At first, I was a bit dismayed when I realized that this week's UPUA meeting would fall on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, but apparently, the only person missing from 302 HUB on account of the holiday was one Onward State reporter. UPUA might not have taken the week off, but they did take it easy, working through a light agenda that included very little, if any, new business.

Got a need for speed? Want to pick up some Spirit Points for your Homecoming organization? Not afraid of embarrassing yourself? In that case, the Red Bull Sidehack Derby sounds like it'd be right up your alley. You did answer "yes" to all three of those questions, right?

For the first time in weeks, the University Park Undergraduate Association actually dealt with a controversial issue. After tabling the issue two weeks ago, UPUA took on the voter identification bill currently awaiting the Pennsylvania State Senate, deliberating on whether they should publicly state opposition to the legislation. According to Governmental Affairs Chair Adam Boyer, if the bill were to be signed into law, all prospective voters would have to present a state-or-Federally issued form of photo identification. Out-of-state drivers licenses and Penn State ID cards, for instance, would not be enough.

Joe Dado's death wasn't a story, it was an event. From the initial reports of a missing student to the organized search parties, until the final disheartening conclusion, Penn State, it seemed, could focus on nothing but that wide-eyed freshman in the yellow t-shirt. It permeated beyond State College, where thousands searched every corner of the town--Dado's story hit the national media. And though it wasn't necessarily disingenuous, how we responded to the situation reveals more about Penn State than the fact that one of our own died. How many of us knew Joe Dado? He'd been on campus for all of three weeks. And yet, so many of us were quick to respond--not just with an outpouring of emotion, but taking action, scouring every corner of this campus for days.