The nittany pride Student Newspaper of Penn State New Kensington Vol. VI No. 2 nittanypride.wordpress.com October 2011 Campus Comes To Life! (Photos courtesy Bill Woodard) Student Radio Station Slowly Taking Flight ------------------------------------ Save Your Money, Share Your eTextbooks ------------------------------------ Lady Lions Volleyball Show Significant Progress in 2011 ------------------------------------ Value & Variety at Local Bar Table of ConTenTs Student Radio Station Slowly Taking Flight........................................................ Page 2 THON: For the Kids........................................................................................ Page 3 Profiles in Courage: Mark Messina.................................................................... Page 4 Festival Spirits Not Dampened......................................................................... Pages 5-6 Value and Variety at Local Bar.......................................................................... Pages 7-8 PSNK Soccer Player Helps Team Reach Playoffs.................................................. Page 8 Save Your Money, Share Your eTextbooks.......................................................... Pages 9-10 CAB: We Plan Fun!......................................................................................... Page 10 Sportelli Twins Take Control of Destiny & Play Ball.............................................. Pages 11-12 Top 10 Horror Films of All Time........................................................................ Pages 13-14 Top 10 Horror Films of the 80s & 90s................................................................ Page 15 Jackie Kennedy Tapes Released........................................................................ Page 16 Lady Lions Volleyball Show Significant Progress in 2011...................................... Page 17 NHL Realignment May End Penguins’ Rivalries................................................... Page 18 Golf Team Places Fourth in Conference Championships........................................ Page 19 Helping Students Seeking Jobs, Internships is His Passion................................... Page 20 What Is A Ferret?.......................................................................................... Page 21 Lady Lions Volleyball Show Significant Progress in 2011...................................... Page 17 Free the Kids: Author of Freshman Book Visits PSNK.......................................... Page 18 niTTany Pride Penn State New Kensington, 3550 Seventh Street Road, New Kensington, PA 15068 ediTorial sTaff Editor-in-Chief & Online Editor Kelly Haugh Entertainment Editor Craig McNair Sports Editor Shawn Annarelli Advisor Abhinav Aima 1 CamPus life Student Radio Station Slowly Taking Flight By Michael Bordick LOWER BURRELL, Pa.- A Penn State New Kensington student plans to reach her fellow classmates on and off campus using the radio waves. Victoria Hepler, of Vandergrift, is in the process of establishing a student-driven radio station. The 19-year-old is a bright and determined sophomore at Penn State New Kensington who is majoring in Journalism, and she’s more than enthusiastic about this most recent endeavor. The station itself will eventually have specific segments geared towards different aspects of the students’ interests. The station is also going to have various guests, including important figures such as Chancellor Kevin Snider. Being on the air isn’t a recent idea. “It has always been a dream of mine,” said Hepler. Ever since she was on the news at a young age, she has been interested in being a part of broadcasting. Hepler and Co-President Taryn Clopton got the ball rolling with relative ease as they have various connections with the Student Radio Club President Victoria Hepler. Government Association and the Chancellor. According to Hepler, “It just sort of (Photo by Michael Bordick) happened…One minute it was an idea, the next it was already starting.” Moving forward isn’t going as smooth as Hepler would like, however. The members have experienced creative differences about which direction the station should go. There is also the matter of being short-staffed as the station has only four official members, including Hepler and Clopton. They have 29-40 other associates interested in participating, but they are unable to attend many of the meetings due to their commitments to other clubs. The financial side of things isn’t very promising either. The club must pay $12,000 annually in accordance with copyright laws for the ability to play copyrighted music. Due to these financial circumstances, the Radio Club will temporarily take on a different direction by creating commercials involving club presidents, musicians, and other relevant figures around campus and in the surrounding areas that will interest students. According to Hepler, the station will hold such segments as the news, campus events, and even comedian skits. So far, both the idea and the actual club are receiving extremely positive feedback. Hepler herself was expecting the opposite reaction, but most of the campus is supporting them and it has been really easy to get noticed. In the future, Hepler plans to expand the initiative to other campuses as soon as PSNK’s station gains momentum. Hepler herself is planning to transfer to University Park in a year, though she is planning to stay involved and is fairly certain that Co-President Clopton is staying at the New Kensington location. Hepler stressed that the club needs members and that anyone can get involved. She stated that the club is very diverse and welcoming, all one has to do is attend the meetings and have a little devotion. “We care about the school and its students,” Hepler said. Hepler wished to offer some advice to those looking to start their own club and said that having dedicated members is key. Her club would not be anywhere without them. For anyone interested in more information about the club or radio station, Hepler has asked that they visit the SGA office or meet with her personally. 2 CamPus life THON: For The Kids By Jenna Swank NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. – Penn State New Kensington’s THON organization held their Zazzy Zumba fundraiser on October 14 in the school gymnasium. Students and people from the community had the oppor- tunity to help raise money for children with pediatric cancer by taking part in this night of Zumba dancing. THON is the largest student-run philan- thropy in the world. Their ultimate goal is to raise funds and awareness for children’s fight against pediatric cancer. All the money that is raised by the Penn State campuses benefits the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. THON members raise money at PSNK’s Fall Festival Oct. 1. (Photo courtesy Bill Woodard) The Zumba event and the THON organiza- tion at PSNK are run by Lauren Richards. Richards is a junior from Penn Hills who is majoring in Information Scienc- es and Technology. She has been actively involved in THON for two years and is currently the chairperson. Richards’ main goal for THON this year is to beat last year’s total of over $52,000. Another goal she has is “to get more people involved throughout the year and keep them active.” Richards said that besides numbers being down in the organization, one of her biggest obstacles is that some students won’t be emotionally connected until they at- tend THON weekend so it’s harder to get them involved. Richards holds THON close to her heart because she personally knows of a child who is suffering from pediatric can- cer. She said, “I want everyone to get involved with THON who needs it because they don’t turn any family down.” The next fundraiser that PSNK THON is holding is a Spaghetti Dinner on Sunday, November 6 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The second canning weekend for THON will take place December 1-3. THON raises funds to fight childhood cancer. (Photo courtesy THON.org) 3 CamPus life Profiles In Courage: Mark Messina By Craig McNair Have you ever been in class and wondered what the life of the student sitting next to you is like? I had the privilege of finding out the answer to this very question in Dr. Wood’s CAS 100 class. Throughout the semester we had to deliver both an informative and persuasive speech. From this I found out that a fellow student had served his country in the Iraq War. Mark Messina is a modest and humble Penn State New Kensington student who enlisted in the United States Army at the tender age of 17. Messina served as a Combat Engineer, which is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions. During his service of 6 years, Messina was stationed all over the country and around the world including global locations such as Germany, Iraq, Korea and Kuwait. Messina received numerous awards including a Combat Action Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, Enduring Freedom Medal, Iraqi Freedom Medal, Presidential Unit Citation Medal, 3 Army Achievement Medals, and a Purple Heart, which is awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving. On behalf of the Penn State community and all of my fellow Americans living in freedom throughout the country, we thank you for all of your heroic actions. If you know Mark then you would also know that he would simply say, “it’s not a big deal.” 4 CamPus evenTs Festival Spirits Not Dampened By Ruth Herstek Rain, rain did not go away. Penn State New Kensington’s Fall Festival on October 1 drew a smaller crowd this year, but the