Well… kind of. Starting on Thursday the Penn State Thespians will be performing the Tony Award-winning musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Performances will run from Thursday Oct 29 – Saturday Oct 31, with nightly showings at 7:30 pm. There will be an additional matinee performance on Saturday at 2:00 pm.
As described by the press release;
Recently made known to millions by the cinematic production staring Johnny Depp, this comedic thriller takes you back to 19th century London where Sweeney Todd seeks revenge on a malicious judge for destroying his life and family. Sweeney’s cutthroat view of the …

Last month, the National Science Foundation released a study ranking the nation’s top research schools in terms of expenditure during the 2008 fiscal year. Among public institutions, Penn State ranked 8th with $701 million being spent on Science and Engineering research. The study also mentions the research expenditures that were financed through federal grants, of which Penn State spent $407 million.
The $701 million puts Penn State at 8th among public schools and 11th among all research schools. Interestingly, the Penn State Live story on the matter cites only Penn State’s expenditures funded by the federal government, which places us 9th. …

Seniors, you’ve just dropped a small fortune on your Penn State education, and now what does the university want you do to? Give more money in the form of a senior class gift! The bright side: at least you get to choose what the gift is.
The Senior Class Gift Committee unveiled the final three candidates for the Class of 2010 class gift. It is asking all seniors to take a little time out of their busy schedules to vote for one this week either online or in the HUB. You can find out additional information at PSUSeniors.com.
Public Sculpture and Class …

Abby. Photographed by Melanie outside the Corner Room.
It’s been a long time since we’ve featured a girl on The Natty Nittany (not since last April, actually), but that doesn’t mean that Abby is on here just because we needed to shrink the gender gap. Abby has a great look, pairing a fun sun dress with a long sweater, she makes her style fit the in-between feeling that is fall. But as excellent as her dress and sweater pairing is, it’s really her boots that make the outfit. Bright red cowboy boots? Awesome. Also, you can’t see it in the picture, but …

In 1966, compelled by an apparent lack of student enthusiasm, Sue Paterno (wife of Penn State legend, Joe Paterno) and her friends, decided the night before the big Penn State-Syracuse game (yes, those games used to actually matter) to paint the beloved Lion Shrine orange, using latex-based paint. They hoped that this act would get the students angry enough that they would bring the passion to the game and help the team to victory.
Unfortunately, Old State lost that game en route to a 5-5 season, but the following year, Syracuse fans, angry that they had been blamed for an act …

For the first time in over 2 years, a concert was held last night in Rec Hall. Jack’s Mannequin, from Los Angeles, performed to a crowd of over 2,500. The piano rock band was founded by lead singer and pianist Andrew McMahon following the break-up of McMahon’s former group, Something Corporate. The Jack’s Mannequin concert was put on by the Student Programming Association, with tickets for students costing only $5.
The concert was very entertaining, McMahon did a good job of getting the crowd into the music, including participating in the omnipotent “We Are…” cheer. The music was spot on, and …

Today, Penn State Athletics announced that they received a $500,000 donation from William and Lee Beard to help create a new facility for Nittany Lion Softball.
The softball team has long languished in one of the worst facilities on campus, which is unfortunate, considering that Old State has some of the finest athletics facilities in the country. With this new pledge from the Beard family to create a new facility (to be named Beard Field in their honor), the Penn State softball team will have a new facility to help entice top-level recruits into joining the Nittany Lions.
The facility will include “more than 1,000 …

Andrew. Photographed by Melanie on the Corner of College Ave. and Allen St.
We’re now a good 2 weeks into Fall, which mean that it’s time to bust out scarfs, herringbone vests and exercise good use of layering. This is exactly what Andrew does here. I’m a big fan of tan cotton jackets and jeans, they compliment each other very well. Speaking of the jeans, they fit well, they are worn but obviously weren’t bought that way. His pairing of the skinny tie with the v-neck t-shirt and herringbone vest is excellent, a healthy mix of casual and formal. Add a …

Yesterday morning, behind Research Building B, the Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team unveiled their new Saturn Vue Hybrid that they will be modifying in an attempt to boost fuel economy. The team plans to rip out the existing parallel hybrid system (system uses one of two engines, depending upon driving conditions, think Toyota Prius) and replace it with a diesel-electric series hybrid system (car runs on fully electric until battery power runs out, then powers the electric motor using a diesel engine to recharge the batteries).
The Advanced Vehicle Team is competing in a competition sponsored by the Department of Energy …

Republican mayoral candidate Joe Wakeley and his wife Esther paid a visit this afternoon to Simmons Dining Hall to talk to students about his platform for his campaign for mayor of State College. The race is being run following the sudden death of previous mayor Bill Welch. Mr. Wakeley said that he views the position of mayor as “an ambassador to the community.” He spoke of his accomplishments as president of the town council and his experiences with the State College and Penn State Communities.
College Republicans Chairman Executive Director Samuel Settle (Sophomore – Political Science) said that Mr. Wakeley is …

On September 28, the Mid-Atlantic Emmy award winners were announced and our local PBS affiliate, WPSU-TV, came away with two winners. The “Making the Blue Band” documentary was awarded Best Documentary and “Cook Like a Chef” won the award in the Education/Schools Program Feature or Segment category.
Being a member of the Blue Band, I was able to witness firsthand the production quality that went into the documentary.
“Making the Blue Band” is a behind-the-scenes film that follows eight incoming freshmen through auditions, heartbreaking scenes of being cut and the grueling days of band camp as they pursue their goal of playing …

Have you ever wondered which Penn State professor has been featured on Polish stamps alongside Nicolaus Copernicus, or how about the professor who was awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research, for his work on statistics? Well if you check out Penn State’s Professor Trading Cards, then you would know that the answers to those questions are Dr. Alexander Wolszczan of the Astronomy Dept. and Dr. C. R. Rao of the Statistics Dept. (respectively).
“The Penn State Faculty Trading Cards, an idea given birth to by the University’s President Graham B. Spanier, are …

Last Friday, while on my way to Paternoville, I decided to stop in at the Penn State All-Sports Museum, located in the southeast corner of Beaver Stadium on the ground floor. I had never been before, and I figured that it could be pretty interesting. After talking with the employees at the front desk I decided to turn my visit into a story for all of you. They were kind enough to let me go around the museum and take some pictures to give you a taste of what the museum has to offer. Check out the pics below.

I’m happy …

You may remember our post last week about the Lion Shrine being scanned and digitally rendered (in 3D, no less). Well, if you passed by the Lion Shrine today, you probably noticed the beginning of the rendering process. If not, you’re in luck, because we have some pictures below!

By far the coolest application that the University is going to use this scan for is that they are going to use the scan to create a 3D animation of the Lion Shrine. For example, the Lion will be able to get off his pedestal and move around on screen. This can …

Have you ever been out on the town, realized that you needed something (smokes, condoms, mixers, beer pong supplies, etc.) but had to go without because it was too late and McLanahan’s was closed? If you answered yes, then Lionneeds.com has got you covered. According to their website, Lionneeds was created
“to understand and satisfy the needs of people who like to party at a time when other businesses don’t care to operate.”
Serving up a wide variety of products ranging from chips and dip to a pack of condoms and a scented candle, if you need anything while you’re out and …