2 The Behrend Beacon
Alternative Spring Break
Continued from front page
sent to multiple sites. Groups
performed a variety of tasks:
some installed flooring, others
painted a home, while others
patched drywall or tore down
and rebuilt a deck.
However, many students on
the trip expressed disappoint
ment in the work that they
were given.
"I didn't feel that peoples'
skills were utilized fully,"
explains Tanya Mora, a fresh
man accounting major at
Behrend. Mora, who was in a
group that spent the week
painting the outside of a home,
said that the area wasn't still in
need of much repair. "I would
recommend the trip to any
one," she says. "but only if it
was in a more needed place. I
had a great time, but I would
n't recommend anyone going
to the same place."
Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance had announced to
the students the first day that
most of the work they would
be doing was "finishing work,"
like painting walls or laying
floors. Still, many students felt
that the work that they were
doing was insignificant.
Jena Ferguson, a Behrend
senior, recalls some of her
experience as being almost
unnecessary. "For one of our
jobs, we were sent to patch
holes in drywall. When we got
there, we saw that the home
owners had made the holes
themselves, by slamming the
doorknobs into the walls.
Some of the work made you
wonder why the homeowner
couldn't repair it themselves."
Julie Baltes, a Behrend soph
omore, had traveled to the
area two years ago, and
described the area as less dev
astated than it was on her pre
vious trip. "Two summers ago,
there was a FEMA trailer right
next to almost every house,"
she said. "It was cool to go
hack; there were some people
living in trailers, but not as
many. Now, it's more work that
is wrapping up the construc
tion. It was good that we went,
but maybe next year they
should head somewhere else."
Next year, Penn State
Behrend's alternative spring
break will almost certainly be
headed to a different area.
Helpers at the camp men
tioned the extreme need still
Photos by CONNOR SATTELY The Behrend Beacon
Many areas in Mississippi were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Bottom Left: The University of Southern Mississippi, and many residen
tial areas along the coast, were completely destroyed or abandoned.
Below Right: The sun rises on the camp as Penn State students prepare
to head home after a long week of work.
ONNOR SATTELY The Behrend Beacon
ABOVE: The relief workers' camp
consisted of rows upon rows of
plastic "pods." RIGHT: Students
were sent to work sites with a
variety of duties, such as installing
storm- resistant windows
present in some parts of Texas
next to the Gulf of Mexico;
areas there had been hit by
multiple storms within a small
span of time, and still require
volunteers.
Regardless of what the stu
dents thought of the work, the
vast majority of participants
walked away from the trip
completely satisfied with their
spring break. "I had a great
advisor," said Ferguson, "who
let us go to New Orleans one
night and walk through the
city. As a business-minded stu
dent, I always wondered why
they would rebuild down there
below the sea level. After see
ing the city, and the incredible
culture and life there, I under
stand."
Three advisors took their
groups to see the city, and
those that went got to sample
local cuisine, walk down
Bourbon street, and visit one
of the world's most famous
cafes, Café du Monde. The stu
dents that made the hour and a
half drive recalled seeing the
city as the highlight of the trip.
Other students also got to
visit the Gulf Coast campus of
the University of Southern
Mississippi, which was less
than two hundred yards from
the coast. In almost every
building facing the water, at
least the first floor had been
completely gutted by the
CAMPUS NEWS
storm. The water had hit the
buildings so hard that it
knocked out windows facing
the shore and continued
through the building with
enough force to knock out
windows on the other side,
leaving pure destruction in its
wake.
Though the campus was still
bustling with activity, having
built several new buildings,
the basically abandoned
administrative buildings and
academic centers still stood as
a stark reminder of the area's
past.
Other students were able to
visit the beach, a Hard Rock
Café, and other locations
around Gulfport. One night,
the entire Behrend portion of
the camp was taken out to din
ner at a local restaurant.
Students were able to interact
with some local residents
there, as well as sample many
local delicacies.
Every morning regardless of
the events of the night before
the students would wake at
6:00 a.m. and depart to go do
another eight hours of con
struction work. For many, sim
ply being able to interact with
those in their groups was the
highlight of the trip. "I was
truly astonished as to how well
everyone in my group worked
together and helped each
other out," said Danielle
Zarnick, a sophomore at
Behrend. "The experience was
eye opening... it was a hum
bling experience, and some
thing that everyone should
dedicate themselves to doing
at some point in their lives."
Throughout the trip, groups
would gather to reflect on the
experiences they gained that
day, and many cited teamwork
and problem-solving abilities
as the greatest function of the
trip.
Dr. Troester, who was one of
the advisors that took his
group to New Orleans (includ
ing Jena Ferguson), was simi
larly' impressed by those he
spent his week with. "I don't
know what inspired the 32 stu
dents and eight faculty/staff
from Behrend to commit their
Spring Break to the Gulfport
trip," he says, "but I admire
and respect them all."
What's
Inside:
Women's cross country team
receives All 7 Academic Team Award
The women's cross country
eam not only succeeded in
he 2008 season by placing
hird at the AMCC
I It — mill
• .„ Ai : 0 ":.: ; ;;' Championships, but they
rt
-4 also succeeded as a team
''through their academics.
The team's academic
' ' •ccomplishment was recog
ized when they were
AIA, selected as United !
IC . States
..0
rack & Field Cross
0, Country Coaches
, , i ,,0 1 d • sociation (USTFCCCA)
:,,, .„' I. ;.` ..., „_,..E Division 111 All-Academic
Team.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
• our women's cross country
team was given such a notable award was very exciting for all
of us," said freshman runner Jenna Fatica. "It is a great feel
ing knowing we had such a successful season both athletical
ly and academically. Hopefully we can continue to fulfill these
accomplishments in the following seasons."
According to head coach Greg Cooper, the academic award
is given to teams who have an average cumulative grade
point average of 3.10 and who ran as a team at the NCAA
Regional Championships.
Metric's new album
Fantasies leaked
Usually when a mildly popular and successful indie band
has a highly anticipated release, there are people all over the
internet checking pages for the next track to be "leaked."
This is the case for the Canadian band Metric's new album
Fantasies. At first the band controlled singles being posted
on their Myspace page. The first song from the album, "Help
I'm Alive," was posted back in Dec. 2008, and it was a catchy
pop tune about the fears of performing. It's definitely replay
worthy, with a contagious guitar riff and lyrics that you'll
learn after two listens.
Through some means, the album was "leaked" on the inter
net. A typical leak is when someone starts sharing the album
over the interne and, with a critically acclaimed band like
Metric, it spreads like wildfire. The day after the leak on
March 9, the band uploaded the entire album to their
Myspace page for fans to listen to.
Page 5.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Friday, March 20, 2009
"Finding out that
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