Street Corner Success With Honor

[Posted By Jake]

This weekend thousands of Penn State kids, from main campus and all the satellite campuses, disperse up and down the East Coast, to go "canning" on street corners to collect money for Thon. It is a huge charitable initiative, culminating in a two-day dance marathon event in the spring that last year raised over 9 million dollars to benefit the fight against pediatric cancer. The students have been making this extraordinary effort for this worthy cause for years.

It has nothing to do with the sordid allegations against former coach Jerry Sandusky. It has everything to do with the high standards and honor promoted at Penn State by many people, but particularly exemplified by one man, Joe Paterno. It is always a highlight of Thon when JoePa and Mrs. JoePa show up to lend their support.

Contrary to the highly-publicized whining by a disgruntled ex-employee, practically all campus organizations, clubs and teams participate in Thon, with no special treatment involved. Everybody looks forward to participating. Yes, that means, for example, the football team could be out there dancing right after the Muslim transvestite poetry club. It's a fun competition for both the event and the fund-raising.

So if you see the kids this weekend canning on a busy street corner, feel free to give generously. And if you see the real Jake, don't run him over. Just tell him to get to work and stop chatting up the sorority girls.