By Derek Regar | |
It was junior year chemistry class when Ms. Hornung called my name. I went up to the front of the class and glanced down at my grade. My teacher congratulated my efforts and asked me where I wanted to go to college, to which I replied Penn State. It was my first choice at the time, but somewhat of a stretch academically. Out of all of the places I applied, it was the only place I truly wanted to be.
My teacher smiled and praised Penn State for its outstanding academic programs and avid philanthropy. She was also worried for me. Because although she believed Penn State was a great school, she also described it as a "drinking school with a football problem." I guess she had gleaned from my classroom personality that I wasn't the type of guy to spend his Friday nights memorizing the periodic table.
My teacher smiled and praised Penn State for its outstanding academic programs and avid philanthropy. She was also worried for me. Because although she believed Penn State was a great school, she also described it as a "drinking school with a football problem." I guess she had gleaned from my classroom personality that I wasn't the type of guy to spend his Friday nights memorizing the periodic table.
Partying was something that had crept in the back of my head too though. Although I knew how to take care of myself, I had no idea what to expect out of Penn State. I had heard the horror stories of underage’s and lawyer fees and fines stacked on top of an already hefty tuition bill, and I definitely did not want to bite off more than I could chew. You could understand my apprehension as I entered University Park last summer.
I was accepted into Penn State’s Learning Edge Academic Program, which is a summer program designed to introduce freshmen to main campus with a two class workload. The social scene was everything I imagined it to be, and I am still very close with the friends I made that summer. I thought the police force was fairly relaxed too, probably because there were only 8000 kids or so on campus. The only time I heard of anyone having any issues with them is when the kids down the hall from me decided to drag an abandoned couch from Beaver Ave to South Halls after a long night of drinking. I had no problem getting from place to place, and my fears slowly dissipated.
Fast forward to fall semester, one of my really close friends from high school ended up getting in trouble with the law in the first few weeks of the semester. He actually had to take an ambulance ride to Mount Nittany hospital to be treated for alcohol poisoning, which added another 900 dollars on top of his fines and court fees. He currently works two jobs with an engineering workload to pay back his dad for all the damages. My friends and I still give him crap sometime because when he woke up, he found the hospital put him in a diaper just in case he were to soil himself.
Now don’t get me wrong, a lot of stuff needed to go wrong for my friend to get into that much trouble. There are many things you can do to prevent anything like this from happening to you. First off, control yourself. I’m not saying not to have a good time, but being able to walk is pretty essential to getting home. In reality, the police are looking for people that are actually causing trouble and not someone who stumbles a little bit on their way home. Traveling in a group takes a lot of responsibility off of them too because chances are there is someone in the group that knows where they are going.
Finally, if you are ever talked to by a police officer, be courteous and cooperative. I was pulled over on my way home during rush week of fall semester. After five minutes of talking to me, the officers were convinced that someone else was out causing trouble; I just matched the description. Who would have guessed there was another intoxicated white male in a button down shirt and khakis that night? But above all guys, be smart, be safe, and we’ll make it through these four years together.
I was accepted into Penn State’s Learning Edge Academic Program, which is a summer program designed to introduce freshmen to main campus with a two class workload. The social scene was everything I imagined it to be, and I am still very close with the friends I made that summer. I thought the police force was fairly relaxed too, probably because there were only 8000 kids or so on campus. The only time I heard of anyone having any issues with them is when the kids down the hall from me decided to drag an abandoned couch from Beaver Ave to South Halls after a long night of drinking. I had no problem getting from place to place, and my fears slowly dissipated.
Fast forward to fall semester, one of my really close friends from high school ended up getting in trouble with the law in the first few weeks of the semester. He actually had to take an ambulance ride to Mount Nittany hospital to be treated for alcohol poisoning, which added another 900 dollars on top of his fines and court fees. He currently works two jobs with an engineering workload to pay back his dad for all the damages. My friends and I still give him crap sometime because when he woke up, he found the hospital put him in a diaper just in case he were to soil himself.
Now don’t get me wrong, a lot of stuff needed to go wrong for my friend to get into that much trouble. There are many things you can do to prevent anything like this from happening to you. First off, control yourself. I’m not saying not to have a good time, but being able to walk is pretty essential to getting home. In reality, the police are looking for people that are actually causing trouble and not someone who stumbles a little bit on their way home. Traveling in a group takes a lot of responsibility off of them too because chances are there is someone in the group that knows where they are going.
Finally, if you are ever talked to by a police officer, be courteous and cooperative. I was pulled over on my way home during rush week of fall semester. After five minutes of talking to me, the officers were convinced that someone else was out causing trouble; I just matched the description. Who would have guessed there was another intoxicated white male in a button down shirt and khakis that night? But above all guys, be smart, be safe, and we’ll make it through these four years together.