All this week we will be highlighting the Interfraternity Council’s rush events. This is part four of a five part series.

With Thursday comes Zone 4 of the Interfraternity Council’s Rush Week.

The chapters in Zone 4 are: Alpha Rho Chi, Alpha Zeta, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Theta Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Sigma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Lambda Beta, Sigma Nu, Triangle
Sigma Nu
340 N Burrowes Street
Slip & Slide, BBQ
www.SigmaNuPennState.org

Sigma Alpha Epsilon
200 E. Beaver Ave.
BBQ Meet and Greet
www.saepsu.com

Alpha Zeta
360 N. Burrowes
Ag Fraternity Hosting Cook-out and Horseshoes
http://www.greeks.psu.edu/ifc/az

Triangle Fraternity
226 E Beaver Ave, State College PA
Casino Night
www.psutriangle.org

Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI)
319 N. Burrowes St.
BBQ, Football, Music
www.psufiji.org

Delta Theta Sigma
101N Patterson St
Home cooked dinner (6p), tailgating games
www.greeks.psu.edu/ifc/dts

President Christian Ragland spoke about several recent and upcoming events, including the Lion Walk, a sexual assault awareness walk on September 17^th, and Campus Night Out on the 30^th. Ragland also touched on other initiatives, including an upcoming budget meeting with President Spanier on September 29^th, a meeting with the Princeton Review to discuss subsidized graduate school testing, as well as his hopes to start a weekly radio address on the LION.

Legislation to create “Freshfest,” was the cause of some debate, an event that representatives Ali Cook and Colleen Cannon hope will increase UPUA’s visibility to the new freshman class by luring freshmen to the quads in East with free food and music. Not all assembly members were happy with the plans to have the event next Wednesday, September 8, citing concerns about the lack of time to prepare for such a large event, to concerns over conflicts with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and the Muslim Ramadan, as well as amendments to the food budget for the event.

When asked for comment, Curtis Houck (freshman-Political Science) expressed his support for the program;

“If students chose not to get involved, that’s fine, but I think it’s important that UPUA gets their name out there. Many freshman don’t know about UPUA or the role that they play on campus.”

In addition to approving “Fresh Fest”, the assembly passed legislation supporting programs in conjunction with the Office of Undergraduate Education. The program will support the display of blackboards around campus, encouraging student to write comments and responses to small, constitutionally controversial prompts. The event will take place September 17^th.

Dan
Projected Record: 10-2
Player To Watch: Robert Bolden, QB
Many experts are predicting Penn State to drop three or four games this season, with losses to the big three (Alabama, Iowa and Ohio State). Call me an optimist, but I see big things for the team this year. I believe we can go into Iowa City and steal a victory and, at least, have a shot of playing tough against the Crimson Tide. Inexperience as quarterback could thwart an attempt against the nation’s top ranked team, though. As much as I’d like to predict a slip-up in the middle of the season to Michigan State or Northwestern, I can’t bring myself to do it. Bolden should wrap up the starting job as his own by the Temple game and instill confidence in his teammates all season. Expect another New Year’s Day bowl game in sunny, hopefully not rainy, Florida, whether it be in the Gator, Outback or Capital One.

Tim
Projected record: 11-2 (bowl win included)
Player to watch: Jack Crawford, DE
I truly believe Penn State is going to surprise people in Tuscaloosa. I won’t predict a win yet, but I feel they will win at least one of their buzz saw road games (Alabama, Iowa, Ohio State). I believe Penn State will end up in the Orange Bowl or, at the very least, the Capital One, and win. By the end of the season, Royster will surpass Curt Warner’s career rushing record by 1,000 yards, and fans will finally have faith in their quarterback (Robert Bolden) again.

Mike
Projected Record: 8-4
Player To Watch: Robert Bolden, QB
As things stand now, I see Penn State losing to Alabama, Ohio State and Iowa. I also think we could lose a home game to a team like Northwestern or Michigan State. Bolden is going to be the difference maker. If he plays well along with the rest of the talent that Penn State possesses, we could go 10-2. However, if he plays poorly, we could see four or five losses. One thing remains certain, though. Regardless of the team’s ability, I am sure Iowa will find a way to ruin our season.

Unfortunately, this statement doesn’t mean much to the large majority of Penn State students–mainly because most students are too busy with classes, friends, and clubs to pay too much attention.

A very powerful University legislative body, the Faculty Senate represents virtually everyone at Penn State–55,000 full-time faculty and the students at all campuses, including specialty campuses like Great Valley, Hershey College of Medicine, and Dickinson School of Law. There are 232 elected faculty members on the Senate for this year, 22 appointed Senior Administrators, and 26 students who represent each academic unit.

This group of roughly 250 people is responsible for drafting and passing all academic policies at Penn State, including adding new majors or minors, changing prerequisites, and approving all course proposals. The Faculty Senate is led by this year’s Chair Elect, Dr. Jean Landa Pytel, an Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the College of Engineering.

Wil Santivasi, a senior majoring in Pre-Medicine, is the Eberly College of Science Student Senator and a member of the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs (SCCA), one of the 15 Senate Committees.  In an interview, he stated that the August 31 meeting was “a good first meeting…Chair Pytel laid the groundwork for what promises to be a productive year.” He later spoke of the Committees, all of which, “[were] charged with exciting initiatives that will come to fruition in the future.”

When asked her thoughts on the meeting’s success, Chair Pytel stated that, “The meeting went very well and we accomplished all that we sought to do.”

The Senate plans to address many issues related to students this year, including academic freedom, the IT fee, grading policies, campus housing, and access to student policy for all students.

The next Faculty Senate meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 19.

The beat-boxing from Matisyahu echoed off the HUB walls while students gathered for the Jewish Life Festival, celebrating Rosh Hashanah in a week.

“This is the third year we’ve had these beginning of the year events,” Rabbi Nusson Meretsky, adviser of the Jewish student organization, said. “This is an all-inclusive Jewish cultural festival; we have Jewish food and games, even music.

Just after 6:30, as the sun was beginning to wane, Matisyahu began playing. After playing his hit “Jerusalem,” he had a question for the audience, “So do you want to hear ‘King Without a Crown’ now or later?” He got the hint from the multitude of cheers that followed.

Matisyahu’s crowd grew as the night progressed, full of girls dancing to the side, ultimate Frisbee in the background and a whole lot of head swaying.

“Before we go any further, does anyone have a hacky sack?” Matisyahu asked. “In about 20 minutes we’re gonna play in the back corner.”

Perceptive to the audience, Matisyahu played some faster songs, including the dub-step like beats he was making himself. He also made the announcement that fans can look forward to a new album called Live at Stubbs, Vol. 2 to be released in January.

As the acoustic session neared an end, Matisyahu thanked the crowd and quickly started up an encore before it was even requested. Playing several new songs from the aforementioned album, Matisyahu picked up the pace of his beats. The crowd stood up and moved in for an even more intimate performance for the encore.

The concert definitely left the entire audience impressed. With the combination of a rare acoustic performance interluded with beat-boxing, it proved that music can bring cultures together.

I sat down with SPA’s Director of Operations Rachael McKelvey to discuss student involvement in the organization and the process of planning events.

Students looking to get more involved in SPA are welcome to attend any of the general membership and/or committee meetings, all of which are open to the public. There are no dues to be a member, unlike many other clubs here at Penn State.

SPA events are funded through the Student Activity Fee, which allows them to bring in artists while charging students little to no price for tickets. Events in the past include Pitbull, Pete Francis, Motion City Soundtrack, and Jack’s Mannequin, as well as comedians such as Patton Oswalt and Gabriel Iglesias.

McKelvey says all of the events SPA puts on are built from the ground up by the volunteers in the organization, and formulated based on suggestions they get from the students of who they want to see. However, bigger acts such as Lady Gaga and Dave Matthews Band are nearly impossible for SPA to bring in, so they focus on smaller acts that are still well known.

There are a number of committees to get involved in within SPA: Entertainment, Logistics, LateNight, Marketing, Membership, and Noontime.

Another committee within SPA is in charge of the Distinguished Speaker Series, which is always free to students. This series has brought notable guests to campus such as Ben Stein, Maya Angelou, and Elie Wiesel.

SPA held their first general membership meeting of the year last Thursday and about 250 students attended, according to McKelvey. The next general membership meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. in 302 HUB.

For more information on future committee meetings and SPA events, follow them on Twitter @psu_spa or find them on Facebook. You can also email any of the SPA leaders or stop by their office in 223 HUB.

Make sure you stay up to date on all things SPA and feel free to suggest artists you’d like to see!

Author, motivational speaker, and Penn State alum Mister Mann Frisby will be hosting a workshop for aspiring writers of fiction and non-fiction on September 11 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center from 1 – 3 p.m.

Frisby graduated from PSU in May of 2002 and went on to self-publish his first novel Blinking Red Light later that month.

According to Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs, Joseph Selden, Frisby has done incredible things. After selling over 15,000 books, mostly from the trunk of his car and local bookstores, Frisby was given a two-book deal from Penguin Books. Some of his other books include Wifebeater and Holla Back…But Listen First: A Life Guide for Young Black Men.

Selden, who taught Frisby when he was a Penn State student, revealed that Frisby is about to finish his next book. “We’re going to invite him back to be our African American Heritage Speaker later this year,” said Selden.

Who better to inspire aspiring writers than a successful young writer himself?

This workshop, titled “How to Get Started Writing Your Book and What to do When You’re Finished,” is designed for people from all walks of life and professions, says Selden.  Participants are required to bring their own writing material to take notes, as well as a list of questions.

This opportunity is not without strings, however. There is a $50 fee for the general public – only $30 for students. And for the aspiring writer who is passionate about his work and wants to make a name for himself, what is $30 in the grand scheme of things?

Tickets go on sale today at noon at Alumni Hall in the HUB to students for $25. The rest of the tickets go on sale for $35 on Friday, September 3rd, at 10 a.m.

Last time T.I. was here was right before his jail sentence in December 2008. He was charged with weaponry and spent a year in jail. He was released last December, and is now back with his seventh album, King Uncaged, to be released on September 28th, 2010 .

T.I has released chart-topping singles that you could not go a day without hearing on the radio, such as “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life.” His last album, Paper Trail, was released in 2008. It will be interesting to see what his new sound, after life in jail, is like. In an interview with Sohh.com, T.I stated that this album will have a more “aggressive” sound.

T.I is also in the new movie Takers, starring alongside Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen,  and Matt Dillon.

Wonder what else jail did to his music style? Find out on September 24th at the BJC.
Buy your tickets here.

Update (9:40 a.m.): It looks like T.I. was arrested again late last night on drug charges. Will this affect his availability to perform?

Fans were not happy when they were told Travie McCoy, lead singer of Gym Class Heroes, would be late, causing B.o.B. to follow opener Playboy Tre. The show headliner B.o.B. played second.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, which Onward State knew a little about, was that the BJC would be releasing a “big announcement” at the show. The BJC announced that T.I. would be performing Sept. 24th, with tickets going on sale soon.

“I can’t freaking wait for T.I.,” Grant Myers, a junior in Engineering, said.

When B.o.B. took the stage at 9, fans were getting restless, but opening with “I See Ya,” transitioning into “Satellite,” and then playing his cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Kids Don’t Stand a Chance,” all before he took a breath, proved the show would be exciting.

After playing some of his tracks from his debut album, like “Bet I” with an appearance of Playboy Tre, and his “Past My Shades,” B.o.B. got out his guitar and began to really feel the music.

“By the smell in the air, you guys seems to like being in the sky,” B.o.B. said. During his drug-fueled love ballad “Don’t Let Me Fall,” he stunned fans with his guitar playing. He also let the crowd in on a well-known fact: He likes his ganja. And B.o.B. was definitely in the sky as he removed all his jewelry and jumped into the audience for a crowd surf.

He finished his set with “Magic,” his newest single featuring Rivers Cuomo of Weezer and then “Nothin’ on You,” the song that gave so many ladies a reason to come.

B.o.B donned a blue Penn State jersey for his encore, asking if he could be part of the Penn State family. Based on the crowd’s reaction, he’s now one of us.

The encore consisted of B.o.B. playing a little piano, followed by “Airplanes,” with recorded back vocals for Haley Williams’ part. Then, as usual, B.o.B. gave his homage to one of the biggest bands in the indie scene: MGMT.

Closing the show, B.o.B rocked and rapped out to his version of MGMT’s “Kids,” in a brilliant performance. B.o.B. may have been flying high on his airplane wings, but there was one thing for sure: There was nothing that would bring him down.

The former four-star recruit out for St. Mary’s Prep in Michigan has the least experience of Penn State’s four quarterbacks. Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin have been in Happy Valley for multiple years and Paul Jones, who was redshirted two weeks ago, enrolled early this past January.

Reports from summer camp had Bolden impressing coaches with his grasp of the offense and maturity in leading the team. Being a dual-threat quarterback in college will definitely help him as the offensive line continues to coalesce throughout the beginning of the season.

Paterno was quick to point out that Newsome and McGloin will also see time during this weekend’s matchup and a more concrete decision will be made after he sees who gives the Nittany Lions the best chance to win.

Do you think Bolden is the right choice? Would you rather see Kevin Newsome or Matt McGloin behind center?

All this week we will be highlighting the Interfraternity Council’s rush events. This is part three of a five part series.

Wednesday brings us to Zone 3.

The chapters in Zone 3 are: Pi Kappa Phi, Delta Chi, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Delta Rho, Phi Kappa Tau, Phi Kappa Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Delta Chi, Tau Phi Delta

Below are some of the houses in Zone 3 having events tonight.

Tau Phi Delta
427 East Fairmount Ave
BBQ, Horseshoes, open house
Tauphidelta.org

Kappa Delta Rho
420 East Prospect Ave
Open house/ meet & greet
www.kdrpennstate.com

Theta Delta Chi
305 East Prospect Ave.
Rushapalooza
sigmatriton.org

Pi Kappa Alpha
417 East Prospect Avenue
BBQ & House Tours,  Outdoor Games
psupikes.com

Delta Chi
424 E. Fairmont ave
Cookout, wiffle ball, cornhole
Greeks.psu.edu/ifc/dx

Additionally, attendee registration for the event began on their website at 5pm today.

TEDxPSU will be held on October 10, 2010 in Schwab Auditorium.

The Speakers:

John Rives - Known as a “2.0 poet” and performer,  John Rives is more of a renaissance man, having also worked as a television host and author of pop-up books. According to his bio, Rives offers “intelligent and creative entertainment,” and has a distinctive stage presence.

Bruce Schneier – Called a “security guru” by The Economist, Bruce Schneier is well known for his work in security technology and cryptology. He is the author of ten books on a variety of security-related topics.

DJ Earworm – In the DJ’s own words, he works to “take a bunch of songs apart and put them back together in a different way.” DJ Earworm‘s song mash-ups have garnered him national attention since 2007.

Tonee Ndungu – Tonee Ndungu, a Zambian-born entrepreneur, does not confine himself to any one endeavor. His “four areas of focus” include a community service organization, a Nairobi-based business lab, and an interest in information technology and event-hosting.

Tony Pittman – Many Penn Staters remember Tony as the PSU cornerback who led the team in interceptions in 1993 and started for the undefeated 1994 squad. Pittman recently co-wrote a book with his father, also a former PSU football player, about playing for Joe Paterno.

Nathan Martin – Nathan Martin is the founder and CEO of Deeplocal Inc, a design company that specializes in projects linking the digital and physical worlds. Prior to Deeplocal, Nathan was an artist-in-residence and researcher at Carnegie Mellon.

Michael Pritchard – Michael Pritchard is an entrepreneur and inventor of the Lifesaver Bottle, a portable “all-in-one” water filtration system.

Penn Staters:

Dean Christian Brady – The one and only Dean of the Schreyer Honors College, the host for the TEDxPSU event.

Sam Richards – Dr. Sam Richards is a sociology professor at Penn State and the co-director of the Race Relations Project (RRP). He has fostered and managed the project since 2001.

David Celento – Focusing on digital fabrication technologies, David Celento is an assistant professor of architecture at Penn State. One of his current projects is ceramiSKIN, a project focusing on ornamental surfaces.

Alison Carr-Chellman – Dr. Carr-Chellman is a professor of education at Penn State. Her studies focus on the impact of technology on large systems of education.

Christopher A. Calkins – Dr. Calkins is the director of Outreach Health Initiatives at Penn State. He is also a part-time instructor of Health Policy and Administration.

Richard Doyle – A professor of English at Penn State, Richard Doyle‘s academic interests are somewhat unexpected. He focuses, among other things, on technoscience,  transhumanism, psychedelics and nanotechnology.

Michael Berube – Dr. Berube is a professor of English Literature and Science, Technology, and Society at Penn State. Though he writes extensively about a great number of topics, Dr. Berube’s presentation will focus on health care and disability studies.

Jason ‘O’ Olcese – A musician who has been performing since 2002, Jason ‘O’ graduated from Penn State in 2006 with a degree in psychology with honors in music. According to the band’s page, his music can be described as “a healthy mix of Jason Mraz and Keller Williams.” Jason will be discussing his performance, specifically with regard to his use of technology.

Will you be in attendance in October? What speakers are you most excited to see?

The Women’s Rugby World Cup is the premier competition for female rugby players. This year’s competition features two Penn State alumnae, Claudia Knudsen-Braymer (2002) and Kim Magrini (2004), on a United States team that has seen success in prior years.

The United States won the first of what is now six Women’s Rugby World Cups. The team finished runner-up in the second and third installments of the competition, which is held every four years.

Knudsen-Braymer and Magrini are scrum-halves, an important position on the field that links the forwards and the backs.

This year’s team started off with success by beating Kazakhstan 51-0. The win, however, was followed by losses to Ireland 22-12 and England 37-10. The United States has another game against Ireland today in the fifth place semifinal. A win over Ireland would pit the US against the winner of Canada-Scotland in the fifth place game. A loss would mean playing the loser of the other game for seventh place.

With fifth place on the line, let’s hope that the our alumnae, and the United States, play well and win their remaining two matches.

Unexpectedly, though, his life changed when hackers broke into the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England and stole 160 megabytes of emails on the study of global warming. Several of these emails were between renowned academics in the field of global warming, including professor Mann, and several of them seemed to indicate a coverup. It appeared that these researchers were attempting to hide data that was evidence against global warming.

Since then, Dr. Mann has been the focus of numerous investigations, been sought after by a former CIA agent, and was finally cleared by a Penn State investigatory panel of wrongdoings. However, Mann wasn’t completely home free. Even after being cleared by the Penn State panel, Mann was still being investigated by Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli under suspicion of committing fraud with respect to funding grants while working for the University of Virginia.

Most recently, Cuccinelli was attempting to force UVA to disclose documents related to Mann from the last ten years. On Monday, a Virginia state judge, Paul Peatros (who happens to be a lecturer at UVA), threw out Cuccinelli’s case, arguing that the Attorney General’s case does not specifically state the nature of the offense. Cuccinelli is attempting to investigate five grants that involved Mann. Professor Mann commented that the result of the case “looks like a pretty stinging rebuke of what many have argued is clearly a witch hunt against me, and I hope that it will serve as a wake-up call to the attorney general and his staff.”

While this sounds like good news, Mann may STILL not be out of the woods. Although Judge Peatross’s decision was a victory for Mann and UVA, there was a silver lining for the Attorney General. Peatross wrote that “The University of Virginia is a proper subject for a CID [civil investigative demand], and the attorney general may investigate grants made with Commonwealth of Virginia funds to professors such as Dr. Mann.”

This decision leaves open the possibility of future investigations into the matter, actions that Cuccinelli seems prepared to take. In a statement issued, Cuccinelli said that the judge’s ruling “has given us a framework for issuing a new civil investigative demand to get the information necessary to continue our investigation into whether or not fraud has been committed against the commonwealth.” Sorry Dr. Mann. No rest for the wicked.

So here’s my advice to you, Onward State readers. Whether you’re a public official giving your secretary “overtime”, an underage college student consuming adult beverages, or an esteemed academic leading a left-wing global conspiracy, don’t get caught.

Runt of the Litter tells the story of Eason’s growing up in the shadow of older brother (and NFL Quarterback) Tony Eason. Bo Eason was able to accomplish his own athletic goals by sticking to his 20-year plan created at age 9. That is quite an impressive thing to do at an age when I was coming to blows over which starting Pokémon was the coolest (Charmander) (Editor’s Note: Squirtle).

The CPA’s marketing and communications director, Laura Sullivan, had this to say of the show:

Anyone can relate to this inspiring, emotional, motivational performance  that delivers the message to believe in yourself and work hard to achieve your dreams. We also felt that there would be a strong connection between Bo and fans of Penn State football.

Believing in yourself. Working hard. Football. That certainly is a list of things that Penn State students hold dear to their hearts, possibly with a slight change of order.

According to Sullivan, Bo Eason is quite the busy person even when not performing Runt of the Litter. He is currently working on a remake of the 1977 film Something for Joey, the story of Penn State’s John Cappelletti. Eason also plans to make a movie version of Runt of the Litter, with The Shawshank Redemption’s Frank Darabont as the producer.

Tickets for Runt of the Litter are $17 for Penn State students thanks to a grant from the University Park Allocation Committee. Tickets can be purchased online at The CPA’s site, by phone (814-863-0255), or at various ticket centers (Eisenhower Auditorium, the BJC, the HUB or Penn State Tickets Downtown).