In the last few days, a State College that was beginning to feel relatively mundane and predictable has been rife with all kinds of exciting and unusual activity.
First of all, the sudden influx of politicians and people with political things to say deserves mention.
A few months ago, I came damn close to writing a column about how Pennsylvania's role in the primaries would be absolutely minimal. I figured the nominees would be pretty much decided by April, and I thought it would be easy to complain about the lack of attention our state would get from the candidates and so on. I'm glad I changed my mind about that one.
That's not to say that I don't still wish for a more balanced primary system, but that column is not to be. The recent visits we've had from Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as Ron Paul's plan to grace us with his presence in a few weeks, significantly weaken the point I would have tried to make.
I think it's great that Penn State is receiving all this attention, and I've noticed an increased level of politically oriented discussion going on around me. Even my most politically apathetic friends have been striking up conversations about the presidential candidates and the implications of electing them.
This past weekend could be described as a Clinton/homosexual commitment ceremony/Obama sandwich. (Being a big fan of sandwiches, I prefer to use the sandwich metaphor to describe a series of things whenever possible.)
The commitment ceremony at the HUB and the coinciding family values rally in front of Old Main made for a pretty interesting Saturday afternoon. My personal favorite moment of the day took place by the main entrance to the HUB shortly after the ceremony ended.
A tactless man who didn't approve of the event was distributing leaflets entitled "Homosexuality vs. The Holy Bible". A few steps later, folks who had taken a leaflet then encountered a supporter of the commitment ceremony, who invited them to toss it into a recycling bin he had placed strategically by the door. It was full of leaflets.
Witnessing this little moment really drove home the level of polarization that exists over this issue. I was happy to see that the people who showed up for the ceremony found ways to prevent their harshest critics from ruining the day.
With all this big stuff going down, I think the daily paper has gotten a little more interesting lately. As far as local news is concerned, public urination and football players who can't seem to behave have gotten kind of stale. It's been a politically intensive weekend for sure, but I think the effects are going to linger for a while. Before the renewed buzz has any chance to die down, I imagine that Ann Coulter will say lots of controversial things on Wednesday to keep the conversation at Penn State plenty political.
Just as this town, with its gray sky and frustrating parking situation, had begun to bore me, things got pretty interesting again.
