Friday, October 26, 2007 Jimmy East World releases their 6th album. Read why "Chase this Light" only gets a B+ on page 8. Can this be the Cleveland Brown's breakout year? Find out on page 9. 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 www.thebehrendbeacon.com ur offices are located downstairs in the Reed Union Building. DEHREHD D Cffil Behrend students traveling through Keegan :Grego' A female student encountered a middle-aged man exposing himself in the Wintergreen Gorge By Lenny Smith news editor 1r550460 psu edu Penn State Behrend officials have warned students against walking around the campus alone through an e-mail sent on Oct. 23. The e-mail was sent after a female student was on an evening run through the Wintergreen Gorge on Behrend's campus. As the unidentified female began her ascent from bottom on the Gorge, she found herself staring at a man, pants down, exposing himself on the trail. The female was able to adjust her running path and avoid the man. The Student's lost wallet turns up empty By Rachel Reeves staff writer rersos7 (a' psu edu It happens to everyone eventually, and on the morning of Sept. 18 it hap pened to Zack Goncz. He lost his wal let. He had left it by the coffee machine in the Kochel building. and it vas returned to him before he even had time to panic. "Somebody found it, saw my license, saw my name. looked up my Facebook, and talked to me on AIM that night, - Goncz recalled. Just a few minutes after the conversation, he walked down to a neighboring resi dence hall to recollect his wallet. It wasn't until he was halfway back to his dorm when he realized that all of the money was missing. Although he still had his license and, as far as he knows, his identity, he was short of the several hundred dollars that his family had given him for the Behrend steps up By Gabrielle Saitto staff writer gpsso2o@psu.edu On Nov. 3 and 4, Penn State Behrend will be hold ing its third annual 24 For A Cure. It beings at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and will last until 3 p.m. on Sunday. The event will take place in Erie Hall. It is a dance marathon, previously known as Mini THON. THON is Penn State's Panhellenic Dance Marathon, in addition to the largest student-run phi lanthropy event in the world. During the original THON at University Park, students join together for 48 hours straight without sleep. In addition to stay ing awake for almost two days, students also work together to try to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund located in Hershey, PA. The money goes towards treatment funds and research for pediatric cancer at the Hershey Medical Center. THON also raises money for the campus, as well as spreading cheer around the community and the school. Behrend's 24 For A Cure is a smaller version of THON, being that it is only half of the time, but it still has the same goal, to earn money for the The Four Diamonds Fund logo is a symbol of hope for many children and families with pediatric cancer. A Penn State Behrend Student Publication new term. Goncz said that since he has no car, and doesn't have to pay for gas, he could have made that money stretch out to cover a couple of months. Considering the circumstance, he did n't spend a cent until he received his first paycheck from his campus job, two weeks later. His family is still unaware of the loss. Goncz figures that the person who returned the wallet was not the same person who took the money. "I can't see why anybody would do that," he said. He guesses that someone had found the wallet earlier and pocketed the money, before it had been picked up to be returned. Not that he ever expected to see the money again, he still made up flyers asking for the cash. A month later, he hasn't heard any thing, or seen a penny of his lost money. Goncz ended up taking matters into his own hands, instead of looking into what Behrend could do to help out. The Four Diamonds Fund 404 g ot i i44 ing hildhood (am e; advised campus important part o maintaining a safe environment is to look out for one anoth- Behrend provides a lot of safety features including emer gency telephones strategically placed throughout campus. Students who do not wish to walk through campus by them selves can request an escort that will walk them to any on campus destination, anytime of the day or night. Officials are advising all Behrend students, faculty, staff and visitors, especially females, to travel in groups around campus. Officials from Police and Safety stress that any suspicious activities be reported immediately by calling 898-6101. in the fight against pediatric cancer Four Diamonds Fund. Although the actual dance marathon portion of 24 For A Cure lasts only a day, THON itself is a year-long fundraiser. THON offers activities to keep the participants entertained throughout the day and night, with music to dance to, and tons of food. Each dancer involved raises $5O for the event, so the more dancers involved, the more money the committee will be able to send to the Four Diamonds Fund. Although 24 For A Cure has only been active at Behrend for 3 years, THON itself has been a Penn State philanthro py for over 35 years, and has raised over $46 mil lion. The first dance marathon held by Penn State was in 1973, and helped raise over $2OOO for charities. It was in 1977 that THON decided to first start donat ing to the Four Diamonds Fund, and in 2005, the agauagt alone avoid any contact with the man and was not harmed in any According to offi cials at Police and Safety, the man was said to he white and middle-aged with salt and-pepper hair. "The safety of our students, campus and extended community as a whole is a high priority for everyone at Penn State Behrend, and espe cially for Police Services, the Division of Student Affairs, and Housing and Food Services," said Dianna Morris of Student Services. "An First of all, he didn't know where to turn, and secondly, he didn't think the campus would be able to help. Debbie Quiggle, of Campus Police and Safety, said that this is the biggest failing of the Behrend lost and found system misconception. "Most people never think to look here, so they never find [what they've lost]," she said. wish more people knew about it." The lost and found system is a valu able asset to the Behrend campus, and it is taken very seriously. Hosted by Police and Safety, it carefully records all items on an Internet database shared with University Park. If there is any ID connected to a lost item, Police and Safety tries to contact the person directly, and if not they simply have to wait for someone to inquire. If the item is not claimed in 30 days, it is either destroyed or sent to University Park. continued on page 2 Behrend gears up for winter e was a By Michelle Quail staff writer inlysoo I (a p u.edu The Behrend campus maintenance department is beginning to prepare for another white winter. Since Erie is known for having exceptionally harsh winters, many Behrend students are becoming anxious as the fall season begins to round its last corner. Returning students are reminded of the distress they feel every year before winter hits. "How am I ever going to make it up this hill to the REDC when the snow hits us?" calls out a stu dent while hiking his way up one of the steep campus hills. As the students are re-uniting with their winter fears, the maintenance department members are hard at work preparing for snowfall. Tom Guth, Assistant Maintenance Supervisor, is currently spending time in his office finding out just what to do to prepare for this coming winter and instructing main tenance employees to begin making the necessary preparations. "There are some procedures we go over the same every year," says Guth. He explains that Maintenance has begun its annual winter preparations already. Workers begin by cleaning out all of the storm drains placed throughout the cam pus so clogs will not be a problem with the hit of the first storm. Soon students will begin seeing snow plow markers which will be planted around curbs, storm drains, sidewalks, and intersections. Guth has contacted companies to begin shipping this upcoming winter's supply of ice melter and road salt. Automotive mechanics are beginning to check and work on all of the snow plows. Replacements and improvements are being made on tools such as shovels and ice choppers. "What we do is pretty much the same every year, except that we update the plowing schedule and routes with the addition of new campus build ings." The winter preparation list remains the same this year, but Guth believes there will be changes in the future, along with the renovations of Dobbins and Turnbull Halls. The maintenance department consists of a 16 person grounds crew, which will be responsible for all common areas on campus such as parking lots and walk ways. There are also 10 mechanics who will be clearing many of the building entrances. Completing the department is the food and housing staff, who students may find clearing the entrances of both dining and residence halls. The mainte nance department takes great effort in making clear and safe passing for stu dents. The large number of workers reflects the dedication of the maintenance continued on page 2. marathon raised over $4 million for the Four Diamonds Fund. So far, over 92 percent of the money raised throughout the dance marathon that is given to the Four Diamonds Fund is given straight to patients and families. So far, over 2,000 patients and families have been helped by the Four Diamonds Fund. In addition to raising money to help families, THON also helps to unite the student body on many Penn State campuses. Behrend's 24 For A Cure still needs more partici pants and dancers, but if dancing is not your thing, the committee is still looking for more security and moralers. Even if these options are not appealing, support is always welcomed at Erie Hall. The THON Committee meets at 7 p.m. every Monday in Reed 114. If you are interested or need more infor mation, you can contact James Wolfe, the Penn State CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Vol. LIV No. IX Behrend *pw2ll@psu.edu, or Vicky Straub at vasso29@psu.edu. Also, the SGA office has information, along with www.thon.org THON at