Mara Kern

Penn State has pulled in another No. 1 ranking this week, having been named as Buzzfeed's "Sexiest Party School in the Country," although perhaps the recognition a bit more dubious than the top recruiter ranking or other similar accolades.

THON's longtime advisor Barry Bram has stepped down from his position after accepting a one-year temporary assignment next year in the Office of Student Affairs.

Two very different worlds are not so far apart at Penn State, and most people don’t even realize it. Pieces of this history are all around us, and we often fail to recognize it.

Lauren Chapman’s face can be seen all over campus, but not just because she is involved with so many activities. As the Valley Magazine cover girl for Spring 2013, Lauren’s cover can be seen everywhere- “even as a coaster”. Lauren will be graduating this may but has hit every kind of activity possible on campus as a varsity cheerleader, member of a sorority, and in a member of the ROTC.

Penn State fashionistas can now rejoice thanks to the first ever fashion club on campus called State Style, which just received official recognition from the Office of Student Activities. You will now have the opportunity to network with other students who use Pollock Road as their runway thanks to two sophomores who saw the lack of any fashion related clubs on campus and decided to take action and create their own.

In an effort to make THON more relatable to outside communities, THON announced today that the Overall Committee will now be referred to as the Executive Committee.

What do the IFC president, a THON Family Relations Captain, a club croquet member, Shane McGregor, and the former president of Nittany Nation have in common? No, its not that they have all gotten kicked out of Café 210 (OK that also might be true). The answer is that they will all be competing in the second annual Mr. Think Pink pageant.

Patrick Howley isn’t your average Board of Trustee candidate, not only because of his young age, although that certainly does set him apart. Currently, the youngest alumni member of the Board is Adam Taliaferro, who graduated from Penn State in 2005. However Howley feels that this is something that needs to change.

Whether you are a committee member, org member, or a total THON newbie, I am here to prepare you for THON weekend, and to help the whole thing feel a little less intimidating. Here is your unofficial beginner’s guide to THON weekend.

It all began when he spotted an empty booth at the activity fair earlier in the semester. He commandeered the booth and recruited 19 others to join his unofficial club that “thrives on leisurely activity and acceptance.” I then began my day spent with Robe Man.

THON has long been one of the largest organizations on campus, but there are many things in THON’s past that you might not know. Here is a list of things that you (probably) didn’t know about THON.

THON's newest initiative to gain global recognition through a 30-second line dance was officially released today.

THON announced today the first ever “Dance With Us” celebration, a globally coordinated line dance. The initiative is the first of its kind, and will take place THON weekend February 16th at 6:45pm. The goal is to have THON enthusiasts worldwide all perform a 30 second line dance at the same time. This will give everyone who is unable to be at the BJC THON weekend a chance to partake in the fun and awareness of THON weekend.

This year, THON has introduced a brand new event to its calendar. Chords For a Cure will be a benefit concert taking place on January 19th in Eisenhower auditorium. This morning it was announced that Boyce Avenue and Walk the Moon will be performing at the event.

FutuRES, a THON fundraising organization will be hosting its annual “pie your RA benefiting THON” event this Friday 5:30pm-8:00pm in Pollock Commons.

The Penn State Hershey Children’s Hostpital celebrated its official completion this week with several dedications. On Saturday the brand new 263,000 square-foot facility opened its doors for a public dedication. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the dedication with Penn State Altoona benefiting THON’s Four Diamonds family, the Kratzers. This was the first opportunity for the public to get an inside look at the new hospital which cost nearly $207 million dollars. To many, the hospital is more than just a building -- it will serve as home.

The Bryce Jordan Center released a new video to promote safety at their upcoming concerts. The video features "EDM squirrels". Yes. Thats right, squirrels. Don't get me wrong, I hopped on board the squirrel train as soon as I first heard about good ole Sneezy the Squirrel, but this takes it to a whole other level.

If you're looking for something to do this weekend while many Penn Staters are away canning, the men’s water polo team will be hosting the conference championship in Happy Valley.

The annual THON FT5K took place Saturday with a record number of participants. The event had the usual THON spirit, despite the chilly temperature. The traditional Kids Race that took place around 10:45 was Halloween themed, so it featured children dressed up in various costumes, featuring Captain America, pirates, and a rocket ship.

Everyone could use a nice nap once in a while. For some of the more ambitious nappers, there are plenty of good places on campus to get some rest. I investigated some suggestions from others, and of course included some of my own favorites, so here are my top four places to nap on campus (in no particular order).

Students have already begun planning for next year's annual Movin' On festival, set to take place April 26. The first step that the student body can be a part of is an online survey, which can be found here. The survey includes a comments box to specify a desired headliner, and 16 music genres to rank in order of preference.

Penn State's “Rock The Vote” concert is right around the corner, featuring Jack Johnson, along with alternative/blues artist G. Love and “pop n roll” band ALO. We already interviewed G. Love, and Jack Johnson is busy doing cool stuff in Hawaii, but ALO was kind enough to answer a few questions for us earlier this week.

Jezebel’s Boutique in downtown State College is hosting their first ever “Bedazzle Your Bra” competition. Any materials can be used to decorate a bra, and for $10 it will be prominently displayed in the window of Jezebels College Avenue location.

THON.org got a new, much needed look yesterday. The new website provides users with a much more friendly interface -- a refreshing update from the old, often confusing site. There are still some remnants from the old site, including essentially the same content, but the site has several noticeable improvements.

One of the newest Penn State parody accounts on the rise is @AwkwardState. With a modest 389 followers, Awkward State’s first tweet appeared on July 17th and their bio consists of the informative message of “L V U PERN STAT." Onward State wanted to learn a little bit more about the self-proclaimed #1 fan of Penn State, full of awkward gramatical errors and extreme naivety. Here are ten questions with @AwkwardState.

When asked the question “what is the minimum dollar amount per day that you could survive on?” the answer is usually more than one dollar. However, when Matt Jones and his brother Andrew Jones, along with their two friends travelled to Haiti, they decided to live on just that: one dollar per day. In a video released on August 14th, the Bucks County natives and Penn State graduates chronicle their journey to Haiti where they live in poverty just like the Haitian natives.

If you needed a sure sign that the THON season is right around the corner, look no further. The State College Spikes game on September 2 at 6:05 p.m. will be benefit THON, an annual event held by the local Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliate. Tickets are $6 and a portion of the proceeds will go to support THON’s efforts in raising money for pediatric cancer.

THON may currently be in their fundraising off-season, but that doesn’t mean that the fundraising For The Kids has stopped. Both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted games to benefit THON in the past week.

On August 27th, 2002 Kevin Dare represented Penn State at the Big Ten men’s indoor track and field championship at the University of Minnesota. Tragedy struck during a pole-vaulting accident that ended up costing his life. Now, on the ten-year anniversary of Kevin’s accident, ten athletes will attempt to run 1,000 miles in his memory.