4 I TUESDAY; APRIL 27, 2010 COG to By Megan Rogers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The State College borough and other Centre County municipali ties will soon begin to gather data to study the effects of large events on the community. The motion to conduct a study with information drawn from law enforcement, emergency medical, fire and medical services, as well as businesses and munici palities was unanimously passed at Monday night's Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) meeting. "It's a positive step forward," said State College Borough Miss Black Penn State Pageant winner Jamilah Matthews holds up a triangle for her sorority Delta Sigma Theta. Pageant winner `inspires' peers By Lauren Ingeno COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Jamilah Matthews removed her sparkly gold dress and tore off her weave, revealing a black body suit during the talent portion of the 23rd Annual Miss Black Penn State Pageant. She was removing ornaments to show her real self. Those close to Matthews (jun ior-security and risk analysis and religious studies) said the pageant winner has been nothing less than genuine throughout her life. "She inspires me so much." said her best friend, Briana Clarke (junior-theater technology and design). "That's such a major thing to inspire one of your peers." The pageant, sponsored by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., took place in the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., on Saturday evening. The competition featured four Penn State women who per formed an opening group dance, answered questions about their life goals, wore evening attire and performed a talent. Matthews decided to give a message on inner beauty to the audience by delivering a dramatic "poetic collage" of different poems about beauty. When she ripped off her dress, she showed the audience that there is an entirely different per son behind the glamorous sorority woman people might view her as, Clarke said. It was not only Matthews' talent that earned her the pageant title. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister earned a full academic scholarship to Penn State, is a member of the Schreyer Honors College and is the newly elected vice president of Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team (SMART). Matthews, who must wear her Oil leak from sunken rig off La. could foul coast By Cain Burdeau ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER NEW ORLEANS (AP) Coast Guard crews raced to protect the Gulf of Mexico coastline Monday as a remote sub tried to shut off an underwater oil well that's gushing 42,000 gallons a day from the site of a wrecked drilling platform. If crews cannot stop the leak quickly, they might need to drill another well to redirect the oil, a laborious process that could take weeks while oil washes up along a broad stretch of shore, from the white-sand beaches of Florida's Panhandle to the swamps of Louisiana. The oil is escaping from two leaks in a drilling pipe about 5,000 study cost effects of large events Council and COG General Fbrum member Don Hahn. Though it is time consuming, it's beneficial to organize the data, he said. Information on additional costs for overtime, equipment needed for the event and planning costs will be examined in the study, according to the proposal. The proposal will also study other impacts of large events, like the number of medical/emergency calls responded to, the severity of crimes or accidents, the impact on local restaurants, retail and trans portation business along with the overall monetary costs. The COG Public Safety commit tee recommends studying large crown and sash around Penn State for two days, said even her friends have begun addressing her as "Miss Black Penn State. - She said she hopes her win is an inspiration to the kids she visits in Philadelphia high schools and to minority students around campus. "I received a full ride to this uni versity, and I wouldn't feel right unless I was giving back," Matthews said. "It's really cool that I get to be an inspiration." Matthews' mother Cynthia Matthews, of Philadelphia, described her daughter as "confi dent, hardworking and funny" and said she was disappointed she couldn't be there to see her daugh ter win the title. Her car broke down on Saturday right before she was ready to drive to State College. Cynthia Matthews said nothing will stop her daughter in her future. "The sky's the limit," Matthews' mother said. "She can do any thing. The whole family's so proud of her" The four contestants became very tight-knit during the rehears al experience. Keri Atwell, a fellow contestant, said Matthews' title was deserving and found the over all experience fulfilling. "I was happy for her and happy to form new friendships," Atwell (freshman-digital arts) said. "I'm a freshman and the fact that I got to do it at all was great." Matthews said the pageant is important for the black communi ty and all of Penn State. "I know when I came here I felt like a number. I wanted to feel included," Matthews said. "[Miss Black Penn State] is a way to focus on one another and make some thing of it. I would hate to see the program cease to exist." To e-mail reporter: ImlsolB@psu.edu feet below the surface. The leaks threaten hundreds of miles of coastline in four states, with waters that are home to dolphins, sea birds, and prime fishing and tourism areas. The oil is not expected to reach the shoreline for at least another three days, officials said. The winds and currents can change rapidly and drastically, so officials were hesitant to give any longer forecasts for where the spill will head. The oil began gushing out of the sea floor after the rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 and sank two days later about 40 miles off the Mississippi River delta. Eleven of the 126 workers aboard at the time are missing and pre- LOCAL & NAT 10.7.,, events like home football week ends, State Patty's weekend and the Central Pennsylvania Festival od the Arts to determine the events' community impact. Dave Koll, chair of the COG Public Safety committee, said the region is looking for ways to make large events cost effective. But the committee keeps running into the same problem, Koll said there is not enough information about the effects of large events. Because there is a lack of hard data, the study is necessary, he said. Most of the data exists. COG Fire Director Steve Blair said. It is just a matter of gathering and organizing the data, he said. Blair Rally to support clean energy Eco-Action will join the National Wildlife Federation to support clean energy legislation. By Megan Rogers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Environmentally conscious students will rally in support of clean energy legislation 3 to 6 p.m. today in front of the Allen Street gates. Members of Eco-Action were planning to join Repower America a Clean energy advo cacy group and visit U.S. Sen. Bob Casey's Bellefonte office to urge the lawmaker to support the legislation. But the meeting has been postponed because the Clean Energy Act was not brought onto the Senate floor as previously expected. Because the meeting was can celed, Eco-Action will dedicate its time instead to the National Wildlife Federation's rally a partner group of Repower America rather than attending both events, Penn State Eco legian Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Lee Ann De Reus, of Penn State Altoona, speaks about gendercide against the women of Congo on Monday night in the Thomas Building. Professor talks Congo cruelties By Anita Modi COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER It's one thing to sympathize with the victims of African geno cide from the safety of a dark movie theater hall. It's another to visit their coun try play with their children and speak with them in person, just as Lee Ann De Reus did in May 2009. De Reus, associate professor of human development and fami ly studies at Penn State Altoona, spoke Monday night about her experience visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and interviewing 30 Congolese women directly affect ed by an age-old conflict. Once an issue between the Hutu and Tutsi militias of Rwanda, the genocide has spread to Congo, where it may be more appropriately labeled "gendercide," said Sarah O'Donald, co-president of PSU Knitivism. sumed dead; the rest escaped. The cause of the explosion has not been determined. As of Monday afternoon, an area 48 miles long and 39 miles wide was covered by oil that leaked from the site of the rig, which was owned by 'fransocean Ltd. and operated by BP PLC. Crews used robot submarines to activate valves in hopes of stop ping the leaks, but they may not know until later today if that strat egy will work BP also mobilized two rigs to drill a relief well if needed. Such a well could help redirect the oil, though it could also take weeks to complete, especially at that depth. Kenneth E. Arnold, an offshore said it will take about 25 hours overall to analyze the data. "It's not a difficult study, but it definitely takes some time," he said. Though several members of the general forum said the study will prove what is already obvious that large events do have a costly impact Blair said having a num ber behind that idea is necessary. .We hear a lot of qualitative data ... but at the end of the day if you are going to make policy you need to have a quantitative base. - Blair said. State College Borough Council and COG General Forum member Tom Daubert said he was con- If you go What: Rally to support Clean Energy Legislation When: 3 to 6 p.m. Where: Allen Street gates Action President Ben Tutolo said The Clean Energy legislation was expected to be introduced in the U.S. Senate on Monday by legislators, said Ben Freed, com munications director for Repower America. But the legis lation was pushed aside by Senate leadership in favor of immigration legislation, he said. The House passed a similar bill 10 months ago and since then there has been "fierce discus sion- in the Senate about what version to adopt, Freed said. The legislation would make major investments in clean energy while establishing a system of pricing carbon pollutants, he said. Instead of meeting with Casey, Eco-Action will spread its mes sage of support for the legislation on the Penn State campus, Ttitolo Knitivism was a co-sponsor of the event with the Africana Research Center at Penn State. The militias now employ a new weapon of war rape against Congolese women affiliated with neither of the two opposing par ties. O'Donald (senior-human development and family studies) said. "By raping Congolese women, the militias change them so that they're no longer accepted or wanted in their communities," she said. Yet, with every photograph and every slide, De Reus captured the strength and courage of the abandoned women, interweaving their stories with anecdotes of her visit to the hospital that accepted them. The Panzi Hospital of Bukavu, located near the Congo-Rwanda border, treats more than 3,000 patients a year, over 60 percent of who are victims of sexual vio lence, De Reus said. The hospital provides the production facility expert, said relief wells pose serious engineer ing challenges. "Sometimes you have to drill through the steel, and that's what happened in Australia," he said, referring to a blowout last August on a rig called the West Atlas in the Timor Sea. "It took them three times before they were success ful." Not until November could mud be pumped through a relief well to shut off the deepwater spigot. The spill has resulted in major environmental damage along the coast of East Timor and Indonesia. BP plans to collect leaking oil on the ocean bottom by lowering a THE DAILY COLLEGIAN cerned that most of the work in collecting the data would fall on the borough. Other members of the general forum said the work is worth it and that if the community sees the data on how big of an impact large events have, action will more likely be taken to solve the negative impacts. Hahn said the results of the study will proba bly confirm suspicions the events have a negative impact locally. "It's valid that these are impor tant events for the community" Hahn said. "But often times, the costs falls on those who do not feel the positive impact." To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu (senior-environmental system engineering) said. "I want students to observe the importance of the legislation and understand why and help get it passed, - Matolo said. Rally organizer and National Wildlife Federation Outreach Director for Pennsylvania Ed Perry said the federation is involved in the issue because of how national resources implicate climate change. He said he would like to educate the community about the necessity of the legisla tion. -Part of the rally is to let our senators know that there is an urgency to this." Perry said. Perry said he has invited a diverse crowd to the rally. He's hoping to have a green business owner attend, as well as mem bers of Penn State environmental groups. He said he also invited the ROTC, Sierra Club and local high school students to attend the event. Anyone who shows up will be invited to give an impromptu speech about why they are pas sionate about the issue, he said. To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu women with medical attention and a safe haven and plans to offer such services as childcare and job training in the future. Together with Dr. Denis Mukwege, a doctor at the Panzi Hospital, De Reus co-founded the Panzi Foundation last February to generate support for the hospital and its efforts. "These women have a voice, but no one's listening," De Reus told the audience. 'As a privi leged woman from the west, I feel an obligation and a responsibility as a human being to help." She encouraged students to speak out against the gendercide in the Congo even if they didn't have the money to donate to the Panzi Foundation by contact ing elected officials, writing let ters to the editor, researching the conflict online and renting "The Greatest Silence," a documen tary about the victims of sexual violence. To e-mail reporter: arms373@psu.edu large dome to capture the oil and using pipes and hoses to pump it into a vessel on the surface, said Doug Suttles, chief operating offi cer of BP Exploration and Production. It could take up to a month to get the equipment in place. "That system has been deployed in shallower water," he said, "but it has never been deployed at 5,000 feet of water, so we have to be careful." The U.S. spill, moving slowly north and spreading east and west, was about 30 miles from the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast Monday. The Coast Guard said kinks in the pipe were helping stem the flow of oil.
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