With the spotlight on Penn State at Saturday’s football game against Ohio State, UPUA is encouraging fans to be welcoming of incoming Ohio State fans.
A Facebook event created by University Park Undergraduate Association Student Life committee, “Be Loud and Be Proud. Follow the Penn State Way (Message from UPUA),” is aiming to get the word out to fans as a reminder to be respectful to Ohio State fans.
“We want to send a positive message to students to be respectful,” UPUA Chair of Student Life Justin Laskowski said.
As of press time Thursday, 70 people are “attending” the Facebook event.
While nothing specific sparked the need for the Facebook event, UPUA still wanted to make sure students remain respectful. Past whiteout games, such as the game against Alabama last year, have been a good example of good sportsmanship from Penn State fans, UPUA Smeal College of Business Representative Rishi Mittal said.
“We really hope that it’s going to have a positive effect at the game,” Laskowski (junior-philosophy) said.
Saturday’s game has already attracted a record-breaking crowd to camp out at Nittanyville and tickets have sold out.
“There will undoubtedly be a large number of Ohio State fans making the five hour drive from Columbus,” UPUA President Courtney Lennartz said according to a press release. “As we cheer on Penn State to a victory together in a sea of white, we should always be aware that the nation is watching. Get to the game early, be loud, but always show Ohio State the respect that has come to define our student body.”
The Facebook event will help fans that may be hesitant of what’s appropriate to say or do, Mittal said.
“It will remind the fans who are on the fence of should I say something, should I not to change their minds to say, ‘No, I should not say something,’” Mittal (junior-finance) said.
Previous Facebook events such as “Rise and Rally,” which took place in July, gained much attention in a short amount of time. As long as people are inviting their friends to this event, word should get out relatively quickly, Mittal said.
UPUA Vice President Katelyn Mullen said having the Facebook event sent out closer to game day is actually better than sending it out weeks in advance. That way, people won’t forget about it.
“[Having] the constant reminder that Penn State is really trying to work on an image that we’re proud of [to represent] Penn State in the highest regard and especially at the football games is a great opportunity to show the country what we’re about,” Mullen (junior-supply chain and information systems) said.
