Evan Kalikow

Co-Founder Evan Kalikow outlines the importance of beard's in today's society and the problems that have arisen in America's foreign policy efforts because of clean-shaven authority figures.

This is weird that this is my last Onward State post, right? Like, I co-created this site with my buddy Eli and my randomly-assigned roommate (and buddy) Davis during the fall of freshman year. And now, almost four years later, I'm writing a goodbye post? And there are people who aren't my parents who will read it? That's bizarre to me (and probably even more bizarre to my 18-year-old self).

When I first heard that hip-hop star Ludacris would be performing at Movin' On this year, I jumped at the chance to interview him. After many emails, a lot of patience, and just a little bit of luck, Luda finally agreed to let me as him a few questions. Check out the video after the jump to find out more about his salary, his driving habits, and his past experience as a Blockbuster Video employee.

Last month, Will Martin was named Overall Chairperson of THON 2013. This seemed like a pretty solid decision, as he was THON 2012's OPP Overall and seemed very enthusiastic about THON. After he was announced as the THON 2013 Overall, I went back and read Ryan Kristobak's profile on him. One part stuck out like a sore thumb. Find out which part after the jump.

In a shocking and groundbreaking move, the Daily Collegian has selected Boone, a dog, as its next Editor-in-Chief.

“We really felt it was the most responsible thing to do,” said Jim Rodenbush, the Daily Collegian’s news adviser. “The last 125 years have seen human after human after human become Editor-in-Chief. Where’s the diversity?”

Welp, THON 2012 is over. We raised a whole lot of money and it was a generally awesome weekend. But the question remains: What are the results of the THON Prop Bets? Find out after the jump.

THON is tomorrow. Literally. That means it's time to make some THON Prop Bets! What is a prop bet, you may ask? A prop bet is short for proposition bet. Basically, it's a bet on something not commonly betted upon. For example, lots of people bet on the score of the Super Bowl, but how many people bet on how many times the winning coach will say "humbled" in the post-game press conference? That's a prop bet. You can find out more on Grantland (or research it yourself. I'm not doing your homework for you).

Last semester, I sojourned across campus to find the five worst classrooms. We all had a good laugh at how awful they all were! But what about the unsung heroes? What about the great classrooms? Well, dear reader, fear no more. Here's my breakdown of the five best classrooms.

Hey there. I bet you're neck-deep in finals and papers right now. How about a study break? Today, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., I will be hanging out at Irving's. Come hang out with me!

Studying for finals? Tired of the usual studying spots? Try studying at a bar! I did it for the first time this weekend (the things I'll do for the sake of Onward State), and I was quite productive. Be warned, though, that there are some risks and dangers involved with studying at a bar. After the jump are seven tips for doing work at the drinking establishment of your choice.

Dear Anderson Cooper, A couple of weeks ago, I was an audience member on your daytime TV show, Anderson. I wrote extensively about the situation and how disappointing I was at how the rest of the Penn State students and I were treated and represented. After the taping, I felt let down--I was a fan of Anderson Cooper 360 and you in general (we even shared a similar sense of humor!). Seeing you and your show act in the way that you did deeply saddened me. Imagine my surprise, then, when I heard the news that two of your executive producers had stepped down, one of whom left because you disagreed with how they handled the aforementioned special.

On Monday, a group of Penn State student leaders went to New York City to participate in a town hall-style forum about the Jerry Sandusky scandal on Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show, Anderson. Below is a rundown of the day.

To most people, Halloween is this Monday, October 31. If you're reading this, though, chances are Halloween starts tonight. Maybe it even started a couple of days ago. In any event, you may find yourself at a Halloween party over the next half a week. Here are six people you should absolutely not be.

As you may have should have heard, last Saturday was the First Annual Media Dodgeball Fall Classic. For a full, mostly-accurate recap of the exciting matchup between Onward State, the Daily Collegian, Phroth, and Valley Magazine, check out Adam Smeltz's column from yesterday on StateCollege.com. Here are ten things that I learned.

Last week, we had the chance to meet briefly with all of the Homecoming Student Court candidates and ask them each a few questions that they probably don't get asked every day. Check them out below, and VOTE if you haven't already!

During your time at Penn State, you have surely hopefully gone to class at least once. Some of these classes may have been in lovely, or at least serviceable, locales. Others, though, have been held in awful, awful rooms, worse than a thousand hells simultaneously. With the help of both the always-lovely photographer extraordinaire Eric Weiss and Onward State's Twitter followers, I ventured into the bellies of the beasts and determined the five worst classrooms on campus.

By now, you've surely heard that the 2011 Homecoming Court was announced. Maybe you've even seen the video of the Court members being surprised in class. If you're an underclassman, you might be thinking to yourself, "Boy, that sure seems neat! How can I get onto the Homecoming Court?" Allow me to run through the process with you. You can trust me, because I just went through it and I was rejected!

When we here at Onward State launched our redesign at the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester, we introduced a new feature: Community Content. It was one of my favorite new features--let the community write about whatever they want! Since then, we've gotten some great content. Recently, however, the Community Content portal has been used almost exclusively for event and club promotion. That's good and useful to an extent, but too much of it can cause the rest of the Community Content to be drowned out in noise.

From reading the comments, though, it became clear (if it wasn't already clear) that there's a large rift in the State College community between the students who just want to have a day of drunken fun and the residents who don't want the town or themselves to be needlessly disturbed. I think it's important that we have an open, intelligent dialog about the issue, which is why I'm asking the following question: What do you think should be done (if anything) about State Patty's Day, and how should Onward State be covering it?

Hello faithful readers. We here at Onward State have written about a lot in these past few weeks, from why to join a Sorority to the UPUA's marathon of arguments about the Student Handbook Commission. We've even brought back one of my most beloved features--The Natty Nittany. But Onward State is a small organization. Stories can fall through the cracks in the bustling metropolis that is State College. That's why we're asking you, the readers, What should Onward State be covering?

Hello there. My name's Evan. I co-founded Onward State, along with Davis and Eli, back in November 2008. I've been a writer, an editor, and even an amateur sketch artist over the past two years. But, as Kanye West once said, "I'm living in the future so the present is my past," so let's move on. I've now taken over the reins as the Community Manager for Onward State, which will be a different position than it has been in the past. Essentially, I will be acting as a liaison between the Onward State staff and you, our glorious readers and commenters. Since this position is new, it will surely develop and evolve as the semester progresses. For now, though, let's focus on one of the things that makes Onward State really neat--great online conversations. As some of our more regular readers may already know, our comments section can be both entertaining and engaging (ideally both at the same time). To start off the new semester, I have some guidelines to follow in order to keep our comments great and make them even better over time. Check them out after the jump.

About an hour ago, the PSU TXT service sent out the following text:

UPark alert MSG: Suspicious package found on Old Main patio. Police on scene. Avoid area. Details soon: http://live.psu.edu/

The Collegian reported that police are on the scene and that the building has not been evacuated. Minutes ago, Penn State's Facebook page announced that "Police determined package is safe. Area re-opened." More details as they become available.

It's starting to look like the dream of a single Spring music festival may be coming to fruition. Recently, leaders of the University Park Undergraduate Association, Association of Residence Hall Students, the Student Programming Association, and The LION 90.7fm have been talking about the feasibility of combining Last Stop, Movin' On, and Celebrate State. Find out what this could mean (and what challenges are ahead) after the jump.

Recently, some Penn State professors in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences wrote an updated report on the economic impact of Marcellus Shale, a sedimentary rock formation on the east coast with lots of natural gas reserves, and how it could affect Pennsylvania’s economy. You may be wondering, “What does Marcellus Shale look like?” According to the study, it looks like $20 billion and 200,000 new jobs by 2020.


You can check out the full report after the jump.

On Friday, Penn State police found a naked man outside of Beaver Stadium, StateCollege.com reports. The man had been seen by staff earlier on the field, and after the police arrived, he was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for evaluation. This is the latest finding in a "streak" of recent indecent exposure incidents. While this most recent incident seems less malicious than the others, it's still interesting that there have been this many cases in the last few months. In the meantime, that's all we know about the case so far. The police are currently investigating, and more details will be released as they come.

Last night was the annual Mifflin Streak, where students (traditionally seniors, but really anyone with a good self image) streak down Mifflin Road. There have been controversies in years past regarding police involvement, injuries, etc., but this year was relatively tame in that regard, with no known arrests or incidents. Regardless, it was an eventful streak, featuring men and women alike, slow walkers, skateboarders, crazy masks, and even a dog walker. Check out some censored pictures after the jump. It should go without saying that these pictures, despite being censored, are not safe for work.

Tonight's the night you've been waiting for. The Last Stop Music Festival, sponsored by the University Park Undergraduate Association, The LION 90.7 FM, and the University Park Allocation Committee will commence tonight at the HUB, which will conclude Endless Music Festival April. More details on the event after the jump.

It should be clear now (if it wasn't already) that Students Organizing the Multiple Arts is one of the most clutch organizations on campus. After finding out earlier this week that Los Campesinos! would be canceling their show at Penn State due to issues with the Icelandic volcano (and, subsequently, that Cymbals Eat Guitars would not be coming either), SOMA President Danny Michelson hustled like no other and booked two new groups for their end of the year show: Man Man and The Apples in stereo ("Capitalization intentional," Michelson said in an email). SOMA and Danny Michelson deserve some major praise for not only getting replacement acts together in just a day, but for getting acts that are on par with (or better than) the original musicians. Excellent work! Just like the previous show, the new event will be free, at Heritage Hall in the HUB, will start at 7 (doors open at 6:45), and will feature local openers Kalob Griffin Band and Zak Sobel Band. You can find more details on the event page.

Just a short while ago, the headliners for the Last Stop Music Festival (which will be on Friday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the HUB lawn) were announced. After the jump, we have a quick breakdown of the headliners to prepare you for the event.

The results from an exhaustive CNN study have shown that State College's own College Avenue was deemed "Most Beautiful Street in America". "It was a tough decision," said Steven Kroznyk, the CNN analyst who conducted the study, "But we've determined that no street in the United States can match State College's pristine beauty." College Ave., which narrowly beat out several streets in both Detroit and Cleveland, is bringing great pride to the Penn State community. Martha Williamson, a sophomore in civil engineering, said, "It's really a wonderful looking street. I've heard that it's currently undergoing construction, but honestly, I can't even tell!" More on these accolades after the jump.