Friday, October 10, 2008
Area
high school
music programs
suffer
By Emily Reichert
staff writer
ecrso6B(s'psu.edu
Students attending East High school regularly
watch cable television instead of singing during
their show choir class.
Robert Ohmer. the music teacher of three years
at East said that because of the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) program, arts programs are
struggling to remain important in the school sys
tem. Strong Vincent Music Teacher Mike Donch,
blames the funding.
According to Ohmer, the problem started after
the act was passed in a year when he was teach
ing at Strong Vincent High School with Donch.
The class periods were originally set at seven
periods. When the classes were cut to six a day,
his student count went from 50 to 15. This result
ed in his removal from Strong Vincent and trans
fer to East.
The reason for the steep decline in students,
according to Ohmer and Donch, is the situations
for the honors students. Honors students’ sched
ules have become too full to obtain any form of
an art class. Classes such as Freshman and senior
seminars and extra math classes have taken pres
idence over electives. Donch says the only way
for an honors student to get into a music class is
to take a seminar or gym class over the summer.
The only students left are the average grade stu
dents who, in Ohmer’s experience, have the ten
dency to lack interest in the subject.
“This class is now a dump ground,” says
Ohmer in reference to his show choir class. He
says that students take the class with the sole
intent of getting an easy grade. “All except two
people [in show choir] are incapable of doing
anything,” He states about the class, “If I can get
them to sing middle grade songs, I’m lucky.”
The lack of concern from some students,
Ohmer says, is related to the family situations. He
states that most students do not have adequate
parental figures at home. “They come from noth
ing, so they don’t expect to be anything,” he says,
“It's a good thing I love what I do. It’s a crazy
See MUSIC PROGRAMS on page 6.
Between the Buried and Me
fills Forward Hall to capacity
Hardcore metal act Between the Buried and
Me returned to Erie for the first time in over three
years on Sunday night. Touring in support of
their new album, Colors , the act drew a crowd
which filled Forward Hall to capacity.
Opening for the group were local bands
Ruined and Precinct aflame. Following them was
Path To Misery from Pittsburgh.
Dan Briggs, the bass player of Between the
Buried and Me, is originally from Erie.
“It’s great to come home and play for such a
large crowd,” said Briggs. “Even though it’s been
years since the last time we came to Erie, a lot of
people still turned out to see us.”
“Last time we played here, Alaska (the group’s
album before Colors ) wasn’t even out yet. We’re
really proud of our new album, and have gotten
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Our offices are located downstairs
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By Matthew Schwabenbauer
news editor
mjss3B7@psu.edu
A Penn State Behrend Student Publication
Ridge and Swann
rally for
McCain in Erie
Congressman Phil English and retired Naval Captain
Jerry Coffee speak in favor of Republican candidate
Dozens of supporters of Republican presidential
candidate John McCain gathered in downtown
Erie’s Perry Square on Wed. The rally featured
Tom Ridge (former PA Governor and Ist Secretary
of Homeland Security), Phil English (U.S. House
of Representatives from Pennsylvania’s 3rd dis
trict), former Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann, and
Captain Gerald Coffee (U.S. Navy, Ret.) who
spoke in favor of the Arizona Senator. The
event was a rally in the truest sense, as its overall
theme was to boost the morale of those already
committed to McCain, in stead of potentially sway
ing undecided voters. A moderately diverse
crowd turned out for the rally, which took place on
good feedback about it,” states Brigg.
Briggs’ family also attended the performance.
His father went on stage at the end of their set
and gave him a hug.
The crowd was very involved in the perform
ance, with lead vocalist Tommy Rogers frequent
ly interacting with the audience.
Between the Buried and Me is atypical of other
acts in the metal genre. Many of their songs fea
ture melodic, soft, and jazz-esque sections which
are completely different from the rest of the
piece. They often switch from straightforward,
aggressive heavy metal to clean guitars and
singing on the drop of a dime.
The crowd attending the event was diverse,
featuring people of different ages and walks of
life.
See FORWARD HALL on page 6.
Visit us on the web
at www.thebehrend
beacon.com
By Matthew Schwabenbauer
news editor
mjss3B7@psu.edu
a crisp, cool fall morning.
“I’ve met John McCain before, so it will be good
to see Tom Ridge," said Kate Thompson, a senior
Scientific and Technical Sales major at Gannon
University. “I'm excited to hear someone new."
College students were notably scarce at the rally.
“I came out today because I support John McCain,”
said Andrea Camisella, a Junior Political Science
major at Gannon. "I though tthis would be a fun
and interesting experience.”
By 9:00 a.m.. the majority of attendees had
showed up to the rally, and new faces stopped
appearing. The speakers had not started, despite the
rally being scheduled for that time.
City ordinance jeapordizes
students' off-campus housing
Erie city law requires that no more than three unrelated
people live together in the same house , causing
problems for some students sharing off-campus housing.
Penn State Behrend students who live in off
campus housing may soon be running into prob
lems with the city of Erie; that is, if they haven’t
already.
Most students don’t know of an Erie ordinance
that states that in certain areas, no more than three
unrelated people can live together in a dwelling
unit. Ashton Haas, and her roommates Kelly
Matalka and Cara Jones, certainly did not learn
about this until just recently.
They share a house with one other person on
Weekend Weather*
Weather.com
Friday: Mainly sunny sky. High 66F.
Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain
10%.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the
upper 70s and lows in the mid 50s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the
low 70s and lows in the upper 50s.
DANIEL SMITH / The Behrend Beacon
See MCCAIN RALLY on page 2.
Men's water
polo team
travels to
California
Over the weekend, the Men’s Water Polo Team
took their yearly trip to California. Prior to the trip
Coach Joe Tristan said; “Our trip to California
will allow our program to play some of the best
teams in the country and in Division 111 If we are
going to contend as a Division 111 power, then we
need to play the powerhouses in Division III.”
From this, the team had focused on the trip as they
packed up and started traveling to California at 12
p.m. Thursday Oct 2.
They drove to Buffalo and took a flight to
California. When the team had arrived in
California, many of the players we excited due to
the great weather. “Nice and warm.” added
Freshman Driver Robby Gausman. Then the team
took vans to the hotel where each player was suit
ed with three teammates in each room.
By Rachel Reeves
editor in chief
rcrsos7@psu.edu
37th St. near the Mercyhurst College campus.
Recently, they received a notice from Erie zoning
director, Katie Deible, saying that they had thirty
days to remove one of the residents. If they did
not fulfill the requirement, their landlord would be
fined $lOO every day until there were only three
people living in the house.
The four roommates have been living together
for years without experiencing any problems, and
until now have been unaware that they are living
in violation of ordinance. However. Haas recently
See ERIE CITY ORDINANCE on page 3.
News 1-4
Perspectives 5
Arts 6
Sports 7-9
Local Dining 10
Vol. LV No. VIII
By Tracy Banas
staff writer
ljhs2l7@psu.edu
See WATER POLO on page 7.
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