Student ‘Outing Club’ at Penn State No Longer Allowed to Go Outside
“Student safety in any activity is our primary focus”
Another fine example of the Orwellian environment on so many college campuses.
Reason reports:
Penn State’s 98-Year-Old Outing Club Is No Longer Allowed to Go Outside
What’s more dangerous: rugby, or a walk in the woods? At Pennsylvania State University, the administrators apparently think it’s the latter.
The student “Outing Club,” which has gone backpacking, kayaking, and hiking in state parks over the course of its 98-year-existence, will no longer be allowed to host outdoor events after administrators conducted a risk assessment, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“The types of activities in which [Penn State Outing Club] engages are above the university’s threshold of acceptable risk for recognized student organizations,” according to an official announcement.
A key issue for administrators was that the Outing Club frequently visit locations with poor cell phone coverage. This wasn’t an issue during the Coolidge administration, but now that cell phones exist, students are apparently expected to remain glued to them at all times.
“Student safety in any activity is our primary focus,” Lisa Powers, a Penn State spokeswoman, told The Post-Gazette.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
“The types of activities in which [Penn State Outing Club] engages are above the university’s threshold of acceptable risk for recognized student organizations,”
How did they measure the risk? What is the threshold? 3? 72? $14,000/student? What specific vulnerabilities cause this alleged risk? Could they mitigate the risk with a satphone?
Does anyone at this university know what the words “risk” and “threshold” mean?
Risk was measured in the amount that they saved on their umbrella insurance policy by promising to not let them go outside!
Hey, it’s the 21st Century! Strap’em in a chair, and make’em do their dangerous outdoor stuff with VR goggles.
It’s dangerous out there: snakes and bugs and sunburn, and sometimes no cell coverage!
Although one wonders what previous generations would have thought of this. Was there actually ever a time when camp counselors took children out on overnight hikes to places where there were … no phones??