Friday, October 5, 2007
Read the first
installment of
the faculty
forum series on
page 4.
Things
changing on
are
campus.
See what new
improvements
are coming to
Dobbins on
page 8.
The National
Hockey League
season starts
soon.
Read the pre-
view on page 9.
Contents
News
Opinion..
Humor....
Entertainment..
Student Life
Sports
Contact s
Newsroom
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: cslsoos@psu.edu
Send us feedback!
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
DrtintilD Drilcon
...1-3
7-8
...9-10
Behrend drivers worried after
round of on-campus vandalism
People who park cars on campus think their vehilces will be safe. However, vandalism seems to be on the rise
By Kayla Wright
staff writer
kmws2os@psu.edu
Most students assume that cars parked on campus
will be left alone and remain safe. However, recent
events have led to a contrary view. On a number of
occasions, students' cars have been vandalized, lead
ing some to question campus security. Students
believe this wouldn't be an issue had it been put to a
stop after the first time, but this vandalism has con-
tinually happened on consecu
tive weekends.
There are several proposed
solutions. Some believe that
cameras should be installed,
while others believe there
should be more officers
patrolling the campus.
The most recent case of
vandalism occurred in the
parking lot in front of Almy
Hall Sept. 22, where more
than a dozen cars were report
ed vandalized. The sides of
cars were keyed, side-view
mirrors were completely
ripped off, convertibles tops
were punched in and there was
other damage to the bodies of
cars, such as dents.
Freshman Bridget Gutting was one victim. "My
tail lights were kicked in and my side-view mirrors
were torn off," Gutting said. This was one of the less
severe cases but still it caused a great amount of
problems for students whose had their cars damaged.
"I was mad because it cost a lot to repair the dam
ages and it took a while to get it repaired so I could
n't just leave when I wanted to because my car was
in the shop," Gutting said. Vandalism causes a lot of
dama:e and for those that don't have com elete insur-
Behrend student organizations look to raise
money for the United Way Foundation
By Rachel Reeves
staff writer
rcrsos7@psu.edu
Penn State Behrend
kicked off its annual United W
campaign with the goal to n
$50,000 from faculty, study
and staff.
United Way may be a mast
national organization with 1,.
branches spread all over
country, but 98 percent of
money raised by Behr'
remains in Erie County to bet
fit 34 local agencies. Some
the names on the list may sot
familiar. Erie girl and
scouts, the Salvation Army,
the YMCA. Others are organi,
tions like the Crime Vic!
Center or the local hospice
benefit. Either way, all of tht
agencies are an important part
the local community,
Behrend takes supporting tht
very seriously.
The students raise $2,000
the total amount. Dr Ken Mii
Director of Student Affairs, says
that most of the student money A sign keeps track of how much money
comes out of the residence students on campus have raised.
halls. Each year the halls host
various fundraisers, making it a competition to see
which hall turns in the most money. Popular activities
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
"My
were
view
were torn off."
-Bridget Gutting
Freshman
ance coverage, it may cause some problems.
Currently, there is only one officer that patrols the
campus at night over the weekends when most of the
vandalism occurs. Students say that doesn't seem to
leave the environment entirely secure.
"I think the school should take more measures to
increase security especially on the weekends because
a lot more is going on," Gutting said.
Director of the Division of Student Affairs,
Kenneth Miller, believes that the solution is to have
more people patrolling the parking
lots. He says he doesn't believe
cameras should be installed
because the details of the people,
especially in the dark, would be
too vague to determine who is
committing the crime.
For example, if one was to
watch a tape from a camera placed
in the parking lot, he may capture
someone committing a crime in a
Penn State baseball cap in sweat
shirt. Given that the image will
only be captured from above, the
chances of being able to identify
the perpetrator are pretty slim;
most people on campus wear
clothing with the Penn State logo.
Others still believe that
cameras are the only way to
reduce the amount of vandalism occurring on cam
pus. "Cameras will discourage students from vandal
izing cars. If they know that they are being watched,
they are less likely to commit the crime," said
Freshman Susan Sherman
Regardless of the stance one takes over whether
cameras or more officers are required to reduce dam
age, students say that some kind of action needs to be
taken to avoid future vandalism of cars.
tail lights
kicked
side
mirrors
include a t-shirt sale with shirts custom printed for
each hall, penny wars in the lobbies, and tuck-in serv
ices where residents can receive freshly grilled sand
* - ,hes and a bedtime story.
The rest of the $50,000
imes from faculty and staff,
tther in one-time gifts or direct
out of paychecks. Each person
opt for an automatic deduc
in each time they are paid, with
earmark specifying which
flcy they want their money to
It can prove a bit of a chal
ige to muster support for the
iced Way, since it is so big and
ports so many different agen
"Sometimes it's hard for
:ulty, students, and staff to
ip their heads around this.
re's nothing physical; there's
telethon, no dance marathon,
re's no big event," explains
ller. He tries to encourage
)ple to look into the United
website so they can get a
ter feel for where the money is
ing, and see some of the more
icrete changes the organiza
tion has made.
No one has to look further
than Erie to
continued on page 3
sag
Speaker
Series brings
lively poet to
campus
By Liz Carey
wiff vt riter
eacs I psu edu
Beckian Fritz Goldberg speaks to students in the
Smith Chapel on Sept. 27 about her poetry.
At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27th the distinguished
poet, Beckian Fritz Goldberg grabbed Penn State
Behrend students' attention as she read segments of
poems and prose from her published work. The read
ing was preceded by a reception where the students
where given the opportunity to sit down and talk to
Goldberg.
Goldberg opened with a piece of prose about when
she was a child. This caught the attention of the listen
ers and she continued to enthrall them with her poems
about Torture Boy and Wolf Boy, who were reoccur
ring characters throughout all of The Book of Accident,
which she primarily read from. All of the characters
where children who Goldberg explained where a mix
between the child she was and the children she would
have had.
Although there was mandatory attendance for some
English classes and all creative writing students, the
room was packed with people who flocked in simply to
hear her read her poetry. With a quick wit and great
sense of humor she captivated the audience.
Goldberg's main topics were death and sex, but she
elegantly presented them in a way that was not crude
or gruesome. In an interview when Goldberg was
asked why she writes about death, she said, "Death is
the eternal problem. I can't write without that aware
ness—to me it's constant.... How can you love some
thing and not mourn the fact that it's going to disap
pear?" This grave outlook on life is apparent in almost
all her literature, but most credit the death of her father
which began her questioning physical life.
"I really enjoyed the reading," says Carly Smith, a
freshman Communications major. "Some parts were
difficult to understand but all-in-all it was intriguing,"
Smith said.
This seemed to be the consensus of all the students
as they left Smith Chapel where the reading was held.
Murmurs of her unique but intriguing style where
heard throughout the foyer as students exited. On dis
play outside of the chapel where copies of her books of
poetry that where being sold to anyone who want them.
Goldberg received her MFA from Vermont College
and her MA from Arizona State University where she
was mentored by Norman Dubie. She is currently
directing the Creative Writing Program at Arizona
State as well as continuing to publish poetry and prose.
Goldberg's first book of poetry was published in
1991 and was entitled Body Betrayer, shortly after In
the Badlands of Desire was published. In 1999 her
second and third books, entitled Never Be the Horse
and Twentieth Century Children, where published. In
2005 Lie Awake Lake was published and most recently
in 2006 The Book of Accident was published.
Goldberg has been honored with many awards such
as The Gettysburg Review Annual Poetry Award, The
Field Poetry Prize, The University of Akron Press
Poetry Prize and A Pushcart Prize. She has also been
anthologized in The Best American Poetry series.
George Looney, series director and an associate pro
fessor of English and creative writing here at Penn
State Behrend said, "Beckian Fritz Goldberg is a poet
who uses her language as a light on both landscapes
and the bodies walking and loving and suffering and
rejoicing through those landscapes."
Vol. LIV No. VI