The Daily Collegian
Corwin
discusses
extinction
By Karina Yiicel
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
ALTOONA, Pa. Jeff Corwin
is known mostly for his work as a
conservationist, naturalist and
Animal Planet host.
But Thursday night during a
lecture at Penn State Altoona, he
showed off his comedic chops as
well.
Corwin’s hilarious lecture on
extinction wasn’t exactly your
standard, run-of-the-mill speech.
Corwin started his lecture with
humorous video clips of himself
interacting with animals to light
en the mood of the serious topic
extinction.
Corwin was the first lecturer of
Penn State Altoona’s
Distinguished Speaker Series.
About 150 people attended the
lecture Thursday night, from
babies and Boy Scouts to stu
dents and senior citizens. Animal
lovers of all stripes made the trip
to see Corwin’s lecture and learn
about humans’ involvement in
animal extinction.
Corwin began his lecture talk
ing about the day that he knew
animals and nature were what he
wanted to pursue as his career.
During a weekend he spent at
his grandmother’s house, he
found a snake. He had never seen
one before and thought he had
found a new species of animal.
His grandmother had told him
Seniors search for underclassmen aid in film class projects
By Allegra O’Neill
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Penn Staters who hope to be
involved in a film one day don’t
even have to leave Happy Valley to
fulfill their dreams thanks to a
group of senior film majors.
Members of the Student Film
Organization held a meeting
Thursday night in Carnegie to
give seniors a chance to talk about
their films for COMM 437
(Narrative Video/Filmmaking).
The event was designed to help
EXOTIC
im* w
> CARRV-OUT FOOD -Cl
RESERVATION AVAIIABiI
222 £. CAiDER WAV
PHONE 237*3400
WWW.INOIAPAVILION.N
GRAND OPENING re6 *S2?ETE2
a Prizes & Giveaways!
■ ■ H II I If I ALL DAY EVENT
PARTY!
FRIDAY OCTOBER 1 ""JST
421 E Calder Way
State College PA 16801
(Between Baby 's and Snarkies}
Naturalist Jeff Corwin speaks to students and Altoona residents at
Penn State Altoona on Thursday night as part of their Distinguished
Speaker Series.
to get rid of the snake, but Corwin
said that he loved it. That was
when he realized his passion for
animals and nature, he said.
Corwin also told stories about
his interactions with various ani
mals over the past 15 years that
he has been filming and research
ing.
Corwin finished his lecture by
saying that extinction is a very
real problem and affects every
one and everything.
“I am going to explore what
extinction is today compared to 65
million years ago with the
dinosaurs and the other four nat
ural extinctions,” Corwin said.
“This is the sixth extinction.”
Corwin said that extinction now
is being caused by humans,
whereas 65 million years ago,
extinction was caused by nature.
“This isn’t some natural or
super natural event. It is because
of us. We are the asteroid making
the perfect storm of destruction
of habitats, climate change,
exploitation and pollution,”
filmmakers find crew members,
sound technicians and actors for
the films they will create in class
for the Senior Film Series, said
Student Film Organization
President Sam Broscoe.
After each group discussed
their film, attendees were given a
chance to talk to each group and
exchange information.
Broscoe (senior-film and video),
along with 11 other film groups,
presented his senior project, “The
Road Ahead.”
“The film is A Christmas Carol
VIDEO 814.238.1124
GAMES
BUY SELL TRADE TOURNAMENTS
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Corwin said.
Corwin said that this mass
extinction isn’t caused by evolu
tion, but by humans.
“This is very real, everyday
species go extinct,” Corwin said.
“Every 20 minutes a whole
species is wiped out, never to be
seen again.”
Sam Myers (freshman-division
of undergraduate studies) said
that he chose to attend the lecture
to learn more about what Corwin
has been working on for the past
couple of years.
Ethan, 11, and Michaela
Bowser, 8, of Altoona, said that
they used to watch Corwin on
Animal Planet. The two were very
interested in learning more about
animals and Corwin’s adventures
across the world.
The Bowsers said they were
upset that Corwin didn’t bring any
animals to the show. Myers
agreed, saying that animals
would’ve added to the lecture.
archetype,” Broscoe said. “The
main character, John, takes a lit
eral drive down memory lane as
he is guided by a wiser influence.”
Broscoe said his film is in need
of assistant producers and editors
as well as a sound designer and
sound mixer for post-production.
Adam Rutter (senior-film and
video) said his film “Last Noel”
will be a different spin on a
Christmas story.
“This film humanizes Santa and
makes him want to be normal and
have a kid of his own,” Rutter said.
ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances, like room air conditioners,
have met strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the government.
your energy usage by at least 10% over standard models, saving
you as much as $BO over its lifetime. Visit energystar.gov for
To e-mail reporter: kzysols@psu.edu
And ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners can reduce
appliance information and a savings calculator. For more ways
to control the size of your electric bill, visit the Watt Watchers
section of alleghenypower.com or call 1-877-928-8928.
Students set to dance
to SOMA’s MP3 beat
By David Strader
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
People will be dancing in the
streets to music only they can
hear.
Students Organizing the
Multiple Arts (SOMA) will host its
MP3 Experiment at 2 p.m.
Saturday Oct. 2 in front of the
Thomas Building.
The experiment inspired by
New York City-based comedy
troupe “Improv Everywhere”
will ask participants to plug their
headphones in and simultane
ously listen to an MP3 made and
distributed by SOMA.
The track about 20 minutes
long will prompt students to
perform a number of synchro
nized tasks ranging from high
fives to some less conventional
activities, SOMA President Mike
Palmer said.
“One time in the HUB, we had
to pretend we lost an eye contact,
so there were 30 people looking
around and crawling under
tables,” Palmer (senior-manage
ment and integrative arts) said.
And with the event running
through Parents and Families
Weekend, SOMA Secretary
Nathan Larimer (sophomore
film and video) said the display is
sure to gain some attention.
“There are going to be a lot of
confused parents who are won
dering where their child’s tuition
is going,” he said.
Nick Weingartner, SOMA’s
media relations chairman, said
“When his wife finds out he’s ster
ile, she starts having affairs on
him. It’s a dark comedy.”
The jobs needed varied as much
as the premises of each movie.
Some seniors, like Randall Troy,
were looking for students to help
create costumes for his film’s
“quirky characters.”
Tiny’s (senior-film) film is set in
the future, in a time when all tech
nology has stopped working.
“My film is about an execution
er who must choose between his
career and his family,” Samantha
Friday, Oct. 1,2010 I 9
the event will be an entertaining
sight for everyone in and around
the experiment.
“There will be a whirlwind of
bewilderment and artistic
assessment with a heavy dose of
confusion, ending up to be a great
experience for the participants as
well as the spectators,”
Weingartner (senior-media stud
ies) said.
The MP3 Experiment will con
tribute to SOMA’s initiative to
expand its spectrum of arts
events a goal Larimer said the
club wants to especially work
toward this semester.
“This year we’re really trying
to push for more spontaneous art
at the drop of a hat with no real
direction,” he said.
Dana Robinson (sophomore
agricultural science) said she’s
glad to see Penn State clubs host
ing atypical events like the MP3
Experiment.
Weingartner said the uncon
ventional event will be the year’s
first venture into “guerilla” art.
“It’s merging aspects of music
and performance art,” he said.
“It’s underground art, bringing
art into untraditional ventures.”
Those wishing to participate in
the MP3 Experiment are recom
mended to arrive early with their
MP3 players, as the experiment
will begin at exactly 2 p.m.
To download the appropriate
track for the event, go to psuso
ma.com.
To e-mail reporter: dass46l@psu.edu
Shapiro (senior-film and video)
said. “Basically he is told to exe
cute his fiance’s father, so we’ll see
what happens with that.”
Shapiro said to make her film
work she is going to need a lot of
extras.
“We are hoping to film it in an
abandoned jail, so if anyone wants
to be a prisoner or a dead body,
that would be great,” Shapiro said.
“We are going to need a lot of dead
bodies and a lot of blood.”
To e-mail reporter: aposols@psu.edu
WATT
Watchers
Use Energy Wisely.
Rate caps are set to expire on
December 31,2010, and your
electric bill will likely increase.
Take steps now to conserve
electricity before rates go up.