This town has an identity complex. Because of Penn State football we’re the 3rd largest city in the state on home football weekends. That’s good and bad, I suppose. Because of Joe Paterno our town is a household name…for good and bad. We’re a town marked by historical contributions to science, art, literature, and sport. And we’re a town rocked by scandal, accusations of cover-up, and shame.
We’re a town with a split personality.
Last weekend thousands of Penn Staters drove a stake in the ground and gave people another reason to chant, “We are…” with all the gusto they can gust. Of course, I’m talking about THON. The largest student-run philanthropy in the world, the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon has raised more than 100 million dollars since 1977 in their fight against pediatric cancer. This past weekend was another high-water mark, as the dancers tallied a whopping $12,374,034.46. (seriously, someone couldn’t find 54 cents in the couch cushions?) That’s good.
Yet there’s a big but coming…this same university, celebrated around the country today, will be home to a student-created holiday known as State Patty’s Day. It started in 2007 as a student protest to the University moving Spring Break to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day. Rumor has it that the University wanted to get students out of town to avoid all the drinking and associated problems. The students reacted by creating a drinking day of their own, which has grown to be a headache for law enforcement and university officials. The local police department reports that 66% of the arrests during the revelry aren’t even Penn State students; they’re folks who drive in to town for the party.
Any way you slice it, our town is living with a foot in both worlds. We’re a town filled with young men and women who are willing to sacrifice, to give generously, to rally around the needs of others. And we’re a town filled with selfish, broken people who are bouncing from party to party, looking for an escape and committed to “whatever feels good now.”
I am both proud and saddened by our town. I believe that God has a redemptive plan for our town, for the young men and women who walk the halls of PSU, the folks who call Happy Valley home. God is The Redeemer, and many of us are praying for our corporate identity to be redeemed.
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