I WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2003 Fratem one yea By Jen Winberry COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | jenw@p! More than a year after an ini 20-year-old Penn State student of her eighth-floor apartment life for the fraternity that pro’ alcohol, Tau Kappa Epsilon, h; returned to normal. "Things are going really wf now,” said Matt Kondracki, Tat .appi Epsilon president. “We are fully recog nized by both the Interfratemity Coun cil and the national chapter. We’ve self imposed many new policies to make sure nothing like this ever happens again." He said this semester’s pledge class of 24 male students is one of the biggest Tau Kappa Epsilon, 346 E. Prospect Aw., has seen in the last decade. ! n October 2002, Kevin Mayeux, chief extvative of the national chapter, placed Kevin Clancey/Collegian The Student Bookstore, 330 E. College Ave., is having a contest on Nov. 1 to bring more customers to the store. Local business say the football team’s struggles hurt sales. Downtown sales affected by football losses By Carissa Pleiss COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | cap22s@psu.edu The Nittany Lions’ 2-5 record has not only affected their overall standing, but has also let down area businesses that partly rely on a good home-game turnout. Some vendors have noticed a decrease in their sales and number of customers because of the Lions’ losing streak. Employees at various stores that specialize in Penn State goods said they have seen patterns this season compar ed to others. Karen Gossman, assistant manager at Lions Pride, 112 E. College Ave., said that on Saturdays she has seen a decrease in expensive items, like jack ets and jewelry. “I have noticed people coming down town earlier and not staying for the whole game," Gossman said. “But the hardcore alumni still come out.” Recruiters give insights on what employers are looking out for By Kim Sinclair and Sarah Goldfarb COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | kls43B@psu.edu Bright yellow suits and an orange tie may make job recruiters turn their heads, but it won’t necessarily get you a career With job hunting season in full swing, recruiters said it is important that stu- dents know how to interview property. Interviewers said they’ve seen every thing from students showing up in flashy colored dress to wearing plaid pajama pants. But, it takes more than just proper attire to land a job. "Job searches take quite a bit of time, usually around seven to nine months,” said Bob Orndorff, assistant director of MBNA Career Services. “We encourage seniors to get started in the fall because it is a tedious, long process.” Recruiters said many students do not understand the importance of prepara tion for an interview. “The biggest mistake is not research ing the company before going to the interview,” Orndorff said. “It implies they are not committed to the interview, ■but just want a job.” Recruiters said that being clueless ity returning to normal jL..,„.ikA t r after student’s fall the fraternity under temporary suspen- Kappa Epsilon. “We haven’t had any 4 isu.edu sion after he received the criminal com- problems with them so far.” plaint filed against the fraternity from Natalie Paglione, the woman who fell itoxicated the State College Police Department. her eighth-floor window at Beaver it fell out “I thought there was enough credible Terrace, 456 E. Beaver Ave., she . window, information,” Mayeux has recovered fully. In February, Centre County Judge “I have no ill feelings towards the fra las almost Thomas Kstler imposed a one-year pro- ternity,” Paglione said. “I didn’t follow bation on the fraternity, which pleaded the story, so I don’t really know what r ell for us no contest to a charge of selling or fur- happened to them.” BoaS^;,'.-: ' ;-' ■>;■: - ".- - •■■ • ■ -■- -J**%| iu Kappa nishing liquor or malt beverages to Paj fell froi ~" ’ ‘ minors. The fraternity had to pay a $2,500 fine plus court costs and fees, and members had to perform 500 hours of community service. The fraternity’s probation will auto matically end in February, barring any unforeseen difficulties. “Once their probation is over in Peb ruaiy, nothing else will happen to them as far as the court is concerned,” said Jeremy Packer, probation officer to Tau Bryan Demko, general manager for The Family Clothesline, 352 E. College Ave., said although he has seen fewer people this season than in the past, it has not severely affected his business. “We’re doing the same advertising and not changing anything,” he said. Some businesses, however, are doing more to attract customers, especially for major games. Norm Brown, general manager at The Student Bookstore (SBS), 330 E. College Ave., is organizing a competi tion where the winner will receive either $l,OOO or $25,000. Eor the Penn State football game ver sus Ohio State University on Nov. 1, SBS will display a cardboard mascot of Brutus Buckeye, the Ohio State mascot. The mascot will lie in a coffin covered in buckeyes, and the contestant who comes closest to the actual number of buckeyes will win $l,OOO. If Penn State returns the first kickoff for a touchdown, will get an interviewee nowhere. “Don’t ask, ‘So what does your com pany do?’ ” said Jeff Monahan, Weg mans’ employer representative. Robert Jeter, a recruiter for Rohm and Haas, a chemical company, said there is no excuse for not knowing about the company because informa tion is available on the company’s Web site. Orndorff said research-based ques tions are extremely impressive, only if they are organized. Lindsay Konell (senior-math) said her mock interview with Career Ser vices helped her realize she needs to focus on what the company is looking for. Monahan said personal tangents are not necessaiy. “We don’t want to hear how you just broke up with your boyfriend,” he said. If an interview is over dinner, it may be out of the interviewee’s control. Om dorff recommended remembering man ners, ordering easily managed food and offering to pay. He warns job hunters against becom ing too comfortable during an interview over a meal “Don’t think they are not evaluating you,” Orndorff said. LOCAL jglione jm the window during the early moping hours of Sept 8,2002. After investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident, police said they had found the accident to be alco hol-related. Her blood alcohol content was 0.135, exceeding the legal limit for intoxica tion, police said. Brad Nelson, then president of Tau Kappa Epsilon, admit ted to purchasing seven kegs of beer for the party, which was held at a fraternity member’s house, police said. the winnings will increase to $25,000, Brown said. “We wanted to do something for the biggest game of the season,” Brown said. “Hopefully it will generate traffic into the store.” The display should be set up the entire week before the game, beginning Oct. 27. Area hotels, including the Ramada Inn, 1450 S. Atherton St., have not expe rienced major drops in room bookings. Management from Rodeway Inn, 1040 N. Atherton St., said popular games are usually booked. “There was a lack of interest for the Temple and Kent State games,” general manager Bob Patel said. “But we did receive a positive response for Ohio State.” Bud Meredith, director of ticket oper ations, said despite the team’s record, ticket sales have not suffered. He did say, however, there is no way to track Interview don’ts ■ Come unprepared ■ Dress too flamboyantly ■ Forget your manners ■ Talk too much ■ Stumble over follow-up questions ■ Use your cell phone during the interview However, some companies pay less attention to an interviewee’s dinner manners. “We aren’t going to not hire someone because of how they eat,” said Brad Swanson, Target’s campus recruiter. Orndorff said being too open can work against the interviewee, especially when he or she puts a negative light on past work experiences. Recruiters agree. “Never talk negatively about a previ ous employer,” Monahan said. “You can spin anything to make it sound good.” Orndorff said when discussing weak nesses at an interview, students should remember they are trying to present themselves in a positive light ticket holders that do not show up in the general admission sections. “We can track the students fairly eas ily,” Meredith said. “There is a ticket exchange, and we know how many stu dents initially bought tickets.” Herb Schmidt, associate athletic director, said he estimates 25,000 vehi cles have been at each home game, which is average. “Sales have not suffered, but the number of fans that we’re seeing in the stadium has been slightly less than in past years,” Schmidt said. “The stands never fill up, or have the appearance of being filled.” Mike Desmond, co-owner of Hotel State College, said area businesses have noticed an economic slump since 2000, but Penn State winning games can boost sales. “Penn State fans are loyal,” Desmond said. “Those fans that are true to Penn State football always come out.” “There is no need to give a greatest weakness that is really going to kill you,” he said. He realizes that many students don’t want a job if the recruiter does not accept them for who they are, including their flaws. Students should realize an interview is the time to impress, and once the job is landed, they can gradually become more relaxed, he said. He also said the job hunter needs to remember they should not dominate conversation during an interview. Sotm* Ca*eer Swvtees Mark Long (junior-chemical engi neering), who has been on several inter views, said the balance should be two thirds to the interviewer and one-third to the interviewee. Orndorff advised students to speak slightly less than half the time, but the more important factor is answering the interviewer’s questions. How the interviewee dresses often holds high importance. Long said that too much cologne, spiky hair and flashy clothing all detract from the professional look. Monahan said he is fed up with goofy ties. “Avoid novelty ties with Bart Simpson on them,” he said. Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, 346 E. Prospect Ave., is fully recognized by the IFC. The fraternity is current working on several policies to ensure that no simi lar alcohol-related incidents happen again. “We are working with our alumni to help implement risk management pro cedures with alcohol,” Kondracki said. “We no longer host the usual large par ties like other frats.” It expects to have a new alcohol poli- THE DAILY COLLEGIAN cy drafted by the end of the semester. Associate director of greek life Scott Phelan said that since the incident, there is greater alumni involvement with the fraternity. “I think they received sanctions that were justified for what happened,” he said. “I think they’ve learned from the experience and will emerge a stronger fraternity.” Details on file sharing could come next month By Daniel Bal COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | drb226@psu.edu As early as next fall, Penn State might be involved in a pilot program that would allow students to legally listen to free music online. During Monday’s Undergraduate Student Government Academic Assembly meeting, Penn State Pres ident Graham Spanier said he hopes to announce next month details about the service that will allow stu dents free access to music from online companies. Russell Vaught, associate vice provost for information technology, said although there are unforeseen forces that could halt the program from being implemented, he does not have any reason to believe other wise. “It’s highly likely this will happen,” he said. “I don’t see any snags.” Vaught said the program will not be free for the university, but it will be provided to the students at no additional cost. “The university bulk buys newspa pers and then provides them to stu dents, at no additional charge,” he said. “It’s the same as the movies in the HUB; they are being paid for, but not by students.” The program will allow students to access streaming music files, which can be transferred to an MP3 player, but cannot be burned onto a CD. Students could listen to a song continuously, but upon disconnection from the Penn State network, they would no longer have access to the song. The program will not allow anony mous downloads such as those on Kazaa. It also differs from Lion Share, which is an authentic peer-to-peer program. Lion Share will not primari ly be based on sharing music. A recent $l.l million grant will allow for the development of technology for Lion Share. Spanier said the university wants to put a legal file-sharing system in place before any students get in trou ble with the law. Last year, in front of a congres sional panel, Spanier said several congressmen labeled college stu dents as criminals who should be “locked up.” So far, no student has been sued at Penn State due to illegally download ing music, and the university said they would deny access before the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) takes action. “We like our approach to be educa tional in nature, not criminal,” Spanier said. In September, the RIAA filed 261 lawsuits against individual Internet users, 52 of which have been settled since. The RIAA has said they plan to file more lawsuits this month. University spokesman Bill Mahon said, “[The university] has to look at what companies are out there that provide music legally and a pricing structure [the university] can afford.” Mahon said illegally downloading music is a big issue and is causing traditional music stores to close their doors, but it also has an effect on stu dents here at Penn State. The university wants the work of students who write plays and pro duce television shows to be protect ed, he said. “[The students] have a lot at stake with copyright,” Mahon said. Penn State has taken a leadership role nationally to restrict illegal file sharing and has attempted to come up with a reasonable solution, he said. The Associated Press and Claudia Vargas contributed to this report
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