Amy Wilczynski, editorial page editor
News Editors
Justin Curry
Angela Szesciorka
Sports Editors
Kevin Fiorenzo
Amy Frizzell
Editorial Page Editor
Amy VVilczynski
Features Editor
Dana Vaccaro
THE BEHREND Adviser
Beacon Cathy L. Roan, Ph.D
Copy Editors
Staff Photographers "Professionalism with a Carolyn M. Tellers
Jeff Hankey personality" Kristin Bowers
Heather Myers
Greek Lite Editor
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Penn State Erie,
the Behrend College;
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building,
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563.
Contact The Beacon at:
Telephone: (814) 898-6488
Fax: (814) 898-6019
ISSN 1071-9288.
OUR VIEW
The Reed renovations are a
much needed and welcomed
change. The current state of
student club offices are below par
and are not easily accessible. Nor
are they easily spotted. The Lion
Entertainment Board, Commuter
Council and Beacon, all
influential clubs that serve a great
amount of students, are located
in Suite B, a long hallway behind
the Backroom and next to the
boiler room. The current plans
to create a student office loop
around an improved and
expanded mail room will create
a more welcoming atmosphere
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Editor In Chief
Lauren M. Packer
Managing Editor
Daniel J. Stasiewski
Assistant Managing Editor
Scott Soltis
for potential club members and
allow increased visibility for all
students
Any improvement right now
will create an awareness for club
and organization life that is in a
critical state on campus. The
declining numbers in clubs and
organizations, as well as
attendance at club and
organization events, have the
opportunity to improve because
of this renovation.
The Beacon's view is determined
by a majority of the board of
DUTORIAL
Advertising Manager
Ryan Russell
Calendar Page Editor
Rob Frank
A&E Editor
Daniel J. Stasiewski
Erika Jarvis
Supplemental Editor
Lauren M. Packer
opinions
Friday, March 26, 2004
Watch out, 'American Idol', here I come
If you live under a rock then you have
not noticed that we're in the third sea
son of FOX's acclaimed reality show
"American Idol." I, for one, have no
ticed and am quite excited that it's back.
While I do miss last season's 12 con
testants, especially Clay Aiken, this
year's gang is entertaining me so far.
I have realized that this season there
are a lot younger contestants. There are
about five or so who are all under the
age of 19. This impresses me but has
me thinking at the same time. With
more young'uns in the competition I'm
thinking one of them just might win.
How fantastic, American "Teen"
Idol ... because we don't have enough
of those!
First season of "American Idol" we
had our first winner, Kelly Clarkson, a
female. Second season, we had Clay
Aiken as the winner. Whoops! I mean
Ruben Studdard. Sorry, my fault, since
Clay has been having better album
sales, more hit singles, and more expo
sure I forgot that he was actually the
underdog and that Ruben had won.
Anyway, we've covered the basics, a
guy and a girl both won the competi
tion. Who hasn't won so far, though? A
teenager. So here I am again proving
my point that one of the six (now five;
Morning-after pill: yay or nay?
There's every indication that the
Food and Drug Administration is
struggling over whether to allow the
so-called morning-after pill to be
sold over the counter. After an ad
visory panel overwhelmingly rec
ommended that move in December,
the FDA, under intense pressure
from conservative and religious
groups, recently announced that it
would delay the decision for 90 days
to gather more information on the
pill.
Last month an Illinois House com
mittee approved a proposal that
would allow such pills, which pre
vent pregnancy in the first hours and
days after intercourse, to be sold
without a doctor's prescription by
pharmacists.
Unlike the broad FDA plan that
would allow the pills to be stocked
on drugstore shelves, under the pro
posed Illinois law the pills would
still be kept behind the pharmacy
counter.
Several states already allow phar
macists to sell the pills without a
doctor's prescription, and Illinois
should join them. Absent FDA ap
proval of over-the-counter sales the
best outcome the state should be
doing everything it can to lower the
barriers that prevent women from
Erika Jarvis
one of the teens got the boot) will
dominate this competition.
I've been seeing articles online and
in magazines and most people think
that LaToya London will take the com
petition. She's too old in my book to
win; she's at the ripe old age of 25.
Last time I checked, 25 was almost
mid- 20s (Thank Jessica Simpson for
that brilliant moment!) and we all
know, that's just too old for the music
business.
If you look at the way the music
business goes, you either start out
young, or you break into the business
when you're older. Britney, Christina,
Mandy and even the NSYNC and
Back Street Boys all started out in their
using safe and effective morning-af
ter pills. The potential benefits are
significant. By avoiding unwanted
pregnancies at the earliest possible
stage, the pill can reduce the num
ber of abortion procedures that are
performed.
In recent months the debate over
the FDA proposal has veered from
science and policy into the realm of
religion and abortion politics. Some
supporters fear that even with the
lopsided advisory committee vote,
the FDA will reject the recommen
dation.
That would be a shame. The morn
ing-after pill, first approved in 1998,
is essentially safe and effective with
minimal side effects, the FDA has
said. The "Plan B" brand pill, which
is under FDA scrutiny, contains a
higher dose of the same hormones
found in regular birth-control pills.
The pill is most effective if taken
within 24 hours of intercourse, al
though it's still largely effective up
to 72 hours. In some instances, it de
lays ovulation and prevents fertili
zation of an egg. In other instances,
it prevents the implantation of a fer
tilized egg in the uterus.
Some argue that since a doctor's
prescription is required for birth
control pills, it should also be re-
E Plr''''_
EIN
BUNCH of
TAX Hi
quired for morning-after pills. But the
nature of emergency contraception
suggests that a doctor might not be
readily available to write a prescrip
tion.
What also worries many opponents
is that the morning-after pill would
be more available to teen-agers, with
out parental consent or a prescription.
That's a real concern. The availabil
ity of the morning-after pill will not,
and should not, change the messages
to teens from parents, mentors and
Qther adults: Do not engage in sex
until you are mature enough to as
sess and to handle the physical, emo
tional and moral ramifications of that.
Do not engage in unsafe sex. The
morning-after pill is not a routine sub
stitute for birth control: it does not
protect you from sexually transmit
ted diseases.
Will the pill encourage unprotected
sex, particularly among teens? That
seems unlikely, given that condoms
are as readily available now over the
counter. Whatever risk there might he
is significantly outweighed by the po
tential benefit of reducing unwanted
pregnancies and abortion procedures.
That's why it's time for Illinois to
act, even if the FDA doesn't.
/NE
iVoCATiNG
ROOKS
ERIN
The Behrend Beacon
teens. Not sure where a few of those
people are today, but most are still hold
ing strong on the charts as they enter
their early 20s.
If you don't like my opinion, let's
hope that John Stevens wins. He's 16
years old, so he fits my mold of being
a teenager. yet at the same time, he has
the distinct sound of those Rat Pack
gentlemen. That sounds like a fair and
even trade. I think. Yet, when it comes
down to the end of•this grueling com
petition, it's going to he the contestant
with the all around "it" factor. as Simon
Cowell calls it. They're going to have
that on-stage charisma, the talent, the
drive and the personality. and all of the
votes obviously.
While, I would like a younger con
testant to win, my money is on any of
these three contestants: Diana
DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias or John Peter
Lewis.
Next year, I'm trying out and blow
ing everyone out of the water and
showing FOX viewers what it really
means to be an American Idol! Watch
out Simon, Paula and Randy ... I'm a
comin'!
Erika Jarvis's column appears
even , three weeks
The Chicago Tribune
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