At a school as big as Penn State, there are bound to be rumors and myths that keep everyone talking. Many of these tales have been mistaken for fact around campus. Though some of these myths are rooted in truth, many have taken a life of their own, regardless. Her Campus PSU is here to separate fact from fiction and teach you some things about Dear Old State that you may not know.
1. Free ride courtesy of CATA
Most Penn Staters have heard the popular legend that if a student is hit by a CATA bus, they are tuition-free for the entire year. Unfortunately, the rumor is completely false. In fact, CATA’s only affiliation with the university is a contract to provide the loop services; so there is no link to PSU that would require them to pay any student’s tuition for any reason.
2. Perks of a deceased roommate
Another very commonly heard of myth is that if your roommate dies during the school year, you can receive a pardon from all your classes and receive a 4.0 GPA. This is also, unfortunately enough, completely untrue. According to Bill Mahon, Vice President of University Relations, students only get straight A’s by working hard in their classes and performing well on exams. Bummer.
3. The center of the universe
Here at Penn State, many of us like to believe we are the center of the universe (or at least the center of Pennsylvania), which leads to another common legend. The sun dial on Old Main’s lawn is the exact geographical center of Pennsylvania. Again, this is not true.
The sun dial is simply a gift from the class of 1915 and holds no real significance. In reality you can’t even calculate the exact center of a shape like the state of Pennsylvania because it is so irregular.
4. Penn State’s University Park campus is located in Happy Valley.
Though it is something we hear regularly, Happy Valley is not actually a real place and it is not recognized by the university at all. University Park is actually located in Nittany Valley, so the origin of the nickname is unclear. It began as a local term and seemed to grow into popularity around the 1960s when Penn State football was first telecasted on major networks. This just might have been the event that led to its spread among journalists and reporters.
5. The most unattractive building on campus
Another popular myth involves what is arguably Penn State’s biggest eyesore. The building stretches nearly three blocks along College Ave. Have you guessed yet? The Hammond building it is! Rumor has it that it was originally supposed to be vertical and the hallways were supposed to be elevator shafts. It was said that an argument between the architects and engineers caused the building to end up being on its side. However, according to Simon Bronner, a professor of American Studies and folklore at Penn State, the building was always planned to be horizontal… and apparently ugly.
6. Penn State began as a high school.
Penn State was named The Farmers’ High School until 1862, which obviously led to the justified misunderstanding that it began as a high school. The truth is that Penn State began as an agricultural college with the aim of promoting the application of science to farming; but many farmers at the time were distrustful of the traditional college curriculum so the founders of the University called it the Farmers’ High School to alleviate their concerns.
Because it was an agricultural college, there are also many misconceptions that…
7. Originally, Penn State was only for farmers.
Penn State was a land-grant institution in 1862, which means that Pennsylvania supported Penn State’s agriculture and engineering curriculums, but did not exclude other areas of study. So from the beginning, Penn State has been able and allowed to offer a wide variety of majors. In fact, a very small percentage of the student body actually majored in agriculture.
8. Too good to be true…
Ice cream from Penn State’s Berkey Creamery is without a doubt one of the biggest collective guilty pleasures on this campus. A long standing urban legends says that Berkey’s ice cream doesn’t meet FDA standards and that is why it isn’t sold anywhere other than on campus.
Apparently this is total myth. According to Tom Palchak, Berkey Creamery’s Manager, the FDA standards regarding ice cream only have a minimum fat content, not a maximum. He says the ice cream isn’t sold off-campus simply because it would create competition with other companies in the dairy industry.
And finally, after much debate…
9. Three’s a crowd, five’s a brothel
Anyone in the Greek system is sure to have heard the rumor that Penn State has no sorority houses because of a Pennsylvania law that states five or more women living in a house together is considered a brother and is, of course, illegal. This law may seem outrageous. Perhaps that is because it is, and it doesn’t exist.
Penn State actually did have sorority houses prior to the 1950s. The sororities at that time chose to move on campus. There was more space for them and there were chapter rooms available in the dorms. Today, it is still not prohibited to have sorority houses. It may just be a difficult transition to make at this point.