In the midst of Obama's health care success came another, albeit less publicized, fulfillment of a campaign promise. Congress endorsed his plan to overhaul the federal student loan system. Now the legislation moves on to the Senate, where leaders think they have the votes to get it passed.
The most major of the bill's effects on student-loans is that $61 billion in savings from switching to Direct Loans will be reallocated to support the Pell Grant program, which provides need-based tuition grants to students.
Sunday night was one that Kirsten Kelly will not soon forget. At around 11pm, it was announced that she would be the 2011 THON Overall Chairperson. Kelly wanted to be the Overall Chair because, in her words, "I believe in the role THON is playing in the fight against pediatric cancer and want to take THON to the next level. I want to take advantage of the opportunities THON has for growth and improvement so we can provide outstanding emotional and financial support to the children, families, researchers and staff of the Four Diamonds Fund."
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Having spent THON 2010 as the Merchandise Overall Chairperson, Kelly has already played a very important role in THON's success. She had this to say about how her experiences in the past year will aid her in the next: "[My experiences] have taught me a lot about communication, leadership and what THON needs in the future. The interaction I had with the THON community through that position will be an asset to my year as the Overall Chair. Not to mention I have tons of THON gear to wear after this past year!"
Read the full post for the next steps on the road towards THON 2011.
The 3rd Annual IdeaPitch Competition is a generator of that which America needs most in these hard economic times-- entrepreneurial businesses.
Hosted by the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Smeal College of Business, IdeaPitch allows teams (of which only one member has to be a Penn State student) to compete for resources and venture capital funding. The format of the competition is similar to what one would face in pursuing money from an established venture capital firm.
The grand prize is $2000, but unless you're starting a blog, that won't get you very far. In addition to the cash, the winning team gets office space in the Keller Building, the chance to participate in the Garber Practicum and potentially receive money from the Garber Fund, and free access to any legal services the team may need.
Past overall winners have been primarily technological. Last year's winner was a piece of software that linked together study aids for all the major college admissions tests. Before that was a group that offered a synthetic version of drywall.
This Friday will be the "Final Eight" round, where prizes will be presented.
The large white and yellow structure that graced on the Pattee Mall last week was produced by Dave Celento, a professor of architecture, and his architecture class. The installation is officially called the Digital Daffodil Pavilion.
Students in last fall's ARCH 497C Digital Fabrication created the installation as a class project, but it was only constructed last week. The delay seemed to have worked out well, as the design seems perfect for spring.
All the elements were designed digitally and constructed using a computer controlled mill by the students. The design itself was inspired by flower petals and, unlike many of the sculptures around campus, students are encouraged to interact with the pavilion, rearranging petals or simply sitting inside.
In a press release late Sunday night, Michael Pipe, the presumptive Democratic nominee for PA's 5th Congressional District, was happy to announce his support for the bill and his dismay that his opposition, US Rep. Glenn Thompson, had voted no. He said the following:
"People should not have to decide whether to get health care of pay the rent. People should not have to decide between buying insurance for themselves or their kids. Insurance companies should be able to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Young people should be able to stay on their parents plan until the age of 26."
Hear more about what Pipe had to say after the jump.
In what could be straight off a page of George Orwell's book 1984, a new kind of Big Brother is now watching over the world of social media, protecting colleges from potentially embarrassing situations involving their sports teams.
Read on to hear what Greg Myford, Penn State's associate athletic director, has to say on the issue.
A company called Sports Media Challenge (SMC) has come up with a search engine to check through Facebook, Twitter, and other popular websites to give schools notice on any inappropriate behavior involving a member of any of their athletic teams. This could lead to actions being taken against a player or coach before the situation gets out of hand and even saving the school from incurring any NCAA violations (see here USC football and Indiana basketball).
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