Letter from the editor: A little less
conversation; a little more action
Dear students of Penn State Behrend,
For the most part, I think, students
are in the dark on how to get
involved with the paper. Let's get
one thing straight. This is your
paper. The Beacon is a student
paper, written for the students by
the students
The Beacon is always looking
for new faces and fresh ideas to
help improve the paper. If you
want to get involved it is fairly
simple; as the commercial says,
just do it.
Some may think that you have
to go to a formal interview,
summit writing samples, and
officially "get hired" to write for
the Beacon. This is completely
false. All you have to do is be a
Behrend student.
Obviously, we can't publish an
article from all 4,000 students
every week. But we are looking
to expand our staff. And because
this is a student paper, you really
don't need experience. The
Beacon is supposed to be a place
where students learn about journalism
and place to get the experience they
will need later.
The View From the Lighthouse
Need a Band-Aid, CPR?
' lease make an appointment...
Do you think health care needs help now?
Wait until you hear this story. You'll he run
ning to your Congressman to fix this one.
An editor on the Beacon staff went to Health
and Wellness to ask for a Band-Aid just before
8 a.m. and was told that the office was not open,
and additionally, an appointment was required.
When the editor showed the receptionist her
`oozing' finger and asked only for a bandage
to cover it, the receptionist informed her that
the nurse would have to look at it and "put the
bandage on for her," again asking her what time
was convenient to make an appointment, which
would 'conveniently' he charged to her student
account.
It is truly amazing that such simple health
care has to be documented, scheduled, and in
sured in order to protect both parties from su
ing one another. It is even more amazing that
giving a Band-Aid has now been defined as
"medical care," on the same level as emergency
pregnancy contraception or strep throat testing.
Most, if not all, services offered by Health
and Wellness require an appointment ahead of
time. Can you imagine any Penn State stu
dent walking into the office and asking, "Can I
make an appointment for the morning after pill?
I think I'm going to get it on tonight, so I just
want to be sure." Yeah, right.
Or how about other services? What if some
one was brought in because they happened to
be choking and needed CPR? We can imagine
the receptionist peering at the blue-faced stu
dent and asking for their social security num
ber to make an appointment with the doctor.
Refusing medical care because of a suspi
cious looking person with no Penn State ID is
acceptable and good judgment for Health and
Wellness. Refusing a Band-Aid to a student
might be in accordance with the law, but com
pletely ridiculous.
Unfortunately, this is not unusual to encoun
ter at other doctor's offices outside any
I A M_ I ■ IL I 1 IL lIIL X I 1
We want to hear from You.
Also, some think that we just assign
articles and you have to write what we
tell you. Again, this is false. In fact,
we really don't like assigning anything
at all. What we do like is when people
come to us with new and creative ideas.
college's
health
system
Depend-
I g on
who's
working
the wait-
mg room,
some
nurses
might he
in a good
enough mood to just hand over the Band-Aid.
Most will probably ask you to fill out insur
ance forms and waivers in order to protect
themselves against claims of malpractice.
If it hasn't happened already, it probably will
can you imagine what that claim would say?
"The aforementioned party has claimed that
'Dr. Smith's' office has not educated him/her
on the proper way to use a Band-Aid, risking
infection and putting the claimer's life at
stake." These are the frivolous claims that pri
vate practitioners are worried about because
idiots like these are 'claiming' that they don't
know how to use a Band-Aid and know that
they can get some fast cash.
The Beacon staff agrees that while it is vital
for Health and Wellness to take measures to
protect themselves against all medical claims,
it is also outrageous that there is no other way
to offer simple first aid without clogging up a
doctor or nurse practitioner's scheduleto heal
students that have boo-boos on their angers.
Perhaps a first-aid station to purchae one's
own first aid kit is a possibility, bu please.
There are loopholes everywhere. Fiid one so
that students don't have to make aroppoint
ment and pay $lO or more for a nule practi
tioner to put on a Band-Aid.
Ideas, opinions, or just plain bitchin'
~•tr
~~ . ~
Friday, November 15, 2002
ehrcoll2@aolto
We want people to write about what
they think is interesting. That's what
makes for good articles that other
students want to read. It is those new
ideas that help the paper
improve.
News writing does involve
some work. But it is good work.
You get to experience things on
this campus that you would
otherwise miss, and you get to
talk to people you would
otherwise walk right by.
Writing for a school
newspaper is the perfect place to
get your start. Because when it
comes time to actually get a job,
employers will want to see what
you have done. They want you
to prove yourself. What will set
you apart from all the other
students with good grades?
I hear students tell me that
they want to get involved in
journalism. I say they should
write for the Beacon. They reply
that they don't have time.
Well, when they graduate,
what do they think will get them
hired? No time? Why are you
even in school? For the parties? If
so, transfer to Edinboro.
W X Wlll W ■ 11l W W W - WW WIN)
Send a letter to the editor.
Actually, you don't eves need a lot
of time to devote to the piper. If you
are interested in writing, !au can write
articles every week, ono a month, or
whenever you come urwith a good
idea.
What will get you he job is the
experience and knoviedge you get
from actually going ouand doing what
you will eventually h getting paid to
do. You need to pros that you can go
out and interview, rsearch, and write
for a large audiece. Journalism
employers don't c,e what grades you
got in your writir, class if you don't
have any clops otctual work.
The Beacor is not just for
communication majors, either.
Employers of alfields like it when you
can actually shw work you have done
and can shovtthat you have writing
talent.
Writing fothe school paper is also
fun because 31-I get to see your writing
printed for t° whole school to see. It's
exciting wl:n you do a good job on a
story and der students read and enjoy
I have ieard people criticize the
Beacon. tnd I am not saying that the
paper is !rfect. There is always room
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The Behrend Beacon
for improvement. If you want
something to get better, then stop
complaining and do something
positive about it. Let's have a little
less conversation 'and a little more
As the new editor of this paper, I
want to take it to the next level. But I
can't do it alone. I have a great staff
here and together; we have done a lot
with the Beacon. But to take it to the
next level we need creative, energetic,
enthusiastic, students who have an
interest in writing and a willingnesS to
learn. Stop by the office, which is
located on the first floor of Reed, at
the end of the hall next to the Back
Room. or email berhcoll@aol.com if
you want to find out how you can be
part of the Behrend Beacon.
It's your paper. Get involved.
-Kevin Fallon
Editor-In-Chief
Behrend Beacon
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
$2.--"
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