FEBRUARY 25, 2000, THE BEHREND BEACON, PAGE 3
NEWS
Commuter
Council
in need
of dancers
by Becky Weindorf
associate editor
On April 14, the Commuter Council wants
all of Behrend to pitch in and "Be a star on
the floor as your feet open the door." They
are sponsoring a 12-hour dance-a-thon to
raise money for a young boy.
In conjunction with the Make-A-Wish
Foundation, Commuter Council and several
other organizations are sponsoring this event
to send a seven-year-old boy on a four-day
cruise to the Bahamas or' the Big Red Boat,
and then a three day stay at Disney World in
Florida. This is the second year for the Wish-
A-Thon.
"[The little boyl has a brain tumor and
wanted to go on a cruise because he was too
sick to go with his parents on their last
cruise," said Meggan Allen, vice president
of Commuter Council. "The total cost of
the trip is $3,400. We need to raise $2,400
in order for him to go; Make-A-Wish has
already raised $l,OOO over winter break for
him."
So far, thirty-six people have signed up
for the event, but Allen clearly stated that
the Council needs more people to raise
money and to dance. "We need as many
people as possible to sign up and dance for
him," Allen said.
The dance will be held in the Reed Com
mons on April 14, starting at 8 p.m. and end
ing on April 15, at 8 a.m. "We're going to
have a DJ, and we're trying to find a live
band to play for the first hour or so," said
Allen. "There's going to be lots of refresh
ments - pizza, meat and veggie trays, chips,
cookies, candy, and plenty of pop and wa-
Not sure if you can plan ahead that far?
There is an alternative to that: walk-ins are
cordially welcome, too. "If you're not sure
you're going to go, but you'd still like to
dance, you can still come and dance if you
pay $3 at the door when you arrive," Allen
said.
The whole night is devoted to granting this
boy's last wish, and dancing isn't the only
thing to do. Games and prizes will be given
out through the night from local sponsors,
including 2 tickets to the Erie Playhouse.
The Commuter Council stresses that the
Wish-A-Thon needs as many dancers as pos
sible. Even if money is raised over the goal
of $2,400, all proceeds benefit the Make-A-
Wish foundation.
The deadline for signing up for the event
is March 27, where students can get pledge
sheets and all the rules and regulations for
the Wish-A-Thon. The deadline to turn in
money for the Wish-A-Thon is April 3. You
can drop off the money at the RUB desk in
an envelope with your name and "Wish-A-
Thon" written on the front, with your pledge
sheet.
If there are any further questions, inter
ested students should visit the RUB Desk or
call the Commuter Council office at x 6452.
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Clearing up misconceptions about bats
by Ryan Flaherty
staff writer
During his seminar on Friday, Feb 11, Dr.
Michael R. Gannon cleared up some of the
misconceptions about bats as well as inform
a Behrend audience about their day-to-day be
havior as well.
Dr. Gannon is an associate professor in the
department of biology at Penn State Altoona.
Ilt; has studied bats in the tropics and in the
Temperate Zone. His studies of bats also range
from many states in the U.S.
About one fourth of all mammals are bats,
which number to about 850 to 900 different
species. Besides making up a large part of the
mammalian population, they are the only true
The Raiders Club aimed towards
`action-seeking' students
by Erin McCurdy
staff writer
The Raiders, one of Penn State Behrend's
newest clubs, was created with "the action
seeking" student in mind. The purpose of the
Raiders Club is to provide students with
mentally and physically challenging outdoor
recreational activities. With about sixty
founding members, the Raiders Club is off and
running.
The club's goal is to increase self
confidence and leadership potential while also
increasing total fitness and enjoyment of these
outdoor experiences in a social setting.
Captain Scott Gillespie, the club's advisor,
stated, "this student group organizes unique
and challenging outings. It gives students a
nice outlet for stress; it is nice to have
something exciting to look forward to on the
weekends
While the Raider's constitution states that
the group only needs to meet twice a semester,
in reality the group meets about once a month.
Captain Gillespie said that with all of the
from
flying mammals. Contrary to belief bats are
not blind, however they are mainly nocturnal
which is why they might have trouble seeing
with their eyes. To compensate they emit
sound waves, which hit an object and bounce
back giving them a mental picture of what
might be there.
Despite old wives' tales, bats will not get
caught in your hair. A human body will at
tract a lot of bugs, especially the head that
gives off the most heat. The bats will then
swoop down and eat these bugs, coming
somewhat close to the head. This is probably
why many think that the bats are trying to get
in their hair.
Another misconception is that bugs are vi
cious carriers of disease. While a small per-
different outings being planned and scheduled,
it makes it easier to meet more often. The
meetings are usually held on Friday afternoons
around four o'clock. The exact meeting times
are listed periodically on the group's Web
page: www.pe rsonal.psu.echdrbk. II 5 .
Those interested in joining need only to
attend a meeting. The other way to join is log
onto the Web site and read about the club. If
one is still interested, one can join from there.
This club is open to any Behrend College
student, and membership is free. However,
while membership is free, each outing often
has costs associated with it that members must
pay in order to participate.
Captain Gillespie says that he shops around
for group rates on rental equipment, which
lowers the cost to the students. Also to cut
costs, he sometimes drives the students in a
large van to save on transportation fees.
Some of the activities that the Raiders have
planned include: rappelling, orienteering and
map reading, white water rafting, wall
climbing, paintball, skydiving, skiing, and
camping. Exact times, dates, and costs are
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centage of bats carry any kind of disease, they
are not an animal to fear. The number of re
ported rabies cases by bats is far less than those
of skunks and raccoons, and rabies cases in
Pennsylvania from bats are very low. Some
important things to remember next time you
see a bat: Do not try to pick up a hat if it is
acting oddly or crawling on the ground. This
is how people will receive rabies from a hat.
A sick or injured bat might bite if touched.
Dr. Gannon's presentation was a somewhat
general forum, the facts were easily under
stood and the speech was comprehensible.
"It's neat to learn about these things and it
educates those who don't know that much
about bats," said Kristy Netkowicz (8. I3iol
ogy).
listed on the Web site.
Once one becomes a member, one can
choose which activities to go on: members are
not required to participate in any events.
Within the Raiders club are two smaller
clubs. Once a member of the Raiders, one
has the opportunity to try out for the Color
Guard or the Ranger Challenge Team.
The Behrend Color Guard consists of a five
member team, including a color sergeant, two
flag bearers, and two riflemen. This team
presents the "National Colors" at various
University Events, including convocations
and graduation ceremonies. The Color Guard
also competes against other college Color
Guard teams at the national level.
The Ranger Challenge Team is a military
skills competition team. It is comprised of
nine athletes who compete against 21 other
teams throughout Pennsylvania, New York,
and New Jersey. Some of the competition
events are physical fitness, rifle
marksmanship, a 10-km march, and a one
rope bridge race.
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Campus
Ministry
to put on
30-hour
famine
by Kristen Sedlak
staff writer
Nearly 30 Penn State Behrend students will
participate in a nationwide fast to benefit the
poor and hungry this weekend, which is
nationally known as "Hunger Fast, -
Participants will begin tasting at 1:00 p.m. on
Friday, February 25, and conclude at 7:00 p.m.
on Saturday, February 26.
World Vision is the national sponsor of this
event, which has participants in parishes and
other organizations throughout the world. The
purpose of the fast is to raise both money for
and awareness of hunger in the United States
and in Third World Countries.
During the fast, students will participate in
several community service activities. They will
visit various nursing homes, the Neighborhood
Art House, and the newly created Kids Cafe,
which serves lunch to underprivileged children.
This Hunger Fast will not (inly raise the
students' awareness of world hunger, hut it will
give them a limited understanding of what it is
like to he hungry themselves.
A choral group from University Park, Grace
Notes, will he venturing up to Erie for the
Hunger Fast to provide entertainment. Grace
Notes will he performing at the Villa
Auditorium at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, February
Later on Friday evening, students will stay
overnight at a convent and have discussions
about hunger and poverty. There will also be
several activities, such as volleyball and other
games, to keep those fasting occupied
throughout the night.
World Vision not only accepts monetary
donations to the program, but they also accept
other means of charity, such as grocery and
other gift certificates. World Vision also
collects medical supplies for their recipients,
as many poor have no other means of getting
medical attention.
Last year World Vision raised over eight
million dollars from the Hunger Fast, which
was distributed in countries such as Kenya,
Mexico, Romania, Sudan, North Korea, and the
United States. About two thousand dollars of
that total came from right here at Behrend. This
year, however, the Hunger Fast and its 600,000
participants nationwide are determined to raise
at least $9 million.
Though there arc specific dates associated
with the Hunger Fast, people can help to raise
money and awareness the hungry at any time .
In some areas, it takes as little as fifteen dollars
to feed a hungry child for a month. This
program teaches that everyone can do
something to help, even within one's own
community.
Anyone interested in more information on
World Vision or Hunger Fast can contact the
Campus Ministry or look on the web at
www.World%ision.org o r
W 30houtfamine.org.