The Fourth Wall
page 3
Andy Hess
A total of twelve atomic
clocks are scheduled to be
installed in each building on
campus over the summer. The
Student Government
Association is funding $365 for
this project in response to
student complaints.
The subject of time on
campus has been a joke for the
last few years. The seemingly
different time zones in each
building is often used as an
excuse for a student’s tardiness
to class; no longer will this be an
acceptable excuse. The new
Diversity from page 1
brief conversation with me that
“... Diversity is always a factor
in who they choose because
variety is a huge part of the
college experience. We carefully
assess each potential employee.
We use a guideline provided to
all the Commonwealth College
called: Evaluate the Best Qualified
Candidate.” Some examples of
this would be if one candidate
had a profound amount of
experience dealing with
underrepresented groups or took
many classes dealing with
diversity along with great
credentials over the other, that
candidate that would get hired.
The extent to make each Penn
State campus a more
comfortable and diverse
atmosphere is top priority.
Search committees have even
been established to seek out
faculty/staff of under-
represented classes. English
professor Peggy Russo was one
of the faculty members from
Mont Alto that was on a search
committee that tried to recruit
African American professors at
an MLA conference in Chicago.
However, the search was to no
avail because all applicants were
Caucasian. Russo states, “There
clocks have access to satellite
signals that will ensure time
synchronization. Ron Swope has
helped with the selection and
placement of the new clocks.
Batteries will be replaced
twice annually, however, the
clocks will automatically set for
daylight savings time which will
save on maintenance.
SGA considered the
placement of atomic clocks in
the classrooms. In addition to the
cost as ‘a factor, it was
determined to be an unnecessary
purchase at this time.
aren’t that many African
American scholars that attend
conferences such as these, and
the ones that do attend are
wanted by larger universities.”
Russo continues to explain that:
“...underrepresented professors
are highly needed but the
professors must have the
credentials and ability before
getting hired. Although, if I
would have seen an African
American professor with an
MLA button on, I would have
tackled them!” Even though
Mont Alto does not have that
much diversity amongst its
faculty /staff, there are courses
that students can take which
promote diversity. Some of these
courses are: Nancy Funk,
Theatre 208: Diversity Theatre,
Alice Royer, Deborah
Mirdamadi, Lucy Mueller, and
Stephanie Sellars, Women’s
Studies 102: Women of Color,
Morgan Jenkins, Music 007:
Evolution of Jazz, Peggy Russo,
English 467: African American
Writers.
see Diversity page 7
Meredith Mitchell
In the fall of 1999 I came to
Mont Alto as a freshman
English major. I parked my car
on the sidewalk in front of the
Penn Gates and members of the
Orientation Team descended
upon me and began unloading
my car, piling boxes on the
sidewalk. One of the members
paused and asked me where my
dorm was. When I told her my
room number, she gave me a
rather peculiar look and asked,
“Are you a forester?”
When I told her I was not, in
fact I had never heard of a
forester before that moment, she
picked up a box from the
sidewalk and laughed. “Well,
they all live on your floor, so
you'll get to know them real
quick.” It wasn’t until I met
them — the foresters — that I
understood the look she gave
me. For the three semesters I
spent as a student at Mont Alto
and as a Woodsmen’s Team
member, I would see that look
countless times.
The foresters are a very
distinctive bunch, and are a
kind of legend at Mont Alto; at
least they were when I was
student here the first time in
1999. They can be loud and
rambunctious, and sometimes
even difficult. But the foresters
I met here, lived and competed
with, became some of my
closest friends.
I had never picked up an ax
or a saw, let alone a chainsaw,
before I came to Mont Alto.
Initially, I was terrified by the
mere thought of chopping a
piece of wood between my feet,
but the foresters — my friends —
with patience and support,
coached me through each event,
step by step. They taught me to
hurl a double-edged ax over my
head and sink it in the center of
a target fifteen feet in front of
me. They taught me to split a
bolt of wood into four even
pieces. And they taught me to
pole climb — to strap one and a
half long spikes to my feet and
race up a telephone pole in
under eight seconds. They
taught me how to do it, but I did
it because I had come to love it
as I had come to love them.
Today, these men and women
— these foresters — are some of
my nearest and dearest friends.
see Experience page 5