Page 8 The Behrend Beacon the %tridents (If Pe►nl State Erie, The Behrend College News Editor Erin McCarty Sports Editors Scott Soltis Zoe Rose Editorial Page Editor Paige Miles Features Editor Karl Beriacc, Staff Photographers Jeff Hankey Heather Myers 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. Put down the gun, Heston How many innocent people have to (lie' That's the question that we need to he ask ing ourselves everyday when we don't (I() something about guns in this country. And as college students this should he es en more important with the recent e‘ents in Arizona. For those of you who live under a rock I'll enlighten you about what took place. A student who was receiving a fading grade entered a college classroom and 4 gunned down the professors who ga \e U him the failing grade. And guns aren't a major problem in this country? We have professors gunned down in class and fIAM* O snipers walking the streets, but the NRA says we have :113 enough gun control in this country. Mike Frawlev Maybe its time to hilt Moses in an old folks home And please don't trot out tho s e tir ci i guments about the right to hear arms he ing in the Constitution and the people need guns to protect themselves. or that e‘ en it we have stricter gun control the vi iminak will still get guns. None of the , ,e arrn ments hold any more water then a cup ‘% itli a bullet hole. But for those of you \\ ith the letters NRA tattooed on your brain ['II take the time to destroy these ag_iuments Random thoughts by Karl I don't know when it began, but it should have never happened. My fam ily always tells me that when I was a young, I was the happiest child. I loved to laugh and smile and I loved being the center of attention. Heck, I was a cute kid! I'm not sure when this ended. I \\mild probably say around first (H - sec ond grade. when I began grade school at Chestnut Elementary in Fairview. I had friends, but it \\ as at this time I began getting picked on by a few bullies who were older than me Sure, everyone got picked on by bullies when they were little. Karl Benacci but being aware of this doesn't soften the blow. Little by little, all of this negativii% tic and cruelty caused me to hecome some- V, hat of an introvert. As the year, passed by. I not only became less of the Itapp\ child I was, hut I even became a hulls myself. In middle school I can renicill her being a jerk to my good friends' little brother, dragging the kid up and do‘\ n the soccer field by his legs in order to get him muddy. I was unhappy \\ itli myself and harped on my failures. IA ing my unhappiness uut oil other iiidi viduals. Looking hack on it, I find it sad that I went from despising mean kids to he coming one myself. In my Alcoholic Awareness class that I took for an Esact. Interim Editor-in-Chief Kevin Fallon Managing Editors Rebt, F,',Thort 1,4/01,p, Beacon ".1 newspaper hr the vtudents• far the' students Professional Publication Mgr Dave Ric Advisor Cathy Ps,),IN The Beticon encourages letters to the editor. Letters should include the address, phone or :tuber. semester standing, and major of the writer. Writers can mail letters to behrcoll2m), - )ol cum Letters must be received no later than 5 p.m. Monday for inclusion in ip , lll 1)!;.21 !LIM liic 1,)1111,110)11. ml Ihl • 1 (111,!! L'lt 11 , 1 p,,lllL` k omld k ilk A.,11k II I , tlll 1 1 1, t C 1111.:111 h,1% 1t,H1,1111,1 ,t 1 t! c'! ICllicillhct 11,1i:,1 hit I.OIICI, V.ll , .in :.110 111011,. ,I)tit phi mt.\ hr, ;ink , ;111 alt., , hcilik I lit , I. I 1 ! II hiII I •Cc 11()%\ pc4)l)lc 11,0 111,.% tin(l t()1),. 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I,l\l, ;!11(1 11),t1IliccHltlik.cd click il‘c•l tJi Hum\ li.iii(l-. ii ii k It ilit 1),It I +.li I,IIH \\ 'ill ni,n In it ii (11111 c 1)111 it ~ 1 11C111111' hr dmpv. I 1 liC will 111,11 1111,1 un will LIII HUH. unt orlc 11)1 II —11(11( , 11 Iltr 7; And h .0.,11,1 11 , 1W III!' II 1,1,0 111111111' the in Frat'lev's . column appears every three wechA pc(l - 11.: tolull .lust because a ley, people v. ho claim the\ it religious are acting like scum doesn't mean then palish or religion is lull plc ith that person's frame (il mind A great e \ample is the religion of hich does promote peace. A it people performed an O. it act un tiept I I and claimed the\ did it fur !hen religion. but this doesn't make their religion had. it m.ikes them had. te\\ ecks alter hearing ahuut the \+hu tnlnl ( . \,(l \ (MC OW\ \\ C I " h I IC I \ \ h\ neat h;uulm out l)0( the Nev, the man \\ tucc to rite ,11111 I reali/e(I monothi ll y it(' nice people In Ili,, \+,ot aml diet k. ur had people. ( )flt• Itotildn't let the 1)AI )c( )Ic tanikh the pood )Cl) Ile. MI Ke \ It> int() lile ••()Inetlimy that I ',II() tilt! )1111)1 C CI \ \ R I \ all head the i. 111101.1,, \OH cur tl /Hit 1r ill 11111 \ this litli 'lt' k ti lle Vs hell it (t) 111111h111 1111Crill11011. I alien to hang alit \\ id] pc(lple vvhu tallydhrhinil ihrir t ricn(lN kick cmiuplained alN)ut 11,ipp I langiiT out ‘k ith sad people just kn't v , .,)lth it. In fact. it's a V Isk. of time. fake it front mistake ‘‘as closing others off. namely the good people, because of had people. Now that I've learned that some !nuttily that we can take the socially respon sible route of caring for our fellow human beings and doing unto others as we'd have them do unto ourselves. No one is 1(X)% po litically correct, nor just too sensitive or tuner. hut each individual has the power to sir] ‘e for better conditions. he they physi cal, emotional, or otherwise, for es cry indi ‘ i(lual they feel compelled to fight for. Some people simply feel compelled to strive for nitAl equality rather than selective empow mem 1 hose individuals arc the ones pro pelling thy ersity and unity forward for the hettei mem of humankind. our campus. the "people downstairs . ' or "ethnic minorities in the M('C' (as we're often called i hand together because we are \\ and able to accept and support each other. It is a fact that the aserage archetype of power in America. the white. middle Dual. Christian man is present in man) of the - diversit) focused . ' organi ialions. Diversit) has no color, ethnic back ground. class. orientation. religion, creed, ph \ steal or mental ability. or gender. If di \ rr sity o as only to represent the oppressed. 10\\ n trodden it could no longer he a mis sion of diversity hut of uniformity among the bottom feeders of humanity. I challenge )011 to find that kind of uni tormity among the students who are work ing for social justice through methods of di \el sit \ We celebrate diversity because we hope lor tinit, not uniformity, to encom pass our en \ ironments taut our futures. I hope Mai has cleared a few things up about Ihc Now, what is it exactly that each of you can do ‘‘ith your newfound understanding of diyersit encoura_e unit amon_ Ways to make money Lan take anything at an) given time and min it into a poll!. In some charities, ;t hont I M'; of everything they make go to ":tdministration costs,'' paying the people %‘, ho are supposedly oluntecring their services to feed hungr\ children in Third World ountries. People "claiming to collect money for victims of Sept. I I \\ ere caught he quality. hut it shouldn'i he a status isymbol. Ow\ \\ en: trying to Jewel! and • MAC ;I 1)10111 f 10in More MIIIIIOW thC \ dIM) he ihjio.mo \ icton of a Becky Weindort in the clothoil2 the \ v,ere gathering ihe , ,c fund., hn theirv.:el\ e,••• trnnrist attack. lllink Mese arc sad stories? It \\ fluid depress me if I kne\\ that 75 of lII\ XI I cents \\le ruinv to some Enron chief \\ ho V. as coordinating this to help teed the hungry. More dew ess mg is that Americans have mined tradition into re \ \nine and neces- O w l ,ilv into an economic opporttinit. Reim! the thriltv En,elish major that I am. I have listed some of the necessity nir CMIC that I hair noticed I-e -t:end\ Weddings: Yeah. you never thought that meeting the love of your life was a w \ tor others to make money. But if von w ant to marry him/her, you better believe that you'll he forking over (on average) about $18,0(X) tier a single day which is almost twice my current an nual earnings. Being a sort of partici pant in this specific economy, as 1 am planning my wedding in eight months, lin beginning to realize just how much money is poured into this formerly re ligious tradition that has turned into pre nuptial agreements, Vera Wang gowns, and has given a whole new meaning to "feeding the thousands." (lathing: What was once developed to 'shelter out fragile bodies from the ( A dd is now a race to see who can clothe ate a total waste of time, I've 0)11W In have a new appreciation for in \ iduals «ho arc kind and happy. Not or*,, ate these people more interesting, unique. and fun than mean people, hut they also bring me great satisfaction due to the interaction I have with them and it onl, makes me want to get to know more ied nice people. It I were to tell my readers one thing, I would tell all of you to not let others negatively influence your outlook on other people. how happy you are. or what you believe in. Instead, spend some time ith people who respect you and treat you well. The sooner an individual insti tutes these views to his life, the sooner he 1 / 4 \ ill become a happier person. Paige Miles, Editorial Page Editor I have mound that. curiously. America Benucci's column appears every three weeks. The Behrend Beacon your friends and family. Step outside your comfort zone and get to know someone new in your classes or neighborhood. Write your research paper on a subject you don't kno \\ everything about or can't identify ks ith. learn something from it that you can incor porate into your knowledge base and use in later relations. Stop the person that you're walking to lunch with from writing racial or hecerosexist slurs on a poster for a campus event, don't let that person believe that von accept jokes and stories that use hate speech or are aimed at hurting another population. Even if you've never been hurt, physically or emotionally, by another's ignorant ac lions towards ‘+ hatever it is that separate, you from the rest of the en)Wd. I and dinthr too many people base had a perfect co ex istence with peers thus fail take these ac lions because others really need that kind of support. Besides. those people who need your assistance in combating ignorance ould do it for you and those who would do it for you are the people you ‘;. ant to he friends with anyway. Finally, I want to make sure every reader out there understands that I'm talking to each any every one of yOU. I have heard a few times, much to my dismay, that white students don't believe they have a culture so they can't get involved M this movement. That's simply not true. Each one of us has a rich culture to look into if we pay any at tention to it. Culture isn't about color. As soon as we acknowledge that our common experience as humans can begin to form a whole unity and richness in diversity that makes us all important. the most people in the 17-34 age range AND earn the most moneN doing it. Now. I know that there are still people out there that realise that clothing is just clothing and not a statement or popularity gauge. hut please. Clothing labels, while ad er tising Ralph Lauren. Nike, American Eagle. Victoria's Secret, and so forth. could he a gauge for clothing categor . hut it's a hig enourli issue to discuss on its ow n. I'll admit that I am a sore hypocrite in the shoe category. however. I include myself w hen I say that a closet full of shoes is just plain greedy. I complain when I scuff a sole: others don't make a peep when their toes are sticking out the front end of their 111- year-old sneakers. And, as for my jewelry, you don't see me wearing a Id-pound medal ❑round my neck. (literally) pairs of earrings or three rings on each of my fingers. That's just plain stupid. walking around like we're Christmas trees. We were horn with a body to care for others and work hard, not to show off who's got the best "duds." All right, this is a very short, biased and clipped example, hut you get the idea. Our editorial page editor is hav ing a rough time, so I'll go easy this time. But watch for me again - by the time you read my next editorial, you'll be on your way to finals. Now isn't that a lovely thought for a hellish semester'? Weindorf's column appears every three weeks You know you want to tell Write a letter to the editor behrcoll2@aol.com Please include your name, major, and semester standing. us.
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