The Daily Collegian Faculty, students receive awards By Colleen Boyle COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Some of Penn State’s most tal ented and involved students and faculty were honored during an intimate ceremony Hiesday afternoon in the Hintz Family Alumni Center. The 19th annual Senior Awards and Diversity Recognition Reception was sponsored by the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), which provides profes sional counseling and educational services for minority undergradu ate students. Six student awards were pre sented at the ceremony. Allura Jiles (senior-material science and engineering), who was described at the event as a “promising young scholar,” received the Academic Scholarship Award. Jiles was commended for her active role in research projects and will return to Penn State in the fall for graduate school. The Resilient Student Award was presented to Alisa Shockley (senior-geography), a student who has faced adversity since she was young, battling poverty and homelessness. In the fall, Shockley will continue her educa- Organization discusses Pagan beliefs, practices By Julie Mastrine FOR THE COLLEGIAN Members of Penn State’s Pagan student organization set the record straight about their reli gion during a discussion in the Patemo Library on Tuesday. Alyssa Yukevich and Chris Rainville, co-presidents of Silver Circle, discussed Pagan deities, rituals and holidays with about a dozen curious audience members. “There's always those inquisi tive looks when I tell people I’m a Pagan,” Rainville (senior-biology) said. “Most of the time, people are ignorant of what that means.” PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT JOHN LINDSAY: "If I ever find this guy, I’ve got a nice used refrigerator with plenty of room for his body after I’m done with him.” “He better hope I never find him, or else I’ll run him over with my car.” “I can’t believe that guy is writing a book. He better wear kevlar to his book signing.” IF YOU’RE OUT THERE WITH A CLASSIFIED HE’S GONNA GET TOO! AD... YOU, $14.95 in paperback Visit us on Assistant professor of psychology Jose Soto receives the Faculty Diversity Recognition Award during the Multicultural Resource Center’s senior award ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. tion at the University of Dlinois- Urbana Champaign. Will Dennis (senior-business and finance) was honored with the Volunteer Service Award in recognition for his service to Penn State and the outside com munity. Dennis accepted his award and held back tears as he thanked those who have helped him throughout his time at Penn State. “Someone asked me why am I so involved,” Dennis said. “And I said, ‘l’m passionate about it.’ ” The Leadership Award was presented to Mercedes Davis (senior-supply chain and informa tion system). “It really means a lot,” she said after being presented with her award. “You don’t really go about leadership activities to be recog nized. I thank God for allowing me The presentation was part of the University Libraries Diversity Committee’s Religion and Culture Speaker Series, which has includ ed discussion of religions like Islam and Hinduism. Yukevich (sophomore-elementary educa tion) said she was happy to have been asked to discuss her religion in a public forum. “There are a lot of misconcep tions about Paganism, and it’s easy for things to get rolled into a ball of confusion,” Yukevich said. Paganism focuses on reverence of nature and pre-dates Abrahamic religions such as —Refrigerator Guy —Guy selling Camry —Guy selling ugly couch and follow us on bwifcfcer LOCAL to affect change in the organiza tions that I belong to.” Crystle-Lynn Rendon (senior civil engineering), who received the Inspiring Student Leader Award, was described as a stu dent who “toils behind the scenes” to ensure success. After accepting her award, Rendon recalled her friends in high school and said many, especially the girls, never consid ered engineering as a career. JoAnn Chirico, Jose Soto and Elizabeth Kupp received the Faculty/Staff Diversity Recognition Awards. All three were commended for their work with underrepresented students at Penn State. “Today is a good day for diver sity,” Soto said. To e-mail reporter: cabs3s6@psu.edu Christianity and Judaism, she said. It is very diverse, and com munities and individuals that practice the religion may have dif fering beliefs, she said. “There are less absolutes in Paganism than other religions it’s more a world of gray,” Rainville said. Yukevich and Rainville said Paganism is often mistaken for witchcraft. They discussed the dif ferences between the two, saying that Paganism is a belief system, while witchcraft is based in specif ic practices. They also discussed rituals that Pagans may perform, including a moon ritual that Silver S STERLING Census provides temporary work Penn State seniors looking for a post-graduation summer job with the U.S Census Bureau may find themselves facing tough competition. The Census Bureau began hir ing workers last year to collect census information from citizens, with a starting hourly pay rate of $11.75, Census Bureau Media Specialist Pamela Golden said. The prospect of temporary work with good pay is drawing plenty of interest: Golden said college students are competing against jobless workers and sen ior citizens for positions. But stu dents have an edge over older applicants because they are familiar with the testing proce dures applicants go through, she said. “Students tend to do very well on the practice test,” Golden said. Laura Peck (senior-advertising and public relations) helped organize the on-campus group Count Centre County, which pro motes taking the census to stu dents. She said the jobs help pres ent unique opportunities for stu dents who are graduating. “For seniors who haven't land ed a job right out of school, this gives them the opportunity for a couple of months of relatively easy pay while still looking,'' Peck said. For students, the $11.75-per- Circle recently held by the Hintz Family Alumni Center duck pond. Xan Hall, Class of 2008, said that during her time at Penn State, she never had a problem practicing Paganism. “If I spoke to a professor about needing to miss class because of something relating to my religion, they would allow me to be exempt from classes without a problem," Hall said. Audience member Wilson Hutton, visual communications specialist for University Libraries, said the presentation was helpful in clearing up what exactly Paganism entails. - ,»I.S t rorn John L^^**^ EvenR epiy.com The Evil Genius Behind UOnit Wednesday, April 7, 2010 I By Will Schultz FOR THE COLLEGIAN “Students tend to do very well on the practice test.” Pamela Golden Census Bureau Media Specialist hour pay is one of the more attractive features of working for the census. If students pass the test, appli cants then undergo a background check before they can be consid ered. Once hired, workers undergo a four-day paid training period. On the job, they’ll travel to homes that did not mail back the 10 question census by the April 1 deadline, Golden said. Alex Stepanian (sophomore industrial engineering) cited the pay as one of the main reasons lie would consider applying for the job. “Great pay. Flexible hours What's not to love”'' Stepanian said. Both Peck and Stepanian said they see the job as a valuable building block, even for under graduate students, who could put a government job on their resume. "This type carries more weight on a resume than working at a gas station," Stepanian said Those interested in working lor the bureau can get an application online at 2010census.gov.
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