DEIICOfI Friday, September 28, 2007 Read about the Led Zeppelin reunion on page 6. What is your favorite type of beer? Find The Beacon's Battle of the Beer on page 4. Women's Volleyball stays perfect in the AMCC. Find out more on page 10. Contents News 1-3 Opinion 4 Humor 5 Entertainment 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. University of Florida student tasered at Sen. Kerry forum University of Florida student, Andrew Meyer, struggles with police as he is escorted out of the Kerry forum By Rachel Reeves and Evan Koser staff writers rcrsos7@psu.edu, emksllo@psu.edu "Don't tase me bro, don't tase me!" This was a University of Florida student's plea after being forcibly pulled away from questioning Senator John Kerry at the close of a public forum. The student had started to interrogate Kerry about any involvement with the Yale secret society, Skull and Bones, and what that meant concerning his rela tionship with known member President Bush. After the student, Andrew Meyer, was asked to step down Campus activities to By Michelle Quail staff writer mlqsoo 1 @psu.edu Attention Behrend students, it is time to look for ward to a better year. Members of the Penn State Behrend Activity Fee Committee have voted to grant $20,000 in funding to campus activities taking place in 2008. This means there is a lot more money flow ing to the campus, and therefore some fresh and exciting opportunities. The first headway is school awareness. Chancellor Burke has approved funding to place a number of Behrend signs around Erie, bringing recognition of the college to the its sur rounding community. The principal use of the money, however, to be for the betterment of student run programs. The Student Activity Fee Committee (SAF) decided to provide extra funding to the stu dent government to increase involvement of students in the clubs and activities on campus. New clubs, organizations, and activities will now be emerging which the budget previously could not support. Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs, explains, "We've been looking for a way to strengthen the SGA budget process because many clubs are turned Behrend safety discussed in By Marcus Yeagley contributing writer m' 5012@.au.edu Safety is always an important issue for any academic institution. Every year, in compliance with federal law, Penn State University distributes among its faculty and student body a report, "Policies, Safety, & U," containing the University's safe ty measures, crime statistics, and other information regarding the security of its campuses. The new annual issue for 2007-2008 has within it explanations of the federal and University laws regard ing drug abuse, alcohol, sexual abuse, fire safety, theft, carrying of weapons, and hate crimes Showcased at the top of the publica tion is a message by Penn State University president Dr. Graham B. Spanier. "It is up to each one of us to help foster a secure and supportive environment at Penn State an envi ronment where individuals can feel safe to visit, learn, work and live," says A Police and Safety SUV is one of many Police and Safety vehiles on campus , Spather. "Safety on campus is one of my highest concerns. A truly safe campus can only be achieved through the coop eration of everyone." Campus police and safety also works closely with Student Affairs to bring edu cational programs to the community. Along with a theft prevention program and a sexual assault prevention program, they offer an alcohol deterrence program. Set A Penn State Behrend Student Publication and following his refusal, the microphone was cut, which led him to protest loudly. When he continued to demand the right to be heard, police came on the scene to try and subdue him. He broke free of their first efforts to restrain him, yelled wildly, "Why are you arresting me? I didn't do anything!" Security managed to get him as far as the door before the six police officers dragged him to the ground and threatened to subdue him with an electric stun gun. Although Meyer was handcuffed, he was not silenced, and the police proceeded to shock him as warned with 50,000 volts. Even though the audience had either applauded the student's removal or just be funded by thousands provided by SAF down for funds because there hasn't been enough money available." Things certainly are changing behind the scenes of the Behend Student Activities Committee in a num ber of ways, and students should expect to benefit greatly from the changes. The number one goal of the funding is to provide better resources for offices of student clubs and organizations. So, upon the request of the SGA, 21 of the office computers have been replaced with new ones. Plans have also been made to replace furniture in the club offices that has been around for longer than three years. Students involved in the clubs and activities will begin to enjoy more financial flexibility, along with nicer offices. Mark Westerlund, a sophomore at Behrend, is enthusiastic about the new funding. "My rugby team could really benefit from the cushion of money that we are getting. I think all of the help will bring my team together next year for a stronger season," Westerlund said. Since currently only one-third of the clubs have websites, SGA is planning to put some funding towards the hiring of students willing to work on these websites. According to Miller, Student Affairs received up through student affairs, officers go to residence halls to speak about underage drinking. "Our priorities are, first of all, to keep our crime rate down," explains Behrend Police Chief, Jim Amman. He also says that another goal is to "deter minor alcohol consumption on campus." Along with a comprehensive listing of many of the safety procedures Behrend has in place, such as monthly fire drills, emergency stations, and ID-card identifi cation systems, the report tells of the criminal activity reported from the cam pus. Most striking of the released statis tics are the ones about the number of sex ual assaults, burglaries, and alcohol viola tions. According to the report, the number of the incidences of sexual assault at Penn State Behrend has increased over the years from zero in 2004 to three in 2005 to more recently seven incidences in 2006. The number of arrests for violation of liquor laws has leveled off with 15 for both 2005 and 2006 and in 2006 alone there were five reported burglaries from the residential halls on the Behrend cam pus. Minor thefts also seem to happen quite often, but are usually considered crimes of opportunity that take place because of a student's carelessness. In an effort to help lower the crimes reported from the University school Continued on page 2. : u t Vol. LIV No. V Lifoi4Ny watched silently, some screamed in protest after Meyer had been shocked many had felt that the police had taken it too far. This event has sparked a nationwide debate. Some people believe that the officers were brutal in their use of disproportionate pun ishment. Others believe that Meyer could have been a serious threat and should have been dealt with as such, maintain that safety of those pres ent was the priority. Three hundred and fifty stu dents at the University of Florida protested the next day against the excessive use of force. Two of the officers have been placed on paid leave following the incident. As for Kerry, he remained on stage and offered to answer the stu dent's questions. Kerry claims that he wasn't aware that Meyer had been tasered until after the matter, and said that since he wasn't aware of everything Meyer was saying, he couldn't say whether or not it was a necessary measure. Students at Penn State Behrend tend to agree with the Florida protestors. Many believe that if Meyer was cuffed and no longer was a threat, stunning him was completely unnecessary. "I think it's ridiculous that the police had to use this much force," said student Justin Pekular Most are alarmed at the officers' readiness to turn to the last resort. However, there is less trepidation when the question turns closer to home. Fewer stu dents are concerned by the fact that Behrend's own Police and Safety officers carry firearms, if not tasers. "I don't feel like the police are a threat. They're here to protect us," explains student Louis Blackman. Most feel that what happened at the University of Florida could never take place at Behrend. "I think we're pretty safe. We're pretty far off from Florida," says Behrend student Zack Tolles. funding from University Park to create a website that will actually interview students on many sub jects, such as their opinions, interests, high school activities. Upon completion, this website will give each student a profile of activities, clubs, and organ izations that would likely strike his or her interest based on the responses submitted. The new website will be available to all students, and it will most likely become a pathfinder for new students joining the campus. SGA and Student Affairs are still forming a com mittee to complete this website, and any students interested in getting involved with the creation of the website may contact Miller. "The greatest way a student can benefit is to ask for it back in the form of an event or activity on campus. If a student isn't part of organizing the event, then he or she should be sure to attend," said Miller. The funding of the cam pus activities is in the hands of the students, and it is up to them how it should be spent. Students can join the SGA budget committee by contacting Erin Kennedy. Students can join the SAF committee by contacting Ben Gilson. annual report
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