GENERAL MEETINGS
About General Meetings: General Meetings are held every week for members of the Penn State Paranormal Research Society. Members discuss hot-button paranormal topics, projects, experiments, research from the PS shows and even field trips. The General Meetings are geared more towards the club-aspect. Field and laboratory research is discussed minimally in the meetings, and usually only to provide results.
Previous discussions and topics for members include: paranormal in the media, demonology, ESP, psychic testing, OBE's, Frank's Box, critical thinking and Michael Persinger. PRS boasts a diverse group of individuals who come from different religious backgrounds to paranormal beliefs and interests. We have skeptics, Catholics, atheists, Pagans, Buddhists, Scientists, Engineers, Journalists, Finance majors, etc.
How to Sign Up for General Membership: PRS is preferably looking for individuals with a higher education (or in pursuit of), university faculty and staff, or legitimate specialists in various fields (ranging from Reiki, Theology, Cultures, Language, History, Occult, etc.). Skeptics are welcome. General membership is open only to students and individuals associated with Penn State like faculty or staff. However, State College residents are welcome. People may email general@pennstateprs.com for more information.
SPOTLIGHT ON GENERAL PRS MEMBERS:
Meet some general members below and get to know them. Updated January 1st, 2008.
 NAME: John
AGE: 19
MAJOR: Computer Science
WHY I JOINED PRS: I've been interested in the paranormal for quite some time, mainly because I'm curious about the why and how of the paranormal. If ghosts exist, then why do they exist? If people can move things with their mind, how exactly does that work?
MY PARANORMAL BELIEFS: I believe that the paranormal exists, but I also believe that a lot of what is claimed to be paranormal can be explained through normal means. That poltergeist that keeps knocking over glasses might just be a wobbly table and some loose floor boards combined together. Those cold spots might just be due to a crack i
the ceiling that's letting in a draft.
BEST PRS MOMENT: Probably one of the most fun times for me in PRS was last year's Halloween party. Between getting lost on the way there with a fellow general member to the drive back, it was nothing but a
fun night of costumes, food, and even some karaoke. Pretty much any time I've gotten to hang out with these people has been awesome.
WHAT WE DO IN GENERAL MEETINGS: General meetings are kind of the foundation of PRS, it's where we all get to meet up and talk every week. A lot of the meeting is discussion-based, with some thought experiments, videos, and articles being thrown in to supplement what our topic is that night. Sometimes we get a bit off topic, but when the serious discussion starts winding up, you realize that you're sitting next to some incredibly intelligent and creative people.
ABOUT ME: I like music, especially singing and playing the guitar. I've been teaching myself how to juggle since the summer, and I love reading books. On campus, I work in one of the dining commons, and back home, I work as a projectionist at a local movie theater. I like to run, but most times I have too much schoolwork to have enough time to run as far as I'd like. On the weekends, I enjoy hanging out with my friends and girlfriend, and getting into adventures, whether it's trying to see some obscure movie, going on late-night food runs, or playing hidden camera-esque pranks on campus.
 NAME: Zachary
AGE: 19
MAJOR: Nuclear Engineering
WHY I JOINED PRS: I got a slip in my Penn State mailbox about Univ-Con and "Paranormal U." I grew up on the X-Files and ghost movies, so I thought it would be a good thing to check out. When I got to my first meetings and interviews, I learned PRS's mission and goals and thought it would be the perfect place to extend my scientific background to the field. I've thought that the paranormal field has always been the field that produces the latest innovation and discovery. Before Newton, gravity would have been considered paranormal. I hope to use what I've learned in college and what experiences I and other members have in ways that will use science to explain what now is considered, unexplainable.
MY PARANORMAL BELIEFS: I'm an atheist in the sence that I do not accept any known organized religion as truth or fact. I believe whole heartedly that these religions were created by man and are a collection of stories that guide people to live helpful and respectful lives in the eyes of others. I can be considered a skeptic for this reason, because I don't believe that our definitions of things like ghosts, demons, etc... are what these people are experiencing in reality. However, I do believe that these people are experiencing something and will not write them off as liars or fakes. I think that with futher research and testing, we can attribute the experiences of ghosts and demons to a phenomenon that can be explained using the science that we already know.
BEST PRS MOMENT: Univ-Con Six, collectivly... the entire weekend, if that can be considered one moment. Working with the gang and being able to experience the talks and presentations of the leaders of the paranormal field put together, for me, the ideas and goals that PRS has been working toward. Long hours and high stress situations also made me feel more personally connected with the group and the individuals I was working with. It was truely a bonding experience.
WHAT WE DO IN GENERAL MEETINGS: At general meetings, we discuss topics in the paranormal. Usually, there's some sort of news like a new Big Foot picture or ghost video that we can sink our teeth into and test our evidence anaylization skills. Other times we talk about what we can do to help further the organization. The meetings keep the goals and purpose in mind and also provide an outlet which all the members of the organization can have their voices heard and contribute to the overall good of the group.
ABOUT ME: In addition to my involvment in PRS, I'm also involved with Penn State Thespians and the Penn State chapter of the American Nuclear Society. I've been playing instruments and music since I was in elementary school, through high school I was heavily involved with the drama club and the spring musicals. For three of the four years I spent there, I was the student music director of the orchestra for those shows. When I got to Penn State, I continued my work in theatre and co-directed the orchestra for the Thespian's production of "Crazy For You" in spring of 2007. I'm looking to start a band, I'm always excited for playing music with other people and learning their approach and genre to music. Also, my involvement in the American Nuclear Society, which stems from my major of Nuclear Engineering is largely due to how much I was exposed to it in high school. When I got to Penn State, I immediatley got involved with ANS, volunteering on Saturdays to give tours to high school students and help boy scouts get their nuclear merit badge. I also go back to my home school discrict and speak to the students there about the nuclear field. I feel very strongly about the education in our public schools, notably in the area of math and science. I feel that going back to those schools and speaking with the students about my experiences from someone who's been in their shoes can give them a boost to acheive what many people don't believe they can coming from the inner city public schools.
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