THE BEHREND BEACON Friday, September 8, 2006 “We were good mates. I'll remember Steve as my best mate ever.” -Bob Irwin, father of Steve Irwin A country on the mend: Remembering the events of 9/11 By Janet Niedenberger Copy Editor September 11, 2001. 8:46 a.m. Nearly every American can remember where they were and what they were doing when the first hijacked airplane crashed into the World Trade Center. Whether they were in the heart New York City, or in a small run town in the middle of nowheri Americans felt the shock of thi tragedy as it spread across the corn try like wildfire. Monday marks the five-yei anniversary of the worst act of te: rorism to occur on American soi While the event may now be on tl back burner of their memories, th< will never forget what happened. The attack on the World Trai Center was felt throughout thi world. Penn State Behrend is a vei diverse campus, with students froi all over not only America, but al; the world. Three Behrend students experi enced very different events that day. This recent photo of Ground Zero shows the remaining space Each in a different place at the time where the Towers used to stand before the vicious terrorist attacks of the attack, these students’ stories demonstrate the effect of the devastation cause on that day in September. Brandon McGraw, 04 International Business, Finance, and Accounting, is originally from Brooklyn, NY. He vividly remembers September 11th as if it were yesterday. His father worked in Two hosts of Myth Busters open up The Speaker Series Thursday in Junker Center Myth Busters’ Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage spoke to a very crowded Junker Center on Thursday, Sept. 7. Savage and Hyneman told the audience accounts of their many endeavors. Contact Us Newsroom: 898-6488 Fax: 898-6019 E-mail: jahloos@psu.edu Our offices are located downstairs in the Reed Union Building. the World Trade Center. On his way to work, McGraw’s father dropped him off at school, nearly an hour late though, due to traffic. While heading into school, McGraw heard a big explosion. He says that the sky instantly filled with smoke, and it was dark as night at 9 a.m. Confused, McGraw thought the blast was from a movie being made. He said that the rest of the day was a blur of confusion. The students at his school were given the option to stay or leave; McGraw left and ran into a family friend who also happened to be a police officer. They stuck together until the Midnight Bingo causes controversy over prize selections By Jerry Pohl staff writer When sophomore psychology major Luis Fernandez attended Behrend's Midnight Bingo, Saturday, Sept 2, he was hoping to win, and he did, but not really. Fernandez won the grand prize of a 20" Magnavox TV with an estimated value of $BO, but instead was awarded an Emerson Radio/CD Player with an estimated value of $45. Fernandez is not happy with what he says was a mistake that he is now pay ing for. What Fernandez calls a mistake hap pened early in the evening. Fernandez won a game of Bingo. In accordance with the rules of the game he picked a random number out of a basket. The numbers cor respond to the prizes. In Fernandez's case the corresponding number of 46 matched the grand prize. However, Fernandez says he was told by a volunteer working at the prize table that it was too early in the game to give away the grand prize because people A Penn State Erie Student Publication Who’s inside CONTRIBUTED PHOTO television show, the Discovery Mike Sharkey/THE BEHREND BEACON Channel had been receiving many ideas to air an urban legend series, but rejected every one. After American Choppers and Monster Garage had achieved much sue- would leave. Fernandez was instead offered his choice of any other prize on the table. Fernandez says he chose the Radio/CD Player and went back to his table. It was during intermission when Fernandez says he felt he had been cheated and decided to ask for an explanation. When he returned to the prize table he verified that the TV was in fact prize number 46. "I should have won the TV,” Fernandez told a volunteer at the table, “I had num ber 46. That's not fair.” It was at this point when Fernandez says a Bingo player near the prize table stood up and said, “the TV was number 46.” The player then reportedly ripped the number off of the TV, and said to Fernandez, “you shouldn't bitch about it. You still got free stuff.” After the confrontation, the game resumed and at the end of the night the TV, which Fernandez says was rightfully his, was won by another student, Freshman Mechanical Engineering major Mike Grebiner. closed-down subways were reopened around three that afternoon. New York City was chaos. McGraw says, “It looked like a sea of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. They were covered in soot and smoke. It was insane.” Adell Coleman, 03 Communications, was in her home town of Washington, D.C. on September 11. In school during the attacks, Coleman explained that there was a delayed reaction. She never found out what was going on until almost noon that day. At first, there was a lot of confusion about what exactly was happening. Coleman and her classmates heard numerous rumors; one of those was that an airplane had crashed into the ph oto was taken before the terrorist attacks of Sept 11. These Pentagon City Mall, a shopping cen- photographs of the World Trade Center aid in remembrance ter, not the actual Pentagon. After her school got word, the principal sent them all to the auditorium to watch a movie. After a while, though, Coleman and her friends became worried about loved ones. Similar to the situation in New York, most means of transportation were closed. All trains and buses in D.C. were stopped; this stranded Coleman at her school Her father was driving a truck close by the Pentagon that day, and this worried her. “A lot of my friends were worried, too, cause they had rela tives in New York City,” says Coleman. Samantha Yong, 03 Journalism, is from By Miranda Krause Copy Editor Confirmed. Discovery Channel Mythbusters hosts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman were greeted by an ecstatic audience Thursday September 7th as they entered the Junker Center basketball courts, which was filled with students, fac ulty, friends, and family. The first Speaker Series event of the Fall 2006 year was a success. Though the event did not begin until 7:30 p.m., seats were mostly filled by 6:45 p.m. Other incoming audience members sat on the stairs of the bleachers and some even stood by the doorway for the show’s dura tion. Before Mythbusters became a hit “I think that I’m in my middle years now. I have no retirement plans.” cess, the idea of an urban legend show seemed ideal. “Producers were not looking for scientists,” said Savage, “which we are not.” Producers were looking for a show that would be a “science and build ing show,” commented Savage. “A good urban legend has some truth behind it,” says Hyneman. To keep the show running a team of researchers and the hosts find certain myths to be either Confirmed or Busted. When a myth comes to mind, researchers give the Mythbusters the idea and “we kinda take it, and run with it,” says Hyneman. The Mythbusters are no strangers to this line of work. Savage began building toys at the age of 5; however, for the past eight years, he has concentrated on special effects. Hyneman has an extensive resume, which includes, but not limited to: wilderness sur vival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machin- As president of the Lion Ambassadors, the organization which runs Midnight Bingo, Kate Kelecseny calls the entire incident a “big misunderstanding.” “I had two weeks to set up the bingo through emails and via telephone with Student Activities. Things were hectic and busy. Inevitably, there is the chance that certain things can go wrong,” Kelecseny said. “Something was over looked...it was an honest mistake ” Kelecseny admits that the intention of the event is to keep students entertained for the duration of the program. She explained that it's common practice in Midnight Bingo to set the number for the grand prize aside for the first 30 minutes to keep students interested in the game j and to accommodate late arrivals. “I simply forgot to take out the number for the first 30 minutes,” Kelecseny said. There are no written policies explain ing that the grand prize cannot be won until later in the evening. 1 Luis Fernandez says he does not.™ . ... , . . , ... .... . ... The second winner of the grand prize tele beheve he should pay the pnce for the . . . . n . v 3 v vision during Bingo. Vol. LIV No. 02 Singapore. Even on the other side of the world, people were greatly affected by the events. Due to the twelve-hour time difference, Yong was watching CNN around 9 p.m. that day when she found out. Every channel showed constant updates on the situation in New York. Yong’s aunt worked in the World Trade Center, and was worried for hours, again due to communi cation systems being down. ist and chef. Therefore these two men seemed the most appropriate to become the hosts for the show Mythbusters. These two men have made sci ence fun for those who feel science is boring, and the Mythbusters are “thrilled to death" with the ideas and myths they attempt to confirm or bust. “The fact is, we are com pletely stunned by the results,” says Savage. Each time the show is aired not only does the hosts learn something but also the audience does as well. “People say the show has inspired them to be interested in science,” commented Savage. When asked about the future for these two Mythbusters, Savage replied with, “I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.” As part of the show the Mythbusters brought with them a piece of the Facts About Flatulence show never aired on television. mistakes of the Lion Ambassadors. He wants the TV that he won, not the Radio/CD Player he ended up with. Kelecseny said the Lion Ambassadors will address the matter at their next meet ing on Sept. 12. ■ -os/%an CONTRIBUTED PHOTO continued on page 2 continued on page 2
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