Friday, November 2, 2007
Penn State
fans harass
Ohio State
fans before
football game
By Lenny Smith
news editor
Irsso46Capsu.edu
A video, that was posted on YouTube.com
showing Penn State students throwing
objects at two Ohio State fans before the Oct.
27 football game, has prompted police to
take action. Both university officials and fans
from both schools have reacted in outrage
against the video and further investigation
has revealed several details on the individu
als involved in the crime.
The video features a large crowd of Penn
State fans, most wearing all white, throwing
full beer cans at their passing Ohio State
rivals. One college-aged man ran after the
Ohio State fans as they walked away throw
ing more cans at the OSU fans.
According to The Daily Collegian, the
man featured in the video was not a Penn
State student. He was a University of
Pittsburgh student who was visiting State
College for the weekend.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) President
Grant Miller said that fraternities know they
are responsible for anything that happens at
their houses, even in this case when at least
one student involved does not attend Penn
State.
The Penn State fans appeared on video
screaming obscenities and telling the Ohio
fans to leave. This is a, "terrible impression
to give the world about Penn Staters," Tom
Poole, associate to the president for adminis-
tration. said.
The video was filmed behind the off-cam
pus Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house in State
College, PA. The Ohio State fans were mem
bers of the Ohio State chapter of the fraterni
ty. They had attended a party with the frater
nity on Friday night but were apparently not
welcomed to come back on Saturday, when
the Buckeyes defeated the Nittany Lions. Pi
Kappa Alpha's national headquarters has sus
pended the fraternity's Penn State charter.
The fraternity was also placed on suspension
by the university.
Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity
said in a statement that the, "international
fraternity teaches its members that sports
manship extends beyond the playing field.
The actions of the individuals involved with
this incident do not live up to that ideal."
Sgt. Keith Robb, the lead investigator in
the case, said that the fraternity would
receive a disorderly conduct citation. The
video and the account have since been delet
ed from You Tube. The account screen name
was the same as Pi Kappa's Vice-President's
AOL instant messenger account name,
according to The Daily Collegian.
Miller added, "We apologize for the nega
tive light that this has brought to Penn State
fans."
Contents
News 1-3
Opinion 4
Humor 5
Entertainment 6
Student Life ' 7-8
Sports 9-10
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DEHREIID DEIICOII
Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin brings the wild b to the Junker Center
By Jenna Sellitto
staff writer
jlsss43o`psu.edu
On Thursday zoologist and
Emmy-winning television
celebrity Jeff Corwin shared
"Tales from the Field" at the
Junker Center in the latest
Speaker Series presentation at
Penn State Behrend. He was
welcomed by a full crowd of
Behrend students, faculty and
community members in the
Junker Center at 7:30 p.m.
Corwin is most widely recog
nized as the host of "The Jeff
Corwin Experience" and
"Corwin's Quest on Animal
Planet." The Jeff Corwin
Experience is one of the highest
rated cable television shows and
is seen in more than 70 countries
worldwide. In 2004, Corwin
won an Emmy for Outstanding
Performer in a Children's Series A student volunteer helps Jeff Corwin handle one of the many animals he brought to show the audience
for "Jeff Corwin Unleashed."
The presentation began by introducing Corwin with
a series of clips from his television shows. When he
came onto the stage he was welcomed with a
respectably loud applause. Corwin talked about vari
ous environmental topics, but most notably animals.
He even brought along several reptiles that had
been rescued from various dangerous situations, such
as being illegal pets. Corwin made the presentation
interactive by allowing a volunteer to come up and
hold a few of the animals. The first animal that was
brought out was the largest species of toad in the
Police and Safety step up Gorge patrol after flashing incident
By Rachel Reeves
staff writer
rcrsos7o`psu.edu
Penn State Behrend Police and Safety officers have
started patrolling the Wintergreen Gorge after an Oct.
20 incident when a man exposed himself to a female
student.
All students were notified of the Oct. 20 incident in
which a woman jogging through the gorge encoun
tered a middle-aged man on the trail, pants down
around his ankles, openly exposing himself. The
woman changed direction, ran away unharmed, and
reported the incident to the Police.
This report caused two other women to come for
ward with a similar story. On Sept. 19, the two friends
were walking along the gorge and encountered a man
exposing himself in the same manner. They apolo
gized and walked away, also unharmed.
The campus police have compared the two reports,
and are confident that it was the same man in both
cases. The man is described as a middle-aged
Caucasian. He is of medium build, roughly five foot,
eight inches tall, with a light-colored beard.
Upon hearing about the Oct. 20 incident, most stu
dents believed that the man was simply urinating dur
ing a long walk in the woods, and the jogger came
upon him at the wrong moment. However, with the
two incidents occurring in one month, this theory has
Student voters decide Behrend's developement
By Molly Bonavita
staff writer
mabs3s6@
The morning of Nov. 6 is expected to see people
lined up to vote at the Brookside Fire Station to have
a say in who wins the general elections. On the ballot,
there are positions for State Senate, House of
Representatives, and Harborcreek town supervisor.
While the other positions are on a national level and
seem more important, the town supervisor has more
impact on what happens in our community as a col
lege campus. For example, the supervisor could put
more stores and restaurants in our area or even put a
sidewalk in on Jordan Road. But these improvements
probably will not happen as many college students do
not vote in local elections.
Whether it is that many students are not registered,
not sure how to vote via absentee, or simply do not
care, the number of young adults voting in local elec
tions is very low. "What many students don't realize
is that the local officials affect them more directly than
the national level officials," says political science pro
fessor Robert Speel. With the 2004 election, more
college-aged adults voted in that election than ever
before. Students may have felt a need to vote due to
all the advertisements and excitement that surrounded
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
world. The toad, which was from South America, was
over a foot in length and was said to be poisonous if
eaten by predators. The next animal that was brought
out was introduced by Corwin as 'one of the greatest
celebrations of the natural heritage of our country"
which, was the alligator snapping turtle, once destined
for soup but rescued just in time. Another once-res
cued pet that was shown was the crocodile monitor, a
huge lizard. The lizard from South East Asia was the
largest lizard in the world next to the Komodo dragon.
Corwin talked about endangered species and made
the point that it is possible to help save an almost
extinct creature if we just care. The American
become very unlikely. Dr. Surawski, a professor of
psychology at Penn State Behrend, says that exhibi
tionism is often confused with public urination.
"Actually, when exhibitionists are caught, public uri
nation is the most common excuse," she says.
A true psychological disorder, exhibitionism is cat
egorized as a paraphilia - an obsession with unusual
sexual practices or with sexual activity involving non
consenting or inappropriate partners. An exhibitionist
is the official term for the slang "flasher," and is a per
son, almost always male, who has the urge to expose
his genitals to an unsuspecting stranger, according the
to psychology diagnostic handbook, the DSM-IV.
Exhibitionism is a misdemeanor in the state of
Pennsylvania, and one of the most commonly report
ed sexual offenses.
The causes of exhibitionism are yet unknown,
although studies have linked it to higher than usual
levels of testosterone, childhood emotional abuse,
head trauma, and even childhood ADHD. There are
treatments available, like therapy and medication, but
most psychologists suspect that exhibitionism goes
underreported. Most exhibitionists do not seek coun
seling on their own free will, and only undergo treat
ment as a result of arrest.
Exhibitionism is classified as a "hands-off" para
philia, which means that the impulse does not involve
any contact or physical harm to victims. Since all
three of the women got out of the gorge without being
harmed, it can be assumed that this particular exhibi-
that election, but without all that excitement the need
to vote wavers and the number of voters decreases for
local elections.
Because of the lack of younger voter turnout, the
officials campaign to the senior citizen population as
they are the ones with the highest voter turnout. The
changes that students would be mostly like to see such
as the sidewalk on Jordan Road and stores/restaurants
will not top the agenda as many senior citizens do not
reside near the Behrend campus.
These kinds of improvements are the kinds that
directly affect the campus. Still, students do not vote
or continue to have a low voter turnout. So if students
want to see improvements made that surround the
campus, they need to get involved. It's as simple as
registering and Speel adds that, "students can even
register at college so they can vote locally." By learn
ing how to vote absentee and making the effort to get
the forms in on time, students can even make a differ
ence in their local government and have a say on what
will affect them near the campus.
Also, by keeping up with the local news and learn
ing more about the candidates in the election, students
can better learn about the community and the changes
that are about to take place. Really it's about realizing
that every vote counts and even on the local level, stu
dent voters can make a difference.
Alf)v n/j j Vol. LIV No. X
Alligator, his next animal was a perfect example. Not
too long ago this creature was on the brink of extinc
tion but today there are millions that live in fresh
water places through-
opening up a question
and answer session fol-
Keegan McGregor/THE BEHREND BEACON lowed by autographing
copies of his new book
Living on the Edge:
in the Natural World
Corwin holds a degree in both biology and anthro
pology from Bridgewater State College in
Massachusetts, a master's degree in wildlife and fish
eries conservation from the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst, and an honorary doctorate
in public education from Bridgewater for his work
advocating conservation and sustainable use of the
world's natural resources. Corwin has traveled
around the world studying endangered species.
tionist is nonviolent. However, it does not mean that
the situation is not dangerous.
A person with one paraphilia could easily have
more paraphilias, possibly dangerous and violent
ones. Also, a college campus is a prime target area for
someone with this kind of mental disorder. "Paraphilic
men seek out situations that allow them to act on their
urges. If this person wishes to expose himself to
young women, then a college campus is a place where
young women can be found," says Dr. Eric Corty, an
associate professor of psychology at Behrend.
Campus Police Chief Jim Amann recognizes the
Wintergreen Gorge as the most dangerous location of
Penn State Behrend. Being separated from campus
and very isolated, it is a risky environment. "Someone
could just pull you right into the woods, and no one
would know," says Amann. Behrend's gorge is the
perfect spot for an exhibitionist, with an isolated area
in which being caught is unlikely, and yet a high, con
densed population of young women.
Extra safety precautions are now being taken in
light of this potential danger. Campus police officers
patrol parking lots and walk the gorge trails regularly.
Amann again urges female students to never walk
alone on campus, especially at night and in the gorge.
This exhibitionist, although perhaps nonviolent, is
nonetheless a sexual predator, and the women who
have encountered him are his victims. He is an unsta
ble, unidentified man in an isolated area, and that is
not to be taken lightly.
Percent of Eligible voters who voted
in 2004 Election by age
out our country.
He finished his
animal presentations
with two snakes. The
first, a poisonous viper
snake from South
Africa with unique
camouflage markings
and two- inch fangs,
which is the longest
fangs of any snake, and
second, a Burmese
python from South
East Asia, one of the
largest snakes in the
world. Corwin fin
ished his segment by
Amazing relationships
Source: The USCensus Bureau