THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Author explains
`Color of Water'
By David Strader
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
What is the color of water?
That's a question best answered
by author James Mcßride.
Mcßride spoke for the
Schreyer Honors College
Signature Lecture Thursday
evening in Schwab Auditorium.
The lecture, titled "The Color of
Water: A Meditation on Identity"
was co-sponsored by the
Presidential Leaders hip
Academy and the University Park
Allocation Committee.
A major topic of the lecture was
Mcßride's best-selling 1996 mem
oir "The Color of Water: A Black
Man's Tribute to His White
Mother."
The book chronicles Mcßride's
years as one of twelve children
born to his Jewish mother during
"some of the most turbulent
decades in this country's history,"
according to the Schreyer Honors
College Web site.
In addition to talking about his
work, Mcßride shared his philoso
phies of life.
One such belief was the notion
that before you learn to succeed.
you must learn to fail.
"If you can leave [Penn State]
with the ability to fail and learn
from it, you will have done more
Ghosts to haunt Beaver Stadium
By Mike Hricik
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Beaver Stadium may need a
good exorcist on Saturday night.
Inspired by a Facebook event
page called - GHOST OUT AT
THE MICHIGAN GAME," more
than 8,000 fans are slated to haunt
Beaver Stadium in ghost cos
tumes at the home football game
against University of Michigan.
Created by two Penn State stu
dents, the page invites fans to
dress in costumes in honor of both
Penn State's annual White House
game and Halloween occurring in
the same weekend, event co-cre
ator Will Cooper said.
oCfo-m3absp Caroline Zielinski
said Penn State fans wear white
for the game every year, but noth-
than anyone at any other college."
Davide Conte (sophomore
aerospace engineering and math
ematics) said Mcßride's speech
was very insightful.
"He's more open-minded than I
thought," Conte said. "He said it's
not just about money it's about
being yourself and enjoying life.
He definitely made me feel like I
was on the right path."
"The Color of Water" was a
summer reading selection for this
year's incoming Schreyer
Scholars.
Ashley David (junior-nursing)
said she thoroughly enjoyed the
required reading.
"It wasn't just a chore," she
said. "I really enjoyed it. I espe
cially liked the character descrip
tions very vivid."
Jared Marshall (sophomore
biology and physics), a member of
the committee that hosted
Mcßride, said the author was a
clear choice.
"We value the tenants of diver
sity and. given his background
and the nature of his lecture, we
figured he would be appropriate."
In addition to his published nov
els, Mcßride is also a former
writer for the Washington Post.
People Magazine and the Boston
Globe.
And Mcßride's experience goes
ing like this has ever been done
before.
Cooper (senior-supply chain
management) said he and
Zielinski developed the idea for
the event two weeks ago while
eating with a small group of
friends.
Zielinski (senior-biology) said
she created the event that
evening, complete with a doctored
and "corny - ghost picture.
But she chose not to promote
the event, sharing it as an inside
joke among friends.
Two days later, word of mouth
spread.
At one point, the page logged 13
accepted invitations per minute,
Cooper said.
8.255 fans were committed to
dressing as ghosts at press time.
. '
LOCAL
James Mcßride, author of "The Color of Water," speaks as the
Schreyer Honors College Signature Lecturer at Schwab Auditorium
Thursday night. Mcßride also wrote the book "Miracle at St. Anna."
beyond the typewriter, as he is an to living a proper life is to be a
award-winning jazz composer. dreamer.
Christine Crain (junior-educa- - If you do what you want to do,
tion) said Mcßride's wide range of you'll do it well enough that some
talents was very respectable. body somewhere will pay you for
- It's very impressive," she said. it," he said. "Do what you like, and
He's not only a writer but also a you'll never be sorry."
musician a true artist."
Mcßride ultimately said the key
according to the Facebook page
Zielinski said she is still sur
prised at how fast fans responded
to the event.
"Things can spread so fast. It's
still astonishing how fast things
can come together in one day,"
Zielinski said.
Despite comments on the
Facebook page calling the event
- racist' . because of the costume's
similarities with the Klu Klux
Klan uniform, Cooper said the
event is not meant to be bigoted.
This is about Halloween. This
is meant to be really fun. It clearly
has nothing to do with fracismr
Cooper said.
NAACP President Travis
Salters said he sees the event as
harmless.
It's just people having fun on
el%
-
...
Halloween," Salters (junior
broadcast journalism and African
American studies) said.
Salters said he looks forward to
Penn State students showing
their school pride.
If you ghost
What: Ghost Out for the Penn
State vs. Michigan game
When: Saturday Oct. 30 at 8
p.m.
Where: Beaver Stadium
Details: Students are encour
aged to dress up like a ghost
for the game.
-411 t,„
11 111 "-1
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To e-mail reporter: dass46l@psu.edu
To e-mail reporter: mjhsso7@psu.edu
FRIDAY, Oct. 29, 2010 I 3
Hospital
requests
police
By Anita Modi
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
An armed police officer may
be stationed in the emergency
room of Mount Nittany Medical
Center, pending action by the
Centre Region Council of
Government.
The hospital's ER is some
times forced to aid violent, dis
ruptive patients throughout the
year especially during Penn
State football game weekends,
State Patty's Day and other
events when notoriously high
levels of alcohol are consumed.
"Traditionally, we have
requested assistance from local
law enforcement when behav
iors of a patient or their visitor
have escalated to the point
beyond our scope of providing
care," said Lou Brungard, vice
president of facilities and plant
services at Mount Nittany
Medical Center.
He said incidents requiring
police assistance are infrequent
occurrences, but they should
still be taken seriously.
"We have uniformed security
officers at the medical center,
but if there is an imminent
threat to a patient, employee or
physician, we will ask for addi
tional assistance, - he said.
The medical center expressed
the need for full-time supple
mental, armed security last
year. Legislation passed in 2008
by Pennsylvania's General
Assembly places the issue in the
hands of the municipalities,
which began the discussion.
James Rosenberger, a State
College Borough Council mem
ber and a COG member, said he
didn't think it was the municipal
government's responsibility to
micromanage the police force.
Bryce Boyer, supervisor for
Patton Township, countered
that the hospital's request com
pels municipalities involvment.
"The request for officers to be
there full-time, just to have a
presence as needed —you need
an officer there that precludes
the action of those patients,"
Boyer said.
To e-mail reporter: arms373@psu.edu
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