W The Daily Wfaurltamfmtr
H ’m is four wins from
i I iiiny ll *■:■“■
A psucollegian.com
Published independently by students at Penn State (S^dßllyCOllCgiail
Lions slated for Outback Bowl
RAH CiwHpr -" ■■ 25 in the preseason, Outback Bowl Picking fourth, the Outback Ticket City Bowl on Jan. 1.
mnFnANSTAFFwriter representative Mike Schulze said Bowl, which has a $3.4 million min- However, the Lions'37th bowl
collegian si ah- wKiit landing two teams that have rich imum payout to each team, select- game under Joe Paterno doesn't
The Penn State football team jf l) tradition “ re § ardless of h ™ ® d u Penn ver * loWa ’ n f es f nl >' ho ' d aity home field
has become all too familiar with W OUTBACK 3 their S6aSOnS played ° ut “ stlU I a " d Northwestern - advantage for Penn State,
playing bowl games against the \T«E* makes this an attractive draw. who all had 7-5 records - setting Because Floridai is located m
Whpactprn f'nnfprpnnp and ' “Were not trving to put on a the pecking order for the remain- Gainesville, about 130 miles away
thir -’t b< xception. national championship here,” ing bo\d games with Big Ten tie- from Tampa, Schulze said he's
is year won. jeanexcepu - . , . - ,
The Nittany Lions wUI close out Lions'fifth New Year's Day bowl Schulze said. “We have two teams ms. The Wolverines and
the 2010 season with a trip to the game appearance in the past six that don t traditionary get to play Hawkeyes ended up m the Gator
Outback Bowl, where they will feasons ABC will televise. each other big-time pro- and Insight bowls respectively,
play Florida at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1. while the Nittany Lions <7-5,4-4 § rams that > JJ n local w sets and even though the Lions lost to the
The clash at Raymond James Big Ten) and the Gators (7-5, 4-4 on TV sets all over on New Year s Hawkeyes 24-3 on Oct. 2.
Stadium in Tampa marks the SEC) were both ranked in the top- Day, people will be excited. Northwestern landed m the
Students of GEOSCI 498 (Hazardous Waste Operations) learn how to work safely in a hazardous environment. Students worked on a hypo
thetical scenario Sunday that involved collecting samples from the Nittany Lion shrine in the event it was contaminated.
Comedian Bo Burnham performs stand-up at the
State Theatre on Friday night.
Bo’s jokes
thrill fans
By David Strader
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
What can a few viral You Tube videos get you? A
sold-out State Theatre show, for starters.
Musical comedian Bo Burnham's Friday night
performance included a number of songs on guitar
and keyboard, as well as traditional stand-up.
The Intemet-bome star stayed true to his roots
by playing several original You Tube songs, as well
as songs from his 2010 album, "Words, Words,
Words.”
The 20-year-old entertainer referenced his swift
rise to stardom in one of his opening jokes.
“I hate the term ‘young comedian,' " he said. “I
prefer ‘prodigy.
In addition to Burnham's prepared songs and
stories, the entertainer also incorporated improvi
sation into his act. On several occasions, Burnham
talked to audience members and, in the case of one
ongoing joke, he accused the lights operator of
stealing his spotlight.
Attendee James Baker, of State College, said
Burnham skillfully improvised his surroundings
into his act.
“He reacted well to what was going on, and he
was very quick about it,’’ Baker, 18, said.
Steff Sakosky, 19, and Cassi Laßar said they
drove from Hazleton to see Burnham's show.
See BURNHAM. Page 2.
Student wins SI23K
By Jessica Tully
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
George Hayward walked away $123,000
richer Saturday as the winner of the Dr
Pepper Million Dollar Tuition Giveaway.
Hayward (sophomore-architecture)
won the contest by completing ten football
throws into an oversized
Dr Pepper can replica
during halftime at the Big
12 Championship game
on Saturday while his
opponent fellow grand
prize finalist Chris
Valliere from Austin,
Texas completed only
nine throws in 30 sec
onds
Hayward said he first heard about the
contest at a church barbecue in mid-
October. He was looking for a bottle of
water, but they didn't have any left, so he
opted for the available Dr Pepper bottle.
He saw the advertisement for the
tuition giveaway on the bottle's label and
decided to research more about the con
test.
When I first saw the contest online, I
NAACP recognizes students, leaders
By Jessica Wabara
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
A red carpet was laid outside the HUB-
Alumni Hall on Sunday for the 250 atten
dees of the NAACP Image Awards.
Sunday night, the Penn State Chapter
of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People hosted
their first Image Awards in order to honor
students and faculty who established a
positive image in the Penn State commu
nity.
R&B singer Bobby V, more commonly
known as Bobby Valentino, who has per
formed with artists like Lil Wayne and
Ludacris, also made a special perform
ance at the award show. The theme of the
night s event was the "Man in the Mirror."
Event coordinator and Penn State
NAACP Vice President Jasmine Rushum
said said Valentino was chosen as the
night's musical guest in part because of
his recently launched foundation the
Bobby V Foundation, which encourages
people to value and to pursue higher edu
cation.
knew I had to enter," said Hayward, who is
paying his tuition himself.
After he submitted his video online, a
panel of judges, including legendary
ESPN college football analyst and Hall of
Fame head coach Lou Holtz, evaluated
the thousands of entries that were sub
mitted and chose the top five finalists, said
Eddie Moye, account associate at
Ketchum for Dr Pepper.
Going into the competition, Hayward
said he was confident mainly because
he put in a month of training before the
competition.
His roommate, Chris Peterson (sopho
more-architecture), said Hayward
designed a frame with the same propor
tions as the Dr Pepper can so he could
practice every day.
Hayward
T wasn't nervous as I was walking out
onto the field. I was just really pumped up.
I kept mentally seeing each of my foot
balls swoosh through the IDr Pepper]
can," Hayward said. “I didn't even see
Chris or the crowd the only thing that I
saw were all ten footballs going in."
And once he won. he said the feeling
was indescribable.
Rushman also said the event was held
to recognize minorities that make a dif
ference in the community. •
"You don't have to be involved in any
thing and you don't need to be anyone else
but yourself to make a difference," she
said.
Rushum (junior-journalism and sociolo
gy). a member of The Daily Collegian's
Board of Directors, explained the theme
for the night involved holding oneself
accountable for change and not blaming
others.
University Park Undergraduate
Association President Christian Ragland
was one of the event's winners, receiving
the Medgar Evers Political Activism
Award.
Felicia Reynolds (senior-nutrition) was
another winner, receiving the Martin
Luther King Jr. Community Activism
Award. She said she was excited to get
nominated but winning felt incredible.
"I want students to keep doing what
they are doing. Their efforts are not going
unrecognized,” Reynolds said.
See NAACP, Page 2.
See CONTEST. Page 2.
confident a lot of Florida fans will
attend. But he was quick to add
that both fan bases travel well
football fans will want to see the
two elite programs compete.
See BOWL. Page 2.
Plan
could
expire
By Mike Hricik
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Highmark Blue Shield's
agreement with Geisinger
Health System to supply its
Highmark PPOBlue plan
which covers Penn State faculty
and staff with medical health
benefits may expire after Dec.
31.
Highmark Blue Shield, of
Camp Hill. Pa., is the insurance
provider of Penn State employ
ees.
University spokesman Geoff
Rushton said about a third of
Penn State's 5250 million health
care budget goes to staff and fac
ulty members in the Danville.
Pa.-based Geisinger Health
System.
Rushton said these negotia
tions are normal but he has
never seen agreement talks
extend this late into the year.
He said Penn State hopes
Highmark and Geisinger reach
an agreement so employees with
Geisinger will not have to switch
to a different provider.
“We're reliant on Highmark
and Geisinger working this out.
We want our employees to have
the greatest access possible [to
health care]." Rushton said.
Penn State Vice President for
Finance and Business A 1
Horvath wrote via e-mail that
the problems resulted when, last
week. Geisinger unexpectedly
declined an offer to extend the
current agreement for 90 days.
This extension would have
allowed for more negotiation
time and a more orderly transi
tion for Highmark clients who
see Geisinger physicians.
Horvath wrote.
If Highmark fails to meet an
agreement, Penn State employ
ees who utilize Geisinger will
pay extra fees, Horvath wrote.
“If no agreement is reached by
the end of this month, then
employees will still be able to see
Geisinger doctors or use
Geisinger facilities; however,
they will have to pay more of the
cost directly since Geisinger will
be an 'out of network' provider,"
Horvath said.
See HEALTH CARE. Page 2.
UPUA President Christian Ragland
wins the Medgar Evers Political
Activism Award on Sunday.