Sophomore from Central Jersey

Major:
Early Childhood Education

 “I decided to major in early childhood education when I was a junior in High School because I took classes where I was able to work with kids and help them learn.”

She wants to teach pre- k to fourth grade.

Why PSU?
“I heard it was a good recruiting school and when I came here to visit I really liked the fact that it was small yet still somewhat modern.”

Do you plan on going to U Park?
“Yeah, and to any person that is wondering if PSU Hazleton will prepare them for U Park, I’ll let you know in a semester or two.”

Hobbies?
Video games, blogging, writing, reading and I have a guitar I’m trying to learn how to play.

Do you like to party?
“I used to party but the work load is bigger now and it’s too cold!”

Student Activity Fee
SAF fees were allotted, President McGee notes, for several trips and activities on campus. Some upcoming events paid for with this fee include  a zumba class, hotels for THON dancers and their supporters, a bus to Washington D.C.,  and props for the student production. All of the events will be reported in this column at future dates. 

Christian Hazy Fellowship
CHF is functioning without a president at this point. Due to his appointment as SGA Vice President, Casey Petty resigned from that office. Anyone interested in becoming President of CHF should contact him at cvp5142@psu.edu. Current areas of service include working with a local shelter for women experiencing homelessness and promoting awareness of homelessness and poverty. 

SYE 
This week Second Year Experience is hosting Val Lynn, campus head librarian, to discuss the intracies of library services and research as an upper level student at Penn State. Bring your questions and a friend or two. SYE is scheduled to begin shortly after noon on Wednesday in G-115. As it is a casual gathering feel free to bring lunch or to stop by as your schedule allows. 

Put away the gallon of ice cream and pause the DVD of the Titanic, there’s hope for you this Valentine’s Day yet. Tonight a Date Auction is being held in the cafeteria at 7 primarily to raise money for THON, but also to ensure that season of love doesn’t become a season of depression. Justin Abraham, president of the Lion Ambassadors, is one of the brains behind the auction and has faith it will go over well.

“What we have is a bunch of clubs and organizations coming together and they’re going to auction themselves off to go on dates, and the goal of this is to raise money for THON,” Abraham said. “Talking with a bunch of people I’ve come to realize that word of mouth is the best way to get the notice out there. From what people have been saying, they’re showing up and they’re bringing all their friends so hopefully it is a successful event.”

The Date Auction is indeed shaping up to be something memorable if not successful as this campus hasn’t seen anything quite like this recently. At least 20 students, of either gender, will be available to be bid on during this event, which is certainly a lot more than Abraham was expecting, but it’s definitely been a pleasant surprise.

“The goal of it was getting at least two people from each organization to show their support for THON. Then once word hit, everyone wanted to sign up for it and be a part of it.”

More people to be bid in theory could mean more money, but the amount of profits raised for THON is hinges on the turnout and Abraham is feeling the pressure to make sure the auction goes off without a hitch.

The idea for the Date Auction itself came to fruition after the Lion Ambassadors attended a conference in Virginia Tech last November where they learned that these kinds of auctions were one of the biggest fundraisers for the school.

Now while the Hazleton Cam- pus is dwarfed by Virginia Tech, there is the common feeling that the community will come together, participate and come through for a good cause. Tonight will very much set the precedent, and if the auction comes up short then an alternative will have to be sought next year.

“If it’s not a huge thing then next year they need to create another event to raise money so I’m really hoping this goes extremely well and people have fun with it too,” said Abraham. “The one word I associate with Penn State is Family, and because we are a family we should all come together for one collective goal and I feel like that’s what we’re going to achieve here.”

The way things work is simple, every person is started off at $5 and if no one bids then the price is lowered until someone finally pulls the trigger. If you do bid, and manage to win the person that caught your eye then they’re all yours to take for a night of romance or shenanigans as soon as the person auctioned off signs a few things.

“The individual who gets auctioned off has to sign a waiver saying they’re okay with getting auctioned off. No liabilities, no being sued, no getting out of it,” Abraham said.

Though it’s not all that serious as it may seem, in the end it’s about having fun, donating to a good cause but most importantly making sure that you’re not alone. So scrape some cash together, head over to the cafeteria at 7 and prepare yourself for a night of intense bidding.