Day: November 2, 2016

Top 5 Mobile Games for Commuters

Posted By under Entertainment, Uncategorized

By: Khaleel Walker, kjm6184@psu.edu, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer

During the many hours of downtime during a long commute to school or a during study video games can provide the mental decompression a college student craves.

There are many new games to feature, as videogames are extremely popular outlets for college-age students, but this article will address these 5 games: The Simpsons Tapped Out,

Vector, Asphalt 8, Steppy Pants, and Pokemon Go.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out is a free-to-play sim city mobile game in the world of the Simpsons. It includes the main characters of Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa as well as their 150 cast members.The goal of this game is to rebuild a destroyed city of Springfield from the ground up. Each construction success unlocks new items and characters.

Vector is a 2D side scrolling game that focuses on Parkour. The player automatically moves to the right. As you progress through the game, the levels become more difficult to overcome. Jump over huge gaps and wall jump from building to building to reach the end of the level. Brandywine COMM student Brandon has strong opinions about this game. “This is a pretty intense game. You have to keep going or you’ll get caught. The character uses Parkour to avoid obstacles; there’s this guy chasing him and, if the character hits an object, the guy gets closer.”

Asphalt 8 is a great, arcade-style racing game that has easy-to-understand gameplay and breath-taking graphics for a mobile device. Brandywine COMM student Najla enjoys the game. “This is a fun game. The graphics look really good and has addictive gameplay. You tilt your phone to control your car. As you race, you can unlock upgrades and new vehicles through gaining experience points.” The game is trending on the App Store as of one of the top free apps.

A fun Crossy Road clone, Steppy Pants is a colorful endless runner that is enjoyable for a variety of ages.Brandywine COMM student Alyssa likes its art style. “In this game the objective is to step over the cracks. The game tracks your distance as the player continues. It’s a fun endless runner game with a color, box-like art style.” In detail, the further one can goes, the more coins earned. Those coins can be used for a lottery machine which provides outfits for the character.

Pokemon Go exploded this summer and continues to hold out onto its millions of users. Pokemon is once again a trending phenomenon due to this game. Brandywine COMM student Margot likes how clever the game is. “This is a very clever game. It entices players to go outside your house and explore! In this game, historical landmarks are used as PokéStops where you can battle other players. There are thousands of Pokémon to collect!” In addition to that, Pokemon Go uses Augmented Reality (AR) to display the much loved creatures as if they’re in the real world. Depending on your location, the types of pokemon you get varies. For example, if near a bay or the ocean, the user will likely find a water type Pokemon!

These five games will provide many hours of leisure for times when students do not want to pursue their academics. Look for more reviews in the future.

Thon Weekend begins February 17, 2017: 48 hours of fun

Posted By under Campus News, Uncategorized

By: Najla King, The Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, nxk5136@psu.edu

THON, which is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, is a year-long annual fundraising effort that benefits children and their families affected by pediatric cancer. All the money raised benefits the Four Diamonds Fund, which is an organization that supports children treated at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

As a student among the 20 Penn State locations, THON, is one of the most recognizable organization, with the most anticipated event. This 46 hour dance marathon at University Park will be held next year, February 17-19.

This academic year, THON is back and the goals are consistent with prior years: exceeding last year’s 9.7 million dollars raised. That means more canning, more fundraising events and most important more families assisted.

During common hour, in room 101 Main, THON meets to discuss the goals of the organization, in the weeks preceding the dance marathon, and answer any questions or concerns pertaining to fundraising, goals, getting acquainted and other general meeting topics.

Each member is required to participate in canning and two other excursions that include going door-to-door within a chosen community and collecting donations, to qualify to participate in the dance-a-THON at University Park.

Also, to keep the momentum going, members are divided into smaller groups and compete against each other to bring in as much cash as they can throughout the weeks. Canning and going door-to-door are some of the major forms of fundraising strategies THON does that helps bring in the most money. This promotes safety as well, so members won’t feel obligated to fundraise or venture into different parts of the city alone.

Fundraising for this season is already underway and during the last THON meeting, officers Derek Osborn (president), Alexis Proctor (vice president), David McDermott (treasurer) and Julie Lenon (secretary) discussed these topics with participants and revealed that so far, over $5,000 has been raised by our campus alone.

The officers took turns in discussing the goals moving forward and how, “this year’s group is shattering previous records of money raised this early,” said President Derek Osborn.

Launa Andrews is a new THON member and she shared her thoughts about the progress so far.

“I always wanted to be a part of THON. At first it was mostly to dance up at U. Park for Thon weekend and experience what that’s like. Now that I’ve attending some meetings and getting more involved in the fundraising part of it, I realize I want to be apart of this organization to raise a ton of money to help these families that are struggling.  You don’t even realize how the money our campus alone is raising can help significantly, let alone all of our campuses,” she said.

As the year progresses and Thon weekend approaches, updates on money raised and families that will be assisted will continue to expand and the Brandywine students of THON will surpass goals and dance until they can’t anymore, at THON, beginning February 17.

Freshman Seminar Leads Athletes On The Right Path

Posted By under Campus News, Sports

By:  Michael Patterson, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, map6169@psu.edu

Transition from high school senior to college freshman is a difficult and daunting task for any incoming freshman. At Penn State Brandywine, Bobbi Caprice, assistant athletic director has created a process to ease the transition from high school for all Brandywine student athletes. Caprice brings freshman student athletes into seminars that give them the resources to be successful on and off the field.

The freshman student athlete seminar was built to solve many of the problems incoming freshman were facing. Freshman were experiencing various scheduling problems or they were losing financial aid because they had no awareness of their own responsibilities. Caprice set out to develop a program to eliminate these problems.

Every other Monday, PSU Brandywine student athletes come together for Caprice’s seminars. Each seminar is tailored around the current needs of the student body. In the beginning of the year, students learn about scheduling and the available resources for them on campus such as the stem lab and learning center. As the year progresses, they’ll learn good study habits to help them be successful in the classroom and financial aid information so they can be prepared for the upcoming year.

The freshman student athlete seminar is a fairly new program that has grown over the last three years. The program was two years in the making for Caprice and the Athletic department personal, but it has shown tremendous success in three short years. They are constantly changing and updating it to benefit the students.  While it was mandatory for all student athletes to participate, they found that many students were still missing these informative seminars. As Caprice states, “(The program is) troubleshooting a lot of the issues we’ve had in the past and now it’s not happening as much. Even last year, any students who have had issues they were students who missed the opportunity to participate.” This year, they’ve added the seminars as a credited courses to entice more students to participate and it has been effective.

Penn State Brandywine proves to be a campus that is looking to make its students successful. The freshman student athlete program is giving the student body a chance to learn and be prepared for all that awaits them as they enter their first year of college.

Enhancing the Student Experience at Brandywine

Posted By under About

By: Najla King and Alyssa Abbonizio, The Lion’s Eye Staff Writers

Since the groundbreaking ceremony in Spring 2016, the Brandywine community has been preparing for the arrival of the new residence hall and student union buildings, projected to open in Fall 2017. As construction continues and the structures develop, students are anxious to know the finer details of the facilities. Aliyeah Houston, a junior at Penn State Brandywine expressed her excitement for the new residence hall building.

“I’m glad we’re getting dorms. I used to live on campus at another PSU location so it brings back a lot of good memories for me. It’ll feel more like the ‘real college experience’ for students living there, which I think is needed,” she said.  

The new residence hall will be named Orchard Hall because prior to being an institution of learning, the campus land was an apple orchard.

Orchard Hall will house 254 students, two per bedroom, on three floors. Six beds will be reserved for resident assistants and two professional staff members living on campus. There will be 24 compartmentalized bathrooms on each floor and will introduce a new concept of shared bathrooms to students living in the dorms.

This facility will contain many fun living features: laundry units, with text alert options on completed loads; a variety of student lounges, areas reserved to study, quiet and general space to utilize and hangout. Van services, for transportation to various locations near campus, like the grocery store, or the mall, are planned for students without a vehicle.

In order to be become an Resident Assistant, students have to complete and pass a course offered in Spring ‘17, with a “B” or higher, to be considered. Current students can begin the residence application process on October 16 at noon, and prospective students can begin as they are accepted into Penn State. All student applicants will be picked at random to live in Orchard Hall.

Not only is Penn State Brandywine getting a residence hall, but a new student union building. Located adjacent to the Vairo Library, it will be the home of food services and include two floors of student dining, conference space, student recreation areas, the bookstore, an expanded Lion’s Den and student affairs offices.

Food services will be new to the campus and although the menu is still being created, once completed, students will be able to give feedback on the items they wish to keep, discarded and added.

Gluten free and vegetarian food options will also be available to students, and a registered dietitian will be on site. Forecasted to be a student favorite, the Shake, Bake and Brew station will feature frozen treats from Creamery’s Ice Cream, baked goods from University Park bakery and other goodies still being discussed.

New meal plan options offer a variety of choices and are available for all students to purchase.

According to Elizabeth Kearns, the director of Brandywine housing and food services, University Park will provide and deliver all food items.

The campus has decided to introduce environmentally friendly concepts with the addition of the new buildings. RHEAL, is a healthy eating program, paired with the Green to Go, reusable fill up container program will be offered to students as well. “We have a go-green reusable container for a $5 deposit; you use the container, bring it back and we give you your $5 back,” Kearns said.  

This building will also include a health and wellness center with health professionals and The addition of the student union building and Orchard Hall will enhance the student experience for returning and prospective students. With new advances and the integration of sophisticated technology, millennials will feel right at home at Brandywine.

One Day Left, Who Will Win?

Posted By under Campus News

By: Alyssa Abbonizio, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, aqa5498@psu.edu

For the first time in history, a female has won the presidential nomination and participated in a presidential debate.

Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton faced off in the first of three presidential debates on September 27, 2016. With an average of 84 million viewers making it the most watched debate in history according to Nielsen, the nominees debated on three topics: America’s direction, achieving prosperity, and securing America. The debate started out talking about jobs and how each candidate will bring back jobs to the U.S.

“We need to stop companies from leaving the United States and firing all their people,” said Trump. “We need to re-negotiate trade deals and stop countries from stealing our companies and our jobs.”

He mentioned how Carrier Air Conditioning fired 1,400 people because they’re moving their company to Mexico. He wants to bring companies that went overseas back to the United States and to get the American people their jobs back. His opponent, Hillary Clinton, wants fair trade deals and says we need a tax system that works for everyone.

“Donald’s version would give the biggest tax cuts to the top 1%,” said Clinton. “We can do more for the middle class, we can invest more in our education and our future will be better off.”

Trump rebutted with, “how will you bring back companies? Their current government is giving incentives, taking our jobs and doing things we don’t do. When we sell into Mexico, there’s a tax. When they sell into us, there’s no tax,” explained Trump.

“The recession happened because the government slashed taxes to the rich and 9 million people lost their jobs,” Clinton counter argued. “We can’t go back to the policies that failed us in the first place.”

As the debate went on, Clinton’s email scandal came up and she admitted to making a mistake saying, “There are no excuses. It was a mistake and I take responsibility for it.”

“It was not a mistake, it was done purposely,” claimed Trump. “You have your staff taking the fifth and it’s disgraceful and the Country thinks it’s disgraceful too.”

One of the biggest topics of the night was race relations. Moderator Lester Holt asked questions regarding race relations in the country, including police shooting and killing black people.

“Race remains a significant challenge in our country,” explained Clinton. “We have to restore trust between communities and police; we have to work to make sure cops are using the best training and techniques and that there well prepared to use force only when necessary.”

She’s calling for criminal justice reform and wants to tackle the plague of gun violence. On the other hand, Trump says we need law and order. He agrees with Clinton that we need better relationships between the police and community but his way around race relations is to do stop and frisk to regain law and order in the country.

“We have a situation where inner cities, blacks and Hispanics living in hell,” Trump began. “Stop and frisk worked really well in New York and brought down murders from 2,200 to 500. Communities in inner cities have been abused and used to get votes by democrats.”

Clinton rebutted his statement by saying, “Stop and frisk was found unconstitutional because it was ineffective. It didn’t do what it needed to do.”

Lester Holt ended the debate with one final question: Are you willing to accept the outcome of the election? Both candidates said they would accept the outcome and that it’s up to the people to get out and vote. So remember to vote on November 8.

Iconic and Informative: PSU Brandywine Bookstore

Posted By under Campus News, Sports

By:  Michael Patterson, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, map6169@psu.edu

Nestled on the second floor of the Commons building, the Penn State Brandywine bookstore is a hidden treasure. Two large glass doors lead you into a plethora of textbooks and student apparel. With a rich Penn State history and the promise of higher learning, the bookstore is a hidden gem that every student on Brandywine’s Campus should visit.

One can access the bookstore Mondays through Thursdays from 8:30 a.m – 5:00 p.m, or on Fridays until 4:00 p.m. In the first few hectic weeks of the school year, the store is at its busiest selling textbooks for all incoming students. The store offers everything from basic classroom essentials to the iconic Penn State apparel. Apparel is especially popular with local residents who live and breathe Penn State. In the last two weeks, the store starts to buzz again with students looking to prepare for finals or sell their used textbooks.

Over the summer, the bookstore has reinvented school shopping with a phone app that allows students to purchase, rent, or download their classroom specific books. The app, ‘My College Bookstore,’ is available on the apple store or android for all PSU Brandywine students as well as other satellite campuses. When a student downloads the app, they get student and campus-specific sales which include a 25% off discount for downloading the app.

The Penn State Bookstore at Brandywine has been on campus for over 30 years and was originally run by Penn State Main Campus, but in the last 22 years it has been controlled by Barnes and Noble College. The Bookstore is managed by Alan Pine for the past three years, who is also a Penn State Altoona Alumni.

When a student starts their chapter at Penn State Brandywine, their first step is to prepare for their upcoming classes and there is no better way to start than by visiting the Penn State Brandywine Bookstore for all their needs.

Getting to Know Your Counselor, Jennifer Toadvine

Posted By under Campus News

By: Margot Gargus, The Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, mbg5317@psu.edu

Coming from a background of adoptive parents and friends’ dependent on her, Jennifer Toadvine knew her calling. Jennifer is the clinical counselor here on the Brandywine campus in the commons building. She works and talks with students every day to discuss their issues and help them through college. After starting here just about a year ago, Toadvine says she’s now comfortable on campus and is happy to be at Brandywine.

When asked what made Toadvine dive into the counseling world, her face lit up. She stated, “I remember growing up and I was always the person people came to talk to, so in a weird way I just fell into counseling.” Jennifer moved on to talk about her family life, and how that had affected her choice. She said, “being adopted, my family was very different than a lot of other families, it made me very curious, so I actually ended up getting my degree as a couples and family therapist.” Using her prior experiences, she was able to migrate to counseling.

Jennifer loves school and everything it has to offer. Earning her undergrad at Elon University in North Carolina, and a master’s in couples and family therapy at Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, she then went to Widener University for her master’s in education, and Ph. D. in human sexuality. “I absolutely love school and what it has to offer and if I could still be taking classes I would!” she stated.

She fell in love with Brandywine the day she arrived. “It is so small and personal, everyone knows everyone and they just invite you in,” she said. She believes that college is an extremely difficult and important time in someone’s life, which is why she chooses to counsel college students. “You guys have a lot going on as commuter students,” she stated, “with your families still having a big part in your life because you’re living at home… I love to help students and listen to them. I love being able to walk building-to-building and recognize people. It is also incredible to meet some of the students and watch them grow as individuals and find themselves, I feel, as a counselor, that’s one of the best aspects of my job.”

Being a counselor, Toadvine is asked every day for advice and is called upon to be there in times of need. She may even be considered a mentor to some people. When asked who her mentors were she smiled and said, “I was really influenced by my undergrad research mentor. I still talk to her and that relationship was just so fabulous. Authors and therapists also have influenced me. I love looking at the way they think about their profession and their thoughts on certain topics. I also thank the people who have taught me throughout my life and helped shape me into the therapist I am today.”

Being someone to turn to on our campus, Jennifer Toadvine cannot wait to move forward with her career here at Brandywine. She is excited to mentor counseling interns in her office too.

Students are encouraged to make an appointment or stop by her office. Whether it’s a small worry about a class or relationship; need to vent; or an ongoing concern, Toadvine’s door is always open. The counseling office is in 213 Commons, in the Student Affairs Suite.