THE BEHREND
C
DEC 0 2000
A PENN STATE ERIE STUDENT PERMICATION
1, 2000 18 pages
PENNSTATE
Erie
FALL 2000
FRIDAY - Snow
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Check page 2 for
weekend forecast
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Last issue of the semester.
Get all your events adver
tised before the Holiday
Break on the Calendar of
Events page.
Christmas shopping tips
and holiday spirit to kick
off winter break 2000/2001
Farewell to Mike Frawley
M!=MI
PAGE 2A
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The Beacon and NSBE will
co-sponsor an event aimed for
students to share their
suggestions with the Beacon
editors. The theme of the
event will be diversity, but al
are welcome
PAGE 13A
NM, (aZIN( 11
`Tis the season
for the Grinch.
Movie and Music review
NEWS
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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EDITORIAL
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FEATURES
ERII itAPPENINCS 121.
SPORTS
BEHREND SPORTS.-
NATIONAL SPORTS...
NEWSROOM: 898-6488
FAX US: 898-6019
Offices are located downstairs in
Reed Union Building
XLVIII No. 13
More snow expected after week of cancellations
More snowmen expected soon
Tensions remain high
Time running
out for Child
Care Center to
be saved
by Mike Frawley
and Katie Galley
managing editor
and editorial page editor
Parents with children at the Penn State
Behrend Child Care Center were crestfallen
after hearing the grim future of the center from
school officials.
The fate of the Penn State Behrend Child
Care center was discussed at length this week
at two meetings. The first meeting, held on
Tuesday, November 28, was sponsored by the
Women's Comission, and a second meeting
was held on Thursday, November 30,
sponsored by the Child Care Center Parent
Teacher Organization.
The first meeting held earlier in the week in
Reed 114, was attended by an estimated 50
people. It gave concerned students, faculty and
staff a chance to speak to many of the people
on the boards that will be advising Provost and
Dean John Lilley in the final decision about
the Center.
TENSIONS
continued on page 2
Financial gifts offer opportunity for growth and scholarships
by Amy Peffer
staff writer
Due to over $4 million in financial
gifts and campaign programs, Be
hrend is constructing a new chapel,
completing the observatory, and
awarding numerous scholarships.
Those giving such generous gifts in
clude families, corporations, Behrend
alumni, community members, and
Behrend faculty, all of whom are striv
ing to see Behrend students succeed.
Penn State University believes in
destiny. That belief led the Univer
sity to introduce a $1 billion campaign
entitled "A Grand Destiny." Commit
tees of students, staff, alumni, and
Penn State friends had been planning
the campaign for years before it was
officially enacted on July 1, 1996. A
Grand Destiny has four major goals
that it hopes to reach and exceed be
fore its finale on June 30, 2003. These
goals include: undergraduate student
by Mike Frawley
managing editor
Winter weather came roaring into Erie last
week with two days of blizzard like snow
storms which caused a myriad of problems for
Behrend students, faculty, and staff.
On Tuesday, November 21, area residents
awoke to 6-12 inches of snow blanketing the
ground, with reports of much more to come.
With so much snow falling in so short of a
period of time, local streets departments were
unable to keep up with getting the roads
cleared, and almost every area school was
closed by 9 a.m., including Behrend, which
cancelled all classes for the day. It was
extremely slow going on most city streets
throughout the day.
While students across the county enjoyed a
day off from their studies, the area began to
dig out in preparation for the surge of travelers
Ken Miller, center, and Dr. Peg Thorns, right, hold a meeting on Tuesday, November 28, in Reed 114.
The meeting was hosted by the Women's Commission to discuss the future of the Behrend Child Care
Center. Another meeting was held at the Child Care Center on Thursday.
support, graduate student support, fac
ulty support, and program and ongo
ing support. The main objective of
the campaign is to raise $1 billion
through private pledges and funding,
which will hopefully continue long
after the program officially ends.
Behrend Associate Provost for Ad
vancement Chris Reber called the plan
a "perpetual investment," because as
Penn State University receives dona
tions, the money is invested and the
interest in used to implement pro
grams and scholarships. Behrend,
which will likely receive $l4-15 mil
lion from A Grand Destiny, will make
scholarship endowments the focus of
its spending. The campaign has pro
vided for Behrend immensely this fall,
as scholarship services increased by
thirty-two percent, from $219,140 last
year, to $289,200 this year. Over 250
Behrend students have already ben
efited from the program, but as
pledges and donations increase, many
DECEMBER
that was sure to come the next day as people
attempted to get home for the Thanksgiving
holiday. While the snow did stop by early
afternoon on Tuesday and the roads were
slowly opened up, Mother Nature had more in
story for the Erie area on Wednesday.
Classes on Wednesday at Behrend began as
usual. The roads were clear and no snow was
falling, but by late morning snow was falling
steadily, and road conditions were
deteriorating. Local school districts began
dismissing school early, and many Behrend
students skipped their classes to get an early
start on their drive home. Behrend officially
closed the campus at 2 p.m.
Road conditions were so bad by this time
that it took many Behrend students almost five
hours to make the usual two-hour drive to
Pittsburgh. "Wednesday morning from 10:00
a.m. to 11:40 a.m., four inches of snow fell on
my car. After digging out from that, it took
more students will likely see their des
tinies through scholarship awards.
The Grand Destiny Campaign is
also receiving funds from the Erie
Community Foundation and General
Electric. The ECF donated $200,000
to install elevators in both the Reed
Union Building and the glass-enclosed
stair tower. Meanwhile, GE is in
volved with Behrend in a two-year
$175,000 plan. The GE Fund, known
as the Learning Excellence Grant, will
work with the Schools of Business and
the School of Engineering. The ob
jective is to create collaborative learn
ing environments with students and
faculty. Students will gain
entreprenurship and problem-solving
skills, both of which are vital for suc
cess in today's world.
Behrend will soon be home to a
multi-faith chapel and carillon, cour
tesy of Larry and Kathryn Smith and
their $3.1 million donation. The
Smiths announced their gift at a press
conference in the spring of 1999, and
more recently announced the expan
sion of bells in the carillon. The
Smiths, who own Automation De
vices, Inc. in Fairview, pledged to fund
the chapel after receiving support from
family, friends, and local clergy when
Larry learned that he would eventu
ally need a kidney transplant.
Kathryn Smith said about the im
portance of a campus chapel, "stu
dents are making lots of critical deci
sions in college, and many of them
will benefit by having a place to re
ceive support and guidance." The
chapel is being designed by a nation
ally renowned architect, famous for
his churches, such as the one at Camp
David. The chapel will host weddings,
baptisms, special religious events, and
possibly even community concerts.
The chapel's structure is designed to
welcome students, faculty, and com
munity members of all denominations
and beliefs.
me almost four hours to get to Pittsburgh. I
usually make the trip there in two hours," said
Behrend student Lesa Lewis Werkmeister. Both
1-90 and 1-79 were closed for various amounts
of time over both days, as many accidents,
especially ones involving tractor-trailers,
occurring along both highways.
One local accident of note occurred at the
Wal-Mart in Keystone Place along upper Peach
Street on Tuesday evening, when the Plexiglas
enclosure over the front entrance collapsed,
trapping one person for a short period of time.
It is believed that the collapse was due to the
build up of snow on the enclosure during the
storm on Tuesday.
Resident students reported that snow removal
on campus was very poor during the storm, with
SNOWFALL
continued on page 2
Ar.egvc,
Behrend released a statement re
questing that the design "inspire rev
erence, awe, contemplation, and
peace," combining the aspects of
Glenhill Farm, the Library, and the En
gineering Complex. Completion of
the chapel, which will be named for
Larry and Kathryn Smith, is projected
at July 31, 2001.
Larry Smith's parents, Juanita and
the late Floyd Smith, made a $1 mil
lion donation to Behrend in .1989 with
its purpose to be determined at a later
date. Since Floyd loved the idea of a
bell tower, Larry said that the only sen
sible thing to do was designate his
father's gift for the new bell tower and
carillon. The bell tower and carillon,
which have a complete set of forty
eight bells, should be completed in fall
LiikJ
- 2 SECTIONS
PHOTO BY JEFF MILLER
continued on page 2