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The Fourth Wall
ET Trevon Pegram
News Editor
Just imagine if you will a high
school in which, after black
students wanted to sit under a tree
that was typically used by white
. students, three nooses were hung
from that same tree on the very next
day. Instead of school officials
seeing this event as something
very discriminatory they pass it off
as a simple school prank. The
incident causes racial tensions not
only in the school to heat up, but
in the town as well. Then the real
drama starts when six young black
men are charged as adults with
attempted murder after being
involved in a fight with a white
classmate. The story only gets
worse from here.
A few of the young men are not
given fair trials. The charges
weren’t the only things that were
Editorial:
By Ashley Rowe
Layout Editor
Welcome, new freshmen, to
Penn State Mont Alto. No longer
are you in your safe high school
world. Everything is different now:
selecting your own classes,
learning to be an independent
student, and living life all on your
own. I’m sure by now you have
settled into your routine, made lots
of new friends, and have already
taken your first big exam. College
can be a stressful, difficult change
in a person’s life. All students have
trouble adjusting to this new world.
Now is the time to take critical steps
toward your future. Here is some
advice on how to make your
college experience successful.
There are many resources on
campus to help new students
become adjusted to the college life.
The Student Success Center is a
great spot where you can develop
study habits and skills that are
necessary to achieving your goals.
They have many tutors who are
able to help you on a personal
harsh, so was the bail amount that
was set for them. This sounds like
something that could never
happen in this day and age but I'm
sorry to say that’s not the case.
This has been going on for the past
year in Jena, Louisiana. The six
young men referred to have
become known in the media as the
Jena 6. I don’t defend the actions
taken by these six young men but I
must also speak out at how their
cases have been handled.
This has slowly become a
highly publicized case in the media.
Hearing more and more about this
case and how it has been handled
causes me to question how far it is
we’ve actually come as a people.
When I use the term people I mean
not only as American citizens but
as human beings in general. This
country prides itself on being the
land of opportunity, a place where
you can come with nothing and
-work your way up to become
basis. When asked if she would
have done anything differently last
year, Shaquwana Duncan
(sophomore), said, “I would have
managed my time a little better.” Isel
Ibragimova (sophomore) agreed.
“Make sure you
have enough
time to study for
each class and
are doing your
homewor
-Shaquwana Duncan
Resident Assistant at
Penn State Mont Alto
She stated, “I would have studied
more and procrastinated less.”
The college experience is
unlike anything you have ever
encountered before. Isel
Ibragimova confirmed, “Be
someone successful.
This may be true in a sense; this
nation welcomes people of all
sexes, origins, creeds, and colors.
Though this nation may welcome
all these different people has it ever
really gotten over the question of
race? The one thing that has truly
plagued this country since the
beginning is the argument over the
color of skin. Many of us would
love to think that we have gotten
over this but the fact of the matter
is that we most likely haven’t done
so at all. No matter what
movements or Supreme Court
decisions we’ve had in the past the
truth of the matter is that race still
plays a huge part in everything we
do. It sometimes determines where
we live, work, what we say, and
even what we wear.
One of the single most
important things to find out about
a person for a job is usually their
sex and then their race. The idea
of race has become so prominent
that we even hinder ourselves from
doing certain things because they
can be termed as being something
that someone in our particular race
doesn’t do. We can’t necessarily
blame ourselves for this either
because it’s something that we’ve
lives. It has been force-fed to us
that these things are standard
practice.
How far can the human race
actually evolve? Can we reach our
highest potential when we are
stuck on something as
unimportant as the color of
someone’s skin? Not like the color
of their skin has any effect on their
intellectual ability or is some
preview as to what that person will
be able to accomplish. Yet we still
are hung up on something like this.
It’s great for people to learn about
come from but, for it to then be
outgoing and friendly to
everybody and make Sure you
attend the campus activities.” Be
sure to balance your schedule
between school work and
recreation. Spending time with
stress that college students face.
Find out what events or activities
are going on throughout the week
and plan your schedule
or in the General Studies Building.
Also, if you live on campus you
can ask your Resident Assistant
for a list of activities.
Good time management skills
are something that most freshmen
learn after the first few months of
being in college. Shaquwana
insisted, “Make sure you have
enough time to study for each
class and are doing your
homework.” Isel added, “Don’t
procrastinate! Get things done
early. You never know when the
printer will break or a power
used as a form of discrimination
against them is totally
inappropriate. Is it even possible
to imagine living in a world that isn’t
clouded with questions of race?
No matter how much we tell
ourselves that race isn’t an issue
with us, in the back of our minds
we know that the question of race
is there? It’s just a matter of whether
or not we choose to acknowledge
it. Until we choose not to
acknowledge race as such a big
issue then we can never truly be at
peace as a society.
S20
outage happens.” If and when you
are assigned to do an assignment
or write a paper, remember to use
your time effectively. If you have a
two hour break in between classes
(let’s say, for example, on a
Tuesday), and the paper is due that
next Thursday, do not waste your
time. Accomplish the task early so
that you will not have to worry
about completing it later.
When asked about the most
enjoyable memory at Penn State
Mont Alto, Isel Ibragimova replied,
“Spending time with my friends at
dances or watching movies in the
lobby or our rooms.”
You should enjoy your time here
as a student. The best thing to
remember is that we all make
mistakes. If you don’t adjust as
quickly as you would have liked,
it’s okay! There are things that I
wish I had done differently my
freshman year. The most important
advice I can give you is to take all
of this information and use it to
your advantage. It is up to you to
make your college experience a
success.