. Farm Showprovides I - IdWiMJfflE] STATE PATTY’S DAY Event set for Feb. 27 By Colleen Boyle COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Once again, Penn State will be turning green this year on Peb. 27. With the date for the fourth annual State Patty’s Day set, some community leaders are concerned about the impact the pseudo-holiday could have on students and the community. “It’s a costly, dangerous, total ly-without-merit indulgence,” Penn State spokeswoman Anne marie Mountz said. She’s surprised the event is continuing idler last year’s cele bration when “negative fallout” exceeded the year’s biggest foot ball weekend. Penn State students created State Patty’s Day in 2007 in response to St. Patrick’s Day occurring during spring break. Since then, many Penn Staters and locals have begun market ing the holiday, with bars open ing earlier and stores stocking green and shamrock-covered clothing. But some say that despite eco nomic benefit, other areas of the community are being negatively affected. Mountz said the event is costly in manpower, stressing the police department and hospi tal staff. State College Police Department Capt. Dana Leonard said the police depart ment is used to handling high risk nights like Halloween, but State Patty’s Day takes the risks to a whole new level because of the time frame in which students drink. “It’s doubly disturbing to see them walking around the streets at noon,” Leonard said. Injuries and arrests signify that students often exceed their limits, he said. He recalled one instance in which a student uri nated on the terrace of the police station in broad daylight. “It’s very disappointing that this much effort would be put for ward to establish one more day on the calendar to promote drinking,” Leonard said. The Student Programming Association, which coordinates some on-campus entertainment, See EVENT, Paae 2. State Patty’s Pay State Patty’s Day began in 2007 because St. Patrick's Day fell during spring break. It is now a yearly tradition. 2007 * m FEB MAR APR 2008 -*m FEB MAR APR 2009 —» FEB MAR APR 2010 FEB MAR APR • St. Patrick's Day State Patty's Day IS Spring Break Source: Collegian archives Junlin Chen/Collegian Date Auction heats things up, raises S3K By Sarah Peters COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Participants in Phi Delta Phi’s second annual Date Auction sat on black leather couches under the bright lights of the stage of the 797 Lounge, nervously waiting for the auction to start. Once the auction began, howev er, they loosened up, showing off their best poses, blowing kisses to the audience and taking bows in an attempt to increase the bid- SHAKING A NATION Jorge CruzMssociated Press In the aftermath of the worst earthquake the country’s seen in 200 years, Haitian natives lost homes, hospitals, schools and loved ones. Many are struggling to survive without food and water from the magnitude-7 quake that struck the country Tuesday. Haiti By Johnathan M. Katz ASSOCIATED PRESS PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Dazed survivors wandered past dead bodies in rubble-strewn streets Wednesday, crying for loved ones, and rescuers desper ately searched collapsed build ings as fear rose that the death toll from Haiti’s devastating earthquake could reach into the tens of thousands. The first cargo planes with food, water, medical supplies, shelter and sniffer dogs headed to the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation a day after the magnitude-7 quake flattened much of the capital of 2 million people. Tuesday’s earthquake brought down buildings great and small Senator asked to lower tuition By Casey McDermott COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER They had everything they needed to make their case for student aid reform. What was missing was a pair of ears to hear them out. Following Tuesday night’s “Tuition on the Rocks: Happy Hour for Student Aid Reform” event at Zola New World Bistro, 324 W. College Ave, a modest fleet of Penn Staters and Campus Progress activists approached the Bellefonte office of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. Despite the icy weather and early morning commute, the group intended to deliver a peti tion signed by 59 of their peers in ding, eventually raising $3,076. The fraternity’s fundraiser was a pledge class project designed to raise money for Relay for Life Jacfyn Reilly, a new member of Phi Delta Phi, said. The fraternity said they hoped this year’s auction would match the $3,000 that the first auction which benefited the Interfraterni ty Council/Panhellenic Council Dance Marathon (THON) brought in. See DATE AUCTION, Page 2. looks to world for help from shacks in shantytowns to President Rene Preval’s gleam ing white National Palace, where a dome tilted ominously above the manicured grounds. Hospitals, schools and the main prison collapsed. The capi tal’s Roman Catholic archbishop was killed when his office and the main cathedral fell. The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission was missing in the ruins of the organization’s multistory head quarters. Police officers turned their pickup trucks into ambulances to carry the injured. Wisnel Occilus, a 24-year-old student, was wedged between two other sur vivors in a truck bed headed to a police station. He was in an English class when the earth See HELP, Page 2. favor of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which would invest billions of dollars into Pell Grants and reduce sub sidies to banks that offer student loans. The group also hoped to set up a future meeting with the senator to discuss the issue. Interfratemity Council (IFC) President Max Wendkos, IFC Vice President for Membership Mark Mixon and Matt Shimizu, Class of 2009, were accompanied by Campus Progress representa tives Pedro de la Torre and Vincent Villano on Wednesday morning when the group hoped to speak directly with officials from the senator’s staff. Campus Progress aims to help See CASEY, Page 2. .wroey Moms/Cotlegk Wesley Goldbum (sophomore-kinesiology) strikes a pose at the Date Auction held for Relay for Life at 797 Lounge on Wednesday night. Students fear the worst for loved ones in Haiti By Megan Rogers and Evan Trowbridge COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER As news of Tuesday’s cata strophic earthquake in Haiti start ed rolling in, tremors of the tragedy’s destruction could be felt as far away as University Park. While some students are plan ning fundraisers for victims of the disaster, others are still waiting for news on the safety of their rela tives and friends. Bianca Jeanty (sophomore biobehavioral health) is of Haitian Chloe Elmer/Collegian Students leave a petition with Sen. Bob Casey on Wednesday. Text to help Text: “HAITI" to 90999 and $lO will be donated to Red Cross International Relief Text: “YELE" to 501501 and $5 will be donated to Yele, Wyclef Jean’s organization that supports Haiti Source: American Red Cross Association and heritage and still hasn’t heard from relatives who were visiting Haiti. See HAITI, Page 2. Wagner brings HOPE toPSU By Brendan McNally COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Auditor General Jack Wagner, a Democratic candidate for gov ernor, proposed establishing a new scholarship program for stu- | — dents in Pennsylvania during his visit to Penn State on Wednesday. The proposed program “Helping Our Pupils to Excel (HOPE) would provide millions of dollars in new tuition grants for Pennsylvania students. Rinding would be provided by revenue created by the recent gaming expansion bill, and the program would cost about $4OO million a year, Wagner said. “The cost of higher education in Pennsylvania is too high,” he said Wednesday afternoon in the HUB-Robeson Center. “If you are a Pennsylvania resident going to a Pennsylvania school and you maintain a certain GPA, you would qualify for a HOPE scholarship.” Wagner discussed the idea in a meeting with about 15 Penn See WAGNER, Page 2.
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