THE BEHREND BEACON Friday, September 16, 2005 Behrend students drives By Robert Frank managing editor Have you ever needed more storage space than a floppy drive could provide? Worked on a Power Point presentation that ended up being more than 1.44 megabytes? How about had a few pic tures of University Park from last weekend to share with friends, only to find you can’t fit them on a floppy disk? These are concerns that the Computer Center has been hearing for a few semesters. With floppy disk technology being slowly phased out of the labs, the computer center needed to come up with an alternative that would be available to all students. Using a portion of the Information Technology Fee, the Computer Center is making 128 MB “thumbdrives” available to all students. These drives are available at no additional cost. A “thumbdrive” is a chip of memory that can store data from your computer on it. They received their namesake because they are approximately the same size as an adult thumb. Floppy disks are approximately one and a half megabytes. The flash drives are 128 megabytes or the equivalent of 89 floppy disks. Floppy disks use a magnetic tape to record data. Any strong magnetic field can erase or corrupt the data. Additionally, floppy drives are very susceptible to Seniors start their final year with a congratulatory kick An artist’s digital rendering of the Behrend “Lion Shrine.” Contents News Editorial. Humor. Student Life- Sports Contact Us Newsroom: 898-6488 Fax: 898-6019 E-mail: editor inchief® psu.edu Our offices are locat ed downstairs in the Reed Union Building. Pasion y Arte dances into Bruno’s The power of Gypsy artistry will fill Bruno’s Cafe with wonder on Friday, September 23 when the Flamenco dance company, Pasion y Arte, visits Penn State Erie. The Flamenco is an art form articulating a profound conscious ness of the human condition. Pasion y Arte is Spanish for “Passion and Art,” and is the feature of Behrend’s Rhythm of Life Series this month. Due to a schedule change, the previously listed Flamenco del Pilar and the Spanish Flamenco Dance Company will not be performing. Pasidn y Arte is a non profit, all-female Flamenco dance com pany based in Philadelphia. This hour long event begins at noon in Bruno’s Caf6, with a short question and answer session to follow in Reed 112. This pro 7-8 ...9-10 Robert Frank/THE BEHREND BEACON Thumbdrives provide a convenient, reliable, and durable data storage solution for Penn State: Behrend students, available at the Hammermill Help Desk. failure from dust, moisture and overuse. The thumbdrives cover all of these concerns because they can’t be affected by a magnetic field, are sealed so they resist moisture and dust and can be written to and read from as many times as needed. These drives use a standard Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection that virtually every computer today has. They require no external power and About 35 students turned out for the First Annual Senior Year Kickoff to celebrate their academic accomplishments and con nect with Penn State’s post-graduate net work. The event “kicked-off ’ outside the Junker Center with remarks from Associate Director of Student Affairs Amanda Kerr that encouraged seniors to “socialize and bring closure to their time at Behrend.” In regard to the alumni asso ciation, Kerr offered, “Many students think that alumni means giving money. At this stage we want to connect students with alumni.” Kerr described the Senior Year Kickoff as a unifying event for seniors designed to build a deep sense of tradition in gradu ates. Behrend has offered a large number of events for incoming freshmen but few for their graduating counterparts. Kerr envisions the Senior Year Kickoff as the starting point of a series of events for sen iors which will bookend the Behrend By Raechul Bowser staff writer A Penn State Erie Student Publication 2 2 2005 By Chris Hvizdak opinion editor gram was organized by Andy Herrera, the director of the Office of Education Equity and Diversity Programs in cele bration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. According to Herrera, the per formers will provide a demonstration as well as an explanation of this art form. Herrera hopes, “Everything will run smoothly and the performance will be as pleasing to the audience as it is to the artists.” The primary goal of Pasion y Arte is to develop and present works that strengthen the Flamenco tradition. Bolivian Elba Hevia y Vaca is the direc tor, choreographer, and co-founder of the group. Pasion y Arte is comprised of multiple female Flamenco dancers and three male instrumentalists includ ing a guitar, a tambourine and a vocal ist/cantao player. The performers are from Europe and Latin America and can be plugged directly into an open USB port. Many students are pleased to hear about the thumbdrives. Evan Garna said, “I use it to save files and information like word documents. Power Point presentations that I have to give for a variety of classes.” Joey Falk added “It’s easier to transfer information from my home off-campus using the pen drive instead of email or carrying experience Ms. Kerr was followed by Dr. Robert Light, who informed the gathered students that Chancellor Burke was unable to attend due to business at UP, but that he wished to both congrat ulate the seniors on their achievements and wel come them to the future site of the Behrend Lion Shrine. Light reminded students that this year does not mark the end of their relationship with Behrend and that students should inform the uni versity of their post-graduate successes. Mr. Aaron Rospierski. Behrend Alumni Association President, encouraged students not to "rush through this last year” and reiterated, "Everyone in the Penn State family is here to offer you resources." Rospierski added, “You can never tell when an alum is going to come into your life and better things." and also shared his personal experiences of the aid he recieved from the alumni network. Following the remarks from university staff, all present retired to the Smith Chapel meeting space to socialize and obtain information from a number of kiosks set up about the room. Information geared toward graduates was offered by the CDC, Penn State Credit Union, create works that use the language of the Flamenco dance to examine gender, cultural, religious, socioeconomic and generational limitations. The Flamenco art form was intro duced by the Spanish gypsies and influ enced by the songs and dances of Andalusia centuries ago. Between the years of 1869-1910 (Flamenco’s Golden Age), the dance developed into its ultimate form in cafes cantantes (music cafes). The Flamenco is an authentic Southern Spanish art form in which the limbs of the body are used to express energy (hands and fingers) and power (stomping feet). There are three parts to the Flamenco: el cante (the song), el baile (the dance), and la guitar ra (guitar playing). The most intense form of Flamenco is named cante jondo, which means “expressing deep feel- Vol. LIII No. 4 floppy disks.” The drives become the individual responsibility of the student and only one drive is allowed per ID number. Students should remember to bring their PSU ID+ card in order to receive their drive. You can pick up a drive between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Hammermill 135 Help Desk. PNC Bank, the campus bookstore, the Penn State Alumni Association and the Penn State Behrend Center of Credit and Consumer Research. Andrew Waters of the CDC indicated that the center is available to aid all students in their post- Behrend plans. Dr. Pinto of the Black School of Buisness encouraged all students to investigate their credit scores so they may be better prepared to deal with their post-graduate personal finances. Students in attendance agreed that the event was a shining success. Keith Batchelor, Accounting, indicated that, although he wasn’t a senior, he came down for the free Penn State Creamery Ice Cream, which was provided by the Alumni Association. Batchelor feels that it is never too early to begin preparation for graduation. Kassi Hindman, Communications, found that the event was “a good way to get seniors pre pared” and that the information being offered was “good to have.” Joell Sperry, Accounting, indicated that she also “came down for the ice cream” but that she was “glad that they’ve started something for seniors because there were lots of events for freshmen.” ings.” Flamenco dancing today is influ enced by ballet, jazz and modem dance. The art of the Flamenco allows a per son to accept the belief that all humans are living together, estranged, in fear of an uncontrollable world in which facing death is inevitable. Individuality is faced as a challenge, not just a duty, as life and death must be faced alone. The Flamenco is respected as an art with responsibility, as it requires courage, discipline, dignity, and humor - the qualities essential to survival. The Pasion y Arte performance is free and open to the public. Herrera states, “We want as many people as possible to take the opportunity to come in and experience this program because it is a rare occurrence to have in Western Pennsylvania. I hope that everyone can take with them a great experience.” CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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