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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
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Inside
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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
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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
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