W The Daily
Collegian
Published independently by students at Penn State
CATA undecided
Agency may limit luggage allowance
By Paul Osolnick
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Students may soon be unable to bring
bully suitcases on the Blue Loop, if a
potential Centre Area Transportation
Authority (CATA) policy is approved.
The CATA policy would limit the amount
of items passengers can take on the bus
with them an effort designed to ensure
the overall safety of passengers.
Sherry Snyder, director of operations for
CATA, said the proposed policy would
require passengers to hold items on then
laps or put the items under their seats to
SPLISH SPLA
The fountain at Penn State’s Arboretum catches the sunlight Tuesday evening. The Arboretum was constructed in 2009
and was designed to showcase Central Pennsylvanian plant life along with fostering environmental outreach and research.
Initiatives
UPUA: more on-campus, alco
hol-free weekend events
IFC: exploring other universi
ties’ risk management policies
Borough: continue to work
with student groups
Groups
advise
safety
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Student leaders are making it
a priority to focus on deterring
dangerous drinking and local
officials and police said they sup
port the efforts.
During the summer months,
both the University Park
Undergraduate Association
(UPUA) and the Intrafratemity
Council (IFC) have been looking
into new policies and initiatives
on excessive drinking.
UPUA has created a commis
sion on safety that will enact
policies to prevent dangerous
drinking, sexual assault and
domestic violence, UPUA
President Christian Ragland
said.
As one of the initiatives, the
commission will work with other
student groups like the Student
Programming Association
(SPA) and the Association of
Residence Hall Students
(ARHS) to create more on-cam
pus events for students to par
take in on the weekends.
Ragland (senior-political sci
ence) said UPUA is looking to
See SAFETY, Page 2.
prevent uncontrolled objects from blocking
the walkway.
The policy was suggested by several bus
drivers to ensure the safety of everyone
aboard the buses, she said.
The possible change in policy was dis
cussed during CATA’s monthly Board of
Directors meeting Monday.
CATA General Manager Hugh Mose
said the proposed policy is being consid
ered because CATA has never had a set
policy on what people can and cannot bring
on the buses.
Mose said the transportation company
See CATA. Page 2.
University center
fights youth obesity
By Micah Wintner
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
The College of Health and Human
Development and Penn State’s Center for
Fbod Innovation are working together to
redesign the shape of a
whole wheat pretzel.
It’s not an idle experi
ment: The redesign is
part of a larger state ini
tiative aimed at reducing
obesity among
Pennsylvania youth.
There is a 29.7 percent
obesity rate among youth Bordi
in Pennsylvania, associ
ate hospitality management professor
Peter Bordi said.
Researchers are working to “revamp”
and “reformulate” foods children enjoy so
they have higher nutritional value, Bordi
said.
BenzePs Pretzel Bakery, of Altoona,
Pa., is developing a whole wheat pretzel,
which is difficult to make because of its
texture, Bordi said.
Bartenders mix community, responsibility
Series Note: This is the sec
ond in a four-part series
about party-related jobs.
By Zach Geiger
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Serving students and alumni, Usually much more relaxed than sense of family between the
rfpaling with drunken comments the school year but it still has its employees at the different ven
and navigating a crowded bar excitement, former Penn State ues, Cooper said,
during Arts Fest and football student Lakiesha Cooper said. “The environment is really
weekends. “It doesn’t get too crazy except relaxed,” Cooper said. “You really
Those are only a few of the for Arts Pest,” Cooper said. make Mends with people from
challenges State College bar- As a server at 797 Lounge, 244 other places.”
tenders face. West College Ave., Cooper said See BARTENDERS, Page 2.
To accommodate its texture, the pret
zel would have to have be shaped like a
potato chip, Bordi said.
Knouse Foods, of Peach Glen, Pa., is
creating new kinds of apple sauce without
sugar, Bordi said.
The Center for Food Innovation will
then conduct sensory testing to collect
children’s feedback to these 'revamped"
foods.
This project is not limited to Penn State
personnel Pennsylvania school dis
tricts, food service companies, food man
ufacturers and the state government are
also involved, Bordi said.
Researchers are also working to
include innovative menu labeling systems
in school cafeterias. For younger children,
there would be happy and sad faces on
the menus to symbolize which foods are
“good” and “bad,” Bordi said.
The project is funded by the
Pennsylvania Department of Health and
Center for Disease Control by an $BOO,OOO
grant, Bordi said. He said he hopes it can
be implemented by the 2011-2012 school
See OBESITY, Page 2.
Working during the summer is about partying there is also a
A CATA bus stops on its route
through State Colllege.
she has seen it all in State College
incredibly long lines to get into
bars, fist fights and people getting
kicked out of different establish
ments.
But behind the scenes, the
State College bar scene isn’t just
psucollegian.com
@dailycollegian
Spanier
denies
petition
Pro-Palestine group
claims contradiction
By Casey McDermott
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
One campus pro-Palestinian group is saying
Penn State President Graham Spanier's beliefs
not policies - are the reason he won’t sign their
petition.
Spanier told the PSU Students for Justice in
Palestine <S.JP> that he receives many petition
requests and has a policy of not signing them, but
S.JP members sav his explanation is contradictory.
They note that Spanier helped to organize and sign
a petition published as a full-page advertisement in
the August B 2007 edition of The New York Times.
In the advertisement sponsored by the
American Jewish Committee Spanier is listed
with 285 other college presidents as endorsing a
statement from Columbia University President
Lee Bollinger denouncing a decision to promote a
bovcott of Israeli educational institutions.
Spanier could not be reached for comment, but
Penn State Vice President for Administration
Thmnas Poole said Spanier couldn’t respond
bet ause o; his travel schedule.
The S.JP petition was created following the May
31 Freedom Flotilla" incident, in which nine
activists on a ship bound for Gaza and attempting
to break through an Israeli naval blockade were
killed when the ship was raided by Israeli soldiers.
At press time, 216 Penn State students and 34 fac
ulty members had signed the SJP petition.
But on June 8. SJP was looking to add one more
signature to the list, so SJP Vice President Shadi
Ghrayep e-mailed Spanier asking him to sign.
Initially; Poole e mailed Ghrayep (graduate-engi
neering > back lo say schedule conflicts would likely
delay Spanier s response, but he promised to still
pass along the note.
More than three weeks passed, and Ghrayep still
hadn't heard back ■— so he e-mailed Poole again on
July ! and learned that his petition request had
been declined.
■ The President has returned from his travel and
confirmed that he does not sign petitions,” Poole
wrote in a .July 1 e-mail to Ghrayep. “He is present
ed with requests throughout the year and has a pol
icy of not .-dgning petitions.”
When Ghrayep asked Poole about the 2007 peti
tion. Poole responded via email explaining that The
New York Times petition was “an educational ini-
"He w as asked to sign this as a president of the
university that is a member of the educational
organization and it was simply a statement about
educational policy, something that would benefit
higher education nationally and therefore Penn
State as well." Poole said. "As a university presi
dent. that's part of his job to advocate on behalf of
educational initiatives."
Ghrayep disagrees.
"It seems to us that he only signs pro-Israel peti
tions, not pro justice ones,” Ghrayep said. “And the
university is run the same way Washington is run,
which means subordinating the pursuit of justice
for the pursuit of fundraising.”
Ghrayep said the cause behind SJP’s petition
has ties to education, too. Students in the blockad
ed region are suffering academically because
See SPANIER, Page 2.
ipnse from Spanier’s office
Responding on behalf of Penn State President Graham
Spanier. Vice President for Administration Thomas Poole
wrote to Penn State Students for Justice in Palestine.
Sent: Thursday, July 01. 2010 5:28 PM
The President has returned from his travel and confirmed that
ne does not Sign petitions.' He is presented with requests
throughout the year to sign petitions and has a policy of not
signwg petitions.
Sent; Thursday, July 08, 2010 5:17 PM
The Jiffe enoe w tti the document you reference is that it is an
educational initiative with other presidents.
Students for Justice in Palestine
idi Ghrayei
Nicole Schied, a bartender at The
Deli, mixes a drink Tuesday.
Heather Schmelzlen/Collegian