2 I The Behrend Beacon
Dan Chaon comes to Smith Chapel
By Rachel Reeves
editor in chief
rcrsos7i , / psu.edu
Smith Chapel filled to stand
ing room only on Thursday
night for a reading by novelist
Dan Chaon.
Chaon is known for a best
selling premier novel, You
Remind Me of Me, and an
award-winning collection of
short stories entitled Among
the Missing. Chaon's short
story collection ranked in New
York Times' and the American
Literary Association's list of
top ten books for 2001.
For the first time ever, Chaon
read aloud from his novel in
progress, with a working title
of In Will. Chaon began read
ing nervously, but the quick,
fast-moving chapters began to
pick up momentum immedi
ately. A murder mystery, the
story has its fair share of
twists, turns and trauma even
in its beginning stages. The
plot follows what could be the
latest killing in a string of sus
picious drowning deaths.
Chaon was having difficulty
refraining from making correc
Delta Chi
By Lauren Dißacco
staff writer
led5100(u psu.edu
Fraternities often get a bad
rap for being nothing more
than party organizations, bent
on having a good time. With
recent controversies regarding
some fraternities in the area, it
is no wonder that they get a
bad reputation. However,
despite the negative connota
tions, at their core, fraternities
are all about bettering the
community.
Recently, the Delta Chi
Fraternity has been involved in
the community in many ways.
Paul Nick explains that Delta
Chi has been helping to raise
money for the Erie County
Warming Center Nights pro
gram. The organization helps
provide shelter for those in
need during the cold winter
months. Nick explains that this
charity was chosen due to "a
What's Inside
Intramurals and recreation largest student activity on campus
Ever feel like you are over
loaded with writing papers,
studying for exams, or home
work assignments? Getting
involved with intramurals is
one way to take a break from
the daily academic work.
According to the coordinator
of intramural and recreational
programs, Rob Wittman, intra
murals at Behrend are the
largest student activity on cam
pus and have the most students
involved by far compared with
any other activity.
"I just want to get as many
people as I can involved,
because it gives them a break,"
said Wittman. "Students can
have fun for an hour and a half
and can get their mind off of
studying. I want to have stu
dents enjoy themselves. I am
trying to make sure everybody
can get involved in some
thing."
Silverstein debuts third album:
Throughout the years, the
emo/hardcore music scene has
changed and evolved, along
with the bands that once glori
fied this genre. With bands
going mainstream, playing
music to see their faces on
MTV, and creating music to
appeal to the mass public,
you'll be hard-pressed to find a
band that has stayed true to its
core. One band that hasn't fall
en into this cycle is Silverstein,
a band made up of five friends
from Burlington, Ontario.
Formed in 2000, this band
burst into the post-hardcore
scene. gathering a hefty fan
base talrl\ quickly.
Silverstein released two EPs
before being signed to Victory
Records in 2002. One year
later, they released their first
tions even as he read, and the
audience got an inside look at
the revision stage of writing a
novel. "Rows of houses rose
out 0f...?" said Chaon. "That's
one of those things you don't
catch just in writing." When
asked about the general direc
tion the plot was heading in,
Chaon replied that he didn't
yet know. "I have no idea what
is going to happen, or what the
connections are. Having no
idea is what keeps me writing."
Chaon is looking into recov
ered memory syndrome as an
important part of the story. He
plans to work from the idea
that memories can actually be
planted at a young age, even to
the extent of brainwashing.
The crux of the novel will rest
on the confusion that results
from mixed up histories and
lost facts. "This book is about
things that cannot be
resolved," said Chaon.
During a question and
answer session, one audience
member asked how drastic
Chaon's plot revisions can
become in later drafts. Chaon
explained that sometimes one
of his revisions would com-
raises money for local charity
news report which said they
had run out of funding and
were in need of help in order to
continue to provide service to
the community."
Wanting to come to the aid of
a community organization in
need, Delta Chi came up with
two innovative ways to help
meet the community's needs.
Earlier in the semester, they
hosted a "bowl-a-thon." The
thon consisted of all the frater
nities on campus and, through
their bowling skills, Delta Chi,
as well as all the other partici
pants, were able to raise
roughly $7OO.
The second event was a ben
efit dinner which took place
last Friday. The event was open
to the public and by the, end of
the evening they raised over
$2,000. Nick explains that
while hosting the benefit din
ner, some costs were raised, so
when it was all said and done
the brothers were able to
The main reason why intra
murals are so popular on cam
pus is due to the fact that the
program is run extremely well.
"Students know when some
thing is scheduled, that it will
happen," said Wittman.
"When I say something hap
pens, it happens."
According to Wittman, the
statistics show that he is true to
his word. Last year out of all
the contests scheduled, 86.5
percent of them were played.
Wittman's intern from
Edinboro University, Ryan
Morgan, was amazed at how
many students actually partici
pate in intramurals at Behrend.
"[Wittman] runs the pro
gram really well," said
Morgan. "The students respect
him and the participants get
what they want from the intra
mural program."
The statistics from this year
Arrivals and Departures
full length album, When
Broken Is Easily Fixed. Full of
emotion, heartache, pain, and
suffering, When Broken Is
Easily Fixed is an explosion of
shrill screams and growls, with
clean vocals that would
impress any listener. Shane
Told transitions between the
two beautifully, and while his
scream can take a little time to
get used to, his melodic singing
style complements it perfectly.
Overall, the songs are based
upon the trials of love, when
relationships become one
sided, and dealing with the
pain of that person not giving
this love back to you.
"Smashed Into Pieces," the
first song on the album, opens
with, "Never again. I'll slit my
throat with the knife I pulled
CAMPUS NEWS
pletely change the
direction and out
come of the story.
"Revision, for me,
is partly a process
of discovering the
plot."
Another ques
tion was whether
Chaon preferred
writing plot or
writing descrip
tion. Chaon had
started writing as a
poet, and still
keeps a journal in
which he jots down
a line or two about
any given subject.
"Plot is harder for
me," he said.
"Description is
more fun, but I
have to try and not
overdo it."
One
articular
point of interest was the brevi
ty of the chapters in the new
novel. "Each chapter is under
three pages," said Chaon. "I
don't know how long it's sus
tainable, though." The general
consensus, after some discus
sion, was that the snappy chap-
donate roughly $l,OOO for the
Warming Center Nights initia
tive.
Nick explains that, "commu
nity service and philanthropic
work has always been a focus
of The Delta Chi Fraternity. We
are a values-based organiza
tion and as such, we strive to
serve the community in which
we live and operate." It is
because of this strong set of
values that the brothers of
Delta Chi are already looking
to the future when it comes to
reaching out to the community.
Come the fall semester, Nick
explains that the members of
Delta Chi will be participating
in an assortment of events.
One such event is the "Walk to
Cure Diabetes," which is held
at Rainbow Gardens. They also
dedicate their time at the
Martin Luther King Center,
which hosts a Thanksgiving
Dinner for community mem
bers in need. Delta Chi has
prove that intramurals are
important to the majority of
the student body.
According to Wittman, in the
fall of this year for the flag
football tournament, 546 dif
ferent students participated,
which is about 15 percent of
the total student population. In
the fall for the two week dodge
ball tournament, almost 350
students played. On March 1,
there were 100 students in the
Junker Center for a 4v4 coed
volleyball tournament.
Currently in the 6v6 volley
ball intramurals, there are 43
teams which average about 10
players per roster.
Page 12
out of my spine. Maybe when
you find out that I'm dead,
you'll realize what did to me."
Backed by solid guitar riffs and
catchy rhythms, this song is
enough to catch the ear of any
screamo fan.
Discovering the Waterfront
was released in 2005, contain
ing three singles, "Smile in
Your Sleep," "My Heroine,"
and "Discovering the
Waterfront." Told's voice is
noticeably matured, especially
in the screams, which have
take on a new sound in the
album, becoming less high
pitched and somehow even
more intense.
Page 10
Dan Chaon at the Smith Chapel
ters kept the book moving like
a film. The unique momentum
and tendency to move in and
out of present time, were some
of the things that made 11l Will
such a compelling draft.
been helping out with this
organization for five years now
and has every intention of con
tinuing the tradition in the
coming year.
On top of helping out the
members of the community,
they also strive to keep the
environment in tip top condi
tion. At least once every
semester, the brothers partici
pate in the "Highway Clean-Up
Program," which is vital to
keeping the environment free
from litter.
On a final note, Nick
explains that the members of
Delta Chi "continue to look for
new ways to contribute to the
betterment of our community
and this will remain a core
value of The Delta Chi
Fraternity at Penn State
Behrend." Congratulations on
your accomplishments, you've
made both the community and
Behrend proud.
BrmiREND BEACON
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