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FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2001
The Inheritors to end Foreign
by Mark Benko
staff writer
Penn State Erie, the Behrend
College, will present the film The
Inheritors, directed by Stefan
Ruzowitzky, in the Reed Union
Lecture Hall on Tuesday, at 7:00 p.m.
This is the final film in the 2000-
2001 Women's Film Series.
This internationally acclaimed,
award-winning drama is set in a
small Austrian town around the turn
of the 20th century. When a
tyrannical farm lord is brutally
murdered, he completely disrupts the
rigid class structure of the town by
leaving his entire estate to the peasant
workers he mistreated throughout his
life.
The peasants seize the opportunity
to escape their oppression by
refusing to sell the estate to an
aristocrat who intends to add it to his
small empire. This refusal represents
a direct threat to the other farmers in
the area, who fear that other peasants
may get the idea that they, too, could
control their own lives.
Cell phones becoming more necessary today
by Susan John
staff writer
It's late at night and you're all
alone, driving home on a deserted
street, when suddenly you get a flat
tire. You're unfamiliar with the part
of town you're in. What do you do?
Well, if you have joined the latest
craze, you'd pick up your cell phone
and make a call for someone to
come and help you in your
desperate situation. Today, millions
of people own cell phones, whether
it's just for emergencies or whether
it's just to keep in touch.
"I don't know what I'd do without
my cell phone," said Denae
Markiliski, a student at Indiana
University of Pennsylvania. "If I
have a question it's right there. I
get information on parties,
emergencies or just to talk,
especially to friends at different
colleges."
Two of the major service
providers in this area are Cellular
One and Verizon Wireless (formerly
Bell Atlantic). Cellular One (from
Dobson Cellular Systems) has been
a cellular service provider since
1990 with markets in Oklahoma,
Texas, Kansas, Missouri,
Pennsylvania, Maryland,
California, Ohio, West Virginia and
Arizona. In 1999 it was named one
of the top 20 cellular carriers in the
country.
Cellular One started off as a
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Have you gone on a road trip lately?
If so, this is your last chance to write about it and send your entry to
behrcolls@aol.com no later than Tuesday, April 17, to be considered
for winning slso.
Cruisilk AsH
win $25 0
Contest Rules
Any Behrend student can submit a 300-500 word story about a road trip they have
taken since the end of the spring 2000 semester. The trip must be more than 150 miles
from the original location. A photo must accompany entry with sufficient proof that the
trip was made. Insufficient proof will lessen chances to win contest. If more than one
student took part in the road trip, only the student submitting the story is eligible, unless
all members send name in with entry. If more than one student name appears on entry,
prize will be divided amongst the students who entered. Send in entries as soon as
possible to ensure publication in the Beacon. Only entries appearing in the Beacon will
be voted on. Beacon members are ineligible and will vote on the winner.
The film is packed with ironic plot
twists about the history of farmers
and their attempts to subjugate the
working class. The cruelty of the
aristocrats is ignored by the local law
enforcement, and the peasants are
looked upon as ignorant upstarts, who
do not know their place in society.
This film is a detailed, highly
personal probe into the struggle
against class oppression and
prejudice. Ruzowitzky's portrayal of
this struggle is tragic and at times
heart wrenching. The characters are
utterly intriguing and perfectly
believable. At times the film is
humorous, but the humor gives way
to some deeply disturbing, suspense
filled and sometimes violent
sequences.
The acting in this film is superb, as
good as it gets. The movie is " a
beautiful, stylish film and an
uncommonly satisfying and stirring
experience," said Kevin Thomas of
the Los Angeles Times.
The film was "utterly magnificent!
An entrancing mix of stunning
photography, first-rate acting and
company directed towards
providing service to customers in
rural areas and has since stayed at
this position
The philosophy behind Cellular
One is aggressiveness,
competitiveness, and commitment.
It also claims that it has always
stressed the needs of the customer
above all else.
Cellular One offers two major
brands of wireless phones, Nokia
and Motorola, which include
different ranges of talk time and
standby time. These range
anywhere between one hour to eight
hours of talk time and between 20
minutes to 32 hours of standby time.
As for service plans, they range
between 100 and 1400 minutes of
local home airtime. Some of the
plans offer additional features such
as call waiting, three way calling,
caller ID, voicemail, call
forwarding, message waiting
indicator, and text messaging. Also
with the service plans you can add
features that you want for an
additional cost. So, you can choose
a plan that best suits your calling
needs. Pricing on the service plans
range between $2O and $l5O a
month.
Verizon Wireless is the largest
wireless communications provider
in the United States with more than
27.5 million customers. This
company is jointly owned by Bell
Atlantic, GTE, and Vadafone.
Featu
striking storytelling," raved The New
York Post.
This totally compelling film is rated
R, and does contain both violence and
nudity. It is in German, with English
subtitles.
I could not take my eyes off the
screen during the last 20 minutes of
this movie. At one point I was literally
open-mouthed and would not answer
my phone, or acknowledge that it was
ringing. If you are interested in serious
cinema, this one is not to be missed.
The Behrend student body has
Professor Ursula Davis to thank for her
outstanding selection of films in this
year's series. After seeing all three
films, and having been somewhat of a
film buff myself for a number of years,
I am finding myself drawn into
wanting to take one of her film
courses, or at least tracking her down
and finding out what other film; she
would recommend.
The Women's film series is free and
open to the public, and is sponsored
by the Office of Student Affairs. For
more information students or faculty
are asked to call (814) 898-6171.
Verizon Wireless operates in 25
countries on five continents.
According to its website,
customers can expect the company
to offer innovative, competitively
priced voice and data products and
services of the highest quality and
best in class customer service. It
offers brands of wireless phones
such as Audiovox, Kyocera, LGIC,
Motorola, and Nokia. As for
service plans, Verizon Wireless
offers anywhere from 50 minutes
to 3,000 minutes ranging between
$25 to $205 per month, and like
Cellular One, you can also add in
any additional features that you
may want for your phone at an
additional price.
"I wouldn't be able to call as
many friends and keep in touch
long distance without my free
minutes on my cell," said Amy
Tower, a Penn State Behrend
student.
Also, there are many different
accessories that can be purchased
for the phone that you choose, with
either Verizon Wireless or Cellular
One. These include the charger, car
lighter charger, leather carrying
case, hands free vehicle charger,
lithium battery, travel charger,
different face plates for certain
models of cell phones, and data
connectivity kits (which allows the
user to have Internet access, send
faxes, emails data, CD-ROM).
Cellular phones are becoming
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Film Series with a bang
is and
m or e
When choosing to get connected
to the wireless world there are
some guidelines to follow in order
to get a phone that works best for
you.
convenient.
The earlier
models used to
be huge and
heavy, making
it very
awkward to
carry them
around. Today,
they are smaller
and lighter.
They even have
models that are
small enough to
fit inside a
pocket or a
purse.
1. Choosing the model of the phone:
There are two basic types of phones,
analog and digital. The prices of
phones can range between $2O-$4OO,
depending on the manufacturer and
the model.
Also, cell
phones
becoming more
personal. You
can put in your
own welcome
note that can
range from
your favorite
quote to just
having your
name appear
when you turn on your phone. There
is also the option. of buying different
faceplates for your phone. This
costs around $2O. These can be
either your 'favorite color, your
favorite sports team or even just
something you really like, for
example, ocean,life.
Of course, these options are only
NSBE takes award winning road trip
On March 14, members of the
National Society of Black Engineers
(NSBE) left Penn State Behrend to
attend our 27t h annual national
convention in Indianapolis, In. The
convention was a five-day excursion
filled with programs and events to
provide professional development
and networking opportunities for the
more than 10,000 members of the
organization.
The convention offered a multitude
of activities, including a two-day
career fair with more than 300 of the
top companies. Workshops covered
areas such as career management, e
commerce, and cultural and
community awareness. There were
training sessions on HTML, software
testing, and developing a business.
The convention offered a number of
competitions sponsored by
prestigious corporations, so that
members could show off their
technical ability. These included a
Boeing flight competition, a technical
paper contest, and an oratorical
contest.
There were also a number of
corporate networking suites available
to talk with company representatives.
To help us unwind after a long day of
attending workshops, meetings, and
networking events, there were parties,
live bands and a comedy show.
The highlight of our trip to the
arz in love scene
2. Determine your personal calling
needs: Estimate how often you will
be using your phone. Is it just for
dnergeticie:f. to keep ip touch with
friends and family?
3. Define the features you want:
Decide exactly what functions you
want your phone to have. Do you
want voicemail? Text messaging?
Caller ID?
4. Select a coverage area that suits
you: Consider where your home
area is
conversation and I'll just get cut
off," said Tower.
There are also the issues of health
risks (which are still being tested)
and the use of the wireless phone
while driving (there have been
regulations made about driving and
talking on cellular phones due to
accidents).
National Convention was when our
chapter was named the Region II
Small Chapter of the Year. This is a
prestigious award given to one small
chapter in each of NSBE's six
regions, to honor the hard work and
continued execution of programs that
promote the mission and vision of
NSBE on a chapter level.
I must say, attending the
convention was quite an experience
for me, and even more so for the
chapter members who had the
pleasure of attending as well.
Although, this was the second year I
went to NSBE's National
Convention, I was especially pleased
From left to right: NSBE members Shea Johnson, Dante Spain,
Angelique Parker, Demeca Howard, Cheon Graham, & Anthony
Bineyard on their way to a banquet at the National Society of Black
En • ineers Homecoming Convention 2001.
om Inheritors, which
But there is also an alternative to
driving and talking on a cell phone,
as companies have come up with the
hands free attachment. This makes
it possible to keep both hands on the
wheel while driving and talking and
this also makes it easier to write or
type while talking on the phone.
available with
certain models
of cellular
phones. Also.
some common
features on
models of
cellular phones
are games such
as Snake and
Another downside to cellular
phones is the nuisance issue. They
can interrupt or distract people in
restraunts, classrooms, or movies.
It can be pretty annoying when
you're in a theater and someone's
cell phone starts ringing and then
they either ignore it or they answer
it and begin to have a conversation.
Keeping all of these issues in
mind, many still say that they would
rather have cellular phones than not
to have them, downsides and all.
They're more common today,
becoming more of a necessity than
a luxury.
Memory, an
alarm clock and
a phonebook,
so you don't
have to go
searching for
phone
numbers.
As with most
everything
there are
downsides to
cellular phones
and service
"I think they are a terrific
invention. They have allowed us to
reach people everywhere, which
can be good in emergency
situations," said Jennifer Crawford,
another Penn State Behrend student.
providers
"Sometimes I
have really bad
reception and it
gets frustrating,
I'll he in a
Choosing a service provider
might take some research to find out
what works best for you, but it helps
to remember the four steps to
getting connected. You might find
that you really don't have a use for
a cellular phone or you might even
find that you could not imagine how
you'd ever survive without one.
to share this unforgettable time with
my members, and if I am correct in
speaking for our chapter members, I
can say that the conference afforded
them the opportunity to meet and
network with other black engineering
students and professionals, who came
together for one week in Indianapolis,
In. with the same idea in mind--to
support the mission of NSBE, which
is to increase the number of
culturally responsible black
engineers, who excel academically,
succeed professionally, and
positively impact the community.
y at B
ys Tue
-Meisha Watkins
EET 08