I Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010
Penn State to increase campus security
By Casey McDermott
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Penn State Police are increas
ing security efforts in response to
a string of 10 indecent exposure
incidents that have been reported
in university dorms since August
2009.
The number of police officers
and student auxiliary officers will
be increased near residence halls,
said Deputy Director of Penn
State Police Tyrone Parham. For
security reasons, Parham said he
could not confirm how many addi
tional officers will be patrolling or
the specific locations where they
will be stationed.
Parham said university police is
also trying to curb “piggybacking”
the act of holding the door open
for a stranger to enter a residence
hall behind you.
For students who feel uncom
fortable shutting the door in the
face of a person walking behind
them, Parham said they should
keep the situation in perspective.
“It’s matter of feeling weird ver
sus jeopardizing safety and securi
ty of everyone in the building,” he
said. “You might assume the per-
Fresh Fest
gets new
students
involved
By Alyssa Sweeney
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Enticed by free Insomnia cookies,
College Pizza and Berkey Creamery
ice cream, freshmen approached
information tables in the East Halls
quad on Wednesday at an event to
promote student involvement.
Fresh Fest, which is sponsored by
the University Park Undergraduate
Association (UPUA), featured the
spread of Penn State favorites, as well
as a disc jockey and a step perform
ance by members of Kappa Alpha Psi.
Right next to the snickerdoodles sat
applications for the student govern
ment.
“We just want to show them what
we re about and reach out to them,”
said UPUA member Ali Cook (sopho
more-finance and economics). “We
want them to know we’re here as a
sounding board for any problems or
ideas they may have.”
Freshman flocked to the food, but
stayed for the information. Students
stood listening as UPUA members
which had 100 percent of their assem
bly present talked about different
ways they could get involved in the
student government.
Two freshman positions in UPUA
are appointed in the fall, and they can
also run in the spring for spots on the
assembly the following fall semester,
explained campus representative
Adam Boyer.
GSA addresses grad student concerns
By Alyssa Sweeney
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Vice President of Student Affairs
Damon Sims spoke at the Graduate
Student Association (GSA) meeting
on Wednesday to address issues con
cerning students and the relationship
between the university and the GSA.
Sims said the GSA is one of the
three most significant organizations
at this university because of its con
sistent representation at the Board of
Trustees meetings.
“We’d like to work together to
enhance the student experience at
Penn State for all levels of students,”
he said.
Members presented Sims with a
variety of questions and concerns sur
rounding the graduate student com
munity at the meeting in the HUB-
Robeson Center.
One focus was the tuition of out-of-
son doesn’t look like a criminal or
someone who might put a mask on
and expose themselves and
students are trusting their
instincts but the bad thing in
this case is the guy probably looks
like other students.”
Campus-wide security will also
be tightened in other ways to
streamline safety measures at
University Park, said Stan Latta,
assistant vice president of the
Penn State Office of Housing,
Food Services and Residence Life.
If a preliminary trial in the base
ment hallways of Redifer
Commons goes smoothly, stu
dents could soon see cameras out
side of residence hall entryways.
Latta said. The hallways’ high
traffic levels, in addition to previ
ous cases of assault, make it a par
ticularly vulnerable area in need
of monitoring, he said.
“Our goal would be to place
security cameras at major
entrances to all residence halls
and anywhere we’d like to gain
major visibility,” Latta said.
Both Latta and Vice President
for Finance and Business A 1
Horvath said card-access systems
at University Park will also
Freshmen students grab their free pizza at Fresh Fest, an event sponsored by
UPUA to reach out to those interested in student government involvement.
“All they need is an application,"
Boyer (junior-history and political sci
ence) said.
Attendee Jasmyn Franklin (fresh
man-hotel, restaurant and institution
al management) said that Fresh Fest
got her interested in the UPUA.
She said she was involved in stu
dent government in high school, and
that Fresh Fest sparked her interest
“I didn’t know much about it here
before I’m definitely filling one of
these out,” she said about the student
government applications. "Everyone
in it seems really involved.''
State College Borough Council
President Ron Filippelli also attended
the event.
“Everyone on the UPUA this year
seems very engaged and passionate,
that’s a good sign,” he said. "This is a
good jumpstart for first year stu
dents.”
state graduate students who are
employed by the university.
Complaints were made about cost
because grad students who also work
for Penn State pay taxes without
receiving the discounted in state
tuition, and many members said they
were having trouble paying for their
education.
Sims said he sympathized with
their plight.
“A long, long time ago, I was in a sit
uation like yours as a student, and I'm
fairly confident that you’re not getting
rich,” he said, laughing.
Sims said he would look into the
issue. He also advised the GSA to
invite a representative from the
Bursar’s office to the next meeting
and to contact a member of the Board
of Trustees to address the problem.
Other members suggested investi
gating a possible change in policy
regarding graduate students being
LO CAL
receive an upgrade. Latta said the
university is looking into a “key
less” entry system for each dorm
room, in which students would
swipe their student ID card and
enter a code on a keypad instead
of relying on a traditional lock and
key.
The measure was implemented
two years ago at Penn State Mont
Alto campus and most recently at
a new Penn State Harrisburg, said
Chris Hurley senior director for
Housing and Food Services at
Commonwealth Campuses.
Hurley said all commonwealth
campuses are already equipped
with security cameras outside of
the residence halls.
Ultimately, Penn State
President Graham Spanier said
the university will determine
which methods to implement at
University Park based on the proj
ects' costs and achieving the right
balance between privacy and
security. Latta said Penn State's
expanded security efforts began in
2006 and are not a response to the
indecent exposure incidents. But
in any case, he said, students
should not take their safety lightly.
'Our community is no different
Cook said that she hopes this is the
first of many Fresh Fests. and that the
UPUA would like to see it grow and be
held annually. The motion only passed
in time to give them a week to pre
pare, which resulted in it being more
casual, she said.
Despite the little time assembly
members had to organize the event,
UPUA President Christian Ragland
said he was pleased with how it came
together.
“I’m standing here passing out
applications, and I’m actually running
out,” Ragland (senior-politcal sci
ence) said laughing. "Students are
even coming all the way over from
West and Pollock for this too. For
being put together in a week. I'd defi
nitely say it's going well. Overall, I'm
really excited.”
To email reporter: arss474@psu.edu
allowed to take elective classes. At
present, classes such as dance and
scuba diving are off-limits to grad stu
dents, which many agreed would
enrich the student experience for
them.
GSA President Jon Lozano said
plans would be made to explore solu
tions to the concerns in the upcoming
meetings.
He said that he would like to start
filling the open positions in the GSA
by the next few meetings as well.
GSA executives are looking to fill
spots in the Workforce Safety, Internal
Development and Student . Concerns
committees.
“To make sure we serve the diverse
needs of the student body, it is very
important to fill every position,” said
GSA Vice President Kimeka
Campbell.
To email reporter: arss474@psu.edu
Indecent exposure incidents prompt
increased security
Thirteen indecent exposure cases have been reported on campus and in
State College since August 2009.
Location
Date
8/10/09
8/14/09
8/21/09
5/21/10
6/7/10
6/11/10
8/18/10
I 8/18/10
i 9/3/10
Source: Penn State Police and Collet
than any other community any- crimes that occur on campus and
where else,” Latta said. “Even there are those who are curious as
though you’re on a college campus to what's behind locked doors.”
and you have a perception that
you’re in Happy Valley, there are To e-mail reporter: cmms773@psu.edu
Executive board
members elected
After being interviewed by student government's
Internal Development (ID) Committee twice, Nick
Coleman, director of Commonwealth Outreach, passed
through the assembly with a vote of 24-5-1.
Originally the ID Committee did not confirm a direc
tor of Commonwealth Outreach because the commit
tee had questions about the position, Coleman (junior
health policy and administration) said.
Some of the University Park Undergraduate
Association (UPUA) members had similar concerns
because they questioned the difference between the
roles of the director of Commonwealth Outreach and
the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments
(CCSG) liaison, Sanny Hines.
“Sanny’s role is the liaison to be the eyes and ears
for their organization,” UPUA President Christian
Ragland said. “Nick Coleman's role will be to execute,
actually. Nick is extremely qualified and understands
student government.”
Coleman said he would like to work with other
Commonwealth student governments to find ideas that
UPUA can work on implementing.
But Coleman was not the only person voted on at the
meeting. With a vote of 24-3-3, Chrissy Boggs will now
serve as the sub-director of THON under the director
of programming. Though Boggs (senior-international
politics) stepped down earlier this year from her role as
programming chairwoman, she said she is able to tack
le the role as sub-director because it’s “very focused.”
“My sole role will be concentrating my efforts and
UPUA efforts on THON,” she said. “This is the year to
really set a precedent get really involved.”
Ragland (senior-political science) said he is confi
dent that Boggs will be able to perform well because
“she has all the experience in the world.”
UPUA Vice President Colleen Smith said she was
pleased that both positions passed through the assem
bly.
“These two positions will really almost balance out
our executive board. They’re both new [positions] but
definitely much-needed,” Smith (junior-history) said.
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