FEBRUARY 4, 2000, THE BEHREND BEACON, PAGE 3
NEWS
Undies, and lubes, and condoms, oh my!
by Katie Galley
and Liz Hayes
editorial page editor
and news co-editor
Sex, masturbation, and edible hody
paints were some of the topics
covered last Thursday night, January
27, at the "Eroticizing Safer Sex
Cabaret: Third Time is a Charm: An
Evening devoted to HIV Prevention...
This is the third year in a row that
Trigon has presented the Cabaret to
Behrend students, and this year
marked the largest turnout thus tar.
Over 100 people clammed into the
Studio Theatre to learn more about
safer sex from students, factilt. and
community members.
A wide variety of presentations
were performed, ranging from the
serious to the entertaining. The
evening began with a guitar
accompanied solo performed by a
leather-clad f)r. John Champagne,
assistant professor of English. which
immediately got the audience's
attention and peequed its interest.
After the introduction, an
informative presentation on
aphrodisiacs followed. The
demonstration was fairly in-depth and
included samples of chocolate,
fortune cookies, and guacamole for
the audience.
One of the evening's highlights
followed the aphrodisiac
presentation: the Forbidden Fashion
show. About eight students
participated, displaying a variety of
undergarments and sleeping apparel
for the audience. The show even
included appropriate music and
announcers
Other events included Romance in
the Bath Tub, a presentation on some
of the body products available for
bathing enjoyment and relaxation;
Dirty Dancing, a swing dance lesson
presented by Dr. Champagne; Body
Art, an informative exhibition on
types of body piercing and body
painting (which included some
graphic photos of pierced genitalia
and elicited quite a response from the
audience): and Masturbation, a
speech on the viewpoints many have
on the taboo topic.
One of the more informative-yet
enjoyable presentations given was
Condoms and Dental Dams,
presented in part by a representative
from the Erie Family Health Council.
This presentation included a
humorous skit by two Behrend
students. Following the skit, the
health council representative
demonstrated how to use a condom
on Woody, the wooden penis she had
brought with her for the occasion.
She also told the audience how to use
a dental dam. This presentation
included more handouts for those in
attendance.
Afterward, Dr. Champagne spoke
to the crowd on the uses and brands
of lubrication. He even pulled up a
few members from the audience to
test the effectiveness of various
brands of lube, on their hands, of
course. He also attempted to make
his own lubrication on stage, though
he wasn't exactly successful.
The evening was certainly
informative, but it was also
entertaining and enjoyable for all who
participated. "I thought it would be
educational and boring, but it was like
a play," said student Mary Kerch.
Another Behrend student, Melissa
Proba, stated, "They were definitely
able to keep the audience's attention,
especially when they included us in
the demonstrations."
If the topic of sex wasn't enough to
entice people to attend, the free gifts
and drawings for prizes were. "I
especially liked the free gifts," said
student Megan Zuschlag. Almost
everyone in attendance received a gift
basket at the end of the night that
included samples of lubricants,
condoms, and dental dams. During
the show there were drawings for gift
baskets and boxes of chocolates.
Erie Hall cont. from front page
Raising the money was a relatively
quick process, however the construc
tion of the building took four years
to complete. The dedication of Erie
Hall took place in May 1952 by
Milton S. Eisenhower, Penn State's
president. The building was named
Erie Hall because funding for the
facility was made by the citizens of
Erie.
Although the basketball court was
completed, the bleachers, lockers,
showers and offices lagged behind.
By the end of the year, dressing room
facilities were completed due to the
volunteer efforts of the faculty.
The building was used as an open
space that students could use for
dances. The gymnasium was often
times decorated heavily for the
events, and once featured a working
carousel at a Christmas Dance.
The popularity of Erie Hall as a
place to hold dances grew in years
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Mad Cow Disease
highlighted for
students at monthly
science lecture
by Kristen Sedlak
staff writer
Mad Cow Disease, its origin and its
possible threat to humans, was the
topic of the School of Science's
monthly lecture, held on Thursday,
January 27, 2000. Dr. James Warren,
an assistant professor of biology at
Behrend, was the featured speaker for
the event.
Scientifically known as Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy, "Mad
Cow Disease" can affect the bovine
brain and spinal chord, causing holes
to develop. It is suspected that the
disease can be transmitted to humans,
although there are known hereditary
diseases which are similar and can be
mistaken for Mad Cow Disease.
Symptoms include gradual loss of
coordination and poor eyesight, and
they may eventually lead to death.
Mad Cow Disease is said to have
been the cause of Creutzfeld-Jakob
Disease in humans, which killed
several British people during an
epidemic between 1995 and 1996 and
led to the destruction of millions of
animals -- the United Kingdom's
entire stock of beef cattle. This was
also the cause of a ban on the export
of British beef to any other country a
few years ago, as well as current
restrictions.
It was suspected that the
development of this disease was due
to the process of rendering the
feeding of ground up animal parts to
farm animals. Rendering went on for
many years, but was finally banned
by the United States in 1997, after it
was determined that the infected
cows had acquired their illness from
eating rendered sheep carrying
to come. Local high schools would
often times hold their school proms
in the gymnasium.
Bchrend dances continued to grow
in popularity for years to come, un
til the 1960 s when dance styles
changed, and school dances became
less of an enjoyable event. Still to
day, Erie Hall holds classes for dif
ferent types of dance including aero
bic dance, ballroom dancing. and
modern dance, and is the practice fa
cility for the Behrend dance team.
Erie Hall has since been the home
of the Behrend Lions basketball
teams. Intramural events still take
place in the facility, as well as the
location for speeches made by pub
lic figures. Most recent was politi
cal satirist Al Franken.
When activities that are currently
held in Erie Hall are moved to the
new Athletic Recreational Center
(ARC) next fall, the role of Erie Hall
TAKE A PICTURE DAY
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
1:0010 3:00
scrapie, a similar disease.
Although rendering has been
banned and there are no known cases
of Mad Cow Disease in the United
States at this time, Dr. Warner
suggests that industry and consumers
alike should still be concerned.
"I think the possibility is very real
that what happened in the United
Kingdom could happen here. We
need to be very careful and learn from
their mistakes," cautions Warren.
Dr. Warren also spoke about a disease
known as Kuru, or "the laughing
death," which is an ailment found
among cannibals in New Guinea.
Following the death of one of their
warriors, it was discovered that the
spread of Kuru was due to the
cannibalistic rituals
The extensive study of Kuru, which
began in the 19505, gave scientists
powerful ammunition and a good
background when Mad Cow Disease
was discovered, Dr. Warren
explained.
However, because the incubation
period of Mad Cow Disease and other
related diseases is long, research has
been difficult. There is no known
cure, and the research process is slow
going. And though there are
numerous scientists working on the
problem, answers are so far away in
the future that Dr. Warren's warning
becomes very real.
The large audience received the
lecture well, and was very eager to
participate. At the end of his
presentation Dr. Warren added that
there is an official Mad Cow Disease
Web site for those interested in
learning more about the disease,
located at www.mad-cow.org.
will change.
"The future of Erie Hall is still up
in the air," said Acting Dean of Stu
dent Affairs Ken Miller. Miller
hopes that it will serve the function
of an auxiliary gym that students can
use for pick-up basketball games.
The downstairs will open up with
the coaches' offices also being
moved to the ARC. Those offices
could turn into offices for the faculty
currently in trailers.
The final competitive event in Erie
Hall could be on February 16, as the
Behrend basketball teams host Pitt-
Greensburg. If the Lions win the
regular season Allegheny Mountain
Collegiate Conference title, they will
host the AMCC Tournament later this
month.
The nets could get cut down in Erie
Hall for the last time if the Lions win
the conference tournament.