Friday, January 16, 2009
Celebration honors Dr.
Luther King Jr.
The 2009 Martin Luther King Coin emmortgion Committee haN orgolizal 0 week a! event.% promoting
diversity and equal justice.
continued limn front page
"Dr. King's ision had a message
of peace, not ‘‘ ar: equality: and
Henera said. "These are the
main aspects of this celebration.-
The first went is scheduled to
begin Monday. Martin Luther
King. Jr. Da‘, and will feature a
brunch and a reading based on the
play Montgomq - y Footprints by
Ossic 13. Davis. Montgomery
Footprints tells the story of Rosa
Parks refusing to give up her seat
on a public bus in Montgomery.
Ala., which led to a widespread
protest of the Montgomery pub-
ic transportation system.
Participating in the reading is a
cast made up entirely of Penn
State Behrend staff and students.
The brunch will start at II a.m.
with the reading beginning at
The 1011 owing clay is the presi
dential inauguration of Muck
Ohama. which is being shown on
the projection screen at Bruno's
Cafe beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Free doughnuts and hot chocolate
will be available at the viewing.
courtesy of the 2009 Martin
Luther King Commemoration
Committee. At 7
p.m. Monday evening, the film
Higher Learning will be shown
in Room 117 of the Reed Union
Building. The film is set in a fic
titious American college where
students are forced to deal with
escalating racial tension.
On Wednesday morning, students
and stall will be organizing activ-
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with a week of
events
hies and reading for children at
the Uhl versi ty Early Learning
Center stalling at 10 a. in. That
eN ening . the Commemoration's
Featured Speaker. J abari As i m .
will give a presentation in
McGar Commons at 7:00
p.m. Asim is the Editor-in-Chief
of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People's magazine The Crisis and
has made television appearances
on The Today Show. The Colbert
Report. and more. Asim has just
written a new hook titled What
Oh(ono Means, which will he
released on Tuesday, the day of
the inauguration.
Scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
on Thursday is a presentation in
Bruno's titled 99 Questions
You're A /ways Molted to A Ak un
Atnean America?, but weir too
ofiztid /Or ea• they'd bleak their
foot off in your ass. from actor
and playwright Mark Cryer.
Cryer, an Associate Professor at
Hamilton University in
Wyoming, wrote the multi-media
play after a racial slur was written
on a college student's door. With
the play. Cryer hopes to break
down racial barriers and initiate
what he sees as long-overdue con
versations about race.
For Friday night, the
Association of Black Collegians
and the Multi-Cultural Council
have organized "Black
Expressions," - a night of poetry.
spoken word and other presenta
tions. Anyone from the campus
community is invited to the
CAMPUS NEWS
Martin
event and encouraged to share
their work. 'Um enten t
ettokies. hot chocolate, and coffee
will he a\ tillable.
On Satur d ay. volunteers are
asked to help celebrate King's
legacy by helping to restore the
walls or the Booker T.
Washingon Center's gvlll naS UM .
Transportation vGill he prop iced
for ail volunteers and if von are
interested in participating. con
tact CYnara Stuhhs at
Cos I Ow' psu
Throughout the entire week,
the 2001) Martin Luther King
Commemoration Committee
will he at “trious places around
campus accepting donations
which will go toward the Martin
Luther King Jr. National
Memorial being built in
Washington D.C. Along with
taking ckmations. committee
members will also he distribut
ing free wristbands that display
the worc "Yes we can fulfill the
dream.-
"I think the campus as a whole
can live out 'Yes we can, — says
Herrera. "I believe the Behrend
community can practice equal
justice and be a society that is
respectful of cultural differences."
Herrera hopes the celebration
will open minds around Behrend
and cause people to contribute to
King's vision. "Hopefully some
people will reflect on this and
make a difference in society," he
said.
Hungry Howie's Pizza will soon
continued from front page
When we finally found one
things got started pretty fast,"
said Kliszewski.
Kliszewski goes On to say that
his crew has run into some com
mon construction problems dur
ing out the project, and has set a
new goal of January 27 to open.
Although the project is nearly
complete, some students are frus
trated with the lengthy construc
tion time.
"They really need to open that
place, - said Matt Kirkpatrick, a
Economic downturn gives
students little reason to
Penn State Behrend is standing
up to an economic downturn that
is wreaking havoc on other U.S.
colleges and universities.
Penn State University
President Graham Spanier says
that this is because Penn State
has always spent conservatively.
"We are taking steps to make sure
that our financial stability will
continue through this recession
and beyond, - he says in a
University-wide e-mail that was
released over winter break.
Other colleges are laying off
faculty and staff, increasing
tuitions dramatically, and cutting
back on scholarships and finan
cial aid in order to make end s
meet this academic year.
Although Penn State is experi
encing some budget cuts that will
make some changes. none of
these drastic measures are neces-
Specifically to Behrend, there
have been two cuts since the
beginning of the year, first tbr
$2 11.000 , and again for
$141,000. The Chancellor is
expecting a permanent reduction
for the next academic year of 1.5
percent, or $428,000. Another
potential challenge for the school
includes a probable increase in
utility costs.
To make the budget, Behrend is
expecting a tuition increase for
the near future, but the
Chancellor does not know what
the increase will he yet. The
Chancellor also said that there is
a "99 percent chance" that there
will he no pay raise for employ
ees this year.
However, that looks to be the
extent of the damage for this year.
"We tried to make it as business
Behrend THON Dancers to
participate at University Park
continued from front page
"I'm looking forward to the
emotional experience, - says
Allison Shearer, one of the tour
(lancers. "It is a tragedy for a kid
to have cancer.-
Shearer says it is a great chance
to help "relieve the horror" the
parents and children must go
through.
Jamie Mayer, another of the
tour dancers, says that when she
went to observe the event last
year "it blew me away. -
"It is such a good cause
Mayer says.
Julie Colvin says she is
"expecting [it] to he fun. And
Business school receives acco-
lades from The Princeton Review
continued from front page
The Behrend website states the
school is officially recognized
and supported by Ihe Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB) International,
which is an association dedicated
to improving the higher educa
tion, according to the AACSB
official website.
students off-campus dining
sophomore Plastics Engineering
major. "There are a lot of people
that live at U-gates and are going
to give them a lot of business. It
makes no sense for them to wait
this long to open, they're sitting
on a goldmine."
"I'm frustrated," says Andrew
Young, a junior majoring in
Software Engineering. "There's
nothing on campus to eat, espe
cially late at night. Hungry
Howies was supposed to be open
by now, and it's like, what are we
supposed to eat?"
Some students are upset with
as usual here as possible," said
Burke. Anticipated hiring tOr
vacated positions are still going
forward as planned. Construction
projects, like the renovation of
the Reed Union Building and the
construction of a new Alumni and
Admissions building, are still on
track. The Chancellor said that he
was not as sure of the planned
Dobbins renovation, since that is
a Housing and Food services
project and is separate from the
other building projects.
Although endowments are
down. Penn State depends very
little on these contributions for
operating costs. Also, unlike
other private colleges who are
losing 30 percent in stock, Penn
State has only lost 18 percent or
19 percent.
The Chancellor as that the
recession k one of the main rea
sons he delayed his retirement.
"It's crazy. I've never seen any
thing like this. It's not a good
time to leave the ship.-
Dr. James Kurre. Associate
Professor of Economics at
Behrend, says that not only
Behrend but also the Erie com-
=nit) , is faring unexpectedly
well.
This is unusual for a city that
tends to suffer more in a recession
than the rest of the nation on
average. "Erie downturns before
the rest of the nation, and conies
up after. But this time is differ
ent.- says Kurre.
According to Kurre, one of the
main reasons for this stability is
General Electric. The company
has a national corner on the mar
ket of green locomotives that are
more fuel-efficient and have fewer
emissions. These locomotives
very hard...
And Alyssa Beck, the fourth
dancer, says she has never been to
a THON event.
"I expect just so many ditferent
emotions, - Beck says. '1 really
feel I'm going to learn so much.-
All four of the dancers have
participated in the 24-hour dance
marathons here at Behrend, but
none of them have had to endure
the near double-length event.
They will head down lot it on
Feb. 20.
Molly Thomas. the Behrend
THON team chair, says that this
is already a record year.
The campus raised $18.015
through canning and other fund
S tnught front the Gut is a
memoir by Jack Welch about
"the most talked about and wide
ly emulated manager in busness
history, - according to straight
fromthegut.com. Welch is quoted
citing the work of Behrend MIS
students. He states, "With a cou
ple of Penn State students and
some help from our software
engineers in India, McNamee
the general lack of places to eat
on or near campus.
"It's ridiculous that there aren't
more places to eat around here,"
said Greg Matson, a sophomore
Kineseology major. "I pay
$20,000 a year for my education,
and I want more food choices.-
Anxious students won't be
waiting much longer. as
Kliszewski assures that construc
tion is nearly finished. "Right
now the biggest hold up is the
floor," says Kliszewski. "We are
waiting for the walls to be cov
ered with sheet rock. Once that
The Behrend Beacon I 3
Behrend
panic
are selling well all over the
world. especially in China and
Egypt. "When GE ibes well, it
spills over into the community,"
says Kurre.
Another reason for stronger
economy is the healthcare sector.
No matter what else is going on.
people will still need healthcare.
Kurre says that "it doesn't take
the biggest hit." in a dimntum.
Finally. higher education is
actine like a butler between Erie
and the country's economic woes.
The area has five schools includ
ing LECOM (Lake Erie College
of Osteopathic Medicine), which
Kure says is actually the largest
medical school in the country.
When people have less money
making opportunity, the} are
more inclined to seek more educa-
Since there are less job oppor
tunities, many graduating stu
dents find it more sensible to go
on to graduate school rather than
try and find employment. Also,
professionals who have been laid
off have better opportunities for
finding another job if they return
to school and learn new skills.
Enrollment can be expected to go
up even as the economy goes
down.
Even though the national news
on the financial situation is any
thing but optimistic, Penn State
Behrend students have many rea
sons to feel more secure than
most. Between the status of the
local community and the benefits
of pursuing higher education dur
ing a recession, a Penn State
Behrend student is one of the
most fortunate things a person
can he right now
raising events over the course of
the last school year. She says that
this year they have already broken
that record.
"Our goal now is $30,000,"
Thomas says. If the team can
gather more than $25,000. they
will be able to send six students
instead of just four.
Thomas was a dancer last year.
She says the highlight of the
event for her was when she spent
time with a seven-year-old girl
with T-cell lymphoma, a cancer
that affects certain white blood
cells.
Roughly 700 dancers partici
pate at the University Park event
each year. Thomas expects around
built a prototype in three weeks
for $17,000. Two weeks later,
they held the first on-line auction
—for industrial gloves."
The school has also been called
by some people as "one of the
rising stars among eastern busi
ness schools" as stated on the
Behrend website.
offer
happens then the plumbers can
come in, and the floor can be laid
cbwn, and the equipment can be
moved in
When it opens later this
month, Hungry Howie's P till
will be located in a newly-built
building at University Gate
Apartments that also houses the
management's office and a public
laundry room.