Profiles
first nine months at State College
learning English. In April of 1989, he
began his studies here at Penn State
Harrisburg.
Though Battal was accepted by four
other institutions including Syracuse and
Georgetown universities, Battal said he
chose Penn State for two reasons: a
letter of encouragement from his present
advisor, Christopher McKenna, and the
excellence of the PSH administration
program.
The Saudi Arabian student
said the invasion has been
"like a bad nightmare."
While most of his time is devoted to
studying, Battal said he always finds
time to watch political discussions on
television. "I enjoy watching TV
because I can learn from it. There arc
different sides to issues that I might not
see anywhere else but on TV."
Two of Battal's favorite programs are
"Larry King Live" and "Crossfire."
Battal also enjoys playing ping pong and
soccer and going to movies. Though the
food in America is very different from
that in Saudi Arabia, Battal enjoys
seafood and likes to eat at Red Lobster
and Chi-Chi's. Battal enjoys the yearly
cycle of seasons although summer is his
favorite season.
Holiday cheer mauled by raging crowds
Paula Slyer
Capital Times Staff
Once a year I pull out my old battered
Reeboks and drag myself to that place
known as The Mall for that annual delve
into my savings account and sanity
known affectionately to millions as
Christmas Shopping.
This year, I decided to get a head start
and avert the throngs of ruthless
headhunters who will start a fight if you
even so much as look at the item they
want to buy. Early in October, I drove
half an hour from my house in Reading
to the huge mall at King of Prussia in
the suburbs of Philadelphia.
The suburbs of Philly were at the
mall as well as the entire city. That
killed my idea of trying to get an early
start on shopping. I did, however, get
there fairly early- to get a good parking
space.
So did everyone else.
After fighting with a Ford Fl5O truck
for a semi-good space sort-of close to the
entrance of Sear's, I let him have the
space (his vehicle was several times
larger than my small Mercury Lynx),
and decided I'd rather live and enjoy the
Christmas cheer than die right on the
spot by the menacing fists of the large
muscular man at the wheel.
So I parked by Macy's. After
walking what seemed like endless miles,
to reach the entrance to the store, I was
But for a student who spent his first
nine months at State College,
Middletown has little to offer in
comparison.
"Middletown is like my hometown of
Durma, very small." Battal said.
The likeness sometimes makes Battal
long for home and he calls his family of
seven more often now that he lives in
Middletown. According to Battal, the
family unit is very close-knit in Saudi
Arabia. Battal is anxious to visit home
over Christmas break this year. It will
be his first trip home in 17 months.
Battal says after getting his degree he
will return home to teach and gain
experience, but may return to the United
States to seek a doctorate degree. Before
leaving the U.S., Battal said he would
like to visit Niagara Falls in Canada and
the Caribbean.
Darlene Rey--
Non-traditional
Christopher Burns
Capital Times Contributor
Every weekday it's the same routine.
Darlene Rey dresses for work in a
business suit. Then she prepares
breakfast for herself and her son, makes a
sack lunch for work and drives from
Hershey to the campus of Penn State
almost run over by two demonic station
wagons pulling into one space at the
same time.
Crash. Rip. Tear. Since there were
a million and one onlookers to the
accident, I decided to lessen the crowd by
one. This one observer would not be
missed and I went into the world of
Macy's.
Naturally Macy's. As I looked
around at the gorgeous display of leather,
suede, and other expensive coats, shoes,
and accessories, I felt awkwardly out of
place in a blue jeans jacket, sweats, and
my Reeboks.
I quickly exited the store and entered
the mall. At least this year I made it
safely without a saleswoman at the
cosmetics department, standing, feet
apart, blocking the aisle, commanding
me to try some new aroma by some
celebrity for the low holiday price of
$99.99.
My first destination was Lionel
Kiddie City to buy a gag gift: a
Matchbox truck for my eighteen-year-old
brother. I'm a pretty fast walker, so I
figured it wouldn't take me more than
three minutes to get a quarter of a way
across the mall. Wrong. For every
zillion people in Macy's, three trillion
more walked leisurely through the mall.
I couldn't get through. Neither could the
anxious lady who shoved me into the
man in front of me who fell into the
man in front of him...
"At age 45, starting a new
career is difficult. Being a
woman makes it even harder."
Harrisburg. She has a secretarial job in
the Institute of State and Regional
Affairs but it isn't what she plans to do
for the rest of her life. But for now the
job supplies an income for bills and
allows her to take six credit hours
towards a Humanities degree.
Rey is a non-traditional student, a
single parent and a person with a firm
focus on a professional career in
advertising. Her struggle to make
something of herself has been, and
continues to be, an uphill battle against
time.
"At age 45, starting a new career is
difficult." Rey said. "Being a woman
makes it even harder."
But she isn't completely unprepared.
She's earned an associates degree in art
and photography from Harrisburg Arca
Community College which may help
her test out some course work and
accelerate her education program. She
describes herself as having a "backpack
full of skills" but the one tool that keeps
her from a goal of being her own boss is
a bachelor's degree.
"Work as a graphics artist is
gratifying but the salary levels aren't,"
Rey said. "I really want to use my skills
in Public Relations or Advertising.
Well, I finally made it to Kiddie
City, only to find a crowd blocking the
entrance to the store. Wanting to go in,
yet curious about what the crowd hung
around for, I asked a Kiddie City
employee what happened.
"Two women wanted the last Super
Mario Brothers on the shelf," he said.
"The lady in blue had it first, then the
other one grabbed it right out of her
hands."
"Did a fight break out?" I asked.
He nodded and said, "Yep. I see it as
a sign that the Christmas season is
coming. People are just so ruthless
about it all."
Thanks to the ingenuity of a tiny tot,
I managed to avert the still-eager-to-see
a-fight crowd by crawling on hands and
knees under and through the legs of
many surprised shoppers. Well, maybe
it didn't happen exactly like that, but I
did follow a little girl into the store.
Once in I quickly found my item and
hoped to get out even quicker. But it
never happens that way. Only three
cashier lines were open and backed up as
far as the rear of the store. Luckily, just
as I got there, another cashier opened a
register and yelled, nasally, "Can I help
someone?"
Of course you can. I ran for dear life,
from fear of being trampled. I came in
second--behind a rather bewildered
looking man with two carts full of toys,
probably for one of the screaming kids
December 7, 1990, CAPITAL TIMES
Without a four-year degree I don't have a
chance."
Working 40 hours a week, Rey can
only take night classes, but because
Penn State Harrisburg tailors it's
programs for returning students, there's a
large number of older students in the
classes. She believes that younger
students gain valuable insight from the
older students' work experience and
practical knowledge. This tends to make
classroom discussions more meaningful,
making returning students an asset to the
school.
For Rey, graduation seems a long
way off, but she keeps reminding herself
why she's in school. "Building a better
career for myself has become an
obsession," she says. "I never lose track
of what I'm doing all this for."
For Rey, and those like her,
education has become a means to an end
-an end to meaningless jobs.
Commencement Ceremonies
for Fall 1990 Seniors:
(1.--0...... D
Ceremonies will be held on
Saturday, January 5, 1991 at
10:00 a.m. in Founders Hall in
Hershey.
Simon Bronner will deliver the
commencement address.
joining in the choruses of "Deck the
Halls."
Three hours later the cashier finished
ringing up his items and asked The
Question. "Cash, check, or charge." I,
along with every person behind me, held
my breath and waited for his answer.
"Charge," he said sheepishly, turning
around and giving us a weak smile.
The cashier, who, I might add,
performed her duties as fast as a speeding
turtle, put the plastic card through that
little machine that says either "OK" or
"Rip up your card before you go into
debt," and filled out the charge slip.
Fifteen minutes later the card was
approved and the man went on his merry
way to some fate that I am sure involves
a very spoiled child.
The crowd cheered.
Within seconds my purchase was
made. Hours ago my stomach let me
know of its empty state, so I trekked to
the opposite side of the mall to the food
court, at the greasy creation of some
cook, and hiked my way back to the
other side of the mall, through Macy's,
and back again to the parking lot where,
many miles away, sat the welcome sight
of my little blue car.
Ah, this is the sort of ordeal I put
myself through every autumn. I got off
easy this year; I received no bodily
bruises.