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The Behrend Beacon.
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Beacon
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Letters to the editor
A response to charges of treason
Dear editor,
I don't like being called a traitor.
When Ann Coulter does it she at least
makes up some sources to back up her
claim, and so I can enjoy her complex
falsehood. But Jason Della Sala, your
staff writer, didn't even have the cour
tesy of pretending to make sense when
he insulted me last week.
This "writer" claimed that liberals
have been upset since the 2000 election
over Mr. George W. Bush's thievery.
Liberals have, in fact, been accommo
dating. We have supported his actions
in Afghanistan, and, in the beginning,
his war in Iraq. Only when it became
clear that his intent was imperial did we
become belligerent in regards to Iraq.
And his statement of the less wealthy in
the Midwest supporting him as a repre
sentation of Mr. Bush's equal treatment
can be countered with one word.
Homophobia.
His statement about the oil prices can
be countered by its own silly reasoning.
Yes, gas prices have gone up, but high
gas prices are good for oil companies,
because they can take higher profits.
And, really, if Mr. Bush is SO for the
No diving,
Dear editor,
After reading the editorial 'Sex on
the Beach leads to more,' I think it is
absolutely necessary to respond.
Comstock's article is vulgar and repul
sive.
It appears the article was supposed to
be clever and funny, but do the words
"popping-out breasts" sound funny in
my editorial? They didn't in yours.
I don't know the last time you lis
tened to a friend tell a morning-after
story. When I hear them, they are usu
ally about regret and embarrassment,
and the only desire involved is the
desire for the hook-up to have never
happened. Even with the "story," a
hookup is usually meaningless and
self-denigrating.
I'm not sure what you had in mind
when you set out to write this editorial,
but I hope your goal wasn't to make
girls sound easy. I am no stranger to
Daniel J. Stasiewski, Editor in Chief
Amy Frizzell, Managing Editor
Courtney Kaplin, Advertising Manager
Alyssa Peconi, Public Relations Manager
Dr. Cathy Roan, Adviser
News Editor
Brad Stewart
Assistant News Editor Calendar Page Editor
Dan Snedden Rob Frank
Sports Editors
Sam Cibula
Sara Kamber
Opinion Editor
Andy McNeil
Photography Editor
Danielle Faulkner
general public, then why is the unem
ployment rate so high?
Also, to finish up the idea that your
writer had about the electoral college,
he should know that, constitutionally, if
one wins a greater number of votes
within one State, the representatives of
that State are duty-bound to vote for the
candidate selected by the public.
Instead, the national Supreme Court,
with Antonin Scalia at its head, inter
fered. So what's more constitutional?
At this point, I'd like to quote Al
Franken.
We both love. America. It's just that
liberals love America like adults. When
America has a problem, we work to
make it better. Republicans love
America like children. Mommy is
always right and anyone who disagrees
with her is evil.
I'm sick of you radical conservatives
spouting off these ideas you've gotten
from Rush Limbaugh, and interfering
with real discourse. Get some real data
and think about it before you put pen to
paper.
the bar, and I have yet to go home with
the random guy staring at me from the
corner of the bar. Those random
strangers actually freak me out.
You included a few statistics in your
article, and while I added the one-night
stand statistics to my growing useless
knowledge, I wondered what the statis
tics were for STDs and rape from bar
hook-ups. This day and age it is irre
sponsible to write an editorial that
seems to be condoning one-night
stands without mentioning some of the
consequences.
As I said, I am no stranger to the bar.
Next time you see me at the bar,
though, don't bother checking out my
cleavage and comparing it to yours. I
won't be your competition.
Student Life Editor
Lori DeFabio
Copy Editors
Lacy Buzard
Jenn Haight
Sarah Weber
Beacon Assistant
Carolyn M. Tellers
Sincerely,
Ben Haire
no sex
Sincerely,
Siobhan Conway
COMM 06
OPINION
Let's talk about sex: a college student's
guide to using the bars properly
As many of you probably read, in last
week's issue there was an editorial enti
tled "Sex on the beach leads to more,"
in which the columnist provided insight
into the world of bar going. She point
ed out many reasons as to why one
would go to a bar. All of which point
ed to the fact that one does not go to the
bars to have a drink, dance and have
fun with friends but simply to "be 'in
heat — and to find "horny rabbits" to
buy us drinks.
Though she included facts and num
bers that provided accuracy to her
claims, it still got me thinking: What if
somewhere out there, there are people
who don't know why one really goes to
a bar? That could create chaos! So in
spirit of "horny rabbits in heat" all over
the world I've decided to create a
College Student's Guide to Using the
Bars Properly.
I know that when I go to bars I never
think to myself, "Man I can't wait to
have a beer and dance." I'm always
thinking, "I can not wait to find some
horny rabbit that will take one look at
my boobs and offer me 'sex on the
beach — if you know what I mean. Now
that I think about it, the last time I went
to a bar they actually checked my
amount of cleavage and asked me if I
was 'in heat.' I guess they changed the
rules being 21 just isn't enough any-
Letter to the
Dear editor,
I'd like to disagree with the opinion
of Mr. Della Sala, as published in the
April I issue of the Beacon. As I
understand it, he feels that the ideology
known as "liberalism," which he por
trays as opposition to Republican poli
cies, promotes the betrayal of the
United States and is without any
redeeming value; for those familiar
with Orwell's 1984, the term
"Goldsteinism" seems to apply. I don't
agree with this characterization.
Treason, which the column's header
equates with liberalism, is defined as
"levying War against them, or in adher
ing to their Enemies, giving them Aid
and Comfort" by the Constitution.
Simple disagreement with one's gov
ernment does not qualify—rather, it is
specifically protected by the First
Amendment, most clearly in the right
of the people to peaceably assemble,
and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.
As for the column itself, several top
ics are of concern. The 2000 presiden
tial election was questioned due to the
non-counting of votes throughout sev
eral counties in Florida; a community
denied its rightful expression may well
feel robbed. Conversely, the Ohio issue
in 2004, was questionable thanks to the
comments of a Diebold—the voting
machine producer—official who
promised to help Ohio deliver its elec
toral votes to Bush. Not exactly the
sentiment one would wish from the
machines' manufacturer, is it?
Tyranny has nothing to do with
one's status as a mass murderer. Mass
murder is a fairly simple crime, as they
go: kill three or more people in one
"sitting." Frankly, if one has played
any of the Grand Theft Auto games,
chances are you've managed it—con
gratulations!
In any case, ridding the world of
tyrants is infeasible at best, and likely
impossible with current conditions—
the planet is simply too big. As soon as
you purge one and move on, others
will move in and replace it—and who
determines whether or not a liven
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editor: Strayer's two cents
Frizzell
managing editor
If you do make it past the strict new
policy the first thing you gals must do
is find a "horny rabbit" to buy you
drinks. Never ever let someone see you
buying your own drinks. That would
be breaking rule number two and it
would end all hopes of having a ran
dom hookup.
Imagine it. You're buying your own
drink and a guy looks over and sees
you. He immediately assumes that you
a) can't make your boobs look big
enough to get a guy to buy it for you; b)
maybe you're into girls (not that there's
anything wrong with that) and you're
ITALIAN
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ruler is tyrannical? Ask anyone incar
cerated at Guantanamo Bay—or, better
still, Abu Ghiraib—and chances are
they'll indicate that they were the recip
ient of "harsh, severe, or unmerciful
action" which might well constitute an
"arbitrary or oppressive exercise of
power" or "unjustly severe use of one's
authority." All of these are included in
the Oxford English Dictionary's defini
tion of tyranny.
Regarding international law, the US
has its own problems: the invasion and
subsequent activity was—and is—out
of conformity with the UN Charter,
which is generally considered to be
important international law. Kofi
Annan noted that in an interview with
the BBC on September 16, 2004.
Furthermore, there are other places
where things are going bad, such as
Sudan or the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. The genocide in Sudan is
fairly well-documented, but is appar
ently less important—as for the DRC,
some six African states are engaged in
"what would be World War 111 if it was
taking place in Europe."
In terms of human suffering, these
are probably more worthy of interven
tion—Hussein lacked any nuclear, bio
logical, or chemical weapons at the
time he was accused of so packing,
largely thanks to UN restrictions. In
Sudan, however, people are being
Friday, April 8, 2005
getting one for a chick you just met
which in that case he wouldn't have a
shot anyway or c) (brace yourself this
may be the worst of them all) that you
are independent and don't mind buying
drinks for yourself cause you're just
there to have a good time with your
friends in which case he should get you
kicked out cause you clearly should not
have been let in.
To ensure a random hookup one
should pick out a guy or gal early in the
night, making sure to keep an eye on
him or her. Can't let them buggers get
away. Make sure you tell your friends
so they know exactly which person
you're going after. It could be like a
game, whoever snags their person
first... wins.
Remember guys and gals one should
never leave the bar without at least one
story to tell in the morning. Because
once again what would be the point of
going to the bar if you don't come back
with a random hookup story. Talking
about how wasted you were when you
decided it would be a good idea to cut
your hair or try to take a test just isn't
part of the college experience anymore.
Hookups, so hot right now.
Look for "A College Student's Guide
to Using the Bars Properly" in the
heavy sarcasm section of your local
bookstore.
Replace McNeil
Please
Please
Please
Replace
IS Ilg 11IAT
Become an Editor
For more info
djs39s@psu.edu
slaughtered—now, not years ago, but
NOW. War is raging in the DRC at the
moment, and was so raging whilst Mr.
Powell spoke to the UN...lraq was
comparably stagnant before the US
rolled in.
Finally, I was unable to find any
mention of a "faith-based prison pro
gram" or "Christianity teaching, pris
ons" in either the 109th Congress or the
US Code. Taking Mr. Sala at his word,
however, the possibility of individual
prisoners opting out of the program is
irrelevant; enabling government enti
ties to teach one religion, while not so
enabling other religions, is known as
"fostering an establishment of reli
gion"—in effect, creating a state-spon
sored religion, similar to the Anglican
church in England. The folks who fled
England, eventually establishing the
colonies which became the 13 original
States, did so due to persecution for not
being of that church. The
Establishment Clause of the First
Amendment, prohibiting any such
state-sponsored religion, is the first
protection in the Bill of Rights for that
reason. and if you doubt the peaceful
nature of Christianity, feel free to ask
an Aztec, Cherokee, Inca, Lakota or—
for that matter—a Muslim.
Chris Strayer
POLSC 06