a _—— id a ? Sp Ay FN le and oma mia bya in as se HA Sra AA AEA ood Ao NEN Nl oN RS RPA dR A 5p 37 i Ap ad Karte 2 ts op Rd Page 6 Eve on Artist: Jonathon Sorber ‘By Brittany Neimeth Managing Editor ban5018@psu.edu Software developer by day and photographer by night, Philadelphia local, Jonathan Sorber has taken his hobby and made his name known with it. Sorber could be what one would consider an Internet celebrity. His devi- antart account, an online art community, has received over 250,000 page views and over 2,500 people subscribe to his page, all wanting one thing. To be updated on his new photo- graphs. Sorber, 27, was born in Philadelphia and attended George Washington High School. He then attended Drexel University for computer science where as a senior he took photo 101. “We didn’t even get to develop our own film, and it was only ten weeks long, but I found my love for photography then.” Sorber’s work has appeared in quite a few pub- lications, most notably his photograph was used in an advertisement in The New York Times. He has shot the covers for Passional Magazine, which is the publication for Passional, a fetish store in Philadelphia. He has also had his work in Verge and HX Magazine, which are both local to Philadelphia. Sorber does not have a specific location that in- spires him but he’s excited for summer and the possibility of outdoor shoots. “I want to use to use nature and flowers in the back- ground for color. I generally enjoy anything high fashion or with a lot of color. Although he is some- what of an online sensation, photographers don’t generally get recognized on the streets. The Lion’s Eye The photographer is behind the scenes, and though their name gets the credit, their face gener- ally doesn’t. “There have been times when I introduced myself and people recognized my name. It’s a great feeling,” Sorber said. Not only involved in photography, Sorber also hosts and coordinates events, which he then photographs. He also enjoys creating music and plays guitar, bass, keyboard, and the drums. His latest endeavor is a clothing line called 5th and Justice. “This was the last shoot I’ve done...we built a wall out of cardboard and _ tin foil. It took over 40 man- hours...It was the most prepa- ration for a shoot I have ever done.” He’s pleased with the outcome of the shoot and excited for the release of the first men’s line called Rock star. The clothing line will soon “be featured in boutiques around Philadelphia as well as online at www.fifthandjustice.com. In the future, he hopes to be able to shoot more Japa- nese street fashion-type shoots and he can’t wait for the op- portunity to go back to Japan. Jonathan Sorber’s photographs are on display at www.jonnyballs.deviantart. com. Chester County Art Association Sid THERE (S 2008 Summer Art Camp Adult Classes run June 23 to August 16 STILL TIME TO REGISTER!!! Summer Session IV August 4 to August 610-696-5600 x 11 Summer 2008 Classes are filling quickly! Call now or check availability online: www.chestercountyarts.org 100 North Bradford Avenue, West Chester, PA 19382 In Close Quarters with Bears By Brittany Neimeth Managing Editor ban5018@psu.edu “They aren’t just animals in cages, there 1s more to it than that,” Mark Hayes, Philadelphia Zookeeper, said Sunday about his job. Hayes works with the carnivores and we met in Bear Country, behind the cages where the majority of the bears come in to rest at night. It smells like the animals, but the scent is exag- gerated because of the fact that it is in an enclosed area. All of the cages are empty and the bears are out greeting the small amount of people who ventured out in the severe heat wave. Hayes graduated from Delaware Valley College with a degree in large animal science and stumbled into the job as a zookeeper. It was something he had always wanted to do, but didn’t think he could. He enjoys the close interactions that he can get with the animals and the satisfaction of good training. He pointed around to the bear cages proudly stating that the majority of the bears, all but one, with a little coaxing, will now get on the scale to be weighed by him or herself. : The zookeepers are specialized and either work with the reptiles, mammals or birds. Hayes began working for open relief so he floated between the mammals helping where he was needed, due to this he has worked with most of the mammals, and thus discovered his least favorite. “I’m not particularly enthralled with working with most of the primates,” he said. The primates are very intelligent animals and because of this they willfully do not listen. “It’s like working with kindergarteners and tends to be frustrating.” Hayes day can be different since he alternates between Bear Coun- try, Carnivore Kingdom and Big Cat Falls, but the fundamentals for all the zookeepers are the same, although each animal has a different procedure. He checks to make sure the animals are alive and safely where they are supposed to be, preps the yards and cleans. The zoo is more than just keep- ing exotic animals alive for viewer amusement, though. The employees also work on prolifer- ating species lives, such as polar bears which are on the endan- gered species list. The Species Survival Plan (SSP) involves taxonomic groups that maintain genetic diversity as well as inter- species breeding when positive genetic matches are found. Not all animals are bred in captivity, but right now for animals like the polar bears it is being pushed. The animals, like humans all have ISIS numbers, which are similar to social security num- bers. The ISIS number goes into an international system that tracks all the animals and their information such as species, sex, age, and weight. This allows the zoo keepers to keep track of their health and SSP to track breeding possibilities. The Philadelphia Zoo currently has two female polar bears that are fairly old. Although the zoo would like to breed the species they may decide not to because they may not have the proper configuration to house a male and female. The Philadelphia Zoo may soon end up becom- ing a holding area for young polar bears until they are of age to breed, about five years old, if they choose to breed. Also, the dynamics of living quarters becomes different when a male carnivore is thrown into the mix. Most large carnivores, with the exception of dogs, are solitary animals and when put into an artificial cohabitation in a small area it can change the liv- ing dynamics. Males are known to kill females, not necessarily due to aggression from invasion of space, but because the male doesn’t realize his own size can end up breeding too aggressively and injure the female. At the conclusion of the inter- view, Hayes took me to the gate that led into the Asiatic black bear’s outdoor exhibit. Pressed up against the gated door was the largest male black bear at the Philadelphia Zoo, weighing in at about 700 pounds. Hayes took what looked like small dog treats and through tiny slots in the door the bear took the treats from his hand. After watching this a few times, I was handed a treat and I fearfully pressed it through the hole, drop- ping it before the bear’s mouth had fully grasped the treat. That treat, though, was more for me than the bear. STATE LEGISLATOR HONORED State Rep. Thomas Killion, (R-168th District), accepts the “Friend of Penn State” legislative award from the Penn State Alumni Association for his significant role in the improvement of the University June 20. During his acceptance speech, Killion noted that the state budget is nearing completion. “We are fighting for education funding at all levels and for affordable higher education,” he said. (From left) Ed Costantini, member of the Penn State Brandywine Advisory Board; Sophia Wisniewska, Chancellor of Penn State Brandywine; Rep. Tom Kil- lion; and Eileen Killion, Rep. Killion’s wife. For more information on Representative Killion, go to http://www.repkillion.com/ _. (photo courtesy of Penn State Brandywine website) Vr ition etd aE Cot Ci Sy Ss Sadat i ht EEN NE %
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