Penn State Pride is a very real thing and in my Army ROTC unit we shout “Penn State Proud” every day after our physical training. There is perhaps no greater example of Penn State civic engagement than the lion shrine. Every time I pass by the lion shrine on the way to this class, I see a line out to the street of the people in line to take a picture with the famous lion shrine. It’s the second most photographed landmark on the University Park campus behind only Old Main. It was donated as a gift from the class of 1942 and instantly became an iconic landmark on campus. I know that each time I pass by and see people taking photos with the nittany lion I feel some of that Penn State pride. This simple statue reinforces each and every student’s identity as a Penn State student. We also see this through the way that all Penn State students dress in gear every day going to class.
This same type of energy is present all throughout state college and nowhere is it more evident than on game days when 107,000+ gather together at Beaver stadium in order to rally behind our football team. The football games is a structure where all of the students at PSU can join in on a common enterprise which is cheering on their school as they crush other teams in football. Penn State perhaps more than any other school has a sense of school pride that is genuine and unites an entire school against our enemies( Pitt, Michigan and Ohio State). Every ig post or sign made on gameday has an “eat shit Pitt” or “Michigan still sucks” plastered on it. Even the most popular chant we have, the “We Are” chant literally makes every single individual see themselves as Penn State itself. All of these things whether it be the football games, lion shrine, Old main, or the “We Are” chant constantly reinforce our civic engagement in the campus encouraging us to participate in what it has to offer.
We are encouraged by others to participate in these activities in our everyday lives and Penn State offers us the structure to participate in them with others which encourages us to be civic.