September 25, 2006 THE CAPITAL TIMES
SGA opens
semester
with usual
debates
By JORDAN WISKEMANN
Staff Reporter
JLWIO62@PSU.EDU
There have been two weeks of
classes, and the Student Government
Association has welcomed new
members; been deliberating
bookstore prices and the new
Student Activities policy. All of
this in addition to planning many
activities for the student body, and i
debating with each other, the way
any governing body does.
During the Sept. 7 meeting, Andrew
Scott, SGA Senator of Engineering,
read a proposal to change the policy
on book sales at the Penn State
Harrisburg student bookstore. His
proposal explained that throughout j
the summer, the bookstore didn’t !
have his books in or on order. He also j
explained how the store staff refused
him access to the ISBNs of his books,
and he feels the bookstore’s online
service filters information.
Scott did point out that according to j
the policy outlined on the bookstore
website ISBN’s are to be made
available to all students.
Augie Bravo, SGA vice president,
suggested Scott speak to the i
bookstore manager.
Mark Rosenstein, Student Court
Associate Justice, questioned the
proposal because according to
Rosenstein, “...we live in an open- j
market society...” and the bookstore j
has a business to run. Both Scott and i
Rosenstein weighed the fairness of
the bookstore’s practices.
After the debate went on between
various members of the SGA, Ariel )
O’Malley, SGA President, asked I
them to discuss their opinions
outside of the meeting due to
time constraints.
Before the conclusion of the
meeting, it moved into Open Forum ;
and Matt Mahoney, SGA Senator of
Humanities, explained his concerns
with the new Student Activities
policy, which requires students to |
register all student-planned events
through the PSH Student Activities
Office. Mahoney questioned the !
necessity of the policy.
“It’s not the actual policy that bothers
me, but the process of how the policy
was formed,” Mahoney said later in
an interview. “I want to know how
this policy was approved. Did it go
through the proper channels?”
The Sept. 14th meeting revolved
around the SGA’s approval of club
budgets. President O’Malley led both
the SGA and club representatives
through each club’s proposal, the
amount of money requested and how
that money would be used
Each club was allotted some portion
of the amount of money requested.
Not everyone’s requests could be
granted because there is not enough
money available for every club to get
everything they asked for. Clubs also
failed to follow the guidelines for
budget requests such as no money
being given for food at club meetings
and gifts for guest speakers.
Members of the SGA then
announced upcoming student
activities including the “English
Lounge” which would be an activity
held in PSH’s Town Square to help
international students learn more
about the English language. There
would be coffee and refreshments.
Free Latin dance classes held at PSH
was another activity discussed.
Towards the end of the 90-minute
meeting, the SGA approved Brian
Craig, who is unable to attend
the Thursday meetings due to a
scheduling conflict, as the new Chief
Justice of the Student Court, Khoa Le
was sworn into the SGA as Chief of
Staff, and two new senators, Supraja
Vijay and Holly Weichman, were
sworn in for the school of Public
Policy and Humanities, respectively.
The SGA has been busy these
past two weeks and with suitable
cause. As Mahoney said during his
interview, “We’re here to represent
the students.”
Club Fest welcomes new semester
By TANINA BESECKER
Staff Reporter
TMBSOII@PSU.EDU
As another semester of school
began at Penn State Harrisburg,
students got the chance to find out
there was more to college life than
term papers and being broke.
This year’s Club Fest was held
on Sept. 12 right outside of the
Olmsted Building. Numerous clubs
set up information tables to attract
students and hopefully get some
signatures on their sign up sheets.
Despite the glum looking weather
and blustery wind conditions,
students came out to see what clubs
had to offer and listen to music
played live by a favorite local DJ,
who was also awarding prizes for
various Penn State trivia questions.
Club Fest was not only a chance
to join campus organizations, but it
was also an opportunity to gather
together and get to know other
people on campus.
The Management SIE club
associates with teaching current
practices in business with the outside
world. This club is also affiliated
Club Fest took place at Vartan Plaza, the strip of sidewalk leaving the front of
Olmsted and ru/ining between the library and Science and Technology build
ing. Club Fest is an annual event coordinated by Student Activities.
New policy aims to keep students
informed, maximize attendance
By MEGAN RESSER
Sports Reporter
MKRIS7@PSU.EDU
A new registration process is now in
place for any students, faculty, or staff
members who wish to hold planned
events on campus. According to
Donna Howard, Assistant Director of
Campus Life & Intercultural Affairs,
this process is being implemented to
save students, faculty, and staff time,
money, and headaches by “getting
everybody on the same page facility
wise, staff-wise, and budget-wise.”
It is now necessary for any person
wanting to plan an on-campus event
to obtain a Penn
State Harrisburg
Student Event
Agreement
Form from
the Student
Activities
Office.
The form
outlinestowhom
the person(s)
coordinating
the event should
go to reserve
certain locations
campus
maximum
capacity
people
which can be
accommodated
by each of
Fliers like this one now adorn the bulletin the boards all over campus in an
effort to let students know about the new policy that has taken effect.
these locations
is also outlined
on the form
Event coordinators must complete
the form by obtaining the necessary
signatures from the appropriate
Facility Coordinator, Campus
Police personnel, and Club Advisor,
if applicable. The form must be
received by the Student Activities
Office at least two weeks before the
date of the planned event. This two
week window allows for clearance
of any checks written and for timely
Students from PSPEC proudly represent their club as they try to recruit new
members during the 2006 Fall semester Club Fest. PSPEC is a club that is
open to all engineering students of Penn State Harrisburg and improves the
physical look of the campus by building sidewalks or a base for the shrine.
with the National Honor Society.
The Lion Ambassadorclub involves
different fundraising events, campus
events, and community service.
The Penn State Professional
Engineers and Contractors club
takes field trips to construction
placement of the event on the
school’s Events Calendar.
Examples of events for which
this form would need to be
completed are concerts, dances,
parties, conferences.
Before this change w as implemented
last spring, students, faculty, and
staff could simply reserve a space on
campus and hold an event without
having to think about making
arrangements for necessary logistical
and security measures.
Students were unaware of the
need to allow for certain expenses
in their budgets, such as having
Photo by MATTHEW MAHONEY/The Capital Times
to pay for extra security or after
hours security for an event.
Some students were unaware that
coordination with police sendees
is necessary for certain events,
especially events for which large
numbers of attendees are expected.
In some instances, significant
numbers of people from off-campus
are expected to attend. It is important
for campus Police Sendees personnel
sites and sponsors the Career
Fair and Habitat for Humanity.
They also are managing the
lion shrine project by putting a
foundation for it as described by
Brian Cinkutis, senior SDCET.
An interesting club for students
who appreciate Japanese culture
would be the Harrisburg Anime
Association. They meet every
Thursday night, in the Oliver
Lagrone Room in Olmsted, and
discuss similar interests about
anime, manga, and other media.
The International Affairs
Association deals with different
cuituralactivities.Theyparticipate
in dinners and cookouts.
Kamala Rayavarapu, senior
Psychology, said, “You don’t
have to be into politics to join.”
The IT club has guest speakers
and professionals come in and
discuss possible internships
and careers for in the future.
They are also active
in campus fundraising.
to know about such situations
because they may have to work in
coordination with Middletown Police
or others
Another often-overlooked logistical
measure is the need for a covering
to be placed on the gym floor for
certain events. The placement of this
floor covering costs money and must
be coordinated early enough so that
maintenance staff can complete the
task during their regular working
hours. Taking the simple step of
arranging for the placement of the
floor covering far enough ahead of
time saves event organizers money
because they will
not have to pay
for any potential
overtime hours
which would need
to be worked by
maintenance staff
if the floor covering
would have to be
installed late in
the evening or on
the weekend.
“What if 1 try
to hold an event
without filling
out this form?”
you may ask.
It is simply not
possible. All on-
campus events
must be- held in
reserved locations.
If you try to
reserve a location
without a form,
the coordinator for that location will
ask you for your Event Agreement
Form before allowing you to reserve
the location.
Although some students may feel
that this form will complicate their
lives, it is truly a measure which will
save time and money. This sentiment
was reiterated by Ms. Howard when
she said, “This is for the benefit of the
students, not to stifle the students.”
The ASME club participates
with the student chapter of the
national organization. Engineering
students get a connection to the
job market. The club offers tours
on campus and also has engineer
competitions. “The club shows that
engineers get out and have fun too,”
said Adam Wright, senior MET.
For students looking to debate
on different topics in Christianity,
the Capital Christian Fellowship
would be an excellent club to
join. It is the first actual year that
Photos by TANINA BESEKM/Capitd Times
Lion Ambassadors maintained a large crowd through out the entire Club Fest
event. Lion Ambassadors are PSH's primary student representatives to visitors,
often leading tours of parents and prospective students alike.
the club is up and running, and
it is a good way for students to
get together and worship God.
Students majoring in
elementary or secondary
education should check out
the Student Chapter of ASCD.
This club is a great resource
for pre-service teachers.
The Circle K club participates
in many different community
service events. One of their
events is a walk for diabetes.
The Student Government
Association helps students get
Hbg. Anime Association
has more than movies
By LISA STONE
Staff Reporter
LCSI67@PSU.EDU
Did you know that the cam
pus has an anime club?
Despite semesterly flyer cam
paigns, Club Fest representation,
and as much word of mouth as
the members can manage, many
ppople are still unaware of the
Harrisburg Anime Association.
A newer addition to the roster of
clubs at the Capital Campus, the
Anime Association has been around
for about two years in its official
form. For the year
before they applied
to become an official
campus club, they
were just a group of
anime fans that met
once a week to watch
and discuss anime
and other aspects
of Japanese culture.
While the part
about viewing some
anime and talking
about Japanese cul
ture hasn’t changed all
that much, many other
aspects of the club
have been through some major up
grades over the last couple of years.
One of the most major is location.
The anime club was first held in an
apartment off campus. They then
took over a classroom on the sec
ond floor of Olmsted once a week.
These days you can find them lurk
ing in the Oliver LaGrone Lounge
every Thursday evening after night
classes. As long-term members of
the club can tell you, each reloca
tion has been a major improvement.
So what else does the Anime club do?
Well, aside from weekly meetings, the
club also participates in events such
as Club Fest, the new Student Orien
tation Fair, and the Rites of Spring.
This semester they hope to design
and print club T-shirts for mem-
involved with any aspect of student
government. The club helps and
controls some of the issues on
campus.
A good club to join to stay
relaxed and in shape is the
Fencing club. They have enough
equipment for their members, and
the fencing is right in the CUB
For
students who are
interested in taking pictures, the
Photography club is a good way
to learn many different techniques.
The creative voice of the
campus is provided by the
Tamhelm ciub. This club
participates in poetry workshops.
The Black Student Union is
a social awareness club that
discusses social issues in the
community and the country.
The Society of Environmental
Engineering club has mock
interviews that prepare students
for the future. This club is open to
any student who would like to join.
Overall Club Fest was a success.
Each of the tables had eager students
asking questions.
bers to purchase. They also hope
to hold a fundraiser for the Child’s
Play charity later this semester.
These are just some of the things
the anime club hopes to see happen.
A major goal of the club’s executive
board is to become a bit more active
and organized each semester. They
work to make the club a bit better each
year by trying to find new things for
the club to organize and participate
in and better ways to do the things
they did in previous semesters.
“A bit of growth each semester,
that way we don’t bite off more
than we can chew,” is the basic phi-
Popular anime like "Outlaw Star" and some not so
well known are just a sample of what HAA views.
losophy of the anime club’sofficers
The Anime Association is also
not limited to enjoying anime.
Original art work by club mem
bers was used as prizes for the
anime club’s booth at the Club
Carnival last year. Several mem
bers are also avid DDR hobbyists.
Manga is another vice shared by
many of the club members. All of
these interests and many others
are explored and enjoyed together
by the anime club membership.
So, if you are interested in learn
ing more about the Harrisburg An
ime Association, you are invited
to simply drop by every Thursday
night during the semester at 9:00
p.m at W-132 or to send an email
to hbganimeclub@gmail.com.
Photo courtesy of Google Images