I The Behrend Beacon
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or Of thitAftWerr
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Penn State Erie.
The Behrend College
Reed Union Bui lding
THE BEHREND 4701 College Drive. Erie PA 16563
BEACO Room 10H
Telephone: (814 i 898-6488
Fax: (8141 898-6019
FOUNDED IN 1948
Too worried to exercise
By Rachel Reeves
copy editor
rcrsos7@'psu.edu
Sunday night, in the midst of watching Philadelphia actually
giving New England a run for their money, I witnessed a dis
turbing commercial. The NFL was battling childhood obesity
by encouraging kids to engage in physical activity for at least
60 minutes each day. They were interviewing random children
about their favorite activities, and I expected to hear about the
classic playgrounds and parks. playing tag with the neighbor
hood kids, and climbing trees. Instead I watched in horror as 10
year olds talked about going to the gym and lifting weights.
No wonder children tend to be overweight! You could not
have paid my 10 year old self enough to spend an hour every
day at the gym, lifting weights and running on the treadmill. It
took my arrival at college to start visiting the gym regularly.
and then for more adult reasons. I have half of a 150 square
foot shoebox to live in. and spend far too large a portion of my
life just sitting and reading. If I don't blow off some steam
somehow, it's going to get ugly. I should also mention that
since I attend a school that is populated mostly by males, catch
ing the after-class gym rush is not exactly the worst part of my
day.
Anyways, whatever happened to playgrounds. sledding. and
climbing trees in the average American child's life? The
Surgeon General. for one, blames the new evils of TV, comput
ers and video games for keeping kids inside and stationary
even on the sunniest of days. But I. having visited old child
hood haunts over Thanksgiving break with new eyes, have
reached another conclusion. Grown-ups are well on their way
to removing every fun activity that has ever existed.
I discovered a new sign posted at the base of my favorite
sledding hill. warning people to stay away and avoid the emi
nent danger of the seemingly innocent pastime. If you know a
better way to burn calories than trudging up a steep hill in snow
pants and chunky boots, dragging behind you a sled. possibly
loaded with a younger sibling, let me know. Also, it is impos
sible to find new merry-go-rounds, seesaws, jungle gyms. or
Letter To the Editor
re: "What I'm not thankful for
As I initially read Mr. Deßello's opinion peice. I was
immediately astounded that Sean Hannity had taken up a
pseudonym and is publishing in our humble little paper. It is
really a testament to our school that someone of such stature.
albeit a dubious one. would take such an interest in our polit
ical climate. He hit all his usual talking points: Michael
Moore is a liar and a blowhard. Hillary Clinton this. Al Gore
that. Complaint after complaint about left-wing talking
heads, yet conspicuously no mention of the equally vitriolic
Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Hannity himself. It is nice
to see that "fair and balanced" reporting has finally come to
the Behrend Beacon.
Of course we should all just forget about global warming
because it might inconvenience Mr. Deßello's enjoyment of
NBC's primetime lineup. Is it possible for someone to get
that self righteously indignant over missing out on the light
ing of the Sunday Night Football halftime show?? Yet
Michael Moore is the blowhard... Oh and by the way, if you
had actually taken the time to see the movie you astutely
labeled as "very bad," you would have seen that in "Sicko."
Moore lambastes your nemesis Hillary Clinton as "spineless"
in her handling of the great boogie man that is nationalized
health care. It is a great movie by the way, I highly recom
mend it the next time a halftime show is darkened by left
wing nuts.
All in all, thank you for the article. Although next time you
might want to consider getting off of your soapbox to rant
against people on soapboxes.
Chris Meals
Nursing Major
Sophomore
Iraq Veteran
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Executive Board
Christopher LaFuria, Editor in Chiel
Mike Sharkey. Co-Editor in Chief
Tiffany Flynn. Advertising Alanat;er
Kim Young, Faculty Adviser
tire swings on the pla \ grounds of today. Those that remain are
coated in rust. and their days are numbered. You can send your
kid to the gym all \ \1 ant. hut 12 reps on the bench press is
not any more effecti \ c than climbing the jungle gym, or swing
ing 14 an hour. And ask an \ child under the age of 16 which
they would prefer: a tire swing. or gym equipment sited for
adults.
Yes, the old-fashioned activities are more dangerous. But a
childhood without scraped knees. sunburn, a couple broken
hones and scars to boast over is no childhood at all. As a kid 1
climbed trees and fell out. I pined on slides and fell off. I got
tangled up in tire swings and hammocks. and I survived. I dan
gled from the lop rune of the jungle gym by my knees, admir
ing the world six feet away and upside down. I fashioned a slip
n' slide out of an old tarp in the garage, and got all of the brush
burns a kid could want. I spent an entire summer flying down
my steep driveway in my red wagon. careening across the
street, and crash-landing in the neighbor's ditch across the way.
Playing tag in third grade. I cut my lip in a head-on collision
and had to get stitches. I still boast the scar. Sledding on a
frozen-over hill. I broke my tailbone. I couldn't wear a back
pack far two months, and my friends and family cracked every
joke you could imagine. I ha ve broken too many fingers and
toes to count, I have small scars of forgotten origin, and I have
my classic nightmare sunburn story.
Yes. American children are getting heavier. But that is only
half of the tragedy. Where is the adventure. the danger in their
lives? What stories will they tell. what scars will they brag
about'! Everyone needs a little hit of risk. overcoming terror
just for the sake of overcoming it. Save the gym for adulthood.
There will he plenty of time to worry about calories and
heart rate. plenty of hours spent on the stationary hike while
reading a textbook in order to he as efficient as possible. Let's
go hack to the days of throwing kids out of the house, to the
days of - walk it off. - - 1111) some dirt in it. - and "honey. would
you grab the steak out of the freeier?“ And don't even get me
started on the supposed dangers of drinking out of the garden
hose. Everyone knows yon just wait until it runs cold.
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Editorial Staff'
Lenny Smith, editor
Mau SchallCllhauer, as sf. Nrrrs Editor
C'hia , , BR A% n. Opinion Editor
Andrew Niel .achlan. Sports Editor
Matt Waninker. Sports Editor
Scott Nlthka. Student Lite Lditor
Ryan I. (iallagher, Student Life Editor
Janet Niedenherger. Head (Ops . Editor
Mike Sharkey. Humor/Photognipifv Editor
Jennifer itincosa. Coin . Editor
Rachel Reeves. COpy
Ko\er. Entertainment Editor
Connor Sanely. Entertainment Editor
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Keeping memories close
By Christopher LaFuria
editor in chief
c 515005 psu.alti
Pictures capture moments in time and
display memories, good and had, from
any given time period. One of my fond
est pastimes was flipping through old
photo albums and cataloguing my fami
ly's history. There were pictures of my
three brothers and me on Christmas
morning. There were pictures from our
first days of school, waiting for that big
yellow bus to deliver us to evil. There
were even pictures that were used when
my grandfather died, as memorial of
earlier, happier times.
My favorite pictures, of course, were
the ones of my brothers and me. Many
of them were of us playing in our yard.
We would pretend to he our favorite
athletes while playing baseball. My
oldest brother. Matt, would always pre
tend to be Jim Kelly, his favorite foot
ball player.
I remember pictures of my twin
brother, Dan, and I right before the local
festival parade, where we waved and
waved to the audience upon the twin
float. Pat is my youngest brother. He
always wanted to he the center of atten
tion, so most of the pictures displayed
his face with the biggest. ingratiating
smile on it.
Whatever the occasion, we captured
the moments on camera. A photograph
is the palette to secure these moments.
But unfortunately, they do not last for-
Recently, however, the photographs
have changed. Last week, my mother
received pictures of my brother at his
base in Iraq. One of the photos showed
Matt wearing his combat gear and car
rying an enormous weapon. We used to
play cops and robbers in the back yard,
but this sort of conflict is much more
serious, more dangerous.
Although I'm reluctant to admit it, I
was cruising on Facebook and I came
across pictures of my twin brother play
ing a show at a local bar. Ever since
junior high, he was always obsessed
with music. Through much of high
school. I would come home to his guitar
playing.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Some of it sounded like Dylan's rein
carnation. Some of it sounded like a car
that wouldn't start. However, seeing
him play his guitar on stage just proved
how much he has come along. People
that were truly interested in his music
took these pictures. Even though he
was down at University Park most of
the year, I was able to be in the front
row thanks to these photos.
Pat, the youngest of the troop, has
been in his fair share of photographs.
We would always tease him when he
was younger for his goofy smiles. My
older brother, twin brother and myself
were at least four years older than him.
Most of the photos were taken when he
was much younger. The local photogra
pher in my hometown recently gave my
mother pictures of my brother playing
varsity soccer in high school. Also, I
have seen You Tube videos of him slam
dunking a basketball over his oppo
nents. I'm not able to see all of his
games, but these photos allow me to see
his progress and continue to be proud of
his accomplishments.
As people become more and more
busy, they tend to not have time for
important events in the lives of their
loved ones. Personally, I have missed
out on much of the happy and sad times
of my close family. Thankfully,
through pictures I am able to forever
look at the ups and downs and still am
able to smile. While these photos fail to
compare to being a first-hand witness,
they still represent one important idea.
As the photographs do not last forever,
the people and places within the frames
endure.
/ Quote of the Week
"I guess that's the price
of freedom."
- Jesse Benton, campaign
spokesman for Ron Paul,
commenting on support
from Hookers for Paul
Ignorance
Bliss
Chris Brown