Don’t brand me a wild-eyed radical for saying this.
It’s time for a late-summer confession.
Allow me to stand up and introduce myself.
My name is Adam. I’m a State College local. And there are lots of reasons why I really like the return of Penn State students every August.
Perhaps I’m in a minority among longtime townies, but I tend to think I’m not.
Sure, the seriously distraught whiners and complainers carp a lot, get a lot of attention. They lament the onslaught of traffic, the lines in the grocery stores, the extra decibels that come along with nearly 45,000 (mostly) young people.
Small prices to pay, I say, for the vitality, enthusiasm and upbeat spirit that Penn State students bring to the valley. Together, they are as much a part of State College as anything — and anyone — else.
This, friends, is not armageddon. This is our annual renewal, our needed injection of energy, our autumnal reawakening, the end of our summertime lethargy and complacency.
On behalf of a silent majority, I’m here to go a little Letterman this Monday, the first day of the university’s fall semester. I’m taking the iconic top-ten list and compressing it into the very best of the best: five top reasons why we should celebrate the students’ return.
These are mostly practical reasons, but ones not often discussed by the whining-and-complaining league. To be clear: This is not a response to my colleague Russell Frank’s parody and very legitimate concerns about irresponsible, out-of-control boozing and partying.
This, rather, is a rebuttal to those deeply overwhelmed — ‘overwhelmed’ — merely by the returning presence of Generation Y.
Let’s start with some As.
- Activism: From the far left to the far right and everywhere in between, politically minded students bring passion to campaigns and causes. They help organize rallies, marches and other public events. They hand out literature, write letters, make speeches. They grow the public dialogue; they make us think.
- Arts: With more artsy students back in town, the wider community will benefit from a surge in student-rich theatrical productions, musicals and other concerts. Their performances help connect us to the worlds of drama, live melody and other on-stage expression. They enrich the local culture — and at ticket prices friendly to just about anyone’s wallet.
- Blue Band: This fits with the arts-and-performance theme. When the Penn State Blue Band holds its outdoor rehearsals on the north end of the University Park campus, their sounds echo beautifully through the surrounding streets. It’s a rich melodic backdrop to autumn in the valley.
- More business hours: More than understandably, some local businesses tend to limit their hours during the height of the summer months. There just isn’t enough business to justify their being open for normal hours. But with the students back in town, odds are substantially better that your favorite off-campus cafe or other hot spot will now be open and thriving when you head out for a 9 p.m. bite.
- Cafe Laura: This student-run cafe, an operation of the Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program at the university, is among the sometimes-overlooked gems on campus. Now that the fall semester is in full swing, the Mateer Building eatery will no doubt be ramping up its regular weekly operations. For reasonable prices, diners are treated to an ever-changing variety of student-prepared dishes and specialties. Not a bad place for people-watching, either.
Yeah, maybe I’m biased; after all, I’m a relatively recent (2005) graduate of Penn State, so I see students more as contemporaries than as aliens.
Still, it’s hard to find much negative in the return of much of the region’s lifeblood.
Our extended nap is over. Let’s embrace the day.
