Being the journalism nerd I am, I spent part of my Friday night covering the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG) council weekend. They meet about three times a semester here at University Park both Friday night and all day Saturday. Yeah, that's right, people, they give up their weekends to benefit you all and to talk about things like the student activity fee, out-of-state tuition and on-campus construction.

Though I left after Penn State President Graham Spanier finished speaking, around 8 p.m., CCSG members are required to stay until 10 p.m., with individual commonwealth campus presidents staying until 10:30 p.m.

I don't know where you were at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, nightlifers, but I was en route to a party, dressed in my finest. So do these CCSG members get a weekend, though they're supposed to meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Hintz Alumni Center?

"We also have council really early, so it's not a good idea to do anything outside the norm," CCSG President Bobby Casiano said. "They're here for business. They come here six times a year."

Whoa, business?

And don't think these CCSG members are quick to toe the line, which I probably would do, if I was on CCSG.

"They're all student leaders so they should know better," Casiano said.

And what if they don't know better?

Well, students from a commonwealth campus could be subjected to disciplinary action from their Office of Judicial Affairs, director of student affairs or directors of student enrollment services, Casiano said. And members of CCSG from University Park? Be afraid. Be very afraid.

"In terms of CCSG our staff [at University Park] ... we have a code of conduct so council weekends -- obviously everyone is a college student -- but to join the org, and to be a full staff member, they have to set an example," Casiano said. Still, he added, "it really isn't a concern in terms of behavior and etiquette."

Don't be quick to judge, nightlifers.

I have two words for all of you who are scoffing at CCSG: Laser. Tag.

It was their "after council activity" on Saturday.

Um, I don't know about you, but I'd gladly talk about the student activity or approve council minutes if I got to play laser tag on someone else's budget.

Casiano said though some commonwealth representatives went home, a lot stayed and got to play laser tag.

Oh, and did I mention that they got to chillax with University President Graham Spanier (aka GSpan) on Friday night? And eat on his tab?

"I hope you will eat up all the food," Spanier told CCSG members before his speech, gesturing towards brownies, hoagies and soda (is your mouth watering yet? Mine was). "Because I paid for it."

So next time you're buying that Vladdy, remember, that money could have been going toward your tuition, if it wasn't for groups like CCSG. And while they're saving you money, they're eating for free.

-LM

As Daily Collegian lore would have it, there has been a football game at the end of every fall semester. Usually it's played within the news division and usually people get sent to the hospital. (This game is not touch by any means.)

Last year we had two concussions, two broken ribs and one reporter had to have a metal plate inserted into his cheek. Blood is shed almost every year. Normally, the mostly male sports staff challenges the rest of the news staffs, which is mostly female. On top of that, never in recent history has the sports staff ever lost this fall game. Ever. The closest we came was last year in a 21-0 shut out. Yeah.

If you haven't picked up on it yet, this game is a huge deal. We reporters aren't exactly the most athletic bunch, but when we get the chance to suit up and work it all out, it's game on, Holmes.

This year, eight or so business fellas who came out (who were really tall) joined all the news reporters who were not on the sports staff and together played the sports reporters and editors.

And so, the news team gained eight more tall, football literate business boys to our own braveheart news team members to help plug the sports staff. We news team members had more pluck and determination than I've ever seen. After all, we had history to change.

A female players on the news side scored the first touchdown of the game, giving the newsies a lead from the very start. There were turnovers after turnovers, but sports couldn't capitalize. I think sports was a little upset that a girl scored on them, but that's just too darn bad.

We stopped play after the news and business team scored their third touchdown. (Not to toot my own horn, but I blocked the guy with the afore mentioned metal cheek bone to get our quarterback to the end zone. It was scary -- and awesome!)

To make a long, messy, muddy, snowy story short, the news and business team won! It was epic. I believe "SPARTA" was yelled a few times. OK, maybe not, but the point is, a new day has dawned. The fall football game curse has been broken. Perhaps, even a new tradition has been made.

O.K., O.K., so maybe we'll come into the office on Monday and act like Saturday never happened. Or maybe we won't. If this college football season has taught me anything, it is that you never know what's going to happen. And sometimes you are pleasantly surprised.