Category: Events

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemoration offers great message

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MLK day (canstockphoto15309028)

By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. may no longer be with us, but his dream is alive and well.

Monday marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and organizations across the country are prepared to celebrate Dr. King and his legacy. You can count Penn State Behrend among those organizations.

In honor of Dr. King and his dream, the college will hold the 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemoration. Numerous themed events will be held during the week, including an “I Am His Dream” March, a community service project, viewings of the film The Butler, and more.

Andy Herrera, director of the Educational Equity and Diversity Office, chaired Penn State Behrend’s MLK Committee this year and helped plan many of the events.

I talked with Herrera about the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the activities planned at Behrend.

Steve: The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemoration has been a regular tradition at Behrend. Why is this an important week for the college?

Andy: I’ve been at Behrend for the past eleven years, and I’ve chaired the MLK Committee for most of those years. I’m very proud of the fact that Penn State Behrend has always been recognized in the Erie community for its MLK programming. We’ve had speakers ranging from Al Sharpton to Jesse Jackson. I recognized that when I started, and I wanted to continue the tradition of strong MLK programming.

It’s very important for two reasons. The first is the significance of that era in our nation’s history. It’s important for us and our students to learn about the Civil Rights Movement. It was not just about Dr. King, but he was the driving force behind that. The second reason is the message. The message of peace, justice, and equality for all is outstanding. It’s important to commemorate, celebrate, and promote the historic value and message within our campus community, especially to our students.

Steve: This year’s theme is titled “We Are His Dream.” How did you choose that theme?

Andy: Activities and events are planned by the Behrend MLK Committee, which includes faculty, staff, and students. A college-wide invitation is made in September and then different participants come together for discussions about the commemoration. For example, I ask each member of the committee, ‘Why are you on this committee? Why is this important to you?’ Everyone then shares their perspective on why it is important to them, and then we start looking for a theme. We may come up with a theme then and there, or we may look at possible events and performers to provide us with a theme.

When we were looking for performers this year, we ran across Michael Fosberg, who has a play called Incognito. The play details Fosberg’s life experience of being adopted and growing up to find out his father was an African American, which was an incredible realization for him. He then starts to try to figure out his background and identity. The story sounds incredible, so we decided to invite Michael and have our theme revolve around identity. We then started to think about who we are as a college. Of course, we are Penn State. But we also believe we are the type of community where all are respected, where there is equal justice, and where there is harmony. Hey, that sounds like Dr. King’s dream. So, in a way, we are his dream.

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Steve: How has the MLK Commemoration changed since you started at Behrend eleven years ago?

Andy: When I first started, the luncheon used to be a breakfast, and we wanted to do it before everyone went back to work, so it would be at 7:00 a.m. If we were lucky, we would have one student show up. At some point, we decided to turn it into a brunch, and it helped. This year, we made it a lunch to help us fit in the march. The events have remained similar, though. We always try to have events that are meaningful and entertaining. We also try to do at least one community service project. This year, we will be partnering with the Erie City Mission to feed needy families. In the past, we have done Habitat for Humanity, and we did a college fair for Diehl Elementary School.

Steve: I can tell that a lot of planning and preparation goes into all of these events. What’s the ultimate goal in mind?

Andy: I think the ultimate goal is for people to learn about this time period. Students have some level of knowledge now, but it’s always good for them further learn about these moments in our nation’s history. Most importantly, I want them to be inspired to become better people.

Steve: Do you see the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemoration remaining a staple here at Behrend?

Andy: This is something that I think we’ll continue to do for as long as I’m here. This occasion is a good time to pause and ponder about that era and how it impacted our society for the better. Every year, I think this MLK Commemoration lends itself to a moment of reflection. Hopefully we can continue to learn about it, and also find inspiration in knowing that the efforts made during that time period have helped us become a better society and community.

Scheduled events:

Monday, Jan. 20:  Incognito. Acclaimed author and performer Michael Fosberg shares the story of his personal journey to discover himself, his roots, his family, and the difficult history behind the tragic American complexity of “race.”
Campus Family Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., McGarvey Commons
(Presentation begins at noon).

Tuesday, Jan. 21: Students and MLK Commemoration Committee members will visit the Early Learning Center and conduct activities with the children related to MLK.
Early Learning Center, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 22: The Butler. The Lion Entertainment Board presents the story of White House butler Eugene Allen, who witnessed great social change while serving eight different presidents over thirty years.
9:00 p.m., Reed Auditorium
(The film will be shown again at 9:00 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, and at 10:00 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, and Saturday, Jan. 25.)

Thursday, Jan. 23: “Who’s Cooking What?” The MLK Committee will partner with the Erie City Mission to help serve lunches to needy families. The committee will fundraise to purchase the ingredients, and students and volunteers will serve the families.
8:30 a.m., Erie City Mission

Story behind the Hanging of the Greens (the college’s oldest tradition)

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Hanging the Greens

By Robb Frederick
Public Information Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

In December 1948 – just two months after the dedication of what was then called the Behrend Center – T. Reed Ferguson, the administrator of the new campus, placed a wreath on the doors of a small chapel in Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery.

That was a favor to Mary Behrend, who had donated her family’s Erie farm property to Penn State. She had moved to Connecticut and was unable to visit the chapel, as she had in years past. She asked Ferguson to hang the wreath in honor of her husband and son, who were interred inside.

Every year since, a small group of students, faculty members, staff and alumni has returned to the chapel. Holding candles, they sing Christmas carols and give thanks to the family that made Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, possible.

A reading

This year’s program will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6. Shuttle service will be offered from the Reed Union Building.

“It’s a very different feeling, when you gather in there,” said Ken Miller, senior director for campus planning and student affairs. “You’re singing Christmas carols. Everybody’s holding a candle. It’s special.”

Singing

The program honors Ernst and Mary Behrend, whose 400-acre farm property is now a four-year college with 4,350 students. It also pays tribute to their son Warren, who died on Dec. 19, 1929, while driving to South Carolina for a family holiday. He had swerved to avoid a school bus, which a 16-year-old student was driving.

No one on the bus was hurt.

Warren’s death devastated the Behrends. “They say Ernst never got over it,” Miller said.

Mary Behrend spent less time at the farm, choosing instead to live at the family’s home in Connecticut. In the spring of 1948, while returning from a cross-country trip, she stopped at the property. From a window, she noticed two men walking. She went out to talk and learned they were scouting land for a new Penn State campus. Within six months, they would have it.

Entering the chapel

Paint the campus purple for #AJO

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ajo

From left, Anthony Cremonese, Melissa Lichtinger, and Antoine Holman are part of the student team working on the #AJO Forever Foundation website.

By Heather Cass
Publications & Design Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

Melissa Lichtinger, a senior majoring in international business and marketing, was working at the Make a Wish booth at a women’s expo in Erie this October when she met Alyssa O’Neill’s father, Jason, and knew she wanted to do whatever she could to help with the #AJO campaign.

AJO stands for Alyssa J. O’Neill, 18, who was a first-year student at Penn State Behrend when she died after suffering a grand mal seizure at home. The day before her death, O’Neill had texted her mother, saying they should meet at Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte. After her funeral, her parents, Jason and Sarah, bought ten of the drinks for strangers. The barista marked the cups—using purple, a color associated with epilepsy awareness—with #AJO.

That spurred a far broader pay-it-forward campaign. People paid for strangers’ meals, gas, groceries and layaway purchases. They sent #AJO photos from London, Iraq and the Canary Islands. It’s still going. The #AJO Forever in Our Hearts Facebook page has more than 41,000 “likes.”

“Jason said that he and his wife were overwhelmed just trying to keep up with the photos and correspondence pouring in through the AJO  Facebook page,” Lichtinger said. “I wondered how, with my background in marketing, I could help them.”

She asked Dr. Kathleen Noce, senior lecturer in management information systems, if Partnership Erie, a nonprofit outreach extension of the Sam and Irene Black School of Business, could develop a new eCommerce website and social media strategy for the AJO Forever foundation.

Noce agreed and Lichtinger recruited four more students—Anthony Cremonese, Antoine Holman, Kelsie Noce, and Michael Thompson—to work on the project with her.

The new site is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

But Lichtinger didn’t think that was enough. “I really wanted to do something to raise money for the foundation,” she said.

So she talked to Rhonda Reynolds, a Housing and Food Services employee who helped create a very successful employee service committee, and together they came up with the idea to “paint the campus purple” on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

Students, faculty, and staff are all invited to wear purple and take part in making the letters #AJO for a group photo on Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. in the Clark Café in the Jack Burke Research and Economic Development Center. Participants are asked to give at least $2 to the AJO Forever Fund to be a part of the photo.

Students will begin collecting donations at 3 p.m. The first 200 to donate will receive a free purple hat!

The event is sponsored by The Sam and Irene Black School of Business, Partnership Erie, Behrend Commission for Women, the School of Nursing, and Grimm’s Embroidery.

Hope to see you there!

Pose with the PSB Lion at ZooBoo

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ZOOBOO

By Heather Cass
Publications & Design Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

My first job after graduating from college was working in the public relations department at the Erie Zoo.  I worked for Scott Mitchell, known around the Erie area as the ZooGuy.  (By the way, Scott, who is now the President and CEO of the Erie Zoological Society, is a Penn State Behrend alum — Class of 1984!).

As you might expect, every day at the zoo brought something different. I aquired lots and lots of unique skills and knowledge in the four years I worked there.

For example: I know exactly how to pick up an alligator without getting bit.  I know that the foulest smelling (and most stupid) animal on earth is the giraffe. I can stuff at least 2,000 plastic Easter eggs in a day. I can set up 200 chairs in less than an hour. And, I can make a scarecrow out of scrap materials in minutes.

So when I read in a recent Erie Zoo newsletter that they were inviting area organization and businesses to create a scarecrow to display at ZooBoo (the zoo’s annual evening Halloween event), I begged my boss to let me make one for Penn State Behrend. (Go ahead, ask him, he’ll tell you that I begged).

Lest you think the staff of the Office of Marketing Communication spend their days building scarecrows, I should tell you that a coworker, Jodi Herman, and I built this cute little cub after work in less than an hour with materials I had laying around.  (Yeah, I’m that good at scarecrow construction.)

What do you think?

scarecrow with sign

Snap a pix with the PSB scarecrow

If you’re going to ZooBoo with your little boos and ghouls (see, writing clever puns is yet another skill I learned at the zoo!), be sure to look for the Penn State Behrend lion scarecrow. And, if you gather round, take a photo, and send it to us via email (hjc13 at psu.edu) or post it on social media with the hashtag #behrendscarecrow, we’ll put together an album to showcase our Penn State Behrend scarecrow pride (You know a group of lions is a pride, right?)  and share it with everyone.

lion pose

About ZooBoo

ZooBoo is the Erie Zoo’s annual Halloween event and a rare chance to see the zoo after 5 p.m. There are trick-or-treat boooooths (*groan* I know, but I. Just. Can’t. Stop.) for kids 12 and under and Halloween decorations and lights strewn through the zoo grounds.  This year, ZooBoo opens on Friday, October 18th and runs through Wednesday, October 30th from 6 to 9 p.m. nightly.

A few insider tips:

  • Save yourself some time waiting in line and pick your tickets up in advance at the zoo office (423 W. 38th St. next to the zoo) or buy online then you can enter the advance line near the stage (no waiting!). You can even buy your train & carousel tickets in advance!
  • Don’t go right at 6, go at 7 or 7:30 and you’ll miss the big crowds.
  • Ride the train first…most people ride it at the end and the line gets looooong at the end of the night.
  • Expect some animal changes. The orangutans and a few other animals won’t be out (they do not like their sleepy-time schedules messed with), but the big cats will likely be up and moving around — they’re nocturnal animals and they really “come alive” after dark.
  • This might be obvious, but…if you don’t like crowds, opt for a less-than-perfect-weather night. ZooBoo is open every night until Oct. 30, rain, shine, sleet or snow. Also, weeknights — particularly Mon.-Wed. — tend to have lower attendance.
  • On busy nights, the back gate — off Glenwood Park Ave. — is often open.

Ice cream, ziplines, and balloon animals. (Oh, my!) Welcome Week wrap-up and photos.

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By Heather Cass
Publications & Design Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

Our newest students began arriving early last week, and we were so happy to see them that we could not stop taking photos.

Our International students were the first to arrive. We have dozens of students who traveled from all over the globe to study at Penn State Behrend. Here are a few students we found in the gaming lounge as they arrived on Monday:

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On Thursday, our first-year students who will live on campus began arriving with lots and lots and lots of boxes and bins and food and clothes and bulletin boards and computers and printers…. You get the picture.  Move-in Day story here.

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Friday morning was convocation at Junker Center where students heard from various speakers, including a moving and hilarious presentation by Dr. Pelin Bicen, asssistant professor of Marketing, whose life path was altered by a flyer nailed to a tree in Turkey  (if you missed it…don’t worry, that is a story we’re definitely going to have to tell in a future Behrend Magazine!).  We asked new students to wear their “Class of 2017” T-shirts so we could get a group photo. Look at how wonderful they all looked:

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Also at convocation, Maria Madigan Palmieri ’98, president of the Penn State Behrend Alumni Society, taught our Class of 2017 a very important Penn State lesson:

After convocation and academic meetings, the fun began. The Office of Student Activities planned a whole weekend of ice breakers, get-togethers, and meet-and-greets over ice cream, fruit smoothies and….gulp…even over Reed parking lot via zipline. Check it out:

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See…I told you we couldn’t stop taking photos! Though, we have to credit our student photographer Sarah Jelinek with the photos in the slideshow above. She’ll be out and about all semester, so …when you see her, give her a smile, then look for your photos on our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

So while summer offers a refreshing change of pace, the pin-drop-quiet campus (save for the hundreds of little ones taking part in College For Kids — see a slideshow of images here) gets a little too quiet sometimes. It’s nice to have lots of students filling up the parking lots, residence halls, classrooms, and chairs in the gaming lounge once again. (Heck, I don’t even mind that I have to park in the back row of the Erie lot if I leave for lunch. Yes, I’m that happy to see the students again ;-)).

I think I speak for all the faculty members and staff when I say that we’re looking forward to another great fall semester. Beautiful things are coming.  Exhibit A:

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~ Heather