Wait What?
I am not sure how others perceive
this picture, but whenever I look at it I only remember one thing…my best
friend from high school. She obviously, like everyone else, applied to main
campus but didn’t get in there and instead got accepted to Altoona. Being
someone who had never really accomplished much academically, she was extremely
excited to at least get accepted into Penn State. She went screaming to her
mother that afternoon that day about how she had gotten into Penn State. Her
mother on the other hand responded by saying Congratulations and telling her
that University Park was definitely one of the best places for her to be. At
that, my friends’ happiness went away and she explained about how she had just
gotten into Altoona. At this her mother completely flipped out by saying that
Altoona wasn’t Penn State…exactly what this meme states.
This story proves that this meme is a scenario that occurs often in families when students receive their acceptance letters from Penn State. There are certain kids who barely make the cut and are able to use the summer leap program in order to get into the University Park campus and those that are a bit more unfortunate and have no other option besides going to Berks or Altoona. These use the statement that they go to Penn State even when they know in the back of their minds’ that the branch campus’ compare nowhere near to main campus.
This meme gives attending a branch campus for the first two year a negative connotation. The sad thing about this is that in real life attending a branch campus is looked upon with a negative light as well. It is not only the main campus students, but the branch campus students themselves who always complain about their campuses by saying that it doesn’t have adequate academic resources or the same level of partying. Many branch campus students are found up at Penn State very often because they like to make the best of their weekends by “going hard” at Penn State main.
Overall, this meme bring up the pathos and ethos that is related to the main concept of college acceptances when it comes to Penn State University. This meme bring up pathos because the viewer emotionally feels bad for the poor kid who has been completely labeled as a reject by his parent. It also hits upon a little bit of ethos because it shows how acceptances with Penn State work. There are different levels of them, and one is usually higher when he or she is directly accepted into University Park campus versus a branch campus.
http://www.epinions.com/review/educ-Colleges_and_Universities-All-Pennsylvania_State_University_University_Park/content_28604141188?sb=1
Looking at this meme/comic strip was something I found funny. I like how it implies that the experience of going to a satellite campus of Penn State is nothing compared to going to the main campus. It is hard for me to personally relate, because I have never been to a college besides Penn State, but I can certainly understand how it feels getting into a school that you really wanted to go to, albeit not the particular campus that was their first choice. Ultimately, though, an education is what one makes of it...
ReplyDeleteI personally did not find this meme too funny because I feel there are many students at University Park that look down on the people that go to Penn State Altoona. They think that it is much easier for them because the level of education is not the same and they are able to come to University Park with great GPA's. I feel that this is not true and people should be aware of it. These kids should be allowed to be Penn State proud whenever they are.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that many people at University Park look down upon those who attend branch campuses. I personally have no problem with one who goes to a Penn State branck campus. Penn State period has created an exceptional brand for itself no matter which campus one chooses to go to. However, I do think in order to get the official Penn State experience, one should attend Main Campus in due time. It's funny because when people, especially adults, would ask me where I am going to College. I would tell them Penn State. They would say, "great which campus" as if to make sure University Park was my answer so they could spark a "real" conversation with me. And ironically enough when I told them Main Campus, their faces would light up and the conversation would turn into a Penn State pride ramble. University Park is where it's at!
ReplyDeleteI actually disagree with you a little. I have a friend who went to New Kensington (I may have spelt that wrong) and he loved it there, more so than he loves the main campus. He says it was a lot easier to get involved with clubs and organizations and here at University Park, it is a lot more difficult. I guess everyone has their own preference but I think its wrong to say that the branch campuses aren't "Penn State" because that defeats the whole "family" concept that PSU tries to make present.
ReplyDelete