Lions go for AMCC
season title
AMCC
Illegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
PAGE 12
BEI k '
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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
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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
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