t February 22, 2002 l^gg^ Vol. XLIX " No. 21 • a Penn State Erie Student Publication pennState ————rnßmmmm TO Erie Spring 2002 Friday’s forecast: # * * • & * Snow Showers High: 36° Low: 18° Check page 2 for the weekend weather outlook. NEWS ASTRONOMY OPEN HOUSE Dr. Roger Knacke enlight ened science fanatics last night with his description of dark matter. Read about it on page 2. SOUP FOR THE SOUL The six-part Lenten series Soup for the Soul began yesterday at noon with a talk by English professor Dr. Dean Baldwin. See page 3. CAMPUS EVENTS Cardboard City and the Empty Bowl Dinner, Wednesday and Friday, were the major campus events which occurred in conjunction with Service Week. The pulse-pounding performance of Street Beat on Wednesday was well received by the large audience. On Thursday, motivational speaker Will Power shared his poetic skills with those in atten dance. Read about these events on page 4, Behrend News. .. 1-4 Calendar...s Editorial... 6-7 Black History Month.. .8 National News. ..9-10 Humor... 11 Features... l2 A&E..A3 Sports... 14-16 NEWSROOM: 898-6488 PAX: 898-6019 E-MAIL: behrcolls@aol.com Offices are located downstairs in the Reed Union Building Behrend Jazz Ensemble plays Hirt Auditorium by Erfenkt Hansen staff writer The Penn State Behrend Jazz Ensemble performed at the H. O. Hirt Auditorium, located next to the Btasco Library, on Tuesday. The concert was open to the public. “Everybody in the band has talent, and they must share what they can do with others,” said Dr. Gary A. Viebranz, director of the band “Everybody in the ensemble enjoys performing.” Established in 1999, the instrumental music program at Penn State Behrend offers three diverse ensembles for students who are interested in pursuing their performance interests. In addition to the Jazz Ensemble, students may choose to participate m the Concert Band or Pep Band, with enrollment open to all members of the campus community. Although Behrend does not offer a formal music degree, there is recognition that the arts serve an important role in providing a comprehensive education, and all academic majors are represented by the students. At the concert, the Jazz Ensemble performed 10 songs, with a 10- minute intermission in between each set. These songs include: “BftfC BoWT by Kenny Doritam, ‘♦Blues fttr Bobber” by Kevin McElrath, “Brass Machine” by Marie Thytar, “Cantaloupe Island” by Herbie arranged by Mills, “Fightin’ the Mojo” by Adrien Re, “Fireshaker” by Ferguson and Bmyman/an-anged by Lowden, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” by Zawinul/arranged by Wilson, “Mile’s Mood” by Shelton Berg, and “Thke Five” by Paul Desmond. The Jazz Ensemble performed each song very well, and music was enthusiastically embraced by the audience. "Even though it is hard to tell how A look at the life, work of Dr. Peg Thoms by Heather Fleming staff writer Dr. Peg Thoms, an MBA professor, has been teaching at Behrend since 1994. She said she chose Penn State Erie because she “liked the School of Business faculty and staff, and because the mix of research and teaching was well balanced.” She enjoys teaching because she feels it is “a worthwhile job compared to many others.” Thom is currently working with Dr. John Fizel and a faculty curriculum committee on the beginning stages of a new approach to teaching Masters students. In the past, a student would have to take 48 credit hours to earn an MBA. With the new and innovative approach, Bachelor undergraduates could also earn an MBA in 30 credit hours over a one year time period. She is also excited about the possibility of other majors entering into the business field. With her idea, even a communications major could use the MBA foundation courses as electives and earn an MBA in one year after a Bachelor’s degree. This could become extremely important for other majors, not just business majors. In today’s world, having a background in business is a certain plus and being able to attain it in one year is another plus. She is excited about this idea and hopes that she will see it in place soon. the band performed until it is discussed in a group afterwards, I feel that the performance tonight was pretty good,” said Viebranz. Many people from Behrend and die Erie community attended the concert. “The music was played well, and the concert was very enjoyable,” said Nicky Galloway, sophomore at Behrend. There will be two more performances on April 5 and April 18, and both are open to the public. One of the concerts will be performed in Erie Hall, and the other will be performed in the Reed McGarvey Commons. The cost for the concert on April 5 is unknown as of now, but the concert on April 18 is $5 general admission and $3 for students. All tickets may be purchased at the RUB Desk, starting two weeks before each of the concerts. The Jazz Ensemble contains 22 instrumentalists. They include: Ryan Langer and Devin Sculley on alto saxophones; Melinda Hanes, Melissa Moser, and Morgan Woodcock on tenor saxophones; Marco Olivieri on a baritone saxophone; Gregg T. Beaymont, Jestin Carlson, Jeff Hankey, Matt Klimchak, and Mike Noonan on trumpets; Jennifer Bradford, Tim Butler, Doth Gaetano, Joshua Sabran, Matt Smith on trombones; John Tyndall on a piano; Adam Shumac on a guitar, Andy Crawford on a bass; and Matthew Deacon, J. R. Rummel, and John Shearer on drum set and percussion. The Jazz Ensemble is open to anyone who wants to join. Auditions will be held in the fall semester of 2002, and the students practice twice a week for an hour and fifteen minutes. If you have any questions, contact Viebranz at 898-6289, or e mail him at gav3@psu.edu. Thoms believes that “each one of us has our own orientation towards time” and this is the focus of her new book, “Driven by the Future.” Different individuals have differing attitudes about the past, the present and the future. This can be determined by various personality traits. Thoms says that to be a successful leader, you must be able to focus on the future. Not only is Thoms developing a plan for MBA students and writing a new book, she collaborates with John Kerwin on creating a video- profile of Chet Giermak, a long time CEO of Eriez Magnetics, a local Erie business. Giermak was the youngest of five brothers and his father died when he was very young. He was raised by his mother, and this along with other factors led to his ideas about a nurturing and caring business attitude. He has many strong opinions on traditional approaches to management and believes that a more humanistic and people-oriented approach towards employees will create a stronger business, which in turn will create more profit. At Eriez Magnetics, there are no time clocks. If employees come in late, then they just come in early another day. Thisting employees and approaching THOMS continued on page 2 'Raindrops failin' on my head PHOTO BY KELLY WALSH / BEHREND BEACON Behrend Beacon news editor Erin McCarty lounges in the Beacon’s luxurious cardboard box during Wednesday’s Cardboard City. Despite the rain, students from nine different campus organizations alter nated shifts throughout the day to collect money for various charities. Cardboard City was one of two major events for Service Week. Read more about it on page 4. Karaoke night full of fun and surprises by Tony DiPlacido and Erin McCarty staff writer and news editor “[Singing karaoke] was an awesome experience,” said Erinn Hansen, communications 02. “It was like being inside a dream because I love singing in front of an audience.” Hansen was just one of many performers at Monday’s Krazy Karaoke night. Krazy Karaoke was sponsored by the Joint Residence Council (JRC), an organization which puts on events geared but not limited to Behrend residents. The three-hour event brought an impressive crowd to Bruno's for an evening of music, laughter and fun. “Even though I didn’t sing, it was a lot of fun watching my friends,” said Libbie Johnson, communications 08. Audience members were treated to a diverse range of music sung by performers with varying degrees of musical PHOTO BY ROB WYNNE / BEHREND BEACON Staff writer Tony DiPlacido and Nick Hudak regale the audience with their rendition of “Piano Man” during Monday’s Krazy Karaoke night. Diplacido, Hudak, and Steven Finch took the prize for Best Comedy. Other participants from the Behrend Beacon included Erinn Hansen, Nicky Galloway, and Erin McCarty. The event was sponsored by the Joint Residence Council. talent. Remakes of songs from artists such as the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and the Charlie Daniels Band were all featured. Free chips and punch were available for everyone. “Friends in Low Places,” “From this Moment,” and “Piano Man” were especially popular, being performed twice. The singing was broken up by a series of random drawings, for which each winner got a $5 gift certificate to a local eatery. Awards were also given for the best performances. Best Performance went to Troy Shafer for his rendition of "Friends in Low Places.” Most Creative was awarded to the duo of Francis Hayes and Dan Johnson for their version of “Beat It,” and Best Comedy was awarded to Nick Hudak, Steven Finch, and Tony DiPlacido for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Each set of winners received a $5 gift certificate to Subway. SGA, MCC discuss diversity by Kevin Fallon associate news editor There has been a growing concern among many students about diversity at Behrend. A meeting was held Thursday at the request of the Multi cultural Council to address what they call “hypocrisy in the way diversity is expressed...and the manner in which it is actually facilitated” and to “bridge the gap” between the University and MCC. The meeting was set up by SGA in response to a demand by MCC when they said that they would “discontinue all programs” if the meeting was not scheduled. Though, Brandi Hovis, SGA president points out that no ultimatums were necessary. “SGA represents students and diversity is something students want,” Hovis said. “Diversity is working together as a group. There are not two sides at odds. Everyone wants diversity.” In attendance were: Dr. Jack Burke, Interim Provost and Dean; Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs; Mila Cooper, Director of Educational Equity; Chris Rizzo, Director of Student Activities; and representatives from SGA and MCC. The MCC highlighted two areas they believe need to be addressed. The first was a lack of faculty and staff support of diversity programs. “We are in immense need of University assistance,” said Jacqueline Jackson, president of the Association of Black Collegians. “These people have an influential role in getting our objectives passed. We need help reaching faculty and staff getting people into promoting diversity.” The MCC is calling for a bigger push for faculty to promote diversity programs, even offering extra credit for attending. “Among teachers there is apathy,” said Jackson, “and they need to give students incentive.” ■ The MCC also said there is a lack of faculty advisors to the oiganization. The administration responded to these issues. Dr. Burke agreed that DIVERSITY continued on page 3
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