BABEHREND BEACON
December 4, 2009
www.thebehrendbeacon.com Op
MY VOICE
Ye olde
CARA DALLENBACH
Oh boy, here comes winter
time again. Time for sleigh
rides, and family, and cookies.
and fun! Cue the laughter of lit
tle children as they skip around
the Christmas tree. Get out the
old snowflake patterned
sweaters. "Who wants to hold
hands with grandma as the
family sits amongst an open
fire and sings timeless Christ
mas carols?" I do, I do!
Ah yes, aren't the holidays
just simply jolly? Well, except
for the fact that this heightened
sense of winter-time only exists
in the eyes of small children
and in every Gap commercial.
For our age and up, Christmas
isn't as magical, and for sarcas
tic people like me, it is simply
laughable, especially while
looking back on childhood
memories.
When you are a child, every
thing seems so whimsical and
enhanced to the umpteenth de
gree, and December is no ex
ception. Let
child could
reward of Ch
one pleasant]
every Americ
man that cou
active crowd
dlers with of
candy cane. I
the premise fi
dren before
this sacred n;
it's clear --
it, Santa Clau
Despite th
ships of chi!
Christmas
there is alwa:
way for chi'
to let loose d
ing the Iv
times by play
in endless
mounds o
snow for ex
tensive peria
of time with(
Ling. •
rpeant sled
ing, snow and
and most of
MY VOICE
My childhood basketball idol
I stared in disbelief at the red
breaking news box and the
words scrolling across ESPN's
ticker as I sat in my favorite
seat on the couch over Thanks
giving break. There was just no
way that my child
hood basketball
idol and favorite
NBA player, Allen
Iverson, decided
to retire at the age
of 34
After watching
Sports Center and
gaining more in
formation about
the Iverson story, I
knew that he
would without a
doubt come out of
his so-called "retirement" and
put the number three jersey
back on for some NBA team.
On Wednesday, my predic
tion turned out to he true. Iver
son signed a one-year contract
with a team he is very familiar
with: the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers picked Iverson in
the 1996 NBA draft and he
spent ten consecutive seasons
in the City of Brotherly Love.
Have Your Say:
Brianna Fisher Jeoff Zaffino
Sophomore Sophomore
Physics & Chemistry Aerospace Engineering
"Working and studying for "Working and spending
Organic Chemistry, which time with my fiancée."
owns my life."
Yuletide Being an athiest during the holidays
it meant freedom. It was just
you, the snow, your snow suit,
and the occasional wedgie --
anything was possible. Yet,
while the children clap and
cheer as blizzards accumulate
outside, their parents sulk
alone in the garage, staring life
lessly at the shovel, wondering
where the past 1(1 years of their
lives has gone and why they
never moved to California.
Their pathetic life-assessment
is quickly interrupted as a line
of whizzing snowballs passes
their face and perpetual re
quests for carrots. Meanwhile
they both know that the quaint
snowman in their front yard
will be melted and or altered
into a vulgar sex position by
dinner time.
Christmas time brings with it
some humorous perspectives
but it's not all a big joke. It's a
time for love and joy, so get out
there and do some community
service or perhaps roast a chest
nut on an open fire. Let me
know how that goes because I
have always wondered
When I heard the news about
his return, I was ecstatic. My
childhood basketball idol was
hack.
Why was he my childhood
basketball idol? Because of his
performance on the
court, plain and
simple. His signa
ture and lightening
quick cross-over
CHRISTINE
NEWBY
especially during
my early years of
playing basketball. I began
playing in fifth grade and con
tinued through my senior year
of high school (except for sixth
grade).
My Iverson craze occurred
from fifth grade through mid
dle school. I idolized him be
cause despite his small size of
only six feet, he had such a
huge impact on the game. Just
like Iverson, I was one of the
move leaves de
fenders wondering
how they tripped
over their own feet
as they watch Iver
son step hack for a
pull-up jumper.
I idolized him
MY VOICE
Anyone who watches Bill
O'Reilly around this time of
year has heard of this "War on
Christmas." This preposterous
notion of a - war" implies that
somehow, a group of people (in
this case, atheists) has some
how joined together in an army
to attack a holiday.
Think about that. According
to Bill O'Reilly, there is a group
of people in America who don't
have any kind of pope or bish
ops and don't meet at any kind
of church or synagogue -- or
even a day of the week when
they're all supposed to come to
gether and congregate -- you
get the comparison yet? Bill
O'Reilly is purporting that this
group of people, whom he reg-
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shortest players on my team,
and just like Iverson, I also
played the guard position.
A pair of Iverson basketball
shoes, known as 13, was a ne
cessity for me in seventh grade.
The all white shoes with the
black 13 label meant so much to
me at the time. The shoes
weren't my only Iverson gear.
During a family trip to visit
my grandparents who live out
side of Philadelphia, I got a
black Sixers jersey at the King
of Prussia Mall. And, of course,
there was a red number three
on the back with Iverson's
name.
In seventh grade, I actually
watched Iverson play live at the
Wachovia Center, the Sixers
home arena. My friend and 1,
who was just as big as an Iver
son fan as me, sat there in awe
of what he could do on the
court.
Of course, there have been
some parts of his career that I
don't agree with. For example,
the practice rant. In a press
conference, he said, "How the
hell can I make my teammates
better by practice?"
How do you plan to spend your
time over Holiday Break?
Andy Wehier
Freshman
Interdisiplinary
Business & Engineering
"Spending time with my
wonderful family and
friends."
ularly bashes on his show, is
somehow taking on the biggest
group of people in
the world and win
ning.
Now, in the in
terest of fairness, I
should mention
that I am both an
atheist and con
sider myself fairly
liberal. I take issue
with Mr. O'Reilly
not because of ei
ther of these rea
sons, but because I
am devoutly anti-
Just speaking from personal
experience, most of the atheists
I've met don't have some evil
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I played basketball for a total
of seven years and learned a lot
through my experience, espe
cially during my high school
years. One of the most valuable
things that I took away from
the game is exactly opposite of
Iverson's practice quote.
I learned that you do, in fact,
make your teammates better
through practicing. I learned
the importance of teamwork
and if a team works together in
practices and games, then pos
itive results will eventually
show. I learned how every
player has a specific role for the
team.
Lo(
time
my
Lauren Brack
& Nicole Schau
Freshmen
Accounting & MIS
"We're gonna hang out
with friends and family,
and maybe some work."
vendetta
practice
MIKE 0.
WEHRER
net‘, edsl(n
simply blowing the
actions of a tiny minority way
out of proportion. Unlike reli
gion, atheism does not have a
central voice that speaks for all
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MY VOICE
A holiday tradition
Christmas time is finally
here, and it is my favorite holi
day of the year.
From frolicking in the snow
to decorating the tree with the
family, there are countless
Christmas activi
ties which I find
very joyous
My absolute fa
vorite Christmas
activity, though, is
curling up on the
couch with a cup of
hot chocolate and a
snowman shaped
cookie while I
watch Christmas
Yes, Christmas
4 , 40 0 '
movies are the high
light of my holiday
season, and I re
cently discovered
my favorite Christ
mas film.
A Christmas
Story is
movie abou,
a young bo:
named Ra,
phie Parke ,
who want
(more than
thing in the
ficial Red ft
action, 200
range air riff
Now, it's n(
phie wants I
ally bad, it'
only thing tl
Christmas.
Unfortum
told by near
counters that
out if he ha:
First it
mother whet
he wants, but
pected.
Ralphie the
best way to
was to w ,
Christmas
for school. _ _
matic fantasy of receiving an
A+ for masterpiece, Ralphie
gets his paper back with a C+
against people who
a religion; it just
merely isn't some
thing we believe in.
It doesn't offend
me to have some
one say "Merry
Christmas" to me
at the end of a con
versation, just like
it shouldn't offend
a Christian to have
a Jew wish him or
her "Happy
Chanukah."
Mr. O'Reilly is
r --
11{e aR-°~
DID'.
NICK BLAKE
sports editor
inion
of us, or even most of us, so you
really can't label us all as
Christmas-haters because Wal-
Mart wants to be more politi
cally correct.
I actually like the idea of
Christmas. A time of year set
aside to be with your family
and friends and show how
much you love and appreciate
them with gifts? Who would be
against that? Granted, most
people who celebrate Christ
mas do it to celebrate the birth
that is the basis for their reli
gion. I simply choose to focus
on the spirit of the holiday,
rather than the specifics of its
Ti._ eit
c"tc
.AIIIIIMIRIO' . !.,... 1 "
grade and a note from his
teacher which reads, "you'll
shoot your eye out!"
Ralphie begins to lose hope,
but just as he is about to give
up, he realizes that Santa Claus
is going to be at
the mall. Who bet
ter to tell than the
jolly, big guy him
self?
Low and be
hold, Ralphie fails
again. That's right.
Santa Claus listens
to Ralphie's only
wish and tells him
that he'll shoot his
eye out.
Once he is
told no by Santa, Rai
-1
phie pretty much
gives up hope that'll
he'll get his Red
Ryder for Christ
mas.
Well Christ
ias day
tomes and
guess what
is waiting to
un
wrapped? It
'der BB gun.
of us who
tristmas, we
it it is like to
ing so badly,
!n't going to
Ind wrapped
!c , on Christ
[g.
le exact rea-
I love this
much. Not to
' of the hilar
stories that
- oughout the
on Christmas Day and
I'm positive that you won't be
disappointed.
definitely
lend A
as Story for
;tmas movie
you haven't
seen it,
surf to TBS