How cliquey are schools like Penn State?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The response of the school/ students and alumni to decades of child destruction in the football team building has been sickening. Every other school in the country would have shut down the disgusting program until everybody got their heads screwed on right.

Not penn state ... They hired a new coach who rounded up a group of hotties to "host " recruits against the rules and one of the girls got gang raped by his players .

That's penn state.

Where are you getting your info?? At PSU all football recruiting is done by the entirely male coaching staff and recruits are housed with current (male) players. Knowing people who went through the PSU process in the franklin era -- high schoolers' trips to PSU are so packed with obligations to coaches and have so much parental involvement that recruits rarely make it out to a campus party, let alone hooking up with any hotties in their hosts' rooms.

And no - other schools would not just shut down a program that generates millions per year for the school. You think Notre Dame or Mich or Wisconsin would just say - nah we just don't need football revenue.

[Anonymous]

Let me start by saying I did not go to Penn State. I went to a college with a high percentage of students in fraternities/sororities, big emphasis on sports, located in a college town. I understand OP's concerns because I have similar concerns when my AA daughters start looking at colleges. I think your best bet to get answers is to have your dd visit the campus, talk to kids from her high school that have gone there, see clubs on campus that follow her interest, find out if there are any organized activities that would interest your daughter or community living groups for people that are not in Greek life, and yes try to meet up with the cultural group for South Asians on campus and have dd hear their experiences.

I have mixed emotions about my college experience socially. I do feel like the huge emphasis on rushing 2nd semester of freshman year divided me from many of my classmates. In the beginning, your social group is mostly your dorm and who lives near you. Almost every single girl on my hall rushed. I did end up hanging out more with people I met thru the Black Student Alliance. I ended up closest with people that shared my ethnic background that are also a good fit personality wise. I guess to my school's credit there were enough people that I did have a choice. It was probably one of the few times I had the luxury of really finding friends that our personalities were a good match and we had similar experiences/background. So for the friends, I say it was worth it.

We had a saying that you had to make your own fun because there really wasn't much of a social life outside of Greek parties. Luckily, my friends definately knew how to have fun. That said, dating life was horrible. Back then, interracial dating in campus wasn't that common and within my ethnic group the numbers were not on my side even before you add in finding someone compatible. Things worked out for me in the end even as far as meeting my husband indirectly thru a college friend that had a friend of a friend invite me to a BBQ a few years post college. So my mixed emotions have to do with how bad the dating opprtunities were and all that goes with that and not really feeling like there were lots of opportunities the have an integrated social environment where you could both have a lot of fun without drinking and have the type of interactions where you meet life long close friends with different ethnic backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The response of the school/ students and alumni to decades of child destruction in the football team building has been sickening. Every other school in the country would have shut down the disgusting program until everybody got their heads screwed on right.

Not penn state ... They hired a new coach who rounded up a group of hotties to "host " recruits against the rules and one of the girls got gang raped by his players .

That's penn state.

Based on your logic, should MCPS shut down the entire school system because it appears they have a big problem with sex offenders working for MCPS?

That's my point. At Penn State the football program is more important than the school or the well being of innocent children. That's why it's so gross and weird.

[Anonymous]

^^^ yuck. When I see the Penn State football uniform on TV , it gives me a sick feeling. It always will. It represents a nasty side of human nature. I think it was the reaction of the students / alumni and the whole delusional Paterno cult stuff was more of a institutional sickness exposed than the decades long atrocity in the team house.

[Anonymous]

If a student is around 35+ thousand others and can't find something to do, or a group to be friends with - it will probably be a life-long complaint of their own making.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

^^ yuck. When I see the Penn State football uniform on TV , it gives me a sick feeling. It always will. It represents a nasty side of human nature. I think it was the reaction of the students / alumni and the whole delusional Paterno cult stuff was more of a institutional sickness exposed than the decades long atrocity in the team house.

It's very strange talking to people from pa. They are 100% for the football program and are so happy that wins have been restored. PSU football is an after thought or at most a model of what can go wrong national, but not in Pa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

^^ yuck. When I see the Penn State football uniform on TV , it gives me a sick feeling. It always will. It represents a nasty side of human nature. I think it was the reaction of the students / alumni and the whole delusional Paterno cult stuff was more of a institutional sickness exposed than the decades long atrocity in the team house.

It's very strange talking to people from pa. They are 100% for the football program and are so happy that wins have been restored. PSU football is an after thought or at most a model of what can go wrong national, but not in Pa.

I'm a PA person who likes PSU football - as in if i turn on ABC and a game is on, I'll watch though I have no idea who they're playing next week or what their win loss % is at any time or what the new coaching philosophy is. Nationally you say "Penn State" and people think of child sex abuse and what can go wrong when a program becomes untouchable with no university oversight. But to my Pa friends -- even the ones who were disgusted early on -- it's like it never happened bc it's been a few yrs, the guy is behind bars, JVP died, and the new coaching staff is very rah-rah and preaches being good family men. If someone pushes the topic then you invariably hear about what a good school it is academically and how they raised $13 million for THON. Both of those things are great, but I'm not sure how they allow you to revise history though.

That said if my kid wanted to go to PSU I'd have no issues with it -- provided they had the right majors, right fit etc bc such a huge school and an isolated town aren't for every kid. Nor would I have any problem with going to psu games on campus -- enjoy the unique environment while you're there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a PSU alumni. The majority of my college friends came from New York City, Philly, Washington DC area and Pittsburgh. None came from small towns. These posts seem like they are coming from Maryland alumni. I grew up in Maryland and Virginia. That said, I chose Penn State and I did not find it "cliquey" at all.

Yes, the university is in a small town. Instead of driving 15 minutes home on the weekend to do laundry (UMD) mostly all the students stayed on campus on the weekends and participated in student life. In additon, when you attended parties/bars in State College almost all of the people there were fellow students which adds to the college experience too. As another poster mentioned, 99 percent of the students have a wonderful time.

+1

I honestly think the very negative opinion of PSU on DCUM must be in part because of rivalry with UMD. There are a ton of PSU alums in this area and I've never met one with a negative opinion of the school. The alums I'm friends with were people who majored in things like engineering or nutrition, and were not part of the greek system. It's a big school and it has hundreds of "scenes," unlike a small liberal arts school with only a few hundred kids per class year (in which there are cliques -- DH went to a school like that and I'd avoid those smaller schools if you're worried, OP).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It has suddenly appeared on DD's list. I don't know much about it, but as I'm looking at the demographics -- it seems like it is largely composed of a Caucasian population from small towns in Pa. with a decent number of NJ and NY residents. It comes across like the kind of place where the "in" crowd is Greek and into football. Sure it's a school that offers something for everyone bc it's so huge, but I'm thinking it's easier to make friends if you're into tailgating for football than if you're one of the 10 people in drama club. Is that accurate?

DD is South Asian -- though culturally identifies with being American as she was born and raised here in NoVa; she's not someone who needs a group of Indian friends or Indian food or anything -- she's friends with everyone. However, she's always gone to schools where no one has cared about her background -- simply bc this area is so diverse. Is it similar at the larger state schools that draw from small towns or is she going to feel like more of a minority in that type of place simply bc she looks different? I don't really see her going Greek in college -- she might but says she's not at all interested. I also don't see her drinking -- again, she might but she is fairly religious and it's against our faith. Are these the kinds of things that'll set her apart too far at a place like PSU? I'd like for her to have a "normal" college experience -- not feel like kids are nice to her in class but don't want to hang out at night bc she's not one of them so now she has to resort to finding small group of Indians and hanging out with them whether she likes them or not simply bc they'll be accepting.

This seems like a stupid question. no offense but how cliquey can a HUGE school like Penn State possibly be? Really?

[Anonymous]

The issue with Penn State is .... Unspeakable.

[Anonymous]

Cult school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cult school!

AND if you're gonna be a cult, what could be a dumber cult than a football team that hasn't been relevant in decades outside facilitating the sexual destruction of children in the team room over decades.

[Anonymous]

I'm from PA and didn't go to Penn State. However, my niece is there currently, is not part of a sorority, but is involved in lots of other groups - some related to her major. She absolutely LOVES it there. So, I'm sure you don't have to be Greek to have a good experience, but it's not a good fit for everyone. I didn't choose it because it was too big.

[Anonymous]

Here is the cult at JoePa's house.

it's chilling.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQAzlp5VJzg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The response of the school/ students and alumni to decades of child destruction in the football team building has been sickening. Every other school in the country would have shut down the disgusting program until everybody got their heads screwed on right.

Not penn state ... They hired a new coach who rounded up a group of hotties to "host " recruits against the rules and one of the girls got gang raped by his players .

That's penn state.

Where are you getting your info?? At PSU all football recruiting is done by the entirely male coaching staff and recruits are housed with current (male) players. Knowing people who went through the PSU process in the franklin era -- high schoolers' trips to PSU are so packed with obligations to coaches and have so much parental involvement that recruits rarely make it out to a campus party, let alone hooking up with any hotties in their hosts' rooms.

And no - other schools would not just shut down a program that generates millions per year for the school. You think Notre Dame or Mich or Wisconsin would just say - nah we just don't need football revenue.

On Tuesday, The Tennessean reported that a court filing by the defense states that Franklin, the former head coach at Vanderbilt, had contacted the alleged victim at some point.

The filing continued, saying “Coach Franklin called her in for a private meeting and told her he wanted her to get fifteen pretty girls together and form a team to assist with the recruiting even though he knew it was against the rules. He added that all the other colleges did it.”

in the first two weeks of the trial of two former Vanderbilt football players charged with raping an unconscious female student.

The Tennessean;


Referring to records, the attorneys said the victim was contacted by Franklin and [former director of performance enhancement Dwight] Galt during a medical examination four days after the rape to explain “that they cared about her because she assisted them with recruiting.”

It went on to say that at some point, “Coach Franklin called her in for a private meeting and told her he wanted her to get fifteen pretty girls together and form a team to assist with the recruiting even though he knew it was against the rules. He added that all the other colleges did it.”


Oh And this too....

James Franklin says his assistants’ wives must be pretty
May 31st, 2012 | by Jeff Lockridge |


Perhaps it’s a case of being around those string bikinis in Sandestin, but Vanderbilt football Coach James Franklin made it clear looks matter when it comes to the wives of his assistant coaches.

A blog written by Matt Hinton and posted today on CBSSports.com included comments Franklin gave during a radio interview on Wednesday in which he stated an assistant coach’s ability to recruit an attractive woman correlates to his ability to recruit a high school football player.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time, I will not hire an assistant coach until I’ve seen his wife,” Franklin said, according to the blog. “If she looks the part, and she’s a D-1 recruit, then you got a chance to get hired. That’s part of the deal.

“There’s a very strong correlation between having the confidence, going up and talking to a woman, and being quick on your feet and having some personality and confidence and being fun and articulate, than it is walking into a high school and recruiting a kid and selling him.”



This is the guy Penn State hired to replace Paterno. It is one F'd up institution.