If the men's basketball team plans on playing post-season ball next year, it will have to do so without Chris Babb, Bill Edwards, Andrew Ott and Adam Highberger.
Ott and Highberger are foregoing their final seasons to pursue various school ventures, but Babb and Edwards are transferring.
I do not mean to diminish the importance of Ott and Highberger, but the more distressing news is that Babb and Edwards have left. Babb was one of the more consistent players on the team, and one of the few that could hit a three-pointer. Edwards did not provide as much as hoped for this season, but he definitely had great potential. He had size and athleticism. Both players will be sorely missed next season.
What do these developments really mean? Read on after the jump to find out.

Isn't March a great month to be Irish at PSU? You get to celebrate Saint Patty's Day, see Flogging Molly live in concert, enjoy the upcoming spring weather (perhaps even find a four-leaf clover or two on the HUB lawn), and see Eileen Ivers. Wait, who?
Yes, folks, that's right. Eileen Ivers is about as Irish as Guinness beer, leprechauns and the Boondock Saints. According to The New York Times, she's the "Jimi Hendrix of the violin", which is why she rocked Eisenhower Auditorium so hard Friday night with her band, Immigrant Soul. Her performance, titled "Beyond the Bog Road", centered around explaining the massive exodus of the Irish to Canada and the USA and how Irish music seamlessly blends into modern music.
Read on for more details about the event.

Encampment finally returned this year after being dormant since 2001. I attended the event yesterday at The Penn Stater hotel.
It makes me very proud to say that I attended the 50th Encampment. This is a very big step being taken by UPUA (led by Greg Tallman on the Encampment front) to once again open ties between town, gown and the faculty. At Encampment, we discussed very important matters with some distinguished speakers. We also got free shirts!
So, what exactly is Encampment? Read on to find out!

This Thursday, March 25th, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Mary Beth Long will be speaking at The State Theatre from 8-9PM - for free! Long has been an extremely influential woman in terms of our nation’s security. She’s helped with the U.S.-Iraq status-of-forces agreement negotiations, missile defense agreements with the Czech Republic and Poland, and she's helped improve relations with Middle Eastern allies. Long formulated the US response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia and has helped to cut down Taliban’s narcotics revenue, just to name a few things.
Long is the 15th speaker in the annual Mark Luchinisky Memorial Lecture series. Former speakers include Kurt Angle, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist in Wrestling; Peter Klein, Professor and former CBS News Producer; and even our very own JoePa, among many other impressive people.
Come on out Thursday to listen to Long’s lecture, entitled “Terrorism, Nukes, and Cyber Warfare: Are We Prepared?” Learn a thing or two from someone who knows a thing or two!

Penn State's spring just got a bit louder and a lot more awesome.
Kickin' rad noise rock duo No Age will be the headlining act at this year's Arts Crawl, sponsored by SOMA. In an email, Devan Kochersperger, SOMA's Arts Crawl Chair, shed some more light on the event.
The event (our biggest of the year, also organized with the Visual Arts Student Alliance) is April 9th 2010. It will take place in the Arts buildings on campus (Visual Arts, Patterson, Borland, etc.). The local/regional band lineup has not been finalized yet, but there should be around 12 other bands in addition to the headliner No Age [...] This is one of the bigger bands SOMA has booked. Local bands will play staggered sets around the 'crawl' from 6 until 10PM, which is when doors to the headliner's room will open. At 10:30 No Age will take the stage in 315 Visual Arts Building. There will also be student minstrals who will improv music to guide visitors from building to building.
Although I'm curious as to what being a "student minstrel" entails, I'm more excited about No Age coming. SOMA seems to know what they're doing when it comes to booking acts. Maybe they should have a say with the music selection for Movin' On and UPUApaloozathonsaraswatifestfinale.