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Editor Finds No Answers
Discussion Of The Eternal
Question: "Where Have We
All Been?" By aaire DeSantis
For all of you who just might look to this column for
"what's new on campus," you won't find it this time. Instead,
you'll find what I feel is "what's old on campus." The topic
for this week is attendance - not class attendance but atten
dance at the various functions the campus offers. (Didn't I do
this last year?)
I attended the Dotson Racier lecture on runaway children. I
found it to be very interesting and informative. But then the
thirty or so attendants at that lecture were predominantly
those that were invited to the small dinner prior to the talk.
Why is it that more students and faculty couldn't have
attended?
David Voigt, who wrote a book on the history of baseball,
was on campus last week. The attendance was an embarassing
ten or so. That's strange, since the lecture coincided with the
playoff games that week. As a matter of fact, the time of the
lecture that night ended up Sailing right down the middle of
the games. The lecture was at eight o'clock, while the first
game ended around seven o'clock and the second game began
at nine o'clock. It seems as if that would have been the perfect
compliment to the games-although I may be mistaken.
What is our problem? Is everyone - and I address students
and faculty - that disinterested? Or are we all bogged down
with work? There are viable reasons for the lack of attendance
at the functions, but maybe the lesson to be learned is that we
need to "stop and smell the roses" more often. These func
tions are both informative and relaxing and maybe that is
what we all need every now and then.
Not long ago, a musician named Buzzy Linhart was at
Behrend to perform. A SUB spokesman told me that they lost
nearly $lOOO on that performance alone - and it was a very
good one. The Student Union Board sponsored that event and
they only made - and I'm not joking - $4.50 on it. That's crazy
and we couldn't blame SUB if they chose not to sponsor these_
performances anymore. This is not to mention the whopping
total of thirty that attended Barbara Bailey Hutchison's per
formance. I would venture to bet that SUB lost a pretty good
dollar on that one, also.
While I can't beg people to attend, (Because I am as guilty
as the next Editor) I can call the situaton to your attention.
These events are worthy of our attention and practically
painless at that. We might even find an evening of music
enjoyable.
I don't mean to be so sarcastic, since, as I said, I am also at
fault, but the whole situation is so ironic that I hardly feel I
have a choice, especially when considering all of the students
and faculty that are on campus in the evenings. Once again, I
can't make people attend, but I can bet you that if you would,
you would not regret it. It would be both entertaining for us
and beneficial to the programs here at Behrend. Anyone up
for the Avante Theatre Company's presentation of "Home?"
And so it goes ... until next week.*
* The Avante Theatre Company will present the play
"Home" on Wednesday, October 19, at 8 p.m. in the Reed
Lecture Hall.
Behrend Collegian
Assistant Editor: Risa Glick
Business Manage,: Rod Luery
Sports Editor. Joel Campbell
Elizabeth Gillian
Donald Gwizdz
Dave Harrington
Mary Hickin
Michael Kitchen
Edward J. McCloskey
Thomas Miller
Justin Panson
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 Univer
sity Administration, faculty, or the student body.
Editor: Claire DeSantis
Staff
Lisa Pavadore
Cynthia Stipancic
Sarah Tamilin
Margaret Tomczak
Ann Weunski
William Whitney
BEH REND COLLEGIAN
"For Those Of You Who Pahk Your Cahs a • .1.11 •
by Lisa Pavadore fortunately, being from Boston, I ritating, but I have come to see an
In coming to Behrend College had yet to conquer my greatest advantage. While I thought that
this September, I had to cope with obstacle: my speech. my difference in dialect would
the fact that once again I was a When my roommate first asked make me seem strange, it draws
freshman. I was confronted by the me to hand her the "pop," I took people to talk to me. My so-called
many questions that rolled around • a full look around the room to "accent" has not isolated me, but
in freshmen minds: Will I make find something worthy of the title. has turned out to be my best social
many friends? Will I get along I thought everyone called it contact.
with my roommate? and the "tonic." I still can't get through a So for those of you whom I
ultimate Will I fit in? conversation with a group of peo- have met, yoi can continue to
Soon after the semester started, ple. Soon after a few words, I'd joke —or should I say "jag"
I was all-settled in and had made a notice the smiles, giggles, and about my dialect, because I'm still
number of friends. Classes were people elbowing each other. Many "going to "pahhk my cah in my
fine, and my health was good, have told me to "Say that again." - gahrahge."
despite Dobbins' offerings. Un- Once in a while it could be ir-
Dean Lane Discusses Behrend's Evolution
by Mary Hickin
While Behrend is celebrating its
35th anniversary, Dean of Admis
sions Benjamin Lane is also
celebrating an anniversary. Dean
Lane is beginning his 31st year at
Behrend College of Penn State.
Lane began his career at Behrend
as a member of the English
teaching staff. Through the years
he has seen the college go from
Behrend Center to Behrend Cam
pus to Behrend College, as well as
many other changes, both tangi
ble and intangible.
Dean Lane chose Behrend after
a year at a private school and re
mained because he saw the growth
potential and was "very much en
tranced by the campus" and its
beauty. While the beauty remains,
the campus itself has changed
dramatically.
When. Dean Lane first came
here, the faculty as well as the
students lived on campus. Lane's
first child was born while he resid
ed here. The only buildings were
the Behrend building, Erie Hall
and the Administration building
which housed the women. Turn
bull was the cafeteria and Lane's
Editorial Comment
Cheating . . .A Contagio
By Risa Glick
Cheating is a disease that is cur
rently spreading throughout the
schools of our country. There are
three, degrees of this disease:
minor, serious and critical.
Cheating is highly contagious to
those people who are .mot strong
enough to battle it. Once this
disease is caught, it runs rampant
through the body of the infected
person, making it difficult to
cure. Some cheaters have been
. cured during the early cheating
phase, but once the total cheating
process has been reached, chances
of being cured are quite slim.
Continual use of cheating will
result in an addiction to cheat.
Many of the symptoms of this
disease are visible. The first stage
of cheating is the failure of a stu
dent to study for a simple quiz.
Instead of honestly sacrificing a
few points, the student resorts to
"borrowing" the answers of a
fellow classmate. This small
symptom leads to cheating on a
much grander scale, including ma
jor tests and final examinations.
During the early stages of the
disease, the symptoms are very
minute. They consist of roaming
eyes, whispering during the exam,
the exact same wording of
office in Turnbull was once the
electric lab. Since then he has seen
the college grow and over a dozen
more buildings erected, including
three dorms and the library.
Along with the growth of the
campus, the faculty and students
have increased greatly. The stu
dent body has grown from 260 to
over 2000 full-time students. The
changes in the students arefew he
said. Attitudes haven't changed.
Dress codes have. Back when he
started, the men wore coats and
ties to dinner, women wore skirts
and heels.
But the students themselves, he
says, haven't changed much. He
concedes they are more "world
ly'." than those of 30 years ago. He
attributes this to the emergence of
television as a common household
item and to the computer. These
two inventions alone have chang
ed the American student
considerably.
Dean Lane also feels that the
students are more competitive.
The entrance procedures were
much simpler 30 years ago. SAT
scores (a common requirement for
answers by two different people,
or two students with the same pro
blem incorrect, made by the same
mistake.
As a result, it must be mention
ed that these symptoms con
sistently worsen. Methods of
cheating are as numerous as the
symptoms, if not more so. Most
of these methods are mischievous;
all are dishonest.
Along with symptoms, are sim
ple methods of cheating, in
cluding cheat sheets with either
notes on them or answers to .the
test. Notes written on the desk is
an easy but risky method of
cheating. Writing answers or
notes on one's hand is always a
popular style. These are a few of
the common methods of cheating.
There are more imaginative
techniques such as writing notes
on a rubberband and then stret
ching it across the desk. The notes
become blobs of ink when the
rubberband is removed. Writing
notes on a calculator or a shoe is
quite common, as is a graffiti
stricken pencil.
Sometimes there can be found a
-student who takes cheating to its
fullest extent. He sits down to
take the test, and after taking a
good look at it, he feigns a
OCTOBER 13,.1983
most colleges now) were non
existent. Entrance requirements
have grown more competitive and
more difficult.
The one change Lane feels may
not be for the better is the attitude
toward education. More students
and faculty regard "a college
education as a means to a better
job." The emphasis is no longer
on educating a student, but train
ing him instead. He feels there
isn't "the delight in learning for
learning's sake" ,and that the
"intellectual delight, the fun of
the whole area of study ... is
lost." This is not the fault of the
student but of our culture he said.
The strong point of the college
is one he thinks has been a strong
point through the years. That is
the advantage of a small .college
with a strong faculty. The
student-faculty interaction is good
for both parties. The formula for
education is still the teacher and
the student. And with as small a
college as this, the faculty can get
to know the student personally
which can make for a better learn
ing experience.
us Disease
headache. He then asks the
teacher if he can go to the nurse
and he schedules to take the test at
a later date. In the meantime, be.
works out all of the problems on
the test and subsequently, obtains
a higher score. Thus, he is an ex
ample of the compulsive cheater.
As a result of cheating, there
are a variety of different
punishments that can be ad
ministered to the victim. They
range anywhere from receiving a
failing grade on the test, to failing
the course. Some schools take
cheating seriously enough as to
expel the cheater from school:
Overall, the compulsive cheater
does not realize that by cheating,
he obtains a good grade
dishonestly and that this affects
the grading scale for the students
who do not do as well by being
honest. He also doesn't want to
believe that cheating will catch up
to him sooner or later, and he will
be punished. The compulsive
cheater does not stop and think
that his actions are disturbing and
disheartening to the honest stu
dent. The honest student can only
sit and hope that someday a cure
will be found for this disease
known as cheating.