THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
IFC officials to be elected
By Vera Greene
and Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITERS
Tonight the Interfraternity
Council will elect a new president
for the 2011-2012 term in a race
with only one candidate.
Current IFC Executive Vice
President Dan Florencio is run
ning unopposed for president.
Florencio (senior-philosophy)
said that as he's been talking to
greek community members
throughout his campaign he's
heard a lot of positive feedback on
changes implemented by the cur
rent board.
But he said he wants to work on
some grass roots initiatives
among IFC fraternities.
I want to change and improve
communication and education
within the IFC community,"
Florencio said.
In addition to president, other
top leaders for the 2011-2012 exec
utive board will be elected.
Each of the nominees will be
Hazleton math
By Mike Hricik
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
For Marlene Guers, the class
room was not a place where stu
dents could hide from a profes
sor's gaze.
Co-workers and family mem
bers remember Guers's reputa
tion for the individual attention
she gave in her math classes,
going over difficult concepts up to
15 times until students mastered
them.
Penn State Hazleton Interim
Director of Academic Affairs
Marlene Guers of Hometown, Pa.,
died at home after a short illness
on Nov 19. She was 61.
Guers, a senior instructor in
mathematics at Penn State
Hazleton. took over as interim
director of academic affairs on
Aug. 1 during the medical leave of
Director of Academic Affairs
Monica Gregory, who died on
Sept. 27. university spokesman
Geoff Rushton said.
Penn State Hazleton hired
Guers as a part-time math
instructor in 1981.
She was promoted to full-time
in 1982 and became a senior
Organizations discuss racism, media
By Alyssa Sweeney
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Delicate issues were confronted
head-on by student leaders at the
Diversity Roundtable in the
HUB-Robeson Center on Monday
night.
Connections between racism,
student groups and the media at
Penn State were topics of discus
sion between members of groups
like the Penn State NAACP
University Park I Tndergraduate
Association. College Democrats
able to give a speech up to five
minutes in length depending on
the position they are running for.
Candidates will also field ques
tions from council members and
may have other people speak on
their behalf, Vice President of
Communications Dan Cartwright
said.
Nominations for the positions
of president, executive vice presi
dent, vice president for finance
and UPUA representative
occurred at the Nov. 9 IFC
Presidents' Council.
Nick Grassetti, who serves as
the current University Park
Undergraduate Association rep
resentative, is running to main
tain his position.
The other two positions have
four nominees going into today,
Cartwright said but he said
that technically anyone can be
nominated for a position the day
of an election and run.
After the four positions are
elected tonight, interested
fraternity members can apply for
instructor dies
instructor in 2001, Rushton said.
Her husband, David. said his
wife will be best remembered for
her compassion.
She cared for just about any
body she came in contact with,"
David Guers said.
Guers also coordinated the
Penn State Hazleton Honors
Program, which provides aca
demically talented students with
challenging learning experiences,
Rushton said.
Guers earned the Penn State
Hazleton Council Outstanding
Teaching Award in 1999 and 2007
for distinction in teaching.
Rushton said.
Penn State Hazleton
Chancellor Gary Lawler said
Guers's accolades were
deserved.
"Teaching math for her was an
incredible passion. She was
always looking to go the extra
mile, - he said.
Lawler said both Guers' sense
of humor and professionalism
made her an invaluable part of
Penn State Hazleton.
Guers served as a part-time
faculty coordinator in her spare
time, training and orienting part-
and College Republicans at the
conference.
Questions of minority media
coverage, as well as reader per
ceptions including the
Homecoming Week stabbings
within the black community and
the racial taunts at the Michigan
game were discussed. . .
UPUA President Christian
Ragland (senior-political science)
said interaction between minority
and other groups and contact
between all groups and the media
was important to avoid controversy.
the remaining executive board
positions, Cartwright (senior
energy, business and finance)
said.
The newly elected president,
executive vice president and vice
president of finance will interview
the candidates in about two
weeks and make the final selec
tions for the board, he said. The
current executive board will tran
sition with the new board until the
2011-2012 executive board takes
over officially on Jan. 1,
Cartwright said.
IFC President Max Wendkos
said he is proud of the work his
executive board has done over
the past semester. Wendkos (sen
ior-marketing and psychology)
said he plans to leave a "detailed
transition report" for his succes
sor that will talk about the chal
lenges he will face, and
Wendkos's own suggestions for
the future.
To e-mail reporters: vhgsoo3@psu.edu,
mers2oo@psu.edu
"Teaching math for
her was an
incredible passion."
Gary Lawler
Penn State Hazleton chancellor
time faculty members, Rushton
Guers is survived by her hus
band. David. of Hometown, and
her son, Matthew of State
College. Rushton said.
Visitation hours for Guers will
be held today from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m., and on Wednesday from 9 to
9:30 a.m. at Joseph S. Blazosky
FUneral Home, 81 E. Catawissa
St.. Nesquehoning.
A funeral mass will begin at 10
a.m. at St. John the Baptist
Russian Orthodox Church in
Nesquehoning.
In lieu of flowers, contributions
for the Penn State Hazleton
Honors Program can he sent to
Penn State Hazleton, 76
University Drive. Hazleton. PA
18202.
To e-mail reporter: mjhsso7@psu.edu
A solution is just more engage
ment," Ragland said. "If we brii g
cultures together, that's real r'..-er
sity Some people say therc s neg
ativity or a lack of presence of
minorities in the media. We should
all just do a better job of collabo
rating more."
NAACP President Travis
Salters said he thinks media
sources and non-members need
to interact with minority groups
more in order to get a better
understanding of cultures.
"I don't think it's a problem, but
Monica Rudolph (senior -public relations) answers questions at a
mock press conference at Innovation Park on Monday.
Mock-conference puts
students in 'hot seat'
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Public Relations student Lisa
Mei stared crisis in the face
Monday but she managed to
remain calm in the hot seat as
she fielded questions about a sex
ual assault case as part of a class
assignment.
Mei (senior-public relations)
and her peers in Steve Manuel's
section of COMM 471 (Public
Relations Media and Methods)
were given details about a fiction
al scenario in which three U.S.
Marines raped a 12-year-old
female. Mei undertook the role of
press officer for the Marine Corps
at a mock press conference.
To make the scenario as realis
tic as possible. students from
other communications classes
acted as journalists and photog
raphers for the conference and
fired question after question and
snapped photos.
The conference was a culmina
tion of what students learned in
their public relations classes at
Penn State, student Michael
Young said. Students had time to
prepare and brief for possible
questions, he said they
received the case details about a
month ago. After finishing his
presentation, Young senior
public relations) said the experi-
at Diversity Roundtable
it's something that could be
worked on," he said.
UPUA Representative Anthony
Christina said he believes in a
proactive approach to student
groups and the media.
"I think it's an organization's
responsibility to go in the media
and correct something. - he said.
"Show the media a true represen
tation of the club."
Ragland also emphasized self
promotion among student groups
and encouraged attendees to con
tact media sources to develop con-
TUESDAY, Nov. 30, 2010 I
ence was worthwhile
- You just really have to take a
deep breath, go in and run with
it," Young said.
He said he someday hopes to
be in the hot seat at a media rela
tions job.
Each 10-minute conference
began with an opening statement
by the public relations students,
and then students from other
communications classes asked
questions.
Some students said they had
no idea what they were getting
themselves into when they
signed up for Manuel's class.
"It's nerve-wracking," Monica
Rudolph (senior-public relations)
said before she went to stand
behind the lectern in front of her
peers.
But in the end, students agreed
that the event while stressful
was a fun experience.
"This is really something you
want to do in college before you
go out and have to do that in real
life," Mei said.
Some of the faux journalists
said they were happy not to be
the ones under the spotlight.
"They all did a good job. I would
get nervous personally," stand-in
journalist Olivia Boutcher (junior
broadcast journalism) said.
To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu
sistent relations for exposure
UPUA Chief of Staff Dustin
Dove said all minority coverage,
like the photo of LGBTQA Kiss
out, should be published.
"I think it's great that they had
that right there on the front page,
I think exposure is the best way to
get rid of the hate," Dove (senior
secondary education) said.
"Maybe it's a bit shocking, but
sometimes, people need to be
shocked a little bit."
To email reporter: arss474@psu.edu