Is the outdoors dangerous ?

[Pete Grey]

A university in Pennsylvania is closing down its Outing Club.

Pennsylvania state risk assessment officials said events like hiking, running and backpacking were to dangerous for a student group. I think this is an insult to the young people.

I hope everyone agrees that the young people deserve better, i know that hiking, hill walking, rock climbing and camping, have given me a love of of the outdoors and so a better quality of life.

What gives these idiots the right to deny the kids the pleasures we enjoyed.

[Straight Shooter]

The main reasons i would suspect Pete is ....any individual having an accident, or equipment failure or transportation problems and crashes the hint of any problem at all , leaves these universities liable for claims or damages through the court system and the staff members that oversee the activities ....we live in a world where claiming compensation has become a art form ....why would anyone want to be held responsible ? not withstanding the teaching staff are there to teach ....their not social workers ...when things go wrong ....they (staff) become the first port of call for explanations WHY ! HOW ! if this is the case maybe these activities should be done direct through a government body (in brackets ) would this cure accidents or claims ...NO...all that would change is the responsibility ....that all governments do their best to pass on....to any willing sucker....for a price .

[MaryN]

You can only hope that the youngsters have got the get up and go to do their own thing and go on outings regardless of the health & safety freaks. I despair.

[Mortblanc]

Once again there seems to be a failure to understand the size of the U.S.

Pennsylvania is about the size of the UK and a quick check shows that there are more than 400 universities and colleges inside the state, 200 of them state sponsored, and they serve more than 500,000 students.

To say that "one" of them has dropped their "outing program" is of little concern or impact.

PA is also located in a diverse region of rolling hills to ridge and valley mountains and contains some of the best outdoor action in the eastern U.S. I know of very few universities in that situation where getting a group of 18-22 year olds to go on a weekend hike without faculty supervision would be a real big problem. You could probably stand on the steps of the library and scream "anyone want to go hiking?" and have 100 people gather round.

If that fails to get the proper response follow it with "I have beer!" and the outing is a certainty.

Most universities have very strong outdoor programs and even go so far as to rent canoes, Kayaks, tents, camping gear and other equipment. I know my old university still does because my son is enrolled in the graduate program and rents stuff constantly. Their Phys Ed department, I guess that is called health and wellness now, has credit courses in camping and outdoor recreational activities.


Legal concerns are generally covered by issuance of waivers and requirements that students take equipment orientation classes before they are issued equipment.

But we do live in a lawsuit crazy world. In the U.S. 1 person out of each 5 is engaged in a legal action so some sort. But in our system any action of law must be initiated by a "suit" being filed. That is the means by which we "petition the court" for redress of grievances, or offenses and challenge statutes. You want to change a zoning law and the commission (council) will not consider it, you file suit against the zoning commission.

[Pete Grey]

Article was on the BBC website yesterday, said Penn State Outing Club.

[Mortblanc]

Did it say which Penn state campus?

There are 24 Penn State University units, each one having independent clubs and activities. There is not just one Outing club that operates state wide

http://www.psu.edu/academics/campuses

[Mortblanc]

As to the mood or line of thought behind the individual decision, well that just reflects some of the pervasive thought that has saturated the thinking processes of our universities over here.

This is what we mean when we refer to someone as a "snowflake" or to something as "snowflake logic".

Everyone seems to be searching for their "safe place" and they expect to go through life with no risk, protected from the consequences of taking a risk and cushioned from embarrassment about lack of experience by having the system eliminate their choice of taking the risk.

All in the absence of the logic that one never learns to deal with risk it they never take a risk. That extends to fun, family and finances where leisure activities must be restricted to visiting a fully nondiscriminatory bar, only traveling via Uber drivers, never marrying, never having children and working for the government, preferably a socialist government to be inclusive to all in the field of social work, child protective services or health and safety.

They then spend their lives being incredibly nasty to rock climbers, gun owners, married folk, regulating parents actions toward their children and insisting that they not own a vehicle large enough to carry the whole family at one time and then only for the 40 mile distance of the battery capacity.

The American university system is intent on turning out a generation of French speaking social workers qualified to only work for the Health and Safety or social services division of government, where they will be issued a check each month whether they show up or not as long as the do not open their mouths except to comment on the dangerous cracks in the sidewalks which each evil property owner should immediately repair.

[Pete Grey]

Yes MB if you never take a risk you never learn to deal with it, life is all about risks, large and small, from the smallest domestic problem to major SHTF event, choices have to be made.

Our university system is just as bad as yours, i’m sure TPTB do it to control thought and turn young people into a bunch of SJW’s. An army of snowflakes without an original thought easy to control.