Recent Penn State history has been littered with some of the biggest controversies the university has ever had to face, carrying along with it a lot of attention to the university as well as State College.

Terms like riots, Cuntfest and one intense and very conservative state senator, have been associated with Penn State and heard around the country, pulling even in big TV personalities to discuss the hullabaloo surrounding the university.

The State College Police Department has dealt with problems in the area that has been coined "Beaver Canyon" and the publicity it has brought, that began during the Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in 1998.

After the Penn State football team won their first game this season on Saturday, students filtered down to the canyon in about the same time it took Penn State quarterback Zack Mills to throw the winning touchdown pass to Eric McCoo.

Cheers of "We are Penn State" echoed off the apartment buildings on Beaver Avenue and police, head-to-toe in riot gear, jumped onto the scene nearly as fast as the students.

"Certainly, we're very nervous anytime there's something going on in the canyon," said State College Police Lt. Tom Hart. "Students were very cooperative. We let them celebrate for a half an hour then we went into the group and told them it was time to leave."

Although the canyon crowd numbers, in the hundreds, did not reach to the height of past instances, police said it has to do with a number of elements. The reason that kids didn't get out of control, Hart said, "I think it's a combination of things."

There was a certain amount or percentage of people who were naive in past years and did not believe that their mere presence (in Beaver Canyon) would be a cause for trouble, Hart said. The university and the press have done a good job educating the public to the repercussions of rioting, he added.

"Ninety-nine percent of the students are here to get an education and have fun," Hart said.

Comparing to past instances, the level of intoxication was not there Saturday on Beaver Avenue. Hart said he believes that is a factor on why students did not cause a disturbance.

Some students may have feared arrest. A couple was walking down Beaver Avenue away from the gathering saying to each other, "I'm staying away from that, I won't be arrested."

Many of the past riot participants are now being tried and sentenced for their involvement.

"Only a very small percentage (of those charged in the riots) got to trial. You have to understand, not everyone can afford $10,000 to go to trial," Hart said.

Some students were under the impression, in years past, that failure to disperse was not a criminal offense, Hart said. No matter how small or inconsequential it may seem, it is still a criminal offense, he added.

Nick Baker, a former Penn State student, is charged with aggravated assault, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct awaits his pre-trial conference scheduled for Nov. 15. Baker was involved in the March 24 disturbance following the men's basketball loss against Temple last year.

Many students involved with the commotion have been expelled from Penn State as a direct result of their involvement.

Baker said he applied to Colorado State University after he was expelled from Penn State last year in connection with his taking part.

"They had no problem academic wise . . . they're waiting on the outcome of this — it sucks," Baker said.

Baker's most serious charge, aggravated assault, stemmed from him allegedly punching a police officer in the chest.

After leaving Cedarbrook Apartments, 320 E. Beaver Ave., Baker said he crossed the street to get to Alexander Court Apartments, 309 E. Beaver Ave. Police told Baker to leave and he said he could not get past the crowd.

"I was being pushed around. I couldn't go anywhere," Baker said. "I just reacted the way I did. I turned around and pushed back."

Of the dozens of former students who have been through trial and await sentencing, a couple have already met their fate.

Michael E. VanZandt, who originally was charged with aggravated assault, but the charges were later dropped, was ordered to serve immediate parole and two months of house arrest by a jury Monday in Centre County Courthouse, Bellefonte. Patrick Craney, also involved in the March 24 disturbance, received immediate parole and two months of house arrest Monday.

Ohio State comes to Penn State this weekend for the football game, as well as a few days away from Halloween. However, police said they are not heightening security.

If a disturbance would arise, Hart said they know how to respond.

"We'll be a lot quicker," Hart said. "Basically we want to deal with a crowd that's manageable."

Hart added that Halloween has never been too much of a burden on police and that, "for the most part, they're very fun parties."

Keeping the community safe is their job, Hart said, and police do not want to stop students from celebrating, only keep them from going to far.