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Song and Dance Brio Dance Company and Pure Cane PAGE 27 Sugar play the State
September 2012
Why can't bullying in schools be stopped? PA G E 1 1
Politics Green party nominates candidates pg 3 Independent News Since 1993
COMMUNITY Millheim fights back against vandals pg 11 Environment Pa leads nation in rabies cases pg 16
UNIVERSITY PSU admits record freshman class pg 22 OPINION Dissoi logoi lets readers take a stand pg 32
Thoughtful. Fearless. Free.
September 2012 Thoughtful. Fearless. Free. © 2012 Voices of Central Pennsylvania, Inc.
September 2012 BOARD OF EDITORS contact the editor in chief at firstname.lastname@example.com Editor in Chief Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell Politics and Economics open Community and Lifestyles Andrea Rochat University Sierra Dole Environment Sierra Dole Arts and Entertainment Cynthia Mazzante Opinion William Saas Webmaster Bill Eichman
Join Voices for a big year of change September is a month of change for students of all ages. Every autumn, grade school students receive a new identity— they change grades, they meet new teachers, and attend new classes. College freshmen leave home for the first time, while college seniors begin to prepare for that first post-graduation job. Yet for all this change, one unsavory aspect of school culture remains the same—bullying. In June, Voices published a letter from Jesse Ballenger, a student at State College Area High School about bullying in schools. This month, Voices has taken that topic as cover story. In this story, readers will meet Rose Fye and Luke Purnell. Both of these young people have been the victims of bullying at the hands of their peers, but they have been brave enough to tell Voices their stories. Each student took his/her own escape route from the harassment. It would be easy to blame these problems on the bullies or their parents. One of the major findings in Voices' cover story, how-
ART and DESIGN Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell, Cover Photo Tina Grasha, Cover Photo effects Mali Campbell, Graphics
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from the desk of editor in chief
Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell ever, is that the problems do not just exist between students but in the school culture. Policies against bullying go unenforced, teachers refuse to take action or even take part in the taunting, counselors' efforts have no effect and victims are encouraged to ignore it. Bullying happens on the school buses, in classrooms, lunchrooms, playgrounds and even in social media. The problem touches every aspect of the school culture. But how does a school or a district address the issue of bullying if it happens everywhere and the policies either cannot be enforced, or will not be enforced? Maybe a better question is why don't the zero-tolerance policies work? Here Voices will present readers with the idea that the answer to bullying may not punitive policy, but an evolution of school culture that teaches and encourages effective communication and prevents "the bullying mentality." One of those routes to effective communication discussed in the cover story is peer mediation, a system of conflict resolution that recognizes that everyone has a role to play in preventing bullying. That I support finding a better solution to bullying and school violence is the reason why I proposed the cover story. Here at Voices, we are also undergoing a
period of change. Voices Advisory While I have Council been writing and Nick Brink editing for Voices Jamie Campbell for almost two Jane Childs years, this is the John Dickison first issue for Ann Glaser which I have been editor-in- Elizabeth Kirchner Bonnie Marshall chief. I earnestly Curt Marshall look forward to Mike McGough carrying our Bob Potter news and events coverage out Bonnie K. Smeltzer Susan Squier beyond Happy Maria Sweet Valley to Penns Kim Tait V a l l e y , Mary Watson Philipsburg, Sue Werner Lock Haven, Greg Woodman Huntingdon and Lakshman Yapa Lewistown. Next month, our University section will become Education, uniting stories about schools and the university under one section. And the opinion section has added a new feature which will allow community members to debate the hot button issues. Yet, while we grow as an organization, Voices will still embody the same great journalism with a community emphasis that our readers have come to expect. Please feel free to join us at our weekly staff meetings; we meet at 6 p.m. at Webster's Bookstore Cafe every Wednesday.
Top Stories in This Issue POLITICS and ECONOMICS
pages 3-10
Undocumented immigrants struggle in Pa by Sara Post....................................................3
COMMUNITY and LIFESTYLES
pages 11-15
Bullying policies fail to address problem by Sierra Dole.....................................................11
pages 16-21
Pa leads nation in rabies cases for second year by Tara Richelo..................................16
pages 22-26
University accepts record number of freshman by Jessica Beard.....................................22
ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT
pages 27-31
Night of song and dance set for State Theatre by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell............27
pages 32-39
On democracy, wolves and sheep by Betsy Simon.......................................................32
September 2012
Undocumented immigrants struggle in Pa by Sara Post Statistics on undocumented immigration in the Centre County region is a dark figure, little understood or studied. Several local experts on the topic of immigration were asked to estimate the numbers of undocumented immigrants in State College, Pennsylvania. Numbers varied from zero to "about 100," with most guessing somewhere in the middle. No one interviewed could say with any confidence how many live and work in State College. "State College is a college town. It's not a major place for immigrants to come to work, unless they are working for the university—in which case, they would need documentation," said Melissa Landau-Rodriguez, director of the College Assistance Migrant Program at Penn State.
But this statement may be based more on assumption than fact. An undocumented restaurant worker (who requested to remain anonymous) in State College asked by Voices about how many undocumented migrant families he was aware of in the area, he said he thought there might be "around 20. And I think the number is increasing." If not a visible issue in State College, the topic of undocumented immigration is present around the area. In December 2007, Altoona passed an ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting residences to those without U.S. documentation, and employers from hiring them. The ordinance was only slightly modified from one that the city council of Hazelton approved earlier in 2007,
Undocumented Immigration in the US: a snapshot Total number of undocumented immigrants (2010): 10,790,000* Number of illegal and/or undocumented immigrants in: California: 2,570,000* Texas: 1,770,000* New York: 460,000* New Jersey: 370,000* Pennsylvania: 140,000**
*Estimate from January 2010 Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics **Estimate from U.S. Immigration Support, publisher of legal books and immigration guides
Immigrants, pg. 9
It isn't easy being green in Pennsylvania by Douglas Mason When voters go to the polls in November, candidates for the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) and its national affiliate the Green Party United States (GPUS) will appear on the ballot in Pennsylvania for the first time in eight years. In this key election year, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) has struggled to get candidates on the ballot due to the state's requirements, among the most prohibitive in the nation. GPPA candidates needed to get at least 20,600 valid signatures on their nomination papers in two weeks, but aimed much higher and submitted 35,000 signatures on July 31 to the Pa Bureau of Elections. "More than 10,000 signatures were voided for things like missing years in dates – i.e. '7/15' instead of '7/15/12'," said Hillary Kane, a GPPA Steering Committee member from Philadelphia.
"By huge margins, the citizens of Pennsylvania have a far different vision for Pennsylvania than their elected officials." Tim Potts, co-founder of Democracy Rising Pa Pa Democrat and Republican statewide candidates are only required to submit 2,000 valid signatures. The petitions of independent and alternative candidates must have a minimum number "equal to 2 percent of the total vote of the highest vote cast in the state in the previous election," which in 2006 required Green candidates to gather at
least 67,000 valid signatures in their runs for statewide office. The higher ballot-inclusion bar set for third parties does not align with citizens' expectations for ballots. According to the 2012 Public Integrity Poll conducted by Democracy Rising, 95 percent of voters want the same requirements for all candidates to get on the ballot, regardless of political party. "By huge margins, the citizens of Pennsylvania have a far different vision for Pennsylvania than their elected officials," wrote Tim Potts, co-founder of Democracy Rising Pa, which commissioned the poll. The Pa General Assembly amended the Pennsylvania Election Code in 1984 with Act 190, which effectively barred any alternative party from nominating candidates in primary elections. The district court of the Eastern District of Pa eventually afforded the "relief" noted above for third parties, but did not
declare the Pa statutory scheme unconstitutional. "Since we are still prohibited from participating in the Pa Primary Election, and have to fund our primary season on our own, I believe the Democrats and Republicans should do likewise and spare the taxpayer," says Jay Sweeney, a GPPA Steering Committee member from Wyoming County. Alternative parties and independents have also run into other problems beyond getting on the ballot in this state. Former GPPA U.S. Senate candidate and current state party chair Carl Romanelli from Wilkes-Barre owes about $80,000 in legal fees to the Democratic Party stemming from his 2006 campaign, in which he challenged now-Sen. Bob Casey and Rick Santorum. According to the Green Party Pa web-
Green, pg. 7
September 2012
Veterans for Peace address issues of war by Stephen Sinsley At a time when American soldiers are dying in Afghanistan at the rate of one serviceperson per day, Veterans for Peace held their national convention in August. Liberating the Americas: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean was the theme of this 27th convention. Hundreds of veterans with unique knowledge of war and its consequences and a dedication to the abolition of war as foreign policy were present in Miami for the convention. Present as well were members of the newly formed U.K. chapter VFP-UK. "I admire Veterans For Peace for one central reason above anything else, Veterans For Peace walks the walk," said Phil Donahue, who opened the convention with his film "Body of War." Iraq veterans and war resisters Camilo Mejia and Victor Agosto addressed the convention on its first day. They were followed by Carlos and Melida
Arredondo, who lost one son in combat in Iraq and a second to suicide following his brother's death. The VFP's first-ever female president retired Navy Commander Leah Bolger also addressed the convention. Workshops and plenaries during the convention related to the convention's theme and global war concerns. These included "The Environmental Cost of War", "Resisting U.S. Backed Terrorism in Guatemala" and "Shut Down the School of the Americas" by School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) founder Father Roy Bourgeois. The School of the Americas was a training school for U.S. and Latin American military and security personnel, and has been protested by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for the human rights violations perpetrated by its graduates. Veterans also met with local politicians, labor and social organizers, as well as the Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein during the event
Photo by Stephen Sinsley
Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas Watch, addressed the Veterans for Peace convention.
"So many of you, went off to fight strangers, returning wounded, dead, or strangers yourselves. But are you really dead? Are you really dead?" Alice Walker, reading a piece at the Veterans for Peace convention
"Veterans Meet the Community" at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The convention concluded with a Saturday evening banquet, featuring talks by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, poet, and activist Alice Walker (on this 30th anniversary of her novel, The Color Purple) and Father Roy Bourgeois. Walker and 15 others left on Sunday, August 12th on a fact-finding investigative 6-day tour into current U.S. involvement in Haiti. VFP was founded in 1985 by 10 U.S. veterans in response to the global nuclear arms race and U.S. military
Veterans, pg. 8
September 2012
Philipsburg borough tackles water issues by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell Waterworks projects in Philipsburg have been a point of contention for almost a decade, but the end is in site for at least one water woe. After a two year process involving planning and delays, Philipsburg's Coldstream Dam and the walkway over the dam will be receiving much-needed renovations next year. The Coldstream Dam is being renovated to withstand what is called a "100 year flood;" a flood that is the water level a waterway can be expected to reach or exceed every 100 years. Work on the dam itself is planned to include a widening of the spillway (the structural part of a dam that is used to control the release of water into a downstream area) installation of a new water restriction device, and some dredging of the reservoir. Four steel pipe posts will be installed around the center stone pier, one of the three piers that hold up the walkway. The engineering firm Stiffler, McGraw and Associates, has been contracted by the borough to do the repairs. The hold up in construction, according to Philipsburg Borough manager Jan McDonald, has been a matter of permitting and bureaucratic red tape. "[the delay in] 2012 was really to finalize plans with DEP," said McDonald. "The DEP had to approve the changes resulting from inspections from last year." In September 2011, consultants for the Department of Energy Bureau (DEP) of Waterways Engineering reviewed the engineering firm's geotechnical and spillway alternative evaluation analyses, and requested several plan changes. The changes have since been accepted, allowing the project to move forward. The rehabilitation work on the dam will be completed to bring the dam into compliance with state safety requirements while renovations to the pier are planned to make the walkway structurally safe. McDonald, however, stressed that the dam and walkway are currently safe, but that the mandat-
ed changes serve as "insurance against a worst case scenario." "Is it currently safe right now? Yes," said borough manager McDonald. "When you are [dealing with] a high hazard dam, what you are looking at is the absolute worst case possibility." According to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website, high hazard or unsafe dams have "deficiencies of such a nature that if not corrected and the dams were to fail, substantial property damage and a probable loss of human life could occur." The commission manages 18 such dams, but Coldstream Dam is managed by the borough. McDonald noted that while the dam has been labeled "high hazard," it withstood a serious flood in 1972. The flood to which he referred would have been a recordbreaking flood following hurricane Agnes. In the event of a serious flood and failure of the Coldstream Dam, much of Philipsburg's population and its infrastruc-
"When you are [dealing with] a high hazard dam, what you are looking at is the absolute worst case possibility." Jan McDonald, Philipsburg Borough manager
ture would be directly affected. There are 655 residents living in the inundation area. Two emergency service facilities and five municipal operations facilities including the Moshannon Valley Joint Sewer Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant also lie directly in the potential path of floodwater. The dam renovation project is funded by a combination of sources. The borough itself, according to Jan McDonald, will contribute $360,000, but it also received a
Photo by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell
The Coldstream Dam is one of dozens of high-hazard dams in Pennsylvania in need of renovation. Philipsburg borough's engineers will begin renovations in 2013.
grant of around $2.2 million from the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The borough has also acquired a Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) loan. Philipsburg Borough also received two PENNVEST loans for over five million dollars in 2008 for sanitary sewer replacement work. Before that, the borough secured a loan for $2.1 million in 2006 for sanitary and storm sewer replacement. According to McDonald, the borough was mandated to renovate the combined storm water and sanitary sewer system. This renovation involved building a new sanitary sewer system, including replacing lateral wastewater pipes from every residence and building in the borough. Since then, the Department of Environmental Protection and authorities for the Chesapeake Bay watershed have tightened restrictions on the quality of waste water flowing into the rivers and ultimately the Bay watershed. In response, last year the Moshannon
Valley Joint Sewer Authority presented a plan for compliance with new DEP and Chesapeake Bay mandates that require the Authority to either build on to the plant a means of tracking nitrogen and phosphorus levels, or purchase credits from a company to buy compliance. The MVJSA must be in compliance with new regulations by October 2012. The sewer replacement work also did not resolve the borough's storm water issue. The original sewer replacement work did not, according to McDonald, include a new storm water sewer system due to the cost of the construction. But the Environmental Protection Agency gave the borough a grant of $485,000 to fund the construction of a storm sewer system that would reroute storm water from wetlands to the Moshannon Creek. According to the EPA's website, this grant will pay 55 percent of the $881,819 million eligible construction costs for the storm sewer system.
Deutschworks: the LAGuide to science by Steve Deutsch Steve Deutsch is a regular satire columnist for Voices. From Whole Cloth: The LessIntelligent-than-average American Guide to Science and Nature: In Ethan Canin's title story from his prize winning collection, a retired high school biology and astronomy teacher listens in one night as his next door neighbor identifies the stars and constellations for his teenage son. It was direct and scientific, and he was lying to his son about what he knew. "These," he said, "these are the Mermaid's Tail, and south you can see the three peaks of Mount Olympus, and
then the sword that belongs to the "'Emperor of the Air'." In a recent study in the United States, researchers found that only 1 in 7500 citizens over the age of ten knows that there is a world outside of their den and that the athletes and entertainers they watched on their TV set are real people. When coupled with our fine understanding of the scientific method, which we define as a thought, based on nothing special, that must be prefaced with the phrase "in my opinion," we, as a nation, have a unique opportunity to create our own names and descriptions for all the scientific wonders we've never had a clue about. We can also pretend to know how they work and what the consequences of their uses are.
That is the reason we, at Stevieslaw, are thrilled to publish, From Whole Cloth: The LAGuide to Science and Nature. Use the guide to turn your stunning lack of understanding—-a liability in a reasonable world—-into an incredible asset, using many of the same techniques that the blowhards on Cable TV use to their advantage. Some of the techniques you will learn about in the guide are: Sounds like: You are confused by terms like Higgs Boson because you haven't made the "sounds like" connection. Could the Higgs Boson be the last remaining American Bison? No, but no one else knows that either. Connect the Boson to the bison. Perhaps the last remaining Boson is currently in the San Diego Zoo. Higgs? A nickname given the Boson by Delores Simpson, an adorable three year old girl, trying to say the word "hugs," to the 3000 pound creature. Mythologize: That's right. Just make it up. In the guide, we will invent enough history to show you that all of these scientific names were made up in the first place. Moreover, they were usually made up to aggrandize the name of the person that got there first. Take Avogadro's number for example. A household name if there ever was one. Since we no longer know what it means, why not give it a name we can at least spell? Why not have three billion names for the Ebola virus? How could it hurt? I suppose it might even make for great conversation, for a short while. Rely on the experts: The Guide carefully explains the difficulty here is in determining who the experts are. Do you rely on the physicists, with their complicated equations, biologists, with their extensive fossil records, and climate scientists, with their massive computer codes, to explain the origin of the universe, evolution and global warming, or do you go with the radio talk show host—-a former grocery store owner
September 2012
Photo by Steve Deutsch.
Steve Deutsch in his native habitat of New York City.
from Topeka? The guide will, through countless examples, convince you to rely on your intuition—-easily a match for a good education—in choosing an expert to follow. Go with the guy who makes you feel like a smarty! Blame God: Recently, on Facebook we found excerpts from a creationist science text, "Science 4 Christian Schools," that declared "Electricity is a mystery. No one has ever observed it or heard it or felt it." Sure, some snots from as early as 2750 B.C. might disagree, but it's not the statement, but the principle behind the statement that is topic of the guide. We will introduce you to the amazing principle of "least expenditure of mental energy." Sure it sounds difficult, but we guarantee that it will be the last thing you will ever have to learn. What's more, you probably know a number of people already practicing it.
Deutsch, pg. 10
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Green, pg. 3
site, in 2008, about a dozen employees of the Pa House of Representatives were convicted (or entered guilty pleas) for, among other crimes, using thousands of taxpayer dollars in an effort to remove Romanelli from the 2006 ballot. Leading the charge was Pa Rep. H. William DeWesse (D-50th), a former Speaker of the House, who had directed his staff and other government employees to challenge the 2006 statewide Green Party petition. For this and other corrupt activities termed "Bonusgate," DeWeese was found guilty of 6 felony counts in January (and on April 24 was sentenced to serve 30 months to 5 years in state prison). The first state preview of the Green Party presidential ticket prior to the national convention happened in May in State College, when the GPPA announced the results of 13 caucuses held throughout the state. Dr. Jill Stein, a general internist (she calls herself a "political therapist") in Massachusetts,
received four of the state's seven delegates, while comedienne/actress Rosanne Barr, who grows organic macadamia nuts in Hawai'i, was assigned three delegates. At the party's convention in Baltimore, Dr. Stein received 66 percent of state delegate votes in the first round, easily becoming the GPUS 2012 presidential candidate. Stein's VP running mate is Cheri Honkala, the National Coordinator for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign based in Philadelphia. This organization is one of the country's largest multiracial, inter-generational movements led by the poor and the homeless. GPUS hopes to have the SteinHonkala ticket on the ballots of 45 states. Stein is the first environmentalist ever to head the Green ticket; she is the co-author of two reports, "In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development" in 2000 and "Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging" in 2009. Taking the stage to Bob Marley's "Get Up, Standup," Stein vowed in her acceptance speech to, "turn the White
Photo courtesy of Green Party USA.
Cheri Honkala (left) and Dr. Jill Stein (right) accepted the Green Party delegates' nomination to the presidential ticket at the GSUS convention held in Baltimore.
"The way you define the system is by who owns the capital wealth...one percent here own just about half of all the investment capital, while five percent owns 70 percent." Gar Alperovitz, political economist
House into a Green House," and promised to be a true alternative in the presidential contest as a representative of "the only national party that is not bought and paid for by corporate money. Although Dr. Stein will likely not get an opportunity to face off against other candidates in debate, GPUS has made many strides in recent years. For the first time in its existence, it has qualified for federal matching funds for donations up to $250. Since announcing her campaign in 2011, Stein has run on her own platform, referred to as the Green New Deal, an emergency four-part program of specific programs for moving this country out of crisis. It consists of the right to a job; the adoption of green technologies and production for a shift to a green economy;
reform of the financial sector; and the "strengthening" of democratic government. Stein has noted that public works programs have put Americans back to work many times since the 1930s, citing as examples the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act in the 1970s. The keynote speaker at the GPUS convention was political economist Gar Alperovitz. "The way you define the system is by who owns the capital wealth...1 percent here own just about half of all the investment capital, while 5 percent owns 70 percent," said Alperovitz. "And the top 400 people...own more wealth now than the bottom 185 million Americans taken together. That is a medieval structure, and I don't mean that rhetorically, I mean that technically…the way you concentrated wealth in the medieval era." The Centre County Greens will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, September 10th, at Webster's Café, 133 E. Beaver Ave., to discuss bringing Dr. Stein and/or Cheri Honkala to University Park and the formation of a Campus Greens group. Doug Mason ran in 1980 on the Consumer/Citizens Party ticket for the U.S. Representative seat in the 5th Congressional District against then Congressman Bill Clinger (R-23rd District).
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Veterans, pg. 4
interventions in Central America. It grew to more than 8,000 members in the buildup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 with veteran and associate members in every U.S. state and several countries, with more than 120 chapters across the nation. In the last 26 years, VFP has led or participated in over 50 peace delegations to Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. VFP holds a permanent Non-
Governmental Organization seat at the United Nations. It is also the first military veterans' organization invited to be a member of the International Peace Bureau based in Geneva, Switzerland. Today, members remain actively engaged in campaigns to help bring about a clearer understanding of the cost of war, in particular the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, to bring clean water to Iraq, to support veterans of the Iraq war, to close the School of the Americas and to counter military recruitment efforts in schools.
Photo by Steve Sinsley
Author Alice Walker read some of her work at the Veterans for Peace convention.
Update: Voter photo id by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell This article is an update to an article run in November 2011 about House Bill 934, the bill that would require registered voters to show photo identification at the polls when voting. Commonwealth court Judge Robert Simpson (Republican) has set aside requests by Pennsylvania voters for an injunction against the voter photo id bill, now called Act 18. "I am not convinced any qualified elector need be disenfranchised by Act 18," said Simpson. Simpson's ruling closely followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about an Indiana photo ID law four years ago. The case was unusual in that the plaintiffs are long-time voters who have been unable to obtain the required photo id, and will be denied the right to vote on Nov. 6 without it. The law was enacted to prevent voter fraud. But lawyers for the state conceded during the trial that there have been no known incidents of in-person voter fraud in Pennsylvania. According to the Pa Department of Transportation, 758,000 registered voters do not have a valid driver's license.
According to Act 18, the photo id must not have expired. In Philadelphia, where many voters are registered as Democrats, 18 percent of voters do not hold valid photo id. On August 16, voter rights groups and voters filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Every Democrat in the Pa legislature voted against House Bill 934, claiming that the bill would disenfranchise voters and cause chaos at the polls on election day. "What we're saying here today is that the county election offices can't do a good job. Those folks that work in the election boards don't understand the system and can't do a good job," said state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-77th district, as he addressed the state assembly. "We are asking that (Republicans) please consider tabling this." Republicans, however, overwhelmingly supported the law. "Voter id will allow Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania. Done," said House Republican leader Mike Turzai in an address to the Republican State Committee in Hershey. As of press time, Act 18 stands as law, so voters will need to acquire valid photo ids to exercise their right.
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Immigrants, pg. 3
which also decreed that employers must check immigration status before hiring workers. State College has no such ordinance, because according to local authorities, there is little concern. "Centre County has few problems with illegal immigrants," said police chief Denny Nau. "Occasionally the State Police stop a vehicle on I-80 with illegal immigrants. Our office does not generally get involved." A representative of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement noted on the phone that, similar to Nau's statement, they "do not make regular checks of Centre County." The dangers, the payoffs of an undocumented life "There are so many injustices that happen nationally to undocumented migrants because no one knows they exist there," said Jenny Van Hook, director for Penn State's Population Research Institute. "Many are abused at work but held hostage by their status. Theoretically, it makes sense that they wouldn't switch jobs, without a gain in wages or security. [In other situations, the job] can be like indentured servitude, where the migrant owes their passage back to a person who aided their entry into the United States. I wouldn't be surprised if that is happening to some degree in State College." Mary Faulkner of the Women's Resource Center provided additional insight into problems that undocumented immigrants might face here. "The majority of immigrants we advise are the spouses of international graduate students or researchers," said Faulkner. "We want to provide a safe space for them, but there really isn't an infrastructure here for immigrants to rely on. I think the interest is there, but it's such a highly technical field." Faulkner explained that the Women's Resource Center does not, as a policy, check the citizenship status of the sexu-
al abuse victims they advise. But the Center has in recent years tried to include more of the international community and, as a result of their outreach, seen more international victims of domestic violence stepping forward. In some cases, local attorney offices are able to get migrants on a track towards obtaining a U-Visa. "These visas are provided by the Violence against Women's Act— but the act is up for consideration again this year," said Faulker. But the dangers to the undocumented immigrant extend beyond domestic violence to the workplace. "Do you think it is just," Voices asked the restaurant workers in an interview, "the way you are treated here? Do you feel like you don't have any rights?" "It is not fair, some of the things that the bosses do. There are cameras on us at work and it is very hard labor. But it is much better pay than in [the country where I am from]."
"It is not fair, some of the things that the bosses do. There are cameras on us at work and it is very hard labor. But it is much better pay than in [the country where I am from]." Undocumented worker "Was it always so bad?" asked Voices. "Maybe always worse economically than the USA, but it wasn't so bad just 10 or 20 years ago… then about five years ago we could not grow our own food to sell so we came to America." International forces have driven the national rise in undocumented immigration. Trade agreements such as NAFTA, passed in 1994, have allowed for the flow of goods and capital across bor-
Where do they come from? Top five countries of birth of undocumented immigrants: Mexico: 6,640,000* El Salvador: 620,000* Guatemala: 520,000* Honduras: 330,000* Philippines: 280,000* *All figures are estimates drawn from the January 2010 Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics report ders, while barring the same movement for persons by making entrance illegal and passage highly dangerous. The migrants interviewed for this article recounted walking through the desert for days, led by trafficking leaders who often belong to the same illegal groups that power the drug trade. Among the immigrant aid groups that work on the Mexico-USA border is one called No More Deaths. Their work consists of delivering truckloads of water into the desert, and providing medical aid to those they encounter. In July 2012, representatives from No More Deaths visited Allegheny. A volunteer for the group explained that undocumented immigrants had come as far north as Pa because the route into the USA does not end after the checkpoint; most immigrants who illegally cross the border come through networks heading north, even to places as seemingly remote as Centre County. Declining to offer more information on the topic of trafficking routes, the restaurant worker interviewed simply stated, "We had connections with other immigrants in State College." After the border checkpoint, the route becomes less physically dangerous and more legally dangerous. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are present in every city to detain and
deport immigrants. If detained in Centre County, migrants are housed in either the York County Prison or the Clinton County Correctional Facility. No information was found as to how many State College immigrants have been sent to these jails. Once in the United States, obtaining a visa can be near impossible. In October 2011, the National Foundation for American Policy reported that "a highly skilled Indian national sponsored today for an employment-based immigrant visa in the 3rd preference could potentially wait 70 years to receive a green card. The 70-year wait is derived from calculating that there exists a backlog of 210,000 or more Indians in the most common skilled employment-based category (the 3rd preference or EB-3) and dividing that by the approximately 2,800 Indian professionals who receive permanent residence in the category each year under the law." Centre County considers undocumented immigration Despite that local authorities cannot pin down accurate numbers on undocumented persons, immigration has been given at least some consideration within Centre County. In 2007, the Centre
Immigration, pg. 10
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Immigration, pg. 9
Daily Times published "The New Challenges of American Immigration: What Should We Do?" Members included Nancy Kranich of the Public Issues Forum, Victor Romero and Eva Letwin of Global Connections. All three, along with 12 other members, have in the past year joined the new Penn State group: "The Interdisciplinary Roundtable on Immigration" run by Shoba Wadhia of the Dickinson Law School at Penn State. "This group was formed to learn more about immigration in our area, and what measures could be taken to raise awareness," said Landau-Rodriguez. The roundtable will release its findings at Penn State at the end of August. According to Landau-Rodriguez, Penn State University does not check status, but without citizenship students cannot access federal financial aid and would most likely be unable to attend. These are the more subtle issues concerning immigrants in Centre County, even if they do not fear immediate deportation by law enforcement officials. "It can be very hard for high school students to enter college if they do not share the information with a counselor that they are undocumented… and why should they, because they are afraid,"
said Van Hook. She studies the performance of students in school whose parents are undocumented, and her findings suggest that the students underperform, "probably because of all the stress their parents live under and the fact that English is
"It can be very hard for high school students to enter college if they do not share the information with a counselor that they are undocumented..." Jenny Van Hook, director PSU Population Research Institute their second language." Due to issues surrounding undocumented immigration, some have called for immigration policy reform. "This would be a very good time," says Van Nook, "to do comprehensive immigration reform." Voices asked the workers: "Do you miss [your country]?" "Of course," one replied. "But we keep in touch with family on facebook, and we still cook tortillas."
Photo courtesy of Ellen Dannin
Protesters for Move-On handed out pink slips at the corner of Allen St and Beaver Ave in State College to protest Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's business practices.
Deutsch, pg. 6
In our world, it is Aunt Edith, who has maintained the same position on her couch continuously for 40 years while watching professional wrestling and sipping lime Gatorade and vodka. Recognizing the principle will allow you to smilingly explain away any troublesome science with a conversation ending,
"it's god's will." Will you be ignoring several thousand years of human progress—of course! But it will allow you to retain just enough mental energy to, for example, get the correct phone number for your American Idol vote. Buy the Guide wherever the Guide is sold. Use it to explain the world of science and nature. Perhaps with practice you too can become a radio talk show personality.
September 2012
Bullying policies fail to address problem by Sierra Dole Bullying has become an epidemic in public high schools all across America, reaching far beyond headlines about school shootings and increased teen suicide. According to bullyingstatistics.org, thirty percent of all middle school and high school students in the United States are involved in bullying as either a victim, bully or both and eighty percent are bullied online. In about eighty-five percent of bullying cases, teachers and administration make no effort to stop the bullying. Now, unfortunately, this problem hits a little too close to home. Jesse Ballenger, a senior at State College High School, pointed out in the June issue that even small-town-central Pennsylvania isn't immune to the problem of bullying and cyberbullying, as both he and his peers have witnessed. High numbers like these, along with an increasing awareness of the consequences of bullying have forced local schools to rethink
their policies on bullying. According to Ballenger, although his high school has implemented bullying policies such as reporting harassment and assigning disciplinary action, the students, himself included, have not seen a decrease in the hostile behavior and claim that the solution may come from a deeper, more substantial change. "We cannot wait for a suicide or an act of violence before action is taken, because by then it will be too late," Ballenger said. "What happens next at State High and the other schools goes far beyond just watching a movie or punishing students. We need to change the mentality and the action of how we treat each other." The lack of school response Ballenger isn't the only student who sees a lack of school response to the local bullying crisis. Rose Fye, a junior at Central Mountain High School, has been victimized by her fellow students due to an inter-clique relationship.
Graphic by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell Numbers gathered from 29,764 students from 78 schools. Study conducted by Center for Safe Schools, a division of Center for Schools and Communities.
"No one really wanted me and [my boyfriend] together because he was more popular," Fye said. "They'd call me a
Bullying, pg. 12
Millheim residents occupy streets to stop crime by Kevin Handwerk and Andrea Rochat Since late 2008, residents of Millheim borough have occupied the town and streets in a citizen-run crime watch program that aims to improve their community and control crime without additional policing. In 2008 Millheim Borough experienced what many residents viewed as a crime spree, with increases particularly in vandalism and assault. Police Sgt. Reese, commander of State Police Rockview station, confirmed in an interview that "there was a spike" in 2008, with a total of 187 incidents reported that year. The incidents that residents were concerned with had occurred after business hours and involved a variety of crimes from vandalism to
assault. Council minutes from June 2008 show that police Sgt. Emigh (former commander of Rockview State Police who was replaced by Sgt. Reese 2012) stated the total reports of burglaries were up from 7 in 2007 to 32 in 2008. In response to this spike, the borough council conducted meetings in 2008 and into 2009 to discuss economical ways to approach the increase in crime. A borough meeting in March of 2008 hosted guest speaker Chief Donald Zerbe from Harleton Borough who informed the council of the costs and benefits of establishing a locally-based, borough police force. Both Harleton and Millheim are under State Police coverage. The State Police Rockview Barracks for Millheim is located on the west side of Bellefonte and patrols along state roads
Millheim incident reports have dropped from 187 in 2008 to 113 in 2010 and 125 in 2011 like Route 45 and 445. Given Millheim's distance from the barracks, fast response times to reports of vandalism and assault were a concern for the residens. Milheilm couldn't afford to establish its own police force. In February of 2009 the borough council arranged an instructional meeting with a state trooper to discuss effective neighborhood watch system. Soon after, the borough developed its own resident-run crime watch program, Crimewatch. Concurrent with the increase in crime
incidents and the subsequent development of Crimewatch was on ongoing discussion, spearheaded by Ronald Fetzer, President of the Business Association, on ways to attract visitors and new businesses. During this same time, regulations set forth by the Historical Architecture Review Board (HARB) began to take effect. These regulations called for the repair of broken windows and restoration of damaged property, in an effort to preserve the architectural quality of Millheim. This multi-pronged approach to improving and caring for the condition of the community had its effect. In the years since HARB regulations and the community crime watch took effect, Millheim
Millheim, pg. 15
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whore, slut, weird, and gross and there were a lot of rumors [about my sex life] going around about stuff that wasn't even true just to make me look bad." The bullying didn't stop in school, though. Harrassers repeatedly sent Fye vicious messages on social media websites such as Facebook and Tumblr. They called her names such as slut and whore, and said she should kill herself. Fye's only escape from the harassment was to delete her accounts. Fye reported both the inschool and online harassment to a teacher, but the school failed to take action, as they had with her older sister in the past. "I told this one teacher, but I didn't want her telling [other teachers and students] and causing a big deal about it," Fye said. "Nothing was done about it, though." Fye's hesitancy to make her story heard by many echoes similar concerns among other victims who hesitate to report bullying for fear of further harassment, embarrassment, or retribution for voicing their victimization. Policy 249 in the school's policy manual states that, "The Keystone Central School District directs that complaints of bullying shall be investigated promptly and corrective action shall be taken when all allegations are verified." According to Fye, not only was nothing done about the problem, but a different
teacher began bullying her as well. Ron Fye, Rose's father, said he knew about the bullying of his daughter, but was unsure what to do about it because the school did not acknowledge the problem or address its solution. "The school kind of brushed it off like they had more important things to do," Ron said. "I don't think the school did what they should have. They acted like they didn't want to be bothered with the problem." Faculty at Central Mountain High School refused to comment on the situation. The cycle of bullying violence With a lack of response from school officials in the face of bullying, some students are beginning to explore their own solutions. "There was a fight almost every day last year at school," Fye said. "Most of the time, if you're being bullied and you defend yourself [physically], you will get in trouble, too." Luke Purnell, a senior at Bellefonte Area High School, knows this all too well. Purnell, a football player, said that for three years he was bullied by some of the more popular football players who would call him fat and physically attack him. According to Purnell, his school has a student assistance program in which teachers reach out and establish dialogue with reported bullies in order to address and
[Bullying] can adversely affect learning, and [students] may believe that the teachers and staff don't care about them and have no control of the school. So, it affects the entire school community's sense of the school environment. Jenna Saul, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry prevent further aggression. Purnell reported the problem to one of the counselors in the assistance program, who spoke with the bullies. "But it doesn't stop them," Purnell said. "In the end, I was told to ignore it a lot, but that's one of the hardest things to do. It made me think how bad [the bully's] life has to be to think about mine so much, which helped me cope. But it never fixed it." Purnell's efforts to stop the harassment through the student assistance program backfired; his bullies became more vengeful and harassed Purnell. After seeing no improvement in the situation, Purnell claimed he took the matter into his own hands. "I don't deal with [physical harassment] well, so anytime someone did something to me I did it right back to them," Purnell said. "The one time, I punched a kid in the mouth. They stopped bullying me after that, but I got suspended for two weeks and fined $550 for assault, while the other kids got nothing. Since the school wouldn't do anything about it, I had to take it into my own hands and then got into trouble for it." The vice principal at the time of the incident, also the football coach, was not available for comment. Ron Fye said that he notices favoritism within local school districts as well. "[Kids who] play sports, it seems like all they get is a slap on the hand and told
not to do it again," Fye said. "A week later they find someone else to bully. It never ends." According to Jenna Saul, a psychiatrist at The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry based in Washington, D.C., bully favoritism is, unfortunately, quite common. "There's this stereotype that the bullies are disliked, but the reality is that most of the bullies are well liked," Saul said. "Often the bullies are quite popular…and are even liked by adults. So, what are the educators and the school staff modeling in the school environment? They reinforce bullying." Another consideration in this conversation is an increasing awareness of the other victims of bullying. According to Saul, schools shouldn't focus only on the bullies and the victims, but also on the witnesses to bullying incidents, and the students forced to inhabit an atmosphere made more hostile and unstable by peer aggression. "I think most people forget about the observers of bullying," Saul said. "Kids who are a witness to bullying may report that they feel that they are in an unsafe environment, they may feel fearful, powerless to act, guilty for not acting and they may feel tempted to participate. It can adversely affect learning and [students] may believe that the teachers and staff don't care about them and have no control of the school. So, it affects the entire school community's sense of the school environment." The punitive approach Saul claimed it is crucial for schools to implement anti-bullying programs. However, she added, schools tend to make uneducated decisions about which programs they choose to implement. "The problem is that most schools are trying to implement touchy-feely anti-bullying campaigns that seem right," Saul said. "We would never teach our children
Bullying, pg. 14
September 2012
Opportunity in transition by Matthew Hertert Over the last twenty years I have coached people through a variety of life transitions, and in that work have noticed that transitions offer beautiful opportunities. Regardless of whether it is shift into or out of a relationship, a career change, a move from college into grad school, or the loss of a loved one, these turning points bring a shift that can support us in rebuilding our lives from our former live's ashes, establishing new healthy habits in support of our health and goals. Challenges bring our attention to daily routines in a way few other things do, and even a simple transition like the one our community now faces with the start of a new school year offers both a challenge and a chance to make healthy changes. However, transition is daunting and with good reason. Emotionally, it threatens our sense of safety; mentally it challenges our routine; and physically it compromises our time. This time of year, gratefully, tends to be more of an irritation and less of a stress–I suspect everyone reading this has at one time or another complained about the swarm of students returning or the need to do back-to-school shopping for our own kids. A familiar, gentle change is in the air, so let's capitalize on it. There are a few basics with which to survive and thrive through transition. The
most important is to "know thyself." This means knowing what you want, how you want to get there, what works for you and what doesn't (what your weaknesses are). Depending on your goal and its scope, these could be straightforward or could require some time investment. The kinds of changes most of us might be thinking about, like a new workout routine, should
We get caught up in the enthusiasm of the idea of exercise and end up channeling that energy into buying new clothes or equipment and talking about starting karate or kayaking instead of doing the exercise. We disperse all the energy we had to support the new behavior. be easier to outline. If you have a more significant change, such as changing jobs or training for a marathon, do some research, spend some time and talk to others in order to gain support in developing a plan. Even when the basics of a transition are clear to you, they can push you to be dishonest with yourself – "knowing thyself" isn't always pretty. Most people have been thwarted at some point in a workout
Health Talk attempt by very human tendencies, like to disperse our energy or to over-commit. We get caught up in the enthusiasm of the idea of exercise and end up channeling that energy into buying new clothes or equipment and talking about starting karate or kayaking instead of doing the exercise. We disperse all the energy we had to support the new behavior. Or we decide to exercise twice a day, seven days a week instead of committing to work out once a day four times a week and letting our success become our momentum. It can be embarrassing, uncomfortable or defeating to acknowledge these patterns, and so we instead repeat them, and gain momentum in the wrong direction. Being honest with yourself at the start about your weaknesses and devising a counter-strategy for them is simply honest and effective planning. You don't have to share your foibles with anyone else, but ignoring them is as good as giving up before you start. One of the best ways to identify limiting patterns is to look back at your past attempts to change behaviors and see what went wrong. Did you need a partner? Did you over-commit? Did you waste your energy in tangential efforts? Did you choose the wrong goal or the wrong tool? Consider: If your goal wasn't a challenge, it wouldn't be a goal – it would be done already. So what is your resistance?
Identifying this at the start is a gold mine for anticipating where your struggles will come and what you can put in place to get through them. This is a healthy process because these weaknesses usually have more than one symptom in our life; if the act of following-through a task is a challenge for you, for example, it usually shows up in other areas of your life. Uncovering them and designing an action plan to push through can help you overcome the limiting pattern. The main point is that transition times are a beneficial, if challenging, time. Life in our community is already in flux, so rather than focusing on all the upheaval, try to envision what the field will look like once the dust has settled. Know thyself with the end—with your success—in mind. And when you inevitably, on some level, in some way, turn out to be only human, be nice to yourself. We've talked before about what a waste of energy negative self-talk is. One of my mentors says, "Only a fool loses in his own fantasies." If you're going to fantasize about the future, make up a story where you win the race, you get the girl, you get the job – not one where you end up reading this on the couch with a box of bon-bons! Be well.
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without an evidence-based process. We would never allow doctors to treat our children without evidence-based medicine. And yet, we do allow schools to implement little campaigns that just 'seem right' as opposed to saying, 'There are anti-bullying programs out there that have been tested and have data suggesting that they're effective. And those are the programs that should be implemented.'" Instead of instructing students to be respectful of one another, most schools, including those in Central Pennsylvania, use a punitive system, which teaches students to look out for themselves and refrain from bullying to avoid receiving detention, suspension, or missing class trips.
Saul said she does not believe in zero tolerance models for bullying, adding that school policies of punishing students for bullying one another sends the wrong message and is not an efficient way of handling the situation. "It's a punitive model," Saul said. "And what do we know about punishment? Our jails, our prisons, they're full. So, punishment is not a deterrence, and if we can think about creating pro-social environments, instead of creating consequences that we expect will impede behaviors, then we're really responding to what we know from social science." Transforming the system David Tulin, executive director at the Fellowship Farm Training Center for Human Relations in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, agreed that schools should
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In the end, I was told to ignore it a lot, but that's one of the hardest things to do. It made me think how bad [the bully's] life has to be to think about mine so much, which helped me cope. But it never fixed it. Luke Purnell Senior, Bellefonte Area High School avoid punitive anti-bullying programs that wait for the hostile behavior to occur before investigating and reprimanding students. Tulin discussed a Fellowship Farm program called 'Upstanders, Not Bystanders' that encourages initiative and open lines of communication. "One of the ways we talk about becoming an upstander is knowing who to go to so that someone will take the situation seriously and not shove it under the rug," Tulin said. Tulin said that often, teachers who receive reports of bullying will blame the victim for instigating the incident. It's also common for teachers to ignore reported incidents of bullying or overreact to the situation and embarrass the student. This behavior, Tulin argued, leads to a cycle of silence that leaves the problem unaddressed and, therefore, unresolved. "[The punitive system] teaches other kids not to say a word because they don't want to make [the situation] worse than it is," Tulin said. "They want to do what is appropriate and what they think is needed." According to Tulin, too many schools use punishment to stop a problem. However, programs such as Fellowship Farm take students outside of their hostile school environment and use peer mediation between the bullies, victims and bystanders to create a new culture among students where they can communicate effectively and prevent the bullying men-
tality. "We ask, 'how can we get these young people to openly and, in some way, trustingly talk about it?" Tulin said. "So, we do a retreat where we take them out of the school where they can take off their masks and begin to develop more trusting relationships and share with external facilitators." Tulin said during the mediation, counselors meet with the students, discuss their situations and ask them to give an example of a way they would have handled the hostile incident as an upstander, bystander or perpetrator. They also examine communication skills, the concepts behind bullying and the very natural desire for students to fit in and adapt their behavior according to the environment. "[We discuss] how the more bystanders there are watching the bully the less people will intervene because it almost feels like there's a conformist pressure to not stick out," Tulin said. "We remind them that if bystanders stop being bystanders, many bullies would stop doing it because they need the gratification from people watching them." Tulin said that many local schools need help restructuring anti-bullying programming, but that most of these schools deny there is a problem and refuse help. "We have the money to invite people to come and do this program," Tulin said. "Unfortunately, most of the schools, including those who were in the headlines for bullying issues, responded by saying 'We don't need this' or 'We've got it covered, thank you' or 'We have our thing here'. Rarely is it a significant culture change, though." According to Tulin, if schools want to improve their communities and prevent aggression between their students, they need to be willing to reconstruct their programs and ask for help. "I wish the school districts, principals and superintendents would say 'Let's be proactive about this,'" Tulin said. "There are people who do come to our upstander
Bullying, pg. 15
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Millheim, pg. 11
incident reports have dropped down to 113 incidents in 2010 and 125 in 2011. Some residents believe that the observed behavior of rehabilitating and maintaining the town had an impact on crime. Crimewatch, maintained and supported since early 2009 by Millheim residents with no police involvement, has produced positive changes within the community. When asked if there had been a change from the 2008 crime spree, residents, like local business person Cyndy Engle claimed she felt more comfortable in the borough and safer being outdoors at night. Engle credits three main reasons for the decrease in crime: "[There was] an awareness [of the problem], an increase in activity and new businesses, and a change of attitude in the community," Engle said. "People began to care." While the actual measurement of crime rates is often very complicated and at times controversial, police Sgt. Reese agreed that the amount of crime has dropped. As to what caused the spike and decrease of crime in Millheim, the situation may be a real world application of the oft-debated criminological concept "Broken Windows Theory" (BWT) conceived by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, and first set forth in a 1982 Atlantic Monthly article. The theory rests upon the metaphor of a vacant building whose broken windows are not repaired or maintained. In time, the other windows will be broken as well, and possibly be vandalized in other ways. More specifically, BWT describes the tendency for people to pick up on the social signals of a situation and determine their behavior to fit it. That is, untended property or untended behavior may send a signal that no one cares, and may lead to a breakdown in community control. When a community, such as Millheim, comes together to demonstrate concern for the wellbeing of its property and people, it can reverse the signal and ultimately correct the problem.
Bullying, pg. 14
program, and those are people who are healthier and know 'We're good but we're not great yet. We're human and we have a
We cannot wait for a suicide or an act of violence before action is taken, because by then it will be too late. What happens next at State High and the other schools goes far beyond just watching a movie or punishing students. We need to change the mentality and the action of how we treat each other. Jesse Ballenger Senior, State College High School wonderful school, but we're not perfect. And we want to make sure we make our place better.'" Tulin said that many schools are hesitant to even admit that bullying occurs in their halls and in the digital spaces inhabited by their students because they worry such an admission may damage the image of the school. And often, Tulin claimed, schools handle situations they deem more important and side-step the more pervasive and unseen problem of bullying. Local school officials could not be reached for comment. "If somebody used the n-word in school or, God forbid, sexually harassed or molested somebody, you can be sure everybody would be on top of this," Tulin said. "However, bullying is often diminished or denied by saying 'Oh, this is just kids being kids'. And, at one point, [this behavior] was natural, but then with social media and so much hate in the adult world that is sinking in, kids are seriously impacted and scarred by these things." Ballenger agreed that bullying today
Screen shot by Andrea Rochat
With the extreme rise of cyber-bullying, social media sites such as Facebook have initiated privacy and safety policies to help protect users from online aggression.
should not be considered normal developmental behavior. "Bullying is often written off as a natural part of life, that causing mental and physical pain is a normal part of growing up," Ballenger said. "This is not the way life has to be." The start of the new academic year brings a chance for local schools to transform themselves , and the ways in which
their policies, their faculty and their students address bullying and cyberbullying. Although the problem of peer aggression is a complicated and often times delicate one, students like Ballenger are ready to help. "We look forward to working with the school board, teachers and the State College community in creating a culture where we practice respect, and we are good at it," Ballenger said.
September 2012
Pa leads nation in rabies cases for second year by Tara Richelo Pennsylvania has managed to remain the number one state for rabies cases in America. According to the 2011 Pennsylvania Annual Animal Rabies Report published by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania ended 2011 with 452 reported animal rabies cases. As of July 2012, the number of reported cases has reached 234. Raccoons make up for more than fifty percent of the infected animals, followed by skunks and cats. Infected wild animals include bats, foxes, deer, groundhogs and bobcats. Other infected domestic animals include dogs, cattle and horses. The rabies disease is a deadly virus that is transmitted through the bite and saliva of an infected animal. The virus attacks
"Vaccines are very good protection and it is the law that [pet owners] do vaccinate. Rabies are most common in feral cats [among domestic animals], and there is a very large feral cat population." Dr. Leon Menapace, VMD
the central nervous system and causes inflammation in the victim's brain. If left untreated, rabies is fatal. Therefore, it is a legal obligation to
have your pet vaccinated against rabies. The Halfmoon Valley Animal Hospital arranged for their first rabies clinic on Saturday June 30th at the Port Matilda E.M.S. Building where Dr. Leon Menapace, VMD, and Renee Sills, a certified veterinary technician, administered rabies booster shots. "Vaccines are very good protection and it is the law that [pet owners] do vaccinate," said Dr. Menapace. "Rabies are most common in feral cats [among domestic animals], and there is a very large feral cat population." The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture requires cats and dogs to begin their vaccination process at three months and continue to receive a booster shot every year. For Donna Popirk of Stormstown, the Halfmoon Valley Clinic made it easier
for her to vaccinate her cat, Drewbie. "We normally take him to a vet, but financially, this is easier to do," Popirk said. "If we let him out, he is usually supervised. We get deer and everything in the yard." The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) have organized an Oral Rabies Vaccination Program with the help of Wildlife Services. They have targeted the wildlife that is responsible for spreading rabies to other domestic pets. The oral rabies vaccine (ORV) is a dosage of the immunization inside a 1inch square cube of fishmeal-polymer used in order to attract the wild animal.
Rabies, pg. 18
Hospital chef plans for organic garden by Sierra Dole The stereotypical image of hospital cafeteria food includes gray mystery meat, watered down soup from a can and crusty mac n' cheese. However, the food at Mount Nittany Medical Center breaks the mold. Gary Glenn, director of Nutrition and Culinary Services, has been developing new ways to use his kitchen to benefit the local community and environment. "Most people think of hospital food negatively and they always put us down, but we are going above and beyond here at the medical center," Glenn said. "Probably 90 to 95 percent of the products that come out of our kitchen are from scratch…and a lot of the new tray pieces are either washable or recyclable." For the past two years, Glenn has been working on a new project, adding a certified organic garden to the medical cen-
ter's premises. "Produce is the life of a chef," Glenn said. "Without good produce, you can't make good food. I wish I had the market right next door that I could go to every morning and bring back in my day's supply, but I don't. This is the next best option." According to the Organic Trade Association website, produce that is'certified organic' is grown according to U.S. Department of Agriculture standards, which include inspections, record keeping and testing of soil and water. "The reason we're going for certified organic is that, as a medical center, it's very important for the community to know that we are using certain guidelines, just as in our healthcare practices at Mount Nittany," Glenn said. "It gives that sense of security to the customer to know that we're using untainted products." According to Glenn, not only does a
"Produce is the life of a chef. Without good produce, you can't make good food." Gary Glenn, director, Nutrition and Culinary Services, Mount Nittany Medical Center certified organic garden give patients peace of mind, but it's also important for the healing process. "With our new cancer center opening up and, just in general, the healing process from start to finish, nutrition plays a huge role," Glenn said. "So, the more untainted products that we purchase and the fresher ingredients that we
have, obviously the better off we are." Glenn said the people who come to Mount Nittany often have disrupted immune systems, making them particularly susceptible. "One thing they surely don't need to worry about is getting foods that have been sprayed with pesticides and interrupting the immune system in any way, shape, or form," he said. Glenn said he realizes that the medical center won't be able to depend solely on the garden to feed the mass quantity of patients and visitors they receive, but that it's a good start. "It's not meant to be totally sustainable," Glenn said. "But, what it is meant to do is be a nice addition to our daily specials and chef specials, whether it be in either one of the restaurants or on the patient line."
Chef, pg. 20
September 2012
Native plants: identifying invasive garlic mustard by Sally McMurry and Elizabeth Goreham Sally McMurry is a Penn State Extension Master Gardener Intern. Help Eradicate a Killer Plant…. Your weeding help is needed to eradicate this menace from Centre County "When garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was brought to North America from Europe more than a century ago, no one predicted it would carpet thousands of acres of forestland, choke out native plants and even disrupt the development of a rare native butterfly, Pieris napi oleracea," according to WSSA (Weed Science Society of America). Garlic Mustard, a.k.a. Hedge Garlic, Sauce-Alone, Poor Man's Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) A hardy biennial member of the mustard family, this plant is native in northern Europe and the British Isles, where It was used for salad in early spring, for flavoring – young leaves have a mild garlic odor when crushed – as well as medicinally both internally and as a poultice to treat respiratory problems, ulcers, gangrene. It is not native to the United States and was first identified in New York in the 1860's. In Europe, garlic mustard growth is controlled by natural predators.
Back to Nature
Two years ago I occasionally saw garlic mustard in Centre County. Now I see it everywhere, even in my garden. What can we do about it? Here are facts about Garlic Mustard – and how we can fight back: Garlic Mustard thrives in moist, woodland areas or disturbed soil, and along roadsides; normally it avoids locations in the full sun. Garlic mustard has no known natural enemies here to suppress its rapacious growth. Worse, it attracts wildlife (butterflies, insects etc.) seeking foliage, necter, etc., away from other whiteflowered native plants that bloom in the spring (early saxifrage but especially toothworts) without providing needed nourishment. Also, chemical compounds released from the roots of Garlic Mustard, suppress the natural mycorrhizal fungi that
Photo by K.P. McFarland
Garlic mustard is an invasive plant species. This photo courtesy of the Audobon Guides, created in alliance with the National Audobon Society.
is important for healthy ecosystem growth, assisting Garlic Mustard in displacing the natural groundcover. An invasive, biennial herb, Garlic Mustard plants have a two-year life cycle. During that time a single plant can generate more than 1,000 seeds, which is formidable, especially considering the seeds remain viable in the soil for up to 5 years.
During its first year, the garlic mustard plant forms a low, hardy 'rosette' mound of leaves that remain green all year round, establishing roots. In its second year, it rises into a plant 1'-3' tall, and blooms in Spring – in some locations the first white blooming
Garlic mustard, pg. 18
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September 2012
Garlic Mustard, pg. 17
plant – producing 4-petal cross-shaped flowers followed by seed pods that, when dry, can shoot out seeds for several feet in any direction. In this way, over time, garlic mustard expands exponentially. However, If you remove Garlic Mustard in its first-year of growth you can control it by simple weeding. After the second year of growth, after seeds have been produced, a small area of Garlic Mustard can be eradicated by persistently weeding for 3-4 years. That means pulling up new plants by the roots. It is important to pull up at least the upper half of the roots; otherwise additional plant shoots can be produced. All plants should be thrown into the trash, away – NOT composted! For areas where all the plants cannot practically be removed, physically preventing seed production by cutting the plants to the ground in the spring, will also eventually eliminate the plant. For large areas of infestation, 'RoundUp' may be applied; check the web-sites below for proper guidance. "PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY!" Garlic mustard is an aggressive perennial that invades disturbed and undisturbed forest ecosystems. It is a prolific seed producer but can be managed by preventing seed production of plants over several years. Managing this species takes a strong commitment once it becomes established," according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Noxious and Invasive Weed Program. I can also attest to this from another gardener's experience. Five years ago, my sister in Wisconsin pointed out Garlic Mustard then described it terms that were almost scary: it is invasive, can take over well-established forest native groundcover; its roots send out chemical that helps it destroy native plants, and because it is not native to the United States, it has no real enemies.
"Garlic mustard is an aggressive perennial that invades disturbed and undisturbed forest ecosystems. It is a prolific seed producer but can be managed by preventing seed production of plants over several years." At that time I would occasionally see Garlic Mustard in Centre County. Two years ago I began to see it everywhere, even in our own yard. After my own Internet search revealed everything my sister said was true, I began pull up Garlic Mustard wherever I saw it – in a neighbor's yard, downtown, anywhere much to the occasional embarrassment of my husband. It works, but I need help.
Recommended Information Sources: http://www.ipm.msu.edu/garlicMge.h tm - this website from Michigan State University Extension is one of the best; lots of information, answers to frequently asked questions http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialplants/herbaceous/garlicmustard.html Minnesota Department of Natural Resources http://www.wssa.net - The Weed Science Society of America provides science-based information to the public and policy makers.
Rabies, pg. 16
The ORV baits primarily target towards since they are the animals most responsible for the spread of the disease. The ORV baits were administered to Allegheny, Beaver, Crawford, Green, Lawrence, Mercer and Washington counties. In 2011, over 530 thousand baits were administered in Pennsylvania. The ORV baits are distributed by hand by volunteers or through the use of aircraft in order to disperse baits over a large area. The baits have been tested and proven safe for over sixty animal species. Therefore, pet owners should not be alarmed if they discover their cat or dog has consumed one. However, these baits are not substitutes for proper vaccination
or booster shots for domestic pets. If a pet owner should find an ORV bait near their house they are advised to wear a glove or pick up the bait through a plastic bag and move it to a more vegetated area. Any bait found in a wooded or uninhabited area should be left alone. The baits are not harmful to touch but the smell of the fish is unpleasant and APHIS advises washing any skin that comes in direct contact with soap and water. The USDA recently released their plans to distribute the ORV baits to Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia from mid-August to mid-September. Southern states including Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina will have ORV distribution in October.
September 2012
Searching for Night Herons in Central Pa by Joe Verica I spent some time this summer in Taiwan visiting with family and friends. Every time I go abroad, I make sure to bring along my binoculars and spotting scope so that I can do a little birding in my spare time. As a tropical island country dominated by high, steep mountain ranges and coastal lowlands, Taiwan has a wide range of habits, and thus an attractive variety of birds. Although many of the birds will be unfamiliar to the casual birder, there are also a few species that are well known, such as the Blackcrowned Night Heron. Black-crowned Night Herons are abundant in Taiwan. Just about every time I went out birding I encountered several. It really gave me a chance to enjoy and appreciate this wonderful bird --an opportunity that I don't often get here in Pennsylvania where Blackcrowned Night Herons are hard to come by (see below). Black-crowned Night Herons (BCNH) are stocky, medium-sized herons that are about 22-25 inches in length with a wingspan approaching 3 feet. Their Latin name (Nycticorax nycticorax) literally means "night raven" an allusion to their nocturnal habits and raven-like croaking call. The adult BCNH is boldly colored, with a white face and breast, a contrasting black crown and back, and brightly colored yellow legs. In breeding plumage, the cap is adorned with flowing white plumes. The wings and tail are pale gray. The bill is black and the eyes are a dark reddish-orange. Juveniles are not as striking in appearance as the adult. They are a dull brown with a finely streaked crown. The back is decorated with distinct whitish steaks. The breast and belly are buff and marked with broad brown streaks. The bill is yellow with a black tip. Black-crowned Night Herons are the
most widely distributed heron in the world, occurring on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. In North America, BCNHs breed throughout most of the US, and the southern parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In Pennsylvania, BCNHs were historically considered common nesters. In fact, Slab Cabin Park in State College used to contain a fairly goodsized rookery. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Currently, the range of BCNHs in Pennsylvania is limited primarily to the southeastern counties, mainly along the Susquehanna and Delaware River corridors. The Pennsylvania Game Commission currently lists the heron as a state endangered species. Black-crowned Night Herons arrive on their breeding grounds in late March to early April. The herons are quite flexible when it comes to choosing their breeding habitat, which can include swamps, marshes, lakes, floodplains, ditches and wet agricultural areas. BCNHs are also very social birds and have a tendency to nest in colonies. Courtship begins when the male chooses a nest site and begins advertising for females. Nest building is initiated by the male. Nests, which can be refurbished old nests or newly constructed ones, are composed of twigs, reeds and other similar material. Nests can be placed on the ground or more typically in trees. Females lay a clutch of 3-5 eggs which are incubated for just under four weeks.
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons License
Black-crowned Night Heron.
Both parents share responsibility for incubation and the feeding of young. Once the young have fledged, they will travel with their parents to feeding areas. It can be quite a spectacle to watch the herons leaving their roosts just before sunset to go out and forage. On several occasions I have witnessed this in Taiwan. A once placid sky above a seemingly sparsely populated pond or river bank can quickly turn into swirling black cloud of hungry predators as scores of Night Herons begin emerging from the trees and reeds. It is common to see several hundred herons circling as the foraging party assembles and makes its way into the night. Although primarily nocturnal, it is common to see BCNHs foraging during the day. The Night Heron is somewhat of an opportunistic feeder, taking whatever prey is available. The bulk of their diet is composed of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, rodents, and plant material.
The herons also prey on eggs and nestlings of other birds, and it is not beneath them to scavenge on carrion and garbage. By late September and early October, BCNHs begin making their way to their wintering grounds in the southeastern US, Mexico and Central America. It is during this time, as well as spring migration, that the herons are mostly likely to be seen at non-traditional breeding areas throughout the state, including Central Pennsylvania. Good local places to check are along the wooded streams near Millbrook Marsh, Lake Perez, Bald Eagle State Park, Toftrees Pond and the Ten-acre Pond at Scotia Barrens. The best time to go out is just before sunset. Questions or Comment? Joe Verica can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
20 from
September 2012
Chef, pg. 16
Michele Rager, a Registered Dietician at Mount Nittany Medical Center who has been working with Glenn on the garden project for the past two years, said the positive effects of the garden could extend beyond the walls of the hospital. "I think it's great all around because not only are people getting fresh produce and talking about organic, but they can see that you can grow things on a small scale and may want to try it themselves," Rager said. "There is no downside." Though Glenn said he is eager to put his plan into action, ongoing construction has put the certified organic garden project on hold. "We didn't realize the magnitude of
what Mount Nittany was going to undergo [at the time]," Glenn said. "Literally all corners of the grounds were under construction or starting to be and the different locations where we wanted to put the garden obviously were being travelled over." Though Glenn was forced to wait to start breaking ground, he said he has stayed positive and used his time wisely. "We were a little frustrated when we found all this out, but it's okay," Glenn said. "We have our folder filled with our applications [for the USDA] and we have the knowledge we need going into it now, which is good. We have great support. We just need to wait, but that's okay. It's planning time." Glenn said he is not sure where the final location of the garden may be. "Hopefully we find a good location,"
"I think it's great all around because not only are people getting fresh produce and talking about organic, but they can see that you can grow things on a small scale and may want to try it themselves." Michele Rager, dietician Glenn said. "It could be a rooftop, it could be an actual greenhouse that somebody might donate and build for us that would be part of an education heal-
ing process for many here and could be used all year around, or it could be a small raised plot somewhere." Within the next year, once construction has finished up and the culinary staff have reunited with the director or physical plant to discuss the plans further, Glenn hopes to put his plan into action. "If we could really find a place for what we want to do this winter and get the logistics under our belt, then maybe in the spring we could maybe start breaking ground." Glenn said.
September 2012
Steffen wins Golden Basket Award by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell Chef Jamie Steffen won the Golden Basket Award at the Boalsburg Market Chefs Competition in August. Steffen represented the American Ale House. Steffen and other chefs including Pete Herncane (Otto's), Craig Hamilton (The Village at Penn State), Andrew Monk (Nittany Lion Inn), Harrison Schailey (Harrisons) and Zach Lorber (Foxdale) were challenged to create a main dish and two side dishes using ingredients obtained at the farmer's market. The entries were prepared on site. Steffen, seen here with Ale House cook Natalie Pulford, prepared Swiss chard with ham hocks and pork belly and peaches, a winning combination.
Halal Meat
Alongside his main dish, Steffen served a baby green salad with watermelon and feta, and a blackberry and tomato crumble. Schailey, last year's winner, took "best salad" for his melon and cucumber salad. Judges were State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham, WPSU's Patty Satalia, Peter Bordi, Director of Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, local food writer Michele Marchetti, and Kevin Kassab, Director of State College's Department of Health. The Boalsburg Farmer's Market runs Tuesdays 2 to 6 p.m. on the grounds of the military museum until Nov. 6. Winter hours will be 2 to 6 p.m. at the Boalsburg Fire Hall, East Pine Street.
Lunch Buffet Daily $7.95
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Lunch: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm Dinner: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm CLOSED MONDAYS
September 2012
Penn State admits even more freshmen by Jessica Beard This fall, Penn State University Park is preparing to bring in its second-largest undergraduate freshmen class on record. To put the numbers in perspective, it will admit about as many students as all of the 19 branch campuses combined. "We expect to welcome a first-year class of about 7,600 to University Park," Anne Rohrbach, Executive Director for Undergraduate Admissions said. Though final enrollment numbers won't be available until October, some numbers are already in the books. With first-year undergraduate application and admission rates at an all-time high, Penn State students are facing the national trends of isolation in larger-than-ever classrooms and overcrowding in scarcerthan-ever housing. "First-year baccalaureate applications
for University Park is at a record high," Rohrbach said. "University Park received 4 percent more applications from first-year students for Summer/Fall 2012 compared to 2011. Penn State received almost 78,000 undergraduate applications, which is over 2 percent more compared to last year at this time." According to Rohrbach, University Park's 2016 class is about 55 percent Pennsylvania students. "Commonwealth campuses as an aggregate of 19 campuses enroll 77 percent of their first-year class from Pennsylvania," Rohrbach added. Jennifer Garvin, Director of Ancillary Services at Housing and Food Services in University Park, says that Housing Services will have to make do with current campus housing. "No new buildings...not until next fall!" Garvin said. "Plus, we have two
buildings offline for the renovation." As of 2010, 37 percent of University Park students lived in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 63
"Penn State received almost 78,000 undergraduate applications, which is over 2 percent more compared to last year at this time." Anne Rohrbach percent of students lived off campus. "To accommodate the freshmen, we increased capacity in certain rooms [and] are using every available space that is
possible," Garvin said. "We did have some ground floor lounges planned to be used, but were able to avoid that space." In 2009, two Penn State students posted a YouTube video called "The Real Fake Supplemental World." Juniors Brad and Rebecca ("Chuck" and "Juicy;" no last names given) open the video with, "This is the true story of eight strangers forced to live in one loft and not even have their lives taped. This is the true story of supplemental housing at Penn State." Brad said that in the lounge, "All Rebecca has is a bed, a dresser and a desk. She doesn't even have a closet." "It's really, really awful," Rebecca said. "I don't have real walls because it's a lobby."
Freshmen, pg. 24
Off campus meal plan provides options by Tara Richelo Penn State University has created another food service plan specifically for students living off-campus and receiving a financial aid package. This Commuter Meal Plan has been added to the roster of options including the "Campus Meal Plan" and "LionCash." The decision to create another meal plan was made by the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) and the University Park Food Services. The UPUA wanted to provide off campus students with the ability to purchase a meal plan that could be charged to their bursar account, thus easing the financial cost of food. The Commuter Meal Plan allows students to choose between $500 or $1,000 without a base cost. Students or parents can purchase the plan through the eLiving website before they have final-
ized their registration and submitted their
"This [plan] assures parents that their meal plan is going to be in the dining commons or in one of our eateries and is not being used for clothing at one of the merchants." Lisa Wandel semester bill. The funds will be accessed through the students' Penn State id+ Card. The due date for the fall semester passed on July 13. Students wishing to purchase a Commuter Meal Plan for the
spring must do so before November 9. Commuter Meal Plan purchasers will have access to a 10 percent discount at the all-you-care-to-eat dining commons as well as a number of other campus dining locations. However, just like the Campus Meal Plan and LionCash, the Commuter Meal Plan will not discount food items prepared by national restaurant chains. Similarly to the Campus Meal Plan, the remaining balance on a Commuter Meal Plan after the fall semester will roll over to the spring semester. Any funds left over at the close of the spring semester will be discarded. Once the student purchases the Commuter Meal Plan, the amount cannot be increased, decreased or cancelled at any point during the semester. This is a significant difference from the Campus Meal Plan. The Campus Meal Plan includes a
$1,275 base cost and rising incremental options. A Level 1 Campus Meal Plan costs $1,895 (base cost included) for $620 in available funds. A Level 6 Campus Meal Plan costs $2,390 (base cost included) for $1,115 in available funds. This plan gives students the option to add or subtract meal points throughout the year in the event they have either too many or too few meal points. Lisa Wandel, the director for Residential Dining, said that this plan is best for "the off-campus student who has a financial aid package. They have that money up front and they know it's going towards a meal plan." The Commuter Meal Plan also puts parents at ease. "This [plan] assures parents that their
Meal Plan, pg. 25
September 2012
What is right versus what is correct by Jamie Campbell It's the beginning of the school year and I am already in mid-semester form. Yes, I am…confused. Not by the work that lies ahead, that's expected. Not by the problems that lay waiting in the gray areas. Not even by the fact that I already know I don't know all the right answers. (That's not true. I do know all the right answers, though they may not exactly fit the question posed at the time.) I am confused because, as I prepare to work with various persons throughout the day, I find I don't know what to say to make sense of the world today. I listen to what passes for morning talk radio or what is supposed to be morning news I find complaints and the "my politician is better than yours" debates, but I hear no solutions and no ideas that could even be considered close to positive. Do not get me wrong, I know every day isn't skittles and rainbows. However, when someone gives me a complaint or problem, they should have an idea that could be a viable solution, not just a cranky response to bring us back to the "good 'ol days" where those minorities and women folk knew their place. I want to call, email, or pen a letter to express my thoughts, but then I realize I am not helping. Instead, I am simply adding fuel to the fire. It is impossible to debate with someone
looking for a fight. Better yet, if someone has already made up their mind on a subject, why claim to want to hear a different side of the topic? It's mildly amusing but mostly confusing. I was always taught that the church sees no color and loves everyone. Now, in 2012,
I am confused because, as I prepare to work with various persons throughout the day, I find I don't know what to say to make sense of the world today. I am not so sure about that. It seems politics trump love and faith. In several states over the last two or three years, couples have been stopped from getting married because their races were different. Most recently, the excuse given by the pastor, who is the leader of the flock, was the congregation would not approve. As a
leader of the faith and flock, I am sure he knew this was wrong, yet he chose to let order override being just. He allowed faith to be compromised for the sake of his job. He chose to accept church politics as his gospel and not the text he was supposed to follow. When someone is a leader led by faith, their "job" should be the last be the last of their worries. I understand people being concerned about their job in this day and age, but when they are the leader of a faith they are held to a higher standard. It confuses me to no end how cowardice can trump faith and righteousness. I learned from Sesame Street and all the other PBS and "Schoolhouse Rock" type programs that our elected officials and other civil servants are our greatest protectors and have our best interests at heart. There are days that this confuses me the most. As a former health educator, I remember a few things. First, the human body cannot shut any functions down, unless, of course, an individual has expired. So when I heard an individual state during a campaign
Q&A that a woman could shut off certain biological functions, I had a three letter text i n g moment. Second, the trauma of being physically violated is so heinous an act one should never propose that it can shooed away on a whim and casual afterthought. I read that a suspect who was searched, handcuffed and placed in the back of a vehicle managed to commit suicide by shooting himself in his right temple. That is important because the suspect was cuffed hands with his hands behind his back. Hence, there is a failure to tell whole story and we will never know the whole truth now. The funny thing is, the police chief stated that, while he didn't think such a feat was possible, he is fairly certain the story unfolded as it was presented. So I enter the new school year in midseason form, still trying to say the right (not correct) thing to provide clarity and the right answers for the confusion.
State College Peace Center www.scpeacecenter.org
Hum a n R i g
F ts
i l m S e ri es FR EE
Peace Center Events at Webster's Café & Bookstore in September 133 E. Beaver Ave or lower level off Humes Alley
September 5, Wednesday, 7 pm: A Woody Guthrie Singalong! September 27, Thursday, 7 pm: "9500 Liberty" A tense film about an Arizona-style immigration law implemented and then repealed in Virginia. (2010)
September 2012
Freshmen, pg. 22
Rebecca said she "got stuck there" through Penn State housing's lottery system. "I didn't get drawn the first time or the second time and when I got drawn the third time, I got supplemental housing," Rebecca said. "I don't know the people I'm living with, but I don't want to catch anything." The joke-filled expose, shot in the dorm room of an unspecified Penn State building, predates the official promotional "Supplemental Housing" videos which the Penn State: Auxiliary & Business Services Marketing team shot for its official YouTube channel this May. "When you live in apartments, they say, 'We're gonna cram eight people into two bedrooms,'" mother of transferring junior Jonathan Quinn said. "Oh, that sounds like fun. It's just crazy." "RAs also have roommates, where feasible," Garvin said. "So students are definitely crowded in, but we are anticipating cancellations that will give us some flexibility of relocating students around." Jason Nevinger, President of the Pennsylvania Association of College Admission Counseling (PACAC), says that statewide, the related "yield" factor of admissions---the percentage of admitted applicants who ultimately enroll---
has become more difficult for admissions offices to project. "You have to look at all of those applicants and then project through, 'Okay, how many should we admit?'" Nevinger said. "And I think what you find over the last few years is that the predictability of what that yield percentage should be is maybe coming off askew from what it has been recently for a number of reasons." For one, students are applying to more schools at a time. About 25 percent of applicants now apply to seven or more institutions. In the case of a large state system like Penn State, freshman applicants--most of whom want to attend University Park--are encouraged to choose second- and third-choice campuses. In a 2011 Quality Advocates meeting offered through Planning and Institutional Assessment, Rohrbach said that Penn State is accepting more students who "qualify," but cannot be given admission to their first choice campus. Yet the 2013 "Penn State Up Close" publication says that "entrance difficulty is based partly on demand." U.S. News and World Report classifies Penn State's admissions process as "rolling." Though counselors in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions would not comment on past or current admission practices, Robert Pangborn, Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Education, said at the Quality Advocates meeting the Central
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Enrollment Management Group oversees the enrollment management projection process all year long and begin to project enrollment three years in advance. High school demographics and campus capacity are two of the factors
"RAs also have roommates, where feasible. So students are definitely crowded in, but we are anticipating cancellations that will give us some flexibility of relocating students around." Jennifer Garvin
considered. "Decreasing high school graduation rates in Pennsylvania and increasing numbers of out-of-state applicants are uniquely affecting the demographics of Pennsylvania college admissions," Nevinger said. Rohrbach and Pangborn addressed this trend the Quality Advocates meeting: currently graduation rates have decreased almost 30 percent in some parts of the state. Eighty-five percent of first-year classes at University Park enroll up to 50 students. Twelve courses have over 400 students. Large Penn State classes like the 230-student Survey of Telecommunications class utilized iClickers for the first time in Spring 2012. The small wands are grading and attendance-taking tools for professors. They provide anonymous interaction for students, who electronically submit answers to multiple choice questions on large projector screens in the theaterstyle rooms of the Forum building. The iClickers were also used in the University of Arizona's 600-1,200 student "mega classes."
Four essays were still assigned over the course of the semester, but because Professor Matt Jackson, Head of the Telecommunications Department, had only one teaching assistant, students like sophomore Sarah Bell complained that "it took weeks---sometimes a month" to get grades back. Kelly Bedard found in her 2005 study that as class size goes up, student satisfaction goes down. Over a period of seven years, Bedard tracked student evaluations of economics courses at the University of California-Santa Barbara and found that the same professor would get lower marks when his or her class got bigger. A 1987 University of Washington study determined that student motivation suffers when students felt anonymous to their professor or to each other. "Central Enrollment Management Group in consultation with campuses determines the enrollment targets for first-year students at each campus to provide a quality academic education and experience," Rohrbach said. The influx of freshman hasn't created a buffer against tuition increases. In fact, both in-state and out-of-state students are seeing a tuition hike this fall. Penn State undergraduates from Pennsylvania are seeing a bigger jump than undergraduates from out of state: in-state students are paying 2.9 percent more than they did last year, while out-of-state students are paying an additional 2.4 percent. At a news conference on the $4.3 billion budget approval, Penn State President Rodney Erickson noted, "It represents the lowest rate of tuition increase since 1967." He also announced in May that Penn State's target for undergraduate enrollment was 7,200 students, and there was a 6 percent increase in acceptances for Fall 2012. "The predictions for the final enrollments of new first-year baccalaureate students for summer and fall indicate that we should come very close to the goal of 7,400, a modest increase over the original target of 7,200 for University Park." Erickson said.
September 2012 from
Meal Plan, pg. 22
meal plan is going to be in the dining commons or in one of our eateries and is not being used for clothing at one of the merchants," Wandel said. LionCash, unlike the Commuter Meal Plan, can be used at numerous locations in downtown State College such as clothing stores and national chain restaurants. Students on a budget could easily squander their food funds downtown. The Commuter Meal Plan ensures the money charged to their bursar will be used only for dining. Wandel noted that she is pleased with the number of Commuter Meal Plans that have already been purchased. She said she looks forward to the spring semester to see how many students renew their
"I think it's a great idea. I have class from 8 a.m. to 3 in the afternoon, so I'll either have to pack a lunch or eat on campus." Lauren McManemin plan, as well as how many new plans are purchased. Jon Florio, a marketing major, graduated from Penn State in 2012. He used LionCash to pay for all of his food and was unsatisfied "I would have absolutely used a Commuter Meal Plan," Florio said. "I could have taken it out with my alternative loans, or my parents would've paid for it. It's definitely a good idea to have for students, especially for people that have financial aid." Lauren McManemin is currently a junior with a financial aid package. She used a Level 3 Campus Meal Plan for her first two years living on-campus at Penn State. Now that she will be living offcampus, McManemin is pleased to have another dining option.
"I would have absolutely used a Commuter Meal Plan. I could have taken it out with my alternative loans, or my parents would have paid for it." Jon Florio "I think it's a great idea," McManemin said. "I have class from 8 a.m. to 3 in the afternoon, so I'll either have to pack a lunch or eat on campus. So, this is a great way to get a discount and eat on campus." The addition of the Commuter Meal Plan will not affect the current payment process in the dining commons and on campus eateries. When a student's card is swiped through the machine, it will first look to deduct funds from a Campus Meal Plan, then move to Commuter Meal Plan and finally LionCash. This update was made to ensure that the Commuter Meal Plan funds would be used up first, as they will be forfeited at the end of the spring semester. However, the Commuter Meal Plan would not be a beneficial plan for students who primarily purchase and prepare their own food. LionCash provides a 10 percent discount at on-campus dining areas and can also be used to buy groceries at stores including Weis Markets, Giant Food Stores and McLanahan's. Students considering the Commuter Meal Plan should also think about how many times they plan to visit popular offcampus restaurants downtown that do accept LionCash, such as Dunkin' Donuts, Chipotle, McDonalds and Subway. They would be forced to use other means of payment since the Commuter Meal Plan is not accepted there. A student seeking multiple options and freedom to eat anywhere would gain the most from LionCash. However, the Commuter Meal Plan allows students
with financial aid the benefit of charging the plan to their bursar. They would have to commit to eating all of their meals on campus where they would receive the discount, which may not appeal to students who want to eat anytime and anywhere with their friends. Wandel suggests that students and parents struggling to make a decision between dining options should visit the campus dining website, (www.hfs.psu.edu) and follow the links to a campus meal plan comparison chart. The chart clearly outlines the similarities and differences between LionCash, the Commuter Meal Plan and the Campus Meal Plan. It also includes guidelines that help parents and students decide how many meals the student will eat and which level meal plan would be most financially beneficial.
Photo by Sierra Dole
Customers are asked to tell cashiers at campus eateries that they have the Commuter Meal Plan.
September 2012
Penn State pushes for more local food by Kristen Jakubowski In recent years, Penn State's University Park campus has purchased and showcased food products from local sources around the State College area. These local food sources include dairy from the Berkey Creamery, mushrooms from Mushroom Lab, cider from Harner's, and bagels from Irving's. The university is currently talking to more local growers and providers to further its partnership with local sources for the dining halls and other eating areas on campus. As State College is a rural area with many food sources close by, the university's push to go local should come as no surprise. The Penn State Food Service's Pennsylvania Pride series represents one such attempt by the university to showcase local cuisines and products by local farms while focusing on sustainability. Through the Pride series, Penn State has promoted local sources, including Tait Farms and Hogs Galore, both central Pennsylvania businesses. Hogs Galore has provided sausages, pork chops and barbecued pigs in the past, while Tait Farm has provided sauces and dried fruits. This series is one of the university's programs to focus on sustainability and buying and eating locally. Depending on the produce bids in the area and what items and amounts are available locally, Penn State determines in which dining halls the produce is offered. Last year, the Penn State Food Services was able to provide students with local tomatoes from E. Ray Fye Farms, a Centre County business, which were served in both summer dining halls. Penn State purchases jams and jellies from Tait Farms, as well as other local products for the Sisu store in West Halls. Hogs Galore provides pork products and barbecue for students with meal plans. Other dining halls on campus offer local produce as well.
Jeremy Bean, director of training and development at Penn State's Sustainability Office, is in charge of training and developing initiatives for sustainability at the university. "My primary focus with Commonwealth campuses is to roll out many initiatives that we currently have
"We have a commitment to our students to keep their meal plan prices affordable. With the growing prices of food, not just produce, it takes a real balancing act to continue to offer our students a quality program with fresh foods, a variety of menu, and extended meal hours."
state of Pennsylvania and this included many of our canned tomato products, sugar, canned fruit and apple products, ice cream cones, etc.," Bean said. Bean said similar practices are carried out at all 11 commonwealth campuses operated by Housing, Food Services, and Residence Life. All campuses in the program are Penn State campuses and each campus has breads and dairy items locally provided from its area. In the future, Penn State plans to have a sustainable relationship with local food and farmers, one that is "symbiotic," according to Bean. "We would like to build long term relationships with local farmers, where we would regularly purchase product, as well as helping farmers when there is excess produce, while offering a meal plan to our students with fresh, wholesome food that is affordable," Bean said. Bean also noted the university is in talks with other local farms and hope these will lead to purchasing contracts
"We would like to build long term relationships with local farmers..." Jeremy Bean or orders. Inevitably, what is served all depends on pricing and availability of products on campus. "We have a commitment to our students to keep their meal plan prices affordable," Bean said. "With the growing prices of food, not just produce, it takes a real balancing act to continue to offer our students a quality program with fresh foods, variety of menu and extended meal hours." Finding that "happy medium" with prices have caused issues in the past when trying to build a relationship with local farmers and food providers for the university.
Jeremy Bean
here at University Park to those campuses," Bean said. "My office sits on the operations side of the house, so where the rubber really meets the road in sustainability." The majority of breads and desserts the university provides are made on campus at the Penn State Bakery or purchased from local bakeries. "Many of our breads and rolls are made in Altoona at Pacifico Bakeries," Bean said. "We also purchase some cheese and other proteins from local producers." Besides reaping in products from the Centre County region, the university looks to the state to provide local foods. "We also work hard to purchase many products that are manufactured in the
Photo by Jessica Beard
Ian Duh (Freshman-Music Composition and Biology) works to recruit Tom Godfrey (FreshmanMarketing) to his a cappella group, No Strings Attached. The Involvement Fair brought out PSU clubs.
September 2012
Night of song and dance set for State theatre by Elizabeth Timberlake-Newell On Friday, September 14, Brio Dance Company and Pure Cane Sugar will bring their unique performance to the State Theatre's stage. The show will be appropriate for all ages; tickets will be $18 for adults and $12 for students. The show will kick off with a concert by Pure Cane Sugar. Singers Kate Twoey, Molly Countermine and Natalie Berrena make up Pure Cane Sugar, a local stand-out folk/classic/Americana rock trio heard widely in the area at places like the Elk Creek Café and at the 4th Fest. This will, however, be the first time that the band has opened a show for a dance company. Collaboration between Pure Cane Sugar and Brio came about under the impetus of Brio's founder and artistic director Lane Grosser.
"I was recently introduced to their music and was very impressed with their musicianship," wrote Grosser via email. "After a couple of coincidental connections with the band, I started to brainstorm what a collaboration could potentially look like. When I contacted them about opening for our upcoming show, they were immediately interested." Pure Cane Sugar will be playing a mix of cover songs and original music written by members of the trio. "We are excited to do some originals that are perfect for this type of setting....songs that we are not able to do on a regular basis," wrote Pure Cane Sugar member Kate Twoey via email. This year promises to be a busy one for band. Pure Cane Sugar is recording a new album and plan on playing in other venues outside Centre County. State
""We are excited to do some originals that are perfect for this type of setting...songs that we are not able to do on a regular basis." Kate Twoey College locals, however, can still catch Pure Cane Sugar at the State Theatre. "We are also coordinating some shows over the next few months at the State Theatre's newest hot spot upstairs called The Attic," wrote Twoey. "Our plan for these shows is to have an
evening of a different album in its entirety at each of these shows...possibly a single artist or group, or a soundtrack. Our first show at The Attic will be on November 16th....and the girls will be doing the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack!" Following the opening act, Brio's dancers will be performing to three succinct pieces—Resonance, Some and Others and The Four Seasons. Director Lane Grosser wrote that she "chose them [the pieces] so that the audience would get to have a very unique, meaningful, and inspirational experience with us." But the act of creating the piece Some and Others was a unique and meaningful
Brio, pg. 31
Life of labor: art and the working man by Pat Feehan September will bring celebrations of not just one artist of the working man, but two—folk music legend Woody Guthrie and artist Lynd Ward. On September 7-9 Penn State will be hosting the Woody Guthrie Centennial Conference and Concerts. Conferences celebrating Woody Guthrie have been ongoing throughout the entire year, but Penn State's event is one of four major events occurring at universities across the country over the course of 2012. The Penn State conference is the only one of the four to have a specific theme, "Woody at 100: Woody's Legacy to Working men and Women." The concert will take place at The State Theatre in downtown State College on Friday, September 7, and the conference will be held on the Penn State campus on Saturday, September 8. The Grammy Museum and Woody
Guthrie Archives are also curating an exhibit of Guthrie's art, manuscripts and handwritten lyrics at the Borland Gallery starting on August 9th and running until the end of the conference. The concert will feature popular folk musicians from Pennsylvania such as Anne Feeney, Mike Stout and Si Kahn. Kahn will also be leading a talk during the Saturday conference on the topic of Sing Out! and People's songs, the magazines that Guthrie helped found alongside Pete Seeger. Presenters and lecturers from all over the world will be in attendance, including a middle school student from Ohio named Javy Brown who will be giving a talk entitled, "Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Javy Brown ...Or, What Could Woody Guthrie Possibly Mean to a Teenage Girl From Ohio in the Year 2012?" Other notable speakers and events include blues musician/ comedian Reverend Billy C. Wirtz, a musi-
cians' roundtable discussion led by Robert Santelli, and, on Sunday morning, a session with Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter. The conference is meant to celebrate Woody Guthrie's influence on working people. Jerry Zolten, event coordinator and associate professor at Penn State Altoona, says that central Pennsylvania is a prime location. "This seemed like a fitting location because it is the heart of coalmining, steelmaking, railroading, farming and agriculture, said Zolten. "It is a fitting location to focus on working people, their struggles and Woody's legacy. Woody traveled through these parts in his constant wandering but Woody's legacy goes beyond Pennsylvania, it truly impacts our American culture." The series of national Woody at 100 conferences is sponsored by the Grammy Museum and Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc., which houses the
Woody Guthrie Foundation and the Woody Guthrie Archives. "One of the reasons Nora [Guthrie] wanted to make this happen is a lot of people today aren't aware of Woody and what he represented," said Zolten, who told a story of teaching a class in which none of his students knew the name Woody Guthrie but all had heard "This Land is Your Land." Zolten continued, "People need to be made aware of a history that has had an impact on them whether they know it or not." "[Attendees can expect an] appreciation for the complexity of Woody's legacy and a hands-on experience of the power of music to foment change. The conference is meant to provide a rich opportunity to exchange ideas and viewpoints" said Zolten. "Penn State is part
Guthrie, pg. 28
September calendar of events September 1 Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County: Chinese Calligraphy Art and Culture Show (runs through the end of the month) Green Drake Art Gallery: "The Photography of Gerald Lang and Jennifer Tucker" Toast: Jason Thomas (8 p.m.) Websters: Gallery opening featuring Chuck Hall (6 p.m.) September 2 Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County Community Gallery: Veronica Winters Coburn Park: Crickfest '12 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) September 5 Governor's Pub Bellefonte: Biscuit Jam (6:30 to 8:30 p.m.) (plays every Wednesday) September 6 Governor's Pub Bellefonte: John "JT" Thomas (6:30 to 8:30 p.m.) (plays every Thursday) Toast: Kate and Natalie (7:30 p.m.) (every Thursday at Toast) Tussey Mountain: Music on the Mountain (5 p.m.) September 7 Bar Bleu: LOWJACK (10:30 p.m.) (LOWJACK plays Bar Bleu every Friday) Green Drake Art Gallery: Hannah Bingman and Karl Leitzel on stage at the
Drake (7 p.m.) Greenwood Furnace State Park: Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering (runs through Sept. 9) Saloon: Velveeta (10:30 p.m.) (Velveeta plays the Saloon every Friday) State Theatre: "O Brother Man" A documentary of Lynd Ward 12:45 p.m State Theatre: "An Evening of HardHitting Songs: Celebrating Woody Guthrie's legacy" (8 p.m.) Websters: Light, Not Heat, Conversations on Issues That Matter (12:05 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.) September 8 State College: Light Step, Right Step Festival and Energy Expo Websters: Book-signing/reading/musical performance featuring Josh Garrett-Davis (7 p.m.) September 11 State Theatre: Pentatonix (8 p.m.) September 14 State Theatre: Brio Dance Company performance featuring Pure Cane Sugar (7:30 p.m.) Websters: Light, Not Heat, Conversations on Issues That Matter (12:05 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.) September 15 Elk Creek Café: MARAH presents….Mountain Minstrelsy (8 p.m.) September 16 Green Drake Gallery: Margaret Evans
pastels workshop (also runs on Sept 17) Websters: Telling Ourselves Who We Are--speakers and community panel (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) September 18 State Theatre: Kenny Wayne Shepherd (8 p.m.) September 20 Juniata College Museum of Art: Minna Citron: The Uncharted Course from Realism to Abstraction State Theatre: Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival (7 p.m.) September 21 Websters: Light, Not Heat, Conversations on Issues That Matter (12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.) September 22 Toast: Whistlers Blend (8 p.m.) September 23 Websters: Telling Ourselves Who We Are--speakers and community panel (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) September 28 Eisenhower Auditorium: Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del Coury Band "American Legacies) (7:30 p.m.) Websters: Light, Not Heat, Conversations on Issues That Matter September 29 Bryce Jordan Center: The Great Insect Fair (10 a.m.) Toast: Miss Melanie Trio (8 p.m.) Tussey Mountain: Oktoberfest ( 3 p.m.)
September 2012 from
Guthrie, pg. 27
of a year-long moving celebration that ultimately reaches every corner of the nation in one way or another." Coinciding with the beginning of the Woody Guthrie conference and concerts is an encore showing of "O Brother Man, The Art and Life of Lynd Ward." The film premiered at the Penn State University Libraries in April (See Voices April 2012 for original coverage of the film) and will again be shown on September 7 at 12:45 p.m. at the State Theatre. Admission will be $1. Lynd Ward is considered to be the father of the American graphic novel but was also a champion for social justice and the working man. It could be said Ward was born into the cause, as his father Henry F. Ward was a founder of the ACLU. He was the author of six graphic novels, all of which feature the common theme of American life and struggles of the working persons. Pieces from these works along with wood engravings and drawings are featured in "O Brother Man. On the Saturday during the conference, "O Brother Man" filmmaker Michael Maglaras and Robin Ward Savage (PSU, journalism, 1959), the artist's daughter, will take part in a panel discussion about the film.
September 2012
Bellefonte pub brings live music of Thompson by Jessica Beard On a humid early August night, John "JT" Thompson leaned on the polished wood bar of The Governor's Pub in Bellefonte. His keyboard sits empty. Thompson is a fixture at The Governor's Pub, one of two live musical acts which plays at the restaurant each Wednesday and Thursday evening. The ponytailed singer-songwriter piano man specializes in "blues -based boogie" and plays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. each Thursday. The pianist soon launched into a rollicking blues number. His tenor voice carried well into the adjoining room. Thompson played next to a family of four seated at a corner table. One of the couple's two young girls requested "Walking in Memphis." After Thompson finished the song, he turned to the girl and asked if she'd been singing along. She gave an inaudible reply. Thompson turned back to his microphone. "One of these days I'll get folks to sing along," he said. "The crowd varies," Thompson said after his set. "Last week was a reunion and it was crazy," he said. Bellefonte native Thompson took classes at Penn State in the seventies, performing rock covers and soul music with local bands until he accepted an offer to tour with a show band. He dropped out of college and moved out of the area for 20 years. Thompson began focusing on his writing and recording music several years ago. Thompson has two CDs out, the most recent of which, "Push and Pull," came out this summer. Thompson moved back to the Bellefonte area in 2002. "There's not a whole lot of music here in Bellefonte. The scene is definitely focused around State College. Outside of here at the pub, there's a really good sort of bluegrass-based trio called Biscuit Jam."
Thompson describes his own sound as "blues-based boogie, as in boogie woogie, but after listening to the way some of the songs came out on my new CD, there's definitely a jazz element in there." According to Thompson, "the music scene in State College is incestuous. We all play in different bands, together." The musician gave a wide grin. "Like me, they come in several different flavors." The Governor's Pub began offering their weekly entertainment in March 2010. Initially, performances were only on Tuesday nights. Susan Brockway, owner of The Governor's Pub, said the live music nights got started two and a half years ago because husband and co-owner Dave invited a longtime coworker and local band Biscuit Jam singer to bring the band on weeknights. "It takes a while to get the word out there that there's live music but I can see that it's slowly spreading." Both Brockway and Thompson say that word of mouth provides most publicity for the weekly performances. Both also indicated that the artists also bring in regular guests with their local fan followings. "Outside of the music that we play here on Wednesdays and Thursdays, there is no regular music scene in Bellefonte," Thompson said. "This is the music scene such as it is, here." Thompson, who plays The Phyrst on Thursday nights right after his Governor's Pub gig, describes the local music scene as something fluid and circular. The fans follow the music and the bands, who cover each other's original work. Crowd-wise, Brockway says she gets "a mixture coming in: I get a variety of late twenties to early thirties to some of the older people that love to come listen to Biscuit Jam because they play a variety of things like rock and folk." "I get a fair amount of old people dancing in the middle there," Brockway said with a laugh. "It's kind of cool. JT brings
a cool crowd sometimes." He brings "a cool little crowd of Penn State professors" when he performs with local singer Natascha, who is away for the summer." Thompson walked into the side dining room at about 8:40 pm, 20 minutes before the restaurant closed, and approached the three remaining diners. "Were you guys singing along?" he asked. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to hear?" he asked them. Annie Chen, 29, grinned and shrunk a little, pressing her arms to her chest. "...Hotel California?" she asked hopefully. Thompson grinned and crossed his arms, mimicking Chen. "The Eagles,"
Thompson said with a knowing nod. The popular song already occupies a spot on Thompson's "Popular Music" playlist. Thompson thanked Chen and her companions, including boyfriend Shawn Campbell, for coming out to hear him and returned to his keyboard. "Let's put some drums on this," Thompson said. He pressed a button on his keyboard and began a blues-inflected rendition of Hotel California. "JT was a real treat" Campbell said. For more information on The Governor's Pub, visit the www.thegovernorspub.com. For information on JT Thompson, visit www.jtblues.com, www.myspace.com/jtbluespiano or "JTBlues" on Facebook.
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September 2012
Charriere's swift brush captures the emotional state by Veronica Winters
In the artist's studio David Charriere paints his heart out at his studio in the downtown State College. His beautiful yet simple studio space is well lit, clean, thoroughly organized and nicely decorated with still life objects, props, easels, tables, carpets, plants, and paintings. Artist's paintings of various sizes are stacked against the long wall. Small, medium, large –most of them are portraits of women. Women who are strangers, distant acquaintances, or friends coming from different walks of life yet all interested in becoming part of the artistic process under the Charriere's swift brush. David Charriere hires models to pose for his portraits for 2-3 hours a day. Then, he takes pictures of the model and finishes his work in solo. Usually, it takes 3 sessions to complete a small painting. "I respond to what I see," he said. All of the women captured on his canvases have rather similar features, uniting under the Charriere artistic style. With loose brushstrokes the artist tries to convey model's emotional state rather than her actual facial features. "I don't strive for likeness, rather I want to catch the gesture," he said.
The artist enjoys painting portraits because of its difficulty. Figure painting is the most challenging subject for artists to explore and it takes years of patience, practice, and perseverance to learn the craft of representational painting. Rather hesitant to explain his work, the artist flipped through some of his canvases picking pieces that he considered more attractive than others. He also shared a few framed small artworks hanging on the walls in the studio. "I guess these are my most successful ones," the artist pointed out. The successful ones have unity in color and composition. The women have a more sophisticated appearance and turn of the head. Some paintings are studies, others are finished pieces. "I consider it being done when I'm tired of (painting) it," he said. Charierre enjoys sharing his knowledge about his color palette and paint materials' use. "I paint with Sargent's colors and the Bouguerau ones," he said. Both were 19th –century classically trained renowned painters who used limited palettes of colors to create infinite variety of skin tones, objects, and environments. Charriere limits himself to about 15-20 colors combining them with a Flemish dryer as a medium of choice (that considerably speeds up the drying time of oil paint) and a large assortment of flat
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Charriere in his State College studio with one of his large canvases behind him.
and filbert brushes. The artist paints on Masonite board instead of traditional canvas that gives him a perfectly smooth surface to layer the paint on. With his background in art (BA-art education, Youngstown State University) the artist always liked figurative painting. "I was taught to be an abstract painter as everyone else in school was one at that time," said Charriere. "While painting from a real model we could never recognize the figure painted on canvas." Charriere enjoys the action of painting where the brush strokes are free and uncontrolled, colors are bright, painting process is fast and unrestricted by classically imposed conventions of traditional painting. Charriere worked as a painting/paperhanger for over 30 years but continued his interest in art. After retirement the artist was free to pursue his endeavors. He took workshops in representational painting at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia and Putney Painters in Putney, Vermont. "The workshops I've attended confuse
me more than help me," he said. Charriere loves to experiment with colors and brushstrokes while disregarding the rules of perspective. The artist is concerned foremost with the gesture, the appropriate motion, and the overall solidity of the painting, and paints without any preconceived notions. "My greatest advancements are through my mistakes," he said. Charriere has opened his studio space to fellow artists. He runs a weekly open studio portrait class on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 12:30pm. There is no instruction in class and artists are free to paint from the clothed model for $15 per session. He also envisions holding small art classes in his studio open to everyone. "There are many talented artists in our area and I really appreciate their skills. I can appreciate what I can't do myself, but more than that I enjoy their camaraderie," he said. To contact the artist e-mail to email@example.com or call: (814) 2376165.
September 2012 from
Brio, pg. 27
experience for Grosser. According to Grosser, inspiration for the first section of the piece was drawn from her recent time living in New York City. "I created Some and Others a couple of months after I moved back to State College from NYC when city life was still very fresh in my mind," wrote Grosser. "The isolation that I experienced and witnessed in the city for daily survival really made an impression on me. I love the city for the creativity and growth that it fosters but am saddened by the loneliness and isolation that exists in the quest for survival." The second half, she wrote, was inspired by her return to State College. "As I thought about loneliness and began to experience close community in State College, I was inspired to create the second section of Some and Others," wrote Grosser. "I look at Section Two as the answer to Section One which, beautifully, has been something that I have personal experienced." Brio Dance Company and Pure Cane Sugar will be donating a portion of the concert proceeds to the Panhellenic Dance Marathon. According to Grosser, planning this donation to THON would not only, "connect this performance with the Penn State community and to support an organization that is making a big difference in people's lives" but also
"The isolation that I experienced and witnessed in the city for daily survival really made an impression on me." Lane Grosser, Brio Dance Company director support Brio's mission statement. "Part of Brio Dance Company's mission is to use our talent and love of dance to provide aid, hope, and joy for the underprivileged in our community and beyond," wrote Grosser. "What better way to do this as we enter a new era in State College than to support THON?" Brio Dance Company is a non-profit dance company and a member artist of New Live Arts, Inc., a non-profit taxexempt organization. In addition to performances, the company also has participated in an outreach program to high school students and offers master and community classes. Past performances of Brio Dance Company include the summer 2011 performance "To Gloria with Love" at the People's Choice Festival. For tickets go to thestatetheatre.org.
Photo by Philip Mackenzie
Brio Dance Company's dancers in a performance in July at the State Theatre.
On democracy, wolves, and sheep by Betsy Simon James Bovard once said, "Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner." So when thinking about democracy in America, who is the sheep? The answer is me. Maybe not me directly, but a hefty amount of people like me; eighteen-to-twenty-nine yearolds with some education. And the wolves may as well be adults such as our parents, CEO's, politicians and other older people who make decisions about our country. But I don't have to be the sheep if I don't want to. If I could get more sheep to help me, I could turn this around and become the wolf, couldn't I? Yes. Yes I could. What most people don't realize is that people my age should have all the power when deciding the
ASK Cosmo
Dear Cosmo, What's the big idea with the NCAA sanctions? It's one thing to punish the wrongdoers. It's another to punish the whole town, the whole team, the alumni, and the present and future players who weren't even here when all this stuff happened. The Sandusky case was about child molesting, not football. What possible
future of America, but for some reason, my peers are content with watching the older generations make decisions about our future. This needs to change, because the decision-makers don't really care about our future, as it won't directly affect them. We, young people of America, need to take charge. We need to bring about the change in America, and it all starts with checking a box. It's hard to imagine 21 million of anything. The number is so large, and hard to visualize, but try. Try to imagine 21 million people. That is how many eligible people under the age of thirty are NOT voting. 21 million votes can change a whole lot. With the presidential election right around the corner, the need to get these people voting is greater than ever. As a volunteer for the Obama 2012 Campaign, I can report that the most
Campus and Culture from the Canine Perspective logic allows the NCAA to "vacate" legitimate Penn State victories during that era? The crimes were in no way related to the outcomes of the games! I see their decision as nothing but spiteful exercise of power and really just a ploy to take away Joe Paterno's legitimate wins and unquestioned standing as the greatest football coach ever. Who's in charge of the NCAA? What kind of penalties can we heap on them? What can we take away from them that they achieved in the last decade? Like the T-shirt says, "We are…Pissed Off!" Dear Snappy Dresser, Who knows what goes through the
sought-after demographic is 18-29 yearolds. Not only have I been told this 21 million times, I've used it to my advantage while convincing my friends and classmates that this is their opportunity to take hold of their rights and take part in democracy. When asked, a volunteer with the Obama campaign said that seeking out this demographic was the reason for starting the student organization Students for Barack Obama. Had the 18-29 demographic not been important, the Obama Headquarters in State College would never have approached Penn State students with the idea of a student-run organization. 18-29 year-olds have the power to change a lot about the future of our country. Political experts across party lines can at least agree on the fact that the participation of this age group changed the
Removing the wins from JoePa and the players who won the games is a chicken-shit addition of insult to injury. minds of people who sit in closed panels and decide the fates of others? We hope it's fair, or at least understandable, or at the very least, they actually have the authority to make and enforce those decisions. Maybe it's like the kid who beats up the lunch monitor on the morning bus, and then gets payback later in the day for some unrelated lunchroom crime. Maybe the lure of taking down somebody big was just too tempting. Maybe it's like the rioting college student insisting to the police officers, "You can't arrest me! I'm exercising my first amendment rights!" Sure, maybe there will be a reasonable discourse weighing the relative merits of expression and public safety, or maybe the police officer can say, "Oh, but I can.
September 2012
outcome of the 2008 election. This says a lot, considering 21 million were not even accounted for. Could you imagine how much more support Barack Obama would have had in '08 had those 21 million non-voters participated? In New Hampshire and Iowa, support from 18-29 year olds helped democrats win in the biggest caucuses. In these cases, this age group made all the difference. A lot of current issues affect the youngest voting generation directly. Since Obama took office in 2009, the country has seen 29 straight months of job growth. This is something especially important to me and my peers, considering the fact that we will be entering the "real world" sooner than we would care
Voting, pg. 35
Please turn around and place your hands on the hood of the car." I believe that everyone adjudicating the case – the attorney general, the NCAA, the Penn State Board of Trustees – was paranoid that anything less than extremely severe would be considered a "slap on the wrist," and they weren't about to let the appearance of the "good ol' boy network" have any chance of exerting itself … publicly. And one of the ways of accomplishing that PR tactic is to throw a couple of people under the bus. The reduction of football scholarships, the loss of bowl games and TV revenues, and even the extremely high (but payable) fine of $60 million to help fund assistance to sexual abuse victims had to be steep if they were to sting. That's life in the big city. The university – not the football squad - signed the agreement that they'd follow NCAA guidelines for supervision and administrative oversight in return for legit-
Cosmo, pg. 33
September 2012
Gun violence: a too-familiar headline by Julia Hamilton It's on the front of the newspaper and it's the only story you see while flicking through the news stations on TV. You can't go online without reading a blog post or seeing a new Facebook status about it. It's July 20th, 2012, and there's been another massacre – this time, in Aurora, Colorado. It's another shooting, another tragedy, and another crisis in the United States. But to my generation, it's also the norm. Our youth have grown up hearing about shootings all the time. We are surrounded by violence. It's an uncomfortable familiarity that has made us think "well it's unfortunate, but these things happen." I can distinctly remember three major
Cosmo, pg. 32
imacy in the college athletic conference. It made the deal with the devil. Now it's time to pay up, and it's all covered in the contract. The university still made more money as a result of its association with the NCAA, than it's going to have to pay in fines. And it will again. Sure, it tanked the profit margin for a while, but it's hardly a death sentence. Removing the wins from JoePa and the players who won the games is a chickenshit addition of insult to injury. Those games happened. Those teams won those games fair and square. Those stats were earned and recorded. Subjecting them to a giant administrative eraser doesn't change their reality as historical fact. It just changes their interpretation under current sensibilities. Many scholars bitch about historical revisionism; I'd like to see them take on this sociological phenomenon as a topic of research. Now Joe ranks as #12 in wins. The winningest college coach is Bobby Bowden, the same guy who recommended they take down Paterno's statue. And
It's strange to think that our youth can determine the seriousness of a story based on how long it is talked about in the media. shootings that have happened in the past five years – shootings that have devastated towns, communities, families, and the country as a whole. But the unfortunate truth is that my generation has seen so many of these growing up that we have accepted it as something that is inevitable.
sorry, Zack Mills, the last Penn State quarterback to officially win a Penn State victory is Mike McQueary, the one who tried to blow the whistle on Sandusky. Maybe it's a conspiracy! People used to sneer at the Soviet Union for "restoring" some of its finer human beings. Artists, writers, philosophers and political activists once spurned and exiled as dissidents, were posthumously recognized for their greatness. Now it seems as if the trend is to take away honors for deeds that actually were accomplished and pretend that they never took place. It's the same mindset that insists Greg Lamond is now the only American to ever win the Tour de France. Sorry Lance, your seven trips to the winner's circle never happened. We have to erase all those tapes. Baseball is "America's Game," and at least they have the decency to award their embattled hall of famers an asterisk if they used performance-enhancing drugs. Paterno and Armstrong are getting the new version of an asterisk. And ain't it a sweet world when the official stance is denial. We should all just stick our fingers in our ears and say, "La la la la la." Oh wait, that's the NCAA had a problem with.
The increasing amount of mass murders that we are exposed to is only reinforcing our belief that this is something we cannot change. Like many others, I remember where I was when I was told the news of Virginia Tech. And like many others, I assumed it was just another news story that my mom felt was worth mentioning. But as it turned out, what happened at Virginia Tech was not just small talk between my mom and I after school one day. After seeing the story on the news for weeks, I became aware that this was a massacre. It's strange to think that our youth, myself included, can determine the seriousness of a story based on how long it is talked about in the media. This incident at Virginia Tech was the first major
shooting that our generation can remember. This massacre broke the long period without gun violence that The United States experienced following Columbine. As time went on, gun violence rarely made news. You would occasionally hear stories about attempted shootings, or perhaps ones on smaller scales that only wounded a select number of people. I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that the "smaller scale" shootings weren't considered major news or that it took another massacre, this time in Tucson, Arizona, for gun control to come back into the political discussion. Four years after Virginia Tech, Jared Lee
Violence, pg. 35
September 2012
dissoi logoi dissoi logoi: from the Greek; "arguing both sides of an issue." This is a new feature of Voices' opinion section. If you have ideas for future themes, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com
Support by Mike Hill Practically everybody feels bad for Tim Griffin, a camp worker for the Boy Scouts of America who was recently fired and believes it's because he's gay. An Eagle Scout, he'd devoted years to scouting, earning high accolades, and then got the boot for showing up to work with "dress code" violations. Those violations apparently included painted fingernails, earrings and other hallmarks of gay culture. But there's no reason not to believe the Boy Scouts when they say it's a dress code issue rather than an issue of sexual orientation, because despite popular belief to the contrary, the Scouts have no ban on homosexuals. What they have, instead, is a ban on people who "avow" or openly pursue homosexuality, which is a big difference, a "don't ask, don't tell" policy quite similar to the one our military employed until recently. The Scouts accepted Griffin for years, both as a member and an employee, until he refused to adhere to their dress code. Why is the distinction between being fired for being gay and being fired for dressing "gay" important? It's the difference between night and day. Griffin wasn't fired for his homosexuality, an unalterable fact of his existence that is not of his choosing, but for his wardrobe, which certainly is. To the Scouts, this is not a technicality, but rather strikes at the core of the Boy Scouts of America's mission: To turn young boys with certain qualities into young men with those qualities enhanced. High among those qualities is "reverence" toward the divine. The Scouts do not specify worship of the Judeo-
Christian God – any religion counts – but it's clear the BSA's creators had Biblical values in mind. Members, leaders or employees who openly flout those values directly undermine the Scouts' mission to build young men whose characters have absorbed these values, values that do not include gender-inappropriate dress. Yes, there's a number of judgment calls in the phrase "inappropriate dress," but as a values-based organization, the Scouts have those judgments hard-wired into their constitution. Their very mission
Rebuttal by William Saas Let's start by reciting the motto for the Boy Scouts of America: "A scout is: Trustworthy - Loyal Helpful - Friendly - Courteous - Kind Obedient - Cheerful - Thrifty - Brave Clean - Reverent." Admirable traits, all. And we would all be much better off if even a few of us routinely aspired to at least two of those
Issue: Boy Scouts of America policy on employee sexuality
demands that they adhere to those values, to create the kind of men they wish to see in the world. This right, freedom of association, is enshrined in the Bill of Rights and is important to all of us who belong to private clubs, whether we're Scouts, Shriners or members of GLAAD. We must be able to keep out those who would undermine the values of our organizations in order to ensure their health and sincerity of purpose. We would not force the Shriners to accept a member who spoke out against philanthropy, and we certainly would not expect GLAAD to continue employing a member who became openly antigay. By forcing the BSA to accept out-ofthe-closet gays, we would be perpetrating the very offense against the Scouts that so many have accused the Scouts of enacting against Tim Griffin. We'd be giving them second-class rights, and we'd be doing it expressly because the BSA has values that many of us disagree with.
adjectives, let alone the whole lot. Perhaps, though, in keeping with its policy on employee/participant sexuality, the BSA should now append "fearful" and "ignorant" to its motto. It seems clear to me, at least, that the BSA's keep-it-in-the-closet policy on homosexuality is informed by a few generations-worth of fear-driven ignorance, thinly veiled behind clumsy arguments for traditional Judeo-Christian moral values. Let's take a closer look at the logic behind the anti-gay BSA policy. Why keep gays out? Any sensible Christian will tell you that the apparently anti-homosexual bits in the Old Testament (looking at you, Leviticus) are more like gaudy antiques than sterling laws, so the "biblical" basis can be immediately thrown out. Perhaps, then, the "don't ask, don't tell policy" is modeled, like much else in the BSA's modus operandi, after US military codes of conduct. With due props to POTUS Obama, however, this justification no longer holds water. So, then, what is it?
I submit that ignorance, of the feardriven variety, is the culprit here. But what fears drive this persistent ignorance in BSA leadership? I can identify at least three (don't hesitate to add your own, those playing at home!): (1) Fear of influence: The ridiculous idea that a homosexual scout or scoutmaster will lead young boys to adopt a "homosexual lifestyle." (2) Fear of pedophilia: The grossly misinformed view that a homosexual equals a sexual predator. (3) Fear of progress: The nagging feeling that the BSA will grow irrelevant if it cedes ground to increasingly mainstream views. All of these are no doubt very real fears for the papacy at BSA. Convinced (wrongly) of the choice-based, magical malleability of human identity and sexuality, it makes sense to the BSA honchos that "bad models" should be kept out. It is understandable, too, that the BSA should fear for its relevance to contemporary boys, what with all the Halo and X-box and what not. Eminently less excusable is the view that a certain type of person is more prone than others to molesting kids. It just ain't true, and the idea is poisonous. Sadly, fear-driven (often, but not always, religious) ignorance is usually not sufficient grounds for a civil or criminal suit. But in those few and rare cases where enlightened realism has trumped naive conservatism, all have won. Ignorance breeds ignorance. If ignorance is a "value" that the BSA champions, then I suggest that the young folks of today are better off building character elsewhere. (By the by, I am an Eagle Scout. It's a strange thing, to grow old and watch an institution you knew and loved grow increasingly out-of-touch with the world).
September 2012 from
Violence, pg. 33
Loughner open fires and shoots eighteen people including congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. As sixteen year olds, my peers and I have a better understanding of the shooting this time. We hear more about it, we are more informed by the media, and we are able to form our own views on the incident. So that brings us to present day. On July 20th, 2012, James Holmes executes the largest mass shooting in the history of the United States. My generation again is visited by that uncomfortable familiarity that we felt during both Virginia Tech and Tucson. As tragic as this day was, it's nothing new to my peers and I. That's not to say that people aren't saddened by this tragedy – we are, no doubt, grieving with the rest of the country over the cruel actions of James Holmes. But it's hard to feel, shocked because we've seen this before on many different occasions. The scandal that has torn Happy Valley apart is only further distracting us from what's going on in the rest of the world. Having lived in State College my entire life, I'll admit that this is something that we have never seen before and certainly should not take lightly. At the same time, by being surrounded by the repercussions of what has happened here, we barely pay attention to anything happening on the other side of the country. My generation in particular struggles with this since all of
my peers seem so determined to make their opinion heard whenever the scandal, especially the NCAA sanctions, comes into discussion. But the days following July 20th, I barely heard anything from my friends on how we all just happened to be alive for the largest mass shooting in United States history. I don't blame my fellow classmates for taking an interest in the Sandusky Scandal. It's impossible to not pay attention to it given that we just spent the summer semester seeing news reporters everywhere we looked. But we must realize that the world continues to turn while Penn State is busy trying to "restore the roar". The reactions to Columbine certainly were not like this and that's simply because Columbine happened in a time where these shootings weren't reported on every couple of months. Our country as a whole was truly horrified that two students would take the lives of so many innocent people. Sadly, that is not the case today for our youth upon witnessing these events. By being exposed to it growing up, we don't seem alarmed that shootings are becoming more frequent. Two weeks following the Aurora theater incident, a white supremacist open fires on the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and kills six people. Unsurprisingly, my peers did not seem to think much of this, despite having two mass murders executed in less than
Violence, pg. 36
Voting, pg. 32
to imagine. The fact that Obama is actively seeking out opportunities to increase the number of jobs in America soothes some of my worst fears that come with the idea of unemployment. Obama also strives to double funding for certain grants to increase the number of recipients of major financial aid to attend college. He has already increased the number by 3 million. This was possible because he managed to remove the "middleman" from the college loan process. Not only does it generate more money for loans, but it redirects billions
Some may think that I only intend to rally the Democrats, but as long as my peers are making informed decisions, I encourage them to exercise their right to vote. of tax dollars toward students instead of banks. Why let other people chose our future? We can make these decisions on our own. If we don't care about these issues, or which member of the legislature is leaning toward what policy, who will lead when it is our turn to run the coun-
try? Why wouldn't someone vote? Registering to vote is easier than ever. For the homebodies that like to hide behind their computer screens, it is as easy as clicking a few links on your web browser. Just type "rock the vote" into your favorite search engine. What teenager isn't eager to get behind the wheel? While you take advantage of your right to apply for a driver's license, take advantage of your right to vote. It is as simple as checking a box. In State College, voter registration forms are available in countless locations such as the Schlow Public Library, The Centre County offices, the post office on Pollock Road located in the McAllister Building, and the Students For Barack Obama headquarters located at 315 South Allen Street, suite 117. It takes little time and no energy, but do it ASAP -the deadline is October 9th. Some adults and politicians will argue that teens and twenty-somethings have no place in the political world, that we don't know enough to make major decisions, and we won't know enough until we are older. But we are educated through our experiences. As a freshman in college, I have recently experienced the fear of not being able to afford college and of a lack of a degree leading to a lack of qualifica-
Voting, pg. 37
September 2012
Letters Send letters to firstname.lastname@example.com Dear Voices, July 14 marked the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie…by all accounts a ragtag scuffler, wanderer, poet, a troubadour for working people if there ever was one. Guthrie was a visionary who, during his travels through troubled mid-20th century America, directly witnessed and experienced the social, economic, and racial injustices of the times. Woody's genius was in his intuitive understanding that he could make a dent in turning things around by illuminating the common man's experience through word, song, and performance, "hard-hitting songs for hard-hit people," as he
called them. And so he gifted us with a rich legacy of song ranging from grand themes such as "This Land is Your Land" and "Roll On Columbia" to disquieting story songs such as "The Dying Miner," "Deportee, and "1913 Massacre." Woody Guthrie's legacy will be celebrated locally on the Penn State campus with the Woody@100 Conference and Concerts, September 7-9. Information as it develops can be accessed at this website: http://www.altoona.psu.edu/guthriecentennial/ Jerry Zolten Chairperson, Woody@100 at Penn State
Violence, pg. 35
two weeks. As shootings are becoming more frequent and more deadly, I don't want to see the next generation grow up with the same attitude that this generation holds. The only way for that to happen – for the next generation to see these shootings as tragedies and not just another news story – is for guns to be less accessible. Mass murders should not be committed through completely legal methods of obtaining weapons. The FBI predicts that nearly 70% of all murders committed each year are executed with legally purchased firearms. Gun control has been debated for years, tragedy after tragedy, with really no change in the policy. We need to understand that those victims could have been people we know.
And if nothing is changed, it could reach the point where those victims are people we know. We can set up anonymous tip lines, we can improve our mental health care, but in the end, the only thing that will really, truly prevent these situations is making guns less accessible. As long as anyone can pass a background check and purchase assault weapons, we will continue to see these kinds of stories. And the more stories we see, the more accepting of it we will become. I don't want to reach a point where shootings aren't even making the news anymore. These things don't have to happen, but more importantly they don't have to be viewed as something that is just always going to exist. Let's change this policy, because personally, I don't know how many more of these stories I can handle hearing about.
September 2012
Voting, pg. 35
tion in the working world. Experiencing these things now makes it much easier for students like me to know what it will be like in the near future, as well as identify ways that we can make it better. We have our place in the political world, and it is to use our knowledge as young adults to change things for future generations. It isn't hard to guess that I am a huge supporter of the President. I go out of my way to volunteer and get people interested in supporting him, but I also understand that while statistically people my age are more inclined to share my opinions, some of my peers are leaning closer to the right of the political spectrum. Some may think that I only intend to rally the Democrats, but as long as my
peers are making informed decisions, I encourage them to exercise their right to vote. If and when those 21 million chose to vote, not only will they help our desired candidate to the Oval Office, but they can and will indirectly influence the decisions that will affect us and our country now and in the future. If it is hard to imagine 21 million people, try thinking about them standing behind you, agreeing with you, and helping change the community and America as a whole. 21 million votes can make the difference between a candidate and a president. Don't you want become the wolf? Don't you want to make the decisions regarding your future? If you do, then go register, and commit to voting on Election Day. Stop being the sheep, and take part in democracy.
Whitey Blue on zoning by David M. Silverman
Instructions: Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every three-by-three box contains the digits 1 through 9. There is no math involved. You solve the puzzle with reason and logic. Solution on page 36 of this issue. By Peter Morris
I was talking the other day to Whitey Blue, longtime Centre Area resident and hard-nose. Whitey, I think we may have discussed this before, but do you have any thoughts on the re-zoning of property in the State College area from single-family and student housing to add office and day care use? "As I've said before, nothing should
stand in the way of opening businesses in any part of the borough or surrounding townships." But doesn't that infringe on the privacy rights of people to maintain their area as a residential neighborhood? "If people who now live in the State College area want to be exclusive and shut out the rest of the world, they should move out into the boondocks somewhere!"
Collaborative divorce by Rana Glick There are a number of procedural models, which may be used to reach resolution on divorce, property division, maintenance, legal custody, child support and other related topics. These models include the 'kitchen table' approach in which participants reach agreements without legal counsel, mediation, collaborative divorce and lawyer negotiated/litigation. This article focus-
es on the Collaborative Model. Founded by Stuart Webb, ESQ a family lawyer in 1990, the Collaborative Divorce Model has gained momentum currently being seen as an alternative way toward dispute resolution most favorable to the courts and long term positive psychological outcomes for the persons/families involved. The core
Collaborative, pg. 39
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September 2012
Penn State band decimated by late transfers by Ralph E. Shaffer With the opening national anthem at Happy Valley stadium only days away, the band director corps at Penn State scurried yesterday to fill unexpected vacancies as a growing number of musicians gave notice of transfer to other universities. The surprise departures were a direct result of NCAA sanctions on the football team, including a ban on bowl appearances for the next four years. "These kids live for that annual trip to a bowl game. That won't happen again while they are at Penn State," said an anonymous assistant band director. First chair instrumentalists in several sections, along with many unheralded players, failed to appear at the annual beer bust held prior to the opening of the fall band camp. From bassoons to xylophones, there were more musicians
high in the band organization, "is with 'walk-ons,' kids who played in junior high bands but weren't interested in music in high school. A flock of scholarships, including many that would have gone to the football team, might lure some of them back to a band." The beer was still flowing as our reporter left. ----Mr. Shaffer is professor emeritus of history at Cal Poli Pomona
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AWOL than present. While some absences were attributed by the band's public relations officer to extraordinary weather conditions in other parts of the country, many of those absent were Pennsylvania residents. Noticeable among the absentees was John Phillips, sousaphonist. A commanding figure at 6 feet 5 inches, 250 pounds, Phillips was sought by band directors throughout the country when
any one of them prancing out to dot the i. "Fortunately, we won't be on national TV this year. Or next year. Or..." He stopped in mid sentence. Agents from California, USC, North Carolina State and several other bands were at State College yesterday, still making offers to "student musicians" and coaching them on how to justify their late entry into such major schools by claiming "special talent." One trumpeter was urged to tell the admissions officer that he could play the "Minute Waltz" in forty seconds while doing flips on his skateboard. "Our hope this year," said a source
The NCBDA announced that any bandsman who wished to transfer to another university could do so without penalty provided he left prior to the opening of band camp.
he graduated from Stamford, Conn., high school two years ago. His special talent, the ability to quadruple tongue on the tuba, drew the attention of band directors everywhere. Originally destined for Cal Poly, Pomona, it was only after signing a letter of commitment that Phillips discovered the school had no football team. "The band director promised I could dot the i in the Cal Poli signature spellout. It was only later I learned they didn't play football and the name was spelled with a y." Heavily recruited by Nittany Lion band alumni, Phillips agreed to come to State College only when band directors gave him a written statement that the band would spell out "Pennsylvania" at half time of each home game. They also assured him the state's name was spelled with an "i," in addition to a "y." Reportedly, Phillips is headed to Berkeley rather than Ohio State. At Cal, his family says, they see a bright future for him in the band. The fact that the state name contains two eyes instead of one may have been the deciding factor. Ominously, the defections are not yet over. The National Collegiate Band Directors Association (NCBDA), the authority in such matters, acted immediately after the football team was penalized by the NCAA. It announced that any bandsman who wished to transfer to another university could do so without penalty provided he left prior to the opening of band camp. Since the beer bust precedes the camp by several days - as long as the beer holds out - more transfers are inevitable. The sousaphone section has been especially hard hit. In addition to Phillips, five others have departed, to dot eyes in far-flung places. Left are four inexperienced freshmen and a "true sophomore" with little experience. None stand six feet and privately the tuba coach winces when he imagines
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September 2012 from
Collaborative, pg. 37
mandate of the Collaborative Divorce Model follows the pledge to negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement without going to court to resolve disputes, honest good faith communication and transparent exchange of information, and a shared goal of creating fair solutions through advocacy and neutrality. In Collaborative Practice, each party retains an Attorney trained in the collaborative model, a Divorce Coach/ Child Specialist, Mediator and Financial Specialist. These specially trained licensed professionals create the divorce team and follow the standards set by the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. The IACP (www.collaborativepractice.com) has promulgated a uniform definition of Collaborative Practice, standards for collaborative practitioners and trainers, a model interdisciplinary code of ethics, and public and professional education programs. Furthermore, a signed Statement of Understanding by all participants clearly defines the conditions and boundaries of involvement and terminates their involvement should resolution not be met using this process. Equally relevant to note is by procedure no professional shall hold a dual role before or after the Collaborative
Process. In other words, the Attorney in the Collaborative Model can never be the Attorney for litigation, the Divorce Coach/Child Specialist never the mental health therapist nor the Financial Specialist provide services, all of this is established before hand in the Statement of Understanding between the parties. However, this statement of understanding does not preclude future team meetings with original participants who may agree to reconvene as needed to address ongoing concerns. Collaborative Practice is helping to transform the practice of family law and can offer tremendous benefits to clients who commit to the process with skilled collaboratively trained practitioners. Collaborative Practice is well-suited for non-marital and same-sex separations where the law provides few rights or remedies as well as for the drafting of pre-and post nuptial agreements. The professionals advising clients about process options should identify both the advantages and cautions of collaboration in addition to distinguishing it from other processes. Collaborative Practice offers assurance to disputing clients that the professional team representing them will provide services consistent with their settlement goals and objectives and not exacerbate conflict. By avoiding post-judgment returns to court and attempting to preserve the dignity of the participants through preserving a positive experience in dispute res-
olution, legal closure can be accomplished without the negative effects of adversarial exchange. These professionals have taken specialized training to help clients identify their interests and manage the challenges unique to identifying fears and concerns and lending closure with respect to the end of a significant relationship. By retaining control over the dispute resolution process, clients gain mastery and voice in their outcomes with the assistance of the interdisciplinary team; co-parenting agreements are developmentally and dynamically appropriate and flexible and are based on the unique circumstances of the participants. Children are listened to and their needs conveyed to the team by the Child Specialist. Clients are able to proceed without the risk or fear of the unknown supported by their professional team, without imposed decision or pressured last minute compromises which they may truly not endorse or understand. Within the flexibility of the Collaborative Model, clients working together with their professional team can explore creative solutions to fit their circumstances on both a short and long term basis, leading to agreements not constrained by posturing, rigidity and formulas having little to do with their unique circumstances. The Collaborative Model offers the potential for clients to learn and improve their communication, negotia-
tion and problem solving skills, which they can then carry forward with them into the future. These skills can be essential tools for managing conflicts and serve to set the tone and pave the way in the arduous task of facing significant life events. The Collaborative Model can play out especially well for alumni and retirees who find Centre County an optimal place to live. Separation and Divorce among those over 50 is a rising statistic as are more Same-Sex relationships with and without children. The courts in Centre County are tuning in to the benefits of this model and are likely to lend support where deemed appropriate. The portals open to the Collaborative Model of Resolution may begin with any professional for whom the client has made initial contact with referrals out to any part of the collaboratively trained professional, individually or as a team. Services can be provided as a bundled effort or unbundled to see clients through, in part or as necessary, lending value to the process and creating experience without the fallout usually connected to the dissolution of a significant life changing event. Rana Glick MA, LMFT is also an active member in Central Counties Collaborative Law Community.
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