February 2011 Archives

In episode twenty three of Liberal Arts Voices, undergraduate students Marlee Kattler and Noelle Smith join the program to discuss their impressions of THON 2011. 

THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. The THON website describes the organization as "a yearlong effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer." THON has raised more than $78 million since its inception in 1977. This year, THON raised a record breaking $9,563,016.09 for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

In this podcast, Marlee talks about her experience as Campus Outreach Faculty Communications Captain for THON 2011. She sheds light on all of the practical components that go into making THON a success, including a variety of fundraising initiatives throughout the year. 

Noelle spends some time discussing her role as THON 2011 Administrative Assistant for the Communications Committee. Noelle also shares her experiences as a first-time THON dancer. She talks about her training strategies and all of the things that helped to get her through the 46 hours of dancing.

Lastly Marlee and Noelle, both seniors at Penn State,  reflect on their favorite THON memories over the last four years.  If you would like to learn more about THON's mission and philanthropy goals or to find out how to get involved, visit their website.  

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 23

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices. 

LAUSDeanLong: Since our last online Dialogue on Drinking post, I attended a Dialogue on Drinking event facilitated by the World In Conversation Project, which brought students, faculty and administrators together to have a candid discussion about drinking. The details of the discussion are confidential, but I learned a lot during the 90-minute session. It has prompted me to think a lot about questions of freedom and responsibility.

My sense is that students often frame their decisions in terms of personal freedom rather than communal responsibility. This statement, which I admit is already a massive generalization, probably applies to Americans in general, and not just students. But I am thinking right now about students as they make decisions regarding drinking. I have heard many students say something like: if I want to drink to excess, that is my business and the University or the Borough or the police should not involve themselves in what is an issue of personal freedom. Is this a fair characterization of how many, not all, students frame the issue of drinking?

Geoff Halberstadt: I think the background for your question is pretty indicative of how many students feel; however, we both know that students' reasons for drinking vary greatly: work hard...party hard, trying something new, personal stresses, and personal freedom to name just a few. But let's focus on your question: yes - this is a fair characterization of how some students frame this issue. The majority of students understand that there is a balance between personal freedom and communal responsibility. I can see this because the vast majority of students never cause problems or put an undue burden on the community because of their behavior. When that line gets blurred, we see the massive problems that dangerous drinking can cause. If we assume that students see this problem through the lens of personal freedom, how do we address this conflict between personal freedom and the personal responsibility one should feel toward one's community?

LAUSDeanLong: Perhaps we should ask: what responsibilities do you--student, staff, faculty, Borough resident--feel toward the community in which you live? Notice, of course, that in asking this, I have identified different groups of people each of which will likely have commitments to different kinds of communities. So, in asking this, let's limit it to the Penn State University Park community as situated in the Borough of State College. What does it mean to be a member of this Penn State community and what do we owe one another as members of it?

Geoff Halberstadt: I believe we, as students, owe other members (specifically, non-students) of the community two basic things. First we owe them respect as residents, members, and contributors to the same community to which we belong. Secondly, we owe them understanding. What do I mean by that? I believe we owe the other members of the community an understanding of where they come from. This includes understanding why a young family is appalled when students throw beer cans through their windows. Or why a mother is furious when a drunk student breaks into a home in which her children are asleep. Or why a property owner doesn't want garbage tossed in their garden. A basic understanding of other people's positions or situations can lead to mutual respect. A certain amount of respect goes a long way in combating problems that would otherwise arise when students aren't thoughtful of the community in which we live.

Visit the "Dialogue on Drinking" category of our blog to follow the conversation between Dean Long and Geoff Halberstadt from the beginning.

The Liberal Arts Undergraduate Council raised a whopping $5,600 this year for THON. Like the overall total for THON, this is a new record for LAUC. They bested their previous record by over $2,000.

What accounts for this overwhelming success? THON Chair Lauren Perrotti says that canning was definitely the group's most effective fund-raising tactic. Both new LAUC members and seasoned leaders carpooled together and braved the cold on each canning weekend. In addition to helping LAUC meet its THON goals, these experiences "really brought the group together," says Lauren.

In other years, LAUC was selected in the THON lottery system and was able to choose two students to dance on behalf of the group.  Although they didn't have that kind of luck this year, the LAUC members maintained their enthusiasm for the event. As a group they attended the Pep Rally and collectively supported the dancers and the Four Diamonds families from 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, the final day of THON.

LAUC member Gabby Rosemblum, who also served on the Rules and Regulations Committee, estimates that she spent a total of 40 hours at the Bryce Jordan Center during THON. She says that serving on her committee and joining LAUC  "were two of the best decisions that I've made so far at Penn State. The people that I met in both of these organizations are all incredible and I have grown very close to them. It felt amazing when LAUC raised so much money for THON, especially since we are a smaller organization. It truly shows how dedicated people are and it was wonderful to know that we each helped to make a difference."

Kudos to all of the members of LAUC!  We're proud of you and your very impressive efforts this year. If this upward trend in your fund-raising abilities continues, who knows what next year will bring!

We have 9,563,016.09 more reasons to smile. Wow. It's still sinking in.

THON 2011 happened in a flash and the hard work that all of the THON volunteers put in this past year has really paid off.

I guess we can start with last week leading into THON...that seems like a lifetime ago! Well Wednesday night I COULD NOT SLEEP...I was so excited for THON that my mind was a-racing. But don't worry, I finally got some beauty sleep.

Thursday I packed up everything that I would need for the weekend as I was going to be moving into the BJC at 7 am Friday morning. I packed my bag, some snacks and my pillow and I was set to go. I tried to get to bed at a decent hour Thursday night because I had my alarm set for 5:50 am. I thought I would have trouble waking up at that hour, but as soon as my alarm went off I popped right out of bed. I was so excited...THON was finally here.

My roommate was kind enough to drive me and a few of my fellow Co-Captains up to the BJC before the sun had even come up. We had our first Captain meeting once we got there and then we got to work. We had to help transform the BJC into that magical place known as THON.

We loaded and set up cots for the sleep-shift rooms. Captains get two four hour sleep shifts throughout the weekend and but we also were in charge of setting these rooms up. It was so cool to see the BJC transforming throughout the day and to see the behind the scenes efforts of all the volunteers.

My committee members arrived at the BJC at 8 a.m. to decorate their information booth. As Communications Committee Members, one of their responsibilities is to work the THON Information Booths. This requires them to be knowledgeable about all things THON and about the set up of the BJC. To make each booth more fun, the Committee members get to pick a theme and decorate the booth. The theme for out booth was "Video Games"...it looked amazing! Who doesn't love a good Pac-man? Once the booth was done the committee members were free to go until the Human Tunnel.

What is a Human Tunnel you may ask? Well, all of the Committees line the path from the Multi-sports Complex (where the Dancers meet pre-THON) to the BJC. Everyone cheers on the dancers as they work their way to the BJC where they will soon be standing without sleep for 46 straight hours. Communications was the first group on the course and my Committee was so excited for THON to start.

Dancers stood at 6 p.m. and the excitement in the air was contagious. Little kids were running around with squirt guns, coloring books and some great music...THON was officially underway. The place was packed and already bumping with energy. My committee had four shifts throughout the weekend and they were prompt and on time to all of them. I have never been more proud than I was this weekend after seeing my committee truly enjoy the essence of THON. During every shift, they get floor time where they had the chance to dance, play with kids, and visit their friends who were dancing. They got to interact with some of the children and got in some serious water gun fights, which they lost of course.

One of my favorite parts of THON is looking down into the sea of colored t-shirts on floor. These shirts are the colors of all the 14 different Committees that help to make THON happen. Each of these Committees is so important and vital to the success of THON. Everybody involved in THON makes it what it is and we are all bonded by a common cause. In the words of JoePa..."When they say We Are Penn State...this is what they are talking about." I couldn't have said it better myself.  

I can't believe that THON has come and gone in a blink of an eye. I am so excited to see what THON 2012 will bring.  We will not stop until the day that we can dance in celebration. My Captain from last year sent me an email this Tuesday, after THON was over, in which he said that THON is not just an opportunity to receive something, but an opportunity to give something. I will take all that I have received from THON with me for the rest of my life. 

"When you bring together good people for a common cause, there really are no limits."
-Together Without Limits 2011 

For The Kids, For The Future,

Marlee

This is the fourth spring semester poetry edition of Liberal Arts Voices featuring this year's Penn State Laureate, poet and Professor of English and Womens' Studies, Robin Becker. Throughout the spring, Liberal Arts Voices will be collaborating with Penn State Live to cover the poems and work of Professor Becker.

In this podcast Professor Becker joins Dean Long; English major Natalie Kovak; and English graduate students Leah Huizar and William Woolfit to discuss Professor Becker's poem "Venetian." You can read the full version of "Venetian" on Penn State Live.

Professor Becker begins the podcast by describing her strategy in writing this poem.  In particular, she discusses her attempt to use descriptive language to evoke the visually rich city of Venice. The group focuses on how the poetic imagery creates a sense of an unstable Venetian landscape. This instability is further emphasized as the romantic relationship between the two travelers unravels throughout the course of the poem.

We invite you to respond to this poem or to the question that Professor Becker asks at the conclusion of her poem: Can you remember a time when a holiday or vacation turned sour, revealing some underlying problems or unresolved issues? In what ways did the visual details (of the trip and place) "reflect back" at you the unsettled feelings?

Liberal Arts Voices: Robin Becker's "Venetian"

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

To watch a video of Professor Becker reading this poem or to read the actual poem, visit Penn State Live.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

"Free show" are the two greatest words in the English language. Even better than that, though, is when you get to see the hilarious and sad musical "Grey Gardens" for free. The show, which I saw this past Wednesday, was a preview night to Thursday's opening. The preview nights at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center are typically free, knowledge which I serendipitously fell into thanks to Jen Kach, my sassy sidekick in all endeavors artistic. The preview was set to start at 8 p.m., but thanks to Jen's Theatre 100 course, we were told to make sure to arrive an hour early. Knowing us, we arrived even earlier than necessary.  

At first the theatre was completely empty and we felt a bit foolish for our eager beaver entrance. Jen and I loitered around and took a peek at the School of Theatre's class photo in the lobby. We scoped out any Theatre and Musical Theatre Majors like it was our job. Not long after our Where's Waldo? diversion, though, bunches of people started pouring in. We migrated to the hallway right outside the doors of the theatre where we continued to pass the time by looking through photos of past productions.

When it was finally time for the doors to open, the entire lobby and front hallway of the Downtown Theatre were full wall-to-wall with people. A bunch of students were there to get credit for various theatre classes, but an equal portion were there just to enjoy the show. It was pretty astounding. After making two lines, the woman in charge of seating had two of the ushers run down each line to count up to 69. This was the amount of students that the theatre would be able to accommodate. It was obvious that a fair amount of people waiting would have to be asked to see the show another night, although they would have to pay for a ticket on those other nights.

The usher who ran down our line joked, "You better remember your numbers now. This is crucial business!" Good thing we had gotten there so early because after the chaos of lining up, Jen was number three and I was number four. It was pretty much a guarantee that we would get in to see the show for free. But we did have a bit of a worrisome moment when a whispered conversation between the seating woman and a member of the crew resulted in the necessity of a second cut of students. Apparently, they had only budgeted one seat for the design team of the show. The rest of them were going to have to stand in the back of the theatre to watch, until they negotiated their seats. By the end of both rounds of cutting, almost 50 people had to be turned away. The intimate Downtown Theatre could only seat 130 students that night after subtracting the handful of seats for crew members of the show.

Sorting out the seating ended up taking so long that the show didn't get underway until 8:17. "There's one for the record books, kids!" Jen said. We definitely were not expecting to have to scramble so much for our seats.

Inside the theatre, we watched Act 2 of "Grey Gardens" as an adaptation of the lives of Big and Little Edie Beale, famous cousins of Jackie O. This mother daughter pair hilariously goes on with their eccentricities, singing about the high life they don't seem to be aware that they are no longer a part of. But at the same time, if you look beyond the songs at the home that they have made together in their Grey Gardens mansion, no longer fit for human habitation, their story of stagnancy turns tragic. They are pathos provoking pack rats. 

It becomes very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present, which the musical emphasizes by having past and present Edies on stage at the same time. And if you remember Jessica Lange's and Drew Barrymore's Big and Little Edies from HBO's 2009 TV movie "Grey Gardens", you know Little Edie is certainly preoccupied with what she could have had in her past. She thinks she was made for the pictures while her mother kept her at Grey Gardens.

Basically, the School of Theatre's show was a musical adaptation based on a fictional film adaptation of a documentary film of the lives of two eccentric women from the first, and probably only, family of American royalty. All of which made seeing "Grey Gardens" the musical incredibly intriguing. The story is all about why these two women would stay, not only at Grey Gardens, but also with each other. And just in case you missed the memo about the School of Theatre's presentation of "Grey Gardens," and if you don't have the hour and a half necessary for a viewing of the original documentary of the Edies (linked to above), definitely check out these famous scenes of Little Edie singing and Big Edie in the Pink Room. These are some fascinating women made to be watched.   

Episode 22 of Liberal Arts Voices focuses on a very unique series of courses offered through the College of the Liberal Arts and Outreach: the Adventure Literature Series. English Professor and founder of the Adventure Literature Series Robert Burkholder joins the podcast along with several students who have participated in the program.

Professor Burkholder discusses the main goal of the Adventure Literature Series: to make the study of English and the humanities more concrete by combining coursework with outdoor adventures. He describes how the courses are aimed to link readings to a variety of outdoor enhancement experiences in hopes of transforming the study of literature into more of an embodied activity. The Adventure Literature Series currently offers four courses: "The Beach: Cultural Artifact/Environmental Reality," "Cape Cod Literature," "Sailing the Chesapeake Bay," and "Wilderness Literature."

Stephen Brenner, Wildlife and Fisheries Science major, discusses his experiences in the Wilderness Literature course, including: canoeing, camping, and "stump sitting." He talks about how the course offers a unique combination of literature and kinesiology.

English major Laura Dzwonczyk talks about her experiences in the Cape Cod Literature course. Laura discusses the benefits of being able to visit the sites that the class read about and even getting to meet one of the authors featured in the course.

Kia-T'Nique Thomas, who is minoring in English, speaks about her experiences sailing, examining wildlife, and even crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay course.

Lastly, English graduate student Mark Sturges talks about how he has been able to work with Professor Burkholder on a variety of the Adventure Literature courses. In The Beach course, in particular, Mark discusses the interesting class discussions that arose as a result of visiting landmark sites featured in the course readings.

You can go online to find out more information about the Adventure Literature series. You can also visit the LAUSatPSU Flickr page to see photos from these courses.

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 22

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

At the conclusion of my Sophomore year, I declared my major in Psychology. After having explored what felt like dozens of majors, I had finally found one that I was excited about. Moreover, I knew that it was time to begin thinking about how I would fulfill my honors college requirement of a senior thesis. In the fall of my Junior year, I met with a number of professors doing research in psychology. After much consideration, I chose to complete my thesis in Professor Keith Nelson's lab. His lab is devoted to research in the cognitive developmental area. Studies done in Prof. Nelson's lab usually investigate language and cognitive developmental interventions for typically developing children as well as those with autism, all of which interested me.

My first semester of research in the lab was spent doing transcribing and coding for a few of the graduate students' projects. This gave me the basic experience necessary to understand how research at a major university works. I also worked with Professor Nelson to conceptualize a research study for my senior thesis. For my research study, I would use a computer program developed to teach young, typically and atypically developing children their native language or one of several second languages. In the program, a student creates a sentence from a list of words, after which an animation of the sentence is displayed. However, instead of using this program on its intended audience, I would use this program to teach simple Swedish words and phrases to English speaking college students. Moreover, I would speed up or slow down the rates of presentation within the program to see how participants learn a new language at varying presentation speeds. Furthermore, working memory scores would be compiled for each participant to see the relationship between working memory, rate of presentation, and second language acquisition.

The conceptualization of a research study is far from the most difficult aspect. Putting my study together took a number of steps. First, I had to get approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), an organization whose job is to ensure that research is ethical and safe for those involved. Then I had to select and gain access to the proper materials with which to test my variables. Most importantly, I had to apply for funding before I could purchase any materials or have money for compensating subjects. Next, I had to post flyers around campus to recruit participants. Finally, I had to train other lab members in the proper procedures for running subjects. Without guidance from the graduate students working in the lab, I would have been clueless as to how to complete any of these steps.

At last it was time to begin running subjects in my study. I chose to run 24 participants through 8 sessions of the study. While the hours spent running subjects through the study were tedious, it was great to work one-on-one, teaching intrinsically motivated students a new language. This was my favorite part of the entire experience. On several occasions I passed a former participant somewhere around campus only to hear them yell out a "pojken!" or another Swedish word they learned in the study.

While I have just finished collecting data for my senior thesis, the hardest part is about to begin: the writing. Along with the written thesis comes the presentation of my data at the Undergraduate Exhibition in April. To think that a few semesters ago I didn't have a major is shocking. My undergraduate research experience has taken me from being a clueless new Psych student to feeling like a full-fledged research psychologist. While I am not sure where I will end up after graduation, I know for sure that my research experience is going to be invaluable.

I know it's been a little while since I've blogged for LAUS@PSU, but THON is rapidly approaching and I have been super busy. In less than two weeks, THON 2011 will be here and the thought is overwhelmingly exciting. It honestly feels like just yesterday that I was a new Committee Member going to my first shift for THON 2010. How fast time flies!

Since my last post, a lot has happened. First of all, my Committee went on the third canning weekend, this time, to my "home sweet home" in good old Landenberg, PA. It's lovely this time of year, bitter cold and smells like mushrooms. What more could a group of college students ask for?

Let me say one thing, my Committee members are troopers! During this canning weekend, there were weather advisories warning people not to go outdoors because of the frigid temperatures. But that did not stop us. We were up bright and early on Saturday morning, greeted by a delicious breakfast spread that my wonderful mother put together. Once we cleared the sleepy fog from our eyes, we bundled ourselves up in tons of layers, piled into the cars, and set out for a day of canning FOR THE KIDS. That is really what kept us going that day - just knowing that we were helping to make a difference in the lives of many children and families.  Twenty minutes into canning, the tops of my fingers went numb - great. But we started doing last year's line dance to stay warm and the donations started flowing! After a long day of a canning, we returned to the warmth of my house to defrost our bodies and count the money. We did a great job and I was proud of my Committee members for being so dedicated.

A few weeks after the canning weekend, my Co-Captain Louise and I hosted a pre-THON meeting for any interested faculty members. It was a small group but it was extremely productive and beneficial. We got to hear their ideas about increasing THON involvement and got some great starting points for For The Future (FTF). Right now, one of the events that we are planning for the faculty and staff THON weekend is a behind the scenes tour of the BJC. We will also teach the participants the line dance which they will eventually get to perform on stage...lucky them! These will be fun events and a great way for faculty and staff to see THON from a different perspective.

This weekend is the final canning weekend. My committee is not going canning this time.  Instead, I plan on going home for the weekend to rest up before the big weekend next week (February 18-20, 2011). THON is approaching very quickly, so get excited and make sure to come check it out. I promise, you won't regret it! Look for a post next week about the week leading up to THON...it's going to be a whirlwind but I can't wait!

FTK,
Marlee

On Thursday, February 3, 2011, I believe that one of the greatest moments in my life occurred. As the Penn State Student Body President, I have been blessed with many great opportunities, but this opportunity was a great way to begin to close out my term as president and as a student at Penn State.

So it all started two weeks prior to President Obama's visit to campus when I received an email from the White House. Specifically, the Director of Public Engagement Kalpen Modi. Mr. Modi wanted to meet with me and a couple of other student leaders the same day the President came to campus (but this was before we knew he was coming). We were going to discuss energy on campus, activism, and overall innovation. Even though that was the agenda, the only issue I wanted to speak with the White House about was the rising cost of tuition in public schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the entire country.

Now, it was not until we received word that President Obama was coming to campus that I realized why the name Kalpen Modi sounded familiar to me. Kalpen Modi is the actor/comedian who played Kumar in the movie Harold and Kumar. So I knew that this would be an awesome experience because I was going to be meeting with Kalpen Modi and talking about student related issues.

The big day finally came and the campus was overflowing with excitement and anxiety to see the President. I met with Kalpen Modi first for about 90 minutes in a small room in Rec Hall, directly behind where the President was going to be giving his speech later. We talked about a lot things, but I focused on engaging Kalpen in conversation about tuition and the President's efforts to help this situation. He made a lot great points and vowed to keep us updated. The meeting was just about over and I could hear people getting restless in the gym waiting for the President. All of a sudden, the doors in the small room where I was located swung open and in walked President Barack Obama, very casually, like we were a group of his advisers. My immediate reaction was to get out my iPhone and begin to take pictures. But then I realized that the photographers probably had that covered, so I let them do that for me.

President Obama spoke and took pictures with each of us individually. It was such a great feeling to shake hands with him, make eye contact, and tell him about my job as the student body president. After the the formal introductions, we sat down and the President told us that he was proud of our leadership. He pretty much gave a pre-speech to what he was going to say later - explaining why he came to Penn State. We talked about energy, the importance of innovation, and how Penn State could take the lead in those areas.

Overall, this was one the biggest highlights of my life and I will never forget it. I am just glad that I was able to represent the student body and my college, the College of the Liberal Arts, in the best possible way.

This is the third spring semester poetry edition of Liberal Arts Voices featuring this year's Penn State Laureate, poet and Professor of English and Womens' Studies, Robin Becker. Throughout the spring, Liberal Arts Voices will be collaborating with Penn State Live to cover the poems and work of Professor Becker.

In this podcast Professor Becker joins Dean Long; English major Natalie Kovak; and English graduate students Leah Huizar and William Woolfit to discuss Professor Becker's poem "Shopping." You can read the full version of "Shopping" on Penn State Live.

Professor Becker begins the podcast by describing how the accumulation of concrete details creates a dense texture in the poem and suggests a kind of excess. The group discusses how after the demise of a relationship or some sort of disappointment in life, we often turn to material goods to fill the sense of loss. The group focuses on specific imagery used in the poem that explore issues of identity, control, and loss.

We invite you to respond to this poem or to the question that Professor Becker asks at the conclusion of her poem: Could you fashion a comic piece about your own shopping habits?

Liberal Arts Voices: Robin Becker's "Shopping"

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

To watch a video of Professor Becker reading this poem or to read the actual poem, visit Penn State Live.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

In the December issue of Agora, Penn State's first and only liberal arts journal, one piece has drawn considerable attention from the publication's devout readers. In "Religion: A Cerebral Mix Up?" Jenny Lorenzo (Senior, Biology and Psychology) discusses the possibility that neural activity plays a large role in constructing one's sense of a "higher being."

Lorenzo was kind enough to sit down with me in the HUB one afternoon to discuss her research in more detail. As mentioned in the first half of "Religion: A Cerebral Mix Up?," modern neuroscience shows that the temporal lobes of the human brain play a big role in determining our "sense of self." Mild trauma is known to create a disruption between the left and right sides of the brain, and renders each side incapable of recognizing the fired neurons of the other. Lorenzo explains that these disruptions cause the left side of the brain to perceive the right side as a separate entity, another being, and vice versa.

Lorenzo was interested to find that Micahel Persinger, a researcher in the field of neurotheology, which explores the relationship between the brain and religion, has successfully created a way to simulate a spiritual experience. Persinger, along with other scientists, constructed a device known as "the God helmet," which stimulates a person's temporal lobes with electrodes in order to elicit a response. Most importantly for Lorenzo, Persinger's experiments with the "God helmet" showed that both self proclaimed atheists and religious participants experienced a presence of another being when placed in a solitary, dark room while wearing the helmet, proving that stimulation to the temporal lobes created spiritual experiences.

After reading the article and discussing it with Ms. Lorezno, I was left with a few questions. Are these findings enough to discredit the notion that there is an omniscient, supernatural authority? Have we falsely been led to believe in God(s) by our own minds? Lorenzo doesn't think so. When I asked her whether or not she believed that God is real or just a "cerebral mix up," she replied "There's a gray area. Both sides are arguable, but I don't think religion can solely be explained by science." Neither do I. What do you think?

You can read past issues of Agora by visiting our website. 

Robert Turchick, Amanda Craig, Lauren Perrotti, Matt Jewitt, and John Zang also contributed to this post.

How many mornings do you wake up at a top notch university, and get to see and hear the President of the United States?

Yesterday morning, members of the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Council witnessed President Obama's remarks in Rec Hall. President Obama came to University Park to tour labs and speak on innovative sciences and the economy. We'd like to thank the College of the Liberal Arts for this tremendous experience; one that won't soon be forgotten.

The theme for President Obama's address was "winning the future." He challenged students to work hard and pursue big dreams, adding that "the future will be won" in places like State College. The President spoke about the long term goals of the nation, and the projects and initiatives that will lead to America's success in the 21st century.

President Obama highlighted the ground breaking work being done at Penn State regarding energy efficiency. This work is extremely important in a country where 40% of all energy is consumed by buildings in the form of daily utilities. The President remarked that "while this innovation may not be sexy," it is essential to the preservation of the well being of the planet and to curb the effects of climate change. It will also save businesses money, allowing them to grow and create new jobs.

Strongly believing that the younger generations will the "lead the American idea," President Obama finished his speech with a challenge to young people: "out innovate, out educate, and out build" the rest of the world. If we do this, the President has no doubt that "America will win the 21st century, just like we won the last century."

How do you think the College of the Liberal Arts is out innovating and out educating other institutions?

You can find more photos of the event on LAUSatPSU's Flickr page. Also, make sure to check out the video of LAUC's live coverage of President Obama's speech: 

This is how these things work for a Penn Stater interested in the arts: word of mouth. A guy I worked with over the summer happened to be a member of the Singing Lions, a Penn State show choir, and he invited me to see his group's cabaret performance on Saturday the 29th at the Pavilion Theatre on campus. Any show at the Pavilion is definitely worth attending. To say it's an intimate setting doesn't even do it justice. The stage sits lower than the stadium seating, which surrounds it on three sides, and if you get the front row in any of these three sections you can reach out and wipe the sweat from any performer's forehead. That's how close you are.

When I walked into the Pavilion, the Glee version of "Teenage Dream" was playing over the loudspeakers. I made sure to get a front row seat. The girl sitting next to me was wearing turquoise and neon yellow sneakers. When she turned around to talk to the guy behind her she was gesturing with the Singing Lions program in her hand. "Here's my question," she said. "This says No Jazz Hands," (which was the title of the Singing Lions cabaret that night) "but what about just one hand? I think I'd be okay with one jazz hand, you know, for being excited. But if I see more than two I want my money back!" Thank you kismet for placing me in such a wonderful place to enjoy the show.

It was a little over a two hour performance that covered thirty songs with a ten minute intermission at the halfway point. The show started a little slow with a song about not being afraid to live up to your potential. In itself, not the most boring thing to sing about, but it featured four singers sitting in four café chairs and taking turns to step up to a microphone to sing their story. Just watching singers with their arms straight down by their sides was a little lackluster. The show quickly picked up, though, with the following tongue and cheek songs that the Singing Lions definitely put their acting skills in to. It was more fun as an audience member to see the Singing Lions when they were up and moving around in addition to their singing. 

The highlights of the evening were:

• "Accident Prone" performed by Lauren Lynch (The man of her dreams will have to learn to chill about her klutziness.)
• "Coffee" by Brian Poole and Jessie Leo (A bohemian tries to inspire a creature of habit.)
• "Sensitive Male Best Friend" by Alex Gallego (He's your best friend who's secretly in love with you and rammed into the car of your cheating ex-boyfriend to defend your honor and now needs you to help him make bail for that little escapade.)
• "Breaking Up" by Josie Farinelli and Tyler Segalla ("I just don't get why you...[cell phone signal cuts out]." "You're breaking up." "No, I just want to talk.")
• "The Sensitive Song" by Andrew Torchia (He just can't date you anymore and he's not shy about telling you why.)
• "Blue Hair" by Jessie Leo (Independent and totally rad, it's gonna look like wonderful, super fantastic, coolness, remarkable!) 
• "Mrs. Sharp" by all the guys ("I never thought my teacher could be hot!")
• "We're Just Friends" by Saeed Manley and Sarah Sewcheck ("We're just friends...with benefits.")
• The finale "It Gets Better" featuring everyone.

I only caught a few of these on film for your viewing pleasure but they were all worth a double take. Don't believe me? Then maybe it's time to befriend a Singing Lion and hear all about the excitement from the inside, not to mention hearing about all the upcoming performances you could be filling your nights with.

In episode 21 of our bi-weekly Liberal Arts Voices podcast, John Dolan joins the program to discuss his new position as the Director of Digital Media and Pedagogy, a shared position between the College of the Liberal Arts and Penn State's Education Technology Services (ETS).

As a liaison between the College of the Liberal Arts and ETS, John discusses how he is working to make the classroom experience more engaging and interactive for students. John talks about some of the initiatives he is currently working on, including: the liberal arts Faculty Advisory Board ("The FAB"), technology-focused professional development opportunities, and the CLA Social Media Forum. Each of these initiatives is designed to provide CLA staff and faculty with the opportunity to share information about and to get more familiar with the variety of available technology.

Heather Summerlin, CLA Information Technology Consultant, also explains how the College is working to make technology opportunities more available and streamlined for departments. For instance, Heather has helped set up a new blog platform through Blogs at Penn State for CLA departments interested in creating a blog.

Also, make sure to check out John's U Report podcast which highlights the many different jobs around the Penn State campus. Lastly, take a look at the Xtranormal video John made for his COMM 471 course this semester (you have to listen to the podcast to figure out what this is!)

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 21

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.