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Which presumably prevents them from using university resources and funding. It may also limit their ability to recruit and hold meetings on the campus, dependin
by larkeith 9y ago
Which presumably prevents them from using university resources and funding. It may also limit their ability to recruit and hold meetings on the campus, depending on Penn State's policies.
So yes, this is still a fairly big deal for the Outing Club.
- tptacek 9y agoIs the flip side of this official funding and support coin the fact that the University's insurers will be on the hook for anything bad that happens during one of these expeditions? In which case this isn't about helicopter parenting so much as simple risk management. I imagine the insurance situation for Penn State extracurriculars is already problematic, given the recent history.
- larkeith 9y agoAs user Zak noted elsewhere in this thread [1], "> In terms of legitimate reasons, there may be discretionary expenses relating to insurance that can be cut for clubs, but not for sports. This could be a legitimate reason to cut a risky club while allowing a similarly risky sport; it is not a legitimate reason to hide the report." So yes, this definitely cpuld be an acceptable reason, but there's no way for students to know without the minimal transparency of publishing the risk assessment. As long as the report remains private, it may be assumed that "student safety" is a smokescreen for a political or similar reason to cut the club. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16899232 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16899232
- snowwrestler 9y agoI don't find the insurance argument compelling because so many other colleges and universities have official outing clubs that are covered by the institutional policy. It's not an unusual addition to a college insurance policy.
- tptacek 9y agoPenn State had a national scandal involving its extracurriculars just a few years ago, so the level of scrutiny there might be higher.
- mindslight 9y agoUh, helicopter parenting is "simple risk management".
- tptacek 9y agoNo, I mean risk management in the business sense.
- mindslight 9y agoSure but they're the same general concept, just applied to two different domains. When overdone, they result in same general pathology: goal of reducing unknown downside -> destruction of local autonomy -> decreased development of localized ability -> poorer overall outcomes. In fact, I don't even see anybody referencing the specific "helicopter parenting" until you brought it up.