W The Daily Collegian Published independently by students at Penn State Community rallies for Webster’s By Paul Osolnick COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The crowd filled the narrow bookstore, but they weren’t there to drink coffee or read books, to talk with friends or listen to music. They were there to fight for the place they loved. About 100 supporters rallied around Webster’s Bookstore Cafe Tuesday evening after learning the 128 S. Allen St. bookstore had lost its lease and would close near the end of July. Owner Elaine Meder-Wilgus said the lease was terminated due to the bookstore’s failure to make rent payments to the Kresge fam ily, its landlord. “I, in no way, shape or form want to vilify or in any way blame the landlords,” Meder-Wilgus said. A team leader for the Learning Edge Academic Program (LEAP) scavenger hunt assists new freshmen with finding different items on their lists on Pollock Road near the HUB-Robeson Center Tuesday evening. LEAP is designed to help freshmen transition to Penn State by placing them in groups centered around a common academic interest. For the full story | www.psucollegian.com Penn State acquired 452 acres from the state PSU obtains pnson acres By Nathan Pipenberg COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Penn State is set to receive 452 acres of Rockview prison land after the state Senate passed a deal Saturday dividing the property’s 1,829 acres a move that ended seven years of negotiation. The bill, proposed by Rep. Mike Hanna, D- Clinton/Centre, grants a majority of the land 1,211 acres to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The state’s Fish and Game Commission will receive 141 acres including the controversial Spring Creek Canyon parcel while Benner Township will control 25 acres. Penn State’s 452 acres are primarily farmland, while the property being handed off to the state is wooded and will be used for hunting and passive recreation. Penn State’s new land can be seen to the north of Interstate 99, on the section between State College and Bellefonte. The property will be used by the College of Agricultural Sciences as a “hands-on learning laboratory,” said Chuck Gill, news coordinator'for the college. Echoing statements made by the college’s dean Bruce McPheron, Gill said some agriculture stu dents can expect to work on the new property as See ROCKVIEW. Page 4. “They’re very decent people." Scott Kresge, who manages the building, said he had no comment concerning the details of the lease's termination. “At this point the matters between the two parties involved are private," Kresge said. “Both parties know where each other stands.” State College Borough Council Member Peter Morris helped organize the event. “Webster's has been really important to me and to a lot of peo ple,” Morris said. “It’s a change from chain restaurants and chain stores. If this place closes then the entire borough of State College will not have a bookstore, any real bookstores." Without Webster's, Morris said. State College will only have Judge amends order A judge who ordered The Daily Collegian to destroy content said he was mistaken Four days after two judges signed court orders directing The Daily Collegian to destroy stories in its archives, one judge said Tuesday that he had made a mistake and has filed three amended orders a move he said should fix the situation. Centre County District Judges Bradley R Lunsford and Thomas K. Kistler signed five expungement orders Friday that directed The Daily Collegian and The Centre Daily Times to destroy any archived stories pertaining to five defen dants in criminal cases. Lunsford said he signed the three orders by mistake and that he has already Ragland outlines goals for summer A united front among all universities in the state to rally for student rights in Harrisburg that’s one major initiative for Penn State’s 2010-2011 student gov ernment leadership. University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) President Christian Ragland said UPUA plans to form the Pennsylvania Student Association a group composed of represen tatives from universities in the state with the overall aim of representing their student Barnes & Noble, 365 Benner Pike a chain bookstore. Morris said he will talk about Webster’s at Monday’s borough council meeting to raise support for the bookstore. The meeting involved the exchange of various ideas on how to help Webster’s, either in its cur rent situation or in a future incar nation. During the meeting, three petitions were passed around the crowd to establish different types of support: a petition asking for money to support Webster’s; a petition asking for help with mov ing books in the event the book store closes; and a general sup port petition labeled “Save Webster’s Bookstore Cafe.” Meder-Wilgus attended the event to answer questions about See WEBSTER’S, Page 4. By Brendan McNally COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER By Megan Rogers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER filed three amended orders that remove the clause instructing the newspapers to destroy the archived content. The amended orders now include stan dard expungement order language, which directs government agencies and courts to destroy documents pertaining to defen dants’ criminal records. Kistler did not respond to phone calls by press time Tuesday. Jeffrey Bower, The Daily Collegian’s attorney, said he has never seen an expungement order directing a newspa per to destroy stories and called the orders “very unusual.” Collegian Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Murphy condemned the orders and said that only criminal records kept by govern ment agencies can be expunged. “The Daily Collegian is a record of his tory as it happens from day-to-day,” Murphy (senior-journalism and women’s studies) said. “It’s not a court record. It’s : See COLLEGIAN, Page 4. constituents at the state Capitol. “The whole goal of the association is that we have a unified voice so tnat if we go to Harrisburg we can p ish for changes,” UPuA Governmental Affairs Director Tlavis Salters said. Salters (junior-broadcast journalism and African and African American studies) plans to host a conference in the fall for Pennsylvanian universities in the mean time, he is reaching out to student body presidents and planning a conference call for any interested schools in the near future. About 100 State College residents gathered at Webster’s Bookstore Cafe, 128 S. Allen St., Tuesday to brainstorm ways to help the cafe. Right now, the number one issue in Harrisburg is higher education tuition, Salters said. But he said Ragland the focus won’t always remain on tuition and will change as the state universities identify needed changes. UPUA is not only working with other state schools, but also with members of the Penn State administration. Ragland (senior-political science) said he has met with psucollegian.com @dailycollegian Budget signed after delay By Eddie Lau COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Gov. Ed Rendell signed the $2B billion state budget into law Tuesday morning, allocating about $318.1 million to Penn State. State-related universities like Penn State, member colleges of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and com munity colleges will receive the same funding they were appro priated last year, according to a press release issued by Rendell’s office. The budget will not increase taxes but the budget allows for the state to boost the basic edu cation subsidy to public school districts by $250 million an increase of 4.5 percent to $5.8 billion, according to the Rendell statement. University officials said they were grateful for the funding provided by the government even if it wasn’t any higher than last year. “Given the current economic climate and challenges faced by the commonwealth, we are grateful that the legislature and governor have continued to sup port Penn State at level fund ing,” Penn State spokesman Geoff Rushton said. Associated Press Gov. Ed Rendell signed the Pennsylvania budget Tuesday. members of the grassroots network in the Penn State Alumni Association. Some members pledged their sup port for his plans to look into how tuition can be lowered, he said. It is important to collabo rate and create a united front among university groups, Ragland said. “If we can all unite on one common cause, its better than just Penn State going to the capital,” Ragland said. 'Mtion is the top concern for the UPUA executive com mittee at the moment, Ragland said, adding that the See RAGLAND, Page 4. See BUDGET, Page 4.
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