Penn State Public Broadcasting’s third installment of the Geospatial Revolution Project deals with the technology in relation to privacy and how geospatial information affects law enforcement, war and diplomacy.

– As police departments around the country consolidate and face tough decisions on how best to use limited resources, geospatial technology has proven to be an asset. Geospatial technology allows law enforcement officials to identify crime hot spots in the communities they serve, so they can dedicate the necessary resources to these areas, thus maximizing efficiency.

Penn State Public Broadcasting’s four-part online video series, the Geospatial Revolution Project, explores the way geospatial information—such as geospatial information systems (GIS), global position systems (GPS), and digital mapping—enhances the lives of individuals as well as the efficiency of institutions like police departments. Episode Three of the series, available now, also focuses on safety, privacy and the use of geospatial technology in warfare and diplomacy.

“A surveillance society is not only inevitable and irreversible, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s irresistible—and it’s not government doing it to us, it’s us doing it to ourselves,” Jeff Jonas, member of the board of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, said. “The more data that is available to us, the more transparent the world becomes.”

The 15-minute episode, which is divided into shorter chapters, explains the challenge of protecting personal privacy while using this technology. Cell phones with geospatial locators can be helpful in an emergency or when lost, but they can also cause harm when they are used against victims of domestic abuse or stalking. The episode identifies the risks that come along with this kind of transparency.

The episode highlights how geospatial technology can help soldiers identify improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and diplomats map human geography to better understand different cultures. Geospatial technology and digital maps were also critical in providing accurate geographic information, which world leaders used in 1995 to redraw borders to help stop the war and mass genocide in Bosnia.

The Geospatial Revolution Project Episode Three, along with the first two episodes and accompanying educational materials, is available at Penn State Public Broadcasting’s website, http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu online.

The next episode, to be released on May 3, 2011, will explore agriculture and the environment, mapping disease, and human rights and aid.

Penn State Public Broadcasting, licensed to Penn State, produces non-commercial television, radio and online media. Our public service media programming and complementary outreach materials address important societal issues for Pennsylvania, the nation and the world.

STATE COLLEGE — Clad in green and blowing vuvuzelas, thousands of young people swarmed downtown State College on Saturday to celebrate State Patty’s Day, a student-created holiday centered on drinking.

Despite efforts by local officials to tamp down this year’s festivities, State College police Lt. Chris Fishel reported there were more people in town and more crime than last year’s event.

Police responded to more than 110 incidents in a 24-hour period through Saturday morning, about three times as many as a normal Friday night, Fishel said. During the entire State Patty’s Day weekend last year, State College police responded to about 365 calls related to the event, most of them alcohol-related.

Fights, false identification, and public urination and intoxication represented a majority of offenses committed by Saturday afternoon, Fishel said, adding that he expected the revelry to continue until about 4 a.m. today.

A spokeswoman for Mount Nittany Medical Center reported more than 40 people had been treated for alcohol-related injuries and conditions from 9 p.m. Thursday through 9 p.m. Saturday, some with severe injuries.

As with previous years’ festivities, many of those getting in trouble are not Penn State students. Fishel reported misdemeanors involving students from the University of Pittsburgh, St. Joseph’s University, Slippery Rock University, Virginia Tech and the University of West Virginia.

“It’s like a home football night game. People are partying right up to kickoff, except there’s no kickoff,” Fishel said.

Streets downtown began to see State Patty’s Day-related traffic by about 10 a.m. By 2 p.m., there were lines to get int bars, and the sidewalks were packed with revelers. The streets stayed crowded through the afternoon and into the night. At about 9:40 p.m., Indigo, a nightclub at 112 W. College Ave., shut down because of the large crowd that had lined up waiting to get inside, police said. The line stretched to South Fraser Street and was blocking traffic.

Earlier in the day, Andrew and Mark, two young men who wouldn’t give their last names, said they had come from Bucknell University and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, respectively, for the party.

“There’s no party this size at Bucknell,” Andrew said.

A student from Bloomsburg University, waiting to get into the Gingerbread Man, said he came to State College to see what the hype was about.

“This town is really live,” he said. “It seems like State Patty’s is like a rite of passage for students, and the authorities trying to stop it just make it worse because we’re going to rage either way.”

One young man traveled 14 hours from Alabama to celebrate his first State Patty’s Day. After climbing atop a mound of snow in front of Five Guys Burgers and Fries and posing for pictures with a keg of beer, he expressed his excitement for the alcohol-fueled celebration.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” he said. “My best friend is a junior here, and he’s been trying to get me up here forever. He was recruiting a bunch of us for months. I don’t know any other place that has this much fun.”

When asked if he was drunk, he answered, “If you’re asking me if I’m having fun, my answer is yes.”

Police reported at least four citations that included hospitalization, three of them related to underage drinking:

•At 11:17 p.m. Friday, a 20-year-old man was seen by police falling down repeatedly while walking on McKee Street. After he was brought to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment, he became disorderly and had to be restrained and sedated. He will be charged with disorderly conduct.

•A drunken 19-year-old was found trying to enter a house on the 400 block of Martin Terrace at around 11:30 p.m. on Friday. He was also taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center.

•A 16-year-old boy was found intoxicated, lying down and throwing up on the sidewalk on the 500 block of South Pugh Street at 12:52 a.m. Saturday. He was hospitalized and will be charged with providing false information to police.

•A man who passed out drunk in the lobby of the Days Inn at 240 S. Pugh St. at 3:31 a.m. Saturday also took a trip to the hospital.

Not everyone out on the streets downtown Saturday was out to party. A few local churches had a stand set up on McAllister Street and were handing out free hot chocolate and water.

“We’re just trying to keep people hydrated and keep some kids out of the hospital,” volunteer Kim Dick said.

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928. Wildamie Ceus is a journalism student at Penn State.

My name is Erik and I am a dean’s list student at Penn State. When I came to State College as a freshman, I knew I wanted to be involved in as much as I could. I was extremely involved in high school as a student leader, athlete and scholar. With my love for Penn State, I wanted to continue this over the next four years in Happy Valley.

Freshman year I accomplished everything I set out to. I studied hard, became involved in myriad activities, and assumed prominent leadership roles. Bleeding blue and white, I considered myself to be the consummate Penn Stater. Unfortunately this meant I also partied like a true Nittany Lion: hard and often.

Eventually my drinking landed me in the hospital from an alcohol overdose. Because that was my first time in the emergency room, I wrote it off as bad luck. I had not had a history of binge drinking in high school and wasn’t worried about my frequent drinking habits at Penn State.

My first trip to Mount Nittany Medical Center would prove not to be an isolated case. The second time I ended up in the hospital, a few months later, I considered it an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Judicial Affairs warned me that if I had a third offense in the same calendar year I would be suspended. There is nothing in the world that I loved more than being a Penn State student. I vowed to control my drinking.

However, control was not in my vocabulary. Six months later I woke up in the hospital, incredulous I could have gotten myself into this situation again. What had happened to me? Why couldn’t I control myself?

I knew the consequences of my actions yet I still allowed myself to engage in dangerous behavior. Facing imminent suspension along with the thought of failing everyone back home brought me to the lowest point in my life.

My parents understood that I had a problem, one they were familiar with. My grandmother had died at an early age from alcoholism, and other members of my dad’s family had issues with alcohol. They brought me to my first 12-step program meeting.

Walking through those doors was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Admitting I had a problem was incredibly difficult and humbling for a person who was used to success. However, attending 12-step meetings and counseling and the support of family and friends made me realize my suspension was the best thing to happen to me. I was able to come to terms with my problem and discover my life was better off without drinking in it.

Eventually I simply stopped drinking and started living out my sobriety. Alcohol abuse is a gradual progression down to each person’s respective bottom. It is also a gradual process of recovery and living in a new way. I will always be vulnerable to alcohol, but I will continue to grow and learn about this more enriching way of life.

As a requirement to return to Penn State, I had to write a letter to myself about the pros and cons of drinking versus remaining sober. This forced me to really think about what is important. I read the letter at least once a week to remind myself of all I have to lose by drinking. It also reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for and how good my life is today.

I have returned to Penn State and am once again involved in activities, leadership roles and my school work. I have not returned to my drinking habits and have been sober since that fateful day of my third hospitalization.

A problem with alcohol does not have to dictate how the rest of your life plays out. I am grateful for all my experiences because they have made me stronger and more aware of what my priorities in life are. I am able to take advantage of everything life has to offer.

This is the gift sobriety has given me. It is one I wish to share and is available for anyone who needs it.

Erik volunteered to share his story. His last name has been withheld.

State College attorney Andrew Shubin said Centre County police officers are too concerned with generating a high number of student arrests for low-level offenses at the University Park Undergraduate Association-sponsored town hall meeting Monday night.

“What the students don’t understand is that Penn State is not Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. State College is like Mississippi — the prosecutors, defense attorneys and jurors are very conservative,” Shubin said.

Shubin, a guest attorney at the meeting, said that if he was defending a client in a Philadelphia county, the first thing that he would tell the judge is that his client is a student at Penn State because it is highly recognized institution.

But he said if he were representing a student in Centre County, it would not matter that the student attended Penn State because his client’s background would be nearly identical to that of 40,000 other students.

Shubin said that it is important for students to realize that State College is a school zone, so low-level offenses, such as drinking and selling marijuana, are treated much more harshly. If his client lived in Philadelphia and was caught selling a quarter pound of marijuana, he would get a misdemeanor charge at the most, Shubin said. If his client was caught selling the illegal substance in State College, he would most likely receive a two to four year mandatory prison sentence.

“I hate that I am paying taxes to incarcerate engineering majors,” Shubin said.

Shubin said he stresses the importance of students knowing their rights, which are the same for all citizens regardless of age. He also offered three rules for interacting with the police when questioned by authorities.

“Never give a statement to a police officer if you are the suspect of a crime. The answer to every question after you give your name should be lawyer, attorney or counselor. Always be cooperative with the police officer — anything you say will be used against you,” he said.

UPUA President Christian Ragland said it is important that students do not misinterpret Shubin’s advice.

“We should still set the precedent that wrong is wrong, Ragland (senior-political science) said. “Students should know their rights, but above all, they shouldn’t do wrong.”

Shubin said times have changed since he and parents of Penn State students were in college.

“We’re living in a totally different world now — but I’m not convinced that it is a better world, Shubin said. “The government can put so much destruction in your life when we did the same thing when we were younger and grew up to be law-abiding citizens.”

UPUA Programming Committee Chairwoman Ali Cook said she believes students will find Shubin’s advice helpful.

“I think he provided a valuable service for students and I don’t think he encouraged students to engage in illegal activities,” Cook (sophomore-finance and economics) said.

Ragland also discussed the issue of student safety and handed out surveys to collect data on students’ feelings regarding campus safety. The surveys are also available online at UPUA’s website for completion.

Alcohol offenses and thefts continue to be the biggest problems at Penn State, according to the university’s annual crime report.
“If you look at driving under the influence, liquor law and public drunkenness, those numbers are still high,” said Penn State Deputy Police Chief Tyrone Parham.
In 2009, those three offenses alone accounted for 783 of the 1,726 Part II offenses. Part II offenses also include drug offenses and weapons possession.
During the past three years, alcohol-related offenses have gone up, along with the blood alcohol content levels of Penn State students who have required medical attention for alcohol overdoses, Parham said.
“We’d like to see all of those numbers go down. Unfortunately, the trend is people seem to be drinking larger quantities and volumes of alcohol,” he said.
Theft is also a big concern for police on campus. In 2009, theft was responsible for 439 of the 526 Part I offenses, which also include forcible rape, assault and burglary.
One reason for the large number was that a lot of the stolen property was either unattended or not secured. “They’re kind of crimes of opportunity,” said Parham.
In general, the total number of Part I and Part II offenses — more serious and more violent crimes and lesser offenses, respectively — has remained consistent during the past three years. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 offenses totaled 2,055, 2,268 and 2,252, respectively.
The only notable increase in Part I offenses during the past three years was in aggravated assaults. In 2007 and 2008 combined, there were 13 aggravated assaults. That number jumped to 23 in 2009, with 12 involving dangerous weapons.
Still, the rise in aggravated assaults hasn’t been a big problem, Parham indicated. Many of the assaults involved people who knew each other and were not random acts of violence, he said.
The report was sent out Saturday by e-mail to students, faculty and staff at University Park.
Parham said Penn State and its surrounding community remain one of the safest places to live in the country.
“Generally speaking, it’s a good thing that we don’t have significant increases in serious assaults, robberies, homicides, forceful rapes and all those types of things,” he said.
Chad Lear is a Penn State journalism student.

STATE COLLEGE — Every Tuesday for the first 12 weeks of the fall semester, police officers and Penn State and borough officials meet to digest the weekend happenings in the four neighborhoods near campus where town-gown relations are often strained.

The group — dubbed First 8, or F8, when it started in the fall of 2007 — tries to get to student and non-student residents early in the academic year, giving them information about what’s expected of them when they live in State College.

“Data that we’ve looked at historically are that the largest number of issues that occur in the community occur during the first few weeks of the fall semester when classes start up and students return to campus, it tends to be a busier time,” said Borough Manager Tom Fountaine.