SGA
Update
By MATTHEW MAHONEY
Staff Reporter
MI.MSO39@PSU.EDU
No clear reason was given as to
why Student Government President
Marques Stewart has resigned from
office. Saying that his time in office
has been a "great opportunity to
grow as a person and as a leader,"
Stewart was praised by his peers as
being a driving force behind not only
raising the diversity of the SGA, but
also the diversity awareness of the
entire campus.
Among the many accomplishments
that Stewart has made while in office,
his parting legacy is one of intrigue.
Insisting that people will continue to
remember him if they speculate as to
why he left, Stewart gave no reason
for his departure. While this may be
true of some students, speculation
without facts is the stuff of opinion
pages, not factual columns.
SGA Vice President Sahar Safaee
now takes the reins of a SGA that has
been hard at work over the past few
weeks to improve their image, and
not through baseless statements, but
through actions.
The SGA showed dedication
for our region in being the only
commonwealth campus within our
caucus to attend the November
Commonwealth Campus Student
Government (CCSG) meeting, a
gathering of all Penn State SGAs.
Topics from CCSG that affect our
campus included a "Paws Here"
campaign that would offer discounts
at local businesses for students with
their Penn State ID. This idea has
been brought up in the past and has
been a recurring issue for nearly two
years now, still with no resolution„
Diversity remains a focused topic
for the SGA. Diversity Affairs
committee chairperson Phebe West
made the point clear at the Nov. 15
meeting and the Nov. 29 Town Hall
meeting that diversity within PSH
is not up to par. She cited facts from
CCSG showing that retention rates
among minority students are low.
Fewer minorities return after their
freshman and sophomore years.
CCSG discussed the option of
introducing a minority scholarship to
help combat this problem.
West also brought forth the idea
of introducing a lecture series that
would highlight the diversity of
minority cultures living in America
and the diverse aspects brought
forth by various European cultures
as well. West hopes to work with
MAEP and John Howie of the
Multi-Cultural Recruitment Team
to provide diversity education in the
interim until the lecture series comes
to fruition
THON also became the topic of
discussion when it was revealed by
sources at CCSG that the THON
committee was supposed to be
operated by the SGA and not as a
separate entity like it is here. No
immediate effects have been noticed
with the release of this information
due in part to the SGA "handling it
professionally" as they promised at
the Nov. 15 meeting.
This became a cause of concern
because PSH was being penalized
within the THON system for not
having THON committee members
attend CCSG meetings. The
punishment is that PSH cannot
sponsor a family for two years. Thus
far PSH has not been given this
punishment and the SGA and THON
has pledged to never let it get that far.
The SGA fielded many questions
during the Nov. 29 Town Hall
meeting, among them advertising
for clubs. Suggestions brought forth
included weekly event e-mails, a
Facebook group and table tents, for
the tables in Stacks. SGA adviser
Donna Howard pointed out that an
event calendar already exists online
at the PSH homepage.
There are many other topics on the
SGA plate and students are always
welcome to voice their opinions
and concerns either at meetings or
directly within their office.
Show off your diamonds at PSH
By ADAM PORTER
STAFF REPORTER
AWPSO3B@PSU.EDU
The holidays are a time for family.
We try to slow down our busy lives,
if only for a day or two, and spend
time with those we love.
Family comes in many forms. For
Sean Laird, family is Mom, Dad, two
older brothers and so much more.
The Lairds met their "extended
family" when Sean was only 2 'A
years old. Teresa and Bob Laird,
Sean's parents, noticed when their
son was out playing with other kids
in the neighborhood, he would tire
much more quickly than the others.
Sean also had an unusual limp that
caused him to drag his leg behind
him. Mrs. Laird took her son to
their family doctor to get tested
for, perhaps, arthritis. There also
appeared to be small red spots on
Sean's leg.
Luckily, the doctor ordered a CAT
scan, which could provide more
detail than other tests. Thursday
night, right around dinnertime, Mrs.
Laird took a phone call.
Toys for Tots, bring a smile to a child
BY JENIFER BAUGHMAN
GUEST REPORTER
JLB6S4@psu.EDU
Come be a part of bringing a smile
to a young child this Christmas.
Toys for Tots is a nationwide
organization that delivers toys to
less fortunate children.
You can help the children by
donating a new toy to one of
the local sites in Harrisburg.
Donation sites can be found at the
Toys for Tots homepage, www
harrisbur • to sfortots.com
Toys will be accepted from Nov. 2
to Dec.ls.
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve has
conducted the annual Toys for Tots
for 59 years. Social organization,
churches and community
programs deliver the gifts to
boys and girls up to 15 years old.
Their goal is to provide local
children with a happy, enjoyable
and fruitful Christmas.
First Sgt. Paul Finn, the
coordinator of Toys for Tots in
the Harrisburg area stated that
17,
"The doctor said, 'You need to come
in right away.' I told him I wanted to
get dinner started, could it wait until
tomorrow?" she recalled.
The doctor insisted on seeing Sean
right away. Once directed to the
emergency room, 2 1 / 2 year old Sean
The Four Diamonds Fund
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was poked and prodded for a blood
sample to test.
"Get someone else who knows how
to do it or stop," Mrs. Laird insisted.
Within an hour, the results came
back. Mr. and Mrs. Laird sat with Dr.
Barbara Miller, Division chief of the
Pediatric hematology/oncology team
at Penn State Children's Hospital.
"It's cancer," the doctor told them.
Two words so clearly etched in the
memory of these dedicated parents.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia,
"ALL" for short, is a cancer of
2006 was the most successful year
ever. Nationwide they delivered
19.2 million toys to 7.6 million
kids. In Harrisburg 78 thousand
toys were delivered to 16 thousand
kids.
If interested in helping with Toys
for Tots in your local community
you can participate in any of
the following: donate a new
unwrapped toy, organize an
event, help sort toys, have
your own toy collection, host a
collection event or donate cash.
Visit your local website for
additional information.
How did Toys for Tots begin?
In 1947 a lady handcrafted a
Raggedy Ann doll at Christmas
and asked her Marine husband to
deliver the doll to an organization
that would give it to a needy child.
He found that no such organization
existed and decided to start one.
It was so successful that the Marine
Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948.
Toys for Tots is now part of the
official mission of the U.S. Marine
Corps Reserve.
the blood. It causes your marrow
to produce so many cells, called
blasts, that haven't fully formed into
lymphocytes that the red blood cells
and platelets you need get pushed
aside.
"Then Greg came to talk to us."
Greg Baiocchi, MSW, LSWW, is
one of two full-time social workers
at the hospital. He explained that the
Four Diamonds would be able to pay
for anything the family's insurance
didn't cover.
Mr. Laird had personal appreciation
of how expensive hospital bills can
be. As a small child he received
burns over much of his body, and his
mother had to go back to work just to
keep up with the medical costs.
"I didn't want to seem dumb, but I
had to ask Greg again what the (Four
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Diamonds) Fund paid for, because
I just couldn't believe it," chuckled
Mrs. Laird. "Taking Sean to the clinic
was almost like a party once we got
to know all the other families there.
It was such a good time, especially
considering what we were there for,"
Photo courtesy of google.com
she continued.
She later learned that the Fund had
even replaced a family's furnace that
had broken just to keep the child
healthy.
"They do whatever it takes to keep
the family's focus on making sure
their child gets better," reiterated
Mr. Laird. "We were very lucky.
Everything just fell into place."
"He was like a celebrity at the
hospital. They treated him so well,"
recalled Mrs. Laird.
Given his age at the time, Sean said
this team and
with pride.
he doesn't remember much. When
asked if he is now able to understand
what he went through, he replied,
"I think so. We were talking about
leukemia at school the other day
and I put my hand up and said, 'Oh
yeah, I had that.' All the kids in class
couldn't believe it."
Other memories include "Mr.
Tubey," a hand-made stuffed bear
that had a small piece attached to its
chest resembling the tube on Sean's
Metaport used to administer the
chemotherapy.
"He also loved a smile," noted his
mother.
Sean was quite a night owl, staying
up for. the late talk shows simply
because the comedians would always
have such a big smile.
Sean is now in 8'" grade at Palmyra
Middle School and doing great! To
this day, he still keeps in touch with
his newfound family from the clinic.
He's even attended THON since its
last year in the White Building. At
his school's career day, he expressed
interest in law enforcement, EMT
training and also photography. What
college is he considering attending?
"Penn State!" he declared.
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