Free Republic

Angelo, look at the way your son's eyes darken now. Look how he balls up his fists and uncrosses his legs, as if he's uncomfortable, as if he suddenly remembered someplace he needs to be. Look how the smile on his face—the smile that punctuates all the stories he tells, like the one about Bear Bryant wanting a lane of traffic cleared for his team (the Pennsylvania governor said no), or the time at a coaches' convention that Dan Devine mentioned an unnamed loudmouth coach at Oklahoma, and Barry Switzer shouted, "Switzer!" and raised his hand—look how that grandfatherly smile...

University Park, Pa. — Penn State University Police are searching for an 18-year-old Penn State student who was last seen at about 3 a.m. Sunday (Sept. 20) leaving a fraternity house on the University Park campus. Joseph Dado, a freshman, was wearing jeans, a yellow T-shirt and blue zipper sweatshirt with a hood when he was last seen leaving Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at 319 N. Burrowes Rd. to return to his residence hall room. He is a white male with brown eyes and brown hair. He is approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds. Police said he...

PHILADELPHIA — Students who are accepted into Penn State University's prestigious honors college get more than academic feathers in their caps. They get $3,500 annual merit scholarships. But given the tough economic times, the school is making an unusual request: Would parents consider donating that money back? The fundraising appeal for Schreyer Honors College leans on parents who have not applied for financial aid for their children, encouraging them to share their good fortune with needier students. It appears to be working. The first appeal to 75 families last year raised about $228,000.... Some schools and states have tightened criteria...

Saturday was the 3rd Annual Penn State Football Letterman’s Golf Outing and 128 former Penn State Football players took part. Student-Athletes from teams in the 1950s all the way through the current decade gathered for golf, but more importantly to catch up with former teammates and to meet other people who share a proud tradition. Gathered were people who have gone on to do different things with their lives, some as doctors, others working on wall street, others as teachers, others coaching, and others as lawyers—just to name a few. It was great to catch up with so many...

Just watched the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” I think that’s the name. It was not a good movie. It had an interesting concept and anytime a movie is about the end of the world it is interesting. At least it is to me. There have been several movies lately on the end of the world and most of them are about how we lame humans are responsible for the end of days by not taking care of the environment. It’s hard to not see the political and Hollywood ideas and agendas in so many movies these days....

Penn State University's "Department of Counseling and Psychological Services" has a video presentation that should leave any decent American shocked, saddened, and yes, even enraged. Credit David French of National Review Online for posting what might be the most definitive four minute expose on the tragedy of higher education in America. Indeed, Penn State's shameful video production of "The Worrisome Veteran" can provide all Americans some priceless insights into the kind of surreal institutions liberals create when left unchecked. "The Worrisome Veteran" is part of Penn State's "Worrisome Student Behaviors" video series which is designed to provide faculty and students...

I have known for some time the face of Penn State University is Joe Paterno and the Penn State football team. But there is another side to Penn State that fits the template of the far left-leaning universities that engage in activities that often offend parents and taxpayers. In the past, I’ve talked about Penn State allowing a student group called Womyn’s Concerns to hold an event called “C Fest” in which they graphically celebrated the female vagina. They had one event called the “Tent of Consent,” in which the students (in groups of two or more) would be allowed...

"The Worrisome Vet" as seen thorugh the eyes of the Office of Student Affairs at Penn State University.

This despicable video needs to be seen by as many people as possible. The basic gist of it is... "Dean Smith, I'm having a problem with one of my students. See... he's a war criminal, oh I mean veteran & he is not unquestionably swallowing our leftist propaganda hook, line & sinker. He's very confrontational & disruptive... he challenges my assertions in front of the other students, asks that I provide objective data to back up my claims, and he actually has the nerve to espouse ideas that run contrary to our ideology. I'm at my wits end & don't...

Be prepared to vomit!YouTubePennStateVet I guess we'll have to wait for that video about the "worrisome gay anti-capitalist animal rights nut job student!"Libertas

Penn State apparently felt the need to put out a how-to video for dealing with scary, violent, and confrontational war veterans. It's time to puke in your hats, people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLq9NPLv0M

Natural Selection Studies Based on Bad Statistics March 30, 2009 — Hundreds of studies claiming to show natural selection may be wrong, say scientists from Penn State and Japan.  PhysOrg reported today that “several statistical methods commonly used by biologists to detect natural selection at the molecular level tend to produce incorrect results.”  Many studies of human evolution have relied on these flawed methods.  If the methods were wrong, the conclusions are unreliable.  “Of course, we would never say that natural selection is not happening, but we are saying that these statistical methods can lead scientists to make erroneous inferences,”...

BALD EAGLE — Last Friday morning, many commuters on their way to State College observed a strange event. During the thundershower on Feb. 27, some unseen force knocked a flock of Canada geese from the air near the Bald Eagle exit of Interstate 99 in Blair County. Richard Bishop of Tyrone witnessed the last few geese fall. “I was just coming under the underpass after exiting from I-99,” Bishop said. “We were on our way to Ohio when I saw this blur of something dropping from the sky. When we got closer, there were dead geese all over the road...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Second by second, note by note, the anticipation grew. After a year of planning and fundraising, the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon was ready. Videos of past Thons, pulsating tunes and a gyrating Nittany Lion on stage pumped up the seated dancers filling the Bryce Jordan Center floor. Then came the chanted countdown, cheers erupting at zero as spotlights swirled around the arena and beach balls cascaded from the ceiling. With that, the biggest party on campus kicked into gear. “Get ready for the best weekend of your life,” said 2009 Thon Chairman Mike Hacke on Friday...

Penn State wins first NCAA volleyball title in 14 years By Associated Press 8:04 PM CDT, May 3, 2008 IRVINE, Calif. - Top-ranked Penn State won its first NCAA men's volleyball championship in 14 years, rallying for a 27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23 victory over second-ranked Pepperdine on Saturday night. Matt Anderson had 29 kills for the Nittany Lions (30-1), who beat UCLA in 1994 for their last NCAA men's volleyball title. Anderson, the national co-player of the year, was selected the NCAA tournament's most valuable player. Teammate Luke Murray added a career-high 12 digs, tied a season best with 63...

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Police say a straight-A business student at Penn State-Altoona told them he has been selling cocaine to finance his college education. Twenty-year-old Michael Conforti, of Hackettstown, N.J., was charged in the aftermath of a sweep last month by the Blair County Drug Task Force and Logan Township police. He was originally charged with three drug deals involving a confidential informant but yesterday authorities added charges of possession with intent to deliver cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police based those charges on drugs, nearly $3,500 in cash and other items they say they found at Mr. Conforti's...

Remember the name: We are...Penn State By David Brown & Salena Zito David Brown is reporting that there is a huge line, five bodies deep, that is circling around several blocks for Sen. Barack Obama's inaugural visit to Penn State. So far no reports as of yet of an Obama version of the famous Penn State chant of "We are…Penn State!"

Includes 1.5% hike for Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln HARRISBURG -- "Completely inadequate." That's how Penn State University President Graham Spanier characterized Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed 1.5 percent funding increase for state-related universities. "If the appropriation doesn't even come close to the increases in the rest of the budget, and doesn't even come close to the rate of inflation, it puts a burden on the tuition side of the equation," he said. Dr. Spanier and the heads of the other state-related universities -- the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University -- testified before the House Appropriations Committee...

Thon raises $6.6 million for cancer By Dena Pauling- dpauling@centredaily.com It’s a new record: $6,615,318.04. Great Links:CDT PicturesPSU Football Team Video With the Kids

Nathaniel Sheetz knows he and other Penn State University students are protected by armed campus police. Just the same, he'd like to start bringing his own gun to class. If someone were to pull out a weapon and start shooting, he argues, he and his classmates could be dead in seconds before those officers arrive. Mr. Sheetz belongs to a group whose controversial message is getting more attention after a string of school shootings this month, including one at Northern Illinois University in which a gunman killed five people and wounded 16 in a lecture hall before taking his own...

Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who turned 81 last week, jokingly dismissed the comments of a Texas A&M yell leader Thursday night that Paterno was “on his death bed” and “someone needs to find him a casket.” But it’s no joking matter to the Aggies, who sent the yell leader home and have issued numerous apologies to various Penn State officials. The remark came at an Alamo Bowl-sponsored pep rally for fans of both schools. Penn State fans booed loudly after the remark from the yell leader, one of five A&M upperclassmen who fill the high-profile spirit role at the...

Click on Joe and W for the video (a few minutes long)

All it took were a couple of pictures posted on the Internet. Mere hours after a Virginia television station reported that Penn State students had uploaded pictures of Halloween partygoers dressing as Virginia Tech shooting victims, criticism exploded from both campuses, with one Facebook.com group denouncing the costumes reaching 4,100 members as of 2 a.m. this morning. The only publicly accessible picture, uploaded after Halloween, shows a woman wearing an orange Virginia Tech T-shirt smeared with blood and a bullet wound, posing jauntily. According to television station WSLS in Roanoke, Va., several other pictures showed a similarly attired man. For...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Joe Paterno's salary is no longer one of the most closely guarded secrets in college sports. The Penn State coach will earn more than $500,000 this year. The State Employees' Retirement System released Paterno's salary Thursday, more than a week after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that his salary and those of other top Penn State officials are public information. Paterno was paid $427,220 in the first 10 months of 2007 -- putting his year-end salary on track to be $512,664. He was paid $490,638 last year, according to the retirement system. "I'm paid well. I'm...

CHICAGO (AFP) - US researchers have developed a method of producing hydrogen gas from biodegradable organic material, potentially providing an abundant source of this clean-burning fuel, according to a study released Monday. The technology offers a way to cheaply and efficiently generate hydrogen gas from readily available and renewable biomass such as cellulose or glucose, and could be used for powering vehicles, making fertilizer and treating drinking water. Numerous public transportation systems are moving toward hydrogen-powered engines as an alternative to gasoline, but most hydrogen today is generated from nonrenewable fossil fuels such as natural gas. The method used by...

Horowitz plans week-long war against rise of radical Islam By David M. Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, October 21, 2007 David Horowitz minces no words to evoke a stark image. Asked what threat radical Islamic terrorism poses to the United States, the conservative writer and activist sums up his view: "One dirty nuclear bomb can ruin your day."

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- A former Penn State player was convicted of murder for stabbing a student to death in what prosecutors said was a crime driven by a desperate need for money. LaVon Chisley Jr., 23, was found guilty by a jury Friday of first- and third-degree murder and immediately sentenced to life in prison. Centre County prosecutors said Chisley stabbed 26-year-old Penn State senior Langston Carraway 93 times in June 2006. A bloody rubber glove found at the murder scene had Chisley's DNA as well as the victim's, authorities said. Multiple witnesses testified that Chisley knew Carraway was a...

UNIVERSITY PARK -- At 9:20 yesterday morning, the large steel gate located behind the south end zone at Beaver Stadium swung wide open. Penn State coach Joe Paterno slowly guided his silver BMW inside. His entire football team, approximately 110 players, had already been hard at work for nearly 90 minutes before Mr. Paterno made his surprise visit and huddled them together. It was no regular workout. The players had been forced to trade in their cleats, helmets and shoulder pads for brooms, shovels and yellow gloves. Mr. Paterno, upset that several of his players were involved in an off-campus...

Network aims to offer more Big Ten programming than ever before CHICAGO – The much-anticipated launch of the Big Ten Network is here, with the network going on the air at 8 p.m. ET with a special edition of Big Ten Tonight. "We're tremendously excited to make television history with the launch of the Big Ten Network on Thursday night," Network President Mark Silverman said. "Fans will enjoy more Big Ten programming than ever before. I think fans will look back years from now and wonder how they ever followed their teams without the Big Ten Network." The network's launch...

Jay Paterno is melding the world of bits and bytes with that of hits and highlights in his Penn State quarterback meetings. It's all made possible by the newest addition to the coaching staff -- a PlayStation 3. "The good thing is nobody's ever late for our (meetings) -- not that they're ever late -- but they're all about 20 minutes early now because they all want to get in there and turn it on and beat each other," Paterno said of his quarterbacks. "I'm sure my son, when he finds out we have it in the building and that...

Our daughter is entering Penn State as a freshman. A few days ago, we/she learned that she is assigned to "supplemental housing" i.e. four to five people to one room. We'd prefer she be in regular housing (i.e. single or double). What is anyone's or their childrens' experience? What are the chances we can get her out of it before the move-in period? Thanks.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Six Penn State football players, including stars Anthony Scirrotto and Justin King, turned themselves in to police on Friday to face charges following an off-campus apartment fight. State College police chief Thomas R. King and Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira held a news conference Friday to announce that each player faces at least one felony count of criminal trespass. Scirrotto faces the most serious charges, including two other felonies - burglary and criminal solicitation. Christopher Baker was charged with two felony counts, burglary and criminal trespass, plus four related charges.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State ruled the rings, then won a national title. The Nittany Lions captured their NCAA-record 12th men's gymnastics championship Friday night after a standout performance on the still rings and pommel horse. And they did it on their home floor, with blue-and-white clad fans cheering their every move. "Somebody want to prop me up?" happy but tired Penn State coach Randy Jepson asked afterward. "It's been a dream of mine to win a national championship at home." Oklahoma's Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons won the all-around title, followed by Illinois' Wesley Haagensen. The Sooners' Jonathan Horton, last year's...

Extravagance without Accountability by: Malcolm A. Kline, Harrisburg, Pa.—Of all the myths that the higher education establishment has perpetuated, perhaps none is more pervasive, or contributes as much to the preservation of the status quo, as the notion that the blame for tuition hikes lay somewhere other than the central offices of universities. On March 20th students here rallied at the capitol to get the Pennsylvania assembly to increase funding of Penn State campuses and, so the idealistic youth hope, lower tuition. Eleven days later, the Harrisburg Patriot reported that “The former executive assistant for Judy Hample, chancellor of the...

Last week I focused on how high school students are being radicalized against "hate" and in favor of "diversity." This radicalism ends up on college campuses like the one I attended nearly 30 years ago. Angry students, often led by the African Studies Department, would allege racism. People, who would have done well wearing brownshirts in Germany around 1930, would harangue about injustices, real or in most cases, very much imagined. I remember my "Religion and Politics" class being invaded by African Studies students in who were supposedly opposing the insult of Egyptians (an African people by the way) by...

Last Updated: Saturday, 27 January 2007, 02:15 GMT Student felled by moose head sues An American student is suing her university for negligence after a mounted moose head fell on her from a wall during a biology exam. Amy Walters was peering through a microscope when the stuffed trophy fell, hitting the side of her head. She says she has suffered from headaches ever since, and is suing for "loss of enjoyment of life" and "embarrassment and humiliation". Pennsylvania State University has not yet commented on the case. The accident happened at the university's biology laboratory at the Fayette campus...

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) -- A former Penn State football player was arrested Tuesday in the killing of a student who was stabbed 93 times, after tests showed the ex-player's DNA was inside a bloody glove found at the murder scene. Lavon Chisley, 23, of Waldorf, Md., was taken into custody on Tuesday morning after voluntarily arriving at the county courthouse for a hearing in the case. He was charged with first- and third-degree murder in the death of Langston Carraway.

Paterno Fractures Leg Bone on Sideline By GENARO C. ARMAS The Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State coach Joe Paterno fractured a bone in his left leg and suffered ligament damage in his knee when a player ran into him during the Nittany Lions' loss to Wisconsin. The injury to Paterno's tibia, which occurred Saturday, typically heals on its own with rehabilitation, director of communications for football Guido D'Elia said Sunday. But doctors and team officials were considering whether surgery would help the leg heal faster, D'Elia said. "He wants to make the quickest fix," he said. Paterno...

During the ABC telecast of today's Penn State football game, announcer Craig James called Joe Paterno an 'old fart,' while congratulating Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema on his game strategy. ABC/ESPN college football spokesman Josh Krulewitz confirmed to Patriot-News reporter David Jones that James did in fact refer to Joe Paterno as an old fart. Krulewitz, reached by phone in Connecticut, didn't have any comments on the derogatory term, but said, "I'm going to have to speak with some people first." - David Jones, The Patriot-News

Did anyone else notice what just happened at the Notre Dame/Penn State game in South Bend? As the university pastor attempted to deliver a prayer in rememberance of the 9-11 victims to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the event, it seemed hundreds of people went ape-s%*t, barking, booing, and making a generally obnoxious racket. One thug could even be heard to shout "you suck" as the priest finished up. This was NOT three or four morons, and they were not quickly silenced. Anyone from S.B. know what the hell this was all about? An anti-war demonstration? I have no idea,...

When the Penn State home football games kick off this season, tailgaters in the stadium parking lot get kicked out. A new rule at Beaver Stadium says there will be no tailgate parties during a game this year, an effort to increase safety and curb underage drinking, the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News says. While pre-game and post-game festivities are not affected, Penn State says there will be beefed up police security to make sure the new rule is followed, the newspaper said. Penn State was named "the Ultimate Tailgating Venue" in a 2005 Sports Illustrated.com poll.

The Alliance Defense Fund, students of Georgia Tech and free speech won a substantial victory in court this week. On Monday, August 14 a court order went into effect that requires Georgia Tech to repeal and replace a speech code which the ADF said is unconstitutional. The order also prohibits the school from changing the code again for a period of five years unless pre-approved by the court. “The First Amendment applies to all students on campus, including religious students and students who hold conservative political beliefs. We are glad that we reached a mutually agreeable settlement with the university...

When students sign up for college courses, they are not only responding to the catalogue course description. They know that the background and expertise of the instructor plays a part in the educational experience. It may be true that, as Penn State President Graham Spanier told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “There’s no national test that Penn State Students could take that’s going to help us educate them better or make us more accountable.” Nonetheless, professors nationwide have said some very revealing things, and if you take a class schedule, broken down by departments or subjects, and insert them accordingly, you get...

UNIVERSITY PARK-An art student is claiming his work is being censored by Penn State because of its provocative images of terrorism, while school officials say the decision to cancel his exhibit is not content-related.In an e-mail sent Friday to fifth-year student Josh Stulman, Charles Garoian, director of the School of Visual Arts, said the exhibit was pulled because it was sponsored by Penn State Hillel, making it a commercial work. The Patterson Gallery is dedicated to unsponsored class work. Garoian wrote in the e-mail that the exhibit would continue if the sponsorship is removed.

A week ago, Penn State University canceled a student’s art exhibit because of who was sponsoring it. According to the Penn State Collegian, Josh Stulman’s art exhibit Portraits of Terror which was being sponsored by Penn State Hillel, a Jewish student group, was cancelled by Charles Garoian, the Director of Visual Arts. Stulman is a senior in painting and anthropology and is himself Jewish. Garoian sent Stulman an email three days before the exhibit was going to be displayed, saying his work “did not promote cultural diversity,” according to the Collegian. The email also said the decision was made after...

Penn State University’s Lion Radio is home to Radio Free Penn State, and while it may not be the Rush Limbaugh show, the student talk show with its host Andy Nagypal is both entertaining and insightful. On April 12, the show hosted students, alumni and featured a phone interview with state Representative Gibson C. Armstrong as part of Academic Freedom Week on Radio Free Penn State. Rep. Armstrong reiterated the purpose of his committee and explained what has transpired with the hearings so far. He also encouraged students experiencing political harassment to stand up. “You may get a bad grade...

For Penn State student Josh Stulman, years of hard work ended in disappointment yesterday when the university cancelled his upcoming art exhibit for violation of Penn State's policies on nondiscrimination, harassment and hate. Three days before his 10-piece exhibit -- Portraits of Terror -- was scheduled to open at the Patterson Building, Stulman (senior-painting and anthropology) received an e-mail message from the School of Visual Arts that said his exhibit on images of terrorism "did not promote cultural diversity" or "opportunities for democratic dialogue" and the display would be cancelled. The exhibit, Stulman said, which is based mainly on the...

Pennsylvania State University has cancelled an art exhibition about terrorism and the destruction of Jewish historical and religious sites claiming it "did not promote cultural diversity." The ten-piece exhibit, by student Josh Stulman, was the result of years of preparation. It was called "Portraits of Terror" and focused on images of Palestinian terrorism, hate-propaganda cartoons printed in PA newspapers and photos of Jewish holy sites destroyed by Muslims. Just three days before the exhibition was to take place, Stulman received an email from the School of Visual Arts saying that his exhibit on images of terrorism "did not promote cultural...

For Penn State student Josh Stulman, years of hard work ended in disappointment yesterday when the university cancelled his upcoming art exhibit for violation of Penn State's policies on nondiscrimination, harassment and hate. Three days before his 10-piece exhibit -- Portraits of Terror -- was scheduled to open at the Patterson Building, Stulman (senior-painting and anthropology) received an e-mail message from the School of Visual Arts that said his exhibit on images of terrorism "did not promote cultural diversity" or "opportunities for democratic dialogue" and the display would be cancelled. The exhibit, Stulman said, which is based mainly on the...

After a controversial reaction to the Penn State College Republicans' plans to hold an Illegal Immigration Awareness Day, Penn State issued a statement last night urging event planners to rethink their approach. According to the statement, Penn State President Graham Spanier said, "The nation's immigration policy is a legitimate topic for discussion and debate. ... However, the approach initially proposed by the College Republicans, while protected by the First Amendment, was unproductive and offensive to many." Illegal Immigration Awareness Day is scheduled for Wednesday. According to a College Republicans press release, the event aims to raise "awareness to the topic...