Vol. 47 No. 2 By RABYIA AHMED Staff Reporter RZAIO9@PSU.EDU His career as a professor began with an ‘l’ll try it, I guess’ kind of attitude. He resisted at first, telling his friend that he really didn’t want to teach a class even part time, as he was offered, because it was not a career he had originally thought of doing. But when he stood in front of that classroom, ‘BOOM!’ he fell in love with it. “It was an amazing feeling that I got when I stood there in front of those students,” said brand new Penn State Harrisburg professor, Patrick Burrowes. He decided then that he wanted to teach as his career. He originally planned on majoring in business because of family influence. Burrowes’ father owned a coffee roasting business and he had a farm that supplied the beans. So, everyone assumed that he would learn about business in college and take over. At first, Burrowes was up to it. In fact, he enjoyed most of the courses he was required to take. But then he had to take an accounting course, which made him change his mind about the whole business thing. So, he thought about writing and journalism as a better career path. His high school teachers often told him that he should pursue a career in writing because he was good at it. So, one day, he decided to let his family know that he had changed his mind about taking over the family business, which turned a few heads in his home. “They really expected me to take over the family business,” said Burrowes in his naturally soft spoken voice. “Not doing so was a huge surprise for them.” Still, he ended up getting a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Burrowes came to the United States from Liberia, where he was bom and raised, specifically for college, and quickly learned that it was indeed a different world. His anthropology and philosophy classes in college helped him come to terms with this new culture. “Those classes helped to process what I was living,” he said. He soon realized that the more he learned about the world of media and communications in the United States, the more it interested him. A lot of his interest resulted from living in public suppression when the military took over the government in Liberia. Now, he believes that communications is essential to the human experience. “It’s in our lives everyday and media is obviously all around us,” Please see BURROWES on page 4 INDEX: italTi Club budgets a comp By WILLIAM POWELL Staff Reporter WMPSOO6@PSU.EDU The distribution of money to clubs is far more complicated than it appears to be. The club budget process, which is overseen by the Student Government Association, is a long and tedious process involving looking at the complete budget and amount of money the SGA can give to certain clubs. Currently there are 43 active clubs and organizations at Penn State Harrisburg, and for multiple reasons many of them need funding. However, part of the problem lies in how much certain clubs get and whether they even get money. As per SGA regulations, all clubs and organizations must meet a Spring deadline for registration. All clubs are required to have a member of their executive board, that is not a member of SGA, meet with the Vice President at least twice a semester. All clubs must have a member of their executive board attend two SGA meetings within the first four SGA meeting sessions of the fall semester and one of the final four SGA meeting sessions in the Spring Semester. Clubs that do not meet these requirements will have their funds frozen. What this means is that while they still have the money in an account, they cannot access it. All clubs and organizations also have to register their budget requests in August so that the SGA Treasurer can review them. Patrick Sease, the current Treasurer of SGA, said the Wireless versus land line speed explained By MICHAEL ALBRIGHT Staff Reporter MBAI33@PSU.EDU Most people are aware of the wireless network on campus. Whether using it to just surf the Internet for funny new videos or to reluctantly research a paper on 16th century literature, the wireless network is undeniably being used, sometimes at very high capacities, other times not. However, some students have stated that the wireless network is actually faster than the traditional wired network on campus (all those blue cables you see in the labs, also known as CATS). After speaking with Mr. Robert Brinkley, Director of Instructional and Information Technologies, here on campus, that statement can be both true and false. The wireless network is a “shared” network. A shared network is j ust that, shared by all users who can access it. One of the major downfalls of a shared network is that the speed depends on how many users are on it at once. This same property is sometimes a positive because if only a few users are on it, those users will experience higher transfer speeds. What this means for students is that they may notice the wireless network being faster at certain times, while the wired network is Police Report. Opinion PSH Mid fo fe October 9, 2006 Photo by SUPAT KANCHANASAKUL/The Copik jbers of the Black Student Union executive board meet with members of the Student Gov mnent Association executive board to discuss budget allocations the did and didn't receieve process involves 5 people: himself, a student, a club president, a senator, and an executive member of SGA. This group decides how much they would like to recommend be given each club in respect to their individual requests. Sease does not vote in the process, unless there is a tie. The decision is then taken to the Senate and reviewed. In this stage, the funds can be approved, amended, given more and even not funded at all. With 40 plus clubs to fund and limited amount of money, it is obvious some clubs are going to get the short end of the straw. “There inherently a faster network. Even though modern wireless networks on the G standard (used at this campus) run at 54 Mbps, the CATS network running in the labs is rated at 100 Mb (faster than the wireless- G standard). Brinkley suggests that the users be aware of the speeds they are seeing on all networks. Computers in the labs are equipped with a program called NetPerSec. Users can download this to their own machines by searching for it online and installing it to their own machines. Using this tool, users can see transfer speeds for their session. Since the wireless network is shared, Brinkley also suggest that users be conscious of wireless speeds for other users sake. If while surfing You Tube to view one of Brinkley’s favorites (search You Tube: “funtwo canon”), they notice slower speeds, they should logoff and use one of the lab computers to perhaps free up wireless speeds for students needing to perform classroom activities. Most students are unaware of their options as far as networking on campus. There are five networks on campus, four of which are open to students. Mobility, wireless, academic, and the housing Please see NETWORK on page 4 is only $36,000 for club budgets,” said Sease. Sease said that in regard to selecting how much clubs should receive, he follows “guidelines” that help with deciding whether or not to fund an organization. According to him, he looks for whether they attended conferences, what activities they do, such as whether or not they will help the school and student body on a whole; and a clubs own income, which is based on fundraisers. While some clubs don’t have as many opportunities as others for making money, they can still Curfew laws still in quesiton After the August shooting of Dae’Shaun Auter, a 14-year-old Harrisburg boy, who had been outside of his foster mother’s home at 4 a.m., the communities of Harrisburg and surrounding cities are questioning the effectiveness of curfew laws. Some people blame his foster mother, while others blame law enforcement. “Why did his foster mother permit the child to leave the home?” asked Deborah Williams Jones, a 40-year old Harrisburg resident and mother of three. “At the same time, if police had seen the child, they could have sent him home. They should have been there to enforce the law.” Williams Jones is familiar with Auter’s story, and she knows his biological mother. She said she’s in the middle regarding whether his foster mother or po lice are more to blame in the prevention of his death. Her own children are 16-years-old, 12-years-old and 19-months-old. This is not the first time the area has questioned curfew laws. The first time juvenile curfew laws were questioned in federal courts started in Middletown, Pennsylvania in the case Bykofsky v. Borough of Middletown in 1975. Both parental and children’s rights were questioned. The court ruled in favor of the curfew. As of now, Middletown’s juvenile News 4 - 5 Club News 6 - 7 By JORDAN WISKEMANN Staff Reporter JLWIO62@PSU.EDU INSIDE THIS ISSUE Health Services takes care of PSH Blood drive preview Benefits of being an alumni... Modem dance sons for locals apply to the Student Activities Fee Committee for more money, However, as Sease put it, with money needed from SGA for other things such as the recent Middletown Fall Fest, “...everyone took cuts.” According to the SGA Constitution, which is available to all students and faculty alike; A set of Guidelines to be used as exceptions to [club representatives attending meetings] shall be written by the Vice President. curfew ranges based on age. The nighttime cut-off is 10 p.m. for children 11-years-old and younger, 10:30 p.m. for children 12 to 13- years-old, and 11 p.m. for children 14 to 17-years-old. Minors are not allowed back outside until 6 am. According to Middletown Chief of Police, Keith Reismiller, on the first offense, the police either take the child to the station for their parents to pick them up, or the officers just take them to their homes and send them a warning letter. After the first offense, guardians of the minor receive a fine that starts at $25 and increases by an additional $25 for each subsequent offense. If the guardian fails to pay the fines, he or she may have to spend up to 10 days in the Dauphin County Prison. “Some kids we find at 3 am are as young as 10 or 11,” said Reismiller. “What could a kid possibly be doing at 3 am? There’s nothing good on the streets that late at night.” Reismiller believes the curfew law has fair guidelines as it is written. He said there are also exceptions to the law such as a minor driving from work or a school function, such as prom, directly home. “We’re not looking to fine people,” said Reismiller. “We just want them to be safe and grow. Our main focus is to make sure nothing happens to the juveniles.” Harrisburg’s curfew law is similar to Middletown’s. The cut-off time is 10 pm on week nights and midnight Campus Calendar.... 7 Sports 8 - 9 Cj\at e Harr, # ° v ernmen' ** In an email sent to Craig Dewalt, SGA . Community Liason, he responded: “I usually base my decision off of a few things. First of all, I check to see if the club complied with all of the proper rules. Was the budget in on time, did they attend the proper SGA meetings, things like that. The next thing I look at is the purpose for the funds. I look to see if the purpose is beneficial for club growth, or to get the entire student body involved. Those are the two most important things. The third thing I look for is to disperse the funds fairly. If all of the clubs have their budgets in on time and have complied with all of the rules, then I feel as though we must equally distribute the funds. on our behalf to give one organiz-ation a lot of money, and another organization very little money.” So all in budget seems and fair. At an SGA meeting on September 14th, for example, their was a debate about funds to give to the Lion Ambassadors. Apparently the club needed a sign as well as funds for a club trip to a Penn State Conference at University Park, which would include food, lodging and other necessities. Please see BUDGET on page 4 on the weekends. According to Patty Kim, the Chair of the Public Safety Committee on the Harrisburg City Council, the police goal is not to look for children past curfew, but to use it as a tool for safety reasons. Kim recalled a time she was out with other officials in an unmarked police car and saw a group of kids standing on the street. One of the kids offered drugs to the people in Kim’s car. “Kids aren’t out that late to go to the library,” said Kim. While some people argue that curfew laws interfere with parental rights, Williams Jones is glad curfews are in place to act as a deterrent. Reismiller said most parents are thankful for the laws. “Parents are usually appreciative we picked their children up off the streets at 3 am,” said R.eismiller. While curfews may prevent juvenile offenses at night, they don’t cover the after-school hours. According to the article The Proliferation of Juvenile Curfews by Robert E. Shepherd, Jr., on the American Bar Association’s website, the time most juvenile offenses occur “are in the hours immediately after school lets out.” Williams Jones believes parents should find things to occupy their child’s time. Her daughter is enrolled in an after-school program, provided by Harrisburg elementary schools, where certified teachers stay after Please see LAWS on page 4 Entertainment... 10 -11 11 Games ...Page 5 ..Page 6 .. Page 7 Page 10 It is unfair process reasonable
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