Friday, March 18, 2005
Greeks working to improve tolerance of gays
By Jason Cox
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I jtc446@psu.edu
In fall 2002, Joe Zagame (junior-psy
chology) pledged KAppa Alpha Order
fraternity, 234 E. Beaver Ave., like many
other freshmen. Zagame's experience,
though, was a little different than most
and during the next year he would be
subjected to some of the most difficult
and rewarding moments of his life.
Zagame decided to tell other fraterni
ty members that he was gay and they
supported him.
But Zagame is not alone in his appre
hensiveness about balancing his sexual
ity with his social life, as the words
"gay" and "greek" are rarely heard in
the same sentence.
Randall Mortzfield/Collegian
Darci Chuba (senior-commercial management) dances on a table at the Phyrst around 7:15 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day.
On the day when everyone is Irish,
top o' the morning signals drinking
By Josh Kowalkowski
and Rebecca Short
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITERS
jak4oB@psu.edu, ras967@psu.edu
First light for many people yes
terday was spent in line waiting
to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at
the bars with green beer, plastic hats
and a lot of beads.
When the doors of the Phyrst, 111
1/2 E. Beaver Ave., opened at 7 a.m.,
the line was longer than manager
Mike Millington had ever seen.
"I was shocked. People started
standing outside at 4 a.m.," Millington
said.
Fltllington said there was a consis
tent number of customers throughout
the day who enjoyed the festivities
without any disruptive incidents.
At 7:45 a.m., the line stretched out
the door to Pugh Street with people
decked out in green and enduring
below-freezing temperatures.
Tim Kistner (senior-professional
golf management) was one of the first
people to get in line for the Phyrst at 4
am.
"Last year we got rejected and I
`Be Cool' not such a hot flick, Arts/nßeview
THE DAI r
3
Lady Lions begin tourney
Sunday against Liberty
After a 14-day layoff; Penn State
seniors Tanisha Wright and Jess
Strom look to carry the Lady
Lions. I SPORTS, Page 11.
PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY BY STUDENTS AT PENN STATE
Now, voices that have been silent on
the issue for years have turned into
whispers and those whispers into proud
voices that have led to the beginning of
change at Penn State. Zagame has
joined others to form the Greek/LGBTA
Initiative, a program to help foster com
munication and integration of the two
communities.
While few statistics exist on why it
seems there is such a clash between the
two groups, many offer speculations.
"There are a couple groups that tend
to be more homophobic on campus, and
I think the greek system is one of them,"
said Allies President Christy Merchant.
Allies is a student organization that
supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgendered (LGBT) community
Jig, don't jog
Daniel Freel/Collegian
Ernie Oeibermann leads the Phyrst Phamily Band in St. Patrick's Day festivities.
couldn't get in," Kistner said. "This
year we wanted to be the first ones at
the Phyrst."
Inside, patrons packed the Phyrst
close to capacity and flooded the bar in
search of green-colored beer and Irish
COLLEGIAN IN-DEPTH
Brian Bertges, president of the Inter
fraternity Council, blames a lot of the
negative image of greek views concern
ing homosexuality on the media, adding
that "the greek community hasn't done
anything specific to cause that stereo
type to exist."
Whatever the opinion, there are a
number of people around campus who
are working to help these two worlds
better understand one another. Some
are LGBTA, some are greek.
Some say there is little problem with
integrating the two communities and
some simply wouldn't comment.
"I already knew I was gay, but I didn't
Car Bombs while listening to live
Irish-themed music.
Local stores see the sale of Irish liquors
rise this time of year. I LOCAL, Page 5
See IRISH, Page 2
'2os, '3os art exhibit
swings into museum
The Palmer Museum of Art will
feature artwork from the '2os and
'3os, and a quartet will play live
swing music. I ARTS, Page 10.
really come to terms with it until I made
it into the fraternity" Zagame said
about his freshman-year pledging expe
rience.
Fearing a negative reaction from his
fraternity, Zagame kept his sexual ori
entation a secret from other members
for more than a year as he tried to bet
ter understand who he was and slowly
come out to his close friends and family.
In fact, in an attempt to maintain a
masculine heterosexual image, Zagame
said he verbally bashed gay culture in
front of his brothers. .
By the beginning of his sophomore
See GREEKS, Page 7.
Two LGBTA greek groups used to exist at
University Park. I LOCAL, Page 7.
Experts say
prices of gas
will stay high
Trend due to change of seasons, demand
By Tara Simoldonl
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
As part of a nationwide trend, State
College drivers continue to be affected
by an increase in gas prices.
Greg Palazzari, owner of Greg's
Sunoco, 605 University Drive, said
prices at his gas station have
increased by 10 cents since last spring.
"Our prices were about $1.92 last
year," he said.
"Now they're as high as $2.05 and
we're predicting they will go as high as
$2.15 for the summer."
According to www.fuelgaugereport.com,
unleaded fuel in Pennsylvania costs, on
average, $2.038 per gallon compared to
last year's average $1.709.
Energy Information Administration
(EIA) Economist Jonathan Cogan said
gas prices in Pennsylvania and nation
wide will not decrease anytime soon.
"Prices will remain high through the
summer with some relief in the fall, but
no dramatic drop off," Cogan said.
Pennsylvania AAA Federation Exec
utive Director Ted Leonard said sea
sons also affect gas prices.
Eastview may affect
downtown housing
Some off-campus landlords
say the newer on-campus
housing could create a
competitive market.
By Jonathan J. Hukill
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
Students could benefit from the com
petition created by Eastview Terrace
this year, although some local land
lords say the addition might have a
negative impact on the downtown
housing market.
Rob Venema, property manager for
Nevins Real Estate Management, said
that on-campus apartments like East
view have a sizeable impact on his
business.
"For some landlords, it will mean
lower prices, more services or more
amenities included with rent," he said.
"Landlords will have to work harder to
retain their residents."
Eastview Terrace, which houses
808 upperclassmen, opened at the
Sexual orientations
Forty-seven percent of those polled
said they personally knew an LGBT
student, and the majority described
their own sexual orientation as
heterosexual at Penn State.
Unsure -1.3% Bisexual - 3.2%
Wq-4A%
\ mosfogentamleas
"More people travel and [travel] far
ther in the nicer weather," Leonard
said. "The price at the pump will con
tinue to creep up [in summer]."
But Leonard said the need to travel
during the spring and summer months
is not the only reason that gas prices
will continue to rise.
"Refineries are switching to sum
mer blends of gasoline, a cleaner burn
ing gas for warmer weather that cuts
down on evaporative emissions," he
said, adding that the summer blend is
more expensive.
EIA Economist Jack Bournazian
said the supply has risen to 85 million
barrels per day, and gas demand is up
to 84.5 million barrels each day.
"Worldwide demand [for gasoline]
matched worldwide production," Bour
nazian said. "Companies who can pro
duce an excess of gas are limiting it to
keep the prices up."
Larry Johnsonbaugh, manager of
Graham's Exxon, 815 S. Allen St., said
business has decreased by 25 percent
from last year due to expensive gas
prices.
beginning of the fall semester.
Venema added that he could not
comment on specifically how much his
business might cut prices or increase
services for tenants.
Kris Holzwarth, property manager
for Associated Realty Property Man
agement, said on-campus apartments
like Eastview make the housing mar
ket more competitive.
"Eastview Terrace raises the bar,
since it forces landlords to upgrade
apartments that they offer," Holzwarth
said.
Holzwarth added that the increased
competition among downtown housing
groups is good for students.
"When landlords have to upgrade
their apartments or offer more servic
es, students benefit," Holzwarth said.
Penn State Housing Director Sandy
Harpster said Eastview Terrace was
not meant to take away business from
downtown housing management
groups.
"Eastview Terrace was built to give
See EASTVIEW, Page 2.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Briefs
Classifieds 14
Comics 17
Crossword 17
Opinion 8
Sports 11
00 off campus
Vol. 105 No. 144
Lesbian -1.4%
Jeremy Drey/Collegian
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