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.