THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
, FEB. 8, 2017| PAGE3
Wolf seeks to plug
$3B budget gap
By Marc Levy
and Mark Scolforo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG — Building
on an ambitious bet that he can
squeeze savings out of state
government, Gov. Tom Wolf
asked lawmakers Tuesday to
help fill a $3 billion projected
deficit by imposing a tax on
Marcellus Shale natural gas
production and signing off on
potentially touchy cuts in spend-
ing, including transportation aid
to schools.
The Democratic governor
also wants to charge local gov-
ernments that rely solely on
state police for law enforcement
coverage and lease the huge
Pennsylvania Farm Show
Complex in Harrisburg in
expectation of a $200 million
upfront payment. Education
would get more money, albeit
more modest amounts than Wolf
had sought in previous years,
and programs for the poor and
vulnerable would remain intact.
“Our commonwealth has
been operating with a structural
deficit for a long time,” Wolf said
during a 22-minute address to a
joint session of the Legislature
in the ornate House chamber.
“That means Harrisburg has
been living beyond its means.
Households can’t do that, and
neither can we.”
He called his proposal a
“responsible solution to our
deficit challenge and a different
approach from the way things
have been done in Harrisburg for
almost a generation.”
Wolf had touted the budget
plan as one built on streamlin-
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf greets local lawmakers after his press conference in Bellefonte on
Tuesday, March 29, 2016.
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Order on our website:
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ing government rather than
proposals rejected by Republi-
cans to wipe out Pennsylvania’s
stubborn post-recession defi-
cit with a major tax increase on
sales or income.
In the background is fear in the
Capitol that Wolf and Republican
lawmakers are headed for the
kind of monthslong stalemate
that marked Wolf ’s first budget.
Democrats embraced Wolf ’s
plan, while Republican response
was mixed.
House Speaker Mike Turzai,
R-Allegheny, said Wolf had moved
toward “a more pragmatic
approach to governing.”
“The governor certainly took
a few pages from our playbook,”
Turzai said. Still, he said he
would like to see more empha-
sis on privatizing government
services, reducing debt and
fostering school choice.
Senate Republicans suggested
that items like leasing the farm
show complex, raising the mini-
mum wage and slapping a tax on
Marcellus Shale production face
steep, if not impossible, climbs in
the Legislature. The plan seeks $1
billion in tax increases, including
what the administration views as
loopholes in taxes on sales,
corporate profits and insurance
premiums. The Marcellus Shale
drilling tax has been blocked by
Republican lawmakers for near-
ly a decade, in favor of a lower
per-well fee that largely benefits
drilling communities.
Wolf ’s plan touts a $2
billion grab bag of spending
cuts, efficiency steps and
revenue sources that do not
involve raising taxes.
New spending would include
LOCAL
Wolf’s 2017-18
Spending Plan
-$32.3 billion in total spending
(An increase of $1 billion, or 3.2
percent, in spending from the
2016-17 budget of $31.3 billion)
Plugging the $3B deficit:
-$1 billion in raised taxes
(largely from imposing a new tax
on Marcellus Shale drilling and
eliminating tax loopholes)
-$2 billion in spending cuts and
efficiency measures
-Sales and income tax rates
would not increase
$200 million more for public
schools, special education and
early childhood education. It
would maintain services for the
vulnerable, and fund caregiver
help and day services for anoth-
er 2,000 people with intellectual
disabilities or autism.
However, it would cut $50 mil-
lion from school transportation
aid because of lower fuel costs,
slash tax credits by $100 million
and try to push grant programs
onto unidentified outside sources
of money. It also would eliminate
an approximately $30 million
grant to the University of Penn-
sylvania’s veterinary school.
In the meantime, state
government would rely on
fewer employees and consolidate
agencies and functions, while
closing the state prison in
Pittsburgh and potentially an
undetermined number of state
health centers.
Collegian file photo
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Jon Stewart, left, with host Stephen Colbert during a visit to “The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert,” in New York on Jan. 31.
Colbert reaches
ratings milestone
By David Bauder
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — He may cringe
at the thought, but is Stephen
Colbert the late-night man for
the Trump administration?
Colbert’s “Late Show”
won the late-night ratings
competition last week over
NBC’s Jimmy Fallon for the
first time since Colbert replaced
David Letterman in September
2015, the Nielsen company said.
The margin was so small —
2.77 million average for CBS,
2.76 million for NBC — that
CBS didn’t want to jinx its good
fortune by making an execu-
tive available to talk about it
on Tuesday.
But it reflects a turnaround for
the troubled show since former
“CBS This Morning” executive
Chris Licht was put in charge
backstage and steered the show
toward more topical content to
match the times.
The “Late Show” won two of
the five nights on which Colbert
and Fallon went head-to-head
last week, but it was enough to
win the week.
One night was Tuesday,
when Colbert’s former Comedy
Central pal Jon Stewart came
by to offer an impersonation of
President Trump.
The other win was Monday,
Colbert’s first night back from
a week’s vacation and his first
show, he noted, in the Trump
era. His monologue that night
recorded 4 million views on
YouTube, CBS said.
“You’ve got to give the guy
credit,” Colbert said of the new
president. “He gets a lot of
stuff undone.”
It may be Colbert’s first
weekly win in over a year, but
he’s been creeping closer in
the ratings since the election.
Fallon still wins among youthful
WEDNESDAY
Michele Crowe/Associated Press
demographics, Nielsen said.
Another late-night story
may temper NBC’s disappoint-
ment. “Saturday Night Live” is
booming, with its most-
watched season in 22 years, and
Melissa McCarthy’s imperson-
ation of White House Press Sec-
retary Sean Spicer last weekend
became an instant classic.
Only three prime-time shows
last week got better ratings
among the 18-to-49-year-old
age group than “Saturday Night
Live.”
Meanwhile, President Trump
lost a ratings competition to his
predecessor. Trump’s interview
with Bill O’Reilly on the Super
Bowl preview show was seen by
12.2 million people on Sunday,
compared to the 14.9 million
who watched CBS’ Gayle King
interview former President
Obama on last year’s show.
In fairness to Trump, Fox
aired the interview 25 minutes
earlier in the pregame show than
CBS, which showed it closer to
kickoff.
The Super Bowl gave Fox the
easy win in prime time. The
network averaged 29.7 million
viewers in prime time, followed
by CBS with 6 million, ABC with
4 million, NBC with 3.7 million,
Univision with 1.8 million, the
CW with 1.6 million, Telemun-
do with 1.4 million and ION
Television with 1.2 million.
Fox News Channel dominated
the cable networks, averaging
3.15 million viewers in prime
time. HGTV had 1.58 million,
USA had 1.55 million, MSNBC
had 1.42 million and TBS had
1.34 million.
NBC’s “Nightly News” topped
the evening newscasts with an
average of 9.1 million viewers.
ABC’s “World News Tonight”
was second with 9 million and
the “CBS Evening News” had 7.3
million viewers.
THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
MY VIEW | RACHEL VICK
Chance the Rapper,
catching blessings
By Rachel Vick
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Chance the Rapper — a
musician, father and now Gram-
my-nominated artist.
Chance has broken the bound-
aries within the music industry
by not only choosing to remain
an independent artist — he’s
turned down being signed by sev-
eral major record companies —
but by keeping his music avail-
able to stream for free. His suc-
cess has come at an opportune
time, and thanks to the Gram-
mys’ recent rule change regard-
ing the eligibility of streamed
music, he has been nominated
for not one, but seven Grammy
Awards.
He is up for Best New Artist,
Best Rap Album for “Coloring
Book,” and his song “No
Problem” is up for Best Rap
Song and Best Rap Performance.
In addition to his own work, he is
also up for three awards through
his collaborations on Kanye
West’s songs “Ultralight Beam”
and “Famous.”
Chance’s well-deserved fame
has steadily increased from a
small dedicated fan base to some
of his tracks on SoundCloud
being played more than 20 mil-
lion times. He was the first
unsigned artist to perform on
Saturday Night Live. He’s head-
lining multiple festivals on this
year’s circuit. He’s done a Nike
ad and performed a moving trib-
ute to Muhammad Ali. Barack
Obama even included him on his
Presidential playlist. And just
this week, he was the first to
release a music video by
livestreaming it on social media.
People are drawn to his
personality, undeniable charm
and integrity. He doesn’t shy
away from his ideals — he
embraces and amplifies them,
even if they aren’t necessarily
popular opinions. He doesn’t hes-
itate to speak out against social
injustices or cover controversial
topics. In an industry where it’s
become increasingly difficult to
find someone who isn’t a sellout,
Chance is like a breath of fresh
air.
Part of the appeal is undeni-
ably the evolution of his music.
While his albums are full of witty
references, classic rhyme
schemes and a strong focus on
the music itself — which has
unfortunately become something
of a rarity — the actual content
has grown and changed as he
has, without losing the
factors that initially drew people
in.
Steve Martin and Martin Short pose at the 43rd AFI Lifetime Achievement
Award Tribute Gala in Los Angeles on June 4, 2015.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
“For Chance, the music
is more important than
the recognition.”
Where many artists grow and
shift and lose a lot of what gives
them individuality and personal-
ity, Chance has been able to
grow without losing his sense of
self. There is so much growth
from his first mixtape “10 Day”
(2012) to his present day works,
not only regarding his art but
also as a person growing up and
learning about life.
The shift in his life and music
is most pronounced in the
difference between Acid Rap
(2013) and his more recent
projects, which have heavier
religious tones and address his
own personal growth. He put
out “Surf ” (2015) with Donnie
Trumpet and the Social Experi-
ment, without having his name
directly attached to the project.
For Chance, the music is
more important than the recog-
nition.
The album was on a totally
different path than any other he
had done and was definitely a
risk worth taking. His music
tells a story, paints a picture.
The raw energy and emotion
coupled with the music often
evoke strong reactions and a
deep appreciation for his art.
Chance also continuously
makes an effort to give back to
the community and hosts open
mike nights in his hometown of
Chicago. He gives kids who
might not otherwise have
access to opportunities regard-
ing the arts. He headlined a fes-
tival at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular
Field in an attempt to provide
easy access to music where it’s
not always affordable and pay
homage to his roots.
The simple fact that he keeps
his music accessible instead of
just trying to capitalize speaks
volumes to the sanctity of the
music. It’s about the art and not
the money, and his passion
shows.
Hopefully that passion and
faith gets recognized at the
Grammys, but even if he doesn’t
win for all his efforts and
accomplishments, he has
proven that it’s possible to be
successful without compromis-
ing ideals, and that you can beat
the system keeping you down.
To email reporter: rxv5102@psu.edu.
Follow her on Twitter at @rachel_elyssa
Jordan Strauss/Associated Press
The Playhouse Theatre will feature “American Idiot,” a rock musical based on Green Day’s album by the same
name, from Feb. 14-25.
Behind the scenes
of “American Idiot”
By Sarah Price
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Punk rock is taking over Play-
house Theatre.
With direction by Erin Speer
and musical direction by Loclan
Mackenzie-Spencer, students
dedicated to teamwork perform
“American Idiot,” a rock musical
based on Green Day’s album by
the same name. The musical will
run from Feb. 14-25 at the Play-
house Theatre.
“From day one my team has
been all-in, ready and eager to
tell a story that is stunningly
timely,” Speer (graduate – the-
atre) said.
“It has truly been one of the
most rewarding creative proj-
ects of my life, and I am honored
and humbled to have helmed
this production.”
The plot is based around a
group of adolescent Americans
searching for meaning in their
lives and the world around them.
The story’s main character is
Jesus of Suburbia, who is de-
scribed as an anti-hero.
Alongside him is Heather, who
Jokes not politics when Steve
Martin, Martin Short team up
By Mark Kennedy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Comedians
Steve Martin and Martin Short
are gearing up for a national
tour, offering a show with plenty
of jokes and music — but pre-
cious little politics.
The duo say they’ll be
stepping gingerly around the
topic of Donald Trump and
the election during their “An
Evening You Will Forget for the
Rest of Your Life” tour, which
launches Friday in Sarasota,
Florida.
“I think it’s more important
to find safe islands where you
can put all this endless nega-
tive energy aside and celebrate
something that’s perhaps non-
Think you you can’t be fooled?
You just were, read it again.
starts out as being “initially very
bitter to the world.”
“You get to kind of pick the
character’s background so I view
Heather as a strong, aggressive
woman who grew up with a sin-
gle mother that went through
drug problems,” Lauren Moore
(senior - musical theatre), who
plays Heather, said.
As a punk rock musical,
“American Idiot,” is held to a dif-
ferent degree of difficulty than
other performances the cast and
production members have been
a part of.
“I’ve been a pianist, music di-
rector and conductor on a whole
lot of different shows both here
at Penn State and in various
places around the world,” Mack-
enzie-Spencer (graduate - the-
atre) said.
“But none of them have quite
the same challenges as ‘Ameri-
can Idiot.’ It also makes signifi-
cant demands of our cast’s vocal
and physical stamina to perform
such intense material night after
night.”
While it may be a more chal-
lenging piece, the students in-
partisan,” said Short.
“It’s like when you have a fight
with your wife. It’s always diffi-
cult for either side to admit they
were wrong. Right now, no one’s
going to admit that they were
wrong.”
The show, which visits dozens
of states from North Carolina
to California, includes stand-
up comedy, film clips, musical
numbers and conversations
about their lives in show busi-
ness. Martin thinks it’s too early
after a divisive election to add
partisanship to the mix.
“I believe that the community
of America is extremely vola-
tile right now,” he said. “I think
it’s time to lay off it because for
people who are vested one way
or the other, it’s very hard for
FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 2017| PAGE3
Courtesy of Patrick Mansell
volved speak very highly of each
other. The tightknit cast and
crew intend to present the best
performance possible.
“This my third show with Erin
and what I love about her is that
she is willing to experiment with
the actor,” Moore said. “She will
never tell an actor no. It is a very
unique directing style, naturally
letting the actor experience the
character to create the picture
that she wants.”
There will be two previews
Feb. 14 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. and
evening shows start Feb. 17, 18,
20-25 also at 7:30 p.m. Penn State
students can receive a ticket for
a discounted rate.
“Erin, Michele and I have been
in discussions and meetings for
well over a year to really delve
into the material of the show,”
Mackenzie-Spencer said. “I am
lucky to have colleagues who are
so familiar with Green Day’s mu-
sic and so attuned to the musical
and vocal requirements of the
show.”
To email reporter: sep5423@psu.edu
Follow her on twitter at @Sarahprice920
them to laugh at it. In time, it’ll
be fine. In time. But right now,
it’s like, ‘Are you with us or
against us?’”
The show will have costume
changes, improv, bluegrass
from Martin’s six-piece band,
Steep Canyon Rangers, and
show tunes from Short and
his accompanist, pianist Jeff
Babko.
There’s even a bit of cross-
dressing. (“We do that mostly
backstage,” Martin joked.) The
comedian Catherine O’Hara has
called their act a children’s show
for adults.
“The form is loose enough
that we can keep changing bits,
taking bits out that we’re tired of,
adding new songs, adding new
comedy ideas,” said Short.
THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN SPORTS MONDAY, FEB. 13, 2017| PAGE7

By Vincent Lungaro to avoid a fifth straight loss in

THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Ahead by 19 points with 9:29 to
go, it looked as though Penn State
was going to walk out of the State
Farm Center
with an easy win
MEN’S over Illinois on
BASKETBALL Saturday.
Instead, the
Nittany Lions had to fight off a
furious Fighting Illini comeback
attempt for the second time this
season, eventually holding on to
collect the eventual 83-70 win.
Just four minutes after taking
that 19-point lead, Penn State was
suddenly ahead by just four, after
a Tracy Abrams 3-pointer capped
off a 14-0 Illini run.
“Watching the Illini beat North-
western, I knew that this was
going to be a difficult game,” Nit-
tany Lions coach Pat Chambers
told Big Ten Network. “I knew
they were going to compete and
they were going to get after us.”
The young Nittany Lions were
wavering as Illini fans, who had
little to cheer for up until that
point, suddenly awoke with thun-
derous cheers.
Penn State needed someone
to step up, and quickly, if it were
Champaign. The last time the
Nittany Lions tasted victory at Il-
linois was a 38-33 win in 2009.
On a team filled with freshmen
and sophomores, redshirt junior
Payton Banks ultimately made
the play to get the Nittany Lions
back on track.
Needing a bucket to silence
the crowd and halt the Il-
lini momentum, Banks drove
to the paint, jumped stopped,
spun toward the baseline, drew
contact and finished with a
little kiss off the glass.
Banks sunk the ensuing free
throw, which was followed by an-
other and-1 converted on the next
possession by Lamar Stevens.
The dwindled lead was now
pushed back to 11 and the Illini
never threatened again.
“I’m really proud of the way
we responded, especially in the
second half,” Chambers said. “A
similar thing happened at Penn
State. We had a little bit of a lead
and they came storming back.
“We made our free throws. We
won the rebounding battle. And
we held them under 70 [points],”
Chambers added. “That’s huge
for us. That’s our magic formula
right now.”
Peyton Banks
back on track
Points: 24
Assists: 0
Rebounds: 1
Plus/minus: 1
Field goals: 8-for-12
Free-throw line: 5-for-5
3-point shooting: 3-for-6
Tuesday night, in Penn State’s
70-64 upset of No. 21 Maryland,
Banks had a game to forget.
He was held scoreless on 0-of-4
shooting. In the loss to Rutgers
on Feb. 4, Banks scored just three
points.
Chambers attributed Banks’
struggles in recent game’s to fa-
tigue.
“As a leader, as a captain, I
think he was kind of running out
of gas for a bit there,” Chambers
said. “He was trying to bring
these younger guys along and
there’s no time off with leader-
ship . . . So that wore him down a
Antonella Crescimbeni/Collegian
little bit I think.”
To read full story, visit Coach Patrick Chambers yells at his players during the men’s basketball
collegian.psu.edu. game against Maryland on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.

Lions will go as far as Smirnov takes them Hall

FROM Page 6.
By Mark Fischer Penn State won 16 of those hockey, Smirnov scored three Hall got a takedown and four
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN games, launching the program to
the top of both the PairWise and
goals to go along with two assists in
Penn State’s sweep of the
Smirnov’s nearfall points just one minute
into the match when he put
Penn State has loads of talent United States College Hockey Badgers. season Ugalde in a spladle. He got the
in net and on both sides of the Online Poll for the first time ever. While Smirnov didn’t complete- pin at the 1:14 mark, bringing
ice, but one player may be able to But as soon as Smirnov tailed ly disappear during Penn State’s First 19 games: 11 goals, the black out crowd at Rec Hall
indicate whether off, so too did the Nittany Lions. mid-season woes — he still gen- 18 assists to its feet for the second time in
the Nittany Lions Penn State went winless from erated chances and was a staple Next 5 games: 0 goals, three days.
MEN’S will win or lose on Jan. 20 to Feb. 4, losing four on the powerplay unit — some-
HOCKEY any given night. times, while picking up an official 0 assists Although his pin on Sunday
thing was noticeably off with the came fairly quickly, it wasn’t the
Freshman star tie against Ohio State, a game winger.
Last 2 games: 3 goals,
2 assists fastest one he’s had this season.
Denis Smirnov started causing many consider a loss because Coach Guy Gadowsky told Hall’s fastest came while com-
opposing goaltenders headaches the Buckeyes picked up the extra reporters after Saturday’s 5-2 peting unattached during the
as soon as he hit the ice this conference point in the standings win that Smirnov was “physi- opposing defensemen. Michigan State Open against
season, putting up 11 goals and thanks to the shootout. cally healthy,” now, meaning the Teams tend to mirror how Northern Illinois’ Quiton Rosser
18 assists in his first 19 games. Smirnov was held off the team’s leading scorer had been their star player performs. at the 0:33 mark.
Smirnov was among the nation’s scoresheet for all five games, fighting through some sort of un- When it comes to these “I’m just trying to do my part
leading scorers, and his produc- as Penn State fell in both polls, disclosed injury. Nittany Lions, they better hop and score as many points as I
tion caught the eyes of NHL causing fans to move their hands Although it’s been just two on their 5-foot-8 Russian’s back, can,” Hall said. “I know I can
scouts and landed him alongside closer to the panic button on the games, enough reason to tem- because the numbers say they’ll compete and wrestle with any-
teammates Peyton Jones and An- season. per your excitement, Smirnov go as far as he goes. one in this weight class.”
drew Sturtz on the Hobey Baker Against Wisconsin, a team looks like his old-self, finding
Award ballot, annually awarded
17-KJ-0021.Michael that entered
Kors Collegian_AD.pdf 1 this past
1/13/17 2:12week-
PM open corners in the net and mov- To email reporter: msf5282@psu.edu. To email reporter: tbk5155@psu.edu.
to the top college hockey player. end as hot as anyone in college ing the puck through and around Follow him on Twitter at Follow him on Twitter at @t_king26.
THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN LOCAL TUESDAY, FEB. 14, 2017| PAGEA3

Renovations to Intramural
Building nearly complete
By Dan Bisi
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN

Although it may seem like

business as usual at the Intra-
mural Building , new renovations
have caused excitement about
the building’s potential.
In the years before the IM
Building was revamped, space
was cramped: there were three
gyms, and six basketball or
Courtesy of the Kocher family
volleyball courts.
Lauren Kocher stands with her husband during their wedding. The renovation has added an

State High to hold

extra gym and five additional
courts, Director of Recreation
Sports Tom Lovins said.
“That’s allowed us to meet the

auction supporting
By Nicholas Capri
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
The State High community is
rallying around one of their own
in her fight against cancer.
Friends and classmates of
Lauren Kocher, who graduated
from State College Area High
School in 2003 and Penn State
in 2007, organized an online auc-
tion to benefit the Kocher fam-
ily. Doctors recently diagnosed
the 32-year-old mother of three
with stage 3 anaplastic astro-
cytoma, a rare malignant brain
tumor.
The Auction for Lauren Ko-
cher and Family will take place
at TIME on Tuesday, Feb. 14, on
a Facebook page of the same
name.
Friends, family members and
Penn State sports teams have
donated over 150 goods to be
auctioned off, including a photo
shoot in State College, Matisya-
hu tickets for the State Theatre,
and a Family Clothesline gift
card. Donations are also being
accepted via PayPal to auction-
forlaurenkocher@gmail.com,
and the family’s GoFundMe
page has raised over $38,000.
The auction is fully organized
by classmates of Kocher’s,
known then by her maiden name
Tanner, from State High, where
both she and her husband, Matt,
graduated. The two started
dating at 16 in 2001. Now 32
years old, they have been
married for almost seven years
and have spent half their lives
together.
The Kochers have three chil-
dren, Calvin, 5 years old, who suf-
fers from ichthyosis, a rare skin
disorder with medical expenses
of its own, and twins Anna and
Bennet, 3 years old.
Kocher studied human
development and family studies
while at Penn State, and elemen-
tary education at the University
of Pittsburgh. Kocher worked
in Pittsburgh for Big Brothers,
Big Sisters, a nonprofit, before
deciding to stay at home with
her three children. Her husband
Matt graduated from Pitt, where
he now coaches wrestling. Their
family currently resides in Pitts-
burgh.
To read full story, visit
collegian.psu.edu.
additional demand for basketball
and volleyball activities,” Lovins
said.
The IM Building’s renova-
tion has been broken up into
three phases, each improving a
different aspect of the facility.
Phase I was completed in March
2014, phase II in May 2015, and
phase III is expected to be
finished by August 2017.
“When everyone gets back
in the fall, everyone will be able
to go everywhere and use it all,
Josh Davis, Assistant Direc-
tor of Campus Recreation for
Membership Services, said.
During the second phase of
construction, the indoor track
was expanded. It overlooks
many areas in the IM Build-
ing, which Lovins believes will
improve turnout for intramural
activities.
“It has certainly brought
people into the building, and
who knows, if you’re up there
running, you might see a friend
and join a[n] [IM] basketball
team,” Lovins said.
The renovation project has
been a massive undertaking
that has been planned for years,
Davis said. The time and
effort has paid off because the
IM Building has had more usage
now than ever.
A fitness center – the largest
on Penn State’s campus – that
can hold up to 250 people at a
time, was added during phase
A digitally created impression of planned improvements to the Penn
State Intramural Building.
I. Additionally, all the offices for
intramural sports and fitness
classrooms were installed, while
the main entrance was upgraded
to allow check-in via students’ ID
card.
The first phase was completed
in early 2015.
Along with the indoor track
and a gym, the IM Building’s
heating and cooling system was
renovated during phase II. The
IM Building is more energy
efficient now than it was before
the renovation even though the
building has gotten larger.
“Just by updating the light-
ing and the cooling and heating,
it saves a lot of electricity and
energy,” Davis said.
Among the additions that
are still undergoing construc-
tion during phase III are a turf
field and a climbing wall. The
table-tennis area is moving to
a new room to allow for more
gym space; a yoga room is being
added; and Campus Recreation
is moving all its offices to new
rooms in the IM Building to enjoy
extra work space.
Penn State students pay for
Courtesy of Mortenson Construction
“When everyone
gets back in the
fall, everyone will
be able to go every-
where and use it
all.”
Josh Davis
Assistant Director of campus
Recreation for Membership Ser-
vices
the IM Building renovations
through their student activ-
ity fee. The entire project costs
approximately $86.5 million.
Phase I costed $26.1 million,
phase II totaled around $31
million and phase III summed to
$29.34 million .
Head Building Coordinator
Mark Lozinski confirmed these
costs, estimating a total in the
mid-$80 million range.
To email reporter: djb6225@psu.edu.
Follow him on Twitter at: @dan_bisi.

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