THE BEHREND
Friday, December 15, 2006
"The McGwire-Sosa homerun
battle brought baseball back to
the forefront, and nothing that
happens today can erase that
fact."
A problem with Bolton?
•Stephen Oyler writes about
the problem with John Bolton
as well as foreign problems.
Happy Holidays
•Ben Raymond writes about his
dislike for shoppers and other
people that annoy him.
Sports photo showcase
•Dan Mitchell put together a
photo showcase of the Fall
Sports Season
Women's basketball
•Find out how the Lady Lions
arc doing so far this season
with an update.
Athlete of the Week
•David Gahan was selected as
the Housing and Food Serveice
Athlete of the Week.
C'ontents
News
Editorial..
Humor
Student Life
Sports..
t 'ontact s
Newsroom
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: jahloos@psu.edu
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
- Scott Soltis L
Behrend acts upon harassment
page 4
Page 5
Glenhill Farmhouse, located on campus, is the office building where students can find Associate Dean David
Christiansen and other administration faculty, who assist students with harassment complaints and other matters
Penn State Behrend's administration is swiftly and
decisively acting upon a harassment complaint filed by a
student. This week, Behrend, led by Associate Dean
Page 8
David Christiansen, is investigating a complaint against
an ROTC instructor, which was filed by senior
Communication major Roger Lafferty. According to
Lafferty, an ROTC instructor used profane and harassing
remarks to a student who was lifting weights nearby. He
said that the comments were lewd and inappropriate.
While lifting weights at the Junker Center, Lafferty over
heard the remarks.
page 7
The first time the remarks were made, no action by
Lafferty was taken. After he heard the same remarks the
next time he was in the weight room, Lafferty went
directly to Police and Safety, and then called the Office
of the Dean, where Christiansen immediately took
action.
Christiansen talked with Lafferty to discuss what was
said to determine what action to take. After the meeting
with Lafferty, Christiansen contacted ROTC program
chair Major Mike Dunleavy to discuss what happened,
meet with the accused instructor and review the appro
priate University Policy dealing with harassment.
During the meeting with administration, the ROTC
instructor came forth and admitted that he made the com
ments described by Lafferty. While he did not condone
his actions, the instructor said that his comments were
"misinterpreted" and his "intent was not recognized."
The ROTC department was contacted but was not avail
able for comment on the issue.
According to Christiansen, the instructor issued a "sin
cere apology" and offered to meet with Lafferty for a for
mal apology. Christiansen said that Lafferty declined a
page 8
Behrend students worried about the use of OxyContin
During a recent robbery of Burhenns Pharmacy, Penn State Behrend
student, Timothy Blackhurst and two others admitted that they stole drugs
to both sell and use. This leaves many students concerned that drugs
could be sold on campus, Alaina Hart, a sophomore is very worried about
this problem.
"There are so many people stressed out during finals
and some may lean towards drugs for comfort. What if
those OxyContins were sold here? What would that do
to our campus?" she said.
Burhenns Pharmacy has not been the first pharmacy
targeted for the robbery of OxyContin. Since 2002,
many pharmacies have been robbed in the Erie and many
of those robberies involved the theft of OxyContin. In
June 2002 Mark Murrow, an Erie local, was charged by
Lawrence Park Police with assault, accusing him of
using a bat to beat a 50-year-old man in a dispute over
OxyContin. In September of 2003, David Slyk of Oil
City pleaded guilty to robbing two pharmacies in
Millcreek Township and one in Corry for OxyContin and
other painkillers between the months of August and December of 2002
Over the past three years, Pennsylvania State Police authorities said there
has been an increase in pharmacy robberies for prescription drugs and
money.
El McKnight, a pharmacist at Frontier Pharmacy located on W Bth St.,
feels that a rise in the demand for OxyContin could lead to another phar-
A Penn State Erie Student Publication DLC 7 a ,
WHO'S
INSIDE
By Chris LaFuria
news editor
By Miranda Krause
copy editor
meeting for the apology because he was satisfied with
the outcome.
Christiansen says that it is a University Policy to meet
with the students and work with the individuals so that
both parties are satisfied. "Penn State is a pro-active
institution with addressing these issues. We have a pos
itive attitude toward the zero-tolerance issue, - he said.
Lafferty, who says that he does not usually complain
but was genuinely concerned, says that he was very
impressed with the quick and decisive action of
Behrend's administration. "I didn't think my complaint
would be handled in the way it was," said Lafferty. "I
figured it would be put on the back-burners: I was
impressed with the phone call I received on the next
day."
Behrend's administration would like to stress that
Lafferty, or any student who files a complaint, can pur
sue further action, depending on the severity of the
offense. They would like students to know that their
complaints are handled as soon as they are issued and
that they address complaints in a rapid, specific process
so that each party is satisfied.
On Behrend's General University Reference Utility
(GURU), website, the administration outlines such acts
in Policy AD29 Statement of Intolerance. The definition
of intolerance, according to the site, is "conduct that is in
violation of a University policy, rule or regulation and is
motivated by discriminatory bias against or hatred
toward other individuals or groups based on characteris
tics such as age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap,
national origin, political belief, race, religious creed, sex.
sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status."
For more information on the University's policy and
other definitions, students can visit the GURU website at
http://guru.psu.edu/policies/AD29.html.
tMon's bullying efforts
have fortified the domineer-
ing American presence in
international affairs."
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
macy robbery." Well that's kind of scary for us. The simple reason for this
is when you used to have a robbery, it was for money, and now they are
coming in to get the drugs. It's a little scary because those people are not
rational. I feel that there is a lot more of a chance to be hurt in that situ
ation than in a robbery for money," McKnight said.
McKnight said that people take OxyContin because "apparently they
get a high of some sort out of it. They'll use it just to get high. It sup
presses the pain centers in the brain.-
According to Psychologist Sue Daily of Behrend's
:rsonal Counseling Center, OxyContin has the potential to
!come highly addictive, as any drug could. "When you
;e drugs throughout your teenage years and through adult
lod you are setting your brain up for an addiction." she
id. Daily feels that she OxyContin wont become much of
problem here, saying, "I think it's (OxyContin usage]
'eady here [Behrend] but I don't think college students
. ould be the target audience with how much they cost," she
tys, however "it's hard to speculate. There are some fig
'es out there to support that the use of prescription drugs
. e more on the rise than illegal drugs. I think it's because
access or availability when they are located in peoples
medicine cabinets."
Hart believes that drugs are already a problem on the Behreml campus,
saying, "I just want to feel safe at my school," She added, "And the fact
that two students of Behrend have been arrested, though they are for dif
ferent reasons, in the last month doesn't make me feel very safe."
Vol. LIII No. XIII
-Stephen Oyler, Junior
Behrend students
rally for new club
By Kelly Houghton
contributiml writer
Tree stands around Pennsylvania held
more than one million hunters on November
27, some of which were Penn State Behrend
students. The Monday after Thanksgiving is
the opening day of deer hunting in
Pennsylvania and a substantial number of
hunters were once again in the fields and
mountains by daybreak this \ car.
Hunting. in addition to fishing, are hohhies
that a number of Behrend students share,
Greek life. e \tracurricular activities, and
clubs are great ways for students to enjoy
hobbies within a group. Behrend has a wide
variety of organiiations, including three
sororities. four fraternities. and recreational
clubs that range from martial arts to sailing.
There is also an outdoors doh that organ
izes activities such as snow skiing, camping.
hiking, canoeing and biking. However,
Behrend lacks a club for anglers and hunters,
which is surprising for a community on a
Great Lake that neighbors acres of barren
land.
While some students said that they would
like for fishing and hunting to remain a
hobby aside from a club, a larger amount of
those questioned expressed a strong interest.
A club would allow members to exchange
essential hunting tips with each other and
learn vital Mformation about the sport. like
great hunting locations and the hest deals for
hunting gear. Groups are also often eligible
for a discount at stores specializing in hunt
ing gear and instruments. Retail companies
target organizLd grb - Ups of hunters for the
marketing campaigns, and being a member
of such a grotty could entitle you to perks.
Interested stkidents excitedly gave feedback
on possible club ideas. Senior Electrical
Engineer major Brett Ryhal said that a major
draw to a hunting club would he access to
easier ways of signing up kw tags, sighting
rifles in meetings. or talking about the newest
bullets and ammunition. Junior Plastics
Engineering major Nick Toomey also
brought up the idea of the club having a hi
monthly trap/skeet shooting night for fun.
Toomey also commented that Behrend's 725
-acre campus could possibly he utilized.
"The school has plenty of land that could
be made available to monitored and con
trolled archery hunting. The school owns
land that four mile creek runs through and
also has a piece of property on Shannon road
where there is a pond. This land is not uti
lized nearly enough," said Toomey.
Continued on Page 2