The Bucknellian

Gigi Flynn

Contributing Writer

Josh Hartman has become the new director of residential education at the University this year.

Previously, Hartman worked in residential life at New York University, Dartmouth College, and George Washington University. Hartman said he was drawn to the University by President John Bravman’s leadership.

Hartman’s role is in part to oversee the Residential Assistant (RA) program on campus.

“My job is not a one person position,” Hartman said.

Hartman wants to give RAs budgets to plan more events for their halls. Events such as Swartz Sports and the Gateway BBQ were held in the past few weeks.

Hartman will also oversee changes to the residential landscape of campus caused by new residential buildings, the first of which are slated to open in 2015.

“We want to promote independent living,” Hartman said.

At the beginning of the semester Hartman created an RA council. The council is made up of two RAs from every part of campus and meets every two weeks to discuss issues in residential halls as well as events that they hope to execute.

“I want to learn the culture and the students here at Bucknell,” Hartman said.

Kerong Kelly

Writer

University student and budding entrepreneur Bryan Richman ’14 launched “SharedSpark,” an online dating website open only to University students, on Sept. 15.

Richman, a management major at the University, in collaboration with his friends JJ Augenbraun, a recent graduate from Williams College, and Russell Toris, a Ph.D. student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, developed the idea.

In the fall of 2012, Richman proposed his “sharedspark” idea in front of a panel of alumni judges. As the winner of the first annual Business Pitch Competition, sponsored by the University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Richman and his friends were able to use the $1,500 prize money to create a working prototype for what they had envisioned.

Before entering the competition, Richman ran a market research survey. The results of his survey showed that out of 250 University students, 53 percent said they would be interested in a dating site such as the one Richman proposed.

SharedSpark is a registered not-for-profit business, though eventually Richman and his team would like to transform SharedSpark into a for-profit business. As of now, the total cost of this startup-up was less than $5,000.

“We are not trying to make money off of a product people haven’t seen before and are skeptical about. We’re just trying to make the product better and the only way to do that is to get users. The way to get users is to make it accessible,” Richman said.

The website itself is exclusively geared toward current University students and recent alumni. Users create a profile using their student e-mail addresses to ensure their authenticity. After entering general information such as class year and major, the user then proceeds to find a person. After selecting a profile, the options “fling” or “date” appear.

This simple process keeps both parties’ phone numbers locked unless they show mutual interest by selecting the same combination of either fling or date. A “shared spark” results when there is a mutual selection of both parties involved. The website then suggests local venues, such as downtown Lewisburg restaurants or Bison sporting events.

“What makes SharedSpark different is that it helps you enhance relationships you already have rather than just browsing until you find someone you think is attractive,” Richman said.

In the first two days following its launch, the site attracted over 100 users.

Madeline Diamond

Contributing Writer

Actor and comedian Nick Offerman will headline the University’s annual Center Stage event at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Offerman, who currently stars as Ron Swanson on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” will perform as part of his American Ham tour. Additionally, several student groups will perform, all on the Sojka Lawn. The Campus Activities & Programs (CAP) Center is organizing the event, along with input from students.

“We are excited to have him,” Assistant Director of CAP Chelsea Burghoff said.

The CAP Center is confident that the student body will also be enthused with the University’s choice to invite Offerman to campus because of their involvement in choosing the performer, Burghoff said.

This year, student polls contributed to the university’s choice to invite Offerman.

The student-run organization Activities and Campus Events (ACE) worked with the CAP Center to organize the event. Students involved with ACE contributed some input in choosing the performer and will also help with the event’s production.

“Overall, we are there to help ensure that the entire event runs smoothly,” ACE President Tory Cutting ’14 said.

Center Stage will also feature several student performers; in past years, student a capella and improv groups have performed.

“We like to provide a spotlight on student performers,” Burghoff said.

Before the main performances, the CAP Center will provide a dinner (also on the Sojka Pavillon Lawn) of soup in bread bowls as well as a dessert of s’mores roasted in chimneys placed around the lawn.

The five-year-old Center Stage show has hosted performers including Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers and Kenan Thompson, and B.J. Novak of the former television show “The Office.”