DEIIREfID DETICOII
Friday, September 14, 2007
."
it AL
.0"
Are Kanye and 50
Cent fueding?
Read about it on
page 7.
Apple makes a
good deal for its
iPhone users.
Find out what it is
on page 7.
Penn State
improves to 2-0
after shutting
down the Irish.
The full scoop on
page 10.
Contents
News 1-3
4
Opinion..
Humor 5
Entertainment 6
Student Life 7-8
Sports 9-10
Contact IS
Newsroom:
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: cslsoos@psu.edu
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
Multi
many
By Gabrielle Saitto
staff writer
gpsso2o@psu.edu
Penn State Behrend is the home of
numerous clubs and organizations.
These include intramural sports, aca
demic clubs, and various other programs
that aim to get the students of Penn State
Behrend involved in campus activities.
One of these programs is the Multi-
Cultural Council, otherwise known as
MCC. This is a student led organization
that acts as a link between the Student
Government Association, and various
student organizations, most of which are
historically underrepresented, and works
to create cooperation among other clubs
and organizations. MCC aids in promo
tion of three basic factors of these
groups: awareness, understanding, and
appreciation. Some organizations that
MCC shows interest in are the Asian
Student Organization (ASO), the
International Student Organization
(ISO), the Returning Adult Student
Organization (RASO) and Women
The bulletin board outside the Multi Culteral Council room shows upcoming events
Behrend updates to be more engery efficient
By Robert Davis
staff writer
rkdso23@psu.edu
Energy conservation is a realized necessity in our day and
age: That is why Penn State Behrend is undergoing $3.7
million worth of improvements that began earlier this year
and were to be wrapped up by the time students returned for
the fall semester. All of this follows after an energy audit
commissioned by Behrend in January. Some of the steps
include receiving energy from renewable resources, recy
cling and reusing materials, and building and improving
facilities to be more energy efficient.
This program is set up under a performance contract that
enables Behrend to have the improvements paid back by a
decade through less expensive utility costs. Thus, no other
programs at Behrend will be affected by the drain of $3.7
million price. Some of the more physical results of the proj
ect include more efficient lighting and water fixtures, heat-
Behrend English professor teaches abroad
By Connor Sanely
entertainment editor
cisso6oopsu.edu
Professor Champagne spent 10
monts in teachin: Africa.
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
Cultural
opportunies to Behrend
Today, in addition to many others.
The Multi-cultural Council not only
promotes awareness, but also offers var
ious programs and activities
to the students of Behrend.
These activities include
events such as the Penn State
Erie Speaker Series, in which
well-known speakers visit
Behrend. Events featuring
speakers such as Maya
Angelou, Danny Glover, Jesse
Jackson, and former Vice
President Dan Quayle are just
a few of the many wonderful
events that Behrend has
offered its students. The Penn
State Erie Speaker Series is
presented to students, staff
and the public at no charge.
In addition to the Speaker
Series, the MCC also offers a
Feminist Scholars Speaker
Series. This series brings strong leaders
in feminism, such as Dr. Ruth Hubbard
and Emily Arnold McCully to the cam
Professor Dr. John Champagne made a list of where he
;ht he would end up teaching later in life, a primarily
is speaking country would probably be towards the bottom
ie list. However, this Penn State Behrend English teacher
that very opportunity.
iampagne was awarded a 10-month grant through a
night "international exchange of scholars" program in
:h he would teach English and American studies in Tunis,
;ia, a primarily Arabic and French speaking country. He
it at the University of Lamanouba, and ended up teaching
.ewhere around 400 students throughout the year.
`The students were incredibly polite," Champagne said.
time that they would see me on a bus, they would imme
ly stand up and give me their seats, and address me as sir,
when I told them not to."
tat politeness, he claims, is one of the greatest differences
een the United States and Tunisia not, however, because
liar's are necessarily more polite.
'There's a very large difference in what is culturally polite
and acceptable there," said Champagne, who has been teaching
at Behrend since 1993. He recalled an experience in a super
market where people would continually cut in front of him in
Council brings
Events
speakers such as Maya
Angelou, Danny
Glover, Jesse Jackson,
and former Vice
President Dan Quayle
are just a few of the
many wonderful
events that Behrend
has offered its stu
dents.
ing and cooling systems will be replaced by more advanced
control systems, and a large wind turbine. The wind turbine
will also double as a learning resource for students and
classes. Some savings include an almost 25 percent reduc
tion in energy usage and six million gallons of water. Most
students have probably seen the conservation stickers and
magnets handed out asking you to do such things as "Take
Shorter Showers." This is part of the "Take Charge" pro
gram for energy conservation.
Deputy associate vice president for physical plant and
head of the University's Environmental Strategy, Steve
Muruszewski said, "Penn State is committed to aggressive
ly reducing its impact on the environment. Minimizing ener
gy consumption associated with University operations will
cause a significant reduction of our greenhouse gas emis
sions. The improvements in energy efficiency at Penn State
Behrend are another fine example of the University's envi
ronmental stewardship."
pus. Through this series, speakers dis
cuss topics and issues such as female
heroines and reproductive laws.
featuring
ment series, offering comedians, musical
acts and storytellers. The Cultural Fiesta
is a day-long event, which showcases
the dance, food, and music of multiple
cultures, including German, Irish, and
African-American. It is held in the
Wintergarden of the Reed Union
Building and generally attracts over 500
people. The Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birthday Celebration is a campus-wide
program that celebrates the life of King.
Classes are arranged on this day so that
all students, faculty and staff have the
opportunity to attend this wonderful
event.
More infor
mation on the MCC and the programs
that it offers can be obtained from,
http://www.clubs.psu.edu/bd/mcc/index.
htm, or from the Office of Educational
Equity and Diversity at 814-898-6111 in
the Reed Union Building.
line until he yelled at someone, who was immediately apolo
getic and kind, and allowed him to move forward.
The culture, says Champagne, is extremely vibrant and is a
rich melting pot of Middle Eastern, European, and African cul
tures. Tunisia features many cafés, which are often strictly sex
ually segregated. The southern part of the country is mainly
desert.
"If you want to visualize what southern Tunisia looks like,
take into account that the desert scene from the original Star
Wars was filmed there," Champagne said.
The government is a republic, but according to Champagne,
it is a police state. "The government controls almost every
thing," he says. "It censors websites and books, and there are
pictures of the President everywhere, in classrooms, business
es... it's just weird."
The internet was very difficult to access in Tunisia, and
Champagne found himself taking orders from his colleagues at
the college to find information online for their studies.
Those who know Champagne, who quickly says, "Just like
the drink," at any strange looks he receives about his name,
identify him with a bright, fun personality that matches the col
ors of his shirts. Strolling the halls of Kochel, where
Champagne teaches some of his classes, one may notice teach
ers in polo or dress shirts; Champagne wears bright, silk shirts
often adorned with tropical flowers or patterns.
Vol. LIV No. 111
Sixyears__
later, a 7 ao
nation'
remembers
MCC also
offers a cul-
tural and
performing
By Kayla Wright
staff writer
kmws2os@psu.edu
arts series, a
film series, a
Cultural
Fiesta, and a
Dr. Martin
Sept. 11, 2001 is a day that most
Americans will never forget. It was the
day terrorists hijacked four planes and
crashed them into the World Trade
Center in New York, the Pentagon in
Virginia and a field in Pennsylvania.
Thousands of lives were lost, and many
were scarred by the fact that an act of
this caliber could actually be accom
plished; most people thought that the
United States was a relatively safe
place when it came to foreign affairs.
The initial impact of this event
evoked emotions from shock and sad
ness to understanding and indifference
in Behrend students. Freshmen Erik
Johnson and John Dzikiy were both
stunned. Dizikiy said, "I was really
shocked and surprised because nothing
ever really happened like that before."
Similarly, Johnson said, "I was
shocked and saddened because a lot of
innocent people lost their lives."
This seems to be a common feeling
among most, including freshman
Shawn Lorigan who said he was,
"shocked but also angry and kind of
understood why the terrorists did what
they did."
Luther King
Jr. birthday
celebration.
The cultural
series,
known as
the Rhythms
of Life
Series, is an
entertain-
It is hard for a country that has just
been attacked to understand why the
attacker has done so, but Lorigan said,
"I understand that countries have a
unique hatred of America because in
comparison we are a younger country
with many faults of our own, but we
have a history of going into other coun
tries and pushing our views and beliefs
onto other people that never openly
accepted them. We do not accept our
neighbors for whom they are; that is
why terrorism exists."
Another uncommon response was
one of apathy. Freshman Nathan
Ellenberger's response to the attacks of
9/11 was, "pretty much indifferent
because it didn't really affect me.
There are far worse issues in this world,
such as genocides in Africa, and we're
not impacted by those so why should
this be any different?" Clearly the
attacks evoked a wide range of emo
tions among all.
Now that six years have passed, a
variety of measures have been taken to
ensure that events such as this will not
occur again. Still, the country has
Continued on page 3