Pa • e Two
When it comes to Christmas I
am a stubborn traditionalist. I
hate unnecessary fake trees,
plastic santas, Xmas sales (at
least most places have the
decency to separate Xmas from
Christmas), and most of all,
spray can pine scent. On the other
hand, I love snow, Christmas
carols, happy children, giving
money to the Salvation Army, and
making gifts for my friends. Still,
it's hard for me to really enjoy
the holiday season when even my
parents are giving in to an ar
tificial tree this year.
It is not that I don't understand
why this is all happening, that
part is easy. It's just much easier
to have a fake tree. But I still
think it's kind of sad to treat such
a beautiful season in that way.
Like "how can I most easily and
cheaply get through this time of
the year". It could only happen in
America. Still, the sentence is not
final, there is some hope for the
Christmas season. And that hope
lies with us. (I know that the
Peanuts have told you all this
once or twice already, and
probably did it better than I can
but it's an obsession with me,
ok.)
Tradition should and can be a
beautiful and enjoyable thing, it's
all a matter of attitude. Too often
I hear people talk about the great
Pros & Cons
...cottage cheese without
paprika.
...getting caught under the
mistletoe.
...skiing elass...the snow's
finally here.
...term break vacation is
over... Christmas break
vacation begins.
...roundball team gets
season underway.
...President Nixon getting
a glimpse of the lights in our.
beautifully decorated
dorms.
...no housemother in
Niagara.
...the grapplers have
started off with a winning
season.
__eight more weeks of
winter term left.
T. thrmnb Tallegian
MR Prtss /Wartalion
of Canunanwealth Campuses
Editor-in-Chief
Lynne Phillips
Managing Editor
Georgean Gaydosh
Photographers: Michael Mark
Business Manager: Bruce Pizzini
Circulation Manager: Jayne Switala
Cartoonist: Jack King
Staff: Sue Skiba, Debbie Ries, Bud Ore, Gary Schonthaler, Jim
Concelman, Lynn Alexander, Muriel Hykes, Leann Sherman, Gay
Marie Catania, Dave Lojewski.
Layout Staff: Karen Burton
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Circulation Staff: Suzanne Walker
Mailing Address- Behrend Campus, Station Road, Erie, Pa. 16510
Office- Student Offices, Reed Union Building
Office Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
Phone: 899-3101 Ert. 238.
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Collegian are not necessarily those of the University
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Published every Thursday throughout the Fall, Winter, and
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Editorial
The editorials appearing in this
newspaper will be opinionated
and therefore subject to
criticism. All letters that are
typewritten of 200 words or less,
and submitted to the newspaper
staff will be printed with the
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chore that Christmas has become
for them, the cards, the presents,
the wrapping, the shopping, the
house cleaning, the company.
These people treat the entire
holiday season as some kind of
plague they are stuck with every
year and must make the best out
of it. It's very sad when
something with the potential for
such great joy and togetherness is
reduced to a set of tedious yearly
tasks.
Well, we can't go out and
change the world (this year) but
we could change something
within ourselves first. Instead of
buying your mother a pot holder
because she needs one, make
something only you could give
her, or buy something she would
never buy for herself. Contrary to
popular belief, Christmas is not
meant as a time to replenish our
underwear drawers. There are
some other things we can do, like
Strive For A
Foster Child
The sophomore class is in
vestigating the plausibility of
supporting a foster child. The
cost of $l2 a month and $144 a
year would be raised through
various activities such as the
"Greaser" dance held a week ago
Tuesday which grossed about $5O.
According to Sophomore Class
vice president Bob Stein, most
activities at Behrend are for the
students and not orientated
towards making money. The goal
of the sophomore class project is
to sponsor an activity such that
some one else will benefit in
addition to the students at
Behrend.
"The main problem," Stein
stated, "is keeping the tradition
going. Once we start it, we have
to make sure other classes will
keep it going." Another problem
that has to be investigated is how
to promote the project over the
summer.
Some possible ideas for
monthly activities are future
dances, raffles, a skating night
and a hayride. Student
suggestions are not only welcome
but needed. Students should
contact either Jim ArmstrO'ng or
Bob Stein.
Member of
Executive Editor
y Matson
News Editor
Linda Johnson
Policy
or delete portions of all letters for
publication purposes.
All letters must be signed, but
names will be withheld upon
request. Term standing, major,
and hometown must be included.
Signed columns represent the
view of the author only and do not
reflect the Editorial policy of the
Behrend Collegian.
Xmas or Christmas?
don't put your tree up right after
Thanksgiving dinner. Make the
putting up and decorating of the
tree a special part of your
Christmas eve party with family
and friends. Also, talk to your
older relatives and find out what
kinds of traditions their families
had and try to preserve some of
the traditions of your particular
family. Many beautiful ethnic and
family traditions will be lost
forever if our generation does not
make an effort to preserve them.
If our generation doesn't make
an effort to hold on to the
Christmas season as the joyous,
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In my brief experience with
Behrend activities I have come
into frequent encounters with the
idea of student apathy. Perhaps
apathy is not the most proper
word; perhaps it is more an
outright unwillingness for in
volvement as opposed to sheer
disinterest. Perhaps it isn't
limited to students; perhaps
administrators and faculty are
guilty as well; perhaps they are
unknowingly instrumental in
propagating that attitude of non
involvement.
I had long raised my voice
vehemently against this ac
cusation of apathy. I was of the
opinion that students were not
unwilling, they were simply
unaware of the opportunities that
lay before them for involvement.
But, after trying at registration to
sell the Behrend College 25th
Anniversary yearbook and some
extras of last year's literary
magazines (Illusions) for those
who had missed it, I became
quickly disillusioned.
Out of over 400 copies to sell, we
managed to sell seven yearbooks
so far, five to faculty and ad
minstrators, and possible a sixth
as well (I don't know who bought
the one). We mads 21 dollars
towards paying a bill of nearly
2,000 dollars. We also sold an
outstanding number of literary
magazines; a whole four (one
dollar total). Neither• endeavor
can be considered a financial
success by any stretch of the
imagination. Luckily, the literary
magazine had advertisers.
Although we made no real profit,
we at least are not greatly in debt.
The yearbook is a different
matter.
While selling these things, we
arbitrarily selected students to
answer ten questions on a student
interest survey concerning
A l i Co/PIET ,AN CUPID ,ham A , O A" 2 "R AND BLITZ EN
- 3. lQc s 40'.
Behrend Collegian
by Jeffrey Matson
Executive Editor
•usc
26
beautiful, religious time it once
was, it will become just another
sale season and we can then
change the name of the season
officially to Xmas because no
trace of Christ will be left.
(Remember him? A carpenter
with a lot of good ideas about the
world and people, born, of all
places, in a manger in
Bethlehem) Well it's his birthday
we're celebrating, or used to. Of
course it's more then just Christ's
birthday. It's the promise of life,
of a spring to follow winter and
warmth to follow the cold. It is a
time, when in the deep cold of
yearbooks, literary magazines,
and the possibility of combining
the two. We asked over fifty
people if they would mind taking
it. Most, surprisingly (to me at
least), refused quite bluntly. Of
the twenty (out of over fifty) that
agreed, five of them neglected to
answer one question, four skipped
another, three missed two others,
and one missed a fifth question.
Only four questions were an
swered by all twenty. And only
four of the twenty made any
additional comments; a section of
the survey which I tried to attach
particular importance to.
Summing up the survey; the
figures show a great interest in
both yearbooks and literary
magazines, the possibility of
combining the two is strongly
supported, and a high majority
reported that they would buy both
a yearbook and a literary
magazine. I compared those
figures with our sales, and found
it very difficult to stifle a burst of
cynical laughter.
When things don't sell, the
administration is quite naturally
hesitant to provide funds for
another attempt. In light of the
fact that every attempt at
publication at Behrend has fallen
flat on its face for the past few
years I find it almost incredible
that the adminstration still backs
such attempts at all. But their
support has lessened. The quality
of the publications, quite
unavoidably, is lessened as well
by this more limited budget.
•
I am personally very interested
in seeing some type of student
publication this year at Behrend;
particularly a literary one. I
would much like to see a com
bination of the literary and the
yearbook formats, if I thought it
might go over well enough. But I
have to do some convincing. I
December 13, 1973
winter, people gathered around
fires, exchanged gifts, and shared
a common faith, a common hope,
of life.
Remember this one? "Peace on
Earth - Good Will Towards Men."
I realize that this is slightly old
fashioned. To think about peace
on earth in 1973 can be very
depressing, but at least we can
make peace with ourselves, and
spread that peace among those
we love. If that can happen,
maybe some of that elusive
"Christmas spirit" (not to be
confused with Xmas spirits) will
return again.
have to be able to demonstrate
student interest before I can in
duce administrative interest.
Faith will only beat a dead horse
so long, and student interest has
at least been a dying horse far
longer than I like to recall.
There are certain individuals
(far too few in number) who have
been of great help and support. I
won't mention their names
because I do not wish to place
them in a position where they feel
that they are committed to what
is largely my cause; un
fortunately so. I hope that these
people realize my appreciation
for all they have done. But, again,
they are far too few. The few who
have shown sufficient interest are
incapable of doing much at all
without the interest and support
of the many from whom we have
not heard.
We need photographers (or
even one photographer)
desperately, we need con
tributors for the literary efforts,
we need people with ideas, and
people who are willing to work
and able to work, we need
illustrators. I would, much like to
become undisillusioned (if there
isn't such a word there should be)
by an expressed student interest;
either to me, to the Behrend
Collegian, or to Mrs. Home or Dr.
Runzo (advisors of the literary
magazine and the yearbook
respectively). I would also like to
see that interest applied towards
making both endeavors (the 25th
Anniversary yearbook and the
literary mag.) financial suc
cesses. Maybe then we can
procure the funds necessary to
create some really quality
material for this year; something
that the students and the college
can be proud to call theirs.
Doug Julius
Editor:
Illusions—Teinpus