4 I Monday, Sept. 27, 2010 System limits interaction By Julia Anselmo COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Though some Penn State stu dent football fans say jihe current assigned seating system limits interaction with friends, athletic officials said there’s no plan to change the system. The current system assigns stu dents to specific seats and sec tions, forbidding them from freely moving about and changing seats upon entering the stadium. Some students said they find it annoying that if they enter the sta dium without their friends, they are separated from them for the duration of the game. Evan Miller (sophomore-kinesi ology) said he doesn’t like that once students enter, they cannot switch sections. “It's dumb because you can’t move around and see your friends,” Miller said. “It should just be that you get a ticket and Alumni help solve Mexico’s water crisis Rainwater harvesting systems were installed to accomodate water shortages, By Eddie Lau COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Penn State alumni Jennifer White and David Vargas have worked diligently for the past year to provide water to a poor neighborhood in Mexico. Now they are counting on Penn State students to take their effort to the next level. Composed of five people with different ethnic and edu cational backgrounds, Isla Urbana a non-profit organi zation that designs and installs rainwater harvesting sys tems in Mexico City was initiated by Enrique Lomnitz, a student of the Rhode Island School of Design. Vargas, Class of 2006 and 2009, said 36 percent of hous es in Mexico City do not have adequate access to water. The number is predicted to rise drastically in the coming years. Most homes in Mexico City use a cistern to store water, he said, but due to water shortages, the city’s govern ment often turns off the water supply in certain areas. Often, water is provided only for a few hours in an entire week, Vargas said. “People stop showering, they stop showering their kids. It causes a sanitation problem," Vargas said. White said the team has been selected as one of 12 finalists to compete in the 2010 World Challenge, which is hosted by BBC World News, Newsweek magazine and Shell Oil Company. Now in its sixth year, World Challenge is a global com petition to find innovative projects or small business ven tures that show promise and elevate their potential. The team who earns the most votes will receive a grant of $20,000 to fund its project, White said. People who wish to vote can do so starting today until Nov. 12 at the com petition’s website, theworldchallenge.co.uk. “It has been a very difficult job as before, because you are trying to compare different type of enterprises, differ ent projects with different stages of development,” said Richard O'Brien, chairman of the World Challenge’s judg ing panel. “I am so happy that we have got a really powerful set of candidates for this year’s award.’’ After receiving his master’s degree in civil engineering from Penn State, Vargas decided to move back to his hometown of Mexico City to use his creative skills to improve quality of life there. Vargas said his team’s project is notable because they design and install systems that collect and purify rainwa ter free of charge for community members in Mexico City. “Rainwater harvesting uses nature’s free transport system by collecting water as it falls on a rooftop then storing and filtering the rainwater for household use,” Vargas said. “It is an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable design solution that works with the city’s natural processes to provide a clean water supply to eveiyone living here.” So far, 110 rainwater harvesting systems have been installed in Mexico City Vargas said. These systems har vested about 4,165,000 liters or 1.1 million gallons of water, benefiting about 740 households, he said. “The cost of materials for each system is about $350 and all materials are bought from local hardware stores,” Vargas said. “Not only does this improve the local econo my, but it also ensures that the homeowners can build and fix the systems on their own, without having to pur chase special, hard-to-find items.” If his organization wins the competition, Vargas said he will spend the money on setting up an education center and installing more rainwater harvesting systems. can sit wherever you want. It’s all about enjoying yourself.” But Penn State Associate Athletic Director Greg Myford said nothing about the seating sys tem has actually changed, other than the fact that students enter the stadium differently now. “There is no difference in how seating is being allocated, even though the way we enter the stadi um is different today,” said Myford. “Even prior to when tick ets were identified with ID cards, students would still pass through the gates and receive assigned seats, just as they do now. There wasn’t the opportunity to roam about and just select a seat wher ever you wanted to.” Myford said there has not been a change in enforcing the policies it is unpractical to allow stu dents to roam about Beaver Stadium and choose their seats at random. He said allowing that would only create additional con To e-mail reporter: tolslos@psu.edu I. O C A L fusion and disorder on game days. “If it were to be done any differ ently, I think there would be even more confusion and problems in making sure that all the students that wanted to come into the game had a seat for the game,” Myford said. Paternoville President Alex Cohen (senior-marketing) said it is unrealistic for students to want the privilege to randomly choose and change their seats once they enter the stadium. “You have to realize they’re dealing with 100,000 people,” Cohen said. “They can’t just say, ‘OK, go wherever the heck you want.’ ” Thomas Stilley (sophomore electrical engineering) suggested that admission be changed to gen eral admission and be based on a first come, first served basis. “It is very annoying. It needs to be general admission like it was years ago you would just come Kelsey Morris/Collegian Yoga enthusiasts practice cal! and response chanting during Yoga 4 Peace, a weekend-long event. By Leah Gillen COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The smell of Indian food wafted through the Lotus Yoga Center as university students and Centre County Big Brothers Big Sisters members gathered on floor pillows preparing for an hour of yoga. “Yoga’s a really good release of stress and it allows positive energy to Unused prescriptions collected for safety By Katrina Wehr COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The State College Police Department held a prescription drug take-back event Saturday that offered residents a safe way to dispose of their unused medications. The event was part of a national movement by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prevent theft and drug abuse by collecting unused prescription drugs. Borough residents dropped off their unused or leftover medications anonymously in a box at the- State College Police Department, 243 S. Allen St. The effort was an attempt to address public safety and health issues, according to a DEA press release. Prescription drug abuse rates are on the rise in the United States, and studies show that abusers Advertise! Chloe Elmer/Collegian Some Penn State students are unhappy with the current ticket distribu tion system, saying it prevents them from visiting with their friends. in and sit wherever the heck you seating because he comes to the wanted," Stilley said. game with the people he wants to But some students were less sit with the entire time, upset about the assigned seating, “I don’t really mind it because saying the easy solution to the as long as you go to the game with problem is to enter the stadium people you're Mends with, it does with friends. Pat Baum (sopho- n’t really matter,” Baum said, more-aerospace engineering) said he does not care about assigned To e-mail reporter: jmas349@psu.edu Yoga practiced for peace come through,” Jennifer Rockwell (junior-public relations) said. “I also think it's really cool that Big Brother Big Sister is working with this it’s such a great cause.” Rebecca Thorsen, a mentor for the Centre County Big Brothers Big Sisters program, came to the yoga session through an invite from the organization. ‘Tve done yoga before,” she said. “I found it relaxing. It takes me a little outside my comfort zone, which is a fun thing to do. Really I’ve come tonight to make a new friend through the program, and to have fun.” Erica Kaufman, owner of Lila Yoga Studio said the majority of classes were filled throughout the weekend, and the studios raised $1,280. The Centre County Yoga Teachers Association organized this weekend of free yoga in an effort to exhibit the growing yoga movement in Centre County. Since last winter, four new studios for yoga have opened in State College. "This is a real celebration of yoga in our county.” said Kaufman. “It’s a beautiful time for yoga, a real renais sance of joy there is more now than usually obtain the drugs from family, friends and even their home medicine cabinet, according to the press release. The take-back event provided a safe and secure disposal method for unused medications and prevented further water contamination. Flushing leftover prescription drugs down toilets or sink drains used to be the doctor’s orders, said Susan Buda, chairwoman of the League of Women Voters of Centre County's environmental committee. “The concern is that these pharma ceuticals get into the wastewater and could possibly contaminate drinking water supplies,” she said. Buda said there have been docu mented findings of commonly pre scribed medications in local waste water treatment facilities, such as antibiotics and birth control. While there are good systems in The Daily Collegian there has been in the past.” Kaufman said the Yoga 4 Peace weekend, seeking to inspire peace from the inside out, is a celebration of International Peace Day. The yoga studios of Centre County opened their doors to a weekend of free yoga, invit ing both novices and experts to join together in peace. Students said they agree yoga helps reduce stress levels and improve overall health. Michael Policelli (senior-materials science and engineering) does yoga at least once a week. He also said yoga greatly helps health and fitness. Kaufman said the weekend had been a success she enjoyed the aid she could give to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and other local caus es. “One of the great things about liv ing in a small town is that the impact of one person, or one business is real ly felt it feels good to have a yoga studio that is bringing goodness to our town,” she said. The power of yoga can enhance everyday life, Kaufman said. To e-mail reporter: lags2s7@psu.edu place to remove the majority of chem icals from the water, Buda said resi dents of State College should still be conscious of how they dispose of pharmaceuticals. “The responsibility falls on us resi dents of the Centre County area to keep these pharmaceuticals out of the wastewater so that the treatment plants and State College Water Authority don’t have to deal with this problem,” Buda said. State College Police Officer William Small said the take-back event was a success and said he was given positive feedback from those who came to drop off their unused medica tions. “It was very well received,” Small said. “People were requesting that we have them more regularly.” To e-mall reporter: kmws34o@psu.edu
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers