Penn State Traditions

Welcome to Penn State!!! One of the really cool things about Penn State is all of the traditions and myths – how the school got its colors (we weren’t originally blue and white), yelling “WE ARE!” at the tour groups to hope they yell back “Penn State,” participating in THON, and of course – football!! Many quickly figure out the obvious traditions – the drum major’s flip, the floating LIONS in the Blue Band, when to sing which chants/songs, and whiteout! However, Paternoville often escapes the radar of many Penn State fans.



Paternoville as seen from above at

Gate A outside Beaver Stadium



Paternoville is a group of students dedicated to getting the best seats in the house on game day and are willing to camp out to get them. That’s right – camping. In tents. Rain or shine (or snow). There has to be one person from your group at your tent at all times 24/7 until game day. We usually camp for three nights except for the big games, that’s a five night camp out.





I’ve camped in Paternoville now four different times, twice each of my two years. Freshman year I camped out for Syracuse (and ended up on TV) and Iowa (we won’t discuss the rainy and cold game where we lost to a state that doesn’t really exist). My sophomore year I camped out for Kent State (we got front row at the 30 yard line) and Northwestern (Joe Pa’s 400^th win)! But despite the special things that are easily remembered from each game, there was a lot more to it than sitting in the front rows – the actual camping was an amazing experience.



Our Paternoville group for the 2010 Northwestern game

 when Joe Paterno got his 400^th win!



I made so many friends while camping out in Paternoville. We were all there to support our football team and to get great seats for game day. Being at the tent a lot during the day and at night, there is a lot of time to get to know the others. Whether we were throwing a football around to pass time, working on homework in our tents, saving our tents from getting rain inside, sleeping in thermal sleeping bags and boots to stay warm, creating a slip n’ slide, or singing the fight songs to the trash-can-drumline, it is impossible to not meet people and to have a great time!

This year I will be camping out again with anyone who wants to join me. I will definitely be doing the week-long camp out for the Alabama game. If you want to join in on this tradition, all you need is a sleeping bag and a tent (or know someone who has a tent)! This is an amazing experience that every Penn Stater should check off of their list of things to do before they graduate! WE ARE… PENN STATE!

Emily Wolf is a junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering. She has interned for the government.  Emily will serve as a Mentor in WEPO 2011 and is also the Engineering Orientation Network’s Vice President. In addition, Emily has been active in Engineering House and the Society of Women Engineers. .