Friday, March 21, 2008
CNN: Special Investigations Unit anchor Soledad O’Brien visits Behrend
By Rachel Reeves
opinion editor
rcrsos2@psu.edu
When Soledad O’Brien stood to speak in
McGarvey Commons on Tuesday night, it was
with a definite air of ownership. It was clear that
she had worked hard, sacrificed much and that she
had earned her position.
O’Brien has come a long way from the little girl
who watched the nightly news with her family
and created a domestic publication with her sib
lings. She began her higher education as a pre
med student, but soon realized that medicine was
not what she was made for. To bide some time,
O’Brien began her career with an internship at a
small market TV station and ended up discovering
her vocation.
“I didn’t care if I was going to be the coffee girl
for the rest of my life. Everything about it was just
so exciting
However, for a young woman of mixed Cuban
and Australian heritage, breaking into the busi
ness proved harder than usual. One station even
told her that they had a place for one black broad
caster, but that O’Brien was not dark-skinned
enough to take the job. Yet another requested that
she change her first name, saying that “Soledad”
was too complicated. O'Brien’s refusal cost her
the opportunity.
O'Brien's story is one of dogged perseverance
or as she called it. “outplaying the ref.” She fond
ly recalled her mother’s favorite piece of advice,
"Most people are idiots, lovie,” when talking
about her refusal to give up and go home.
O'Brien’s hard work started to pay off and she
began to move through the ranks of NBC. Starting
at a local affiliate, she eventually worked her way
up to reporting nationally for the Today Show and
the Nightly News. Some of the most memorable
stories under her coverage were John F. Kennedy
Jr.’s tragic plane crash, the Challenger Space
Shuttle disaster and the War in Iraq.
In 2003. O'Brien moved to CNN. She traveled
to New Orleans to cover the wreckage after
Hurricane Katrina and interviewed the th6n head
of FEMA. Michael Brown. She reports for the
Special Investigations Unit, and occasionally fills
in for Anderson Cooper on Anderson Cooper 360.
Internet connection speeds
increased
in residency halls
Bv Matthew Schwabenbauer
assistant news editor
mjss3B7fepsu.cdu
All Penn State students that use internet con
neetions hosted by the University have received
a major upgrade to their service. Residential
Computing sent an e-mail to all students that
live in residence halls on March 14 which gave
the specifics of the changes and reasons for
them.
According to the e-mail, the
increase in internet capabilities
comes from student requests for
improved internet. The upgrade
is only a trial lasting the
remainder of the semester, but
will determine the internet limi-
tations imposed on students
during the fall 2008 semester.
In addition to a 120 percent increase in gen
eral internet capacity, the weekly upload and
download limits have been raised from two
gigabytes to four gigabytes. To avoid any
unfairness to students whose service may have
been revoked due to misuse, all upload and
download violations have been expunged.
Many students have been anticipating this
change for quite some time. Complaints from
students about campus internet generally
include slow speeds, harsh download restric
tions, and frequent interruptions.
“Our internet was basically unusable from
about twelve to five,” said freshman Shane
Appel. “It’s really frustrating when you are try
ing to do research or play a game and your
browser takes minutes to load a page, if it can
at all.” Now that the student connections have
News
Opinion..
Humor...
DEintnusmoti
“Oar internet was
basically unusable
from about tweivc 'to
five.” - ; e
. * i L.. . /-
Contents
..1-2 Entertainment 6
4 Student Life 7
..5 Music...
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
Daniel Smith/CONTRIBUTHD PHOTO
CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien speaks to a packed McGarvey Commons about her career, her family, and finding a way to balance both while doing it all.
One ever-important facet of O’Brien's career is
role models. When working on the Today Show.
Katie Couric would take her aside tor a few
moments and make suggestions or minor correc
tions. “As long as you are open to criticism."
O’Brien said, “you can get what you need to get
ahead.” Then, when O’Brien was in need of an
agent and went to Couric for guidance. Couric
suggested that O’Brien simply take her own
agent. “You can be a really good human being and
still be successful,” said O’Brien.
Journalism is only one part of O’Brien’s life.
been upgraded, these shortcomings should be
remedied.
Despite campus internet’s former unreliabili
ty, students are optimistic about the enhance-
“Two gigabytes for the download limit was
way too low,” said freshman Zack Smith. “The
upgrade is welcome, though. I needed a higher
download limit for World of Warcraft.”
The increased speeds and download limit
means students will have
increased capabilities for file
sharing and downloading pirat
ed movies and music. Before,
many students went over the
upload limit unknowingly
because many programs contin
ue uploading music from your
computer even after the down
load has completed. With the increased limits,
situations such as these are no longer an issue.
Despite the increased ease in file sharing,
Residential Computing has advised students
against such behavior. “Students are reminded
to use the new capabilities responsibly and to
abide by all laws and applicable University pol
icy,” Residential Computing stated in the e
mail. “A useful web site to remind yourself of
your responsibilities, as a Penn State student
and citizen, can be found at
http://its.psu.edu/policies/copyright.html.”
Despite what you use your connection for,
you should notice an enhancement in its quali
ty for the rest of the semester. If the change in
policy turns out to be for the best, then the
upgrade will carry into next semester. For more
information about on-campus internet connec
tions, go to www.rescom.psu.edu.
Another demanding yet rewarding role she plays
is that of mother. Balancing her career and raising
her four young children is an art that she is still
learning to master. Learning to take some peo
ples" judgments in stride is proving to he just as
difficult. "As soon as I was in the field, people
would say. ‘where are your kids?" What do they
think I do with them when I'm at the station?"
O'Brien recalls days that began at 4 a.m., mak
ing something for one of her kid’s projects even
before going into work. She also recalls getting on
the plane for Guantanamo, eight and a half
Iraq War five years later
On the five year anniversary of "Shock and Awe ” questions remain
By Chris Brown
copy editor
cmbs3l3fe psux’du
On the night of March 19. 2003 President George W.
Bush announced to the world that "American and coali
tion forces are in the early stages of military operations
to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world
from grave danger.” The attack capped the Bush admin
istrations long campaign for war that began with Bush’s
"Axis of Evil" speech in January 2002, only months
after the devestating terrorist attacks on 9/11. After the
State of the Union speech Bush and other administration
officials traveled the world, visiting the U.N., Europe,
and a host of other nations to try and garner support.
Despite these efforts many long standing allies, includ
ing Germany and France, refused to help the United
States.
In making the case for war. Bush relied on evidence
that Saddam Hussein had failed to disarm his weapons
of mass destruction programs and abide by the terms
ending the first Gulf War. At the same time. Bush insin
uated that there may be links between A 1 Qaeda and
Hussein. In his 2003 State of the Union Speech he said.
“Before September eleventh, many in the world believed
that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical
agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are
not easily contained. Imagine those nineteen hijackers
with other weapons, and other plans - this time armed by
Saddam Hussein.” Only after the war began did the
American public. Congress, and the world learn that
much of the intelligence used in making plans for the
war was either misinterpreted, of dubious origin, or
inconclusive.
By April, American troops had entered Baghdad and
the last remnants of Hussein’s old regime were gone
from power. Just as soon as signs of any visible opposi
tion by Hussein's followers ended, chaos erupted.
Lacking sufficient numbers to maintain security.
American troops were unable to control mass looting of
government offices, stores, and museums. People ran off
We are now on the Web!
Visit us online at www.thebehrendbeacon.com
Vol. LIV No. XVIII
months pregnant. Although O'Brien has somehow
found a way to do it all. "I have always resented
the ‘you have it all’ thing." she said.
If O'Brien does have it all. it's not because she
compromised her heritage, her family, or herself.
It is not because her success fell into her lap. It is
because she got up every day and worked for w hat
she wanted. The message she left the audience
with was simple yet profound - sometimes you
just have to outplay the ref.
with as much as they could carry and chaos ensued.
Then, on May 1. 2003 Bush gave his now infamous
"Mission Accomplished" speech announcing the end of
major combat operations aboard. But the war was far
from over.
A number of increasing spectucular suicide bombings
and attacks soon hinted that there may be problems
ahead on the road to a stable and free Iraq. The United
Nations voted to give an international mandate to the
United States and Britain, giving the two international
legal authority to rebuild the country. Only a few months
later the U.N. left Iraq after a car bomb destroyed their
headquarters.
Despite the carnage, there were bright spots at times.
Iraqis held their first free elections in over 50 years.
They voted and passed a draft constitution. But. troubles
remained and the government is still deeply divided.
Violence continued to worsen. Sectarian and ethnic ten
sions kept in check by Hussein's iron fist came back
with a vengeance, forcing the United States to create
uneasy alliances and opening the door for A 1 Qaeda in
Iraq. Meanwhile, revelations about pre-war intelligence
and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction
raised questions about motives for war.
Five years later, at least over 160.000 Iraqi civilians
dead (estimates vary as high as 1 million), over 4.000
U.S. soldiers dead, many more injured, and somewhere
close to a $1 trillion spent with another $2 billion esti
mated by the time the United States is finished paying
for disabled veterans 50 or more years later. The war has
taken its toll on the soldiers, their families, and the mil
itary overall. Some soldiers have been forced into re
upping through the military’s stop-loss program; also
known as the backdoor draft because regardless of a sol
dier’s intention they must re-enlist. Facing recruitment
and retention shortfalls since the beginning of the war
the military has been forced to reduce its minimum
requirements, taking the highest number of criminals
ever. A burden once shared by others in the "coalition of
See IRAQ on page 2.