E
Co
By Kelly Nagurny
Assistant Editor
kxnl63@psu.edu
A NEW MEANING TO "POTTY
MOUTH"?
It's the humming murmur in the
back of the class that buzzes
just above a barely audible level.
Maybe you've heard it. Maybe
you've caused it. Either way, I'm
ready to do away with it.
What is it? It's the guy or girl with
chronic diarrhea of the mouth.
He or she has an uncontrollable
need to chat about nothing to
their bud in the next seat during
the entire class. You know who
I'm talking about. I'm listening to
the "diarrhea-mouth" in my class
as I write these comments. I'd
like to turn around and give her
some verbal Pepto-Bismol, but
I'll continue writing instead.
In my last editor's comments,
which were published quite a
few months back, I hinted at my
apprehensiveness to graduate
college and enter the real world.
Let's just say that things have
changed for me since then—and
it's partly thanks to you, diarrhea
mouth girl.
The DM guy or girl talks through
class and then later complains
to the teacher that she doesn't
understand the assignment. The
DM girl in my life likes to constantly
complain that our teacher expects
too much work from us. Let me
assure you, diarrhea-mouth girl,
that the energy you exert running
your mouth could complete twice
the work our teacher assigns us
in half the time.
We've all been guilty of being
talkative in class now and again,
but I don't understand the DM
guys and girls. And I'm sure they
don't understand me. I don't think
they understand that they might
learn something if they close
their mouth for a few minutes.
I don't think they understand
that their future bosses will
likely expect more from them
than many professors do. And
I definitely don't think they get
that complaining about every
Opening minds,
PROF cont'd from 1
the rubble of misconceptions.
Once in a while I've even said
something a student who has
been waiting his or her whole
lifetime to hear. When teaching
empowers somebody, sets a
person free, then I remember
why I keep showing up for work."
Haas is not currently on a tenure
track. He has a yearly contract with
PSH, which has been renewed
every year since he came. Haas
said that he prefers the yearly
contract right now because of
the responsibilities of family. The
process of getting tenure is very
stressful and time consuming,
and Haas said he needs those
energies to be focused on his
family. Because tenure would
mean more security for him and
his family, Haas is not ruling it out
and will most certainly pursue it
at some point in the future.
Haas, along with his wife,
Jennifer, who is a nurse, have
three young children. His oldest
is a girl who just turned five. His
middle child is a three-year-old
boy. The youngest and most
recent addition to the family is a
boy who recently celebrated his
first birthday.
Haas and his family currently live
STA FF Editor in %
Kathryn Herr
Assistant Editors: .-Idvertising/R Bupa
Manager:
Justin Shellenberger unc anas.
Kelly Nagurny Rodney Horton, Tom Kelly Nagurny
Elizabeth Wingate ur aro, ••e me ger , xecu ive oar :
LeClair, Steven Mayer,
Maruja Rosario
Kelly Nagurriy Sports Editor: Staff Reporters & Con- Steve O'Holla, Maruja Rosa- Justin Shellenberger
LIST SharonFurfaro
Copy Editors: Christian Torres
Photographers: tributors:
Osman Abdalla, Allyson rio, Herb Smith, Christian
Torres, Kellye Way, Eliza
*- :•- • . • VI i ••• S. 0- • 0 • 1 • •
di to r's
Ktikpfikt/t - s
little thing that appears to be a
challenge will get them nowhere
fast.
I often wonder how these DM's
function when they're thrust into
reality after college (and talking
all the way there). How do they
get jobs? Do they self-destruct
when they realize they should
have paid attention during all
those hours of class?
In the end, I guess I've learned
a lot about school and about life
from the diarrhea-mouths of the
past four years. So to you, oh
diarrhea-mouth girl, I say the
following: thank you for letting
me know in your own special way
that I'll be OK after college.
I guess soon I'll be off to deal
with the diarrhea-mouths of the
working world...
Submissions
The Capital Times can be
Penn State Harrisburg
777 West Harrisburg Pike
Olmsted Building Room E-126
Middletown, PA 17057
Phone: (717) 948-6440
Email: captimes@psu.edu
All correspondence with
editors will be considered
for publication unless
otherwise specified.
in Lancaster County, just outside
of Mount Joy. He grew up not
too far from there in the town of
Manheim and has lived in many
other cities across America during
college and young adulthood.
Haas has a keen talent for
conversation and his lectures are
informative and stimulating. His
classes are a favorite on campus
"When teaching empowers somebody, sets a
and many students who take one
of his courses scramble to take
more in subsequent semesters.
Haas talks about his teaching
style and what makes his classes
so appealing to PSH students.
"In most classes, I use informal
lecture and discussion," said
Haas. "I don't do a lot with
technology, but I try to keep a
high level of personal interaction.
Students in my classes often
comment about my laid-back
style and sense of humor. They
suspect that I'm on their side-
reached at
Next Issue:
April 18, 2005
person free, then I remember
why I keep showing up for work."
-Prof. J. Craig Haas
Corrections
Please note the follow
ing corrections to the last
issue's article entitled
"Spring Break in Spain":
1. The originally proposed
fee for the trip was approxi
mately $1,200.
2. SPAN 296 is not a nine
day entire course. By taking
SPAN 130 (Spanish Civili
zation History), students are
entitled to take SPAN 296,
a nine-day study abroad
course.
We apologize for any incon
venience the incorrect infor
mation might have caused.
Tax proposed on parking fees
TAX cont'd from 1
have the money."
If approved, PSH students would
pay an additional $4 on top of the
usual $4O per semester parking
fee. Herr said this is a tough pill to
swallow, especially since she did
not have to pay for parking while
she attended Penn State York.
"In my opinion, PSH should
pick up the tab," instead of the
students, Herr said.
Hevner said the university might
take longer to review the proposal
because it was advertised during
Penn State's spring break.
Middletown Area High School
students would see the smallest
increase. They would pay an
additional 10 cents over their $1
per year parking fee.
The tax would take effect on
June 1 if approved by the school
board on April 25.
Utley said the state share of
revenues for MASD has dropped
from approximately 50 percent in
1992 to less than 35 percent in
2002. Utley said that educational
costs have climbed in part because
of the federal government's No
Child Left Behind law.
The district has pursued grant
money to help offset the property
tax burden on residents, Utley
Haas helps students think clearly
- that I'm not daring them to
succeed, that I actually want
them to succeed. But to do that,
they must also learn. We all know
that students learn best when
they're not feeling threatened or
bored. If a student finds a class
something to look forward to, that
student has a better chance of
doing just fine."
Haas teaches a wide variety
of classes within the context of
philosophy and the humanities.
He is hard pressed to pinpoint a
personal favorite and said that the
students in a particular course are
as crucial as the subject matter
when defining what makes a
course favorable.
"For me, the pleasure in
teaching is not only in the subject
matter, but also in the make
up of the students," said Haas.
"Some groups of students are
just fun to teach. For example,
News
SGA update
By Maruja Rosario
Copy Editor
mxr3oo@psu.edu
After a few weeks of non-voting
activity, SGA took care of serious
business on their March 31
meeting.
One issue that finally got resolved
was the new SGA constitution.
The Constitutional Convention,
which centered around the efforts
of Robert Kikola, senior senator
of public affairs, and President
Rodney Horton, presented
the new SGA constitution for
ratification by the Senate. After
Kikola gave a brief overview of
said. A Project 720 grant raised
$50,000 for programs at the high
school. Utley said another grant
brought in $12,000 for Feaser
Middle School.
"Quite frankly, the college and
university need time to review
proposal and its effect on faculty, staff
and students."
raise $400,000 annually, though
Utley said it needs information
form the various parking
authorities to make accurate
revenue projections.
Utley said the $400,000 figure
is based on information received
from those authorities in. 2001,
when MASD tried to impose a
similar tax.
That tax was approved, but not
enforced after SARAA objected.
The proposed parking tax, Utley
said, was rewritten to update the
old tax.
my Comparative Religion class
last semester was very inquisitive
and had a great sense of humor.
I looked forward to being in
class each time, and some of
the students told me they felt the
same. And yet I can't say that
in any semester Comparative
Religion is necessarily going to
be my favorite class to teach. I
can say that I always enjoy logic
classes, because they are a
change in format from the other
courses I teach. In most of my
courses, we have classic texts
to read and interpret, which I
naturally enjoy.
But logic classes are mostly how
to courses that build students'
reasoning skills, and class time
is largely spent doing exercises
in logic. There's less material for
me to prepare, and I can go to
class and enjoy interacting with
the students."
Be sure to sign up for the classes
offered this summer and fall
semesters in which Haas will be
teaching. They fill up quickly and
are well worth the aggravation of
rushing into E-lion to reserve your
seat. To find out more specifics
about his courses, you can go to
the PSH School of Humanities
homepage or simply email him
directly at jchl 9g psu.edu.
E=l]
The district hopes the tax will
-Steve Hevner,
PS H spokesperson
what the constitution said, it was
unanimously adopted.
The past election was also an
issue. Horton first expressed
how extremely pleased he was
with how the elections turned
out. He was pleased with all the
campaigning that he saw, which
included word of mouth, flyers
and strategic advertising. The
time and energy spent on election
awareness paid off, resulting in
the increased voter turnout. The
amount of this year's election
votes dwarfed last year's by
1000 percent going from 0.05
percent of the PSH student body
voting to 10.55 percent.
A press release from the school
district said the new tax resolution
is based on a similar tax upheld
by the Commonwealth Court in
1996. Howard L. Kelin, the school
district's attorneywith Kegel, Kelin,
Almy & Grimm of Lancaster, said
in the release that similar taxes
are already collected at airports
in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and
the Lehigh Valley.
"We're not talking about a novel
idea," Utley said.
Utley said she did not think
the proposed tax would keep
students from attending PSH or
travelers from using HIA.
"I would hope that our neighbors
...would understand our needs,"
Utley said.
PSH instructor in Philosophy and Humanities J. Craig Haas teaches a
variety of courses, including Comparative Religion and logic classes.
The Capital Times, April 4, 2005
1 , • di 1
•
XGI aims to re
name Post Office
local veterans, and XGI members.
Penn State Harrisburg alumnus
and XGI member, Representative
Jerry Nailor (R-88), spoke in
support of the measure.
XGI President, Retired Sergeant
First Class (U.S. Army) James
Hall, explained XGl's motives
for renaming the building. "The
Members of Chi Gamma lota
want to take this action on behalf
of all veterans because we all
know the Medal of Honor is the
most hallowed award in our
nation... and represents the very
best of every branch of the Armed
Forces...l had the honor of
serving in the same regiment and
company as Michael Durant...l
know this story from the people
who were there...it would be a
the
the
great honor ..."
If you would like to learn more
or sign the petition to rename
the Post Office, contact James
Hall at jdh343@psu.edu. To
voice your opinion, contact
Representative Shuster directly at
his Chambersburg office at 717-
264-8303 or at his Washington,
D.C. office at 202-225-2431.
XGI cont'd from 1
Photo by John Fox/Capital Times