Page 2
The Behrend Beacon
WEEKEND WEATHER
SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY
Scattered
Thunderstorms
High: 62°
Low: 45°
BEHREND BRIEFS
Library hours change for finals
April 25 and May 2
April 26 and May 3
April 27 and May 4
April 28 - May 1
May 9
May 10 and 11
Behrend reaches record spring enrollment
Thanks to a new master's degree program and an increase in adult student en
rollment, the college reached record numbers for the spring semester.
"This semester we have 3,560 students, up 2.8 percent from last year," reported
Dr. Jack Burke, Campus Executive Officer and Dean.
Enrollment growth was recorded at both the four-year and graduate levels, with
the most notable increases in psychology, chemistry, history, computer science,
international business, and engineering.
Some of the increase in students is due to growing enrollment in the newly
created Master of Project Management, which is offered online through Penn
State's World Campus.
An additional increase resulted from a growing population of students over the
age of 24. With enhanced services being offered to this group, adult students now
number 4(X) at Penn State Behrend.
ERIE conference scheduled for May 14
The Economic Research Institute of Erie (ERIE) will release the first-ever esti
mates for productivity in Erie -- currently a missing piece of the local economic
puzzle -- and surprising research data on the problem of "brain drain" at its third
annual ERIE Economic Conference on May 14 at Behrend. These timely studies
offer important insight for business owners and for everyone involved in the eco
nomic growth and development of northwestern Pennsylvania.
"Brain drain has been a hot topic locally and throughout Pennsylvania, but we've
not had real numbers about how many of our graduates are leaving the area until
now," said Dr. James A. Kurre, co-director of ERIE and associate professor of
economics
Kurre will share information resulting from recent academic research in two
presentations, "The Missing Piece of the Erie Economic Puzzle" and "Brain Drain:
Are We Really Losing Our Best and Brightest?" Kurre's inquiries include re
gional development, cost of living issues, and philanthropy.
Dr. Barry R. Weller, associate professor of economics and co-director of ERIE,
will discuss the national economy in presentations titled "What's Up and What's
Down" and "New Forecasts of the Erie Economy: Gloom and Doom or Boom and
Zoom?"
Dr. Kenneth Louis, associate professor of economics and an ERIE research as
sociate specializing in international trade and finance and the economics of labor
markets, will present "Who's Up and Who's Down" and "Impact of the World
Economy: Does Trade Cost or Create Jobs?"
Cost of the conference is $149, which includes a buffet breakfast, written mate
rials, and lunch. Special discounts for nonprofit, government, and economic de
velopment organizations are available. For more information about the confer
ence or to register, contact the School of Business at x 6200.
Chaiken appointed governor's representative
Eugene B. Chaiken, chairman and CEO of Almo Corporation of Philadelphia,
has been designated to serve as Gov. Edward G. Rendell's non-voting representa
tive to the Penn State Board of Trustees. A native of Philadelphia, Chaiken is a
1962 graduate of Penn State. Among a variety of past and present affiliations with
the University, he has been a member of the development council in the College of
the Liberal Arts since 1999 and was recently honored as this year's Alumni Fellow
for the College. His appointment became effective on March 21.
El Nifio helps Pennsylvania farmers
A notorious "bad boy" made an unexpected appearance last fall in Pennsylva
nia, wiping out the drought with a soggy series of slow-moving rainstorms com
ing out of the South, and then stocking up soil moisture across most of the state
with almost daily snowstorms through the winter. El Nino made his presence felt,
according to a water resources expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sci
ences, in a way that has Pennsylvania farmers optimistic about the upcoming grow
ing season for the first time in five years.
POLICE AND SAFETY
04/10/03 06:45
04/13/03 02:15
04/13/03 03:49
"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of
others. If you have that awareness, you have good man
ners, no matter which fork you use."
- Emily Post
Janet Neff Sample Center C
for Manners 6' Civility
....
T-Storms
Likely
High: 65°
Low: 43°
8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
10 a.m.- 10 p.m
noon - 1 a.m.
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mon - Thurs
Friday
Sat - Sun
8 a.m. - 1 a.m
8 a.m. - 7 p.m
CLOSED
A complainant reported the rear window of her
1996 minivan was broken while parked in the
Dobbins Hall staff lot on April 9.
A complainant reported two males were moving
large boulders onto Overlook Drive. Both were
apprehended and arrested.
A complainant received several phone calls in a
row and wished to make a harassment by
communications complaint.
CLASSIFIED
Isft
Chance Showers
High: 58°
Low: 42°
N E WE
Friday, April 18, 2003
. .
IN ••,•,•::•••••
•-•
.6. ...
TA,
Members of the woodwinds section of Behrend's concert band play during the year's culminating concert
ASA shares joy of reading with kids
by Erinn Hansen
calendar page editor
Members of Behrend's chapter of Alpha
Sigma Alpha sorority have gone into
different schools in the city of Erie and read
to kids. This event, sponsored by the
Behrend and Barnes & Noble bookstores,
started on April 4 and ended on April 11.
"The purpose of this event was to
introduce children to books, to reading, and
to help get the children excited about
reading a book," said Cheryl Streckers,
assistant manager of the Behrend
Bookstore and project coordinator. "This
is my first year of doing this and I feel that
it is a wonderful community service project
for the sorority and for the bookstore.
Former employee, Jan Gatti, has done a
remarkable job and I am looking forward
to doing this for many years."
The Reading to Kids project involved
members of ASA, along with Streckers,
taking turns for each day and going to the
different schools. The students dress up as
a character from the books that they are
reading that year and read the stories that
correspond. Publishing companies provide
their respective costume characters. Most
of them are free of charge, and the program
only has to pay for the shipping and
cleaning of the costume.
ASA members and Erie kids bonded
last week over Corduroy.
Hempel's powerful prose concludes series
by Erin McCarty
news editor
This year's Creative Writers' Speaker
Series ended with a reading from fiction
writer Amy Hempel on Thursday.
Hempel's acclaimed stories have appeared
in such publications as "Best American
Short Stories" and "The Norton Anthology
of Short Fiction," and she has published
three collections of fiction.
English professor George Looney, a
long-time admirer of Hempel's work,
introduced her as a writer who "manages
to find words for the severe moments she
places her characters in." He spoke of the
balance between redemption and suffering
for readers of Hempel's prose, quoting T.
R. Hummer's "Bluegrass Wasteland" to
refer to the quality of her writing.
"We need fictions that keep us feeling,
and Amy Hempel's work does that,"
Looney said.
Hempel shared three stories during her
reading. The first, "Now I Can See the
Moon," took its title from a Japanese poem:
"No barn burned down now I can see the
moon." In the story, the speaker struggles
with her dying marriage and the heartaches
inherent in her job as a trainer of guide dogs
for the blind. In the story, Hempel delves
into the inner lives of dogs and the humans
who grow to love them.
"You don't just love the dogs, you fall
in love with them," she writes. The task
of training a dog for a life of service is
especially difficult because the trainer
FOCAL POINT
because it has a good selection to choose
from. Each year, the sisters usually go to
eight or nine different schools, with 25 to
50 students in each, making that a total of
200 to 250 kids.
"I would like to say that my time doing
Reading to Kids is something I will never
forget," said Katie Leary. philanthropic
chair of ASA. "I am so excited that the kids
have a chance to hear all the wonderful
stories and see the fun characters, and I
hope that this program continues on for
ASA for many years."
This is the fourth year that the sorority
has been doing this service project, and has
done many fun characters. Past characters
include Pinkerton, Biscuit the dog, and
Madeline.
This year's character was Corduroy the
bear, featuring the stories of how he got
his button, and how he got his pocket.
Strecker and ASA sisters would go into
each of the schools, dress up in the bear
costume, and then read the stories to the
kids, with a little activity in between each
one. For this year's activity, the children
performed the popular song "Teddy Bear,
Teddy Bear" with the name Corduroy in
place of Teddy Bear.
"I usually read the same stories at each
school, especially since these are the main
stories about Corduroy," said Streckers. "I
usually read one to two hooks, depending
on the age group, and I usually do an
activity in between, so the children can get
up and move around."
The ASA sisters and Streckers have gone
into a total of 10 different places, including
nine schools this year. These schools
include The Penn State Behrend Daycare
Center; Irving School; St. George;
Glenwood; McCord Library; Edinboro
Library; McKinley School; Diehl and
Harborcreek Pre-School. The ninth facility
that this event took place at was the
Behrend Bookstore, on April 5. The day
was filled with crafts, snacks, games, and
storytime with Corduroy.
knows that a separation is imminent.
"These relationships begin with a yearning
for a future that won't be shared."
The second story, "The Harvest," was
especially well suited to a creative writing
audience, as it dealt heavily with an
author's license to manipulate the truth.
Separated into two sections, the first part
details the speaker's severe injury in a car
accident and subsequent recovery period,
including her lawyer's attempts to win her
a hefty settlement based on, among other
things, her decreased marriageability and
chances of becoming a stewardess. The
second section of the story goes through
the first story, amending it at every turn
with the truth.
"There was no other car, but think of the
awkward syllables when you have to say
'motorcycle,'" the narrator says.
Everything, from vehicular details to
unlikely coincidence, is changed in the
translation from recollection to memoir.
The truth of the second section struck a
particular chord with the writerly audience,
invoking many laughs. "This is the version
that has room for perfect irony," she writes.
"The Dog of the Marriage," the shortest
of the three, concluded the reading.
Originally titled "Saints," it deals with the
hunt for the narrator's missing dog,
including avenues such as posters
(complete with the promise of an
inadequate reward) hung by her husband
and the dubious services of pet psychics.
Throughout her frenzied search, the
narrator is comforted by the presence of
Erin McCarty, News Editor
belhrcollls@aol.com
"This was a really fun day," said
Streckers. "For a snack time, the kids made
peanut butter with some honey in it, which
was very yummy
A total of 12 people, including I() ASA
sisters, participated in this year's Reading
to Kids. These sisters include Steff Bailey:
Sara Grant: Alyssa Fischer: Eileen
Falkenhurg: Sarah Men sing: Mindy
Shauers; Dee Nowacinski: Katie Leary;
Erika Jarvis; and Adrienne Schermer. The
other two people included Falkenburg's
boyfriend and Tau Kappa Epsilon's Guy
Reschenthaler. Cheryl also asked Emily
Allen, student employee at the bookstore
to help out with this project.
All of the people that participated would
agree that Reading to Kids is a wonderful
thing, and their thhe put into this project,
earned the sisters of Alpha Sigma Alpha
the Outstanding Campus/Community
Service and Outstanding Greek Chapter
award.
"I think that it is a good idea," said
Mensing. "The kids are having fun and
learning at the same time."
really enjoyed my time," said Leary.
"The kids are so excited and you feel
genuine love for their love for reading. The
bookstore gives us free publicity and we
are very thankful for that. Cheryl and Jan
have been very accommodating and fun to
work with these last three years."
"1 think that it is wonderful, and it's great
that the girls from ASA offered to do a
project like this," said Streckers. "I think
that it is fun for the kids to have someone
special come in. I could use as many
volunteers as possible to do this next year.
All you have to do is he willing to have a
good time, and lose yourself in the
character.-
Everyone who participated would agree
that Reading to Kids 2003 was a huge
success, and are looking forward to doing
this for many years to come.
deer, whom she considers "saints, guardian
angels, my friends. -
After the reading, Hempel answered a
few questions about her writing process for
those assembled.
"1
have a poet's concerns in writing
fiction," she said. "I'm always paying
attention to the acoustics of each sentence."
She also spoke of her tendency to use
everyday vignettes in her writing, "the
perfectly selected moments that make up
a life."
In regard to her impetus for writing, she
said that she always keeps in mind the
readerly question, "Why are you telling me
"If you keep sight of that," she said, "it
really does keep you aligned with
BEHREND BEACON
Fiction writer Amy Hempel concludes
the Creative Writers' Series.