It's Beginning to Look Like Penn State Exists Solely For THON

Today's Collegian has a half-assed story  on Penn State's precipitous drop in the Washington Monthly National University Ranking.  The reporter, Micah Wintner, makes no effort to explain why the University dropped like a rock from 7^th to 35^th place.  Basically the story is Penn State drops in Washington Monthly ranking....hey, look over there THON....economic impact...wait!... is that Graham playing the washboard?

You would think that explaining the drop would be the obvious angle on this story.   Let's review, this is from my post last year on the ranking.

This brings me to Social Mobility which clearly is what drives Penn State in to the top ten schools on the overall ranking and something ain't right here. Anyone who has spent any time in Happy Valley over the past fifteen years knows that the Main Campus of Penn State is increasingly populated by upper middle class and upper class students. It's gotten so bad that the University Faculty Senate issued a report a couple years ago on Access and Affordability. It did not paint a pretty picture.

Then there is the 2006 report from Education Trust, Engines of Inequality: Diminishing Equality in the Nation's Premier Public Universities, which I blogged about at the time. Penn State received and overall grade of an F and an F on low income access. The Old Main Propaganda Shop wasn't happy.

The grade on low income access was based on the percentage of Pell Grant recipients at the University Park campus in 2004 which stood at 18.0%, according to the report, compared to 33.6the% of all college students in Pennsylvania with Pell Grant that year. The report also noted a trend toward less access at the Main Campus of Penn State. In 1992, the percentage of students with Pell Grants at the flagship campus was 22.2% compared to 27.7% overall in Pennsylvania.

Washington Monthly has the percentage of Pell Grant recipients at Penn State in 2008 as 25%. Has the University dramatically improved low income access to the Main Campus in the last four years? It is highly unlikely.

The Education Department keeps track of this statistic. For 2008, the total number of recipients of Pell Grants at all campuses of Penn State stood at 16,707 or roughly 25% of system-wide enrollment. (You can download the Excel file here.) That percentage is very likely to be lower at University Park and higher at the branch campuses.

Unfortunately, the most recent data on Pell Grant with a campus breakdown from the National Center for Educational Statistics is 2006. It shows substantial inequality amongst the campuses from a high of 63% at the Shenango campus in northwestern Pennsylvania to a low of 14% at the University Park, the flagship campus. However, the percentage of students with Pell Grants at the University Park campus has been very stable around 15% from 1999 through 2006, hence it is likely that the current percentage is significantly lower than the 25% system-wide number used by the Washington Monthly.

You can find a comparison to the other Big Ten schools plus Berkeley for 2006 here.

I think that it is reasonable to concluded that the Washington Monthly over estimated the percentage of Penn State University Park students on Pell Grants...

So this year Washington Monthly got the Pell Grant percent right and Penn State plunged in the ranking.  How hard was that?

Next question, what does that low Pell Grant percentage  tell us about Penn State fulfilling its mission under Graham?....hands....anyone....com'on people....did anyone do the assigned reading?

If a Drunk Penn State Student Falls in an Alley and "This American Life" Isn't There to See It, Does Penn State Still Have an Alcohol Abuse Problem?

I am a little late on this, but earlier this month the Princeton Review Party School Ranking came out. Penn State dropped from  first place last year to third place this year. That mean's that the national spotlight will now shift away from Penn State to the University of Georgia, this year's top school.  We'll have to wait and see if  Old Main's will to deal with the alcohol abuse problem around here , which was dialed up last year after the first place showing in the Party School Ranking, the alcohol related death of freshman Joe Dado, and a revealing portrayal of Penn State's party culture on This American Life,  diminishes now that the public relation problem has been solved to some degree.

It's worth noting the Penn Staters are taking the drop in the ranking in stride.  Here's Jake Wiest a junior architectural engineering major in a letter to the Collegian.

The review relies on a survey that states an average of 325 students per school filled it out. First, we must assume everyone filling this out is doing so in an honest manner, not just to talk up the school's party scene. Assuming this, than a poll of less than 0.8 percent of the student population, a horribly inadequate number, determined our ranking.
I'm not saying that we would've stayed at No. 1 had more people filled out the survey -- perhaps quite the opposite. I'm saying who cares. Both the university and student population should put little stock into this overly hyped and insufficient survey.

Jake echos Penn State Bullshit Artist Geoff Rushton reaction,

"How do you scientifically gauge something like this?" Rushton said. "I don't think you do."

[...]

For Rushton, the rankings not only hold no real legitimacy -- they also have zero purpose.

The ranking is not representative of all students, he said, as many students drink responsibly.

"It's kind of insulting to our students, who are very bright, hard-working and dedicated to their studies," he said.

But Jake takes a very different lesson away from this observation about the lack of scientific legitimacy of the ranking,

I say the students should just keep doing your thing; everyone knows we party harder than the University of Georgia and Ohio University anyway.

I've gotta say, I think Jake's got a better grip on the reality here than Geoff does.

I mean it was a couple of those very bright, hard-working and dedicated recent Penn State graduates  that used their talents to come up with this.

During their time here, some Penn State graduates engineered a way to drink liquor without actually tasting anything -- and they say it may become the next social staple for college students across the nation.

Their product is the SLIZ Cup -- a "drinking vessel designed to eliminate the cringe between taking a shot and reaching for the chaser," said Anthony Vella, one of the product's creators.

It's a cup on top, with a straw for the handle.

To get the shot and chaser experience, co-creator Maurio Foire, Class of 2010, said users pour the alcohol into the SLIZ cup, add a non-alcoholic beverage and then drink quickly through the straw before letting the drink mix.

[...]

Inventing, marketing and selling SLIZ has been quite the experience, Vella said. The group got the chance to learn hands-on about entreprenuership, meet some interesting people along the way and "probably had too much fun conducting the necessary 'market research' which came with a lot of vodka," he said.

Hey, I know you're curious about the SLIZ Cup, so  here's their Web site.

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on Graham and Old Main this year to see if they slack off in their efforts to deal with Penn State's alcohol abuse problem.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Princeton Review Party School ranking, Spanier

For GT Legislatin' is Like Paintin' by Numbers

Last week GT joined 158 of his Republican colleagues to defeat a bill which would have created a fund for  9/11 emergency responders who have health problems due to the toxic environment created by the collapse of the World Trade Center.

As with his no vote on extending emergency  unemployment insurance, GT has not  seen fit to issue a press release explaining  why he has voted the way he has on this. He hasn't  even a twitter twatted, his favorite form of keeping constituents abreast of the depths of his mind. I'm guessing he isn't too proud of the vote and hopes than no one in the local  press notices it. A pretty good bet around these parts.

You can find the background on the bill here and what other wingers in the House have said about their no votes here  The reaction of both Democrats and Republicans are  here and a  Democrat responded in detail here. Then you can try to guess which Clown Caucus approved talking points (PDF) GT would check off as his reason for voting no, if forced to explain his "reasoning."
(Cartoon via watertiger at Dependable Renegade ,a very funny blog which I highly recommended.)

Technorati Tags: 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5)

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Huh?

What's with the headline on this article?
Technorati Tags: Collegian, Humor

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More Information, Please

Last week the Collegian reported that the money from the new facilities fee has not been spent. I asked how money from the fees was being used while a use for it was being devised. Today, in an editorial on the various fees that students must pay, the Collegian appears to answer my question.

The $200 students will pay next year will basically be going into a "black hole" -- no one knows exactly what the money will be spent on, and until the board figures it out, the money will just sit untouched in a bank account.

It is not clear where the Collegian learned that the fees are not being touched. Did someone in the administration tell them this or did they surmise this on their own? I think we should have a more definitive answer.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Facilities Fee, Collegian

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Graham: Putting the Weasel in Nittany Weasel

The Collegian reported on Wednesday about how the University is using the revenue from the controversial new facilities fee....it isn't.

Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims, who is also a ... member[of the facilities Fee Advisory Board], wrote in an e-mail that no revenues from the University Park Facilities Fee "have been expended this year."

[...]

According to Sims' e-mail, the committee met twice this year to hear "various presentations about possible projects that could benefit from the fee."

It's not even being used for maintenance of existing facilities.

There a couple of things to think about here. First, if you are a graduating senior you have given  Old Main $100 toward future building projects which you will not be here to use. I think Old Main should refund the fee to anyone who graduates this year. Yeah, like that's going to happen.  Second, how is the money collected this year being handled? Has it been invested with the interest being retained within the facilities fee fund? Is Old Main using the money for other purposes, like plugging holes in the budget,  with the intent of repaying the facilities fee fund in the future? If that's the case will it repay the fund with interest?

Oh not to worry, having no idea of  what to build with the fee, the Board of Trustees has already decided to  doubling the fee next year.  

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Spanier, Facilities Fee

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Context Comes a Few Weeks Late

The Collegian finally got around to reporting the Old Main's lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act today. The reporter, Ryan Pfister, does a pretty good job explaining what the University did.

...[A]ccording to a lobbying report filed by Penn State that covers activities from October to December of 2008, Penn State lobbied against the EFCA in the U.S. House of Representatives. The university "urged members to oppose this measure as it would change the current union election system by leaving workers unprotected from outside influences," according to the report.

The report lists four Penn State employees who "acted as a lobbyist in this issue area": Sheilah Borne, Zachery Moore, Richard DiEugenio and Margaret Sheely.

There's no ambiguity there. Old Main opposed the bill last year. Pfister gets a comment from  university Bullshitter, Geoff Rushton, who said

...the university is not taking an official position on the EFCA and said no money had been spent on lobbying about the issue. He said a lobbyist, whom he would not identify, did make an "inquiry" about a congressman's position on the EFCA, but did not attempt to influence the congressman's position.

"There was no urging on Penn State's part to take a position either way on the bill," he said.

I wonder how much you have to pay someone like Rushton to lie like that in the face of facts? Geoff don't you feel dirty? Or does the money make it all better for you?

The take away its that Old Main got caught union busting  red handed and now they are lying about it. Great example you're setting there Graham.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Employee Free Choice Act, Union busting, bullshitting

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The Collegian is Slipping

That's the headline on a letter to the Collegian from a Brian Cox which contains the following paragraphs

You have heard a lot of outright lies and misconception about the proposed new law (EFCA). It will not rob the employees of the right to vote for representation.

Even the Wall Street Journal finally spoke the truth about this. It will change dramatically who can and cannot ask for that right.

Currently employees and the employer can ask for and receive a secret ballot election. The EFCA will remove the right for an employer to demand that a secret ballot election be held. That is what big and small business is screaming about.

The whole point of the letter is that EFCA won't eliminate secret ballots. How did the headline writer miss that?

Technorati Tags: The Daily Collegian, Employee Free Choice Act

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The Missing Context for the pro-EFCA Rally at Old Main

Friday's rally at Old Main in support of the Employee Free Choice Act was a great success.  The Collegian reports that,

[m]ore than 120 Penn State student activists, professors, union representatives and community members congregated Friday at Old Main to urge Penn State President Graham Spanier and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

Unfortunately, the Centre Daily Times has, so far, ignored the rally.

While I'm on the topic of media failures, neither the Collegian nor the CDT have reported on the fact that Old Main lobbied against EFCA when it was considered by the last congress. This  important piece of context for the rally  should have been mentioned in the Collegian article.

The only place that you will have read about Old Main's opposition to EFCA is at Left of Centre. Why has the local media ignored the anti-labor activities of Graham?

Technorati Tags: The Daily Collegian, Centre Daily Times, Employee Free Choice Act, Penn State, Spanier,

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The Collegian Gets It: Above and Beyond by Knights Apparel

An excellent editorial from the Collegian on Harvey...I mean  Above and Beyond by Knights Apparel.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, Above and Beyond by Knights Apparel, propaganda, Spanier

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Is There Enough Room in There for Both Feet?

I had thought that Tom Shakely's fifteen minutes of fame had lapsed. He used to be a go to guy for local reporters looking for a juicy quote, but he seemed to fade into well deserved obscurity this year. Then on Wednesday he and UPUA president Gavin Keiran, who I though would have known better, made a triumphant return to the pages of the Collegian riding a harebrained scheme. They want the Commonwealth to re-institute the Tuition Challenge Grant program (1989-1996) which rewarded Penn State with increased appropriations in exchange for holding the line on tuition. That's right, Rendell just announced a projected $1.9 billion dollar budget shortfall for this fiscal year, he's already told Penn State that he want about $21 million back at the end of the fiscal year, the economy shows no signs of improvement, but Tom wants the Governor to fork over more money next year.

Where exactly is this money supposed to come from? Well, Tom, never one to let information get in the way of an indignant response, has a ready answer,"The bottom line is that the government has proved it doesn't have a problem with deficit spending." Tom, a political science major, doesn't seem to realize that unlike the Federal government Pennsylvania has to balance its budget. Tom's partner in this venture, the usually level headed Keirans, must have realized that Tom's foot was once more in his mouth. Yesterday he stepped up to defend their proposal and show the world that unlike Tom he didn't sleep through his high school civics class.

Some may dismiss this as foolish because of the economic downturn that we are in, as well as the state of Pennsylvania being obligated by its constitution to have a balanced budget.

Keirans wasn't the only who wanted to prove that they were better educated than the Shake. Council of Commonwealth Student Governments President George Khoury also want to make sure that the world knew that he knew that Pennsylvania had to balance the budget. He was interviewed by the Collegan this morning concerning his efforts to meet with lawmakers to discuss Penn State's appropriation.

"With a $21.2 million rescission, it is not realistic to freeze tuition," Khoury said. "That's impossible because the state needs to balance the budget."

And it doesn't sound like Khoury thinks much of the Challenge Grant idea either. To make the Shake's day even worse, one last group wanted to tell you that they knew more than him. The Collegian editorial board weighed in this morning. They don't like the Tuition Grant proposal either and they know all about the need to balance the budget.

The first is a practical one. Simply: The state cannot afford it.

Currently, Pennsylvania is projecting a deficit of $1.4 billion for the fiscal year and is taking measures to cut costs wherever it can. At best, the state government is operating in a zero-sum game, and whatever incentives Penn State would be rewarded with under this program would likely be directly negated by a decrease in yearly appropriations.

So how did Tom take all the rain on his parade? If you guessed with an indignant response you'd be correct.

Passing an updated version of the Tuition Challenge Grant may be unlikely, but no one else is proposing any other alternatives, Shakely said.

"Our times call for a new approach," Shakely said. "The tried-and-failed approach of simply meeting and asking for money, I don't think is going to work."

Shorter Tom: No one is proposing any good ideas. We thought we'd propose a bad one.

Technorati Tags: Collegian, economy, Penn State, appropriations

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Counter-F.A.C.T.-ual

The Collegian ran a story this morning on the poured drink tax in Allegheny County and the proposal for a similar tax  in State College. The reporter  cites a study by a group calling itself Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation (F.A.C.T.) which,"show[s] general purchases of liquor, wine and spirits decreased by 4.3 percent in Allegheny County in 2008, while the surrounding counties experienced a 4 percent increase in sales."

Here's something that the reporter should have told you. F.A.C.T. was created to fight the Allegheny County drink tax by Kevin Joyce,a Pittsburgh restaurateur, former president and current  chairman of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association Restaurant.

I wouldn't treat F.A.C.T.'s numbers as facts.


Technorati Tags: F.A.C.T., drink tax, Collegian

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The Collegian Gets Tough

Today's Collegian Editorial on Penn State tuition is tough-minded and hard-nosed. Congratulations. Keep up the good work.

Technorati Tags: Penn State, tuition, Collegian

Looking for a Good Reason to Drink?

The Collegian is working overtime to rationalize Penn State's drinking problem. This morning's Collegian reports on a study published by the Reason Foundation which attempts to explain the positive correlation between social drinking and income level. The report explains this association as follows. Our business culture is organized around the principle of it's who you know, not what you know. Drinking makes you popular. Therefore drinking helps you in the business world. The report actually dresses this up in serious academic language:"We hypothesize that drinking enhances social capital, which leads to superior market outcomes."

An alternative explanation for this association was given in a 2005 publication.

We conclude that most likely the positive association between drinking and earnings is the result of the fact that ethanol is a normal commodity, the consumption of which increases with income, rather than an elixer that enhances productivity.

Increased income leads to more social drinking not the other way around.

The 2005 study was publish by the National Bureau of Economic Research which according to their web site is a "non-partisan research organization" which disseminates "unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community." The other study was published by the libertarian Reason Foundation which is an anti-tax group. The Reason Foundation uses the study to argue against excise taxes on alcohol. Without making a detailed comparison of the two studies which one has would have more credibility for you? I can tell that for me it is 2005 study.

Now there is a funny thing about the two studies, Bethany L. Peters is an author on both of them. Despite this fact, the Reason Foundation report, which was written after the 2005 paper, does not reference the 2005 paper. This illustrates how scholars can alter their research findings to fit the ideas of their patrons and why the commercialization of academic research is so problematic. However, that is a topic for another post.

In closing, I would like to say to Graham, you reap what you sow. You spin, lie, boast, rationalize, and take anti-intellectual postures, soon enough Penn State students are following along.

The Graham Spanier Award for Most Outrageous Spin Goes to...

The Collegian today has a truly stupid editorial in which they try their hand at turd polishing. Mount Nittany Medical Centre received 353 blood-alcohol emergency room visits during the 2005-2006 school year. How do you put a positive spin on this?

In a twisted sort of way, the numbers at Mount Nittany Medical Center probably represent a good thing. It just might mean that students are learning to err on the side of caution when it comes to possible alcohol poisoning.

The appallingly high number of students treated for alcohol related problems is an indication of more responsible behavior on the part of the students. That is bullshit worthy of Spanier. See what happens Graham when you set a bad example. The Collegian also breaks out this old saw to defend the party hearty crowd.

It is part of our culture. Penn State students study hard during the week and party hard during the weekend. We maintain a balance of work and fun that, overall, contributes to our lives.

Of course, here in Happy Valley the weekend starts on Thursday.

The truth is that most Penn State students are not challenged academically. Remember that in 2002 nearly 40% of all grades awarded at Penn State were A's and the University is ninth this year on the Princeton Review list of schools where you don't have to study. I think Penn State student Joel Gilchrest said it better in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,"We have a motto here: Party hard, drink hard ... I mean, party hard, study hard. "