Spring 1984

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Winter 1984 at Mercyhurst.

Spring 1984, Vol. 2, No. 2

magazine

Editor Mary Daly

Assistant Editor Carla J. Anderson '84

Alumni Editors Gary L. Bukowski 73 Rebecca Martin Porter '82 Regina Kozlowski Smith '81

Contributing Writers Dr. William P. Garvey Donna J. Peterson '83 Greg Yoko '85 Dr. Jamie B. Yule

Guest Writers Patrick Cuneo Dr. John M. Lincourt

Art Direction Judy Olowin Tucker 78

Photography Louis Caravaglia Gary Cardot Mark Fainstein Richard Forsgren '84 Ron Norman

Color Separations Hoffman Printing, Inc.

Printing Printing Concepts, Inc.

Alumni Association

Officers

Dark) Cipriani 74, President Michael E. Heller '79, Vice President Regina C. O'Connor '80, Secretary

Directors to 1984

Dario Cipriani 74, Erie, PA Michael E. Heller 79, Amherst, NY Regina C. O'Connor '80, Tonawanda, NY

Directors to 1985

Deborah S. Duda 77, Palo Alto, CA Joan Kostolansky Evans '60, Erie, PA Thomas D. Heberle, Esq. 74, Erie, PA Regina Scura Merz 77, Rochester, NY

Directors to 1986

Sr. Mary Lawrence Franklin '41, Erie, PA Russell H. Franklin, 74, Erie, PA Patricia J. Liebel '53, Erie, PA Joyce Met/ler McChesney '69, Pittsburgh, PA

Features

Anatomy of a City Revisited by Dr. William P. Garvey

Is the Right to Die Rightful? by Dr. John M. Lincourt

Interior Design by Dr. Jamie B. Yule 8

Dance: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall by Donna J. Peterson '83 10

Faculty Focus: Dr. Frank Hagan by Donna J. Peterson '83 13

Departments

Thanks Prof

On The Hill

Advancement

Sports

Alumni

Class Notes

12

14

15

16

17

" . . the reality of the mutual dependency between the city of Erie and the rest of the county cannot be denied if there is to be a significant future for this corner of Pennsylvania/' — From Anatomy of a City Revisited, page 2.

A bout the cover: The Erie County Courthouse is a U-shaped classical structure of cut cast stone from Syracuse, New York. Designed by architect Walter Monahan, of Erie, the west wing

(shown on the cover) was constructed in 1855 and the east wing was com­pleted in 1929. The three branches of Erie County government are housed in this historical building located at 130 West Sixth Street. Photograph by Gary Cardot.

Mem/hurst Magazine is published three times yearly in the fall, winter/spring, and sum­mer by the Office of External Affairs at Mercyhurst College, Glenwood I lills, Erie, PA 16546. Copyright © 1984 by Mercyhurst College. All rights reserved. Reproduc­tion without written permission is prohibited. News items and letters to the editor should be sent to the Assistant to the President for External Affairs.

Send change of address to Mercyhurst Magazine, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA 16546.

External Affairs Office 814/825-0285 Alumni Relations Office 814/825-0246

THE ANATOMY OF A

A STUDY OF THE CITY OF ERIE AND THE FUTURE

An Introduction

The old adage that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is certainly applicable to this Study of the City

of Erie. The statistics which dominate these pages clearly reveal an unmistakable pattern of decline throughout the last decade both in the city's population and in its economic base. They also show a significant trend in the characteristics of the Erie population which will result in one-third of the city being either elderly or minorities within the next few decades, the implications of which are disturbing for an already beleaguered property tax base.

However, the statistics also show some distinctly encouraging signs. They demonstrate, for example, that the city of Erie weathered the recession of the late seventies better than most northeastern cities which suggests that Erie still has a fairly solid economic base. They further indicate that the demographic decline seems to have bottomed out and that the next few decades should be relatively stable ones for Erie. Perhaps most significantly, they reveal a city whose basic work force is rapidly changing from "blue collar" to one increasingly "service and in­formation" based. This phenomena, con­sistent with national trends, is strikingly shown in the fact that six of Erie Coun­ty's eleven leading employers include two hospitals, a university, an insurance com­pany, the telephone company and the Erie School District.

In at least one area, however, the statistical picture seems quite clear, one

DR. WILLIAM P. GARVEY

that has not changed much over the past decade, and this is the picture of Erie as a "middling kind of town." For example, the average salary of most Erie wage earners remains quite average with only 15% making more than $30,000 a year, while the average home is very average in­deed, being valued at $34,000 with only 174 of the 21,000 homes appraised over $100,000. The educational statistics also re­main similar to the state and national averages with 65% of the city's population at least high school graduates. The college educated picture, however, is not as en­couraging, as Erie's 11% is 5% below the national average and 2% below the state average — a weaker picture than a decade ago when the gap was only 2% national­ly and just .6% in Pennsylvania.

The ethnic characteristics of the city have also remained essentially unchang­ed with the Polish and Italians continu­ing to account for one-third of the popula­tion, while the German, Irish and English still constitute about 37% of the city in­habitants. Only the Erie blacks have shown a significant growth over the last decade, moving from 8% to 12% of Erie's . population.

One conclusion, however, appears quite obvious to those interested in Erie's future, and that is the old picture of Erie as a "big small town" with an identity crisis must change if the city is to successfully enter the 21st century. There are, indeed, a good many reasons for believing that the "big small town" label no longer accurately describes Erie. The presence of an emerg­ing arts culture, evidenced by an impres­sive array of good music, theater, art, dance and poetry events, has stimulated

a growing cultural and intellectual sophistication in Erie. In addition, the dramatic downtown renaissance currently underway, and the increasing interest in the proper development of the bayfront as an historical and civic center, also sup­port the belief that Erie is finally begin­ning to think and act as a "small big town." As Erie grows in stature as an urban center, its importance to the quality of life in Northwestern Pennsylvania also grows. Disdainful as the suburbs may appear of "the city", it is precisely "the city" which offers most of the amenities so important to a high quality of civic life. Few will con­test that it is the city of Erie which pro­vides the majority of athletic events, cultural events, public performances and mass entertainment events for the area, or that it is the city that houses the library, the museum, two colleges, the news­papers, the radio stations, two television stations, and the Civic Center. What's more, it is the city of Erie which has the water plant and system so critical to the economic future of the entire community.

In short, the condition of Erie is so critical to its suburbs, especially those north of 1-90, that such measures as com­muter taxes, increases in the occupational tax levied by the city on non-residents, might well be defended as necessary and proper to the "common good" of the northwest region. Metropolitan govern­ment may be an odious term for some and an idea whose time may never come in Erie County, but the reality of the mutual dependency between the city of Erie and the rest of the county cannot be denied if there is to be a significant future for this corner of Pennsylvania. continued

MERCYHURST MAGAZINE

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Characteristics of the

Erie Population

The long-awaited 1980 census con­tained both good and bad news for the city of Erie. The good news

was that the population of the city dropped only about 10,000 people from a 1970 figure of 129,231 to 119,123 in 1980.

While some of this decline may be at­tributed to outward migration, it is just as likely that many of these lost Erieites sim­ply went next door to one of the growing suburbs ringing the city. This pattern actu­ally began twenty years ago as Table I reveals, and it is especially noticeable north of 1-90 where Fairview, Millcreek and Harborcreek experienced significant growth while Erie was losing almost 14% of its population.

The citizens of Erie have always been

regarded as "careful spenders" and

sometimes a "tough luxury market"

Depressing as Erie's people losses over the last two decades might seem, the decline is considerably less than the decline experienced by many other aging northeastern cities. Buffalo and Detroit, for example, nearby Great Lake cities, lost from 20-25% of their city population in the same time period. Population declines for other regional cities were also generally higher than Erie's, especially those with a less diversified economic base. Ever more encouraging is the prediction of the Census Bureau that Erie's population decline has just about stabilized (from a high of 138,440 in 1960). According to the mid-range projection of the U. S. Census Bureau and Penn State University, Erie County is expected to grow from its pre­sent 279,780 to 317,400 by the year 2000, while the city of Erie population is ex­pected to reach 119,800 after bottoming out in 1990 at 117,900. While these modest re­bound projections are certainly good news for the city, the bold fact remains that if the forecasters are correct, the city of Erie, which once accounted for 67% of the county's population, will only constitute 38% of it in seventeen years.

The change in the city-county popula­tion, however, is only one side of the coin. There are also some significant trends

developing in the actual composition of the Erie city population which could very well weaken the future financial position of the governmental units. For one thing, the fastest growing element in the Erie community is the elderly. A study of the age groups within the city population from 1970 to 1980 shows a 11.6% increase in those 65 and older, and census predic­tions project that the city's elderly will grow from 15,940 in 1980 to 21,204 in 1990

and to 26,387 in 2000—a striking change from 13.4% of the population to 22.4%. Just as dramatic has been the decline in younger persons in the last decade of about 11,000 or a startling 25.2%. This percentage represents a loss of 5,892 children under nine years of age from 1970-1980 and 5,140 students from ages 10-19. The impact of these demographics has, of course, been obvious for some time in declining school enrollment.

Population Growth of Nearby Erie Town/Townships 1960-1980

1960-70 1970-80 Total

Erie Fairview Greene Harborcreek Lawrence Park McKean Millcreek Summit Wesleyville

-9,209 2,369

939 1,469

114 549

8,505 813 386

• -10,108 1,262 1,219 2,606

67 1,447 7,357 1,144

78

-19,317 + 3,631 + 2,158 + 4,073 + 181 + 1,996 +15,865 + 1,937 + 464

(net gain outside Erie 30,327)

1980 U.S. Census tracts 2,3,4,5,6,7/10 #1

4 MKRCYIIURST MAGAZINE

White/Black Population in

White

Black

* from 1980 U.S. ** based on mid-i

1970

120,380 (93.2%)

8,577 ( 6.6%)

Census ange projection

1980

106,207 (89.2%)

11,567 ( 9.7%)

Erie*

1990 (proj.)**

100,569 (85.3%)

14,738 (12.5%)

of Census Bureau and Perm State University

2000 (proj.)

93,360 (81.8%)

17,788 (15.5%)

#2 Another significant change in the city's

population has been the rapid increase of the black population. Table II clearly shows the changing ratio of whites to blacks in the Erie population.

The growing black presence in the Erie community is even more significant when one examines the age brackets. In 1980 there were 64,067 whites to 5,957 blacks between the ages of 18-64 or a 13-1 ratio, but under 17 years of age there were only 21,817 whites to 5,025 blacks—a 5-1 ratio, the impact of which will be increasingly important in the next 25 years. Moreover, the actual black population of the city is in all probability at least 2% higher than the 9.7% indicated since the census historically has undercounted blacks in urban areas. The effect of all this will cer­tainly impact the tax base since the average black in the city of Erie in 1980 earned about $7,000 less than the average white ($20,543 - $13,548). In addition, 66.6% of the black population also rented their homes in comparison to 38.7% of the whites.

Given the obvious trend lines contained in the increasing "grey and black" nature of Erie's population, one may legitimate­ly question whether the persistent erosion of the current tax base will permit the governmental units to continue operating in the same manner.

The income profile of the Erie popula­tion also points up the serious limitations currently existing for the tax base with on­ly 15% of the population or 4,714 persons making more than $30,000 in 1980, and only 681 people or about 3% earning more than $50,000. Such a limited base of per­sons who might be judged to have 'discre­tionary income' and who own more ex­pensive homes, has, of course, con­siderable significance for the retail/com­mercial and even cultural/social life of the city. Erie's median income of $18,119, just below the national average, stems from the fact that 38% of the families in Erie had less than a $15,000 income in 1979. All this, of course, explains why the citizens of Erie have always been regarded as "careful spenders" and sometimes a "tough lux­ury market."

This same 'middling' picture appears in the housing stock of the city, a prime ele­ment in the property taxation structure. The median value of an Erie home in 1980 was a modest $34,600, with just 3200 of 21,881 homes valued above $30,000 and only 174 above $100,000. Conversely, almost one-third of the houses in Erie were valued below $30,000, with about one-half ranging from $30,000 to $50,000.

These homes actually hold less people than a decade ago (2.72 compared to 3.08 in 1970) and there are more vacancies in the housing stock than 10 years ago (7.2% in 1980 compared to 3.9% in 1970).

Erie's educational profile, on the other hand, appears more stable. About 65% of Erie's populace has been to high school and almost 20,000 have had some post-secondary education which indicates the presence of a reasonably well educated work force and populace. Less encourag­ing is the fact that 35% of the population has never finished high school, and half of those never got beyond grade school.

While Erie's elementary/secondary statistics in general are comparable to state and national averages, the post-secondary statistics do not compare as well. The fact that only 11% have completed college or professional education compared to 16%

nationally and 13% statewide, means that Erie has a smaller than normal profes­sional community. In turn this has placed some restraints on the cultural and in­tellectual life of the community, although less so than a decade ago when only 8% held a college degree. It has also provid­ed less support for higher cost quality education than is often present in more affluent and educated communities, and has some impact on the sophistication level of the community and its resulting image outside the immediate region.

The surprising fact that Erie actually has 5% fewer college graduates than the na­tional average, despite the presence of three colleges and two universities in a fif­teen mile radius, seems to stem from the lack of adequate professional oppor­tunities in the Erie economy which forces many area college graduates to leave the city to find suitable employment. This "brain drain" and its accompanying loss of energy, creativity, knowledge, and leadership potential remains one of Erie's most serious problems in reshaping the city.

Discouraging as the "brain drain" might be, in general the statistics show the economic and employment base of the city to be vital, resilient and undergoing dramatic change.

For example, in 1980 the Erie work force over 16 years of age was employed in the following diverse occupations:

• 17% worked in a managerial/profes­sional capacity

• 31% worked in a technical, sales or administrative support capacity 15% worked in a service-related capacity 24% worked in an industrial/manu­facturing/labor capacity

• 12% worked in a craft, skilled pro­duction, or repair capacity

continued on \m$e 19

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Home Values - City

$ o -10,000 -15,000 -20,000 -25,000 -30,000 -35,000 -40,000 -50,000 -80,000 -

100,000 -150,000 -200,000 +

1980 U.S. Census

of Erie

$ 10,000 14,999 19,999 24,999 29,999 34,999 39,999 49,999 79,999 99,999

149,999 199,999

490 848

1,391 2,279 2,800 3,487 3,154 4,282 2,801

225 120 31 21 1 .^^M-

#3

SPRING 1984

IS THE

RIGHT TO DIE *

RIGHTFUL ?

DR. JOHN M. LINCOURT

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I t is a self-evident truth that the mortality rate among humans is one hundred percent. Barring sudden

death, each one of us will go through the process of dying. During the past few decades, however, death has changed its shape. The old Victorian deathbed scene of final farewells at home has been re­placed. Death now comes in hospitals. Pa­tients do not meet death anymore; the end frequently comes for them while coma­tose, betubed, aerated, glucosed, sedated, unconscious—in a way, not human at all.

Recent medical history has witnessed the unprecedented development of arti­ficial life-support systems. A whole array of devices—surgical, pharmacological and mechanical—can be brought into play to stave off death. The ethical question of medical initiatives in living and dying is therefore a problem caused by success not

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by failure. Currently, we can preserve and prolong life beyond our great-grand­father's rosiest dreams. In fact, it has reached the point where prolonging life may paradoxically be prolonging death. Along with the problem of how to save life comes the problem of when to stop it.

The main issue created by this dilem­ma is whether a person dying in pain and without hope of recovery should have the right to choose an easier and quicker death. For many people contemplating modern medicine's ability to prolong life, death itself is more welcome compared to the terrors of senility and protracted ter­minal illness. Some patients are beginning to look for ways to escape medical in­tervention. In a strange way, the white coats of our doctors are taking on a grim­mer hue, a new and less benign image. This is not because medical professionals

have become less humane and caring. The main reason is that advancement in medical technology has left many medico-ethical values behind with the outdated equipment. In fact, the whole notion of a "natural death" has become somewhat blurred and in some cases hopelessly problematic.

All of this has led to talk about elective death, that is chosen dying. Terminal pa­tients and their physicians are looking for ways not to prolong death. This is the ethical question of euthanasia. At issue is the assumption that human beings should always see death as an enemy and never a friend. This is no mere academic ques­tion. It is faced thousands of times each year by physicians and other medical per­sonnel as they deal with patients in ter­minal stages of illness and try to decide whether the patient is still a person or a

ME-RCYIIURST MAGAZINE

thing, a subject or an object. At what point and under what circumstances are medical personnel merely ventilating a corpse? We philosophers and others in academe have provided precious few guidelines in the past to comfort or enlighten those in medical practice. No wonder they look upon us as not quite serious figures. Fortunately this trend is beginning to change.

As a topic for discussion, euthanasia tends to be unpopular, because it frightens people. For some, it evokes the specter of Nazi Germany where thousands of pa­tients were exterminated because they were presumed to be socially useless and unfit. By inference what seems to bother many opponents of legalized euthanasia is not so much the right of an individual to choose an easier death, but the crea­tion of the right of execution in another. They would perhaps be willing to grant the patient's right to die; what they do not wish to grant is the physician's or relative's right to kill.

In working through a philosophical analysis of euthanasia, our first obstacle concerns the type of value we attach to life itself. For the vitalists, life is a self-validating good. This is to say that all life

At issue is the assumption

that human beings should always see

death as an enemy and never

a friend.

is intrinsically good, even if the individual is suffering acutely from a terminal illness. Seen from this perspective, medicine's primary reason for being is, in Albert Schweitzer's words, " . . . a reverence for life." The preservation of life is medicine's main business. In its radical form, vitalism asserts that life must be preserved at all costs and ethical "trade-offs" are not allowed.

At the other end of the pole, the situa-tionist asserts that the Tightness or wrongness of euthanasia depends on prevailing circumstances. Sometimes, it is right—sometimes it is wrong. It depends. This position rests on two assumptions: (1) medical science can now cause the pro­longation of life of a severely deformed child, for example, and (2) it is not clear that life so prolonged is good for the child. For the situationist, the decision is based

Currently, we can preserve and prolong life

beyond our great-grandfather's

rosiest dreams. In fact, it has

reached the point where prolonging life

may paradoxically be prolonging

death.

on the child's suffering and compromised existence.

At first blush, it might appear that ethical situationism is more flexible and hence more suitable in working through the convolutions of the euthanasia issue. However, it is not all that easy to crystallize into a concise formula those cir­cumstances where euthanasia would be clearly right or wrong. For example, one difficulty concerns the proviso the patient be dying before euthanasia be considered. The whole notion of "dying" is not without ambiguity. In a sense, any patient who is seriously ill might or might not be dying. And even in those cases where death seems likely in days or weeks, its probability varies. Thus, one patient may be thought to have one chance in a hun­dred of surviving the present crisis. Another may have two chances, or ten or thirty, and so forth. Where does one draw the line and say the patient is definitely dying? In a less technical sense, the very process of dying is paradoxical. We actual­ly begin dying at birth. Our time of death is simply the moment we finish.

A related problem deals with the popular belief that in life and death deci­sions, persons should be allowed to preserve their dignity. Unfortunately, it is not always clear what is meant by the term, "dignity." It has at least two distinct senses. In one sense, dignity refers to the worth one attaches to a human being just because he is a member of a rational species. A person has this type of dignity even though he may be distressed, ill, or physically or mentally handicapped. Let's refer to this sense as dignity #1. The other sense of dignity usually refers to the con­trol one has over the major and significant aspects of one's life. This is the ability of a human being to determine his way of

life and have this acknowledged by others. Let's call this dignity #2.

Thus in terms of human dignity, there are two propositions at stake: (A) all human life has dignity #1 and (B) all human life has dignity #2. Proposition A is true. In fact, it may be a Truism. But Pro­position B can be false. There are some situations, especially those involving ter­minal illness, where an individual's con­dition is so grave there is no genuine possibility the patient will ever regain reasonable control over the major aspects of his life. Do such circumstances support the decision to terminate the patient's life. Or is the vitalist correct in saying human life cannot be terminated under any circumstances.

In conclusion, I offer the following observation. The euthanasia controversy exists today because medical progress has produced a domino effect. Medical ethics is clearly affected. Whereas before, the acknowledged goal of medicine was fair­ly unambiguous: "Do your best to preserve life and reduce suffering." Today, this goal can be achieved by using artificial means. Of and by itself, this is not wrong. The problem comes up when a person asserts the right to allow his life to follow

. . . the very process of dying is paradox­

ical. We actually begin dying at birth. Our time of death is simply the moment

we finish.

a natural course, even if it results in death. The reason might be the artificial preser­vation of life increases the patient's suf­fering or creates unnecessary hardship for the family Finally I would add this ques­tion of the right to die is an old one. I have a suspicion the aged Socrates refused to make concessions that would save his life partly because he realized his work was done and years of senility loomed ahead.

JOHN M. LINCOURT, guest writer for the Mercy-hurst Magazine, xuas the featured faculty in our first Thanks Prof. Series. Lincourt headed Mercyhurst's philosophy department in the late sixties and early seventies. He holds a Ph.D in Philosophy from SUMY Buffalo and is currently on the faculty at the Univer­sity of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Lincourt is affiliated ivith the Charlotte Memorial Hospital and Medical Center as preceptor in biomedical ethics in the department of family medicine.

SPRING 1984

INTERIOR DESIGN

'"The emphasis upon people and their needs makes all the difference / /

D awn Day, a bright and attractive senior interior design student, was hesitant, uncertain whether

she could really do the job. Finally she accepted the cooperative education experience being offered at the Erie Insurance Exchange at the company head­quarters in Erie. She was the first "co-op" in interior design the corporation had ever hired. Did they really need professional designers in facilities planning? What advantages could possibly accrue to the insurance business by employing an in­terior designer? That was in 1981. Today that insurance corporation employs three full-time interior designers, all educated in the Mercyhurst College interior design program, offers "co-op" positions each year, and sends some of its own employees to Mercyhurst to study in that program.

This story has many parallels in other businesses and industries in the Erie area. They have realized that individuals educated in the unique interior design program at Mercyhurst have much to of­fer, and they have made possible the con­tinued education of their own employees who wish to enroll in this program. In several instances, individuals pursuing their own interest in interior design at Mercyhurst, have proved to be so valuable in their work settings that their employers have created full-time positions for interior designers and have sought to fill them with Mercyhurst graduates.

What makes this program unique? Traditionally, interior design programs are housed in fine arts departments where their curricula reflect an emphasis on aesthetics, on the creative expression of the designer, on rendering skills as a tool for sharing design concepts with clients. At Mercyhurst, the interior design pro­gram was developed in the Department of Human Ecology. All programs in this depar tment—including Foodservice Management and Nutrition Education, Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising, Fami­ly Life Education, as well as Interior Design—share the same focus: human needs . Individuals are profoundly affected by their near environments—their homes, offices, schools—and they in turn act upon those environments continual­ly as they seek to live productive, satisfy-

DR. JAMIE B. YULE

Presentation drawing of a Georgian living worn by adult student Naaz Alikhan.

ing lives. Aspiring interior designers at Mercyhurst learn that the near environ­ment within which people live can either help or hinder them from fulfilling their needs and achieving their goals. They learn that the professional interior designer must use his/her skills and knowledge, including aesthetics, to order space and to design near environments in ways which optimize human achieve­ment, satisfaction, efficiency and produc­tivity. The emphasis upon people and their needs makes all the difference!

Today the Mercyhurst College interior design program services 41 major s tudents , 12 of whom—all adult learners—are pursuing the associate degree. These adults hold diverse posi­tions in local businesses: showroom designer for a furniture manufacturer, en­trepreneur in office design, salesperson in a retail shop for draperies and linens, designer for an office supply company, consul tant for a lighting company specializing in large commercial installa­tions, designer for a local building firm, manager of a kitchen design business.

Jacquelyn Howey, associate professor of human ecology and program director, is enthusiastic about the business people in interior design courses which typically

enroll students of traditional college age. "They provide definite enrichment for the inexperienced undergraduate students, yet they are students one and all. They blend together beautifully both in and out of the classroom. I am pleased to see how supportive they are of one another, and they mix well socially too. The college-age students have verbalized that they learn a lot from the adults in their classes. In­deed, as I am recruiting I always mention the presence of these student-business persons as a characteristic of our program."

Job opportunities are excellent for graduates of the Mercyhurst interior design program. "Right now I have more employment opportunities than we have persons ready to fill them," Ms. Howey noted. "In the last two weeks alone I have received calls from five firms announcing neio full-time positions available for in­terior designers, including a firm in Florida which has hired one of our graduates."

DAWN DAY '82 is a graduate student in housing and architecture at Iowa State University.

DR. JAMIE B. YULE is a professor and chairman of the human ecology department at Mercyhurst College.

8 MERCYHURST MAGAZINE

"I like to see a painting take form, coming to life from a blank canvas, but at the same time I think I am primarily a teacher. I perhaps receive the most satisfaction from seeing students blossom in front of me!'

Thanks Prof: Sister Angelica Cummings

"I have seen what the world has to offer

and am very happy in the

religious life'.'

Sister M. Angelica 1900 - 1984

I learned of the death of Sister M. Angelica Cummings at Saturday evening's mass here at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Farrell, PA. I was saddened by this news and felt I had to write this small tribute to Sister Angelica.

You were the first educator I met at Mercyhurst College, and the last one I came back to visit.

I remember seeing you in the early morning hours, while others slept, walk­ing the campus grounds, the crucifix on the rosary you held in your hands, gleam­ing in the early dawn light. Although you never knew it, I deeply admired your dedication to your faith.

I never knew anyone who could bring so much life to an empty canvas as you did. "Every color in everything!" you would often say to your students. We all learned so much from you. Most impor­tantly, however, we learned not to be afraid to create visually what we all felt in our souls.

Your sense of humor, and the way you used it to correct our mistakes, was a rare quality.

You will be sadly missed by all of us whose lives you touched, if only briefly.

I shall think of you often, but especial­ly when I see a beautiful sunset with an extra dash of bright yellow, orange, or red. That's when I'll know that it is just you, Sister Angelica, doing what you always

did with your students, just borrowing God's palette knife and adding your own special touch to His Canvas.

Kathy Turek Frissora 75 Farrell, PA

Sister Angelica Cummings was my men­tor and my friend. As such, she didn't leave me a bequest or legacy when she died January 27. Those words speak of the material. However, Sister did leave me a very special kind of inheritance. But it is more like something received from pro­genitors or predecessors as if by succes­sion; a portion, a peculiar possession or heritage. She bequeathed to me her recognition of me as a valuable person with talents and one with weaknesses, too. But best of all, she accepted me as I am.

I came to Mercyhurst in 1950 from Academy high school in Erie. I was an Episcopalian at the time. I have to be honest, I didn't want to attend what was then an all-girls' school, but by the end of my freshman year, I'd have scrubbed floors to stay there. I was also on probation! And was I scared. In tears, I shared my fears with Sister Angelica, who said to me, "An­nie, everyone here loves you, but we have to mark you on what you do\" It was a tur­ning point for me. After that, I worked much harder.

Angelica taught many art classes. Two memories stand out in my mind about her teaching. Her History of Art course was inspiring. The slides she used were the unique glass variety on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her teaching was enthusiastic, but more than that, she was on fire, yet disciplined as she brought out the problems in the artists' works and lives and explained how they solved them. Always, she accented man's relationship with God. Sister actually taught about life. Nothing could distract you in that class. You wanted to watch her vibrant face, her gestures, hear her next word.

She loved us and we knew it! I remember when five of us did the rococ-co decorations in the Little Theater for our thesis and then played in the production of "Brigadoon" to celebrate the Theater's opening to the Erie public. During the long hours we spent on the art project, we could always count on Sister Angelica to stop over between classes. We'd be high on the scaffolding near the ceiling when we'd hear her walk in. Minutes later, we'd watch her, the outer long skirts of her habit pinn­ed up, as she'd climb the scaffolding to our perch. Always with snacks and advice.

But it was after graduation that our friendship deepened. Seven years after I graduated from Mercyhurst, I converted to Catholicism. It was in 1961 and Sister was there for my baptism at St. Peter's Cathedral. She pressed a green-beaded rosary, made in Ireland, home of our ancestry, into my hands. It was a moment I will never forget.

Some twenty years later, when little strokes made it nearly impossible for her to connect sentences, I still visited her. One day, longing to communicate with her the way we had in the past and yet accepting the fact that such was no longer possible, I just stood there, gazing into her eyes and said, "I love you, Sister Angelica!" She never looked away. She returned my look of love and said clearly and distinctly, "I know. I was just thinking about that!"

I could write a book about Sister. In it, I would emphasize her integrity. In today's vernacular, she was "all-together." She never did anything out of character. She wasn't a phony. Her faith was real. She was both human and humane. Truly, she loved mankind.

Sister Angelica was one beautiful lady and I am very grateful for the day when our paths crossed and our hearts met. I am sure St. Patrick himself would have said, "Angelica, God love ya!" I know I sure did.

Ann Downing Sala '51 Erie, PA

SPRING 1984

MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL

E ven today, 32 years after the con­struction of Weber Hall, members of the college community continue

to experience that //Mercyhurst mystique" as they stand to the east of the edifice to focus on the medallions of Dante, Shakespeare, Mozart, Thomas Aquinas, and Michelangelo. And above these or­naments, from inside the fourteen-foot high leaded windows come the sights and sounds of even greater beauty. An art not set in stone as history, but an art which lives. Agile, yet disciplined, bodies move in aesthetic unison beneath a wooden-beamed cathedral ceiling as mirrored walls multiply the movements. A piano score escapes clear and bright through an open window. Mercyhurst Dance is alive.

DONNA J. PETERSON '83

Several ingredients contribute to the suc­cess of this department. A corps of students whose potential at the onset and whose collective "strive for excellence" reflect the philosophy of the dance depart­ment, as well as the college. Fine faculty leadership provides the instruction which molds and refines the dancers' skills. An eclectic curriculum emphasizing ballet as an art form is highlighted by technically proficient and acclaimed on-stage perfor­mances. These essential elements find their home in a studio exuding both class and charm, recently noted as one of the most impressive dance facilities in the

nation. Since the department's inception in 1974,

under then Academic Dean Dr. William P.

Garvey, Mercyhurst Dance has been head­quartered in Weber Hall. The benevolent gift of Sister Mary Alice Weber and Sister Mary Rachel Weber, the facility was built as a memorial to their father, Joseph J. Weber. Upon completion, Weber Hall was deemed an artistic and functional asset to the college plant, designed to house the Little Theatre and Library. While the Theatre today remains in Weber Hall, the Library was re-located to the new Learn­ing Resource Center in 1971.

The beautifully appointed lobby and lounge and a graceful, winding staircase which once led to the second floor library Reading Room, now leads to the dance studio, transformed to its nearly aesthetically-perfect state in 1973. The decor

10 MERCYHURST MAGAZINE

of the studio is "conducive to ballet train­ing and reminiscent of the courts of Europe which gave birth to ballet in the seven­teenth century" according to Lawrence W. Jones, department director. Beyond the cathedral ceiling, mirrored walls, and the awesome grandeur of leaded windows and a painting of the Virgin Mary imported from Italy (a gift of the late Bishop John Mark Gannon) are the functional areas of the dance department - dressing rooms, storage space, offices, and classrooms.

It is within this environment that the suc­cessful transfer of ideas and techniques takes place between the instructor and his students. Lawrence Jones is the key force who trains and disciplines the minds and bodies of his students.

Jones, a former principal with the Cin­cinnati Ballet, holds his M.A. from the University of Cincinnati — Conservatory of Music. He is the artistic director and head of the Mercyhurst dance department and dance ensemble.

Ballet is emphasized in Jones' depart­ment. He cites two reasons for the establishment of this curriculum: First, ballet as an art form has endured over 300 years of development and scrutiny and is, consequently, a worthy subject for study at the college level. Secondly, the study of ballet technique establishes a well-honed instrument, the ideal choreographic tool: a body not only capable of the demands of classical ballet, but which adapts readily to the disciplines of other dance forms.

In order for graduates of a college dance program to adequately meet the demands of the current dance job market, a stringent curriculum is necessary. Dance majors at Mercyhurst are enrolled in four to five hours of daily technique classes, a weight maintenance program, and courses stress­ing increased literacy. Classes in history, terminology, aesthetics, anatomy, kine­siology, technique instruction, and choreography - all with the growing use of texts - have raised the foundations of dance literacy considerably, said Jones.

Additional instruction from adjunct and guest faculty including Lori Koller, John Ashton, Carola Goya and Matteo, Tania Karina, RW. Manchester, John Prinz, and most recently, Allan Kinzie 77, have heightened the student awareness of other dance forms such as Spanish, East Indian, jazz, and modern dance techniques. Jones said he hopes that future department ex­pansion will make these elements perma­nent additions to the dance program.

This increasingly demanding curriculum has necessitated greater selectivity of students admitted as Mercyhurst dance majors. Since Jones assumed department directorship in 1981 students of the highest technical caliber have been recruited from across the country. Three nationally adver­tised auditions are held annually to deter­mine admissibility, advanced standing, and scholarship. What has resulted is an

increased enrollment, particularly males, (currently at ten) of students from regions including Texas, Florida, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, and Ohio. "Most importantly," noted Jones, "the auditions have upgraded the overall level of technical proficiency."

A Conservatory of Dance, established in 1981 under the direct auspices of the dance department, is geared toward the non-matriculating student and offers a con­tinuum of dance training for ages six

Restaurant departments, exemplified Mer-cyhurst's commitment to the fine arts and signaled the success of an ongoing process geared toward increasing interaction within the college and the Erie communi­ty. Jones cites the significance of perform­ing: "The performance of dance is fun­damental to its existence and comprehen­sion as an art form; and it is through the department's ability to intelligently present competent and meaningful dance perfor­mances that its greatest potential as a con-

Kim Ries '86 «IWB • v m v ^ B i - -Ml uWIJPWIH — < « ^

through adult. This program affords a unique involvement by the Erie communi­ty, teaching opportunities for qualified up-perclass dance majors, as well as develop­ing future dance major candidates.

As the capstone to studio instruction, students of Mercyhurst Dance showcase their skills in local performances. An am­bitious measure undertaken by the college administration established a bi-annual series of concerts staged at Erie's premier showplace, The Warner Theatre. "Gaite Parisienne," the initial series performance in May 1983, heightened by the participa­tion of the Music, Art, and Hotel-

tributor to the cultural/educational ex­perience of Mercyhurst and the Erie com­munity may truly be realized."

On April 14, "An Evening of Classical Ballet" will be presented at the Warner. "Swan Lake (Act II)," "Don Quixote (Pas de Deux)," and "The Dream" (based on A Midsummer Night's Dream) will be the featured performances. (^

DONNA J. PETERSON is a 1983 graduate of Mer­cyhurst College and recipient of the President's Award for excellence in the Humanities. A former Merciad Editor, Donna is working as a program specialist at the Merci/hurst Career Institute.

SPRING 1984 11

ON THE HILL

Hurst Adds New Major in Sports Medicine

PAT CUNEO

Mercyhurst College will offer an in­novative sports medicine major beginning this fall, marking the first time such a pro­gram has been developed on the college level in the northeastern United States.

Mercyhurst president William P. Garvey explained that the new program will go beyond traditional physical education and athletic training programs, combining the physical sciences and the social sciences.

"We've developed a holistic program that will emphasize nutrition, injury treatment and exercise programs along with psychology, biology, physics and social science training," he said.

The new program offers two areas of con­centration: athletic and wellness. Students in the athletic concentration will be trained to work with athletic injuries, while those in the wellness concentration will be train­ed in preventive fitness for holistic pro­grams like health, nutrition, counseling, and physical fitness.

The sports medicine program, similar to the one already established at the Univer­sity of North Carolina, will produce graduates capable of working in a variety of careers, such as health care, athletics, teaching or sports medicine administration.

"Our new sports medicine major is an in­terdisciplinary program that will attract academically motivated students/' Garvey explained.

'It would provide a valuable background for athletic training and we've been able to incorporate internships with some profes­sional sports teams such as the Buffalo Bills," he said. "Another alternative is the sports medicine programs at hospitals. We're now discussing an internship with one of the hospitals in Erie. We're commit­ted to developing the best sports medicine program of its kind in the country," he explained.

Physical fitness centers, sports medicine clinics, teaching positions and corporate fitness programs offer other outlets for graduates. The program will be headed by Brad jacobson, a certified athletic trainer who joined the College full-time in the fall 1983.

"The students would receive a thousand hours of actual experience with our own sports teams," Garvey said. "We plan to

begin the program slowly and monitor it very closely. We'll accept 20 to 25 students initially and graduate a dozen to 15. Event­ually, we'll expand it to about 50 graduates a year, but we don't want to go beyond that.

Garvey envisions a day when the pro­gram will be on par with the College's school of hotel-restaurant management. "It's a very exciting program that has strong appeal in American industry," he said.

He pointed out that many companies are developing their own health/fitness/nutri­tion programs.

"This also supports our interest in start­ing a program that would serve a growing need in the work force," he added.

PAT CUNEO is editor of SportsWeek, a weekly publica­tion of the Times Publishing Company. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Pat was the recipient of the Mercyhurst College Cuneo Memorial Scholar­ship named in honor of his father Gene Cuneo, former sports editor for the Erie Daily Times.

Sennett Chairs Board of Trustees

Atty. William C Sennett has been elected chairman of the College's board of trustees. Sennett has been a member of the Mer­cyhurst governing board since 1972, and before that time had served for several years on the President's Board of Associates. He is a partner in the law firm of Knox, Pear­son, McLaughlin in Erie.

A cum laude graduate of Holy Cross Col­lege and Georgetown University Law School, Sennett served as a special assis­tant Attorney General for the Com­monwealth of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1966. He was a former administrative assist­ant to Lt. Governor Raymond P. Shafer dur­ing 1966.

A former Jaycee Man of the Year award recipient, Atty. Sennett holds professional membership in the American Judicature Society, and the Erie County and Penn­sylvania Bar Associations.

Also elected as officers of the Mercyhurst trustees were Albert F. Duval as vice-chairman, and Sister M. Eustace Taylor as secretary.

Coming Events May 12 Finals. D'Angelo Young Artist

(Voice) Competition. May 27 Graduation June 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 Canterbury Feast

Two Administrative Appointments Made

Two administrative appointments were made in January at Mercyhurst to streamline the responsibilities of the office of the president.

Thomas A. Billingsley was named direc­tor of administration and Philip J. Brunskill, appointed assistant to the president for advancement.

Thomas Billingsley Philip Brunskill

Billingsley joined the college administra­tion in 1970, and during his 13 year tenure has held several key administrative posi­tions such as director of admissions, direc­tor of institutional research, registrar, and assistant to the president. He returned to the college in January, 1984, following a year and a half sabbatical at SUNY at Buffalo, where he completed doctoral studies in higher education administration.

In his new job at the Hurst, Billingsley assumes the supervisory responsibilities for long-range planning, institutional research, the Corry Center, Adult College, as well as oversees personnel administra­tion. In addition, his other responsibilities include reorganizing the summer school program, updating the College's employee handbook, and beginning work on a revi­sion of the College's master plan.

Philip J. Brunskill, joined the College four months ago having served as a consultant in advancement to Mercyhurst since July 1983. He is responsible for all fund raising at the College, including a major capital campaign being planned.

Brunskill brings nearly 25 years of public relations and development experience to his new position. Most recently he was vice president for advancement at Baldwin-Wallace College. Previously he served for seven years as the vice president for development and public affairs at Chautau­qua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, where he successfully directed the five year, $3 million Gebbie Foundation Challenge Campaign, and the $8.5 million Second Century Campaign.

[2 MERCYHURST MAGAZINI-

FACULTY FOCUS

Dr. Frank Hagan

I t's hard to believe that an academian dedicated to the intellectual stimula­tion of his students and colleagues

could ever harbor a secret desire to write a Stephen King-type work of fiction. But on the other hand, after recently break­ing new ground in Criminal Justice research with the publication of his first textbook and already under contract for his second, Dr. Frank E. Hagan has more than earned the right to entertain such a desire.

Dr. Hagan is currently the director of the Kinnane Graduate Program in Criminal Justice Administration at Mercyhurst, although he has been at the college since 1971 as a professor of sociology and criminal justice and as chairperson of both the sociology and criminal justice divi­sions. Since his years as an undergraduate student in sociology at Gannon Universi­ty, Dr. Hagan has been solely involved in the gamut of higher education. He re­ceived his M. A. in Urban Sociology at the University of Maryland and earned his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve Univer­sity in Research Methods and the Sociology of Occupations and Work.

Interwoven throughout his career as a student, Dr. Hagan spent a three year period as an instructor of sociology at Slip­pery Rock State College and two years as lecturer and senior research associate at Case Western. While he is a native of Pitts­burgh, Dr. Hagan views Erie as his hometown. "I was born at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh and the Sisters of Mercy taught me grade school, so it was inevitable that I ended up at someplace called 'Mer­cyhurst', " he comically reasoned.

Teaching both graduate and under­graduate level courses in the 'Hurst Criminal Justice department (the second largest division at the college hailing 170 majors), Dr. Hagan cites "Research Methods in Criminal Justice" as his per­sonal favorite to instruct. When he began teaching the research course, he said there were no textbooks published in that area. "As a result," he commented," it evolved that there was a need for some material to teach from and consult." And so the text, Research Methods in Criminal justice, (New York: Macmillan, 1982) was written.

DONNA J. PETERSON '83

Dr. Hagan

The Fall 1983 Criminal justice Revieio, which also features an article by Dr. Hagan on organized crime, considers his work "an important milestone" in the advance­ment of Criminal Justice and Criminology. The Revieio also notes: "This text can be judged a success in terms of its adequate presentation of the fundamentals of social science research and the incorporation of issues and examples specific to the field of Criminal Justice/Criminology."

Dr. Hagan has learned that his text has reached the classrooms of institutions such as Michigan State, Temple, San Jose, and Indiana Universities. Both national and foreign sales of the book continue to climb.

The intent of a course and text in research methods is not to train students to become researchers, stated Hagan, but to appreciate and better understand research.

"Students should be able to read the journals in their field," he stressed. "It's not unlikely in many places to find even professors and practitioners who can't understand the latest material in their field which is kind of sad." Dr. Hagan drew a

parallel: "It's comparable to going in for heart surgery and asking your doctor if he's read the latest article in the New England Journal of Medicine and he says either, 'I don't understand it' or 'I don't bother with that sort of thing.' It's very im­portant that we try to close the gap be­tween the typical information found in journal articles and the latest literature in the field and the ability of students, facul­ty, or practitioners to read and understand them."

The concept of criminal justice research is vital to the futures of graduates in the field. "For a number of students, their very jobs might depend upon some evaluation that's been done on their agency. The knowledge of research methods would ensure that they know how to defend themselves," explained Dr. Hagan. Proper training in research methods also makes the job of grant-writing less difficult and more successful, he added.

The publication of his first textbook has contributed to the professional develop­ment of Dr. Hagan. "It's been helpful for me to have my ideas tested out in the in­tellectual marketplace," he admitted.

Criminology will be Dr. Hagan's second book and is under contract with Nelson-Hall Publishers in Chicago. The author's wife, Mary Ann Hagan, is a junior art ma­jor at Mercyhurst and designer of the up­coming text's slick, expressive cover.

When he steps away from his college post and declares a respite in his authorial pursuits, Dr. Hagan spends time with his wife and nine-year old daughter, Shannon Kate, and enjoys the athletics of a good tennis match. And even this scholar, whose ideas and words have made a significant contribution in the Criminal Justice arena, finds glorious escape in the novels of Stephen King and Robert Ludlum. Someday, Dr. Hagan admits, he would like to create a novel brimming with the intrique, suspense, and anything-can-happen plotlines like those of Ludlum and King.

What would the successful completion of this goal do to Dr. Frank Hagan's credibility?

"Nothing/' he quips. "I would use a pen name."

SPRING 1984 13

ADVANCEMENT

Gifts Provide Vital Margin For All College Operations

"Private gifts increasingly are important and vital to Mercyhurst College to meet current operating needs, as well as to pro­vide student scholarships and general academic support/' according to Atty. William C. Sennett, chairman of the board of trustees.

"Mercyhurst is no different than any other college or university when it comes to the need for private gift support," Sen-nett observed. "At Mercyhurst, as at other institutions of higher education, income from tuition, and room and board fees represents only a portion of the income needed by the college. The balance must come from contributions by alumni, parents, corporations, foundations and friends."

This year the unrestricted gift goal is $195,000 that must be reached by June 30, 1984, including $50,000 expected from alumni. As of March 19, a total of $62,604 has been received," according to Sennett, "including $30,000 from alumni.

"We are pleased," Sennett noted, "that the percent of alumni participating in the College's Annual Fund Drive is well above the national average. Last year 27% of all Mercyhurst alumni contributed to the Col­lege, compared with the national average of 18.9%. However, the average Mer­cyhurst alumni gift last year was only $37 compared with the national average of $104.

To help Mercyhurst hold down tuition and other charges, the College is expand­ing its fund raising efforts and encourag­ing greater gift support from all alumni, friends and constituents.

"Every gift, regardless of size, is impor­tant," Sennett emphasized, "and we en­courage every Mercyhurst alumnus and friend who has not yet made a gift to the College this year to do so prior to June 30th."

Creative Giving Can Provide Tax Benefits

While the most common form of giving to Mercyhurst College by alumni, friends and donors is either a check or gift of appreciated securities, frequently a donor can make a contribution through a trust or insurance policy in such a manner as to provide substantial tax benefits and, in some cases, lifetime income for the donor.

Increasingly, creative planned giving is proving to be an attractive alternative, par-

William Sennett James Parr

ticularly when large gifts are being con­sidered or when a donor possesses highly appreciated securities and/or real estate which do not produce great income and which would trigger significant capital gains taxes if sold.

"Often it is possible for a donor to make a gift much larger than otherwise possi­ble if creative thought is given to the pro­cess," according to James H. Parr, chair­man of the College's Planned Giving Com­mittee, and Executive Vice President of the First National Bank of Pennsylvania in Erie.

Old Insurance Policies Make Good Gifts

"Not to be overlooked," according to Parr, "are life insurance policies that no longer serve purposes for which they were originally intended." Perhaps policies were purchased at an early age when security for a spouse and children was im­portant, but such insurance is no longer critical to the family situation. In such cases, ownership and a beneficial interest

in the policy can be turned over to Mer­cyhurst with little or no out of pocket cost to the donor, with accrued cash values and future premiums tax deductible.

Also, through a bequest by Will, an indi­vidual can avoid estate taxes on all assets bequeathed to Mercyhurst College.

Through creative planning, an indi­vidual might be able to improve personal estate and income tax circumstances, and at the same time provide a truly impor­tant boost to Mercyhurst.

If desired, such gifts can honor the memory of a loved one with a named memorial scholarship, an academic fund, a room, campus facility or building.

*

Insurance Career Scholarship Established

A scholarship endowment fund has been established at Mercyhurst by the In­surance Club of Erie County to honor the memory of William Cochrane, a past president of the club.

The fund will assist needy and worthy students interested in a career in the in­surance industry. Contributions are being solicited from all Pennsylvania Agents and Companies, and are tax deductible. Checks should be made payable to the Mercyhurst College Cochrane Memorial Fund and forwarded either to the college or to the Insurance Club of Erie, 1030 State Street, Erie, PA 16501 c/o Robert Potalivo, President.

Mercyhurst President William Garvey met recently with James Carter, Treasurer of the Insurance Club of Erie, to finalize arrangements for a new scholarship fund established at the College to honor the memory of William Cochrane, past President of the Insurance Club.

14 MERCYHURST MAGAZINE

Sports

sports

GREG YOKO '85 Information Director

*

'Hurst Graduate Climbing Through the Ranks

John Costello, a 1983 graduate of Mercy-hurst College, is continuing to make his pitch to become a major league baseball player.

After graduating last year with a bachelor of arts degree in police science, Costello signed a Major League Baseball contract with the Erie Cardinals, a farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals. Current­ly, he is in St. Petersburg, Florida hoping to advance another step toward the majors.

During his collegiate pitching career at the Hurst, the right-handed Costello com­piled a 27-9 won-loss record. His most suc­cessful year was his junior season when he finished with the best Division II earned run average (era) in the country. However, Costello's 1.12 era wasn't his only outstand­ing statistic. He was also the fifth leading strikeout pitcher, averaging 10.7 per outing, in his 9-2 season.

Costello's debut with the Erie Cardinals was a transition that came with problems. After pitching a college season in the spring, he was asked to begin pitching summer baseball for the pros.

"It wasn't as successful as I wanted (3-5 with 3 saves)," Costello relates, "but I pitched well down the stretch. Overall, I was a little disappointed, but the whole season was more of a learning experience."

Costello did, however, impress the Car­dinal officials enough to have his contract renewed. He is presently attending the Cardinals spring training camp.

When asked about the upcoming season, Costello says 1984 looks promising.

"Right now the Class A' team in Savan­nah, Georgia has my contract - that's a two step move up from Erie," Costello explains, "St. Louis has the largest organization in Baseball with one rookie, five Class 'A, a Class AA^ and a Class AAA team before the majors."

Costello did mention that the Cardinals have the option of placing him on whatever team they feel he belongs. He hopes that he will be sent to either Savannah or a team higher in the organization.

One of the major changes which he'll

John Costello '83

face should he advance would be a schedule increase. Last season, while with Erie, the team played a 79 game schedule. Savannah, on the other hand, plays a 140 game slate.

It appears, at age 23, Costello has already taken steps toward achieving a dream that many youngsters have while growing up.

Cyterski Named Athletic Director

As Mercyhurst College grows, so does its athletic department. With growth, responsibilities and needs change. Thus, the Hurst has recreated the position of Athletic Director which it consolidated in 1981.

Len Cyterski, former Mercyhurst direc­tor of veterans and testing, and assistant director of the Act 101 Program, has been named to the post.

Cyterski brings administrative skills, as well as a strong and successful sports background to the Mercyhurst athletic pro­gram. Before assuming his administrative duties at the Hurst ten years ago, Cyterski was a well known sports figure in and around Erie.

An Erie native, he was named All-City at Cathedral Prep High School in three dif­ferent sports - baseball, basketball and foot­ball. He then attended Notre Dame for a year on a football scholarship before transferring to Gannon where he played basketball for three years.

After a stint playing football with the Ar­my, Cyterski returned home to coach at his high school Alma Mater. He taught and coached at Prep for 17 years before com­ing to Mercyhurst.

Among Cyterski's duties will be budgeting, scheduling, and providing the department with motivation and leader­ship through his administrative skills.

"I'm proud and honored to serve Mercy­hurst in this capacity," says the amiable Cyterski. "I hope to contribute something to this program, especially administrative­ly. I'd like to maintain and further aid Mer-cyhurst's drive to achieve athletic excellence with academic excellence."

Laker Tennis Team Striving for National Championship

Some things never change. When Mercyhurst College began

welcoming men to its campus, it wasn't long before men's sports made their debut. One of these sports has been successful since its inception.

The Mercyhurst Men's Tennis team is at it again. The Laker netters captured the Na­tional Association of Intercollegiate Athletic (NAIA) national championship in 1976 and have been striving to be champs ever since.

Although the names and organization have changed, the goal to the top hasn't.

First year head coach Andy Findlay, a 1981 Mercyhurst graduate and Tennis All-American, has inherited a very talented tennis team. The Laker squad has earned a pre-season national ranking.

According to Tennis USA, the official ten­nis publication, Mercyhurst is rated as the twelfth best team in the NCAA Division II rankings.

The Lakers are led on the court by junior Jens Caap, who is ranked eighth in singles competition. Caap, a business administra­tion major, hails from Sweden.

Rounding out the Mercyhurst 'Interna­tional' team are: Peter Straub, a freshman from Canada; Joel Balogun, a sophomore from Nigeria who is rated 22nd national­ly; Phil Nykyforuk, another sophomore from Canada; Walt Hader a Canadian freshmen; and Juan Blazquez, a sophomore from Spain.

SPRING 1984 15

Club Notes Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie alumni held a get-together at the St. Mark's Center following the Mercyhurst vs. Gannon basketball game on February 2.

The class of 1942 also took advantage of the spectacular lake view from St. Mark's at a February 22 gathering.

Syracuse, New York The Syracuse alumni club has scheduled

an April 14 get-together which will include mass and brunch, followed by a wine tasting demonstration by John Wolper, an instructor in the hotel-restaurant manage­ment program at Mercyhurst.

Washington, D.C. Debbie Mattis-Kulig (76) and Cindy

Belczyk (77) attended a Washington con­ference for Pennsylvania Alumni Associa­tions on behalf of Mercyhurst College. They are considering the possibility of a gathering at Wolf trap this summer.

Alumni College Scheduled for July

There is always something special in the celebration of your 50th, 25th, and 10th col­lege reunion. Graduates of 1934,1959, and 1974 will be on hand to entertain the tradi­tions of their respective classes during the 1984 alumni college, July 27-29.

Tentative plans include Barry Reed, author of "The Verdict", as the Friday night speaker; an alumni art show in the new Cummings Gallery; a showcase of north-coast playwrights; workshops and seminars in computers, goal-setting, and dual-career goal-setting; time to meet with the Sisters of Mercy at the Motherhouse; and a dinner honoring all the anniversary classes at which the distinguished alum­na/us award will be presented.

Joyce McChesney '69 and Pat Liebel '53 are co-chairing the 1984 event. Other alum­ni celebrating anniversary years are classes ending in four, five, nine and zero.

Phonathon Raises Over $26 Thousand

The fourth annual phonathon, held February 12-23, raised a total of $26,433 ex­ceeding the 1984 goal by $1,500. The phonathon contributions will be used to supplement the 18th Alumni Fund Drive which has a $50,000 goal.

Money raised through the Alumni Fund is forwarded to the Sisters of Mercy Scholarship Fund, which awards incom­ing freshmen money from the specific department they intend to enter.

Mercyhurst student organizations and individual teams at the college volunteered their time to the fund raising project by making telephone calls to three thousand alumni, tallying responses, and assisting with the event in any area needed.

In terms of team competition, the crew team took first place for the second con­secutive year. Crew won the $200 first prize for bringing in $6,692 and 279 donors. The hotel-restaurant management association took second place with $4,540 and 162 donors, while Egan Hall residents placed third with 105 donors and $2,605.

Each year, the phonathon is an especially gratifying fund raising project because it provides personal contact between present Mercyhurst students and individual alum­nus, which, in turn, reinforces the sense of Mercyhurst as a community.

APOLOGIES Apologies to Mrs. Nancy Blair Meech '37 whose generosity was omitted from the Founders Club on the 17th Annual Alumni Fund Honor Roll of Donors. Michael Kriley '85

Nominations For The Distinguished Alumna/us Award Due

Nominations are being accepted through April 20 by the alumni office for the 1984 recipient of the distinguished alumna/us award to be presented at the alumni col­lege anniversary dinner on July 29.

For award consideration, the nominee must meet two criteria. First, the nominee must be a graduate of Mercyhurst College. Second, the nominee must have made an outstanding contribution to one or more of the following categories: education, science, fine arts, community, family, pro­fession, and Mercyhurst College.

All nominations should consist only of the nominee's name and graduation year. The nominees will then be contacted by the alumni office for a complete listing of their credentials.

Selection of the award recipient will be made by members of the executive board of the Mercyhurst Alumni Association in May.

Alumni Travel Packages Offered

Two new travel tours are being offered for alumni in 1984.

A trip to Cancun, Mexico is scheduled for August 18-25 for $599 per person (dou­ble occupancy). The trip includes round trip air fare on United Airlines from Pitt­sburgh, seven nights at the Mission Miramar Hotel, Mexican IVA tax of 15% on accommodations, baggage handling, and U.S. Travel personal service. The trip does not include a Mexican departure tax of 300 pesos (approx. $3 U.S. dollars).

A Hawaiian trip is offered October 9-17 for $699 per person (double occupancy). This includes round trip air fare from Pitts­burgh to Honolulu, luggage handling, lei greeting, seven nights at the beautiful Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, and U.S. Travel personal service.

For more information contact: Mr. Peter Pouch, U.S. Travel Corp., 500 Bower Hill at Railroad St., Bridgeville, Pa., 15017. Or call 412-257-2100. You can also contact Gary Bukowski, alumni director, at 814-825-0246.

\h MKRCYIIURST MAGAZINK

37 CATHERINE LECHNER TELLERS and John have retired and now spend their time travelling the U.S. to see their offspring.

PAULINE S. NEUBURGER is still working in Dietetics on a part time basis.

38 SISTER CAROLYN HERRMANN, su­perior of the Erie County Sisters of Mercy, was the first speaker in the Woman to Woman talk series. She spoke on "Women's Issues in Social Justice and Peace Making" in September.

41 RUTH BRUGGER will soon retire from an Erie Law Firm after 40 some years of service.

4 2 MARY LOU KRUG BOETGER moved to Mentor, Ohio.

BURNHAM NEHIN CUTLER was recently named Women's Division chairman for the Catholic Charities Appeal of the Diocese of Buffalo.

REGINA BRUGGER NIEMIC has four sons and one daughter. Formerly a medical technologist and kindergarten teacher for 15 years in the Millcreek School District, she now travels extensively.

POLLY LYNCH ELLIOTT is with the Cleveland School System in counseling.

JEANNE MALEY PFADT is still the excellent bridge and golf fiend. She and Judge Bill travel foreign countries extensively.

SALLY MCCLAIN is travelling and teaching for Xerox.

HELEN KLAN spends much of her time in book and liturgical discussions as well as engagements as guest speaker for sodalities.

BARB DAWSON MCCABE is currently on sab­batical from Technical High School/Remedial Program. She and husband Leo are crisscross­ing the country.

MAUDIE WHITE has retired from the Erie School District.

DOROTHY WADLINGER RONAN and her husband recently purchased a condo in Stuart, Florida.

43 NORA JEAN STEPHENS DOWNEY is operating food services for St. Vincent's Health Center Hospitality Shop.

GINNY STEPHENS POMPEANI teaches Home Economics at Erie East High.

45 LORETTA CROWLEY BAUER is selling Florida Real Estate. She and her husband are very active in Parish and Community Life.

47 MARCELENE SCHWABENBAUER is working as a social worker in Wheaton, Illinois.

48 DANULA T. SHEARON has a son, Tom, who will be a freshman at Mercyhurst next year.

49 ALICE FEEHLEY CROTTY is on leave from teaching English at Erie Technical Memorial.

PAT WOOD and her husband, Fred, went to Europe for SVi weeks this past fall to visit their children who are in the army there.

HELEN MCDONOUGH MORAN is operat­ing her own interior design shop in Cleveland Heights.

52 MARY JANE SEMAN LANDON is liv­ing in Cincinnati, Ohio.

53 PAULA BRUGGER GUERREIN has left Erie International Institute and is a receptionist at a doctor's office in Edinboro.

54 HARRIETT DOWNING SALA is starting an Erie Chapter of the National Alliance of Homebase Business Women. In January of 1984 she began serving as Secretary of the Erie Diocese Board of Family Life Ministry.

56 KATHY LAWRENCE LUKE is president of the Syracuse, New York Club of Mercyhurst Alumni.

GEORGIA LACKEY PATRIARCA spent time last summer touring Europe with her daughter, Mary Patriarca Kozsey. Georgia is planning another trip this summer with husband, Joseph.

57 BARBARA STONE PERRY received her Master's Degree and Ph.D. from Syracuse University.

CAROL EIGABROADT WOLF and her hus­band, Don, celebrated 25 years of marriage this past August.

5 8 MARY JANE HAGEDISH DOTY got together with four other Mercyhurst graduates and their families this past summer: Helen Clancy Bavisotto, Pat Murphy Bluemle, Ann Johnson Weppner and Jean Criswell White.

59 SUSAN MCCARTNEY HOROWITZ is vice-president of the League of Women Voters of Johnstown County and was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Committee of Iowa City.

EMMA JEAN NEWBY MASON has two children attending Yale University.

60 JOAN BYE DENGLER is teaching French at a private school and English as a second language at Sonoma State University.

61 ELEANORE HERKEL GAMBLE is volunteering two days a week at the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences as a research biochemist. The University trains physicians for all branches of the armed ser­vices and is located on the grounds of the Bethesda Naval Hospital.

class notes MARY ALICE ZIMMERMAN DOOLIN found­ed a self-help organization, called PROPS, to support and assist parents whose children have died.

62 RITA QUINN MCGOWAN and her hus­band, Michael, are living in Falls Church, Virginia with their four children following a one year stay in Norway.

SHIRLEY J. BANIC has been promoted to Assistant Chief of Dietetics at the Menlo Park Division of the Palo Alto Veterans Administra­tion Medical Center in California.

65 MARYANN SABOLSKY SIECZKA is the owner of "Tic Tac Toys", a children's toy and clothing store in Mattituck, New York.

KATHIE MAHANEY BAUMEISTER is in Gainesville, Florida where she is director of Pa­tent Administration for Pharmatic, Inc., a phar­maceutical research company closely connected with the University of Florida.

66 MIM DONOVAN is still teaching, but this year is teaching all science classes. In July of '83, she and her husband bought a summer cot­tage in Wolfebore, N.H. on Lake Wentworth.

LINDA CULVER HOKAJ is the Head Librarian at St. John's School where she works with children k-8, and teaches research skills to those in Jr. High.

PATRICIA DUBIEL BIRK is manager of marketing development at Heinz Corporation in Pittsburgh.

67 SISTER MARIAN HALLIGAN is en­gaged in Liturgy and Music at St. Catherine Church, DuBois. She just celebrated her silver jubilee.

SISTER PAUL MARIE WESTLAKE also celebrated her silver jubilee of entrance into Religious Life. She earned her B.A. in Educa­tion at Mercyhurst and her M.A. in Theology at Duquesne University. She taught in grade schools, and several high schools. She also spent three years teaching in the Diocese of Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa.

68 BERNADETTE HORDINSKI TRIOLA had her third book Dresses I published. This summer Bonnie will be a guest teacher of machine knitting designing techniques at Marymount College. She will also be instruct­ing the "Knits '84" seminar held in New York City and Toronto, Ontario.

69 MARY ANN PACILEO PAULITZ re­ceived her M.A. in Early Childhood Education at Youngstown State in August of 1982. Mary Ann lives in Hubbard, Ohio with her husband, John and their two sons where she teaches learning disabled children.

DOLORES PUGH UEBERSCHAER has been with the school district in Hartsdale, New York for 13 years.

SPKIXC; 1984 \7

70 MARY KAY SCHLEGEL SAMIOS fin­ished her M.B.A. from Temple University in May '82.

GAIL WHITEMAN has been named manager of the bookstore at Chautauqua Institution.

After 12 years in Chicago, LORIWEINER is liv­ing in Minneapolis. She is working as a research technician in a neuroanatomy lab. She is also active in her parish's feed the hungry program.

MARY ANN PLEAK WEBER is currently using her creative/artistic talent to serve han­dicapped infants and their families in Wyom­ing where she lives with her husband, Michal, and three children.

PAM KLINE PARENTI is a full-time homemaker doing volunteer work in the school library and at a local nursing home in Acton, Massachusetts.

71 MARY PAT HELBIG is employed as a secretary in the Office of the President at Ohio State University in Columbus.

7 3 PAUL MCANDREW is the firm admin­istrator for Quinn, Gent, Buseck & Leemhuis, Inc., Attorneys-at-Law in Erie.

CATHY M. LOJEWSKI was admitted to the Erie County Bar Association.

74 ROSEMARY SLATER is currently manager of external relations for Blue Cross of New Jersey.

JOHN HAVRILLA has been named a vice-president of the New York advertising agency Jordan, Case & McGrath, Inc. He was married in 1980 to Robin Margolin of Queens, N.Y.

KAREN HUNT KOZA works as a Life Skill Counselor for Adelphoi Village in Latrobe, PA. She also serves as the Language Arts Instruc­tor to Secure Facility.

75 LAURA ANN GROTZINGER is cur­rently employed as an archivist for the state of New Jersey.

TOD ALLEN was recently hired by J.B. Dahlkemper as security supervisor of the Millcreek Mall Showroom.

76 JULIE CUTLER is employed at the Cana­dian Consulate in the Marine Midland Center in Buffalo.

SHIRLEY HORDINSKI was invited to par­ticipate in the 1984 Crafts Invitational in Paris, France.

PAMELA FITZGERALD is teaching Special Education in Elkton, Maryland. She is also the coordinator of special Olympics for Cecil County.

PATRICIA FLANAGAN is working at Hamot Medical Center as the educational services coordinator.

ELIZABETH STAGE received her Master's Degree in Music from Edinboro University.

DANIEL HILL III passed the Pennsylvania Bar Exam,

77 MARY JO RUTKOWSKI is with the Lake Erie Institute of Rehabilitation as admissions coordinator.

JAMES VARHOL became director of loss prevention for the Jamesway Corporation this

. past January.

78 LINDA MCGINLEY DINNOCENZO is working for Cornell University's insurance department. Her husband is working on his Ph.D at Cornell in Chemistry.

KITTY MEGNIN SMITH was married to John O. Smith on August 28,1982 and they are now the parents of a son, Zachary.

THERESA KRESINSKI is a full-time student at Edinboro where she is working on her second degree-Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

79 JANET ARTUHEVICH MILLER and hus­band, William, are the owner/operators of "Tony Sabella's Genuine Pizza & Delicatessen" in Erie.

KEVIN ROZICH, Esq. is now associated with the law firm of Gleason, DiFrancesco, Shahade and Markovitz in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

PAULA FRITZ is working as a field director with the Girl Scout Council in Erie.

JAMES M. JACOBS is married to Cynthia Anne Kruger of Winston-Salem, N.C. He is in his fifth year as a police officer with the Charlotte Police Dept.

RAY CHARTIER is manager of the Millcreek Mall Banking Center of the First National Bank of PA.

80 THERESE MANNING is working in the Graphic Design Department at Georgetown University.

MARY ANN D'ANGELO PETRILLO opened a law office in North Huntington, PA in a part­nership with Wayne Gongaware.

81 ANN DELMEDICO GOREY is a second grade teacher at St. Vincent's Elementary School in Akron, Ohio.

MARK SALVIA is an account executive with Hubbard, Bert, Karle & Weber, Inc. in Erie and a member of Life Underwriters.

TIMOTHY SELTZER is working in Chicago on the congressional campaign for Terrance Jordan.

83 ELAINE GIONTI is working as a food-service director in Elmsford, New York.

JIM STEEN is an accountant for Ernest & Whin-ney in the Pittsburgh area.

Marriages Susan L. Gustafson '81 and David L. Hunter

Jr. 78 Mary Terese Kalie 79 and Robert Christopher

Oatman Evelyn Personett '61 and Les Mitzel Susan Jean Williams '80 and Mark Jude

Hardner 74 Janet Artuhevich 79 and William J. Miller, III

Ann M. Delmedico '81 and Patrick Gorey Thomas Dore '81 and Pam Bonadio Elizabeth Marzullo '83 and Jeff Rich Therese Tolomeo and Eugene Weber '80 Roberta Senstran 75 and Robert Zitron

If s A Girl Molly Jean to Tod 75 and Barbara Allen. Kayla Anne to Denis 77 and Mary (Waida)

75 Coan Allison to Michael L. Kulig and Debra Mattes

Kulig 76 Jennifer Catherine to Vicki Martinago Shaheen

'80 and Richard Shaheen Emily Jean to Kathy and John Gable 78 Emily Ann to Raymond 79 and Linda

(Ravenstahl '80) Gruss Emelia Anne to Lisa and John Woodruff '80

It's A Boy Michael Joseph to Terrance and Jane (Mc­

Laughlin '80) Blackburn. Michael Gerard to Michael and Rita (Quinn

'62) McGowan. William Elisha to Charles and Melissa (Mc-

Murray 79) Northey. William Vernon III to William and Barbara

(Kahl '68) Shutes Matthew Paul to Paul and Kathleen (Thompson

74) Swanson Matthew James to Chris '80 and Sandra (Lack)

'80 Manges Matthew John to Linda Thomas 73 and Bob

Parks 73 Michael Anthony to Karen (Hunt 74) and

Casey Koza Joshua Alan Smith-Paskert to Patricia Smith

77 and James Paskert 79 Ian Douglas to Douglas R. and Regina (Koz-

lowski '81) Smith

Deceased Eleanor Russell Barron '31 Natalie Frye Muia '36 Beverly Pajank Giovannitti '65 Norbert E. Heidt, brother of Lucille Heidt

Clark '49 Charles Jetter, father of Peggy Jetter '51 Ruth Klakamp, mother of Carol Klakamp

Axelrod 72 Nicholas Koss, father of Mary Ann Koss Flynn

'60 and Sally Koss Rowse '68 Thomas Lewis, husband of Catherine Drouhard

'54 Lewis Patrick Michael Lally 74 Regis Mullen, husband of Helen Ann Fabian

Mullen, 47 Father of Mary E. Guiendon (Mullen) 72.

Mary E. Ott '33 Msgr. Joseph E Rybinski, brother of Cecelia

Rybinski '30 Carmelita Savage '42. Rosemary McGee Shreick '40 Ronald Scully '82 William J. Stockman II, husband of Dolores

Stockman '71 Stephen L. Whetzle, son of Rosa Spillane

Whetzle '57 Albert G. Whitney, husband of Mary Ann

Kelly Whitney '65 Gloria McQuillen Williams '47 Adrian C. Witt, father of Mary Adelaide

(Adie) Witt Sprowls '51. Sr. M. Angelica Cummings '39 John Lillis '84, son of Mary Pyne Lillis '56 Holly Knauer Welte '71

18 ML-RCYIIURST MAGAZINE

The Anatomy of a City Revisited continued from page 5

Emerging from these figures is the im­portant fact that approximately 60% of Erie's work force is today engaged in ser­vice/managerial or commercial occupa­tions, a striking change from the employ­ment patterns of a few decades ago.

A study of Erie County's eleven leading employers in 1982 clearly shows the extent of the changes that the Erie employment market has undergone in the last decade.*

1. General Electric 2. St. Vincent Health Center 3. Hammermill Paper Company 4. Hamot Medical Center 5. American Sterilizer Company 6. General Telephone Company 7. Edinboro University 8. Lord Corporation 9. Erie Insurance Exchange

10. Erie School District 11. Zurn Industries

The fact that only five of Erie's current top eleven employers are engaged in manufacturing challenges the common belief that Erie is a "blue collar" town. In truth, only slightly more than one-third of Erie's working force is involved in the manufacture of goods, and that percen­tage is not expected to change significantly in the next decade. The forecasts con­tained in Table IV clearly demonstrate that the future growth areas in employment will be trade (especially retail) and in ser­vices (especially information services).

Despite these trend lines, however, the fact remains that manufacturing will con­tinue to be a critical prop of the Erie economy and a source of jobs in the future. Many of the so-called information and service sectors, for example, are so in­extricably tied to a manufacturing base that a weakening of one would result in a serious weakening of the other. It is also

Manufacturing 1970-1981

Erie Akron Buffalo Canton Cleveland Pittsburgh Toledo Youngstown

Employment Loss

1970

43,500 96,400

168,600 62,400

296,800 280,900 89,400 86,100

U. S. Dept. of Labor and Perm Slate University

1981

40,700 77,500

135,600 54,400

251,100 238,700 76,700 69,800

by NE Cities

% decline

(6.4%) (19.6%) (19.6%) (12.8%) (15.4%) (15.0%) (14.2%) (18.9%)

#5

important to note that it was the relative stability of Erie's manufacturing base that permitted the Erie economy to weather the strains of the last decade. While it is true that the manufacturing base has lost about 11,000 jobs since its 1974 peak of 48,700, it is also true that this rate of loss was less than that experienced by other cities in the same time period. Some of the credit for this industrial stability must cer­tainly be credited to Erie's labor force. As Robert H. Ploehn, Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation of Erie County, points out:

"Erie has had an undeserved repu­tation as a "bad labor" town . . . but in ten of the last eleven years, Erie had a smaller percentage of workers in­volved in work stoppages than the State averages."**

This good showing during a bad economic time, plus the increasing in­volvement of Erie industry in international trade, has led federal officials to predict Erie manufacturing will stabilize at around 40,000 jobs in the next decade and as a

i

Employment Trends

Industry

Construction Manufacturing Trans/Commun/Util. Wholesale Retail Finance/Insurance Service Government

Totals

* U.S. Dept. Labor and Hammer, Silver ** Perm State University (projected)

by Erie

1970

3,700 43,500 5,600 3,800

14,000 3,400

13,200 11,100

98,300

Industry*

, George Associates

1981

3,300 40,700 5,400 4,200

18,000 5,000

22,500 12,600

111,700

1990*J

3,300 40,200 5,300 4,700

20,000 6,300

30,000 12,600

122,600

•

#4

result will continue to absorb about one-third of the local labor force.

Indeed, consider ing the balance developing in the Erie economy between services and manufacturing, Erie appears to be in a relatively good position to meet the economic challenges of the 1980's, especially considering the generous availability of water, the "liquid gold" of the future.

No discussion of Erie's future can be complete without some analysis of the significant role that its ethnic groups con­tinue to play in the city. Historically, Erie was primarily an English-German city in 1900 when a strong influx of Polish and Italians dramatically altered the ethnic composition of the town. Today about 20% of Erie is Polish, 13% is Italian, while approximately 12% is Black. The largest core ethnic group in the city, however, re­mains German, approximately 23%, while the English and Irish represent another 20% of the population.

The import of these figures is most ap­parent in the city's political life. For exam­ple, the current city council has three Polish and three Italians in a seven member council.

A recent study of ethnic voting behavior in Erie politics (Hood-1978) explained this condition by pointing out:

Erie Italians tend to vote for Italians; Erie Poles support Polish candidates; and Blacks vote for Blacks. In the six city council races from 1967-1977 the Italian precincts voted 80.7% . . . for Italian candidates regardless of party identification . . . Similarly the Polish precincts voted an average of 89.5% in favor of a Polish-American . . . Continuing this

*Statistics furnished by Erie Manufacturing Association

**Based on a preliminary report of the Eco­nomic Development Corp. of Erie Co.

SPRING 1984 19

pattern, the Black precincts turned out 100% of the vote in support of the only Black candidate.

The one unifying factor for most ethnic candidates over the last fifty years has been their affiliation with the Democratic Party. Ever since the 1930's when Franklin D. Roosevelt developed the ethnic newcomers including the Blacks into a na­tional majority coalition, the Erie political scene has generally been dominated by the Democratic Party with a 3-1 registra­tion margin. Currently all members of ci­ty council are Democrats, the Mayor is a Democrat, the County Executive is a Democrat, five of the seven County Coun­cil members are Democrats, and all of the School Board members are Democrats. In this setting, the primary election for the Democratic nomination becomes the real election in the city of Erie except in some rare cases when ethnic candidates run as Republicans, or when the Republicans run an unusually attractive candidate.

The ethnic voting habits of the city also become less habitual when high level political races are held for such positions as Mayor, County Executive, Con­gressman, United States Senate, etc. In these races where the influence of televi­sion is widespread, many Erie voters seem more disposed to make choices based on personality, style, and message, except for the Polish who usually remain loyal to the Democratic Party and Polish candidates.

In general, however, where television may be too costly or the candidates are not well known or the race is very localized, the ethnic factor regularly re-asserts itself in Erie politics, perhaps nothing more than the natural human tendency to vote

. . . where television may be too costly or the

candidates are not well known or the race is very localized, the

ethnic factor regularly re-asserts itself in Erie

politics, perhaps nothing more than the natural

human tendency to vote for uone of your own!' in the absence of any perceived reason to do

otherwise.

man and English inhabitants who usual­ly moved to the West Side or the upper sections of the city. Thus, over the years, the East Side, especially the lower East Side, came to be considered "different" from the West Side. In general, the East Side contained a higher proportion of im-migrants and newcomers who were also more likely to be Catholic and working class in origin. The West Side, on the other hand, tended to be English-German in character, except for "Little Italy", general­ly middle class in social status and

1

Erie Public School Enrollment

1977-78

Enrollment 16,006 White 12,492 Black 3,344

Erie School District October State Report

1979-80

14,439 10,915 3,300

1982-83

13,249 9,643 3,177

#6 for "one of your own" in the absence of any perceived reason to do otherwise.

The ethnic influence also manifests itself in other diverse ways including the pat­tern of city land use and in the religious composition of the town.

For many years Erie has been affected by an East Side-West Side mentality. This attitude was a natural result of the historical in-migration patterns of the city. As the newest ethnic groups arrived, par­ticularly the Polish and Blacks, they set­tled on the lower East Side of the city. In doing so they pushed out the older Ger-

predominantly Protestant in religion. As a result, in 1940, 70% of Erie's most expen­sive homes were located on the lower West Side. Since World War II, however, this pattern of East Side versus West Side has been altered by the emergence of a new North-South axis. In modern Erie, the lower East and West sides below 26th Street have generally come to be more and more alike in terms of socio-economic composition, land values, and even ethnic groups. Today the more one moves south, especially above East and West 26th Street, the more likely one is to find bet­

ter housing, more expensive land and a better educated, more middle class, higher income type of citizen. The old East-West mentality, however, still has some vitality and often manifests itself in negative reactions when decisions are made that appear to favor one side of town over the other.

An even greater result of Erie's ethnic mix is the religious composi t ion. Although overwhelmingly Protestant in 1900 (approximately 70%), Erie today has a significant Catholic majority primarily stemming from the Catholic heritage of both Italians and Polish. A revised 1980 Mercyhurst College study shows that ap­proximately 60% of Erie's current citizens are Roman Catholic, at least in formal affiliation.

The influence of this Catholic majority is readily apparent in the strong parochial school system that currently enrolls 34% of the school students in Erie, a smaller percentage (6%) than five years ago, but still a formidable number for an Erie public school system beset by the loss of 2,700 students since 1978.

This decline has affected everything -less teachers, administrators, schools - and especially the white-black student ratio within the Erie school district. Six years ago there were four whites for every black student, whereas today the ratio is slightly less than 3-1 despite the fact that there has been a small decline in the actual number of black students. This curious situation is, of course, the result of the fact that much of the student loss in the public schools has been white — 2,849 to be ex­act, a result of both the outward migra­tion to the nearby townships and the sharp decline in school age white children.

As in the city population, public school enrollment in general does seem to be also "bottoming out." A review of the age co­horts in the city suggests that while some minor hemorrhaging is likely to continue for another few years, the total Erie school district population should stabilize by the mid-80's somewhere around the 12,000 student mark (including kindergarten and exceptional children).

Summing up, Erie's experience over the last decade appears to offer ample reason to believe that Erie has, according to Robert Ploehn "survived there-industrialization of America and re-orientation of the in­dustrial hear t land" in basically good health, and has the strengths necessary to make the last two decades of this century a memorable "golden age" in the pages of Erie history. (S

DR. WILLIAM R GARVEY has served as Presi­dent of Mercyhurst College since 1979. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Pittsburgh and holds the rank of professor at Mercyhurst Col­lege.

20 MI-RCYHURST MAGAZINH

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