Alumnus to host ‘Paranormal’ weekend By Karina Yiicel COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER From ghosts on campus to traveling for cases on the hit TV show “Paranormal State,” Ryan Buell and his cast take on all things supernatural. Buell, Class of 2006, is having a party to cel ebrate both his book release and also the open house of the Paranormal Research Society’s (PRS) new offices. The multi-day party starts at 10 p.m. Friday, Associate Producer Coalin Smith said. “It’s an amazing thing that State College is having a book premiere,” Smith said. “It’s a major release that will be in all major retail ers. [Buell] could’ve chosen to have it in New York, but he had it in State College.” Buell said his book talks a lot about Penn State and State College. There will be a ton of landmarks people from the area will know, Buell said. “Originally PRS was going to do the pre miere in New York City,” Buell said. “That would’ve been more flashier and had more Animal expert visits Altoona By Karina Yiicel COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER “The animal guy” Jeff Corwin will bring his experience live to Penn State Altoona tonight. A committee comprised of students, faculty and administrators came together to decide who they wanted as their speakers for this year’s Distinguished Speakers Series at Penn State Altoona, media relations coordinator Marissa Carney said. Corwin, a wildlife biologist and host on Animal Planet, was on the top of the commit tee’s list, and members were excited when he was able to come speak, she said. A few years ago, animal expert and zookeepr Jack Hanna spoke at the Altoona campus, Carney said. Because Hanna had such a high turnout, the committee is expect ing the same amount of interest for Corwin, she added. “It’s going to be a full house,” Carney said. The lecture itself is free but the Altoona Bookstore gave out tickets so the committee would be able to keep track of how many peo ple were coming. Tickets for the event are sold out, Carney said. There is a broad interest following Corwin, as not just one group likes him or is interested with his work, Carney said. Corwin is a force in his area and he knows what he is doing, she added. flair, but this is where PRS was founded.” Out of all the events taking place this weekend, Buell said he is looking for ward to the book sign ing the most. “It’s a big honor that so many people are coming to be a part of [the book sign ing],” Buell said. Buell’s favorite Penn State paranor mal experience remains one that took place in the Old Botany building. This ghost was someone he and the PRS studied throughout Buell’s col lege career and are still interested in today, he said. On Saturday, Oct. 2, the book signing will be held at State College’s Barnes and Noble, 365 Benner Pike. Between noon and 2 p.m., Buell will sign and speak about his new book, “Paranormal State: My Journey into the Megan Gardner (senior-animal sciences) said she admires his expertise and he is an inspiration for her work on the Humane Society of Penn State. “Jeff Corwin is an inspiration to everyone, in my opinion,” said Gardner. “He spreads his knowledge of animals to all of his viewers and fans. It’s important to make people aware of what’s going on.” Other students said they have seen Corwin on TV and remember him from his show “Going Wild with Jeff Corwin” on the Disney Channel in the late ‘9os. Zach Buckholtz said he remembers watch ing Corwin on TV when he was younger. Buckholtz (freshman-physics) said he isn’t familiar with Corwin’s more recent work, but he thinks it is important to educate people about animals. After seeing Corwin on “Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” Zundell McKeever became more interested in Corwin’s work with animals. “I’m not much of an animal person, but I think people need to know about endangered animals,” McKeever (senior-biobehavioral sciences) said. The lecture will give students who remem ber Corwin's earlier show a chance to learn about all of his new research, Carney said. To e-mail reporter: kzysols@psu.edu Unknown,” Barnes & Noble manager Nancy Kanzleiter said. The store is expecting a big turnout because of the popularity of the paranormal in State College, Kanzleiter said. “It was such a surreal thing to see a stack of his books Tuesday at Barnes & Noble, and I can’t wait to see the book signing next Saturday,” “Paranormal State” cast member Eilfie Music wrote in an e-mail. “We’ve been going to the State College Barnes & Noble for years, so it will be great to see an event there for Ryan.” After the book signing, the party will recon vene at the PRS offices where lectures will take place, Smith said. “There are going to be tons of workshops and lectures where people can learn about different topics,” Smith said. People will be able to choose between lec tures given by Buell, Music or Josh Light. “With our open houses, we try to focus on the education of the paranormal,” Music wrote. “Guests realty seem to enjoy the open houses since they also get to talk with inves- tigators from PRS and it is in a more relaxed setting.” Pans from all over the country will be com ing so the PRS will try to do a lot of different things to accommodate everyone, Smith said. There will be tours and workshops, along with other exclusive events. “My lecture will be focusing on misconcep tions and misperceptions in the paranor mal,” Light wrote in an e-mail. “This goes beyond a simple lecture with a skeptical viewpoint of the paranormal and features hands-on experiments and interactive demonstrations.” The special events these fans may attend will be dinner with the whole cast, and a sneak peak at the premiere episode of sea son five, two weeks in advance, Smith said. Flans will also be able to take pictures with the whole cast, and spend a lot of one-on-one time with the PRS throughout the weekend, Smith said. “It’s going to be a great, great two days,” Smith said. To e-mail reporter: kzysols@psu.edu
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