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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
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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