I The Behrend Beacon
Future of Student Facility Fee begins to take shape
By Rachel Reeves
editor in chief
rcr50570 psu.edu
This week, the Division of
Student Affairs and the
Government
Student
Association have released
their recommendations for the
use of the spring 2009 Student
Facility Fee (SFF).
After reviewing the results
of the Student Facility Fee sur
vey completed in January, the
SFF committee has outlined
some preliminary steps for the
school to take.
The top priority is conduct
ing a feasibility study on build
ing a convenience store on
campus. The SFF committee
intends for the study to be
completed by the end of the
2009-2010 academic year.
After the study is received,
SFF will be able to determine
how funds will be spent on the
project. Another subject of a
feasibility study includes the
addition of another workout
room like the Jageman Fitness
Room, to be completed by
February of 2010.
For the more immediate
future, the committee would
like to see the college start ren
ovating Reed 117 and the
lounge area on the ground
floor of the Reed Union
Building. All renovations will
Ranking of All Elements by Importance
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Garr e Room 70%
Copy Cenler 15 %
Addtlor , 4l Lot„rikts: Spdie IS%
Reottvatlo- of R,ccd U 84%
Corwe-ier ce Stare 87%
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I -vortance
What's Inside
Men's tennis team victorious against AMCC rivals
Don't let their 5-7, 2-0
record fool you. The Penn
State Behrend men's tennis
team means business.
Fresh off consecutive con
ference victories over Pitt-
Bradford (1-3,1-2) and Pitt-
Greensburg (0-4, 0-3), the
Lions have their sights set on
defending their 2008 AMCC
championship.
"At this point in the season I
feel pretty good about the
team," says head coach Jeff
Barger. "In some areas we are
doing good but in others we
have a ways to go. One good
thing about the two matches
we played [against Pitt-
Bradford and Pitt-
Greensburg] is I got to rest
some regulars and get some
other guys into the action."
The Lions feature 10
impressive returning players
While sitting in a room clut
tered with desks and students
frantically scribbling trying to
finish their last finals at Penn
State, I never once envisioned
myself becoming a Cost
Analyst for a nuclear power
company. Sure enough, infi
nite interne searches, multi
ple interviews, five resume
rough drafts, and a few
months later I found myself
living in Charlotte, NC work
ing a full-time job in Fort Mill,
SC.
I received my Bachelor of
Science Degree in
Management which has trans
posed into what I hope will be
the start of a career in the
nuclear power industry. My
search for a job was extremely
stressful and for those few
months I felt more lost than
Importance of i mmov i ng Reed Union Building neffients
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be based on the study conduct
ed by the 2008 SFF committee.
The goal is to have the project
completed by the spring
semester in 2010.
The committee requests that
a few study groups are formed
in order to look into some
more possibilities. One group
will be formed to review plans
from the Communications
department to establish a stu
dent radio station on campus.
Another group will look into
the possibility of adding a copy
center in the Union Building,
from last year's championship
team. They are led
by senior captain James Getty
and sophomore Elliot
Blackstone, who was named
AMCC co-player of the year as
a freshman.
The Behrend men began
their season going 5-5 out of
conference play. The team ini
tially cruised to a 4-1 record
before traveling to Hilton
Head, South Carolina over
Spring Break to play top com
petition.
Though the team ended
their Spring Break vacation
winning just one out of five
matches, it was partly due to
the absence of sophomore
Erkin Nasirli as well as
Barger's decision to give a 11...
College to Career
I've ever felt in my life, but in
the end I persevered and
found a place that aligns with
both my needs and my person
al goals.
I am writing this letter
because I know how grueling
the period between finishing
college and finding a job can
be, now more so than ever. All
people seem to focus on lately
is the economic downturn,
falling stock prices, diminish
ing retirement savings, and
how things are only going to
get worse. Where does that
leave young adults who have
little work experience and
who are looking to find a job
and begin their lives? I am not
saying that we need to be
oblivious to what is going on,
but we need to stay positive
and focus on what will make
CAMPUS NEWS
and another group will explore
the chances of renovating the
game room in Lawrence Hall.
87 percent of students sur
veyed this winter agreed that
adding a convenience store to
campus was the top priority,
followed closely by 84 percent
requesting improvements to
Reed 117. However, students
should keep in mind that
changes might not be as dras
tic as could be expected for an
estimated $BOO,OOO in funds.
71 percent of students sur
veyed felt that it would be best
page 8
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Sophomore Elliot Blackstone is
ready for the serve.
us stronger. We cannot just
fold and admit defeat after a
few rejections and blame it on
the economy. That's no
excuse. Yes, it is extremely
difficult right now to find a
good job but it is possible.
The corporation I work for
is called URS. It is a multibil
lion dollar company operating
in 34 countries with 55,000
plus employees. URS provides
services in planning, engineer
ing and architectural design,
environmental, construction,
program and construction
management, systems integra
tion, operations and mainte
nance, and management.
page 5
to spend some of the money
now, but also to save a portion
for later and larger projects.
29 percent of the student
population responded in this
year's survey, compared to an
average response rate of 15
percent. One of the conditions
for collecting and spending a
student facility fee is that the
student body has to demon
strate significant support.
Although in the comments sec
tion of the survey there were a
handful of students who
expressed resentment at the
$lOO per student fee, most
were excited about future
potential changes.
The SFF committee
acknowledges the need for
improvement and expansion
of the campus in the immedi
ate future. According to the
report, "The growth in the stu
dent body over the past 5 years
is reflective of the standards of
high-quality the college
demands. The Student Facility
Fee committee has established
the above priorities in the spir
it of creating high-quality,
high-impact space for use by
students."
Results of the 2009 Student
Facility Fee Survey.
Above: Potential Reed Union
Building Improvements
Left: Ranking of all potential
changes by importance
BrffiREND BEACON
Reed Union Building
4701 College Drive, Erie PA 16563 Room 10H
Executive Board
Rachel Reeves, Editor-in-Chief- rcrsos7@psu.edu
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Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College
Telephone: (814) 898-6488
Fax: (814) 898-6019
Editorial
Friday, March 27, 2009
Board
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