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The Behrend Beacon
THE BEHREND BEACON
othh,hedueeki.v/u.the,thaew,o/mythsthierrie.ihenehrem/(.oth-;e
News Editor
Liz Haves
Asst. News Editor
Erin McCarty
Sports Editor
Mike Bello
Asst. Sports Editor
Kate Levdansky Petrikis
Editorial Page Editor
Ben Kunjman
Features Editor
Karl Benacei
A&E Editor
Jeanine Noce
Wire Service Editor
Guv Reschenthaler
Health Page Editor
SarahOt r
•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.
A View From The Lighthouse
Reality loopholes
We have all heard about reality TV:
"Survivor", "Big Brother", "The
Mole", "Temptation Island". And, of
course, let's not forget "The Real
World" that really isn't and perhaps
the show we have to blame for all the
The media, critics, sociologists,
psychologists, and whateverologists
have all gone to the edge and back
analyzing these programs and
explaining to us simpletons how unlike
reality these shows really are. And we
get it. They aren't real; they are the
creations of some television executive
types who decide how to best entertain
us and pull in the almighty Dollar.
And that's all well and good. The
majority of the population isn't fooled
into thinking "The Real World" is the
real world. But are there other things
we consider real that really aren't?
Are there things on television and in
the newspapers that are presented as
reality but really aren't? Do you really
have to ask?
Let's take all these shark attacks for
example. Oh my goodness, it isn't safe
to swim in the ocean anymore. Put one
foot in the water and you're dead meat.
Sharks lurking under every white cap.
Sharks, sharks, sharks. This is the worst
season for shark attacks in years, if not
ever.
Well, not quite. The fact is, it's not
any worse than it usually is; there were
just as many shark attacks last year as
there have been this year. Actually, if
we want to be accurate (which we do),
there have been fewer shark attacks this
year than last. According to the
International Shark Attack File that is
maintained by the Florida Museum of
Natural History, there were 79
confirmed shark attacks in the world
in 2000. As of Sept. 3, there have been
only 49 reported attacks this year.
Furthermore, since we are doing our
research, while the number of attacks
per year has steadily increased, the
percentage of people being attacked has
stayed pretty much the same for the past
10 years. In other words, there are more
people in the water to get attacked. That
doesn't necessarily mean shark attacks
are a bigger problem.
So! What's all the hype about? Sure,
we want to know where the really
unsafe places to swim/surf/jet ski/
skinny dip are. But why is it a bigger
deal this year than last year? Why are
we more worried about jumping in the
water now? Because we have been led
to believe it's worse.
If the media hadn't told us there was
a problem, we wouldn't be so
concerned. Sure, it is important to know
there is a risk and to know the
precautions. That's where the media
comes in handy; indeed, to keep the
people informed is the primary purpose
Editor-in-Chief
Robert Wynne
Managing Editor
Jeffrey Miller
Asst. Managing Editor
Paige Miles
Professional Publication Mgr.
Dave Richards
Advisor
Mr. John Kerwin
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
mutt be received no later than
5 p.m. Sunday for inclusion in that
of the media. But there is a line between
informing us and whipping us into a
feeding frenzy (pun intended).
"So what?" you ask, rather bored by
this time and rapidly being distracted
by the latest reality show on the tube.
Well, doesn't it bother you in the least
to know that someone else can
completely determine not only what
you know, but how you think about it?
It's good you know about the shark
problem. But why do you think it's a
problem? Did you come up with that
thought on your own, or was it implied
elsewhere and you just adopted it'? Just
because there were a few shark attacks
doesn't mean we've reached national
disaster phase. But if you mention the
words "shark attacks" to John Q.
American on the street, odds are he'll
reply, "Yeah, they're a real problem this
year."
We communications majors had an
introduction to this that the general
population may not have had. Let us
educate you (and show off to our profs
who will be determining whether or not
we graduate). This phenomenon is
called media framing. Whatever the
media writes about is what you care
about. There you go, four years of
classes and lectures narrowed down to
one sentence. Now all you need to know
is the model of communication and the
COMBA degree is yours.
But seriously, if the campus
newspaper didn't write about issues on
campus, would you still be concerned
about them? Would you even know
about them? Though it may sometimes
seem hard to believe (especially for the
paper's staff), people do occasionally
read the paper and get fired up about
things that are mentioned. But if they
were never mentioned, would anyone
have a reaction? Interesting, yes.
Provocative...
Now, we aren't saying you should
start burning newspapers and throwing
away televisions. And maybe it seems
hypocritical for the newspaper to be
pointing out the problems in the media.
But just give it some thought the next
time you find yourself reacting strongly
to what you hear. What you are hearing
may be technically true, but there are
always loopholes to reality.
Associate Editor
Kelly Walsh
Photographers
Kristin Rodgers
Jeff Hankey
Advertising Manager
Ann Marie Havev
Public Relations Manager
Katie Galley
Office Manager
Jason Alward
Copy Editor
Becky Weindorf
Technical Support
Doug Butterworth
Distribution Manager
Eric Kiser
•Letter Policy.
week's issue
4'l i Cal PPLI TL,I
Friday, September 28, 2001
Fair-weather patriotism
It's been a roller-coaster ride of
emotions for most Americans the past
two and a half weeks in trying to deal
with the cowardly acts that hit our
country on Sept. 11. For me, the ride is
taking different turns every day in trying
to understand what happened. But one
thing has been able to keep this ride
smooth for me, and that's the constant
reminder that America is strong and
unified when we need it most.
A lot of critics see Americans as
having what they call "fair-weather
patriotism." This is the idea that
Americans are only patriotic at times of
war or conflict. And the sudden
purchasing and waving of American
flags is a good indicator that this is true.
But it's also a good indicator that
Americans understand when it's a good
time to be divided on issues and when
it's a good time to be united in beliefs.
You could consider me a "fair
weather patriot." I must admit, however,
that I am probably a little more patriotic
that many Americans during times of
peace. I have an incredible respect for
the men and women who came before
me who gave this land freedom, and the
servicemen and servicewomen who
have fought to maintain it.
I'm one of those Americans who gets
fired up when protests involve the
burning of our flag. I question how
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people who are protesting for equality
in America can bum the exact
in the symbol that represents "liberty
er' Web and justice for all." To me, the
flag represents what America and
the world should be,
son Snyder even though we
'itorial columnist don't always
follow these
principles
It is the lack of these principles in our
government that turns me off to the idea
of American patriotism. Our
Constitution tells us our rights and
freedoms that we must maintain in the
U.S. But it doesn't tell us the
obligations that we have to the rest of
the world.
The Constitution was written in a
time when Atherica was new and not
nearly as powerful as it is today. Today,
America has different obligations to
weaker countries, given we are the most
powerful nation in the world.
I've learned a lot in the past week
about very poor decisions made by our
government when it comes to foreign
policy. I've learned a lot in the past year
about how America doesn't always
defend the principles that we preach
here on our soil.
We haven't always been a protector
of democracy. In fact, we have been
known to overthrow democratically
elected officials. We never did aid
South Africa in its period of apartheid.
We had the power to turn South Africa
into a country with democratic policies.
Instead, we used South Africa's corrupt
government to aid us in our "war"
against communism. It wasn't until
after the Cold War concluded, that the
U.S. aided in ending South Africa's
apartheid.
Do you ever wonder why we were
once allies with Iran, Afghanistan and
Ben Kundman, Editorial Page Editor
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Suddam Hussein's Iraq, and now we are
not? We were allies when we needed
these countries to protect our own
interests, even though these countries
have never followed the principles that
we claim we protect.
It has become quite evident to me that
the American government has always
fought for what will benefit this country,
instead of fighting for what would make
this world more democratic.
Senator Dick Gephart captured my
thoughts perfectly this past Friday in a
speech that he made to Congress. He is
the first U.S. government official to
blame the devastation of these attacks
on the American government. He asked
how the government could allow this to
happen to its people. It was the first
speech made since the attacks that made
my eyes water.
But don't get me wrong. It wasn't
the fast time that my eyes have watered
since that fateful day. No person, no
family or friend should have to endure
what happened on Sept. 11. And that
statement includes countries outside of
the United States as well. This world
needs to begin taking a new approach to
how we treat one another. And it needs
to start in the home of freedom and
democracy, the United States.
Even though I understand that
America isn't perfect, I still stand behind
our country today. I stand behind our
president who vows to end terrorism. I
stand behind our military that will have
to carry out a mission that we have never
fathomed before.
But before we retaliate, we have to
make sure that we are sticking to our
principles. We can't retaliate until we
have a proven enemy. And we can't kill
more innocent people. If we do, it will
defeat our purpose. We will become the
terrorists, killing innocent people just as
behrcoll2@aol.com
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the hijackers killed ours.
There is a common misconception
among some Americans who see our
government and the people who support
it as being reckless in our need for
retribution. These critics keep reminding
us that 90% of Americans want
retribution even though we don't really
know our enemy. What these critics
don't mention is the fact that 85% of
Americans don't want to retaliate unless
we have proof that we know the enemy.
It's numbers like that that make me
proud to be an American. We have just
suffered a loss like never before. In one
swift blow, America lost what will end
up being more than 7,000 innocent
people. And despite our anger, despite
our sadness and despite our need for
answers, Americans don't want
retribution until we have proof of our
enemy. As arrogant as I might sound,
you won't fmd restraint like that in any
other country.
Today, I drive throughout Erie and see
stores with signs that read, "God Bless
America," and "United We Stand." I
look at the houses that I pass and see
American flags , flying proudly. I've
attended events that have thousands of
people singing "America the Beautiful,"
waving flags and holding up signs that
support America's cause to end
terrorism. I see America at its best.
You can call it "fair-weather
patriotism" if you want. Or you can
understand that America's freedom gives
us the right to disagree on issues, but
America's faith in freedom gives us a
greater cause worth uniting for.
Snyder's column appears
every three weeks.