Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien has been named Big 10 Coach of the Year after leading his Nittany Lions to an 8-4 record this season. He won it despite all the obstacles, NCAA Sanctions, 12 of his best players fleeing town before the first practice and the entire world outside of Penn State routing against him.

If you ask O'Brien who he thinks deserved the award he would say Urban Meyer who led the Buckeyes to an undefeated season but O'Brien was without a doubt the most deserving. It takes a special human being, with very broad shoulders, to replace a legend and take on what he did.

"I am proud to say he is our coach, and I do not think as a Penn State student I could ask for a better replacement of Joe Pa," said Steve Santiago, a sophomore at PSU. "He has a done a great job in not only unifying the players, but the entire school and Penn State community."

O'Brien had a massage he was trying to sell to his players, and the ones who stayed, bought in. He made a very bold decision to put the players’ names on the back of their jerseys to honor and give recognition to those who stuck with the program. This was a highly criticized move by O'Brien, but one that proved his character.

This was the first major change from Paterno to O'Brien, as this is something that would never happen under the direction of Joe Pa. He was all about playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back. However, so is O'Brien, but he thought his players deserved it, and they appreciated the move. It was also a smart move on his part, as it may help the recruiting process because many high school players would not go to a school where they would not get individual recognition.

"I liked it, the players deserve to be recognized for staying. It would have been easy for all the players to transfer to other teams that can complete for a National Championship," said sophomore Jake Bostick.

O’Brien took a walk-on quarterback in Matt McGloin and made him a star. He set the school record for touchdowns in a season with 45. He transformed the walk-on' from a game manager to field general.

"I feel like O’Brien and McGloin knew the pressure was on them. They trusted each other and pushed the other to be better and it was pretty successful," said Bostick.

Many thought this season would be a wash, but the Nittany Lions proved otherwise, something Santiago didn’t see coming.

"They definitely proved everyone wrong, including myself. I did not think we would win eight games, and could produce such ex­ citing football on the field. They had a lot of obstacles to overcome and they did that," said Santiago.

Entering the last game against Wisconsin, Penn State was minus their standout linebacker and team leader Michael Mauti. To honor him, O'Brien had the entire team wear number 42 stickers on their helmets and allowed fellow linebacker Gerald Hodges to wear Mauti's number 42 jersey. Yet another thing that would have never been allowed under Joe Pa and some­ thing that again proves O'Brien's character and was something that Bostick liked.

"I liked the idea of the 42 stick­ ers on the helmet of every player. It was a good tribute to a great football player," said Bostick.

O'Brien has overcome the obstacles, hatred and pressure of replacing a legend and stepping into a ring of fire. It was a circus at Penn State coming into the season but O'Brien made everyone forget about the demise of Joe Pa and the Sandusky trials by winning football games.

He gave the world a big, "Take that!"

Age: 
21, Sophomore

Major: 
French Studies

Hobbies: 
I love to read self-help books and romantic novels. I also love to dance and sing.  If you see me around campus you can sometimes catch me dancing to the Gangnam Style dance.

Favorite Class: 
I love ballroom dancing; it teaches you the more structured part of dance.

What do you do between classes?
I like to go to the Higher Grounds Café and get a nice warm muffin to keep my energy up for upcoming classes and cramming.

Excited about next year?
Yeah, I get to go to University Park which has been the reason why I work so hard now.

The state of mental health on college campuses is a growing cri­ sis.  In the 2010 National Survey of Counseling Center Directors, respondents reported that 44 percent of their clients had severe psychological problems, a sharp increase from 16 percent in 2000.

The most common of these disorders are depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, eating disorders, and self-injury. In a 2010 survey of students by the American College Health Association,

45.6 percent of students surveyed reported feeling that things were hopeless and 30.7 percent reported feeling so depressed that it was difficult to function during the past 12 months.

Although depression and anxiety disorders are the most common campus mental threats, many people seem to forget about substance abuse such as drugs and alcohol, eating disorders, and self-injury. According to the afore­ mentioned 2010 National Survey of Counseling Center Directors, 24.3 percent of college counseling center directors has noticed an increased number of clients with eating disorders and 45.7 percent have reported an increased number of clients struggling with alcohol abuse.

Students are faced with being in one of the most stressful positions a person can be –in college. They have to make sure they prioritize, study until all hours of the night for their desired grade, and be able to understand concepts that are completely new to them.

Money is also an issue.

In 2010 71% of college students used financial loans to pay for their undergraduate degree. Some students are lucky to have their parents pay for their studies but still students feel guilty for leaving such a burden on their parent's shoulders.

Students rely on alcohol/drugs to make their problems disappear, although after sobering up they realize their problems have only been lifted for several hours and they either have to face the problem or drink it away.  Most students feel there isn't any choice but to drink their problems to the point where they seem like small bumps on the road.

Eating disorders are also extremely dangerous on college campuses. Not only are college students forced to face a physical transition from living at home to experiencing the dorm-room culture, they are also expected to balance their personal and social needs with academic responsibilities, all without help from their guardian. The combination of responsibilities often leaves students with feelings of anxiety.

While some students might have an easier time adjusting to the transition, others may begin to feel overwhelmed, often relying on individual coping tactics, such as controlling food consumption, to account for the change.

About 17% of college students (20% of women and 14% of men) report that they have cut, burned, carved or harmed themselves in other ways, reports a new survey by Cornell and Princeton University researchers, the largest study on self-injurious behavior (SIB) in the United States to date. Janis Whitlock, director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behaviors in the Family Life

Development Center says, "Self-injurious behavior is defined as inflicting harm to one's body without the obvious intent of committing suicide." Students who do mutilate themselves say they do it because they wanted to punish themselves for a mistake they have made and simply because they felt worthless.

If you or someone you know may be dealing with one of these problems or just need someone to talk to about hard times please got to Debra Jemo-Kobialka, Ed.M., Counselor in 105C of the Butler Building or call (570)-450-3027or even email her at [email protected]. You don't have feel alone in a time of need.

"What you thought before has led to every choice you have made, and this adds up to you at this moment. If you want to change who you are physically, mentally, and spiritually, you will have to change what you think," said Dr. Patrick Gentempo.

What happens when your car is hit in the parking lot?

Matt Dilger, a sophomore on campus, knows this answer all too well. This semester, his truck was hit while attending class. Worse, when he called Police Services, they told him, "It was a non-reportable accident."

"The officer wouldn't come up to the lot to take down any information. I had to go out of my way to find the car that hit me," Dilger said.

Not only that, but the damage caused to his vehicle was excessive.

"Someone hit my truck causing $2,500 worth of damage."

Lucky for Dilger, he happened to find the vehicle that hit him and made the owner pay.

But what if someone else's car gets hit? Would they be as lucky?

Chase Petty, a freshman from Idaho, wasn't as fortunate.

Chase saw who hit him and he reported it to Police Services. He filed a claim with his auto insurance. Yet, he's been left to pay for the damage himself.

According to Chase, the individual who hit his car denies ever hitting him. Police Services did nothing saying once again it is "a non-reportable accident."

Chase has no options now but to sue. Lawyers are expensive, not to mention, the hassle of going to court is downright unbearable.

Couldn't this have all been avoided?

Isn't there a way to make the Penn State Hazleton parking lots safer for students, staff and faculty?

Dilger believes the campus can do more.

"We need to make the parking spaces bigger, and install cameras in parking lots. Also, Police Services could be more helpful when incidents happen," Dilger said.

At Penn State Hazleton, the sad truth is this -no vehicle is safe. With finals just around the corner, the minds should be focusing on the books, not the safety of the vehicles outside.

So what can a student or anyone else do?

Students should talk to their SGA representatives about this issue.

Let them know you want your vehicle to be safe and accident-free this holiday season and thereafter at PSU-HN.