I The Behrend Beacon 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 _ •... ,k• • \ ..•,, . , t 1111.' l I. l ° i,kliligo . , , .. . '-':. / , . - . „.•' 1 4\ ' . . , . . .-- ' ._, Work r , . ~ ~ ~~~ . ;; Unsatisfied students can go somewhere else By Jenn Haight news editor oh 1005 psu.edu I hate Behrend. There's nothing to do here It's so boring and Erie sucks. - These are words commonly spoken by the Behrend student. To that student I say. "GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! There is plenty to do in Erie: you just have to devote the time to look for these things to do. We have a mall, not the size of some of the malls in Buffalo, Cleveland or Pittsburgh, but for the size that Erie is, the mall is a decent one. We have a huge movie theater, and I think the price is justified when you consider how much we spend on beer and alcohol each weekend. There are restaurants and bars for those of us who are over 21. We have the peninsula. Nothing pisses me off more than when people complain about Presque Isle. How many places in the continental U.S. can say they have a peninsula such as ours? Exactly, none. We also need to stop being so dependent on exterior sources of entertainment. If you really ••••••••••••••••••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Beacon Thumbs Up Beacon Thumbs Down : 41 / 4 - Bruno's opening at 2 P.M. on Saturdays. - Knowing what your gifts are before you recieve them. - Potential Spring 05 Mythbusters visit to Behrend. • • •••••••••••••••••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Timley Holiday Quotes "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." Calvin Coolidge "Christmas is an awfulness that compares favorably with the great London plague and fire of 1665-66. No one escapes the feelings of mortal dejection, inadequacy, frustration, loneliness, guilt and pity. No one escapes feeling used by society, by religion, by friends and relatives, by the utterly artifical responsiblities of extend ing false greetings, sending banal cards, reciprocating unsolicated gifts, going to dull parties, putting up with acquaintances and family one avoids all the rest of the year...in short, of being brutalized by a 'holiday' that has lost virtually all of its orig inal meanings and has become a merchandising ploy for color tv set manufactur ers and ravagers of the woodlands." Shopping J Packing 7", 1_ I , `, - Y-L, _ _,, ' 4 1 / 4 1 woo. - 4 • A • 4.100 ,,, , - • • '-' Mks' ,• • OPINION 1 % 1,0 J 'tom /••••••••••• want to have fun. you can have it anywhere. Whether it is at the movies, howling or in your friend's basement. fun can he had anywhere. For those who complain about the Behrend campus, there are so many clubs that anyone can join free of charge. There are fraternities and sororities and entertainment hoards and school papers and an alternative energy club. There literally is a club for everyone. It should not he up to the school to cater to each individ ual personally. The school facilitates hundreds of different groups to suit anyone's needs. And if there is no club that strikes your fancy, you have the ability to start one. Believe it or not. Penn State is not working against you. The point is. no one is forcing you to be here. If you don't like it, leave. There are thousands of other colleges in America. If the amount of money you're spending to go here is what is getting you down, consider this: a degree from The Pennsylvania State University, no matter what campus you go to, is worth more than many other degrees. People are hired strictly because they are Penn State grads. I would • . 4 16 1 N. - Frivolous New Years resolutions. "Black Ice" on Behrend walkways. - Shortcomings of the PennDOT roadcrew. .••• • _~- ;_ ,% Mini 4it k VP' 'We dP• Nio - Harlan Ellison Labs ZACK MENT rather pay an astronomical amount of money for a degree that I know will get me a job than go to a cheap college and not be sure of my future. Behrend is a great campus. The colors of the trees in the fall when they change is so amazing and beautiful, you can't find that everywhere. To be able to wake up to it everyday makes us very lucky. Consider this: if you go to a campus with 40,000 other students you are constatnly corn peteing with those 40,000 other people for the attention of professors. Whereas here at Behrend you can walk past your advisor and he will know who you are. Behrend is nice because you're able to have a personal relathionship with faculty. The next time you go to open your mouth and complain about this or that, think about all of the things you are going to get from Penn State, most importantly an extremely valuable degree that will get you very far in life. Let's also keep in mind that one in about 20 college graduates led from Penn State, so obviously, s doing something right. has gradua the school Does your opinion count? Fall 'O5 has come, Fall 'O5 has gone. What does the Opinion page have to show for itself? We've approached a lot of diverse topics, from social and political issues to cheesesteaks and emo. We have given an awful lot of thumbs up and thumbs down. Many great and powerful persons have been quoted in our stylish quote section. I think you'll enjoy the dichotomy of our "Holiday Quotes" this week. What haven't we done? We haven't received a great deal of feedback. Less than half a dozen letters and submissions have made it to the Opinion page from per sons outside the Beacon. This from a college community of 3,700 people, accord ing to Behrend's website. I've harped on this before, to little avail, and the lack of response doesn't bother me. The la, - 1 of response to my frequent solicitations for participation from the Behrend community does; however, affairm many observations I can right make about Behrend, America and the US of A in general. People don't care. That's a fact. Most people are simply absorbed in their day to day life and only get involved in something beyond themselves if it will yield a direct benefit to them, be it monetary, pyschological, material, etc. If you think otherwise, you're likely to be disappointed. Oh, of course some people legitimately care. But they're by far in the minority. If you're lucky, you'll be fortunate enough to enouncter enough people who care to be capable of setting and accomplishing goals that require more than the dedication of one person. In my life, I have been this fortunate. I'd say this gives me the creedence to evaluate situations that lack people who care. So what of the Beacon Opinion page and America? They both lack legitimate participation. Fortunately for you, it matters little whether the Beacon Opinion page is participated in. America is a different story. Unless people who legitimate ly care about engendering a tolerant nation that looks out for the best interest of all its citizens, we'll be perpetually worse off than we are now. Submission Guidelines The Beacon welcomes readers to share their views on this page. Letters and commentary pieces can be submitted by email to opinion@psu.edu or directly to the Beacon office, located in the Reed Building. Letters should be limited to 350 words and commentaries should be limited to 700 words. The more concise the submission, the less we will be forced to edit it for space concerns and the more likely we are to run the submission. All submissions must include the writer's year in school, major and name as The Beacon does not publish anonymous letters. Deadline for any submission is 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon for inclusion in the Friday issue. All submissions are considered, but because of space limitations, some may not be published. All submissions must include consent to be edited before they can be edited for publication. The Behrend Beacon „,,„ ,„„ki, th Rick. I Penn St THE BEHREND Beacon Opinion Editor Chris Hviidak Penn State Erie, The Behrend College First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building Station Road, Erie, PA 16563 Friday, December 9, 2005 Annie Sevin, Editor in Chief Rob Frank, Managing Editor Courtney Kaplin, Advertising Manager Randy Martell, Public Relations Manager Kim Young, Adviser News Editor Jennifer Haight Assistant News Editor Patrick Wehqer Sports Editor Chris LaFuria Cartoonist Zack Menti Photography Editor Michelle Vera Suroviec By Chris Hvizdak opinion editor opinion psu.edu Student Life Editor KJ Margraff Jr. Calendar Editor Siohhan Conway Humor Editor Jerry Pohl Copy Editors Kate Keleeseny Rachel Conway Allison Gray Tracic Kendtiora Justin Plansinis Contact the Beacon at: Telephone: (814) 898-6488 Fax: (814) 898-6019 Have a "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down" ? priP "alb 9 Send Suggestions to opinion@psu.edu
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