For Tamara Graff, the '80s are not just a sudden revival -- they are a way of life.

"It's the stuff I grew up with," said Graff (sophomore-psychology and women's studies), noting that she enjoys '80s movies, music and style every day of her life.

"Sixteen Candles, Can't Buy Me Love . . . I can relate to those movies because they were made with younger people," she continued. "Now, the same kind of sappy romantic movies are made with older people like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle."

Graff is joining the swelling ranks of those who cherish the decade of their childhood --in practically all aspects of life, the '80s are making a comeback. Start dusting off your old Michael Jackson multizippered Thriller jackets, search through your videotape collection for those Miami Vice reruns and for heaven's sake, be on the lookout for that Encyclopedia Britannica kid.

From music to hairstyles to movies, the '80s are returning --faster than a game of Simon. And the re-emerging trends are not a flash in the pan, said Stephen Couch, associate professor of psychology at the Schuykill Campus.

"It's a natural ebb and flow that's sometimes commercially driven," Couch said.

Sound confusing? Couch said it is.

"The conservativism that dominated the '50s is coming back in the '90s, making now a perfect breeding ground for an '80s revival," he said. "It's an awfully complex process."

But perhaps it can be as simple as just a love for everything '80s. Brat-pack movies such as The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire may not be exploding off video-store shelves, but that doesn't mean they are not being watched by hundreds of students daily.

". . . People have their own copies at home from HBO," said Amy Davis, an employee of Video Center, 304 W. College Ave. "They really are old standbys."

One of the things that sets these movies apart from the rest is the music of the era. Be it tunes from Boy George or Pat Benatar, '80s music is becoming a force in its own right. And that can be seen clearly in '80s compilation discs sales --music is one of the leading media that has gone back to the '80s.

Even Winona Ryder has gotten into the retro biz. Her recent slackerfest Reality Bites featured the classic "My Sharona" by the Knack. If that wasn't enough, it seems as if everyone and their grandmothers either have -- or know someone that has -- that compilation disc Totally '80s.

Dave Bridge (junior-industrial engineering) is one of those people.

"It was 3 a.m. when I saw the commercial and I said, 'I need that,' " Bridge said. "(The music) has got a sound like nothing else today."

Totally '80s is not the only compilation disc doing well. The various volumes of '80s Greatest Hits and the Billboard compilations are selling well at Wall to Wall Sound and Video at the Nittany Mall, said manager Marsha Wallace.

Jay Williams, manager of Blue Train Compact Disc, 418 E. College Ave., said the store sells from five to 10 '80s discs every week.

"There wasn't always a lot out," Williams said. "Now, there's a new compilation disc being released all the time."

Perhaps those discs are being bought by the Shandygaff Saloon, Rear 212 E. College Ave., which features a night of '70s and '80s music every Thursday.

"It's nice to get away from all the stuff they play now and kind of relive the past," said Nate Whitney (junior-administration of justice) as he waited to get into the bar. "I like today's rap music, but that junior high stuff is pretty cool too."

But one area in which Penn State won't be seeing anything distinctly '80s is fashion. The reason for this is that there was not enough definition in clothing, said Gary Filkins, owner of Rude Boyz, 200 W. College Ave.

"The '80s was the age of The Gap," Filkins said. "It had a lot of everyone looking the same --that's the whole Gap mentality. It's everything khaki and denim."

But Arlene Tepsic, owner of New To You, 307 W. Beaver Ave., said although the '80s weren't as distinctive as the '60s or '70s in terms of fashion, the style of the decade is anything but dead.

"There's a lot of the look around, especially in women's clothes," Tepsic said. "I still see and sell a lot of it."

If such '80s staples as skinny ties were to come back into style, it would be more of a revival of the late '50s Beatles era, Filkins said.

But not even the Beatles could have imagined this re-emergence -- even skateboarding is back.

Jennifer Kallin, who works at The Ski Station, 224 E. College Ave., said the store's line of decks, trucks and wheels sells well.

"Skateboarding is coming back, especially with this push on outdoor sports activities," Kallin said. "We'll be seeing more of it."

The "skate rats" of the '80s popularized a hair style that Altoona Beauty School instructor Denise Adams' called the "skater cut." She uses this term to describe hair long on top and hanging down over the shaved sides.

Although Adams said this style hasn't returned yet, she did note that some '80s hair styles are, in fact, returning.

"The 1980s style was shorter on top with the ears cut out and long in back," she said. "It's coming back slowly but surely . . . and Altoona is usually five or six years behind the current trends."

Adams said State College should be immersed fully into the '80s by the year 2000. So mark your calendars and prepare yourself. It's going to be a long and bumpy road.