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THE BEHREND BEACON
Friday, October 21, 2005
Sorority sisters support bi-annual blood drive
With all of the natural disasters ravaging the country, what is a better way to lend a helping hand
than by donating blood? On Thursday, Oct. 20, Behrend's social sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha spon
sored a blood drive by the Community Blood Bank of Western Pennsylvania from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.in
the Reed McGarvey Commons. Thursday's
drives held by the sorority.
Community Blood Bank coordinator
Nicole Eller was satisfied with Thursday's
turnout. She said that everything went
smoothly and "on pace. - She mentioned
that there would probably be about 60
donors for the day; most drives collect
blood from about 70 people. Though the
drive did not reach last year's mark of 80
donors at the time of interview, Eller stated,
"There is usually a bigger turnout in
spring. - She mentioned that last year's fall
drive was hosted on a Wednesday, suggest
ing that the different day of the week
would result in fluctuated numbers of
donors
Alpha Sigma Alpha senior Annie Jordan
said, "I think that there was a good turnout
for a Thursday. Even with the long classes,
everything was going fast and [the
Community Blood Bank staff] was doing a
good job here." The sorority has been
sponsoring blood drives with the same
blood bank for many years, according to
Jordan.
The majority of the students who attended the blood drive donated blood for the common cause of
helping people. Freshman Kevin Jackson donated blood for the first time on Thursday to "help peo
ple out. - He said that he always wanted to donate blood, but was never presented with the opportuni
ty to do so. Junior Jenna Yankowski donated for the first time for the same reason. She said that she
came to the drive because she saw a flyer on campus. Freshman Brian Thompson has donated blood
at Greek Sing, Page 8
Contents
News 1-3
Editorial 4
Humor 6
Student Life 7-8
Sports 9-10
Contact Us
Newsroom:
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: editor
inchief@psu.edu
Our offices are located
downstairs in the Reed
Union Building.
By Raechul Bowser
staff writer
rmbso33@psu.edu
drive was one of two of this year's bi-annual blood
Kathryn Carstater/THE BEHREND
Matt Decker is one of many Behrend students, staff and faculty who donated their blood.
Angel gifts brighten up Christmas
By Ashley Bressler
staff writer
arb27l@psu.edu
Preparation for the holiday season
seems to come earlier each year, and
with December more than two
months away, not many people have
gotten into the magical spirit of
Christmas. However, it is never too
early to make a difference in a child's
life by donating to the Angel Gifts
Program. The Angel Gifts Program is
sponsored by Reality Check and the
St. Martin's Center for Service, and
they have been bringing joy to chil
dren of the Erie area during the holi-
day season for years.
The Angel Gifts Program is
designed to ensure that all children
experience a fulfilling Christmas that
can shine a light of hope onto the
troubles in their lives. The whole hol
iday season is about the love of fami
ly and taking the time to appreciate
the little joys of life. Parents and
guardians must sign their children up
to become eligible for the program.
Then, there is a waiting period as the
staff of Reality Check investigates
the family history and their financial
situation, determining their eligibility
Kelly Wertz Shrout, a member of
Reality Check and head of the Angel
Gifts Program said, "We expect to
A Penn State Erie Student Publication OCT 2 2005 Vol. LIII No. 9
see more candidates this season
because of the higher gas prices and
the higher living standards. It has
made everyday necessities difficult
and sometimes the parents can't even
provide that, which makes buying
Christmas gifts seem impossible.
This year we have over two thousand
children in the program."
There is still hope of a memorable
Christmas for the Angel Gifts chil
dren if the citizens of the Erie area,
the students and faculty of Penn State
Erie included, take action and get
involved in the inspiring cause by
adopting a child for Christmas.
Anyone that is willing to take the
time and financial efforts of adopting
a child is welcomed and appreciated
by Reality Check and St. Martin's
Center for Service. When adopting a
child, you not only have the opportu
nity to bring happiness to a child on
Christmas morning but also better the
lives of the entire family, because as
we all know, Christmas is not just
about the presents. It is more about
spending time with family and letting
everyone know how much you care.
Show that you care by contacting
Kelly Wertz Shrout at
kawl4B@psu.edu. The deadline to
sign up for the program is approach
ing fast and volunteers will not be
accepted after Oct. 28.
four or five times before Thursday and started donating through his high school blood drives. He
said that donating blood is a good cause and everyone should "donate blood to help other people...
He continued, "It's not a big deal and it doesn't take very long." All of the donors interviev,ed said
that they were not nervous about donating.
Eller said that the Community Blood Bank is the only supplier of blood to all of the hospitals in
Erie. Elk. McKean and Warren counties. According to Eller, Community Blood Bank supplies 1110
percent of the blood needs for 12 area hospitals, including Hamot Medical Center and Saint Vincent
Health System. Eller said, "The best reason to donate b
Of the 36 members of Alpha Sigma
Alpha, many of the sisters volunteered with
the drive. Jordan said, "The new members
don't have to come. but some of them vol
unteer anyway. - According to Eller, the sis
ters of Alpha Sigma Alpha help to promote
the drive by posting flyers around campus
and by assisting at the registration table.
Eller said that the drives are organized
through Student Health services and hosted
by a campus organization in this case Alpha
Sigma Alpha. Eller said. "[Community
Blood Bank] would love to come out more
than twice a year for other organizations."
Eller said that Community Blood Bank "look[s] forward to the academic year. as [the hank] can col
lect a large amount of blood in a little amount of time which in turn creates a good boost of the local
blood supply." If any other campus organizations are interested in hosting a blood drive, please con
tact Nicole Eller at the Erie Branch, 814-456-4206.
After committing to the program,
participants and the Angels will
receive their star which provides the
child's information which includes
the child's name, age, sex, clothing
size and a small wish list. These stars
should arrive in mid-November, giv
ing the volunteers almost three weeks
to do their shopping. Obviously, the
volunteers are allowed to spend as
much money on their adopted child
as they would like, but the average
amount spent is anywhere from $25
to $5O. Volunteers should know that
this is a commitment to the children.
When signing up, they should want
to help in making a difference, so ful
filling the duty is expected.
On Dec. 9, the gifts should be
wrapped and brought to the Smith
Chapel. The gifts need to be turned in
weeks before Christmas because of
the overwhelming amount of gifts
that are brought in. The process to
sort all of the gifts and pair them up
according to family takes the majori
ty of December. However, the donat
ed gifts will always make it under the
tree on Christmas morning where the
children get to take part in the happi
ness and excitement which is the hol
iday season.
ood is of course to save lives. But. the hest
reason to donate blood to a community
blood bank is to supply blood to the area
that you live in Community Blood Bank is
also the preferred provider (hut not the only
provider) for six hospitals in New York
including Westfield Memorial Hospital.
Brooks Memorial Hospital (Dunkirk), WCA
Healthcare System (Jamestown). 'II,C
Health Network (Irving). Olean General
Hospital and Jones Memorial Hospital since
Feb. 15.
Teaching Workshop
helps professors
relate to students
By Justin DeSantis
staff writer
jdd22o@psu.edu
Next week, in the continuing Penn State
Behrend College Teaching Workshop
Series, faculty members will be involved
in a lesson. But it's not your usual lesson.
The next event will he about obtaining.
interpreting and responding to student
feedback of the teacher's teaching style.
The goal is for professors to he more
receptive to student feedback. It also
serves to incorporate the ideas students
have offered in order to improve the pro
fessors' own teaching styles. What follows
is a blending of teacher ideas and student
opinions that create more interactive
teaching environments.
If that seems to be complicated. it really
shouldn't be. The goal is to have the
teachers and faculty who attend the work
shop talk in a forum about new and inven
tive ideas. Each faculty member relates
his or her own experiences and teaching
styles, and then they engage in topics
from their own philosophies about teach
ing. The event encourages faculty to
reevaluate their own methods and come
up with new and exciting forms based on
other teachers. It also serves to better fos
ter the camaraderie between the faculty
members.
"We have a lot of top-notch teachers
here, we want to help them reach then
maximum potential of teaching," says
Carla Torgerson, at the Center for
Teaching and Educational Technologies.
There will be tips on how to make lec
tures more engaging for students and how
to better retain interest.
The event is open to all teachers, full
and part-time. Teacher's assistants are also
allowed to come, although, students are
not usually allowed to attend. The turnout
has been approximately 25 faculty mem
bers for each of the last two events.
The workshop is being held in Reed
114. The nest workshop will be offered
Tuesday, Oct 25, and again on
Wednesday, Oct 26. Both events are free
of charge.