Saturday, April 19, 2008 _The Behrend Beacon Founded in 1948 Penn Stale Erie, The Behrend College Reed Union Building 4701 College Drive, Erie PA 16563 Room 10H Telephone: (814) 898-6488 Fax: (814)898-6019 Executive Board Christopher LaFuria, Editor-in-Chief Andy McLachlan, Co-Editor-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 Submission Guidelines: Letters should be limited to 350 words and commentaries should be limited to 700 words. Hie more concise the submis sion, the less we will be forced to edit it for space concerns and the more likely we are to run the submission: The Beacon does not publish anonymous letters. Please include your major, faculty, or administration—position -and semester standing. Deadline for any is 5 p.m. Thursday afternoon for inclu sion in the Friday issue. The Behrend Beacon reserves the right to edit any submissions prior to publication. Please keep complaints as spe cific as possible. Email submissions to rcrsos7@psu.edu or drop them off at the Beacon office. ' The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a | redress of grievances. Beacon Thumbs Up -Qr $ qjp - College Democrats - thebehrendbeacon.com - SGA elections - Rocky Beacon Thumbs Down if (P if •’•(j"* •'(J* - Credentials - Alarm clocks • Donut bribes - Incompetence Behrend gets the spotlight in ‘OB By Chris Brown copy editor cmh53131 (g'psu.cdu I can’t help but feel spoiled this pri mary season. Many of our parents, pro fessors and family members have never voted in a Pa. primary that could decide who the candidates for the President would be. Now, in only my second chance to vote in a Presidential Primary, I have the opportunity to be a part of his tory. With four separate campaign stops, including President Bill Clinton, his daughter Chelsea, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Erie has taken center stage. I'm not sure we’ll have this opportunity ever again and we need to take full advantage of it. The Behrend Administration, the College Democrats, both campaigns and anyone else that helped bring these political candidates and figures to cam pus deserve praise. Even if you don’t agree with some of their policies, one can still appreciate the presence of these major figures who many years from now, when the campaigns are long over, will be names in history books. Tuesday will be a bittersweet day, no matter the outcome as the candidates move on they will address the issues of other con stituents in other states. I’ve enjoyed it while it’s lasted and it’s given me the OBAMA‘OB “Well we only \So you ate saying w< can’t needed your gym. get into our own school?” iji if] Vrf Cartoon by Jennifer Juncosa Don’t be bitter - reconsider By Bryce Alexander Sayers staff writer bass(KK)(apsu.cdu I have lived in Pennsylvania for almost my whole life, so I think I have enough of a claim to being a Pennsylvanian when it comes to issues such as Barack Obama's comments. I am not offended by his statement that we are bitter and turn to guns or reli gion to vent frustration. If anything I would be more offended if he apolo gized for the remark. It's not exactly an innocuous statement and even if it was worded more effectively I could see his opponents turning it against him, but in order to prove himself as a candidate with convictions he has to make risky statements. Obama calling religion something that people turn to in times of frustra tion is a reiteration of an old fact that has been spun by both the anti-reli gious and those arguing in favor of the ism. Karl Marx was perhaps the most notorious example when he wrote “Religion is the opiate of the masses,” That sentence is now a catchphrase among atheists, but on its own is it an anti-religious statement? In the con text of Marx's time opiates were viable painkillers. Few minds would con demn the use of painkillers in a time of OPINION opportunity to be an active participant in the election. The thing that surprised me about Kennedy was that none of what he said had to do with attacking Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). He only mentioned her obliquely as Obama’s “opponent.” Likewise, President Clinton barely men tioned Obama. This is the way the pri maries should have been carried out from the very beginning, not so much as an attack on one another, but a chance to let the American people know what each candidate can do for America, not what is wrong with the others. While slightly different in delivery and style, Kennedy and Clinton’s speeches could have been swapped with one another and little would have been lost. Both candidates, Hillary and Barack, are so similar on substantive issues. Instead, this election will be decided more on people’s impression of each candidate’s style and likeability. After 15 months on the campaign trail, the pri mary has devolved into a glorified pop ularity contest. Having exhausted every possible difference on the issues, the candidates have resorted to petty charac ter attacks and most of the media has been too happy to oblige the coverage. Whether it is insinuating that Obama somehow has to answer for the past transgressions of a neighbor, or endless ly covering “Bosnia-gate ’08.” Clinton need, so observing the tendency for people to invest deeper in the meta physical in times of suffering is not intrinsically condemnation. Soren Kierkegaard was both a philosopher and a Christian. Kierkegaard called man's drive for spirituality “the sick ness unto death,” What modern day politician wooing value-voters with expressions of their faith could ever imagine, not a “personal relationship” or a “divine calling” but a sickness. Such a metaphor from Obama might have ignited an “Euthanists for Hillary” campaign. The controversy also highlights another legend of American politics, that the average American is politically isolated. It can be argued that when politicians fail the masses they tend to retreat from day-to-day politics, espe cially on the national level. The prob lem is that politics is an omnipresent force in civilized society. It can - and is, worked into everyday subtly and at a slow pace, but to believe that nonin volvement in politics guarantees non interference is folly. People then feel a general, nebulous disenfranchisement that compounds those problems we truly can't affect. Obama tried to pin point these problems as the economic crisis, but it can reach broader. All the same, people then turn to local commu- . , A'^ <* *> * , s * > ' ' ■v •>% is characterized as the fighter. Obama as the candidate who can unite a diverse America. Voters will have to decide which strategy will be more effective in Washington. The debate on Wednesday. April 16. highlighted another problem that has plagued the Democratic Party for the past few years. Both candidates, and judging by the line of questioning the commentators also, seemed worried about what the Republican Party will say and do come the general election than anything else. Instead of being con cerned about what each candidate says, if their reasoning is sound, and if their politics are clean, the race has turned into who is the most “electable", as opposed to who is the better candidate. This may seem counterintuitive, but we have to get our priorities straight and determine what exactly is “electable." Democrats can’t worry about what type of attack ads Republicans will run and lose focus of the message at hand. Insinuations of impropriety will only hurt them in the end, both candidates need to get trust their message. I don't want a candidate that stands for nothing because they are too worried about say ing anything controversial. In the last debate, both candidates hesitated on questions about taxes, and both were unwilling to take a stand on issues that could have defined their candidacies. nities based on common interests for emotional support, and instead of vot ing based on pragmatic needs and interests, they vote guided by the lead ers of their groups with unspecific agendas. This leads to a special kind of voter apathy, the “wedge issues" Obama claimed were being over-repre sented in the latest debate: morality legislation, token laws over gun con trol or symbolic acts of a figurehead leader to name a few. It's not wrong to have opinions on these issues, it is even just to vote for them if convic tions deem so, but they are over emphasized in the media and by those opportunistic leaders who are often co opting with political leaders deter mined to ride out fluff careers main taining the status quo. Obama’s statement was a challenge to this system, just as his early cam paign had won a broad spectrum of support to challenge the notions of severe “red/blue” divides. The voters of Pennsylvania now face the chal lenge of accepting this harsh - yet insightful criticism. Opponents, gun lobbyists and demagogues alike will call for their audiences to grow enraged and vote against him, but then they would only be proving him right. I think the world needs ... summer. Are the last few weeks of school really that important? Let’s just cut to the chase and hit the beach already. Ice cream, bike rides, trampolines, i«Ure afternoons spent by the pool. I mean, I could spend these gorgeous days in class or in the library, studying. But I would rather not. The Behrend Beacon I 5 Behind the news at the Beacon By Jennifer Juncosa copy editor jdjs()f> I (o’psu.cdu With 48 hours to prepare for Presidential candidate Barack Obama, the Behrend Beacon staff started the process of covering the epic event. Along with the other Behrend stu dents. the first order of business was to obtain one of the 250 free, but mandato ry. tickets. For 35 minutes, I waited in line to receive a ticket. With only two hours before a mandatory meeting, I had to have dinner, get homework done and relax because the next 48 hours of my life was going to be dedicated to the paper. The meeting took five hours to plan out the coverage of Obama dealt with who would write what story, con tacts we needed, and Beacon press pass es and the needed credentials for the rally. The first setback of the Obama cover age was lack of Behrend Beacon press passes. The coverage meeting was put on hold for a run to Wal-Mart to make two passes, one for myself and one for the assistant news editor. Wal-Mart’s photo center closed two hours prior, so four journalism students ended up on the phone with 411, trying to find a place to get pictures printed. After remembering that 1 have a photo printer and photo paper, we made our own press passes. Problem solved? Not quite. To get press coverage for some one as big as Obama, the Beacon staff needs credentials through the Obama campaign. The next day we were informed only one reporter and one photographer were allowed to have cre dentials. Thursday was supposed to be careful- ly planned but busy. Attending classes, of course, was not an option for anyone on the staff. My first interview was’ going to be at 12:30 p.m. That gave me plenty of time to sleep in, which worked out because I didn't get to bed till 3 a.m. 1 was showered, dressed and doing my hair when 1 got a phone call saying that the interview was going to be moved to 11:30 a.m. So w ith my hair half curled and completely undone. I grabbed my notebook, press pass and voice recorder. The interview was quick and inform ative. After that, my life was complete ly dedicated to the Beacon. Until my next appointment, at 8 p.m., I was sit ting in the Beacon production office writing, researching, writing, writing emails to important contacts, writing, putting up flyers, writing, adding videos and blogs to the Beacon website, writ ing. and calling the printer to ask polite ly if we can print a little later so we could include the Obama coverage. Beacon reporters were in the produc- tion office till 12:30 a.m. and were expected to be lucid and at Junker by 7:30 a.m. Entertainment editor, Connor Sattely, was at the Junker at 6:15 a.m. and was able to contact all Beacon staff to inform us that we all had full Obama credentials. When you don’t answer your phone the day of an event, we just come to your dorm room and wake you up in person. During Obama's rally, the Beacon staff had credentials to sit in the area reserved for local press, so Beacon reporters sat behind WICU and WSEE. After Obama’s appearance, the job of a Beacon reporter was not finished. The staff came together in the newsroom to finish last minutes details. Finish sto ries, finish layout and send the paper out to the printer. Then, and only then, do we finally go home.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers