Friday, April 28, 2006 Soni withdraws from Presidential Election By Robert Frank distribution managei The 2006 - 2007 Student Government Association election continues to he filled with surprises. This started two weeks ago when the Elections Committee found Deepti Soni's runningmate Ross Zambanini, ineligible to run for vice president. This decision was subsequently overturned by a closed vote of the Senate of the Student Government Association two weeks ago 10-7-I. After a week of campaigning and debating, the Soni/Zamhinini ticket withdrew from the election. This came as a quite a surprise to many students who were in support of the Soni/Zamhinini ticket. "We decided to remove our ticket after the Thursday debate.'' said Soni. When asked why they removed ticket so late in the race. Soni replied. "I received a letter last Thursday notifying me that I was accepted into one of the hest programs that I was interested in pursuing. - In reaching her decision Straub and Middlemiss are the 2006 SGA President and Vice President elects REDO awaits additional funding By Kate Kelecseny copy editor F-chrual \ ?4.20(16 A $3O million state capital invest- use. ment, the largest investment in Erie .v4l , l4leprint plans show the addition county history, will be put to good of 18 new 'classrooms, a cyber café, use as the Research and Economic cornsiter labs, engineering labs and Development Center (REDC) faculty offices. The majority advances toward its comple- of the classes held in the new Lion date. Over 160.000 classrooms will consist of square feet in size. the build- those in the business and ing is to be completed on engineering curriculum. The March 15, 2006. The sophisti- café will be similar to the cated, polished exterior is coffee shop currently sta slightly deceiving because the tioned in Bruno's and will interior is nowhere near com- have ample seating in addi pletion. The funding to pro- tion to wireless internet. vide the furniture inside of the The overall intention of the building has yet to he released REDC is to combine the to the university by the state. physical and intellectual However, Penn State Erie resources of two of Penn must begin to pay the utilities State Erie's professional on March 15. schools, the School of The Director of Operations, Engineering and Engineering John Ream, said the funds Technology and the Black were approved but have not School of Business. The yet been given to the school. objective is to create a more As of now, Behrend is waiting regional environment for for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Still under construction, the REDC will open in March. economic development as Rendell, as well as the State Budget Committee, to release the where students can combine ideas money. "It is only a matter of time," and work together. The research and stated Ream. "The money has been activities performed in the REDC approved and allocated to the univer- will support and add to the work done sity and the funds will be released at Knowledge Park. soon." Ultimately, with the combination Although the contractors will fin- of the two professional schools, stu ish the building, access into the dents will be able to receive more REDC will continue to be restricted. hands-on learning experience which "By May, the furniture should he will better prepare them for tasks ready to be moved in and everything they will face in their future careers. inside will be set up," assured Ream. With the close connections with Until then, only those working on the Knowledge Park, programs in the interior and maintenance preparation REDC will link students to more will be permitted to enter the build- internship opportunities as well as the opportunity to collaborate with other colleges and universities in the area on research projects. Serving the college for over two decades, Chancellor Burke has been instrumental in the construction of New Director of Student Activities selected By Adam Othman staff writer aeosoooo'psti.eciu 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 enthusiasm 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 Behrend's clubs and organizations, from the March 31. 20116 the REDC. Shortly after his arrival at Behrend. Burke submitted the plans for the facility to he approved by the state for funding. The entire process to receive approval and funding takes years. Finally, after 15 years,. Dr. Burke is seeing the success of his work and dedication to the project. In terms of the construction, no major impediments have occurred throughout the duration of the build ing process. "This is one of the best projects I have seen here. The con tractors have done excellent work," commented Ream. Although the seemingly flawless construction is said to end on March 15, it will not be long until more construction begins. An addition to the REDC is already in the works. Originally, the REDC was to include another large lecture hall, comprised of over 200 seats and similar to the two large lecture halls currently on campus. However, fund ing was questionable and plans were delayed. Since then, funding has become available, and commence- Soni said, "This is and was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my life." The decision led to an uncontested election for the pres ident and vice president positions. Meredith Straub, SGA president elect, said, "I wanted a fair competitive race for the position, and I really don't feel that students should he handed a president." She reaffirmed her platform position by stating, "We ran because I felt that my ticket would serve the student body best." Many students felt uncomfortable having an election with no contest. "Do I get to vote or do I get a president?" asked Jerry Pohl at the SGA meeting two weeks ago. Dr. Ken Miller, the advisor for SGA as well as the director of Student Affairs, said, "Well, I always prefer to see a con tested election. We had one this year it just did not finish that way. - He also added that there are no provisions for a re-election in the event of an uncontested race. Despite being the Straub/Middlemiss opponent, Soni added, "I am confident that SGA will be fine next year. The next leaders will fight for the students as stated in their platform. They both possess leadership qualities and I am confi dent that with the help of returning members and of new ideas that the students will present, SGA will be 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 per sonality traits to the former 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 appli cants. The selection process was rigorous, but Motta Torok prevailed. Motta Torok has some new goals as the new DSA. She would like to work closely with admis N E \/VS strong next ye Straub also added her thoughts on the SGA as a whole, saying, "Ken and I will perform our duties despite the circumstances of the election: fur thermore, if any student does have a suggestion or comment, please come and speak to me about it. - Despite the praise of the process Zambinini said. "The election showed a lot of character and also showed a lot of ugliness. I feel that several students made it personal rather than professional." ment on the construction will begin as soon as May. By the beginning of the 2006 academic year, the REDC will be fully functional and ready for National holiday recognized Penn State University is finally recogniz ing what many colleges and universities and the entire nation have been recognizing for two decades, the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday. Since being designated as a nation al holiday 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 classes. A national holiday, Dr. King's birthday will be, "Not a Day off...but a week on," said Andy Herrera, the Director of Educational Equity and Diversity Programs. Th campus, students and members of the Martin Luther King Commemoration Committee will be hosting four different events and working with chari ties to commemorate the event Herrera said it's not only King's life the college is cele brating but also his message. He also said, "There has been a voice of students expressing the fact that they could not partici pate 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, Martin Luther King Jr. was a pivotal civil rights activist and he is an important man in his tory.' The first of the week-long festivities at will be collecting school supplies to be Behrend will be held on Monday in the donated to the Diehl and Irving Elementary Gazebo at Dobbins at 2:30 p.m. Leon schools and the college's Child Care Center. Williams, a speaker on racial issues and Also on Saturday, some student organiza diversity, will portray Dr. King for the after- tions will take part in Habitat for Humanity noon and give a speech on what Dr. King to h e l p out in the City of Erie. might have been saying today if he were still All events for the week of Dr. King's alive. Refreshments will be served at the birthday were sponsored by the Office of event. Also on Monday, Dr. Martin Luther Educational Equity and Diversity Programs King Jr.'s Biography will be played repeat- and the Office of Students Affairs. THON continues its support "Together We'll Prevail." This is the slogan for THON, which is a fund-raising event which benefits children with cancer. It began in 1973 and is the largest student run philan thropy in the world. THON received its name from it also being a dance marathon. "It's a dance marathon because everyone celebrates for the money that has been raised to help those in need," said Kenneth Middlemiss, who is the assistant director of THON. The marathon is 48 hours of continuous dance. Directors of THON, Meredith Straub and Kenneth Middlemiss helped to raise well over $2,000 last weekend for the Penn State Erie chapter. Last year, Penn State raised $4.1 mil lion for the event. The closest any other college came last year to matching Penn State only made about a tenth of our total. The money that was made goes to the Four Diamonds Fund, which assists the Pennsylvania State Children's Hospital in Hershey, Pa., and families with children suffering from cancer. The goal of the Four Diamonds Fund is to overcome child hood cancer. No family is ever turned down from the Four Diamonds Fund. "Every penny that is made from THON goes towards the kids," stated Middlemiss. "Because I danced last year, it has really motivated me to do it this year." THON, which was supposed to be a Greek life event, became an individual function due to Penn State Behrend's size and the fact that there are only a handful of fraternities and sororities on campus. "Students can go canning for THON. We secured permits and went to the Milicreek Mall," said Straub. Many other THON related events were also being held to help out, including glow bowl ing, raffles and bar nights (for those of legal age). "It's just a great way for students to go out and donate to a good cause," replied Straub. The Penn State Erie campus also has a Mini thon in the works for February. The Mini-thon will be a smaller version of the dance cele bration, shortening from 48 hours to 24 and still raising money for children with cancer. Penn State Erie has done a very good job with aiding those less fortunate and responding to fund-raisers. Without everyone pulling together, nothing would be accomplished. "I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who went canning for us," Straub replied. "It means so much to see students at Behrend care. It's just amazing." The THON meetings are held every Friday in Reed 113. Anyone interested in participat ing is more than welcome to drop by. sions. She is confident that Behrend Admissions and Student Activities could have a great partner ship in working to recruit more students and retain those already enrolled. Motta Torok also sees a great opportunity in working with the Athletic Department to organize new and exciting events. More students getting involved in student activities is also something Motta Torok would like to see. Mona Torok also hopes to get otherwise apa thetic students and any student not interested in get ting involved in extracurricular activities to begin to participate. "I think such students are missing out by not being more involved in what goes on around campus." Motta Torok said, "Being involved with clubs and organizations on campus provides great net- By Mathew Burneisen staff writer Januar 13.2006 The Behrend Beacon I edly from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in Bruno's. On Tuesday. students will he hosting activities related to the theme of the civil right smovement at the Child Care Center. Wednesday, a theatrical 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 Chapinyn group, from Ohio, will run this annual event from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. and is said to he a perform ance with humor. drama, and truth. On Thursday, a video presentation and discussion involving debaters Steve Albrecht and Dale Kelly 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, students By Earl Gordon staff writer No% ember 18. 2(X)5 working opportunities, a transitional landscape between col lege life and the real world, and an edge in graduate school admis- sions. Being involved is just part of the college expe- rience. ' Kris Torok named new DSA
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