Month: March 2012

Categories
Opinion

Student speaks out against romanticizing drug abuse

Sarah Morris

Writer

Those who walk the path of drug use have a very thin line to keep track of. It is incredibly easy for people to slip into patterns of negativity associated with drug abuse, and I think a lot of young people that have never seen these effects firsthand do not fully understand the consequences of their actions. While growing up awkwardly in the suburbs of Atlanta, my mom caught me sneaking out of the house and said, “There’s only so much you can do until you succumb to peer pressure.” I hold this to be very true. I think it is important that kids grow up, break some rules, learn from their mistakes and get on with their lives. However, so many people do not understand that getting on with your life after suffering from drug abuse is not a choice you get to make to end it; a drug addiction is more than physical, it is mental. And it is extremely difficult for abusers to move on mentally after quitting, especially if their peers are users as well.

I am not talking about drinking with your friends, or even smoking marijuana at a young age. For the majority of people, such actions do not manifest into larger issues. But for some, they can be gateways into hard drug use. I know that the term “gateway drug” conjures images of the eighth grade lecture delivered by your P.E. teacher, but once you’ve seen people delve into drug use, you can actually understand how easy it is to slip from one substance to another. Drugs are becoming easier and cheaper to get and have a very social connotation to them.

As fun as experimentation can be, children need to stay as far away as they can from hard drugs like cocaine, methamphetamines, heroine, Percocet, Vicodin and nitrous. These kinds of drugs alter the way you behave and function in your daily life. The truth that needs to be realized is that you won’t have better or cooler friends because you do hard drugs and you won’t even have real friends if you do; you will just have a bunch of junkies to keep you company while you get high on the weekends.

It is true that not everybody has an addictive personality. Not everyone will take cocaine once and be hooked immediately, but I have seen it happen to people I love. You will never know if you are the type of person who will get addicted until you actually try it. Drug abuse is all so glamorous now. It always has been, but we cannot allow ourselves to romanticize such a dark habit. I had best friends in high school with severe cocaine addictions. They stole from their parents and friends, they lied to everyone around them, and the worst part was, they could not stop. It was not their choice anymore as the drugs were making decisions for them. The drugs were ruining their lives.

It seems like something so silly and easy to do just one time, but the truth is, addiction can fall onto anyone. I’ve seen drugs hurt loved ones and ruin relationships. People have to understand that drug abuse is not a romantic place to explore. It will not make you a deeper or more interesting person. It might tear you away from the people you love. I have seen it first-hand, and I know how horrible it can be. Just testing the waters might lead you into a place you never thought you would enter, and I do not think even risking that is worth it for a minute.

Categories
News

Speak UP targets bystanders

Jenni Whalen

Staff Writer

Approximately 30 University students and faculty members attended Speak UP Bucknell’s open forum in Trout Auditorium to discuss the issue of sexual assault on campus last Thursday night. The program was created both to address the fact that the University’s culture seems to foster an environment where sexual assault is likely to occur and to inform bystanders, people who neither commit assaults nor prevent them from happening. Tracy Shaynak of the Women’s Resource Center and Marie Shaw of Psychological Services founded the program this year.
Andrea Massa ’12 joined the program because she has a passion for sexual assault awareness.
“I have been a part of [associate] professor [of psychology] Bill Flack’s sexual assault research group for the past three years. However, I was not able to be proactive about the issue of sexual assault awareness until I joined Speak UP Bucknell. Now, I am not only able to help figure out what the problem is, but I can actively go out and spread awareness to other members of the Bucknell community,” Massa said.
In addition to Massa, Shaynak and Shaw, the Speak UP Bucknell group includes Nikki Shea ’12, Clark Bogle ’12, Sarah Hagerbrant ’12, Will Evans ’14, Alyssa Gockley ’13, Alyssa Henningsen ’14, Sarah Bella ’12, Meredith Dickson ’12, Mollie Morris ’12, Michael Higgins ’12 and Sam Lauer ’13.

The group presented a brief synopsis of the current research and definitions of sexual assault. It discussed bystander behaviors at length and explained that the purpose of their program is to capture bystanders, the people who don’t commit assaults but also don’t do anything to stop them. These bystanders can then create bubbles of cognitive dissonance in the University’s social culture. The presentation also incorporated group participation and a question and answer period.

“I think the most important idea that was presented was the fact that speaking up can implant an idea in someone’s head or [it] may be the first time that someone has told them that their behavior is not okay or not acceptable,” said Mark Paleafico ’13, an attendee at the open forum. “Speaking up and getting people to consider their behavior is a really important part of fostering a healthy and safe atmosphere on campus.”
“I’m so glad I went to the presentation and I think Bucknell is moving forward in a positive direction with the help of programs like Speak UP Bucknell,” Laura Neely ’13 said. “I think this discussion and topic is crucial not only here at Bucknell, but also necessary to carry on with us past our four years here. The awareness that this program brings should be heard by all.”
The Speak UP Bucknell program will continue to grow throughout the next year, potentially replacing the Transition to College classes for first-years. The members of the group will also continue to give presentations to anyone across campus who wants to start a discussion about sexual assault in their organization.

“The Speak UP Bucknell organization has the ability to create a safer environment on Bucknell’s campus,” Samantha Schindelheim ’12 said. “As we know from the Campus Climate Report and from further research being conducted, sexual assault is very prevalent on Bucknell’s campus. Students need to feel empowered to be positive bystanders and to help prevent sexual assault. Learning how to act as positive bystanders through programs like Speak UP Bucknell could change the statistics and decrease the occurrences of assault on our campus.”

Categories
Arts & Life

WVBU collaborates with Double Take Project

Jen Lassen

Arts & Life Editor

WVBU, the University’s radio station is working with Christina Cody ’12 to add to her senior project entitled “The Double Take Project.”

Cody, a theatre major, began her Double Take project with the idea of “theatre for social change.” She arranges and conducts interviews with students from the department of theatre and dance; these students then discuss a new topic every week. All related to the University, topics range from students’ perspective of the University’s social scene to Bison pride.

With the help of WVBU Station Manager Alex Alam ’12, every Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. WVBU broadcasts a different interview from one of these students. 

“I saw this project and thought maybe I could help with it. I really wanted to get people’s actual words out, and that’s exactly what this project does,” Alam said.

All interviews are kept anonymous; no names are broadcasted on the air.

“I want to get people thinking about what happens on campus–-good and bad,” Alam said.

So far, both WVBU and Cody have received positive feedback for the project.

“I think Bucknell students would love to share their thoughts. We all have so much pride and love our school, so it’s great that people can share their experiences this way,” Julia Goldman ’15 said.

“Although there’s some confusion about what the project is, people seem to like it and think that it’s a really cool idea,” Alam said.

The most important thing is that students on campus are talking, not only about this project, but about the issues it addresses. Even though the topics are ones that walk the fine line of becoming social taboos, WVBU and Cody have made a concerted effort to make sure that what is being said is honest and real.

“I love this project because it takes a little bit of something from everyone. Every story affects me, too. [The project] definitely has changed my opinions about things, and I’ve gained new perspectives throughout the process … you can’t have one without the other,” Alam said.

And with campus climate a major topic of discussion, it’s good to recognize that everybody has something to say or a perspective to offer, and they deserve to be heard.

Categories
Arts & Life

Porn lecture defines current culture

Katey Duffy

Writer

Sitting in a room full of mature college students and adults, I never thought I would feel so comfortable discussing the major impact of the pornography industry on our society today. So how was it that I was comfortable in this setting where we were discussing a topic that is usually taboo? It was because I was part of an audience in which students were eager to learn and Dr. Gail Dines knew how to blatantly bring up the problems with pornography by describing the motives behind the major pornography producers.

Dines is a professor from Wheelock College in Boston and a leader of the anti-porn movement as well as an active feminist. She is the proud author of the book “Pornland,” in which she shares her views about the negative effects of porn on young women and has also been interviewing and studying people in the porn business to understand their reasons for production.

I was most impressed with the way Dines handled the topic of porn. She discussed how our generation is an “image-based culture.” We have grown up in a society where we are constantly seeing images of what we are “supposed to look like.” But in reality, Dines highlights the truth: the men and women in these media images are part of an “abnormal group” of our culture. She stresses the reason men feel superior to women is because they have grown up seeing images in which women are vulnerable to men. This is the connection to the growing porn industry which is why the business is so huge in our world today, bringing in an estimated $12 billion in revenue every year. 

Although Dines commented on many different things throughout her talk, she claimed that her efforts to put a stop to this porn industry are like “pushing a boulder up a huge hill.” She understands that she cannot single-handedly manage to stop something so massive throughout our society today, but she demands that women stop allowing it to happen. For the sake of the next generation of young girls, we must demand more respect from men because the pornography industry is a “runaway train” in a sense. They have legally been able to portray women in this light and they are running out of ideas. We must stop it before it ruins the next generation. If you have any interest in joining this movement, Dines suggested visiting www.stoppornculture.org for more information.

Categories
Opinion

Schools unprepared for shootings

Jasmine King

Contributing Writer

On Feb. 27, a 17-year-old student walked into an Ohio high school with a gun. Minutes later, five students were shot and the gunman fled. T.J. Lane is responsible for the deaths of three of his classmates and injuring two more. This incident could have been less deadly if students had more guidance through policies and drills of how to handle a situation as dire as this. But, are the schools preparing students enough that if the situation did occur, students would know what to do? No, the policies that are in effect in schools do not prepare students for emergency situations as well as they could.

In my high school, we had drills to try to prepare us for events like a school shooting or an invader that the administration saw as a threat. I remember crouching down away from the windows so that someone who was looking inside would have to open the door to see all of the students and teachers in one corner of the classroom. Looking back, every time we would perform these drills, I would think how stupid it was. For one thing, if a person with a gun wanted to come into the school, he or she would most likely be smart enough to do it on a day where school is in session. The fact that we sat away from the window means nothing in the scope of things. Secondly, if the gunman would open the door to see all of us sitting in one spot, this would make things easier on him, not harder. The fact that these drills do not take into account the possibility that the gunman would have knowledge or experience of how schools respond to crisis situations is preposterous.

Another reason why the policies are practically useless is because no one takes them seriously. Think about it. In high school (and even in college) we have fire drills at least once a month. But no one runs out screaming and frantic because we know it is not real. To be honest, most of us would have no idea how to respond if the building was actually on fire, nor would we believe it unless we saw it with our own eyes. Even then, most students have never been in an emergency situation, and consequently do not know how they will react. Americans were shocked at school shootings in the past like that at Columbine High School, but students cannot imagine something like that would happen to them or on their campus. Like my grandmother used to say, “You cannot understand it until it happens to you.” Students have to start taking drills seriously; the University does them for a reason.

In moving forward, we, as a University, must foresee crisis situations and let every student know exactly what to do if it does happen. Yes, we have fire drills, but what about if a gunman opens fire somewhere on campus? I can honestly say I would have no idea what to do except to call 911 and maybe Public Safety. If an event like this would happen on campus, I would feel completely unprepared.

Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I’m disheartened to see that the person who wrote the slut-shaming opinion piece (“A Female Perspective on Modern Chivalry: Women Need to Face the Facts,” Nov. 10, 2011) last semester wrote a piece about sexual assault on campus and victim blames throughout the entire article (“Protection from Sexual Assault Requires Cooperation,” March 2, 2012.).  This is a poorly worded, poorly researched article, and I’m ashamed that this was in my school newspaper.

Firstly, the onus of prevention of sexual assault is on the perpetrator of assault, not on the victim. People can do everything in their power to protect themselves from assault and still be assaulted. It is not up to the victim. Secondly, the assumption that women are the only victims of assault is incorrect. They are the  majority, but there are thousands of people who do not identify as women who are assaulted each year. Thirdly, the women on this campus are women. We’re old enough to claim that title, let us have it.

I am up in arms, Sarah Morris. I’m furious that The Bucknellian allowed this to be published. We have such a huge problem with sexual assault on this campus, and the pervasive idea that women are responsible for protecting themselves from an assault is what contributes to people not wanting to report an assault for fear of being told it was their fault. This stance does the whole institution injustice. I’m frustrated that you, as a member of the sex that is most frequently assaulted, believes that you or any of the rest of us can somehow prevent an assault. Again, the only person who can prevent assault is the person who is going to commit the assault.

I think this campus would benefit from some more informed, unbiased research in this area. Perhaps attending a presentation or panel on sexual assault on campus would open our eyes. There are several interesting and relevant discussions in this area happening on campus on a regular basis, such as the Speak UP Bucknell Peer Education program, the Double Take Project and speakers hosted each semester by the Women’s and Gender Studies office and the Women’s Resource Center, as well as many others.

Alyssa M. Gockley ’13
Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies

Categories
Opinion

Speech patterns prove influential

Molly Brown

Writer

The stereotypical imitation of a teenage girl’s speech, an up-talked sentence with an added poor imitation of Mae West and punctuated with several “like’s,” is a pandemic across college campuses.  These vocal devices are popular and are infiltrating the speech patterns of everyone who comes into contact with affected individuals. It has been recently examined in “The New York Times” as an example of women pioneering cultural norms, but I believe that young women are not the culprits of furthering these rather unfortunate linguistic trends. 

In my own experiences, and I’m no Henry Higgins, I’ve heard just as many guys punctuate every prepositional phrase with a “like”—or four—as girls. The same goes with up-talking, the phenomenon in which a statement ends like this? All the time? This trend is not something driven by young women because they are looking for an outlet to express themselves. People and communication evolve together and are interdependent on one another. If someone hears a way of turning a phrase or perhaps has moved to a different regional area and is surrounded by that regional accent, he or she will mimic and implement the speech patterns from the environment into his or her own. This is why it is ridiculous that people see the above linguistic trends as solely a female device.

Occasionally, the up-talking happens, but when it is a deliberate choice by individuals to speak in this matter to try and fit in, these speech patterns become problems. A huge problem, both for listeners and the speaker’s vocal health, is the idea of adding vocal fry constantly in their speech. A vocal fry, the sort of growling, not quite that of Barbara Stanwyck’s, but rather an intentional upward intonation that forces the vocal cords to peak at the fundamental point at which one’s voice begins to crack, is considered normal. The Kardashian reality television empire has only furthered this assumption of speech patterns. When speaking this way for a prolonged period of time, an individual will harm his or her vocal chords by placing them under so much friction day after day. The worst part about the habit is the fact that it has become so ingrained within the national speech pattern that fewer people realize they use it themselves.

In terms of speech, females are no more to blame than males for projecting their vocalisms into the vernacular.  Rather, the use of these patterns is a natural part of language, not solely in the hands of one sex. Vocalisms and language will continue to evolve as long as people continue to use them, so if the vocal growls and up-talk annoy you as much as the next person, don’t use them yourself?

Categories
News

Meet the Suites eases nerves

Jason Pepe

Contributing Writer

First-year women gathered in Hunt Hall for the first annual Meet the Suites on March 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.  The event provided first-year women who are considering participating in Greek Life an opportunity to gain familiarity with each sorority in a more laid back and casual environment than the formal recruitment events. Meet the Suites was designed to help ease the nerves of first-year women going into the more formal Open Suites which is held in April.

Each first-year woman was given a “passport” that she had to get stamped at each sorority’s suite.  The women were allowed to spend as much or as little time as they wanted at a particular suite, but were required to visit all seven of them.  Each sorority offered snacks such as cookies and fruity drinks.

Meghan Marks ’13, Delta Gamma’s vice president of membership, enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the event.

“It was fun to just hang out and talk to the girls without all of the formalities of recruitment, and I think it was really helpful for them to see each sorority’s suite and rooms before the process starts,” Marks said.

Meet the Suites replaced previous years’ event called “Meet the Greeks,” and was thought to be a significant improvement.

“In its first year, I would definitely consider the event a success. Going forward, Meet the Suites will be an excellent opportunity for first-year women to meet each sorority in a casual setting before beginning the recruitment process,” said Kasey Hampton ’13, chief recruitment chair of Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity.

Even though Meet the Suites was held during midterm week, turnout was not substantially affected.

“[Meet the Suites] served as a fun study break for everyone,” Hampton said.

Categories
News

Research team presents assault findings

Christina Oddo and Amanda Ayers

Writer and News Editor

The University Sexual Assault Research Team, a group of students conducting research under professor of psychology Bill Flack, presented data regarding the results of its fall 2011 survey on Tuesday. Although females can be, and have been, perpetrators, these results primarily focused on issues surrounding female victimization and male perpetration on campus.
In its presentation, the group raised questions about the different perceptions of rape and consent, for example, with the hopes of achieving a better understanding of what is happening on campus and creating a safe and respectful environment for everyone. The data presented was based on a survey offered to 900 females and 900 males during October and November. There was a 36 percent response rate for females, and a 22 percent response rate for males.
Among other findings, the group shared that perpetrators tend to consume more alcohol than non-perpetrators. Perpetrators scored, on average, a 16 on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification test, which comes with a recommendation for “simple advice plus brief counseling and continued monitoring.” Non-perpetrators scored, on average, an 8. 
The results also delved into victim disclosure and the positive and negative reactions to sexual assault, including belief, information and aid, emotional support and blame.  Non-victims tend to perceive positive reactions upon disclosure of assualt, like finding emotional support, to occur more often than negative ones. When surveyed, victims responded that there was a lower rate of acceptance, belief and positive reaction to their assault than non-victims.
The group also found that there are a significant number of Greek women “facilitators” and that this female facilitation increases the risk of being sexually assaulted. Female facilitation is promoting risky behavior such as increased alcohol consumption, hooking up, hazing, and minimizing the gravity of events. Male peer support–encouraging women to drink with the intent of hooking up with them, etc.–increases perpetration, rape myth acceptance (“she was asking for it,” etc) and sexism. 
The team finally discussed topics relevant to the recent Campus Climate Task Force Report. While most students surveyed agreed with the Greek and alcohol findings in the report, they disagreed with student engagement findings. Additionally, women agreed with the findings on gender dynamics, but men disagreed.
Categories
Club/Intramural Ski Team Sports

Ski team sends two to nationals

Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

Although they maintain a fairly low profile on campus, the members of the club ski team are a successful group of athletes, including snowboarders Josh Leighton ’14 and Sam Wilkins ’12, who qualified for the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships.

In the regional competition in Snowshoe, W. Va., Wilkins finished first for male boarders and Leighton in third, qualifying both of them for the National Championships, which began on Monday and end tomorrow in Sunday River, Maine.

“Josh and I qualified for the national snowboarding slopestyle competition by shredding the gnar harder than the other grommets while maintaining an unlimited amount of steez,” Wilkins said.

Many other Bison skiers and snowboarders have seen success on the slopes this year as well, giving the Orange and Blue their most successful season in four years. The women’s alpine team placed third in the conference while the men’s alpine team placed fourth, qualifying them both for the regional competition. Alex Cooperstone ’15 came in eighth place for male skiers and Caroline Price ’15 came in fourth for female boarders.

Despite their success, the skiers tend not to receive as much attention as other sports.

“We tend to go under the radar as we are always travelling,” said Dale Bishop ’12, president of the ski team.  “We travel every weekend to mountains in Maryland, New York, the Poconos, Southwest Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”

The Bison compete in the Allegheny Conference against schools such as Villanova, West Virginia, Navy, West Chester, Davis and Elkins and Penn State. The men’s and women’s alpine teams compete in giant slalom and slalom while the snowboard team competes in giant slalom, slopestyle and boarderX.

In addition to performing well on the slopes, the ski team prides itself on having a good time together and building strong bonds.

“Our team is extremely close and has a deep passion for what we are able to do. Our ability to spend a couple weekends away from campus and from the social norms of Bucknell has fostered a unique bond within our team,” Bishop said.

Even though this season is over for much of the team, Wilkins and Leighton look to bring a great end to their successful season by performing well in the USCSA National Championships.