t THE
DEHRETID DE •
4 fir'
Friday, August 31, 2007
Read
Director of
Student
Affairs
"Welcome
Back"
on page 3
Check out
this month's
calendar of
activities on
page 5
A new year,
a new top 5,
See this
week's
Page 8
Take note
all your
important
sports
schedules
Page 9
Contents
News..
Opinion 3
Entertainment 4
Community 5
1-2
Student Life
Sports
t. intactl,s
Newsroom
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: cslsoos@psu.edu
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
Behrend booms with many new faces
By Lenny Smith
news editor
Irsso46o.tpsu.edu
The halls of Behrend are much more crowded
this year due to an increase in the number of stu
dents. The most significant size increase is that of
the freshman class.
Penn State Behrend Director of Admissions
Mary-Ellen Madigan said that the numbers have
not been finalized yet, but that there are approxi
mately 1,100 freshmen enrolled this semester, an
increase of about 100 over last year's record class.
In order to keep admissions under control, the
admissions office increased admissions criteria
this year. The middle 50 percent of freshmen this
year have a Grade Point Average between 3.1 and
3.6, while their SAT scores range between 1050
and 1250, based on just the critical reading and
math sections only. Madigan said, "We will begin
using the writing portion of the SAT for the fall of
2009 admissions process."
Many students said that one of the main reasons
they chose Behrend was because its small faculty
to student ratio. To keep that small ratio Madigan
said, "We hired more faculty."
"I've always wanted to go to Penn State and I did
n't want to go to University Park because it just
seemed too big," Freshman Kurt Ross said,
"Behrend has so much to offer." Many students
shared the same ideas as Ross, "I really like all
that the Junker has to offer and I am really excited
for intramural sports to start," he added.
Many students attend Behrend for its academic
Penn State to offer new text
By--Rritt-
staff writer
hwhsos9@psu.edu
A student opens their phone to check for
messages.
recent and notable incident being the
events that took place at Virginia Tech
during the last second semester of last year, schools have been trying to think of
newer, and more rapid way of transmitting emergency signals to the large popula
tion on campus. Chancellor of Penn State Behrend, Jack Burke, says "This addi
tion of cell phone text messaging to relay important information is a valuable com
munication tool for the college." Since most students have cellular phones in which
Welcome Weekend brings orientation events for freshmen
By Molly Bonavita and Carly Smith
staff writers
mabs3s6@psu.edu; casso44@psu.edu
6
..7-8
When the Smith Carillon on the campus of Penn
State Behrend rang out at 8 a.m. on Aug. 24, the fresh
men experience began. Instantly,
Resident Advisors unloaded vehicles and
delivered the contents to the freshmen
dorm rooms. Shortly after, the boxes
were unpacked, the parents left, and the
freshmen were left to attend orientation
activities
"The Big Premiere" as it was entitled,
included orientation activities such as
comedians, bingo, and the Academic
Convocation. With all of these activities
there were plenty of opportunities to get
one's mind off of the homesickness and
into the college state of mind. Although the majority
of the orientation activities were indicated as manda
tory, many students found it unnecessary to attend all
of the activities listed. Those who did attend however
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
Penn State Behrend now offers an
emergency alert system for students,
which allows the ability to receive
informative messages regarding vari
ous situations around campus. These
alerts are transmitted via text message
and are mainly focused
on three topics: campus
emergency, sports, and
concert information. This
wireless service, being
referred to as PSUTXT,
was officially launched
on August 18, 2007, but
has been available since
late April, following the
horrific Virginia Tech
Shooting.
A major concern for
students and parents who
have their children away
Students pack Bruno's for lunch while on a break from classes during their first week of class
history. Sophomore Andrew Harmon said, "I
chose Behrend because I am a Plastics
Engineering Technology major and this is one of
the best places to go to school for that." With the
addition of a new Nursing program this semester,
Behrend opened itself up for even more interest
from high school students. The program offers
students the opportunity to earn a two-year
Associate's Degree. After earning their degree,
students have the option of taking the national
licensure test to become a Registered Nurse.
"I like the cultural and natural environment of
campus. It is a really good school for engineering,
which is my major," Freshman Chirs Oehme, "I
can't wait for intramurals to start too." The
at college is safety. With
the school shootings such as the most
found some of the activities to be useful. The
Orientation Small Group Sessions turned out to be one
of the more helpful activities where the students had
the opportunity to learn more about the requirements
for their major as well as a chance to meet other stu
dents in their major.
Most students seemed to think that
Midnight Bingo was the highlight of
all the orientation activities. Midnight
Bingo brought people by the dozens to
play and possibly win all kinds of
prizes. As ten o'clock approached,
McGarvey Commons quickly filled
with anxious students. Prizes ranged
from popcorn and apparel to DVDs
and even an X-Box 360. Whether it
be because of a shiny new prize, or
simply the enjoyment of bingo, many
students said they walked away happy that evening.
The whole process of orientation is viewed by stu
dents as activities that are provided just to keep them
busy. But what do the authority figures on campus
message-based alert system
they generally check more often then their email or school web pages that would
display the same type of information, it is a logical idea to expand to a IitS(CI means
of communication through a cell phone alert message.
This alert service will also provide students with the opportunity to he informed
when there is a class delay or cancellation during the winter months when the road
conditions are not favorable. This would help the students who have a long drive
or perhaps even a long walk in the cold, winter weather. by providing a text mes
sage sent to their cell phone letting them know of a change in scheduled class times.
Also, as this newly designed program gets more familiar with students, it will also
he sending alerts about sporting events and musical performances
"This addition of
cell phone text
messaging to relay
important informa
tion is a valuable
communication tool
for the college."
-Jack Burke
Chancellor of
Penn State Ete!vend
Signing up for this alert system is easy. All you need to do is chose a user name
and password, enter your name and choose from a list of campuses that you wish
to be alerted for. Then you must enter your phone number and wireless carrier. You
will receive a four digit validation code on your cell phone that you must enter
online to complete the free registration. Also, you can choose an e-mail only ver
sion if you do not carry a text message package or do not wish to receive text alerts
on your phone. You can register by logging onto http://newswires.psu.edu and fol
lowing the simple directions on the screen.
Wintergreen Gorge, Bruno's, and the Junker
Center top the list of student's favorite places on
campus
Madigan said, "Because of the larger classes,)
there are more and more graduates out telling the
Behrend story. Based on the surveys that we do,
graduates say they've had a good experience here
and they share that experience with their siblings
and neighbors. Our graduates are getting good
jobs because of our strong programs. -
Madigan believes that admissions can he a chal
lenge. She said. "We increased criteria and had a
record number apply, gain admission, and decide
to come. Some (colleges) really struggle with that,
hut we aren't having that problem.-
happening throughout campus to those students whom are inter
ested.
University Park was the first to acquire the PSUTXT service
during the 2006-2007 school year and since then, all of the Penn
State campuses have been added to the system. Penn State real
izes that some students may he charged by their cellular phone
providers for text messages so they are trying to limit usage to
alerts that students really want. Brittany Howanitz. a second year
residential student here at Penn State Behrend has signed up for
the service last week. "I think its a good idea hut I have yet to see
it be in use. It should help keep a level of communication open
since most people have their cell phones by their side at all times.
I think it'll definitely help with delays, if there are any. As far as
being safe, I don't think I'd say it makes me feel safer, just more
alert about my surroundings," said Howanitz.
think the purpose of Freshman Orientation is? Sam
Yong, Resident Assistant of Senat Hall, shared what
she thought about the orientation events scheduled.
Yong said, "The orientation is important for students
because it makes Behrend feel like home and it gets
you closer to the people around you and that is impor
tant because the people around you are your new fam
ily." Many students said that none of them had really
thought of their new surroundings as being their new
home. Instead they thought of it as school. However,
it really is more than that due to the orientation events
and the people met.
Overall. the freshmen orientation weekend went as
planned and, although many students missed a few of
the events, many freshmen henefitted from the week
end's events. This is due to the fact that the events
helped form family-like bonds within the student
body; tney were informational and answered questions
that students may have had that concerned their major;
and the events had solid entertainment value that is
important to any kind of welcoming weekend.
Vol. LIV No. I