2 I The Behrend Beacon
Abortion issue controversial at Clinton rally
By Rachel Reeves
opinion editor
rcrsos7@psu.edu
Not all of the 3,000 people who turned out on
Tuesday to hear Hillary Clinton speak did so in sup
port of the presidential candidate. Over 50 protes
tors formed a picket line stretching in front of the
Mercyhurst campus before the event began.
The protest was the culmination of a week-long
conflict between the Roman Catholic-affiliated col
lege and the Erie catholic community.
Last week, the Bishop of the Erie Diocese,
Donald Trautman, spotted a political ad in the
Mercyhurst student newspaper, the Merciad. In the
ad. Senator Obama encouraged students to register
to vote. Despite the Bishop’s letter of disapproval,
there is no policy in place forbidding the Merciad
from running a paid political ad.
When he discovered that Senator Clinton was
coming to speak at Mercyhurst, Bishop Trautman
announced his boycott of the Mercyhurst gradua
tion. He did not want people to think that a Roman
Catholic college was supporting a pro-choice candi
date.
The Bishop was not the only one with this point
of view; the Erie-based chapter of the national
group, People for Life, protested the event for the
same reason.
“We do not want people to misunderstand
Mercyhurst’s and the Roman Catholic community’s
affiliation with pro-choice,” said Tim Broderick.
Director of Erie's People for Life and the one who
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By Connor Sattely
entertainment editor
cisso6o@psu.edu
Mikhail Cooperberg feels like he has finally
arrived at Behrend this year. Though he has been
going to his classes the entire year, he spent the fall
semester living off-campus in a new type of living
arrangement through Scott Enterprises.
Cooperberg was one of roughly 18 students who
found that the local Days Inn, roughly a 10-15
minute drive from campus, would be their “dorm
room” for the semester. The option for students to
live there was presented by Scott Enterprises' Tony
Bruno, the Director of Catering, to Penn State
Behrend at the beginning of the school year follow
ing the housing crisis. Fall of 2007 proved to be a
tumultuous span of time for Behrend's Housing and
Food Services, as the school's largest freshman
class entered the campus.
After some students were forced onto the waiting
list. Cooperberg found himself living in the local
Days Inn, for a reduced “long-term” rate.
By the start of Spring semester, the Behrend jun
ior and his “hotel mates” either found off-campus
housing or a place to stay on campus. Cooperberg,
who now lives on the first floor of Ohio, says he's
one of the few who lives in a Residence Hall. “Most
of my friends from the hotel now live in the apart
ments,” he said. “But some found their way to local
Track facility: a new possibility for athletics
Continued from page 1.
team manages to find success in their meets: last
year, Behrend saw 17 ECAC qualifiers, one EC AC
champion and an NCAA qualifier. So, how and why
is Behrend seemingly ignoring such a successful
athletic team?
Chancellor Jack Burke claims that building a new
soccer field and track is something that he would
love to do. “Last year, the issue students had was the
tennis courts,” he says, “and this year, I’m getting a
lot of feedback about the track, so it’s on the sched
ule.”
A preliminary proposal, Burke claims, will be
made to the University to see if the college could
build a track. The money would have to come from
Behrend - no state money can be used to build an
athletic building or fixture (the Junker Center was
built as a “multi-purpose facility,” claims Burke).
So, the financing would come directly from
Behrend, and any fund-raising or donations that
Behrend could get.
“I would love to see an indoor track,” Burke says.
“The problem is, NCAA rules prohibit soccer teams
from having indoor fields, so if it will circle a soc
cer field, it will be outside. Then comes the problem
of turf or sod for the field. A sod field could take up
to three years to grow.”
Coach Cooper would love to see an indoor track
too. “Obviously, an indoor track would be much
better. I mean, we live in northwestern
Pennsylvania,” he says with a chuckle. “An outdoor
track would be unusable for most of the time
organized the protest. When asked why the protests
were on account of abortion, when Senator Clinton
had come to speak about economics, Broderick
said, “It’s obscene for anyone to put their own
financial considerations a priority above this.”
Not many people present seemed too concerned
with the conflict or the protests. “Ultimately, it’s
just a little sidebar,” said Erie resident Amanda
Scott. “By tomorrow, the focus will be on Hillary
and off the Bishop.”
Mercyhurst was careful to clarify the school’s
stance with Senator Clinton before she came on
stage to speak. The college was explicit in explain
ing that Mercyhurst was in no way endorsing or
even affiliating itself with Clinton, and that they
were hosting the event in order to open a learning
outlet to the campus and the entire Erie community.
Although the expectations for Mercyhurst’s
involvement with politics seem unusually strict,
they do not vary from Penn State’s own policies on
the same subject.
An e-mail from the Director of Behrend’s Student
Activities, Dr. Kris Torok, explained that Behrend
does not invite political candidates. It is the cam
paign’s responsibility to scope out possible loca
tions and then propose the event themselves. The
only exception, Dr. Torok said, was if a campus-rec
ognized club or organization invites a candidate to
speak. Also, Behrend is not allowed to endorse any
candidate in any way, from a public announcement
to using a school phone number or school stationary
to express preference.
Spring semester
houses or residence halls.”
As far as his reflections on his stay at the Days
Inn, Cooperberg had mixed feelings. “Of course I
loved the housekeeping,” he laughed, “and the
breakfasts were nice too.”
Those were two of the things that Scott
Enterprises, the owner of the local Days Inn, want
ed to advertise to students next year. Pamela Wolfe,
Scott Enterprises' Director of Sales, mentioned
those as an actual advantage of living in the hotel.
Cooperberg mentioned the inconvenience of the
transportation - a van paid for by the hotel, leaving
at 7 a.m. and returning at 8 p.m. - and the cost of the
rooms as the things he didn't like. “The room was
great, but it's just a completely different experience
from living on-campus,” he said.
As far as whether the deal will continue next year,
Scott Enterprises and Behrend's Office of Student
Affairs are currently discussing whether the option
will be available to students next year. If it is, it will
be presented as another off-campus location, rather
than an extention of the campus. Students still will
sign a living contract, the only difference being they
can opt out of it at any time.
“In the foreseeable future, we can see this offer
continuing for as long as it needs to,” says Wolfe.
“We loved the students, and had a great experience.
We're glad to help.”
between December and March.”
It doesn’t seem like any of the track and field ath
letes would mind an outdoor track over an indoor
practice area, though. Both seem like a dream
come-true scenario to a group of athletes used to
setting up hurdles and dodging incoming cars in a
parking lot.
Kevin Gomey, a sophomore in his second year
with the track team, recalls slipping and falling on
the ice in the lot. He also recalls using a high school
practice space to practice for Behrend. “Last year,
when the weather was nice, we actually went over to
Harbor Creek High School to practice. We just
drove ourselves over there and waited for the high
school athletes to get off the track, then we could
practice for real. I mean, it’s just kind of silly, col
lege athletes waiting to use a high school’s track.”
Interestingly enough, Penn State Altoona has one
of the nicest tracks in the area, according to Gomey.
Athletics sources at the college confirmed that a
track existed, but that there was no track team to use
it. Employees of Altoona explained that the track
was mainly for recreational use, student use, and for
practice areas for other teams.
Gomey, who holds several records for Behrend,
including the 3000 meter “steeplechase” event,
explains that a track like Altoona’s is something that
Behrend athletes have been promised for years.
“There were guys who graduated last year who said
they’d been promised a track since they were fresh
men,” he says. “I just hope that I get to practice on
a track by the time I leave Behrend.”
NEW.
Behrend professor releases short story collection
By Thomas Rawls
staff writer
trrso27@psu.edu
comes in the
release of Spooky
Action at a
Distance and other Stories, a collection of short sto
ries by Behrend's Dr. Tom Noyes, a professor in the
B.F.A. program in creative fiction.
For instance, many tend to think of writers as peo
ple constantly struggling with where to find new
ideas. After all, fresh ideas don’t just stop by the
writer’s house and ask to be written about. Dr.
Noyes says, “Yes they do.” Some of his ideas, he
says, come simply from current events. “But gener
ally,” he added, “ideas don’t come to me from out
side, they grow out of my writing. Writing comes
Professor Tom Noyes,
Vote on new student fee could come soon
Continued from page 1.
“The unique thing about this decision,” Miller
said, “is that students don’t just have a say, they
have control .” One main point of the SGA discus
sion was that possibilities were unlimited. Students
get to decide how the money is spent.
However, students at Behrend are having trouble
finding a voice in the issue. In Wednesday’s SGA
meeting, no students attended the open session. The
debate over the facility proposal, while getting
somewhat heated at times, lasted 10 minutes before
it was tabled for the next week’s meeting.
The disconnect between SGA members and the
student base at Behrend was painfully apparent as
people reported polls conducted with small groups
of friends or clubs. Tripi, the only senator who
seemed to have done random sampling, was one of
the only voices who seemed against the proposal.
Democratic party gains more members
Continued from page 1.
in the conventions due to their prestigious posi
tions. The state has become a keystone in possibly
deciding which of the two remaining Democratic
candidates will be the one to lead the Democratic
charge in the 2008 national presidential election
against now near-assured Republican nominee John
McCain, a senator from Arizona.
The last time that Pennsylvania was relevant in
the Democratic nomination race was in 1984 when
former vice-president Walter Mondale beat
Colorado Senator Gary Hart.
In order to be able to participate in the closed
Democratic Pennsylvania primary, voters had to
Clinton appeals to voters in the region
Continued from page I
the cheers were explosive. Standing in front of a
massive American flag and under giant letters
spelling out “H-l-L-L-A-R-Y,” she opened with a
story about the last time she had been through Erie.
Her bus pulled in late after 2 a.m. to thousands of
waiting supporters, making it a “campaign high
light.”
“The price of everything is going up, and the
means are not,” she said as she began her talk about
economics in Pennsylvania. Her outlined plan
included cutting tax benefits to companies that out
source jobs, making pro-American trade agree
ments, and cutting special interest corporate give
aways. A major part of her speech centered on the
potential for renewable energy, both to “end the
addiction on foreign oil,” and to provide five million
American jobs. Clinton also talked about the
importance of universal healthcare, creating more
preschool and early childhood programs to better
prepare children for school, and getting rid of the No
Child Left Behind program for good. As for the war
in Iraq, Senator Clinton proposed pulling troops out
While many of
the Penn State
Behrend faculty's
awards and accom
plishments may
pass by too quietly
for the whole of the
student body to
hear, they are not to
be understated in
their quality. One
of the most recent
examples of these
accomplishments
register as Democrats before March 23. To get more
Behrend students registered for the primaries and
general election, both SGA and the College
Democrats held voter registration drives. The
College Democrats were able to get roughly
between 110 and 130 students to register with a desk
outside of Bruno’s and some dorm activities.
Erie, along with the other major Pennsylvania
population centers such as Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia, is generally a Democratic city, with 55
percent of those registered belonging to the party.
The city voted to elect Senator John Kerry President
in 2004. Kerry got 54 percent of the Erie vote.
after 60 days. Just as important as bringing them
home safely and responsibly, she said, is to “provide
care for our troops once they are home.”
To close her 45-minute speech, Clinton discussed
rising college costs. When she asked the audience
how many people were currently paying off college
debt, almost every hand sprang into the air. Clinton
said that she believed the government should sup
port America in its pursuit of higher education. A
modern-day GI Bill was on her list of proposals,
along with direct aid grants with minimal interest
rates and cutting debt for professionals in the teach
ing and law enforcement fields.
With “God bless Erie, and God bless America,”
Clinton ended her speech and stimulated a parting,
roaring cheer. Most seemed to think that the
evening, long wait included, was a valuable experi
ence. Both Sara Lebine and Lisa Meyer, juniors at
Gannon University, felt that the speech resonated
with them on a personal level, especially when
Clinton talked about healthcare and cutting college
costs. “We waited outside for two and a half hours,
but it was definitely worth it,” said Lebine.
Friday, April 4, 2008
first, and ideas follow from interesting words or
phrases.”
But what about writer's block? How can you write
first, without ideas? Dr. Noyes explained that “even
if you don't have ideas, you can always resort to
writing crappy material. Writer's block isn't a block.
It should be called a ‘writer’s process.’ The more
you write, the more often you get ideas. Once you
write what you know about, you start getting inter
ested in the language itself, and ideas can come out
of that.”
Insecurity, though, says Noyes, can be an obsta
cle. When asked about whether or not he ever found
himself concerned with the opinions of others in
regard to his writing, he replied, “Yes. Every word.
Always. When people comment on an author's
work, it causes concern. Writing is a constant strug
gle between under-confidence and overconfidence.”
Dr. Noyes’s experience comes from a long list of
influences, two of the more prevalent being the
recently deceased Andre Dubus, and Darrell
Spencer, a former teacher of his at Ohio University,
where Dr. Noyes earned his Ph.D.
His interest didn’t start in college, though. From
early childhood onward, Noyes remembers, reading
and writing consistently took the front page in the
giant newspaper that is life. He’s written journalisti
cally, for sports, and others, but his college experi
ences, he says, and Deryl Spencer, assisted him in
making the decision to move to fiction writing—an
assistance he now pays forward to the students of
the Behrend campus.
“SGA’s charge is to reflect the purposes of stu
dents,” says Miller, who serves as the SGA’s advi
sor. “Each representative has constituent bases they
should be talking to. The problem is, most students
just don't have an interest in student government.”
The SGA is considering holding an open-forum
discussion to try to gamer the attention and opinions
of Behrend students. If such a thing were to happen,
Gilson says, the SGA would send an e-mail to every
single student at Behrend. Until then, he insists, the
best way to voice your opinion is to simply show up
at the SGA meetings. Every Wednesday at 5 p.m.,
the SGA will open up each session with a open-dis
cussion period in Reed 114 for any students who
wish to have their voice heard.
“If you want to have your opinion heard,” says
Gilson, “The best way is to come and tell us your
self.”