Clubbing
Penn State clubs offer variety of goofy antics or career skills

By CHERYL FRANKENFIELD
Collegian Staff Writer

Regardless of focus, all clubs have benefits for student members.

Working today for a sillier tomorrow, the Penn State Monty Python Society welcomes all lumberjacks, cheese shoppers, dead parrots and nude organists to its next meeting.

The society's meetings depend upon what members want to do that day, Fred Coppersmith (senior-English) said. Generally, an episode of Monty Python or another British film is run. The members also like to perform skits.

"(It is a) time to act silly for two hours," Coppersmith said. "We encourage people to bring sketches that they've done."

The group has been around since about 1979. In 1981, the members were responsible for nominating a gerbil for the Undergraduate Student Government president, he said.

"I don't know if I would put it on a resume or not. I don't know if it would help me land a job. (The club) would definitely be a conversation starter," Coppersmith said. "(There are) not many groups that don't take themselves seriously."

One of the organizations on that more serious side is the Society of Women Engineers -- a campus group that focuses more of its time on professional development.

Julie Arbuckle (senior-electrical engineering) said she joined the Society of Women Engineers her freshman year after seeing signs on campus. Ever since, she said the group has been a big part of her life and will benefit her future career.

Group members attend national conferences and design competitions. At meetings, representatives from companies such as Ingersoll Rand or General Electric come to speak about topics ranging from interview skills to ethics, she said.

Members have the opportunity to work with real company problems and try to develop solutions. Sometimes a company will actually use the solutions the students present, Arbuckle said.

"I work directly with companies and there is a lot of interaction. I'll get (job) offers without interviewing formally," she said. "(Companies) get to see you work on a formal basis."

Arbuckle said two-thirds of the group's members join just to put the organization on their resume. Only one-third of the approximately 250 members actually participate and get the full benefits of the organization, she said.

Silly or academic, both types of clubs are available at Penn State. Students participate in all types of organizations to learn about ethics in engineering or to let off steam with some British humor.