■ The Behrend Beacon
I \ February 14,2003 Pages
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Tomorrow’s superstars
Behrend students compete in Erie Idol contest
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Behrend students Andrea Rodriguez. Troy Shafer, and Erinn Hansen sing their hearts out at the Millcreek Mall Friday. Rodriguez, Shafer, and Tom
Widdowson advanced to the next round of “Erie Idol," a local singing competition modeled after the popular show “American Idol.”
hy Kevin Fallon
editor-in-chief
Behrend student Andrea Rodrigue/,
thinks she has what it to he the
next big thing.
Well, at least In Erie
On Monday. Rodrigue/., as well as
several other Penn State Erie students,
took to the stage lor the laic Idol
contest at the Millereek Mall.
The glorified karaoke eontest is
based on the popular television show
“American Idol." I'hc contest gives
local amateur singers a chance to
showcase their talents, or lack thereof,
before a panel of judges, all with the
hopes of being named the Hrie Idol.
“I like the show ‘American Idol
SGA seeks candidates
by Jen Henderson
assistant news editor
Interested in making some decisions
about issues on the Behrend campus?
Want to give your input and really see it
put into action? Then sign up for the
Student Government Association. SGA
is looking for candidates to fill the
spaces of 11 senators, secretary, trea
surer, Vice President and President.
There is no experience required to be
come a senator or secretary; however,
you must get a petition from the RUB
desk and collect 50 signatures by March
5. Petitions are available now.
Running for Vice President and Presi
dent is a combined ticket. In order to
attain either one of these positions, you
must have at least one year of experi
ence with the SGA and collect 200 sig
natures on the petition. The treasurer
position is a bit different from the oth
ers. It is not filled by voting, rather by
applying. Anyone interested in this po
sition must send in a cover letter, resume,
and student schedule by March 5.
An SGA open house will be held on
Feb. 26. It is open to anyone who would
like to learn more about what the SGA
is all about. A few committees that SGA
has on special projects now include the
governmental affairs and the student life
committees. Governmental affairs is
NEWS 1-3 FEATURES 6-7
NATL CAMPUS NEWS 4 CALENDAR 8
EDITORIAL 5 A&E 9
said Rodriguez. “1 hear some of the
people on TV and they’re not very good.
So. I think I have a chance.”
Like the television show, the contest
features some good, and let’s face it,
some not so good acts. But you won’t
find any Simon-esque insults in this
contest.
“We want to be nice,” said Shani Bills
from Fox 66. the event’s organizer.
"They have to have guts to get up there.”
More than 200 people showed up to
enter the contest, but only 49 were
selected to sing for the I 0 semi-finalist
spots.
"We are looking for someone with a
good voice, good style, and someone
who is not afraid to give it their all,” said
Bills. “We want to have a party up here.”
currently meeting with representatives
and talking to them about Behrend and
all that it has to offer as a college. This
whole process is very important due to
the fact that it needs as much funding as
possible.
The student life committee works to
wards helping students in basically ev
ery aspect of campus life. Right now, it
is trying to get a food cart in the Kochel
building along with helping students
with troubles such as the Lion Cash ma
chines and housing concerns.
The SGA is also in charge of allocat
ing funds to the student organizations
on campus. The association is given
$35,000 a semester to give to the vari
ous clubs. The SGA is also looking into
reorganizing itself, and if this occurs
there will be many changes over the next
year.
The process of the upcoming election
is spread out over the next month. Af
ter all petitions are returned to the RUB
desk, election chair Jennifer Crawford
and SGA President Brandi Hovis will
review them for their accuracy. They
will then contact the candidates to give
them a better idea of the positions they
are going for. An outline will be given
to help in this process.
As they do every year, the candidate’s
photos will appear in the Beacon along
with their statements proclaiming why
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The bright lights, big stage, and lure
of Eric stardom was the perfect
combination for some contestants.
“I love singing karaoke,” said Erinn
Hansen, a Behrend student who sang
on Monday. “I just wanted to try
something new.”
Those with the courage had to face
an audience of an estimated 700 people.
And like the TV show, the audience has
a say in who wins. For many of the
contestants it was their first time singing
in front of a large audience.
Behrend student and karaoke buff
Troy Shafer took part in the contest.
“Karaoke is a whole different setting
because it’s in a bar,” said Shafer. “It’s
different on the main stage.”
Three Behrend students advanced to
they would make great contributions to
the SGA. A Meet the Candidates event
is scheduled for March 25 in the Reed
Wintergarden. Everyone is invited to
attend and ask questions of the candi
dates. There is also to be a President/
Vice President debate that will take
place on March 26 in Reed 114. This
event will also take place of the SGA
meeting scheduled for that day.
The actual voting will occur on April
8 and 9.
“It is important to vote for the stu
dents that will best represent your voice
at Behrend,” said Hovis.
“The SGA Election is a very impor
tant part of this school,” election chair
Jennifer Crawford said. “SGA is the
governing body of all clubs and organi
zations, and the students have a say in
who will be sitting on SGA. Even if
students do not run for any of the posi
tions it is crucial that they vote since
this is their governing body.”
There are moves being made to hold
the elections online this year. Nearly
560 students voted in last year’s elec
tion that took place outside of Bruno’s.
This figure was considerably larger than
the 316 from the 2000-2001 running
year. This year is hoped to be even bet
ter.
HUMOR 10
SPORTS 11-12
PHOTOS BY KEVIN FALLON / BEHREND BEACON
the next round. Rodriguez, who sang
“At Last” by Etta James; Shafer, who
did his rendition of Garth Brooks’
“Friends in Low Places;” and Tom
Widdowson who sang 8.8. Mak ail
became one step closer to becoming the
Erie Idol.
Those who did not make it will have
another chance. Open casting calls will
take place every Friday night through
April 11 at various locations.
But most of the contestants insist it’s
a love of music that motivates them.
“I’m just going to go up there and
do my best,” sand Hansen. ‘The most
important thing is to have fun.”
for elections
PHOTO BY JEN HENDERSON / BEHREND BEACON
The door to the SG A Office stands as a reminder of all that the organization
does on campus.
Contact Us
NEWSROOM: 898-6488 E-MAIL: Offices are located
FAX: 898-6019 behrcolls@aol.com downstairs in the
Reed Union Building
Faculty shines
during
‘Behrend Reads’
by Rebecca Weindorf
managing editor
On Thursday evening at Bruno's Cafe,
the Smith Creative Writing Reading
Series continued with Behrend Reads,
an annual event that invites Behrend
professors to share their own works.
With a less-impressive crowd than the
last reading by Sean Thomas Dougherty,
six professors shared their finished or in
progress writings.
Dr. Diana Hume George, on her way
out from the Behrend community, shared
what she defined as a “spiritual
manifesto” to open the evening. The
essay, titled "Scarlet Letter," explored
her role as the first non-Christian in her
family as the daughter/ granddaughter /
niece of Protestant believers and
ministers.
The essay acted as a defense for
George’s beliefs as an atheist. In using
sparse comparisons to Hawthorne's
novel “The Scarlet Letter," George
explained her journey through organized
religions until realizing, at the age of 50,
that she had no belief in any organized
religion. Her essay ended with “Forgive
me, my fathers, for I know exactly what
I do.”
Dr. Chet Wolford also took the reading
as an opportunity to share his attempts
in satire, which he defined as “a very
difficult genre to write in.” The reaction
from the crowd indicated that he was
making progress in his attempts.
There were chuckles in the crowd when
Wolford introduced the narrator in his
story, Art Dunkel, a 28-year-old graduate
student who has been hired as a history
professor at a small Pennsylvania college
- an open position that no other
experienced professor would touch.
“Professor” Dunkel ended up meeting
the president of the college in a small
diner, a woman with “a handful of
chewed fingernails,” and his living
arrangements are in the lower level of
the local YMCA.
Both Dr. Archie Loss and George
Looney told the crowd that their readings
were a result of an unexpected turn in
their writing. Dr. Loss began a second
section and then wrote two other projects
before he could work on it again.
The excerpt from the section, titled
FACULTY.
continued on page 3