7 Special Halloween Editiati 4 THE BEHREND BEAI:ON Friday, October 28, 2005 Eight-legged freaks invade campus By Earl Gordon staff writer Halloween is approaching, and it seems this year we are in for more of a trick than a treat. "Get back you eight legged freaks!" This memorable quote from the movie "Eight Legged Freaks" is one that every stu dent on campus wants to scream There has been an increase in arachnid activity this year. With the growth of the amount of spi- ders in our area, word has spread inventing new stories about spi ders, including people being bit ten by poisonous and even deadly species. This year, Penn State Erie has noticed a sig nificant increase in the arachnid population. They have moved right into the buildings and made themselves at home. James Bowen, the manager of Housing and Food Services responded to the question of why there are so many spi ders this year. "It is due to the fact that we have had a lot of high humidity and heat this year," Bowen stated. "They have appeared all over campus." A magnified image of a wolf spider much like the spiders spotted around campus Also among the factors for the increasing population of the arachnids is the location. Penn State Erie is located in a rural setting, making the presence of insects and animals much more common. One of the dorms on campus that seems to have the majority of the "houseguests" is Ohio Contents News Editorial Humor Student Life 7-8 Sports 9-10 Contact Us Newsroom 898-6488 Fax: 898-6019 E-mail: editorinchief@psu.edu Our offices are located down stairs in the Reed Union Building. engs(X)2o`psu edu ...1-3 4 Hall. Here, they hang clustered on the lamppost, win dows, doors, stairwells, and rooms. "The reason Ohio Hall has more spiders is because the dorm is located clos er to the woods." said Bowen. Biology Professor Margaret Voss also explained the increasing amount of spiders on campus. "Although there are more species of spiders, the two most commonly ing about poisonous and possibly fatal spiders on campus, they aren't true. "There is a spider called the Brown Recluse," said Voss, "but that spider is very, very rare. They tend to try to avoid contact with humans. I would be surprised to see one in this area." The spiders on Penn State Erie's campus may be annoy ing and creepy, but they are mostly harmless creatures looking to keep warm for the winter, just like the rest of us. They have also done favors for us, such as taking care of insect pests such as gnats, flies and mosquitoes. No matter what actions we take, our arachnid friends will never go away. Free workshop highlights horror There is no better way to kick off the Halloween weekend than a workshop on horror. Professor Joshua Shaw asked, "Why are we fascinated with horror films? Why do we seek them out?" This lead to the creation of "Confronting Horror: A Workshop on Horror Films and Fiction." The School of Humanities and Social Sciences faculty is hosting an all day workshop that will take place on Saturday Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., located in the Reed Union Building room 117. This program is open to the public and is free of admission, which is the per fect price for any college student. The fun filled event includes interesting panel discussions led by the faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences department. The first discussion will be on "Confronting Horror." There will be many different discussions on different movies and the concept of horror that people have developed. Professor Mark Steensland is leading a discussion on the movie "The Shining." He feels that the movie has been interpreted in many different ways because of society's interest in the movie. However, he finds that the meaning is more modern and will speak of past interpretations compared with that of his own. Other discussions will include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Reconsidering Classic Monsters," and "Smooth Criminals." Shaw, who has put this workshop Penn State searches for more student funding By Jenna Gregory staff writer jag464@psu.edu College students are facing potentially bigger debts, according to Congress and their plan to rebuild the South. A decrease in allotted student funding may result from Congress's needed funds to reconstruct the damaged Gulf Coast. Pennsylvania students in particular will suffer the blow of the decrease in student funding because they are already paying the most in the nation for public education costs. Penn State University is the most expensive public college in the nation; that means that Penn State students who are already paying the most for their degrees will again have an increase in the cost of education. Congress has been discussing the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act for some time now. The reauthorization was delayed in 2004 due to the war in Iraq. Jane Brady, the Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, said that there has been "talk of this before" because of the war efforts, A Penn State Erie Student Publication By Emily Zimmerman staff writer egzsooo@psu.edu around this area are the Wolf Spider and American House Spider. The Wolf Spider can grow to about an inch and a quarter and will bite if provoked but will only leave a small bump similar to a mosquito bite," Voss stated. As for the sto- ries spread- and now because of the hurricane. However, Penn State is doing its part to fight the increasing costs, "Penn State has legislative lobbyers out there work ing and speaking for us," said Brady. Penn State University is also doing its part to help students with their finances. Brady said that they are trying to implement new scholarships into the system and that the admissions office is always doing its best to help students get the "best deal." Brady also said that Penn State University has "a lot of bargaining power," when it comes to getting banks that the university represents to give students the best service possible and the best rates on loans. The increased tuition rates have definitely caused somewhat of a drop in student enrollment. As Penn State's costs go up, student enrollment is an ongo ing concern. Brady also said "general aid programs aren't keeping up with the increasing costs." Many students do not qualify for grants and the maximum Stafford loan amount hasn't increased in 10 years. When tuition and borrowing limits continually increase and the aid students are receiving does not, many students suffer financially. Over 80 percent Win Ben Stein's Knowledge Ben Stein, man of many talents, will speak at Behrend this Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in McGarvey commons. Stein will discuss politics, entertain ment and economics. He will also field a question-and-answer session fol lowed by a book signing. A graduate of both Columbia University and Yale Law School, where he was valedictori an of the class of 1970, he has worked as a poverty lawyer for the FTC and taught at numerous universities. Stein worked as a White House speechwriter for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, although he is quick to point out that he did not pen Nixon's infamous "I am not a crook" line. Stein first became involved in the entertainment industry by acting as a Hollywood consultant, helping liberal writers depict a conservative family. Stein's most famous role was that of an economics teacher in the movie "Ferris Bileller's Day Off." The eco nomics lecture that Stein delivers in the film was reportedly unscripted as he was able to rely on his formal train ing to deliver the dialog in an impromptu fashion. Stein's most prominent role in television was that of the host of the Comedy Central game show "Win Ben Stein's Money," but he has also appeared on many series including "Charles In Charge" and "MacGyver." Stein's talents also extend into the realm of voice acting as he has provided char acterizations for "Duckman" and other animated series. Stein has conducted notable research on concealed messages in media and the mechanism of mass media. Stein has written and published sixteen books, includ ing seven novels regarding his personal life as well as nine nonfiction books cov ering topics such as finance, ethics and the sociopolitical social content of mass culture. Ben Stein's lecture is free and open to the public together, will be speaking on the subject of "Smooth Criminals" and why the public finds them so interesting. He will be focusing on the movie "Silence of the Lambs" with Hannibal Lecter as the "Smooth Criminal," and how he is not presented as a criminal but instead as a fascinating character. Dr. Craig Warren will also be speaking on this subject focusing on "Jack the Ripper." Two episodes that are considered the best of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will also be shown at the workshop. The first one will be the episode entitled "Hush" which was nominated for an Emmy for best script. In this particular episode, however, there was no dialogue. The second episode is a musical enti tled, "Once More with Feeling." These two were chosen mainly to introduce the series to people who have not seen it. These workshops have been going on since last spring covering different top ics. They have been formed for the faculty to speak about what they are indi vidually researching and to share that information with other faculty, students and the community. Through these discussions, the faculty has learned that they all were interest ed with horror in one way or another, so forming the horror series is perfect for this part of the season. Shaw has put more time into creating this particular workshop because of the interest he thinks the idea of horror will create. Steensland said, "People have a lot of fun talking about horror." He also said, "It will be a lot of fun in the Halloween season to listen to others' opinions and will broaden experience and opinion of horror." Vol. LIII No. 10 By Chris Hvizdak opinion editor ceh 186' psu.edu Ben Stein comes to Behrend Nov. I of Penn State students have loans. Several Penn State students commented on the possibility of having to pay more for their educa tion. Emily Keith said that the prospect of taking away from student funding is "plain stupid." Jenna Ferguson said, "They [the government] should stop spending money on everything else and put it toward things that are more productive." Ferguson also said that the government should focus more on what the immediate necessities are and fellow class mate Jillian Matlock agrees. Amy Graeza said, "It's bad enough you don't get grants, but you don't get any aid either." Clearly, students are concerned and somewhat angered about the possibility of losing even more support from the government for educa tional purposes. Brady said that even though prices have increased the value of a degree Penn State in particular. is still worth it. She reminds students to keep looking for outside scholarships and to get the most for their money by becoming involved in activities on cam pus and utilizing all the services that Behrend provides.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers