The Behrend Beacon I 4
The Behrend
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Christopher LaFuria. Editor-in-Chief
Andy McLachlan. Co-Ed/tor-in-Chief
Scott Muska, Managing Editor
Tiffany Flynn, Advertising Manager
Michelle Quail. Advertising Editor
Kim Young, Faculty Adviser
Editorial Staff
Lenny Smith, News Editor
M. Schwabenbauer, 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
Evan Koser. Copy Editor
Jeremy K.. Humor Photography Editor
Connor Sattely, Entertainment Editor
Keegan McGregor. Photo Editor
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There's a new dance sweeping the
country. No you won't see it on
"Dancing with the Stars" or in the club
on a Friday night; instead, the most
likely place you will find it is the cam
paign trail. It is called the Denounce
and Reject Shuffle. While candidate
flip-flops are inevitable in politics,
however this year comes with its own
unique verbiage. It all started during
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's
debate in Ohio when she insisted that
Obama denounce and reject the sup
port Louis Farrakhan. Since then, the
bug has bitten all the candidates, even
the geriatric John McCain has tried his
hand at the shuffle.
Clinton has had to deal with
Geraldine Ferraro, who has since left
the campaign, when she said “If
Obama was a white man, he would not
be in this position." Inevitably, with
Clinton trying to gain the support df
blue-collar union workers she will
have to start answering questions about
her relationship with Wal-Mart from
1486-1992 when she served on their
board, despite its campaigning against
- Country Fair dark roast | unions.
Email submissions to
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A more embarassing aspect of college life
By Scott Muska
student lift’ editor
srms()B2(3'psu.edu
Throughout my first two years of col
lege. I've gone to a number of parties
and have seen many instances of
absolute debauchery. Eve seen
teenagers participate in all sorts of
events that, under normal circumstances,
would be considered downright embar
rassing. Eve even participated in
some—well, most —of them myself, but
I haven't felt bad about it, because Em a
college student, which means that 1 can
make an absolute fool of myself without
any consequences and without any sign
of disapproval from my peers.
There's one aspect of the party scene
that I will not only refuse to participate
in. but w ill never understand.
That would be the dancing. Okay, not
dancing altogether, because girls that
like to go to parties and cut rug don’t
bother me in the slightest. It’s the guys
that disturb me.
Not guys that just stand on the floor
The denounce and reject shuffle
Bv Chris Brown
cop v editor
cmbs3 I H" psu.edu
She participated in large shareholder
meetings and spoke on Wal-Mart’s
behalf. At a meeting in 1990 she said,
"I'm always proud of Wal-Mart, what
w e do, and the way we do it better than
everyone else." Since then, Clinton
has changed her tune and even omitted
mention of her career at Wal-Mart from
her official biography. Today she
denounces Wal-Mart’s anti-union prac
tices and even returned money donated
How crazy would it be if you opened up the
newspaper, started reading, and found your
OPINION
and move back and forth, but the guys
that have dance-offs. You know what
Em talking about. They get out on the
floor, usually in front of a girl, and com
mence the “body shake.” This is when
they move around like they’re having a
seizure while somehow managing to
stay upright. This is more often than not
accompanied by a lower body move
ment that makes them appear bow
legged.
Em not sure how everyone reacts to a
spectacle like this, but I do know that the
guys doing it usually believe that the
vast majority of women at the party will
immediately fall in love with them, and
I know that I immediately burst into fits
of uncontrollable laughter.
Once Em done laughing and have
some time to actually analyze what
exactly had just transpired, I wonder
what these alleged “dancers” are think
ing. Do they sincerely believe that what
they’ve just done was not only graceful
and a successful mating call, but that
they’ve won the respect of the rest of the
party-goers with their smooth moves?
I imagine that when some of these
to her campaign by Wal-Mart.
Meanwhile, John McCain accepted
the endorsement of controversial evan
gelical minister John Hagee. McCain
said, “all I can tell you is that I am very
proud to have Pastor John Hagee’s sup
port." A surprising statement given
Hagee’s bigoted prejudice against the
Catholics, an important Republican
constiuency according to Karl Rove. In
a video on You Tube. Hagee described
the Catholic Church as the "Great
whore of Revelation 17." Not to be
outdone by the other candidates,
McCain did his own, though dimin
ished, version of the Denounce and
Reject Shuffle. He said, “in no way did
I intend for his endorsement to suggest
that I in turn agree with all of Pastor
Hagee's views, which I obviously do
not.” At least he was trying.
All three candidates have been
forced to shift their stance, either on an
issue or supporter, during this cam
paign. Just as each candidate has their
unique stance on the issues, they all
handled these controversies very dif
ferently. Hillary tried to ignore it and
brushed it under the carpet. McCain
openly accepted it. Obama confronted
it head-on with a major speech. And
while each controversy varies in its
seriousness, I think the responses from
the candidates give us a clue on how
they will handle the presidency.
For McCain, 1 think the endorsement
of Haggee, and his acceptance of it,
displayed his willingness to sacrifice
his image as a self-proclaimed
Maverick in order to ingratiate a con
stituency that has traditionally balked
at supporting him. His stance on the
War on Terror and Bush's tax cuts are
only two more examples of McCain
own words?
e-mail rcrSos7@pBu.edu
guys I've been talking about read this (if
indeed any of them do. which is a long
shot), they'll dismiss me as some uptight
hack that is jealous of their sexual
prowess, but that's not the ease. I’m just
as outgoing as anyone. I just really think
that this particular brand of dancing is
stupid.
If there are people out there that find
something like this attractive, though, it
will deal a crushing blow to my hopes
that society is not drastically declining.
I truly hope that these gentlemen's
assumptions that dancing like idiots will
improve their chances of taking a dime
piece home are ultimately wrong,
because I firmly believe that that is a ter
rible way to go about searching for a sig
nificant other.
Maybe this works for some people,
and maybe some people are attracted to
it. but I know one thing for sure: when I
grow up. if I'm lucky enough to get mar
ried and have children. I will not tell
them that I met my wife while dancing
to “Shake it like a Salt Shaker" at a frat
party.
groveling for support. Will the Straight
Talk Express get de-railed before it
leaves the station'.’
Clinton's waffle on Wal-Mart. Iraq
and NAFTA worry me. While she was
able to eventually come to the right
conclusion on all these issues. 1 can't
help but wonder why she couldn't get
it right the first time around like many
others. Will she be able to answer that
phone at 3 am when there will be no
opportunity to second guess later on?
Obama's handling of the Rev. Wright
controversy revealed his skill in turn
ing what looked like a handicap to an
advantage. He handled the situation
without forfeiting the principles he
chose to base his campaign on. using it
as an opportunity to start a dialogue,
listening to all the sides. Unfortunately,
politics isn't a Disney movie, and the
good guys don't always win. Obama's
failure to identify this problem early in
the campaign revealed his lack of polit
ical acumen.
People need to come to grips with
politics. Politicians aren't perfect, they
are people. Under a powerful enough
microscope even the smoothest surface
has holes in it. At the end of the day. all
politicians will look for ways to further
their interests, to get elected. That
could mean joining a well-known
church in your district to garner local
support (Obama); serving on the board
of the largest company in the state your
husband is governor to curry favor
with Sam Walton (Hillary); or it could
mean accepting the support of a well
known minister from one of your
weakest constituencies (McCain). We
just have to pick our poison.
/ think the world needs...
to share the love. Buy a pint of ice cream? Grab some
extra spoons and share the love. Tape you favorite TV
drama? Pop some popcorn, call your neighbors, and
share the love. Stumble across the powerpoint slides
for your most hated class?
Make some copies and share the love!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Election
starts coming
close to home
- finally
By Rachel Reeves
opinion editor
rcrs()s7C“' psu.edu
It wasn't until I was getting sniffed by
Rocky, the police dog. that I realized
how historical this election really is. I
was trying to get into the Mercyhurst
Athletic Center, along with 3,000 other
people, to see a presidential candidate
speak. Not just speak, but actually cam
paign in Pennsylvania - something that
has not happened in years.
Since I attended the event to cover it
for the paper, my ever-handy press pass
allowed me to bypass the line and get
into the building as soon as they opened
the doors. While I was waiting outside
of the media door I was able to watch
Clinton's security sweep the parking lot
just before she arrived. “If you come
back outside during the next twenty
minutes." a secret agent-type man
warned us. intermittently cocking his
head and pressing his earpiece further
into his skull, "we will have good
enough reason to be concerned. And
you don't want us to be concerned."
I remember wondering what it would
be like to be this important, either while
I was getting poked at with the security
wand, or trying not to meet Rocky's
eyes in case the half-German Shepard,
half-wolf thought it was a challenge for
a death match. The feeling of awe con
tinued as 1 entered the arena, took my
seat, and started shaking hands with
Clinton's staff. The press secretary, the
person who was in charge of dinner for
the traveling press, even the person
whose job it was to run the music until
the event started.
I never could understand how a cam
paign managed to cost so much until
that night.
After the people started filing in to
w atch. I lost track of the campaign man
agers. The doors opened at 5:30 p.m.,
and at 7:30 p.m. people were still com
ing in. People waited two, three, even
four or five hours just to be a part of
this. Their eyes were streaming from
the cold, their noses red. Most were
rubbing their hands together to try and
warm them. There were students stand
ing in excited clumps, and parents who
were trying to explain to their young
children the significance of what they
were seeing
"What a great thing, to be a college
student during this election,” is some
thing that your parents say - and that
you never take very seriously. But here
was a woman, contending with an
African-American, for the Democratic
nomination. And many of the people in
the room were first-time voters, and
they were excited to learn about the
decision they had to make.
Being from New York, which is a
Super Tuesday state. I am used to the
race coming close to home, and I never
imagined I would have the same experi
ence in Erie. Like most, I assumed that
the campaign would be over long
before it got to Pennsylvania. I planned
on missing out.
Instead I found myself in a packed
gym, listening to the Governor of
Pennsylvania tell his residents, “We all
said - someday we wish that
Pennsylvania would matter. This year
Pennsylvania matters, western
Pennsylvania matters; you’re going to
matter.”
So, the campaign commercials are
going to be coming fast and thick. Just
about the only news on every front page
is going to be election-related. And hon
estly. we are all going to get sick of it.
But don’t forget - this really is a big
deal; Pennsylvania has waited a long
time for this. And it is a good race.