View From The Lighthouse
It's freezing...inside?
As the temperatures outside
drops, throughout the month of
January, residence hall students
are feeling the chill. Both in
Almy and Ohio Hall there seems
to be a major problem with the
heating system. Whether students
are using washcloths and cold
water to trick the thermostat or
space heaters, the efforts are not
paying off. Hall coordinators,
RA's, and students are doing
everything possible to stay warm
in the two residence halls. Many
students in the dorms have
complained that cold air is coming
out of the vents in the rooms.
Therefore, despite the thermostat
reading, the rooms are much
colder than students would prefer.
So, should students have to
resort to sleeping in sweats under
17 blankets in order to stay warm
at night? All residents of on
campus housing are paying a very
large amount in order to live in
these dorms. It is their right to
have proper heating. But in one
particular room the air
conditioning is always on, despite
the very cold temperatures. Even
though the thermostat is well over
80 degrees, the temperature barely
rises above 65 degrees. This has
resulted in an uncomfortable
climate that makes falling and
staying asleep difficult. When the
resident assistant was approached,
he merely stated that he had the
same problem, so there was
nothing he could do about it.
When the housekeeper was
questioned, she actually did
apologize, and gave the residents
a space heater in order to bear the
cold chill.
Another student has explained
how in his suite they must put
cold water on a washcloth and
place it on the thermostat. This
tricks the thermostat into
increasing the amount of heat that
is being emitted. Yet another
student has attempted to cover the
vent in order to prevent the cool
air from affecting the temperature
as much. Are these techniques
very safe? It would be much
cheaper to fix the heating system,
instead of having to replace the
building from a fire. What is
expected of the students?
Residents are doing whatever
possible to deal with the situation
at hand.
It is ridiculous that students are
having these problems. Housing
has been working on improving
the system in order to appease the
students. This problem is not the
fault of vandalism or negligence
on the students' part. So, why is it
the students are dealing with the
consequences? Students realize
how tight Behrend is in
THE BEHREND BEACON
published v'eekl by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Editor-in-Chief
Jason Snyder
Managing Editor
News Editors
Liz Hayes
Erin McCarty (assisstant)
Editorial Page Editor
Katie Galley
Features Editors
Karl Benacci
Jermaipie Hardy
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Deanna ,STNni()4l
Sports Editors
Abby Lvng
Jeanine Noce (a.siAkan
Wire Service Editor
Rob Wynne
Photo Editors
Berk• ll'einclorf
Neil Makadia (assimail
Associate Editor
Christine Klerk
Copy Editor
Paige Miles
Money Page Editor
Amortya Sinha
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.
accomodating a large amount of
residents on campus, but the ones
that are paying to live here
deserve heating!
Dan Schiesser, residence life
coordinator in Almy and Ohio, is
very familiar with the heating
problems in both of the residence
halls. He explained the problem
lies in the circulation system in the
buildings. For some reason the air
is redirected, therefore pure heat is
not going into the rooms. This
results in the cold breeze, which
comes from the vents. He also
assumes that this problem will not
be taken care of, because the fault
is in the circulation system, and
they can't replace the whole
system. That is where housing
comes in
James Bowen from housing was
also very amicable in discussing
this issue. Over the holiday break
two different companies worked
on the system due to the
complaints of several students.
He explained, "these are not heat
pump systems. they are geo
thermal systems. The air that is
being pumped from the ground is
a constant 55 degrees. This air
then is warmed by heating coils."
Also, even though students set
their thermostats to 80 degrees,
the set temperature for rooms are
at 72 degrees. This can fluctuate
up to three degrees in either
direction.
Students living on campus have
to deal with a tight money
situation. Residents pay a very
large amount for food, with the
$B3O base cost, and a large room
and board fee. Where is this
money going? If it is not going
towards maintenance to solve the
problem, the least that can he done
is providing space heaters for all
rooms with heating problems.
Students realize the large costs
that are included in living on
campus. They do pay the bill
every semester! So, although it is
expensive to run the heat during
the winter it is a benefit to the
students in order to be
comfortable.
Jeff Miller
Public Relations Manager
Letter Policy: The Beacon
encourages letters to the editor.
Letters should include the address,
phone number, semester standing
and major of the writer. Writers can
mail letters to behrcoll2@aol.com.
Letters must be received no later
than 5 p.m. Tuesday for inclusion
in that week's issue.
EMI
Health Page Editor
Sarah Orr
Advertising Manager
Ann Marie Harvey
Business Manager
Kristine Harakal
Ainslie Ulmer
Distribution Manager
Doug Smith
Secretary
Melissa Praha
Advisor
Robert Speel
4 11 Ob
1. •
Resolve this!
Welcome back to Behrend everyone! Hope
your break was an enjoyable and restful one.
Except for a few days where I forced myself
to be lazy, I was on the run the whole time;
credit cards bills made me do it! So for this
year and this editorial, I want to make my
resolutions public.
Normally I think that resolutions are for the
weak. No one sticks to them, so they are made
in vain and often times made at our most
intoxicated times. So why even bother? They
are usually the same old ones over and over
again, "I vow to be a better person, I vow to
stop smoking, I vow to watch what I eat," blah,
blah, blah, you get the point. So this year, I
made resolutions, but ones that are easily
attainable.
Resolution number one: I vow to make an
honest attempt to go to all my classes. Because
as I have often pontificated about, I ant paying
for these classes, so I might as well go to them
and see what all the fuss is about. In
conjunction to that resolution, I also vow never
again to schedule an eight o'clock class
because I will never go to it. I am simply not a
morning person and much like the sample
resolutions from the beginning, it is foolish to
think that I would follow through with it.
Resolution number two: I vow to once again
remember what it was like to be under 21. 1
never drank until I was 21, and then all of a
sudden it was the greatest thing in the world! I
could not believe what I had been missing. I
completely enjoy the atmosphere when I go
out; it is fun and lively. And often times people
who are probably not fun and people that I
would not normally associate with become my
`friends.' So I will be the designated driver
more and be the friend that helps get you home
at night.
Resolution number three: I vow to go to bed
earlier. Last semester all I did was hang out in
Attention students, faculty and staff!
This is your pagee too, and we want to
know what you think. Tell us about
an y and all gripes, com Plaints,
cPmPliments and raves You have about
13elirend. Don't go on being unheard!
Send all letters to belirc()ll2@aol.cicsrli
~, , t . , th editor Letters bone
number
Letterpolicy: The Beacon , encourages '.e!te , , !s '' e
~ ,l l
~
semester standing and ma j or o f the writer..: W ri te ''.*„ 1: , , ,,, rnailletters to I:lehrcoll2@aol.com. Letters artist be
received no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday for:!ncinsion in that week's issue.
"1 ~
Detours and
Small Potatoes
Katie Galley
- •
either one of two places. In the lovely Beacon
office with my friends until two and three in the
morning, or at the end of my wing in Almy hall
until two or three in the morning. Then I would
wake up between eight and nine in the morning
and go to class and the cycle would repeat day
after day. Then I would try to catch up on my
sleep during the weekends. As a result I was
tired and run down all the time. And sometimes I
was unusually cranky; who would have guessed
that with only five hours sleep a night?
Resolution number four: I vow to try
something new that I never have before. And I
am not talking about jumping out of an airplane
or anything, because that's just crazy. But I will
try out something new here on campus. Maybe I
will eat the food that I get in Brunos at the tables
they provide, instead of coming back to where I
normally hang out. Maybe I will sit with the
people that eat outside of Brunos, the ones that
are there almost as much as we are in the Beacon
office.
Resolution number five: I vow not to
procrastinate...ok, that's a lie, I have
procrastinated everyday these first two weeks of
the new year, so I really can't make promises to
myself that I have no intention of keeping!
Resolution number six: I vow to not watch so
much television this year. I mean, how many old
reruns of Friends can I watch before they stop
being funny? And I vow to start reading more.
There are things out there called books that take
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 , 2001
_.7 , I
up a majority of the space in our library
Sometimes they even make movies out of these
`books' (see more about that on our Arts and
Entertainment page). I used to read all the
time, but college has taken the will to want to
read out of me. This year I will try to read one
non-school book a week, my first book will be
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,
or maybe Fit or Fat.
Resolution number seven: To turn off my
freakin' computer. A quick example for you;
last night I was on my computer until three in
the morning using my instant messanger. Now,
I feel that even though I just admitted to
breaking one of my resolutions (see number
three), my reasons for being on the 'Net last
night were important...however other nights my
reasons have been weak! So no more staying
up until the butt crack of dawn dishing over
Temptation Island, no more burning CD's until
the wee hours of the morn, and no more
looking at porn when you should be sleeping
(that one wasn't necessarily about me, but you
get the picture)!
So, in general, I guess my resolutions are to
break the habits that make me fit into the mold
of the 'typical college student.' And while this
is not a bad thing, because I know that these are
the only times that I will be able to live like
this, it does seem like we have it really easy.
So, my goals are to continue having fun, but at
the same time to remember how lucky I have it
and to try not to be such a chucklehead. The
new year is all about a new beginning, and
even though I think that is the cheesiest saying
in the world, I suppose that it makes sense.
One final resolution: Not to talk in codes
anymore...or did I already break that one too?
Have a great semester.
Galley's column appears every three weeks.
P
sr./