vi I Made with 25% less Associated Press! April 1 , 20 I 0 Volume 49. No. 10 i r Student written! Faculty Approved! Logic, Philosophy, ACTING? Prof. Haas makes a dramatic announcement Page 5 Does Paying Attention Improve Grades? The startling answers from the latest research! Page 4 Where Does the Money Go? Help a student reclaim her buck. Page 5 An Invitation to Drama Get the story as The Capital Players present Wild Party. Page 9. Magic Eye Can your eyes decrypt the image? Center Fold (oh la la) Check out this week's photo club contest on page 15 Ignore class with help on page 19 INDEX: NEws 4-6 OPINION 8 CAMPUS LIFE 9-11 ENTERTAINMENT 12 SPORTS 16-17 POLICE, CALENDAR 18 COMICS/ GAMES 19 CAPITAL TIMES Partial meltdown a complete hoax BY MARTY SANTALUCIA FORMER COPY EDITOR mysso7s@rsu.i In a press conference held on March 12 by Exelon Corporation CEO John Rowe it was disclosed that during an extensive 2008 inspection of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station no evidence was found of the partial meltdown which was widely believed to have occurred in 1979. An internal investigation following the report revealed that the entire incident was actually an April fool's joke gone horribly awry. Student body becomes delicious snack BY PHIL NARSH STAFF WRnER vsNsool@psu.ElNl "It was only a matter of time," said senior biology major Seth Hallows, "I've been ready for this day for many years now, and I'm not going to end up as one of them." Hallows then began to break apart desks in a classroom and use the pieces to create a barricade over the door. In the late afternoon of March 31st, Penn State Harrisburg experienced its first documented zombie outbreak. Following a series of illnesses that were originally believed to be a stomach virus, 23 students suffered from violent convulsions, collapsed, and then reanimated as walking dead. 16 of these incidents happened during classes, 5 happened in computer labs and 2 Once news of the three decade long hoax broke, several people had gathered at the corner of High Street and Main Street in Middletown, Pennsylvania where the plant is located. There were reports of moderate to semi-loud grumblings coming from the crowd with improvised rally signs apparently made from notebook paper and Sharpies. The Capital Times is still investigating whether this impromptu show of outrage was in response to the hoax or the closure of the popular bar Guido McNeal's by public health in the dorms. Living students ran screaming as the undead students lumbered, throwing the campus into utter chaos Thought at first to be a massive hoax, the school's drama club, the Capital Players, was originally blamed. Not long ago a class of theater students organized to freeze in place at one specific time while scattered around campus, holding their positions like statues for about a minute. This led many to believe the outbreak was another one of the theater students' "flash mob" social experiments, but everyone soon realized it was much more than that. A representative for the Capital Players said that they were not even aware of a zombie attack, as they were too busy rehearsing for the fall music, Wild inspectors after a patron found a dead rat floating in his discounted pitcher of Natural Light. Elsewhere on the street, local reaction to the announcement has been consistent. "I blame Barracks Osama." Explained Sue Shepard, a resident of Middletown since 1962. "I knew as soon as his gay, Muslim, terrorist friends stole that election for him stuff like this would start happening. Sarah Palin would have never let this happen." Joseph Thompson, a resident of Middletown since 1977 and local police officer, expressed similar frustrations over the hoax but says the new information clears up some of the questions he had regarding the handling of the incident when it occurred. "They never actually evacuated us," said Thompson. "They just told us to try and breathe less when we smelled something like burning bacon." Students of the local Penn State Harrisburg generally were surprised by the announcement but had very little else to offer. When asked for comment, Walter Grimes, a student at Penn State Harrisburg, mostly begged Officer Thompson to stop alternately Party, opening April 8. Sophomore philosophy student, Jess Harper, paused for a moment to catch her breath before commenting, "This zombie problem has really affected my tasing and macing him during the interview. Officer Thompson refused. Until this week it was believed that on March 28, 1979 mechanical failures coupled with poorly trained staff resulted in a partial meltdown of one of TMl's two reactors. Local and national leaders, including President Jimmy Carter, flocked to the otherwise painfully boring Middletown, Pennsylvania to calm residence and reassure their confidence in the trained professionals who nearly wiped the area off the face of the Earth. Though officials claimed the incident was relatively minor and controlled quickly, the true details of the events were depicted with special consideration for historical accuracy in "The China Syndrome", a Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas movie which premiered nearly two weeks before the incident. In 2008 Exelon Please see TMI on page 4 school work, it's impossible to study and I AAAAH! NO! OH GOD! AAAAAAHHHH!" Please see ZOMBIES on page began