THE CAPITAL TIMES
Having a ball on Valentine’s day
By MARUJA ROSARIO
Assistant Editor
MXR3OO@iPSU.EOU
Though it was a cold and
windy day, the hearts inside
the Middletown Home Chapel
were warm and pleasant.
Eight lovely residents had
the pleasure of being escorted
to the Valentine’s Ball at the
home by some of Penn State
Harrisburg's finest gentlemen.
The eight lads, Matthew
Mahoney, Andrew Dale, Sean
Stanton, Jim Dougherty, David
Potts, Pete Clarke, Brian
Spackman, and Ryan Collins,
all arrived dressed in some of
their finest clothes, ready to
put smiles on the ladies’ faces
as well as their own.
The Middletown Home
telephoned Laurie Dobrosky,
advisor to the Lion Ambassadors,
who in turn passed the event down
to Katie Fike, one of two community
service chairs. Fike and the club
were excited to do the event, but
found they lacked a bit in the male
department. So they reached out to
Circle K and the SGA to find a few
more good men to round out the eight.
After posing for a few pictures in
front of the Nittany Lion, the group
was escorted to the home where
they met Shelley Janicelli, director
Matthew Mahoney poses for a picture with his date Tink. Tink loved
meeting the young men from Penn State and enjoyed their company.
The myths
By BRIANNA GUYER
Staff Reporter
BGGSOO3@PSU.EDU
Saint Patrick’s Day is a time
when green is on the scene and
many are proud to boast their
Irish heritage, but many fall into
the myths of Saint Patrick’s Day!
This Irish themed day is a religious
holiday that is celebrated throughout
Ireland and many parts of the world.
The holiday is named after Saint
Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland,
and is celebrated on March 17.
This is because that was the day St.
Patrick passed away in 460 AD, and
when his annual religious feast day
was held in his honor.
One misconception about Saint
Patrick is because he was the patron
saint of Ireland that he was Irish
also. In actuality, Saint Patrick’s
personal accounts reveal that he was
bom in southern Britain and was a
Celtic Briton.
Another myth is that Saint
Patrick used the shamrock to teach
about the Trinity. One of the most
popular tales surrounding Saint
Patrick is that he used a shamrock
to explain the Trinity, using the
three leaves to represent the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost.
This myth cannot be
verified because Saint
The escorts pose for a quick picture before heading for the ball. From left:
Sean Stanton, David Potts, Pete Clarke, Brian Spackman, Matthew Mahoney,
Ryan Collins, and Andrew Dale (Not Pictured: Jim Dougherty).
of activities. Janieelli led them into beautifully decorated chapel with an
an activity room where she paired equally beautiful date, they stopped
each young man w ith the name of a and posed for pictures for Steven
happy date. Hevner and then escorted them
Janieelli told each escort to knock to the hors d’oeuvres table. Most
on the door, introduce himself to the of the ladies were dressed in ball
waiting date, and then escort her to gowns that Janieelli purchased at
the chapel where the ball was being various consignment stores, though
held. She also gave them a few simple a few chose to wear something
instructions in how to interact with from their own wardrobe,
the lovely ladies and then, with pink Shortly afterwards they all took seats
carnations in hand, the gentlemen left and passed the minutes away. Stanton
to pick up their dates. happily chatted almost nonstop with
As each gentleman arrived in the his date, while Mahoney, paired with
a woman named Tink, was all ears
in listening to his date’s stories. “I
thought that she was a very happy
woman and the fact that we all came
there really brightened up her day,”
Mahoney said. He also learned that
she was confused when she heard of
the dates because she was uncertain
whether the gentlemen would be
Penn Staters, or men from the State
Penn [Penitentiary]. Incidentally,
she was pleased to learn it was
the former.
As the residents enjoyed the
sounds of Dan Dropkin, an
entertainer specializing in 30s
and 40s music that he plays on
his acoustic guitar, Fike said, “I
am so glad that they [the males]
volunteered to do this. It shows a
lot of courage.”
of the Irish
associated with the holiday.
An example of this is the belief in
leprechauns.
While leprechauns make
for a great marketing idea for
cereal such as “Lucky,” the cute
leprechaun character advertising
for Lucky Charms cereal, our
view of leprechauns doesn’t bear
any resemblance of those in Irish
mythology. An Irish philosopher
once wrote that they were “nasty,
brutish, and short” and that
the grumpy elves worked as
cobblers and stingily guarded
their treasures.
And who knows of the treasures
that the leprechauns guarded since
the next myth to be busted is that
of the supposed pot of gold at
every rainbow. While most people
know that this is only a myth, few
know how this legend came to be.
A popular Irish legend tells of a poor
couple who captured a leprechaun
and forced him to give them his
gold. To reprimand them for their
greediness, the leprechaun places his
gold in a pot at the end of a rainbow.
The story concludes by saying that
the couple never found the pot of
gold but will be condemned to search
for it for eternity.
While Saint Patrick’s Day is
a holiday surrounded by myths
and folklore, many people will
February 27, 2006
THON:
Continued from page 1
opening countdown was, ‘Sh**, this
is it,”’ she said. With high energy,
PSH, along with all the rest of the
Penn State family, began to dance.
Early into the first few hours, the
dancers took the time to learn the
2006 THON line dance, a THON
tradition since the early 90s. The
line dance highlights current events
from the past year focusing heavily
on Penn State events and THON, but
also taking cues from entertainment,
sports, and news. Some of this year’s
lyrics are: “Orange you glad to be a
Nittany Lion, livin’ la vida Joe Pa.”
“Laguna, and O.C. Both are scripted,
duh, obvi!” “We dance for Hershey.
H-E-R-S-H-E-Y”
Early Saturday morning at 5 a.m.,
Augie Bravo, Ariel O’Malley,
Mahoney, and Rosario arrived to
represent the campus during “All-U
Hour”. The four helped run a photo
stand along with SGA President
Michael Edwards and found the
dancers still in high spirits. By this time,
Rosario and the rest of Harrisburg had
adopted Stephanie Ferraro and Rob
White from Worthington Scranton as
another pair of dancers since they had
received minimal support from their
own campus.
Late Saturday evening, Rec. Hall was
packed with spectators. They had come
in order to watch the infamous THON
Pep Rally, which featured members
of the Blue Band, cheerleaders, the
Orange Bowl Champion football
team, the men’s golf team, men’s
and women’s soccer, women’s
volleyball, women’s gymnastics,
women’s lacrosse, women’s field
hockey, the Lionettes dance team, and
PJ Maierhofer, the Blue Sapphire.
The teams competed in a dance
competition for the entertainment
of the dancers, and though they
were good enough to be Orange, the
football team lost to a heavily favored
golf team, who performed “I'm Too
Sexy” by Right Said Fred and even
undid a few buttons.
Afterwards, the athletes hung
around on the floor and gave a few
autographs, pictures, and piggyback
rides to the dancers. “I got to
Winter sun can also be fun
By BRIANNA GUYER
Staff Reporter
BGGSOD3PPSU.EDU
The winter months may seem dark
and desolate to many students at Penn
State Harrisburg, but others find it to
be the most exeiting time of the year.
This is the feeling for many because
of the activities such as skiing,
snowboarding, snow tubing, and ice
skating that they can participate in.
Central Pennsylvania and its cold
winter temperatures are excellent for
all of these fun winter activities!
Ski Roundtop is a popular location
for both skiing and snowboarding in
this area as it is located in Lewisberry,
PA, a short 30 minute drive from
the campus. This resort offers
different slopes for the beginner and
advanced skiers and snowboarders.
Never skied or snowboarded
before? No problem. You don’t
have to be headed to the Winter
Olympics to go to Ski Roundtop.
They offer numerous ski packages
that will help you become a pro.
The First Class Learn to Ski or
Snowboard package costs $49 and
includes a lift ticket on the beginner
lift, a lesson, and equipment rentals.
Those who purchase this package
have access to the slopes from five to
ten in the evening. If you want to try
something a little
more advanced,
then the All
Mountain Package
is another option.
Skiers and
will
boarders
receive a lift ticket
for all of the lifts
as well as a class
lesson and use of
rental equipment.
This option is
a little on the
expensive side as
it costs $535.00
for a season pass
or $299.00 for a
night club pass.
If you’re not
ready to invest
a lot of money a
Making a difference
Maruja and Matt danced their hearts out helping
keep the dancers spirits alive. They spent nearly
30 hrs of the 48 with the dancers.
meet Paul Posluszny and I got his
number,” Moskalczak beams as she
thinks back on meeting her favorite
Nittany Lion.
The dancers were never left alone for
longer than a few moments. If one of
single night pass will let you ski or
snowboard from 5 to 10 p.m. and
eosts just $32.00 per person during
both the midweek and weekend.
Ski Roundtop also offers another fun
option lor those who tend to shy away
from the slopes called snow tubing.
Snow tubing is much like
sledding. You travel down a large
hill at high speeds, but instead of
riding a wooden sled or saucer, at
Ski Roundtop you plummet down
a large icy hill on an inner tube.
While this may sound scary, it is
actually an extraordinary amount of
fun because it is hard to predict just
how your tube will go down the hill.
Want even more fun? Gather a
group of friends and travel down the
hill as a chain. One of the best parts of
tubing at Ski Roundtop is that instead
of having to trudge up the hill again
in your snow boots, you can attach
your tube to a lift and it will carry you
back up for another ride back down.
Another one of the great features of
snow tubing is its low cost. During
the week it costs $ 11.00 per person
and on the weekend it is $13.00 for
an hour long session.
For information regarding skiing,
snowboarding, or snow tubing at Ski
Roundtop or to get directions, go to
their website at www.skiroundtop.
com or call (717) 432-9631.
Photo courtesy of skiroundtop.com
A diagram showing all the trails that are right for skiing at Ski Roundtop. With varying
degrees of difficulty, everyone from the novice to the expert can enjoy the mountain.
be around, even
when it wasn’t
her shift. “I would
havediedifitwasn’t
i'or Gaelyn,” O’Holla said.
As the final hours of THON
slowly ticked away, O’Holla
and Moskalczak were facing the
demons that came in the form
of constant shearing pain and
Another option for something
fun to do in the winter is to go ice
skating. Indoor ice skating is offered
at Twin Ponds East located off the
Union Deposit exit in Harrisburg.
If you’ve never skated before,
Twin Ponds East offers adult skating
classes. Both new or experienced
skaters are welcome, as are
both hockey and figure skates.
Skate rental is available for
$2.00 for person and classes are
held Mondays from 7:15 to 8:15
p.m. for $lO.OO per session.
If you are more skilled and
want to skate at your own pace
there is also open skating.
“Cheap Skate” is on Wednesday
from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. During
that session it costs $4.00 per
person. Regular skating is during
open skating times and costs
$6.00. Skate rental for both
sessions costs $2.00.
For open skating times, directions
or for more information, go to
www.twinponds.com or call
717-558-POND.
So next time you’re wondering
what to do on a cold winter night,
don’t run indoors and turn up
your heat, turn up the excitement
in your life as you experience all
the great winter fun that Central
Pennsylvania has to offer!
when this year’s THON total was
announced; $4,214,748.18.
THON 2006 was an amazing
experience for everyone involved.
PSH certainly had an amazing THON
year, and looks to repeat and increase
their successes next year. And as far
as standing for 48 hours without any
sleep, Moskalczak had this to say; “I
would do it again in a moment. I’d
fight the pain again.” For The Kids!
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