Thursday, September 13,1990
Mixed feelings about daycare proposal
(continued from page 1)
ascertain whether the center can
be accommodated and so far there
have been no problems.
As soon as the task force
receives complete approval from
University Park, the RFP will be
refined and sent out to SO of the
largest child care providers in the
country as well as all of the local
child care agencies. According to
Reber, "it's truly too soon" to
determine which provider will be
used.
Penn State University will
furnish the land for the center,
while the child care provider is
expected to construct, landscape
and operate the facility. When the
lease agreement expires the
facility will be turned over to the
University.
The desired facility profile, as
listed in the RFP, includes
reduced rate packages for Penn
State students, faculty, and staff;
flexible part time care; a parent
faculty-staff advisory board and
provisions for Behrend faculty for
research and teaching purposes.
Also included in the package
are year-round operational
services with special
arrangements for school age
children during the summer
months; allowances for future
expansion and enrollment
Disturbance at ABC dance
may bring policy changes
by Mark Owens
Collegian Managing Editor
Regulations governing club
and organization events may
change following an incident last
week during an Association of
Black Collegians dance.
The dance, held in the Reed
Building, was interrupted by two
disturbances, both of which
required Police and Safety officers
to bring under control.
"The first call, which came in
around 11:30 p.m., wasn't really
physical. There were about 10
non-students involved, but no
one volunteered information,"
said Randy Hoffman, Manager of
Police and Safety.
Officers again returned to the
dance at approximately 1:00 a.m.
to break up a fight
"Officers had to escort five
male non-students to their
vehicles and then off campus,"
Hoffman said. "No injuries were
reported and no arrests or
citations were made." During the
fight tables and chairs were
allegedly thrown, though no
damage was reported.
Both Hoffman and Verna
Johnson, president of ABC, said
the students involved in the
altercations were not Behrend
students.
"The problem didn't start
during the dance," Johnson said.
"Apparently the two groups had
their differences beforehand and
when they saw each other...."
Hoffman noted there were not
any Student Auxiliary officers
present at the dance, though
capacity for 85-100 children
ranging from six weeks to
kindergarten.
While the conditions on the
desired facility profile are
negotiable, flexible part time care
and reduced rate packages for
Penn State clients are two of the
provisions that are also listed as
specific requirements.
Other required conditions
include encouraged parental
visitation and priority for the
Penn State students, faculty and
staff over the general community.
Although the entire Behrend
community agrees on the need for
a day care center on campus, there
are more students who profess an
immediate interest in the facility.
According to the Summary of
Child Care Efforts report
compiled by the task force, the
majority of faculty and staff are
satisfied with their own current
child care arrangements and rated
the cost, program, staff, location
and operating hours of their
arrangements as 'excellent' or
'very good'.
The majority of students on
the other hand, were generally
dissatisfied with all aspects of
their current arrangements.
In addition, only 18% of the
faculty and staff responded that
they would definitely use the
Police and Safety officers made
extra stops during their patrol.
"ABC apparently didn't
anticipate a large crowd at the
dance,” Hoffman said. "Because
of that and last-minute notice
about the dance an SA (student
auxiliary) wasn't assigned."
Currently, clubs and
organizations are recommended to
"...in the future we
will more strongly
recommend the use
of Student
A uxiliary."
-David Shields
Assistant Dean of
Student Services
have SA's, depending on the
nature of the event.
"Typical policy is that if an
event is expected to draw more
than 200 people we require
Student Auxiliary. The club or
organization is responsible for
making the necessary
arrangements to have those
people on hand," said Assistant
Dean of Student Services David
Shields.
That policy may change, but
Shields said it's still under study.
"Student Services may take on
the responsibility of having
Student Auxiliary present in the
future. It still depends on the
event, though. But in the future
we will more strongly
recommend the use of Student
Auxiliary," Shields m»BH
The Collegian
facility, while 54% of the
students responded that they
would use it
Given the overwhelming need
for day care services for students,
some have expressed discontent
with the current proposal, saying
that it addresses the needs of the
faculty and staff over that of the
students. Others feel the proposal
is adequate.
"It’s an excellent
beginning.
However, it does
need to be
expanded."
•Diane Ziemniak
communications major
sth semester
Nicole Stanger, eighth
semester accounting major and
president of Top Of The Hill
said, "I am happy with the
situation because I don't see any
other way to do it, but I
recognize that there are people
who are dissatisfied.”
Coral Hudson, eighth
semester accounting major and
president of The Veterans' Club,
adds that "at this point anything
is better than nothing. Ideally, we
would prefer a drop off service to
accommodate students but since
that's not possible, it's not that
big of an issue."
Paula Mallin, eighth semester
business/behavioral sciences
major, serves as the student
representative on the Behrend
child care task force.
She is dissatisfied with a
commercial provider on campus,
saying ”1 think that type of child
care service would meet the needs
of some of the Behrend
community, namely the faculty
and staff, but it's not going to
help the majority of students who
simply cannot afford the
services."
Mallin mentioned Kindercarc
as one possible provider who
expressed interest in the project
but who prefers full time clients
over part time care.
She pointed out that the
students’ basic need is a
"babysitting service, not a
preschool and while the various
programs offered by commercial
providers sound great, who can
afford them?"
Mallin cites the New
Kensington campus co-op model
for day care as the ideal for
students. Under this program the
= " Penn State-Behrend
\ Student Activities and Student Organization Council
finuniß
EMERGING LEADER SERIES
"Motivating Your Group Members"
Mr. Ken Miller
Coordinator, Residence Life
"Planning the Perfect Program"
Mr. David Shields
Assistant Dean of Student Services
"Decoding the University Maze: I low
to Cut Through Red Tape"
Dr. Christopher Reber
Dean of Student Services
"Creative Publicity"
Ms. Laurie O'Sullivan
Cooidinator, Residence Life
"Win, Lose, or Draw Your Sword:
Conflict Management"
Mr. Fred Anzivino
Manager, WPSE Radio
"Group Dynamics"
Ms. Lillie Wiley
Student Services Assistant
"Group Goal Setting"
Ms. Maureen Finn
Coordinator of Student Organizations
and Program Development
"Successful Stress Management"
Dr. Louanne Barton
Staff Psychologist, Student Services
"Bone-Deep Beliefs: The Responsibilities
of Leaders"
Dr. Hal Gregersen
Assistant Professor of Management
"Effective Time Management"
Ms. Libby Caryl
Personal Counseling Intern
A Leadership Development Certificate
will be awarded for five or more attendances.
For more information,
call The Office of Student Activities at 898-6171
or The Student Organization Council at 898-6452
FALL 1990
Thursday, September 13
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Wednesday, September 19
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Wednesday, September 26
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Tuesday, October 2
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Tuesday, October 9
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Wednesday, October 17
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Tuesday, October 23
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Thursday, November 1
12:00 Noon-Reed 116
Wednesday, November 14
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Wednesday, November 28
12:00 Noon - Reed 116
Page 3
parents provide the care by
working in the program for a
certain number of hours a week
in proportion to the amount of
hours their children spend in the
program.
The New Kensington Model
has been in existence for 12 years
and has a waiting list to get in.
Mallin has researched this
alternative extensively and finds
it to be a workable solution for
the students.
"There is room on this
campus for two models of day
care: a commercial provider to
offer full time care and a co-op
which essentially is a babysitting
service for those students who
can't afford the commercial rates.”
The University however is
unwilling to accept the liability
for such a venture. A commercial
provider accepts full liability
which makes it a more feasible
proposal for the college.
Diane Ziemniak, fifth
semester communications major,
and president of Woman Today
seemed to sum up the general
sentiment of students best when
she said, "It's an excellent
beginning. However, it does need
to be expanded. It isn't the ideal
as of now and won't provide all
the needed services - but it is a
beginning."