What We Are

       The podcast by This American Life reflects on the #1 Party School in America from 2009, Penn State. As a student at this school who experiences the descriptions of the podcast first hand, I honestly found it hysterical. I do believe alcohol is an issue at times in State College but this same issue can be found in hundreds of schools in the world. The stories that were presented in the podcast aren’t hard to believe or confusing if you have been out for a night at this school. Is it wild and absurd? Yes. Is that going to stop the students who are convinced it is their time in life to let loose and have a good time? Not at all.

      The podcast exposes Penn State and explains the average on campus occurrences of a weekend night. Although sometimes the reality of it is somewhat harsh, as I always say “that’s college for ya.” From a personal view, I enjoyed the podcast; I did however feel the podcast seemed like somewhat of an attack on my school and Greek life, a part of the school that I participate in. Since the passing of Penn State student Joe Dado Penn State Greek life has been asked to make changes in the way that they drink. Does Greek life argue? No, everyone has changed their ways and tried to put safer drinking habits into action. Although frat parties tend to be wild and filled with drunken students, they take extra precautions that many do not notice. So, the small 12% of students who participate in Greek life and have arrangements made for their individual sororities and fraternities for safety purposes, there is another 88% of the students on campus who do not have arrangements made and are not following new guidelines on campus to prevent the high risk of fatal situations while drinking,

     Greek life is looked at as a social scene to many who are not involved. We are often mocked for things such as frackets and party traditions or rules we have, but Greek life is more than a party. The one thing Penn State should be recognized for and is recognized for across the country is Thon. Thon is an amazing student run philanthropy started by the Greeks who are additionally the largest student contributors to the yearly funds raised. Thon is changing the lives of hundreds of families. That one weekend of the year, whether your Greek or not, all the shot glasses, beer cans, and red solo cups are put away and everyone gets together to make a difference in the world.

    So, although The American Life does prove a point about Penn State and alcohol being an issue, it is an issue on many other campuses. If the people who run the school on a day to day basis want to change that, they will need to do a lot more than solely change Greek life, and in the mean time, they should focus on the amazing things this school does. We are a party school, we are putting an end to pediatric cancer, we are the most spirited school in the country, and we are Penn State.