"I think some students have recognized it's not a true act of hate
or racism targeted towards any particular group. - several a play_ .ip _,-_
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Friday, April 6, 2007
Behrend faculty works
towards equality
By Christopher LaFuria
editor in chief
Since 1984, many professors and teachers
have used the peer-reviewed journal
Feminist Teacher as a guideline on how to
fight sexism and racism in the classroom
and how to promote equality among teach
ers. In the journal, the writers outline cer
tain behavioral and teaching tools that pro
fessors and teachers can use to succeed in
the workplace. More than 20 years later,
Penn State Behrend has struggled with the
topics outlined in the journal. While many
people attend classes that are instructed by
women, the number of female professors is
significantly low enough to have the
Behrend administration trying new tactics
to create a more diverse faculty.
The number of female professors in the
different schools at Behrend in comparison
to male professors may not seem to be rele
vant to many students, but when compared
on a campus-wide level, it is evident that
there is a significant difference. At
Behrend, there are approximately 90 male
professors overall. The number of female
professors in the university is approximate
ly less than half that number. This figure is
more startling when broken down by
school.
In each school, there are lecturers and
instructors, which are hired on a six-year
After the six years, the university selects
which of these receive tenure, in which they
receive permanent status with the universi
ty. (Note that all statistics are estimated). In
the School of Business there are approxi
mately 40 male professors, about 12 of
which are tenured. There are less than 10
female professors, only about three of
which are tenured. In the School of
Science, there are about 50 male professors,
about 20 tenured. This number compares to
approximately 20 female professors, less
than five being tenured. The number is
almost even in the Humanities and Social
Sciences department, with about 50 male
professors, about 20 tenured, and 34 female
professors, less than five tenured. The most
significant difference is in the School of
Engineering. There are roughly 50 male
engineering professors, about 15 of which
have received tenure. There are less than
five female engineering professors, none of
which have tenure.
It is due to these numbers that Chancellor
Jack Burke and his administration are work
ing towards promoting the recognition of
female professors and maintaining them.
The administration has taken many steps to
solving the gender problem. They have
Continued on page 2
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898-6488
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E-mail: cslsoos@psu.edu
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
SGA election results to be tallied
By Theresa Di Buono
This year's Student Government
Association, which is the voice of
the student in circular and noncir
cular activities, had their elections,
which went uncontested in the
Secretary, Vice President and
President categories for the second
year in a row. This was due to the
tact that both this year and last, two
people dropped out each time. and
Vice President and President ran on
the same ticket. The current
President of the SGA is Meredith
Straub and the current Vice
President is Ken Middlemiss. For
the fall semester, SGA had only
two contested races within the
Senate and the University Faculty
Senator (UFS). The Senate had
eleven candidates running, and out
of those eleven. ten are elected. Mike Sharkey/THE BEHREND BEACON groups and campaigning
Attendance vi as down as more than half of the auditorium in McGarvey Commons was empty for the "Meet the Presidential
online.
These results will not he available ( . .. dica
exert held for the SGA elections this Monday night. Presidential candidate. Ben Gilson. and Vice Presidential
until Tuesday. The UFS SenatorSGA has Senate meetings
candidate. Erin Kennedy p r e sented their platforms and held a question and imswer session for students.
had three candidates running and
out of those three. only one will be elected. There are a total of 28 students on the
hoard of SGA. They include the President. Vice President, one Treasurer, twelve
upper-class Senators. four freshmen Senators, one UFS, four club representatives.
and four Council Representatives. Out of all these students on the board, only two
are unable to vote, the President and the Treasurer. The Treasurer is unable to vote
because he or she is appointed through an interview process and is not elected
through votes.
SGA Vice President Ken Middlemiss said. "We had a few dropouts along the
way, with how hard college is, and it's hard to plan what you're going to do for the
next year. In the fall we have more highly contested races than in the spring semes
ter." This is due in part to the new faces here at Behrend and a willingness to get
Creature Week controversy continues
Penn State Behrend has moved forward from last
month's "Creature Week" incident. Behrend does not
take discrimination lightly and the effect of last
month's "Creature Week" was no exception. Since the
SGA and MCC had Diversity week, the "Creature
Week" label that affected some students had faded into
the background. However, an investigation has taken
place. Behrend policy penalizes, fines and even expels
students who are charged with blatant racism.
Last month, there was an incident where someone
created "Creature Week" cards in order to mock the
Communication students visit dilapidated houses
The stench of a broken home plagued by abuse, neglect and
filth floods the nostrils and cramps the stomach when you walk
through the shattered front door. The soles of your shoes stick to
the filmy floor like the thousands of flies stick to the fly papers
hanging from the ceiling like black icicles. Stains on the floors,
walls and ceilings are a reminder of the waist high garbage
dump this once large home has turned into. The cracks in the
floor are not filled with plaster, but mold and feces. Visiting this
home, located at 636 East 22 St., was one of the many investi
gations of the Erie area done by the COMM 260 W class at
Behrend.
...7-8
.9-10
Throughout the spring semester, the students of COMM
260 W, a news writing course taught by Professor Kim Young,
have had the opportunity to visit various homeless shelters in
Erie, attend an Erie City Council meeting and write their own
feature stories. On March 27, the students visited a home that
was once part of a thriving community but is now decaying into
what the county claims an "unsuitable living space."
Sophomore Courtney Mineweaser said, "I was shocked. I knew
it was bad, but I didn't think it was going to be that bad."
When built to fit the community, the home was three stories
high, with a basement, large front porch and a spacious back
yard. The home still has all of these features, but now it has
added an alley filled with garbage stacked tighter than a brick
wall and high enough to bridge the second story window to its
neighboring house across the alley. Grey and white sneakers
hang from the telephone line in front of the house. The front
door is decorated with a yellow sign that states, "This structure
The students of COMM26OW were shocked at the horrible conditions they witnessed in two homes on East 22nd Street
is declared unsafe for human occupancy or use."
last week. Several tons of clothes, broken furniture, newspaper scraps and other trash were removed from the homes over
the past few months. The current owner hopes to clean the houses and donate them to a local charity.
Continued on page 2
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
staff writer
By Adell Coleman
contributing writer
By Ashley Stanko
contributing writer
program of Diversity Week and its Culture Week pro
grams. According to MCC Adult Advisor Andres
Herrera, as well as the Director of Educational Equity
& Diversity Programs in the Division of Student
Affairs, after the "Creature Week" incident, actions
have been taken. There has been an investigation
involving both Mike Linder, the manager of Bruno's,
and campus Police and Safety. Herrera states, "Based
on student input we found out the time and date that the
cards were placed. After reviewing the video, we came
up empty handed, because Bruno's was too crowded
during this time. So no one could be pinpointed."
According to Herrera, the amount of student traffic in
Bruno's makes it impossible to find the students who
sp.m. "Any student with problems or concerns are encouraged to come to our meet
ings and voice their opinions," said Straub. According to Straub, there are nine
committees that fall under SGA which are used to work on a resolution to various
concerns students may have. "We will work on a resolution, just as we did when
trying to get wireless Internet in the REDC, which was a success." Student
Government is your voice as a student and can be thanked for many privileges stu
dents at Behrend receive. "We wanted wireless internet in the residence halls, so we
passed a resolution through the Senate. which is being looked at right now.
Resolutions are our way of letting faculty. staff end administrators know what the
students want, - said Straub. The next edition of The Behrend Beacon will have the
SGA winners posted.
"It's amazing that only last year we were a rookie team with
1 rookie players and we ended up 5-3 in the league."
did this. In addition to the number of students, the areas
where the cards were placed are not in 'viewable' cam-
era areas
However, that is not all the work that has been done
on campus. According to Herrera, Dr. Ken Miller, the
Director of Student Affairs, and Amanda Kner, a resi
dential life member, informed the residential life staff
to look in the dorms and make sure there was nothing
similar to the "Creature Week" cards found.
As the investigation continues, some students have
stated that it is not a big deal anymore. "I think some
students have recognized it's not a true act of hate or
racism targeted towards any particular group," Herrera
Continued on page 2.
Vol. LIII No. XXII
involved before school gets
too serious. Straub said, "I
think that the elections went
well this year with a lot of
qualified candidates. We have
a lot of new people running in
the Senate who have ran
before and I look forward to
seeing what direction SGA
takes next year. -
Campaigning started the
Monday after spring break,
and all who were running had
to declare their intent to run
before spring break started
Campaign guidelines are
given to the candidates, which
are approved by the Senate
This year, SGA put a new spin
on campaigning with
Facebook. SGA felt that
Facebook was a useful way of
getting votes through creating