Did you enjoy all the snowfall we got over the weekend? Good, because State College is about to get whacked again. The National Weather Service is reporting that a snowfall will enter Happy Valley tonight and deposit another 5-10 inches of snow by Wednesday. Sound exciting? It should, there's a possibility (however slight) that if the storm hits late enough Wednesday morning (2-3am) that Penn State might experience something even more rare than a winning season for the basketball team, a snow day.
Click through to see your chances.
...at least that's what Mike Wallace proposed as the name for this year's festival. The first organizational meeting for Wallypalooza 2010 was held tonight and it looks like this year will be a fresh start for the festival.
The first goal is to diversify the show. Mike Wallace said he wants bands this year to be mainstream, affordable, but also talented. Hip Hop, Indie Rock and even Country are being considered for this show. Jesse Ruegg and Cameron Scott of Roustabout will be serving in an advising capacity to help with band selection and booking. The festival itself is being co-sponsored by UPUA and The LION FM. LION president Zach Zimbler said UPUA approached them to help organize the event.
In a response to criticism that there wasn't enough outside input during last year's Wallypalooza, UPUA's "Spring Concert Planning Commission" seems like it will be operating with an unprecedented level of community involvement.
How can you get involved? What needs to be done? Read the full post to find out!
So you have probably heard about the CATA app by now and how useful it is, but what about for people that are interested in computer labs? Many students on campus use the computer labs on a daily basis and some wish there was a simple way to find the closest labs to them that are not packed with people.
Chris Sacksteder is developing that type of system. He is creating a web app for mobile platforms that not only tells you which labs are around campus, but how many computers are free in each lab and maybe someday which lab is the closest to your current location via your phone's GPS. Although currently in development, this design could help many students find easily accessible labs for group meetings and / or quiet homework areas.
Would you use this? What platform would be best for it? Where can you try it out? Read on to discuss and find out!
The STATEtorialist is a blog about Penn State, college sports, and fashion. Every week, Ben from The STATEtorialist will be writing a column for Onward State. If you like what you read, be sure to comment and read more at The STATEtorialist!
Every time I pass by Harper's men's clothing store on College Ave., I look at the same item in the window, but never walk in and peruse the store, because from word of mouth I know there's nothing in there that's really affordable. Well I finally inquired about the price of the Lambswool Penn State "S" sweater that's been in their window for as long as I can remember. Turns out it's $158. Needless to say, us college kids are strapped for cash. And when I say strapped for cash, I mean the selling your plasma and working jobs we hate kind of strapped.
So what are the fashionistos and fashionistas of Happy Valley to do when it comes to looking good and saving money? Read on to find out.
The Staff Profile series is a new feature at Onward State. Each Friday, we will provide a window into the life of one Onward Stater. Readers: meet our writers.
Though a relatively new addition to the Onward State writing staff, Noah Simmons has brought sarcasm, snark, and snide to his posts. A straight-shooting maverick who calls it as he sees it, Noah isn't afraid to ask the tough questions.
Noah graduated from high school at the prestigious Upper St. Clair High School, 20 minutes south of Pittsburgh. A sophomore, he's currently between majors, though is contemplating Forest Science, and he hopes to one day be a certified lumberjack. Until then, he plans to attend law school after graduating.
Noah passes his time at University Park being involved in Mock Trial, Penn State's sailing team, and being the founder of Penn State's Odyssey of the Mind team. Noah is a member of Schreyer Honors College. In his free time, he enjoys reading, HUB naps, contemplating world domination, and putting off school work.
Noah is currently a programmer for the NC2IF project in the College of IST. During the summer, he teaches sailing in Canada and works on his tan.
The Penn State panel in charge of investigating the so-called "Climategate" emails of Professor Michael Mann has announced the end of their investigation. Dr. Mann's email correspondence with Dr. Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia in the U.K. was leaked late last November. Dr. Mann's work was considered to be some of the most important evidence for human-induced climate change, until allegations surfaced from these emails that he had falsified the data suggesting that theory.
A Penn State panel of faculty and staff was tapped to look into the matter, which has gotten worldwide attention, including that of the United Nations. University of East Anglia also conducted their own investigation of Dr. Jones. About three weeks ago, former CIA agent Kent Clizbe launched his own private investigation of Dr. Mann, but was obviously limited in his powers, as he is now a private citizen.
Penn State has said they will announce their findings later this week, though they had previously flirted with the idea of keeping those findings confidential, in the interest of protecting their faculty member. However, even with the public release, some have pointed out flaws in the method of the investigation, namely who the investigators are. Quoted in the Collegian, Samuel Settle, a member of the conservative group Young Americans for Freedom (previously featured in Onward State Stories), said that Penn State has put "an awful lot of power in the hands of three [Penn State employees] with no external oversight."
Get the full story after the jump.