Opinion BEHREND BEACON 5 January 15, 2010 www.thebehrendbeacon.com MY VOICE I have unexpectedly run out of time at Behrend. It is a sur real feeling. Over the winter break, my mind ran a marathon thinking about whether or not I could re turn as a full-time student. This was the hardest decision that I've ever had to make due to how much I love Behrend, the Beacon, and because of the fact that it would have been my last semester in Erie. In the end, my decision came down to one thing: my health. I know that I've made the right decision because I must get my body back to 100 percent. I was told that I had mono the week before Thanksgiving break. Afterwords, my initial symptoms were gone and I thought I'd be fine going back to my nonstop daily schedule. However, in December I was n't sleeping nearly the amount I should have been, considering how fatigued and exhausted mono makes a person. I kept going with classes, producing a newspaper and attending meet ings. I'm not sure how I was able to keep going. At times, it was honestly God who gave me the strength. All of this eventu ally led to me leaving a day early during finals week be cause I was too sick. For this current semester, I • . • • ,• , •"4 6 • ,•• - • ••/'''' r • yy ••,;,• ,•:•:•• ' • • • w••• • ; s .//; e • •:-/ , • •›• • .••• ' ' P o"•: »vk >P; ••• •.• „.: !,•:;Or • „..4. , 0• •„:•• "/ • li 4 , I 4 SO i iLI) Ail :1 it i 0 :1 Keeping Each year, we resolve to rec tify certain mistakes of the pre vious one. We may want to lose weight, get better grades or ask out that cute girl who sat next to you in calculus. So we run out and buy gym clothes or books or hard liquor and throw our full weight towards this goal, (more weight for some then others). However, these resolutions are easier said then done. Go into Junker Center the first week of school and you'll see it so crowded that you'll think Penn State put cocaine in the building's air conditioning sys tem. Now, go back in February and it will look as empty as a Hooty and the Blowfish con cert. If you want to be one of the unsatisfied many that fails to fulfill onto their resolutions, fol low my steps and you'll be in good shape. • Set realistic goals: It's easy to stand around at a party and tell your friends that you want to get ripped abs. How ever, try 20 minutes of crunches 4701 College Drive, Erie PA 16563 Room 10H THE BEHREND BEACON Executive Board Editor-in-Chief: Business Manager Connor Sanely 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 A detour in life am commuting to Penn State Greater Allegheny (McK eesport) as a part-time student. I will head to University Park in the fall of 2010 to pursue a de gree in journalism and a minor in business. The Beacon has been such a signifir large part of m, the past year ant and it will alwa' part of me. I' quite sure how without it yet learned an unbel able amot through my expi riences. I could this entire new paper with t 1 knowledge gained because this club. Last spring the editor-in. chief interview taught me so much. I was nervous when I walked into the meeting and saw six in terviewers read, to fire questions at me. However, I You Tube vi• eos, learned that being extremely and food all mesh together on a prepared and stepping into a Thursday night. I know how to room with confidence will corn- manage my time effectively. ~ •....'-', .: , ,: '. 4 :;.-.:., , , ,.• .:;., -. :,,..iE:, ' :e:;;5',;.; your New Year's resolutions after 10 years of McDonalds and you'll feel like a cast mem ber from Alien. This may put a damper on your resolve, so aim low at first. Just try to run a mile. Once you can do that, go for two. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Arnold Shwarzenegger. Set realistic goals and move forward from there. • It takes 21 days to make a habit: After a few days of effort, your resolution may seem impossible to reach. However, keep with it. Your body will adapt to any environment you put it in. If you want to be a run- ner, then keep run ning. Soon you'll love to exercise and feel physically sick of you skip a day. • Get a buddy: Having somebody to push you is a big plus, especially on those lazy days where you don't want to Opinion Editor: Neil James opinion@psu.edu Sports Editors: Nick Blake npbso4l@psu.edu Shawn Annarelli smaslB9@psu.edu News Editors: Mike 0. Wehrer mrwso94@psu.edu Ally Orlando acososl@psu.edu Culture Editor: Evan Koser emksllo@psu.edu pletely surpass nervousness. I've learned how to produce a newspaper every week and how to manage and run a staff. I've learned how to prepare for an interview, know the types of questions to ask, and dramati cally increased my speed IMIZEIC ; ' get out of bed. Whether it is in the gym or on the wagon, they can give you the encourage ment to push past any rut. • Reward yourself: No mat ter what you are trying to achieve you need something to look forward to on a smaller basis. Suppose you want to lose 50 pounds. It's going to take a long time to reach that goal. Eventually you are going to feel burned out and want to give up. That being said, if you allow yourself some rewards, then it will be eas ier to stay moti- For NEIL JAMES opinion editor example, if you stick to a healthy diet for a week, reward yourself with some sugar free pudding or ice cream. If you work out five days a week give yourself the weekend to relax. • One resolution is enough: We all have a lot of things we'd Editorial Board Business Editors: Harmilee Cousin hxcso2o@psu.edu Garrett Carson gmcso2l@psu.edu Science Editor: Brian Carlson bmcso62@psu.edu I've learned that just by knowing a close friend would always be there, even at 2 a.m., was sometimes all that a person needs to know. I know what it's like to love what I do. To supporters of the Beacon, thank you so much and I ask for your continued support. To the staff, thank you and I know you will keep improving the Beacon. Always try new ideas, take on challenges, and strive for your goals. Keep recruiting for the future, don't be afraid of anything, and remember to al ways take care of yourselves. to do if ing news campus. ours and . ance for ig on a ty night, layout I know that the Beacon will move on without me as manag ing editor and I want it to con tinue to improve. I look forward to picking up a paper when I make my way back to Behrend to visit. I'm excited to see what the future holds for the Beacon, in both the print and online ver sion. I also can't wait to get in volved with the Center for Sports Journalism at University Park and learn even more. Inly have ied more journal but be of the on I also ed more life in Tal. w what s like to ork with group of !ople so :hat spe music, I hope that the future editors of the Beacon will find some thing they love when they step into the newsroom and begin their journey because I sure did. For me, nothing will be the same because of mine. 2cfc , A' 5 42, rrt. I*. .C1:141 like to fix in our lives. That being said, it's not a good idea to overload you plate. If you spread yourself too thin, you may not have the patience or energy to achieve either. Just focus all of your energy on one, and you'll be fine. • Stay positive: The hardest part about changing is keeping your morale up. When it's March and you still don't have the washboard abs you wanted, it's easy to feel an overwhelm ing need to run over to Junker and bash in some musclehead's face with your bathroom scale. While this may be extremely satisfying, it is also illegal and is typically frowned upon by the potential mate that you are trying to attract by working out. So instead of committing mur der, try to keep your spirits up. Anyone can be negative and complain about every tiny de tail, but it takes a much stronger person to find the sil ver lining in bleak situations. Happiness is a decision, so make it. Telephone: (814) 898-6488 Fax: (814) 898-6019 Humanities Editor Adam Spinelli alsssB9@psu.edu Photo Editor: Daniel J. Smith djss223@psu.edu Copy Editor: Jeff Kramer jsksl6l@psu.edu njls2o4@psu.edu fished, they must include their name. The Behrend Beacon intends for its Opinion page to be a forum for discussion, not a screen to hide behind. Occasionally, The Behrend Beacon may request responses to online queries In which re- Engineering Editor: sponders will be identified by their username. . . _ . . . Kristin Shwinski The Behrend Beacon is editorially independent from the Penn State system. The Behrend Beacon operates partially on kass79o4Wpsu.edu Student Activity Fee, and partially on advertising revenue. It is published every Friday during the school year except for before and during scheduled vacations, with exceptions for special issues. Brett Miller The editor-in-chief has the final authority on editorial decisions. including, but not limited to, all columns, editorials. bwmslsl@psu.edu and letters to the editor. Complaints regarding Beacon coverage of school events should be directed to the editor at editor.. psu.edu. x ~r. f , ; .;~~' sa,;::}. 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 51.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of all students, faculty or University administration. Opinions ex pressed in columns, cartoons, and letters are not necessarily those of The Behrend Beacon unless otherwise indicated. Any letters intended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words, and include the writer's name and phone number. Letters may be edited for content or length at the editor in chief's discretion. The Behrend Beacon does not publish anonymous letters to the editor. If students want their letters to be pub- Videographer Mike Fultz til j A L') (64 )1 A day of service Already, the idea of a day off seems like a welcome break to many of us on the Beacon staff. The "newness" of the semester wearing off, a day to catch up on already-neglected projects, play some video games, and sleep on Monday will surely be a welcome change from the grind of this semester. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, however, is much more than a day off. In 1994, when Con gress mandated that a day would be set aside for all public schools and nearly all govern ment employees to "stay home" from work, they intended the day to be a "day of service" to honor the life and teachings of a great man. Indeed, Coretta Scott King reminds us that "the greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds cele brated the holiday by perform ing individual acts of kindness through service to others." So what is this coming week really about? At the Beacon staff, we've be come familiar with the hard work put into this coming week and the passion given to offer ing our community a variety of ways to celebrate Dr. King. Andy Herrera, Director of Educational Equity Programs at Penn State Behrend, was kind enough to work with the Beacon in preparing this issue for the upcoming holiday. He provided us with images and information, as well as some in spiration for approaching this event. Have something on your mind? Want to respond to an article? Send an email to opinion ac Submissions must be less than 350 words in length. Check every week for our new -Letters to the Editor L i iAkiiaj Remove 'retarded' BRANDON BOYD When one reads an opinion article of mine, they will almost always hear me joking, whether it's about the outra geous prices of the parking passes, finals, or any other issue concerning students here at Behrend I think now is a good time to talk about something more se rious. Something, in fact, that I believe passionately in. I have heard people say, "that's retarded," or, "what a re tard," in conversations. They are, of course, referring to men tally retarded people. Unfortunately, people use the word "retard" to infer that something is stupid, dumb, idi otic, dense, senseless, slow, thick, etc. What's really senseless is that people choose to use this word over the many others that could avoid hurting the feelings of those who were born with mental handicaps, as well as those who are positively af fected by their loving personal ities. The reason why I am so pas sionate is because of my autis tic brother, Jason. I am a triplet, and Jason is one of my triplet brothers. I have grown up with him, and seen him de velop as a person. Although he cannot talk, write, or perform the simplest of mathematical problems, he is one of my best friends. His kindness and love are unparalleled, his laughter could cheer up even the most He, and those whom he worked with - both students and faculty - deserve recogni tion for making this week-long commemoration a major yearly event at this school. We believe that through in volvement at these events, Behrend students from all walks of life can gain an appre ciation for the works of Dr. King. It is perhaps fitting that the last event of the week is one which seeks to "reignite" Mar tin Luther King Jr.'s "Poor Peo ple's Campaign" in aiding the homeless and those in extreme poverty. At Behrend, there is a myriad of ways to serve those in our community - from par ticipating in Habitat for Hu manity trips through various student organizations, to join ing other organizations dedi cated entirely to community service, to spending a week in spring helping hurricane vic tims. Dr. King's birthday comes at a time in which the largest issue in the world is one of the biggest humanitarian issues to ever hit the Americas. We en courage participation in the events of next week, but we also recognize that this holiday is about service. We hope that the students of Behrend will give the events of next week a chance and encourage our stu dents to use this opportunity of a free day for service. Connor Sattely for the Behrend Beacon Editorial staff clinically depressed. While he's not book smart, he is smart in other ways. He knows how to get to places that he has been to, knows his favorite parts of his Thomas the Tank Engine movies and is able to success fully communicate through pic tures. stall writer While Jason may seemingly not achieve much in his simple life, he is actually achieving quite a lot. He impacts many people throughout his day, pro viding a smile to a sad face, providing hope for those facing difficult challenges and provid ing meaning to life. If that's what being "re tarded" entails, then by all means, call me a retard. I'll be flattered. I'm not the only person in favor of eliminating the de meaning usage of the words "retard" and "retarded." The Special Olympics has set up a website, www.r-word.org, which calls to, "spread the word to end the word." If anybody knows just how special men tally retarded people are, it's the Special Olympics. They deal with more than 3.1 million participants in 170 countries, all vying for gold, but more im portantly, aiming for a fun time. When it comes down to it, the derogatory usage of the words "retard" and "retarded" should be avoided because of another "r" word: Respect. Brandon Boyd writes a weekly column for the Behrend Beacon. rial Policie
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers