I The Behrend Beacon The Behrend Beacon l>lihlnln’tl weekly />v the \lthleni\ of I’enn Stole I tie. The liehrcinl ( 'olleei !.# Calendar Page Editor Assistant News Editor Rob Frank Dan Snedden Mthe behrend Beacon “Professionalism with a personality ” 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. Classes on MLK Day If Penn State wants to claim Diversity as one of the features of this University then they need to start listening to its stu dents. We want school canceled on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - plain and simple. That day has been reserved by the government as a National Holiday and a time of celebration. It is a day when banks, post offices and schools are sup posed to close. Yes, it’s true that there are other Na tional Holidays that we don’t request a day off for, but this one seems particu larly important especially these days. With so much violence, destruction and discrimination in our country today we as intelligent, educated people should make time for understanding, reflection and remembrance amidst the chaos. Dr. King had a very clear message: stop the violence and live in peace with your neighbors no matter who they are. It is very apparent that in this country we do not follow his plea. Violence abounds in Daniel J. Stasiewski, Editor in Chief Amy Frizzell, Managing Editor Courtney Kaplin, Advertising Manager Alyssa Peconi, Public Relations Manager Dr. Cathy Roan, Adviser Student Life Editor Lori DeFabio Copy Editor Lacy Buzard Jenn Haight Sarah Weber Opinion Page Editor Andy McNeil /'n play by James H. Chapmyn called “Martin and Me.” In order to attend events on that day and hopefully learn more about Dr. King or why we cel ebrate his life, students would have to miss classes. Professors do not readily allow students to skip out for such rea sons. In fact, two absences during the semester are all that’s usually allotted for most classes. There are hardly any students who would skip class to go watch Chapmyn’s play or take time for reflection at the candlelight obser vance afterward. However, if all classes on campus were cancelled for the day students would be more inclined to check out the events that are being held at Behrend. Besides going to events that day, students would also enjoy being able to breathe for one more day be fore the next long week settled in. Un derstandably, we have just returned from break, but there are eight straight OPINION News Editor Brad Stewart Sports Editors Sam Cibula Sara Kamber Beacon Assistant Carolyn M. Tellers Getting ready to move on, it's time to deal Isn’t it time to start living responsibly? If you’re a freshman, then the answer is probably no, but, if you’re a senior, it’s time to shape up! Graduation is only a few months away and a lot of real-world-facing students are starting to feel the pressure. There is a lot of stress involved in these last few weeks of student life with the job search and sweeping up final credits; that’s taken for granted. Remember that there are other people with those same pressures. This campus is small enough that it really doesn’t take much to find a couple of them that will sympathize with you. Your closest friends, although always available, may not be the best bet. Your friends are so connected to you but they are in the process of drifting away. They are the ones that are most likely to get you to try to hold on or try to make you pack a whole four years into one semester. Although this sounds like a good idea, it’s probably not the best for propping yourself for your new life. This doesn’t mean that you should start alienating your friends right now, far from it! At this point, the best thing to do is to focus deeply on your core values and what Inaugural Next Thursday, George W. Bush will be inaugurated into his second term as president of the United States. Bush will travel from the White House, down 15" 1 Street, along Pennsylvania Avenue, ulti mately ending at the Capital Building and the inauguration site. Between the White House to the Capital building is approxi mately a mile of street. For an average motorist driving along the same route on any other given day of the year, the drive would take about five minutes —depend- ing on traffic and time of day. For the president, the drive will take about two hours ending with a few speeches, a hand on a bible and a poem. The estimated cost of this short trip—somewhere be tween $3O and s4© million. The inauguration’s theme is “Celebrat ing Freedom, Honoring Service,” which has an amusing ring to it as security forces close off streets and close down subway stations and designate restricted areas to protestors —a measure never before taken. They are allowed to protest, just in a place where they won’t hurt the president’s feel ings. Is a two-hour drive and short inaugu ration ceremony worth such a hefty price tag? I guess $4O million is just an insig nificant and laughable drop in the giant Lacy Buzard copy editor you will want later and get yourself ready to accept those things. Naturally, this is a confusing time and no one’s ever 100 percent sure of their goals. Even if you have a general idea of what you want your life to be like, you should start getting ready for that. The key here is flexibility. No one knows the future, but you need to be able to deal with what may come, especially emotionally. There are professional counselors party: Brad Stewart news editor sloppy bucket of our budget deficit that continues to grow into the billions of dol lars. I don’t mean to put all the blame on Bush. Every president has had an inau guration celebration and millions have been spent, but maybe the tradition should be changed. Hundreds of thousands of people in South-East Asia are struggling to survive and rebuild. If the U.S. government skipped the huge inauguration event and bought bottle of water for victims affected by the tsunami —at two dollars a bottle, we could send 20 million bottles and po- Friday, August 27, 2004 available on campus. Your tuition dol lars pay for them to be here, so get your money’s worth and make use of them. If you’re still having a hard time, think about this. After school you’re going to have all the freedom you’ve ever dreamed of. You’re not going to be liv ing with your parents or having them write you off on their taxes. You’ll have your own place wherever you want it to be. You can come and go as you please and not be stuck in your room because you have too much home work. You’ll have at least 16 free hours everyday to either live it up or waste at your leisure. Maybe you thought you were “inde pendent” for the past three and a half years, but you still had someone else structuring your day. Soon you won’t have anyone but yourself to tell you what to do and when. You may argue that your boss will, but you’ll choose your boss, so that’s not a valid argument. Growing up isn’t a bad thing. This next stage of life will be where you re ally find out who you are. People say that’s what college is for, but in reality college is just preparation for life. Ami tentially save thousands of lives. The government could focus their ef forts in La Conchita, California, where on Monday a mudslide destroyed 15 homes and claimed the lives of at least 10 people. More than 6,000 civilian and military personnel will be working at the president’s inauguration —these extra hands could be used for digging out homes and victims. The $4O million could be given to the CIA to aid them with their intelligence gathering —the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq officially ended yesterday and no weapons were found — oops. Why did we go to war again? The security plans are higher than they’ve ever been, but intelligence itas no word of any specific threat. I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry. Also, the District of Columbia has been asked to pick up $17.3 million of the cost, federal grant money that would normally go towards protecting build ings, bridges, subways, as well as emer gencies and other special events. It is the first time that the federal government has not covered all of the expenses. City residents may end up paying the price— taxes might be raised to cover costs. invited?
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers