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| Committed staff help make LateNight Penn State a prime-time player
By Andy Elder, Student Affairs Writer As Penn State’s LateNight coordinator, John Harlow would figure to be the focal point of the University’s highly popular multi-faceted entertainment series. But when you talk to Harlow, even for a little bit, he’ll convince you the students deserve the credit. “The ownership element is so important,” Harlow said. “Originally, that fell to university staff. But now, students see it’s their program. We make sure to stay out of the limelight. When it comes to recognition, we really try to keep the staff element behind the scenes so students see their peers. It’s really important.” LateNight PennState is a series of safe, responsible activities held at the HUB-Robeson Center (HUB) - formerly known as the Hetzel Union Building - from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Harlow and fellow coordinator, Josh Durbin, are the hidden glue that holds everything together. “Basically, we schedule events for the HUB on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. working with student organizations on programs and ideas they may have,” Harlow said. “We contract novelty vendors, musicians, bands, anything that might be of interest to students.” And while Harlow makes the whole process sound so matter of fact, it is anything but. Starting with the work hours involved, which run counter to the typical 8 to 5 University day, the position requires a different mindset. Harlow said he works Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 9 p.m. Then, on Friday and Saturday, he works from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. “It’s challenging to work within guidelines we have, the size of the room, the budget we have, the production level we can do in the HUB. We have usually two or three hours to set up because the HUB is a multi-use facility,” Harlow said. “We spend a lot of our time working with students. The biggest challenge is we only have three days of office hours to do five days of week. On the weekends, we are out on the floor. Josh Durbin and I have three workdays to get our work done. We have to have good staff support to cover us. But one of the biggest rewards is working with student organizations and student ideas. We enable them to have access to the facilities, such as sound and lighting equipment. We can help students work through their ideas.” Some of those ideas have evolved with the involvement of the students, while others have become staples of the LateNight menu. “A number of things have changed and a number have stayed the same. We know students like certain things: a keepsake of the event, a craft, a caricature, a funny photo. Students still like to see fellow students perform; it’s always a big draw. When we use student talent students will come to support their own friends and roommates,” Harlow said. “A good example is an acappella group that performs. By using our own Penn State groups, the students think it’s a lot more fun to see their friends perform. It brings in a built-in audience.” And that audience has grown as the popularity of the programs offered has spread. LateNight PennState has enjoyed a steadily increasing fan base since its humble beginnings in 1996. “Attendance started out pretty light, but it jumped really quick. It’s been hovering right around 50,000 per semester. Originally, that number was around 7,000. We probably average between 2,000 to 2,500 students. Some nights we do much better. We average around 5,000 per weekend,” Harlow said. Of course, it helps that Penn State is so committed to giving its students such good, clean fun to revel in. “I attribute the success of LateNight PennState to the University’s commitment to the program and the budget we’re able to work with. The University has given us anything we’ve ever asked for,” Harlow said. That support, and the popularity it indirectly engenders, has led to a notoriety the humble Harlow is hesitant to acknowledge. “We know from phone calls and e-mail inquiries that Penn State is looked at, without tooting our own horn, as the premier late-night program in the country. People call and say we’ve heard you’re the people to talk to,” Harlow said. “The word around the university circuit is that Penn State has been doing it the longest and has been the most consistent with its success."
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Updated March 21, 2005