ISU alumnus reflects

By Chelsea Davis — Iowa State Daily Staff Writer

Speaking to an audience Tuesday night in the Memorial Union’s Great Hall, Graham Spanier, president of Penn State and an alumnus of Iowa State, gave the Liberal Arts and Sciences 50th Anniversary Celebration speech, “What You Can Learn Sleeping in the Residence Halls.”

“Students today are ready to go and set the world on fire,” Spanier said.

From binge drinking to overbearing parents to his time spent in the residence halls, Spanier covered the bases while discussing the lives of college students today and during his time as an undergraduate and graduate student.

Spanier said he could see major changes in universities since his time as a student.

“Remember when phrases like ‘Make love, not war,’ ‘Power to the people’ and ‘groovy’ were all part of the lexicon?” Spanier said. “Remember when ‘booty’ was pirate’s treasure? Not anymore.”

Taking on a more serious tone, Spanier spoke of the problems students have today, most notably involving alcohol and drug problems, mental health issues and sexual experience.

“At Penn State we fill 55,000 prescriptions annually,” Spanier said. “Among the top are oral contraceptives, antibiotics, medications for sexually transmitted diseases, vaginal and/or yeast infections and anti-depressants.”

He referred to this generation as Generation Rx, where a lot of abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine is occurring.

An universal topic to all college campuses, Spanier said the drug of choice of students today is alcohol.

“Binge drinking is continuing to rise, along with the harms that go along with it,” Spanier said. “Nearly half of college students engage in [binge drinking] and the number of students who have been unintentionally harmed while under the influence has risen to nearly 600,000.”

An alternative to the norm, Spanier stays overnight in the residence halls of Penn State during move-in weekend every year in order to “keep [his] finger on the pulse of the student population,” which he has found to be “extremely informative.”

“Students come alive after dark,” Spanier said. “They have a desire to be entertained. They’re like bats, owls or vampires; they’re creatures of the night.”

Students dispersed throughout the audience could be seen nodding their heads in agreement with many of Spanier’s statements, and afterward they left with smiles on their faces.

“He had a realistic understanding of college students today,” Ashley Rosener, senior in English, said.

With Spanier last night were his mother-in-law, Maxine Whipple, of Des Moines, and sister-in-law, Shari Baeth, also of Des Moines, who said he always does a great job speaking and talking off-the-cuff when receiving questions.

He knows ‘em, he just knows ‘em,” Baeth said.

Spanier’s Top 4 Reasons You Can Tell You’ve Been Out of College Too Long:

4. A $4 bottle of wine is no longer pretty good stuff

3. Having 130 days of vacation time cut to 15

2. Over 90 percent of our time is spent in front of a computer for real work

1. You hear your favorite song on the elevator

10-minute video highlight from Dr. Spanier's seminar.