the Penn State-Behrend FEBRUARY 12, 1987 Behrend hosts Weddington vs. Schlafly debate Baldwin named first pre-med advisor- by Tracy Moffett Collegian Staff Writer This past year Behrend im plemented a pre-medicine advising system, of which Dr. Dean Baldwin is the advisor. A relatively new ad dition to Behrend, the program stresses not only the very important science and math courses necessary for medical school and preparation for the MCAT entrance examina tion, but also extracurricular in volvement (especially in health related areas) and a well-rounded education. When asked how long a pre medicine program has been offered here at Behrend, Dr. Baldwin replied,"Well...for. a long time. And yet this is new, in the sense that we had a very informal pro gram before, where a person in chemistry was advising the students who were interested in pre-med. But Lilleywanted a more formal program, and so he asked me to do it, and so I've been doing it now for roughly a year." Dr. Baldwin con- Free tutoring through Academic Services by Mary Stewart Collegian Staff Writer Over the Christmas holiday many students travelled to Florida to enjoy the sun and relax with friends. One Behrend student decided to surprise her boyfriend by unexpectedly flying to Ft. Lauderdale to meet him. Her plane left the Erie airport on December 26 at 6:00 in the morning for the two hour flight. However, her boyfriend, thinking she was suffer ing alone through the winter cold, decided to surprise her by coming to Erie. His plane left Ft. Lauder dale at '6:35 the same morning. Their planes travelled at the same speed and were affected equally by weather conditions. When the cou ple passed each other, who was closer? Are you confused? Do word pro blems baffle your sense of logic? There is hope. There is help. The Academic Services Center provides free, one-on-one tutoring for students in a variety of sub jects. Located in room 205 of Turnbull Hall, the center offers help in math, business, English, and Spanish. Tutors in accounting, physics, and computer science will soon be added. About eight years ago, Dean Baldwin started the tutoring pro gram, focusing on English and reading. Baldwin said at that time the center was located in Lawrence Sarah Weddington tinued on to give his background and qualifications, admitting that "it is somewhat unusual...to have someone in the Humanities be the pre-med advisor. One reason was the Provost's desire to impress upon students that one does not have to be a science major to get in to medical school. Med schools in sist on certain courses that you must have: chemistry, physics, math, English, sometimes organic and inorganic chemistry. There are about five or six courses that they actually insist on; beyond that they don't care what you major in, and that's something that most students are not aware of...they think, 'I want to go to med school, I have to major in Pre-med.' That's the main reason why Baldwin was chosen as advisor." Baldwin commented on where `pre-med' falls as far as majors are concerned. "We do not have a pre med major. If you look in the blue book, you will see under 'pre-med' a list of prescribed and suggested continued on page 2 Hall which was inaccessible for some students. It was moved to the Glennhill Farmhouse and then to Turnbull Hall. The center has been under the direction of several faculty members over the years. Presently, John Coleman supervises the pro gram and serves as its assistant director. Baldwin noted that Col eman was also one of the pro gram's first student tutors. Tutors for the Academic Services Center are hired by the college which provides the service free of charge. Coleman said many of the tutors come to the program with experience in tutoring. Each tutor has demonstrated a special ability and competence in his or her par ticular subject. Tutoring can be a valuable ap prenticeship to teaching. Coleman said that many of the tutors would be gifted as teachers. "Some of our tutors are looking toward graduate school, which in turn may lead to teaching," he continued. The Academic Services Center is looking to expand its program in order to meet the growing diversity of the student body. Coleman outlined several possibilities. First, the center wants to start a program of English as a second language. "We are admitting students now who don't , speak English or whatever we consider traditional English as their first language, and we need to deal with that," Col- o e pan STATION ROAD, ERIE, PA 16563 by Craig Altmire Collegian Staff Writer • Phyllis Schlafly has been called "a pioneer of American conser vatism." She led the battle that successfully defeated the Equal Rights Amendment. Sarah Weddington was named "Woman of the Future" by Ladies Home Journal. From 1978 to 1981 she served as Chief Assistant to President Carter in the administra tion's efforts to aid women and minorities. Schlafly and Weddington will square off on Feb. 17 at Behrend in a debate organized by Student Activities. Good Housekeeping magazine has named Phyllis Schlafly one of the ten most admired women in the world for the past nine years. Appointed by President Reagan as member of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, Ms. Schlafly is currently in demand to speak throughout the country on con stitutional issues. Schlafly is an advocate of com parable worth , the notion that Sister college hopeful The concept of a Sister City allows one city to "learn about another culture and share (its) culture by linking with a city in another coun try...," according to a publication from Si; Cities international. Approximately 750-1000 U.S. cities have L siAtrs,'" according to Mr. Fred Rush' of the Erie Municipal Building. The city of Erie has two such sister cities: Zibo, China and Merida, Mexico. With these sister cities, Erie hopes to "increase cultural awareness, develop different markets, as well as develop educational, cultural and health programs," Rush said. In September, Deanna Ferraino, a senior majoring in Psychology, men tioned the idea of a sister college for Behrend to Andria Sullivan, Student Government Secretary. It was decided that the Student Government Association would be the best outlet for the idea. The goals of the sister college would model those of a sister city. Vince Canella, sophomore president of the Barbell Club, was appointed chairperson of the Sister College Committee. "The Senate approved his position," Sullivan said, "and Vince and I sat down and devised a way to find an appropriate sister college." Through research done by Canella and Diane Say, the original choice of six schools was narrowed down to one on the basis of similarity to Behrend. The choice was Erindale, a branch campus of the University of Toronto. Erindale is located in Mississauga, Ontario. It has "similar clubs and activities," Canella said, "and the population is similar also." Through the advice of Dean Baldwin, a proposal was written to Erin dale, Sullivan said, telling them what Behrend could offer, such as ac tivities and policies, and also included the idea of international relations, which would include an exchange of students from both schools. After the proposal was revised several times and approved by the Student Senate, it was sent to Erindale, and Student Government is waiting for a reply. Possible future plans, Canella said, include "a meeting between members of both school's student governments to plan mutual activities and discuss ways to improve student life." eman said. "The Academic Ser vices Center can help in that area." The center is trying to ac comodate evening and part-time students by extending the tutoring hours into the evening. Coleman hopes the services will be used as much in the evening as they are during the day. Another program the center is working toward is a tutoring ap prenticeship. This program would encourage tutors to work together so they may help each other fine tune their skills In addition to the tutoring of specific subjects, the center pro vides help with the development of study skills. Coleman is available at the center on Tuesday from 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-2:30 to help students in this area. "One problem encountered by the center is that students wait until they reach a point of desperation before coming for help," Coleman said. He encourages students to use the tutoring service as a preven tative tool, to seek help before serious problems develop. Coleman pointed out the Academic Services Center is not only for students with problems, but for good students who want to be excellent students. "College is the time to evaluate your abilities, honestly," Coleman said. "When you evaluate your abilities you are going to discover that you have some areas of aeryone is better off when wages are set by the free market rather than by the government. Sarah Weddington, after receiv ing her law degree from the Univer sity of Texas at age 21, won a ma jor- case before the U.S. Supreme Court at 26. in 1977, she was asked to head the Agriculture Department's legal branch, which consisted of more than 300 attorneys. She then became an assistant to President Carter. Currently Weddington has been a Professor of Law and Public Ad ministration at the University of New Mexico and has written "Washington Report," a monthly column in Glamour magazine. She also serves as a director of two cor porations and of two non-profit organizations. The Schlafly-Weddington debate will provide an opportunity for Behrend students to view two na tionally renowned speakers discuss ing an issue of national interest, women's rights. Tuesday evening, Feb. 17 in the Reed Lecture Hall. Don't forget your sunglasses, the fireworks start at S. by Barb Byers Collegian Staff Writer weakness, or you have some areas that could use improvement. Ultimately, I think that's what the services center should be there for, for the student who says to her or himself 'I have an area or discipline in which I would like to improve'." Coleman hopes that people will look at the Academic Services Inside this issue Lawson speaks p. Dale hosts talk show p. 2 Letter to the editor P. 3 Two heads better than one p. 4 Behrend's Best * P. 7 Personals p. 8 continued on page 2 Ridge opens - 4i - either series by Craig Altmire Collegian Staff Writer U.S. Congressman Torn Ridge opens Behrend's speaker series, celebrating the U.S. Constitution's two hundredth anniversary, at noon, Jan. 30 in the Reed Lecture Hall. Ridge's speech, "The Prerogatives of Power: Convention Delegates in 1787 and Possible Delegates in 1987," began by re counting some of Pennsylvania's role in the 1787 Constitutional Convention. According to Ridge, Penn sylvania's Benjamin Franklin was one of the two most important leaders at the Convention, the other being George Washington. "No one since has had his (Franklin's) combination of the op timism of youth and the wisdom of age," said the Congressman. Ridge also spoke of a time dur ing the Convention when many of the delegates were frustrated and ready to return to their homes, leaving the document incomplete. At this time, another Pennsylvania delegate, Robert Morris, gave a moving speech which stressed the need for union and refreshed the delegates' memories of "British tyranny." His argument restored morale and may have prevented serious setbacks to the completion of the Constitution. Ridge continued his speech, jum ping 200 years into the future and discussing possible Pennsylvania VOLUME XXXV, NUMBER 9 Phyllis Schlafly delegates to a 1987 Constitutional Convention. The possibilities in cluded Bill Scranton Sr., Penn sylvania governor from 1963 through 1967 as well as Penn sylvania natives John Lehman, secretary of the Navy and UMW President Richard Trinkle. Penn sylvania's former first lady Ginny Thornburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University President Richard Cyert are highly qualified as well, said Ridge. Ridge does not support a Con stitutional Convention in 1987, a measure some are calling for to balance the federal budget. After his speech, the Con gressman answered questions from the audience of about 75 people. Ridge's appearance was the first feature in a series of monthly presentations at Behrend to celebrate the Constitution's bicentennial. Dr. Redenius, who organized the series, sees the program as "an op portunity to take a fresh look at the Constitution by seeing those who were involved in the Convention and who may have been involved if women and blacks were allowed to contribute." The next feature in the series will be Feb. 20 at noon in the Reed Lec ture Hall, when Walter Osborn, Deputy Director of Greater Erie Community Action Committee, will present "Struggle for Vindica tion: Blacks and Other Minorities in 1787 and 1987."