In the name of St. Valentine
By Allyson Davis
Staff Reporter
amd367@psu.edu
February 14 is a day cherished
by all couples and hated by all
singles. This day is filled with
candies, flowers, gifts, and
cupid. These gifts and signs of
affection are shared between
lovers across the country and all
in the name of St. Valentine.
We often wonder how
Valentine's Day came to be and
why it was named after this very
mysterious saint. The entire holi
day is surrounded by mystery,
and we know that February has
long been remembered as the
"Month of Romance."
St. Valentine's Day has both
Roman and Christian traditions.
So, who exactly is St. Valentine
and how is he associated with
love? The Catholic Church rec
ognizes three different saints
with the name Valentine or
Valentinus, all of whom were
martyrs.
A legend says Valentine was a
priest who served in Rome dur
ing the third century. At the time,
Emperor Claudius II was ruling
over Rome and decided that sin
gle men made better soldiers
than married men. So he chose
to outlaw the marriage of young
men. Valentine, realizing how
unjust this was, defied Claudius
II and performed marriages for
the young lovers in secret. When
Claudius learned of Valentine's
actions, he condemned him to
death.
Another legend suggests that
Valentine may have been killed
Patriot-News editor brings experience to classroom
By John Fox
Staff Reporter
jtfls3@psu.edu
From the newsroom to the
classroom, Bob Vucic, 59, brings
experience from his prolific
career in print journalism to the
students of Penn State
Harrisburg.
Vucic, who is teaching
231 W;
Communications
Journalistic Writing this semes
ter, worked from 1982 to 2003 at
The Patriot News. He spent the
last two years at The Patriot
News as managing editor,
design; a very coveted and dis
tinguished position in the world
of print journalism.
"I think in terms of the hierarchy,
it is a place where most reporters
aspire to become," said Vucic of
the title, which is outranked only
by the editor. "Some people may
be reporters their whole lives,
starting out at small papers and
hopefully ending up at a large
paper like the Washington Post
or New York Times. Others, like
me, love the editing process."
Vucic explained that the typical
progression for an ambitious
journalist looking to become an
editor is as follows: reporter,
assistant city editor, city editor,
news editor, managing editor,
and ultimately editor.
He said that he received a call
from PSH proposing he fill an
adjunct/lecturer position and,
being quite interested, he
accepted the offer.
"The job is initially for this
semester only," said Vucic. "If
they would like me back I cer
tainly would love to be back."
Vucic, who currently lives in
Camp Hill, is originally from
Pittsburgh. He graduated from
Point Park University in
Pittsburgh with a B.A. in journal
ism and went on to take graduate
courses in political science at
The College of William and Mary
in Williamsburg, Virginia.
After college, Vucic started out
for helping Christian prisoners
escape from the Roman prisons.
The Christians were often beat
en and tortured in the prisons. It
is believed that Valentine actual
ly sent the first valentine to him
self. It is said that while he was
still in prison, he fell in love with
a young girl who visited him dur
ing his imprisonment. Before his
death, he wrote her a final letter
and he addressed it "From Your
Valentine," which oddly enough
is one of the expressions still
used today.
The truths behind the legends
are a little foggy, but his actions
prove to be heroic, sincere and
full of love and romance. During
the Middle Ages, Valentine was
one of the most popular saints in
both France and England.
It is believed that Valentine's
Day is celebrated in the middle
of February to commemorate the
anniversary of Valentine's death,
which probably occurred in 270
A.D. It is said that Christians cel
ebrate the day for different rea
sons. In ancient Rome, February
was the official beginning of
spring. This time was also con
sidered time for purification.
They would hold the festival of
Lupercalia, the fertility festival
dedicated to Fanus (the Roman
God of Agriculture) and Romulus
and Remus (the founders of
Rome). During the festival the
Roman priests would sacrifice a
goat for fertility and a dog for
purification. The males would
slice the goat's hides into strips,
dip them into sacrificial blood
and parade through the streets.
The hides would be put on the
as a reporter for The Latrobe
Bulletin in 1965, prior to joining
the Army to serve in Vietnam.
From the late 60s to early 70s,
he wrote for The Daily Press
Times in Virginia before making
a move to retail advertising. In
1972, Vucic worked for the
Morning Herald in Hagerstown,
Maryland as a reporter and wire
editor until 1982.
His career at The Patriot News
lasted from 1982 to 2003. Vucic
said that he started out as a copy
editor before moving on to
become the assistant city editor,
wire editor, news editor, until
finally reaching managing editor,
design in 2002.
Vucic is married with four chil
dren. His wife, Cate Barron, is
the current managing editor,
design for The Patriot News.
Vucic came to PSH not without
previous teaching experience.
He taught a couple of graduate
classes in journalism at Temple's
Harrisburg campus in 1990 as an
adjunct/lecturer. Now here, Vucic
said that the students of PSH are
a joy to be around and to teach.
"The students here are more
mature than what I otherwise
thought," said Vucic. "I think it's
"Sometimes you just simply go into overdrive and
don't worry about how many hours you put in
You know what has to be done because you're
professionals and you simply do the very best. In
the end, it is a great feeling of satisfaction."
because a lot of the students
here have jobs and that forces
responsibility and a certain
amount of maturity. I think that
definitely comes across. I
absolutely enjoy this."
As a teacher, Vucic is very con
cerned with individual improve
women and in the crop fields,
which was believed to make the
women more fertile in the up
coming year. Later in the day all
the women's names were placed
in an urn and the men would
take turns pulling the names out,
choosing which female they
would be paired with for the year.
These "matches" would often
end in marriage. Pope Gelasius,
around 498 A.D., declared
February 14 as St. Valentines
Day. The Roman system of put
ting the female's names in the
urn was eventually considered
un-Christian and outlawed.
The history lesson is now over,
but what are some traditions cel
ebrated on that special day?
Hundreds of years ago in
England, the children would
dress up as adults on Valentine's
Day. They would go from door to
door singing songs about
Valentine. In Wales, they carve
"Wooden Love Spoons" that
were given as gifts. In some
countries, a woman would
receive a gift from a man. If she
intended to keep the gift, it
meant she intended to marry
him. In the United States, we
give candy, chocolates, and
flowers to sweethearts. These
candies are often accompanied
with cards expressing love for
one another.
We know some traditions cele
brated and some history, so now
all we have to do is look forward
to the holiday. Don't forget,
February 14 marks the day to tell
your sweetheart your feelings or
to go out and find that special
Valentine.
ment and explained in detail his
overall teaching style.
"Very conversational. My style
is fluid and iconoclastic," he said.
"I don't observe the sacred cow. I
understand the importance of
grades as being the measure
ment of what you know. But, I de
emphasize grading as much as I
do to see an individual's
improvement over time. I don't
like to talk about grades too
much."
Vucic knows first hand what it
takes to be successful in the
world of print journalism. He said
that he will bring all of his profes
sional experience into the class
room for his students to learn
from, and also explained what he
wants his students to learn and
take with them from his class.
"I've been in newspapers for
thirty years, so I'm quite familiar
with all aspects of them. I want
them [students] to be better writ
ers and to know the basics of
writing," said Vucic. "I want them
to have a handle on basic com
munication organizational skills;
to write simply, honestly, factual
ly, and to open up their writing to
make them aware of how media
works and operates. I want them
-Prof. Bob Vucic
to know more when they leave
here then they did when they
started."
During his entire career in print
journalism, Vucic recalled some
of his favorite aspects of the job,
"I loved competition," said
Vucic. "As a reporter, I loved
News
Troops protect Iraqi voters
IRAQ cont'd from 1
Kuwait for sale in their bases,
"so they would have been in
region."
The statement appeared on a
Web site often used for posting
statements from militants, some
of which have proven authentic
in the past, and was in the name
of a group that has claimed pre
vious kidnappings, the
Mujahedeen Brigades.
The Arabic text, however, con
tained several misspellings and
repetitions.
Staff Sgt. Nick Minecci of the
U.S. military's press office in
Baghdad said "no units have
reported anyone missing."
Nearly 200 foreigners have
been abducted in Iraq in a wave
of kidnappings this year. At least
10 hostages, including three
American civilians, remain in the
hands of their kidnappers, and at
least 35 foreign hostages have
been killed, including three
Americans.
The only American soldier
known to have been taken
hostage is Pfc. Keith M. Maupin,
20, of Batavia, Ohio, who was
shown in a video in April being
held by militants. Another video
aired in June showed what pur
ported to be Maupin's slaying,
but the picture was too unclear
to confirm it was him and the mil
itary still lists him as missing.
In the latest violence, clashes
broke out early Tuesday in the
eastern Mosul neighborhood of
Nablus between insurgents and
Iraqi National Guards, officials
Bob Vucic's experience as managing editor at The Patriot News enters the classroom as he teaches
Communications and Journalistic Writing at PSH.
scooping other newspapers; the
notion of getting the story before
anyone else. I also loved the
byline. I loved to have my name
out there."
Vucic explained that even
though he never took a criminal
justice class, he loved to cover
murder trials and learned a lot on
the topic simply by having to do
it.
"Then, as time went on, I
became an editor," said Vucic. "I
love the notion that no one
knows what I do. I love that I
could select a story, assign a
story, and design a page that the
reader doesn't know who did
this. So, I became just the oppo
site from what I was as a
reporter. I loved the anonymity
and working with the staff."
During his capacity as manag
The Capital Times, February 7, 2005
said. One person was killed and
another injured. A roadside
bomb killed four Iraqi National
Guardsmen in the northwest of
the city, Lt. Khalil Rashid said.
Two policemen were killed
when a bomb they were trying to
defuse exploded on a street in
the Kurdish-run city of Irbil.
U.S. troops clashed with insur
gents Tuesday near the main
market in Qaim near the Syrian
border, sending crowds fleeing,
witnesses said. There was no
report of casualties.
With the election complete and
the ballots safely in Baghdad,
Iraqi authorities eased the
severe security measures that
had been put in place to protect
the voters and polling centers.
The hours of nighttime curfew
were eased, now covering 11
p.m. to 5 a.m.
Royal Jordanian Airlines and
Iraqi Airways resumed flights to
and from Baghdad. Cars, trucks
and buses began crossing the
border between Iraq and Syria at
Tanaf. A five-mile line of trucks
loaded with goods was waiting
on the Syrian side to cross.
However, the Yarubiya crossing
point which leads to the northern
Iraqi city of Mosul remained
closed.
Security measures for Sunday's
vote, including a ban on most
private vehicles, were credited
with preventing rebels from
pulling off catastrophic attacks,
although more than 40 people
were killed in about 100 attacks
on or near polling stations.
A statement posted on the Web
on Monday and attributed to an
ing editor, design, Vucic had the
privilege of designing many
unforgettable moments in recent
history which The Patriot News
aggressively covered. Vucic
designed many historic images
seen in the Central Pennsylvania
area and beyond, such as the
war in Iraq, the Clinton impeach
ment, and 9 / 1 1. Vucic reflected
on how it felt to design the impor
tant images which were seen by
so many people across all of the
mid-state.
"You felt accomplished, like you
were responding to a need and
providing a necessary service.
You were giving your reader
something they otherwise may
not have gotten," he said. "We
took incredibly confusing, scary,
and monumental stories and in a
matter of hours tried to make
al-Qaida affiliate dismissed the
vote as "theatrics" and promised
to continue waging "holy war"
against the Americans and their
Iraqi allies.
A Shiite clerical-backed alliance
was expected to win the most
number of seats in the 275-
member National Assembly cre
ated in the election. But the
alliance is not expected to win
the two-thirds majority required
to name a prime minister without
support from other parties.
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's
ticket was expected to finish sec
ond among the 111 candidate
lists.
Officials have not released
turnout figures, although it
appeared that many Sunni Arabs
stayed away from the polls,
either out of fear of insurgent
reprisals or opposition to an
election under U.S. occupation.
That has raised concern about
further alienation among the
country's Sunni Arabs, who form
about 20 percent of Iraq's 26 mil
lion people but whose role in the
country's educational, technical
and intellectual elite is much
greater.
In the south, U.S. troops
opened fire Monday on
detainees rioting at the Camp
Bucca prison facility, killing four
prisoners, the U.S. command
said. The unrest broke out
Monday during a search for con
traband and quickly spread.
Detainees hurled rocks and
fashioned crude weapons from
materials in their quarters, the
statement said.
Photo by John Fox/Capital Times
some sense out of it- visually and
with words. It took many of us to
put that all together. We were a
team."
Vucic elaborated on the deter
mination that drove him and his
team to produce the news.
"Sometimes you just simply go
into overdrive," said Vucic, "and
don't worry about how many
hours you put in. You know what
has to be done because you're
professionals and you simply do
the very best. In the end, it is a
great feeling of satisfaction."
Vucic's exceptional experience
leaves no question about his
ability at the helm of a class
room. The communication stu
dents of PSH will benefit greatly
from his instruction and we can
only hope that he will stay on to
teach on a permanent basis.