I The Behrend Beacon
White House accuses Syria of nuclear proliferation
WASHINGTON-The United States government
has accused the Syrians of building a nuclear
reactor for non-peaceful purposes, with aid from
North Korea.
In a statement, the CIA said that Syria must
admit that it has been planning secret nuclear
schemes. The statement was given after members
of congress were briefed on the situation.
“Until 6 Septembr, 2007, the Syrian regime was
building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern
desert capableof producing plutonium,” the state
ment said..
Sample Center hosts civility
speaking contest at Smith Chapel
By Rachel Reeves
opinion editor
rcrsos7<s> psu.edu
The Smith Chapel was full of students,
professors and seven nervous speakers
shuffling a few note cards. In a few min
utes, each speaker would have five min
utes to speak extemporaneously on
“civility and society.” and would be
judged closely on how skillfully they
addressed the assigned topic, and how
well they used the rhetorical arts.
It was the Keep a Civil Tongue
Speaking Competition, held once each
semester by Professor Troester. Each
CAS 100 public speaking class nomi
nates one student to participate, and that
student must deliver a five minute
speech to be given extemporaneously -
without notes.
The theme this semester was “civility
and society,” and Troester said that he
tries to keep the topics broad for a rea
son. “This way students can take a vari
ety of perspectives,” he said.
Troester set up the competition as a
place for students to refine their ideas
and share them with others. He said that
he always enjoys seeing what students
come to support their friends. But his
favorite thing, he says, is to “hear what
students have to say, their takes and per
spective.”
The seven takes on the one prompt
were varied. The first speaker, Brittany
Barbato, brought the idea to a collegiate
level. "The more civil the students, the
more successful the society," she said.
She talked about how disrespect for
other student's majors is a prevalent sign
of disrespect among students.
Carl Cronmiller focused on the youth
in the country. “Where are we losing
these children, and to what?” he asked.
He talked about his own days as a youth
with a parole officer, and the discovered
importance of being useful to society.
r“
Want to write for The Behrend
Beacon next semester?
E-mail Rachel Reeves at:
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"Man*# cs|»ie|<y|or justice make#..
but man's
inclinaticm lo injustice makes
democra^i^ssary."
Niebuhr,
American theologian (1892-1971)
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The site in question
was bombed by Israel last
year. The White House
claims that a “cover-up”
Source: BBC News
Lenny Smith discussed bullying and
incivility as a path to hatred and vio
lence. Using Columbine High School
and the girl who committed suicide
because of abuse received over
MySpace.com as examples, he said that
respect - and disrespect - comes full cir
cle.
Alex Reszkowski examined respect in
the work place. “Civility in the work
place is hard to find in the fast-paced
world of business,” she said. She out
lined three points: the importance of
civility, what is required of a person to
achieve civility, and how to provoke
civility where you work.
Alex Zum looked at civility’s place in
the global community. She said that
although civility begins on a personal
level, but because of today’s commerce
extends into one large, global communi
ty. Her points included the provisions of
society, the public duty, respect, and
sharing.
Samantha Yong, in regards to Earth
Day on which the event was held, used
pets to break down the idea. “Teaching a
pet good manners is a form of respect
and civility towards others.” Her speech
included training tips for different kinds
of animals, and what a well-trained pet
can add to society.
Finally. Shawn Schultz explained that
the modern convenience factor makes
Americans ruder than they ever have
been. His prime example was the nega
tivity in current politics, as opposed to
each candidate just sticking to their own
platforms.
After the students gave their speeches,
the judging panel took a brief break to
make their decisions. Lenny Smith took
first place, and was awarded with 75 dol
lars to the Behrend Bookstore. Brittany
Barbato took second, and Carl
Cronmiller took third.
rcrsos7@psu.edu
Janet Neff Sample Center IBH
for Matuun & Civility
operation undertaken by the Syrians after the air
strike is proof that the reactor “was not intended
for peaceful activities.”
Despite claiming that the US has had concern
about North Korea’s nuclear weapons prolifera
tion, the White House assured that it is still devot
ed to the diplomacy between die United States,
North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China and
Russia. The six-nation diplomacy saw a landmark
deal in Feb 2007 with Pyongyang.
The statement was released after a two day
long meeting between US and North Korean offi
cials on nuclear activities in Pyongyang.
Included with the briefing are pictures which
US officials claim are proof that North Koreans
are working at the site.
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Students wonder if housing shortage will continue
By Connor Sattely
entertainment editor
dsso6o@psu.edu
The fall of 2007 will be remembered
for long waitlists, packed residence halls
and the largest freshman class Behrend
has ever seen. However, as the school
year draws to an end, students and
administrators alike are raising questions
about next year. If the trend for increased
housing continues, or even stays the
same, Behrend could be faced with a
housing crisis that could put several stu
dents in difficult situations.
Mary-Ellen Madigan, the director of
Admissions at Behrend, estimates a
slightly smaller freshman class than last
fall. “We did raise the admission criteria
slightly,” she says. “We’re aiming at
having around SO students less than last
That'estimate would still put the 2008
freshman class size at over 1000 stu
dents. Randy Geering, the director of
Housing and Food Services, says that
rather than being able to “add housing”
immediately, it would take time for
Behrend to react to spikes in housing
numbers.
“It’s part of an ebb and flow,” Geering
explains. “Even a few years ago, we
were having spaces open until the end of
the year; once, until move-in day.”
If the campus were going to add hous
Group advocates student weapons on campus
Continued from page 1.
Currently, nine states are considering
enacting laws which would allow stu
dents to carry firearms on campus. Many
states have blocked such legislation.
At Behrend, many oppose the idea of
allowing students to be armed.
“It is a very bad idea,” said Dr. Allison
Perlman, a visual studies professor. “The
second amendment was created at a dif
ferent political moment than the current
one. People misuse the second amend
ment; arming students would only create
more Virginia Techs.”
“Are you serious?” said Mike
Foerstner, a freshman engineering major.
“Look at Virginia Tech, that kid had a
Republican students upset over lack of representation
By Angelica Stoltzfus
staff writer
ansslS4@psu.edu
Only seven more months remain
before the elections for the next presi
dent begin. Recently, Behrend was
launched into the political spotlight with
visits from Bill Clinton and Sen. Barack
Obama (D-IL).
However, many students, namely
Republicans on campus, have been feel
ing quite left out of these exciting new
political developments. Freshman Jess
Rizzili said, “There should be an equal
representation of Republicans and
Democrats so students can feel secure in
their decisions come election time.”
Many student Republicans like Rizzili
felt excluded from the publicity going on
these past couple weeks.
Although no representative of the
Republican party came to Behrend, cer
tain students still believe John McCain
will be the next president. Chantell
** *' * * V * >
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Cl
O
Militant group offers truce to Hamas
GAZA-Hamas, a Palestinian militant group has
offered a truce in the Gaza Strip which would last
for six months. At the end of the six months,
Hamas says the truce could be extended to the
West Bank. The militant group stated the truce
could be considered a “period of quiet”
According to former Palestinian foreign minis
ter Mahmoud Zahar, a condition of the truce is
that an Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Zahar gave the proposal to Egyptian negotia
tors,trusting them to pass them on to Israel.
“We can’t have a period of quiet that will just
be the quiet before die storm,” said Israeli
spokesman Mark Regev.
Israeli leaders aren’t optimistic about the truce,
stating they were skeptical that one would even
materialize. Despite doubtfulness, Israel stated
ing on campus, they would likely resort
to plans for Tripp Residence Hall. The
building was drawn up to be built next to
Ohio, but the plans for the building lost
funding and was never completed. The
problem with building the Residence
Hall, explains Student Affairs director
Ken Miller, is that it will involve a long
process to attain funding.
“If we got funding tomorrow, it could
be done as soon as three years,” Miller
says.
Both Geering and Miller put an esti
mate for Tripp, if it were to be approved,
funded, and built, at a minimum of three
years. In the meantime, new students
will have to turn to a combination of the
current on-campus housing and off-cam
pus options.
University Gates Apartments will be
offering 144 new beds for this fall’s
Behrend students. However, as manager,
David Hart explains, this is only phase
two of a three-part plan to expand. Hart
guesses that the third phase of the expan
sion project could be completed by fall
2009.
“We’d have anywhere between two to
three buildings,” he says, “Each building
having about 47 beds." The living quar
ters in University Gates, each a four-bed
room two-bathroom apartment, are also
feeling the squeeze from Behrend’s
housing situation. "Even now, we have
gun and he went hog wild!"
“College kids get drunk a lot, and I’ve
seen some do some pretty stupid things,”
said Stefan Switzer, a freshman business
major. “If you mix guns with drunk kids,
bad things will happen.”
Students for Concealed Carry on
Campus have established a website with
information about their organization at
www.concealedcampus.com . They also
have a group on Facebook, a social net
working website. The organization
stresses the fact that they don’t condone
all college students to be armed, just
those which already are licensed to camy
firearms and are 21 or older. Later this
month, the group plans to have a protest
Davis said, “The Democrats may have a
hard time winning the election because
the race is so intense between Obama
and Clinton; it seems that there will be a
deep division in the Democratic votes.”
Davis was also quite disappointed that
there was no representative for McCain
but acknowledged the fact that
Pennsylvania typically leans more dem
ocratic and it would probably be “a
waste of time for a Republican to speak
at such a small campus.”
Yet another registered Republican,
Brittney Sexton, said that she planned on
“researching more in depth about the
topics each candidate had laid on the
table.” Sexton although quite bothered
by the lack of representation of the
Republicans did not feel threatened by
the Obama and Clinton’s appearances. “I
did not even hear about their arrival,”
Sexton admitted, “before it was too late
to even consider attending their cam-
paigns.”
The issues Obama addressed to the
Friday, April 25, 2008
they are prepared for a truce in Gaza, but still
demands a stop to Israeli rocket attacks and the
smugglin of weapons into the strip.
Initially, the proposition was announced during
a meeting between Zahar and Egyptian intelli
gence head Omar Suleiman in Cairo. Throughout
negotiations, Suleiman has served as a middle
man between Hamas and Israel
Since last year, the Rafah crossing between
Gaza and Egypt has bee.n closed since Hamas
seized the strip last year, with die only breach
being earlier this year when the crossing was
breached by Palestinian militants.
“The truce must be mutual and simultaneous
and the blockade must be lifted and the crossing
points opened,” said Zafah. He then added that
this included the Rafah crossing.
waiting lists too, of about 20 full groups
of people looking for space to live."
But Behrend and University Gates,
Hart insists, co-exist. With the increased
demand for housing, the apartment com
plex’s long-term plan is to continue
expanding based on housing needs of the
campus.
Scott Enterprises, the company which
owns the Days Inn, says that they will
continue to offer space for students in the
local hotel, around a ten minute drive
from the campus. While it will be treated
as off-campus housing, rather than an
extension of the campus, organizers are
optimistic that the offer will continue if
demand stays this high.
Madigan says that it will be hard to
predict whether students will continue to
apply to Behrend at their current rate.
She cited declining high school gradua
tion but increasing interest in the school.
“We had a greater percentage of our
incoming class choose Behrend as their
first choice over University Park,” she
said.
Having too many students is a prob
lem that the directors at Behrend don’t
seem to mind having to deal with. As
interest in Penn State Behrend grows, the
school will be able to raise the overall
quality of students admitted to the cam
pus. Where those students will live,
unfortunately, is still up in the air.
where students who condone the right to
carry firearms on campus will wear
empty holsters. “They are begging for
trouble,” said Matt Kirkpatrick, a fresh
man Plastics Engineering major.
“Shootings on college campuses aren’t a
joke, they are basically slapping the
families of school shooting victims right
in the face.”
There have been a dozen shootings at
college campuses, starting with the
Texas Tower shootings at the University
of Texas in 1966 which left 17 dead. The
deadliest campus shooting was the
Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 when
gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 stu
dents and then himself.
Behrend students were according to one
student, Joshua Epps, extraneous and
inconsequential to college students. Epps
did say that Obama proposed interesting
solutions to financing college tuition.
“Obama,” Epps said, “desires to give
4,000 dollars to students who devote a
certain amount of time into community
service projects.” Epps did say that he
was unsure of his decision for president.
“I would rather select the most appro
priate candidate who would focus all
their time and energy on rebuilding our
country’s economic stability and strate
gizing to end the war in Iraq in an appro
priate manner.”
On Friday, April 25 in Reed 114, these
students dissatisfaction of representation
will be put at ease with the arrival of Phil
English, U.S. Congress and Republican
representative. “Hopefully the advertise
ment and excitement will be just as
prominent as it was for Obama and
Clinton,” Davis declared.