The Behrend beacon. (Erie, Pa.) 1998-current, January 17, 2003, Image 5
Paige Miies, Editorial Page Editor J_ J The Behrend Beacon published weekly hv the students oj IJcnn State Uric. The liehrentl ( olle, gr News Editor Erin McCarty Assistant News Editor Jen Henderson Sports Editor Scott Soltis Editorial Page Editor Paige Miles Features Editor Karl Benacci Staff Photographers “A newspaper b\ the .... „ Jeff Hankey 1 H ■ „ Distribution Manager Heather Myers students for the students Scott Soltis 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. I smell sex and candy There are a lot of great debatable is sues in the news. We have the issue ot cloning, Eminem, racial discrimination, the war on Iraq. Trent Lott and North Korea. There is a lot go ing on in the world of 2(X)3. Out of all of these— to be frank —I could not pick a single topic to write an editorial. So, since this is my column. I’ll do what I want to do, dammit! This editorial is going to quickly cover all the top ics I wanted to write about. Get set, get ready, this is going to be the short, everyone sweet, and dirty of all throws any these controversies. It is body the fin going to be like an edito- . , , > / • ger. and con rial buftet. Get up to the ’ L stantly disre line, grab a fork, push the Guy Reschenthaler fat person out of the way, here we g 0... Cloning This cult or sect, or whatever in God's name the group is, has claimed to haw cloned two children but will not let any one see the two Mini-Mes. Clone Aid. in my opinion, is a joke. But the claim has raised some good issues about clon ing. Some believe cloning is against God's will and should be illegal. Oth ers fear that clones will be used solely for spare parts. If you need a new liver, make a clone and take his or her liver. This is all nonsense. All of it. just non sense. If and w'hen we actually clone a human being, fine. No big deal. Treat the clone with the same rights as any human being. The clone is a human and Living Dr. Spike Lee’s timing couldn't be more ironic. Lee, who has addressed racism in American culture with movies such as “Jungle Fever,” “Malcolm X,” and “Bam boozled," visited Behrend just weeks af ter majority leader Trent Lott from his position and reminded tion that it is not too far removei its pre-civil rights movement da; America may have moved passi its slavery and segregation days bi as Lott pointed out and Lee oftr shows us in films, raciest attitudi still exist. Lee, an independent filmmakei strays away from superficial big budget blockbusters. But I say, now is as good a time as any to FaUon use Hollywood to point out the ills of American society. My idea for the next Spike Lee Joint: “Malcolm XXX.” Vin Diesel stars as a machine-gun tot ing Malcolm X with an attitude as he fights a racist army of bad guys led by General Trent Lott and a cloned Termi nator version of Strom Thurmond sent from the future to run for president on a ballot of segregation and global domina tion. Diesel could say cheesy action-hero Editor-in-Chief Kevin Fallon Managing Editors Rebecca Weindorf Robert Wynne THE BEHREND Beacon Professional Publication Mgr. Dave Richards Advisor Cathy Roan 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 should he treated as such. Science is on the verge of a breakthrough. In 2003. lei's let science he science. Besides, I really want to see my own Mini-Me. That would be wauled for it. I'hc industry cannot wait to hand him his next award. Many people want to ban his CDs from record stores. A lot of people talk of him as if he was the embodiment of every thing wrong with America. 1 do not buy into that at all. This editorialist gives Slim Shady respect and the credit he is due. First, he is a pioneer in rap. He is to rap as Jackie Robinson was to baseball and should be recognized for it. The white rapper has broken the race barrier that existed among rap artists. Second, he is a champion of free speech. We need outspoken individuals like Eminem to remind us from time to time that we can King’s dream lines like. "I am going to segregate your head from your body,” as he blast away the bad guys. Who says Hollywood never makes 60s, so it may seem like ancient history for those born in the 70s or 80s. But many of our parents and grandparents lived in times where African Americans drank from separate drinking fountains and were discriminated against because of the color of their skin. What is even more upsetting is that some of the attitudes of the recent past lin ger today. In fact, as Lott and Thurmond pointed out, it is not just attitudes that re- Advertising Managers Melissa Powell Christine Kleck Calendar Page Editor Erinn Hansen A&E Editor Daniel Stasiewski Humor Page Editor Mike Butala Associate Editor Courtney Straub that week’s issue sweet! Eminem This guy is one of my he roes. He says what he thinks and does what he does. So simple, yet so profound. He talks trash on spects the mu- sic industry, and he is re- quality movies? All joking aside, race elations are still a serious ssue in this country. Sometimes it is hard for :hose of the younger gen eration born in a time of “equality” to remember , that the extreme racism experienced by many in this country was not that long ago. The equal rights movement took place in the Friday, January 17, 2003 Send all thoughts, complaints, comments, praises, protests, objections, compliments, critiques, and Letters to the Editor to Behrcoll2@aol.com. Include your name, major, and semester standing . express ourselves, no matter how offen sive the expression may be. Third, he is extremely talented. I do not care if he is rapping about rape, murder, or incest — the way he says it, the manner of deliv ery, is nothing short of genius. If he had been born in the late 1500 s, Mathers would have rivaled Shakespeare. In 2003, I want more Marshall Mathers, 1 want him to get even more awards than he did last year, and I want to hear about all the controversy that surrounds this rap artist. He is the man. Racial Discrimination The University of Michigan is being sued for racial discrimination. The col lege favors minorities in its application process—the university makes judg ments based on race. If an applicant is of a minority he or she is awarded 20 points. If he or she scored a perfect on the SATs or ACTs then 12 points is awarded. If the applicant is a legacy (his or her parents attended the university) he or she is awarded three points. This is sickening. In this day and age there should be no racial discrimination, and yet here it is, alive, thriving, and well. Why should a minority be given more points? Should individuals not be judge on the basis of accomplishment and abil ity? Why does race have to be brought into any system? In 2003, individuals should be treaty equally. Men and women should be judged solely by char acter, integrity, and ability. No one should get special privilege or treatment because color of his or her skin. War on Iraq Let’s do it. Why? To overthrow a ty- main, but many leaders of the time are still in power. The 100-year-old Thurmond ran for president in 1948 on the segregationist Dixiecrat ticket. Although Thurmond has said he no longer believes what he did in 1948, it is still unsettling to have some one in power who fought so hard to keep this country segregated. I guess when writing an editorial, it is easy to take a stand against racism. Of course, everyone is against racism. But sometimes it’s just important to point out the problem still exists. Beyond that, as voters we need to be aware of who we elect and what they stand for. In addition, we should set an example in our own lives by embracing diversity and speaking out against hate. As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we must remember that we are not only celebrating his accomplishments; we are completing his unfinished dream. As for my idea for the new Spike Lee Joint, 1 know King preached about non violence, but you have to admit it would be cool to watch Vin Diesel blow up KKK mutant vampires...diversity style. rant. eliminate a threat to the United Stales, to build a bastion of liberty in the Middle East, and to secure oil. Just one of those reasons is enough justification for me. If you are one of those who oppose U.S. action in Iraq, think about these comparisons: Compare how Muslims are treated in the United States to how Chris tians and Jews are treated in Iraq. Com pare Iraq's press with our own. Com pare an Iraqi's political rights with an American’s. See any difference’? The people of Iraq should be set free from the Stalin-wanna-be we call, Hussein. The U.S. needs to protect itself and we need oil. Enough said, let's move on. Trent Lott Trent Lott disappoints me. Here is a man who was trying to make an old guy feel good at his birthday party. For this, Lott was torn to shreds by the press. Then when faced with, what I believe to be unfair criticism, he backed down and apologized. F3ut why? Why apologize and give in to those who irrationally criti cize? Lott should have stood up, said he was trying to make Strom Thurmond feel proud on what may be his last birthday and say to hell with everyone. He didn’t. Eminem would have. Lott also should have reminded the media and those who unfairly attacked him that when Thurmond ran for presi dent, on a segregationist platform, he was a Democrat. The former Senate Major ity Leader should have pointed out that when Thurmond finally felt enlightened and changed his views, he joined the Re publican Party. In the year 2003, it would be nice to see more politicians stand up The Behrend Beacon for themselves and not cave into unjust and misplaced pressure. North Korea North Korea is evil. The fact is plain and simple to see. The state cannot stop spewing anti-American rhetoric. North Korea has nuclear weapons and wants to build more. The Communist nation is even blackmailing the U S trying to squeeze capitalist dollars from ns in re turn that the state does not build more nukes. We also provide this anti-West em nation with food aid. This is absurd. In 2003, I may have to approach the North Korean topic in an entire edito rial. Until then, I can only hope that our nation gives them not one more cent and absolutely not one more ounce of food. If North Koreans arc going to walk the walk of communism, they will not do it with an American loaf of bread under each arm. The Look, Here’s How It Is Part I’d like to go on, but I’m running out of page space. So I’ll wrap this bad boy up... Look, here's how it is: "Sex and Candy" is a great song and it will not be played on the radio in 2003. It is old and was overplayed back in my frcslnnan days of high school. Yet, this year we should remember that Marcv’s Play ground had it right with “Sex and ( ’andy. Everyone" loves sex and everyone lows candy. There should he more of these two in 2003, especially if the title grabs a reader’s attention. Reschenthaler’s column appears every three weeks Page