C'W]pital Times
April 4, 2005
Professor
Spotlight
Professor takes no
nonsense approach to
classroom teaching
By John Fox
Staff Reporter
jtfls3@psu.edu
Enjoying one's career has been
linked to a positive quality of life
experience. PSH instructor in
Philosophy and Humanities J.
Craig Haas gets much pleasure
from his career and falls proudly
into that category.
Haas, 48, has been a professor
for almost 12 years and is very
content to spend his life as a
teacher. He said that teaching
is what he does best and his
position at PSH requires that
teaching be his primary concern.
"I certainly would like to make
a career of teaching at the
university level, whether at
PSH or some other enjoyable
location," said Haas. "I like Penn
State Harrisburg and the people
I work with. Plus it keeps my kids
near their grandparents, which I
think is irreplaceable."
Haas said that he receives his
greatest sense of satisfaction
when he knows he has made an
impact on a student.
"(It's good) when I can give
students something that makes
a difference in their lives on an
intellectual or spiritual level,"
said Haas. "Sometimes it's
just helping them to think more
clearly, but it might also be
clearing up confusion about a
problem, providing a missing
piece to a puzzle, or removing
PROF cont'd on 2
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Herb counts
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tory of basketball
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Check out the lat
est release from
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Lifehouse
The Student Voice of Penn State Harrisburg
Edwards elected, Horton outraged
By Kathryn Herr
Editor in Chief
kah92B@psu.edu
The results of the Student
Government elections,
announced late Wednesday
night, yielded a plethora of
emotions from SGA members.
The emotions continued to flow
vibrantly through into Thursday's
SGA meeting.
Michael Edwards, SGA's former
public relations officer, was
elected President Elect of SGA.
Edwards will officially take office
in two weeks.
Edwards, a freshman Social
Studies Education major,
decided to run for office at the
very last minute. With only two
days of active campaigning,
Edwards managed to receive
146 votes. Although a majority
of the voting student body had
faith in Edwards, that feeling is
not echoed by some members of
SGA, including the current SGA
president, Rodney Horton.
When asked `do you think Mike
will make a good president?'
Horton said sharply "absolutely
not."
"I wouldn't be surprised if the
next senate has to carry their
president," said Horton. "If you're
not faithful in the little things, you
aren't going be faithful on what
really counts."
Horton gave examples of a
number of small tasks Edwards
was given throughout his term
as public relations officer, which
he did not complete. Horton said
he is sure that Edwards is not
responsible enough to handle the
position of president of SGA.
Horton was still hopeful on
XGI names
its cause
By Chris Kramm
Staff Reporter
ctkl33@psu.edu and
Marko Primorac
Staff Reporter
mcpl64@psu.edu
On Monday, March 28,
2005, members of Penn State
Harrisburg's Chi Gamma lota
(XGI) Veteran's fraternity held a
press conference at the Capitol
Rotunda to announce their latest
project. They will be renaming the
Newville U.S. Post Office Building
in honor of Medal of Honor
recipient Randall D. Shughart.
XGI is petitioning Congressman
Bill Shuster of the Ninth
Congressional District to re-name
the Post Office.
Sergeant First Class Shughart
grew up in Newville, PA, and
graduated from Big Spring High
School in 1976. He joined the
U.S. Army and served as a Delta
Force Sniper. He was killed during
combat operations in Mogadishu,
Somalia, on Oct. 3, 1993.
Shughart was posthumously
awarded the Medal of Honor
along with Master Sergeant
Gary Gordon for their heroic
while attempting to save downed
Blackhawk pilot Michael Durant.
These events were later depicted
in the book and movie "Blackhawk
Down."
Attending the press conference
were various residents of Newville,
XGI cont'd on 2
Wednesday night that the Senate
could overturn the election results
at the meeting the following day.
The SGA's regular meeting
turned out to be a heated debate
about Edwards' capability and
campaigning tactics. Paul
Photos courtesy of Maruja Rosario/Capital Times
, rn left, Nichole Dellinger, Michael Edwards, Erin
;kalczak, Andrew Dale and Ariel O'Malley make
the new SGA.
presidential candidate
member of the student
ly, first raised an objection
the basis that his name was
;spelled on the ballot, causing
:ontradiction with his campaign
-ature, which possibly affected
An objection to certify the
election results of the presidential
race was given by Senior Senator
of Humanities, Maruja Rosario.
Rosario said that Edwards'
campaigning was coercion, or at
the least confusing.
"I saw no problems with the
voting system and I believe these
results should be accepted," said
PSH parking fees could accelerate
By Peter Strella
Press and Journal Reporter
Days after Middletown Area
School District (MASD) proposed
to tax fee parking within the district;
both Penn State Harrisburg and
Harrisburg International Airport
(HIA) are reviewing the proposal
to determine its impact.
"Quite frankly, the college and
the university need time to review
the proposal and its effect on our
faculty, staff and students," said
Steve Hevner, spokesperson for
PSH.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for
the Susquehanna Area Regional
Airport Authority, which owns and
operates HIA, said the authority
would wait to decide whether to
take action.
"If they pass it in April, we'll have
our attorneys look at it and go
from there," said Scott Miller.
The comments came two
days after the MASD School
Board voted 8-1 on March 7 to
advertise a ten percent tax on all
fee parking within its boundaries,
which encompass Middletown
Borough, Royalton Borough and
Lower Swatara Twp.
The proposal is scheduled for
a final vote at the board's April
25 meeting. If approved, the
increase would affect parking
fees at Cramer Airport Parking,
HIA, PSH, and Middletown Area
High School.
The tax would not apply to
residential parking.
"State funding for education has
Brian Craig, SGA chief justice.
The Senate members began to
speak on the issue, each stating
his or her own opinion of Edwards'
ability to serve as president.
"I am hearing a lot of things that
make me uncomfortable," said
Janet Widoff,
SGA faculty
adviser. Widoff
cautioned the
Senate that their
responsibility
was to vote
of the election
results and not
Michael Edwards, SGA president elect, pauses for a moment with
Rodney Horton, president, after hearing election results.
the capability of
Edwards
After a lengthy discussion about
the election, the Senate voted
on the issue. Five members of
the Senate voted 'yes' to the
objection, seven voted 'no' and
three members abstained from
The Middletown Area School District has proposed to tax fee parking within the district; PSH is currently
reviewing the proposal and its impact on faculty, staff and students who park on campus.
not kept pace with the needs of
our students," said Dr. Audrey
Utley, MASD superintendent, in a
press release. "This tax provides
an important opportunity for
the school district to increase
revenue without adding to the tax
burden for our property owners."
Utley said the tax would raise
revenue from PSH and
HA, both of which occupy
properties that are exempt from
real estate taxes. She estimated
the properties would yield $2.2
million each year for the district if
they were taxable.
Cramer Airport Parking, unlike
PSH and HIA, is not tax exempt.
Utley said the tax must be evenly
applied on all fee parking and that
the vote, including SGA Vice
President, JoVon Hill. At that
time, Horton certified the election
results for SGA President.
Many senators spoke on
Edwards' behalf during the
Senate discussion, including
Michael Green, Junior Senator
of Behavioral Sciences Nichole
Dellinger and Craig.
Edwards said he believes he is
ready and responsible enough
for the position and is confidant
that he will do a good job.
"This year is going to be fun and
I want everyone to back me up
because the only way it will work
is with everyone -- SGA, clubs,
faculty, and students -- working
together," said Edwards.
Edwards hopes to build student
involvement on campus and unite
the various campus organizations
to become a community. While
no one can be exempted.
A Cramer Airport Parking official
had no comment on the issue.
If the tax were approved,
Cramer's $5 daily parking fee
would increase by 50 cents, as
would the fee at HlA's Smart Park
lot.
HlA's daily fee for short-term
parking would increase $1.40 to
$1.54. Miller said the average stay
for a traveler at HlA's long-term
lot is 4-1/2 days, which means
they would pay an average of
$2.50 more.
As for PSH, at least one
student was unhappy with
the news of a possible tax
increase. While Kathryn Herr,
a senior communications
Vol. 45 No. 11
Edwards values the work of
Horton and is planning to continue
much of the current president's
work, he has plans to alter a
few areas of SGA and build the
"togetherness" on campus.
"Rodney did an awesome job
his efforts, but
there are few things that need
tweaked," said Edwards. "We
need to start listening to students
and their needs. We need to
allocate funding for clubs and
activities fairly and evenly."
Edwards says he is ready to take
on the responsibility of president
and put this controversy behind
him.
'We are trying to mend the SGA
back to • ether
Edwards maintained a positive
approach. "I want students to
have pride in their school and be
proud that they go to Penn State
Harrisburg," said Edwards.
Photo by Justin Shellenberger/Capital Times
major, understands the need
to fund education, she does
not think taxing other students
is the answer. "Tax the big
corporations," said Herr. "They
TAX cont'd on 2
Contents
SGA update 2
World View 3
St. Patty's Parade 4
Steve Mayer 5
Intercollegiate Sports 7
Arena Football 8
Hot Spot 9
CD Review 9
Movie Review 10
Campus Calendar 11
as a team
now," said
Edwards. "I'm
not the kind of
person to hold
grudges. Life's
too short for
that. It's not
about political
parties; its
about the
student and
about the
campus
community."
Chief Justice
Craig also
said, "This
was a heated
and contested
election and
with that comes
a lot of strife."