Page 2 Our own Penn State Thon The Lion’s Eye April 13, 2011 RI $12,780.50 which they raised this year! SGA Confesses: “It’s An Uphill Battle” by daniel j. taylor - Lion's Eye GuestWriter - djt5036@psu.edu After cancelling its originally scheduled Sound Off meeting, the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a seemingly last-minute get together during common hour on Wednesday, March 30. Though the entire SGA Executive Board did not attend the traditional townhall-style, some of its members did make a showing. It was Vinnie Gallo (Senior, Com- munications) who opened the meeting to 21 disinterested guests. When he began loud- ly speaking in the back of the Lion’s Den lounge in the Commons Building, most of those in attendance did not seem to realize that an event had been planned for that time. No flyers or announcements were to be found on campus, so it was not unfair of them to be ignorant of the SGA’s quiet plans to host a meeting. ; Though few listened, no students left the lounge as Gallo discussed details regarding the statewide Capital Day, which has since occurred on Tuesday, April 5. Penn State Capital Day 2011, as described on the Penn State Alumni Association website, is an annual grassroots event that “will bring together alumni and student advocates for Penn State and connect them with their state legislators.” The website also states that the Council of Commonwealth Student Govern- ments, the University Park Undergraduate Association, and the Graduate Student Asso- ciation were all in attendance. The primary objective of Capital Day participants in 2011, he explained, is to attempt to reduce or eliminate the education budget cuts proposed by Pennsylvania Gov- ernor Tom Corbett in early March. Corbett’s proposed budget would cut Penn State’s fed- eral funding by 52.4%, from the $364 million that the University requested to $165.1 mil- lion. The impact of the Capital Day efforts has yet to be seen. The crowd remained complacent and chatty. Two students near the fireplace tossed around a football, and almost no one listened to the enthusiastic’ Treasurer. The number in attendance had risen to 32, but three students who sat nearest to this writer questioned loudly as they entered “What’s going on in here?,” implying once more that Wednesday’s SGA Sound Off hadn’t received the proper advertising. At that moment SGA President Steve latesta (Junior, Business) made his tar- dy appearance, armed with a piece of paper that he wielded as a sword. “I know that there has been some confusion as to whether or not Capital Day is an excused absence or not, but it is an excused absence. I have the paperwork that says so in my hand,” latesta announced to a suddenly more engaged group. Several people became interested in joining the 40 Brandywine stu- dents already registered, although most of them seemed more excited about playing hooky than engaging in Penn State activism. Other points of interest came with regard to a proposed redesign of the Lion’s Den cafeteria and lounge. The student body came alive with interest at this notion, but there was no mention of how the SGA planned to fund sweeping changes (such as replacing all of the Lion’s Den furniture) should the expected budget cuts take effect. When directly asked about the impacts of the proposed budget cuts, one SGA officer replied that PSU:BW was “safe” with regard to potential campus closings because of its size and proximity to the city. Another SGA officer, seemingly worried about having the SGA misrepresented in the campus newspa- per, quickly followed up the original officer’s response, claiming that there had been “no official statement” as of yet. The officers briefly discussed a rally and fundraiser as well as a Friday night costume party with games and prizes. latesta and Gallo seemed unable to command the respect necessary to handle the interactive Q&A portion of the meeting, which seemed heavily focused on the insig- nificant topics of costume ideas (for the Fri- day evening party) and Lion’s Den redesign options. One serious question proposed the possibility of starting a club Lacrosse team on this campus. Gallo explained that Coach Jim Gastner would happily find the club team an appropriate league if the minimum require- ments were met. As he explained that the SGA now requires an adjustable number of community service hours to acquire funding, one student shouted from the crowd, “I’ve got 30 of them!” In response, the audience burst into uproarious laughter. One member of the SGA simply dropped his shoulders and shook his head, the perfect image of the futility of the organization’s efforts. As the Sound Off came to a close and the students lined up to get their free snacks, latesta expressed his knowledge of the difficulties facing the SGA. “It’s an uphill battle,” he confessed, before returning to the most successful SGA activity of the afternoon: managing the pizza line. Dod2A! 2018 SM 10 1208 181A Women’s Commission Honors Brandywine Women of the Year by Emily Cleveland- Lion's Eye Staff Writer-efc5051@psu.edu On Tuesday, Match 29th, students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Tomezsko Lounge for the annual Women's Commission Luncheon. Guests were welcomed by Karrie Bowen, chair of the event, and invited to help themselves to a delicious buffet of Caesar Salad, Chicken Marsala, Stuffed Shells and a fruit platter and pastries for desert. As guests finished their last bites, Bowen introduced important advocators of women's rights: Dr. Phyllis Cole and Dr. Maureen Fielding. For the past couple years, these two remarkable Professors have joined together in an effort to raise money for Voice of Women Organiza- tion. Voice of Women Organization, (VWO) founded by Suraya Pakzad, is an underground movement focused on improving the lives of women in Afghanistan. Pakzad's organization was brought to the attention of Brandywine by Alumni, Aldo Magazzini. Magazzini start- ed his own fundraising organization called Traveling Mercies, and currently works with Pakzad to bring aid to Afghan women. Dr. Cole and Dr. Fielding's classes have spent a lot of time this semester creating bookmarks and cards to raise money for the cause. This fundraising project, Heart for Herat, was on display at each table. Two other charities present at the luncheon were Baby Bundles, an organization that supplies underprivileged families with items necessary for raising a baby, and Courtney's House, an organization that helps victims of domestic sex trafficking. All three welcomed any donations. Since 1991, the Women's Commis- sion has been recognizing two accomplished women, one student and one faculty mem- ber, to name Woman of the Year. This year, there was a tie and the award was presented to two outstanding students. Jackie Glace, a senior here at Brandywine, is “a Schreyer Honor student, she gives her time selflessly to help her community on both a local level, a regional level and a national level. She is honest, kind and loyal to all who know her- -her teachers, her friends and the people she works with when she volunteers her summers with the Appalachia Service Project” ex- claimed Bowen. When introducing the other winner, Brittney Walker, Bowen announced, “When going through the recommendations for Female Student of the Year, there was one statement that really struck a chord with me. “This young lady is an exceptional member of the Penn State Brandywine family who gives and gives and is selfless, sometimes to a fault. And trust me, that is true. She has a silent strength and wisdom that is not usually shown of someone her age. Truly, [she] embodies ev- erything that is about celebrating Penn State University and the goals set forth by the Penn State Commission for Women”. Diane Shorter is a member of the Office of Student Affairs. When introducing the 2011 faculty member awarded Woman of the Year, Bowen remarked, “She is humble, kind, generous, and, out of the seven e-mails I received about her, my favorite quote is that she stands calm and collected amid chaos ... She is a mother hen to our students. There is not one person that [ have met in my time here at Penn State Brandywine that doesn’t just say ‘I love Diane Shorter’ when you mention her name”. Unfortunately, Shorter was unable to attend the luncheon, but was in disbelief when she was informed about her accomplishment. After the women received their awards, the congregation filed in to room 103 in Tomezsko for a presentation by guest speaker Sarah Glover. Glover is a multime- dia photojournalist for Philadelphia Daily News. She first became interested in journal- ism when she was nine years old working as a paper peddler. “I found purpose through my camera”, she said as she announced her secrets to success. “Find your own voice ... [ love people; in finding my own voice | try to connect with people” she said. Children are a predominant theme in her photography. She also advised to “Identify your talents”. She said before sharing a story of her and her son. “He has a passion for baseball” she ex- plained. She has taken him to “nineteen parks and counting”, hoping to hit every park in the country. “Be who you are”, she continued. “Never give up ... Be good to others ... Have fun ... Follow your dreams”. “In a man's world women need to unite and support each other”, says Liz Mc- Peak, a sophomore at Brandywine who heard about the event in Dr. Fielding's Women's Studies class. Glover is the only female work- ing at Daily News. “Just do you”, she says. “Just cause you're a female does not mean you're not as good”. She goes on, “Diversity in media is important. Different backgrounds provide different perspectives”.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers