In This Issue:
Culture 2 Showcase 6
Produced by the students of
Penn State Behrend since 1946 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 News 3 5 °noon 7
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CONNOR SATTELY "It didn't really hit me over the sum- "She had the biggest heart out of anyone we did, really fun."
0 editor-in-chief mer," said Michelle Lindemulder, a jun- in the room, hands down. She would do Alex Ley, the president of Alpha
for international business with absolutely anything for anyone." Sigma Alpha, met Amber last fall, and
01 marketing major who was a sorority sis- For those outside of the sorority, was her "big."
To those who knew her, Amber
014 1, Heeter was more than a friend or class- ter in Alpha Sigma Alpha. "When I came Amber was still a sister. For Christin "As a 'big' it's your responsibility and
mate. She was a sorority sister, a men-
to Behrend, it hit. Going into Brunos and Borucke, Amber's roommate last year, your privilege to watch out for your 'lit
tor, a mentee, and a constant source of not seeing her in her usual spot, getting she's lost more than just a friend. tles' and watch them grow," she said. "It
4 . inspiration. coffee at the Clark Cafe and not seeing "Just seeing her and her spirit would was cool to watch her grow and develop
her behind the counter - it's weird being make me feel better," says Borucke, a not just into an Alpha Sigma Alpha
Amber, 20, passed away suddenly
back here without her." junior biology major. "Like I shouldn't woman, but a great woman besides."
from natural causes at her residence in
Amber's friends remember her as the be worrying about anything. Even if
Knox, Pa. on July 24. Heavily involved
perfect "sweetheart." something bad happened, with her
Contributed Photo
Behrend junior Amber Heeter
ELESE MERKOVSKY
sports editor
Flying discs and launching bod
ies populate Behrend Fields dur
ing Ultimate Frisbee practices.
Often, students can be seen in the
field behind the on-campus apart
ments.
Now, however, the upcoming
sport of Ultimate Frisbee is
breaking the norm, as the plain
plastic disc has ascended into the
The construction finale:
For over 40 years, the possibility of a
student theatre has been hiding beneath
the concrete floors and in the uninviting
seats of Reed 117. This summer, the
school began renovations for what is
now a state of the art movie theatre and
multi-media employing classroom.
"I've been badgering Chancellor
Burke for over 8 years to get this project
underway." says Ken Miller, director of
student affairs. In a student survey
which was distributed last fall, the addi
tions were voted of number two impor-
Passing of professor Loss leaves void at Behrend
For Behrend senior A.J. Harding, re
turning to Behrend was tough this fall.
When he came back, he did so without
one of his closest friends and greatest
instructors: Dr.
Archie Loss.
toip t .
oio it ,
•
,fr.
on campus, the void left by the tragedy
is felt across Behrend.
ranks of competitive sport
For those who have never
played, ultimate Frisbee is a mix
of soccer, basketball, and football.
The non-contact sport takes the
basics of throwing a Frisbee by
turning it into a sport in which
the players require speed, stam
ina and agility.
The sport is perfect for new col
lege students to pick up, espe
cially seeing as it originated in
1970 by Joel Silver. He attended
KATIE DUFFY
news editor
CONNOR SATTELY
editor-in-chief
Loss, who
passed away this
summer after a
six-month battle
with lung cancer,
spent 36 years at
Behrend, a career
that spanned po
sitions as an as
sistant professor,
WORD OF MOUTH: 2 I WEEKLY WEATHER: 3 1 CONTACT US: 4 I COMMUNITY CALENDAR: 5 I SGA: 5 I ROTC: 5 I NCAA FOOTBALL: 10
tance for the campus, following the es
tablishment of a convenience store.
Thus, the need for such enhancements
was obvious.
The room was fully rebuilt from floor
to ceiling, inside and outside. Now fully
carpeted, equipped with 7.1 surround
sound system, hi-def image with 720 P
resolution, and filled with cup-holder
and fold-over desk outfitted chairs,
Reed 117 is now a hub which students
will not only be able to enjoy cinematic
entertainment, but also an enhanced
classroom experience. The facility has
made significant enhancements consid
ering just last fall, the movies were run
from video casettes.
Also amongst the numerous additions
was, to accomplish a more conscious re
guard for ADA students, a handicap-ac
cessible enterance.
"We were treating wheelchair stu
dents like second class citizens. It's for
all of our students." said Miller.
In the future, the school plans to
phase out the classes during the day so
that the room is completely isolated as a
theatre and a student-focused multime
dia center. Already, it is possible for
Behrend club members to create 30-sec
ond videos to advertize for their pur-
full professor, professor emeritus, and
Director of the School of Humanities
and Social Sciences.
What spread his name amongst stu
dents the most, though, was likely
American Studies 105: American Popu
lar Culture and Folklife.
It was in that class that Harding met a
man who would help him become the
person he is today.
"I took the class, and after that, I be
came a TA for him," said Harding, an in
ternational business major who didn't
really need the class. He took it "just for
fun."
"He'd invite me over to his house just
to chill out and have dinner or coffee or
something with his family," said Hard
ing. "He was my professor, but he also
"She was absolutely the sweetest girl
you'd ever meet," said Lindemulder.
Lafayette College and helped to
start the , first club. Ultimate
quickly spread and the first inter ,
collegiate game took place in
1972 with Princeton versus the
Rutgers. Penn State is rich with
Ultimate history, and was one of
the semifinalists. Ultimate has
taken off and expanded all over
the countries colleges,
see frisbee on page 9
poses, which the L.E.B. will run as pre
views before a film. This is a more effec
tive, more interactive, and more
personal means of getting the word out
than spreading posters and fliers.
The renovation of Reed 117 is the be
ginning of the school's endeavor to ac-
comedate student- suggested
modifications, as well as to interactively
connect the students to campus activi
ties. Behind the beautiful new structure
is the intent to use multimedia to out-
became my mentor academically, educa
tionally, and interpersonally. He was a
person that I could come to for just
about anything."
That was a theme that carried through
the life and career of the esteemed pro
fessor. His coworkers, too, saw him as a
constant that would not fade.
Dr. Zachary Irwin, associate professor
of political science, has known Loss
longer than many.
"Over the years, one builds up a kind
of sense of who a person is," said Irwin,
who has been at Behrend since 1976.
"We came to work together, and what I
loved best about Dr. Loss is that he was
truly that ideal of a gentleman and a
scholar. He treated every person with re
spect, and he was always available when
r
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PiAir ~
11(1 Fields
The much-anticipated Reed 117 is
in its final stages of construction
Sports,
around, I could still smile about it.
She made every activity, everything
reach to students and get them more ac
tively involved.
"We don't want students to just read
the paper and hear about events, we
want them to write for the paper and or
ganize events", Miller says of this no
tion.
The project is to be completely fin
ished within two weeks, after the install
ment of ceiling and acoustic panels
along the walls.
you needed his time."
Loss earned his Ph. D at Penn State
University park and a bachelor's degree
in English and social studies from
Millersville University. His career saw
him visit Behrend first in 1970, and re
turn after a stint with Wayne State Uni
versity in Detroit, Mich.
He served for 12 years as the head of
the then "School of Arts and Humani
ties." That was when many faculty, like
Irwin, first encountered him.
"At the time, I think what impressed
me was how approachable he was,"
Irwin said. "Sometimes you expect ad
ministrators to be a little standoffish. I
never once experienced
see Loss on page 3
1
-
ure
see Amber on page 3
Growing
Numbers
JENNA ABATE
With the first semester of the
2010/2011 academic year un
derway, some of you might be
asking yourselves "how did I
make it this far?" As for you
freshmen, you might be think
ing, "am I going to be able to
keep up?" It's hard enough get
ting into college, but the real
challenge is finding your place
in a new and continuously
growing atmosphere.
Not just anyone can get into
Penn State Behrend, our home
away from home. Director of
Admissions Mary-Ellen Madi
gan confessed that Behrend has
one of the highest enrollment
criteria among the twenty Penn
State undergraduate campuses.
High school GPA is calculated
and counts for about two-thirds
in the admissions process. A
combination of SAT scores as
well as class rank is factored
into the equation and counts
for one-third toward the final
decision
Madigan mentioned how
local enroll
ment has de
clined by fifty
students
most likely
due to the
By the numbers
Enrollment
economic
standing in
Erie County,
which has
one of the
highest un
employment
rates in the
state of Penn
sylvania.
countries
On the
other hand,
ethnic enroll
ment is up.
For example,
the 2010
freshman
class is one of
the most di
verse Behrend has ever seen
with students from 14 coun
tries, 27 states, and 67 counties
across PA.
Pa. counties
less students
than FAO9
The numbers for out-of-state
enrollment have climbed as
well. This time last year, only
386 students enrolled as out-of
state residents as opposed to
this year's growing number of
434.
"We're in a good place with
our numbers here and are
pleased with the not just the
quantity, but the quality of our
students," said Madigan.
What's the explanation for
the sudden spikes in students?
Perhaps it is partially due to
Behrend's reputation for its
specialty programs such as
plastics engineering, the inter
national business school, and
the creative writing program.
Maybe the renovations and
new additions to campus play a
role in the growing numbers.
Whatever the case, Behrend's
reputation precedes her as one
of the fastest growing cam
puses in the Penn State system.
MEM
Iture, page
news editor
states