I just returned from a family vacation in Portugal. It was the first time that all 4 children in my family had the same spring break, so we decided to do something neat. I had a great time on the other side of "the pond" and now I want to know,
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit down with THON 2010 Overall Chairperson Caitlin Zankowski to talk about her experiences heading up the world's largest student-run philanthropy. Sitting around a table in 210 HUB, where so many crucial decisions regarding THON and its direction are made, we talked about her experiences as Overall Chair and where she would like to see THON go in the future.
Read on for the full interview.
Less than a week after the debauchery of State Patty's Day ended with some of the highest crime rates in years, students are looking to create another drinking-centric holiday. Luis Ramos (Sophomore - Civil Engineering) and Gustavo Caldeira (Junior - Finance) cited on the Facebook group that they created the fact that Cinco de Mayo falls during finals week as another reason to create a fake holiday and get drunk. They're asking students to "get your sombreros, mustaches, ponchos and margaritas ready, should be a good day no matter where you drink." As of writing, the group has over 1000 members (and was growing rapidly).
Read on for my take on this idea, as well as a sweet Five Second Film.
Yesterday in Washington, D.C., Congressman Glenn Thompson [R-Pennsylvania 5th] sponsored a resolution to congratulate the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) for a record-setting fundraising total.
Thompson gave a brief description of THON in front of the House of Representatives and congratulated the dancers, volunteers, and participants of the dance marathon. The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Kathleen Dahlkemper [D-PA3], Charles Dent [R-PA15], Jim Gerlach [R-PA6], Tim Holden [D-PA17], Tim Murphy [R-PA18], Joe Sestak [D-PA7], William Shuster [R-PA9], and Frank Wolf [R-VA10]. It just goes to show that supporting THON is truly bipartisan.
Here's the video of his speech.
http://www.youtube.com/v/9eAe1h0wDRM&hl=en_US&fs=1
I wonder if Andrea Miller knows what she's getting herself into.
Only a few weeks after Pat Howley pledged to donate $1 for every follower that @AbolishCancer got on January 29th to THON, Miss Miller is choosing to do the same. Pat Howley (a junior at Penn State) wound up with a $1700 pledge to back up after the THON twitter account exploded with popularity. An outpouring of support from students, alumni, even IFC/PHC resulted in Pat's pledge ballooning to over $6000 being donated to the philanthropy.
Today's the day to help THON by way of Andrea Miller. For every follower that @AbolishCancer gets today, Miss Miller has pledged to donate $1. According to Abolish Cancer's website, Miss Miller is a recent Penn State grad who decided to participate in the pledge program because she feels that "no child should ever have to experience cancer." Miss Miller has pledged to sponsor up to 200 followers, but here's to hoping that she's able to receive a few matching donations, a la Mr. Howley.
Collegian Opens Floodgates, Allows Comments
Sunday was an auspicious day for the Daily Collegian. It marked the first time that readers were able to comment on articles (as distinct from blog posts). The system works by utilizing a comment system called Disqus and requires users to authenticate with either a Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo!, OpenID, or Disqus account.
Editor-in-Chief Rossilynne Skena stated on her official blog that the authentication system is in place "to avoid the spam and hostility so often associated with anonymous comments."
We want to congratulate the Daily Collegian on taking its next big step in the scary world of online media. I am surprised that it took them this long, though I suspect it had something to do with credibility worries. Good luck with keeping the commenters civil!