In what seems like a very long time ago, we posted this regarding a proposed addendum to the Corner Pocket. I decided to follow this up with Mark Cannon (who very graciously took time out of this very busy week to reply to my questions) to clear up the questions regarding the future of the Corner Pocket.
According to Mark, the new proposed plan (titled Smart Gaming Commons) could very possibly replace the Corner Pocket. The plan does not have any UPUA support thus far, although they are looking into it. The original idea was conceived by the HUB Advisory Board (another organization of which Mark is a member), and they were looking into new ideas for utilizing the space taken up by the Corner Pocket.
The project could cost to up to $50,000, which would come from the facility fee, NOT the student activities fee. The facility fee will come from another board, the Facilities Fee Board (they could at least try to get creative with names!), which would need to approve of this spending. As of now, they have not made a decision. IF this space were to be created, then the HUB would plan to charge students $1-$3 per hour to use it (this cost will also not be added to the student activities fee). According to Mark, all efforts are being made to keep major renovations to a bare minimum in order to keep costs down.
Curious as to what could be in the Smart Gaming Room? Read more after the jump to find out.
Take the tarps off your grills and start stocking up on hot dogs and beverages of your choosing, because Penn State has announced the dates for the 2010 Blue-White Weekend. This year's spring football bonanza will take place April 23-24 with the game having no significance on any type of record starting at 2:00 pm on Saturday the 24th.
While watching Kevin Newsome's development and seeing our new linebacking corps will be the highlight of the weekend, make sure to take full advantage of all the goings-on. Other sports teams should be playing as well that weekend, and with Happy Valley at near capacity, the atmosphere for these other events should rival post-season games for these teams.
Also, who doesn't love a carnival?
This past Sunday was a great day for the Greek Community. A handful of Greek organizations participated in Delta Upsilon's "Greek Sweep" to clean up the leftover mess from State Patty's Day. Participants chipped in for the cost of cleaning supplies and all received T-shirts to represent the event. Just several days before, the IFC announced their initiative to sponsor "Greek Sweep" events to be held after major-event weekends.
Read on for a statement from Justin Robinson, President of Delta Upsilon, about how his chapter came up with the idea.
Update: Penn State Live is reporting that Monday's fire has been ruled an accident, caused by faults in the electrical system. The fire marshal's full report will be available sometime in April.
Between 11.30 and midnight on Monday, a fire erupted in Dobbins Dining Hall at Penn State Behrend. The building was uninhabited at the time, so there is no reason to believe that there are any injuries. According to the Penn State Behrend Director of Marketing Communications Bill Gonda, students from both Lawrence and Porcupine (cool name!) Halls were evacuated and moved to different locations. Approximately 275 students were evacuated from these halls.
The students were evacuated because of the danger from the smoke, and the students from Lawrence were instructed to move to Niagara Hall. Students were let back into Lawrence and Porcupine by around 1:20 am. The fire was officially extinguished at 1:30 am.
Learn more about the fire after the jump.
On Friday, March 26, SAC-ITS will have a meeting to include students on information technology related decisions at Penn State. It will be held from 4:00-6:00 pm in 141 Computer Building (labeled as "Computer" on this map).
The meeting is the result of a partnership between UPUA President Keirans and Academic Affairs Committee Chair Sam Loewner to bring students into the discussion on how Penn State handles IT. All sorts of IT related issues will and can be covered at the meeting, such as ANGEL, Penn State Wireless, and the Penn State blogging platform, among others.
Anyone interested in more information about this effort should contact Jenn Struble ([email protected]).
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.
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