"Yes they are singled
out in society their
stories aren't going to be
treated as credible as a
white person's stories."
Chad Eades
DUS, 02
oore attempts to organize senior class gift project
by John Federowicz
staff writer
"Stop griping and start giving"
is a rallying cry to all future
Behrend senior classes who are
tired of being ineffective and
yearning to be productive.
With a new program launched
by Behrend next year and
supervised by Kevin Moore, the
campus' new alumni relations
director, the school hopes to
incorporate a long-standing
tradition of senior class "gift
giving" from Penn State
University into local campus
student life.
While his job is to spearhead the
initial push for organized
donations for the campus, Moore
stated that after student gift-giving
committees are elected, he will be
more of an advisor and negotiator
with University administration,
adopting a strictly "hands off"
approach. The goal is to make
senior class gift-giving an entirely
student driven project.
Whether the senior gifts take the
Children,
by Hillary Hawranko
staff writer
Story time as a child may have
been taken for granted by many, but
not every child has the opportunity
to enjoy having stories read to him
or her. Erie is one of 150 cities in
the United States with a high rate
of illiteracy among children. The
First Book Erie organization works
to provide children with books so
that they can learn to read.
As part of this organization, the
Penn State Behrend Bookstore has
received 4,000 books and $lO,OOO
in order to provide books to needy
families in the area. In conjunction
with this donation, the Bookstore
has also been offering a "Read to
Kids" program twice a year for the
past two and a half years. Under
the coordination of Jan Gatti, assis
tant manager of the Bookstore, and
volunteered help from Alpha Sigma
need a INEY
vaii lot That's Owe Cdadlinen ca
=Z
orn ; A _ chre
' comes in to wig o
lob that paid wen and wow
Did you ever owe° uit - - coup le gs you ran
aftlundaimed the nadores ilirstaand most staxessful
comPerti• We a le° c4fer *
*1"6 11001S11194(° SakS Nellr" ent66VeS
:=1 a r fis Op" 1160"1111 Wits
tilleVolio poky
..441114Ywisel oialhokelb
• seedb MAO
‘lhebtgwrnmeZrolet.fortanintelviereuns.calusait.
) /OLI think that
r ' .
"I have personally never
witnessed it I don't
think it happens."
Gina Zmijewski
GAS, 08
form of scholarship allocation or
on-campus beautification is up to
the student-elected, student-run
committees. Not only does this
give Behrend students autonomy
over actual campus milestones, it
also encourages open debate and
group participation.
Students must therefore arrive at
a financially manageable,
administration-approved
brainchild; at the same time, they
must initiate fund-raisers in order
to bring their collegiate vision to
fruition. All-in-all, senior class
gift-giving is a dynamic process
that allows students to earn the
experience of conceptualization,
implementation, and finally
realization of their dreams to
weave an intimate piece of
themselves into the historic
tapestry of the campus.
Through senior class gift
giving, "the senior class is truly
given an opportunity to leave their
mark on campus," added Moore.
Though this is the first time
Behrend has undertaken this
project, Moore is confident that
college students, books, and a pig suit
The sisters of ASA (one of whom is in the pig suit), assisted the
Bookstore in providing a reading program for kids on Saturday.
Alpha sorority, this program has
been a success.
The two-week program began on
Saturday, April 14, in the Bookstore.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
pa/ice
• . ire•- ,••
..• • „
,
"Yes, I do think some police
officers do discriminate.
Officials of cities should try
to implement a diversity
workshop to better . . .
handle ethnic groups."
Sharise Finley
Marketing, 04
senior gift-giving will be as viable
here as it is at University Park.
With a long history of graduating
class gifts, University Park's
annals of senior projects are
impressive; among its roster of
past senior donations are portraits,
civil war commemorative tablets,
student aid funds, gateways, busts
of eminent figures, the clock for
the Old Main tower, scholarships,
book collections, memorial class
ivies, and, most recently, this
year's project in-the-works
rows of Shepherd's crook lights to
line the walkways of Old Main.
Moore suggests that with an
average fundraising total of
between $85,000 and $lOO,OOO for
University Park gift giving, it is a
realistic forecast to project that
Behrend, with 10% of the student
population of its parent university,
will be able to raise about $8,500
to $lO,OOO for its own senior class
gift. Moore is confident that
University Park's student devotion
to their alma mater will ignite
Behrend's own school spirit flame.
This event attracted 35 children of
all ages to enjoy the story If You
Give a Pig a Pancake, written by
Laura Numeroff. Miranda
lac hi!
. •
INN
"No, but I think that they
are singled out too much."
Jordan Kloss
MIS, 02
Kevin Moore began as the new Alumni Relations Director at the
beginning of this year.' In addition tocultivating the growing crowd of
Behrend alumni, Moore works with current student groups like the
Lion Ambassadors.
Galbreath, a sister of Alpha Sigma
Alpha, read the story enthusiasti
cally to the audience. Denise
Nowacinski, also a member of the
sorority, dressed in a costume as the
pig character from the story.
Nowacinski entertained the children
by dancing, posing for pictures, and
signing autographs.
In previous years, the "Read to
Kids" program has improved lit
eracy to children of all ages. A cos
tumed character related to the story
being read adds entertainment and
makes reading fun for children.
The first costumed character
event sponsored by the bookstore
was Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat.
The second character and book read
was Felix the Rabbit. The latter
story focused on third and fourth
graders and taught a lesson in ge
ography as Felix traveled around the
world. Last semester the sisters of
Alpha Sigma Alpha showed an in-
"Some cops out there
will do that, but I feel
that most are fair."
Tim Durst
Management, 06
terest in the program and volun
teered to dress in the Jesse Bear cos
tume and read to children at local
grade schools, libraries, and in the
bookstore.
The Bookstore has been making
numerous attempts to lower the il
literacy rate among children in Erie.
There is a children's book section
in the Bookstore for education ma
jors who need to build up a library
of children's books. A discount is
offered to such students as encour
agement to share a reading experi
ence with children.
As a whole, the First Book Erie
organization has also been working
to raise money for books to donate
to families in the area. On May 2,
Baskin Robbins in the Millcreek
Mall will be giving away free
scoops of ice cream between 6:00
and 9:00 p.m. For every scoop they
give away, money will be donated
to the First Book Erie organization.
Niagara
Hall
student
torches
room,
building
evacuated
by Liz Hayes
news editor
In the wee hours of the morning
on Tuesday, April 17, a student in
Niagara apparently tried to make
a blow torch out of an aerosol can
and ended up setting a bonfire on
the floor.
At 1:41 a.m. a fire was lit in a
third-floor room in Niagara Hall
when a student used a lighter to
ignite an aerosol can, according to
Police and Safety Services. The
can then caught on fire and was
dropped onto the floor, which then
caused the fire to spread to mate
rials on the floor and behind a re
frigerator, stated this report.
After failing to smother the fire
with a blanket, the student re
trieved a dry chemical fire extin
guisher from the hallway and put
out the fire, P&S said.
Niagara's fire alarm system
sounded as intended, alerting P&S
and local safety officials, includ
ing the Brookside Volunteer Fire
Department. M. G. Syed, the resi
dence coordinator for Niagara and
Lawrence Halls living in Niagara,
promptly evacuated the building.
Niagara students waited out the in
cident in the Perry Hall lobby un
til they were allowed back into the
building at approximately 2:45
a.m.
Housing and Food Services pur
chases fire-retardant furniture for
the residence halls, so damage was
limited to approximately $7BO.
Currently Niagara Hall does not
contain sprinklers; only Ohio and
Almy Halls do. Housing plans to
install sprinklers in the suites and
in several apartments this summer,
and in the remaining apartments
and the traditional residence halls
in the summer of 2002 which
would include Niagara.
According to P&S, the incident
is still under investigation, so no
official actions have been taken by
the University against the student
or students involved. According
to Nancy Panapento, associate di
rector of student affairs, those in
volved will eventually go through
the standard University process.
The student(s) will be referred to
judicial affairs and will undergo
investigation. Actions could range
from deferred suspension the
student(s) would be able to attend
classes but not participate in ex
tracurricular activities to expul
sion. After the University hands
out a sanction, the student(s) will
have the opportunity to accept or
appeal this sanction at a disciplin
ary conference.