You can't help but walk around campus and hear people talking about how bad the Collegian is, and how bad some of its reporters are.

And who could really blame them.

There have been many times when I felt the same way, even though I'm supposed to be impartial.

Listening to people criticize and talk down to some of the writers and editors, there are times when I can do nothing but nod my head in agreement. Not because I don't want to deal with the situation, but because I fully agree.

I know sometimes people don't make any sense, write poorly written stories, and sometimes miss the point of the story, but hey, we're only students too and it's only natural.

While this could stand as a fairly good excuse, at least from a sports perspective, there are a few better reasons about which you, the knowledgeable readership, probably don't know.

Well, let me fill you in.

Penn State athletics is more heavily guarded than Fort Knox. When it comes to media accessibility, the main guard to the pinnacle of Penn State athletics is Sports Information Director Jeff Nelson. Sometimes his title gets fancied a little, but we'll refer to him as the gatekeeper, or protector of all Penn State stands for.

Whether that's his doing, or included in his contract remains to be seen for sure.

You would probably think his guarding duties pertain to Joe Paterno, but that's only partially true. For the Collegian, it's almost impossible to speak with anyone important -- say Athletic Director Tim Curley or President Graham Spanier -- when any type of story is breaking. Then, when it comes to personal football player or coach interviews, forget about it. Ask for Paterno himself, and by the time your grandkids are ready to graduate we may have just gotten that interview. It's been at least six years since Paterno has done an interview with the student newspaper, which doesn't really seem fair. Bobby Bowden always makes time for his student paper, as does Mike Krzyzewski. But Rene Portland won't.

You see, Jeff Nelson would rather go through a root canal than grant us access to Paterno, or anyone in the football program, for that manner. Even a lowly manager.

Whatever his grudge is, we're treated like chopped liver, but whenever he needs something printed in the paper, he expects us to put in his press releases.

As you might guess, this makes it difficult to completely cover and bring the readers what they want, because Penn State won't let us get near the program itself.

Now, on the off-chance someone actually gets to speak with someone of importance, like Curley, he pulls out the old violin and plays the company song.

"I'm not really sure ... No comment ... We're going to have to wait and see," and my personal favorite, "Penn State is committed to winning."

If that's the case, forget about the lack of winning, but meaningful games the past couple of years have been running on empty.

You see, it's not always easy, or fun, to cover a program that seems to invent and play by its own rules.

Penn State is unlike just about every other school in Div. I when it comes to its emphasis on winning and how crucial it is. Penn State seems to love mediocrity, as long as it doesn't hurt the size of the athletic fund, or involve the administration in making a big decision. Firing a coach, even a low-profile one, is something that would never happen here, as it does at just about every other school that knows it has to win.

The reason being, it takes the administration here too long to get the coaches to operate under its collective wing; it would be pointless to let them go. Even if they're not winning and their players are getting into trouble, as long as coaches can duck around the Collegian's questions and not return our calls, they're all right in Spanier's book.

Now, nobody ever said it was going to be easy working here, and as it has turned out, any given day here has been harder than any communications course I've taken.

It's been tremendous experience and a great time.

If only some people weren't afraid of us, it could have been that much better, both for us as reporters and you as readers.

Just keep in mind the next time you and bad mouthing the Collegian, or saying how bad these reporters are, actually do something about it besides complaining. Send an e-mail to whoever wrote the story you don't like, and send one to the editor for doing a crappy job.

If you don't like what Tim Curley says in an interview, send him an e-mail and ask why no Penn State team has won anything of significance lately. No, fencing does not count.

This is supposed to be the student newspaper, and you guys should have an impact. Often times, the staff can't do it by itself. It needs help.

Trust me, I've seen it.