Rachel Petkac, 19, passed away on Monday night after sustaining severe injuries from an automobile accident. A commuter, Ms. Petkac was driving back from Penn State on Friday, January 8 at the time of the accident.
She lost control of her vehicle in the snow on Route 550. Her car collided with a utility pole. After 18 days of hospitalization, she died at Geisinger Medical Center. See this CDT briefing for more details.
Ms. Petkac was a Schreyer scholar majoring in Community, Environment, and Development. She graduated from State College Area High School in 2008. She was a member of the Good Shepard Catholic Church and planned on joining the Peace Corps after college. For more information, see her full obituary and commemorative Facebook group.
Penn State's Songwriters Club will be hosting an concert next Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Heritage Hall in the HUB to benefit THON. The concert will feature several members of the club playing original songs with a few covers thrown in for good measure. Tickets will be $5 in advance, $6 at the door, and all the proceeds will go to THON.
The concert will feature six acts including the "motive core new age alternative rock persuasion" bands A Day Without Love and In Other News, acoustic guitarists Jeremy Fretz (which, awesomely, is his actual name) and Maura Westerlund, rock duo Patrick Troester and Isaac Bishop, and Funk band West of Babylon.
If you're interested in going, advance tickets will be sold in Pollock Commons February 1-2 and in Waring Commons February 3-4. I got a chance to hear several members of this club last November at their Open Mic Night, and I'm guessing the concert will be worth the donation. Worst case scenario, you kill two hours before you can go out Friday and support THON. Best case, you get to hear some great original music made by Penn State students.
Multiple times each year, Student Affairs Research & Assessment conducts a Penn State Student Drinking Survey as part of its Pulse program. The most recent solicitations to take the survey began coming out last week.
On January 19, IFC President Max Wendkos sent out an email to the list of University Park fraternity chapter presidents discouraging Greek participation in the survey.
I contacted Max to ask for more context regarding his opinions on the survey. Read his response and my analysis after the jump.
After a fun fact about squirrels was posted on the Penn State Facebook page, nuts got smashed. Apparent Notre Dame students/supporters with not a whole hell of a lot else to do on a Tuesday afternoon caused a ruckus...via Facebook.
Penn State students began sharing their personal stories regarding the large presence of squirrels, when a certain kid who shall be referred to as "Gus" (oh, wait, that's his real name) began attacking Penn State's football team (the initial comment has since been deleted). So much for squirrels.
Clearly he didn't shift his eyes toward the bottom left of his screen where he would have found this set of Page Policies:
Penn State's Facebook page encourages active discussion and sharing of information and thoughts. However, content that includes profanity, personal attacks, commercial promotions, election campaign materials or is otherwise deemed inappropriate will be deleted by the page administrators.
Unfortunately, some don't follow the rules, destroying what would otherwise be a great tool for Penn State to receive student feedback.
How does a discussion about squirrels lead to a series of nasty comments from a prepubescent diehard Notre Dame fan? Surely I don't know.
Yesterday the Institute of International Education (IIE) announced a new emergency grant program for Haitian students studying in the U.S. The grant, called Haiti-EAS (Emergency Assistance for Students), will provide $2000 to those who have been impacted financially by the crisis in Haiti, are studying at an accredited U.S. university, and are a citizen of Haiti.
These funds, however, are only available to students if colleges and universities apply on their behalf. IIE requires a campus' International Student Adviser or equivalent administrator to submit applications by February 12. While the University Office of Global Programs here at Penn State is already working to help those affected by the earthquake, we hope they take advantage of this opportunity to help our own students.
If you want to contribute to the IIE's grant program, donations can be made here. Where it says "Direct my gift to," fill in Haiti-EAS to make sure your donation goes to the right place.
Have you always wanted to rival the Creamery with your ice-cream-making prowess? Your chance has arisen!
This weekend, the College of Agricultural Sciences is hosting "Ice Cream 101: Introduction to Frozen Desserts," a compact course that teaches the basics of ice cream composition, formulation, and processing.
Taught by past and present Penn State faculty, the course involves both lectures and hands-on exercises. According to the website, ice cream lovers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs are welcome to attend.
When: Saturday, 7:45 am - Sunday, 5:30 pm
Where: Agricultural Science and Industries Building
Cost: $695
Yes, this two-day class actually costs $695. But if you truly love frozen flavored pasteurized homogenized bovine mammary secretions, it's worth every penny.