The Closer

Now that summer session is over, all I can think about is the fall. How will it be different? Since there are 40,000 kids who attend Penn State, the scene is most likely going to be ten times crazier. Although summer session was definitely the time of my life, I still feel more comfortable with an extremely large student body. I always need something going on around me and the fall will satisfy my needs indeed. I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and seeing my family and friends but feel as if I still belong at Penn State. I just don’t want to leave. The only thing that is helping me out with leaving the valley is that everyone is. It seems as if everyone is leaving either Wednesday or Thursday. Some kids I know left on Tuesday because they’re classes were canceled.

I’ll be living in Snyder Hall which is the furthest from everything except for beaver stadium. I’m psyched because a bunch of my friends are on the same floor as me and others are just a couple floors up. As summer session students living in the nice dorms like Simmons, we have been spoiled. Our rooms are gigantic! In East Halls, we are in for a surprise. I’ve heard the half the size of the ones we’re living in now. Football Saturdays are what I’m looking forward to the most. I was one of the lucky ones getting tickets. They sold out at 9:57 and my purchase went through at 9:55. Well, I’ve had a great summer and everyone has been great. Mark Sturges is a God and the Stur-ge-Q will take place in the fall. Good luck in the fall everyone.

awake zion

There has been a recent study of relating Jews to Rastafarians. Rasta is a religious movement that came out of Jamaica. Rastafarians, worship Haile Selassie I as their God. They also grow their hair out in dreadlocks and use marijuana for religious purposes. Although Rasta values seem like they have absolutely no relevance to Jewish culture, the two are actually very similar. Both Rastas and Jews refer to the Old Testament and follow some of the same forefathers. Truth and love are both values exhibited by both religions. Also, both speak of Zion frequently. Since they are both identifying with the same kinds of things, they can be indentifying with each other. Awake Zion is a documentary relating Rastafarians to Jews. Music created by both religions is very similar as well. Matisyahu, a Jewish reggae artist, is used as an example in the documentary in comparing the two music styles.

I being Jewish, find this fascinating. As an avid listener of reggae music, I often understand that there is some connection. One of my favorite reggae groups, Israel Vibration, is made up of two Rastas who sing about Judaism mostly. They include references to Zion and Moses splitting the sea to free his people. I feel a sense of urgency to see this documentary. I viewed a trailer on the actual Awake Zion website so I have a basic understanding of what it’s about. As a family, we were going to take a vacation this winter to Jamaica but things have changed. It has become extremely dangerous for tourists to wonder off into town. Muggings occur frequently and the drug scene is big. So now we’re going to the Dominican Republic instead. Since this is the first I’ve heard of this theory, I will definitely look into it further.

off campus housing

It's time to start deciding where you want to live as a sophomore. If you desire to live in a house or apartment, action needs to be taken extremely early. Most people I know close the deal early in the fall semester. Another option is to join a fraternity or sorority. I always thought Greek life was definitely something I wanted to be a part of but after partying in them all summer I feel somewhat differently. Don't get me wrong, the parties are great, but actually living in one of these animal houses is a horse of a different color. Breaking out in pimples would probably be the least of my worries as a member of a frat. Before you are honorably granted the right to live one of these shitholes, you have to pledge. Pledging, from what I’ve heard, consists of the most heinous, self-degrading hazing tactics imaginable. Basically pledges are the "bitches" of the fraternity for a semester. Not only is the hazing horrible, but a pledge's grades will suffer drastically. As freshmen, we just arrived at Penn State, the second biggest party school in the country, and are looking to get a solid education as well. It's one thing balancing work and fun, but how do you manage the trio- fun, work and being a “bitch.” Unless you are a genius, this might be a tough task.

After contemplating where I wanted to live, I decided a house would be the most logical out of the three. I’m not really an apartment kind of guy, so it was either frat or house. A frat would impair my health simply because they are not taken care of and seem like they’re strictly party spots. Although a house seems like the wisest decision, I have to make sure I love the guys I’m living with. These are aspects of off campus living I’ll be thinking about going into the fall semester. I’m looking forward to it.