Under the baobab: Happy Valley happenings in and outside of sports
On Saturday, State College was the center of the college football universe. Penn State and Michigan, both ranked in the nation’s top 10, met on the fields of Beaver Stadium. Over 110,000 fans, one of the largest crowds in stadium history, saw a competitive game. The team struggled courageously and never gave up. It was not enough. Sadly, Penn State did not prevail and will most likely not be in national championship picture.
As teachers, coaches, parents and elders, part of our mission is to help our young people deal with disappointment. We all get knocked down. Finding a way to get back up is essential to the human experience. We know that we often learn more about life from our failures than our successes.
Some good things in the stadium Saturday didn’t necessarily revolve around football. Several hundred scholar/athletes were honored for maintaining a B average or better. A Blue Band and musical theater collaboration produced a wonderful halftime show featuring Broadway songs. A Veterans Day salute was a Navy jet flyover led by a PSU graduate. Thousands of Michigan fans were at the game. I was proud that PSU fans exhibited a sense of genuine hospitality. As a community we have learned to manage a sense of civility when we deal with adversarial sports relationships. I wish that would percolate over into our other social and political encounters.
Other PSU teams had a good weekend. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are undefeated with two wins apiece. The Lady Lions will face Kansas Monday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. The women’s volleyball team is nationally ranked and defeated a No. 2 ranked Wisconsin. The men’s soccer team will face Indiana for the Big Ten Championship after sharing the regular season title. The women’s soccer team with 29 invites owns the second longest NCAA tournament steak. As the No. 2 seed, they routed CCSU 7-0 on the strength of Payton Linnehan’s second career hat trick.
Our community is an important hub of international culture. The Center for the Performing Arts (CPA) presented the Broadway hit, “Come From Away,” to a sold-out Eisenhower Auditorium. More than 2,500 patrons gave the musical a standing ovation. The play dramatizes the hospitality of a Newfoundland town that hosted passengers grounded on 9/11 flights bound for the U.S. CPA also hosted a workshop focusing on community engagement. “A Thousand Ways,” by Obie Award-winning 600 Highwayman, was created by Abigail Browde, Michael Silverstone, Andrew Kircher.
Elsewhere on campus, Amir Issaa, an Italian/Egyptian hip-hop artist, presented the “This is What I Live For” concert in Heritage Hall. His poetry was in Italian with English translations provided. Internationally celebrated Chef Freddie Bitsoie was in residence for a week at the university, lecturing about native food and preparing indigenous culinary feasts for students, faculty and the community. He also autographed his best-selling book, “New Native Kitchen.” And the Indigenous Peoples Student Association and Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance will host a Harvest Feast at Abba Java Coffee House at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Just outside of campus, several local congregations organized a silent candlelight vigil at the Allen Street gates for peace in Gaza and Israel. The only permitted banner read, “Lighting Candles for Peace.” The group will gather every Monday at the gates from 5-5:30 p.m. Elsewhere, a prayer service and discussion on antisemitism at Congregation Brit Shalom commemorated the 85th year since Kristallnacht and fifth year since the Tree of Life Tragedy.
And congrats Brothers and Sisters, the electorate came out swinging this past Election Day. The turnout for a municipal election surpassed previous records in Centre County. The precinct with the largest number of ballots cast was College North with a turnout rate of nearly 46%. Go team.
Finally, when you honor a vet, you honor America. Thank you for your service.
Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lion’s Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.
