FRATERNITY AND SORORITY LIFE
IFC President Mancini removed from office
CONNOR SATTELY
editor-in-chief
Interfraternity Council (IFC) Presi
dent Marc Mancini has been removed
from office, leaving the club’s leader
ship in question. The removal came
from a majority vote of IFC’s members
in a closed meeting last Monday.
OStay up to date on all
Changes within IFC online at
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION
Plans underway for new student fitness center
Plans for the location of Behrend’s
new fitness center in the Reed Union
building are underway and are cur
rently undergoing a feasibility study.
Although Chancellor Jack Burke
has signed off on this project, planning
is still in very early stages. Ken Miller,
Director of Student Affairs, would like
to give students an opportunity to have
their say in the project. The feasibil
ity study is expected to be completed
by the end of the semester, at which
point more information will be pro
vided. The information will include
what the fitness center will look like,
what it will contain, its location, and
equipment.
Miller said that the project is a
pretty big ticket item. The center is ex
pected to cost two-and-a-half million
dollars.
“A million could be spent on fitness
equipment, easily,” said Miller. Be
cause of the center’s cost, Miller be
lieves that it will take third financial
priority to the convenience store,
which should be finished by sometime
in the 2010-2011 school year, and the
new student lounge.
Out of the list of several possible op
tions for placement of the new fitness
center, Miller believes that the most
promising are those that involve new
construction rather than renovations.
O Visit us for updated pictures
of campus construction at
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
TRANSPORTATION
Behrend may consider shuttle route to U Gate
MIKE 0. WEHRER
news editor
Penn State Behrend is revisiting the
idea of having the Erie Metro Transit
Authority (EMTA) provide shuttle
service around campus and to Univer
sity Gate Apartments.
According to Director of Student Af
fairs Ken Miller, the idea had previ
ously been turned down because it
would have been too expensive.
While the idea of a “campus loop”
seems appealing, there are three dead
ends on Behrend's campus that would
prevent a bus or shuttle from making
a continuous circuit. The EMTA would
not want to have a bus go up and
down College Dr., Aquarius Dr., and
the road by Ohio and Almy.
Another reason that the idea was
tabled in previous years was because
of the ongoing construction at Univer
sity Gate Apartments. Now that con
struction has finished, the idea of a
shuttle service across the Bayfront
Connector is being reconsidered.
Edinboro University currently con-
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Members of IFC voted Mancini out
of office after stating during the meet
ing that he had “not fulfilled duties,”
according to several students present
at the time. IFC members also can
celled their following meeting, leaving
the organization without a President
for at least two weeks.
IFC is the governing body for the
three officially recognized Penn State
Behrend fraternities: Sigma Tau
Gamma, Kappa Delta Rho, and Delta
Chi. It sends a representative to the
ALLY ORLANDO
news editor
Miller said that building something
new is much easier than tearing some
thing down that already exists and
then building something new on top of
it. “You get more bang for your buck,”
says Miller.
The fitness center will be tied to the
convenience store, according to Miller,
because it doesn’t make sense to pay
the architect twice as much for the
same project.
The architect working on the fitness
center has had past experience with
with this type of construction, working
tracts with EMTA to provide their stu
dents with shuttle service around the
campus and around the Edinboro
community. According to the Edinboro
University website, this service costs
the university $186,000 in operating
costs each year. The service is also
partially paid for by state grants.
If EMTA were to provide shuttle
service at Behrend, the funding would
likely come from the Student Activity
Fee.
Currently, EMTA runs a bus from
Erie to Behrend, and students pay the
full price of $l.lO each way.
In previous years, there was a shut
tle that ran from Behrend to the Mill
creek Mall, but it was discontinued
due to low ridership.
“At the absolute lowest point, rider
ship was so low that it was costing
Behrend almost $2O per rider,” said
Miller. “The shuttle would so often
make the trip empty or with a single
student. The only time the bus was
ever close to full was when a group of
students would go see a movie at the
mall.”
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Marcus Yeagley / The Behrend Beacon
Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs, points out several places the fitness center may be placed in the Reed Union Building.
Student Government Association
which, until last week, was Mancini.
While many members of IFC re
fused to comment on the record, citing
confidentiality, many agreed with
Mancini in saying that the announce
ment came suddenly.
“I was not given any prior warning;
nobody talked to me,” said Mancini.
“It was just stated that I was not fulfill
ing my duties.”
Mancini says that comment may be
based on two SGA meetings with he
on renovations of the local YMCA.
The architect expressed to Miller
that he is interested in what people
will see while they are working out in
the fitness center. This idea was instru
mental in planning the placement of
the center, as it is expected to be two
levels and made mostly of glass.
According to Miller, the center will
also be complementary to the Jage
man fitness center.
By adding another fitness center,
students will be able to choose from
two different fitness facilities. Stu-
In contrast, Edinboro estimates that stantly know in real time where the
total ridership for the entire year of “Edinboro Express” is located. This
2008 was over 90,000. Edinboro also upgrade cost over $475 million, and
recently made improvements to their the money came from a discretionary
bus system so that students can con- state capital funding grant.
Marcus Yeagley / The Behrend Beacon
With construction at the University Gate Apartments complete, Behrend is revisiting
the idea of having Erie Metro Transit Authority providing shuttle serives.
missed this semester. One, he says,
was due to flu, which caused him to
miss classes and work for two weeks.
The other was due to a miscommuni
cation, which he says he later worked
out with SGA.
Lindsey Hopkins Hall, the adviser
for fraternities and sororities, also de
clined to comment regarding the im
peachment and removal.
While there is still some confusion
surrounding the surprise move against
Mancini, students within the organiza-
dents will be able to go to whichever is
more convenient. Miller said that the
new fitness center will be more con
venient for commuter students, who
perhaps aren’t as familiar with the
campus.
“The plan for the [fitness] center is
to have a smaller locker room area
than Jageman, because most students
prefer to get in, get out, and shower at
their dorms,” said Miller. “It will also
include cardio machines such as sta
tionary bikes and treadmills, but also
weights.”
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tion say that the presidential position
will be filled come on Oct. 19.
In addition, some members of IFC,
who wished to remain anonymous due
to confidentiality reasons, say that
they also expect to add several execu
tive positions to the club in coming
weeks. Mancini says that this would
reduce the amount of work of each ex
ecutive board position has.
As for Mancini, he says he may stay
involved with IFC in the future in an
other capacity, but is not sure yet.
BREAKING NEWS
Warning issued
for students
CHRISTINE NEWBY
managing editor
University officials are advising stu
dents to use the lighted walkways
while traveling about the campus and
maintain an awareness of surround
ings.
According to a university press re
lease, a female student was the victim
of an indecent assault on campus on
Oct. 13
The man put his hands around the
victim's waist, released her, and then
fled northbound through the wooded
area toward the Apartment Quad.
The press release encourages stu
dents to travel in pairs, particularly
during nighttime hours. Police Serv
ices will provide an escort to any on
campus destination any time of the
day or night. Security phones, often
referred to as Blue Phones, are strate
gically located on campus so that, in
the event of an emergency, help is just
a call away. Students should notify Po
lice Services if they observe anyone
acting in a suspicious manner.
ACADEMICS
Greek grades at
all-time high
CHRISTINE NEWBY
managing editor
In the spring 2009 semester, frater
nities and sororities accomplished
something that has never been done in
Behrend’s history.
The overall grade point average for
Greek students surpassed the all-un
dergraduate GPA, for the first time.
Greek students recorded a 2.96 while
the overall undergraduate GPA was a
2.89. The overall fraternity GPA tied
the all men’s GPA at 2.85. The overall
sorority GPA was higher than the all
women’s at 3.04 and 2.96, respectively.
“Greek GPA has never been higher
than the undergraduate GPA,” said
Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs.
Lindsey Hopkins Hall, Coordinator
of Student Involvement and Fraternity
and Sorority Life, said that she now
has higher expectations for Greek stu
dents.
“Now that I know they can do it, I
expect them to. Obviously from spring,
they want to do well.”
Five out of the six new member
classes of both fraternities and sorori
ties had a GPA above 3.0. Hopkins
Hall said that this statistic was very
impressive because the students did
well academically while being in
volved with an organization.
First year freshman students are
now able to join a fraternity and soror
ity. Miller said that the last time first
semester students could join was fall
1992.
“First semester students who join
this year need to have a good GPA,”
Miller said.
see GRADES, Page 3
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Matthew Alto, weather editor