The Behrend Beacon A View From The Lighthouse Elian, air up your innertube By now probably everyone has heard the Elian Gonzalez saga. The story of the small Cuban boy who was found by some fishermen on an innertube as his mother desired for him to live in the United States. Yeah, that’s the kid, the one the media fell in love with, and with whom they won’t let go, literally. His story has made the front cover of Time , as well as many other magazines and newspapers. Everyone has his or her own opinion as to whether or not he should be allowed to stay in the U.S. or be sent back to Cuba with his father. We at the Beacon , in a few words, would like to convey our message about the whole fiasco: “Elian, your father is calling you, it’s time to go home!” Now, before you start to accuse the Beacon staff of being nothing more than a bunch of commie’s, let us fully explain our opinion. Then, if you feel the need, you can draw bushy beards and cigars on our pictures. There is a very heated debate going on about this little boy. He has become an issue politically, morally and ethically. Can we keep this kid in America when his own father wants to take him home? Indeed, a communist government runs Cuba. But, we believe that if his father wants him back, then we have to give him back, no questions asked! Put yourself in his father’s shoes. Juan Miguel, as an employee of one of Cuba’s tourist resorts, makes excellent money compared to the majority of the population. As quoted in Time magazine, “[Juan] earns more than 10 times Cuba’s Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, This past week SGA held elections for the PresidentWice President, and eleven senator seats. Unfortunately, there was some controversy surround ing this year’s Presidential election. Some advertisement tactics practiced by Demian Blair bordered on univer sity policy violation and were thought questionable by many students. I would like to emphasize that SGA did not give Blair permission to use the Net Send software to promote his campaign, nor was solicitation of campus dorm rooms condoned. The Net Send message was responsible for several class interruptions and com puter freeze-ups. Mr. Blair has been The Behrend Beacon published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College Advertising Manager Kim Z uck Business Manager Kristine Harakal Office Manager Brad Wiertel Distribution Manager Jeff Miller Advisors Robert Speel Jim O'Loughlin Postal Information; 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. $l5 average monthly salary.” He is one of the few who can actually afford a car and buy nice things for his son. For him, life in Cuba isn’t so bad. He has recently remarried and has another baby. All he wants is to take his boy home. It’s not like Elian is going back to some cardboard box on a streetcorner to be beaten by his father. That is not the case at all. During many interviews, the boy’s father knew every little special thing about him. Or, to play with the gender roles a bit, what if it was Elian’s mother that wanted him back in Cuba? He probably would have been shipped back to the island months ago. Attorney General Janet Reno offered the following statement, one that we tend to agree with. She said, “It is not our place to punish a father for his political beliefs or where he wants to raise his child. Indeed, if we were to start judging parents on the basis of their political beliefs, we would change the concept of family for the rest of time.” It’s been nice having you here, Elian. But, it is time to go home now. officially implored by SGA to pub licly apologize for his actions. In future elections, SGA will set stricter guidelines for candidate-ad vertisement, therefore decreasing any misunderstanding or problems Furthermore, 1 would like to ask all students and clubs to observe posting guidelines set forth by the university, and observe other university policies when advertising on campus. These guidelines can be acquired at the RUB desk between 9a.m. and sp.m. Sincerely, Keenan Hansen PR Committee Chairperson, SGA Editor-in-Chief Jason Snyder Managing Editor Michael Frawley News Editors Liz Hayes Karl Benacci Editorial Page Editor Katie Galley Features Editors Katie Przepyszny Doug Smith Sports Editor Matt Wiertel Calendar Page Editor Nicole Greene Photo Editors Jeff Miller Kevin Bruner (assistant) Associate Editors Libbie Johnson Becky Weindorf Rob Wynne The Beacon encourages letters to the editor. Letters should include the address, phone number, semester standing and major of the writer. Writers can mail letterstobehrcoll2@aol.com. Letters must be received no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday for inclusion in that week’s issue. Editorial And In Thi: E-bay, the cheapest thing since sliced bread There is a lot of truth behind the saying “One man’s trash may be an other man’s treasure.” After recently experimenting with e-bay, the pre miere online auction site, I was sur prised to see that there is indeed a way to make a couple of quick extra bucks, as well as find some of the weirdest things I have been looking for. From automobiles to old books, from Tho mas Dolby to the Backstreet Boys, if you can’t find it anywhere else, e-bay probably has it, cheap! It all started when my brother and I bought an old Hodaka motocross dirtbike from one of his friends. I think we paid about $75 for it. It didn’t run, the engine needed a lot of work and it was in need of a paint job. At first, we planned on restoring the thing, as it would be worth a lot of money if it ran. One of us, I don’t remember who, was curious to see the going rate for a bike like ours. We checked out e-bay, and to our aston ishment, people were selling just parts Look A Here comes the birds Although April has brought snow, spring fiowers will soon bloom. This means the desire for love and romunc e will become inevitable, but the pur suit of it can be very elusive. When summer break arrives and we get a chance to put our pencils and books away we will all have more time to play in the “game of love”. But be fore you venture into your summer va cation, chasing love flings and things I have a few rules and regulations for you crazy kids. The first rule is to chill. Keeping summer vacation in mind chilling will be very important. This means to be calm and relaxed. You should have such a tranquil state of mind as you venture into the often, stressful pro cess of dating. Don’t put so much pressure on the relationships you form. Chances are the first couple of people you meet aren’t the ones you will have lasting relationships with. The second rule is to follow through with the process of chilling. This means take it slow. The faster you move through a relationship, the faster it’s over. Don't rush into the actual initiation of a date. This has two great Oh. You Didn't Know? No panty raids here! My last editorial was about fools who vomit all over the Behrend cam pus. So I find it more than fitting to write this week’s editorial about my favorite aspect of Behrend. It didn’t take me much time to realize what my favorite aspect of Behrend was, because it is such a large part of my life. It’s fraternity. Yep that’s right, fraternity. I had the privilege of joining Zeta Beta Tau fraternity this semester and it has definitely been one of the best things that I have ever done. I fre quently hear negative things being said about one fraternity or another, and it annoys me to no end. Very few people outside of the Greek System know what a frater Something stressing you out about the end of the semster? Tell us about it! Send all letters to the editor to: behrcoll2@aol.com April 14, 2000 at rather high prices. Our bike did have a lot of good parts on it, so we figured we could do the same. We started selling individual parts on e bay and within 2 weeks we sold the fenders, the seat, and the air cleaner for $175! We have already made $lOO profit on this jalopy, and we still have three-quarters of the bike left. We were able to use our extra earnings to spruce up the motorcycles we do have. Okay, so we made a lot of money. But, the time came when we needed advantages. The first advantage is on the pockets. The next advantage is in the “chill” factor. Not pressuring yourself into a date too fast will al low the both of you to chill ad equately. In actuality this is what you want anyway. After you meet keep it on an internet/phone basis for at least two to three weeks before you actu ally go out. The third rule is to include friends. With this rule I suggest that in the beginning you go out on group dates. The goal is to alleviate pressure and one on one dating makes this hard to do. In one on ones you have to try very hard to make a good impression. nity is truly like. I’ll admit it; I had many false stereotypes concerning fraternities before I was introduced to the Greek System. I had watched movies that depicted fraternities tak ing part in such things as stealing This W. r.„ parts for our other bikes, so we knew where to turn. My motorcycle is missing a side cover, which is another name for a piece of plastic that cov ers my battery. When I called around to the local dealers, I found that a new cover was going to cost me $87.00, since it is a vintage bike. I checked on e-bay, and I found someone sell ing a good side cover for $5.00. My brother bought a complete gasket set online for his dirtbike for $15.00, something that would have cost him about $BO.OO otherwise. As he is still in high school and I have my college studies to deal with, finding money to sink into our bikes can be hard sometimes, but e-bay has made it cheaper and easier. Yeah, we get good deals, but you’re probably thinking that there’s some kind of catch involved. Nope. All we had to do was register our names on e-bay (for free), and watch the bids. We do pay, however, to put an item on the site - like 50 cents or a and bees But when you are out with a group of friends it’s acceptable to be your own goofy self. This also has two advan tages. The first is that you can actually have fun. The next is that you will have the opportunity to see a more true side of your date as they are among their friends and you among yours. Besides, summer vacation goes by too fast to not spend time with your home-boys/girls. Now, if you’ve applied the first three rules and you still manage to enjoy the relationship, and you find that you really like this person, it is time to show some exclusive feelings. This is an important rule that should not be taken lightly. The goal is to extend your time within the relation ship not to waste it. This means that you come straight out and say, “I can’t bear another minute without you" and show a little love. This is the hard part because this may lead to disap pointment if you have good feelings that aren’t returned. But if this hap pens you must get back in the game (there’s plenty of fish in the sea.) The next rule is to remember it’s another fraternity’s mascot (the mas cot tended to be a bulldog that drank lots of beer out of a bucket), getting terrible grades, and having panty raids every night. I learned that these stereotypes were completely wrong when I learned about the Greek System and got to know some of the ZBT broth ers. Some of the most intelligent, hardworking and successful students on campus belong to one of the six fraternities at Behrend. I also learned that the different fraternities get along quite well with one another. Although the fraternities compete against one another in such things as intramural sports and awards, we all have the same common goal. Our buck, I think. And the only time we have to pay shipping is if we buy something. Otherwise, the high bid der usually pays. Most recently, e-bay has helped me recover from a dilemma. My car was broken into not too long ago and all of my CDs were stolen. Although it was quite a loss, 1 have managed to replace some of the CDs. Yep, e-bay had them; at about 1/3 of the price I paid originally. That relieved my grief a little bit. Best of all, one of my fellow edi tors ( I won’t mention any names, Karl), purchased a rare “Garbage Pail Kids” t-shirt off of e-bay. It just doesn’t get any better than that. If Garbage Pail Kids are on e-bay, just imagine the tons of 80’s crap that could be on there! So, if all else fails, give e-bay a look. You might be able to save some time and money on the oddities you’re looking for. not easy. Any relationship will have occasional conflict. In getting to know someone, problems will arise but this doesn’t mean to call it quits the first time you experience one. This is why I put emphasis on having a calm and open mind. This is the state of mind you will need in order to deal with such problems. However if the rela tionship gets too problematic for you to function, 1 advise you to ease on down the road to the next one. If you have successfully applied all those rules there is one last rule. Have fun. This is also a crucial part of dat ing. Most relationships don’t last be cause they just aren’t interesting. Sc do things that the bbfh of you tike This could be a number of things de pending on what floats your boat. Some couples might like to spend a romantic day on the beach, others might enjoy a trip to the movies. Whatever it is that you like to do to gether, be sure to do it. It will be sum mer break so keep the break part in mind and spend it having as much fun as you can. goal is not only to make our fraterni ties better, but to strive to make Behrend and the community a better place also. If anyone out there still thinks that Greek life isn’t produc tive, then I suggest that you read the Greek Awards article that is located in the News section of this very newspaper. In closing I’d like to say that I will greatly miss all of my fraternity brothers who are graduating this se mester and I wish all of the graduat ing students at Behrend the best of luck. Fraternity life is growing stron ger and stronger here at Behrend and I believe that all six fraternities will work hard so that it stays that way for years to come. PAGE 8
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