A 4*,.,7.. , ": - ...'''.. . t'''.....,.''...-..r.tt#l-..b.:.:-.E.i..',..:.,....'':.:..i...:','...111.1,megittxn VOLUME XXXVII NO. 4 . - . „ The Administration Building, shown above, is the recent recipient of a $27,000 roof renovation. Also new this year is the addition of the Behrend Building Annex, which will house Faculty Offices. (Photo by Steve Nesbit) Suicides By Margie Reiser There are approximately 27 million young adults (ages 15 - 24) in America. By the end of the year, at least 5,0(0 of them will have committed suicide. For each one of these successful suicides, there will be approx imately 50 attempts, according to a July 1978 issue of "U.S. News and World Report." In fact, suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death for people in this age bracket. The "Newsweek" issue of April 30,1979 distinguishes a difference in suicide rates between the sexes. They say that "The male suicide rate is about four times as high as the female rate. But women attempt suicide nearly three times as often as men: they succeed less often because they use less lethal methods, such as taking pills, while men tend to favor guns." Why do so many young people choose to take their own lives? Generally, they are frustrated, depressed and may see death as a solution to their problems. These problems may relate to: ad justing to adolescence; coping with unrealistic expectations (from self and others); and try ing to decide what to do with themselves. They cannot cope with, the pressures associated with them, and out of despera tion, attempt or commit suicide. Some psychologists believe that out of every 10 people who commit suicide, 8 have given definite warnings of their inten tions. However, there is no one single trait that characterizes all suicides. Some signals may be: depression for an extended period of time; hopelessness about the direction of their life; or verbalizing their suicide ix the Clocks... Fix the Clocks... Fix the Clocks... Fix the Clocks • \ : . • 44. Thy at Behrend have „lig trd.,—_ among older Behrend students and faculty who remember them. They were also discontinued back in 1979 due to a lack of funding. This year the S.U.B. has again made funds available for a number of coffeehouses. The first show of the year featured Mark Rust, a folk singer from Ithaca, New York. Rust entertained about 30 people in the candlelit Gorge Cafeteria, performing mostly original material. Rust played a variety of in struments, including the six and twelve string guitar, a baby grand piano that Behrend hides in the inner recesses of the Reed intent. A suicidal person may suffer from insomnia, a sudden loss of appetite, abrupt mood changes, a significant decline in school work and an increase in writing cor respondence with friends. These may be signals 'of suicidal tendencies. Every suicide threat should be taken seriously. If you suspect that you, or one of your friends is suffering from suicidal tenden cies, you should seek help. One available resource is Hotline, 453-5656. There are volunteers available 24 hours to counsel callers. On Saturday, November 7, Behrend is offering a free stress workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. in Erie Hall. The workshop will be con ducted by John Beatty, and all students are welcome. STATION ROAD, ERIE, PA. 16563 a.r: ~—"•!' ,„. , , Coffee- House! Building, and a dulcimer, a str inged instrument that sounds like a sitar. The thirty people present all appeared to enjoy Rust's per formance, along with the coffee and cookies supplied free by the Student Union Board. The next coffeehouse is scheduled for this Friday, November 6. Mark Steranko, a folk singer/songwriter who is currently touring the Penn -State campuses, will perform in the Gorge Cafeteria beginning at 8 p.m. "Tempus" Deadline Original poetry, essays, short stories, plays, and art work are now being accepted for the Spr ing issue of "The Tempus," Behrend's literary magazine. Double-spaced, typed, manuscripts should be submitted to the secretary's office in Turn bull by Jan. 15. No anonymous works will be accepted. Students wishing manuscripts returned should attach a self-addressed stamped envelope. Art work will be returned by arrangement with Dr. Davis, Turnbull 110. Anyone interested in joining the Tempus staff for the winter term should see their advisor. All majors are welcome. Submitting works for publication is not re quired of staff members. PBS Films at Behrend by Steve Repasy It was lights, camera, action! as twenty-four Behrend students got their chance at stardom recently. The event was the tap ing of a promotional spot for a new documentary series, "Life On Earth"; to be aired on four teen one-hour episodes, starting in January, on public television. Our local public television af filiate, WQLN, has been con tracted to distribute the series throughout the nation. As the point of entry in this country for the series, which was produced" by the 8.8. C., (British Broad casting Corporation), WQLN was responsible for the production of a promotional intro to the show to be aired in the weeks prior to the series. Producer and narrator of the series is David Attenborough, who is also the author of the best selling . book. `_!Life On Earth". (published by Little Brown). Mr. Attenborough, a former head of the 8.8. C. has made over one hundred filins, but this is his most spectacular effort; in fact, it is the largest venture ever produc ed by the 8.8. C. The series, which deals with the evolution of life, has been more than three years in the making. In filming the material for this series, Mr. Attenborough and crew covered over a million and a half miles, traveling Term System Blues by Tricia Wood Every term around this time, we find many of our fellow col lege students, whom, with us in the noble pursuit of knowledge, get those last-minute-didn't-do your-homework blues. How many people do you now see, walking around campus with drawn, pale faces and expressions of pure agony written on them? Deep regret is given to those first seven weeks of the term. These situations should con cern you if you find yourself a part of certain elite college social groups. Do you often find yourself glued to General Hospital with the same crowd every day at three o'clock? Do you take fre quent afternoon naps in your dorm room and sleep right through dinner? Do you have the habit of sitting in the Gorge and on the couches outside discussing intellectual views on life? If you answer: "Yeah, like, I can really picture myself in these situations." This means you are caught -in the term versus semester merry-go-round. We WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4, 1981 through thirty countries and film ing in over one hundred locations. The promotional spot in itself was an informal question-and answer type format. Five groups of people including second graders; sixth graders; tenth graders; college students; and members of the American Association of University Women, all previewed one or more episodes of the series and prepared questions about the series which Mr. Attenborough answered. In all, two and one-half hours of film was taped in the series of sessions which went from nine o'clock Saturday morning till twelve noon.. The segment in which our students participated lasted around a half-hour, and of this, fifteen to twenty minutes is expected to be used. In all, thirty minutes to an hour of- this tape will be used for the promo. A reception was held for Mr. Attenborough at Behrend College and WQLN so that all interested could meet Mr. Attenborough, who is an expert naturalist. Mr. Attenborough has also appeared on many national talk shows in cluding the "Today Show" in pro motion of the new series, which is similar in format to the show "Cosmos" which now airs on Public Television, and plans a se quel sometime in the future. have the term system malady. It is caused by a schedule that forces too mucy diversity into the curriculum. While those in the semester system cover six different sub jects in a half year, we "term sters" generally suffer through eight classes in that amount of time. To give subjects as thorough a coverage as possible, some professors may tend to rush the material a little bit. These factors combined with frequent, red tape ridden registrations, short christmas vacations and two sets of grueling finals instead of three, are a few of the system's disadvantages. Perhaps being in the term system provides a good excuse for Joe and Sara Penn State to ex plain their end of term apathy. "It's hopeless, the term goes by so quickly that I can't catch up. At the end of the term I often drink too much alcohol.", said one student. So, if youv'e worried about alcohol dependency along with your degree, rest assured. Continued on page 4
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers