Month: April 2012

Categories
Opinion

Only experience can prepare first-years for college

By Jessica Isgro

Contributing Writer

It is my belief that no college first-year understands what he or she is getting into until the school year officially begins. The painstaking hours spent touring campuses, attending information sessions, reading blogs and meeting current students is good preparation for choosing a school, but not for understanding what it will be like to be a part of the campus. After my first year at the University, I realize that no program could have prepared me for the academic rigor, extracurricular commitment and independent behavior that college would entail.

There is something about the phenomenon of higher education that has to be experienced to be understood. Until you are confined to bed with a mid-winter cold, you will not understand what it means to take care of yourself. Until you spend the small hours of the night completely caffeinated, slaving over a paper, you will not fully comprehend the college all-nighter. And until you have to live with a complete stranger, you will not understand what it means to have a roommate.

This is not to say that first-year experiences are unpleasant. But they are just that: first-year experiences. In order to understand what it means to be a first-year, you must be a first-year. In order to comprehend the culture, you must immerse yourself within it. But why is it that we cannot come to college with a full understanding of what we’ll experience?

Part of it is the fact that we never receive an accurate portrayal of college life. Looking through every catalog and magazine that advertises dorm accessories gives us a false pretense of the space we will be living in. Why PBteen thinks we’ll need to buy our own desks, chairs, dressers and bed frames is beyond me. As an incoming first-year, I nearly salivated over the cavernous dwellings that these magazines claimed would one day be mine. In reality, living on campus is less about accessorizing and more about figuring out where on earth you’re going to keep all of your stuff. Lesson one of my college experience was that investing in plastic storage boxes was money well spent.

Another significant part of our lack of collegiate understanding is the way we see it in the media. Movies like “The Roommate” inflict us with nothing but fear, movies like “Accepted” lead us to believe that getting rejected from college just means opening your own and movies like “The House Bunny” present college life as nothing but mindless fun. While these movies can be entertaining, they give us a false sense of collegiate life. Even though we know these movies only present extremes, we lose sight of what an actual college experience will entail.

What I learned as soon as I became a part of campus is that college is not about biting off more than you can chew, it’s about learning to chew more. It’s about realizing that you can do everything you love, but the hours in the day will always be the same and it’s up to you to figure out how everything will fit. The movies can’t prepare you for that.

So if I could have somehow prepared myself for life as a college first-year, would I? I don’t know. Sure, it would have been wonderful to completely understand the academic, extracurricular and social scenes I was walking into. However, surprise is half of the experience. I don’t think prepping myself on first-year protocol would have made my year any better because I enjoyed finding my own way.

Categories
Featured News

People of the Year: Christina Cody

By Jenni Whalen
Senior Writer

As Christina Cody ’12 sits in the Student Center, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the mid-day ELC crowd, she exudes a calm spirit. Tucking her brown hair behind her ears, she leans forward to describe her fascination with the University’s social culture, which is the core focus of her Double Take Project. As she explains her discoveries about the campus culture and her desire to help students feel less lonely, it makes complete sense that she has been chosen as one of this year’s People of the Year.

A senior from Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Cody is a theatre major and a dance minor. Most of her campus involvement centers around the theatre department, as she directs and performs pieces throughout the year and also works as a teaching assistant. This year, Cody has dedicated much of her time to her work on Double Take Project, which has become the basis of her senior thesis.

Christina Cody

Double Take Project began during her junior year, far before the release of the Campus Climate Task Force report. But the report came as a happy accident because she was able to use its findings in her thesis.

“My main goal was to gather a cultural representation of Bucknell’s cultural scene,” Cody said. “It was kind of like theatre anthropology but nothing that formal. I wasn’t looking to make a new campus report, but I wanted to show things from the student perspective.”

As a part of her project, Cody interviewed 36 students on campus. She then transformed those interviews into a one-woman show where she performed the stories of those she had spoken with.

Those interviews also became part of a radio show. WVBU airs the story of one person each day. Cody also used her interviews to create a script and short performance for Take Back the Night, and she stood outside of the ELC with a sign that said “Tell me a story about the social scene” each day for a couple of weeks. She also conducted workshops with many organizations on campus.

“My work was about the social scene, but it was also about promoting trust and change through the use of theater techniques,” Cody said. “And the biggest thing I learned is most students have public and private personas. In workshops, students were often very reserved but in interviews, they shared very private things. Many students said they feel alone or are afraid. Basically, there is a lot of pressure to seem like you’re happy with everything which results in a lot of loneliness.”

Assistant professor of theatre and dance Anjalee Hutchinson has nothing but praise for Tina’s efforts to better student life through her senior project.

“Tina Cody is a bit of a Bucknell theatre program rock star,” Hutchinson said. “It has a bit to do with her tremendous talent, that’s definitely part of it–but a lot more of it is about who she is. She has this insatiable internal drive/hunger for performance, for theatre, for life. If The Bucknellian had a ‘most likely to’ section for their seniors–I wouldn’t say Tina would be most likely to be on Broadway. I’d say she’s the one who’s most likely to change the world.”

Cody’s fellow students also have very positive things to say about her overwhelming calm and her remarkable ability to promote change. Laura Neely ’13 participated in one of Cody’s workshops this spring.

“Tina holds such passion for creating an environment built around open communication,” Neely said. “Working with her was a very rewarding experience. Tina’s view of Bucknell and the social life which accompanies it is refreshing, and I can see the positive impact she has made on the entire Bucknell community.”

Professor of theatre Gary Grant also feels that Cody has made a tremendous impact on the community during her four years on campus, but especially during her senior year.

“If you saw her play Dolores Montoya in last weekend’s musical ‘The Wild Party,’ you know that this woman is a talented actress,” Grant said as he presented her with a leadership award this week. “But this year, she stepped out of the bright lights and applause because she had a vision of a Bucknell where men and women treated each other with respect. Tina gave voice to what she heard in interviews and turned her research into action. Her Double Take Project was definitely what Bucknell needed to hear in the way that Bucknell needed to hear it.”

As she nears graduation, Cody’s advice to her fellow University students is three-fold. First, she would like to remind her fellow students that they are not alone. Second, she urges students to be honest and real with themselves and each other as much as possible.

“I really think that our biggest problem on this campus is that we focus on external issues and the big picture,” Cody said. “But I think it’s more about working on yourself and figuring out who you are. I honestly believe that if you have a strong sense of self, you won’t get swept away in the pattern.”

And third, Cody advises students to meet with the administration and get to know them. She insists that if you can find a way to get your ideas out there, the administration will be on your side.

“I just want people to take action,” Cody said. “If you believe in an idea, try to make it happen here because it can.”

Cody hopes to continue her work with human justice through theatre techniques in India next year.

“But that’s just a dream, a massive dream. Can you ask everyone to think about a question for me? In my interviews, the last thing I always say is this: Ask yourself, if you could shout out just one thing to all Bucknellians and everyone could hear you at once, what would you say?”

Categories
Featured News

People of the Year: Lynn Pierson

By Jason Pepe
Writer

Lynn Pierson’s official job title, “Assistant Director for Community Service,” does not do her justice. Since originally coming to the University in 2006 to work for the Office of Housing and Residential Life, Pierson has made a memorable mark on the campus and surrounding community working for the Office of Civic Engagement.

“I’ve been busy,” Pierson said, but this is a gross understatement. According to Pierson, the best part of her job is its variety. “I am able to interact with so many different students, staff and community partners. I also am able to see our students really making a positive difference in our area.”

 

Lynn Pierson

Pierson organizes and participates in community service projects such as the Community Harvest, First-Year’s Day of Service, Sept. 11 Week of Service, Hunger Awareness Week, Black History Month, Spring Thaw Out, Women’s History Month and the Lewisburg Community Garden.

Pierson has not shied away from getting her hands dirty, either. She recalled one particular instance about gardening in the Lewisburg Community Garden. “I was standing on a pickup truck in the back shoveling manure, and I’m thinking, ‘How did I get here?’”

Pierson is also a Posse Mentor, Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate, a member of the LGBT and WRC advisory boards and chair of the annual AIDS Walk.

Posse member Jose Rivera ’12 praised Pierson’s work ethic and vigor. “She’s dedicated to doing quality work. Reliable, energetic and kind is the best way to describe her. She’s rarely down, and you can always expect to hear a ‘Fabulous!’ from her.”

Pierson also spends a great deal of time working with Greek organizations and their respective community service chairs. Some programs that she helps to organize include Turkey and Trimmings Baskets, the Giving Tree and the Polar Bear Plunge.

Janice Butler, director of civic engagement and service learning, singled out Pierson’s ability to identify areas of need within the community where University students can positively contribute.

“Lynn puts in a lot of work trying to meet students where they are and guiding them in their volunteer work with community groups. She has a great rapport with a number of students and helps match their interests with community needs,” Butler said.

There was an especially large demand for volunteers this past year due to the ongoing recession and the September flooding. Pierson personally helped and encouraged Greek organizations to provide relief toward these efforts, from making blankets and hats to baking.

Additionally, she has participated in several service trips, such as the Civil Rights Spring Break Trip to Memphis, the Bucknell Brigade trip to Nicaragua and recently a trip to Morocco with Hillel.

The trip to Nicaragua was, “a little bit of a life changing thing that I didn’t expect,” Pierson said. “I went down and discovered some things about animal rights and came back a vegetarian.”

Lynn Pierson grew up in Erie, Pa. and attended Penn State Behrend College in Erie. Pierson said she enjoyed working with other college students, which led her to attend graduate school to complete her master’s degree so she could continue working with students.

“I came from a very middle class family, so college was kind of a new thing. Grad school was a whole new ball game for them,” Pierson said.

One specific program which Pierson has helped bring to campus is the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program. The program provides people who may not have previously been able to attend universities the chance to do so. Students from local community colleges are recruited to enroll in a six-week summer program at the University, and if they are successful they have the opportunity to enroll full time on campus under an academic scholarship. For the past four years, the program has been funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, but the University recently agreed to fund the program on its own.

“That has been incredibly heartwarming, to see people that otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to go to college necessarily,” Pierson said. “They’re not the typical Bucknellians; they’re typically older folks with families, or have been in the military for a number of years, or international students. It’s been wonderful.”

Looking back, Pierson said that she did not expect to be on campus this long, but is glad she’s stuck around. “It’s been a full six years … there’s never a dull moment.”

Categories
News

Business leaders to compete in national conference

By Jenni Whalen
Senior Writer

Three University students, Michelle Havrilla ’12, Jane Suglia ’14 and Alexa Widawsky ’14, qualified to compete in the national Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) conference in San Antonio, Texas on June 24-27, 2012. They secured their spots after successfully competing at the annual PBL Pennsylvania State Conference in Gettysburg, Pa. on March 30 – April 1.

“We had a great time at the conference and were really proud of everyone’s performances. It was great to listen to professionals share their ideas on topics ranging from project management to marketing, and we are looking forward to attending the fall conference in Philadelphia,” Suglia said. 

PBL is the collegiate division of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and is the nation’s largest student-run business organization. The organization works to prepare its members for success in business-related fields after school. As a first-year, Havrilla started a PBL chapter on campus. Now, four years later, many University students participate in PBL events like on-campus workshops, resume critiques, etiquette dinners, speaking events related to business topics and off-campus conferences.

Eight University PBL members attended the Gettysburg conference, which included competitions, speakers, workshops and networking opportunities with some of the top business professionals in the United States. At the conference, Suglia and Widawsky competed in a team event called Business Decision Making. The two students won second place and qualified for nationals. Havrilla competed in an Individual Public Speaking contest and won first place, securing her place at nationals as well.

“I am very excited and honored to have the opportunity to attend the PBL national conference this year! At the state level, I delivered a five-minute speech focusing on one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Walt Disney. Walt Disney’s determination, strength of character and commitment to making people happy are only a few of his many attributes that FBLA-PBL members should strive towards in their future endeavors,” Havrilla said.

After acting as president of PBL for three years, Havrilla has passed her position down to Alexa Widawsky ’14 this year. PBL continues to accept new members.

“I have been involved in the FBLA-PBL organization since I was a freshman in high school. Eight years later, I can truly say that FBLA-PBL is more than a business club; it is a professional organization that has helped me to develop into the young woman that I have become today,” Havrilla said. “The people I have met throughout my experiences along with the knowledge I have acquired through various workshops and conferences have had an enormous impact on preparing me for the business world.”

 

Categories
News

Business leaders to compete nationally

By Sara Blair Matthews
Assistant News Editor

Two University student groups have received a $10,000 Projects for Peace grant from the Davis Foundation. The grants will support the improvement of youth technology skills in Puerto Rico as well as a retreat aimed to empower youth through academic excellence and cultural awareness in Botswana. Both projects will be implemented starting in June.

Jose Saavedra ’13 and Stefan Ivanovski ’12 are the creators of the first program, “Puerto Rico Se Anima.” The program aims to teach creative thinking techniques and 2D animations to about 50 high school students from the Nuestra Escuela organization.

According to their website (http://www.latcreativa.org/prsa/), their goal is to “provide students with the necessary skills and tools so they can become active social agents of change within their immediate communities and the wider region of Latin America and the Carribean.”

Saavedra believes that the arts dignify the soul.

“For me the focus is a bit different. It’s all about giving back to people. I wanted to ground the arts in reality and further help [these kids] in the long run. [Hopefully, our project will] help foster a culture of teamwork, cooperation and leadership among the youth,” Ivanovski said.

The pair chose Puerto Rico for their project location because they believe life on islands is much more difficult because resources are not always readily available.

“There aren’t as many resources, shipping is difficult and [there is a shortage of technology available.] Also, Puerto Rico has the second biggest police force in the world. There is a lot of repressed violence,” Saavedra said.

Saavedra is selling his artwork for $5 a piece this week in the Elaine Langone Center Mall to raise more money for this project.

The second recipient of the Davis Foundation Projects for Peace grant is “Boloka Ngwao – Preserve Your Culture,” a program that aims to inspire tomorrow’s youth leaders from historical culture.

Lebo Letsie ’12 created the program. She came up with the idea through firsthand observation while living in Botswana.

“I saw this as an opportunity for positive change back home. [I hope] it will have long lasting effects and that it will inspire people to become leaders and do things for their community,” Letsie said. “[This program aims to] encourage youth to achieve more in life. We want to make them well-rounded individuals. Hopefully, [this program] will equip them with the skills to succeed in the future.”

As far as logistics go, the program is organized as a “retreat” that aims to “re-connect Botswana youth with their culture [and] equip them with basic leadership tools and skills that they will use as they transition into adulthood.” 

“Each day will have a past, present and a future component. There will be four groups of people with approximately 20 kids per group. Each of the four groups will go on a four-day retreat,” Letsie said.

Letsie believes it is important to give back to one’s community.

“I have been very fortunate because of other people’s kindness,” Letsie said.

More information about her program can be found at her website: http://www.lineofoundation.org/index.html

Categories
News

More students vote in BSG elections

By Siobhan Murray

Writer

The results of the Bucknell Student Government Election are in. Voter turnout far exceeded that of the past several years and generated a group of elected students whose goals for student government focus on fundraising, class unity and visibility.

A total of 1,361 students turned out for elections, including 439 in the class of 2013, 357 in the class of 2014 and 565 in the class of 2015. The turnout may reflect BSG’s new strategy of emailing students to remind them to vote, rather than posting a reminder on the myBucknell webpage.

“I feel the new method of emailing students was more effective than the previous method. The overall turnout shows that students are concerned about having their voices heard and are exercising their democratic obligations,” President of BSG Executive Board Dotun Odewale said.

The elected class of 2013 president is Katie Golub, vice-president is Teddy Mottola and secretary/treasurer is Kenzie Raymond. The representatives for the upcoming senior class are Tim Bergen, Jennie Ciotti, Jesse Dondero, Jessica Gettel, Kamran Khan, Robert Kurtz, Sviatoslav Lesko, Rachel Litt and Mahilet Oluma.

“We will decide on a Senior Class Gift to donate to the University, as well as give the University recommendations on a Commencement speaker for our graduation. In addition, we will organize several ‘Senior Nights,’ which are fun events that serve as a great way to promote class unity,” Golub said.

Secretary/treasurer Raymond added that the “class congress has spent the last three years fundraising [for these goals].”

For the class of 2014, voters decided on Jeffery Finegan for president, Rachel Franz for vice-president and Julia Smith for Secretary/Treasurer. Kelsea Alderman, Daniel Bonilla, Kunga Dagpo, Ken Inoue, Ally Kebba, Maura McVeigh, Olesya Minina, Daniel Narvaez, Kyle Sullivan, Sophie Van Pelt and alternate Tyler Mclamb will make up the board of representatives.

“I plan on increasing the transparency of BSG and making it more effective in terms of being a voice of the student body,” Finegan said.

The class of 2015 elected Colin Hassell as president, Jen Lassen as vice-president and Will Persing as secretary/treasurer. Representatives for the class are Walker Brady, Chloe Drennen, Julia Goldman, Gloria Lee, Jared Lowenthal, Kevin Miller, CJ Moy, Carson Quigley, Michael Sahagian, Whitney Tatem and alternates Ben Garner and Kenia Lobo.

Hassell emphasizes the importance of fundraising for future senior year events.

“Our Class Congress is currently brainstorming ideas for a product, which we hope will be on sale by the early fall,” Hassell said.

The Congress also seeks to hold more class unity events such as another S’mores Night or class BBQs. “As far as visibility goes, I plan to continue to send out our class newsletter, the B15ON BRIEF,” Hassell said.

“I would like to increase student participation and interest in student government in order for students to have a stronger voice on campus,” Persing said.

“Many of the positions were uncontested, meaning that there was far fewer campaigning this year because there was less of a threat of people losing. There were also some very close races where a few candidate won by only a few votes which illustrates how important it is for students to vote and voice their opinions,” Vice-president of Administration of BSG Executive Board Clinton Kittrell said.

Categories
News

5K and Zumba raise $2000 for passes

By Lauren Buckley
Writer

University students and local families put on their sweatbands and running shorts and gathered in Gerhard Fieldhouse on Sunday morning to walk, run and Zumba up a sweat to raise money for the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project. Over 150 people attended and raised a grand total of $2,000. The event itself raised enough money for 10 families to have subsidized passes, but with the existing funds that the project already had, they will be able to provide 20 passes for this summer.

Students in Educ 318 (Multiculturalism and Education), with the guidance of Sue Ellen Henry, associate professor of education, created the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project in conjunction with the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority (LARA). The 5K Fun Run and Zumbathon was coordinated entirely by these students as well as members of the Panhellenic Council.

“I appreciate this event because it demonstrates my values of living in a community that helps children play safely with their families. Our fund is sensitive to the fact that not all families have access to the same financial resources; some families have to make difficult decisions around money. I’m proud that for three years, students at Bucknell have supported local families of low income to not have to make these trying decisions,” Henry said.

This initiative commemorates the lives of 11-year-old Assunda Rotolo of Lewisburg and her cousin, eight-year-old Les Davis Jr. of Mifflinburg, who drowned in the Susquehanna River, which they were swimming in because they could not afford pool passes.

“When I think about the fact that right here in Lewisburg two kids drowned because they couldn’t afford pool passes, it makes me furious and want to do better. It’s a good reality check for Bucknell students. We get to live a pretty privileged lifestyle away from home, while some townspeople down the block do not,”  said Ashley O’Connor ’13, an Education 318 student.

Combined with existing funds and the money raised from the 5K Fun Run and Zumbathon event, the Pool Pass Project will be able to provide 20 pool passes to families this summer. In its first summer, the initiative was able to provide pool passes and swimming lessons for five families, and in its second year, 16 families benefited from the money raised by the Pool Pass Project. This goes to show that the project has expanded and is still growing.

“I’d like to formally thank the businesses that supported our project, Facilities staff, LA Posse 2 and members of the proposed new sorority Mu Sigma Upsilon for volunteering the day of our event. I look forward to working with Panhellenic Council next year, when they take over this philanthropy project,” Henry said.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial

When students talk about diversity on campus, we often talk in terms of racial diversity, which is clearly deficient on our campus. However, this dialogue overlooks a major factor of campus diversity–the LGBT community.

In light of the recent talks given by Dan Savage and Randy Potts, we at The Bucknellian feel compelled to congratulate the campus community on addressing these issues head on and bringing them to the forefront.

In the past, issues of gender orientation and association have seemed to fly under the radar on campus. Now, thanks to the outstanding work being done by LGBT office, the fight for awareness has turned into a movement for action.

With movements such as Fran’s House and the newfound ability to apply for gender neutral housing, it seems that this university has taken a major step in the right direction. These types of projects have been talked about often in the past, but no longer are they just talk.

What’s more, the LGBT office is not the only part of our community taking action. This week, Chi Phi Fraternity brought Randy Potts to campus and Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, in conjunction with FLAG, brought Dan Savage.

This semester seems to mark a major milestone for our university. Arguably for the first time ever, we as students are realizing and taking action for a minority, yet significant, group of people on campus. When multiple organizations outside of LGBT are bringing in speakers and spreading awareness, we know that we have taken a significant step in the right direction.

Hopefully, we as a community can continue to make our campus more open and accessible to the LGBT community because, although we have moved forward, we as a student body still have a long way to go.

One wonders if this University will ever completely be a safe space for all students. We certainly hope so, but for this goal to be realized, the students of this campus need to take positive action. Words can only go so far to address a problem-–only through student-driven, communal action can we make a significant change.

Categories
News

Dan Savage: Initiating online testimonials

By Connor Small
Staff Writer

The creator of the “It Gets Better” Project spoke about his experiences growing up gay and his motivation for creating the video project in a speech on Monday.

Author Dan Savage founded the campaign with his husband Terry Miller in 2010 following the suicide of 15-year-old Billy Lucas as a result of homophobic bullying. Savage and Miller decided to create a YouTube video explaining their own personal struggles with growing up gay in hopes of reaching out to LBGT youth. The couple encouraged others to create their own testimonials describing how it got better for them and at the time, hoped for 100 videos. By January 2011, the project had over 5,000 user-created testimonials.

Savage is editorial director of Seattle newspaper The Stranger. He has written four books, appeared on numerous television networks and writes his own syndicated column called “Savage Love.” On Monday, he described growing up as a gay teen and explained in his own unique mix of blunt, crass humor and sharp intelligence the details of the project. Many times, he said, it is the teen’s own parents who bully and abuse children, and religion often plays a large role in the attempts to assist LGBT youth with their struggles.

 

Students found Savage’s words inspiring.

“I saw my first ‘It Gets Better’ video while I was abroad in London last fall. Then, coincidentally, Bucknell participated in the campaign last spring. I thought that there would be no better way to raise awareness about LGBT bullying and the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign then to have Dan Savage himself come and share his story! So working with Lambda and FLAGBT, I believe he came and gave a moving–and very open–talk about what it means to be gay and bullied, and why it needs to stop. His honesty coupled with a bit of humor, I think, was an excellent way for students to connect and engage with him,” Phil Kim ’12 said.

Other students appreciated Savage’s talk, but questioned whether he was preaching to the choir.

“It’s truly amazing how logical he was as he explained his motives and his success stories. However, the talk would have been more useful if more bigots had come,” Evan Kaufman ’12 said.

During the Q&A session, one student asked how we as students can get involved and help LGBT students on campus, to which Savage said: “You’re doing it by being here.”

For more information on the “It Gets Better” Project, go to www.itgetsbetter.org

 

Categories
Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Inconsistent rulings irritate hockey fans

By Winnie Warner
Arts & Life Layout Editor

It’s NHL playoff season and it has started rough. Rough for heartbroken fans, rough for the losing teams, and especially rough for the players at the mercy of the string of dirty hits and scrums that have defined the first round of playoffs.  In the 28 post-season games that were completed by Wednesday night, there were 1,006 penalty minutes, seven injuries caused by dirty plays and eight suspensions. 

At the center of these controversies is the series between longstanding rivals the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose Game Three resulted in 158 penalty minutes caused by a multitude of scrums, fights, and “chippy” plays.  While Game Three stood out for its more-than-usual rowdiness, it wasn’t that far from the norm of recent Flyers-Penguins games.  The next-to-last regular season match between the two concluded with an end-of-game brawl in which the coaches were climbing over their benches to yell at each other.

Games like these have created the need for the NHL to step in to try and take control of the situation by issuing fines and suspensions. Dirty plays and suspensions are nothing new to the game, but recent years have seen a rise in disputes over hits with intent to injure, such as knee-to-knee hits and “headshots.”

At the helm of this decision process is Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s Vice President of Hockey and Business Development and lead disciplinarian. Shanahan assesses plays in question based upon the extent of the victim’s injury, whether the play appeared intentional, and whether the player in question possesses a history of similar plays.  Now, Shanahan is garnering some flack from fans who feel that the decision processes is flawed and uneven.  Their main rallying point is one of the most controversial plays in the playoffs so far.  In Game One of the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings series, Predators captain Shea Weber checked veteran Red Wing Henrik Zetterberg into the boards and then proceeded to grab Zetterberg’s head and slam it into the glass, all of which occurred within the last seconds of the game.  Zetterberg fell to the ice immediately, but with the protection of his helmet he sustained no injury.  For this, Weber was only fined $2,500.

Fans are becoming more and more irked as they watch their teams’ players receive suspensions while others, like Weber don’t. Their annoyance deepens into anger when they see their favorite players injured by such play time and again.

When a game becomes marred by the loss of a favorite player to injury, or loss of respect for a favorite player who intentionally causes injury, it loses a bit of fun in watching the sport. The playoffs are inherently watched by a larger audience than regular season games, and the large amount of dirty play does nothing to dissuade those who only see hockey players as barbaric thugs on skates. NHL, it is your time to act!