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

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Our Own Melting Pot The Unique Combination That Makes PSU Specia 1 a P enn State people did not fit stereo- typical roles. Of course there were the iljocks and the llforeigners. the usorority girlsll and the ufrat guys. However, the six foot five inch, 220 pound football play- er was also a stamp collector, and the uin- dustrious Japanese engineering student Smoked a pack of Marlboros a day, slept until noon, and studied with a glass of Passport Scotch at his side at all times. There were the sorority girls, who were born-again Christians, and the frat guys who would rather play a clarinet than a game of beer darts. The people of Penn State did not fulfill the stereotypes. Each person was an indi- Vidual. A pick was not only a senior go- rilla spotting oversized biceps and wearing an old Hula Bowl sweatshirt. A jock could be a six-foot-four-inch linebacker or a four-foot-eight-inch gymnast. Jocks did more than throw footballs. They bounced basketballs. peddled bicycles, threw fris- uq Rob Neal bees and rode horses. There were even uarmchair jocksf whose only red connec- tion to a football game was through a tele- vision screen. and yet they still wore their high school varsity letter, telling the cam- pus of what once was. Greeks were often stereotyped as beer drinking, sexually untamed, party ani- mals. However, many of them joined fra- ternities and sororities for the close friendships they offered or so they could get more involved with campus activities. Who could forget all the money greeks raised for charity? Or better yet, who could forget those annoying white cans on the corner of College and Allen. Penn State was people-thousands of them. Very few were recognizable in a crowd. Some students would recognize Olympic gymnast Terry Bartlett, others would not. Some people would recognize Bro Cope; others would know him only as hlanother one of those preachers? Was this a typical student or just one in a Halloween costume? Who knows. maybe it was that crazy chick- en from San Diego. Who is recognizable at Penn State? The immediate response might be President Bryce Jordan. But Dave Wallace, Uuniorl, knew who was truly recognizable on cam- pus. Does he think Bryce Jordan is a famil- iar face? uBryce who? he quipped. ltls that one ofJo Pals assistant coaches? Joe Paternoathe one PSU person no one could forget. If you did not see himayou were bound to see that lifesize cardboard cutout somewhere on campus. It would have been easy to lose identity among thousands of people but Penn State gave each student the opportunity to ex- press his individuality while getting ac- quainted with others around him. Penn State was a melting pot for just about every . . . no, make that every type of person that wanted to learn in a place nick- named uHappy Valleny Article by-Brenda Laukaitis Layout by-Janet Roman Kathleen Prince These special people were caught in the Cameras eye, while they were being typical members of the not so typical Monty Python Society. PSU People 25

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This typical Wall sim'r, Uighu. Tina. showed how no! to be so typical while sitting on the fam- ous scopcrs perch. Mun ;, Ch NH . A rislinu Gclfund Kathleen Prince Decked out in his Sund; ' bcsl. mbo; this Sig- ma Chi brolhcr displayed his true Derby Day spirit. Late Autumn sunshine found Truccy. Tracy .1 Jon lounging Wes! Hulls .9 c with the shades on looking for Mr. Right. , . ; ' . - 4,, .EOiht: kw. . I Duvc Shclikoff 24 PS U Pcoplc

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26 DOwntown Avenues Catering To Altering Lifestyles ' I n Thorton Wilder's iiOur Townf Emily, looking wistfully down from heav- en. sighed. Oh. earth, you're too wonder- ful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?-every, every minute? Penn State students did as they made the most of ev- ery minute of the day. On campus and in our bustling town of State College, stu- dents lived, studied, ate and socialized. Downtown there was always something to do. Whether it was in the middle of the afternoon, when College Avenue was bumper-to-bumper cars, or in the middle of the night when the traffic lights inces- santly flashed yellow, one could always find students and townspeople milling abouL Even as far back as 1883, State College was well on its way to becoming a busy college town. In The History Of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pa., John Blair Linn wrote. uQuite a little village has grown up around the college. The village bears the name of the college. It contains two stores and a hotel, the State College Hotel . . . there are two or three elegant private resi- dences in the town. All the villages of this township that are within three miles of the college are protected from the influence of the sale of intoxicating liquor by a law which prohibits the sale or manufacture within three miles of the college. Obvi- ously, things had drastically evolved since then. Those who had grown up in State Col- lege, or townies as they were sometimes known. were able to provide a unique glimpse of what the town meant to them. uThe university's always been here, the towns always been here. They sort of go hand in hand, commented Anne Kenney tMedieval Studiesl. iiYou can't really sep- arate one from the other? Kids who grew up in State College, were affected by Penn State practically from day one. Parents were employed there, older friends took courses there, the Nittany Lion Football Team was there, and a ligrown-up'l kind of socializing was there. Morgan Pierce tLARCHL a life long resident, explained that phenomenon. uThe majority of stu- dents who I meet can barely comprehend the reality of growing up here in Happy Valley. They have this fixed idea in their minds of bottomless beer and endless fra- ternity parties. You know what, they're right. Growing up in a neighborhood of fraternities was an experience Illl never forget. My family was always on friendly terms with them and that had a very posi- tive impact on my life? Indeed, students from other areas appre- ciated their temporary home. Everyone seems quite nice and helpful-very young at heart and jovial. They almost have to be with so much interaction with a college- age group. commented Karen Osen tRCPKl. Economics also had an impact on stu- dent-town interaction. Stores and restau- rants counted on students and alumni to provide much of the business. Students also made up a major part of the mini- mum-wage work force in the town. Sue Altman tMeteol noted, HThe town caters to student consumers. A lot of businesses employ students; this helps student-busi- ness relations. Just as in any town. busi- nesses have to be attractive to the biggest consumer group. Although on the surface, life in State College seemed wonderful, there were some drawbacks. Townspeople com- plained of excessive noise on weekends at the fraternities; businesses complained that certain campus events such as the Phi Psi 500 hurt their business and the cleanli- ness of the town. Students complained of exhorbitant apartment rental prices. One source of the problem, as Jim Shook tRe- hab Couny pointed out. was lack of com- munication. llUnfortunately. there are few established means for students and towns- people. either individually or in groups, to communicate in an open forum. It seems that the only overt communication takes place in a litigious atmosphere. Whether good or bad. there was always action downtown. llState College, well what can I say about a town with about as much versatility as that of its bigger coun- terparts. It combines New World and Danks with great ease. It's a perfect com- panion for Penn State. exclaimed Beth Drew tLabor Studies; The town, with all its restaurants and shops, gave students who lived on campus a much needed op- portunity to get away from rigors of Uni- versity Park. Going into town maybe used as a release from academic pressures. I can go shopping with my friends or indulge in many foods offered by the abundant eater- ies that cater especially to college stu- dents. noted Tracy Busin tEEl. State College gave students many op- portunities to experience life in unique ways and many students did just this. Emi- ly would have been pleased. Article by-Melissa Heydenreich Layout by-Robert Howarth Happy Valley's downtown ga ve us both peaceful set- tings in the early morning and beautiful afternoons for walks or just relaxing between classes. Downtown