View From The Lighthouse
Let's hear it for
Penn State pride
“I feel very heartsick about it
and I think it is really
embarrassing,” said State
College Borough council
member Elizabeth Goreham after
she viewed footage of the recent
riot following Penn State’s loss
to Temple in the NCAA
tournament. State College Mayor
Bill Welch deemed the riot a
“disappointment” to the town
and the Penn State community.
For those of you who do not
know what happened after the
Penn State basketball game,
here’s a recap. Police estimated
4, 000 people (by the way, that is
about the size of our entire
Behrend campus)- many of
whom were intoxicated- rushed
into “Beaver Canyon" following
Penn State's loss.
Shortly after midnight, large
crowds gathered on Beaver
Avenue and began banging street
signs. Chants like “We are Penn
State!” and “Temple Sucks!”
were heard throughout the mob.
Can you imagine, our ENTIRE
campus being involved in a riot?
Many students came to “Beaver
Canyon" to gawk at what they
expected to happen. People
arrived with cell phones, still
cameras, and video cameras to
record the "planned disturbance”
and to tell others about it.
Notice we keep saying
“planned." “I heard a lot of
people around here talking about
it,” said Jen Millin, a freshman
from Penn State Altoona.
"Everyone thinks there will be a
riot." The university did make
extra attempts to advertise
alternative activities for post
game activities. We all know
how popular those are.
Now, our question to you is
this. Is it an embarrassment to
Behrend? We here at the Beacon
are all for team spirit. “Yea Penn
State!" However, a "planned
riot" is totally unacceptable. We
(Penn State) should be proud that
we made it to the NCAA tourney.
That itself made history. Instead,
a mob of intoxicated children
ruined the moment for everyone.
It is an embarrassment to all of
us associated with Penn State.
Did you know our little
"planned riot “ made the national
news? Yep! Score one for us; the
whole world now knows about
the immaturity we have at Penn
State, courtesy of the USA Today.
What about all the good things
we do here at Penn State? Penn
The Behrend Beacon
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Managing Editor
Jeff Miller
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Liz Hayes
Erin McCarty (assisstant)
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Katie Galley
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Karl Henacci
Jermaine Hardy
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Deanna Symoski
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Abhy Long
Jeanine Noce (assistant)
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Rob Wynne
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Becky Weindorf
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Christine Kleck
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'ostal Info.
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.
State students recently raised
more than $3 million at a recent
charity event. That is
remarkable. But, we don’t see
that in the news. No, instead we
are labeled, “The Riot Kids!”
Nice Penn State.
How many of us know the
Penn State Alma Mater? "May
no act of ours bring shame to one
heart that loves thy name. May
our lives but swell thy fame Dear
Old State, Dear Old State.” The
recent riot “brought shame to the
hearts that love thy name.” Once
again. Nice PSU.
Okay- so what is the solution to
the problem? Well, for starters,
The State College Borough
Council recently passed an
ordinance “prohibiting downtown
businesses from keeping walk-up
windows open past midnight.”
Members are hoping that the
“Beaver Canyon” area will
become less of an attraction tor
people looking for something to
do. Some of the local apartment
complexes are taking the
initiative and starting to rewrite
leases, making them include
balcony violations. Some
members feel that the balconies
are contributing to a lot of the
problems.
We could blame all of this on
the weather. After all, it is
SUPPOSED to be spring.
Students are anxious for summer
and are fed up with classes. They
are looking for a fun time;
unfortunately that includes
consuming large quantities of
alcohol and doing stupid things.
However, what’s done is done
Appropriate actions have been
taken. "Like the students
involved in past riots, those
charged on Saturday will face
disciplinary proceedings within
the university Judicial Affairs
system,” said Penn State
President Graham Spanier.
Editor-in-Chief
Jason Snyder
Letter
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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.
Money Page Editor
Amortya Sinha
Health Page Editor
Sarah Orr
Advertising Manager
Ann Marie Havey
Business Manager
Kristine Harakat
Public Relations Manager
Ainslie Ulmer
Distribution Manager
Doug Smith
Secretary
Melissa Proba
Advisor
Robert Speel
The Beacon
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Baseball team defends their right to the weight room
Dear Editor,
Being a four-year member of the Behrend
baseball team, I believe 1 have the knowledge and
the right to defend this program. I would like to
bring up some points that you made in your
recent editorial in the Beacon on February 16,
2001. First of all, this team works just as hard
during the season and the off-season as any other
team at Behrend. Now I would like to address
some of your outrageous opinions you have
observed in the weight room. You obviously
have no idea what it takes to be a baseball player
and therefore have no right to judge a program
you have never been a part ot. You stated that we
should be working on our “forearms, rotator
cuffs, and upper body strength.” This is true, but
a lot of these workouts lake place in the off
season to better prepare our arms for the spring.
Our off season consisted of the months October,
Late night with
Detours and | N V
Small Potatoes
Katie Galley Jggf
mk
Disclaimer: This entire editorial contains
random thoughts that carry no common thread,
but in the end may twist together to make some
sense! I am not sure yet, because I haven’t
finished writing it yet. Read on, be surprised.
Ok, so it’s almost midnight and I need to write an
editorial, but I can’t because my right index
finger hurts. Why does it hurt, you ask? Well, I
kinda jammed it playing water polo earlier today.
Yes, that’s right, little old me is an athlete. Who
would have thought, not me! Anyway, so my
finger hurts from being an athlete. Ano lately the
Beacon has been taking crap for a certain
someone’s comments about athletes, and their
performance in the weight room, and their
overall egos in general.
Well, I’ve been an “athlete” for about two
months now, and it has rocked! All the pain, and
soreness, and early morning practices and
headbutts to the mouth, and boob gropage
(there’s a lot of that in water polo), and even
finger pains have been totally worth it. I am so
buff now that I can crush any person that weighs
under 160. Ok, that’s not true, but seriously it has
been “the time of my life” (crazy for Swayze).
Anyway, in no way do I think that ANY of the
women on the water polo team have any sort of
an ego. I think that it is unfair to label someone
as an “athlete” and say that they have an ego,
because the last time 1 checked, I do not think
Do you have an opinion about something going on around
campus? Or do you have an opinion about everything?
Think you have what it takes to write editorials? The Beacon
is currently looking for new editorial columnists for this fall.
Send an original sample editorial of at least 500 words to
behrcoll2@aol.com. Deadline is April 13 at 5:00 p.m.
■jaL -i-
n* Movement
I CANT 6ELIEVE WHAT
THEY DOHT PVT IN HERE?
LETS PROTEST/
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
November, and December. Don t worry, 1 assure
you that during this time the team worked very
hard. You also addressed the MYTH that in order
for a baseball player to hit harder and throw
further he must have upper body strength. 11 you
want to get a point across, you have to get rid of
your ignorance. To use some ol your words, if 1
may Jared, “1 thought the misconception of getting
a bigger upper body to hit harder and throw' further
went out in the 80’s. You see Jared, our players go
on the steppers, treadmills, and do crunches (Hugh
Hefner's if you prefer) because to hit harder and
throw further a ball player needs a strong lower
body (legs and abdominals). But you knew this
being the w'eight room guru that you are boasting
to be. When it comes to some people leaning
when they are on the stepper, that is because the
team has already been practicing for about an hour
to an hour and a half. The 20 minute workout each
Kate
that 1 am “the bomb,” nor do 1 think that I fit the
profile of any of the "weight room characters.”
Maybe this is because I am a female and only
guys are important enough to be labeled. Yeah,
that was a cheap shot. However, I do not wish to
encourage anymore pontificating about the
subject, so please just let it go.
So, onto the next subject...too bad 1 don’t know
what it is yet. Oh yeah, is it the end of the
semester yet? 1 have had it with this one. As a
senior 1 am obligated to do absolutely nothing and
that’s pretty much what I have done too! And I
never thought that it would happen, but I may
have run out of things to complain about. You
heard it here first, I have nothing to say this week.
That makes me quite sad though because my reign
as the Editorial Page Editor of the Beacon is
coming to an end. I promise that my last editorial
will be the editorial to end all editorials. I won’t
let anyone down!
That brings me to the next thing that I want to
talk about this week. It’s about trying something
new. Early on in the semester I saw the movie
Charlie’s Angels , and it rocked. It completely
inspired me get up and do something, I wanted to
kick some butt! So I started taking kick-boxing
and then started with the water polo. Thank you,
Drew. It also helped that one of my New Year’s
resolutions was to do something new that I have
never done before, so I decided that there was no
time like the present and I got up off my butt and
"just did it.” And eventhough the kick-boxing
made me sweat and stink and the water polo
practices and games leave me with a beet-red
face, 1 am so glad that I am doing it
The point of all the previous code-talking was
to make a point that no matter what you haven’t
done in the past, there is no reason why you can’t
try it in the present. Writing for a newspaper and
playing water polo were two things that I never
pictured myself doing, ever. And when I came to
FRIDAY, MARCH 30,2001
2001
X CANY BELIEVE WHAT
THE/ PUTIN HERE/
LETS PROTEST/
individual spends in the weight room is only a
small portion ot our normal 2 to 3 hour practice,
6 days a week. If you can do the math on that, I
would say that is a little more than your 10-12
hours a week. Two days out of the week, there
are two practices held during the day. Unless
you’re Superman, I think you will show some
fatigue in certain areas of practice. What do you
think Jared? Regardless of what you think of our
workouts (whether they are right or wrong), this
is what our coaches tell us to do during practice.
1 do believe that everyone has the right to his
or her opinion, even you. I just felt that the team
deserves credit for being a part of the Penn State
Behrend athletic program and that we deserve
credit for the hard time and work that we put in
Behrend Baseball Player
Behrend I got the opportunity to do both. So
don’t look down upon people trying new things.
That is what makes us who were are, rather than
who we wish we could be. Anyone who is
willing to go out there and try something that is
completely unlike them is brave and willing to
live life to its fullest. 1 have been on both sides
of the mirror, and I much prefer to be on the side
that gets out and does interesting and new
things!
I honestly can’t believe that my time here at
Behrend is almost up. It seems like I just got
here, and now in one more semester, I have to
leave...or pay to live in Almy forever. College
has been a blast and 1 hope that everyone here
takes all the opportunites that this campus has to
offer. As much as we here at the Beacon (and
everyone else on campus) complain that there is
nothing to do, there really is, you just have to
take a little initiative to find it. So yeah, read the
colored posters that litter the hallway walls every
once and a while.
Also, don’t forget to be thankful for the people
in your lives right now, because I can promise
you that you will never meet another crew like
them. My best advice this week would be to find
the great things about your environment, rather
than bash and insult everything that you think
sucks! It’s no fun to be constantly looking down
upon everything, and it makes you look like a
jerk.
Since there really is no point to this week’s
editorial, I think I will end it here. I have a ton of
shout-outs to give, but I think that I am going to
save that for my final editorial. Thanks for
reading and I will catch ya’ll next time. But hey,
what’s one shout-out? To the ladies of the water
polo team: Let’s rock these next two weekends,
because I’ll miss you all when it’s over!
Galley’s column appears every three weeks.