"W* THE BEHRENI)
JT Beacon
A PENN STATE ERIE STUDENT PUBLICATION
XLVIII No. 1 Friday, August 18,2000
pennState
FALL 2000
SPECIAL
ORIENTATION
ISSUE
NEXT ISSUE:
SEPTEMBER 1, 2000
WEEKEND : Partly Cloudy
with high
of 66, low
of 57.
Friday.
PAGE 2
An editorial view on college
life and what
students need for
a successful education.
Topics of conversation:
extracurricular opportunities,
commuter life, and the tools
for success
PAGE 4-5
Take a look back at the
1999-2000 school year
and the summer of
growth that has almost
completely renovated the
Behrend campus.
PAGE 6
Fall intramural schedule
and information.
NEWS..
EDITORIAL...
CALENDAR OF EVENTS.. 3
A LOOK BACK...
MOVING FORWARD..
SPORTS...
NEWSROOM: 898-6488
FAX US: 898-6019
Offices are located downstairs in
New students enter new Behrend campus
Behrend to reveal renovated campus
to new students at Orientation 2000
Nothing seems to describe the at
mosphere of the Penn State Behrend
campus better than the theme of this
year’s Fall Orientation. “Building on
the Past, Working Toward the Future”
not only tells of the educational value
that the students receive, but also
speaks of the growth and improve
ment that the campus is undergoing
as the 2000-2001 school year opens.
Led by Ms. Cheon Graham and Mr.
Brad St. Germain, along with Kristina
Motta, the program’s advisor, 67 stu
dents contributed in the planning of
the 2000 Fall Orientation for new stu
dents. The event will span a total of
nine days, giving all new students a
chance to learn of the opportunities
the campus has to offer.
The program will begin at 8:00 a.m.
on August 19, with the opening of
residence halls and apartments for
check-in, room keys and Orientation
packets. Commuters can also check
in at that time in the Reed
Wintergarden until 5:00 p.m.
Showers
on
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
'Vv v
; 7
*
p P r K { I ) I: K ! T
1 IVI, , ? 5 i. J I ; M i
Jen
Miles
Academics will be a larger
focus of the SGA this fall as
newly-elected president Jen
Miles takes the helm at the
start of the school year. Miles
has many goals and plans for
this semester, and with the
cooperation of senators,
council members, and student
body, some positive changes
will take place.
Miles’ main focus will be
academics, and she plans on
working to make the quality
of a Behrend education better.
She would like to form
Academic Committees for all
majors, including everything from
marketing to engineering. Students
will sit on these committees, and
they would be available when it
comes time to hire new professors
in the interview process. A student
run database could also be created,
containing information about
professors, their teaching styles, and
hpw their classes are run, so that
students will know what to expect
and which professor they’d prefer.
Student safety issues will also be
addressed, and offenses such as
prank phone calls and automobile
break-ins in the isolated parking lots
will be looked into. Miles is also
concerned about computer safety,
such as hacking and lack of privacy.
A commuter lounge is also
by Jason Snyder
editor-in-chief
by Tracy Jones
During check-in hours, Orientation
will host a family question-and-an
swer session, campus tours, a picnic
lunch, and the Academic Convocation
on the Reed Lawn, a requirement for
all new students.
After dinner in Dobbins or Bruno’s,
students are required to attend
Playfair in Erie Hall at 8:30 p.m.,
concluding the day’s activities.
August 20th will feature small
group meetings throughout the cam
pus to discuss issues brought up at the
Academic Convocation and in the
new students’ summer reading assign
ments.
Behrendpalooza gives students
their last form of entertainment before
classes begin on Tuesday. The event
will be held on Monday, August 21,
on the Ski Slope behind the Otto Be
hrend Science Building from 5:30
p.m.-8:30 p.m. Music, food and com
edy will be featured with the band
Grapevine, one of Pittsburgh’s best,
playing at 7:00 p.m.
Many student organizations have
events and activities planned to intro
duce themselves to the incoming stu
proposed, which would give
commuter students a place to relax,
watch TV, visit with friends or just
study between classes. The lounge
would provide those students a place
besides Bruno’s to hang out.
When it comes to housing, Miles
sees a few problems. One is that “the
lottery system of room assignments
implemented this year just isn’t
working. Seniority should come into
play here, so that seniors get their first
choice of housing, then juniors, and
so forth. There’s no reason for seniors
to be living in the dorms while there
are first-semester students in Ohio
Hall. They [the upperclassmen]
should have that option first,” said
Miles.
Another issue with housing is the
$795 base fee that resident students
dents throughout the week. A com
plete schedule of the week’s events
can be found in the Fall Orientation
2000 packet.
The week will give all students their
first look at the Behrend campus af
ter a summer of change. Most vis
ible to students when classes start will
be the new lighting, ceilings and air
conditioning in Upper Nick, Otto Be
hrend Science Building and Turnbull.
Other renovations include an eleva
tor in the Reed Union Building, new
furniture throughout the campus, and
a new research and teaching lab in the
biology department.
Both the new observatory and
Chapel have broken ground over the
summer, with much progress made on
the heavily anticipated Athletic and
Recreation Center (ARC). Details of
the many changes will be highlighted
in the Beacon in the coming weeks.
Senior Associate Provost and Se
nior Associate Dean Dr. Jack Burke
told the Beacon last fall, “the main
thing 1 want to do is get better.” Stu
dents entering the campus should im
mediately see what he means.
must pay for their meal plans. Miles
wants to know where it goes and what
exactly it is used for. “When you do
the math, the University is making
upwards of $2 million dollars just
from this base fee. I want to know
and want students to know just
where their money is going,” said
Miles.
Clint Skillen shares many of the
same concerns as SGA President Jen
Miles and wants to investigate simi
lar issues with her in the upcoming
year.
The proposed academic commit
tees by Miles and Skillen would al
low some students to assist in the in
terviewing and hiring process of po
tential professors. These committees
are “a really good idea because stu
dents should have a more active role
\ -M < ' I
V ) V 1
i H r r ? p% r n f i
i i I■ % I )?■ : \: |
Clint
Ski Men
in what professors we hire,”
said Skillen.
Another item to be ad
dressed is parking, particu
larly commuter parking.
“Parking is an issue that
needs constant pressure,”
said Skillen. “With a few
pleas now and then, nothing
will happen, but with that
constant pressure, things will
get done.”
Security and safety issues
concern many students, and it is im
portant to Skillen and Miles to put
an end to vehicle vandalism in the
remote resident parking lots. Com
puter and phone privacy, with hack
ing, prank calls and threats are on
going problems for resident stu
dents.
Finally, school spirit will be high
lighted, in an attempt to simply get
more of it. “The Spirit Station and
Spirit Squad did a great job this
year, and they brought a lot more
fans to sporting events than had
been there before. But there are still
many students we’d like to see sup
porting Behrend athletics. We’d
like to try to get more participation
all around, in intramurals and
dances, as well as sporting events,”
said Skillen.
II
444141.
! )N
v ‘ ) M ! S
\\ ' I
V V !:
k AL L
' i. N 1 S
B A
, i j ",
:V 1 /
! ! \ MAC
1. ; M i . ?
\KM
A! L OF
KIND'S
i u
i \ \
H : NT'S
K | ’
\ I /.. .
I f if \
UU U u
u
6 pages
■ M L
rii l s