Investigative Report

My report is on the recent issue of Penn State banning shot glasses with Penn State logos in order to address the high-risk drinking that Penn State has become so famous for. Because of this it is difficult for me to pick a scene but after thinking about it my opening scene would be a description of the downtown stores which used to sell these shot glasses. On East College Avenue alone multiple stores such as Lion's Pride, the Student Bookstore and Mclanahan's all sold Penn State shot glasses both for their use in student drinking and novelty items. Shelves would be dedicated to all different types of shot glasses. These shot glasses had such things as the Penn State logo, the lion shrine, the Nittany lion and the university seal, all of which are banned now from appearing on shot glasses. When the announcement of banning shot glasses was made, these shops were flooded with students trying to get their hands on what could be some of the last ever made Penn State shot glasses. Now a shot glass with a Penn State logo can be found in almost every students' dorm or apartment. However most these shot glasses aren't being used in fear of breaking them. Most are displayed as a trophy on a ledge or desk for all future students who aren't lucky enough to own one to see.

So far I have only interviewed 4 freshmen students though tomorrow I intend to interview 2 seniors and a worker/senior Penn State student at McLanahan's. I've also found some quotes from Penn State's spokesman Bill Mahon, in the Daily Collegian, on the subject. My three favorite quotes I have were from 3 different students whose opinions varied greatly. The first student, Katie Meckler, fully supported the banning of shot glasses. The quote I chose from her is "I think it is a great idea that they banned them. School Spirit is not about taking as many shots as you can." The second quote is from Rachel Phares who disagrees with the banning of shot glasses. Her quote was "As soon as I saw in the Collegian that Penn State shot glasses were being banned I went down town to buy some. Honestly, drinking is part of Penn State so you have to have those shot glasses even if its just for memorabilia." My third quote is from Chris Behr who is strongly apposed to the shot glasses being banned and does not see how it will help Penn State's reputation. His quote is "I think that it is kind of ridiculous that Penn State thinks that if they ban the Penn State logo shot glasses that they will eliminate students desire to drink. I guess its an effort to silence alumni saying that Penn State does nothing to combat student drinking."

Most of the facts I found were from the Collegian. It was difficult to find facts online because most websites just contained negative feedback on the decision. Though the opinions from some of these sites were interesting and I've noted them to possibly use in my paper. One fact I found from a Collegian article was about the specifics on what exactly was banned from the shot glasses. "University logos include: the university seal, the Nittany Lion Shrine, the mascot, the university identity mark, the Intercolligate Athletics logo and Pride of the Lion designs, according to the Penn State licensing program's website." Another fact I found from this article was "the Penn State logo policy states that non references to drugs, alcohol or tobacco-related products may be used in conjunction with university symbols." This article can be found at http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2010/11/01/shots.aspx. I found another Collegian article which contained information on how students flooded to the Student Bookstore the Monday it was announced that the shot glasses were being banned. "One male student came in and bought $85 dollars worth of shot glasses." http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2010/11/02/shots_folo.aspx. I found a third article from the Collegian that talked about the reaction of Big Ten schools to the shot glass ban. The main fact I found here was that under this new policy Penn State logos can still be on beverage containers such as beer mugs and flasks because they can hold other liquids besides alcohol http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2010/11/03/shots_folo.aspx.

While interviewing students and reading articles the two most interesting thing I came across were the opinions of other schools and if question; is this really effective or will Penn State students ignore it and drink just as much? I intend to continue looking on online forums and other school newspapers along with interviewing some students from other schools to hear their opinions on the ban. I want to know if they feel like they are losing collectible opportunities and if they think Penn State is over reacting with this ban. I also intend to ask Penn State students if they believe that this ban will effect Penn State's drinking habits at all. I also intend to quote some websites I've found which have very negative feedback on this ban and state how they don't believe this will change Penn State in the slightest.