The 3 Best Worst Things of Penn State

No student in Happy Valley would deny that they attend the best university known to man, but they might agree that there are a few noteworthy matters that make Penn State lovable and hatable. Here are the three best and worst things of our second home.

1. LionCash

LionCash might be the biggest convenience of Penn State. As a broke college student, it’s an easy way for your parents to throw you some extra money here and there. Almost all of the eateries and shops downtown accept LionCash, which can be good and bad. Lion Cash supports shopping addictions and food hankerings. Do you need to find the perfect outfit for tonight? No problem, LionCash has your back. Craving pokey sticks? Well, LionCash pretty much hands them to you. Every few weeks, you call your mom claiming you “need more cash for books,” and money magically appears in your LionCash account.

2. White Building

The White Building is not only accessible because of its accommodating hours for your early or late workouts, but its proximity to the HUB makes it a central location for quick workouts between classes. The White Building is also awesome because if offers a variety of fitness classes that come with the purchase of your membership. Although there are no extra costs, let’s talk about the initial charge. We pay thousands of dollars to attend Penn State, so why can’t we work out for free? This is especially unfair because the White Building is not only small *cue 20 minute line to enter the facility and throngs of smelly people*, but a lot of the equipment seems like it could use an update. What exactly are we paying for?

3. Travel

If you need to get anywhere on campus, you have to leave at least 20 minutes in advance to arrive on time. Penn State’s campus is almost annoyingly large, especially when you have early classes. However, it isn’t so bad if you think about it. Although big, our campus is beautiful! Personally, making the journey to class every morning wakes me up and is enjoyable when the weather is nice.

The CATA buses are certainly handy and campus just wouldn’t be the same without their constant traffic flow on College Ave. They’re lifesavers when you’re running late or just don’t feel like walking, and some even have heat and AC. But, we definitely need more buses running. Sometimes you have to wait a good half hour for the Blue Loop to make its rounds. There are 40,000 students here and the buses, especially during prime class hours, become squished, aggravating, and just plain not worth it. They would be a lot more useful if more were provided on campus.

Last but not least, the infamous hills of Penn State —Shortlidge and frat row among the most popular. If you want a good glute workout, the hills are the perfect way to tone up. If not, it’s best to steer clear from these treacherous mountains.

Penn State is a great place, but let’s face it: all good things have a bad side.