Please join with me and endorse Jen Black’s candidacy for the School Board of the State College Area School District. Jen will bring to the SCASD Board a willingness to engage in open dialogue with the public on issues being addressed by the board. She listens. She researches the issues. She articulates clearly her reasoning and conclusions.
Jen looks forward to enhancing the partnerships with all the component parts of the SCASD community. As a member of the Board, she will create regular in-person interactions with district administration, teachers, students and the larger State College community.
Her goal will always be to create bridges that will strengthen the common bond among the community, administration, teachers and students. Jen values open dialogue as a valuable tool to promote a better educational environment. Jen will promote actions and policies that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion in all areas of the educational community. Jen will work to ensure that the mental health needs of our students, teachers and administration are being considered and met.
Jen has gained her dynamic leadership skills through her work as a WPSU Education Ambassador, as a member of the Stay and Play advisory council, as a member of the Penn State College of Education Alumni Board, as an academic tutor for kindergarten through eighth grade for the past 20 years, as a sixth- grade teacher for seven years, as a volunteer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and as a parent.
All of these experiences empower her to be a vital member of the SCASD School Board. Most enthusiastically, I endorse Jen Black’s candidacy for the School Board of the State College Area School District.
When you vote for your candidates for the school board, vote for Jen Black.
Harold L. McFerren,
State College
Black Will Bring ‘Thoughtful, Committed Leadership’ to SCASD Board
I am writing to express my wholehearted support for Jennifer Black in the upcoming State College Area School Board election. As a parent and community member, our students, teachers and staff deserve thoughtful, empathetic, committed leadership. Which is what Jennifer Black will bring to the board if elected.
She understands the challenges our schools face and has the vision to work through them with her background in education and community involvement. She is a strong advocate for mental health and has shown a deep commitment to our community through her history of teaching and volunteering.
What sets Jennifer apart is her ability to listen to parents, teachers, students and community members. She will work to encourage open communication throughout the district and find ways to bridge the gap between our community, teachers, administration and board members. She is also focused on making sure every child in our district has the opportunity to succeed.
Our school board needs voices that are informed, compassionate and willing to do the challenging work. I urge my neighbors to join me in voting for Jennifer Black for SCASD school board. Let us support a candidate who truly puts students first.
Stacey McIntire
Port Matilda
Karen Keller for Penn State Board of Trustees
To the people of State College:
As a Penn State alumnus, the spouse of a graduate, a current PSU parent and a long-time supporter of the university, I’ve come to understand how deeply Penn State and the town of State College are connected. Our students and faculty don’t just belong to the university—they are vital parts of our community. Their success, health and growth have a direct impact on the vibrancy, economy and spirit of State College.
Today’s students face challenges very different from those of past generations. They’re asked to choose a career path at 18, often taking on tens of thousands of dollars in debt with little room to explore other interests. The pressure to specialize early can lead to anxiety, burnout and a sense of being trapped on a path they didn’t fully choose. These young adults aren’t just passing through—they work in our shops and restaurants, volunteer in our schools and engage in our community. We owe it to them to provide stronger support systems, including improved access to mental health resources like CAPS, flexible academic pathways and meaningful career services that help them build a future with confidence.
Our faculty, too, are essential to both Penn State and State College. They are educators, researchers, mentors and residents. Many are facing burnout, dwindling research funding and fewer opportunities for early-career advancement. These issues don’t stay confined within the university. When our faculty are supported and inspired, they engage more deeply with students, bring cutting-edge research to the public and contribute to our region’s innovation economy.
We need to reinvest in faculty by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, streamlining the path from research to commercialization and creating professional environments that value and reward their contributions. A thriving faculty attracts new talent, improves educational quality and strengthens our local economy. It also ensures that Penn State remains a place of innovation and inspiration—qualities that benefit every resident of State College.
At the same time, Penn State’s role in addressing broader societal challenges—like food insecurity, climate change and public health—depends on empowered students and well-supported faculty. The university’s agricultural programs, research facilities and Commonwealth Campuses offer resources that can position Penn State as a global leader on these issues. But we must ensure that those driving the mission—students and faculty—have what they need to succeed.
State College and Penn State are stronger together. By advocating for student well-being and faculty empowerment, we’re not just protecting the future of the university—we’re strengthening the entire community. I’m committed to the people at the heart of this institution and its community, ensuring it remains a beacon of opportunity, resilience and innovation for decades to come.
We Are,
Karen Keller – Class of 2000
PSU Board of Trustee Candidate – Ballot Position 5
Write In Fenchak for Penn State Board
To Penn State Alumni,
Once again, we are met with a decision. Is a trustee on Penn State’s board a person charged with responsible, fiduciary oversight, or just a PSU popularity contest winner? The answer’s clear. We need to write in Barry Fenchak ‘84 for this year’s alumni trustee election (PennStateVotes.com).
Three years ago, we voted for Barry to go to work. We wanted him to work for more accountability and transparency. Since then, he’s represented the best interests of the university and students, worked to rein in tuition costs and unapologetically scrutinized finances.
We expect trustees to challenge the administration, not blindly vote along with PowerPoint presentations that recommend hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, even if trustees agree with the recommendations! (Re: Beaver Stadium upgrade). Trustees should get all the particulars about plans/contracts/decisions, then ask detailed questions, then vote. It’s the job. It can’t be delegated.
Last year, Barry had to sue the board to get specific information that he’s entitled to as a trustee. Why was it denied? Cui bono (who benefits)? Why the opaque approach with a trustee, never mind public taxpayer disclosure? A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help Barry with legal fees so that the facts could be shared.
Now, the board has implemented a dubious screening process for alumni trustee candidates, blocking Barry from the ballot. We need to write in our vote for Barry Fenchak ‘84. Let’s show the PSU board that alumni understand accountability. Let’s continue the mission.
David Lapioli,
Penn State alumnus
Trump’s Real Agenda
Donald Trump promised Americans a booming economy: “…the best jobs, the biggest paychecks, the brightest economic future the world has ever seen.” As egg prices reached a new high (just in time for Easter), he’s now bracing Americans for economic turmoil. His chaotic and destabilizing trade war will dramatically increase costs on a broad swath of products, including toys, clothes and electronics.
Trump’s overhaul of the federal workforce has targeted scientific research and international aid. Cuts also hit central Pennsylvanians – farmers who supply food banks, and programs treating veterans with PTSD.
Some cuts are purely petty. Eliminating National History Day, a nationwide competition that engages more than a half-million students annually and prepares students for success and civic engagement—something that benefits us all.
As Americans struggle with increased prices and reduced services, Trump frivolously spends $3.4 million for *each* golf excursion.
Trump vindictively targets law firms and universities whose policies or employees he doesn’t like. And he aggressively targets individuals who challenge his false claims.
He issued a brazenly vengeful executive order to investigate Christopher Krebs, former head of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, for refuting claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Alarm bells should sound when the president exacts retribution against people who dare to tell the truth that the 2020 election was not stolen. He’s testing American democracy.
Trump isn’t using his office to improve Americans’ lives. He’s wielding his power like a Mafia mob-boss and Republicans in Congress are helping him do it!
Margie Swoboda,
Julian
Who Does Thompson Represent?
Thanks to Representative Glenn “GT” “Thompson for his newsletters, showing he’s out of touch with constituents’ needs.
In recent newsletters, Thompson said nothing about the chaos engulfing our country – high prices; fired government workers; canceled contracts providing food and health services to millions of Americans; threats to Social Security, Medicaid and supplemental nutrition aid; tattered global alliances; Trump’s revenge tours.
So, what did Thompson say?
He co-sponsored legislation to ensure that AM radio remains available on cars, so “drivers can access news and emergency information.” A strange priority; it’s not how most people access information.
He highlighted National Agriculture Day, claiming to “champion the hard work of … the agriculture sector.” Meanwhile, he did nothing as the Agriculture Department canceled $13 million in funding for Pennsylvania farmers who supply food banks.
He praised recent airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen, and “action to safeguard American interests …” But he’s mum about the shocking security failures surrounding those airstrikes that risked American military lives, and the unwillingness of our highest intelligence officials to acknowledge errors in sharing classified information on a commercial app.
He continued to prioritize business over public good. He complained about regulatory burdens and praised for-profit DaVita Dialysis. But nothing about the lack of maternity services in six counties in his district.
He frequently attends business summits, but can’t find time to meet with constituents or attend the March 29 town hall.
It couldn’t be clearer — Thompson doesn’t know or represent his constituents.
Nora Chyle,
State College
Chaos, Not Efficiency
Who doesn’t support increasing government efficiency? Efficiency makes sense, but wholesale dismantling of government won’t make it more efficient, and it certainly won’t make it more effective.
When it comes to managing our home budget, we don’t haphazardly slash expenses (we can’t eliminate rent or mortgage, or stiff the babysitter), we collect what’s owed us, and don’t spend frivolously.
Trump’s war on government is anything but efficient.
The chainsaw approach to cutting the federal workforce is already impacting the economy with private sector layoffs, price hikes and supply issues—and all with NO discernible taxpayer savings. Consider, for example, that the federal health workforce makes up less than 1% of HHS’s budget. Add lawsuits to defend unlawful actions, unemployment compensation and cost increases that will result when those services are sold off to private, for-profit contractors, and Trump’s “savings” are an illusion!
Massive cuts to the understaffed IRS mean that half a trillion dollars that’s owed to the federal government—primarily by ultra-rich tax cheats—go uncollected!
In the first two months of Trump’s second term, he’s spent 25% of his days playing golf (at his own clubs) at a cost of $26 million! His multimillion-dollar trips to the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, and the NCAA Wrestling Championships are the definition of frivolous.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “[t]he care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” Trump’s cost-cutting is the antithesis of good government.
Patty Satalia,
State College
Take It to the Streets
My sister and I attended the State College “Hands Off” rally April 5. We met in an out-of-the-way small park downtown where only those in attendance could see or hear what we were doing. Although the event was well-organized, we should have been right in the center of town – right where we could be seen and heard by others. A place where our signage and voices might have made a difference.
It was “Parents Weekend” at Penn State. Thousands of parents were in town with their kids shopping, eating and walking the streets. They had no idea what was happening a few blocks away. They had no idea close to a thousand people were standing in the rain to rally against the atrocities that our government is committing under the leadership of Trump and Musk. They could not read the hundreds of signs – some very cleverly and creatively made – that called out these atrocities. They could not hear the speaker who told of a loved one in need who will be adversely affected by cuts in education and social services. Nor did they hear the retired military person who painted a grim picture of our national security status now that our intelligence agencies are on the “chopping block.” Maybe worst, they didn’t hear the voices and stories of Americans like them, who are losing their jobs, retirement funds, might lose their Social Security and are going to have their children see a time when the President of the United States, along with an unelected billionaire, takes our country down a hole that may consume and swallow their free and democratic nation.
Sure, the “Hands Off” rally was inspiring, but there’s no need to inspire the inspired. Like The Doobie Brothers song “Takin’ It to the Streets,” we should have done the same! Democrats are known (for better or worse) for their passivity. It’s time we, as patriotic, peace-loving, caring, and compassionate Democrats, kick it up a notch.
We need to stop wasting our time and energy at rallies that only make us feel good about ourselves. We need to Take It To The Streets! Make our voices (and signs) count with the kind of words and actions that led our founding fathers to establish a new nation, asserting fundamental truths of equality and natural rights. The kind of words and actions that led that same nation to enter into two World Wars against many of the same things happening right here at home today!
Come on, Democrats, you can do better than this. Get out there and fight the good fight. Not with feel-good rallies, but with in-the-street ACTIONS that move and inspire our Republican brothers and sisters to say “No” and “Hands Off” to Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their allies and enablers.
Our future as a free and democratic nation is in grave danger. ACTion now Dems before it’s too late.
Ken Hull,
Boalsburg
