Columns
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From Across the Field, My Hat’s Off to Barry Alvarez
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Last week former Wisconsin football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez retired after a long and successful career. Along the way in one’s coaching career you learn from the people you coached with and the players you coached. There are also people you coach against who make an impression on you. They force you to…
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Boomer Blaming: Is It All Our Fault?
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I have ruined America, apparently. Not single-handedly. I and my 76 million co-conspirators born between 1946 and 1964. That was the theme of a recent edition of Ezra Klein’s New York Times podcast. We Baby Boomers saw Earth’s climate changing in dangerous ways and did nothing about it. We saw racial injustice persist after the…
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Let’s Have Some Musical Fun
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Are you ready to have some fun? Are you ready to put all the negative stuff going on in the world behind you at least for a bit? Well, then let’s do something about it. Yes, you and me (with an assist from some of my friends) and you don’t even have to risk your…
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You Got This
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I was driving back from an appointment in Danville last week and decided to make the return to State College via Lewisburg. It happened to be Wednesday which means the Lewisburg Farmers Market was open. Taking Route 45 home after stopping for some goodies, I had to pass through Mifflinburg. There it was again. You…
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Good Economic News Keeps Coming
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The continuing climb of the stock markets, strong manufacturing growth, a hiring surge and declining unemployment are all positive signs for the economy.
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No Blues for These Blue Band Members, Despite COVID-Caused Limitations
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What if an entire year went by with absolutely no excitement emanating from the Penn State Blue Band? What if we never saw band members in their simple, bold uniforms? If we never had the chance to roar as they high-stepped their way from the Beaver Stadium tunnel? If there were no dramatic flips from…
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New Penn State Students Missed Out on Much During Pandemic Year
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What kind of introduction and year has this been for first-year students? Abnormal, obviously. But mostly it’s been about missing many of the wonderful things that make the college experience truly enjoyable.
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Op-Ed: A Strong Town-Gown Partnership Can Transform State College and Surrounding Communities
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Editor’s Note: The author, Alvin de Levie, is a candidate for alumni trustee in this spring’s election for the Penn State Board of Trustees. Alumni trustee candidates are welcome to submit commentary on university and community issues by emailing geoff.rushton@statecollege.com. Penn State, State College and the surrounding communities stand poised to seize an epic opportunity…
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College Sports Leaders Can’t Just Itch for a Long-Term Solution to Issues. They Have to Scratch for It
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Every once in a while, a wise old coach would listen to coaches and players discuss lofty team and personal goals and then say: “It’s one thing to itch for something. It’s another thing to scratch for it.” Wise words… Recently the Lead-1 Association surveyed more than 100 athletic directors about the future of college…
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We Celebrate Freedom
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I always think of my parents at this time of year, both because it’s between their birthdays and because it’s Passover. Nettie Frank would have been 99 on March 26. She died in 2011. Herman Frank would be 103 on April 16. He died in 2014. There’s a photo of one of our family Seders.…