Friday, September 30, 2005 Students upset about McDaniels’ controversial writing style Although Jeffrey McDaniel’s poetry performance was nearly a week ago, the controversy surrounding his visit to campus still continues. Several of those who attended the performance have voiced complaints about what many say is McDaniels’ “unique and creative” style. During his performance, McDaniels touched upon subjects many consider to be socially taboo Student Miranda Krause left the per formance angered and insulted and she said she was not the only one. She stated in a previ ous article that Jeffrey McDaniel’s work did indeed offend her and that she found it to be unbefitting. For Students like Miranda Krause, who was offended by Jeffrey McDaniel’s poetry, they felt that being required to listen to McDaniel, especially in the reli gious environment, was against their morals. Due to the date and time of the event, the required presence of students enrolled in cre ative writing classes was necessary. Name Danielle Brown Cody Earhart Lauren Wagner Stephanie Ivancza Jason Della Sala Christopher Baran Behrend Briefs On Tuesday, October 4, from 7-9 p.m. in the McGarvey Commons in the Reed Building, there will be a Harborcreek Candidate Forum, organized by the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Student Government Association. This forum will feature candidates running for Harborcreek Supervisor Positions along with the Harborcreek School Board candidates. Those expected to attend include Harborcreek Supervisor Candidates Joe Peck and Dean Pepicello and School Board Candidates Carol Bucklin, David Zdunksi, Lisa Baroni, and Lawrence Maxted. This event is open to all students along with the Harborcreek/Erie Community. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions to the candidates regarding their platform and goals along with why they have decided to run for their position. This is very important for Penn State Behrend as this election could potentially decide what new development would occur around the campus area. The last date to register to vote in Erie County is October 10th. For futher information on this event, please contact Maulin Gandhi msgl9o, Ilona Joseph isjlo2, or Deepti Soni dusl43. Pol ice and Safety 9/21/05 Officer was dispatched to Ttimbull lot after receiving word that complainant’s car was hit from behind while stalled in traffic heading east on Stadium Dr. The drivers involved exchanged all info prior to officer’s arrival. No injuries. 9/21/05 Officer was dispatched to Tiffany Hall after an RA reported that a resident stu dent had cut her hand after she fell. She was driven to Hamot Hospital for treat ment by another student. Duty coordinator was notified. 9/22/05 Complainant called 911 since her friend was intoxicated and was not sure of her condition. 9/24/05 Found damage to the grass between the lower and middle tiers of the Ohio Hall parking lot. Refer to incident report. 9/24/05 Found male student passed out in his vehicle in the apartent lot south. Charged with violation of crimes code 6308. Refer to incident report. 9/25/05 Report of a fire alarm going off in Perry Hall. Found to be caused by someone setting off a fire extinguisher in their room. By Earl Gordon staff writer Tiffany Mak/THE BEHREND BEACON Jeffrey McDaniels sparked controversy. SGA Election Results er Classmen * Bold Denotes Senator Seat Winners * Interested in havingyour ideas put in print? Write for The Beacon or at least submit ideas. “I noticed that some people were offended by some of the things he had to say and I spoke with some of them directly after the per formance. There was a piece of McDaniels’ poetry that I did not particularly care for, but not because I was offended in any way,” Professor Looney said. The creative writing professors felt that a wide variety of guest speakers would benefit their students. Professor Looney also added by saying “I do not believe most words are bad, but are made bad bywhich the way people use them.” The primary difficulty of the entire event was not exactly Jeffrey McDaniel’s poetry, but the environment in which it took place. A few of the students felt that it was not appropriate in any way to hold the event at the Smith Chapel. “We used the Smith Chapel because it is the perfect space. The acoustics just make it sound great,” stated Professor Looney, “The chapel is not just for one denomination, but for all of them.” The different religions on the Behrend campus also include atheist. Regardless of the complications that arose during McDaniel’s performance, there will be more functions planned for the future Creative Writing Series. Rest assured, the following events most likely will not be as problematic as this one. Even though some performers might be a bit controversial or seemingly vulgar, they are entitled to their opinions whether they are in a religious setting or a common surrounding. Name Votes Julie Elkins Amanda Tyler 170 136 133 109 94 65 Malorie Parry Mike Bergstrom Heather Simendinger Send them to newseditor@psu. edu TEW> Freshmen Hurricanes affect Behrend staff and students By Jenna Gregory staff writer Disaster struck people of the south are now piecing together what is left of their lives in the aftermath of hurri canes Katrina and Rita. Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf of Mexico hitting New Orleans full force. The blow has caused many to loose everything, some even their lives. Hurricane Rita blew in on Katrina’s tail toward the southeastern part of Texas. The destruction Rita caused wasn’t as imminent as that of Katrina but the hurricane was all the same catastrophic. Giselle Hudson, who works in Penn State Behrend’s admissions office, is a New Orleans native. While talking with Hudson, she discussed the evacu ation processes, the government responses, and also the media portray als in light of recent events. Hudson’s mother still resides in New Orleans and owns a home for the elderly. Hudson’s brother aided their mother and her patients in the evacuation of the city. Hudson’s mother also owns two houses that both were terribly flooded. One, to the best of the family’s knowl edge, is still totally submerged in water while the other still has furniture floating through it. Hudson men- tioned that they aren’t sure now, after hurricane Rita, what kind of damage they will find upon their return. Her family is seeking refuge in Atlanta, GA currently. Hudson expressed a strong dissatis faction with the local, state, and feder al government response to the disas ters. Hudson remarked that New r i O Election deadlines extended Penn State Erie’s Student Government Association (SGA) met Wednesday, September 28 to discuss the current and press ing issues affecting the student body. The first significant decision of the meeting was the motion to expand parking permits to three colors in order to more easily deal with parking issues. The President's report conclud ed that the parking committee is in consensus but will wait until the results of the referen dum on the ballot for this year's elections are tabulated. The elections were initially sched uled for the morning of Wednesday, September 28 until the afternoon of Thursday, September 29. Unfortunately, because of a problem with Webmail's outgoing mail serv er, there was a delay in the reception of the link to the elec tions by the student body. This was the source of much debate at the student government meeting; several senators believe raising voter awareness is the responsibility of candi dates and not the infrastructure set in place to handle elections. In the end, a motion was passed which granted the executive board of the SGA the power to extend the election deadline, although the ability of the com puter center to alter the auto matic shutoff of the voting web page is in question. Votes 234 223 222 216 214 The next most significant announcement of the meeting may have been the Student Affairs Advisor's declaration that plans for a concert similar to the last year's New Found Glory event will not be held due to a lack of support and Orleans is “a very corrupt city, there are a lot of people with their hands in the pot and New Orleans needs people who will look out for the city instead of themselves.” She mentioned that the money that is supposed to be spent on protecting the city and building up the levy has been spent on other things that will “put money in their pocket.” Local government has spent the levy money on attractions such as casinos and golf courses, ignoring the risk of natural disaster. “They [local govern ment] knew before it hit,” says Hudson, “that New Orleans is like a bowl...they can’t blame the engi neers. .. they should have taken care of this twenty years ago.” The blame for Hudson’s brother aided their mother and her patients in the evacua tion of the city. insufficient protection is not laid at one person’s feet, but a stretch of peo ple over many years of ignoring a sleeping giant. Penn State Behrend student Jason DellaSala, who is a native of Tomball, TX, also experienced devastation due to the hurricanes. Hurricane Rita ripped through his hometown, causing a significant amount of damage to his home. Jason’s family couldn’t evacu ate the evacuation routes out of his town were backed up for miles. Jason told me that it was taking residents one hour to drive four miles. His home has one foot of water in it and the chimney was completely blown off. Jason commented on his families perception of the government and their response and said that because The Behrend Beacon I By John Bigus staff writer his family is from Texas, “they think the government is doing a great job, they don’t blame Bush.” His family is currently considering moving to Ohio due to the weather in Texas and also the expensiveness of living in a hurri cane hot spot. Jason is fourth semester English major. I also had the privilege of talking to a former Penn State Behrend graduate and his wife. George Gregory, origi nally from Oil City, PA, now resides in The Woodlands, TX, a suburb of Houston. His family was a lot luckier than most. 1 spoke with his wife, Kathy Gregory, about the storm and the problems they have been experi encing. Kathy said that their home did not receive any damage from the hurricane. They stayed in the area because there was not a mandatory evacuation issued to them. Mrs Gregory did mention that you couldn’t find gas as of Wednesday, the pumps were all dried up, and that finding necessities such as bread and water was also a difficult task. Things are starting to return to normal for the family, however they are experiencing what they call “rolling black outs” where the electric is shut off for six to eight hours at a time to conserve and prevent overloading the power plant. Texas is experiencing extremely high temperatures for this time of year, still reaching in the hundreds, and its diffi cult to cope with the heat. I did ask her what she thought of the govern- ment and their response to the disaster and she said that “clearly there is no federal emergency plan.” Mrs. Gregory suggested that “Florida has a good plan, if the model works really well then it should be implemented.” participation, unless another group sponsors it. As a result the previously allocated $35,000 have re-entered the Student Activity Fee (SAF) allotment for distribution by clubs and SGA to the student body via activities. Some warnings relayed at the meeting by the executive board of SGA included an announce ment that time is running out for club representatives to take treasury training, and that if a representative does not. a club's funds, office and rights as a club will be revoked. Another warning surrounded posting guidelines, and the issue that not only are old posters being left up, some clubs are placing new posters on top of existing ones which belong to other clubs, and that is not allowed Some other important upcoming events include Thon, the annual dance-a-thon, which is to be held next February. All proceeds from that activity will be given to a charity which pro vides financial assistance to families of children with can- Another event is the October 11 “Gays, race and religion” forum, which is going to be promoted soon. Also, a very important community develop ment meeting is being held soon, which will discuss the decisions made about access to Station Road, the nature of Jordan Road, the development of the local community with regard to convenience stores, and the expansion of communi ty stores which accept the Lion Cash program. Maulin Gandhi reported that at other Penn State campuses, even such businesses as Pennzoil, accept ed Lion Cash, and that this is a high priority.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers