Posts filed under ‘Penn State students’
Going Green for Flight 93
Photo by Marissa Carney
On April 20, about 150 volunteers—including five faculty members and 15 students from the environmental studies and honors programs at Penn State Altoona—planted 3450 trees over five acres. These trees will help lessen the impact of strong winds for visitors at the Flight 93 National Memorial, parts of which are still under construction. Organizers plan to reforest the 120 surrounding acres with more than 150,000 donated saplings over the next six years.
The effort also had an educational component: Joe Pizarchik ’79, director of the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE), spoke to the students about the challenges of minewater-drainage–-including the drainage problem Pizarchik helped resolve in 2003 to make way for the Memorial’s construction.
Check out this cool video of Pizarchik and the students in action.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
Remembering ‘the Heart’ of the Scandal
When news of the Sandusky scandal broke in November, student Matt Bodenschatz felt an immediate connection with the alleged victims. A survivor of sexual abuse himself, Bodenschatz knows the courage it takes to come forward — and wanted to thank the young men for their bravery.
“Even though they’re anonymous, they’re real people,” he says. “They need our compassion and support.”
This spring, with 12 fellow students, Bodenschatz conceived Voices for Victims, a project that allows supporters to send messages of thanks and comfort to Sandusky’s alleged victims. The letters will be delivered directly to the individuals through their lawyers to maintain anonymity.
“It’s a tangible sign that we’re thankful they came forward,” says Bodenschatz. “And despite all the other issues, we remember that they’re at the heart of this thing.”
Starting Monday, April 23, through Friday, April 27, messages for the alleged victims can be placed in designated dropboxes on campus and throughout downtown State College at the following locations:
—Student Bookstore, 330 E. College Avenue
—Campus Candy, 346 E. College Avenue
—McLanahan’s Downtown Market, 116 Allen Street
—Hintz Family Alumni Center
—Health Services building lobby
—Penn State Learning Lab, Room 7, Sparks building
Letters can also be mailed to:
Voices for Victims
1637-B N. Atherton Street
PO Box 181
State College, PA 16803
Or emailed to:
Voices4VictimsProject@gmail.com
Mary Murphy, associate editor
Public Pride
Students filing out of class early Wednesday afternoon were surprised by what they saw when they passed Old Main: An arc of rainbow balloons spreading across the steps. And a colorful celebration.
Pride Week, an annual event that promotes acceptance and support for the university’s LGBTQA community, is in full swing at Penn State. The week includes a plethora of events, from a intensive three-day workshop focusing on identity to a concert at Chumley’s benefitting the AIDS Project of State College to a drag show on Friday night at the HUB. At Wednesday’s rally, which lasted about an hour, a handful of spectators donned red t-shirts that read, “40 years and still queer, 40 years and still here.” The logo is Pride Week’s theme this year, celebrating the history and strides of LGBTQA organizations at Penn State.
Several speakers—from active leaders in Penn State’s LGBTQA community to the president of the State College High Gay Straight Alliance—stepped up to the makeshift stage in the middle of campus. They told stories of friends who came out, discussed what the LGBTQA community meant to them, and shared personal experiences. Perhaps the loudest applause came when the vice president of the Penn State chapter of Delta Lamdba Phi, a national fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men, pointed to his father in the crowd. ”He was the person I was most terrified to come out to,” he said. “And now he’s my biggest supporter.”
As the crowd of about 75 people erupted in applause, two female students sporting backpacks strolled by. ”Wow,” one student said to her friend. “That’s really cool he could share that in front of all these people in the middle of campus. Really cool.”
Emily Kaplan, intern
Tap Dancing for His Tuition
The “City Room” section of the New York Times specializes in stories that find the individual humanity amid the often faceless, fast-moving masses of New York City. Today’s story comes with a compelling Penn State angle.
Joshua Johnson is a Penn State undergrad — the story doesn’t say, but we think he might attend the Altoona campus — who, like many students, is working to pay his way through school. It’s his job that’s unusual: Johnson, a Harlem native, tap dances for tips on New York City subways. The story details Johnson’s challenging family background and includes a short video, with highlights of his subway routine. It’s absolutely worth checking out.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
The Return of State Patty’s Day
All you need to know about State Patty’s Day can be found at Peoples Nation, the pricy T-shirt shop on College Avenue. The front third of the store features items custom made for the student-organized holiday: Green necklaces with shot glass pendants, green and white feather boas, green sequined oversized leprechaun hats, and shirts with slogans such as “Sorry I’m Not Sorry: State Patty’s Day 2012.”
On Tuesday morning when I stopped by, two female students were waiting as the cashier rang up 20 green pinnies. The total? $290.40.
“They’re for my friends from out of town,” the girl said to her friend as she reached for her credit card. “I’m so excited they’re going to come up. This is going to be the best State Patty’s ever.”
With the context of everything that has occurred at Penn State since November, I couldn’t help but wonder: Is this really time for the best State Patty’s Day ever? Beginning Friday, thousands of Penn State students—and thousands of visitors—will descend upon the streets, bars, and apartments of State College to, well, party. “It’s just a giant drinking holiday, not much more,” junior Brittany Smith said. “It’s just an excuse to drink all day long.”
The holiday has grown immensely since its inception in 2007. Last year, State College Police made a record 234 criminal arrests—up from 160 in 2010—and fielded a record 480 calls. Close to 11,000 people have joined a Facebook group titled “Official Facebook Page: State Patty’s Day 2012.” With that kind of momentum, State Patty’s Day 2012 is slated to be bigger than ever—right?
Maybe.
The image of Penn State students has been scrutinized (more…)
THON Tops $10 million
Photo by Annemarie Mountz '84
Another year, another record.
This year’s THON raised $10,686,924.83 for the Four Diamonds Fund, topping last year’s record and breaking the $10 million mark for the first time.
Encouraging dancers in the final hours: Jay Paterno ’91, who took to the podium on Sunday afternoon.
“If you live to be 100 years old, what you’ve done here for the last two days, weeks, months…what you’ve done here will echo in eternity,” Paterno told the crowd. “When you want to know what Penn State is, and when you want to know what ‘We Are’ means, come to THON.”
For Penn State Live’s photos of THON weekend, click here. Or check out Onward State’s minute-by-minute coverage, with lots of videos and photos from THON, here. And in case you haven’t seen it already, here is the front page of today’s Daily Collegian.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
Getting Pumped for THON
The calm before the storm: The BJC on Thursday afternoon, just before THON preparations begin. Photo from Onward State.
At 6 p.m. today, THON 2012 officially begins in the Bryce Jordan Center, and the students involved don’t seem to need much help getting pumped (search #THON12 on Twitter for proof.)
But after a few dozen hours on their feet, this fun video from the LA Chapter’s Lights. Camera. Cure. might help pep up the crowd when they need it most. We told you about the Hollywood Dance-a-THON a couple of weeks ago—and how it raised over $37,000 for the Four Diamonds Fund. The video from the event, with a few celebrity cameos, will be shown on the big screen at the BJC this weekend.
Follow along with THON 2012 on Twitter: @THONwardstate, @TDC_THON, #THON12
Or check out The Daily Collegian‘s THON blog here or StateCollege.com’s coverage here.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
A Singing Valentine’s Day Tradition
Jen Espinosa arrived at 102 Thomas on Tuesday afternoon expecting to take a Bio 411 exam.
She sat in her seat, a couple rows from the back, and took out a No. 2 pencil. Her professor, James A. Strauss, began handing out scantrons.Then five male students wearing suits walked into the lecture hall. And the exam was delayed.
The well-dressed quintet has a name: They are The Dreamers, the official a capella group of Phi Mu Alpha, Penn State’s singing fraternity. And for the 23rd straight year, The Dreamers spread love on Feb. 14 by delivering singing Valentines throughout the day.
The routine is simple: The youngest member of The Dreamers—this time it was Brian Bender, a freshman who is also in the Blue Band—must walk in the classroom and ask the professor for permission to interrupt class. Once Bender got the OK, the rest of the group joined him and called the Valentine to the “stage.”
Most recipients, like Espinosa, have no idea it’s coming. Embarrassed by the attention, Espinosa refused to walk to the front of the room to be serenaded by The Dreamers — until Dr. Strauss made a (more…)
We Love a Parade
The freshmen in Professor James Kalsbeek’s introductory architecture class probably didn’t expect to build anything during the first week of the semester—let alone the first 10 minutes.
The class of 13 first-year architecture majors, most of whom have little to no architectural experience, received their first assignment in ARCH 131 (Basic Design Studio) almost immediately: Work as a team to build a tower using only corrugated cardboard and twine. The tower must be as tall as possible, and sturdy enough to survive a lengthy parade around the Stuckeman Family Building, through the Palmer Museum plaza, and on to the Nittany Lion Shrine, all while hoisted on the students’ shoulders.
Inspired by the Giglio, or “dancing tower,” parades that Kalsbeek saw in Nola, Italy—where towers more than 80 feet high are carried by hundreds of men in elaborate street festivals—Professor Kalsbeek devised the project last year as a way to (more…)
Got the New Issue Yet?
If you haven’t already received your copy, our Sept./Oct. issue is surely en route to your mailbox. Among other good stuff in the magazine, you’ll find a feature on nine students who spent the summer interning all over the world. I interviewed the interns for the story—and probably had a little too much fun in the process.
Amy Green, who worked with penguins at the Pittsburgh Zoo, had me in stitches when she detailed some of her not-so-fun (OK, downright gross) clean-up duties in the penguin exhibit. Broadway intern Alex Cadmus and I debated the musical merits of West Side Story vs. South Pacific. Bryan Lemley’s stories about the mystery meat in his Russian bank’s cafeteria were hilarious—“I’d just point at something and pray it came with mashed potatoes.”
But beyond their senses of humor, these students are seriously ambitious; most of them worked 40-plus hours a week while some of their peers were hanging poolside. With that kind of drive, I won’t be surprised if we hear about them again—as alums—in the future. Maybe you’ll even read about them in our pages.
Also in the Sept./Oct. issue:
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