I think if we were to sacrifice State Patty’s Day this year nothing would happen. I don’t think we will benefit from it at all. I don’t think we would get national attention for sacrificing our own made up holiday. Granted, State College residents and local communities would be grateful that we didn’t celebrate this day long drunk fest, but on a national scale, I don’t think it would make a difference.
The media didn’t bring any positive attention to the candle light vigil yet they exploited us when we rioted after Joe Pa was fired. They would rather see us at our worst – drunk and out of control – rather than sober sitting at home or being reverent for a cause. I don’t think the media would have national coverage of us being sober and skipping our own self proclaimed holiday. They want to see us wasted roaming the streets of State College, that’s the story they want to sell to people, that’s the kind of story that people will read.
I don’t think we should sacrifice our own party day just for the victims. I know it sounds extremely selfish, ignorant, and rude but I don’t know. Its not like we were the ones who covered up the scandal. We weren’t involved at all. I was 8 years old in 1998 and I had no idea who Sandusky was. This scandal has affected everyone, but it shouldn’t effect State Patty’s Day, or THON for that matter. The reason we celebrate State Patty’s so hard is because the weekend before we exhaust ourselves and dance and raise over 9.5 million dollars for the kids. State Patty’s is our celebratory weekend. As a senior, I don’t want to have to sacrifice my last State Patty’s, especially because it probably wouldn’t even make a difference. Since my freshman year, State Patty’s has gone from huge to absolutely humongous. More and more people who don’t even go here come up and celebrate it. It’s probably one of my favorite days of spring semester. And I don’t think I should sacrifice my fun for something I didn’t do. We as students didn’t do anything wrong, so why should we stay sober on a Saturday we wait weeks to celebrate. Most of us, myself included, go out more than 2 nights a week/weekend. How is drinking all day on State Patty’s any different than Blue White Weekend or a Football Saturday? Or any other day long Saturday in the spring? I also think that even if we tried to cancel State Patty’s, not everyone would. Alumni would still come up and drink all day. I would honestly still drink all day. I don’t think cancelling our holiday will make a difference.

This is a really good question. I think we should all be thinking about what we can learn from this terrible thing that has happened at our beloved university. This scandal was something no one wanted to happen, and the people who know about Sandusky’s actions tried their best to keep it under wraps – which was completely wrong. Now, the people involved are filled with regret, guilt, anger, and frustration towards not only Sandusky and the university, but also towards themselves. With that in mind, we all need to realize that when we witness or know about something so terrible such as child molestation, we need to do something about it right away.
I personally have learned a lot from this catastrophe that has happened at school. First, I’ve learned that sexual assault is a terrible yet common occurrence but most people do not speak out about it. They keep their skeletons in their closet because they are either embarrassed or ashamed because what has happened to them. But that shouldn’t be the case at all. Sexual assault isn’t necessarily preventable – shit happens, and its life. At the end of the day it is what it is, however; if you are aware that sexual assault is happening, you need to do something about it. Taking the responsibility to speak up and tell authorities about the situation is the moral thing to do and it is the first step to ensuring that the sexual abuse stops.
Secondly, I’ve learned that not everyone is perfect. Joe Pa, however great a man he is, he screwed up. He could’ve done more to make sure Sandusky stopped fooling around with kids. Joe Pa is and will always be a legend in my eyes despite what has happened, even though others may agree otherwise. As for the other men involved, I’m sure they also wanted to do the right thing, but they didn’t. They were selfish about Penn State’s name and prestige rather than exposing for Sandusky for what kind of man he truly is.
I’ve come to realize that world, even Happy Valley, is an imperfect, unfair place. People screw up, bad things happen, and you end up disappointed, confused, and betrayed. But just because the world sucks sometimes, doesn’t mean it sucks all the time. We can grow from this and come out of this as better people than we were before because of what we have been through and experienced. I think that is the most important thing I’ve learned – that at the end of the day, we are still here, living our lives. We can still grow and learn and strive past all of the bad things and look for a better future. WE still ARE PENN STATE. And no matter what anybody says about our university, we will always have each other.

I think we all are definitely going through the 5 stages of grief. This scandal has been a complete tragedy for the ENTIRE Penn State community. And the media hasn’t done much to make it better either. It’s like our own Penn State bubble has been popped and invaded by people who don’t understand our culture. The rest of the world, for the most part, doesn’t know or understand why this place is called Happy Valley. They don’t understand the pride and the tradition and the family aspect of our school. Outsiders have poked fun at our reactions to what has happened because they simply don’t understand the magnitude of it. So of course we are grieving. This tragedy has been deemed as the biggest scandal in sports history to date. It’s crazy.
I think we were all in a state of denial on Sunday and Monday earlier this week. The whole thing hadn’t erupted yet. People weren’t openly talking about it. We just went about our days pretending like it wasn’t really happening. We also didn’t have enough information to even comprehend what was really happening. It was too new and foreign for us to comprehend.
As the week went by, we grew angry. We didn’t understand what was happening. We wanted answers but no one was giving them to us. Spanier, who was supposed to be our President, hadn’t even said a word to address the student body. We felt confused, frustrated, sad, mad, disappointed, betrayed, and ashamed. We didn’t want this to happen. We didn’t understand how it could’ve happened. By Wednesday night, after the press conference releasing the news that Joe Pa had been fired, we were furious. I mean, I was furious, and I’m pretty sure every rioter was even angrier than I was. Others were mourning but still couldn’t believe what had happened. We were pissed. And that’s why State College was a war zone on Wednesday night.
Thursday morning was by far the most depressing day on campus. I had never seen Penn State so sad. No one was smiling. No one was even talking. It was quiet and dead for the most part. I cried like 4 times on Thursday because I was so upset with what was going on around here. I hated what the media was doing to us, and still continue to do. We’ve been placed on this stage in front of the entire world during one of the most horrible things that has ever happened to this town.
Today wasn’t so bad. We’re slowly accepting what has happened. We’re more optimistic about what is going to happen in the days to come. We know that we will rise above this. I don’t know what to expect tomorrow. I want us to beat Nebraska so badly. I want to scream loud and proud for my team, for my school, and for what has happened to us. This scandal is one of those things that only time can heal. This is a tragedy. But at the end of the day, it is what it is. We are Penn State. And nothing will ever change that.

I, in no way, am a business-oriented person. I don’t understand it and I don’t really like it at all – that’s why I’m an education major. However, if I were a business owner, I think I would seriously think about hiring illegal immigrants, even though it is ethically illegal and “wrong”. But if this illegal immigrant was a hard worker and truly dedicated to the job I was giving him or her, I’d do it. But I would only pay them under the table because one, it would be a lot easier and two, that way I wouldn’t have to document him in the ‘books’ or ‘systems’ of the business or however it works.
The way I see it, if I could give someone the opportunity to make money and provide a sustainable income for their lives, I would help them. Immigrants come to this country in hopes for a better life. They come to the US for a chance to make money and provide for their families. If I could help somebody out like that, I definitely would despite the fact that its illegal and “wrong” for me to do so.
When I started working at my soccer coach’s Italian restaurant when I was in high school, he had a Mexican woman working for him in the kitchen doing simple things like washing lettuce, coring tomatoes, and washing the dishes. My coach and boss speak fluent Italian, which is rather similar to Spanish, so the two of them could communicate pretty well. The woman, Carmen, also knew a bit of English so I would try to talk to her every now and then. In fact, I taught her how to do the Soulja Boy … it was hilarious. Long story short, my boss gave this woman an opportunity to make a couple extra bucks for herself and her family. Sadly, after I started working there, Carmen left and went back home to Mexico. I don’t really know her whole story but I assume that she and her family moved to the US to make money to send and bring home back to Mexico, which is what a lot of other immigrants are doing.
Overall, if I were in a business position, I think I would hire immigrant workers. They deserve a chance just like my great grand parents did when they stepped foot onto US soil.

Honestly, who cares about white people being the minority? Does it really matter? Race shouldn’t even be an issue now, let alone in the future.
It doesn’t matter that whites are going to be the minority. Eventually, in like 100 years or more, everyone will be so mixed we won’t even be able to tell who is white or black or brown or yellow or red.
It doesn’t really matter to me. Whites turning into the minority won’t necessarily impact my life – it won’t change the way I see things or my daily actions. I am white, and I already notice that I sometimes am the minority and I’m okay with that. We are all people. We’re all equal. Just because whites are going to be the minority in the future shouldn’t affect anything or change anything.
I can see why most people would be “scared” about it, but I’m not. I’m my own person, just like everyone else. It doesn’t matter what color I am or where my family’s heritage originates. Technically I am the minority of my roommates – they’re all German and I’m Irish and Italian. Heck, Hitler killed people like me. If I am going to be the minority in the future then so be it. It’s just the way of the world and no one can control that. It’s going to happen and we have no reason to stop it, and even if we wanted to, we couldn’t. It’s inevitable.
Our population is increasing rapidly and we are rapidly destroying the earth. We shouldn’t be worrying about race or whites becoming the minority within our country. We should be thinking of ways to save the human race before we destroy the earth then ultimately destroy ourselves.
I don’t want to sound like an ecologically conscious freak, but we are killing the earth everyday. We are using more than we need. We are overpopulating, over consuming, and overall contributing to the fall of the human race.
We shouldn’t care about white becoming the minority. Its not even a big deal – it’s the way of the world. Its bound to happen. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

My hometown has a diverse population of black, white, and Hispanic people. My church is bilingual and does masses in both English and Spanish. So, I’ve been around different cultures and races since I can remember. I would consider myself to be in stage 5 of racial identity, but sometimes I could fall into the stage where I get mad at white people cause they can be so ignorant and racist (it really pisses me off). My parents are probably in stage 5 or 6, but sometimes my dad can get a bit racist depending on the situation. His dad, my pop-pop, was very racist and the epitome of an Italian asshole – so I can understand why my dad can be a bit rude to other people of color from time to time (which doesn’t make it right, but I can understand why he thinks the way he does). My younger brother is probably in stage 5 like me – we’ve both been raised to accept everyone and we are comfortable with people that are different than us, whether it is religion or race. We have friends that aren’t white and we both worked at non-profit summer camps this summer with kids from minority groups in our town. It was a great experience.
My friends at home are also in stage 5 – we all come from the same area and for the most part have the same views on race. Some of our friends are black and Asian so race is nothing new I guess. I didn’t realize that people weren’t okay race until I came to Penn State my freshman year. My friends then, and roommates now, are considerably racist. They would probably fall into whatever stage “racist” would fall under. It makes me so mad that they can sometimes be so ignorant to other people simply because of their skin color or religion. We are all humans, so why should that even matter? But then I realize that they didn’t come from a town like mine and weren’t raised the same way I was. Both of my roommates are from a white suburb of Pittsburgh, so they didn’t see many racial groups other than their own in until they got to Penn State. They aren’t as comfortable with other racial groups like I am because they aren’t from a cultural diverse neighborhood like mine. They’ve been to my house to visit and were like shocked to know that my neighbors are a black gay couple and a Mexican family lives across the street. It was a culture shock to them, but everyday life to me. I can see why they’ve grown up and become kind of racist, but it still bothers me that even after taking SOC 119 two years ago, their views haven’t changed. I guess all I can do is realize that everyone has their own opinions based upon race and I cannot change them. I can only focus on my own views and where I stand in forming my own racial identity.

This article was very interesting. I never really thought about what it truly means to be “happy” until I was reading the 5 reasons our idea of happiness is wrong. I used to say, when I grow up I just want to be happy. No matter where I end up, who I’m with, or what I’m doing – I just wanted to be happy. But really, what is happy? The smile on my face? Clearly, no. Its not. Reason #1 totally linked up with my idea of “happiness”. I shouldn’t make it my goal. Why should it even be a goal? It should be the journey – as it more or less describes in reason #1. Achieving happiness isn’t the thing we should all hope for by the time we finally reach our goal. We should always be happy. We should do the little things that make us happy – like surrounding ourselves with the people we love. We shouldn’t waste our time deciding what TV is the best choice for me to buy or what cereal has more fiber. We shouldn’t have this “happy” concept in our heads – we should be living it all the time. We choose to be happy. Life is too short. And June Gruber is right – we should stop worrying about being happy. We need to just live life and experience it. Meet people, go to places we’ve never been, try new things, read books, and explore. Finding love in the strangest of places and making something out of nothing. Doing something rather than waiting for it to happen. We have to live, because life is everything. And we’ll always be happy.

I think the reason why women see the world from a man’s perspective is because the world has always been seen from a man’s perspective. Think about it. Men have been the “leaders” of the world since it began. Men are portrayed as the leaders in the bible, throughout the Renaissance, during the Industrial Revolution, in politics, and the list could go on. The world has always seen things through a man’s eye. All the great philosophers are men, all the great scientists are men, all the great artists (for the most part) are men. Most of the things we are taught were conjured up or hypothesized and tested by men. I think the reason women see the world from a man’s perspective is because we continue teach and learn and know about the world through a man’s perspective.
And nowadays, it’s not much better. Really. Think about it. The media and society influence the way women view themselves – and the world – because the way media and society view things is from a man’s perspective. I think this is most dominant through advertisements in magazines, online, or on TV (example: victoria secret commercials – I mean, seriously). I think women are just constantly being pressured to look sexy, but not be a whore, BUT not be too innocent either. Its almost like there is a fine line between what is attractive and what is not. Men’s views usually define this line, this standard, of what is hot and what is not. Women are constantly being judged by other women and they’re all constantly being judged by men. Its like we women compete against one another by wearing the clothes we do just to get judged by men. It’s a viciouse cycle.
My thoughts are definitely all over the place right now and I may be talking in circles but I’m pretty sure that the reason women see the world from a man’s perspective is because the world is constantly being presented and viewed and evaluated through a man’s perspective. Today for example, the girl wrote her article in the Collegian for the Mounting Nittany column. And it really bothered me. She’s completely contradicted everything Sam’s wife was saying about women and how we perceive sex differently than men. We don’t just get hard and are ready to go – we’re slow to warm up and its more emotional, and we can orgasm as many times as we want. But this girl’s article basically said she was like a dude, and goes out and gets it in every weekend and enjoys it every time. And I’m sorry, there is no possible way you can enjoy it every time with someone you don’t even know. Plus, don’t you feel like your being used? Or using some dude? That’s just not right. I mean, I completely understand, you are human, you have sexual drives and desires, but I just think she’s going about it all wrong. She’s losing sight of what sex is supposed to be about, what it used to be about before we all got to college and decided that getting wasted and banging random people every weekend is the cool thing to do. I don’t want to blame this girl’s view of casual sex on seeing the world through a man’s perspective, but I’m pretty sure that’s got something to do with it. And it’s a shame.

After watching the video of the bike thieves, I was so surprised. First of all, I couldn’t believe how the public didn’t say anything or think anything of it when the white guy was attempting to steal the bike. He had all his tools laid out in front of him and even had a saw to cut the chain and no one really even said anything. But, once they changed the scenario around and had the black guy steal the bike, everyone that walked by freaked out and whipped out their cell phones to report his crime. It’s just strange that two people who were doing the same crime caused the public to react differently based upon their skin color. While watching the video, I also thought about the placement of the scene of the crime. What would have happened if the criminals were stealing a bike from outside of someone’s house or a school or on a street corner of an inner city neighborhood? Would the public turn the other cheek if they saw a white guy trying to steal a chained up bike from outside a high school? What about a black guy outside of a house? I think that most people would notice something fishy and call the police – but other people would just brush it off. However, I think it really does come down to whether the criminal is race, gender, and location of the crime. Every factor of the situation will influence how the public will react.
Also while watching the video, I was surprised how the woman received help from other men while trying to steal the bike and other women walking by called the authorities. It’s a standard response I suppose – of course a guy is going to help a sexually attractive woman no matter what the circumstance is, but geez, the lady was stealing, didn’t they notice that?
In my case, if I were the one witnessing the crime, I’d probably ask the criminal what the heck he or she was doing, and try to scare them off or stop them from stealing the bike. If they still kept trying to break the lock and chain and steal, I’d call the cops. I’d honestly be less inclined to call the cops if it was a woman but I think I’d still be like, “what the heck? why are you stealing?”, and then call the police. When I was younger, my family would keep our bikes on our front porch. Then one day, they were gone. I was so mad someone stole my pink and white huffy with a purple basket and those noisemakers on the spokes. I think if I saw someone stealing a bike, that thought would kick in, and I’d call the cops – no matter who the criminal was.

First off, I just wanted to say something about lecture the other day in class. It was shocking how may people go hungry every night and how even the poorest people in the US are better off than two-thirds of the rest of the world. Sam is right, we do need to stop comparing ourselves to people who are above us with more money – the rich people. We need to take a step back and look down and be grateful for what we already have. We are better off than more than half of the rest of the world and we don’t even realize it because we are too busy trying to keep up with the Jones’s. While sitting in lecture and listening to Sam and Rick, I almost felt ashamed to be an American. I never realized that we are technically making matters worse for smaller countries like Haiti and Morocco. On the surface, it looks like we are helping while in reality we are just screwing up somebody else’s country and overall quality of life.
I think the Haiti group project is a really cool idea and I’m pretty excited to see what ideas my group comes up with. Also, the entrepreneur projects I watched on the website we extraordinary. I watched Anaes, Euclid, and Figaro’s videos and was astounded by their stories. All of them are extremely talented, incredible women. Anaes’ bags are really cool and will definitely support the cause to influence Haitians to buy locally and support their economy. Also, Euclid’s clothes are like art. She is extremely talented. And Figaro is incredible – raising four boys and managing her own pastry business is a heck of a lot for a mother to handle and she’s making it work. On the flip side of all of this, all three entrepreneurs would probably be making bank if they were in America. I could see Euclid having her own boutique on College Ave alongside Anaes and Figaro’s pastry shop somewhere on Beaver Ave.
Overall, the Haiti group project should be pretty cool. It’s a really awesome idea. Its hands-on, innovative, and worldly – and unlike and group project I have ever done. I’m excited.