Paige Miles, Editorial Page Editor
The Behrend Beacon
h / / / / // // ( l/
News Editor
Erin McCarty
Sports Editors
Scott Soltis
Zoe Rose
Editorial Page Editor
Paige Miles
Features Editor
Karl Benacci
Staff Photographers
Jeff Hankey
Heather Myers
Ktystle Morales
Jenn Schwant
Office Manager
Jason Alward
LBeiWn
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.
Go into the dumpster and get it...
My editorial begins on a wonderful and sunny
day. It was the month of Jul. The days were long
and the city of Erie was alive with the sound of
seagulls and bass from Honda Civics that encom
passed systems worth more than the car
itself.
I, however, was at home after a long
day of work—sitting on my bed opening
packs of basketball cards. Yes,
you've learned of my favorite
hobby—sports cards. Because I
am single, I have money to burn,
so why the hell not, right?
Anyway, I Was sitting in my Karl Benacci
room, and my mother comes
upstairs, calling my name.
"Karl," she says, "where are you? I have two
things to tell you
"Hello, mother," I said, politely. "What is your
bidding, today?"
"Well, my most gracious son," she responded,
"Kelly—your sister's friend, is cleaning some
items out of the storage area for we let her put
some things there a few months previous, and she
has video games she is going to throw 0ut..."
"The wretch!" I screamed. "I must stop her!"
I threw down my pack of cards and ran for the
door, pausing. "Mother, what is the other thing
you need to tell me?"
"Oh yes," she replied, "A Miss Britney Spears
called for you, earlier today. She asks if you can
A validation for women everywhere
What does it mean to be a woman today? I'll
give you a clue: it's not the 14 year olds who are
going to doctors asking for tips on how to heighten
their sexual pleasure with their newest partner.
Let's look at this realistically, people. Many
girls these days are becoming older in their bod
ies and younger in their minds and don't even
know what "popping the cherry" means. My 15-
year-old sister watches girls her age do the preg
nant waddle and complain about swollen ankles.
I hear girls bragging about their first sexual en
counter at 12 years of age.
I'll tell you what: Influential and rich women
Letter to the Editor
Last Thursday there was a man speaking outside
of the Reed Union Building. I found that the stu
dent response to this man was disturbing.
Although many people were offended by his
views, it was neither him nor his opinions that con
cerned me. Rather, it was the audience we gave
him. Members of the crowd who were incited by
his comments formed a circle with the intent of in
stigating him further. What purpose did it serve for
a crowd of easily provoked students to encircle and
then verbally assault a single man?
Noam Chomsky once said, "If we don't believe
in freedom of expression for people we despise,
we don't believe in it at all." Those of us who dis
agreed with his views could have simply left him
without an audience to preach to. As long as we
give him an audience, he will be back. Maybe we
should ask ourselves this: Were we proud of how
we responded to this challenge?
Lasette Miskis
education, 03
Editor-in-Chief
Robert Wynne
Managing Editor
Rebecca Weindorf
Asst. Managing Editor
Kevin Fallon
Advertising Managers
Melissa Powell
Christine Kleck
Calendar Page Editor
Ennn Hansen
Distribution Manager
Professional Publication Mgr
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
that week's issue
410.
‘
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,
' 0 4 4....
(
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Humor Page Editor
Ross Lockwood
Associate Editor
Jen Henderson
Scott Soltis
Technical Support
Doug Butterworth
Dave Richards
Advisor
Cathy Roan
"Professionalism
with a Personality"
come over for tea and a quick round of "hide the
Muppet"...l know not what she means. Does it
have something to do with Gonzo or Kermit?"
"Definitely Gonzo," I replied, laughing at the
image of the grinning Gonzo.
All right, this is getting stupid. I'm truly
sorry.
So I went down to the storage building and
asked my sister's friend about the games.
The young woman led me to a box,
which I promptly took home upon
thanking her.
Treasure! Inside the box was a
Nintendo Entertainment Sys
tem and such sweet games as
Contra, Rampage, Mega Man
(I forget which one), Donkey Kong Classics, etc.
The system was shot so I threw it in a pile with
my other NES systems.
Then it hit me. If it weren't for my mother tell
ing me about Kelly's intentions, the games would
have been thrown away. Such a waste...
Her story would have matched others I've
heard, such as:
- The countless stories of fools throwing their old
video games and systems out.
- The classic Mantle baseball card in the bicycle
spokes story.
- The parents who threw out their kids' Garbage
Pail Kids.
In fact, I even began noticing the cool things
are showing girls the how to's in relationships: this campus that don't get trashed every weekend
show some cleavage, have flawless skin and guys or give their bodies because they just want some
will freak you. Look at Miss Jennifer one to love them. I don't feel pity for girls who
Lopez. J. Lo drags more than 100 people ' think sex is a trap or a contract.
with her when she goes on tour, includ-
4 , 00. This is the validation for women who rec
ing masseurs, hairdressers, and all that ognize the choices they have and decide
other stuff that she needs to look 2,41 0 gt for themselves: so what if you've got a
good. Please. I don't need to pay degree and want to raise a family?
someone to validate my worth. They'll do it whether or not someone is
Unfortunately, this whole damn spitting in their face and saying that
feminist argument has been they're perpetuating a male domi
beaten into the dust and the only '
9111 nated culture. So what? Who are
Becky Weindorf
thing that I can say that will get you to say that I have to get a ca
anyone's attention will offend
others. This is a validation for women
But for Behrend women, the women on with long distance relationships because
this campus who can hold their own, read on. You they respect their other half for whatever reason
know who they are when they walk in the hall. that is separating them-- school. military service,
They are always standing straight no matter what a career. A woman doesn't need a companion to
they're wearing. They don't walk around the hall- validate herself and show others how great they
ways of Reed sporting ultra miniskirts and cork are. Girls need that. A woman has a companion
wedge sandals and tan lines in winter. They aren't because she already knows that she deserves re
whispering and telling secrets during lunch. Ac- spect from someone who's willing to give it.
tually, they're the ones who can be completely Women know who they are. And women can
satisfied and confident eating lunch by themselves give the example without anyone's help —so grow
because they know they don't need anyone's help up, little girls on campus. I'm comparing you to
to validate their worth. They can do it on their the high school girls that my sister goes to school
own, `thankyouverymuch.' with. You are very obvious on this campus and
Well, slap a scrap of fabric on my ass and call you don't fool anyone. Grow up, get yourself out
me Christina! You all know what I'm talking of that high school costume and act like your age.
about! These women aren't wannabes. Most No one will respect you if you live to validate
women in the popular media are in the business others instead of yourself first.
because they have a body or a voice and want to
be validated for it because they can't do it for
themselves. Real role models earn respect, they
don't buy it. Real role models can be ugly and
So if you're STILL confused, I'll tell you what
I'm doing: this is my validation for the women on
Friday, October 4, 2002
WU GOT THAT
THING MED
WITH MS?
- .
r I D
13e 1 .El f m
Speak up. Speak out.
Send your letters to the editor to
behrcollnaol.com
Include your name, semester standing, and major.
people throw out: 1) 1 saw a house throwing out
large pieces of window glass (they could be do
nated to elementary schools for art projects), 2)
My neighbor threw out all these cool Tupperware
containers (the big ones) along with these cool
lawn chairs that float on water, 3) Someone threw
wooden boards into a dumpster where I work. I
know lots of campers who would have loved that
wood.
I'm not saying one should dumpster dive. I'm
adamantly suggesting one should give their cool
things away instead of trashing them.
So, instead of throwing your cool things out,
give them to someone who will cherish and put
[Your "junle] to good use.
Heck, if a girl hooked me up with some old
video games I would take her to dinner and a
movie—and if a guy gave me games I would buy
him a pizza and in all likelihood, a bag of Troyer
Farms chips.
So whatever you do—don't throw cool things
out! Give them to someone who will enjoy them.
After all, if you hook someone up with something
that's cool, you'll probably get something nice in
return.
Benacci's column
annears every three weeks
Weindorf's column
appears every three weeks
NO. PAPERWORK FOR
AU. MY STUDENT LOANS!
The Behrend Beacon
MTV show on sex-ed
show is voter registration
drive-really
by Jane Eisner
KRT Campus
On Thursday evening, MTV will depart from its
isual fare of grinding music videos and shrieking,
Jare-bellied teenagers to present a half-hour news spe
:lal tackling the issue of sexual education in the
schools.
The show will visit a conservative community in
Lubbock, Texas, and hear from young people who
support comprehensive sex ed, then zoom over to two
star football players who will explain why they have
made "virginity pledges."
It's a new kind of voter registration drive. Really.
The cable television station that pioneered "Rock
the Vote" to galvanize the nation's young in the 1992
presidential election has found that there's little ben
efit in sustaining a traditional voter registration drive
in off-year elections. So MTV hit on another idea:
Focus on an issue near and dear to the hearts of its
viewers, and use that to drive these new voters to the
polls.
And in all its surveys, MTV found that sexual
health trumped education, terrorism, drugs, alcohol
and even crime as a concern for young people.
So have you heard about this issue in the tightening
governor's race in Pennsylvania? Only when queried
did the key party nominees offer their answers: Demo
crat Ed Rendell says he favors abstinence-based edu
cation, including discussion of birth control and dis
ease prevention. Republican Mike Fisher wants ab
stinence to be taught, but would leave the details to
local school boards.
A debilitating cycle is at work in modern-day poli
tics. Young people don't register and don't vote be
cause they're alienated from the political world. But
since they don't vote, candidates aren't inclined to
spend precious time and advertising resources court
ing them.
Parents, teachers, coaches and employers also don't
do nearly enough to encourage 18-year-olds to exer
cise their precious franchise. In a society that eagerly
marks other rites of passage, the First Vote is greeted
by a collective yawn.
This is not an immutable fact of life. It can he
changed, one person, one television show, one cam
paign ad at a time.
First, if you turn 18 by Nov. 5 and have not yet
registered, do it. Now. The deadline in Pennsylvania
is next Monday. The deadline in New Jersey is Oct.
9. Pretend this is as important as registering for a
driver's license. C'mon, just pretend.
Second, if you have a child or a student who is
eligible to vote, be a grown-up, for goodness sake.
All the research shows that parents are the great
predicters of whether a new voter will actually vote,
with teachers a close second. Engage them in the is
sues. Be a citizen yourself.
And if you're a candidate, pay attention! Young
people are the nation's largest block of unclaimed vot
ers _ independent thinkers, concerned about the same
issues that older voters care about, but not ones to be
preached to or manipulated. Weaned on TV and the
Internet, they know when they are being patronized.
Or ignored.
These potential voters also identify strongly with
volunteering and service. "Their hot button is com
munity involvement. The more a candidate can make
the case of being a community problem solver and a
community volunteer, the better the chance of win
ning these voters," write David Skaggs and Adam
Anthony, of the Center for Democracy and Citizen
ship at the Council for Excellence in Government.
This experience with community service has a pro
found effect on many young people. They're used to
grappling with local issues, to see the benefit of their
civic activities first-hand. But too many don't take
the next step and vote.
"If we talk about the importance of voting in and of
itself, it falls flat. It has to touch their lives,"' says
Stephen Friedman, MTV's vice president for strate-
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