The Merciad, Sept. 29, 1988

VOL. 62 NO. 3 GLENWOOD HILLS. ERIE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29,1988 Sophomore dies in accident By Karen Sampson Merciad staff editor Mary Beth B ierbauer, 20 , of Oil City, and a sophomore here at Mercyhurst, died Saturday in a car accident She w as travelling nort hboun d on Route 62 at the curve known as "Buzzard's Bend" in Oil City when her car collided head-on with a pickup truc k. Mary Beth was an Elementary/ Special Education majo r and hoped to work with deaf children. * ?.v:Mary Beth graduat ed from Oil City Senior High School in 1986. While in high school in Oil City, Mary Beth jj was active in the Na tional Honor Society, Student Council, cr oss country, tra ck, and th e Varsity Club. She was th oldest of five chil dren and was very close to her par ents, accordi ng to her roommates. They said she went home almost every weekend. She is remembered by her roommates as having a good sense of humor. p She liked to listen to Huey Lewis an d The News, an d her favor ite foods were clam chowder and cottage cheese. £' i She was the kind of person who never had to study,' * her room mate recalled. i Mar y Beth was a member of Phi Eta Sigma, a national honor society, the Outstanding College Students of Am erica, a nd worked in th e day care center. She was a eucharistic minister at St Joseph Catholic Church in Oil City, where she was a m ember. She had her twentieth birthday two weeks ago and her friends threw her a surprise part y J She was known for wearing her favorite outfit—jeans and a sweat shirt MARY BETH BIERBAUER Music maj or s j flying high due to new wing By Andy Penhollow Merciad staff reporter Sam Rotman, the J director of the D • Angelo School of M usic, expressed ent hu siasm about th e new m usic wing last Friday, by getting a rise in the number of music majors. . "Twenty-seven mont hs ago, w e had 17 music majors. Now we have 66 . I think that the newbuilding will be a stron g selling card to prospecti ve music students because of th e high quality of the new facilities," Rotman said. v The 1.6 m illion dollar building, located in the bade of Zurn Hall, contains 25 practi ce rooms, eight faculty studios, four classrooms, a large rehearsal room, an exstensive music library, and faculty offices. The classrooms are be nefit ting no t only music students, but English studen ts as w ell. Dana Sundit, an oboe instructor form Cleve land said, "Th e facilities here are better here than those at the Cleveland Insti tute of Mu sic," (a highly r egar ded music school). building is very high for large groups. There's a noticeable difference." * • § « » Rotman explained that the practice rooms wo e specifically designed for instrumental and vocal use. Sophomore music composi tion major Kim Krigbaum added, " I like the size of the rooms. We aren't crowded in rehear sals like we were at St Mark's." "We;jplan on makingj the D ' Angelo School of Musi c the best music school in this region of th e country., Rotman said that the great est benefit of the new building i s that th e "music department finally has a home." I Being on campus benefits the students greatly. They no longer have to walk to St Mark's Seminary for classes. Rotma n feels that music will now become a larger part of the Mercyhurst campu s. i Sophomore m usic education maj or Mar - cia Butts said that "The sound quality in the SAM ROTMAN * Rotman admitted that they had a rough start School started before th e building was completely finished. As a result, students and faculty had to attend class while workers completed the finishi ng touches to the build- tog- & "Ventilati on is a serious probl em in that building,'' commented an English professor. Some music students refer to the practice that the maintenance team is working on the problem, an d tha t it will hopefully be tak en care of soon. The general consensus fro m those inter viewed is that the ne w music building is a nice edition to the Mercyhurst campus. When asked about his future plans, Rot- mamsaid, "to increase enrollment to 120 students, to establish < m opera, and to form an orchestra. We plan on making the D'Angelo School of Mus ic thebestmusicschoolinthis region of th e country!" g If al l goes as expected, Sam Rotman and the D* Angelo School of Music just might achieve that goal. "I can't believe how many people have called or stopped by (to offer condolences)," a roommate said. "She really knew a lot of people." j A memorial service planned, though a date h been se t Mercyhurst drafts AIDS policy stresses confidential it y By Christopher J. Kovski Merciad Editor 1 In Marc h of 1988, Mercyhurst College released an AIDS policy. Although it is not formally called an AIDS policy (it is a policy in rega rd to life threatening communicable diseases), the statem ents it contains are a direc t response to the seriousness of the AIDS problem in our society. % f The policy promises confidentiality to any and all members of the College community, and says that, ordinarily, no medical inf ormat ion w ill be provided 4 * without the prior specific w rit ten consent of th e individual.'' In addition, the policy provid es for an education process involving education of th e present community, as well as on-going educa tion to provide for th e future. In regard to the possible situati on when a member of th e campus community could be a carr ier of AIDS or a simil ar disease, the policy states that, since there are no such diseases which are unpreventable with ord ina ry c aution s,' 'no one will be dismissed from campus simply because she/he is a carrier. ' * But if such a person would act in a manner which would be life-threatening to others, the fi rst step would be counseling. If counseling proved ineffective, steps would be taken to remove the person fro m campus. The policy was drafted by the Task Force on Communicable Disease, which stresses education. $ 1 f Campus Minis try stated, in March 19 88, that it stands be hind the C ollege's policy, and w ould advise anyone affecte d by the disease to seek hea lth car e and counseling, the latter of which i s available through Father Chuck Schmidt and other organizations in Erie. Facts at a glance: There were 1,903 AIDS cases reported since June, 1981 in the state of Pennsylvania. In the year ending Sept. 12,1988, there were 839 AIDS cases PA ranks sevent h in the nati on for number of AIDS cases. Th e Health Department doesn't demand pro of of I.D. when testing for AIDS. But you must be a high-ris k patient and agree to pre- and po st-test counciling.

The Merciad, Sept. 29, 1988

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Transcript of The Merciad, Sept. 29, 1988