The Behrend beacon. (Erie, Pa.) 1998-current, November 21, 2003, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    It • From athlete to chef? See page 13 •
4 .--.."'"'Jft.-....,
,
,
S..
',%,
, .
J s 'l ', The BehrendE„,Beacori
~,.. November 21, 2003 NOV 21 2003 14 Pages
•4- - licoaEG4
No. 11
Vol. LI 40A Penn State .F."vitT '.t - 1141cAfIRAR_ritt.Iii,. - 414 - 1,111.
J ,- .
Students 'weight' to get buff
by Ray Immekus
staff writer
Working out is an activity that many
Behrend students enjoy. However,
when they go to the Jageman Fitness
Center and spend more time waiting for
a machine than actually using it, it is
not a rewarding activity.
"This is a big college, we need a big
weight room. I think we need to ex
pand," said Nick Kish, AG 01. There
are a lot of machines in a little room,
which crowds things up in there. I just
think they need to expand, maybe make
two weight rooms, like one down in
Erie (Hall) or one up on the hill some
where."
This seems to be a popular complaint
among the school's weight-trainers and
other students who try to utilize the
Jageman Fitness Center. Jageman suf
fers from over-crowding, especially be
tween the hours of 4 and 9 p.m.
The Junker Center replaced Erie Hall
in 2001 as the principal indoor athletic
facility on campus. Erie Hall was reno
vated to accommodate offices, but the
first-floor gym remains open and is
used for intramurals.
Jageman has about 10 treadmills and
ellipticals, along with 10 to 15 other
various weight lifting machines, seven
benches and a plethora of free weights.
There is very little empty space left in
the weight room, so students are often
shoulder to shoulder in certain areas.
"I go lifting a lot at night, and I'd say
one out of five people in there really
aren't doing anything," said Bill
Scheuer, BUS 01. "People go in there
just to like hang out, just to stand
around and talk to buddies and friends
and stuff. If we could somehow regu
late the socialization and keep it strictly
lifting, that would be great."
Volunteers provide hope during hunger and homelessness week
by Eileen Jensen
staff writer
Some people may say there is no cure
for homelessness, but in the past week
many faculty and students became aware
that one act of kindness can make a
difference. According to the 2002 Census
Bureau, nearly 34.6 million Americans
live in poverty, roughly 1.7 million more
than last year. Penn State Behrend
students have made a difference and
contributed to helping the homeless.
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness
Week began on Monday with the Empty
Soup Bowl Dinner. The featured speaker
was Jonathan Hall. He spoke of his
experiences in the Peace Corps.
Kelly Shrout, Coordinator of
Community Service and The Smith
Chapel, attended the luncheon on
Monday. She said the reason she
attended this event was because "the
concept of hunger and homelessness is
meaningful to me."
Shrout learned that "you can be old
and go into the Peace Corps" speaking
of Hall's example he spoke about. He
spoke of President Jimmy Carter's
mother entering the Peace Corps.
There is very intensive training in
order to be active in the Peace Corps and
you learn your desired skill once you
enter job training. Many people believe
that once you sign to be a part of the
Peace Corps, that you are sent right into
the working field, but that isn't the case.
One experience that Shrout got from
this event was "anybody can volunteer
and it's not that hard. There are so many
ways to volunteer."
NEWS 1-4
EDITORIAL 5 A&E 8-9
NAT'L CAMPUS NEWS 6 FEATURE 10
When asked what her view on hunger
and homelessness is in society, Shrout
said "it's a serious problem here in Erie
and there are many ways to reach out to
them (homeless people)."
Shrout believes it is important to help
advocate hunger and homelessness
week.
"Penn State supports hunger and
homelessness through the United Way.
The United Way is the official
philanthropy that we (Penn State) are
supportive of," said Shrout.
"The United Way reaches out to so
many organizations and that's what's
best," she said
Beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday,
students set up their cardboard cities
throughout campus and began to "beg"
for money in order to raise money for
organizations that support hunger and
homelessness.
Three organizations raised money
while experiencing firsthand what
homeless people experience everyday of
their lives.
Lauren Piera, POLSC, 07, of Alpha
Phi Omega, said the reason they (APO)
chose to be involved in the Cardbq,arcl
City was because "it is an excellent cause
and a cherished club tradition."
According to Piera, "getting people to
acknowledge us is always the most
difficult, and weather might not
cooperate."
When asked about the number of
people who acknowledged the
"homeless," Piera said "most people
either say they have no money or just
put their heads down and walk, but some
scrounge around in the pockets to give
change, so it is not a lost cause!"
Overcrowded weight rooms such as the one pictured above have many students in an uproar over the size of the facilities. "For how many
people who use the weight room it should be twice the size," said Jeff Peterson, ENGL 03
The men's and women's basketball
teams often have mandatory lifting ses
sions in Jageman in the evening, plus
individuals from other athletic teams
lift on their own. These players com
bined with other serious weight lifters
and exercisers, leave no room for so
cializers and slackers.
An estimated 50 to 65 students use
the weight room between these hours,
but the number is deflated because
many do not sign the book.
"One of the reasons that the weight
room is so full is because 'weight loss
slash skinniness' is in style and many
Behrend students are trying to get in
style," said Adam Best, MRKT 07,
Some students seem to come to the
weight room just to enjoy the scenery
of the opposite sex. The guys get girls
Piera said that one thing she would
want others to know about homelessness
is to "remember that there are many
people that are less fortunate than we
are."
Representing the Inter Varsity
Christian Fellowship, Cassie Willey,
MEBD, 07 said that reason the
Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship
organization decided to participate in the
Cardboard City event
was because "Jesus
was concerned with
people's physical
needs, so we believe
that we should be also.
It is easy to ignore the
needs of people in the
world when we have
food and shelter.
People need to make a
conscious choice to
sympathize with the
needs of others by
becoming educated
about what is going on
in the world around
them."
A third time
contributor to the
Cardboard City event,
Willey said the hardest
part of participating is
that "it's obviously
cold. It can also be
discouraging to ask
people for money for a
good cause and have
them just walk away."
"Most people
acknowledged me, but
people aren't usually
IY LIVING 11
SPORTS 13-14
in short shorts or tight pants to gaze at,
while the ladies have muscular men
with cut off shirts on to stare at. One
student, who wishes just to be known
as "Dr. Seuss had this to say: "I don't
go to the gym to do curls for girls.
Forget the curls, I'm there just for the
girls."
Although this approach does not re
flect a majority of students that use
willing to give money. We're all poor
college students, but why is it that we'll
freely spend money on pizza, but not on
supporting worthwhile causes?" said
Willey.
"Cardboard City is a good opportunity
to put yourself in the shoes of a homeless
person if only for a few hours," said
Willey.
A student braves the cold weather while residing in his box for twenty four during a Card
board City event last spring. The money raised from Cardboard Cities go to charities that
fight hunger and homlessness.
Contact Us
NEWSROOM: 898-6488 E-MAIL: Offices are located
FAX: 898-6019 behrcolls@aol.com downstairs in the
Reed Union Building
According to the National Coalition
Jageman, those students who are social
izing, are crowding the weight room
and are keeping many serious weight
lifters from finishing in a reasonable
amount of time.
Right now a second weight room is
not in the picture.
"For how many people who use the
weight room it should be twice the
size," said Jeff Peterson, ENGL 03.
for the Homeless, more than 3.5 million
Americans experience homelessness
each year.
When people mention that one person
can't make a difference, think about the
students who have made a difference in
the community this week. Everyone can
make a positive difference in the lives
of others, by just giving a little bit of
themselves once in a while.