2 I The Behrend Beacon Over 130 killed in Iraq crackdown BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government has imposed a curfew in Baghdad which restricts all pedestrian and vehicle traffic until Sunday. The curfew has been put in place in light of the recent rise in fighting between Shia militias and Iraqi security forces. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki ordered a crackdown on Shia militias in the southern city of Basra. There are more than 30,000 troops involved, but the militias are still in control of many densely populated areas. Since the operation began, over 130 people have died. U.S. embassy staff have been ordered not to leave reinforced structures, and to wear protec tive gear at all times, even within the Green Zone. “Personnel should only move outside of hard cover for essential rea- Spring break spent helping others in Miss. > V Students from Behrend pose at the beach after working on areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Continued from page 1. many individuals and their struggles have not gone what they are given with positive attitudes. Powers unnoticed. The work and renovations to restore the explained that he kept in mind how fortunate he was areas so immensely torn apart is making its way and being there helping people who literally had down a long road to recovery. Barr stressed that nothing was the best feeling for him. "people have a tendency to get caught up in their “The companionship of everyone made the work day to day lives and simply forget those who are so load seem less than exhausting.” Cadman said. "We much less fortunate than all of us here in Erie.” The had a purpose and we were proud to help people hurricane took the lives of many individuals and the with such positive attitudes.” importance of these participants in the Alternative Katrina had extremely devastating affects on so Spring Break trip certainly docs not go over looked. First-hand account of McGarvey blood drive By Nick Haller staff w riter nphs()l 2(?'psu.edu Giving blood. Many students hate to do it because we can’t think of having a huge needle in our arms and then actually have blood taken out as well. The thought honestly grosses me out a bit too. But on the Wednesday afternoon of March 25. many students went to McGarvey Commons and donated their time and blood to the Erie Community Blood bank, and I was one of them. Giving blood is quite a process. First, you have to sign in and fill out a questionnaire, then you wait. And after you wait you get to sit down in this closed blue cubicle, once you are in the inflicting of pain begins. You are pricked on the finger and tested to make sure everything is alright and then off to the circle of chairs. Once in the chair, the blood bank gives you a heart shaped stress ball and the nurse asks you to squeeze three times and on the third on hold...for those who have given blood you know what’s com ing on the hold, and for those who haven't I’ll let you think about it. Luckily, I was the first one in there, so the wait ing process was not that dreadful for me as it may have been for the others. As I was giving blood I noticed the large crowd that piled into McGarvey Quotes on Civility "It is in the shelter of each other that people live." Irish proverb Janet Neff Sample Center Kfl for Manners it Civility Source: CNN, BBC News sons. Essential outdoor movements should be sharply limited in duration,” an Embassy state ment read. “Personal protective equipment is mandatory for all outside movements.” President Bush praised Maliki for ordering the operation, claiming “normalcy” is returning to Iraq. The fighting spread into Baghdad on Thursday, with Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr calling for an end to the attacks on his followers. The crackdown is aimed at “rogue” Shia mili tias, but such force threatens to undermine a seven-month cease-fire from the Shia militias. An unnamed American official died on Thursday due to the fighting, the second American death in Iraq this week. In a speech broadcast on Iraqi national televi son, Maliki said “We have made up our minds to enter this battle and we will continue until the end. No retreat.” Commons to give blood. By 11:30 a.m. all the seats were full and all the waiting chairs were full as well. 1 was impressed at the crowd that was on hand, because there was no way I expected 20 or more people before noon. When you arc giving blood, a few things can hap pen. One. they can’t get the needle in right; two, your blood flows at a turtle's speed and you are there for longer than you expected; three, you feel dizzy, and four, you pass out. During my time there I witnessed the third possi bility. someone gelling dizzy. Now this whole dizzy thing kind of bugs me. I mean they just stick something in you that’s not supposed to be there, you may get a little dizzy right? Well this Penn State Behrend student got to the point where her eyes started to fade, and then bam, seat tilted back can of coke in hand and wash cloth on the head, and you arc as good as new’. Those nurses sure are on top of their game, they were prepared for anything. One nurse said, "First time donors seem to psych themselves out and that's why most of them get dizzv." When you're done the best part comes, free snacks and drinks for the next ten minutes. All in all the experience was just like the last 10 that I have encountered but the first here at Behrend, and I am pleased to say the turnout was awesome and the fact you save a life makes it even better. TEW» Kansas man convicted of killing six women KANSAS CITY - Tony Blair, a Kansas City res ident was convicted of murderingsix women on Thursday, all of which were lolled in 2004. Blair, 46, was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder by Jackson County Judge John R. O’Malley. The causes of death for Sheikh McKinzie, 38; Anna Swing, 42; Patrick Wilson Butler, 45; Darci I. Williams, 25; Carmen Hunt, 40; and Claudette Junkl, 31 could not be immediately determmed, due to the bodies Blair avoided the death penalty by agreeing to be tried by a judge as opposed to a jury. Blair was first charged with the murder of Sheikh McKinzie in 2004 due to Blair’s semen being found on her corpse. Blair initially told prosecutors he didn’t know McKinzie, but defense attorneys argued there was no proof Blair killed her. The bodies weft tiiscovered in an area of Kansas City promineotwith prostitutes and drug Students prepare for life after graduation nel existed. Now I see it. Now its finally here. And as excited as I am to leave and start my new life, I am in some ways sad to leave Behrend because I Seniors are excited about not registering next have so man y g°°d memories and have made some semester and their goals after graduating. According * >est fronds I ve ever had here, to the registrar office, there are 407 Jessica Carlson, a communication seniors looking forward to graduat- me( ha studies major said, My ing this May. :oal after graduating is to get a job Erin Mathes, a psychology major 'hh in the realm of communica and biology minor said “after grad- lons mec^*a studies somewhere uating, I wanted to find a job and 1 *h e greater-Pittsburgh area. It is have health insurance again. It ist as much a relief to be done with feels amazing about not registering ; h° o ' as ' l ’ s nerve-wracking to for next semester and go to the real mc * a career anc * enter the real world,” said Mathes. ' sa *d Carlson. Eden Roseborough, a double Chri s LaFuria, a communication major in Computer Engineering anc * mec ** a studies major said. My and Electrical Engineering said “As of now, I plan , S oa * a^ter graduating, I hope to use on working for at least a year or two. I’ve also been m y s^tl^s to get a job to pay the bills. Not register- thought to grad school recently and I may * n B semester and go to the real world, It s a decide to pursue that down the road. I also have a lot strange feeling but I m the show and I must go on of personal and spiritual goals that I plan on giving sa ’d LaFuria. more attention to ” Andrew McLachlan, a communication and media By Walaa Ahmad staff writer wmalo9@psu.edu “It is very strange for not registering next semes- studies major said, After graduating, I want to get ter,” said Roseborough. “There were so many times a J 0 s sort depressing, said McLachlan, I when I was struggling during my college career and en j°y scheduling classes and seeing the possible I wasn’t even sure that a light at the end of the tun- courses ta^e - Behrend students go through naturalization By Krista Jones staff writer kejso39@psu.edu Walaa Ahmad and her brother, Wael are two out of many who have in the past year taken a very impor tant test in America. Walaa has taken the citizenship test which should allow her to become a permanent resident of the United States. Bom in Sudan, Walaa has moved three different times in her life, living first in Africa, then moving to Iraq, Jordan and final ly the United States. She arrived on Feb 1, 2001 and has lived here for just over seven years now. Walaa has passed the exam required to gain citi zenship, however she has not yet been granted her citizenship. There is an actual ceremony for that and she awaits the letter that tells her where and when it is. At this ceremony she is required to bring her green card —a card that gives a person official immi gration status in the United States—with her, where she will return it in exchange for her citizenship. Walaa began the process to become a citizen last year. When she began attending college, she decid ed she wanted to become a permanent U.S. citizen. She applied to take the citizenship test during the summer of 2007. “The application process was extremely long, but it was not difficult,” says Walaa. The application comes from the Citizen and Immigration Services, and the applicant must have a •'Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind lead'singer" will" "; give a speech in support of Sen. Barack Obama before his band performs at the Junker Center. When: April 4 Time: 3:30 p.m. Where: Reed 117 This event is sponsored by the College Democrats. For more information contact Josh Snyder at r i O jsssl66@psu.edu Friday, March 28, 2008 dealers. O’Malley criticized Kansas city police for allowing an A&E television camera crew to fol low them while detectives investigated the case. The judge claimed the presence of the cameras caused faulty police work, and allowed the defense more opportunities to dispute evidence. “In my opinion it is extremely unfortunate that the Kansas Gty, Mo., Police Department suc cumbed to the temptation to have this immense tragedy filmed for the amusement of television viewers who are accustomed to imaginary blood and posed copses,” said O’Malley. “I am com fortable advising the police department on behalf of a large segment of the taxpayers that they are not being compensated to satisfy a television pro ducer, they are being paid to safeguard the pub lic.” green card to apply. After the application is turned in, all that is left to be done is to wait. Walaa was finally able to take her citizenship exam on March 5, 2008. “The test was not difficult at all,” she says, “It just had a bit of American History and Government. It was just the basics." “I really like living in the United States," Walaa says, “It’s a good place to live.” Her parents were from Eritrea, a country bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Indian Ocean. It is located on the eastern side of Africa. While her parents were from Eritrea, they moved to Sudan before she was born and then to Iraq. “I don’t have too many memories from my younger years. I lived in Jordan when I was thirteen and it was a fun place,” she says. When Walaa and her family came to the United States, they lived in Pittsburgh. They moved to Erie not long ago. Walaa admits to truly loving Pittsburgh. “I really like the education here,” she says, “But living here in Erie makes me miss Pittsburgh. I had a lot of fun living there.” Walaa and her brother await the ceremonial letter that will allow them to permanently secure their citizenship, expecting it will come soon.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers