Month: March 2011

By Sam Krassenstein

Contributing Writer

The men from MTV’s “The Buried Life” encouraged that anyone can and should start going after their dreams whenever they have the opportunity. They laid out a simple plan for any person that wants to start working on their dreams: “make a list, go after it, help others and most importantly, don’t give up.”

On Thursday, March 10, the cast from the Buried Life attracted the University community into the Weis Center for Performing Arts to share their inspirational stories. The show is based on four friends named Ben, Jonnie, Duncan and Dave who travel across the country in a purple transit bus named “Penelope” to complete their bucket list and the lists of others.

Jonnie said the inspiration for the name of the show came from this line from Matthew Arnold’s poem entitled “The Buried Life”: “There rises an unspeakable desire after the knowledge of our buried life.”

The show promotes helping others achieve their dreams and giving people the chance to be a hero in someone’s life.  Unlike much of the television that American culture has become used to, this show started as a true inspirational project rather than just another entertainment reality show. The guys emphasized that, “you don’t have to move mountains, just give a little push in the right direction.”

The infamous designer-clad young quartet of the Buried Life entered the stage by breakdancing for the eager fans. The Canadian wonder gave some insight into their inspiration for the show sharing embarrassing and comical stories of things ranging from dressing up as Oompa-Loompas and getting scolded by Hugh Hefner for crashing the Playboy Mansion.

They also told about their experience when they helped out kids with terminal illnesses by giving them donated toy shopping sprees. “It was really cool seeing them on campus, I think they are doing really great things and helping a lot of people, not to mention they are pretty cute,” Johanna Moyer ’12 said.

Towards the end of The Buried Life’s visit, the group encouraged students to get up and share their own dreams with the audience. Some included Kiersten Wakemen ’11, who said she wanted to win an Academy Award for Costume Design, Jessica Maguire ’14 hopes to travel to Antarctica to build a snowman and Erica White ’13 aspires to help orphans in Africa. The cast emphasized that all anyone needs is a little push in the right direction and that you never know who can help you achieve your dreams and aspirations.

Writer: Christina Oddo

Faculty from across three academic schools gathered on March 10 to initiate the Environmental Center Snaptalks, discussions based on new environmental projects, studies and collaborations with students.

Beth Duckles, assistant professor of sociology, gave a talk titled “Looking Green and Being Green: Using Sustainable Construction Practices.” Duckles asked, “How do we define a green building?” and described that systems in these buildings vary, based on the way it is situated, the materials used, the indoor air quality and more. She also asked, “Why are we not building green?” and touched on the costs involved and how many people refuse to change their habits. She elaborated on why people are building green. She said that costs could be a reason, a definite counter argument, along with long-term intangible savings, deep green or spiritual connections and innovative motives. Finally, Duckles brought to our attention that, against common belief, most sustainable characteristics are not visible aesthetically. “With all of this in mind, what is the process to change the definition of a green building?” she said.

Kevin Gilmore, visiting assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, discussed issues and ideas regarding Marcellus shale. He discussed problems associated with increased bromide in the water and also touched upon flowback water and described the organic profile of river water in our region. “Where is all pollution going now?” Gilmore said. He explained that most, in fact, is going to underground injection.

Associate professor of geography Duane Griffin highlighted many ideas regarding biodiversity. He spoke of species gains and losses, and compared the tropics, where more species are born, with the poles. Griffin discussed the term “cradle,” which promotes biodiversity, and the term “museum,” which implies less extinction. Finally, he outlined the diversity gradient, from 21,000 years ago to today.

Tammy Hiller, associate professor of management, described the managing for sustainability program, one of four new majors for the school that will start in the fall. The goals are to understand sustainability as an interdisciplinary phenomenon and to use reflection to foster innovation in managing sustainability.

“The Aesthetic Dimension of the Interrelations Between Ecological Science and Ethics” was discussed by Sheila Lintott, assistant professor of philosophy. She discussed the goal to “preserve integrity, stability and [most importantly] beauty of the biotic community,” and to “consider the role of beauty in an ecological context.” She raised the question of “aesthetic relevance” and expressed how ecological knowledge is relevant to “aesthetic experience,” like associating nature with personal memories, for example.

George Shields, Dean of Arts and Sciences, showed the modeling of the growth of clusters and aerosols from first principles. “How do we understand feedback systems in a warming climate?” Shields said. He discussed the role of aerosols in atmospheric chemistry, as well as the thermodynamics of water cluster growth, which occurs only at low temperatures or if the vapor phase is substantially supersaturated.