Dorm phones or cell phones, see p. 2
Equestrians provide security at Texas airport, see p. 3 December 15, 2004
Wilson College
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Vol. 36, No 5
THE
WILSON BILLBOARD Bush speaks at “Christmas in Washington”program Kata Kertesz Associated Press Writer Department. Questions about an immigration problem involving WASHINGTON (AP) _ a family housekeeper led Kerik Christmas trees decorated with to withdraw his nomination red bows, gold ornaments and Friday night. white lights lined the hall at the Giuliani had dinner with National Building Museum for Bush later at the White House, a holiday pageant attended and apologized to the president Sunday by President Bush and for the problems with the Kerik his wife, Laura. nomination, Giuliani The president spoke of the spokeswoman Sunny Mindel many service members who are said. She emphasized, however, far from home during the that the ex-mayor had been holiday season. “These families invited several weeks ago and and the troops they love can be did not meet with Bush for the certain that they have the express purpose of apologizing. support and gratitude of our “The president was very nation.” gracious,” Mindel said. “They Bush made his brief remarks remain good friends.” at a taping of the 23rd annual The concert, hosted by Dr. “Christmas in Washington” Phil McGraw and his wife, concert, which benefits the Robin, will be broadcast Dec. Children’s National Medical 15 on the TNT cable network. Center in the nation’s capital. Performers included country “We continue to seek the singer LeAnn Rimes, promise of peace on earth and “American Idol” winner Ruben goodwill toward men,” Bush Studdard and pop singers said. Michael McDonald, Vanessa Former New York City Williams and JoJo. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was Also performing were the also in attendance. Giuliani is a American Family Choir, the close friend of Bernard Kerik, U.S. Army Band Herald the former New York police Trumpets and Ian Fraser and the commissioner who had been nominated to lead the SEE BUSH, PAGE 3 Homeland Security
White Dinner: a time for students to relax and let loose Leah Martin Business Manager Wilson College’s annual White Dinner was held on Saturday, December 4, in Laird Hall. In honor of one of Wilson’s most treasured traditions, many members of the senior class wore white gowns or dresses. All of the students, guests, and faculty that attended were dressed their finest and ready to have a fun-filled, relaxing evening. Personally, above all the delicious food, the elegant décor, and the dancing—with music provided by Phantom Shadow—it was nice to just have time to slow down, relax, and enjoy each other’s company in the midst of finals time. “Dancing was definitely the highlight of the evening,” said Lisa Pregartner, ‘05. “My son Andrew also had lots of fun dancing with his friends and students. It was a lot of fun. The decorations were abso-
lutely beautiful, though the food was white.... The favors were great though. I really liked the picture frame and wine glass.” There were romantic carriage rides held before the dinner, a beautiful swan ice sculpture, and photographers available to take pictures of the students, their dates and their friends throughout the evening. Senior Alison Kershner opted to have a group photo. “It’s my last year for White Dinner,” said Kershner. “ I couldn’t find a white dress, but my picture will be memorable. We crammed me, my date, and about seven of my closest friends and their dates into a photo. I’m glad to have had this last opportunity to get decked out with my friends for an evening to remember.”
The members of the dining hall worked extra hard to prepare a special and delicious meal for those who attended. Everyone who attended seemed to have a great time. Even President Edmundson could be seen dancing on the dance floor with the students. I’ve also heard some rumors that the romantic evening led to a few proposals. Shhh! All in all, the evening proved to be a was a great time for the students at Wilson to get together with friends, old and new, and to bond with faculty and staff of the college. We all owe a special thanks to all those who made this extra special evening so extraordinary. Thank you! Happy Holidays and see you at next year’s White Dinner!
W HAT ’ S I NSIDE News.............................................Page 1 Features.......................................Page 3 Editorial.......................................Page 4 Woo Jeong Seo
Wilson Women and their guests dine at White Dinner in Laird Hall on December 4.
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15 December 2004
NEWS
Colleges Consider Dropping Dorm Phones Jan Murphy Associated Press Writer SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (AP) _ Don’t bother asking Emily Wertz the phone number to her dorm room at Shippensburg University. She doesn’t know it. “I never use it. Ever,” said the freshman from Fairview Township. If you want to reach her, call her cell phone, she said. She knows that number. Wertz is like an increasing number of college students who don’t use their dorm room phones. They come to college with wireless telephones and, often, calling plans that allow them to phone home at no extra cost. Because of this, colleges across the country are considering pulling the plug on phone lines in dorm rooms. Penn State University, Duke University and the University of Kansas are considering removing phone lines from dorms. Some, including Shippensburg, Penn State and Dickinson College, have removed campus-provided phones from rooms, leaving it up to students to bring their own phones
to plug into the jacks. This was done at the request of students, who prefer cordless models or ones with fancier features, officials said. Providing campus and local phone service to dorm rooms is expensive, said Tom Gibson, Penn State associate vice president for auxiliary and business services. And if students use cell phones, it seems senseless to make them pay twice for phone service. Penn State isn’t removing phone lines yet, but university officials are talking about it. “We just started to put together a discussion group to flesh out whether this is something we want to pursue or not,” Gibson said. Officials at a sampling of other Pennsylvania colleges are not considering this move, but they can understand why some schools are. Only about half of Dickinson College’s on-campus resident students brought phones with them this fall, officials said. Shippensburg University officials estimated about three-quarters of its 1,100 phone lines in residence hall rooms are in use.
Tree Tradition: Heather Layman Staff Writer This year, Wilson College started a new tradition: the Annual Tree Lighting. At noon on Friday, December 3rd, Wilson College faculty, staff, and students gathered around the Christmas tree in Lenfest Commons to sing carols and join in a time of togetherness during the holiday season. Those who attended were encouraged to bring an ornament for a raffle that included prizes donated from Sprint, Orrstown Bank, Chambersburg Ballet, Cheryl Brown, and Dr. Edmundson. The prizes ranged from a gift basket to a home cooked dinner for five prepared by President Edmundson herself, among several others. The Wilson College Child Care Center also decorated ornaments for the tree and attended the event. The children enjoyed listening to the choir and had lots
Gibson is uncertain what percentage of Penn State students use the phone lines in their rooms. But he is pretty sure most have cell phones. “You see everybody either talking on a cell phone or looking at it to see if they have messages,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.”
[I]t seems senseless to make them pay twice for phone service. Verizon Wireless can back that up with statistics from call volumes on its system around State College. Company spokeswoman Laura Merritt said Verizon recorded a 142 percent increase in call volume during the first week of classes. College officials said the biggest drawback to eliminating phone lines in rooms centers around security. Cell phone calls, even with an enhanced-911 sys-
Carols Highlight Holiday Event
of fun requesting songs such as “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman.” The children added an extra bit of joy to the celebration; the proverbial star on top of the tree. The Wilson College choir performed Christmas songs, one of which called for a hand bell part, where each member of the choir held a different toned bell to chime. Choir director Bernie Pitkin commented that this would test the choir’s ability to “walk and chew gum at the same time.” Pitkin is very pleased with the college choir this year. “The choir this semester has been just terrific,” he said. “We are up to seventeen members now, the largest I can remember it being in years.” Also at the tree lighting, WCGA presented a plaque in recognition of the honor principle. WCGA President Nancy Braun dedicated the plaque to commemorate 100 years of the honor principle tradition. “The honor principle began in
1905, so WCGA wanted to do something to honor this 100 year old tradition,” she said. “Wilson’s foundations are on the honor principle, yet it’s not really visible, other than by reading it in the Blue Book. WCGA decided that hanging it on a plaque in Lenfest would remind people everyday of the presence of the honor principle.” There was also a pickle hidden in the tree, a tradition for some people. The tradition comes from Germany, and an extra gift is given to the first person who finds the pickle. It is also thought to bring good luck to whomever finds it. At Wilson, the first to find the pickle was to take it to Mary Ann Gleockner’s office for a special prize. The tree lighting was followed by gingerbread and hot coca provided with warm holiday cheer by the dining hall staff. Happy holidays!
tem, can pinpoint the user only to within 50 to 100 meters. In residence halls, that could be five or six rooms on several floors. “That’s a lot of area to track down in emergency situations,” said Shippensburg spokesman Pete Gigliotti. Concerns about access to telephones in emergencies, the undependable nature of a cell phone with a low battery and the affordability of cell phones for low-income students also must be considered, he said. Rather than eliminating phone lines to dorm rooms, colleges may first explore ways to combine them with the student’s cell phone service. Susquehanna University plans to survey students next semester to see if they would want services like that. “I intend to use the results to drive investment in services that are valuable to students,” said Mark Huber, Susquehanna’s information technology director. “For example, giving students the choice to automatically push campus voice mail to their cell phone voice mailbox or the choice of having their campus phones ring to their cell phones.”
Because of the increased use of cell phones, phone cards and 800 numbers for long-distance service, some colleges no longer offer a long-distance plan to students. That used to be a cash cow for colleges, which receive a commission from the carrier for long-distance calls that students make. “Now, it’s practically nil,” Gibson said. Gibson recalled that when he was in college in the 1960s, he phoned home on a pay phone in the dorm hallway. “Our society has evolved, apparently,” Gibson said.
The Billboard is published biweekly. Subscriptions are $18 per year, payable to: The Billboard c/o Subscriptions Wilson College 1015 Philadelphia Ave. Chambersburg, PA. 17201 Editorial and advertising 717-264-4141, ext. 3244
THE BILLBOARD STAFF
WC Editor-in-Chief Christy Córdova ‘05 Business Manager Leah Martin ‘07
News Editor Amanda Stefan ‘08 Features Editor Meg Oldman ‘08
Staff Writers Jamie McCauley ‘05 Heather Layman ‘06 Chris Hunt ‘07 Jen Markley ‘08
Photographers Maritza Guevara ‘05 KyungJoo Cha ‘08 Dahynn Min ‘08 Woo Jeong Seo ‘08
Adviser Peter La Chapelle
Mission Statement The Wilson Billboard is a biweekly student-run newspaper serving the Wilson College community. Its purpose is to relay important information to the campus and provide a forum for democratic discussion. The Billboard strives to encourge communication between student, faculty, staff and administration. The Billboard is a member of the Associated Press, Student Press Law Center, and Associated Collegiate Press.
15 December 2004
Page 3
FEATURES
Airport lets equestrians ride, provide security Pam Easton Associated Press Writer HOUSTON (AP) _ Visitors to Texas expect to see cowboys and horses, but those landing at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport may be surprised to see them from their airplane windows. Under a year-old program that’s grown beyond expectations, the airport has more than 600 “Airport Rangers” who comprise a volunteer cavalry that looks for anything unusual on the airport’s vast property. “It is kind-of like low tech security, but it solves a problem when you are dealing with an 11,000-acre facility,” Houston Airport System Director Richard Vacar said. “The horses can go where others can’t go.” For decades, riders illegally took their horses to the wooded airport property, considered one of the few places in an urban area where they could ride in a natural environment for long distances. Construction of new neighborhoods and businesses eliminated many trails and pushed riders closer to the
airport, said Kay Bauer, an assistant Harris County attorney who rides at the airport about twice a week. “They have just a huge amount of land out there,” she said. “It is very scenic. It just gives equestrians the ability to ride for miles and miles and miles, just like the old West.” Darolyn Butler-Dial, who runs an equestrian center about a mile from the airport, began riding the airport’s perimeter in the 1980s. “I assumed they were so used to seeing me ride around that nobody cared any more,” she said. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, things changed. ButlerDial and others were told they no longer could ride at the airport. Vacar said at first he was concerned about liability issues, but he later realized the security benefit riders could offer and found a way to make it work. Now, riders get to enjoy the property as volunteer rangers. Rangers are required to sign a liability waiver, pass a background check and must carry a cell phone with them when they ride. They must check in when they arrive on airport property and report the
direction they plan to ride. Before leaving, they must check out with security. If they see anything suspicious during a ride, they’re required to report it. “We just want them to be the eyes and ears,” said Vacar, who also rides horses. “We don’t rely on it 100 percent, but it is just another layer.” Rangers, who can ride whenever they please, keep an eye out for anyone on airport property who doesn’t have a badge or people doing any kind of surveillance. They also check fences to make sure they’re secure and keep an eye out for animals that could get to a runway and cause problems for aircraft. So far, the rangers have found potentially dangerous materials dumped on airport property and stolen vehicles, said Greg Walker, the airport’s security manager. “It makes everybody’s job easier, because if we didn’t have these people out there, we would have to have somebody out there,” Walker said. “And that means we would have to go invest in our own mounted patrol. It results in a savings for us in terms of expense and allows for us to
more efficiently use the manpower we have.” Vacar said the airport has spent less than $50,000 on the program. The FBI and Houston Police Department have helped train the rangers, some of whom are offduty police officers. A series of trails have been cut into the wooded areas of the airport property, and the airport has provided water troughs and hitching posts for horses and portable restrooms for riders. While the volunteer mounted patrol seems unique to Houston, the airport isn’t the only one using the public to increase security. Clammers working the shoreline surrounding Boston’s Logan Airport _ who also were asked to leave after the 2001 terrorist attacks _ help provide security, if they pass a security check and agree to keep an eye out for suspicious activity, airport spokesman Phil Orlandella. “So far, it has been a win-win situation,” he said. “They continue their livelihood and we have a system that provides additional security.” For Bauer, being a volunteer ranger allows her to still enjoy her tranquil rides and give
travelers a bit of traditional Texas. When riding near the airport’s runways, Bauer said she often sees airplane passengers looking out at her. She makes sure to wave. “It’s a great welcome to Texas,” she said.
FROM BUSH, PAGE 1 “Christmas in Washington” orchestra. Earlier Sunday, Bush attended church and went mountain biking. The Bushes attended services at St. John’s Episcopal Church across Lafayette Park from the White House, waving to onlookers on the way in. The Rev. Luis Leon’s sermon was about Christmas and the Christmas season. The Bushes returned to the White House after the service. The president changed into athletic attire for a morning of mountain biking in the countryside near Washington. Bush rode his bike for more than an hour on the grounds of a Secret Service training facility in Beltsville, Md., near Washington.
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15 December 2004
Editorial Post-traumatic election depression
Amanda Stefan
Chris Hunt Staff Writer The presidential election is over. I’m depressed and in need of serious help. I hope there is someone out there not afflicted with the same degree of depression as I am who can at least understand what I am going through and offer some encouraging words to cheer me up. For the last few weeks I have been very tired and emotionally spent. I have not been sleeping well at all, and when I do, I have the worst nightmares I’ve had in years. I have not been doing well in school and (to my and my family’s dismay) I have at times involuntarily shouted obscenities for no apparent reason at all. To be sure, yes, I am angry, as I am sure many of you are at the outcome of the election. But more than just being angry, I am sad. Maybe I need counseling. I have thought about it, and like
Wilson community participates in Christmas Vespers ceremony News Editor
some of the John Kerry supporters in Palm Beach County, Florida, perhaps I should give counseling a try. In case you haven’t heard, there have been at least fifty Kerry supporters who are in group therapy for treatment of a new disorder called PEST, which stands for Post Election Selection Trauma. Ironically, many of the symptoms I have experienced are exactly the same as what these particular Floridians have. These symptoms have been described by the county’s American Health Association (AHA) director, Robert J. Gordon, and some of the patients there. The Boca Raton News website described one of the patients there as being scared. “Democracy is at stake and nobody is rising to protest this president,” the patient said. “According to AHA officials,” the
website states that, “symptoms of PEST are similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. They include nightmares, sleeplessness, hostility, listlessness…” Gordon said, “If I had a cardboard cutout of President Bush and these people wanted to throw darts at it, I would let them do it… It’s no joke. People with PEST were traumatized by the election. If you even mention religion, their faces turn blister-red as they shout at Bush.” Gordon also said, “More than anything else, people with PEST tremble physically.” According to AHA officials, one of the symptoms even includes threats to leave the country. Come to think of it, no wonder I’m so angry, sad, and depressed. Wouldn’t you be too if you realized that such great entertainment was about to leave the country?
The annual Christmas Vespers service took place on Sunday, December 5th, 2004, at the Alumnae Chapel. In attendance was Wilson College President Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, along with her husband, teachers from Wilson, staff members, guests, and students. The service included music from the Wilson choir, directed
by Bernie Pitkin. The organ was played by David Erickson in the prelude, offetory, and postlude. The anthems were presented by St. Paul U.M.C. Brass Quintet. The lessons were presented by students and faculty members. The ceremony ended with a lesson spoken in 14 different languages, including Romanian, Sinhala, Nepali, and more.
Da Hyun Min
The Wilson College Choir is directed by Bernie Pitkin during the Christmas Vespers on December 5 in the Alumnae Chapel.