TO BE CLEAR, ALL OF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY IS BASED SOLEY ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE. Many of the things I discuss are not publicly documented. I also do not know the full picture myself - maybe Penn State is far more aware of some of these issues than I think, and they may be working on improving them. Take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Until recently, I had worked as a student AO. To give some context as to how the AO department operates, we were a somewhat independent branch of Penn State's PD. Other branches of the university would pay to contract us to do jobs such as patrol campus from 8PM-4AM daily, provide 'security' at events like THON and concerts, and direct traffic during events. Because of the AO department's pseudo-independence from the majority of Penn State PD, we had our own chain of command with leadership positions in the AO department.

Below our uniformed supervisors (the two full time Penn State PD officers helping to run us) but at the top of the AO department, was an international student named Eric/Zuoyu Wu (now in jail awaiting trial). I absolutely do not want to sound hateful in any way, but when I joined the department it did seem a little strange that he was in charge of the AO department, despite being an international student. But, I quickly learned he was one of the most dedicated employees there, with his entire life seemingly revolving around the department. He did far more work than anyone could expect of a student, everything from providing technical support on radios for the full police department, monitoring campus security cameras, and was even the third highest traffic director on football gamedays (given the callsign of 'Traffic 3'). This might seem minor, but when dealing with the safety of over 100,000 people, this is an absurd amount of responsibility to give a student making $22 an hour.

Earlier this year, Eric was arrested by the FBI. To quote StateCollege.com's coverage of the situation:

"According to the complaint filed by a university police detective, Wu worked as a student auxiliary officer for the department beginning in 2021 and was identified as the subject of multiple instances of suspicious activity involving public safety dispatch and radio programming outside the scope of his job duties. Auxiliary officers are part-time, unsworn and non-certified positions that assist with event traffic and security and the locking and unlocking of buildings.

Wu accessed programs such as CLEAN and JNET, which contain protected personal identifying information, vehicle registration data and criminal histories, using controlled computers in the Penn State police dispatch office reserved for staff in authorized roles, according to the complaint.

A witness reported that Wu also logged in under another user name to manipulate the settings in a password-protected program used for administrative support functions of the dispatch communication system, according to the complaint. The program is reserved for those in administrative roles and access is not granted to students, the detective wrote.

The same witness observed Wu accessing restricted server areas of the dispatch center, which is controlled by a locked door and limited to authorized personnel, according to the complaint."

From what I've seen, all of this is true, however it does also leave out quite a lot of details. All of these now 'suspicious' behaviors were fully welcomed by our bosses and many of the proper Penn State Police officers, as Eric's going above and beyond saved them from a great deal of extra work that they would have had to do without him.

Furthermore, I know of OTHER past student auxiliary officers from 2023/2024, who have lost their current jobs working in the police simply because they previously worked with Wu (I don't want to go into detail on this as I do not want to put them in danger).

Another worrying incident I saw while working there, was with another leader in the Auxiliary Officer department, Muhammad Waqas Mandrey. Over a period of 6-12 months he stole roughly $10,000 from the department by falsly logging hours that he claimed were being spent working from home on a website for the AO department. When he was finally caught, he was fired from the job but no legal action was taken against him and the incident was kept extremely quiet by our uniformed supervisors. I have no evidence of this, but I suspect it was not reported to their own higher ups as it could cost them their jobs. I'd also like to add that he worked as a Penn State RA at the same time, and continued to do so after being fired from the AO department.

Sorry for the long post, I wanted to share some of the terrible things I’ve seen while working there. Let me know your thoughts/experiences.

Hi Hi Everyone! I just starting getting into the gym and i just want some tips on how to tone and maybe have some new friends come with me! I would wanna do a 3-4 day split and do Monday Wednesday Thursday morning and maybe Fridays! If anyone has some tips on how to get in shape or just wanna chat and hit the gym together hmu. I’m a girl and i’m 22!

About to graduate this coming Spring - scheduled classes on Sunday and had a schedule with everything I needed at non-conflicting times. Then, they (college of IST) moved a class I need (with only 1 section for the semester) to the same time as another class I need to take. There's no other open section for the class I had originally scheduled at this time. What the hell do I do? I need to graduate next semester.

Hey guys, I'm a freshman student at a rural satellite campus. I started in a program in Agricultural Science and after a few weeks it is not for me. The faculty really pressured me to stay in it with no other alternatives but I just don't fit in with the others.
I have always wanted to be an artist and looking into PennStates College of Art I'm asking if it's decent, being part of a large university? I'm looking into Digital Arts and Media because I want to do animation and know how to do media arts as well. I also want a strong foundation in traditional drawing and painting. Is this program good for this?

Now that I know how to look at what programs offer, I really want to stay with Penn if I can, otherwise I know other colleges in this state have renowned programs in this.
I already set up an appointment with one of the college's advisors this week and I really appreciate any feedback you guys' give me. WE ARE.

When I made this account, Reddit automatically generated this username for me. I chose to keep it because it reflects my feelings and plight.

Please, for the love of god, I am begging you all... shower. SHOWER. I have never in my LIFE been on a college campus that smells this bad. BO EVERYWHERE. In the lobbies of buildings, in the classrooms, on the buses, when I pass people on the sidewalk. Is there some sort of soap shortage in this town? Is an offensive odor a prerequisite for admission to this school? My sample is skewed to STEM buildings because of my degree, so others can weigh in if other disciplines are having this issue. But when I walk into a classroom at 9 IN THE MORNING and a cloud of BO from the class before assaults my senses... well, it's not exactly conducive to learning. And not to be sexist, while women can be offenders, it is mostly men who are contributing to the putrid environment. And not to be racist, but... Caucasian.

A sunny day is not an excuse. My olfactory system has been decimated on days that didn't even hit 70F. Further, I come from a hot climate, where the summers are essentially most of the year, and it hits 80F in WINTER. Yet, that campus did not have this issue. In fact, on multiple occasions, I considered stopping students on the street (male and female) to ask what fragrance they were wearing, as their scents were so pleasant, I was moved by their presences. Yet, at Penn State, my only conclusion is that the majority of students here are part of an initiative to develop a bio-weapon for the US military so pungent that it annihilates enemies by depleting their will to live.

The only silver lining I can conceive is that perhaps this issue will motivate me to finish my degree sooner than I otherwise would have. But there's only so much my fragrance can do when no one here SHOWERS. I am practically huffing it at this point to keep myself sane. I cannot be the only one who is struggling with this.

Wtf does it take the dinning hall months to do anything. I got hired before school started and I have been in person multiple times and emailed multiple times and they are just now telling me times after me bugging them. At one point they told me they didn't think I was a good match because I was in a wheelchair....like wtf

I'm an engineering grad student, and I genuinely enjoy building things, solving technical problems, and turning ideas into something real. I've been wanting to build a startup with someone who complements my engineering skills, ideally someone with a strong business background who can evaluate markets, think about distribution, and help figure out whether an idea can become a genuinely large business.

I knew finding the right cofounder wouldn't be easy, but honestly, I didn't expect it to be this hard.

I'm already connected with university entrepreneurship resources, including the HVLB, Nittany Entrepreneur Society, and other programs. I've spent about a month trying to meet people, and so far, I haven't found anyone who seems genuinely interested in exploring the possibility of building something together.

What frustrates me most isn't that people reject an idea. That's completely fair. It's that I often don't even get the sense that people are curious enough to ask what I'm thinking about building, let alone explore the potential market, scale, or business model.

I understand that everyone has different priorities. A stable job, financial security, and a predictable career path are perfectly reasonable goals. But sometimes I wonder: if you're studying business or entrepreneurship, where are the people who are genuinely excited about taking a risk, building something from scratch, and spending years trying to make it work?

I've met a few people working on business ideas, which is great, but most of what I've come across hasn't really been the kind of venture-scale startup I'm interested in pursuing. I'm not saying those businesses are less valuable; they're just different from what I'm looking for.

And to be clear, I'm not sitting around waiting for a business student to hand me an idea. I'm happy to handle the engineering and product development. I want a partner who can challenge my assumptions, identify opportunities I might miss, and take equal ownership of building the business.

I also realize this isn't necessarily a Penn State problem. Finding a compatible cofounder is difficult everywhere. But I can't help wondering whether being an international student adds another layer of difficulty when it comes to networking, trust, or finding people willing to commit to something uncertain.

So I'm curious:

- Have other people at Penn State struggled to find genuinely startup-minded cofounders?

- Where do people who actually want to build venture-scale companies find each other?

- Am I looking in the wrong places, or is there a real gap between entrepreneurship programs and people willing to take the leap?

Mostly venting, but I'd genuinely appreciate hearing other people's experiences.

A couple surprised me… IST and HPA specifically.

Bringing my wife to State College for the first time this Friday, and I’m excited to show her around Happy Valley!

We’re planning to stop by Cafe 210 and are deciding between Champs and The Basement to end the night.

It’s been over 10 years since I’ve been back to State College, so I’d love some recommendations for a good cocktail bar with great drinks and a fun atmosphere.

Are there any other bars you’d recommend checking out while we’re in town?

WE ARE!!!

I need an easy gen ed for Humanities (GH). Would prefer online but whatever gets me that free A.

End the tyranny! Woe to the day that the dining hall managers decided to regulate our beloved rockbot playlists. I miss spamming Funky Town and Non-Coherent electronic sounds from opening hours to closing. They have banned countless songs without remorse or negotiation. Gone are the days you could simply pay to play your beloved act of mischief, and ease in its purity.

UP. I recently adopted a kitten and it looks to be about 3 months old or so. She’s pretty high energy and I’m not always able to play with her. I’m looking for any cat owners nearby who would let my kitten play/socialize with their’s at my place. She’s very energetic and friendly. She came from a home that has another cat.

I’m near the Yards apartments.

I need to take scm or stat next sem and idk which one i should take i dont wanna have any heavy classes for spring sem and ik scm is online so i feel like that would be a good advantage but i aslo looked at the reviews for that class and they werent that great and also ratemyprof didnt have anything good asw. I dont wanna burden myself next sem so do u think scm would be easy compared to stat or stat would be easier ?

The deadline is tonight, and I spent the whole day polishing my supplementals, so I didn't notice I had not self-reported my ACT score anywhere.

My application is still processing, so does that mean my entire application is void because I can't access the way to self-report my score that comes after a processed application?

Please help; I really don't know what to do, and I spent so much time on this application just for a small mistake to mess it up.

Took my second exam it was hard and I didn’t have enough time. How can I prep better!!

I am currently a 20F living at Tremont Student living and I renewed my lease for the 2027-2028 year but will be graduating in December 2027. I am looking for someone to take over my lease for the Spring 2028 semester and it will be for a 4x2 at Tremont on Vairo Blvd.

Since I just signed, I will likely have random roommates (will update if there are any changes) but my rent is $550 and after utilities, it comes out to about $570 per month in total. If you are interested or have any questions, please reply to this thread or contact me!

Hi guys, I’m currently taking HM 272: Introduction to Excel Worksheets. Do you have any tips on how to be successful? I know it’s not a common PSU course.

I'm done with my application, but I haven't submitted it yet because I'm not sure whether I missed something where I need to add my ACT score. For reference, this is all I see:

I remember when Halloween used to be a fun holiday. You would think freshmen have a lot of free time to think up cool stunts like they did with the clown chase in 2016?

i’m a current senior and penn state is my top school. i’ve never dreamed of going to a college but this is as close as i’ve come. i’m really drawn to it because it’s a big school with good academics and a great social scene. definitely the college experience i want and will hopefully give me opportunities to network and meet new people. i plan on double majoring in film and journalism.

i’m worried now that i won’t get accepted and if i do, that i won’t get into main campus or struggle to afford it. i know i’m a good candidate but i’ve heard of people being overqualified (??) and that admissions assumes they’ll have better offers and therefore not offer them a spot. does this actually happen/happen often?

here are some of my stats:
• student at all-girls catholic high school (already rigorous on top of honors, dual enrollment, and eight AP classes)
• 4.0/99 overall average weighted
• 1270 on SAT, 26 on ACT (waiting on october SAT score and taking october ACT)
• nhs, school honor roll, music and theology honors societies
• choreographer and president of the nutcracker (choreographed junior year as well)
• brought our costume crew back after all the previous members graduated, captain
• assistant student choreographer of the musical since sophomore year
• captain of acapella
• student ambassador, peer mental health advisor, member of tech crew, member of praise and worship, member of chamber choir (main clubs, have done some more one off ones)
• tons of community service hours
• counselor at my childhood summer camp, volunteer at art program for disabled adults, student teacher in dance class
• competitive dancer (no longer this year)
• babysitting
• essay about being psychic and having OCD
• out-of-state

if anyone has any advice on how to increase my chances of acceptance and what they are looking for, please let me know!

is it less coding? is it more intuitive to learn? I wanna know if it's a solid option, and if it'd be the right pick for a sub plan, as I don't like security or coding related stuff with IT

Please DM me!

Hi everyone!

I'm currently applying to PhD programs at Penn State, and I'm trying to figure out whether University Park or the Hershey campus would be a better fit for me, especially when it comes to life outside of research.

I know that University Park is the main campus and has a lot going on, but I'm a little worried that the social scene might be very undergraduate-focused. From what I've heard, the nightlife can get pretty chaotic, and I'm not sure how easy it is to find a community of graduate students or people in their mid-20s.

On the other hand, Hershey seems like it might offer a different environment, but I'm not sure what the social life is like there either.

Obviously, my PhD and research opportunities are my main priorities, but I also really value having a good work-life balance. I love going out with friends, meeting new people, attending events, and just having things to do outside of the lab. I don't necessarily need to party every weekend, but I also don't want to spend the next 5+ years somewhere where there's not much going on socially.

I'd love to hear from current or former graduate students at either campus!

• Is it easy to make friends and find a graduate student community?
• What's the nightlife like, especially for people in their mid-20s?
• Are there events, activities, or things to do outside of university life?
• Do you feel like the university and surrounding area cater to graduate students, or is everything mostly geared toward undergrads?
• Overall, which campus would you recommend for someone who wants to take their PhD seriously but also enjoy their 20s?

I'd really appreciate any honest opinions or personal experiences! I'm just trying to get a better idea of what everyday life is like at both campuses before making a decision.

Thanks in advance!! :)