Lions go for AMCC season title AMCC Illegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference PAGE 12 BEI k ' ‘. i Vol. XLVII No. 19 Behrend lacks Valentine's Day spirit by Karl Benacci news co-editor There were a number of candy and flower sales taking place this past week, but there will be no major activities for the day of Valentine's Day on the Behrend campus. Some students were surprised to learn that there will not be any activities planned. Andy Markle, 07, EETBD, stated, "I was very sur prised, I expected there to be at least some ac tivities." Nina Lafont, 02, Pre-Law, remarked "I was not surprised, Behrend does not seem to support many holidays." Employees of the Office of Student Activi ties believe that there are a number of reasons for the total lack of Valentine's Day programs planned. The main reason is that students and organizations haven't brought any ideas or sug gestions to Student Activities concerning Valentine's Day. If an idea is brought to Student Activities, a proposal can be made and budgeting can be planned to see if the idea is possible. Lafont stated "I would like to see the Snowball Dance moved to Valentine's Day." Mike Pusateri, 02, PLET, commented "I want to see a free beer and pizza night." Students will have to make their own Valentine's Day plans this year due to the lack of interesting events at Behrend. Lafont stated "I'll probably be drinking on Valentine's Day." Markle added "I will not be doing anything." Employees in Student Activities believe that if anyone has any ideas about an activity, they should let the idea he known. If Student Ac tivities receives ideas from students, there will be more events organized. Valentine's Day continued on page 3 Edinboro drug bust has Behrend's eyes open by Angela Majoris staff writer Last Friday, 12 Edinboro University students were arrested on drug charges, as a result of what continues to be an ongoing program to end drug use Erie County. On Tuesday, Febru ary 8, Interim Dean of Students Ken Miller sent an email to all Behrend students regarding the incident. "Is Using Drugs Worth Endanger ing Your Penn State Degree?" Miller began the email with this question before explaining what had happened at Edinboro. He went on to warn that upgraded surveillance of Behrend stu dents may be likely, and expressed that Penn State has zero tolerance for drug dealing. "We wanted to warn students that our campus, like many others, may be under scrutiny," said Ed Blaguszewski, Behrend's manager of publications and university relations. "I think the important thing is for students to remember that college life is the real world. State and federal laws do apply to them. They have to take 14 pages TPAPITIGhI Cr EPIE HALL UNMATCHED IN EYES Cr BEFIREND ATHLETICS Since 1953, Erie Hall has served its main function as the home of the Behrend Lions basketball teams. The facility has been the home of many memories and has added its own mystique as the Lions' home court. Although the building has been criticized by some as being small and an uncomfortable space for sporting events, Erie Hall has built a tradition of being the zd tough place for visiting teams to play. Athletic Director Brian Streeter recognizes that tradition. "Erie I Tall has had a great tra dition with this campus. It's a wonderful place to play as a home court advantage. The fans are part of the game, everybody in the facility is part of the game. You can't beat a better environment.- For such a small facility. Erie Hall is seen as having its advantages that larger gyms are unable to have. "Here, you feel every pass, you feel the sweat, you see the sweat. A kid can shake his hair and the sweat will hit the wall behind you. Not too many gyms have that. - added Streeter. The small facility also enables players to interact with the fans and families off the court. Streeter sees that in larger gyms play ers can "disappear" into the locker rooms and out the hack door. In Erie Hall, the back door is the first entrance for the majority of fans that park in the lower lot by the tennis courts. "They (athletes) can't get away from the people. And that's unique," said Streeter. Another aspect of the mystique of Erie Hall is its ability to change visiting team's attitudes about sportsmanship. It is a build ing that when you walk into the doors, and see children in the hallways and parents in the crowd, players realize they are playing in a friendly environment and should act ac cordingly. Streeter added, "sportsmanship is the key to Erie Hall, because it has been Memories continued on page 3 responsibility for their actions. Too many students still have the 'it can't happen to me' mind set," said Miller. Edinboro has been stressing that drug issues are not unique to their uni versity, and that these issues can be found on almost all other campuses nation wide. The issue of whether or not Edinboro's situation will be re peated in other Erie area universities has become a concern at Behrend. "What we are trying to get across is that Penn State takes use of illegal drugs seriously. It should be clear to all students that even minimal drug use can have severe penalties," said Blaguszewski. "Edinboro is a lot bigger than we are. I would say that the chances of it happening here are cut in half because it's not as visible," said SGA presi dent, Andrea DiPlacido, 06 COMBA. Edinboro University President Frank Pogue was quoted recently as saying, "we simply should celebrate that only 12 or so persons were ar rested after three months of surveil lance." He concluded that that this is a small number when seen in context of Free food, games and prizes! Then cheer on the Lions in VALENTINE'S DAY PAGE 4 Erie Hall's final regular season game! Wednesday, February 16, in the Reed Wintergarden NATL. CAMPUS NEWS.... PAGE 6 BY JASON SNYDER AND MATT BUSER the 7,079 students that attend the uni- versity In a matter like this, the reputation of the school is also a concern. "It's not very good for prospective students; it will reflect badly on the school," DiPlacido commented, "but you see this at every college campus, we're just smaller." Behrend has held resident assistant training sessions so that the RAs can detect certain odors, and other signs of drug use in campus housing. "There's an ongoing practice: we try to educate the Residence Life staff in terms of training on drug use. We teach them what to look for, certain odors, and they work with Police and Safety to investigate situations," said B laguszew ski. If Behrend has a problem it may be defined by the way that some of the students view drug abuse. "Yes, I think we have a problem, in the sense of the word, but I don't believe it's a prob lem. Who's to say that drugs are a problem? I know plenty of kids that do drugs, and still do well in life," said Janson Kopp, 04 History. POLICE AND SAFETY PAGE 2 WORLD NEWS PAGE 5 Friday, Februaryll, 2000 Streeter ready for changes by Matt Wiertel sports editor As the final regular season game of the bas ketball season draws near, so does the comple tion of the long awaited Athletics and Recre ation Center. The ARC, as it is called, will be the permanent replacement for Erie Hall and will open its doors in September. Plans for a new recreation complex have been in the works for nearly three decades but the crucial funding for the ten million-dollar project was tied up until recently. Although in 1988, the state of Pennsylvania told the ‘I7I . tri 4. """41 4414 teL h.56gh...., nammili'k.o,' - .1 4 1 7 r'74 l 4 . L a: 3 , MB 1 J 20 1 1 Mi akit, IMIUMMI However, Miller states that, "if we believe students are distributing, they're done. Then the question is, for how long? If you try to transfer it will say on your transcript that you were suspended from Penn State. Then the schools usually call us and ask what the suspension was about, and 99% of the time they're not going to get in. It's not about Penn State punishing stu dents, it's about what you choose to do in your everyday life. The most dif ficult message to convey is that you are responsible for your actions." Ninety-five percent of the few cases that have dealt with illegal drug use at Behrend have been on-campus inci dents. "You are more likely to get caught on campus unless you are deal ing. The majority of our cases, if they involve drugs, usually deal with pot because it's smelled in the hallway." Blaguszewski added, "we have to be honest with ourselves: illegal drugs are a national problem, we are not isolated from the rest of society. That's why we have these training programs. The so lution to prevention is enforcement as well as vigilance." BEACON IDOVAN university that money was available for the construction of the facility, officially that money was not released until 1997. Designed "to meet the needs of our student athletes," the ARC will feature several facili ties that will be new to the Behrend campus. "(The ARC) is going to give the students more recreational opportunities and it will give them more class opportunities," explains Penn State Behrend athletic director Brian Streeter. Highlighting the new complex will be the expansive gymnasium. The gymnasium "will have three indoor full regulation basketball courts divided by a netting system that will PAGE 7 CALENDAR... EDITORIAL... PAGE 10 FEATURES.... PAGE 12 SPORTS TOP: Brian Streeter understands the tradition of Erie 'a and the advantages of a small gym experience. LEFT: The Lions perform in front of a packed Erie Hall gym. The hoop pictured is known by the Behrend players as the rim that gives Behrend players the right bounces. in Behrend athletics Student vehicle catches fire in Nick Lot On Tuesday, February 8, a student's car caught on fire. The car was parked in the commuter parking lot near Hammermill when the fire took place. The fire started in the engine on the car, then broke the the car's firewall, causing severe damage to the car. Police and Safety and the Brookside Fire Department both responded to the fire. N Eric PAGE 8 Warm wishes and sloppy kisses A Penn State Erie Student Publication give flexibility for both competition practices and recreational activities to be going on at the same time," said Streeter. The gymna sium has been designed to accommodate more sports than just basketball or volley ball though. "In the track area of the facility we will have a long jump, triple jump pit, and a pole vault pit that will serve some of our track needs," continued Streeter. The gym also will contain a three lane walking and jogging track that will allow students or athletes to train inside when the weather out doors become inclement. Athletic changes continued on page 12 .".?; UMMOIRMINININWin ECM= 11=1
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