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The Behre i 1, Beacon
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November 14, 2003 12 Pages
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J,l64;Z° Vol. LI . 1 ,1 'I 'clm ,',st - i 1t t TriCe&ttititktit Tltl''liCdriOil. No. 10
- " r LIBRARY
Rockin' the Vote rocks the boat
Communication class deals with project censorship
by B.J• Shields
staff writer
A student-produced public service
video was recently yanked from viewing
in Bruno's Café.
The video in question was put together
as a project for Dr. Ursula Davis'
COMMU 405 class. As part of an overall
program called Rockin' the Vote, a group
from Davis's class made the video to
show prior to their planned event, in
hopes of promoting it to the student body.
After arranging to have the video
promotion for Rockin' the Vote aired for
two days in Bruno's Café, the group
members looked forward to the success
of their class project.
"We really just wanted to promote the
event, to get people registered to vote,"
said Carrie Rodgers, COMMU 09.
On Monday, Rodgers approached the
Office of Student Activities about
scheduling the voter registration
program to take place in Bruno's that
Wednesday. The office approved her
request, and that afternoon, the
promotional video her class had prepared
began showing in a continuous loop on
the screen in the café
Later that evening, Rodgers stopped by
Bruno's to make further arrangements
with Housing and Food Services for the
set-up of the public service event. At that
time, she noticed the video was not
playing.
"The manager of Bruno's told us they
had to stop playing the video because
someone from Residence Life staff had
complained," said Rodgers.
The complaint about the video took
issue with a scene in which two DJs were
filmed at a local tavern after one of their
shows. The DJs had offered to play at
the class's event free of charge, so the
producers wished to include them in the
promotional video.
At one point in the clip of the DJs, the
liquor bottle lined shelves of the tavern
Hunger and homelessness week begi
Organization plans for 24 hours of homelessness
by Eileen Jensen
staff writer
Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, the
National Coalition for the Homeless sponsors
National Hunger and Homtlessness Awareness
Week. Throughout the week, schools and
communities participate in a nationwide effort
to bring awareness to the country about the
problems of hunger and homelessness.
Behrend will be one of many schools
throughout our nation advocating and educating
the school community on the importance of not
forgetting about those less fortunate.
An end to homelessness is not impossible, and
throughout Hunger and Homelessness Awareness
Week, many activities will be available for
students to participate in to learn more about how
they can help.
On Monday, the Behrend Soup Bowl Dinner
will take place. Mr. Jonathan Hall, instructor of
physics, will be talking about his experiences in
the Peace Corps. A free lunch is included, and
students must sign up at the Reed Information
Desk. This program is sponsored by Reality
Check and the Student Activity Fee.
The following day, in the Smith Chapel Living
Room, students can experience a meal from a
NEWS 1-4 A&E 7
EDITORIAL 5 FEATURES 8-9
NAT'L CAMPUS NEWS 6 CALENDAR 10
appeared in the
background.
"It was a
two-minute
section of the
video, and no
one was seen
drinking in it,"
said Brooke
Nix, COMMU
07, who also
worked with
the class on the
project.
"They (the
representative
of Residence
Life) said we
w ere
promoting the
bar."
The students
said they felt
they were
going to get in
trouble with
the school and
said the
manager of
Bruno's was
also fearful of
disciplinary
action.
Because the video was part of an
assigned project for which the class
would be graded, the group approached
the Office of Student Activities, offering
to edit the questionable scene from the
video.
"We didn't really get a straight answer,
though, so it was not shown at all after
that," said Rodgers.
It is unclear where school policy conies
into play in the incident, however.
Rodgers and Nix point out that Bruno's
routinely airs football games that contain
advertising and promotion of beer
products. The school also supports the
Beacon newspaper, which last week
printed a page specifically promoting
Inside This Issue
Students are seen here exercising their right to vote during the 2002 SGA Election. The Rockin' the Vote project was designed to
increase voter registration on campus, thus enabling students to exercise their rights of voting in state and federal elections.
first, second, or third-world country. The Feast
or Famine Banquet is a chance to expand
knowledge as to what others are experiencing
because Americans often take for granted what
is given to them. Sign ups are located at the Reed
Information Desk. The Center for Service and
the Student Activity Fee is the sponsor of this
program.
The Cardboard City Program will begin at 4
p.m. on Wednesday. It will last until 4 p.m. on
Thursday. This program's purpose is to raise
awareness of hunger and homelessness issues
through experiencing it first hand. Each
organization throughout campus has the
A cardboard city, like the one pictured here, will soon start springing up around campus
area drinking establishments and has in
the past reviewed restaurants along with
their respective alcoholic beverage
specialties.
According to Chris Rizzo, director of
Student Activities and the Reed Union
Building, the video was removed from
viewing by Housing and Food Services
(HFS), which is an independent
organization.
"Housing and Food Services has the
ability to manage operations of their
facility," said Rizzo in an electronic
communication. "The use of Bruno's for
programming/event purposes has been
a privilege extended by HFS in support
of student life on campus."
SPORTS 11-12
Following the removal of the video
from Bruno's, and the lack of a response
from the Office of Student Activities, the
class discussed at its regular meeting
how the tape's removal an be viewed
as censorship.
"The most frustrating thing about this
whole situation is that it was an assigned
class project," said Nix. "We all worked
very hard putting it all together, and we
weren't promoting alcohol in any way.
We were promoting voter registration."
In addition to discussing the issues of
censorship surrounding this chain of
events in their own class, the video was
also presented to one of Davis' other
classes.
will shelter its members for 24 hours
Organizations must sign up at the Reed
Information Desk so that Police and Safety will
know where their "cities" will be located
throughout campus. The students in the shelters
will beg for money from fellow students. The
money that is raised will support shelters and
soup kitchens in Erie. A homeless shelter will
be set up in the Smith Chapel for the evening.
The final program for Hunger and
Homelessness Week is the Community Service
Fair on Friday. This will take place in McGarvey
Commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This provides
students the opportunity to find out about local
orgr - will be
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Consensus seemed to be that there was
nothing wrong with the video and that
the brief scene of the DJs was not in any
way promoting alcohol consumption to
the viewers. The incident raised
questions in both classes as to the validity
of the initial complaint against the video
and whether the students who created it
were being unnecessarily censored.
With the most of the student
population being 18 and older, the
college would he wrong to think that
students can not make mature decisions.
"We're adults," said Rodgers. "And
besides, it's not like college students
don't already drink."
ns Monday
a DVD raffle at this event
Some people may say that one person can not
make a difference, but students can advocate and
volunteer, and truly make a difference in the lives
of those who need help.
According to the National Coalition for the
Homeless, 40 percent of people living in poverty
are children. The two main factors that account
for poverty increasing is eroding employment
opportunities and the declining availability of
public assistance towards those in need of help.
If you have any questions about the programs
and events planned for Hunger and Homelessness
week, ask at the Reed Information Desk or
contact Kelly Shrout, Coordinator of Service and
Student Activities, at kawl4B@psu.edu or x 6609.
The following organizations help to end hunger
and homelessness. Any organization involved in
the Cardboard City Program will be benefiting
one of the following charities; the Booker T.
Washington Center-Emergency Food Fund, the
City Mission, the Emmaus Soup Kitchen, the
Refuge Emergency Homeless Shelter, the Greater
Erie Area Habitat for Humanity, SAFENET, the
St. Martin Center, the Second Harvest Food
Bank, Alternative Spring Break, or your own non
profit organization that helps to end hunger and
homelessness in the community.