
Final answer.
It's a good one!
OK. Maybe that isn't the toughest
question to answer, but it beats not
knowing that the game that starts with
"Duck, Duck . . ." always ends with
"Goose," a $lOO question that a con
testant actually had to "ask the audi
ence" to get the answer.
But what is it that makes Who
Wants to be a Millionaire so popular?
Is it the intense background music?
The huge prizes? The host? And no,
you don't get any lifelines for this one.
I'll sit there with friends and fam
ily and watch the show every time I
The Wa
Why not McCain?
Going into the 2000 Presidential
campaign and primary process, most
pundits and political elite thought that
the circus had already gone home.
The vast majority of governors and
high ranking congressional officials
already gave their support to Texas
governor George W. Bush and saw
the primary process as a mere
formality.
Unfortunately for them, Senator
John McCain from Arizona has stolen
center stage and has many of the Bush
backers quivering. Bush, who at one
point in time seemed invincible due
to his name and massive war-chest,
has stumbled as of late. At Tuesday's
New Hampshire primary, McCain
beat any expectation by handily
defeating Bush 49% to 31%. Not only
was this type of win unexpected, but
it was unprecedented by a non
incumbent candidate.
So why McCain and why not G.W.
Bush or Al Gore? First of all, Al Gore
is a pathological liar. Time and time
again he has sea-sawed on several
issues and he claims he invented the
FEBRUARY 4, 2000
that I could fathom anyway, was to
spread intolerance and hate. Please
correct me if I am wrong, and I cer
tainly hope that I am. I hope that
these signs were a project of some
senior psychologist trying to learn
the mysteries of our mind. But if
they weren't, and they were put
there for evil intentions, I only have
one thing to say: take your hate
somewhere else!
With all the recent activities in
schools that have stemmed from
hate, i.e., Columbine, the Penn
State Shooting, the rioting in
Decatur, I really don't want it in-
see it's on. My friends will complain
that the music is annoying. My dad
knows that once we start to watch it,
we won't turn it off. We'll get grumpy
when contestants spend 10 minutes to
answer a question, and even get more
mad when Regis Philbin won't say
whether or not they're right until five
minutes later. I'll ask how in the
world Regis got to be the host. Now
don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the
man. He does need some reward for
having to deal with Kathie Lee every
day for an hour. But he isn't the most
It Ou
Internet. In addition, Gore is part of
the Clinton administration, which
most Americans want to forget rather
than remember. Now come on folks,
be realistic. By voting for Gore you
would clear the way for the re
emergence of bigger government and
consequently higher taxes. So plainly,
voting Gore equals turning the United
States into a huge cesspool.
Then there is George W. Bush. The
son of former President George H.
Bush and the current Texas governor
was expecting to waltz to
Philadelphia and capture the
Republican nomination without
filtrating onto this campus. I feel
that this campus is a relatively safe
place, I don't feel threatened or
unsafe, but it only takes one inci
dent to start a downward spiral of
intolerance.
That's a whole other subject that
I am sorry I have to write about.
However, like it or not there is in
tolerance on this campus. I see and
hear it everyday. The snide looks
from certain tables up in Bruno's
to the people that pass by the Multi-
Cultural Council office making
rude comments, you all know who
you are. It's really sad that even in
this new, more enlightened century
we cannot all 'get along.'
Is that idea so laughable and ide
alistic? I really don't think it is.
Maybe I am being naive, but why
is total tolerance so unbelievable?
On the other hand, when there are
signs like 'Satan loves you' plas
tered all over the halls, I can un
derstand why there are still bigoted
and biased people on campus. Sure,
Erie and Behrend aren't the cultural
exciting man; a requirement for a po
sition that announces when someone
has suddenly become a millionaire.
All these complaints, and we still
watch it. And so do millions of other
Americans. But why?
It's the idea that an average Ameri
can, with some intelligence, can step
into America's spotlight for 20 min
utes and walk away with $1,000,000.
Granted, it's only happened twice on
ABC's Who Wants to be a Million
aire, but many Americans have
stepped down from the uncomfortable
stool with cash prizes ranging from
$lOO to $32,000 to $250,000. It's the
happiness we feel, to see people just
like us, who work eight hour days at
jobs ranging from garbage men to
doctors, leaving a game show with
some extra cash to pay off their pile
of bills.
But it's also the fact that we can
play along with them. Answering
questions that we know, as opposed
to Jeopardy where an average Ameri-
ht To Be
breaking a sweat. But many people
have realized that there is little to Mr.
Bush. Besides his cry for
compassionate conservatism and his
pledge to not raise taxes, we have
seen few substantive messages come
from Senor Bush. Bush also has a
demeanor about him that is
Clintonesque; meaning he doesn't
know what he is saying and he
couldn't care less. Americans don't
want a saint in the Oval Office but
they are looking for someone they can
trust.
Recently this issue of trust and
responsibility has become a major
selling point for many voters. It's
obvious we can't trust the 'inventor
of the Internet' and the jury is still out
on Mr. Bush, but most Americans
know that there is one candidate who
can fit this model we are seeking.
That candidate would be Senator
John McCain.
McCain's war hero past instantly
makes him a hit amongst voters. As
history tells us Senator McCain was
a decorated fighter pilot during the
melting pots we all wish they would
be, but we have to take what we can
get and work from there, not com
plain about it and segregate our
selves further.
Do I really have to reiterate all
that we learned in Human Anatomy
101? Remember that everyone is
the same on the inside. Does it re
ally matter what color our skin is,
what letters we wear on our jack
ets, or what sex we chose to date?
No, we are all people and if we
can't see past those small differ
ences, and accept people for who
they are, then we are no better than
the people hanging the 'Satan loves
you' signs.
Does all that sound too easy and
cheery? It's not meant to, but I still
stand by my theory that it's not all
that hard to get along with every
one else. All it takes is a little un
derstanding and kindness. But
maybe that's too hard for you, and
if that's the case, maybe you qualify
to be one of the Satan-sign hang-
can will be lucky to answer 10 ques
tions the entire half hour. And then
being forced to watch some arrogant
know-it-all walk away with $B,OOO
for all his troubles, or one dollar if the
other two contestants are complete
morons (you always leave yourself
with one dollar, banking on the fact
that the other two will risk all their
money on a category like U.S. Presi
dents, where they think the question
will be something as easy as "who
was the first U.S. President?" when it
turns out to be "what was the name
of the 21st president's wife's
daughter's grandchild's brother-in
law?"). But enough ranting.
The other game shows like Greed,
Winning Lines, and Twenty-one, for
some reason, lack in the excitement,
and drama. To me, they're just cheap
imitations. Which one will survive?
It's Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
And that my final answer.
Vietnam War. During one of his
bombing runs his jet was shot down
over Hanoi, and McCain became a
prisoner of war. His five years in
confinement were filled with beatings
and broken bones, but he made it
through. McCain even passed up
leaving early because it wasn't fair
to the prisoners who were there
before him.
Now this is a guy who we want as
our commander in chief, not some
pants-dropping pervert.
Even though I don't agree with all
of his policies, especially campaign
finance reform, I think that John
McCain is exactly the kind of
individual we need to direct this
nation in the 2P' century. But if
McCain were to fall short of the
Republican nomination, it is
imperative that a Republican sits in
the White House come January 2001.
We must remain focused throughout
the whole primary ordeal though. The
enemy here isn't Governor Bush;
rather it is Al Gore and his liberal
flock.
PAGE 10