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The Behrend Beacon
Patch Adams speaks on
with humor at Behrend
by Erinn Hansen
calendar page editor
Hunter "Patch" Adams, clown, social activist, and
medical doctor, will continue the Speaker Series at
Penn State Behrend on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the
McGarvey Commons. His assistant 1)r. Susan
Parenti, philosophy professor, composer, and
performer, will join him.
"They will be speaking about the joy and quality
of our lives through caring, and how we can reduce
stress," said Chris Rizzo, director of Student
Activities. "He will also talk about his experiences
and medical practices."
Adams, who once was a mental patient, believes
that America's current health care system is elitist
and in slavery to money and technology. He also
believes that humor, joy, compassion, and simple
listening have their own healing power, and builds
friendship and trust with his patients before moving
on to any sort of treatment that is not involved with
trauma. He is also a professional clown, for which
he wears a rubber nose and funny hats.
Adams became an advocate for reform, and
mental health, as well as medicine. lie and his
colleagues started the Gesundheit Institute in West
Virginia, in 1971, which operated for 12 years.
During these 12 years, the institute saw more than
15,000 patients, charged nothing, and did not have
any malpractice insurance.
In 1983, Adams realized that a more formal
facility would be necessary to continue, and shifted
his focus to raising awareness and funds for the new
Gesundheit Institute.
"Patch Adams," a movie with Robin Williams in
the title role, tells the story of Adams' early years at
medical school and some of the obstacles that he
overcame
Telecounselors make all the difference
by Kassi Hindman
staff writer
Think back to your senior year of high school.
Besides coming down with senioritis, von were
probably stressed about your decision on where to
go to college and what it would he like once you
left the only thing you'd known for the past 12
years.' For the students who received their
acceptance letter, some of these questiOns were
answered by the telecounselors from Behrend.
The counseling program here is known as STARS
student telecounseling admissions
representatives. Many students at Behrend probably
remember getting a call but didn't really know who
called them or why. This is a program started eight
years ago with volunteers. It has now evolved and
the students can use the job as work study or wage
payroll. They have also built a database system that
makes keeping records and making calls easier.
Monday through Thursday, from 5:30 p.m. - X:.10
p.m., a number of students arrive at the Glennhi II
Farmhouse for what they jokingly call the "second
shift. - They have a list of high school students who
have been offered acceptance to Behrend. They call
these students to answer any questions they might
have. They will call the student three times. The
first call is to congratulate them on their acceptance
and answer any questions they might have about
making their decision. The second call is to talk
about the academic side, such as scheduling or
Janitor Walk celebrates
25 years at Behrend
Janitorial foreman Gordon Walk receives a certificate commemorating his 25 years of service
to Behrend during a reception held in his honor on Nov. 5.
- This is a unique experience for Behrend," said
Rizzo. - This speaker series will he unlike any other
ones that we have had, and I would not miss it for
anything,
The series is sponsored by the Office of Student
Affairs and is partially funded by the John Nesbit
Rees and Sarah Henne Rees Foundation, which has
won the National Association for Campus
Activities' Best Lecture Series Award.
For more information about the speaker series,
call (814) 898-6171. The night is open to the public,
it is free, and all are welcome to attend.
Patch Adams, creator of the Gesundheit Insti
tute and subject of the Robin Williams movie,
speaks at Behrend Tuesday.
choosing a major. The third call is to talk about the
student activities that are available here.
The same student makes each of the three calls
so the prospective student always talks to the same
person.
"This is one of the things that is really nice; it
helps them to become more comfortable in asking
questions and with the overall college
environment," said Mary-Fllen Madigan, director
of admissions and financial aid.
The students will also send a personalized
postcard to their incoming student. This gives them
(he contact information in case any other questions
come up. Besides the call and postcard Behrend
also has an AOl. screen name that students can
use. During the day they can use it to talk to an
admissions counselor and at night they can talk to
a student. Behrends screen name is BehrendPSU.
The students start working in mid-October when
the application season is in full swing and they
continue, with a break for finals, until the end of
school in May. They work even after the busy
season because once students are accepted and are
coming here their questions change.
- The purpose for these calls is for prospective
students to hear about the campus from a student
perspective," said Madigan. "I can't tell them what
college life is like. Students need to know what it
is like to live and go to class here, which I don't
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Friday November 22, 2002
healing
AFGHANISTA
two ping pong tables," Havey said. "The British
are giving the soldiers a party for Thanksgiving
because [the Bagram base] helped them out, but
that's pretty much it for the holiday."
So what about Christmas?
"They try to avoid any strong Christian themes
I mean, Afghanistan used to be run by the
Taliban," Havey said. "They're not allowed to
have pork over there either I can't send him
beef jerky. [The soldiers] will get a turkey dinner
for Christmas, but other than that, they still have
to keep working."
And every last soldier works hard. Miller is a
lightweight mechanic and does plenty of repairs
on the base, from 6 a.m. to about 5 p.m. He is
part of a unit that consists of four soldiers: himself
and three ammunition specialists.
"He hasn't had a day off in weeks," Havey said.
"He was getting a little frustrated."
But there is no doubt that Jeffrey Miller is one
dedicated soldier.
"As bad as it sucks, I'm glad I'm here fighting
for our country," Miller said.
i'ill1;i:1;11:1
spectable organization and one that is growing in
numbers.
"Being actively involved in an AMA Collegiate
Chapter will provide you with the professional
skills that will increase your value in today's com
petitive environment," stated Medovitch, who is
president of the club.
The big project that the group is really looking
forward to in the spring is the 2002-2003 Case
Competition in Orlando, Fla. This year's competi
tion involves developing a marketing plan for the
Procter & Gamble brand, Pringles. The company
is looking to attract more young adults by this com
petition. The top eight teams will compete at the
annual Collegiate Conference on March 13. Judges
from Procter & Gamble will decide which team
has prepared the best case.
The Marketing Club is a way to build some ex
perience for later on down the road.
"With every major when you graduate from col
lege, people want a high GPA to get a better job.
But with marketing another thing they look for
ward to is someone who has an expanded experi
ence portfolio, a kind of background experience,"
explained Medovitch.
Marketing is a young major and getting experi-
Guevara brings culture to poetry
by Alyssa Peconi
staff writer
When poet Maurice Kilwein Guevara spoke
on Nov. 8, in the Smith Chapel, he left a lasting
impression of the depth of his poetry in the mind
of his audience.
Guevara had a variety of poetry, all his own
work. He incorporated such things as accents,
voice pieces, geographical places, personal
relationships, hand gestures, and inflection into
his readings to emphasize their importance and
strengthen their meanings.
Guevara was born in 1961 in Belencito,
Colombia and was raised in Pittsbugh. He is a
famous poet, having received awards from the
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the J.
William Fulbright Commission. He is currently
a professor of English at Indiana University of
Pennsylvania.
Guevara has written three books of poetry,
including "Postmortem," published in 1994,
"Poems of the River Spirit," published in 1996,
and "Autobiography of So-and-so: Poems in
Prose." He read pieces from each of the books.
The first few pieces that Guevara presented
during the reading were "My Mother is a Young
Woman" and "Grimm the Janitor."
In these two poems, Guevara used personal
relationships to develop emotional meaning. He
spoke of his mother in the first poem, and he
spoke of a janitor from high school in the second
poem. By relating these people to him, he
conveyed a message of personal feeling.
In addition, in "Grimm the Janitor," Guevara
used an accent to present the speaker, Grimm, in
an accurate manner. This made it easier to
imagine Grimm as a real person and brought
power to his character.
In "City Prophet Talks to God," Guevara also
used an accent to establish realness in the
characters. Additionally, he used vivid imagery
and details in this poem to create emotion in the
people listening and reading his poetry. He also
incorporated landmarks from his hometown,
Pittsburgh.
In "The Halloween Party," which placed the
speaker at a gathering that was, unbeknownst to
him, a KKK meeting. Guevara described the
southwestern Pennsylvania scene, establishing
some typical practices and customs there. He did
FROM FRONT PAGE
behrcolls@aol.com
Jeffrey Miller has earned several decorations,
as he is shown here in full formal military dress.
ence now is a good way to put you ahead of the
competition
"The marketing club is a good chance to gain ex
perience in marketing related fields and is also a
good resume builder," said Maureen Archer, a
sophomore member of the club.
The marketing club is divided into three commit
tees. There is the Sports Marketing Committee,
Public Relations, and the Entertainment Marketing
Committee. The Sports Marketing portion is go
ing to he involved in all types of sporting events at
Behrend. As of right now it plans to talk to Rob
Wittman to get something started with varsity sports,
intramurals, or even club spoils. The club may even
try to bring in some sports professionals from the
Erie Otters or from a Pittsburgh team.
The Entertainment Marketing is also well on its
way to getting some venues here. hut none are yet
confirmed. Public Relations is into helping get the
club's voice heard
,tind also will help with such
worthwhile events as THON.
With very few classes at Behrend in this field and
few professors, it is hard to get into the major. This
club hopes to help its members to get their foot in
the door and prepare them for better careers after
they graduate.
that to cause the audience to open their eyes to
difference, because very different things occur
in different places in the world.
Though Guevara read many more poems, these
ones were especially well understood and enjoyed
by the members of his audience.
He presented all his poetry in a very emotional
way, continuously pausing, showing emotion in
his face and gestures, changing his voice
inflection, and changing languages and accents,
making his language raw yet finished.
Guevara also brought a multicultural aspect to
his presentation because of the way he
incorporated Spanish into his poetry. Though not
everyone in the audience spoke or understood the
language, he made them able to understand the
heart of each poem.
He made a successful attempt in reaching the
audience on an emotional level. Judging by
reactions to his poetry, he audience thoroughly
enjoyed his work and efforts.
Poet Maurice Kilwein Guevara read at Behrend
Nov. 8 as part of the Creative Writing Speaker
Series.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO