April Leister, behavioral scienan and education major braves the cold and
the 35-foot-high rock-climbing tower at Rites of Spring April 19
Tower provides
students recreational
challenge at
weekend celebration
Nicole Lynn Meck
Staff Reporter
Just how tall is 35 feet?
Ask 10 year old Tristian
Saunders. He climbed to the top of
the rock climbing tower at the Rites
of Spring held this past weekend.
"Kind of scary when you get up
there," Tristian said.
He said felt "daring" and "might
even try it again."
The rock climbing tower - which
was sponsored by the Cabaret
Committee this year - is owned by
Lazer Runner of Lancaster.
Jerry Kaye - who operates the
amusement ride - said he has a reg
ular job during the week but does
the tower for fun.
"I just get a kick out of it,"
Kaye said.
He said he did it himself and that
is what got him hooked. His com
pany, Lazer Runner, does over 150
such events a year.
The Penn State Nittany Lion also
got hooked on Kaye's tower which
he climbed for the entertainment of
Rites of Spring participants.
The mascot said it was an
exciting experience.
"You can see all of Penn State,"
Student Government provided
food during the event, including 32
gallons of ice cream and toppings
for free "make your own sundaes."
"We probably would have had
a really good turn-out if the weath
er had been better," Nicole McNeil,
Rites of Spring organizer said.
The cold weather, however,
didn't seem to disappoint those who
chose to brave the frosty tempera
tures. Several students were scat
tered across the parking lot, hud
dled together or wrapped in blan
kets in order to watch the Battle of
photo by Jeff Warren
he roared
Shannon Przyuski, a psychology
student, said she did not think she
was afraid of heights until then.
"It was an exhilarating experi
ence," she said - but she does not
think she will try it again.
Throughout chilly April after
noon, other students - like Student
Government vice president Stacie
Wentzel - considered climbing, but
the cold weather made them recon
sider.
"I want to climb it - but it's too
cold and I don't want to take my
coat off," Wentzel said.
Tristian's little brother, Garret
Saunders, decided he had to climb
the tower too "because my brother
did it"
Karen Saunders, Tristian and
Garrett's mother, didn't need to
climb the tower today - finding the
courage to let her sons do it was
excitement enough she said.
the Bands competition.
The band competition - with
proceeds benefitting local high
schools - featured four local bands
and the band Please whose sound
track was included in the movie
"Empire Records."
In-between sets, the campus
radio station, WPSH and 93.5 radio
personality Randy Rock Johnson
provided entertainment.
"Even though it's freezing cold,
Rites of Spring is a great chance for
students to relax and not think
about classes," Chris Stotz said.
Bands battle
the elements
Matt Watkins
Contributor
It was four bands pitted against
the elements on Saturday, the 19th.
Rites of Spring's main act,
Battle of the Bands, was going on
full gale regardless of the weather.
Battle of the Bands was
planned to be the main attraction to
this year's Rites of Spring fest.
Unfortunately, rain, sleet and gust
ing winds kept attendance to the
fest at a record low.
The band, Please, from New
York City, was the first band to
kickoff the day's chilling festivi-
Waiting around to be the con
cluding act to the day's wintry ven
ture proved to be a profitable for 10
of 9. They walked away with first
place and $250.
Second place went to A.F.S.
who were rewarded with $l5O and
Mr. Ed soaked up third place and a
plaque of thanks from the Student
Caranova, the band's keyboardist, Government Association.
The independent rock band
performed six songs off their newly
released CD, "Sentimental
Watermelon" for a handful of peo
ple standing in the Capitol Union
Building's parking lot. Charles
said, "I really thought Penn State
had die-hard student's who showed
up for anything."
.#•'7
photo by Jefr Warren
Eva Marie (Natalie) Goodwicz crosses the finish line at the XGI 5K race
during Rites of Spring. Goodwi tc a p i, m d first in the women's category
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As rain turned to intermittent
pelting ice, Mr. Ed and A.F.S.,
cranked up the volume to play orig
inal punk and ska tunes.
Members from both bands are
students at Middletown High
School.
The lead singer of A.F.S. said,
" Its good to be here, performing
this empty parking lot!"
10 of 9 was the final band to
perform in the howling wind. They
played popular cover songs by
artists such as Soundgarden and
KISS.
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Feature band Pkase phys to sparse crowd at Rites of Spring. According to event
crgsnizen, attendance was low at the outdoor conast due to winter-6r temperatures
Runners
compete to
finish XGI
5 K race
Michael Pericci
Contributor
Cold temperatures and vicious
wind gusts didn't keep runners
from participating in Chi Gamma
lota's (XGI) first-ever 5K race here
on campus.
The race was held Saturday,
April 19 with 23 runners attacking
the 3.1 mile course.
"By having this race I'm trying
to bring the community and Penn
State Harrisburg closer together,"
said XGI President, Kirk Jacoby.
Though many races charge a
registration fee, this race was a rare
exception.
'We're not trying to make
money. In return, however, we
hope to earn respect," said Jacoby.
To some, having only 23 run
ners participate would be a disap
pointment, but not to Kirk Jacoby
and the rest of the XGI members.
Jacoby noted that the
Chocolate Chase, which draws over
500 runners in Hershey, started
with only 30 runners in their first
race. Jacoby was pleased with the
input he received from the runners
as well.
"Everybody kept telling me
they loved the course. This was a
good start for only our first race."
Jacoby added that the race can
only get better in the future.
'Next year we'll be advertising
the race well in advance," he said.
The overall winner of the 5K
race was John Hargraves with a
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watch as well as a trophy.
Trophies were also presented to
second place, third place and fourth
place finishers.
Medals were awarded to the
top three male, female, seniors over
50 and children under 15 finishers.
Each participant also received
a certificate verifying their partici
pation. The first 20 registered run
ners received an XGI t-shirt as well.
OVERALL WINNERS
1) John Hargraves 17:46
2) Michael Pericci 18:25
3) Alan Kaylor 19:12
4) Pete Catanese 21:56
MEN'S MEDAL WINNERS
1) Sam McClintock 22:39
2) Stephen Fetterman 26:14
3) Mark Gordon 26:34
4) Frank Divanzo 27:16
WOMEN'S MEDAL WINNERS
1) Eva Maria (Natalie)
Goodwicz 25:20
2) Eileen Coleman 29:41
3) Mary 0. Yingst 31:36
4) Donna Savage 33:15
15 AND UNDER
1) Mathew Martz, 13 26:17
2) Rodney A. Jacoby, 10 15:01
(2 miles)
3) Adam Cambel,ll
miles)
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