Month: January 2012

Categories
News

Food truck to roll in this spring

By Jenni Whalen

Contributing Writer

Food trucks are one of the latest fads in food preparation and this semester, the University is jumping on board, planning for its own to arrive on campus in February. Named “The Flying Bison”, the truck will be open for business before the semester ends, weather permitting. Three years ago John Cummins, general manager of resident dining, and David Freeland, resident district manager of Parkhurst Dining Services, were inspired by the growing trend of food trucks. This year, their dream of bringing a food truck to campus is becoming a reality.
“I think the food truck is a great idea. I wish us seniors were around to see more of it. I wish we’d had this as freshman,” said Daina Allison ’12.
After the University approved the idea, executive members of Bucknell Dining Services traveled all over the United States to visit famous food trucks. The team then purchased a linen truck in Wisconsin and had the truck shipped to southern California, where is it currently being rebuilt as a food truck. Freeland, the primary designer of the truck, says he put a lot of thought into the design of the kitchen.
“It’s important that there is flexibility in the equipment because that will allow more menu choices,” Freeland said in an interview this week.
The truck will contain a grill, two fryers, a broiler, hot wells for soup, refrigerators and freezers, and it will be air conditioned.
“The food truck will not be a rolling Bison,” Freeland said.
It will have breakfast, lunch and late night offerings. The truck will likely travel to a few select locations for breakfast and will serve innovative breakfast sandwiches as well as various other options. At lunchtime, it will stop at three locations on a rotating basis, and the menu will rotate approximately every two weeks. The truck will potentially be open from midnight – 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights for students returning from fraternities and downtown social events.
“This will be great for quick food between classes or when you’re uphill at the library on a long night,” said Alex Clayton ’12.
Dining Services says that it will need to experiment on the location of the truck and that this may change depending on the time of year.
“I say the success of this depends on where they put it and what they offer,” said Lauren Hall, University alum.
The truck will take cash and BUID (both Dining Dollars and Campus Dollars).

“We’re not going to have all of the options that the Bison has,” Freeland said. “But the idea is that we will specialize in certain  menu items and they will be fresh and tasty. The truck will be a destination station–-you’ll go because you really want what is being offered.”

This semester, Dining Services also plans to implement a new online feedback system for Bostwick Marketplace which will include QR codes and online surveys about what menu items students enjoy most. The wall of cereal has also been completely redone, and the Bison boasts an expanded Fresh Mexican station and a new rotisserie option at the pizza station.

Categories
Opinion

Tuition is what you make of it

By Ben Kaufman

Sports Layout Editor

In my Education 308 class about democracy in education, my group sent out an informal poll about funding in higher education. Some questions included: “Do you think students currently attending higher education are getting their money’s worth?,” “Where do you think your tuition money is going to?” and “Where do you think cuts should be made in higher education?” In response to the first question, one student said: “No. I think I could get the same education at another lower cost school, but I’m paying for my degree to say ‘Bucknell.’”

When it comes to higher education, I personally do not think such a belief is the best reason to decide which college to attend. In the state of our economy, I can understand why people think this. Our university is a prestigious school with alumni in powerful positions. It seems students choose a school for its reputation more so than for the education the school provides. It would be as if I went to an Ivy League school solely to tell my future employers where I attended. In reality, you are going to get out of your education what you put into it; if you explore new opportunities at school, your education is going to be more worthwhile and where you get your degree will not hold such weight. For example, there are two English teachers from my high school who make similar salaries and went to two completely different colleges. One attended Harvard and the other, a state school. There are plenty of occupations in which the same job is available no matter the school attended.

What you receive from your higher education also depends on what you do on campus. I participate in four clubs and have three different jobs, and for this reason, I think our school is going to be worth the tuition because it is allowing me to gain practical experience for the future. From all my experience outside of the classroom, I have gained a lot of knowledge about a potential future for myself. Therefore, I can say I am getting my money’s worth because I am taking advantage of all the opportunities presented to me. There are a lot of people who sit around, don’t do any activities or join clubs, and they wonder why they attend our university as opposed to another school for half the price. Plenty of people say they would be just as happy paying half the price for their education as they would be at our university. One thing that sets our university apart is the experience you have and connections you make while here. It is clear we have a unique environment and a very close-knit campus that provides a great learning environment for both educational and personal growth. But if you are someone who does not take advantage of what our university has to offer, your money may not be in the right place.

It is easy to simply apply and get in to a well-known school solely for the degree once you graduate. Is that really what you want your college experience to be like? You’re not taking advantage of opportunities right in front of your face. If you know what you want to do after you graduate and our university can help you achieve that goal, good for you. But if you are simply applying somewhere because you know it is a prestigious school and want a degree from that school, then you may be taking the place of a student who would be better suited there. For example, I have two friends who both applied to Washington University in St. Louis. One wanted to go there for a writing program, and the other applied as a safety school as he recognized the caliber of a “WashU” degree. Guess what happened? My friend who applied as a safety got in over the other friend who actually wanted to attend.

It is unfortunate when someone doesn’t get in to a school he or she wants to go to. But if you are able to take advantage of the opportunities at the school you are at, then you will be getting your money’s worth.

Categories
Headline Sports

Women’s Basketball’s Fedorjaka steps down after 14 seasons

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

 

After fourteen seasons with the University, Kathy Fedorjaka officially announced her resignation as head coach of the women’s basketball team this past Friday night. Since taking the job in 1997, Fedorjaka accumulated 209 wins and led the Bison to three 20-win seasons, as well as NCAA tournament appearances in 2002 and 2008, but has failed to achieve much success during the past three seasons.

“Over my last 15 years as head coach of the Bison women’s basketball team, I have come to love this university community and to care deeply about the student-athletes past and present that it has been my privilege to coach,” said Fedorjaka in an official statement. “There comes a moment in every coach’s career when the difficult decision becomes whether it is time to step aside, and the time has come for me to move in a different direction.”

Fedorjaka’s decision, to take effect immediately, comes amidst a disappointing 2-15 start to the 2011-2012 season in which the Orange and Blue are 0-3 in league play. Replacing Fedorjaka as head coach is second-year assistant Bill Broderick who has ten years of collegiate coaching experience to date.

The Orange and Blue have 10 games remaining in the season, all against Patriot League opponents.  Although winless, the team is by no means out of title contention and Broderick will be faced with challenge to make the struggling team a contender once again.

“Kathy was extremely passionate about coaching, and she was able to elevate the program to competitive heights never before seen in the Bison women’s basketball program” said John Hardt, director of athletics and recreation.  “Despite the team’s record this season, I am confident that the program can quickly rise back to that championship level.”

 

Categories
Arts & Life Sleeping Around

Sleeping Around: Interracial Relations

By Stacey Lace

Columnist

I recently received a letter pleading with me to write about interracial relationships on campus. It seems that our romantic lives are lacking diversity. For example, the most diverse person I’ve ever dated here was from Canada. I know, you think it’s funny, eh?

Based on my sudden realization that I lack what others have, I had to employ the help of my friend, Whitney*. Whitney is commonly referred to as what some would call a strawberry blonde, or, what I call, Ginger Lite (GL for short).

During our first year, Whitney met and started dating Kushal*, an Indian electrical engineer. Kushal has since graduated, but he and Whitney are still together and have a simultaneously normal and dysfunctional relationship.

Some things I’d like to let you know about Whitney, so you can truly understand the context of this relationship:

Whitney has informed me that blonde guys turn her on (Kushal is pretty much the anti-blonde).

AND

She has a difficult time imagining her hair on her future half-Indian children’s heads (in reality, if she and Kushal were to have children, they probably wouldn’t look even slightly like her).

While these facts are seemingly pointless, they show how important Kushal’s personality is rather than Whitney’s prior ideas. Other than the ginger Indian children thing, Whitney has never once raised a concern to me about Kushal’s heritage. Her concerns are more along the lines of “he never visits me” or “Kushal is drunk dialing me from the street and a homeless man is walking him home.”

Whitney and Kushal have the same concerns in their long-distance relationship as the rest of us. When he doesn’t call, Whitney wonders what he’s up to and if he’s letting his partying ways get the best of him. When Whitney and I go out, she has to fight the same temptations I’m free to indulge in.

According to the College Board, 77 percent of University students are white. This doesn’t necessarily allow for a whole lot of on-campus interracial action. However, if Whitney and Kushal can find love of the same sweet, yet strange, kind as same-race couples, then there’s hope for all of us to find someone.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve learned a lot about relationships from Whitney and Kushal. While they have problems in their relationship, not one of those problems is related to their difference in race. Their problems are centered on their bad habits, bouts with trust, and the constant feeling of missing each other.

Maybe we should all take a hint from the two of them, put our racial blinders on and find love wherever we can.

*Names have been changed.