FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS, NOT DIVORCE, BOOST DROPOUT
Children of divorced or separated parents are more likely to drop out of middle or high school because of the related economic hardships than because of the family disruption itself, a Penn State researcher says. "This group of young people are two or three times more likely to drop out of school than classmates whose families stay together. This is true even for children who, following the divorce or separation of parents, become part of a blended, stepparented or guardian family," notes Dr. Suet-Ling Pong, associate professor of education and sociology. Children of divorce most often find themselves in a single-parent, usually single-mother household, with the mother's income dropping as much as 35 percent. The resulting financial stress raises the odds of offspring dropping out of school to supplement the family income. However, what is often overlooked is that many of these disrupted families were poor before the divorce or separation, says the Penn State researcher. Low income is the cause of both family disruption and school dropout. Poverty was "reshuffled" from two-parent families to single-parent families, according to Pong. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/divorcedropouts.html

SUPER PENN STATE CAREER DAYS BEGIN TODAY
Career Services and nine academic colleges are joining forces to offer a four-day career fair at the Bryce Jordan Center, beginning today, Tuesday, Sept. 19, and running through Friday, Sept. 22. This year’s Career Days is expected to exceed attendance records of last year’s, which had 420 employer participants and more than 700 students. Non-technical, full-time recruiting will take place today, Sept. 19, for students in communications, business, management and health and human services. Students interested in co-op and internships will want to attend on Wednesday, Sept. 20, and technical, full-time recruitment for student in engineering, computer technology and physical and life sciences will take place on Thursday, Sept. 21. Friday, Sept. 22, has been set aside for interviews. Free shuttle service will run every 15 minutes from the HUB and Foundry Park to BJC. For more information and recruitment and interview schedules, go to http://www.bjc.psu.edu/careerdays2000

INSECT FAIR "SURVIVORS" WILL GET EDIBLE-BUG CHALLENGE
Penn State's 2000 Great Insect Fair — an annual event that draws children and adults from all over the region -- will feature experiences worthy of "Survivor." The brave and adventurous -- and the hungry -- can stop by the Insect Deli during the annual event and get their fill of arthropod delicacies, such as chocolate "chirpies" (crickets) and mealworm stir-fry.. Other activities include exhibits such as Roaches From Around the World, Insect Olympics, a display of spiders indigenous to Pennsylvania, and a shop for insect jewelry and gifts. Lady Bug Theatre will present "Bee-ography" -- an audience-participation play written and produced by State College-area middle school students. Kids in the audience will receive a set of wearable antennae while supplies last. Sponsored by the Department of entomology, the fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, in and around the Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, at the corner of Curtin and Shortlidge Roads. For more information, call the entomology department at (814) 865-1895 or go to http://www.aginfo.psu.edu/news/september00/insect.html

PSU-OSU STUDENTS TEAM-UP FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
There will be no rivalry when students and staff from Penn State and Ohio State team-up for a collaborative community service project before the Penn State - Ohio State football game on Sept. 23. This is the second annual collaboration with the Big 10 University. The project, "Competing on the Field, Collaborating in the Community," celebrates National Youth Service Day, and will kickoff at 7 a.m. at Larkins Hall on the Ohio State campus. For full story, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/psuosu.html

ABC SPORTS TO CARRY OHIO STATE, PURDUE GAMES
The Penn State football team’s Big Ten home opener against No. 21 Purdue on Saturday, September 30, will be regionally televised by ABC Sports. The game will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EDT in Beaver Stadium. ABC previously announced it will broadcast the Nittany Lions conference opener at Ohio State this Saturday, September 23, to a national audience, excluding the Pacific Time Zone, Alaska, and Hawaii. The game will kickoff at noon in Columbus, OH. These games bring the total number of announced television appearances for Penn State this season to eight. Remaining contests may be selected by the networks under the six- and 12-day provisions of their contracts with the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have made 190 appearances on national networks under coach Joe Paterno and own an overall record of 128-61-1 in those games. For the full story, go to http://www.GoPSUSports.com/football/pressreleases/pressrelease.cfm?anncid=462

HUDDLE WITH THE FACULTY: SANDRA SPANIER ON HEMINGWAY
Sandra Spanier, associate professor of English and Women's Studies, will give an informal presentation on the life of Ernest Hemingway at the third "Huddle with the Faculty" event scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, at 9 a.m. in the Nittany Lion Inn. Spanier's talk, "On Hemingway's Trail," will trace the author's life and career in the context of his times and places and follow the trail of his first novel, "The Sun Also Rises," from Paris to Pamplona. Alumni, parents, and friends of Penn Sate are invited to The Nitanny Lion Inn every home-football Saturday morning from 9 to 10 a.m. to hear a free, informal presentation by top Penn State faculty. "Huddle" is an outreach service of the Penn State Alumni Association, the Nittany Lion Inn, and the Penn State Bookstore on campus. For more information, contact Mary Jane Stout at 814-865-5466 or e-mail at .

WORLD GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONS COMPETE AT BJC NOV. 14
The TJ Maxx 2000 Tour of World Gymnastics Champions, the only gymnastics tour immediately following the Olympics, featuring the stars of the 2000 Olympic Team will perform at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at at the Bryce Jordan Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, selected Uni-Mart ticket outlets, Commonwealth Campus ticket outlets, or charge by phone at (800) 863-3336, locally at (814) 865-5555, or on-line at http://www.bjc.psu.edu