Behrend Beacon
April 16, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
Curt
Sonney
continued from front page
been representing Erie County's 4th
Legislative District - which includes
Penn State Behrend - since. December
2004. "The point being made was that
you don't cut programs flat out of the
Geering promoted to Director of Business and Operations
SHAWN ANNARELLI
iihinjging editor
After a year of new facilities,
new challenges and new disas
ters, Randy Geering will find
himself in a new position for a
new year.
Geering will begin on May 1
as Penn State Behrends Direc
tor of Business and Operations.
He will have to fill some large,
storied shoes as the current di
rector, John Ream, heads into
retirement.
"I will be with John until
[April] 30," Geering said. "I
don’t know that I can absorb 26
years of service and experience
in three weeks, but there are
certainly some areas I'd like to
pinpoint to gain knowledge on."
Randy Geering wants to have
a short learning curve as he
H&SS
director
continued from front page
Gamble believes "he seemed
to understand competing de
'■mands to research and
,we 11... the fact that he’s In'phi
losophy in some ways provides
natural linkages to a lot of dif-
Behrend Community All-Stars to face Steelers squad
ELESE MERKOVSKY
w riter
After a major success last year, the
Pittsburgh Steelers will make their
way back to the Junker Center to take
on the Behrend Community All-Stars
basketball team on Sunday at 3:00.
That’s right, basketball. The Steelers
will leave their normal home of Heinz
Field, and take part in a charity bas
ketball game against Behrend staff,
students and facility.
Stahl to guest speak on Holocaust
AMANDA LOMMOCK
>M/f u liter
Holocaust remembrance
happens during the time of
Yom Hashoah, commemorates
the Holocaust and pays re
spects to the many lives lost.
It is, however, the privilege
of Penn State Behrend to wel
come a guest speaker for Holo
caust Remembrance who
reminds us that even during
this terrible t ragedy. There was
Greek
awards
continued from front page
Among those who presented
awards during the ceremony
were Lauralee Gleci-the Presi
dent of Order of Omega, Lind
sey Hopkins Hall-Coordinator
of Student Involvement in
Sorority and Fraternity life,
Chancellor Jack Burke, Molly
Thomas-vice president of
SGA, Kris Torok, Brad Koval
cik-the president of SGA, and
Ken Miller-the Director of Stu
dent Affairs.
state budget. Rather than cutting all
funding in one year, you phase out a
program with small cuts - five, or ten
percent.
"I have always fought for Penn State
appropriation, and I will always fight
for Penn State appropriation. There
are a lot of things in the budget other
than higher education that will be cut,
and it's just a shame the government
couldn't give them the ability to know
those cuts were coming."
For Gerald Price, it's an answer that
came too late.
"I fought him on that idea to cut
funding," he said, "because of the fi
nancial devastation that it would cause
transitions into his new posi
tion.
Geering has had to think
quickly on his feet before. After
all, he is the person who made
the call to have the compart
mented kitchen set up outside
of Erie Hall to serve students
after the Gazebo at Dobbins
caught fire.
"There are some positives
about John’s position, because
a lot of the things he does for
the campus I do for Housing
and Food Services," Geering
said.
From construction projects
and maintenance to overseeing
upwards of 20 buildings, Geer
ing has administrated many
ventures in his nine years of
service at Behrend.
"But there are other parts of
John's job that I might be famil
ferent areas within the school,
even though we don’t have a
major in philosophy at the
school."
As Chair of the Department lenges that lie within.”
of Philosophy at Queens Col- Gamble said, "He has per
lege, Hicks oversaw a number spectives that appeal to a lot of
of interdisciplinary programs, us, so that might give him some
liberal arts studies, and took an understanding of a lot of differ
active role in teaching cross lit- ent disciplines.”
erary courses. Not only did Kathryn Wolfe, Professor of
Hicks graduate with a doctor- French at Penn State Behrend,
ate from Columbia University, agrees that Hicks is the perfect
he also has a strong record of fit for this position,
publications on the 19th-cen- “During his on-campus in-
SSiilofipphef? tSrviewjhe strucKfS&ny of us as
HegeL being someone who listened
What attracted him to the well and gave thoughtful an
job, Hicks said, was that it was swers that bespoke a penetrat-
The proceeds go to the men's bas
ketball team, and helps to pay for the
the multiple expenses not covered by
the small amount of money given to D
III sports teams.
The main difference from last year
is the big names popping up in the ros-
Such players as ''Big" Ben Roethlis
berger, the starting quarter back for
the past two Super Bowl victories.
Along with Rothlisberger, starting
tackle Willie Colon, runningback
still hope, a hope created by the
sacrifice of a few brave souls.
Stanlee Stahl, the vice-presi
dent for the Jewish Foundation
of the Righteous will be coming
to speak at Penn State Behrend
on Monday at 9:05 a.m. in Reed
Hall, Room 114 and will be
bringing to light the lesser
known and often forgotten he
roes of the Holocaust; the indi
viduals who where not Jewish,
who risked everything to help
Jews escape the Nazis.
During the ceremony, Lindsey
Hopkins Hall shared her feel
ings about the recent accom
plishments of Behrend’s
sororities and fraternities.
"Last year, I told you I
couldn’t wait to see what your
fraternity and sorority commu
nity accomplishes next,” she
said, adressing the audience.
“The same stands for this up
coming year.
“You continue to set the bar
higher and higher for your
selves. Just a short three years
ago, there were less than 100
members in your entire com
munity. Now, you stand just shy
of 200 members.
“Last spring for the first time,
the all Greek GPA was above
the all undergraduate GPA. You
thoughtfully proposed eliminat
ing the ’Ol Rule, which was ap-
to the community, because of how
much money a college and its students
bring to an area. He didn't explain his
comments - it's just unfathomable.”
For Robert Light, Senior Associate
Dean, this isn't the first time he's heard
the Penn State funding debate, and it
won t be the last.
“The state has certainly thought
about [cutting funding],” said Light,
who has been in his position for 22
years. "When the stimulus funding
ends next year, we could face some
cuts. Looking at a 20 percent increase,
that's millions of dollars.”
And the issue hits home, too, he
says.
iar with that 1 will still have to
learn more about," Geering
said. "I think a positive thing is
that I have an institutional
memory of knowing people and
the processes and systems, and
I can utilize that as I move for
ward. I think that is huge."
Geering said that his new po
1 am going to hit
the ground
running.”
Randy Geering
Director of Housing and Food
Services
sition has a penchant for qual
ity dating back to John Lilley's
days, and that it's not about
“a good match with what I was
doing, a good way to develop
administrative and teaching ex
periences also the new chal
Rashard Mendenhall, corner back
Desha Townshed, and starting defen
sive end Brett Keisel all have a spot on
the Steeler’s basketball team.
Steelers’ legend James Harrison,
who is three-time Pro Bowl selection
and has earned Super Bowl rings with
the Steelers in Super Bowl XL and
Super Bowl XLIII, has a spot in the
lineup as well.
A question on the upcoming game
would be recently traded Santiono
Holmes, who was also named to the
"Most people do not know
they exist,” Stahl Said.
“Any non-Jew caught helping
a Jew where tortured and
killed. These people where
risking not only themselves bu
ttheir families as well in many
cases.”
These brave individuals are
honored by the Jewish Founda
tion of the Righteous and are
sent aid to give thanks to the
brave things they accomplished
during the Holocaust.
proved and fall recruitment was
implemented.
“All six organizations partici
pated in Greek Week this year
and came together to celebrate
interfraternalism,” Hopkins
Hall said.
Hopkins Hall also spoke
about how Behrend’s sororities
and fraternities have made an
impact around campus and in
the local community.
“l think the work of these stu
dents collectively impacts the
campus and Erie community in
many ways,” Hopkins Hall said.
“Each chapter gives back to
their communities in so many
different ways from Adopt A
Highway to Habitat for Human
ity to the Martin Luther King
Center to philanthropic events
to raise money for the Erie
Warming Center, for the ex
how he can do something. It is
all about how well he can do
something.
"I don't think there are people
in these positions that settle,"
Geering said.
One example he gave is
Behrend s year-in and year-out
discussions on having a con
venience store. The project is fi
nally moving forward with a
facility fee and with Housing
and Food Services.
"We can say that we’re going
to have a nice convenience
store," Geering said. "It’s going
to be done the right way. It's
going be the right size, and it's
going to have exposure. We
have all the right people work
ing together on the same page
to do this, so what we ll end up
with is a real quality product."
However, the challenges that
ing, humane and fair mind. We
have every reason to hope for
many years of enlightened
leadership with this hire,” said
Wolfe.
Hicks is enthusiastic about
his new role, and he is ready to
jump right in. He feels his first
important task in his new posi
tion is to be an active listener, to
talk to students and staff, and
look at what has worked well at
Behrend and try to improve, as
well as look at what needs to be
expanded.
tto put it Simply, we'w'ant to'
prepare students to be produc
tive in a pluralistic and increas
ingly globalizing society,” said
Not many remember these
individuals, mostly Christian,
who gave hope during this time
and rescued Jews knowing the
risk if they where caught.
“Students should come to
learn about a part of the Holo
caust that is not often dis
cussed,” Stahl said, “and to
learn that one person can make
a difference for a right and just
cause.”
pEßlEience Children's Mu
seum's Camp Hope: Activities
for Grieving Children, and their
national philanthropies.
“Many fraternity and sorority
members are interested in mak
ing an impact in not only their
chapter and fraternity/sorority
community but within the
greater campus community.
“While fraternities and soror
ities are made up of college stu
dents who aren't perfect, just
like any other organization,
sometimes their great accom
plishments get overshadowed
by some of the inappropriate
decisions they choose to make.
“Greek Awards highlights
those accomplishments and
gives them something to aspire
to and work towards,” Hopkins
Hall said.
“It's significant to Penn State
Behrend because we'd have to make
up those cuts,” he said.
According to Robert Speel, Associ
ate Professor of Political Science at
Penn State Behrend, much power
rests in the hands of the students.
“This is why it's important for stu
dents to get involved and vote,” he
said. “Most students at Behrend don't
vote, and those who do tend not to
vote in local elections, so there’s not
much of a voting base from Penn State
Behrend.”
The he-said she-said, though, is all a
part of a regular political campaign
and is very common.
lie ahead for Geering may seem
like a breeze after the gauntlet
of obstacles he has faced and
conquered in the last year.
“I think it's all about having
basic knowledge of everything
and understanding the details
of certain things," Geering said.
"There are some human re
sources things that I'm familiar
with, but I haven't the person
making those decisions. That
will be a hurdle."
The greatest step for Geering
will be having a new chancellor,
Donald Birx, stepping in.
"His philosophies and goals
of which way the campus is
going to move are going to be
the next step," Geering said.
"The next challenge will be
Donald Birx learning and ad
justing, and at some point we
will say, Okay, what's next."
While Hicks is bringing a
fresh mindset to the job, he will
nonetheless “face the same is
sues as Behrend will face -
tougher budget, harder to get
money for programs than it’s
always been,” said Gamble.
“What I think we've found in
Hicks - is someone who wants
the job and thinks that it pro
duces interesting opportunities,
and will put forth effort into it."
The current Director of the
School of Humanities and So
cial Sciences, '"’Dr. '’Rich'S nJ -
Aquila, has served in this posi
tion since July 2004. This June,
he will be stepping down as di
roster but now will not being making
an appearance because he is signed to
the Jets.
Tickets are being sold in the Junker
Center at normal hours. The Steelers
will be available at halftime to sign au
tographs and meet the public.
There will also be shooting contests,
50/50 raffles, prize raffles, and will be
fun for all ages.
Tickets are $7 and can be bought at
the Junker Center during normal busi
ness hours. The doors will open at 2
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News
“As a politician you always have to
be careful of every word you say,"
Speel said. "There will always be peo
ple taking things out of context or
grabbing something for a soundbite.”
What's not that common to hear in
Erie is the issue of Penn State funding.
“In my 18 years here, this is the first
time I’ve heard the issue of Penn State
funding come up in a campaign in
Erie,” said Speel.
“You'll see it come up in Center
County, because of University Park,
and at some of the 2-year campus'
counties, but normally it doesn't come
up much in Erie.”
Part of what Geering wants
to be able to do as Birx settles
in is to take a step back to gar
ner new ideas for Behrend's di
rection from each other and
from others who have been
here for a long time. He will be
open to new ideas about differ
ent things, where steps may not
have been taken in those direc
tions.
"We have a lot of things going
on this summer," Geering said.
We have labs being upgraded,
renovations in a Reed, a new
roof to be built for Reed, the
Metzgar building, and I'll still
be involved in food services to
help see some things come to
fruition."
1 am going to hit the ground
running.
rector and plans to go on sab
batical in the upcoming aca-
demic year
July 15 will mark the begin
ning of Hick’s new position,
and with him comes a strong
philosophical approach to life.
Hicks said, “A life worth liv
ing is a life in which wisdom
and technical expertise and
knowledge is central to the mis
sion of students having a liberal
arts education, Socratic mis
sion of critically scrutinizing in
formation. |
I
p.m. on Sunday.
Last year around 700 fans attended
the game, showing that the event is
able to bring out a large audience. In
hopes to avenge their 68-69 loss, the
Behrend All-Stars are looking for a
win.
No matter who wins, the money
goes to a good cause, and brings big
name celebrities to a small school like
Behrend.