Back on the Beat

Wow... it's been a while since I have posted on ethos! No, I haven't been sleeping on the job, and yes, much has been happening around Penn State lately. I am ready to resume the role of roving sociologist. There are so many things that intrigue me about the Penn State environment besides the football team. But I must admit that a lot of "W's" does make Happy Valley a bit happier. I look forward to keeping you posted.

Sophia

Sophia is hoping to become an optometrist. She seemed hesitant at first (Who are these strange Georgians and what do they want) but she soon smiled at our southern drawl and willingly shared with us.

What would you say you are passionate about? Being around people and learning new things

Where does this passion come from? From my parents. They always challenged me to learn and to get to know people. My parents are a very important part of my life.

Do you have any kind of spiritual background? Catholic but I’m not overly religious

Has your experience in the Catholic Church been helpful to you during the hard times? Somewhat. Basically what I’ve learned from my parents has shaped who I am.

On a scale of 1 -10 (10 being the highest) how much do these beliefs influence your daily choices? 6.

Are you content with that or would you like to see a change in that number? I’d like to see a change but I think it will stay the same. I go to church when I am at home but not when I am at school. I’m too busy.

Kendra

Kendra was a bright spot in our day. She is passionate about life and it is contagious. She invited us to sit with her as she ate lunch and for that I am extremely grateful. We enjoyed talking with you, Kendra!

What would you say you are passionate about? Art, music and family

Where does this passion come from? Family is important to me now more than ever because I am away from home. I also value community.

Do you have any kind of spiritual background? Lutheran.

Has your experience in the Lutheran Church been helpful to you during the hard times? Sometimes. My pastor at home has helped me a lot. I go to church when I am at home but not so here. I pray every night before I go to sleep and I try to live a good life.

On a scale of 1 -10 (10 being the highest) how much do these beliefs influence your daily choices? About a 5. Its hard to focus on my religion since I am so busy with school and away from home. I would go to church if I had someone to go with me.

Jana

Jana was a breath of fresh air and had a beautiful smile. She readily welcomed us “Georgians” and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her.

Kinesiology

What would you say you are passionate about? Helping people and working with children

Where does this passion come from? I was injured as a child and I like to help others like people helped me. I also babysat a lot and kept a special needs child and this helped too.

Do you have any kind of spiritual background? Catholic but its not a huge part of my life, but it is there

On a scale of 1 -10 (10 being the highest) how much do these beliefs influence your daily choices? Like a 7. I believe most of what Catholics believe. I haven’t had time to really find a church here because my classes take up most of my time.

Larry

Where are you from? South Jersey
What is your major? Marketing
What would you say that you are passionate about? I am passionate about my family and sports mostly.
Do you have any kind of spiritual background? I grew up Methodist but converted to Catholicism later.
Has your experience there been helpful to you in figuring out what's really important? Not really.
Has it given you any answers to your harder questions about life? Yes it has given me hope. My dad passed away when I was 17, and it helped me to get through that.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), how much do these beliefs influence your daily choices? 7

Brittany

What would you say you are passionate about?
Learning everything their is to learn about everything
Do you have any kind of spiritual background?
no
Has your experience there been helpful to you in figuring out what's really important in life?
I do not really believe that I need a spiritual background. I can figure things out by myself.
Has figuring out things on your own helped you out in the harder decisions in life?
I have my own views and I just do whatever works I think works

George

What is your major? Business
What would say you are passionate about? Music and sleep.
What kind of music do you like? Rock: Classical and Alternative, my favorite band is 3:11
Do you have any kind of spiritual background? My family is Greek Orthodox and so I was raised that way, and then I went to Catholic school for 12 years.
Has your experience with these influences been helpful to you in figuring out what's really important in life? Not really, I have kind of strayed from religion for right now. I am searching for what I believe and not what I have been told to believe.
What do you believe? I don't really know. I know that people in the church talk about Jesus and God and all of that, but I don't know if I believe in all that was taught to me at school or really at home.
Who do you think Jesus is? I think that he was a good man, I don't think that he is the son of God or anything, but I do believe that he existed. I think that the Bible exaggerates and almost makes up the story of Jesus.
What do you think about God? I believe that he exists, but I don't really think that he controls as much as the Bible tells he does. I am really questionable about believing the Bible, it was written by man and so I don't know how much I can trust. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), How much do these beliefs influence your daily choices? 2 or 3
What do you want to do with your life, what is a goal? To be a good person.

Nelson

What is your major? Well, I am not really a student. I work at Union Street in the HUB.
What would you say your are passionate about? What do you mean?
Well, what makes you wake up each day? Well, money I guess, my job.
Do you have any kind of spiritual background? No, not really. I went to Catholic school, but that is about it.
Has your experience there been helpful to you in figuring out what's really important in life? No
Has it given you any answers to your harder questions about life? No.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), how much do these beliefs influence your daily choices? I would say about an 8, if your talking about what I personally believe.
Well, what do you personally believe? I believe in myself and working to better myself. I believe in just being a good person.
Do you think you are a good person? Sometimes.

Kim from Jersey

What is your major? Sociology
What would you say that you are passionate about? I am probably most passionate about civil rights and discrimination. Also children, I am studying to be a social worker.
Do you have any kind of spiritual background? I grew up Episcopalian, but I am not very religious.
Has it given you any answers to harder questions in life? I feel like I have a connection with God and I pray, so yes somewhat.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), how much do these beliefs influence your daily choice? Probably a 4, because I'm not really religious.

Kim

What is your major? Undecided
What would you say you are passionate about? My friends and family. They are important to me.
Do you have any kind of spiritual background? My family and I are Jewish. I was raised that way, but I am not a strict, orthodox Jew.
Has your experience in the Jewish faith helped you figure out what is important in life? Yes, my ethics and morals has been influenced by my beliefs. It has helped guide my decisions in some way.
So, some of the harder questions in life have been influenced by your beliefs? Some of them, but the major ones have been mostly by my own influence.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), how much do your beliefs influence your daily choices? I would say a 3, that's really embarrassing.
Why do you say that? Well, my family isn't really strict in the practice of our faith and so the daily influence isn't really relevant.

Surprise & Delight

Today I kinda hit the jackpot meeting up with Stephanie, a girl giving away hugs, and Chris, a.k.a. the Tin Man! I am inspired by students who aren't afraid to put themselves out there in potentially awkward positions. While I wasn't able to "interview" Chris, Stephanie was more than happy to share her thoughts with me.
Stephanie, you are clearly taking a risk here. What is it that motivates you to do what you're doing right now? People... I love people and feel that everybody could use a hug every now and then.
Where do you think this passion comes from? I grew up in a loving family, and this is one way I can pass that love along.
Did you come to college with any kind of spiritual background? Yes, I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school, but I think the church is a bit too structured. I would say that I believe in God, but I haven't really found any church that works for me.
Since you have a belief in God, on a scale of 1 -10, how much influence do you think God has on your daily decisions? I would say a 10.
God seems to be pretty important to you, so if you were looking for a church where real Christians are, what would you be looking for? I don't know really. Less structure maybe...

Our talk went much further and longer than a brief interview, and I'll have to say it was interesting to see how other people reacted to her offer of free hugs. We talked about the responses she was getting among other things. I couldn't leave without getting my free hug...

Will

What wakes you up and stirs your passions, Will? I would say it's music. I am a fiddler/vocalist for a local Irish band.
Do you have any kind of spiritual background? Not really - I was raised Methodist, but I don't think it's had much direct influence.
So your experience there hasn't been a significant influence on your life... Not really... It gave me a sense of the broad scope of morality, but didn't help me much with the deeper questions. I think the best approach is to do what's right for your life, and avoid things that hurt people around you.

Tony

What wakes you up and starts your engine every day? People - Helping people, making people laugh
Why is that? It probably came from my family. My dad is that way - fun-loving, always looking for ways to help
Do you have any kind of spiritual/faith background? Yes. I'm Catholic, been Catholic all my life.
Do you think your experience with the church helped you determine what's ultimately important? Absolutely. The church probably had something to do with my wanting to help people.
On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being HIGH, how much do things you learned and believe affect your everyday decisions? 10 - I think about these things all the time.

The Launch - Finally

It's taken a while to get everything up and running, but we're ready to roll. My first questions are getting to the point of what's really important to us, so without wasting a lot of time, here's the opening entries...

Welcome To Ethos-PSU

Ethos (n.) The fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, and practices of a group or society. The distinguishing character or disposition of a community, group or person. To simplify, an ethos is expressed through spontaneous, recurring patterns. Erwin McManus has said that "an ethos is the way a community feels reality." This is really what this journal is about - thoughts gathered from the Penn State community, that to some degree of honesty, express the the ethos of our culture. I thought about putting these thoughts into a book, but this blog seemed to be a much more fresh, and interactive approach to get these thoughts out there for pubic consumption.

The thoughts I want to share are not necessarily mine, but a collection from random, intentional conversations with Penn State students. The purpose is not to critique, but to serve as prompts for everyone stumbling onto this spot to ask yourself the questions, and explore your own answers to my random questions. Interaction is definitely welcome, but the entries are going to be more descriptive rather than "this is what you SHOULD think." Just keep that in mind as you journey along. My desire is make at least weekly updates to keep things fresh.