Weekly Wrap: Class gift; Town hall; Leasing experience

A look back at the top stories for the week of Oct. 16

One of the many squirrels who call the University Park campus home enjoys a mid-morning snack outside Old Main on Oct. 19. In 1925, Penn State purchased 4 pairs of squirrels for $32 in the hopes that they would populate the area around State College and become a charming addition to the campus. Little did they know back then, that the squirrels would become a time-honored, and popular, Penn State tradition. Credit: Bill Zimmerman / Penn State. Creative Commons

A look at this week's top stories from across Penn State:

CLASS GIFT: This week Penn State seniors had the chance to vote for their class gift from three proposals: Supporting Lion Pantry, the Libraries Textbook Fund and a new bike share program.

TOWN HALL: Penn State leaders are continuing their series of Town Hall meetings for faculty and staff with the next event planned for 3:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Freeman Auditorium of the HUB-Robeson Center.

LEASING EXPERIENCE: A collaborative community group led by Student Legal Services, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, created an online resource called Lions Lease to help landlords and tenants with a model lease. The purpose of the website is to help consumers navigate the marketplace, review and understand their leases and become satisfied, responsible tenants.

SELFIES AND SELF-ESTEEM: Frequent viewing of selfies through social network sites like Facebook is linked to a decrease in self-esteem and life satisfaction, according to Penn State researchers in mass communications.

ABINGTON AT 100: A Penn State Abington faculty member recently published an illustrated history of 100 years of education at the campus, "Penn State Abington and the Ogontz School."

HELP WITH ASPERGER'S: The 43 muscles in your face can form 10,000 unique expressions. Ehsan Hoque, a 2004 graduate of Penn State Behrend, programmed a computer to interpret all of them – and then teach you to do better.

UNEQUAL ACCESS: Students enrolled in many schools in Pennsylvania — and in the Philadelphia School District in particular — have less access to advanced courses in English language arts, social studies, mathematics and science than their counterparts in other schools, according to a study by a College of Education faculty member.

Last Updated October 20, 2016