Straub News Editor Courtne Question of the Week by Justin Curry and Courtney Straub news editors "1 think its unfair because it's always going to be available so you'd have to fine millions of people" Ann Bandecca DUS, 03 Child care center marks ten year anniversary by Heather Peterson staff writer As one pulls into the Penn State Behrend Childcare Center, a sign reads "Slow Children At Play." Many young kids enjoy the playground and other activities that are offered to them. On Sept. 17 the Childcare Center celebrated 10 years of quality care. Located at 5450 Merwin Lane in Knowledge Park, the center was established by Penn State in 1993 to care for the children of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Eunice Moore, director of the childcare cen ter said that currently 90 children are enrolled at the center between the ages of 6 months and 6 years old. Out of these 90 children, 51 of them are Behrend staff, students, or alumni. The program runs on monthly themes and the lessons are conducted according to the age of the students. In order to break the children up into age groups, the center has three pods and each pod has two groups. The groups arc di vided into infants, toddlers, and preschool aged children. As the year progresses, the themes change so that the children can learn of different things. Trigon holds third annual Pride March by BJ Shields staff writer It was like a sign from above last weekend when a wet and cloudy Saturday morning turned into a warm and sunny afternoon, complete with rain bows—and lots of them! At least that's what you would have seen if you were anywhere near State Street in downtown Erie on Sept. 13 as over 100 people hit the streets in support of equality for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered people. The event, in its third year, has made leaps and bounds at serving its purpose: to demand equality through visibility. " We are here, and here to stay," said Abby Atkinson, who coordinated the march and rally that followed. "We deserve the basic human -rights granted to every human being and every American. Still, we are denied marriage, joint health care coverage, adoption rights, guardianship rights, etc. It is time that the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi, transgender) com munity is acknowledged as equal under the consti tution of the United States rather than second class citizens still struggling through the separate but equal mindset the government is adopting. That mentality has never worked before, and it won't work now," Said Atkinson. Two years ago, the march included no more than twenty people walking down the sidewalk. " This year there were definitely more people," said Dr. Susan Galle-Bilko, professor of Psychol ogy at Behrend, "I was very happy to see so many people come out to support the LGBT community." Indeed, the large turnout even caused the city of Erie to close the Northbound lanes of the main ar tery through the city to allow folks from every walk of life to show their colors. Drag queens, moms and dads, children, and men and women of several ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds carried banners and signs and joined in supportive chants that ech oed through the streets. The march began at the Village nightclub on 18'h Street and culminated at Erie's Perry Square on "I think it'll pass kind of like when the VCR came out and everyone was upset, so it will pass and everyone will get the music they want." Dave Daquelente Psych, 05 According to its philosophy, the center tries to provide a "warm, supportive environment in which children are encouraged to explore their individuality". For its anniversary, an open house celebra tion was planned in order for the Behrend corn munity to get a better look at what the center has to offer. The Behrend Childcare Center is open every week day from 6:30 AM until 6:00 PM. The program runs on a year-round basis and children can attend part-time or full-time depending on their specific needs. Each room is supervised by a trained supervisor and aides. Now that the center has established itself at Behrend, it is hopeful that the programs will con tinue to he as successful as they have been in the last 10 years. We're looking forward to many more years of providing high quality childcare to the Behrend community," said Moore. For further information, you can check out their web site at http://www.pserie.psu.edu/af fairs/chi ldcare/. Sixth Street, where more supporters gathered in the afternoon to be greeted by city and state offi cials. " "[Even] the mayor came out to address the crowd this year. What a change from a year ago when the only political figure who at tended was a candidate for the Green Party, An- drea Benson," Atkinson said mayor's address was preceded by a speech from Pennsylvania State Representative Linda Bebko- Jones. who related her own experiences with dis crimination—for both being short she joked, and more significantly for her open support of the gay community. "I'm not sure how well noticed it was, but hav- rigon me J ~ ~`J \ J Friday, September 19, 2003 "It's ridiculous. They're trying to hold onto their dying business model of selling low value CDs when we have instant value of download" Chris Marlsic Software Engineering, 03 pt. 131 rs mar Ok l a CAMtech future limbo by Courtney Straub news editor CAMtech, the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Technoloy, is in danger of closing its doors. Only 2 years old, the school originally started to develop qualifications, employability, and advancement of the workforce in northwest Pennsylvania. However, the Pennsylvania State legislature has thrown a wrench into the school's financial books "We are a knew school that's only two years old," said Dr. Covart, President of CAMtech. "We've been very successful in getting started and we don't think it's fair to our students to not be able to educate them," said Covart. Each year CAMtech receives $5.6 milliqp dollars in state funding. Convart explained that because the funding was not approved by the state legislatures, funds have been short. When legislatures come hack into session, Covart is optimistic that the budget will be approved, however, no one ultimately knows how it will end up. CAMtech now provides services based on tuition fees they have saved from previous years. ing David Greer speak for us was a tremendous accomplishment. He is the HIV/AIDS advisory counsel to President Bush, and has been an active political force in Pa. from his presidency in the Log Cabin Republicans of Pa. and more," Atkinson added in regard to the keynote speaker. Aside from the March for Equality and Pride Rally held on Saturday, festivities included a PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Bingo night complete with drag queen number call ers, and a kickoff party at the Zone nightclub on Friday. Another Pride party was held Saturday night at the Village nightclub, and Sunday's events included an afternoon "Dyke vs. Drag" softball wntown le as part "1 think its unfair because they haven't regulated it - yet People don't know exactly what's legal. They should put it in the news and TV" fair Carrasquero Mechanical Engineering, 08 The Behrend Beacon "It's not right that people are downloading music and taking it from the artists. I also understand that there's a monopoly in the music industry. Primal Erskine Computer Engineering, 01 They will also rely on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, who still has money available for use by CAMtech, Covart explains that CAMtech is state funded. The United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. distributes the money to the Pennsylvania Labor of Industry Department in Harrisburg. They in turn distribute the money throughout the state. CAMtech is one of the schools the money is distributed to. CAMtech is one of only a few schools in Pennsylvania to offer such diverse fields of study in manufacturing and technology. Approximately 1300 students are enrolled at CAMtech. Students range from college age to adults. Some companies send workers to CAMtech to update skills. r Student, attqnd.tbe school fpr!wo years. A variety of degrees in fields such as computer science technology, tool, die, molding, etc. can be obtained. Ten of its classrooms are computer ready for interactive learning. "The technology is so highly advanced," said Katie Leary, teacher in the computer science technology field, "It's a great place for students. game followed by a jazz brunch. The three-day celebration was put together and sponsored by Trigon, the SGA's GLBT and Straight Allied organization headed by Jeff Daniels. " "University Park puts together Pride Week on campus, as do other schools, but most city-wide or county-wide rallies like this one are sponsored by larger nonprofit or special interest groups," said Atkinson. While PSU did not fund the event, Trigon pri vately raised about $2500, as well as gifts for a Chinese auction held to defray costs. 111
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers