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
B'«6n
■i News Editor
Christopher LaFuria
Assistant News Editor
Ashley Bressler
Sports Editor
Jordan Gilmore
Assistant Sports Editor
Daniel Mitchell
Opinion Page Editor
Kate Kelecseny
Humor Page Editor
Ben Raymond
Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563
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The Beacon welcomes readers to share their views on this page. Letters
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ited to 700 words. The more concise the submission, the less we will be
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All submissions must include the writer’s year in school, major and name
as The Beacon does not publish anonymous letters. Deadline for any sub
mission 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submissions are considered, but because of space limitations, some may not
be published.
The Behrend Beacon reserves the right to edit any submissions prior to
publication.
Twenty is just a number
By Chris Brown
stall writer
In the United States, it is illegal to
drink alcohol if someone is under the age
of 21. This does not stop a large amount
of teenagers from drinking it. Mothers
Against Drunk Driving (MADD) recent
ly published a report stating that over
87% of adults who consume alcohol
began drinking when they were under
21.
This past week, when doing an inves
tigative report for the Beacon. 1 was
served alcohol at a bar despite the fact
that 1 am not 21. Did this surprise me'.’
No. Has it happened to me before? Yes.
Will it happen again? Probably. Does it
bother me? Absolutely not.
I'm a responsible college student, who
has gone against the law and has had a
drink, or two or three 0r...y0u get the
point, before in my life. Let's be honest,
I’m going to drink whether the govern
ment says I can or can’t. Frankly, I don't
care if the law says you must be 21 to
drink, because it doesn't stop me.
It’s safe to say that people will drink
whether they are 21 or not. The question
is, where would people rather have col
lege kids drinking, at a house party or at
a bar? At house parties there is no super
vision or security. It is no wonder that
people at these parties subscribe to drunk
driving and other bad drinking habits. At
a bar there is a bartender and security on
staff. It’s a more secure drinking envi
ronment with established norms. Not to
Letter to the editor
Dear Editor,
I am appalled that you would have put an article like "Things that annoy me" in
the Beacon. The person who wrote it said how if you can afford to go to Behrend
then you could afford not to have you roots show. Excuse me, I go to Behrend, I
cannot really afford it but through grants and loans I was able to. I have two small
kids so excuse me if my roots show and it makes you a little irritated. You know
what irritates me, people like the one who submitted that article judging people for
no reason and based on how they look. I was also offended by what the author said
about girls and their eyebrows. Again, I cannot afford to get mine waxed so I do
what I do to them so I don't look like a man. I think some students at Behrend need
to take a look at themselves before they judge others. How can you judge some
one by never hearing or seeing what they think?
Jennifer Haight, Editor in Chief
Patrick Webster, Managing Editor
Lindsay Snyder. Advertising Manager
Michelle Vera Suroviec. Public Relations Manager
Kim Young, Adviser
mention the fact that cops know where
bars are to begin with and can prevent
drunk driving. It makes sense to create
an environment for young adults to drink
alcohol where they can witness older
adults drinking responsibly and can learn
for themselves how to drink responsibly.
Right now. young adults don’t get a
chance to learn responsible drinking
habits because it is against the law.
One of my least favorite side effects of
the drinking law is the fact I can’t go to
many bars in order to see bands play.
Docksider Tavern, Sherlock’s and the
King’s Rook Club all feature bands that I
would like to see but can’t because I’m
not 21. Putting a limit at 16 or 18 to pre
vent kids from getting hurt at music
shows makes sense but 21 is an arbitrary
number. My problem isn’t so much that
I want to drink there; I just want to be
there. Give me a different wristband,
stamp, or make me wear a funny hat, but
a clear blanket ban on anyone under
being 21 doesn’t make sense for me or
the owners who are losing money or for
bands who can’t draw large crowds
because of such severe restrictions on
customers
I would have loved to drink that beer
that I was served with my underage
friends and enjoy a good conversation
with them. I couldn’t because I was on
"assignment,” but it hasn’t stopped me in
the past and it won’t stop me in the
future either.
OPINION
Student Life Editor
Sean Mihlo
Head Copy Editor
Rachael Conway
Copy Editors
Miranda Krause
Janet Niedenberger
Photography Editor
Mike Sharkey
Calendar Page Editor
Jerry Pohl
The United States’ next resort: reinstating the draft?
By Jordan Gilmore
sports editor
As more and more troops are needed
to further U.S. interests overseas, new
options must be explored to meet those
demands. With increasing deployment
to Iraq and Afghanistan and increasing
disillusionment among the National
Guard and reservists, U.S. troops are
spread too thin around the globe to deal
effectively with threats emanating from
Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions.
Recruitment is down, which further
exacerbates the situation. It may be time
to reinstate the draft.
The immediate boost in numbers for
the armed forces would be a boon for the
current hawkish U.S. foreign policy.
Currently, the threat of U.S. military
intervention anywhere other than Iraq or
Afghanistan lacks credibility due to the
lack of troops. It would be almost
impossible to amass enough U.S.
strength on the Korean peninsula with
the current enlistment numbers and
The problems with crossing Jordan
It’s raining, it’s cold and I’m late for class as I wait to cross
the infamous Jordan Road. There are types of drivers that can
make a rainy day just a little more gloomy. There is the driver
that speeds up Jordan Road so fast it splashes a little road water
on you, which makes you regret the fact that you even bothered
to shower that day.
Then, there is the driver that speeds up the road just to slow
down five feet away from you to let you cross. This type of
driver really irritates me. I could have crossed the road already
if you weren’t driving so fast to begin with. Then they give
you “the look.” You know “the look.” The look that says,
“Could you walk a little faster and get the *#@ A out of my
way?!” I don’t know what they are so angry about - they have
a car! They are most likely warm and dry and I’m the one
standing out in the rain.
„ p§desjpjgs.have the right away. I’ve often
- hewed o?people saying, “3 don’t want down jutt for
, them, I’d rather run them over.” This I find funny.
See, when I’m in a car I don’t want to slow down either. I may
not even be driving -1 may just be sitting in the passenger seat
and telling the person who is driving to just pass the pedestri
ans. Then you play that game - don’t even try to deny it -
you’ve played the game where you decide how many points for
the guy in the red hat, which is 50, but 100 for the girl in the
ugly rain boots if you were to run them over. You wouldn’t
actually run them over - but still.
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- Upcoming elections
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By Miranda Krause
copy editor
demand of strategic operations. Without
significant support of allied troops,
something that seems very unlikely, the
U.S. must rely on sanctions in dealing
with Kim Jong-11. Conscription would
allow U.S. policymakers to flex a little
muscle at the negotiating table and back
up that posture with boots on the ground.
Aside from the tactical goals that rein
stating the draft would help to achieve,
there will be ancillary effects as well.
Voluntary enrollment may increase as
young men opt to choose which branch
of the military they would prefer to serve
in rather than be forced into one arbitrar
ily by a draft board. This increase in
enrollment may even limit the reach of
the draft or suspend it earlier than origi
nally anticipated, although this is unlike
ly. It may even make the annual Army
vs. Navy game meaningful again.
There is one argument that may trump
all of the others: as a political issue, the
draft is more effective than any other as
a cure for apathy. Prior to 1973, voter
turnout rates were relatively stable.
Then there are times when you wait patiently to cross the
street, and you are fine with the rain, until your friend drives by
singing along to music. She doesn’t even see you - she is too
distracted by the music or maybe her cell phone conversation,
and you are left wet and cold in the rain. Then when you see
your friend later, she says, “ Hey! Was that you I saw you try
ing to cross Jordan Road today?!”
Maybe we should have long corridors that are attached to
every building. This way we won’t have to battle the elements,
wind, snow and rain, which result in sick students and sick pro
fessors, and we won’t have to walk up hills. It’s just a thought.
(check a box)
Since that year when the draft was
phased out, voter turnout has continually
declined, especially among the age
group most directly affected by this
issue. A return to the days of forced mil
itary service would certainly get people
out to the polls, if for nothing other than
to keep themselves out of a combat zone.
Although this is an ethically suspect
means to an end, the result would be a
more responsible use of our armed
forces by those who need our votes.
Whatever the end results of a draft
would be, it is important to maintain a
troop level that meets our obligations
overseas. With the current success rates
of recruitment efforts, a draft may be the
only viable means of obtaining a suffi
cient number of troops. At any rate, to
dismiss a tool without considering it
would be irresponsible. We may find
ourselves dealing with both Iran and
North Korea at the same time and at that
point, it will be too late for discussion
and the draft may be forced upon us, like
it or not
•••••••••••••••••••••••*•
- Parking in the Junker lot
- No wireless internet in the REDC
- Student teaching assistants
- Inappropriate Halloween costumes
- Being “just friends”
••• • •
box at
Friday, October 27, 2006
Mike Sharkey/THE BEHREND BEACON
AP
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the RUB desk.