Journal 4: #1 Party School

The creators of this podcast definitely define the issue so that it makes sense to their intended audience. They clearly state what they are investigating, in this case Penn State University and its previous title as the #1 party school in the nation. They come at this issue from all angles; you hear from residents, students, employees, employers, police, administration, etc. They focus a lot on the partying aspect, and make it obvious what it is they are investigating. The hosts of this recording give a lot of reasons for why this is an issue that needs to be investigated. First, Penn State was the number one party school, a title that in itself promotes curiosity and interest. Another reason they gave for why the issue needed to be investigated was the huge drinking problem at Penn State, mainly underage drinking and the problems that entail a huge campus of kids getting wasted. Specifically, they brought up the case of Joseph Dado, the freshmen who passed away last year after drinking too much and falling off of a wall. This story in itself could warrant an investigative report, but it was only a part of the bigger picture of drinking and partying at Penn State. All the trouble that the residents here encounter and the police deal with are also reasons for investigation. To sum it up, there are many reasons and many issues up for examination in this story, and they pretty much covered them all.

A great deal of facts and details were given showing how partying at Penn State affects a wide array of different groups and people. For example, they interviewed and followed a pizza delivery boy who works at one of the most popular pizza shops in State College. They included a lot of details about how the partying at Penn State affected this kid and his ability to do his job. Also, they interviewed a lot of the residents of State College who are affected by the constant partying that goes on as well.
Throughout the dialogue, the hosts interview many people, using their direct quotations for their story. They also take quotations from people like the president of Penn State, who often talks about the problems associated with drinking at Penn State. Sometimes they didn't use a direct quote but cited who they got it from, but a lot of it was direct quotations from interviews.
I really liked this report because it showed a lot about how partying affects a large group of people, but at the same time the story is not biased completely to abstinence. Rather, they really focus on the positives of drinking at Penn State (family, togetherness, the college experience) but also mention a lot of the negatives (deaths, injuries, school performance). I also thought they interviewed many of the right people, and it was cool to get different perspectives on the partying at Penn State and across the country. I got a little confused when the father who lived on frat row and the other woman who lived near campus complained about the partying that goes on at Penn State. My question would be why live here, on a college campus of the number party school in the nation, if you don't want to hear, see, or witness college kids partying. To me, that makes no sense, so I didn't really enjoy that part of the show. Other than that, it was a very interesting, engaging report that really delved into an issue and picked it apart piece by piece.