Friday, September 26, 2008 Trigon aims to create waves of change By Neil J. Peters assistant college life editor njps()tt.t(p psu.alu What is Trigon? This is a valid question for the majority of Behrend students. One would be hard pressed to find a freshman or sophomore who has even heard of the organization. Trigon has suffered several setbacks and diffi culties since the very beginning. Despite this, the group is oil the verge of a rebirth: a renaissance like nothing Penn State Erie has ever seen before. However, this still begs the question, what is Trigon'.’ Trigon is an organization devoted to the protec tion and support of any student struggling with the acceptance of their differences. It's a haven for the gay community on campus to congregate in safety. "We want to be a support group for the GLBT (gay. lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community on campus." says Trigon Vice President Ryan Westwood. "A lot of people come out in college, and that experience, for some, doesn’t go very well. We want to be there as either confidential supporters and show that you can be who you are. and you don’t have to change for anybody." However, that doesn't mean that the path has been easy. As of late. Trigon has weathered unsta ble management, almost nonexistent public rela tions. and an unfortunate lack of student involve ment. This trend has not gone unnoticed by the new Trigon officers. "We like to host a lot of fun events." says Westwood. "We have a lot of stuff planned for this semester, and we’re really trying to get this club started up again." says Westwood. Fixing such problems is easier said than done, but the new Trigon officers are more than up to the challenge. Though their position may seem bleak. Westwood and his fellow officers have already jumpstarted this sear’s membership. It is only the fifth week on the semester and they have already garnered immense support. Erie's Official 2008 Back to School Concert featured Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa. Wiz Khalifa rocks the Metropolitan Bv Elista Burneisen contributing writer cshs(W 1 (p nsu.edu All of those who hit up Erie's Metropolitan Club this past Saturday would surely "Say Yeah!" The 2()-yeai-old rap prodigy Wiz Khalifa was "Make ting) it Hot.” busting out some new singles off his most recent mix tape. Starpower. Khalifa shook up the audience with his "Pittsburgh Sound" with songs like “Ink My Whole Body." "Pop Bottles" and the slow jam, "Weed Roller." His phat Bows had the crowd pop ping and thumping at the Erie's Official 2008 Back to School Concert. Khalifa also performed crowd hits. "Be Easy," and "Youngin" on His Grind." 1 had a blast listening to this young star doing his thing and just killing those beats. I have seen other rappers in concert and his stuff was real and raw. At first I was a little hesitant to see how this was going down due to the unexpectedly small amount of people, unlike his previous show on Friday at Slippery Rock University which was sold out. The Metropolitan Club located at 144 West and 13th Street played host to the young rapper who started rapping at the fresh age of 12. Other artists of the evening included Erie local DJ Barnes and Write for the College Life page of E-mail Matthew Schwabenbauer at: The Behrend Beacon mjss3B7@psu.edu GLLli'a-Ji Li HI "We had a lot of interest at Club Rush. We prob ably had about 50 people that signed up that iden tify as gay. lesbian, transsexual, bisexual; and we also have a lot of straight ■allies’," says Westwood. “There are a lot of new students who are very excited to be involved in this type of group." With this newfound support. Trigon’s wheels of change arc already in motion. The first shift on the agenda is a new name. Soon the group will go from the more confusing "Trigon," to the much more friendly “Gay/Straight Alliance." After the name change, getting more involved in college life is Trigon’s main goal. Over the coming months students will begin to see tables for various causes Hooding the Reed Building: the most notable of these arc World AIDS Day on Dec , and the Allies Luncheon on Oct 11. However, the by far most interesting of all these events is the Drag Show. “Last year...the execu tive board got together a drag show that we won a lot of awards for.. .and I think that it was one of the most attended events on campus, besides a concert or a required speaker, that a student organization has put on in a while.” says Westwood. At first glance, these may seem like pretty high stars to shoot for. but Trigon is not alone. Working with them in many cases are the College Democrats. Leading this initiative. Vice President Chris Alphen says. "What we’re doing is working with Trigon...to raise awareness about gay rights. It’s time that we change that, and I think that it starts with the younger generation." Through events, posters and other activities, College Democrats plan to educate the student body about gay rights and how the GLBT commu nity are represented in government. Regardless of the difficulties that Trigon has faced, the group has had a tremendous effect of the lives of countless students. They have put themselves and the rest of Penn Slate on the path to positive change. opening hip-hop acts Young Millz, Yung L Cardio, and Hectic (Tha Fam) of Erie. These young men were all going big for Erie. They all had the crowd hitting and sounded smooth. Young Millz featuring Honey Bee (aka Britney Morton) started off the show with their mix, “For My City,” and their ver sion of "Sent From Heaven." Hectic had the club rocking to "What u drinkin' on” while Yung L Cardio hit them with "Swagg Like This." Khalifa is comparable to rappers like L.il Wayne and Plies, but what sets him apart is his PA heritage and his mad cool style. Khalifa was stunting a T shirt with a gray jacket, a black and white check ered scarf, jeans, a red hat, gray Fruit of the Looms and of course his blinging gold Pittsburgh Pirates "P" necklace. It is not everyday that rappers show up looking that hot and have the rhymes to back it up. I predict Khalifa will continue to top the charts especially when he drops his debut album. Until then we get to blast any of his five mix tapes found in his discography including: Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, Show and Prove, Grow Season, Prince of the City 2, and Starpower. All of his mix tapes are available online at wizkhalifa.com. visiting his MySpace page or iTunes. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO calendar of events Friday Team Rootberry-Juggling 8:00 rm. at Bruno’s Kung Fu Panda 10:00 rm. at Reed 117 Mens Varsity Water Polo Game 8:00 p.m. at Junker Comedian: Rickie Byrnes 9:00 rm. at Bruno’s Monday Fun Run, Softball, Frisbee Intramurals 4:30 rm. at Fields Fun Run, Softball, Frisbee Intramurals Fun Run, Softball, Frisbee Intramurals 4:30 p.m. at Fields Kung Fu Panda entertained audiences in Reed 117 as part oj the 1.1-.li's weekh movie series Students approve of the LEB weekly movie: By Nathan Carter staff writer nrcso69@psu.cdu “Skadoosh,” said Po, the Kung Fu Panda, after dealing an enormous blow to the face of Tai Lung. ‘Skadoosh’ was the key phrase that made me interested in Kung Fu Panda when I saw the pre view a few months back. My nieces and nephews were going crazy with excitement. Then they saw it a couple months ago, so when I heard it was playing down at Reed, 1 figured I might as well watch it. I went in thinking it was probably going to be alright but came out knowing that it was the best animated movie I’ve seen in quite a while. It stars the voices of numerous celebrities, including Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross and the up-and-coming lan McShane - probably best known from the HBO series Deadwood. It centers on a Japanese village, the home of Po the panda. However, Po is growing tired of making noodle soup for his dad, Mr. Ping, and strongly wants to join the Kung Fu revolution at the Valley Thon Meeting 7:00p.m. at Reed 113 4:30 p.m. at Fields Thursday "A ■\ . Saturday Tuesday Kung Fu Panda of Peace. One day. Master Oogway places flyers throughout the village that lie will be naming a Dragon Warrior to fight Ins oncoming nemesis Tai Lung. Po is immediately intrigued and heads to the Temple of Peace to view the appointing. Then, in a series of hilarious "accidents." Po is rev ealed as the Dragon Warrior. Alter this, he goes through a Kung Fu life under Master Shifu. with the occasional help - and ridicule from the Furious Five: Tigress. Monkey. Mantis. Viper, and Crane. The film was hilarious, hut in my opinion, it held much more moral value and wisdom than I had thought it would. I especially hue when Master Oogway speaks because there is so much wisdom in his W'ords. The entire audience should pay close attention to his lines, because they are "life" explained in metaphorical terms. I give this movie a nine out of ten w ith a recom mendation for any kid or adult. Laughs with a meaning arc what life's all about. Catch it in the Reed Building this Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m. Starting Friday. Oct I at 0:00 p.m.. the 1.F.8 w ill be showing Wanted starling Angelina Jolie. The Behrend Beacon I (OM RIIU Tf l) mold
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