Earth Day celebration
By Sharon Furfaro
Assistant Editor
srfl7l@psu.edu
Clear skies and warm breezes
ushered in the annual community
Earth Day celebration at PSH
on April 13. From 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. students, faculty, staff
and the public were welcomed
to experience a variety of
demonstrations and activities.
Organized by the student Society
of Environmental Engineering,
the event was free for all to
enjoy.
Vartan Plaza was filled with
music and a buzz of excitement.
Two girls in shorts and flip-flops
walk by laughing, their arms filled
with flowerpots containing colorful
pansies. A student, sunglasses
on, passes through with one
hand carrying a seedling and
the other sticks of honey. A large
crowd begins to gather around
the flower arranging station.
The Dauphin County Soil
Conservation Service offered
information on soil painting and
soil profiles, as well as a seedling
give-away, information from the
Green Building Council, and a
demonstration of hybrid cars.
Also provided were two Container
Garden Seminar sessions in
the Science and Technology
Building in room 112. Flowers
and planting soil was provided
those who brought with them
a pot or container from home left
with a beautiful
arrangement to
keep, as well as
great instructions
and advice to
care for the
plants.
Andy Ohrman,
a member of the
Bluebird Society
of Pennsylvania,
explained the
importance
of the many
bluebird-nesting
boxes on the
PSH campus,
...c3tung was a huge highlight .._ and discussed
fun for all who participated in this interesting event. interesting facts
Lunch Lady Land
By Sharon Furfaro
Assistant Editor
srfl7l@psu.edu
They can be seen serving
breakfast, lunch and dinner for
most of the students at Penn
State Harrisburg, but what do
these lunch ladies of Stacks
Market do when not behind a
counter or grill?
When not catering the many
events on campus. Sabine
Shearer can be found coaching a
slog sc'ttall team with her
hug _0- scrap booking. She
sur, that ripped
sme in Bainbridge,
Pa se:e-a years ago as well
as sur✓r✓e adjusting to a new
culture.
Born and raised in the small town
of Hainstadt, Germany, Sabine
Shearer lived overseas for the
first 20 years of her life. Between
the ages of 10 and 16, Shearer
competed in acrobatic bicycling,
which is using a customized
acrobatic bike to perform acts
like standing on the handlebars,
riding on one wheel, and pedaling
backwards. She took one gold
and two silver medals while
competing in various countries
including Germany, France and
Belgium. Every three years she
tries to go back to visit family.
Donna Miller, complete with
blonde ponytail and big smile,
can often be seen at the grill
with Sandy Lescisko. She can
act tough behind the counter
handling four orders at once,
occasionally covering other
staff's shifts but she admits to
having two weaknesses. "Shoes,"
she said, "my younger daughter
breaks me down to buy shoes."
As for her second weakness,
Miller admits to being a "little
obsessed" with Jeff Gordon. She
currently has a Gordon cutout on
is green with
Virginia Oxenrider carefully tends to her beautiful
who brought a pot full of dirt could take home free
took advantage of this Earth Day stand.
the wall at home, and frequently
goes to see the races in Dover,
Md.
Miller has two daughters; one
is 25 years old and married, the
other is 15. She is proud of being
happily married for 25 years.
Described by her co-workers as
a hopeless romantic, Miller said,
"My favorite color is green like
my husband's eyes."
"Donna speaks 'Altoonese'
y'uns instead of you, and keller
instead of color," said Darlene
Gratkowski, fellow 'lunch lady.'
Miller just laughed, who said she
is proud of living in Altoona, Pa.
Gratkowski "lives" in her words
by the pizza oven. "My favorite
pizza is chicken ranch," she said.
Gratkowski loves to listen to jazz
and old rhythm and blues. In her
spare time, she cross-stitches,
"especially lighthouses." She also
•ends time with her son, Daniel,
ho she said is "very mature
,r his age. More than I can say
Darlene Gratkowski gets her coveted press ready to stamp out some
delicious pizza to feed the hungry students.
Photos by Maruja Rosario/ Capital Times
free plant. Anyone
flowers, and many
of many common birds in the
area. His lively presentation in
the Science and Technology
Building included sounds, slides,
and movies.
One of the "sweetest" events was
the bee keeper demonstration,
where any passerby received
free honey products. The sumo
wrestling arena was a big hit
with students, and the free food
seemed to disappear early in
the day. Other events included
free water testing from PSH
environmental faculty and
students, a presentation on the
on-campus recycling program, soil
painting, a poster contest, tours
of the environmental engineering
facility on campus, a silent auction
whose proceeds benefit an
environmental organization, and
even Environmental Jeopardy.
about some of us working here."
Two years ago, Gratkowski
worked for Greyhound Friends
of North Carolina, which was
a Greyhound rescue center.
Although she does not have
a dog, she does have a kitten
named Noxi-Moon. "She's a pain
in the ass," she said, "Kittens are
overrated."
She is
currently
engaged to
an electrician
that she
met here on
campus
Sandy
Lescisko said
that she gets
along with
everyone.
"We all have
a wonderful
working
relationship
with each
News
Race against
By Devinique Murray
Guest Reporter
dvmll2@psu.edu
Racism is something we have
to address, so why not start with
the race against racism," said Dr.
Felicia Brown-Haywood, director
of Penn State Harrisburg's
Student Support Services and
Intercultural Affairs. Saturday,
April 30, the Greater Harrisburg
YWCA will sponsor the first
Harrisburg area "Race Against
Racism."
The race is an annual event held
throughout Central Pennsylvania
and has been expanded to
include the Harrisburg area.
The 5k (or 3.1 miles) race starts
at 9 a.m. at the Pavilion on City
Island. Fromthere, the participates
will go around the loop, around
the island, across
the bridge off the
island, pass the
Sunken Gardens,
and then across
the bridge back
onto City Island.
However, don't
worry if running
is a problem.
This race is for
all ages and all
physical abilities. The YWCA and
Haywood, who is also a YWCA
board member, are putting a lot
of effort into this event. Haywood
said she is hoping for a large
turnout.
The purpose of the race is not
only to raise money for programs
that combat racism, but it is also
intended to spark awareness
of the problem. Proceeds will
help support existing and new
programs aimed at fighting
racism, Haywood said.
Although this represents a first
for the YWCA of Harrisburg,
the YWCA of Lancaster has
sponsored the event for the
last six years. Seventeen
thousand people participated in
other." She graduated from
nursing school and started work
in a cancer unit. "I just couldn't
do it," she said, "It was so hard."
Lescisko has worked a total of
31 years between this campus
and University Park. When
asked if there was an aspect of
the job that she did not like, she
Donna Miller prepares the grill area for the rush of hun
gry students coming soon for their hamburgers and fries,
Miller's speciality.
smiled and simply said, "No. I
wouldn't be working this job for
31 years if I didn't love it." Outside
of work, she does volunteer work
on weekends with dementia
patients.
Although she does not have
children, Lescisko feels that "in
a way, the students here are my
kids. The kids keep me young."
The most fascinating place
Lescisko said she has visited is
Hawaii, but she said, "You can
give me Ocean City, Md. any day."
the Lancaster event last year,
according to organizers there.
"We hope to keep on participating
and hopefully this event will be
successful," Haywood said.
This race is more than an event
to Haywood. It is her goal to
eliminate racism.
"Racism messes up the
structure of society. There's no
way we can be one unless we
eliminate racism. I'm committed
to eliminating racism, even if
one person changes their mind,"
she said. Haywood also says the
time has come to step out of our
comfort zone and address the
issues
"Black, white, yellow, brown. No
one can reach their opportunity to
reach full potential when racism
is an issue," she said.
Haywood discussed Dr. Cornel
"I can't live my life
to the fullest unless
I know that the
problems of racism
can be resolved,"
-Dr. Felicia Brown
Haywood
now we must
get together and speak it out of
existence, - she said quoting
West.
Haywood's dream is that one
day, racism will not be an issue
of hierarchy. "I can't live my life
to the fullest unless I know that
the problems of racism can be
resolved," she said.
Haywood believes the event has
the potential to bring everyone
together. "We not only have to do
this for the generation now, but
for the future generations," she
said.
Don't think you can complete
that 5/k mile race? Well, don't
worry. There will be cheerleaders
from Steelton, Middletown and
Camp Hill to cheer you on. There
"I love to
work in the
yard." She has a rock garden
with over 200 plants, which has
taken three years to complete.
Even though she enjoys Penn
State Harrisburg, she said
that she is looking forward to
retirement. "It'll be fun to do
something different, a new part
of my life."
A die-hard Steelers fan, Doris
Hoose admits to liking football
as much as she likes the cooking
channel. She watches the games
with her three kids and dog,
The Capital Times, February 21, 2005
West, the
controversial
Princeton
professor
of Religion
and African-
American
studies
"'Racism was
spoken
existence and,
Photos by Supat Kanchamasakul' Capital Times
Doris Hoose reaches deep into the deli case to
serve up some healthy sandwiches to the stu
dents of PSH.
Sandy
usually
spends her
vacations
in Ocean
Cit y
during the
summer.
Lescisko
spends a
lot of time
with her
mother, 96,
and also in
her garden.
racism
Photo courtesy of PSH Web site
Dr. Felicia Brown-Haywood
will also be a host of bands and
drummers from local areas.
When mentioning Camp Hill,
Haywood smiled and said,
"People are willing to cross the
river to address the problem of
racism."
Haywood bOlieves everyone
needs to support this event, even
if you only come out and just walk
a mile.
For registration and information,
contact Felicia Brown-Haywood
in C-120, Olmsted Building, or go
online at www.ywcahbg.org.
Maggie.
Hoose grew up in Philadelphia,
and started baking with her
mother when she was a child.
When she was about 14 years
old, she would spend two weeks
at a time at her uncle Sal's bakery
in Brooklyn, N.Y. and helped him
prepare dough. Noose received
a scholarship to go to beauty
school, and became a certified
hairdresser, but apparently
returned to her first love baking.
Her other love is country music.
"Doris Hoose is a wonderful,
wonderful baker," said Miller.
Hoose is the mother figure of the
crew, according to Miller.
"We get along very well, we all
support each other," Donna, "You
know, we're like family."
Each meal at PSH is not just
served by a 'lunch lady,' but by an
acrobatic bicycler, NASCAR fan,
ex-Greyhound rescue volunteer,
nurse, or Steelers fan. This family
continues to serve the student
body not only food, but an upbeat
work ethic filled with friendship
and laughter as well.