pinion
Changing students
JENNA ABATE
The New York Times re
cently conducted a study de
termining how today's college
freshman are changing from
those of decades ago. Some
argued that the changes are
minimal, while others thought
the complete opposite. The
study prompted questions
such as: how are students
handling the social, academic
and financial pressures of
modern day society?
Many campuses have orien
tation programs to help new
students make the transition,
meet new people, and help
them get acclimated in their
new environment. Even so,
who better to comment on the
transforming freshman then
some one who can tell you
first hand, me, a Penn State
Behrend freshman!
Linda Bips, a psychologist,
and an assistant professor at
Muhlenberg College argued,
"In my experience, college
has always been demanding
both academically and so
cially, but students now are
less mature and often not
ready for the responsibility of
being in college."
However, I would have to
disagree with Mrs. Bips. I feel
that today's college freshmen
come from more competitive
high schools, and upon enter
ing their senior year, know
what colleges are expecting of
prospective students. They
are building more rigorous
schedules to appeal to top col
leges. Because our society is
so forward and many children
are exposed to things at
younger ages, I would have to
argue that students develop
maturity much sooner than
Bips gives credit for.
Our society is more stress
ful in general because of the
current economic and politi
cal realities. In contrast to
Bips' opinion, I think many
students are forced to face the
responsibilities of adult life
early on. Within my graduat
ing class alone, I would say
nearly 90 percent of the stu-
Focusfig on positives
LAURA RUPPEL
staff writer
I have come to realize the
majority of the articles that
make up the opinion section
of the Behrend Beacon every
week tend to draw attention
to the negatives. Whether
they are reactions to recent
tragedies or complaints re
garding everyday life and ex
periences, emphasis on
what's wrong with the world
dominates.
And I'm not complaining
about these criticisms; every
one has the freedom to ex
press how they feel through
the Beacon. I have taken part
in these deprecations and I
have had my fair share of
stressing my conceptions of
corruption and unethicality,
but I have decided to change
my direction. I'm going to
begin focusing on the posi
tives.
I understand it is important
to accentuate the trouble
some, detrimental aspects of
the happenings in our society
and world, but there is no
need to dwell on what the sit
uations are. Instead, there's a
need for making progress to
ward improvements and solu
tions. There is a difference
between talk and action and
improvement only results
from talk leading to action.
When I truly feel there is a
conflicting issue I need to
draw attention to and speak
my mind about, I will do so;
however, I'm choosing to ex
ercise my right to convey my
opinions to the student body
of Penn State Behrend as a
staff member of the Beacon
by highlighting and writing
about what's going well in the
world, through my perspec
tive, of course.
Have an opinion to express???
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dents filed their own FAFSAs,
filled out loan applications,
and were made more aware of
their families financial situa
tions than in previous genera
tions. Students today are left
with the question "how am I
going to pay for college?"
rather than "how are mom
and dad going to afford it?"
sta if writer
Students who are more
aware of their financial situa
tion are more money con
scious in many respects. For
example, a majority of the
freshmen I know came to
campus looking for a job to
help pay tuition costs or to put
a little extra cash in their own
pockets, rather then having
their parents send them
money. Students are not only
becoming more aware that an
education comes with a price,
but they are aware of how
much that price tag actually
is.
I would like to even argue
that students today are differ
ent in regards to social as
pects by means of underage
drinking. It is not an issue
worth arguing if it goes on or
not, but how students today
handle it. Chalk it up to previ
ous experiences or paying
good attention in high school
health classes, but students
today are being wiser about
their limits of alcohol con
sumption. On this point, Bips
and I do in fact agree that if in
the event students encounter
problems when under the in
fluence, such as someone be
coming ill, they know how to
handle the situation and are
much smarter than students
of generations past.
Despite if you're a first se
mester freshmen or a gradu
ate here at Penn State
Behrend, I think it is safe to
agree that college student's do
in fact change and will keep
changing as the years go by.
No one freshman class is
quite like the next. In years to
come when our children go to
college, we will be asking our
selves the same question as
those at the New York Times
did: are college students
changing? How?
I am kicking this off with
emphasizing my appreciation
for all of the meatless and/or
vegan eating options available
on campus. The dining facili
ties of Penn State Behrend
truly make an effort to pro
vide healthy selections alter
native to meat and dairy,
which conveniently makes
staying true to my vegetarian
lifestyle a simple task.
The menus located on Penn
State Behrend's Housing &
Food Services website distin
guish which options are meat
less and/or vegan. A blue,
circled "m" icon labels the
meatless items and a green,
circled "v" icon marks the
vegan items. These choices in
clude: fruit, oatmeal, sand
wiches, pastas, salads and so
on. As far as the beverages go,
my personal favorite is the
vanilla soy milk.
While not all of the meatless
and/or vegan selections are
considered healthy, a wide va
riety is provided. When you've
had enough of rice and oat
meal, French toast sticks,
home fries, and soy desserts
are fine in moderation. A red,
circled "h" icon brands which
items on the menus online are
healthy, as well.
This positive element may
seem minor, but it makes a
major impact for students
with lifestyles and situations
similar to myself. In the words
of my wise and strikingly
handsome boyfriend,
Michael, it's all about perspec
tive. Focusing your time and
energy on things you look for
ward to and make you happy
make life easier and more en
joyable. Not letting things you
dislike or disagree with bother
you lets you live in the mo
ment and live life to the
fullest.
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A 'Situation' that calls for more partying
As college students actively
pursuing a degree, the major
ity of us will be spending four
years reading, writing, calcu
lating, experimenting and dis
cussing. Why? To learn what
we need to learn in order to
turn all of those minus signs
into plus signs on our degree
audits.
After all of this hard work
and time that we spend in
school, it is sad to say that
many of us will never make
the kind of money that we
dream of making. We can
only hope that after we fulfill
these requirements and re
ceive that diploma, that some
where out there a job is in our
future. A job that will pay us
enough money to survive, and
if we're lucky, enough to pay
back our student loans before
we're 40.
I am currently in my sev
enth semester, and while I
hope that I have made the
right choices, sometimes I
can't help but doubt myself.
Did I choose the right major?
Will I make enough money?
Will I enjoy what I do?
However, a "situation" re
cently came to my attention
that seriously made me recon
sider where my life is headed,
and might make you want to
re-evaluate your choices, as
Knock! Knock! Knock! It's
simple and it only takes three
hits of a fist to a door, this act
is called knocking. As a mat
ter of fact, it's an art, and it
has become a lost art. It
seems customary, or even po
lite for that matter, to knock
on a door when it's closed.
However whether it's due to
this new generation being
bolder, or the lack of custom
ary ideals or politeness, peo
ple just don't know how to
knock.
I could be in my room chill
ing out, and all of a sudden
someone barges into my
room. Door flinging back to
the wall; thank God the
doorstopper is there, and they
stand in the doorway acting
like nothing is wrong. Umm,
hello? What are you doing? I
could've been naked! Or
If the phrase "Prop 19"
doesn't ring a bell, now is the
time to become acquainted.
On November 2nd, the state of
California will vote on a ballot
that will (if passed) permit
local governments to regulate
and tax commercial produc
tion, distribution and sale of
marijuana. This means that an
estimated 3.3 million Cali-na
tives presently using pot for
recreation would be permitted
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MAR ISSA LANICH
staff writer
READY- SET
SIXTYANINE!
000-13ABY-gABY
ME LIWEVILIKEY
Nuirownewc
j " - "D
DDS(!
Knocking on those who don't knock
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Why pursue a job in busi
ness, or any field for that mat
ter, when we could make $5
million a year to party and
GTL?
Mike "The Situation" Sor
rentino will make over $5 mil
lion in 2010 alone for his role
on MTV's hit reality show Jer
sey Shore, event appearances,
product development, and
product promotions.
The Situation, previously a
manager of a Staten Island fit
ness center, found himself un
employed at 25 and began
modeling underwear. Accord
ing to The Situation, three
weeks after he began model
ing, he was referred to MTV
Flickr Creative Commons: SVTHERLAND
'EA
INE
MIND
doing something that might
make you question my values!
Or doing something embar
rassing like reciting pick up
lines into a mirror! (Come on,
we've all done it). I mean, se
riously, it better be a damned
good rea
son why
you have
to burst in
my room
like the
friggin
Hulk,
without
even a
knock.
Those while
Flickr Creative Commons: opacity
are the you keep
times it gets embarrassing, reassuring them that it's per
you either go to the bathroom fectly fine, when really it's not
or to some sort of stall to do and you know it and it gets
whatever you have to do and kind of annoying. Or they do
someone decides, "Hey, reaction two; "What the
knocking is for squares!" hell?!" and they get angry be-
They don't even knock, they cause you are occupying the
just pull, and if it's locked they space. In both cases you come
A preview of Prop 19
and protected by State law to
use marijuana, if the ballot
passes.
What deems pot smoking
legal? According to the ballot„
persons 21 and up may pos
sess up to 1 oz marijuana as
well as grow and use pot in a
private residence. With elec
tions rapidly approaching one
major concern is the budget
deficit; California's state gov
ernment's debt trumps all in
the land.
This is easy to argue from
an economic standpoint; we
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for the Jersey Shore pilot
After two seasons of the in
credibly popular and surpris
ingly entertaining show, he
now finds himself making
$60,000 per episode for drink
ing heavily, hooking up with
countless women (including
his cast mates), and coining
terms like "grenade" and
"landmine."
This should anger us. We
should be furious that this guy
is getting paid to have fun
while we work hard to make
less than a twentieth of what
he makes. However, and
maybe I'm alone in this, but I
think I'm more impressed
than angry.
This cast of guidos and
go nuts. It would be such a
preposterous and completely
outrageous idea if someone
were actually using this stall
or this room. So they tug and
pull until it opens, and they ei
ther do one of the following
r e a c
tions.
need more taxes to sustain the
deficit. Why not legalize mari
juana? Tax revenue from mar
ijuana sales could generate as
much as $1.4 billion a year. Le
galization could potentially re
allocate law enforcement
resources, shifting focus from
possession charges to violent
and property crimes. Also
damage to public lands would
decline with a drop in illegal
grow operations and traffick
ing from Mexico and Canada.
Though pot isn't all smiles ei
ther; a fear exists that one day
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guidettes has captured the at
tention of America. We sit in
our living rooms on Thursday
nights in anticipation of the
next fight, the next hook-up,
and of course, T-Shirt Time.
How did they manage this?
How has this crazy group of
eight convinced us that their
partying is worth our time and
attention?
Sure, their ridiculous, mo
ronic behavior might not be
admirable, but it's one of the
most entertaining things I've
seen on TV in a long time.
And while I can't say I recog
nize any significant talent
among the group, their candid
nature and strong personali
ties make them naturals in
front of the camera.
I'm not too proud to say that
I'm jealous of The Situation
and the rest of the Jersey-li
cious crew. Who wouldn't like
to get paid to party like it's
freshman year all over again?
I don't know that I'm outra
geous enough for an MTV re
ality show, and I doubt that
anyone would be very inter
ested in "Pennsylvania
Shore." However, if the op
portunity presented itself, I
would certainly have to leave
marketing behind and give it
a shot. Until then, I'll keep my
skin bronzed and my partying
skills sharp.
13PeTy
FAvRe 7 5
i-Oci IT
out embarrassed or the bad
guy.
I can't tell you how many
times when I go home for the
weekend and I go to the bath
room and my brother opens
the door on me. DUDE! What
are you doing? And there is
this screaming battle between
my brother and I, because
somehow it's my fault that I
left the door shut and didn't
lock it. After that there is this
sarcastic demonstration of
how to knock, until it actually
sinks in.
reaction;
"I am so
sorry!"
and they
proceed
to say
sorry
Knocking is not a difficult
art form, make a beat out of
the knock, do the standard
three hits and wait to see if
everyone is decent. It's not
rocket science, but seriously,
start the art of knocking in
stead of barging into a room
or a bathroom like a frenzied
beast.
mean-
employers won't be allowed to
require random drug tests and
that the law will require out
landish accommodations for
Another con with serious im
pact: Proposition 19 does not
define "driving under the in
fluence." The details of the
ballot need to be examined
and their impact(s) weighed.
One thing is certain con
cerning the great weed de
bate: if the ballot passes,
lawsuits will be piled miles
high. Pun intended.
cZ.7'