Accident claims the life of Behrend student On December 19, 1999, a Behrend student was found dead in Decker’s Creek in Morgantown, West Virginia. The body was that of Albert Richard Weinzen, a Behrend student that lived in Ohio Hall last semester. Weinzen was 21 years old and lived in Bentleyville, PA. Weinzen was with three friends with whom he had spent the previous night in downtown Morgantown. The friends told police that the group had “quite a bit” to drink that night. Shortly after midnight, Weinzen became separated from his group of friends and was not found until the following morning, in Decker’s Creek behind the Ahadu hair styling salon. At 2:00 a.m., the friends searched for Weinzen and found his car still parked where he left it, on the third level of the Former student pleads no contest Former Penn State Behrend student Brian Scott Jackman pleaded no contest to charges made against him involving the use of univer sity computers to collect and trade child por nography through the Internet. Jackman's plea to Erie County Judge Stephanie Domitrovich involved two felony counts of sexual abuse of children and one felony count of the unlawful use of computers. According to court records, the charges made against Jackman stemmed from the report of a Nevada resident, who claimed to see an ad vertisement for child pornography in 1997. The ads were then traced to a computer at Be hrend. On July 17, 1997, detectives found disks that contained over 2,000 photographs, most of which contained child pornography. The im ages were found to have been downloaded Students may recall the "bench war” that broke out between Perry and Niagara Halls at the beginning of last semester. Apparently one of Perry’s benches had been broken, and two of Niagara's benches were taken to replace what was no longer usable The students of Niagara decided to take back what was theirs, and they raided the Perry lobby one Sunday evening after finding that the benches were not on the porch as expected. Police and Safety were called, and several of the RAs were present, trying to control the crowd. Eventually the two benches were found in a bathroom in the men’s wing of Perry. The Niagara students promptly claimed their property and carried the benches back to the Niagara porch. The students even went so far as to buy chains for their benches to ensure that they would not be removed. A raging stream of water rushed in and around the Hammermill Building on a Wednesday evening in late September. After a long day of torrential rain, run-off from the ski slope converged at the foot of the Engineering complex and apparently began seeping into the building sometime during evening classes. Students leaving classes were met with leaking doorways and piping as they waded through puddles forming in Roche Hall. Earlier that evening Hammermill was temporarily closed down after a power outage set off the fire alarm. Students and faculty were evacuated for forty-five minutes while Qfs aff (jreeh to me ZBT fraternity walks to Burgh The brothers of Behrend’s chapter of ZBT went the extra mile for a good cause. On April 7, 8 and 9, the brothers walked 138 miles from Erie to Point State Park in Pittsburgh to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. Noteworthy news: in child porn case The Perry vs. Niagara Bench War Behrend’s Great Flood of 1999 Public Safety Center. Weinzen’s father was then notified by the friends who all contin ued the search. A resident of Morgantown did call 911 to report that a male (matching the description of Weinzen) had knocked on his door, asking to use his phone. Shortly after 10:00 a.m., Weinzen’s body was found face down in the creek, about two-three feet from the bank. Police said there was no sign of bruising or cuts found on the body, which led police to believe that Weinzen may have slipped on the slippery rocks that the creek is known for. There was no sign of tracks that led to the creek besides Weinzen’s. There was no sign of foul play by Weinzen, but the death was believed to be alcohol-related. from a computer in Behrend’s biology lab and a computer in Jackman’s former residence. After a successful seven-month at tempt by a Provo, Utah, company to break the passwords to the computer files, the files were sent to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, which led to the arrest of Jackman in October 1998. Nine charges were dropped by the district attorney’s office as part of the plea agreement. Four of the dropped charges were misdemean ors, while the rest were taken into account with the other charges. The prosecution did not ob ject to the plea because the two counts carry the same sentence. Jackman was to be sentenced by Domitrovich on March 3, with a maximum possible sentence of 24 years. authorities checked the building for any actual problems. While no fire-related problems were found, some students Edinboro drug bust alerts Behrend On early February 12 Edinboro University students were arrested on drug charges, as a result of what continues to be an ongoing pro gram to end drug use in Erie County. On Tues day, February 8, Interim Dean of Students Ken Miller sent an email to all Behrend students regarding the incident. “Is Using Drugs Worth Endangering 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 cam pus, 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 fed slj,i have the 'it can't Jj happen to me’ mind set,” said Miller. Edinboro has been stressing that drug issues are not unique to their university, and that these issues can be found on almost all other campuses nationwide. The issue of whether or not Edinboro’s situation will be repeated 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 mini mal drug use can have severe penalties,” said Blaguszewski. complained of losing work they had not saved on the computers before the power went out. Most students sought shelter under overhangs and in nearby buildings as they waited out the storm. Other areas of campus were also affected. The water on the pathway between the Glenhill Farmhouse and Turnbull Hall became flooded as the waters of the creek that bisects campus overflowed the banks. At one point the area was sectioned off, and students had to find an alternative route across campus. Also, many residents took advantage of the mud in front of Perry Hall, using it as a mosh pit and sliding down the hill. .. a Cook at Cjreek fife during the year Got milk? Sororities pass resolution to limit alcohol Behrend’s Panhellenic Council has recently joined a small group of college campuses across the nation in continuing their efforts to move toward an alcohol-free image. The council unanimously passed a resolution that will encourage the Behrend chapters of the Panhellenic Council to co-sponsor functions in men’s fraternity facilities only if the functions are alcohol free. “This document essentially says that they [Behrend’s sororities] will not have any alcoholic functions with a fraternity unless they are at an off-campus location with a third party vendor,” said Pelasky. Alpha Sigma Alpha’s national organization already enforced the resolution for some time before the idea was brought to Behrend’s Panhellenic Council. However, the representa tives of the Theta Phi Alpha and Alpha Sigma Tau sororities needed to take the idea to the delegates in their respective chapters. The delegates of both sororities passed the resolution, which was taken to the Panhellenic Council for a 3-0 vote for the new policy. The resolution will be put into effect at the beginning of the Fall 2000 semester. Students afflicted with booths featured food, a palm reader, a bouncing boxing ring, Sumo wrestling, tie-dying, and free beer root beer floats, that is. Organizatins sponsoring the booths included IFC, JRC, Commuter Council, LF.B, PanHel, and SAF. Other more spontaneous forms of entertainment popped up as well, such as beach volleyball, jump rope, and frisbee, Condoms, and undies, and Sex, masturbation, and edible body paints were some of the topics covered on the evening of January 27 at the “Eroticizing Safer Sex Cabaret: Third Time is a Charm; An Evening Devoted to HIV Prevention.” This was the third year in a row that Trigon has presented the Cabaret to Behrend students, and this year marked the largest turnout thus far. Over 100 people crammed into the Studio Theatre to learn more about safer sex from students, faculty, and community members. A wide variety of presentations were performed, ranging from the serious to the entertaining. The evening began with a guitar-accompanied solo performed by a leather-clad Dr. John Champagne, assistant professor of English, which immediately got the audience’s attention and piqued its interest. Other performances included a swing dance demonstration, a “forbidden” fashion show featuring lingerie, a massage session, and, most importantly, several sessions demonstrating safe sex techniques. Student trips span the globe during Spring Break For Spring Break this year it with American politics in Washington, D.C. Another group of students, made up largely of members from the Reality Check organi zation, went to Blowing Rocks Preserve in southern Florida to participate in volunteer work. And some students just went away to have fun. From locations such as Cancun, Mexico, Panama City, Florida, and Puerto Rico, students kicked back and relaxed during their break from Erie (and Erie weather). Spring Fever lubes?Oh, my!. Greek Week occurred last October, during which all of the social fraternities and sororities on campus came out to strut their stuff for the student body. Each - was compet ing to be esented Greek organizatioi Several co, ikViH.} ok place throughout k, including a sack race, a competition, Greek Synr lip syncing contest, a tu| war match, and a chariot . race. Each organization would rack up ind the one at the end of ; with the most points won. :ar the Theta Phi Alpha so- r and the Zeta Beta Tau frat took home the prizes. Also, individuals were competing to be named Greek god and goddess of the year. Winners were Chris Chimera and Erica Weissenfluh. After a two year hiatus Spring Fever returned to the Apartment Quad this semester, and it proved successful. The featured bands this year were Organic Voodoo Machine, No On 15, Missing Link, Crown Me King, Burden, and Buzz Poets. By nightfall the quad morphed into a jumping crowd as a mosh pit was formed, and students were levered up in efforts of crowd surfing. Earlier in the day many organizations set up booths for the entertainment of the students. These Greeks strut their stuff for Greek Week J A . u ■Jr ' %- ' '
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