I The Behrend Beacon
Eight people killed in mall shooting
OMAHA. Neb. A shooting in Nebraska left eight
people dead on Wednesday. The shooting took
place at the Von Maur Store, a three-level mall in
Omaha, Nebraska.
Omaha Police received a 911 call from a person
shopping at the mall during the shooting. Police
Sergeant Teresa Negron said shots could be heard
in the background of the call. Police arrived six
minutes after they received the call, but the shoot
ing was already over.
Negron said the gunman had killed eight people
and then took his own life. Five other people were
wounded, two of which are in critical condition.
Police identified the gunman as Robert A.
Hawkins.
Witnesses at the time of the shooting claim
Hawkins was firing from the third floor balcony of
the Von Maur Store. Hawkins body was found on
the third floor, apparently
due to a self inflicted
wound, and his victims were
found on the second and
REDC coffee shop named "Clark Café" in ceremony
By Michelle Quail
stcyfivriter
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The REDC coffee shop was officially named
Clark Café during a ceremony Wednesday morning,
Nov 28 in honor of productive donor George Clark.
Members of the development staff feel Clark and
his family are most deserving of recognition. A
$5(X).000 donation to the school came from the
Clark family, and Clark's Snap-tite Company.
One person attending the ceremony was the
Director of Development Margie Taylor. She men
tions that the ceremony ran very smoothly. "I
thought it was a wonderful way to recognize the
family. We unveiled the plaque, Dr. Burke talked
about the family's generosity. and we cut a cake. It
was a nice way to say thank you."
Taylor expresses her appreciation for the family's
contributions, saying "George Clark was very
active with our council fellows. He chaired the
Corporate Grand Destiny Campaign. The Clarks are
just a great Erie family. They care about their
employees, and are a wonderful legacy that we can
all recognize by affiliating them with our products."
Taylor says the developmental staff began deciding
which donor to recognize last year. When they
announced that they were looking for prospective
donors. Clark's son, Gary. informed them the fami
ly was interested. As the Vice President of Snap
the, Gary Clark calls Behrend the "Go-to college of
the region... He devotes much of his time to Penn
State Behrend. according to Taylor.
Clark says, "My family and I felt very happy to
do it. My father spent a considerable amount of
years as a volunteer with higher education at both
Behrend and Gannon Universities." The family has
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Second tour of duty continued from page 1
trip. The tour will end in 2009, which will be
around the same time when his active duty status
will be over. This doesn't make the trip any better
for him, though. Fuller said that the worst part is
seeing how his nine-year-old son will react when
he goes back. His son understands what Fuller does
for a living, but he doesn't like it. Because Fuller is
never certain that he will come home from his trip,
he tries to give his son advice while he's home.
Despite the hard times he's had to face, Fuller
Source: CNN
third floors
A Von Maur employee, Mickey Vickory, said the
shots started around 1:50 p.m. Once the shooting
commenced, shoppers panicked and fled. Vickory,
some of her co-workers and some shoppers hid in a
back closet of the store. A half hour later, police
instructed them to come out with their hands up.
Another employee, Keith Fidler, said there was an
initial 6 round burst, followed by 20 more shots.
Shawn Vidlak, a witness at the scene of the crime
said the shots initially sounded like a nail gun, so
some assumed it was construction being done on
the store.
Police directed traffic to park across the street
from the mall as they awaited people to leave. They
were then instructed to go to nearby hotel for infor-
mation
This is the second major shooting in a mall this
year. Another shooting occurred in February at
Trolley Square mall in Salt Lake City where 5 peo
ple were shot and killed.
donated on more than one occasion, and they even
have a large scholarship offered at Behrend. "We
made the scholarship 10 years ago because my
father thought it was very important to help out stu
dents with money issues." Clark adds, "After my
father passed we decided that doing this would be
reflecting what was taught about running our busi-
Many students make trips to the café daily, and
many of them are from either the Black School of
Business or the School of Engineering. Whether it
is for a cup of coffee, a sit-down lunch, or a study
place, students enjoy the convenience of the Clark
Café. It is facilitated for students to connect outside
the classroom, and that was what George Clark
wanted, according to Gary. "It goes along with my
father's business philosophy. Having a naming
opportunity that fits in with company beliefs is sig
nificant," he says.
"You know what I found interesting..." Clark
says. "The Clark Café sign is actually made out of
my father's signature. The last name 'Clark' is
copied directly from his writing and the word
'Café' was modeled after his pen stroke."
Clark's company, Snap-tite, was able to give so
much to the school because of the Pennsylvania
Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC),
which allows companies invest a portion of their
corporate tax liability in programs that provide
unique academic enrichment experiences for chil
dren.
Snap-tite, Inc. has seven manufacturing plants in
Erie, and offices distancing as far as Ireland. It has
over 750 employees worldwide. Snap-tite is respon
sible for fluid power components, which are used
for irrigation, industrial use, and namely municipal
fire fighting.
said that joining the Guard was "one of the best
things I could have done." Not only does he have
money for school through the G.I. Bill and other
scholarships for being a veteran, Fuller said that he
now has a new outlook on life. "I started looking at
situations in life differently," he said. To him,
mowing the grass or having cool new things isn't
that big of a deal anymore. He has seen and still has
yet to experience much bigger things.
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Letter bomb explosion kills woman in Paris
PARIS, France A French woman was killed
Thursday, after she detonated a bomb disguised as a
mail package. The explosive package was sent to a
law office building located on the Boulevard
Maleshebes in Paris, where the victim worked as an
assistant. A nearby lawyer was also seriously
injured by the explosion, but none of his injuries
were life-threatening.
The office that was attacked mostly deals with
civil work. Paris prosecutor Jean-Claude Mann
claims Paris law enforcement is unsure why the
building was targeted. Officials also do not know
who the package was addressed to, because of blast
damage.
According to French Interior Minister Michele
Alliot-Marie, a courier delivered the letter bomb
moments before it detonated at 12:50 p.m (6:50
a.m. ET). Alliot-Marie said the package contained
two explosive devices, one of which failed to deto
nate.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe commented on the
attack, stating that it was "a despicable act which
Joe Paterno inducted into College Football Hall of Fame
By Rob Davis
staff writer
rkdso23CfPpsu.edu
Paterno coached the Nittany Lions for 42 years
This past Tuesday, our famed and beloved Penn
State Football coach Joe Paterno was inducted into
the College Football Hall of Fame. This comes after
a delayed induction from last year when Paterno
fractured his leg. Paterno is more than qualified for
the Hall of Fame. He has had a record 42 seasons as
head coach, two national titles, five undefeated sea-
sons and 371 career wins. His contract is up in 2008
but Paterno believes he could coach for at least
another three to four years if his health permits.
Jokingly, Paterno said a finale to his career would be
to "Drop dead at the end of the game after you kick
E-mail Lamy' Sanith. at itau.edu if you are interested!
Iraq war forum continued from page 1
and non-combatants and made sure citizens knew
where fighting would take place so that they would
be away from the immediate area. He also lobbied
strongly against the use of nuclear or any radioactive
weapons.
"The blanket bombings at the commencement of
the war, the whole 'shock and awe' approach, that
was not justified," said McFee. He went on to state
that he was terrified from a religious standpoint of
the talks that our country may suspend Habeas
Corpus (which safeguards individual freedom
against arbitrary state action).
He also outlined what he would like to see to
make the war seem conducted in a more morally jus-
tified manner.
"We need to commit the resources to rebuild Iraq
in a way that is respectful to the people that live
there," he said. "I'd also like to see a concrete plan
laid out concerning the justice that will be done to
those who committed heinous acts under Sadaam
Hussein. There also needs to be a plan made for the
soldiers that are returning. We need to give them
care, and it's been said recently that it may take up
to 20 years. I'd like to see a plan made for that."
During the Q&A session that followed the open
ing discussion, the panelists were asked a number of
questions about their views and previous statements
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must be condemned... It is my duty to first express
my strongest condemnation of such a serious act,
my compassion for the victim and her next of kin
and for all the people who have been traumatized
and shocked by such an act."
Officials speculated that the office may have been
mistaken for different establishments housed in the
building. The building contained the former law
firm of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the
office for a foundation that is dedicated to
Holocaust memorials. Serge Klarsfield, a Nazi war
criminal hunter that is associated with the
Holocaust memorial foundation claims he sees no
reason why the office would be targeted for an
attack.
Witnesses of the attack state emergency workers
rushed to the building moments after the blast.
Police and firemen quickly blocked off the entire
street which is lined with law offices. Security was
strict everywhere near the building for hours after
the attack.
the winning field goal. - and then. "they carry you
off the field and everyone's singing. "So long, Joe! -
In light of his induction, Paterno held court in
Beaver Stadium lounge for the press to listen to him
speak for 90 minutes while he reminisced about his
past. In a move of extreme modesty. Paterno said
this about his induction, "Obviously, I'm flattered
and it's nice to he in the Hall of Fame. But I hope
people understand, nobody gets there by them
selves."
Paterno originally had no intention of coaching
after leaving Brown, hut when his former coach Rip
Engle moved to Penn State in 1950. he requested
Joe help assist him coach. It took Paterno three or
four years to become fully comfortable with his new
position. Initially, his parents were very upset that
he . took the assistant coach position. It wasn't until
1966 when Engle retired that Paterno took over as
head coach. Looking hack, Paterno says his great
est career disappointment was losing 14-7 to
Alabama in the national title at the 1978 Sugar
Bowl.
Most are aware that Patent() is more than just the
head football coach of Penn State, he is an icon and
an inspiration. Paterno has done much for the uni
versity outside of sports and demands high academ
ic standards from his players. He has even donated
over $4 million to Penn State University, which has
named a library after him. Some have been cam
paigning for Paterno to step down, claiming he is no
longer capable to coach. Paterno is always looking
to improve Penn State and our football team.
Paterno said this about his career. "Deep down. I
feel I've had an impact. I don't feel I've wasted my
56 years...lf 1 did, I would have gotten out a long
time ago. -
Recently, it was announced that Paterno's salary
for this year is approx. $500,000. A minimal amount
when compared to the salaries of other college foot
ball coaches. Bobby Bowden. head coach of Florida
State brings in $1.5 million each year.
-Matthew Schwabenbaur contributed to this article
concerning the war. One of the questions an audi
ence member asked concerned whether or not the
war had anything—or everything—to do with oil,
and if the war was motivated by real politics that
were "shrouded in a moral cloak."
"I don't want to say that the war is definitely about
oil," said McFee. "But, when someone like Alan
Greenspan says something like that, it's definitely
something I started to think and read about. If that
is the case, then I don't think that Bush had a moral
ly justified reason to go to war."
Shaw jumped in next, saying, "I really don't
believe that this is a war of last resort. Three or four
years before the war started, things weren't all that
different in Iraq, so if we weren't that scared then,
why were we when we decided to go to war?"
Gamble finished the question by saying that, "I
think this is a situation that happens maybe once in
a generation. We have the wrong President at the
wrong place and the wrong time. A few errors have
compounded with time and had tragic results, and
there may be too many people loyal to President
Bush. I think that some of the brightest people in the
country didn't have the guts to stand up to him and
say 'hey, what you're doing is wrong."