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Friday, April 20, 2007
Birth control
raised on college campuses
By Janet Niedenberger
opinion editor
Women at Penn State Behrend may need to
rethink their birth control options soon.
Legislation has been put into effect which
will force Behrend's Health and Wellness
Center, along with colleges and universities
across the country, to raise their contraceptive
prices. This has the Health and Wellness
Center between a rock and a hard place.
Currently, prices of contraceptives at
Behrend are about $l5 per month. With the
new legislation, however, the prices are like
ly to rise to $4O-45 per month. Behrend's
Nurse Practitioner Patty Pasky McMahon is
very concerned with the upcoming events.
Pasky McMahon and the rest of the Health
and Wellness staff are working hard to fix the
situation.
College campuses have been able to pur
chase contraceptives at very low prices for
about 20 years. As an incentive, drug compa
nies were exempt from Medicaid pricing rules
when they sold to charitable groups (such as
colleges) for large discounts. Due to suspi
cions that the drug companies were possibly
abusing this privilege, a loophole in legisla
tion was closed in 2005. While this took care
of any abuse, it also has created problems for
college health centers and the students who
purchase their contraceptives there.
"When the drug companies sell their drugs,
there's this whole big agreement. When the
colleges and universities were on the list, they
didn't have to pay the 'taxes' on the drugs.
Now that they're off of the list, they have to
pay, and since they don't want to lose money,
they can't give colleges the lowered prices,"
says Pasky McMahon.
One contraceptive that is going to be most
affected by this new legislation is the Nuva
Ring. The Health and Wellness Center cur
rently charges just $l5 per month, but Pasky
McMahon says that that price will increase
three-fold, due to the recent appearance of the
contraceptive on the market, and its lack of a
generic counterpart. "Forty-five dollars per
month is unbelieveable: it's outrageous. I feel
very strongly that colleges can't let this slip
by. They need to band together," says Pasky
McMahon. She is also concerned about all of
the contraceptives, not just the Nuva Ring.
Prices will go up for all of them, but the
Health and Wellness Center has the smallest
supply of Nuva Rings left. "Most of the
women who currently are on the Nuva Ring
here say that they won't be able to stay on it
once prices go up," says Pasky McMahon.
She went on to say that most of the women
Continued on page 3
Contents
News 1-3
Editorial 4
Food & Drink 5
Humor 6
Student Life 7-8
Sports 9-10
Contact Us
Newsroom:
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: cslsoos@psu.edu
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
to be
costs
Communication students interview Virginia Tech Witness
Aaron Oberste, a Virginia Tech student, was interviewed about his personal expert-
on site.
ences with the school shootin s b the students of COMM 260 W on Tuesda . Continued on page 2
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
Behrend responds to Virginia Tech massacre
By Ashley Bressler
news editor
Nearly 500 miles separate the Virginia Tech campus
in Blacksburg, VA, and Penn State Behrend in Erie,
PA, yet despite the distance, Behrend students and fac
ulty are still feeling the effects of the horrific massacre
that occurred at Virginia Tech on Monday, April 16,
leaving 33 students dead. Like many college students
and faculty across the country, Behrend's community
is wondering what would happen if there was a school
shooting on this campus. On Tuesday, Director of
Student Affairs Ken Miller reported in an Erie Times-
News article that Behrend has a well established criti
cal-incident response plan including a newly renovat
ed electronic key card system for the residence halls,
video cameras, six sworn and armed police officers,
and a critical response team trained in post-traumatic
stress counseling. While this is a step in the right direc
tion, some Behrend students still feel preparing for an
extreme situation like the one that unfolded at Virginia
Tech is near to impossible to predict, or fully prepare
for.
Staff Psychologist at Behrend Sue Daley, M.A., said
she feels that a good way to help avoid a massive
tragedy at Behrend is for students to take advantage of
the personal counseling services available. "There are
key warning signs that can be looked for in these cases.
From what I have seen, there is a difference between
high school shootings and college shootings. In high
school, the shooter is typically teased, while in col
lege, the shooter may be individually disturbed, a
As the students of Virginia Tech mourn the loss of their classmates, Penn State Behrend faculty and students
loner, a misfit, or not very well supported with emo
auestion how safe the campus' critical response team would react if an shooting would occur at Behrend.
tional attachment problems. Also, drinking and taking
drugs can affect college students more, so if this is combined with an unstable indi- sonally do if a life or death situation were to happen while on campus. Sophomore
vidual, the outcome can be very unfortunate," said Daley. As Behrend is a small, Communication student and Senat Hall Resident Assistant Samantha Yong said she
close campus, Daley said she believes it is a collective responsibility of our com- is troubled by Behrend's response policy, and the personal duties Resident
munity to look for these warning signs, and it is our duty to help the individual(s) Assistants have to their residents. "If something were to happen, we are not
seek counseling or professional help when it is necessary. allowed
While Behrend has established a post-crisis plan to help students deal with trau
matic stress, some students have spoken out in concern about what they can per-
Memorial service held for Virginia Tech victims
A crowd of 20 students, faculty and staff gathered on Tuesday,
April 17 at the Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel for a somber prayer
service to commemorate the fallen students of Virginia Tech. Fr. Dan
Arnold presided over a still audience who gathered to pray for the
family and friends of the victims. An elaborate altar was decorated
and flowers were placed as a tribute to those who lost their lives.
All students, families and friends were invited to share their
prayers, thoughts and emotions as the crowd remembered the 33 peo
ple killed in the tragic shooting. Chancellor Jack Burke was in atten
dance for the ceremony. When asked to share their responses, every
one in the crowd sat in silence to reflect on the events.
The prayer service, which lasted just under one half hour, was a
gathering of the Catholic faith. A Protestant service was also avail
able for those interested in sharing their thoughts.
University Park also held a memorial service on Thursday, April 19
at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center for the students to pay their
respects to the victims. University spokesperson Annemarie Mountz
said, "A memorial service is a common way for people to come
together as a community to express their grief and sadness."
By Christopher LaFuria
editor in chief
Behrend students gathered in the Smith Chapel to pray the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
"It is not a matter of if it will happen. It is a matter of when it
will happen."
Continued on page 2
In less than three hours, 33 people lost their lives on the campus of Virginia Tech
on Monday, April 16, 2007. Gunman Cho Seung-Hui, a senior English major at
the campus, unleashed first on a female student,and then shot a residence assistant
who tried to save her. Two hours later, Seung-Hui showed up at Norris Hall, killing
thirty more people before taking his own life. Due to the extreme media coverage
of the Virginia Tech massacre, Penn State Behrend's COMM 260 W class held a
phone conference with Virginia Tech student, Aaron Oberste. As part of the News
Writing class, students constructed a list of questions to ask Oberste. During the
phone conference, students took turns interviewing Oberste as a way to relate per
sonal experience to their own news stories about the tragedy.
Oberste, a sophomore mechanical engineering student at Virginia Tech, witnessed
the experience firsthand, only a few buildings away at the time. At 9 a.m., an email
was sent out that the first shooting had happened, but it was thought to be a sui
cide. By 9:45, another email was sent out telling the students to stay put. At that
time, the buildings were on lockdown and only key cards would allow students
into their own residence hall. Within minutes, state troopers and a swat team were
Vol. LIII No. XIV
Christopher LaFuria/THE BEHREND BEACON
By Nicole Bane
contributing writer