Penn State certainly thinks it has an alcohol problem, and it's hard to argue that they've been anything but earnest in addressing that concern.
Monday night, the Big Ten Network held its fourth annual awards show, celebrating the best in Big Ten Sports over the past year. Of course, any school that's had as much athletic success as Penn State would find itself especially well represented amongst the numerous honorees.
If you're a fan of celebrated indie rockers Dispatch, Penn State has got one heck of a back to school present for you: the band will be continuing their comeback tour and bring their unique style to the Bryce Jordan Center on August 28th, the Sunday after classes begin.
In recent weeks, the Big Ten has discussed implementing a shift in policy which, while legal in the NCAA bylaws, offers the potential to fundamentally change the game of college football as we know it. It, in effect, challenges the essential definition of student-athletes as amateurs, and, when carried to its logical conclusion, only further erodes the values that most programs -- don't let the high profile scandals fool you -- stand on.
Samuel Settle might be the most polarizing figure at Penn State.
As president of the campus branch of Young Americans for Freedom, he's been front and center at the group's incredibly visible -- and equally divisive -- rallies, most in front of the HUB. I, for one, have had run-ins with Settle on more than one occasion; it's the very nature of those events that they capture the attention of virtually every passerby, and, often, of the media.
Yet, for his latest venture, Settle has expanded his reach beyond this university, instead focusing his energies on a campaign for a seat on the board of the State College Area School District.
Mohamed Raouda can remember the exact moment he knew he wanted to become the president of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments.
"I got involved in CCSG as a freshman, back in Altoona, and it was the first time I came up to University Park for Council," he recounts. "I realized how much bigger it was than just my one campus. I saw a collective of student governments fighting for the whole of the commonwealth."