Friday, October 12, 2007
From field com-
mander to
Commander in
Chief?
Should Brett Farve
run for president?
Find out what Scott
R. Muska thinks on
page 4.
B ILEOI r.
Bruce
Springsteen's
Magic dominates
album charts.
Read about it on
page 6.
Behrend hockey is
off to its hottest
start in club history.
Find out all the
details on page 9.
Contents
News 1-3
...4
Opinion
Humor 5
Entertainment 6
Student Life..
Sports
Contact I..'s
Newsroom
898-6488
Fax:
898-6019
E-mail: cslsoos@psu.edu
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
Our offices are located downstairs
in the Reed Union Building.
DEnnEnD DEllcon
7-8
...9-10
Former Behrend student convicted on
multiple counts of child pornography
By Christopher LaFuria
editor-in-chief
esl5W5 psu. edu
Erie County Judge Shad
Connelly has ruled that former
Behrend student Jonathan
Demerecz is guilty of sexual
abuse of children. This ruling
came after Demerecz's non
jury trial on Sept. 26.
Demerecz was convicted
after authorities located 21
computer files of children who
were being raped or abused
sexually. The instrument of
crime that was mentioned in
an earlier hearing was
Demerecz's eMachines com
puter tower which Demerecz's
stored his pornographic files
Demerecz was convicted
21 felony counts of sexual
abuse of children, all of the
counts being third-degree
offenses. The felony charges
of sexual abuse relate to the
possession of the pornography.
The one misdemeanor offense
was the possession of the
computer tower, which was Former Behrend student Jonathan Demerecz dressed in costume on-campus last year.
considered the instrument of
court plans to sentence
Demerecz on Jan. 9. He is no longer
being held in prison after posting the
required $50,000 bond.
There is still investigation as to
whether Demerecz will be considered
Career Fair brings employers to Junker Center
By Maureen Koffler
contributing writer
mkk50220 psu.edu
Key chains, mini book bags, pens,
candy, bottle openers and three-way
highlighters-all of these items have
similarities to one another, believe it or
not. All of these items may not pop out
at you as anything special, but these
items give a fun-filled reason why
some students go to Penn State
Behrend's Annual All Majors Career
Fair.
While most students go to career
fairs to further their education, others
simply find it amusing to go around to
each stand and grab one or more of the
free "goodies" that each company
hands out. These "goodies" are there
not only to drawn people into each
company but to give a fun experience
Behrend surprises Kochel with garden in her honor
By Marcus Yeagley
contributing writer
mjysol2@psu.edu
On last Friday's sunny
and warm afternoon, a
group of over thirty people
talked and commiserated
outside on the Kochel build-
ing's patio for an unspeci
fied event. Faculty mem
bers received "mystery invi
tations" to attend the event
and were unaware of exact
ly what the gathering was
for until they arrived. At
11:30 a.m., Ethel Kochel
was led outside onto the
patio by her son, Jeffrey
Kochel, where she was
pleasantly surprised by an
announcement by Dr. Jack The newly landscaped garden outside of the Kochel Building was dedicated to Ethel Kochel on Friday.
Burke, the chancellor of
Penn State Behrend, that the "Secret Garden" sur
rounding her was to be named in her honor.
As a gift from a son to his mother, Jeffrey Kochel, a
forester, graduate of Penn State Behrend, and son of
Ethel and Irvin Kochel, to whom the building itself is
named for, commissioned the garden as a dedication to
the works his mother had done for the campus and also
for the inspiration his mother had given him. "She has
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
a violent sex offender. Authorities will
review whether Demerecz's offense
relates to Megan's Law. According to
http://www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us,
Megan's Law, "requires the State
Police to create and maintain a registry
of persons who reside, work/carry on a
for those who are just there to browse
and not find him or herself an intern
ship or full-time career just yet.
Although the primary goal of the career
fair is to get Penn State Behrend stu
dents who are soon to be entering the
scary and sometimes nerve-wracking
"real world" interested in many differ-
ent career opportunities.
Behrend's Career Fair was held
Tuesday, Oct. 9 from noon to four in
the Junker Center. With over 122
organizations inside the gym at Junker
it was hard to not find something to be
interested in. From Home Depot to
Wegmans to the American Red Cross,
the organizations at the career fair cer
tainly sparked lots of interest for cur
rent students here at Behrend. This was
a real opportunity for freshmen
through seniors to search for prospec
tive jobs or even to apply for intern-
a great appreciation for nature and the outdoors, which
is a big reason why I am a forester today," said Kochel
in his speech. "Having her garden adjacent to the Irvin
Kochel building seemed the perfect way to bring these
important pieces of her life together for recognition."
Burke began the dedication with a brief history of
the Kochel legacy. He discussed how it was the
Kochels who helped build Penn State Behrennd into
BEHREND BEACON
vocation, or attend school in the
Commonwealth and who have either
been convicted of, entered a plea of
guilty to, or adjudicated delinquent of
certain sex offenses in Pennsylvania or
another jurisdiction."
Continued on page 3
ships for after they graduate college
As this was to be taken as a serious
event, most students were dressed in
formal attire
Business suits, skirts and blouses,
ties and freshly pressed pants were
seen all about Junker Center. Students
were able to have real interviews with
companies, ranging from banks to
engineering companies to hospitals. At
each stand informative pamphlets,
business cards, and big bright posters
explaining each company were visible
to everyone. Students were able to go
around and ask any questions to the
representatives of each company.
Senior Amy Brem was one such stu
dent who was asking as many ques
tions as possible. Since she is graduat
ing next spring Amy felt as though she
really needed to check
Continued on page 3
Behrend plans
activities for
Alcohol
Awareness Week
By Brittany Sexton
staff writer
basslB9o:
Penn State Behrend has a lot of different
activities going on week by week, but one of
the more important activities is Alcohol
Awareness Week. Alcohol Awareness Week
will begin Oct 15 and end the 19. Meeghan
Hollis is one of the coordinators for the
Awareness Week. There are a bundle of
things to do to open your mind and eyes to
the dangers of binge drinking; there will be
personal counseling, student on student dis
cussions and even a guest speaker: Mat Eby.
Eby is a fellow alcohol abuser, and he plans
to speak on his experience of being charged
and found guilty of DUI Manslaughter, and
DUI Serious Bodily Injury. His presentation
is solely for the purpose of teaching Penn
State Behrend students the life lesson he
encountered and the consequence that
comes with drinking irresponsibly.
Another organization on campus helping
out with next week is the Student Athletic
Advisory Council; they are hosting a table
to discuss alcohol issues with students.
They will even have a fun activity including
beer goggles so a student can feel through
their own eyes what it is like to walk a
straight line under the influence. The
Student Athletic Advisory Council is also
going to have questions for the students to
answer about alcohol issues, and if they
answer them correctly they will be entered
to win a free iPod.
The Behrend CARES committee will also
be holding a table next week, on
Wednesday, and it will consist of informa
tion about Alcohol Abuse Prevention. There
will even be an informational video called
"Wasted Youth" which will bring out more
issues of being under the influence. On
Friday, Oct. 19 at 11:30 a.m., the Penn State
Behrend Sororities and Fraternities will host
a "mocktail" party for the students at Penn
State Behrend. The sororities and fraterni
ties will introduce students to the positive
sides of nonalcoholic drinks; students will
even be able to sample those drinks.
Students will also receive a Non-Alcoholic
Beverage Recipe book and a wallet-sized
card on the signs of becoming intoxicated or
excessive consumption.
On this campus there are many students
who encounter bad experiences involving
alcohol. Some of the ways Behrend tries to
help these students, bedsides this annual
Awareness Week are the alcohol classes.
These classes are used as a punishment but
in the end, these required sessions help the
students make better judgments when going
to a party or going out with friends.
from the open field in front of
the Kochel building onto the patio, the Ethel Kochel
Garden contains over 15 kinds of dwarf conifers in
addition to a honey locust tree and ornamental grasses.
Two tables rest on the concrete for students, faculty,
and guests to study, work, and relax. A plaque is in
place on the brick and mortar wall dedicating the gar
den to Mrs. Kochel.
Vol. LIV No. VII
the very first campus outside of
University Park to have resi
dential halls and the ability to
award four-year degrees, allow
ing the campus to grow into its
current attendance of over 4400
students. With anecdotes about
how Ethel Kochel would offer
up suggestions on how to
improve the grounds of the
campus, Burke helped express
the admiration of many of the
family, friends, and faculty in
attendance. After Jeffrey
Kochel spoke, Burke brought
the dedication ceremony to a
close and then encouraged the
attendees to enjoy the cider and
cookies provided and to help
celebrate Ethel Kochel's new
garden.
With stone steps leading