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The Behrend Beacon
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!.# Calendar Page Editor Assistant News Editor
Rob Frank Dan Snedden
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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?