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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