Prebuttal

Whenever the folks in The Old Main Propaganda Shop put up a post like the one about alcohol abuse at Penn State that I blogged about the other day, my first thought is that they are responding to some negative publicity or anticipating some negative publicity. However, I didn't bother to try to figure out the impetus for alcohol abuse post before I blogged about. Now I've stumbled on to the likely external event that triggered it. The post went up on The Old Main Propaganda Portal on Thursday December 17th. This American Life aired an entire program on Penn State's alcohol problem on December 18th.

This American Life really captures what it's like around here on a football week and it's not pretty. I highly recommend a listen. It's very informative and, at the same time,  entertaining in only the way that This American Life and Ira Glass can be.

You can read some of the student reaction to the program at Onward State. Most of them are in deep denial and incensed that This American Life failed to mention how special Penn State students really are. Ok, you can stop laughing now.


Technorati Tags: This American Life, alcohol abuse, Penn State

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Ravenstahl Caves on Tuition Tax

From this mornings Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via The Pittsburgh Comet,

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has asked city council to shelve his proposed tuition tax, saying instead that a broad-based "New Pittsburgh Coalition" will work to solve the city's pension problem.

The mayor is willing to cancel the tuition tax vote that could have occurred today in spite of the fact that he can't claim to have landed the $15 million-a-year needed to right the pension fund, nor the $5 million compromise demand he made earlier this month. "This is a leap of faith for all of us," he conceded, but if successful, it will bring the needed funds -- hopefully in time for the 2011 budget, when the city will otherwise face a dire fiscal situation.

Ravenstahl, it appears, has played his hand very poorly. I think most observers saw the tuition tax as means to leverage more money out of the city's universities. Ravenstahl should not  have caved on the tax without a binding commitment from those schools to pony more money in lieu of taxes.


Technorati Tags: Tuition Tax, Pittsburgh, Ravenstahl, in-lieu-of-taxes

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Here's An Idea

This week The Penn State Propaganda Portal once more addresses alcohol abuse at Penn State. We learn: Graham is dedicated to to eradicating dangerous drinking;  he has made it top priority from day one; despite Graham's efforts at Penn State the problem persists and has gotten worse nationwide [non sequitur  in the original];Damon Sims tells us that Penn  State has "seen less progress than we would like[ i.e. none] in the ongoing effort [long list of ineffective programs given] to curb high-risk drinking among our students..."; and finally that " [t]he possession of alcohol and alcohol sales are not permitted at Penn State student-athletic events, and alcohol advertising is prohibited in those facilities."

When I read the last bit my first reaction was what a bunch of bullshit, what about football tailgates? Then I realized that this is a factually correct, but a deeply, and my guess is intentionally , misleading, statement. Even though Beaver Stadium is full of drunks on football Saturdays, people can't buy or consume alcoholic beverages in the  stadium. The question arises if Old Main thinks it's a good idea to ban alcohol at student-athletic events why do they tolerate it at the tailgates that precede and follow football games? Yeah, I know the answer. It's a rhetorical question.

Since everything else they've tried has failed to curtail dangerous drinking, I think it's time to ban alcohol at tailgates and see what happens.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, tailgates, alochol abuse, Spanier

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