Page 2 The Behrend Beacon WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK SATURDAY * & * Snow Showers High: 34° Low: 18° Important financial aid deadline is April 1 Please be reminded that current Penn State students should file their 2002-2003 Free Appli cation for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by April 1, 2002. This is especially important for Pennsylvania residents who qualify for the PHEAA State Grant. Please remember to update your Title IVcode on your FAFSA to 003329. This code is now being used for all Penn State locations. The 2002-2003 Behrend Scholarship Application is available at http://www.pserie.psu.edu/ admisson/200203ScholApps.htm. This application is also due April 1. Please review the ad ditional applications that give priority to students who work or whose parents work at various companies. Separate applications must be filed for these scholarship opportunities. If you are interested summer financial aid opportunities, including work-study, please visit As always, feel free to contact the Behrend Financial Aid Office at (814) 898-6162 or :hrendfinaid@.psu.edu with any questions Smokers 1 withdrawal similar to inflammation In a small study conducted at Penn State, researchers have shown, for the first time, that heavy or moderate smokers who stop smoking have symptoms similar to those experienced by patients undergoing an inflammatory response. This study suggests that anti-inflammatory medication might ease some nicotine withdrawal woes. Elizabeth Corwin, assistant professor in the school of nursing and the Intercollege Physiol ogy Program, says, "Our research shows that nicotine withdrawal is a significant physical a: well as psychological stressor that impacts multiple systems of the body, including the immune system. If we can relieve some negative symptoms, including depression, by reducing the in flammatory response, we may be able to increase the likelihood that heavy or moderate smok ers can successfully quit." The study, which was conducted by Corwin and Laura Klein, assistant professor ol biobehavioral health, was presented last week at a meeting of the Society for Research in Nico tine and Tobacco. Spanier speaks against proposed budget cuts Penn State President Graham B. Spanier met with memt>eti.of the Penfl&ylvania House and Senate Appropriations Committees on Tuesday to outline sotht of the challenges the Univer sity will face if the governor's proposed $l7 million cut in appropriation occurs. Penn State already is facing a $lO million mid-year cut in this year's appropriation and the additional cuts proposed for 2002-2003 year will likely result in double-digit tuition increases and employee layoffs. One cut proposed for the agriculture part of Penn State's budget may result in the loss of about 100 jobs at the University, many in the county extension offices located around the state, Spanier said. He also described for the legislators how the cut proposed in the appropriation for the University's medical college at Hershey, already the poorest funded public medical college in the nation out of 75 such schools, will be difficult to manage. "Penn State is willing to bear its fair share of the economic burden facing the Common wealth," Spanier told the legislators, "but we are disappointed that we are being asked to can-y a disproportionate share of the responsibility.” Although one of the largest universities in the nation, Penn State is allocated fewer state dollars per student than any other school in the Big Ten. It also receives substantially less funding per student than any other state-owned or state-related university in Pennsylvania. The House and Senate will work for the next several months to develop a final budget pro posal for the governor to sign. 2/23/02 16:35 A complainant reported a theft from her apartment. 2/24/02 06:20 A passsenger side exterior mirror was found lying in the middle of the drive to the east side maintenance lot. At 07:01 the mirror was removed, 2/24/02 17:40 A complainant came to Police and Safety to report that her car had been vandalized in the K lot. 2/25/02 17:00 An officer confiscated a license of an individual per Pendot lift order. The individual was given receipt for the license. 2/26/02 16:30 There was a roommate dispute reported. A student wanted to make Police and Safety aware of the situation. Earn sl,ooo-$2,000 with the easy Campusfundraiser.com three hour fundraising event. Does not involve credit card applications. Fundraising dates are filling quickly, so call today! Contact Campusfundraiser.com at (888) 923-3238, or visit If you have a GPA of 3.0 or above and are an active student, you may be eligible to apply for membership in the Lambda Sigma Sophomore National Honor Society. Lambda Sigma is dedicated to the promotion of scholarship, leadership, fellowship, and service among students. If you are interested in applying or have any questions, please contact Cassie Willey (ckwll3@psu.edu) or Christy Copen (clc9l7@psu.edu). We are holding an informational meeting on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. in Science 101 if you would like to learn more about us! SUNDAY * % * Snow Showers High: 31° Low: 22° BEHREND BRIEFS CLASSIFIEDS Fraternities * Sororities * Clubs * Student Groups Attention freshman!! MONDAY Cloudy High: 31° Low: 15° NEWS Friday, March 1, 2002 These surveillance photos were taken of an unusual suspect entering a wooded area at approximately 4:45 pm on Tuesday. In reality, the little guy was probably just looking to get out of the cold. Not a shabby place he’s got there; a one room Amish built shelter with a great view and spacious interior. What do you think he pays per month for rent? PANCAKI creative writing class at Behrend. Along with creative writing classes. Pancake also teaches literature classes, such as Reading Literature and Women Writers. When writing, Pancake does not directly write for a specific type of audience. “I envision my audience as any thoughtful person who is willing to open him or herself up to the way I use language and to the place I write about,” said Pancake. “My audience is going to have to work a little hard to grasp everything that’s going on in my fiction because much of it is dense and poetic, but I hope the extra work ultimately pays off.”. Pancake said that her family has give&her many of the ideas in her stories. “Despite the fact that my stories aren’t always flattering to my family, they’ve all been incredibly supportive,” Pancake said. “I’m very thankful to them for that.” Even though her family may bring her the ideas of her stories, Pancake said that her inspiration when writing is primarily the land and the people of West Virginia. She also believes that her writing has been inspired by many authors, such as Breece Pancake, Jayne Anne Phillips, William Faulkner, Jean Toomer, Jean Rhys, and Marguerite Duras. Pancake is a member of the professional organizations Modem Language Association and the Appalachian Studies Association, and in her spare time, aside from writing, she enjoys hiking, camping, watching movies, and traveling. “Given Ground,” a collection of short stories, was published last summer by the University of New England Press. Her articles have appeared in “Narrative” and “The Review of Contemporary Fiction.” Her short stories appeared in “The Virginia Quarterly Review,” “The Massachusetts Review,” and “Shenandoah.” Pancake’s creative nonfiction was published in “International Quarterly, ” “An Inn Near Kyoto, ” and soon will appear in the anthology, “Lessons on the Road.” FOCAL POINT Forum organized religion and homosexuality by Erin McCarty news editor On Monday, the Multicultural Council held its fourth weekly forum. This forum on the topic of organized religion and homosexuality was sponsored by Trigon and included a pane) of representatives from the Muslim, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist traditions. Each panelist began by describing his or her religious situation and briefly explaining the stance of religious tradition on homosexuality. Mary A 1 Hasnawi discussed her decision to convert to Islam and provided a brief outline of the religion’s history. She also said that while Islam does not condone homosexuality, there are groups within the religion that work towards acceptance of homosexuals. “I believe that in the church’s prophetic message, and that should challenge me,” said Father Lucas. As a Catholic, he stands by the Church’s stance against homosexuality, but he noted that the Church agrees that every person should have the same rights. This, however, does not mean that homosexuals should receive additional rights, he said. Robin Cuneo, a lay preacher, said that the official Presbyterian position is that all people are welcome in the church but that homosexuals are not welcome to preach. She described herself as a liberal and said that others like her within the church are pushing for greater acceptance. Finally, Susan Laurie spoke of her decision to announce her homosexuality, thus preventing her from becoming a preacher. The United Methodist Church takes the official PHOTO BY ERIN McCARTY / BEHREND BEACON Mary Al Hasnawi, Father Jeff Lucas, Robin Cuneo, and Susan Laurie discuss the issues between homosexuality and organized religion during the Multicultural Council’s fourth forum. Erin McCarty, News Editor £ ‘Ear V /a discusses stance that homosexuality is against Christian teaching, but many groups are working to change that. “It is not true that there’s no such thing as a gay Christian,” said Laurie. The panelists then took questions from the audience. Several students expressed opinions on a variety of issues related to homosexuality and religion. “Jesus was really good at meeting people,” Laurie said. She said that growing up hearing the stories of Jesus’ life was a great comfort to her when she made the decision to accept her homosexuality. “Being on the outskirts makes the story of Jesus even more rich.” “There is a difference between judging people and their behavior,” said Lucas, noting that the Church does not consider a certain orientation to be a sin. He pointed to a psychological study citing a significant success rate for homosexuals who want to change their orientation. “I know of too many who found [reorientation therapy] damaging,” Cuneo countered. Al Hasnawi noted that denying their orientation has destroyed many homosexual Muslims. All of the panelists agreed that their respective religions felt that they needed a position on homosexuality because it is an issue of such importance. Although Christians are often able to make biblically-based arguments regarding homosexuality, such battles usually end in a draw because both sides are able to find scripture passages to back them up. No matter what, it is a sensitive issue. After two-and-a-half hours of intensive discussion, the forum ended with the reading of a poem by Al Hasnawi about the glory of worshiping God for God’s sake. Attendees left with no definitively answered questions but plenty of fresh insights. behrco!ls @ aol.com
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers