THE BEHREND BEACON
A View from the Lighthouse
Everybody or Nobody
About 2 weeks ago, twelve
students from Edinboro University
were arrested on drug charges. What
made these arrests even more special
was the fact that five of the men were
varsity athletes. In light of these
recent arrests at Edinboro, an issue
of whether or not student athletes
should be tested for drugs has also
been brought to light.
We at the Beacon believe that there
is a lot of bias out there, that for some
strange reason people seem to think
that only athletes are taking drugs.
You may be saying to yourself "I
know a bunch of kids that aren't
athletes that do that stuff." That's
what we're saying, too. There is a
lot more to the words "extra
curricular" than just athletics, and
drugs are illegal period. There are
student governments, organizations,
fraternities, and yes even newspapers
out there that are susceptible to drugs
as well. Why just test the athletes?
Quick sports analogy - That's like
having a football player about to
make an 80-yard touchdown but
stopping at the 1-yard line to tie his
shoes. Our opinion is, solve the
whole problem. If athletes are going
to be subjected to tests, newspaper
staff writers should be subjected,
student government officers should
be subjected, and hell, even the
marching band should be subjected.
Test everybody or test nobody.
Edinboro's athletic director, four
time Olympic medallist Bruce
Baumgartner, is heavily promoting
drug testing for athletes. In a recent
article by Jim Camp of the Erie Daily
Times, Baumgartner was quoted
about the arrests. "I was very
disappointed we had athletes
involved... But you have to
remember athletes are like any other
students." Essentially, he is saying
that he realizes it isn't only athletes
that are using drugs, hut he's willing
to help clean up their acts. It was
also noted in the article that Edinboro
was considering testing long before
the arrests.
However, drug testing has been a
hot item of debate long before the
Edinboro incident. It is not only of
interest at the collegiate level, public
high schools are faced with the issue
as well. Why the big fuss over a little
test? This is where things get sticky.
Drug testing does in fact wander into
fourth amendment territory that of
unlawful searches and seizures.
There was a case in Oregon in 1996,
for example, where a Vernonia High
School student tried to battle his
THE BEHREND BEACON
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
r~
, i
---_
t
_~-
Advertising Managers
Carey Smith
Kim Zuck
Business Manager
Kristine Harakal
Office Manager
Brad Wiertel
Distribution Manager
Jeff Miller
Advisors
Robert Speel
Jim O'Loughlin
Po al Lfc , rmati.n: 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.
school's mandatory athletic drug
testing policy by citing the fourth
amendment. Lower federal courts
did favor the student, hut the U.S.
Supreme Court rejected the case.
Even the federal court system has
divided opinions on this one.
So, what's another argument?
Many people feel that athletes are
role models, and role models
should be drug-free. But, athletics
can be a business too. We wouldn't
want to punish the big
moneymakers...oops, we mean
athletes that draw people to events.
The New York Times recently
reported that 12 of 500 NBA
players tested positive for
marijuana during a fall training
camp. Now, that sounds like a
small number, but these players
were notified months in advance.
The NY Times article explained that
they even used to have collective
bargaining rights that only required
them to be tested for heroin and
cocaine. Talk about a bargain...
and yes, this goes to show that
drugs are everywhere.
How does all of this relate to us
at Behrend? It brings up the issue
of drug testing you! If Behrend did
decide to initiate some kind of drug
test program, should our athletes be
the only ones to take the test? We
would expect that any student in
any organization would be fair
game.
But luckily we don't have to
worry about that. We don't test our
athletes. As Athletic Director Brian
Streeter explains, "If our teams
were to participate in any NCAA
Championship Tournaments there
would be a possibility of testing at
a championship site."
We at the Beacon are indifferent
as to whether it is everyone or no
one that is tested, but we can't agree
with "selective testing." Better yet,
just say no.
Editor-in-Chief
Jason Snyder
Managing Editor
Michael Frawley
News Editors
Liz Haves
Karl Benacci
Editorial Page Editor
Katie Gulley
Features Editors
Katie Przepyszny
Doug Smith
Sports Editor
Matt IVie rtel
Calendar Page Editor
Nicole Greene
Photo Editors
Jeff Miller
Kevin Bruner (assistant)
Associate Editors
Libbie Johnson
Becky Weindoif
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
A Little bit o
Could you puhleeeze be quiet?
Do you remember the first time you
ever went to the library? You inno
cently asked the adult that you were
with where the Berenstein Bear books
were. The old librarian that re
sembled the wicked witch from the
Wizard of Oz, extended her long,
bony, finger, positioned it at her lips
and gave out a hiss (that still echoes
in hack of your mind). She then
pointed to a large sign with the letters
Q-U-I-E-T. The courtesy of being
quiet as possible has been a part of
your behavior (at least for some of us)
for a very long time. Then we came
to college.
Have some of us forgotten what it
means to he quiet? When you go to
the library to study, most of us go for
the peace and quiet to help us focus
on our projects at hand. We go to get
away from the distracting television.
the telephone, and the loud voices in
And In This Corner...
Of Ice and Men
Oh yes, these past few weeks can
be stereotyped as "Erie weather." You
wake up one day and it's bright and
sunny outside, the snow is almost
melted, and the roads are dry. The
next morning, you wake up to cars
sliding out of control as they hit ice
spots from a rainstorm the night be
fore. I don't know about you, but
enough is enough already.
Being as this is my first winter
commuting to Behrend, I get to expe
rience firsthand some of the horrors
and dilemwas that I used to catch on
the news. Sitting on 1-90 for 2 hours
while traffic is slowly detoured, tak
ing up to 40 minutes to get here in the
morning when it usually takes 20, and
de-icing the car every morning stars
to be a pain. Those are some of the
benefits I derive from paying for
school. But above all, I can rest as
sured that classes will probably never
be canceled in college. However,
public grade schools have what are
called "snow days."
Look At It This Wa
Do you spit or swallow?
At Behrend's Singled Out dating
game last week, something occurred
that perturbed me. But before I go on
to tell you what it was, I want to let
you know that I don't give half a rat's
booty about what negative views you
have on my reaction. Just thought I'd
let you know.
Anyway, the show was going well
until a contestant went a little too far
with one of his questions. In refer
ence to the pool of lovely women who
were competing for a date with him
he asked, "do you spit or swallow?"
The question shocked me to uneasi-
The rest of the Bruno's audience
began to laugh hysterically. And the
hosts went along with the crowd's
careless response. I thought about
what the question was insinuating but
as a 'hip to the game college student,'
I didn't have to use much imagina
tion to get the picture. He was inquir
ing about the girls' preferred oral sex
technique.
The question was disgusting
enough, not to mention that it was
posed in a cafeteria. But to hear the
girls reply with an answer and see
how everyone so casually accepted it
made for a rotten scenario. The re
FEBRUARY 18, 2000
our residence areas. I find it hard to
believe that students go to the library
to carry on conversations that would
he better suited for a place like
Bruno's.
I went to the library in hopes that I
would he able to find a nice quiet cor
ner so I could concentrate on my
homework. I was hunched over my
hooks, intensely studying when a loud
voice broke the silence followed by a
Some people may disagree with
me. They might think that any day is
a good enough day to send kids to
school., even if there_ is . a sheet of ice
covering the city. I'm going to have
to say it was a had call on the part of
school officials when they didn't can
cel school 2 weeks back. I'm not talk
ing about Behrend, either; I'm refer
ring to the public grade schools in the
area. Erie experienced its first major
ice dilemma of this year, and I think a
lot of people were unprepared to
handle it. There were numerous road
mark was not only offensive to the
contesting women, but to the whole
audience. If this was in a different
situation, like a porno convention,
then I might not be so concerned. But
at a college event that is open to ev
eryone this is inappropriate. We can't
just let this one slide.
Pardon me if I sound like a
preacher, but there comes a time when
we have to take a step back and note
our behavior, and this is definitely one
of those times. I know that we are
living in a new age and we have free
dom to express ourselves, but this is
not an excuse to let our sexualities run
wild.
I stress this issue because society
Kool-aid and Milk
roar of laughter and conversation go
ing on by a group on the other side of
the room. Just when I thought they
were done with their conversation,
they were joined but yet another voice
which just happened to be louder and
more obnoxious than the rest. Just
my luck. I could have found more
peace in Bruno's at noon.
You would think that the quietest
place on a college campus would be
the library, right? Now it can all de
pend on the time of day, the day of
the week and which floor you are on.
But no matter what, I think students
need to realize that speaking in a low
whisper is much more preferred. The
scenario: you are in the library trying
to study for a crucial test that will
make or break you, and you can't fo
cus because of the gossip going on by
a large group of people. Would you
rather have the people continue their
fatalities, most of which could have
been avoided had everyone decided
to take it easy that morning. That
means letting the kiddies stay home
or giving them at least a 2-hour de
lay.
It seems that "school safety" has
born itself a whole new meaning these
past few years. Everyone seems to
remember the gun shootings and
bomb threats when they think of those
words. What about the ever-present
threat of Mother Nature? I'm sure
you've heard of the "zero-tolerance"
policy that some schools have. Basi
cally, if you bring fingernail , clippers
to school you are expelled. That's the
biggest crock I've ever heard of.
However, on a severely icy day,
schools decide to take a risk. For ex
ample, my youngest brother came
home from school that day and said,
"Dude, our bus was like sliding into
people's yards and stuff, it was cool!"
Yeah, that's all the city needs, an over
turned bus or something. Parents
on a whole has become more and
more sexually irresponsible, and I
want to see that we, as an up and com
ing generation, deter from this pattern.
Sex is nothing new, but we are at risk
of ruining a good thing as we continue
to exploit and abuse sex the way ,we
do. At the top of this millennium tele
vision has exploited sex more than it
ever has. New programs like MTV's
Undressed and Love Line dare to be
more sexually appealing with pro
vocative topics handling subjects like
"spitting and swallowing".
Perhaps this is due to the competi
tion with other sexually open coun
tries like Moscow, where even the
news report is a strip show. However,
America is supposed to be the ex
ample setter, and if we continue to
think with our sex organs we are likely
to self-destruct. In no way am I sug
gesting that we get rid of our horni
ness, because that would be impos
sible. I am suggesting that we be more
careful in how we handle ourselves
sexually.
We have seen sex become political
as certain people use it to advance
themselves up the social ladder. As
products like Viagra emerge, adver
tisements for shampoo incorporate
conversation or would you rather they
speak in a quiet whisper? You make
the call.
Many groups meet at the library to
work on group projects. Great place
to meet, right? Well, there are rooms
available in the library to accommo
date you (I believe there at least six!
WHOA!). You can talk all you want,
either about your project or today's
gossip with your group without irri
tating the student chewing on his
eraser out of stress. Everyone wins.
So next time you decide to go to
the library, just think about why you
chose to study there. If you chose to
study in the library because you can
talk to your best friend about who
Billy Bob was with on Tuesday of last
week at 7:45 p.m., then maybe
Bruno's would be better suited to your
needs. Unless you can keep your
voices down, that is.
would love that
But schools will cancel classes if
there is a hefty amount of snow out
side. I can remember days where
there was just a lot of snow and we
had 2-hour delays. Here's a physics
lesson: A school-bus carrying 40 kids
to school has a better chance of mak
ing it in 12 inches of snow than on 1
inch of ice.
Wow! It doesn't matter what you
drive, an 18-wheeler or a Yugo, ev
eryone is susceptible to the threats of
ice. And it's not like we didn't see it
coming. It rained heavily the day
before; whatcan you expect when the
temperatures fall curing the night?
Take your best guess.
To sum things up, I guess a lot of
crises could have been avoided had
everyone decided to take things su
per slow that early February morning.
Maybe we just forgot our thinking
caps.
plots that end in orgasm, and as
Ma,ridy Moore continues to sing about
how bad she wants some candy, it is
clear how prominent sex has become.
Boys and Girls of Penn State Be
hrend, I am talking to you. We cannot
continue to accept sexual obscenity
such as contained in the Singled Out
competition. However, in no way do
I mean to condemn the overall Singled
Out event. It was fun, and I want to
commend the Hall Councils who col
lectively put this show together.
I would also like to commend the
hosts, Maria Madigan and Dan
Schiesser, for conducting a good
show. It was just that one part of the
show that troubled me. I hope that
those who read this take heed to my
point and that those who were at the
show reevaluate their casual reactions
to this occurrence.
If we continue at the careless rate
we are going, we will be a population
of people with sexually transmitted
diseases who are scared to have sex
with each other. Wait a minute— we
are already there. Let's check our
selves before we wreck ourselves.
PAGE 8