NOVEMBER 21, 1984
Editorial Opinion
Alcohol on Campus:
Good or Bad?
Some time last week I had a leisurely conversation with
Bill McCartney, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. Mc-
Cartney and I talked about the various kinds of disciplinary
problems that Behrend College has been experiencing late
ly. Since he is the dean in charge of all on-campus cases of
alleged student misconduct, I received a firsthand account
of the various types of problems that he’s been presented
with these past couple of months.
McCartney told me of violence, vandalism, hospital visits,
and arrests. He seemed to be troubled by these incidents. I
don’t blame him - that’s a large lot of misconduct for a cam
pus of this size to experience in the first ten weeks of a
school year.
McCartney also said that much of this improper behavior
is a direct result of excess alcohol consumption. In fact, 80
percent of all the cases that he’s dealt with so far this year
have been alcohol-related in one way or another.
Where McCartney went to school, alcohol was treated as a
second priority recreation...‘social drinking’, so to speak.
But, at Behrend, McCartney says that many students feel
that it is their right and maybe even their obligation to go
out and get “drunk”.
McCartney relayed a story about a girl who was so drunk
that she passed out before she could reach her dorm room.
So, she slept half the night somewhere on the grounds of
campus until someone found her. If this same story had oc
curred in the middle of the cold Erie winter, the girl may not
have lived through the night.
'Many students are unaware of the rules that govern drink
ing on campus. Obviously, drinking on campus is not per
mitted. If a student is caught drinking on campus and it is
his or her first violation, the student has two choices. One,
accept a disciplinary warning and attend an alcohol
awareness meeting (which includes writing a paper on the
ills of alcohol) or two, take a ride on disciplinary probation
for a semester.
The wise student may choose decision number two. But if
that same student is caught drinking on campus while on
disciplinary probation, it’s curtains. That student will most
likely be put on disciplinary suspension.
Suspension entails restriction from attending classes,
registration, club activities, etc. for an indefinite period of
time. The University could even decide to withdraw you per
manently.
If the University decides to let you re-enter the school,
then you had better be on best behavior because the next
time your caught drinking, its expulsion time...history.
Students should avoid drinking on campus altogether.
Consider the few quick seconds it takes to get caught and
compare it to the four long years of your college career. It’s
just not worth the hassle in the long run.
OPINION
by Rod Luery
Collegian Editor
THE COLLEGIAN
Student Forsees PTI Takeover
Dear Editor:
Being a senior English major
here at Behrend, I have had the
opportunity to see various ad
ministrative patterns emerge with
the advent of a new provost
dean. One such pattern is the staf
fing of faculty. Provost Lilley
seems to have taken quite a liking
to part- time instructors.
The Humanities Division is ap
parently becoming a classic exam
ple of this particular pattern. The
fate of Theater at Behrend has
been determined (Behrend will
sincerely miss you, Professor Id
dings). Concerning the Language
department, we have witnessed
The True Meaning of Thanksgiving
It has often been said that peo
ple have forgotten the true mean
ing of Christmas. It is too com
mercialized and the season itself is
rushed. Christmas advertisements
start as early as July and before
you know it December 25 has
come and gone.
Well, I feel the same is true for
Thanksgiving. People seem to
have forgotten what Thanksgiv
ing is really all about, where it
originated and just what we have
to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving originated with
our forefathers - the Pilgrims.
They decided to set one day aside
each year to give thanks to God.
They wanted to thank God for
helping them through their strife
of colonizing in America, ‘the
new world.’ They were also
thankful to God for gathering
them together. The Pilgrims were
so grateful that they wanted to
share their thanks with the In
dians.
So the first Thanksgiving meal
was shared by two different races
- the Pilgrims and the Indians.
They weren’t prejudiced toward
one another. They enjoyed each
other’s company and they didn’t
care about skin color. _
The opposite seems to hold true
today. People are more particular
about who they share their
Thanksgiving meal with, and how
they budget their time on this
day.
Some people cannot tear
themselves away from the televi
sion set on Thanksgiving. They
glue themselves to the tube and
watch parade after parade
followed by numerous football
games.
While they are mesmerized in
the world of television they can
Reader Opinion
the dismissal of a truly fine pro
fessor: Doctor Faletti. We’ve no
need to worry about tenure now;
we’ve got a part-time instructor.
It’s the same for History.
While it may be true that these
are only a few examples, I cannot
help but feel the pattern turning
inevitably toward my own im
mediate world. The number of
new faces occupying faculty of
fices in Turnbull affirms my
fears. My reaction, however, is by
no means selfish. As Behrend
grows toward its aspirations as a
technical and business oriented
institution (I’ll admit that I am
writing this letter on my personal
Commentary
smell the luscious aroma of the
Thanksgiving bird baking in the
oven. Visions of cranberry sauce,
mashed and sweet potatoes, stuff
ing smothered in gravy, and pum
pkin pie dance through their
heads. Finally, the salivary glands
start to water and soon we hear,
“When are we going to eat? God,
am I hungry!”
When the meal is finally set and
ready to go we rush to the table
and eat until we can’t move
anymore. Then comes the fun
part, the dishes. God, do they pile
up. It seems like there is no end to
them.
When that routine is over it’s
The Behrend Collegian’s editorial opinion is determined by its
Board of Opinion, with the Editors holding final responsibility.
Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily
those of The Behrend Collegian or The Pennsylvania State
University. Brown Thompson Publishers, the publishers of The
Behrend Collegian and related publications, is a separate cor
porate institution from Penn State.
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published fourteen times annually (seven times during each
academic semester at The Behrend College) by the students of
The Behrend College; The Reed Union Building, Station Road,
Erie, PA 16563.
Editorial Policy
computer), the need for the
humanities is essential.
Engineers must know how to
write well. Economists must know
how to write well. No matter how
formalized, computerized or
analyzed we become, com
munication is still an art, essential
for the survival of a culture. As
much as this college grows,
without the humanities, neither it
nor its products (the students) will
last five years. That is obvious.
Kenneth Sonnenberg
Seventh Semester, English
back to the television for more
football, followed by cries of, “I
feel sick, I’m so stuffed I can’t
move!”
Thanksgiving is not a day set
aside where you eat until you
can’t move, instead it is a day
where you should be moved. You
should rem'ember what
Thanksgiving day is all about and
set time aside to do just that - be
thankful! Thank God for your
family and your friends. It is
through this gratitude that you
will learn the true meaning of
Thanksgiving.
Paula Penco
Collegian Staff Writer
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