This morning, Joe Paterno was pronounced dead at the age of 85 after losing his battle with lung cancer. He was in the hospital since January 13th, and reports yesterday were swirling that he was in serious condition. CBS falsely reported last night that he had died, but Paterno’s sons took to Twitter to deny the reports. Today, the Twittersphere is mourning the loss of not only a coach, but a legend.

His family released this statement: ”He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.” Read More »

Image taken by Eric Weiss

Disgust.

I can not think of another word to describe the constant gut-wrenching feeling I have had in the pit of my stomach since Saturday morning when the alleged sexual assault case involving former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky became national news.

First, and foremost, I am disgusted that my university — a place that I spent the best four years of my life learning and growing and maturing into the person I am today — would let this one man ruin the reputation we have worked so hard to build. Members of our administration were informed of Sandusky’s actions that occurred NINE years years ago (and on OUR CAMPUS no less) and felt the proper course of action was to cover this up. And then when confronted, they continue to do something; to say nothing. Not even to apologize to the victims and their families that had the strength to come forward after all of these years of abuse and turmoil. Pure and utter disgust.

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When news that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was a serial child molester and rapist broke, I was utterly disgusted. The fact that several children had been mercilessly violated by an authority figure in their lives is truly heartbreaking.

But that’s not what the media circus has been highlighting because these instances of pedophilia have an additional element of horror. Several people were aware that Sandusky had inappropriate and criminal relationships with children. The most notable of those aware was head football coach Joe Paterno.

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For many college students, going to a top-rated party school is an honor and a bragging right. Princeton Review, the granddaddy of all rankings, announced today that the University of Georgia is this year’s top party school in the country. Damage control began right away for UGA officials, reminding the country that there is no actual scientific truth behind these rankings and that UGA is a university that strictly enforces the importance of a solid education.

As a Nittany Lion (and 2009/2010 #1 party school attendee) , I honestly couldn’t be happier. Penn State spent all of last year under strict scrutiny because of our Number 1 party school status. I’m sure there are plenty of PSU students talking about how as the new #3 school, we have “work to do,” but maybe they should remember the tragic incident that kicked off the 2009-2010 school year. The “pressure to live up” to these rankings caused one student his life. Sure, every freshman has those nights where they get a little too drunk, and as college students, we idealize these hysterical stories that we tell over Sunday brunch in the dining commons. But these rankings take those crazy nights to a whole new level and don’t only affect a person’s time spent in school, but much, much more.

When I chose to attend Penn State, I made the decision based on our incredible alumni association and the overall environment of Happy Valley. I wanted to be able to walk into a job interview and be proud. Penn State proud. I didn’t want the person sitting on the other side of the desk question whether or not I was capable of handling responsibilities because I went to a school known for beer bongs and keg stands. The authenticity of my GPA shouldn’t be under dispute. I worked my behind off during the week and I enjoy myself on weekends, like any other college student. Read More »

Penn State applicants do, that’s who.

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Four years ago, I started the crazy journey that is college. Though it doesn’t seem like four years ago; the entire experience flew by. It felt like just yesterday that I stepped foot onto Penn State’s main campus and now I’m packing up my apartment and heading off into some crazy unknown direction, also known as the casa de mama and papa.

Sitting at our graduation, I remember thinking, ‘how is this end?’ It just doesn’t feel real. I’m still waiting to wake up in my old dorm room, 4 years ago.  I feel like I should still be attending classes, where I stopped going to learn the material, but more to hang out with the friends I’ve developed along the way.  I feel like I should still be partying it up with my crazy friends who have made this one of the best experiences ever. I will never forget all our numerous inside jokes, and to be honest, I am petrified of a life without them.  I know graduation changes friendships and it sucks.

College has been a great time and I’m by no means ready to say goodbye, or even see ya later.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is I’m not all that excited about having graduated. Yes, it’s exciting to have accomplished a major milestone, but it’s also a big life change that scares the living crap out of me.  And to be honest, graduating didn’t help me in my book of life.  Young freshman me thought by this time I would have such a clear understanding of “who I am.” And although it’s challenged me, at times I feel like I’ve only learned little tiny bits (like I actually do like wings, I’m a terrible beer drinker but awesome pong player…), if anything. Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like super-seniors!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

This week, the last bar in State College (that’s the town where the main campus of Penn State is – the name confused me for a while too) to hold out on the 21^st birthday tradition of doing way too many shots decided to amend it’s stance and stop serving shots to new 21 year-olds. All of the bars in State College now abide by this policy – you can still get beer or mixed drinks, just no shots – where 21^st-ers will have to wait an extra 36 hours after their birthday before they can purchase tiny little glasses of liquor. The question is, is this fair?

Ok, now the whole impetus behind the ban is that Penn State (known as the biggest party school in the country) has had some trouble with it’s students binge drinking, and since 21^st birthdays are usually a big drinking night (yeah, baby!) they hope that preventing these (supposedly) new drinkers from getting shots, they might cut down on some of the dangers of overdrinking on the big night. Read More »

Right now you’re probably lying on your couch, munching on some Lucky Charms, catching up on old episodes of True Life. You’re probably tired and hungover. You probably went out last night and danced to a little LMFAO – purse in one hand, vodka soda in the other. You probably came home late and scarfed down some pizza before passing out in your bed, totally exhausted.

And while you lasted six hours (tops), there are over 1,000 Penn State Students who have been gettin’ their groove on since yesterday afternoon. And they’re still going. Read More »

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I love Fordham. L-o-v-e it. I’ve got my school t-shirt and my string bag and, yes, that might have been me you saw at the basketball game singing along to The Ram. If you asked me to describe the essence of Fordham, I could tell you about the Jesuit education tradition, or the hard-working student body, or the thrill of studying in New York. Or I could just buy it for you.

Thanks to a new company called Masik Collegiate Fragrances, you can now purchase the scent of your school in perfume form. If scent is the sense most closely tied to memory, the kind folks at Masik have now made it possible to capture the memories of the best years of your life with just a whiff of their product. Want to show off your school pride in a stylish, subtle way? Buy a bottle of your school’s perfume!

I know what you’re thinking: how did they capture the distinctive smell of public-bathroom-disinfectant and Natty Light with just a pinch of mildew? And who on earth would ever wear that? But their methods are much more creative than that. Masik creates specific fragrances based on a variety of factors, such as school colors, traditions, and flowers found on campus. The goal is not to recreate a scent with which students are already familiar (i.e. spilled laundry detergent and leftover pizza), but a new scent that students can adopt and wear and begin to associate with their college memories. Not a bad idea.

Currently, they have developed fragrances for UNC-Chapel Hill and Penn State, with Auburn, UF, Tennessee, and others on the way. (Note to Masik: anytime you want to get started on Fordham’s, be my guest.) So if you’ve got any Tar Heels or Nittany Lions fans on your holiday gift list this year, $60.00 will get you a bottle of their school perfume/cologne. And be on the lookout in case your school is next; perhaps you, too could be spritzing a bottle of Eau du Alma Mater in the near future!