Month: January 2012

By Jen Mok

Contributing Writer

College. It is supposed to be different from high school and the previous years of our youth. We may have all worn those Lacoste polo shirts, those Juicy sweatpants, popped our collars and had closets full of Abercrombie and Hollister duds. The tastes and trends that dominated our closets may or may not have changed. Whatever the case is, we have all once dressed a certain way to keep up with the social scene in one way or another.

During the four years of college, the social jungle and hierarchy that may have been daunting in high school is supposedly less apparent and students are more evolved: open-minded individuals willing to branch out into the real world. The individual refines and molds his character with experience and reaches a certain level of comfort with himself. The resulting changes include an increased intelligence level (we hope), perspectives and of course fashion. These adjustments are self-determined, with some influence from the college campus we belong to. Or are they?

There are jokes and rumors that our university is a school full of clones that have that certain preppy look. When we say preppy we don’t mean the Lilly Pulitzer and bright pink manifestation. It’s a different prep–-a sort of chic, East Coast, crisp and very J.Crew catalogue prep. And in all reality, there is a truth in this. The girls have their J Brand Jeans, J.Crew cardigans, Frye and Hunter boots while the boys have their Ralph Lauren button downs, Sperry shoes and Under Armour … well, you get the idea. The real question is not if the majority of our student population dresses this way, but if there is a certain pressure to dress this way. I feel as though our student body is knowledgeable and open-minded enough to not judge heavily on an individual’s appearance. While there may be a slight pressure to dress to meet the status quo, it is ultimately an individual’s independent decision.

A lot of students come from the New York tri-state area consisting of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. They then, of course, have a common sense of style. Others foreign to this Northeast-metro fashion culture may feel a bit of pressure to change their style on arrival to the campus.

It is natural and completely understandable to want to change your style according to those around you. It is not just a way of fitting in but an easy way to feel more welcomed in a community. Changing your image is one way to feel more connected and accessible to others. However, many are more prone to alter their image due to their high attentiveness to certain alarming, small differences. One student may change one detailed aspect of their appearance, be it a small change in footwear or the way they wear their scarves. Many students are conscious of their differences and whilst not pressured or judged to change them, they feel more comfortable in changing to fit the majority. It is inevitable that some of us are less at ease when we view clear differences in others and ourselves. To relieve such stress, it may be best to simply change what we feel is starkly contrasting and unfitting for a setting.

On the other hand, not achieving the same preppy look does not automatically make you an outsider to the University community. Different styles are appreciated and on some levels even encouraged amongst peers. Fashion is not only a way for someone to express his or her creativity but it is a reflection of one’s culture. Where we are from and who we are, are sometimes best represented by the clothing we wear. No one is looked down upon for embracing a more edgy look or a very laid-back, casual t-shirt-and-jeans combination. We all know that you should be comfortable with what you are wearing. Your clothes are what you have to wear throughout the day and it is how you allow others to perceive you. In short, there is no pressure to dress “Bucknell appropriate” but there is no doubt that a big percentage of the student population have, what I label, an east-coast Chic Prep style.

Riley Schwengel

Contributing Writer

Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending the lecture John Legend held in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Beyond the Box lecture series on creativity. I thought the lecture was fantastic and the music truly awe-inspiring. There was just one hitch to an otherwise flawless lecture: during Legend’s performance, dozens of flashbulbs illuminated the music hall as people scrambled to get their very own pictures of John Legend playing the piano.  I found the constant flashing distracting, annoying and incredibly rude to the performer who had given some time out of his very busy career to come and speak to us.

As I sat in the audience, trying to adjust to the last flash of light that just obscured my vision, I began to wonder why people were taking so many pictures. I realized that a good amount of these pictures would be going up on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or whatever social networking site the photographer subscribes to. These pictures would be posted to prove that he or she had attended such a performance and so friends and family could comment with trite comments such as, “So lucky!” “Wish I was there!” and “Hope it was fun!” But to what end? Why couldn’t these people just be content with listening to the music instead of making sure they got a good picture for the folks?

The social media of today has brought everyone’s lives closer together; people can share ideas, stories, films, pictures and art without even leaving their homes and communicating face to face. I believe we have taken this gift of Internet expression and bastardized it; we just share too much information. Go onto any average person’s Facebook profile or Twitter account and you can see the evidence. Statuses give us mundane information like “I hate Mondays” “Shopping with the girls!” and “I miss my girlfriend.”  Accompanying such frivolous updates, there are also millions of photos of people posing at the park, at a party, at a ball game, eating chips, making pizza, watching TV, and the list goes on and on. Many people I know can’t go out to eat without snapping an inane amount of the trivial experience, and I ask, why? Why must we share every piece of information that we have in our day? Can’t we just be happy living our lives? Must we force other people to live it too, through pictures and messages?

I’m going to make a plea to the many Facebook addicts and social media hounds. Stop it. Use these great tools that we have been given for the truly fantastic and unordinary experiences you may encounter, not for mindless drabble. If you have some great news or an intelligent response to a current event, go ahead and post it, but if you are going to the mall, just turn off your computer and go to the mall. If you’re having a good time with friends, just continue to have a good time; there is no need to make sure everyone and his or her mother knows about it. And if you find yourself at a John Legend concert, put away your camera or smart phone and enjoy the music; you can tell your friends all about it when you see them in person. Trust me, they’ll believe you.

By Molly Brown

Contributing Writer

To be blunt, the University has a lot of clubs. Whether your interests lie in sports, volunteering, fantasy role-play or Harry Potter, there is definitely a place somewhere for you and your like-minded peers. All you have to do is show up to have a good time, right?  Not exactly.

How exactly do you join a new club, anyway? Do you rely on the barrage of emails after you signed a ridiculous amount of clipboards at the Activities Fair back in September? Do you travel in a pack with your friends, joining what they are interested in just for the sake of having someone to go with you for the inevitably awkward first meeting? Do you eavesdrop on people’s conversations in the Bison? Do you wander around and hope for the best? Whatever your approach, it is difficult to join a new club, both in clearing the communication hurdle of when and where a club meets and also in the more personal obstacle of putting yourself out there.

It is one of the greatest social fears to find yourself in a situation in which you do not know anyone. But when you join a club, you are inflicting this upon yourself voluntarily. Let us say you have ascertained the correct meeting time and place for a club based on one of the omnipresent neon flyers plastered around campus. You show up and those who are there are already divided into their groups of friends. If you are lucky, you might see someone you know from class. You sit down alone, clearly an outsider to the normal order of things. You feel so alone, all you wanted to do was find others who are interested in the same extracurriculars or continue doing what you love to do outside of class. You debate just getting up and leaving, wondering whether you would attract even more attention if you did. Someone turns to you and says hello, so you return the courtesy. The conversation continues and, gasp, you have a new friend! Then the meeting starts and all of a sudden, you are in.

As a first-year, I understand the quandary of joining a club. In fact, this very article represents overcoming the above situation entirely: it is my first article for “The Bucknellian,” assigned to me at my first meeting last week. I went, awkwardly sat by myself and was then included in the meeting with a smile just like that. First-years might feel especially nervous about putting themselves out there because they might feel apprehensive about joining a club that already has an organized agenda or perceived rigidity in membership. This is not the case. Students and the clubs they form are open to anyone who is interested and are helpful and encouraging of any students who want to join. The key thing about joining a new club is to keep in mind that every person in the meeting was in your position at one point or another too, and that you are all in the same club because of your unifying interests. And perhaps, in the future, when you are a seasoned club member and you see a person sitting alone before a meeting with a panicked look about him or her, you might be the one to extend the hello.

By Connor Small

Writer

We wait for it every year. The lights, the spectacle, the (usually) lame half-time show, the best-of-the-best commercials and, of course, the most hyped-up sporting event in America: the Super Bowl. What is it about the Super Bowl that is so attractive?

Last year, Super Bowl XLV had the highest TV rating of all time, with close to 170 million viewers tuning in for at least some of the game, most likely the commercials. These whopping numbers were a surprising bright spot for a football season filled with an array of new rule changes. It also marked the first time that the No. 6 seed, the Green Bay Packers, had reached the Super Bowl and we all know how that turned out.

This year’s contest, taking place in Indianapolis, pits the New York Giants against the New England Patriots, a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. As a Philadelphia native and diehard Eagles fan, I think I can speak for every Eagles fan when I say it tears me apart to root for either of these teams. Yet, I can’t help but admit that this will be a memorable Super Bowl. The two teams match up solidly and it should be a good game to watch, as both teams have high-flying pass attacks and sub-par pass defense, which should hopefully lead to a shootout.

Maybe the main reason why the Super Bowl has become so popular and such a vital event in American society is that it combines many of the elements of American culture. Ideas such as togetherness, competition, consumption, commercialism and pop culture are all prevalent during the event. Advertisements for every conceivable product are shown in creative and often humorous ways, and in fact, many Americans admit to only watching the Super Bowl for the commercials. In other words, there’s something for everyone.

Another crucial aspect of the Super Bowl, and probably my favorite non-football portion, is the half-time show. This year, the lineup looks promising with Nicki Minaj, Madonna and M.I.A. sharing the stage during half-time. Hopefully these three ladies will be better than last year’s entertainment consisting of Christina Aguilera, who forgot the lyrics to the national anthem, and the Black Eyed Peas, whose half-time performance left everybody scratching his or her head.

The Super Bowl has been, and will continue to be, a staple of American culture because of all the aspects of our culture that it combines. Everybody is kept entertained all the way through from the game, commercials and half-time show. 

High powered offenses, hard-nosed defenses and the rematch of the century: one could not ask for a better Super Bowl. After a very memorable season that saw all varieties of ups and downs, this matchup seems to be an appropriate end. While some fans have been crushed, and many are on their way to a chance for a repeat title, I think, just as last year, that this Super Bowl will be a highly rated, highly talked about match and the best-commercial-of-the-night battle will be as competitive as ever.

By Sara Blair Matthews

Contributing Writer

“How to Drop Five Pounds in Five Days,” “Why Fat is Deadly” and “Cut Carbs, Live Longer” are prominent headlines in our society. Clearly, America has an obsession with fat. We have come up with countless diet fads, shows such as “The Biggest Loser” and “Fat Chef,” and tabloid campaigns judging celebrities on how much weight they have gained. All of these areas feed off each other between making people feel simultaneously horrible and happy about themselves in relation to others. How many times have you or someone you know picked up a tabloid with someone’s face blocked out, reading “Guess who gained 50 pounds?” just to see who that person is and perhaps feel better about yourself? Think of the swimsuit picture of Tyra Banks, former supermodel, which blew up a few years ago. Yes, it was clear Tyra was not her former size-zero self, and the tabloids completely tore her apart for it. However, she had the guts to fight back and ended up wearing her swimsuit on her talk show to show the world that she was happy with how she looked and that she wasn’t intimidated by others’ criticism.

Most people cannot face their critics head on. For example, Paula Deen shied away from criticism for years by concealing her diagnosis of type II diabetes. Recently, she has faced much criticism because she waited three years to reveal her diagnosis to the public and waited to do it with an endorsement deal on hand. To many, it appears she is using her disease for profit and that she is not taking this seriously. She is well known for her “the more butter, the better” attitude, which has led her to her current predicament, but I’m not going to criticize her for her choices. Though she may not be the most healthy role model for Americans, she has never falsely preached about the health benefits of her food. She often says, “here’s a little mint, we have to have our vegetable!,” but most who watch her show know she’s kidding.

It is true America has a rising obesity problem, but I do not think fat chefs such as Paula Deen, Ina Garten and Mario Batali are to blame. I think it is up to the viewer to determine whether their food is the most healthful option for his or her lifestyle. If someone wants to cut down on his or her fat intake, he or she should know that when Paula cooks a recipe that uses two sticks of butter, three cups of sugar and one cup of heavy whipping cream, nutrition is not the aim of the dish. Americans should be held responsible for their own choices, and I don’t think it is right to blame it on these celebrity chefs just because they are more visible people in our society.

You also have to consider the viewing demographic of these shows. Most seven to 13-year-olds are probably not watching the Food Network in their free time. Food Network shows are mostly generated for middle-age adults, who frankly should have some idea of what healthy eating means. My dad loves to watch Paula’s show while working out, and he will come home and tell us how many sticks of butter she used throughout the course of that show. We love Paula, but we rarely cook her food in our home because we understand it does not lend well to a healthy diet. I think a lot of people probably feel the same way. Viewers love her personality, but realize that her food does not fit the kind of lifestyle they want to lead.

I think we should be responsible for our own choices. Yes, celebrities are very visible, and they do have the power to influence a lot of people, but we don’t always have to follow their lead. It’s in our hands to create a life that works for us each specifically. I would love to be friends with Paula, but I would never take weight loss advice from her. Ultimately, we need to focus on people’s strengths, especially celebrities, versus trying to use them as scapegoats for our problems. They’re only human.