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EDITORIALS
Another holiday season so soon? It's the same feel
ing I get every year - part dread, part anticipation. A
good amount of money is spent each year on
Christmas - money that most of us don't have. What
bothers me most, I guess, is that people miss the
whole point of the Christmas season. I don't think that
it really is necessary to point out what that is. But I'll
tell you, it certainly is easy to lose in the rushing and
preparation of the season.
Well, this year should be special in our family.
We're having a new baby. As far as I'm concerned,
there's no better way to celebrate the birth of Christ
and the birth of a new year.
The whole concept of having a new immediate fami
ly member is interesting to me. This isn't just a
cousin or a friend. This is a niece/nephew, someone
who will extend the family, who will eventually have a
say in immediate family matters, at least in our fami
ly she will.
I have to think of so many different things as I con
template-the celebration of Christmas. You see, we
are, in general, the fortunate ones. We can afford to
be here, so can obviously afford a decent Christmas.
Most of us have families to spend Christmas with, or
good friends and relatives. Few of us will go without a
Christmas dinner or a present of some kind. But I
have to consider the people all over the world and
even in our own country nowadays, who will be alone,
hungry and cold on Christmas day.
I tend to feel a little bit guilty when I tbi k of all
those people, particularly the elderly. What a tough
Christmas it must be when you spend the day alone,
wishing it wasn't Christmas at all. What joy is there in
sharing Christmas when you haven't got anyone to
share it with?
I'm not being an idealist. I realize there aren't a
whole lot of options. We can't help everyone out all of
the time. We can't give company to all of the lonely.
We can't give meals to all of the hungry. I'm sure our
families have troubles of their own. But the least we
could do is be appreciative for all that we have been
given, be a little more caring, try a little harder to
realize the real reason we celebrate Christmas - in
essence, to thank God for what we've been given.
The next step might be to go out and do one good
deed. It might be to bring some cookies to the man
down the street who lives alone. It might be to take a
few hours to take an elderly friend or relative out to
do some shopping or grab some lunch. It might be to
take the time to listen to what someone else has to
say. The real "Christmas message" lies in just doing
something out of the ordinary that relates to giving
and not receiving.
People who read this column regularly (and I ques
tion how many people really do) might be scratching
their heads and smiling, while saying, "Wow, this
editor is really naieve." Well, there might be some
truth to that. But it can't hurt to try to explain to peo
ple that they are inherently good and that they owe it
to their fellow persons to show that.
I should keep moving along before I really begin to
depress myself and the readers. Around the holidays,
I have a tendency to dwell on the negative instead of
the positive. I anxiously await the dawning of
Christmas morning. There is such a feeling in the air
at our house. My family complains and complains.
They say an artificial tree would be so much easier.
But why would I want to go the easier route and
forego the pleasure of real pine, the smell of the tree
in the house? That's the best part of my Christmas.
There's such an outdoorsy feeling to it. My father and
I argue about it every year. This year I just took a saw
out to an old field and cut the first tree I could find
that looked half decent (referring to a minimal
amount of bald spots). After dragging it back to the
car, I drove home anticipating his reaction. He asked
BEH REND COLLEGIAN
Recently, it has become ap
parent that the administration
here at Behrend wish that our col
lege be called Penn State-
Behrend. The most recent
"Behrend Quarterly" sported
Behrend's new name no less than
22 times in just four pages. The
new name as well as logos with
the name have appeared on
calendars, shirts, letterheads,
envelopes, televiSion, programs,
informational handouts, and
folders. A hearty applause goes
out to those who are pushing our
"new" image. However, it is un
fortunate that Penn State-
Behrend is our new name.
The Behrend College is unique
in the PennsyWania State Univer
Behrend Classifieds
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL -
THE COLLEGIAN STAFF.
S.A.O.T.M. - HAPPY
HOLIDAYS - JOEY.
JANET SATS - WE MISS YOU
& HAPPY HOLIDAYS - J. & C.
C.E. HAPPY BIRTHDAY - I
LOVE YOU - J.M.F.
TONIANN - CONGRATULA
TIONS - LOVE ME - THANKS.
JEFF - I HOPE SANTA
STUFFS YOU IN MY STOCK
ING - MARY CHRISTMAS.
e'claire - HOPE YOU GET A
LOCK HAVEN FOR
CHRISTMAS - LOVE
DOROTHY.
S.M. - I KNOW YOU KNOW
DOROTHY - MERRY
CHRISTIVIAS - HA-HA - ME.
when I wanted him to burn it. Talk about
disheartening.
I should close by saying that, on behalf of the Col
legian staff, we wish all of you a wonderful holiday
season. Do your best to enjoy the spirit of the season,
to go out of your way just a little bit for those around
you. We also hope that you take this opportunity to
relax a few hours while you have the chance. Once we
come back, it's going to be a long stretch until our
time is our own once again. Make the best of your
vacation.
And when we come back, I'll let everyone know
whether we had a boy or a girl. The way I feel about it
today, that might be the whole article:
Merry Christmas to all and to all ... Hang loose over
the holidays. I never was one for formality.
latimettb Tollegiatt
Business Manager. Chuck Beckman
Mailing Address-Behrend College, Station Road, Erie, Pa. 16510
Office-Student Offices, Reed Building
Office Phone: 898-1511 Ext. 221
Opinions expressed by the Editors and staff of the Behrend Collegian are not necessarily
those of the University Administration, faculty, or the student body.
Letters To The
Editor
sity system. We are the only four
year college outside of University
Park. Wby then, must've be iden
tified with the two year cam
puses? Since 1972, when Behrend
was accredited and became the
Behrend College, Behrend has
strived to be called and thought of
as a college and not just a two
year campus of Penn State.
However, on our 10th anniver
sary as an accredited college, we
have given up. We are no longer
fighting for that distinction that
took over 30 . years to gain.
It is vital for any small college,
especially a new one, to make
itself known. The administrators
are doing an excellent job with
C.B. & D.T. & S.M. - HAPPY
HOLIDAYS ROOMIES - J.
BRADY - PUT SOME SOCKS
ON, YOU FOOL - GUESS WHO.
TO ALL OF PAPA NICKS
KIDS - HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
STEPH - HAPPY! HAPPY! -
SCARE ME.
PITTS, WOMEN!
Coming home for the Holidays?
Make your appointment now.
Gyne. checkup and birth control.
Women's Health Services.
LOST OR STOLEN
Navy Blue Penn State hooded
sweatshirt last seen in RUB
Bookstore. Bought as X-mas gift.
I would appreciate its return. I
work part-time in the bookstore.
My name is Jodi. Please return.
899-5742.
Editor:
Photo Editor:
Ann Bonfardine
Sean Ellsworth
J.M. Fiorilli
Stephanie Keegan
Todd Kightlinger
Claire DeSantis
Spoils Editor: Joel Campbell
Steve Nesbit
Staff:
Sara O'Brien
Mary Ann Rizzo
Doug Saltzman
Kimberly Strong
Jim Wygonik
DECEMBER 16, 1982
programs such as the Annual
Fund and the Council of Fellows.
However, when college is
eliminated from our name, we
lose an important aspect of our
unique identity.
It is apparent to me that the
motive behind the new name is a
new image. We have no need for a
new image or a new name.
Behrend has had an image for ex
cellence long before it gained its
new title. It is very unfortunate
that we will no longer try to be
thought of and called the Behrend
College, a name we so rightfully
deserve.
Doug Saltzman
Fifth Term English: Literature
On Christtas
Editorial
Satire By
Chuck Beckman
It's that time of year again
when fat obnoxious people dress
up in red suits and try to pass
themselves off as Santa Claus. I
had the experience of being ac
costed by one of these contentious
St. Nicks the other day on the se
cond floor of the Reed Union
Building. Even worse was when a
well known mother about campus
had to explain to her little
daughter that the Santa must
have been a helper and not the
real thing, as he was far too
abrasive.
Speaking of abrasive, the
music outside the Reed Building
that blares from M•A*S*H• type
loudspeakers reminds me of just
having spent a wallet's worth of
money at the Millcreek Mall.
Christmas, people keep - telling
you in columns like these, is a
time of joy and Christian celebra
tion, if you're Christian. My idea
of Christian celebration is not
listening to Silent Night over and
over and over on a little tinny
speaker which makes the tune
sound as if it were sung by a shell
shocked Frank Sinatra.
The point is this: Let each per
son celebrate the season accor
ding to his/her belief. The
loudspeakers outside Reed are
just a bit too much like the sound
system at the Crawford County
Fair for my tastes. Don't get me
wrong: Christmas is my favorite
time of year, for all the usual
reasons. But if I want MUZAK
mistletoe, I'll stand in an
elevator.