Drinking at penn state podcast

The podcast "Number 1 Party School" provide an interesting story about the drunk actions of students at Penn State. The main issue of the piece is to examine what the title of "Number 1 Party School" really means. The main issue the podcast is that the title of "Number 1 Party School" is not a positive title when you view it from the point of view of the professors, the staff, the police force, and the community it is a very negative concept. The reason why this issue was investigated seems to be to attempt to spread awareness about the actions of drunken students and the affects that they have on the people around them. The podcast is primary aimed at students. I believe that parts of the story are aimed at students who tend to binge drink. It forces them to take a cold sober look at the actions that they have and might take again and forces them to consider how absurd it can be. It also speaks to the dry students and the community of state college, telling the story from their point of view and sympathizes with what they have to go through on these "drinking weekends". A particularly powerful part of the podcast was in the beginning when the listener gets the chance to experience all the events that were witnessed in just that half an hour period. Another well put together piece was when the interviewer shadowed a police officer on patrol. The audience not only got to see things from the officer’s point of view but also got to hear the stories of what the officers have to deal with on a regular base. The conclusion drawn by the end of the report was that Penn State does have a drinking problem, but that it is a problem that is not easily addressed. The podcast lists many attempts by the administration to curb drinking, all of which have failed. It is also brought up that success in this matter is very hard to examine as there is no real way to know if what you are doing is having an effect. The research that was included in this report was mostly gathered first hand through the use of interviews and investigative reporting. Other information that played more of a secondary role in the podcast was mostly statistical data, percentages of students who drink and what the drinking numbers where for certain years. The narrative techniques used were very impressive. Since the entire report was presented through audio the reporter was able to weave sound bites of his interviewees with his own exposition. The smooth transitions from to topic to topic and from section to section really improve the listening experience. The last thing I will say about the recording is what really impressed me was the stance the article took. It didn’t look down upon or condemn drinkers as being lazy slackers and it didn’t attempt to portray the administration as tyrannical. It let the leader make their own opinions about each group by listening to each groups own words, and it really made the piece into something special.