We Are (Still) Penn State, Forever!

I was confused, angry, betrayed, sickened, and heartbroken. These feelings coursed through my veins in early November when the details about Jerry Sandusky’s alleged criminal acts caught fire and spread over the entire globe in a matter of hours. It was all so sudden. Everyone was just plain shocked.

I wanted answers. I found myself reading explicit, but honest, court documents to separate fact from fiction. The information that I ingested made me tear up. How is this possible? I thought. Especially in my perfect little bubble that is State College?

Everyone had an opinion – from the media, to family and friends, to people on the Internet and television making jokes and mean comments. This was the farthest thing from a joke. The world had so much to say without knowing all the facts. My friend’s dad said he had business contacts from other countries asking what he thought about Joe Paterno “raping all those kids.” Really? Really???? I hated everyone.

I reluctantly but tirelessly fielded phone calls, e-mails, and texts from various acquaintances. I wanted to keep people filled in on the reality of what was going on, answer questions, and encourage them to read the court documents for themselves.

Then, the riots happened. I should have never been there. Seeing multiple lampposts get knocked down and a news van get flipped scared the life out of me. There was so much disrespect running rampant in the form of hordes of angry and confused students taking out their frustrations on the place they loved most – Penn State. I have never been more ashamed, and all I could think about was how our once spotless and proud reputation was just continuing to tarnish right in front of my eyes.

I didn’t come to this school because of football. I didn’t come to see Joe Paterno on the sidelines and the Nittany Lion cartwheeling about the stadium. I came for one reason: To get an education at a university with national recognition for academics and time-honored traditions.

Even though I’m a huge PSU football fan, “We Are” so much more than that. We have the best school spirit in the country. We have nationally ranked academic programs. We raise millions for pediatric cancer ever year. We have hundreds of clubs that cater to students’ interests and give back to the community.

All of these positive aspects of Penn State have apparently slipped people’s minds due to the Sandusky scandal. It sickens me to think that students, faculty, and Penn State’s name have been dragged through the mud due to one man’s horrendous actions. It also saddens me to think that this is the way Joe Paterno’s legacy ended, that this is what he will be remembered for. Funding a library and other various programs to benefit the school are just not enough for people. I hate seeing Penn State’s biggest icon fall from grace, but it remains to be seen at the trials if he deserved this fate. Either way, it’s heartbreaking.

Things have calmed down now. Penn State is not on the headline of every media source in existence anymore, thank goodness. The Valley isn’t “Happy” yet though, not even close. It will take some time, but the amazing community that is Penn State will get through this by sticking together and staying strong. We Are (Still) Penn State, forever!

Kiss Me, Kate!

Having a sister that is thinking about majoring in performing arts in college, saying that I’ve been to a live performance is an understatement. I go to 3-5 live performances per year. I have never been to a professionally done performance, but my high school and the other groups that my sister is involved in, like the Community Arts Center near my hometown, takes this stuff very seriously. So, you could definitely say that I am an experienced musical and play-goer.

The plays and musicals I have seen have ranged from drooling-in-my-seat boring to absolutely spectacular, so I didn’t know what to expect when I was going to see Kiss Me Kate. (By myself, I might add – I missed the date my English class went but was lucky enough to be able to catch another showing of the play.) This musical wasn’t my favorite because I thought it was kind of confusing, but I thought it was very well done. The acting, singing, and dancing were all great, and it was very enjoyable to watch.

I have learned to like the musical-theater genre. Growing up, I knew it was important to go to my sister’s events and support her, but I eventually started to enjoy going to her plays and musicals. I realized how talented you have to be to pull off these performances, and also how brave the actors are to sing and dance in front of so many people. So, I started respecting the musical-theater genre. My favorite musical would have to be Les Miserables. My sister tried out for it and got a part, and it was the best musical I have ever seen. All of the actors were from high schools all around my hometown and the Community Arts Center really outdid themselves. I didn’t like Kiss Me Kate as much as I liked Les Mis, but I still thought it was great. I also love classics like Grease, which of course are incomparable to high school and collegiate productions.

I like Shakespeare’s works, but I have never had the chance to read or see Taming of the Shrew. Those parts in the play were very confusing to me and I did not understand it at all. It wasn’t until afterwards where I found someone to explain those parts to me and summarize Taming of the Shrew that I understood. I wish I knew an overview of what Taming of the Shrew was about so that these parts made sense to me while watching the musical.

My favorite thing about the experience was that even though I was sitting there by myself like a loser, parts of the play had me laughing hysterically. Comic relief is a must for me sometimes while attending musicals, plays, and events like these, and I was relieved to find that Kiss Me Kate was very funny. I also was very impressed with the actors’ talent – the singing and dancing were fantastic. I’m really happy that I was able to see this production put on by Penn State’s own students, and would recommend it to anyone.

Dave Housely

I had never heard of Dave Housely before, but seeing that I still needed to go to both of my required literary readings, I decided to check out his reading. To be honest, I was expecting to be bored to death by some arrogant big-shot author in stylish glasses. But, I was pleasantly surprised.


I can't say that I understood every aspect of the three short stories that he chose to share with us, but I enjoyed listening to them regardless. I loved his dry humor, and his straight-forward and honest tone. His stories were very original and entertaining, and the atmosphere in the room was great. It was all very casual, friendly, and fun. He also engaged his audience, and even asked us our opinion on who was the "douchiest male star" of today so that he could insert it into one of his stories. I thought that was rather hilarious.

When he was done reading, he answered a few questions and offered everyone free copies of the literary magazine he edits called "Barrelhouse." I was really happy that I decided to go to Housely's reading, and I could see myself going to these types of events even after this class. I have loved to read ever since I can remember, so seeing an author read his own work and the ways that he expresses himself while reading was a new and very interesting experience for me. I really enjoyed Dave Housely's reading and am excited to attend another reading soon.