The Behrend Beacon I 4
The Behrend
Beacon
Foi ndki) in 1948
Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College
Reed Union Building
4701 College Drive, Erie PA
16563
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Christopher LaFuria, Editor in Chief
Andy McLachlan, Co-Editor in Chief
Scott Muska, Managing Editor
Tiffany Flynn, Advertising Manager
Michelle Quail, Advertising Editor
Kim Young, Faculty Adviser
Editorial Staff
Lenny Smith, News Editor
Matt Schawenbauer, asst. News Editor
Rachel Reeves Opinion Editor
Jess Carlson, Sports Editor
Scott Muska, Student Life Editor
Ryan P. Gallagher, Music Editor
Chris Brown, Copy Editor
Jennifer Juncosa, Copy Editor
Jeremy K., Humor/Photography Editor
Connor Sattely, Entertainment Editor
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1 The First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution
Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof ; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the
press ; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a
( redress of grievances.
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- Junker Road
Student is tired of limited choices
By Connor Sattely
entertainment editor
cisso6o@psu.edu
As a first-year student entering
the campus for the first time, I
was pretty impressed with the
food choices on campus. I could go to a
pretty good cafeteria up the hill, or I
could go to a cafe named after a dead
animal for some variety. It was a novel
idea for a student whose high school had
one choice, formally known as “lunch
lady surprise."
Then came my first trip to University
Park. I had been there on a tour, but
never really got to “know” the campus
until my friend took me on my first stroll
down College Avenue. 1 felt my alle
giance to the Bruno's and Dobbins' staff
waning as I surveyed the seemingly end
less choices of food which was available
to students. Subway, Jimmy John's, even
a Hooters down the street. Two
Starbucks. Two. I felt like notifying
Lewis Black. Aside from the commer
cial chains set up on campus, there were
also many cafeterias to choose from.
After having several meals at UP, I
returned to Behrend.
The next day. I grudgingly made my
way to Dobbins and got my normal
You have two guards who are guarding two doors.
One guard tells the truth. One guard lies under oath.
Accountability
not necessarily
By Rachel Reeves
opinion writer
rcrsos7@psu.edu
We all have our addictions. TV shows
that we simply cannot miss, our cell
phone within easy reach, that drink at
the end of the day, the person who our
lives are empty without. My own per
sonal addiction is coffee. I plan my
mornings around twenty minutes with
my soup bowl-sized mug, and my day
cannot start until I take that first sip of
piping hot, black coffee. Some of our
addictions are socially acceptable; oth
ers are not. Some addictions don’t inter
fere with our daily lives too badly; but
then others do.
Erie Police Lt. Robert J. Liebel has an
all-consuming, life-wrecking brand of
addiction. On Sunday, 12 grams of
cocaine went missing from the evidence
locker, and after an accusation led to an
inspection, Lt. Liebel confessed to steal
ing it for his own use. He is currently in
the Crawford County Correctional
Facility on $lOO,OOO bond.
It’s not just drug misdemeanor. It’s
tampering with evidence, and obstruc
tion of justice. Lt. Leibel worked on the
Erie police force for 22 years - the con-
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cheeseburger/fries combo for lunch, and
a stir-fry for dinner. I thought, “I'll
change things up tomorrow and get
bacon on my cheeseburger.”
Now, wait a second. I realize that
University Park is literally at least ten
times as large as Behrend, and propor
tionally, there should be more food
choices there than at Behrend. Let's con
servatively assume that there are fifty
I doubt that I'm the only
student that would not
mind paying a little
extra to grab a bucket
of the scientific marvel
"sauce-less hot wings"
from KFC.
choices for food on the University Park
campus, including all cafeterias, restau
rants, and fast-food outlets.
According to PSU's "Fact Sheet”
online, University Park enrolled over
36,000 undergraduate students in the
2006 fall semester. Behrend has almost
exactly 1/10 the amount, rolling in at
3,600 undergraduate students.
Shouldn't Behrend, then, have one
Yeah. The FBI can’t figure it out, either.
cept of justice was obviously important
enough to constitute a life’s work. Yet
he abandoned the ideal for his addiction.
This is why this situation is a much
bigger deal than DiVecchio’s snowplow
ing scandal. Although DiVecchio did
abuse county time and manpower to
have his driveway plowed four or five
times in the past two years (and neglect
to pay a parking ticket, and boost a pri
vate business) it is a minor kind of cor
ruption that can be checked.
Humans are human,
even if they have been
with the police force for
22 years, or were elect
ed County Executive.
Addiction, however, is bigger than just
one person, or even a group of people.
The Erie police force is acting accord
ingly, and making the evidence lockers
much more secure. Previously, up to 14
people had access to the locker. Now,
only one person has the key. Also being
taken under consideration is adopting
the practice of weighing controlled sub-
keeps systems,
people straight
tenth of the food choices? Asking for
five choices for food on a campus of
over 3,600 undergraduate students does
not seem unreasonable. And don't get
me wrong, I'm not asking for a Ruth’s
Chris to pop up on Jordan Avenue. All
I'm wondering as a first-year student is
why Behrend can't entice (though,
something tells me they'd hardly need
enticing) Subway to open a shop on
campus? McDonalds? Pizza Hut?
I don't want to be misunderstood when
I say that I want more food choices on
the campus. I think that Dobbins and
Bruno's have good choices. I doubt that
I'm the only student that would not mind
paying a little extra to grab a bucket of
the scientific marvel “sauce-less hot
wings” from KFC.
I keep hearing people talk about how
Behrend is committed to keeping stu
dents on campus and not having them
transfer to University Park. It seems to
me like the average college student
should be able to name the top three
things he or she loves right away; two of
them should probably include “food”
and “sleep.”
And, as the mysterious, narcoleptic
hoodie-donning student who sits in the
back of my Psychology class would say,
we have the sleeping part covered.
stances before they are secured in the
locker.
Humans are human, even if they have
been with the police force for 22 years,
or were elected County Executive. And
even if they try their hardest and fully
believe in their work, people make mis
takes and bad decisions. Everyone needs
accountability. Whether our weaknesses
are dangerous or just inconvenient, we
need someone who will tell us that we
have a crossed a line. DiVecchio had a
County Controller. Lt. Leibel had a jus
tice system that was bigger than he was.
It’s something to keep in mind in the
upcoming election. It’s not about select
ing the perfect candidate; the one who
has walked the line their entire life, and
doesn’t have one black mark on their
record. It’s about selecting the person
whose greatest strengths match up with
the country’s greatest weaknesses, about
picking the general direction we would
like to see things head towards. Then all
we can do is trust the accountability that
has been set up, like checks and bal
ances, free speech and free press.
The important thing is not that human
nature is flawed. The important thing is
that we accept it, and look out for it, and
find ways to correct it.
1 think the world needs...
To wait until the clock runs out. Teams walk off the
field/court with seconds left. Political candidates drop out
of the race after only 13% of the country has voted.
Students drop classes before they actually fail them. What
would happen if everyone saw everything through to the
end? Would life as we know it be in shambles, or can you
change everything in the very last second?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Take pride in
Behrend’s
basketball
By Rachel Reeves
opinion editor
rcrsos7@psu.edu
Walking into Junker Center for
my first basketball game at
Behrend was like walking
into another college. The stands were
fairly full; enough so that finding a seat
for three people was challenging. At
one end of the court there was an actual
student section, complete with mega
phones, painted bodies and a mascot.
There was even a pep band leading
them on - and they were good.
I was shocked. I have been to other
Behrend sporting events, and none of
them were like this. Soccer games in the
beginning of the year were sparsely
populated, swim meets were vacant,
and tennis invitationals were complete
ly abandoned. Considering that so
much of Behrend’s population is
involved in a varsity, if not a club sport,
I could never understand this tendency
to ignore competitions of any kind.
When I did decide to go to a basketball
game, I expected to find the same level
of apathy.
But it was loud. I could hear the
cheers the second I opened the doors.
When the referee made a bad call, the
crowd let him know that they saw it.
When someone made an amazing play,
the cheerleaders weren’t the only ones
excited about it. And the barely discem
able chants like, “Start the buses!” and
“It's all over!” reminded me of count
less other sporting events, from high
school to university level.
When I did decide to
go to a basketball
game, / expected to
find the same level of
apathy.
Everyone was wearing school colors:
t-shirts, baseballs hats, even jerseys
from other sports. I had never seen so
much support for Behrend, not
University Park, in one place. Just the
fact that the word “Behrend” was in
most of the cheers and the songs was
unusual. It was like for one night, we
didn’t need to associate with another
campus. For one night, we were pretty
good as we were.
I learned some things. One, that our
basketball team is good. They are unde
feated at home, and have the best scor
ing defense in Division 111 Men’s bas
ketball. They are sitting on top of the
AMCC right now, and have a good shot
at taking the regular season title. I also
learned that if you attend a basketball
game, you have a really good chance at
getting a free t-shirt out of the deal. And
spending a frigid winter evening in a
bright, warm gym with your friends is
not a bad way to go.
For once I felt connected to my fel
low students. A bunch of us were in the
same place, caring about the same thing
- supporting the team that was ours and
nobody else’s. For once students were
actually enjoying being a part of the
school, and taking pride in it. Or as a
friend put it, “It’s just one of those
moments when you realize that you are
at college, and it’s a bigger deal than
high school ever was.”
So we can’t have our own football
team. But football season is over any
ways, and we do have a great basketball
team to support. We are having a phe
nomenal season, and everyone should
take advantage of this ridiculous suc
cess. So this Saturday or Wednesday
night, haul out of your room or your
apartment and make the trek up to the
gym. It’ll be worth the walk.