"The Whole World Is Drinking"

I really enjoyed this radio show. I found it interesting when they were talking about drinking as a kind of culture at Penn State-I have never thought about it that way. Mark Johnson says, "It's just part of that tradition." It is a part of the school spirit, a part of bringing together 110,000 different people. It's interesting, to say the least. The host, Ira Glass, definitely makes sure that the audience will understand what the report is about. The radio show starts out describing a downtown college scene, then later mentions that the college is Penn State University. Glass gives a background on how the university was recently named Princeton Review's #1 party school, and includes comments by Graham Spanier, the president. Glass makes it obvious that he wants to figure out what makes a party school a true party school. Why Penn State? What is it like there? He provides interesting stories to capture the college social scene, grabbing in his audience with stories and quotes as he discusses it. An alumnus, Mark Johnson, mentions that if alcohol were banned from tailgates, many alumni would be up in arms. These people have donated millions of dollars to the school and should be able to drink at the football games. He says, “That’s why we sell 110,000 tickets to the football games.” It is kind of sad, drinking for twelve hours straight just to feel a sense of belonging with the school, but if not now, when? A senior in a frat points this out. Glass quotes freshmen, frat guys, parents, residents, storeowners, police officers, and the university’s president. One resident, Jones, has been forced to get motion sensors in his yard. Ray, the storeowner of McLanahan’s, says that if Penn State loses a football game, his sales go down 20% for a week. Most people have been directly quotes in this radio show. Roberta, the owner of the dry cleaners downtown, talks about how parties influence her business. Regardless of Penn State’s winning record, there will be always be parties; there will always be disgusting clothing. Alex, Canyon Pizza’s delivery guy, has such a sad story. Getting your jaw wired shut for two months because some drunken kid punched you? Unbelievable. His Saturn was brand new when he bought it, and has been though hell with all the drunken mobs he’s had to navigate through. Police officer, Hanes, states that one should avoid giving questionable handshakes. After the funny stories of public urination and public fights, Glass takes a more serious tone. The death of Joe Dado is mentioned, followed by the dangers of doing such a common activity, such as drinking. Graham Spanier comments on alcohol use, saying he feels “not optimistic, but we just have to keep working on it” and that “Joe Dado’s death will have no effect on incoming freshmen.” It’s sad, but true. Behaviors probably won’t change. At the very end of the show, seniors are interviewed during their last home game. Admitting that they’ll be coming to the games for the next fifty years, they demonstrate the famous Penn State pride.