Universities are primarily institutions of learning, yet it seems that at Penn State, we sometimes forget that.

Among Penn State students, academics often take a backseat to sports, extracurricular activities and of course, partying. This has always bothered me, but before writing about it, I decided to make sure this wasn't just a personal peeve.

I conducted an extremely unscientific and informal free-listing exercise and asked seven people to list the first five things that come to mind when they hear the words "Penn State." Terms that were the most common were "lion," "football," "blue and white," "frat boys" and "small town." Not one person mentioned academics. Even the University Creamery and the Willard Preacher were more popular responses.

A colleague in my department suggested that this was because being a university, obviously everyone thought about academics, but gave answers beyond that when probed by me. Maybe she's right. Maybe my unscientific "survey" really says nothing. But I am an avid observer, and after spending four years here, I still think I have a point.

Last weekend I participated in the Graduate Exhibition, an event in which graduate students present posters summarizing their research in various fields. I met an undergraduate student who recently transferred from a university on the West Coast. He attended the event to get poster ideas for the upcoming Undergraduate Exhibition. We began talking about education, and he agreed that the atmosphere at Penn State is less than educational.

"Did you know that if you draw an 'X' across Pennsylvania, State College is right in the middle?" he asked. "We are literally in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing to do but drink." I do know, for the record, that we are in the center of the state. I don't think location, however, is the only reason why Penn State football players and reality TV stars are household names.

But students aren't the only ones who detract from the academic environment.

An article in the March 24 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education argued that Harvard University has lost its way because its leaders have allowed the university's mission to drift from education to customer satisfaction. The article is lengthy and I cannot possibly list all the reasons the author cites for his argument.

One of them, about the university's consumer culture, struck me as eerily familiar. We all know that Penn State is a "Pepsi school" and that more downtown stores sell Penn State merchandise than textbooks. So whether it is that students spend more time drinking than studying, or officials are more concerned with consumer goods than rising costs, we can all do our part to modify our behaviors and make Penn State more like the university it is supposed to be.

One of the areas in which we can make the most changes is our emphasis on sports, specifically football.

Those who aren't football fans are often branded as having no Penn State pride. But pride can also be exhibited by holding a 4.0 GPA and contributing academically to the many other top rankings that Penn State boasts.

I don't mean to pick on football players, or the sport and our obsession with it; they simply make for a good example. I know that compared to many other universities, Penn State football players have higher GPAs and graduation rates. But unless you are actually a football player, or your prospective employer is a diehard Penn State fan, our excellent football record will not benefit you beyond providing entertainment.

The best thing football coach Joe Paterno has done for those of us who do not play football was to provide the university with some money to put toward expanding educational resources. The most notable of these projects is certainly the five-floor library that bears his family's name. As beneficial as that gift was, I doubt the library receives as many visitors each week as Beaver Stadium.

Recreation is of course integral for human development, and extracurricular activities make us well-rounded professionals. But we take it too far. On St. Patrick's Day, many students woke up early to get to the bars by 6 a.m. to drink alcohol. How many of these same students, however, regularly skip their 8 or 9 a.m. classes because they are "too early?"

My clever undergraduate friend from the exhibition acknowledged that academic excellence and fun are not mutually exclusive. Referring to graduate students, he said, "You guys drink more than we do."

All it takes is a clear definition of priorities and a healthy balance of both.