I Thursday, Oct. 21,2010 Lynn McGowan/Collegian Bikers ride around campus and wish passersby a “Happy Thursday" last year. The "Happy Thursday” group does this weekly and typically dresses up in accordance to a theme. Tonight's theme is pink for breast cancer awareness. Bikers, students wish Penn State ‘Happy Thursday’ By Megan Rogers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Every Thursday evening, Chris Natale sets aside his homework, forgets about his stresses and heads over to Pattee Mall on his bike to meet up with friends for a "Happy Thursday" ride. For the past year, some Penn State students have met up each Thursday to ride bikes and shout "Happy Thursday” to the community'. And though founder Will Morgan, Class of 2010. has graduated. Happy Thursdays are still going strong. Morgan brought the idea to Penn State after seeing a Happy Thursday bike ride in Colorado, said Tanner Sweeney. Morgan s friend and a Happy Thursdays group member. The goal of the ride is "to spread the joys of Thursdays.” Sweenev (senior-film and video) said. Despite an abundance of poor weather on Thursdays, bikers still trek out to Pattee mall at 6 p.m. each Thursday to wish the community a happy Thursday. And this year. Happy Thursday rides are no longer lim ited to bikers on campus. The weekly bike ride among students has expanded to include iongboards. unicycles and runners and even more bikes. "Thursday is one of the more overlooked days of the week, it's right next to Friday and everyone just wants Friday to get there," Sweeney said. Passerby often gave the group confused looks last year. Natale said. Now. students often shout "Happy Thursday" as they see the group approach, he said. The ride serves as a break from the monotony of rou tine that students often experience. Natale (sophomore bioehemistrv and molecular biology) said. "It's a break from the norm in State College," he said. "Everyone just spends every day going to class and doing homework." But not the Happy Thursday bikers. The group doesn't show' up with just their bikes. Those walking around campus on Thursdays will see the gang decked out in pink for breast cancer awareness month tonight and wearing their Halloween costumes next Thursday. Other themes have included a blue and white theme for Homecoming weekend, formal wear during the career fair days and a scrapper bike theme. Natale said. Occasionally, a gorilla suit from last year is w'orn during a ride. Sweenev said. "VVe try to keep it interesting and keep it positive." he said. About 30 people show up to ride each week, Sweeney said, which is. on average, larger than last year's crew. But the group is always adding members on their routes, he said. A runner once managed to keep up with the bik ers for an entire ride, he said. ' Jason Slick had heard of the group, but it wasn't until a friend encouraged him to tag along for a ride that he understood just how happy Thursdays can be. "It's fun to go around and ride and get out there,” Slick (senior-chemical engineering) said. Each route is new and exciting, Sweeney said. Instead of wishing for the weekend, he said he now looks forwards to Thursdays "It definitely makes Thursday a better day," he said. It's the day I look forward to during the rest of the week” If you go What: Happy Thursday bike ride When: Thursdays at 6 p.m. Where: Pattee Mali Details: Bikes aren’t necessary. Students can skate board, run or unicycle to get around. Participants should wear pink tonight in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To e-mail reporter: mers2o@psu.edu re tr)inder follow c °Neg/a n twftter : Y* MM Stay up to date on deadlines and promotions! _ twitter 814865-2531 Engineering ‘highly regarded’ By Micah Wintner OLLECIAN STAFF WRITER Ruth Graham, an independent engineering consultant from England, said she w r as asked to do a benchmark study for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to find which universities had the best engineering leadership programs. While most leadership programs were strictly known within their coun try', Graham said Penn State's pro gram was "highly regarded” around the world. As a result. Penn State and MIT co chaired the inaugural Engineering Leadership Meeting. Representatives from nine univer sities met at the Atherton Hotel Wednesday for the first day of the meeting. Richard Schuhmann. Penn State's Andrew Dunheimer/Collegian Michaei Pohcelli (senior, materials science and engineering) works on the Dreams Take Flight mural. Work on the mural v. - T soon and an unveiling is scheduled for Nov. 13. to host grad school discussion HUB ‘c. Mullen ■-■S WRITER arson Center will be Tin ; packt •:! school ! and P"-. H things graduate tirs year's Graduate (l School week contin aiong with 99 other sits from across the ; up shop in the heart Penn gradual, counn ■■ iswim- questions and provid>• i’ : i:'hi into the variety of gradual- a-opportunities avail able. .Jack > State i of can a.ui, director of Penn Services, said the events in tiu' process for stu- i wluich graduate pro den's ! h ilieir specific career goals, sum-;- >■: which require educa tion ii-wc:,,'; an undergraduate degivc it for students to dis tinguish rives from their com petition when pursuing their career goals." hi' .-;ud. "Going to graduate sohoo! students a leg up and allows ihi'tii to develop an effective game plan lor ;he future." Rayman nUo urges students inter ested in graduate school to attend YOUROWN all you-can-eat-stir fry! r, nd, Bo^ engineering leadership development program director, said that in the face of globalization, leadership skills are an essential quality in an engineer. "It's not enough to just know how to do calculations anymore,” Schuhmann said. Graham said engineering educa tion needs to change fundamentally after remaining the same for nearly 60 years. "There's more to being an engineer than science. You got to think about the full context,” Graham said. Students in Penn State’s engineer ing leadership development minor have the opportunity to study in Morocco and Hungary to gain leader ship and engineering skills in differ ent cultures. Leo McGonagle, MIT engineering leadership program executive director, said he was "intrigued” that Penn State’s engi neering leadership program offers because the fair provides a great deal of resources in one place, cutting down the amount of research and travel students have to make when exploring their options, he said. The event features representatives from Penn State graduate programs, as well as representatives from grad uate programs from across the coun tiy. including American University, Carnegie Mellon University and the l niver.sity of Pennsylvania, to name a few. Another aspect of the event fea tures a graduate student panel pre sented by the Penn State Graduate Student Association, which will be held in the HUB-Auditorium at 2 p.m. today. Undergraduates will sit in as current graduate students share their experiences during graduate school and field any questions that they may have concerning the overall experience. ,Jon Lozano, president of the Graduate Student Association, said the panel will provide prospective graduate students with insight into w hat being a graduate student actual lv means in basic terms. Lozano (graduate-student affairs and law ) said becoming a graduate Men-Thur 11 AM -9 Ml Fri 11AM -9:30 M Sat 12 PM - 9:30 fll Sun 12 PM -9 PM the option to travel abroad. As a veteran of the Army Corps of Engineers who traveled the world, McGonagle said he is “keenly aware of cultural awareness.” The engineering leadership devel opment minor’s curriculum applies to ail students, and the minor is open to everyone, Schuhmann said. “We use engineering design as the vehicle to teach leadership,” Schuhmann said. “Scientists study what is, and engineers create what never was.” Graham said engineering is theo retical, but it’s necessary for engi neers to start accounting for the busi ness, environmental, and cultural aspects of the field. “There needs to be a shift, and I think that shift will come,” Graham said. student has provided him with the opportunity to tailor his education to meet his specific career aspirations he hopes students will attend and set themselves up for the same opportunity. “It is becoming increasingly impor tant to have a graduate degree in the current employment landscape,” he said. “The fair will allow students to interact with grad students that share similar interests so that they can enhance their skills and set them selves apart from others." Civil War Era Center 2010 Steven and Janice Brose Distinguished Lecture and Book Series James 0. Horton Df- James O. Horton, Thursday, October 21,7:00 pun. the Beniamin Banneker slavery: Professor Emeritus of . . , _ .. Pw‘ Amemao Studies and America, Great Contndktkm ' f • History at The George 1 1" Business Building ; Washington University *- and Historian Emeritus Friday, October 22,7:00 pjn. . ' if of the Smithsonian The 1850 s: Li_ L_J Institution's National Most Critical Decade aMuseum of American lw , „ u ... ~ it,- 110 Business Building History, anil author of numerous publications, including his most recent book Slavery and Public Hnton Tht Tunph Saturday, October 23,4:00 1»"» Stuff of Amman Memory Press 2006). America’s Memory of The Daily Collegian To e-mail reporter: mawS43B@psu.edu If you go What: Succeeding in Graduate School panel discussion When: 2 p.m. today Where: HUB Auditorium Details: Students interested in graduate school will be able to hear graduate student’s experi ences and will have the opportuni ty to ask questions. To email reporter: phmso3o@psu.edu
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