Penn State: Outdoors Too Risky for Outdoors Club

Penn State University has banned its near-century-old outdoor recreation club from going outside because it is too dangerous out in the wilderness. The 98-year-old Penn State Outing Club announced last week that the university will no longer allow the club to organize outdoor, student-led trips starting next semester. The university's offices of Student Affairs and Risk Management made the determination that the hiking, camping, and other outdoors-focused activities the student-led club has long engaged in are too risky.

The Outing Club's current president tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the decision "wasn't an open dialogue," and another group officer can recall no injuries in the four years he has been at the school. A Penn State spokeswoman says student safety is the school's primary focus, per the AP. The decision came after the university completed a two-month assessment of all the school's sports and recreation organizations. Two other outdoor recreation clubs also have been directed to end trip offerings.

(More Penn State stories.)