Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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Tradition 29

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Penn State Proud Penn Slate means tradition, but how much of our legend, history and tradition do you really know? While students arc quick to learn that their social security number. ID card, and No. 2 pencil are vital to existence at Penn State, many fail to acquaint themselves with the University’s heritage. You. a graduating senior, try this quick trivia quiz and see how you fare! 1 -When was Penn State founded, under what name, and why? 2— What was the first year of football for Penn State, and what colors did our Lion ancestors wear? 3— For whom arc Ewing and Cross Halls named? 4— What are the words of the Alma Mater? 5 Bv what class was the Nittany Lion shrine donated? Give up? It you were stuck for answers, just read on for a bit of Penn State tradition. Penn State began as the “Farmer’s High School of Pennsylvania.” in 1855. not because it was a high school, but because the founders were concerned that farmers “might be prejudiced against the word college as that of a place where boys only contracted idle habits. Twenty-two years later, in 1877. intercollegiate football was founded, and the first Nittany Lion cheerleaders wore pink and black. In 1871. Rebecca Ewing and Ellen Cross had been admitted to Penn State, being the first two coeds to grace our campus. For this honor, the women's names are forever remembered in South Halls. The Alma Mater was written just after the turn of the century, in 1901. bv Fred Lewis Pattce. and the words (yes. he did write lyrics!) can be found in any of the student handbooks or football programs you once clutched in your hands. The Nittany Lion shrine was presented as a gift of the Class of 1940. and two years later the Nittany Lion was officially accepted by the Board of Trustees as our school symbol. If you answered all five questions correctly, you qualify for class historian: three or four correct shows you really read your student handbook: one or two correct means you did some browsing in the Penn State Room of Pattce: and if you bombed all five, you spent your college years in a vacuum! No matter how you scored, be consoled that now you leave Penn State with more than just the commoner's knowledge of the obelisk myth and Old Main bells (you DO know about them, right?). Penn State means tradition. 28 Tradition

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University Workings Sixty-nine students, four faculty members and one building comprised the Farmers High School of Pennsylvania at its founding in 1855. Since that time. Penn State has gone from a high school to a ten- college university, with 35.000 students attending the University Park campus. The Provost, the principle officer of student affairs, works with two senior vice presidents, and the deans, vice presidents, and administrative officers of the different colleges to keep academic affairs running smoothly. The deans and assistant deans are responsible for programs of instruc- tion in each college. They work through the faculty members who are often researchers and advisors as well as professors. Such a large university can be overwhelming, causing a student to turn to his advisor for help. Different colleges have different advising systems: many students have faculty advisors, some are self-advised, and others arc advised bv upperclassmen acting as volunteer advisors. The Penn State student can choose from over 100 majors offered at the University, and will usually take three to live courses per term, during twelve terms of study, to complete his degree requirements. Summer, winter, spring or fall—Penn State is in session four terms a year, offering opportunity for year-round study and enrichment in one of the country’s largest state universities. Student advising 30 Academics