Max Wendkos, president of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), contributed a column to today's Collegian making an argument against student-created drinking holidays.
However, in contrast to the normal argument against the holidays rooted in their obvious public safety implications, Wendkos asks the student body to realize that by disregarding the pleas of community members to control ourselves, we are telling them to "shove it."
We have found ourselves in the middle of a political game in which we have no leverage. We cannot simply "party" those whohave expressed concerns into submission. The longer it takes the student body to recognize this and to make the appropriate adjustments, the more we stand to lose.
Head on over to the Collegian and check out the full column. It's well worth the read.
The Collegian ran an article this morning about a proposed 10% tax on poured drinks being discussed by small town leaders across the state. State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham was quoted as saying,
"It would not discourage people from drinking. If it did, it's not a bad thing."
Thanks for playing, Liz, but you're wrong.
Increasing the price of booze in bars is going to, according to economic theory, do precisely what Goreham believes it won't; that is, "discourage people from drinking" in bars. See the nifty chart I found on the Internet to visualize why this is.
So what would be the actual impact of a poured drink tax? Sure, some bar and lounge enthusiasts might simply drink less on each visit, but another reaction to seeing your bar tab go up 10% would be to refrain from going to the bar at all and take the party elsewhere, to a house or apartment in downtown State College. And that's something that would probably be "a bad thing."
Penn State is on spring break for the next week.
Over that period, the site will be updated sporadically. We will resume our coverage in earnest on Monday March 15.
Encampment was launched by President Eisenhower (of Penn State, not the United States) way back in 1952 as an annual event bringing together all types of student leaders to promote dialogue within the student body.
When Gavin Keirans ran for his second term as president last spring, one of his major platform planks was the revival of Encampment (the last one was held in 2001).
This fall, President Keirans installed Greg Tallman as the Director of Encampment. At that time, Keirans described Tallman as a "prime time" person. Though his resume is indeed pretty rocking (THON Overall, Homecoming King), his success at reviving the inititve won't be clear until Sunday March 21, when Encampment opens once again.
Tallman describes the motivations behind the event,
Through Encampment, we hope to create a forum to better enable the students of this University to be recognized. We also hope that you take this time to reach out to other student leaders and create a dialogue voicing any issues you see lacking focus at Penn State.
We met with Greg last night in Old Main to help him announce a special offer for the Penn State undergraduate community. He has 25 spots to offer the free-agents, so to speak, of Penn State-- those students who are engaged and committed to the betterment of our university, but perhaps aren't involved in leadership positions with any major campus organizations.
Encampment will be hosted by the UPUA at the Penn Stater Conference Center on Sunday March 21 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and transportation between the HUB and the Penn Stater will be available. Students interested are asked to email [email protected] expressing their interest no later than Friday March 5.
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9874922&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1
I found out yesterday that my little sister has decided to accept Penn State's offer of admission. While she is keen to strike her own path (in other words, an Onward State writer she probably won't be), I want to give her as much wisdom as possible before she gets here.
So, today, for all the little brothers and little sisters and future Penn Staters of the world, I want to know,
