You don’t have to be 21 years old or a party animal to enjoy your free time at Penn State. University Park is home to more than 40,000 students and more than 900 clubs, meaning there is something for everyone!
Greek life plays a major role in many Penn Staters college lives, but you don’t have to be in a sorority to socialize. The Involvement Fair was this past week in the HUB Robeson Center, but even if you didn’t make it there, it’s not too late to get involved! Head to clubs.psu.edu and check out the endless list of organizations to join. From working behind the scenes at PSN-TV to playing with Club Soccer, you can have an incredible social experience with just a little exploring!
Aside from the 953 clubs that Penn State offers, getting involved with Penn State’s Dance Marathon, known as THON, is an experience every upperclassman would encourage to anyone new to Penn State. Whether through an organization, committee, or by dancing independently, go to http://thon.org/ and become one of the 15,000 students who raise money for pediatric cancer and participate in the 46-hour dance marathon in February.
The added bonus of joining THON, is having a group of people who care as much about giving back as you, and getting to travel with them on Canning Trips, attend THON-events such as the THON 5K and forming lifelong friendships as you fight for this amazing cause.
Joining organizations is just one of the ways to socialize though. When“Thirsty Thursdays”roll around for the 21-year olds, and you are not of age or the type of person who likes to party all night, there is endless entertainment on campus. The Game Room is located in the HUB and is open until 2 a.m. weekends. For a small price, you can play pool, darts, and even test your skills with a simulated golf course!
Or, check out HUB Late Night where other students come to the HUB Robeson Center to make crafts, play games or watch a free movie. There is often live entertainment from well-known bands to comedians featured by the Student Programming Association or SPA, and you can stay up to date on what movies or acts are on each week by going to http://spa.psu.edu/events/latenight.html. If you’d rather curl up with dorm floor friends, don’t forget about the Redbox located on the second floor in the HUB – rent movies whenever you please.
If you want to spend an evening off-campus, The Downtown State Theatre has inexpensive movie showings and entertaining theater productions year round, and can be enjoyed for a fee. If you want to showoff your crafty side, painting pottery at 2000 Degrees is always a fun alternative to on-campus activities, and is a great bonding-activity for friends, as well as a creative way to make gifts for your parents back home.
However you choose to spend your nights, you can have an amazing social life without being 21 years old and bar accessible. Penn State is big enough that there is opportunity to meet new people every single day. Live up your freshman year, and most importantly, make smart choices!
