I The Behrend Beacon
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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or ]
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution I
What’s my beef? Well, I’ll tell ya
While walking into Bruno’s the other day, 1 was hit with
an extreme case of homesickness when I caught sight of the
sign advertising the hot lunch special of the day: “Philly
Cheese steaks." That feeling quickly turned to sadness and
then to anger when 1 realized that I’m in Erie and no one
here knows what a real cheesesteak is. And by the way, it's
a “cheesesteak," it’s just one word and you don’t need to say
the word "Philly,” This is Erie; I know it’s not from Philly.
And a cheesesteak is not just a sandwich; there are require
ments. necessities even, to earn the classification of being
Philadelphian. And let me tell you, what Bruno's serves is
not anywhere close. I’m an Italian, born and raised in the
Philadelphia area so 1 speak from experience.
First and foremost, the most important part of a cheeses
teak is the roll. Not any roll will do. A good steak roll needs
to be a fresh, oven-baked Italian hoagie roll (or, for you
Pittsburgh people, a “sub roll”). Italian rolls have a nice,
hard crust and a soft center, so not only does it taste great,
but it won’t disintegrate in your hands while you try to pick
it up with all the grease and cheese we’re about to load into
it.
Next comes the meat, and we’re not talking about “Steak
urns” here. “Steak-urns” are nothing more than cheesesteak
substitute, like “egg-beaters” or something. A real cheeses
teak is 100% USDA-approved beef steak sliced thin the day
it’s going to be cooked. And you cook your beef on the grill
with grease so for those of you who are on a diet, don’t
come to me saying, “Eww! They’re so greasy!” because I’m
•* ****************•••••••••
Beacon Thumbs Up
New computers in Library computer Lab
with great resolution.
- Frisbee behind the apartments.
- LEETMovies starting on Wednesday
Beacon Thumbs Down
The flu-like illness plauging campus.
- Cheap plastic forks in campus eateries.
- Reed ATM running out of printer paper.
Quote of the Week
"He deserves Paradise
who
panions laugh."
-The
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0 PINTO N
going to yell at you. A cheesesteak is supposed to be greas
ier than the hair on the head of the Italian guy who made it
for you so just get over it and enjoy it.
After your beef is halfway cooked, you now need to take
fresh diced onions and add them directly to the beef on the
grill. If you don’t grill the onions in the grease from the
beef, it just won’t taste as good; you cannot pre-cook the
onions. Also, green peppers do not belong in a cheesesteak;
some suggest you add them, but take my word on it-just
don’t. So put the steak and onions onto your Italian roll and
move on to the next step.
Now, the most important part of a cheesesteak: the
cheese. If you walk into any steak shop on South Street in
Philadelphia, you will not see pathetic little slices of cheese
melted onto your sandwich; what you will see is beautiful
liquid cheese poured directly onto your cheesesteak. And
this is not just any cheese—a good steak shop will melt a
blend of American and cheddar cheeses with whole milk to
give you that nice smooth consistency that tops off your
sandwich like a cherry on a sundae. Finally, top it off with
some rich marinara sauce, which is a spiced up version of
pizza sauce, and enjoy.
That, my friends, is how a full fledged Philly Cheesesteak
is intended to be made. Now, I obviously don’t expect you
to be able to find a good cheesesteak here in Erie so I sug
gest that you, at some point in your life, make your way to
South Street in Philly and eat at Pat’s Steaks, where the
cheesesteak originated back in 1930. But let me tell you, be
sure to learn the “Philadelphia Lean," bending forward to
eat the cheesesteak, instead of bringing it to your mouth.
Otherwise you’ll have a mess on your shirt for sure.
com-
Koran
If your
One of the things that has been bothering me lately is the
use of the word emo to describe certain objects. As many
of you know, the term emo comes from the word emotion
al. Emotions are what a person feels when a circumstance
triggers some sort of mental or spiritual movement,
whether positive or negative (Don't bother looking up that
definition; I made it up). Emotions describe a way a per
son acts in a situation and reacts when the motion has
either succeeded or failed.
The term emo can legitimately describe feelings about
a person, music, life or any other tangible or intangible
object that appeals or dissatisfies the brain and heart.
Examples of these include some of the following: Seeing
a sunset and feeling the warmth of love bestowed on this
Earth, sharing a passionate hug or kiss with the person you
have strong attraction towards, listening to a song and
relating it to circumstances in your life that strike emo
tions to your heart or looking at your life and seeing a dire
need to change the way you're living.
I'm sorry to disappoint most people, but the list I am
about to mention has nothing to do with the term emo or
emotions: There is no such thing as emo hair. A person
cannot dress like an emo kid. Wearing aviator sunglasses
is not considered being emo. Dressing like an outcast to
prove you are a non-conformist does not mean you follow
emo ideals. Lastly, using phrases in Xangas and AIM pro-
Letters to the Editor
I’ve been called a whiner
There is no question that the catastrophe of Hurricane
Katrina was no one’s fault but that of God, though the
nation is split; many feel that our government did not react
as responsibly and as expeditiously as would be expected in
the midst of a disaster of such magnitude, and then there are
others who have labeled the first group as ‘whiners.’ The
fact of the matter is, if those of you wish to call that group,
which includes me, ‘whiners,’ do so. If caring for those 10
people who were dying every day because of the delayed
response and poor organization, and if demanding that the
government respond faster and with more care, rather than
this haphazard approach that they had taken in a disaster
like this one, if this is whining, 1 carry the label with pride.
Our federal government was ill-prepared for a disaster of
this intensity. Our nation is supposedly ready for anything.
The United States has been preparing for disaster since the
launch of this “War on Terror,” but the man who is direct
Dear Beacon Staff,
Recently, as much of America knows, the city of New
Orleans suffered the breach of its water levies. This, as the city
is below sea level, has led to the flooding of many of the city’s
streets and districts. Every district of the city has suffered some
amount of water damage, including the French Quarter, one of
the largest tourist districts in the city, which has been reported,
through various means, such as the White House and FEMA, as
suffering little damage. The Garden District, or a collection of
mansions dating back to the settlement of the district by the
French, has been destroyed by the rot that will set in the hous
es’ wooden frames. Aside from this, and much more signifi
cantly, thousands of people have died of starvation, dehydra
tion, and pollutants in the floodwater, some violence in the
streets and lack of medical care and many other causes.
Already the blame game is starting in Washington and I’m
going to participate in it right now.
Mr. Bush has finally accepted some level of responsibility for
the slow response of the federal government in providing aid to
citizens trapped in the city. However, he has failed to respond
to accusations of other States, such as Venezuela, who have
claimed that the United States has failed to prepare for adversi
ty. Other States offered assistance when aid was not readily
available to those trapped in congregations like the New
Orleans Convention Center and they were refused. While
reporters were videotaping babies dying of dehydration, hun
dreds of buses were waiting outside the city for the federal gov
ernment to tell them street violence had decreased enough to
allow them to transport stranded people out of the city.
heart is on your sleeve, change your shirt
By Chris LaFuria
sports editor
The Behrend Beacon
Published Weekly by the students of Penn Stale line
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files dealing with being stabbed in the back or people
stealing your souls does not mean you are being an emo
kid.
The derivation of the term emo in reference to music has
evolved into something that wasn’t intended. Original
emo music was defined as a complex guitar structure with
a particular concept behind the instruments that portray
the meanings. Recently, people have started to take the
word emo and apply it to the type of music that simply
whines. It has become a cliche for bands such as
Dashboard Confessional and The Starting Line, who are
the popular bands that have the stereotype placed on them.
Emo shouldn't be considered a genre because saying that
it is the only type of music that triggers emotions is a
downright fallacy. Every sort of music from country-west
ern to gangster rap is filled with emotions. They may not
dance around on stage, knocking things over and dress like
a bad Tim Burton movie, but their songs come fro® the
heart, where true emo feelings derive. Emotions drive the
music industry today, NOT the fashion industry.
Getting your hair done like one of the Lost Boys on
Peter Pan does NOT mean you are displaying emotions.
Dressing like you're the opposite sex and ripping holes in
your jeans may be one of the latest fashion trends, howev
er, emotions and being emotional has nothing to do with
these trends. Furthermore, be cautious of the type of
music and people you consider emo because placing such
a brand on a certain category may not be thoroughly cor
rect.
ing our country’s disaster relief has had almost no experi
ence in the most important aspect of his office: disaster
The federal government has tried to blame the states
which were afflicted--it was the state's mismanagement,
not Washington. My argument is this: How can a state like
Louisiana take control of a situation as immense as that of
Katrina without much of its state national guard who enlist
ed to protect their state in an instance like this one?
President Bush has sent over one-third of the state’s nation
al guard to Iraq.
These are only two examples of possibly hundreds of
mistakes made by our leaders. So if having a problem with
the innocent dying because a fatuous administration is mak
ing our country less secure in the name of security and
political favors, than yes, I am a whiner. I am a whiner, and
for this I am proud.
Reporters were still able to enter the city and none of them were
attacked. Despite constant reports of “sniper” activity outside
of a hospital, the doctors inside reported to the media that they
had not heard any shots, or any news of looting in the city.
No aid reached the American citizens of New Orleans for
four days. Forty thousand Army Reserve soldiers of that State,
an extremely significant proportion of the civil service of that
State, are currently stationed in Iraq. Numbers like this can be
found all over the country, in relation to the Army Reserve. The
FEMA director, or the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, had never been trained at all in emergency manage
ment and his past employment was as legal representation for
an association of horse breeders.
Aside from New Orleans, San Francisco, in case of a large
earthquake, would be condemned to seventy-two hours with no
first-responders, one access to the island of the city and no hos
pitals, those in the city having collapsed on the people within.
There are many other instances that can be described, like in
Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Toledo and New York City, of
the United States being unable to provide aid during an inci
dent. Many people, especially the current administration and
PCX News Center, will claim that this idea of weakness is a
“liberal media conspiracy” and that it is “whining.” But if such
a complete lack of aid was available for four days in New
Orleans then I think this administration has not even BEGUN
to protect us as it, and its leader, promised us they would.
Friday, Septmeber 23, 2005
News Editor
Jennifer Haight
Sports Editor
Chris LaFuria
Opinion Editor
Chris Hvizdak
Cartoonist
Zack Mentz
Student Life Editor
KJ Margraff Jr.
Calendar Editor
Siobhan Conway
Humor Editor
Jerrv Pohl
Copy Editors
Kate Kelecseny
Michelle Vera Suroviec
Rachael Conway
Allison Gray
Tracie Kendziora
-Michael Long
-Ben Haire