Ben Kundman, Editorial Page Editor behrcoll2 @ aol.com The Behrend Beacon /'■' il'inln ,i I; ( , klv by till Ills ,’/ / ,m S/ //, , rhi />< IhriiJt , >!!t News Editor Erin McCarty Asst. News Editor Kevin Fallon Sports Editor Mike Bello Asst. Sports Editor Kale Levdansky Petrikis Editorial Page Editor Ben Kundman Features Editor Karl Benacci Arts & Entertainment Editor Jeanine Noce Wire Service Editor Guy Reschcnthaler f\ THE BEHREND 4 Beacon •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. The View From the Lighthouse The Six-Year War The attack of Sept. 11 ushered in the true beginning of the 21st century With a terrorist ring waging an attack on the United Star now been exposed to a new kind of war - a war not of versus state, but organization versus state, or organiz; versus civilization (depending on how you look at the si tion). It is unprecedented. We are in many ways, mal the rules as we go along. The Bush administration recently announced that the > against terrorism could last up to six years. We do not km how long this war will last for sure; six years is an esti mate. We at the Beacon think that the six-year estimate is a legitimate prediction. We are not military experts who can fall back on Academy expertise, but we understand the cost of freedom. This war would probably have been over by now if we were engaged in a state versus state war - for example, Desert Storm. But this war, being differ ent, must be strategic and all encompassing. This war is not about dropping a few bombs, rolling in the tanks, raising the Stars and Stripes, and saying, “OK, this one is over.” No, this war is about removing terrorism from the world like a surgeon would remove a cancer. This operation must be highly planned, specifically targeted and precise. We must not only topple our enemies’ regimes. We must sort through a state’s government and determine who is with whom. Then we must remove those against us and leave the ones with us and engage in nation building. To justify the long war we must understand what social forces caused this new war. Just as the conditions of Germany under the Treaty of Versailles contributed to WWII, various factors caused the rise of terrorist groups. We at the Beacon believe that the political situations and economic circumstances in the states which harbor terrorists help bin Laden’s organization. We do not excuse the terrorists. We think they are evil and calling them the scum of the earth is an understatement. We believe that the situations of the general public in the regions helped cause the war. By this we cite oppressive regimes and backward economic systems. We genuinely believe that had these governments been democracies and had free economies we would not be writing this editorial today. Put it this way: If you had to live in the desert, were barely eking out a life and lived under an oppressive government with no rights, would blowing yourself up in an air plane seem all that bad? Now if you had the right to vote and participate in your government, if you had basic rights and liberties, if you had an education, if you had a good job, and money to spend would you want to blow yourself up on an airplane? In this regard, we must not only see this as a military action, but a state building one. We must defeat our enemies and then provide them with a democratic form of government with a market-based economy. We may have to oversee this transition over a period of time and give the states economic aid. Germany has not been an aggressor since the U.S. and Allies briefly occupied the state, set up a democratic government, a free economy and imple mented the Marshall Plan. Germany has since become a world power and a great trading partner of the U.S. and the rest of the world. And so as we did with Germany and Japan, we must do with these states. We must make it a sterile place for the breeding of terrorists. This will take time and money. But freedom is not cheap and cannot be achieved in a day. Another factor that will add to the time of this war is the training of foreign armies. As you read this staff editorial, we are in the process of train ing Philippine troops to combat terrorism. It will take time for these militaries to learn the skills they need to protect Western Civilization. This training will add time to our campaign without doubt, but it is worthwhile. One can look at all the above and say simply, “So what?! Lets just worry about us!” One can say this, but he or she should wake up from the isolationist world because it is long gone. This would just leave us vulnerable to further attacks and not solve the problems that caused this war in the first place. But for the sake of argument let us look at this option. We will pull all of our troops back home and have them patrol the border, airports, and fly the skies in defense of the next attack. This operation would billions and take years because the threat of terrorism would never be removed, and it would take longer and cost us more money in the long run. We only have one choice in this war: to stick to our guns and wipe terrorists from the face of the earth. This may be an impractical goal, but it must be reached as soon as possible. We must not get lazy, bored, and cheap. We must stick with this war until our objectives arc met whether it takes two years, six years, or 10 years. We must follow through in this operation. Editor-in-Chief Robert Wynne Managing Editor Rebecca Weindorf Public Relations Manager 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 must be received no later than 5 p.m. Monday for inclusion in Business Manager Paige Miles Staff Photographer Jeff Harney Advertising Managers Libbie Johnson Melissa Powell Kelly Walsh Distribution Manager Eric Kiser Office Manager Jason Alward Technical Support Doug Buttemorth Health Page Editor Sarah Orr Humor Page Editor Ben Kundman ‘ ‘Professionalism ’ersonai •Letter Policy* that week’s issue, EDITORIAL Friday, January 25, 2002 / SAYS KtPS \N \ f \ go / aAATh / /j f i H Should Secretary of State Colin Powell appear on MTV? Hey, Bill Clinton did it, so why can’t Colin Powell? As one of the biggest media outlets to the teenage and young adult population, MTV deserves to bring important and influential people under its spotlight. What pimple faced, squeaky-voiced 15-year old comes home from school and automatically flips the TV on looking for C-Span or MSNBC? Chances are if someone wants to appeal to the teenage masses, MTV is the place to go. Middle-aged folk (and older) like to stereotype the younger generations as being ignorant and uninterested in politics. Ever try to talk about politics with someone 20 years your elder? They commonly say “No, you’re wrong, you’re too young to tjp ? day...blah blah blah.” So now, those same against bringing the Secretary of State on a netwljl; lil|fii|llV: Bibably so they can continue to harass the younger generatitHl’ ail>utlf»tl!P MTV has already effectively educated teens about politics. During election years, the network sponsors “Rock the Vote,” which takes political candidates’ issues and puts them in perspective for their younger audiences. What parent would be against putting their children in front of the TV to watch and learn about national leaders before watching “The Real World.” It’s a win-win situation; education over cable TV! Go for it, Colin! Money, that’s what I want plenty of happiness for me. Generally, fl’m a content person, but Attitude problem money troubles weigh on my _ . mind, and tend to stress me Miles out. For example, as I sit here and type — this, my hands are freezing cold. I B u.S i i Mot s don’t want to turn up the heat too high in our house because that would hurt Money would solve both my roommates’finances and mine. Recently my doctor warned me that my weight is falling dangerously below average. Sure, I can blame being sick or even petite for that, but it’s all really about how expensive food is. McDonald’s dollar menu couldn’t have come out at a better time. For $3.18,1 can get a medium Coke, a double cheeseburger, and four chicken nuggets. Could there be a better meal? Not that I can afford! In the morning, I often have trouble deciding what to wear. If I had more money, I could buy more clothes, and no longer would I have the terrible stress of picking out an outfit. Plus, I wouldn’t have to do laundry nearly as much. (When you have to kick your all my problems. Shallow? Sure. Naive? Maybe. But lately, being the completely broke student I am. I’m beginning to believe that a little bit of the green stuff could make me blissfully happy. I was talking with my mom the other day about which major I will pursue for the highest paying career. “You really like that stuff, don’t you?” said my mom. “Money? It’s not that I so much like it, it’s that I need it,” I responded. She then told me to marry a millionaire. No problem there. (Any takers?) It’s always been said that money doesn’t buy happiness. Well, I think a large amount of money would buy Her resolve: a good resolution Jthis column entirely not to what you . | j. have chosen to resolve C hit Chat jor change this year, but rather why? .Christine Kleck X ■ resolutions each year and ■ why do they choose to resolve the areas of their lives that they do? I think a lot of it has to do with the desire to change and a new chance to make that change. There is something about putting up a brand new calendar each year that draws us into that mode of starting over. It’s something about a never-before-seen year that contains never-before experienced months on the upcoming pages that makes us think that we have to run out and change the world. Okay, maybe some of us just want to change one part of our lives. But, all-in-all, a desire to start over always seems to pop up around the first of each new year. Is it a dream that you keep having? Eel i tori aJ Colu um i5 l They have made movies about them. People have broken them within days of making them. By the time you have to come up with another list for next year, your lack of commitment or your success at incorporating them into your life has caused you to completely forget the list from the previous year. Yes, as you all may have guessed, they are the famous and infamous New Year’s resolutions. Whoops! Did you foiget to generate a few this year? Well, I wouldn’t worry about it, because I’m sure the other half of you are also saying whoops because you have already broken them. At any rate, I have decided to devote