After some odd months of stressful planning, Springfield High School shocked Delaware County yet again.  After 12 years of existence, Springfield mini-THON reached its all-time high and captured the title of number 1 mini-THON in Pennsylvania, once again.

With an outstanding total of $224,598 for the 2014 year, Springfield reached an overall total of $1.2 million for the years it’s been around.

Started in 2002, Springfield’s mini-THON was modeled after Penn State’s THON and is held every year in memory of Steve Stefani, a social studies teacher who lost his battle to cancer.  From its first year of raising $11,617, Springfield has come a very long but successful way.  Springfield teacher and THON adviser John Gildea and his team of 12 student leaders, lead the way to make Springfield mini-THON what it is today.

Alumni, especially those who have participated in THON, come back every year to experience the magic one more time.  Springfield alum, Lauren Spires, reminisces on her THON experiences at Springfield.

“I’m absolutely amazed at how far SHS THON has come since I graduated four years ago,” Spires said.  “Going back and seeing it each year just brings chills.  Our community has really come together as one and without our community being involved, I don’t think we would have been this successful.”

Chelsea Pierce, Springfield alum and senior at Penn State Main, who is also involved in Penn State’s THON, couldn’t be more proud of her high school.

“SHS-Mini-THON is amazing,” Pierce said.  “It unites a student body over a common cause and gives people the chance to be a part of something that is not only bigger than themselves, but to make a difference.  They inspire their surrounding community and it’s amazing to see kids their age working so hard to improve the lives of others.”

Springfield High School has touched the lives of many.  No matter how small they may seem to Penn State’s THON, Springfield makes a huge impact.

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer

Amanda Rasley, alr5394@psu.edu

On Wednesday, April 17, 2014, the newly elected Student Government Association (SGA) President Louie Colella and Vice President Macy Nachman were inaugurated into their new positions by taking the oath of office at Brandywine’s Leadership Recognition Night.

Colella is currently a freshman at Brandywine, and is an accounting major.  He has been active in SGA throughout the year, starting as Freshman Representative Chair, Secretary, and then most recently, he moved his way up to Vice-President.

When the call for candidates for the new SGA leaders was made, Colella chose Nachman as his running mate.  She too is a freshman and a communications major. She has mainly participated in SGA this past year on the executive board as the main secretary.

However, Colella and Nachman did not run unopposed. In previous weeks, the Colella-Nachman ticket had to campaign against their opponents, Moriah Nemiah and Justin Perry. Both Nemiah and Perry also served on SGA as senators, and are currently freshman.

During the debate that was open to the entire campus to observe and participate, students had the chance to ask both tickets questions about their visions, goals and plans for SGA next year. After the debate, the online voting booth was open for all students to cast their vote for the next President and Vice President.

In an interview with Colella about his goals for SGA and the Brandywine campus for the 2014-2015 school year as the newly elected President, he seemed eager to bring the campus community closer together.

“We plan on creating a bridge between the student body and student affairs at Brandywine,” Colella said.  “SGA works very closely with Student Affairs and we hope to spread their knowledge on student life throughout the year by creating fun well thought out events that everyone will enjoy.”

Colella said some of those events will happen outside scheduled class times.

“Macy and I plan to bring big, fun events to campus but we also plan on having small events on a day to day basis to give everyone something to do,” Colella said.

Nachman is anxious to get started as well.

“Our first goal is to bring Brandywine closer together by putting together fun events on campus like spirit days, pep rallies, carnivals and bonfires,” Nachman said.  “We are planning to add a Charity Committee chair so we can better help raise money for on-campus charity organizations, like THON.”

Any students can participate in SGA. If interested, Colella can be reached at lxc952@psu.edu.

Rosie Owoc

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, rvo5048@psu.edu

Even though the spring semester is coming to a close, some Brandywine students have still not registered their cars nor gotten a parking pass. Despite what some students may think the fact remains: if you do not abide by the parking rules, you will be ticketed.

Brandywine, being a commuter-only campus, has a high volume of students driving to class every day. The parking lot only has a few major rules regarding parking; these include: students registering their car, students not parking in the spots reserved for staff and students displaying their parking passes. Not following these rules — your car will be ticketed.

Freshman Al Boucetta feels that getting a parking permit is not worth the trouble. “There’s no big issue with me parking my car,” Boucetta said.  “I have never gotten a ticket for it and nothing ever happens.”

It seems that Boucetta may have been lucky to this point for not getting a ticket because Brandywine police chief Lewis Sweigartis adamant that campus police do monitor the parking lots and will ticket cars violating any rules.

Chief Sweigart does admit that Brandywine is more lax when it comes to enforcing these parking rules, as they are more concerned with issues regarding campus safety.

“At Penn State Harrisburg if you do not have a parking pass you have a 90 to 95 percent chance of getting a ticket,” Sweigart said.

Tickets are still given out at Brandywine, and the best way to avoid getting one is to simply get a parking pass. Parking passes can be obtained by registering your car on the Penn State Brandywine website. The parking permit application takes about 5 minutes to complete and is free.

Parking rules are not the only rules that students must follow when in the school parking lot; there is also a posted speed limit of 13 mph which students are expected to obey.

And as for the unusual speed limit, Sweigart speculates that it is purely for memory.

“Everyone remembers 13 mph,” Sweigart said.

Keith Petersen

Lion’s Eye Staff Editor,  rkp5118@psu.edu

On Wednesday, April 10, the Glenn E. Williams Jazz Trio rocked the walls of the Main Building Auditorium. With John Gulezian on the trumpet, Nic D’Orsaneo on drums, and the song writer himself and organizer of the trio, Glenn E. Williams on the piano, the three of them blended together to bring even first-time jazz listeners a wonderful treat. Students, faculty and community members enjoyed pieces such as “Portugal,” “Harp’s Revenge,” “Calypso,” and ended with a wonderful flash back for many in a medley of nostalgic tunes packed into the “Charlie Brown Suite.”  Williams is an accomplished pianist and has been performing for more than 20 years, playing songs from Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, and Pat Methany, among many others.

RJ Karwoski

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, rjk5139@psu.edu

Students, professors, and poetry enthusiasts alike snapped their fingers and stomped their feet in applause and appreciation on April 10 in the Tomezsko Lounge for well-known poet John Hoppenthaler. The East Carolina University professor gave a sampling of his original poetic work at the annual LiTapaLooZa Literary Festival held each April in honor of National Poetry Month.  Following Hoppenthaler’s professional readings, audience members were invited to share some of their own work. The event was sponsored by the campus literary magazine, Penn in Hand, as well as the Penn State Brandywine English Department.

RJ Karwoski

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, rjk5139@psu.edu