\\ The Daily
Collegian
UPUA to close office "mis,, Polio
lease for downtown office
By Casey McDermott the decision to close its doors was mismanaged, and the investiga- j anuary 2010' Office first
collegian STAFF WRITER made several months ago tion eventually found that the opens doors, four months J-TZ-,- -1
UPUA first purchased the office s delayed openmg was the behind schedule 1 Mm
After the $5,200 Downtown office’s 12-month lease in June result of a “lack of initial plan- I I I II I
Student Center sat vacant for 2009, using funds left over from its rung.” April 15, 2010: UPUA .M.
much of its 2009-2010 lease, the 2008-2009 budget. At the time, for- When UPUA President approves new budget without
student government opted not to mer UPUA President Gavin Christian Ragland took office this funds for downtown office
renew the initiative this year and Keirans said he hoped to begin year, he said he didn’t enter into July 31, 2010: Downtown B_ _
will instead be focusing its town- using it in September 2009, but his term as president intending to office’s lease expires ||| |||l/
gown efforts elsewhere. the office didn’t open its doors use the Downtown Student V
The lease on the 130 E. Beaver until January. Center.
A. ’d July 31, but Following its opening, an audit Ragland (senior-political sci- after he began his term in April w
Ave. property expirealy jui
University Park Undergraduate
Association (UPUA) officials say
The Cast of Beatlemania, a Beatles tribute band, performed in front of a packed crowd last night on the Old Main lawn
Beatlemania invades Penn State
By Kathleen Loughran
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Old Main lawn was packed as
audience members of The Cast of
Beatlemania were transported
back to a time when people were
‘free as a bird.'
The Cast a band that imper
sonates The Beatles was the
fourth performance of Downtown
State College's First Thursday
Series.
The Cast is a spin-off of the
Elena Kagan answers questions at her hearing.
Senate OKs
Elena Kagan
By Julie Hirschfel Davis
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON The Senate confirmed Elena
Kagan Thursday as the Supreme Court’s 112th jus
tice and the fourth woman in its history, granting a
lifetime term to a lawyer and academic with a rep
utation for brilliance, a dry sense of humor and a
liberal bent.
The vote was 63-37 for President Barack
Obama’s nominee to succeed retired Justice John
Paul Stevens.
Five Republicans joined all but one Democrat
and the Senate's two independents to support
Kagan. In a rarely practiced ritual reserved for the
most historic votes, senators sat at their desks and
stood to cast their votes with “ayes” and “nays.”
Kagan watched the vote with her Justice
Department colleagues in the solicitor general’s
conference room, the White House said.
Obama, traveling in Chicago, said her confirma
tion was an affirmation of her character and judi
cial temperament, and called the addition of anoth
er woman to the court a sign of progress for the
country.
Kagan isn’t expected to alter the ideological bal
ance of the court, where Stevens was considered a
leader of the liberal wing. But the two parties
See KAGAN, page 2.
_ig. tpening,
was conducted by UPUA to deter
mine whether the initiative was
Beatlemania show that previously
ran on Broadway. Only one origi
nal member of the Broadway
show remains, but the current
members have been performing
together since the mid-90s, said
Carlo Cantamessa, who imper
sonates John Lennon.
"The most fun I’ve had is with
The Cast.” he said. “We're more
like a band of brothers than a
band of musicians. [lt’s] a great
group of guys to be with.”
This past concert marks the
Ragland to travel to conference
UPUA will participate in Big Ten student leader meeting
The student leaders traveling to the
Association of Big Ten Students confer
ence in Columbus, Ohio this weekend
said they hope to return with new ideas
and feedback on current initiatives.
University Park Undergraduate
Association (UPUA) President
Christian Ragland and Director of
Governmental Affairs Travis Salters
said the conference will be a good
opportunity to hear criticism and com
ments from student leaders from other
universities on initiatives before they
decide to implement them in the fall.
The pair will spend the weekend at
the Ohio State University networking,
Student housing part of West End talks
M. Antonio Silas/Collegian
Peter Morris discusses the West End
plan at a borough council meeting.
ence) said he received a letter
about renewing the lease shortly
eighth year that The Cast has per
formed in State College,
Cantamessa said.
Dylan Dziuba said he went to
last year’s show because he loves
The Beatles.
“They’re legend, and
Beatlemania is just keeping the
legend going,” Dziuba (sopho
more- aerospace) said.
Jim Palmer, who came to the
show with Dziuba, said he also
enjoys seeing The Cast perform.
“For people of our generation.
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
ne Degan m& w,*...
but is unsure of the exact deadline
See UPUA. page 2.
we never got to see The Beatles
live, so this is really the next best
thing," Palmer (sophomore- civil
engineering) said.
Though audience member
Steve Brezler did not mention
attending a live performance of
The Beatles, he said he grew up
hearing the band's music.
“I was brought up on The
Beatles through their albums,”
Brezler, of State College, said. "So
far [The Cast] sounds authentic.
See BEATLES, page 2.
attending workshops and even propos
ing legislation for the Big Ten student
leaders to support, Ragland (senior
political science) said. ——
Salters (junior-broad- jfiSßlßtokL.
African and African-
American studies) is
unite all Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Student
Association which Ragland
would work to repre
sent student issues in Harrisburg
and said he is most excited to see if any
other state has a similar program.
“If they are, that would be awe
some because I could get a lot of tips,
By Paul Osolnick
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Though months of discussion by the
borough council have yielded no vote, the
proposed zoning changes in the West End
of State College could provide opportuni
ties for Penn State students in future
developments.
With the possibility of new housing for
students, new buildings for businesses
and a new plan for greater town-gown
relations, the West End zoning ordinance
would change building standards for
future development, including future
building plans for property owned by the
university.
The West End ordinance which, if
passed, will affect the building standards
of the West End of State College near
campus was originally proposed in
2007.
Student dies
following fall
Police found a Penn State stu
dent dead at about 12:40 am.
today on the 200 block of F"
Alley, west of the Beaver Avenue
Garage, and foul play is not sus
pected, the State College Police
Department said.
Centre Life Link officials were
called to the scene along with
Centre County Coroner Scott
Sayers, who pronounced the 23
year-old dead as result of a fall
from the Beaver Avenue Garage,
police said.
Police said they have not
found anything that leads them
to believe the death was a result
of a criminal act.
Police could not confirm the
cause of death or if alcohol was
involved.
The coroner and medical
examiner could not be reached
for comment and are still looking
into the cause of death, police
said.
State College Police Detective
J.W Aston is investigating the
incident, police said, and infor
mation will not be released until
the detective is "100 percent
sure" all family members of the
student have been notified.
Steph Witt/Coliegian
Police are still investigating
the incident and said they
arrived at the same in response
to a report of an unresponsive
person.
Police said the Penn State
Office of Student Affairs was
notified, and officials from the
office are providing assistance to
family and friends.
Penn State officials could not
be reached for comment.
The student’s identity will be
released once the family has
been notified, police said. Police
said more details are expected
today.
advice and help,” Salters said.
Salters said he wants to hear about
programs other student governments
have put in place to solve issues that
Penn State students are facing, like hav
ing a voice in the university's budget
process.
For Ragland, the trip isn’t much of a
social gathering, but rather a forum to
discuss issues like sustainability, town
and gown relations and campus safety.
“It's a good opportunity to get
inclined to what's going on in the Big
Ten, because we all face the same
issues," he said.
Ohio State has a subsidized program
with the Princeton Review for prepara
tory classes for the GRE. LSAT, MCAT
See RAGLAND, page 2.
The West End Neighborhood
Revitalization Plan which would pro
vide new standards for future building
development would replace the stan
dards set for the Urban Village District.
Council member Peter Morris said the
building standards under the Urban
Village District need to be replaced
because the standards did not inspire a
large amount of development in the West
End.
The Proposed Ordinance
The West End Traditional
Neighborhood Development District
would provide the opportunity to redevel
op buildings near Penn State’s West
Campus. That means the proposal could
potentially lead to buildings being demol
ished and replaced with new ones. ,
Council member James Rosenberger
See WEST END. page 2.
By Casey McDermott
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
To e-mail reporter:
cmms773@psu.edu