Students have a voice on campus in the form of the Student Government Association (SGA). The organization elects student officials dedicated to giving a voice to student issues and working out a way to solve them and make life on campus a more student-directed one.

In this issue a new endeavor begins at The PSU Collegian. Each week, recent highlights from the open SGA meetings will be published to keep students abreast of what is going on.

Blue & White Society
The Blue and White Society, the student arm of the alumni organization on campus is in need of a new president. If you bleed blue and white, the Blue & White Society welcomes you with open arms. Activities in this club are tons of fun and range from fundraising to watching football games.

Thon
Captain applications will be released soon. Anyone interested in helping in this way should apply. Captains are leaders in THON that really make a difference every year. Stop by the THON office or email Mike Warner,  mjw5400@psu.edu, this year’s chair for more information.

New Clubs
This year several new clubs have begun. The PSU Collegian, Creative Writing, The Literary Magazine and the Comedy Club are all in the works this term and are in need of members to make their goals possible. These clubs will have a presence at the club fair, so come rain or shine and get involved.

Senator Applications 
Are you interested in becoming a part of SGA? If so, senator applications can be picked up at the club fair or by contacting student affairs. Some requirements include having a 2.3 GPA and collecting 75 signatures. Applications are due Sept. 17.

FunFest 
Penn State Hazleton will have a presence at this year’s FunFest. Show up after nine on Sept. 9 at the Hazleton booth between Wyoming and Laurel streets and buy some creamery ice cream!

Calling all orientation leaders 
If you served as an orientation leader this fall, please come to the final meeting on the 10th at noon. This wrap up meeting will allow next year’s orientation to be even better!

Town Hall Meeting 
A great way to keep up on current issues within the university system is town hall meetings. These live streaming events are important, as we have a chance to ask questions directly to administration at University Park. The next town hall meeting will be aired on Sept. 19 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Stop by for a few moments and learn about our university as a whole.

With what seemed like the entire world watching and cheering against the Penn State football team, Saturday afternoon’s 24-14 loss to the Ohio Bobcats stung that much more for the Nittany Lions.

Some 97,186 fans and observers were present at Beaver Stadium and for many; there was an sad and eerie absence of Joe Paterno strolling the sidelines. Last year he was there. This year, he was not.

Between the white lines, it was a tale of two halves for Penn State. Featuring a new, fast paced, no-huddle offense installed by rookie head coach Bill O’Brien, senior quarterback Matt McGloin and the Nittany Lions offense showed moments of promise and stability. However, fans learned McGloin was no Tom Brady. Some are already saying the offense will continue to lack explosiveness and big play ability until Class of 2017 freshman quarterback Christian Hackenburg takes over the helm next season.

The Nittany Lions went into the half up 14-3 on the back of two McGloin touchdown passes, and a defense that seemed to have the Bobcats’ spread attack all figured out.

Despite his two touchdown passes, McGloin had a glaring mistake on the first drive of the game where he missed sophomore wide receiver Allen Robinson all alone in the corner on a crucial 3rd down and 5. McGloin did found the tight end for a first down on that play but sophomore tailback Bill Belton fumbled on the very next play, stalling the drive and turning the ball over to the Ohio offense on their own 21 yard line.

With no quick strike ability, the offense failed to sustain any long drives in the second half and fell stagnant behind a weak running game that took a huge hit with Bill Belton being carted off the field in the 4th quarter.

Statistically McGloin had a solid game finishing 27 of 48 for 260 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception mixed in. But, he could not come through in the clutch spots down the stretch to keep the offense on the field.

The whole game changed on a tip ball, touchdown pass from Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton to Landon Smith for a 43-yard touchdown pass. It changed the momentum of the game, and very clearly instilled confidence in the underdog Bobcats squad.

In the 4th quarter, after an over thrown wide open receiver down the seam by McGloin, Penn State pinned Tettleton and the Bobcats O down at their own 7. Down 17-14, with 9:37 left in the game it was gut check time for the Nittany Lion defense. With one 3rd down conversion after another, relying heavily on junior running back Beau Blankenship on the ground and through the air, the Bobcats drove 93 yards right down the heart of Penn State’s defense, seemingly breaking their will, capping it off with a perfectly lofted 5-yard touchdown pass to wide out Donte Foster in the corner of the end zone, bringing a hush upon the student section and Beaver Stadium.

With all the criticism, hatred, and grief being sent from the media and other outlets from the events that have occurred over the past six months or so, it seemed this drive was a chance for the Nittany Lion defense to not only stand up and halt the Bobcats, but also, for just maybe one afternoon stand up to all the haters and critics.

Unfortunately, it just seemed like yet another body blow to the entire Penn State University.

Penn State administration has been making some interesting choices as of late. On August 27, 2012, public officials of Penn State University announced that the song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond will be banned from being played during football games. This is only one of the many poor decisions made recently by Penn State.

It all began, as everyone knows, after the unraveling of the Penn State scandal. First, we fired Joe Paterno, then we took down his statue, and now, we’re apparently after Neil Diamond too. Just more of Penn State’s futile attempts to fix the problem without addressing the causes.

Let’s get to the facts. Something extremely tragic occurred at Penn State, and worse, the people in charge allowed that to happen by doing nothing. Yet, who is being punished? Not those individuals who blatantly ignored the reports they heard, but instead, us! When I say us, I’m not only speaking of current students, but rather anyone associated with Penn State – faculty and alumni alike.

In fact, starting this semester alumni are no longer allowed to use Penn State Hazleton’s facilities. How much more must we (who had nothing to do with it) suffer? Stop attacking the innocent and finally get justice for the victims by punishing those deserving of it.

Penn State Hazleton will soon be introducing a creative writing club on campus, catering to student writers or those who wish to improve their writing skills. The club will cover a vast array of writing genres; everything from poetry to short-story writing. However, the club will not just be a cut and dry outline; but a chance to generate new ideas and concepts.

Among these, the members of the club will be introduced to a cutting- edge program, called The Moth. This is a program designed for story-tellers and gives the writer an opportunity to submit their story online. If chosen, they will perform in front of a live audience at a Moth event. They must tell a story they have written for The Moth without the pages in front of them.

Of course, there will be other writers performing their own stories in front of the audience, so the goal is to be the audience’s favorite story and story-teller of the night. While the students in the club do not have to participate, it is strongly encouraged. For those that would like to but are held back by stage fright, the club will offer helpful tips and work with the student in a friendly, supportive environment. We want you to discover. We want you to create. We want you to share. Keep a look-out for club flyers in the Butler building, and don’t miss our blurb on the blue screen!

Come one come all to this literary affair  where all those with a knack for the arts, written or visual, are  welcome to partake and share their masterpieces with the Penn State  Hazleton community. This is an opportunity granted by enthusiastic  freshman David Chang, an engineering major with a soft spot for the  arts, whose plan to put together a literary arts magazine allows for  some of the best works this campus has to offer to be compiled into an  omnibus of sorts to give many that rush that comes from seeing your name  in print and others something unique to read at their leisure once  classes are over and done with.

“The literary arts magazine is a  student-made publication displaying the campus’s best collection of  poetry, prose, drawings, sketches, paintings, other related artwork, and  photography. You do not have to be a writer or an artist in any shape  or form. You don’t have to have strong opinions, or know a lot of  people, or be athletic, or be a great orator. All I hope is that you  possess, no matter how small the quantity, an iota of passion for the  arts, a sliver of desire to help artists display their works, a fragment  of will to make this world a little more beautiful,” said Chang in an  email sent out to those interested in joining the club.

When it comes to getting your work into the  magazine, Chang isn’t looking for the next Shakespeare or a Picasso in  the making. You don’t have to be a master at your craft nor does it have  to be a piece that resides in American History for centuries to come.  As long as you are proud of your potential submission and, most  importantly, are willing to share it with the world then it’s good  enough for Chang.

“This Literary Arts Magazine relies entirely  on our fellow students’ submissions. We cannot make a magazine with  nothing in it, after all,” said Chang. “There are no limitations on  submissions. If we like it enough, we will probably include it.”

With plans to produce a 60 page magazine, your work making the final cut is a possibility. However, in a world  where money is an issue and fundraising can only do so much, there are  limitations. In an effort to promote diversity both in terms who  represents the campus and what pieces they use to present themselves, a  single person can have up to four works published with a maximum of  three written or three visual pieces.

“This encourages branching out into  different media for the artists and authors, giving them an appreciation  for “the other side,” so to speak,” said Chang.


These limitations also affect how many  magazines can be published a year, limiting the number to just one in  the spring. However, this isn’t only a matter of money. Chang is  committed to delivering the best quality he can and that takes time.

“Getting the magazine formatted often takes a  month or two by itself! Printing can take 3-4 weeks as well. Plus we  need to gather and critique all the submissions as well. Releasing two  publications would be pushing it, and releasing any more is impossible!”

The knowledge of the time it takes to put  together a magazine of this size and quality and the foresight to impose  a limit on how much can be published comes from experience which Chang  has because this isn’t his first time tackling a project like this.

“I discovered the wonders of the Literary  Magazine during my junior year in high school. After joining the club  and submitting a poem, I was hooked. During senior year in high school, I  was promoted to the editorial board, which finalized our magazine. The  moment the magazine released was one of the proudest moments in my life.  I knew I wanted to keep on making a similar publication, and starting  this club seemed the best way to do it!”

Though before he can worry about putting the  magazine together he has to worry about getting the club together and  one of the first orders of business was recruiting Dr. Maggie Froehlich  to be the adviser of the club.

“I was thrilled to be asked to serve as  faculty adviser for the literary magazine. It’s an honor to be invited  by students to work with their organization in such a capacity,” said  Dr. Froehlich. “As someone who teaches in the Professional Writing minor  at Penn State Hazleton, I’m delighted to see such a culture of writing  develop on our campus.”

Since first arriving at the Hazleton campus  in 2008, Dr. Froehlich hasn’t ever seen anything quite like this, but it  doesn’t mean she won’t have anything to offer in terms of experience  and wisdom.

“As an undergraduate, I was Arts &  Entertainment Editor of The Anchor, Rhode Island College’s weekly  newspaper, and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Mississippi  I served as faculty advisor to a new club, Lucien’s Library, a comics  club, the founders of which have gone on to publish their own comics,  zines, and websites.”

Despite having all of this experience, Dr. Froehlich has no intentions of doing all of the work as she believes  it’s up to the students to make this magazine work and be successful.  She is, however, more than willing to assist in making the first issue  be the best it can be so that the proper precedent can be set for the  magazines that follow.

“As an adviser to the literary magazine, I  bring a familiarity with the campus and with University policies and can  provide some continuity to the organization, as student leaders move on  to other campuses or graduate from the University — and, perhaps most  importantly, a deep commitment to the organization’s success,” said Dr. Froehlich.

In order to be successful this club would  like members with at least a 2.0 GPA to help sift through the piles of  submissions with unbiased minds, put it together and then distribute it  hoping that students will bite at the tempting price of free. Send an  email to dac5544@psu.edu with “PSU Literary Arts Magazine” in the  subject line, and Chang will get back to you.

Or if you’re handy with a camera, good with  the written word or are proud of your visual works, then the magazine is  happy to accept what you have to offer. Dr. Froehlich doesn’t believe  the magazine will die as an idea, and she offers advice that Chang would  be wise to follow.

“Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate!   Work with other student organizations to sponsor events and publicize  yourselves; support other clubs and publications and they will support  you!,” said Dr. Froehlich. “Talk to professors early and often so that  they are aware of your publication and can encourage their students to  submit relevant writing. Encourage everyone — faculty, staff, students,  alumni — to submit. I think the timing is right — and I believe the  literary magazine will be a huge success.”