The Weird Uncle

Recently Penn State held a symposium on the "student-centered university". Graham was the keynote speaker and he made revelation to his audience.

University President Graham Spanier likes to think of himself as "one of the gang" when he's hanging out with student clubs, visiting LateNight Penn State or playing with his band at the Phyrst on Saturday nights.

My question is do the students really think of the man in this picture as "one of the gang"?

Photo by Annamarie Mountz

Or do they think of him as the weird uncle who won't leave them alone at family gatherings? You know the type: the one who has an unhealthy fascination about his nieces and nephews partying and sex lives.

Spanier stressed to faculty members the importance of getting involved in students' lives in his closing address.

"It is easy to get out of touch with this generation of college students," he said, encouraging faculty to meet individually with students and try to understand the social and sexual mores of college students, a topic most faculty members avoid.

"If all they're thinking about is sex and their social life and drinking ... that's something you need to be aware of," he said.

It turns out that he's always had an odd obsession about sex. Like when he found wife-swapping so fascinating.

So kids, what is it? One of the gang or weird uncle?