The Bucknellian

W. Morris Fierman

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed a measure to privatize the state’s liquor stores and sell wine and spirits permits to private vendors.

The measure, pushed for by Governor Tom Corbett, passed the house without a single Democrat voting in favor. The bill will now move to the State Senate and is likely to be heavily deliberated.

Pennsylvania is home to some of the most stringent controls on the sale of wine and spirits in the nation. The state is one of 18 to maintain a monopoly over the sale of such beverages.

“We do need to modernize our alcohol sales system and there is much we can do to accomplish that without putting 5,000 state workers out of work, putting hundreds of family-owned beer distributorships out of business, increasing alcohol-related deaths and crime and selling a state asset that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for our general fund,” Democratic State Representative Phyllis Mundy said.

Controlling the sale of wine and spirits has provided a steady source of revenue for the cash-strapped state, though Corbett has said that he believes the sale of permits to vendors as well as future taxation would balance out in the end.

Most supporters of privatization claim that controlling wine and spirits sales is not a vital state function and that the current system is outdated.

State Senator Gene Yaw, a Republican whose constituency includes the University, said in an interview with The Bucknellian that the main concern for constituents was convenience. People wishing to purchase alcohol must go to a state-run store, while in most states they can do anywhere alcohol is sold.

Mundy also agreed that her constituency was telling her that convenience was a priority. The measure passed by the House allows for beer distributors to have priority in buying the 1,200 licenses that will become available. Grocery stores, which were given the ability to sell beer in 2010, will be able to stock wine but not spirits or malt beverages.

Washington state passed a measure last year to privatize its liquor stores and consumers have noticed a significant spike in prices due to taxation by the state. Reuters reported that prices were about 10 to 30 percent higher statewide after the privatization plan was carried out.

When asked about the effect privatization would have on prices, Yaw said “I don’t know. I’ve heard both sides of the argument.”

As for the possibility of the bill passing the State Senate in its current form,  “No,” said Yaw.

Morgan Slade

Contributing Writer

Curator, to curate, curatorial. I was unfamiliar with this role, practice and verb until I delved deep into my art history major. In my field of study, it refers to the act of organizing, taking charge and pulling together works of art to create a finished product–an exhibition.

In the context of the University, it is something that every member of the class of 2013 has done during his or her four years here. Whatever your discipline, you have effectively navigated through this University with the ability to arrange all of these pieces into something that makes sense, that fits your curatorial taste.

This curatorial taste may have taken some time to develop–after all, the first exhibition is rarely the most coherent and successful.

Most of us came to campus in August 2009 as young and inexperienced curators. Maybe you didn’t get to choose your exhibition space. You wanted to show in the newly renovated, swanky halls of McDonnell or you preferred the more historic, cozy feel of Larison. Whatever the case, you made due; you familiarized yourself with the security guards (RAs), learned the lay of the land and organized the space with an arrangement of colorful new friends and acquaintances.

As you continued your work, you began to take on more responsibility by joining clubs and intramural teams, essentially committing yourself to a few more exhibitions a year. Some of us even chose to curate letters across our chests (i.e. joined a Greek organization).

Each year, we are promoted to a higher and higher position of responsibility, but at the same time, we assume a greater sense of independence, taking liberty in how and where we organized our lives.

While some continued to hone their skills on campus, others decided to travel their exhibitions abroad to Cape Town, London, Florence and China; some taking their colleagues along for the ride.

Soon enough, we become authorities in our fields. We know the ins-and-outs of each gallery and each object from the permanent collection.

Like any notable curator, we take from the world around us–our professors, our peers, the environment–but we still manage to make it our own. We also rely heavily on the curators that have assumed these roles before us: the alumni that have built this foundation and will continue to be mentors, familiar faces and symbols of achievement.

But like any exhibition, there is a duration. A time for enjoyment, to gather meaning from this specific composition of similar yet different components at this specific time in this specific location.

We will move onto the next exhibition, the unknown, and will leave behind the campus that we have molded and formed for the next set of curators.

The exhibition may be archived, but the individual works and artists that made them will travel to different cities like New York, Chicago, London or Hong Kong. Many will come back here to work, to reminisce and to visit children that follow in their footsteps; maybe soon and maybe 30 years from now.

The class of 2013 fits nicely into this plot of land in Lewisburg, Pa. The walls of this figurative gallery may be painted over, but the memory of our class will be forever imprinted in the audience’s eyes. Who curates? We do.

30 Minute Italian Wedding Soup

Per cup (no meatballs): 52 calories, 1g of fat, 9g of carbs, 2g of protein

Each Meatball: 15 calories, 0.5g of fat, 1g of carbs, 2g of protein

Makes 9 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic

4 cups (1 bunch) escarole

1/4 cup dried pearl barley

2 Tbsp parmesan

1/2 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp each rosemary and thyme

 

For the Meatballs:

1/2 pound 94 percent lean ground turkey

2 Tbsp parmesan

2 Tbsp Italian breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 egg white

1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

 

Directions

1. Over medium heat, cook olive oil, carrots, onion, celery and garlic for five minutes until soft.

2. While vegetables are cooking, heat oven to 350 F. Mix together all meatball ingredients and roll into 30 mini meatballs. Bake 10-15 minutes until fully cooked.

3. Once vegetables are soft add 10-12 cups of water, escarole and spices. Let cook for 20 minutes then add barley and meatballs.

4. Finish cooking for five more minutes, stir in parmesan and enjoy!

Ben Rees

Screenwriter Extraordinaire

Some things in life simply stump me. I don’t understand the vastness of the universe, I cannot fathom why anyone watches Conan O’Brien and, for the life of me, I have no idea why I went to college instead of becoming a screenwriter. My father told me I’d be wasting my academic talents, and my friends said I would never make it. Well, to silence all the naysayers, I have outlined my masterful manuscripts for your benefit so that my loving fans may sing my praises. Action!

Screenplay #1: Submerged under the filthy streets of New York, inhabiting the dark underworld of the sewers, lies the most terrifying man to ever have taken the Hippocratic Oath. Some nights, when the moon is full and the stars are eerily dim, he emerges from the pest-ridden tunnels, only to prey on his next victim. Can’t you feel your skin throbbing? Doesn’t that strange bump on your back pulse at an increased rate? Well, keep your shirt on, because the deranged dermatologist of Manhattan is coming to drain your sores. Introducing: “The Exorcyst.”

Screenplay #2: This fall, get ready for the documentary sensation of the year. It is a tale of our current economic hardships and the tough times we all endure. It encourages productive, proactive behavior, and attempts to make sure nobody gets left behind. It is entitled “Ferris Bueller’s Four Years Off: Unemployment Hardships in America.”

Screenplay #3: Men, fear not the consequences of crying. This tale of boyhood sorrow will infallibly yank at the heartstrings of every man, woman and child alike. There is no greater heartbreaker than the misery of a poor, poor boy who lost his favorite childhood possession. This Christmas, come see the heart-wrenching film of the year that is guaranteed to blow you away, “Gone With the Wind: A Tale of My Favorite Baseball Cap.”

Screenplay #4: “The Lord of the Rings: The Don King Story”

TV Pilot: MTV’s “True Life” only scraped the surface of America’s deepest, darkest secrets. Why focus on what you are when you preemptively explore what people might possibly become? This week, on “True Life … Maybe One Day, If Things Go My Way,” we explore little five-year-old Tina. See her play with those ABC blocks? Well, maybe one day, if things go her way, she could become a teacher.

Little Ralphie always wanted to make a name for himself. All of a sudden, he began mounting Beanie Babies on all the walls in his house. He must have a dream that he wants to attain! Catch him next week on: “True Life … M.O.D.I.T.G.M.W., I Kind of Want to Be a Taxidermist Someday.”

Who says I don’t have talent?