AUG £6 m THE BEHREND BEACON Friday, August 26, 2005 Impact of gambling industry discussed by economists By Annie Sevin editor in chief The Economics Department kicked off the school year on Tuesday with the sth annual ERIE (Economic Research Institute of Erie) Economic Conference in McGarvey Commons. The Sam and Irene School of Business funded the conference and this year’s topic of discussion was how the Erie economy will be impacted when the new gambling business rolls into town. Three guest speakers from around the country discussed their anticipated impact on the county. Randall Childs, an economist from West Virginia University, thought that Erie would benefit from the added business. Childs estimated that the Erie economy would take in $5 million more in revenue when the racetrack and casinos are up and running. The possibility of a negative impact was discussed by Dr. William Thompson of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Thompson proposed that once the costs were subtracted from the revenue, Erie would be left with $lO5 million loss. John Sorrenti, another speaker, was the Hancock County (WV) Commissioner for 18 years. Sorrenti discussed the impact that the Mountaineer Racetrack has made on Hancock County, one of West Virginia’s 55 counties. He said the impact has been positive for his county, increasing jobs and revenue, keeping property tax GAMBLING, continued on page 2 Contact Us Newsroom: 898-6488 Fax: 898-6019 E-mail: tP Behrendßeacon @ aol.com Our offices are located downstairs in the Reed Union Building next to the Mail Room. Inside Kfe'' i V •§f' A Penn State Erie Student Publication New students dare to get involved By Jennifer Haight news editor This year’s orientation expos es students to every aspect of the college experience. “We found a quote online about challenges, ‘Challenges are what make life inter esting, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful,’ and from that we [dare people to get involved] and we sort of built that off of ‘Double Dare’ from Nickelodeon,” said Teri Melani, one of this year’s orientation directors, the other being Justin Curry. “The truth part being the reali ty of going to college and the infor mation and the resources, the stuff BBUU CTATMEUBIWV rCnn 9 1MIE BEIVKSnMI Signs hang throughout the campus to welcome new students to the Behrend community during fall orientation weekend. that is provided to you, the truth about the campus,” said Chris Fox, coordinator of student organizations and programs. “The dare part has to come from [the new students], they dare themselves and take the chal lenge to become involved and to really make a difference, to get out there, push themselves, meet new people, all those things that tend to make you nervous.” Curry, Melani and Fox seem very anxious for the events to take place this weekend. “On behalf of Justin and I, we are nervous 24/7 about this, but we’re excited now to see everyone back and our orienta tion leaders and...we are just excit ed to see everything come together and for everyone to work as a team. We are just thankful for our group of OLs...we appreciate all of the hard work from them too, along with all the other staff who helped plan it,” Matchbox Players improvise new summer tradition By Michelle Vera Suroviec copy editor The Matchbox Players presented the first ever Summer Improv on August 6th. The event, held in the Studio Theatre, was well-attended by a mixture of those wrapping up summer classes, prospective students and their families, and local Erie-ites. A variety of free pizza was paid for by Meeghan Hollis and the Student Activities Fund. Those familiar with the television show, “Whose Line is it Anyway” know the basic concept of Improv. Improv thrives on audience participa tion. From offering suggestions for wacky situa tions to acting them out, or simply just to watch the show, every Improv is a fresh and exciting experience and the Summer Improv was no exception. One of the basic principles of Improv is that absolutely nothing is rehearsed and every thing happens at the spur of the moment. For example, only at the Summer Improv said Melani A lot of people are responsi ble for putting this all together, “We had help from every department,” said Melani. “The coordination itself comes from Student Activities and from there it stems out...from Dr. Burke down to our support service staff and our maintenance workers; everyone is involved in some way which makes it pretty unique and pretty neat. Up from the top down to the bottom, pretty much everyone is involved,” said an appreciative Fox, “but to really pinpoint a few people, I would say Teri and Justin [were most important in the organizing of the programs.]” Fox had this to say, “I’m look ing forward to it, this is my third ori entation, so the experience has helped me and I think the job that Justin and Teri did will really show. It’s a lot more organized than it’s been in the past.” There are many programs that have been planned for the incoming students. After move in on Friday, there will be dorm meetings, followed by a block party at Dobbins for the new students to go to and get a little more familiar with their new classmates and the people who helped move them in. There are also programs designed to help the parents cope with leaving their children. “There’s an Open House at Dobbins for them to eat together and for them to get to know the campus and the facilities a little better and a Parent to Parent session at the Lilley Library where will there be clones of a deceased relative inherit ing nutritious Hot Pockets or MacGuyver saving the world with nothing more than a jar of salsa and a bar of soap. The evening culminated when Matchbox Players President Jerry Pohl was joined by Vice President Ryan Westwood on stage. Suffice it to say an extension cord and a zipper fly were involved. Improv is hosted by the Matchbox Players, a student organization that promotes theatrical arts. Improv is one of the staple events of the Matchbox Players. The club also puts on occa sional plays and sketches and helps out with the production of Dr. Mangone’s performances. Dr. Mangone is a lecturer in Theatre. Those who missed Summer Improv will be able to get their fix during the upcoming year. The Matchbox Players are scheduled to hold their famous Friday night Improvs, a tradition for some upperclassmen, and a perfect way to cut loose after a hectic week of classes. parents can actually meet with Behrend faculty and staff who have kids who go to Behrend or other Penn State campuses, they can talk to someone who’s been there,” said Fox. On Saturday, there is Rally at the RUB which will have an orienta tion table, an activities table, a snack table, pictures with the lion and a new student confessional, which is designed to help alleviate some of the stress and anxieties of leaving home and entering a whole new atmosphere. The Academic Convocation is taking place after the Rally at the Rub, followed by Degrees and Majors Informational Meetings and a commuter student E i pizza party at Bruno’s Cafe, follow ing that will be a Diversity Session. There is also an Ice Cream Social in the Wintergarden on Saturday night followed by Dueling Pianos and Velveeta, an 80’s cover band on the Reed lawn. Sunday will see events such as a credit card game show and “Maximize Your Buzz” which are both part of the Survivor Series “With the Survivor Series, it’s more about transitioning into college and some of the more important issues that we really want to hit on. We have the credit card game show because debt is something that they’ll all face,” said Melani “Maximize Your Buzz” will cover alternative ways of enjoying life that do not include alcohol and such. “Our last Survivor Series pro gram gives [the new students] a chance to talk with upperclassmen DARE, comtinued on page 2 Vol. LIII No.l > LU c/) LU
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