4 AI Behrend Beacon I U october 16 ’ 2009 i www.thebehrendbeacon.com OUR VOICE Free EMTA passes not necessary The Beacon has received sev eral calls over the last few weeks from interest groups in favor of public transportation. These groups seek to increase use of public transport, and re cently, their focus has been upon Penn State Behrend. Penn State Behrend is the only school out of Edinboro, Mercyhurst, Gannon, and itself that does not give students “free” passes on the Erie Metro Transit Authority (EMTA) pub lic busing system. ' . /v/ ' •c • • - ~ *- .■■ •, * r ■V f .• - •• -Vr* IVIY VOICE Exhaustion, the pounding of my shoes hitting the pavement, the music of my green iPod screaming into my ears. Sweat dripping down my face. Just me and the road. All reasons why I love to run. Generally, running is an ac tivity that either you love or hate. Some people don’t under stand the point of it and cannot imagine that going for a run is actually a voluntary decision. The thought of exerting energy to run three miles would never be a possibility for some. On the other hand, I don’t know what I would do if 1 didn’t run. Now, I’m no cross-country runner, but 1 make sure that I run when I can, depending on the specific day and my agenda, and I increase my dis tance over time. Key reasons why I love to run and believe it is important in clude: MY VOICE Sleep: I have never really been en ticed by the vices that hook most of humanity. I don’t like to drink; I’ve never done drugs; I don’t focus too much on get ting laid. These things are fine for different people, but it is simply not my thing. However, I do have one weakness that will always get the best of me. Simply put, I love to sleep. It is the highlight of my day. Never have I been involved with an activity that I wanted to do for more then twelve straight hours. Though it may be obvious that sleeping is an awesome thing, I feel that college stu- ,70 ' “XT,O“ p# ' 6563 The Behrend Beacon Executive Board Editor-In-Chief: Business Manager: Connor Sattely Bethany Long editor@psu.edu bjlso37@psu.edu Managing Editor: Faculty Advisor: Christine Newby Kim Young censos6@psu.edu kjylo@psu.edu Web Editor: Marcus Yeagley mjysol2@psu.edu Majority opinion of the Behrend Beacon editorial board Through our research, it has become very clear exactly what “free" means in this case. “Free” means that while stu dents don’t pay the bus driver, or EMTA, they end up paying a large sum on their tuition that pays for the tickets [See EMTA, front page]. We applaud Penn State Behrend for making the choice not to move to accept this deal. Sacrificing a huge fee of our Student Activity Fee, into which we all pay, to provide free ■ «i-< .. '-V-K Why I love to run • Running allows me to get in better shape. Since I have played sports throughout my entire life, it is a necessity for me to run. After playing basket ball and softball for four years in high school and soccer for two years, I can’t just suddenly stop ex ercising. • Running re- duces stress. This is a vital reason why college stu dents should run because they can easily be in stress- ful situations, • Running is an activity that gets me away from every day activities and responsibilities. It allows me to escape from classes, studying, homework assignments, and work for just a staple of college sanity dents are sadly being forced to forgo this great gift. Each night, I trudge home from the library or Reed and see other sleep de prived students just like me. We wan der like zombies, our sanity and drive ripped from our bodies by the unholy stress of college. It breaks my heart to see my friends drag them selves into class, looking like they just finished shooting the Thriller music video. Sports Editors: Nick Blake npbso4Wpsu.edu Shawn Annarelli smaslB9@psu.edu Opinion Editor: Neil James opinion@psu.edu News Editors: Mike 0. Wehrer mrwso94@psu. edu Ally Orlando acososWpsu.edu Culture Editor: Evan Koser emksllo@psu.edu passes for the minimal amount of students who would use this system is a horrible decision and one that needed to be passed up. While free public transporta tion is an absolutely great idea, and would benefit certain stu dents in large ways, the price is not worth the reward in this case, if the money were to come from the Student Activity Fee. If the price were more rep resentative of the amount of students who regularly would *JS~- - _ the right amount of time. A 25 minute run does not consume too much of my valu able time, yet it lets my mind go somewhere free from academ ics and what I need to accom plish. CHRISTINE NEWBY managing editor helps because of daily regular routines. Feeling the fresh air as I run automati cally improves my mood which is another benefit of running. I love exercising out side compared to on a tread Putting off sleep is something we all do at one time or an other. We want to catch up on work or have a lit tle fun, but this has a serious draw back a few days down the road. After three days of burning the candle at both ends, you’ll be at the same mental level as a bottle of maple syrup. It may be counter-intuitive, NEIL JAMES opinion editor but not getting enough sleep is one of the worst things you can do to your Editorial Board Business Editors: Harmilee Cousin hxcso2o@psu.edu Garrett Carson gmcso2l@psu.edu Science Editor: Brian Carlson bmcso62@psu. edu • Running is a way to take a break. For example, if I have been studying for hours and need a break to clear my head, there is a good chance that I will go for a run. • Running pro vides a change of scenery, which Telephone: (814)898-6488 Fax: (814)898-6019 Engineering Editors: Kristin Sliwinski kass79o@psu.edu Brett Miller bwmslsl@psu.edu Humanities Editor: Adam Spinelli alsssB9@psu.edu use the EMTA, or if the money were to come from a different source, this deal would be an easy “yes.” The idea of a campus loop, too, is one that should definitely be explored. The administra tion of this college just needs to consistently take into account that in this economy, every dol lar of our tuition counts - don’t waste it. Connor Sattely for the Behrend Beacon editorial staff. c:hvacurrrxx.4s(col, mill. In a gym, I feel cooped up on the treadmill and find it bor ing. Additionally, I think that I get a better workout outside. Behrend’s location provides excellent places to run outside, for example, the Behrend Fields. However, due to the majority of paths at the Behrend Fields being very iso lated and surrounded by woods, I feel that additional emergency call boxes need to be added for the safety of stu dents. Currently, the furthest emer gency call box is located near the windmill which is across from the soccer field. Once you go across the bridge and head past the Logan House, the call boxes disappear. While running I am always aware of my surroundings, but I would feel much more com fortable and safer if additional call boxes were added. GPA and your ability to be pro ductive in class. To me, this is a terrible injus tice. My fellow students are en titled to this God given right and deserve some freaking sleep. Our grades suffer and our comprehension fades with each passing, sleepless night. As im portant as studying is and as fun as certain activites may be, sleep should always be high on our list of priorities. So please do yourself a favor and heed these words: put down this paper, go back to your room, draw the blinds and go to bed. Sweet dreams. Editorial Policies Single copies of the Beacon are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions ex pressed in columns, cartoons, and letters are not necessarily those of The Behrend Beacon unless otherwise indicated, hare- Any letters intended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words, and include the Photographers: ; writer’s name and phone number. Letters may be edited for content or length at the editor in chief’s discretion. Jon Klein The Behrend Beacon does not publish anonymous letters to the editor. If students want their letters to be pub iekso34@psu.edu I fished, they must include their name. The Behrend Beacon intends (Or Its Opinion page to be a forum for discussion. Corah Ralrar : not » screen to hide behind. Occasionally, The Behrend Beacon may request responses to online queries in which re kcovqJi aK0 „w >l»°<«» will be identified by their username. SlDs273wpsu. edu : The Behrend Beacon is editorially independent from the Penn State system. The Behrend Beacon operates partially on Photo Editor: i Student Activity Fee, and partially on advertising revenue. It is published every Friday during the school year except for Daniel J. Smith - before and during scheduled vacations, with exceptions for special issues. diss223@osu atlu ! Th* editor-in-chief has the final authority on editorial decisions, including, but not limited to, all columns, editorials. 1 3 ; and letters to the editor. Complaints regarding Beacon coverage of school events should be directed to the editor at edi : torfo psu.edu. MY VOICE I hate Facebook JEN SLANE staff writer Facebook is getting out of hand, and I’ll proudly say that I’m getting a little tired of it. Here are seven reasons why: I. Procrastination Tool: I realized throughout my years of using the website that even if nothing is occurring on Facebook, you can still manage to sit on it for three hours in stead of doing your homework. Facebook, I hate you because you are addicting for absolutely no reason, and it results in me staying up later to finish my work. 2. Annoying status updates/the kid that likes everything: There is that one person on Facebook that updates their status a little too much. You know more about their life than you really wanted to. There is also that guy that tends to com ment on or “like” absolutely everything you put up in a short time after you post it. Creepy much? I don’t care if you say “it’s not stalking, it’s in my news feed.” No, it’s creepy. Stop it. 3. People You Might (Not) Know: Okay, I’m sick of the “People You May Know” in the upper right comer. lam in the Penn State and Pittsburgh networks which are both large. What are the chances of me actually knowing the person they are displaying? And am I being dis played to them? I feel like I’m in a battle of not clicking “Add as a Friend” first and seeing who caves in, and I don’t like it. 4. Farmville and Mafia Wars: I want nothing to do with your elephants and I do not want to join your Mafia War gang. These applications among others on Facebook are ridiculous and waste of time. If you want to participate, go for it, but don’t send me and invita tion every time you play. Also, MY VOICE Respect the prize MARISSA LANICH staff writer I am not a political science major, and I have never held strong political opinions. I won’t pretend to have any ex tensive knowledge of President Barack Obama’s work since his election or his intentions for his term in office. However, what I do know is that in a time when many have lost everything, in cluding their optimism, Obama has inspired millions to main tain their hope for the future, and I think that is pretty im pressive. Last week, The Norwegian Nobel Committee also ex pressed their endorsement of our president’s efforts by awarding him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. He was chosen from 205 nominees for “his ex traordinary efforts to strengthen international diplo macy and cooperation between peoples” and especially for his “vision of, and work for, a world without nuclear weapons.” While I looked at this news in a positive light, I was disap pointed to hear so many people react very negatively. Many have stated that Obama has done nothing to deserve the award, some going as far as to say his receiving the award is a joke. The President and the Nobel Committee have even been crit icized publically by political fig ures and mocked by the media. Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Commit tee, spoke out regarding Obama’s award, stating that his inion I’m sick of seeing that you are a Level 62 or seeing your farm pictures in my News Feed. If you’re going to play, please, just keep it to yourself. 5. Relationship Status and Family Trees: I think it’s pathetic that “it’s not official until it’s on Face book.” You see couples break up and get back together all the time via news feed. I do not need to know your relationship issues, and if you’re going to be breaking up and getting back together all the time, you prob ably just shouldn’t have a rela tionship. It’s not something you should take too seriously. I mean come on, I’m “engaged” to my roommate and my family tree consists of my friends. 6. Threads: So, today I “liked” one of my friend’s statuses. About 2 min utes later I have 5 new notifica tions because “so and so commented on so and so’s sta tus that you liked.” Really, Face book? Really? You felt the need to tell me this? I simply wanted to express that I “liked” the sta tus, that doesn’t mean I want to know what everyone else said about it. Then, for the rest of the after noon I kept getting notifica tions about the status. I hate threads because I can comment on something once and pay the consequences for weeks if peo ple continue to comment. 7. Facebook Chat: Okay, first, if they’re going to make a chat, they should should make sure it works. Half the time when I communi cate on Facebook chat it freezes or doesn’t send my message. Two, just because I am on Face book doesn’t mean I want to talk to you. Most of the time I am just checking it between classes and I don’t have time to have a conversation. Also, most of the people that tend to Facebook chat you are the people you don’t want to talk to. Just send me a text mes sage, thanks. star power outshined other nominees’ “real achievements.” Erick Erickson, editor-in chief of the conservative blog RedState.com, suggested Obama was chosen to meet an affirmative action quota, rather than actually earning the honor. Even Saturday Night Live has joined in on the fun, insinuating he only won the prize for “not being George Bush.” It’s unfortunate that there has been such a lack of support for our president and such a lack of enthusiasm for this honor that’s been given to him, especially among Americans. Regardless of political prefer ence or opinion, this should be a positive piece of news. Our president has been hon ored with one of the world’s most prestigious awards during a time when our country is still struggling to get back on its feet and to regain the rest of the world’s respect. He is reacting humbly to the news, and in tends to donate the $1.4 million award to charity. Also, the award will likely help Obama achieve some of his admirable goals, such as working towards a more unified world. So why are we looking at this in such a negative light? Why are we finding reasons to com plain and ridicule those in volved in this decision? Setting politics aside, why don’t we try to avoid the nega tivity since there is already enough that can bring us down? Instead, let’s support the committee’s decision to honor a man who has inspired in millions when we need it most.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers