By OSCAR BEISERT
Columnist
ODBIO2@PSU.EDU
As the completion of a certain
master’s degree will soon be an
event of my past, it is clear that I
will be without a pulpit from which
I can pontificate at my own desired
length and on such eccentric subject
matters that intrigue my pen to
move forth. Because of this I find
the future premises of these columns
to be of the utmost importance as it
will probably be the last months in
which such a tolerable publication
will admit my works. So with much
care I have pondered upon and
selected this column’s topic. But
enough of that.
To come to the point I will broach
an issue that, for most people, is an
open and closed concept: this topic
is capitalism.
While for the vast majority of
individuals this theory (capitalism)
is a measure designed for financial
affairs or, at the lowest form,
monetary gain, but, in the world
of Oscar, I think not. Recently, I
was hanging out with a friend who,
Musicians at PSH:
By ANDREA HEISERMAN
Guest Reporter
ALHSIO2@PSU.EDU
There is a music room in the
basement of Olmsted, but the
door is always locked. There are
instalments inside that room that
are just sitting there, collecting dust,
wasting away waiting to be played.
Would you agree with me that this
seems like a waste of money? The
University created this music room
and bought the instruments but has
not established any music program
here at Penn State Harrisburg, with
the exception of the chorus. There
are pianos scattered around campus;
a very beautiful one in the gallery
inside the library, and a few here
and there in rooms at the C.U.B
Who is using them? As a musician
I feel that it is a crime to let these
instruments sit around, untouched
and deteriorating. The act of music
making has so many positive effects
in society and 1 think that it is
time that there is a music program
established here on campus.
Music has been proven to have
some amazing effects on the brain.
It engages a variety of areas in
Global warming: an inconvenient dupe
By JAMES MILLICAN
Guest Reporter
JTMSO9B@PSU.EDU
No matter what one may think
of A 1 Gore, it seems as though his
science cannot support his position
on global warming anymore.
According to a new documentary
by British television producer
Martin Durkin, the driving force
behind the former Vice President’s
controversial film, “An Inconvenient
Truth” is not even a relevant factor
in the global warming controversy.
In Durkin’s “The Great Global
Warming Swindle,” the temperature
change of the Earth over a period of
thousands of years seems to have a
closer connection to the growth and
decay of the Sun’s solar flares - not
the presence of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere as proposed
by Gore.
It was rather surprising to
hear people like Patrick Moore,
environmentalist and co-founder
of Greenpeace, Paul Reiter of the
Pasteur Institute, and Nigel Calder,
former editor of New Scientist,
speak in agreement with scientists
about how carbon dioxide is merely
a result of climate change, rather
than a cause of it. However, it was
CULTURALLY INEPT
A 81-MONTHLY PONTJFICATION
much to his own dismay, is shall we
say gauche when it comes to matters
of style and taste. Because the
poor slob is a good friend of mine
and is without the mental capacity
to reform his aesthetic presence I
decided, after prompt, to advise him
of a private devise of mine that I
often employ for capitol gain.
However, let me delineate
the reasons for my disclosure.
Because my judgment of his
squalid appearance is merely an
innate ability of mine, I excuse
such superficial flaws due to his
desirable persona. Yet, upon our
last visit, he lamented a rather
shocking sentiment: “Oscar, why
are you the only “twink” (aka: cute,
thin gay boy, which I am not) who
will give me the time of day? If I
were to go up to someone of your
demeanor in a bar, such individuals
wouldn’t give me the time day.
Unfortunately, it is this type of
appearance and person to which
natures pulls me.”
After ensuring that a truthful
response —regardless of its
harshness —was of interest to him, I
asked my friend to recall the general
the brain including areas that are
involved in other types of cognition,
Research has show that musicians
are better with languages and
mathematics. Music has a positive
impact on a student’s grades
and is linked to better adjusted
social behavior. It also improves
a person’s “spatial temporal
reasoning”, which is the foundation
of engineering and sciences. It also
helps improve memory, an effect
that has been termed “The Mozart
Effect” by researchers. Music
makes you smarter, period. With all
this evidence proving that music is
a constructive and positive medium
for developing a more intelligent
and effective student how can the
college deny us a music program?
The college has no excuse. They
could say that they do not have
the money to fund a program,
but we all see how much dinero
this campus is alone racking in
everyday. They could say that they
don’t have faculty to run a music
program, but I alone know many
qualified, capable, and willing
instructors who would gladly join
the Penn State faculty to spread the
sound of music. They could argue
not surprising at all to find that the
impact of Durkin’s documentary on
the U.S. media was eerily analogous
to the actual effect that carbon
dioxide emissions have on
climate change.
While Gore’s film made it to movie
theaters across the country and even
earned him an Academy Award,
Durkin’s has yet to receive any
airtime on American networks at all
The only reason it has become such
a hot topic among global warming
debaters is because of its wide
availability all over the Internet,
Praise for “The Great Global
Warming Swindle” is mostly based
on the use of simple scientific
dialect in the film as well as the
simple graphs and charts that seem
to completely contradict the almost
similar graphs and charts found in
“An Inconvenient Truth.” There is
also a strong emotional presence
found in Gore’s film that tries to
sway the view towards his side - as
if the science was never enough.
To be fair, there were flaws in
Durkin’s documentary, including the
alteration of a NASA temperature
chart, to which Durkin commented,
‘The original NASA data was very
wiggly-lined and we wanted the
simplest line we could find.’ There
carriage of those to which such
“twinks” are drawn.
Allowing him to think a moment, I
said, “are they similar in appearance
to you?” He uttered a very solemn,
“no, more like themselves.”
And then I made it clear to him that
if he enjoys a certain type of person;
modification to his own presentation
might be in order if procurement is
to be made. He immediately began
to defend his character, his intellect,
and so forth, and rebuked the
thought of such a transition claiming
it to be superficial. I immediately
challenged his poorly planted point.
If my friend wanted to become the
director of IT in his company, he
knew the sorts of devices he would
have to utilize in order to
obtain this position. What of this is
different from aspirations to procure
a cutie pie or “fashionista?”
In my eyes there is no difference.
Some people care about appearance;
apparently, he does —just not his
own! But why should those who
care about such things —those who
go to the gym, shop till they drop,
groom the hairs on their head with
a fine tooth comb, and even those
that there is not enough interest at
this particular campus. How many
of you students know or have seen
people playing guitar, or heard
them talking about the instruments
they used to play but no longer can
because they live on campus? There
is a vast and overlooked interest in
the student community who could
benefit a lot from a music program.
Even if a music program is out
of the question for Penn State
Harrisburg there should at least be
some kind of music club. Maybe a
small ensemble of interested and
talented students could get together
in that empty music room and
prepare a few pieces to perform.
Performance space is not a problem
We have an auditorium, a stage
in the cafeteria, and a gallery that
could be used for performances.
The establishment of some kind of
music program here at PSH seems
more like a distant wish to me than
a reality. It doesn’t need to be just a
wish though, and the school should
take action and be concerned.
Music can help students and the
entire community here in incredible
and substantial ways.
What blows my mind even more is
is also the controversy involving
one scientist who threatened to sue
if his name was not removed due to
false conclusions to his thoughts on
global warming as implied by
the film.
There was also no new information
brought forth in the documentary,
only the exposure of already
existing skepticism and the
comparison to the global cooling
debate of the 19705. Durkin’s
documentary seeks to prove that the
carbon dioxide argument arose from
a political campaign strategy by
conservative Margaret Thatcher to
increase the production of Nuclear
Power plants in Great Britain amidst
the confrontation of global cooling
and an apparent world catastrophe.
There is no longer a debate about
whether or not the temperature
is a degree higher than it was a
century ago. But just as the global
cooling escapade seemed to be
nudging in the next ice age, global
warming has become the new
hysterical rollercoaster to keep all
of civilization unnecessarily on the
edge of their seats. It is the fault
of no one but ourselves that we
have become and continue to be so
increasingly susceptible to
these ploys.
who belabor their complexion to
the greatest degree, why should
these fastidious “self-groomers”
be expected to pity the dilapidated
intellectual? And so, in your first
instance, you ask, how shallow can
one be? Or maybe, why should this
person change who he is?
Clothing, salons, and gym
memberships don’t make a person —
well, unless your Miranda Priestly —
but they certainly raise the morale
and refinement of their inhabitant.
So after expounding upon my point,
he became very fascinated by the
prospect of capitalizing off of his
altered appearance. Beyond this
scenario, I will resort to a former
column wherein the premises of my
termination were presented.
In this instance, I wore the wrong
thing, said the wrong thing, and
did so with a diction that, while not
harmful, was not pleasing to the eye
or ear of my employer. Because I
regarded these things as important,
I lost my job and, because
corporations —such as Pheaa —have
no conscience, I was without a
paycheck, with out the dignity of
employment, and even left without
overlooked
that there isn’t even a practice room
on campus for those musicians
who want to continue studying
their instrument but are not able
to practice in their dorms. I, for
instance, play trumpet and will
not practice in my dorm because
I know that nobody wants to be
bothered by the loud, possibly
irritating sound of somebody
practicing his or her scales next
door. I had auditioned last year for
the School of Music at University
Park but blew my audition, and so
here I am at a branch campus. I
had planned on re-auditioning this
year, but since there is no place for
me to practice here at campus I am
no longer planning on auditioning
because, as we say in the world
of brass, I have “lost my chops”. I
could have continued my musical
studies by purchasing my practice
mute for $lOO.OO, or I could have
paid for private lessons. But who
has the time and money to do those
things when they are a full time
student? Aren’t branch campuses
supposed to prepare us to go to the
University Park? What about the
aspiring music majors? I think they
are being overlooked.
#42 tribute should be 96'd
By RYNE CRABB
Sports Reporter
RECI6I@PSU.EDU
I realize the risk involved in a
whiter-than-white, country raised
redneck like me criticizing a tribute to
an African-American hero like Jackie
Robinson. I won’t go all Don Imus on
you, but I just wanted to include that
disclaimer. So, you’ve been warned.
Quick history lesson: Jackie
Robinson was the first black player
in Major League Baseball, breaking
the color barrier on April 15, 1947.
50 years later, in 1997, Commissioner
Bud Selig retired Robinson’s number,
42, throughout baseball. Nobody
would ever be assigned or allowed to
wear #42 again in remembrance of
Jackie’s accomplishments.
April 15, 2007 is the 60 lh
anniversary, and baseball has
proclaimed it “Jackie Robinson
Day.” Ken Griffey, Jr., a proud
African-American and ambassador of
baseball, requested and was granted
permission to wear #42 in Jackie’s
honor. Then a few other players sent
the same request, and in order to
satisfy everyone, Commissioner Selig
proclaimed one player from every
team would be allowed to wear 42 on
Jackie Robinson Day.
It was an honest and fitting accolade
THE CAPITAL TIMES
the means by which to see a doctor.
So, I question myself. My
tuition was paid for; my bills were
assured, and my worries, in regards
to finances, were little, but their
treatment of me was wrong, and
because of this I had to make a.
choice. And I did. But because of
my commitments —to the agency
and to graduate school —would it
not have been better to alter my
deportment and myself so that I
might have been able to capitalize
upon my situation?
The answer to this question is not
clear, nor is it easy, but it is a point
not to be forgotten. And with it on
the table, I ask you, would we
select the choicest option if all
of our thoughts had the spirit of
capitalism in mind, and would such
decision not render a greater verdict
for our hopes and desires?
Or do such superficial wants
become obsolete or undesirable
once we are able to caress them in
our hands? And, in the end, I must
ask, is there anything
really wrong with enjoying what can
only be seen from
on the surface?
“Music is about communication,
creativity, and cooperation, and, by
studying music in school, students
have the opportunity to build on
these skills, enrich their lives,
and experience the world from a
new perspective.” -Bill Clinton,
former President, United States of
America. It is easy to see that music
is fundamental in every community.
Penn State Harrisburg needs to stop
acting as a business and being to act
as a school that is concerned with
the wellbeing and growth of all of
their students, including the musical
ones. It is time for a music program
to be established here at PSH.
Information included in this
article comes from the following
sources: ScientificAmerican.com,
AMCMusic.com-American Music
Conference, http://www.menc.
org/information/advocate/facts.html
- Music Education Facts, and an
extremely interesting book called
“This is Your Mind on Music” by
Daniel J. Levitin. If you agree with
this article please write a letter
to the editor. Maybe together we
musicians can press the school
board to get our music
program started!
for each team to have a representative
participating in the tribute. As teams
began to select players, stories
popped up everywhere of black
players researching and reading
history books, learning more about
Jackie and his story.
Then, Chicago Cubs sent in a
request stating they have four black
players and all of them wanted to,
and should be allowed to, wear 42. In
response, the Los Angeles Dodgers,
Jackie’s original team when he played
in Brooklyn, requested their
entire team be allowed to wear 42.
Now, almost all the black players in
MLB have requested to wear 42, in
fear of being viewed as “ungrateful”
if they didn’t join the tribute.
Clearly, this has become a complete
mess, but what was Selig
supposed to do? He is older and
whiter than me, if he would have
denied any requests to honor Jackie,
he would have been crucified by the
media.
Now half of baseball is wearing 42
for one reason or another, most of
which have nothing to do with its
original purpose. Jackie persevered
through countless acts of racism,
and 60 years later, we live in a world
where people are so paralyzed by the
fear of being labeled a racist, they
couldn’t properly honor the guy.
April 16, 2007 3
President's
Corner
By ARIEL O'MALLEY
SGA President
EROSOO2@PSU.EDU
Alright everyone. I know that we
are heading into the last few weeks
of class and I’m sure that you all
know what that means. All those
papers and projects that we put off
because “oh I have a ton of time, I’ll
just do it later” are now demanding
our attention. Everyone is starting to
get stressed and edgy. Not to mention
that it is sunny and warm out (or
at least it was a week ago) which
makes it even harder to get to class.
But hang in there, there are only a
few weeks left. I know that this time
of year is really rough on everyone
but we are all in it together. So
study hard, buckle down and write
those papers, and get all that work
done. It will all be over before you
know. At which point many of you
will get to celebrate your amazing
accomplishments with graduation
and the rest of us will simply be glad
that another semester is completed!!
However for the next few weeks
when things get rough and you just
want to give up I want you to think
back and remember this poem.
“When things go wrong as they
sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems
all up hill,
When the funds are low, and the
debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have
to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a
bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and
turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he
stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace
seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close
you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re
hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worse,
THAT YOU MUST NOT QUIT.”
-Anonymous
Hopefully the poem will help you
out in the next few weeks. But if the
poem is not enough for you I have
another resolution. This upcoming
week, April 16th-19"', is the Rites
of Spring. This week contains many
wonderful events ranging from a
carnival (Monday night in Vartan
Plaza) to a “Movie on the Lawn”
(Wednesday night on the hill). So if
you’re feeling a little stressed out,
feel free to come out to the events
of the Rites of Spring and relax and
enjoy some good times w ith the
wonderful people of PSU.
Finally I would like to address an
issue that is floating around campus
The issue of elections shall soon
be resolved. 1 know that there are a
lot of rumors floating around right
now about redoing the elections or
disqualifying several candidates. All
that I can say at this time is that there
is a contestation of the elections
being made and it is being dealt with
in the manner that is described in the
election code. As soon as a decision
is made I will make sure to have
something sent out to all of you via
the school list-serve so that you will
all be up to date with the current
happenings. Thank you all for
hanging in there and being patient.
I will get in touch with all of you as
soon as possible!!