• f ion under scrutiny g S i e ft n i i n o f r o C rm la a s t s Joe Paterno of 1,1 Page 3 Page 10 X i mpi AWN THE BEHREND BEmAcoN Friday, January 13, 2006 Penn State coach taken to court By Miranda Leigh Krause staff writer inlk3 I 90r psu edu The Penn State University women's basket ball coach is causing some controversy that dribbles down the court to Behrend. A former Lady Lion has filed suit in federal court on Dec 21 claiming that the coach, Rene Portland, had been harassing her about her sexual preferences and removed her from the team, believing she was a lesbian. Also named in the suit were the athletic director, Tim Curley. and Penn State University. The former PSU Lady Lion, Jennifer Harris, transferred to James Madison University and asked the court to "conduct mandatory non-dis crimination training" and also has asked to "create new policies to help student athletes report discrimination without fear of retaliation " Another former Lady Lion, Courtney Wicks, said that Portland had told her that Penn State was a "straight environ ment, a lesbian-free environment." A Lady Lion who played in 1980 has come forward regarding Portland's dis criminations towards lesbians. Portland will not allow these allega tibns to ruin her career. In her statement to the media on Oct. 14, she said, "Let me make it absolutely clear that the only reason Jennifer Harris is no longer with the Lady Lions is because of her performance and attitude in rela tion to basketball." Diversity is highly thought of here at Penn lands they were silent but their mer,se was louder itself. State, but what does diversity mean? A document called A Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State: 2004-09 states: "Within the University, the office supports and evaluates the many diversity initiatives and serves as an advocate for a range of popula tions. These include historically underrepre- k . Contents News Editorial Humor Student Life Sports Contact Us Newsroom 898-6488 Fax: 898-6019 E-mail editorinchief@psu.edu Our offices are located down stairs in the Reed Union Building. Portman coachin The Laramie Project brought to campus The Theater Department at Penn State Erie is hold ing auditions this January for th( versial play entitled TT Laramie Project, which is slat for late March and early Api performance dates. Auditioi are being held Wednesday, J; 18 from 7-10 p.m. in the Still Theatre. Callbacks will Thursday, Jan. 19 from 7-9 p. also at the Studio Theatre. The story of the play revolN around the town of Larami4 Wyoming and its reaction to brutal murder of a Wyoming c. lege student Matthew Sheparc through the stories of the people who lived through the ordeal. It came about as a result of a small group of people who spoke to over 200 people from the town to find out, from their point of view, what New Director of Student Activities selected ...1-3 7-8 ...9-10 New Director of Student Activities (DSA) Kris Motta Torok greets every student that enters her office in the Student Activities Office with a smile. This, in combination with her enthusi asm and work ethic, is what gave her an edge in the choosing of a new DSA. Motta Torok earned both a B.A. in Communications and a Masters Degree from Gannon University. Torok's career with Behrend began on Feb. 1, 1996 when she was appointed Assistant Director of Student Activities. Student Activities is the body that provides support for all of A Penn State Erie Student Publication sented racial/ ethnic minorities, person's with disabilities, persons from low income families who would be the first generation to college, veterans, lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgen der persons and women." Jeff Barber, a freshman majoring in market ing at Penn State Erie, was unnerved by these allegations. "I think it's unfair. They should be going off talent, not sexual orientation," Barber said. "There is a policy and she [Rene Portland] should be following it." Head Basketball Coach, Roz Fornari of Penn State _ Erie is troubled by the . tuation, as she tries to ;ep her players locused on the positive the Lions ple. We foctis on being competitive, getting good gradeb:, 04 develop ing as people." Prior to Harris being forced to leave the team, she averaged 10.7 points per the 22 games she started last season, which ranked her third on the team. Harris had a 3.1 GPA, which had fallen to 2.9 in the spring of 2005. Though her attorney, Karen Doering, suggests this could be from the emotional stress that Portland caused her. This alleged act of hate is not by any means ignored. Activists have begun to set up protests. The activists were led by Penny Gardner of MSU and dressed in all purple with "Lavender Menace" written on their shirts in the stands of the Penn State vs. Michigan State game. In the stands they were silent, but their message was louder than the game itself. By Ben Raymond Staff writer bar23s@psu.edu By Adam Othman staff writer aeosooo@psu.edu mosphere Fonari said, "The .uation at University 'ark is unfortunate. I )n't feel comfortable Immenting on other )ople's basketball •ograms. I really only tow about how we do Ings here at Behrend. The Behrend Women's \asketball program is diverse group of peo- Behrend's clubs and organizations, from the Greek system to the Speaker Series Motta Torok has nearly ten years of experience with the office. After nine years as Assistant Director, Motta Torok was promoted to Associate Director in 2005. She attributes many of her work ethics and personality traits to the for mer Director of Student Activities, Chris Rizzo, whom she considers to be a strong mentor. When the position of Director of Student Activities became vacant, Motta Torok applied along with a pool of other highly qualified applicants. The selection process was rigorous, but Motta Torok prevailed. Motta Torok has some new goals National ho By Mathew Burneisen staff writer mrhso6 I (q' psu edu Penn State University is finally recognizing what many colleges and universities and the entire nation have been recognizing for two decades, the Dr. Martin Luther King holi day. Since being desig nated as a national holi day in 1986, Penn State University has failed to give students and faculty the day off. On Monday, Jan. 16, the University will honor the memory of the slain civil rights leader by canceling class- A national holiday, Dr. King's birthday will be, "Not a Day off...but a week on," said Andy Herrera, the Director of Educational Eguity and Diversity Programs. This year on catoinis, students and ntetribers of the Martin , ' Luther King t.:,‘ornmemoration Cortimittee will be host ing four different events and wort to commemorate the event. Herrera said it's not only King's life the college is celebrating but also his message. He also said, "There has been a voice of students expressing the fact that they could not participate in many of the events to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King because they were in class." "It is important, not only to celebrate the life of this American...but it is important because of the message this movement brought," said Herrera. Jeffrey Stewart, a resident of Lawrence Hall agreed, "It is overdue...everyone else has it off, and he is an important man in history." The first of the week-long festivities at Behrend will be held on Monday in the Gazebo at Dobbins at 2:30 p.m. Leon Williams, a speaker on racial would cause something like this. They attempted to sort out what people said and what they really felt. It will be directed by Dr. Christine Mangone, head of Behrend's theatre department. Dr. Mangone spoke about some of the purposes for the Pk She said that, "It's a very powerful piece, which is what has made it so popu lar." The popularity of play has grown enough that HBO picked it up and did a film version of it. Dr. Mangone later went on to say that the play is about "not only what people say, but what is going on beneath the lines." She hopes that as a result of the play, it will "spark more dialogue about homosexuality and the difference between tolerance and acceptance." The play will be open to all stu dents and to the entire community, !stilt in mixed reactions. When asked how accepting college students are now of homosexual persons, Ben Gilson, an Electrical Engineering major, said, "We have been more exposed to gay people in the past few years, fflnTrTut.l as the new DSA. She would like to work closely with admis sions. She is confi dent that Behrend Admissions and Student Activities could have a great partnership in work ing to recruit more students and retain those already enrolled. Motta Torok also sees a great opportunity in working with the Athli to organize new and exciting events More students getting involved in student activities is also something Motta Torok would like to see. Mona ` l! ' Vol. LIII No. 16 AVIV iday recognized issues and diversity, will portray Dr. King for the afternoon and give a speech on what Dr. King might have been saying today if he were still alive. Refreshments will be served at the event. Also on Monday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Biography will be played repeatedly from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. On Thursday, a video presentation and discus sion involving debaters Steve Albrecht and Dale Xelly Bankhead will take place in Reed 117 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The topic of the event is the issue of protection from terrorism and its effect on American civil rights. Throughout the week, stu dents will be collecting school supplies to be donat ed to the Diehl and Irving Elementary schools and the college's Child Care Center. Also on Saturday, some, student organizations will take part in Habitat for Humanity to help out in the City of Erie. All events for the week of Dr. King's birthday were sponsored by the Office of Educational Equity and Diversity Programs and the Office of Students Affairs. such as in the media like with Ellen. or Rosie O'Donnell and there is so much more to a persons personality than their sexual orientation that more and more people will be accepting." This show is certain to command a very powerful performance from eight actors that will represent the 60 characters in the play. It deals with the aftermath from the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard. It was written using testimonials from the people in the town of Laramie. This stands as a testament to how much our socie ty has changed in the past eight years. With movies such as Brokeback Mountain which have grossed over $l5 million at the box office, trends are starting to appear that show the decline in homesexual toler ance; acknowledging the fact that someone is homo sexual, and the rise in acceptance or the embracing of the fact that being gay does not have to be discrimi nated against. More information is available on fly ers posted around campus, or Dr. Christine Mangone the head of the theatre department is available via email at cbmll@psu.edu. ,rovides great networking opportunities, a transitional landscape between college life and the real world, and an edge in graduate school admissions. Being involved is just part in Bruno's On Tuesday, students will be hosting activities related to the theme of the civil right movement at the Child Care Center. Wednesday. a the atrical performance by the James Chapmyn group entitled One Race, One People, One Peace will he held in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building. The Chapmyn group, from Ohio. will run this annual event from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. and is said to be a performance Torok also hopes to get otherwise apathetic stu dents and any student not interested in getting involved in extracurric ular activities to begin to participate. "I think such students are miss- ing out by not being more involved in what goes on around cam pus." Motta Torok said, "Being involved with clubs and organizations
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