April 2011 Archives

In one sense April 17 was an awful day, full of cold, blustery winds and 40 degree temperatures, right after the monsoon that shortened the Blue White Football Game.

But it was a beautiful day for Special Olympics.

Sue Paterno reports that an amazing $83,500 was raised for Special Olympics, and she gives a host of kudos to Paterno Fellows who assisted behind the scenes.  Fellows recruited runners, prepared packets for runners (on the Thursday before the race), and provided invaluable race-day logistical support.  Over 1600 runners (and walkers) took part in an event that began in front of the Jordan Center and ended at the Beaver Stadium 50-yard line.

"The Paterno Fellows were magnificent, dependable and oh so helpful in so many ways," Sue Paterno told me.  "We couldn't have done it without them." (The photo shows smiling Sue Paterno and PF Lydia Scott, an hour before the race began.)

Congratulations to the Fellows who participated in one or several ways.  Plans are already under way for next year--can we help raise over $100,000?

Visit the Beaver Stadium Run website for more information.

Here are minutes of the Paterno Fellows Student Advisory Board meeting April 20 at 5:45-7:00 pm.  (The Board consists of Danielle Mackintosh, Nathan Hollister, Brian Prewitt, Doug Smith, Caitlin Ogram, Olivia Hoover, Christine Theberge, and Laura Dzwonczyk.)

A.  Announcements

• Selzer thanked members of the Advisory Board for their contributions.  All agreed to serve once again next year; we will also add two incoming freshmen.-- Selzer mentioned the Paalem Project dramatization coming up over the weekend.
• Selzer congratulated ABoard members who had won Discovery Grants.
  

B.  Reports

• Caitlin Ogram indicated that the Sustainability Fair is on life support.  She will investigate a couple of possible additional leads, but right now it looks like their is insufficient interest among Fellows to ensure a successful event.  It could well be that there is so much sustainability stuff going on that the opportunity is not great.
• Danielle Mackintosh has investigated the possibility of PF involvement in THON.  Since LAUC has a developing presence in THON, we decided to cooperate with LAUC efforts.
• Nathan Hollister has investigated the feasibility of an informal mentoring or "buddy" system that would link upperclass PFs with incoming freshmen who are PF aspirants.  He recommended that we cooperate with efforts by LAUC for a similar system for LA students, and the group agreed to that recommendation.  He and new LAUC president Lauren Perrotti will be developing the idea along with other LAUC members; he and Lauren have also discussed a modification to the sign-up form that would accommodate students involved in the PF program.   
• Olivia Hoover indicated that it was full speed ahead as far as participation in Homecoming next fall.  Olivia has a handful of co-conspirators who will work together to get the Paterno Fellows a presence in the parade.  She has taken care to ensure that PFs are not intruding on LAUC plans.
  

C.  Next Year
The Advisory Board discussed at length plans for next year's PF events.  Conclusions:

• The year will begin with an August or early September event for incoming freshmen PF aspirants.  (Since the meeting Jack Selzer met with the Rock Ethics Institute and the Center for Democratic Deliberation, and they will likely put together an interesting Town Hall / debate event involving issues of "food ethics" during the first or second week of classes.)
• The group decided to continue the Recognition Event in early January.
• In addition, the Paterno Fellows should have one significant cultural event in the fall semester (equivalent to the "Color Purple event this year), another high profile event that does not involve the arts (e.g., the Rock/CDD event in the fall will be one of these; the Recognition Event will be another), a set of "stress reliever" smaller events, and some volunteer opportunities (e.g., the 5K Race for Special Olympics, participation in the Day of Caring, etc.).  The group will stay in touch by email over the summer so that a full slate of activities can be announced early next fall.  On May 8, Jack Selzer will gather possible ideas when the Artists Series offering are unveiled for 2011-12.
  

D.  Communications

• The group discussed ways of improving communications within the Paterno Fellows Program.  In the coming year, Fellows can look for improvements in our Facebook presence, in our regular listserve communications, and in our blogging activities.

Each year the Office of Undergraduate Education in Old Main awards $2500 grants to permit students to pursue their own research and creative projects over the summer.  This year nine of the 36 grants were awarded to Paterno Fellows, and three to other Liberal Arts students.

Congratulations to all 12 (Paterno Fellows indicated by asterisks):

Stephanie Allen, "Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity in an Animal Model of Optimism and Pessimism--a Validity Test"

**Giulia Borriello
"Parental Supports for Developing Preschoolers' Spatial Skills through Play"

**Pamela Dorian
"John Dewey, Evolutionary Ethics, and Human Rights"

**Megan Foster
"The Internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II: Exploring the Politics of
Citizenship"

**Paige Heimark
"An Illustrated Exploration of Women's Labor History in Philadelphia"

Nicholas Johnson
"Evaluating the Effects of Anonymity on the Rhetoric of Internet Imageboards"

**Brian Kilkelly
"Disadvantaged Inner City Mothers' Perception of Neighborhood and Substance Use: An
Examination of Neurocognitive Factors as Mediators"

Catherine Leece
"The Effects of G x E Interaction on Self-Regulation"

**Caitlin Ogram
"Functional Independence Following Traumatic Brain Injury in the Elderly"

**Frank Rotiroti
"The Exhilarations of Changes: An Inquiry into Metaphor"

**Ginnelle Sroka
"Discourses of Gender and Oppression in Irish Women's Poetry"

**Marie-Christine Theberge
"Processing Costs While Bilinguals Read Spanish-English Codeswitches: An Eye Tracking
Study"

The misty air smelled like carnival food: pulled pork, popcorn and soft pretzels. Lion ambassadors were everywhere- walking backwards as usual. A tour guide would call out "WE ARE!" each time they passed through the crowd. You could predict the response.

I spun in a three-sixty as a trumpet rendition of the Fight Song wafted on the damp breeze. The Nittany Lion posed with giggling prospective students. To my left there was a stand for class rings and to my right towered over one-hundred years of Penn State tradition.

No- I'm not talking about Blue and White Weekend (that's not until tomorrow). I'm talking the Bell Tower- this Wednesday was the Old Main Open House.

My friend and I waited an hour holding our florescent yellow tickets for the tour. This PSU tradition has been on my friend Katie's bucket list for years, and as a senior her clock was ticking. Being a freshman, I figured I'd get a head start and check this off my list early.

I had never really explored Old Main before. Inside were grand, open staircases and a lofty ceiling: an elegant cross between a hotel lobby and a ball room. A girl dressed as Abraham Lincoln met us in front of the imposing Fresco painting that spanned the walls. She explained the Morrill Land Grant and Lincoln's role in providing the government funding to start "The Farmer's High School." She pointed out Lincoln on the mural, along with Evan Pugh, Penn State's first president.

After Honest Abe came Henry Varnum Poor, the artist who painted the frescos in the 1930's and 1940's. In a faux-French accent (?) he guided us around the upper balcony and past scenes of early agriculture and student life. Fun Fact: all the young faces in the murals were actual Penn State students.

Henry's section of the tour landed us at the entrance to the Bell Tower. I fidgeted anxiously as we waited for our turn. The bell tower rings loud, and it's a constant presence in my Atherton Dorm- especially on PSU's recent birthday- when it rang once for every year. I wondered if the view was as impressive as the sound.

Ascending the stairs and stepping out onto the misty stone balcony I wasn't disappointed. Even on the overcast day the view was spectacular. I could see all of campus, and into the town beyond. The blue shadow of Mount Nittany hovered beyond the fog.

Maybe the air up there was cleaner and clearer, because I felt refreshed as I took in the amazing scene. It's nice to get a change of perspective in this hectic pre-finals times. Literal or otherwise. I looked at the students walking to class below and now think about the generations of students who have walked the same steps for nearly two-hundred years. They have left us a beautiful legacy, I think, now looking out my window at the clock's golden glow. We have high heights to aspire too.