Despite being hailed as the number one party school in the country by the Princeton Review last year (our article), Penn State didn't even crack the top 10 on Playboy's 2009 Top Party Schools. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
The two rankings have significant differences in their methodology for crowning the party king. The Princeton Review's rankings are based on a survey of 122,000 college students across the country which, while very democratic approach, has lead to the criticism that the rankings are nothing more than a popularity contest.
Playboy's system is quite less ambiguous and more scientific (Playboy being more calculated than the Princeton Review?). However, their system may be a little biased towards certain schools. They use 5 categories: Bikini, Sex, Campus, Sports, and Brains. Each one of these categories had careful equations applied to them. Read on for the full methodology and list.
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.
Last week, Penn State Harrisburg named Mukund Kulkarni as interim chancellor, replacing Madlyn Hanes effective July 1. Hanes is leaving to become Penn State's vice president for commonwealth campuses.
Kulkarni has been senior associate dean for academic affairs at Penn State Harrisburg since 2006. Kulkarni, a professor of Finance, has been very active at Penn State Harrisburg since he joined as a member of the business faculty in 1985. He was also the director of the School of Business Administration from 1996-2006.
After the jump: One astute PennLive commenter's take on the situation.
Kappa Alpha Psi will be hosting a benefit concert supporting St. Jude's Children's Hospital, featuring rapper Juelz Santana and DJ Super Nova of Forensic Unit. The event will be at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday in HUB Heritage Hall.
The event is being co-sponsored by the University Park Allocation Committee, the Interfraternity Council, Theta Delta Chi, and Sigma Delta Tau. It will be free, so if you find some free time during your Blue and White weekend, it's worth checking out.
Jonathan Lynch, a professor of plant nutrition at Penn State, is trying to solve the world's growing food shortage problem. To do this, he is not focusing on growing plants up. Instead, he is trying to grow them down.
Lynch and his colleagues are trying to develop roots that will resist drought and can find nutrients in poor soil by reaching farther down into the ground. Because these roots are able to gather more nutrients, there is less need for irrigation and costly nitrogen fertilizers. Run off containing these fertilizers may also pollute the water supply, which is another reason to reduce their use.
More on Lynch's efforts and the second Green Revolution after the jump.
You might remember Wal-Mart giving out "buttloads" of $5 giftcards to State College residents right before last Thanksgiving. Months later, they are at it again.
Wal-Mart has sent out another batch of $5 gift cards to off-campus Penn Staters. Rather then making the trek all the way out to Wal-Mart to spend your card on a surplus of Warheads and Solo cups, donate it to people who need it most. Our friends at the State College Area Food Bank will put the money into good hands.
Read on after the jump to find out how you can help!