Penn State Intercom......March
27, 2003
Students gather to watch
as war with Iraq intensifies 
As
the massive air assault against Iraq got under way Friday, March 21, Penn
State students gathered around the various televisions at the HUB-Robeson
Center on the University Park campus to follow the breaking news. Some
students sipped sodas and passively followed the story while others flipped
through the Collegian to read the newspaper coverage. The crowd around
the large television upstairs near the HUB-Robeson Center entrance watched
intently, some standing on their toes and elbowing others out of the way
to catch the latest details of a Pentagon briefing broadcast live on CNN.
Dozens of Penn State students and a handful of faculty and staff called
to active duty from their armed forces reserve or National Guard units
are among the thousands of troops on the ready to participate and support
the military campaign by the United States.
To
date, 171 Penn State students from all 24 campus locations have been called
to active duty since the start of the 2003 spring semester -- with as
many as 10 students per day filing for military leave with the University
registrar. These students join 38 others who were activated last fall,
as well as nine faculty and staff who are currently among — or about
to join — the ranks of active duty soldiers. In total, 255 students
have taken military withdrawal from the University to report to active
duty since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. To view pictures of students
taking in the news, check the Web at
http://www.psu.edu/ur/extra/2003/war.