Month: April 2012

By Sara Blair Matthews
Assistant News Editor

Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law requires voters, beginning in November of this year, to present a photo ID with an expiration date every time they vote. Pennsylvania driver’s licenses, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID or a photo ID from an accredited Pennsylvania public or private college will be accepted.

This could be problematic for University students without a Pennsylvania driver’s license or passport, as the University does not have any immediate plans to add an expiration date to its ID cards.

“I think that the new law has the potential to decrease campus voter participation significantly … [Out-of-state college] students will not be able to register and vote at Bucknell as things currently stand—despite the fact that the law still otherwise permits them to do so,” said associate professor of political science Scott Meinke.

Many students have demonstrated concern that the University will not give students enough advance notice before ballots are cast in November.

“It should be stressed well in advance of the election that BUIDs won’t be accepted, to make sure no one who wants to vote is disenfranchised,” Wade Payson-Denney ’13 said.

Talk over this new law has brought up the larger issue of the importance of voting for young people.

“I do believe it is important for students to vote. We are fortunate to live in a country where we can openly express our political perspectives. Voting is one the best ways to express one’s political views. We are given the chance to play an active role in how our government operates. Not all people around the world can say that,” Tim Bolte ’12 said.

Another student expressed similar views.

“If you vote once, you are more likely to vote again. Voting will push people to start paying attention to the news, and it will push people to care about the issues they are voting for. Later in life when you start paying the bills you will start caring about these things, so you might as well start caring about them now,” Josh Wilson ’15 said.

Meinke believes that the young voter turnout has much room for growth. He said although many college-aged Americans are politically engaged, the youngest segment of the electorate participates at the lowest rate. Even in 2008, when the youth vote increased substantially, college-aged voters turned out at a lower rate than older voters.

“One potential consequence of this imbalance is that elected officials may pay disproportionately more attention to the particular interests of older Americans who vote more,” Meinke said.

In order to improve University students’ voter participation, Bolte belives there should be more open political discussion among students.

“There have been recent cases (the shut down of the affirmative action bake sale and the halting of Obama health care dollars distribution) where the University has actively sought to suppress political speech on campus. The University should encourage the spread of political ideas among its students, not suppress them,” Bolte said.

“I think the most effective way for Bucknell to gather more student voters would be for student groups such as the College Democrats or the Bucknell Conservatives Club to orchestrate voter registration drives,” Payson-Denney said.

When asked what a good resource was for gaining knowledge about a candidate’s platforms, Meinke pointed out that the websites of major newspapers usually have detailed candidate profiles and issue information that can be very helpful. For those who are interested in digging even deeper, Project Vote Smart gives non-partisan issue information on both incumbent and challenger candidates.

“[I think it’s important to stress] that you don’t have to be a political science major in order to be interested in politics. In theory, a democracy won’t function if there are too many people who don’t care about its issues,” Wilson said.

By Jenni Whalen
Senior Writer

In addition to the well-known drunk driving simulations, students can participate in University events for a total of 20 hours in order to eliminate one point from their record. This spring, students were invited via the Message Center to help set up and clean up for the Spring Concert and/or Chrysalis in order to help clear their records.

Although the concert has already passed, students can still help the University from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 26 and from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m on Friday, April 27 at Chrysalis.

“The Nelly and Chrysalys cleanups are great ways to eliminate points. It’s not too much work, and it’s a good way to lend a helping hand,” Hayden Yancey ’14, a participant, said.

While at the University, students may acquire points as a result of participation in illegal activity, most frequently associated with underage drinking. Punishments can range from a one-point penalty for carrying an open container of alcohol to a nine-point penalty for driving under the influence at dangerous levels of intoxication. At the most, students may receive a 10-point penalty for drinking that is associated with violence and results in physical injury, according to the University’s Alcohol Policy. Most points are also accompanied by a fine of some sort.

Many University students receive a point or two during their undergraduate careers due to their presence in a room with alcohol paraphernalia or some other minor offense. But all students are able to remove a point per year from their records. According to Forgiveness IV of the Alcohol Policy, “A student may receive a one point reduction by attending scheduled alcohol programs throughout the academic year.”

Many students choose to attend drinking and driving simulations on campus as a way to eliminate points from their record each year.

“I did a drunk driving simulation freshman year and had to write a little blurb about it,” said a senior who chose to remain anonymous. “It only gets rid of one point, but I only had one, so it went away completely.”

In addition, a student who completes a full calendar year from the date of the initial incident without another alcohol violation will receive an immediate reduction of one point, and a student who accumulates six or fewer points through September 15 of senior year will have those points removed from his or her student record.

According to Assistant Dean of Students and Student Conduct Administrator Chip Marrara, the work students do to erase their points will be physical and students will be expected to move heavy objects. It should be noted that all students who wish to eliminate points are invited to register as soon as possible. Students who sign up and do not work the hours indicated will be cited for “Failure to Comply” and will receive an additional fine in addition to the hours they do not complete.

By Esra Sardag
Contributing Writer

The brothers of Delta Upsilon Fraternity wrote, directed and performed in their 92nd annual Demie Play, entitled “DU Goes to Frat Camp,” on April 14 at 8 p.m. The comedy, a philanthropy event to benefit the Charles Pollack Memorial Scholarship Fund and Global Service Initiative, told the story of the brothers being sent to “Frat Camp,” a fraternity rehabilitation camp, after getting caught breaking many campus rules during a night of hazing. The brothers went through several challenges such as a trivia game to prove that they learned the true values of brotherhood and save themselves from the embarrassment of getting kicked off.

“When writing this year’s Demie Play, the writing team strove to draw out many of the controversies surrounding the Campus Climate Report and the administration’s reaction to it,” John Fowler ’14 said. “The report has been one of the biggest topics on campus, and we wanted to display our reaction to the report in a comedic fashion.”

Donations have historically gone to the Charles Pollack Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is awarded every year to students at the University who have demonstrated financial need. It was founded by Pollack’s wife, Gayle Pollock, to honor his memory. Pollock was widely regarded as a role model in his leadership positions at the University as Assistant to the President, Vice President for Student Affairs and Vice President for External Relations. Pollock also impacted Delta Upsilon fraternity’s successful reinstatement to campus on during the 2006-2007 academic year.

“We raise money for philanthropy through two methods. The first way is through traditional ticket sales. The other is by selling ad space in our playbill,” Jason White ’12 said.

Donations also went to the Global Service Initiative, Delta Upsilon’s national philanthropy organization. Members engage and fundraise to help developing nations while uniting their actions with the principles of the fraternity. For example, brother and playwright Connor Beach ’14 will be participating in a trip to Jamaica to be building extra classrooms for a local school.

The brothers showcased their various talents in the performance.

“We have many talented actors, writers and set designers who just need an event that they can work toward,” Matthew McAnear ’13 said. “We had a decent showing at this year’s play, but we’d love to expand the tradition into the future.”

The brothers of Delta Upsilon fraternity were pleased with the result and are hoping for an even better turnout in the future.

Jason Pepe
Writer

As the spring semester comes to a close, Greek organizations around campus are already beginning to recruit potential new members (PNMs). Fraternities invited potential new members to their houses to watch the NCAA men’s basketball championship on Monday, April 2. The Panhellenic Council hosted Open Suites last Sunday in Hunt Hall to further acclimate PNMs to the sorority recruiting process.

The first round of open suites started at 3:30 Sunday afternoon, and from there potential new members were introduced to each sorority. For each round, PNMs were briefly introduced to each sorority and then spent the remainder of time getting to know a few of its members.

Molly Flaccavento ’13, recruitment chair for Pi Beta Phi sorority, said the event is important because it helps both PNMs and sorority members prepare for fall recruitment.

“Open Suites is a great opportunity for us to show our spirit and let PNMs know what Pi Phi, and Greek Life as a whole, is all about,” Flaccavento said.

While there is typically a great deal of stress associated with Greek recruitment, these events help to alleviate anxiety by providing an environment where PNMs can get to know members of Greek organizations on a personal level.

“I was surprised by how comfortable the sororities made me feel and how smoothly the conversations went,” Clare Lawler ’15 said. “It got me excited for the recruitment process next year.”

Fraternities treated their PNMs to dinner and watched the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Kansas Jayhawks as they got to know the brothers.

Dave D’Alessandro ’14, recruitment chair for Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, said they watched a game on a big screen projector and enjoyed getting to know the PNMs.

“The brothers of Fiji look forward to meeting more freshmen and opening its doors to a large and diverse pledge class,” Alessandro said.