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
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