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Editorial Opinion

Editorial: The material included in The Bucknellian should not have to be censored

When a student goes to college, their family expects them to act like an adult. Parents trust their children to make good decisions and live relatively on their own for the first time. There are no curfews or chaperones, but there are flexible class schedules, allowing students to wake up at 8 a.m. or noon. Students have to handle their own problems in classes, take themselves to the doctor, buy their own groceries and drink responsibly. An overwhelming majority of college students are at least 18 years old, and therefore legally considered an “adult,” anyway. College is a step into the real world–a look at what to expect when we move out of our parents’ homes and start living on our own.

So, if we are expected to act like adults, we expect to be treated like adults.

Last week, Geisinger Health System purchased ad space from The Bucknellian, and used it to run an ad on new liposuction technology. Since the paper went to print, we have been informed that this made some faculty members uncomfortable. The Bucknellian values free speech, and any letter sent to the staff will be personally reviewed by the editors-in-chief and printed in the following week’s issue. This is the easiest way to let us know when there is a problem. Not only will we know, but we will openly and willingly print a complaint about our actions in our own publication, for our entire readership to see. However, at no point have any of these faculty members contacted The Bucknellian. Instead, they went to the President’s office, an office completely unaffiliated with our entirely student-run newspaper.

As an adult, it is a college student’s decision as to whether or not they want liposuction, just like it is their decision whether or not they want to go to a bar or a tanning salon, both of which we have run ads for in the past and gotten no backlash for. A college student is an adult. With that in mind, we cater towards an adult audience. We can’t operate under the assumption that our audience is G-rated; it’s just not realistic. And contrary to popular belief, the University is not actually in a bubble. Turn on the TV and anyone–college students, elementary students and college professors alike–will see commercials for birth control, Viagra, liposuction and more. These do not promote promiscuous, irresponsible activity or aim to offend anyone. They serve to inform the public.

The Geisinger ad itself is not prejudiced. It is not racist, it is not sexist, it is not favoring the skinny. Quite the opposite, actually. If the faculty had looked a little closer at the page, they would see that the liposuction ad is placed next to two ads for bars and cheesesteaks. The Bucknellian does not have a bias here. We don’t mind if people want to go to a bar and consume their weight in sirloin steaks and beer. We don’t mind if a student wants to get liposuction. Further, ads placed in our paper do not represent our own opinion as an editorial board or an independent publication. This is clearly stated in The Bucknellian’s Advertising Policy. Ads are our income. We are simply printing information. It is information from the client, not a bias from The Bucknellian. We may not agree with the client’s choice to advertise to this particular audience, but again, that is not our decision.

If a student is curious about liposuction, has thought about it and wants to go through with the procedure, this ad provides them with the information that they deserve to get, from a trusted, respectable health care provider. Actually, Geisinger runs the University’s own Student Health Services. The Bucknellian is not going to censor information from our own University’s health services, or anyone that they have chosen to partner with. These are figures that we should trust, if we are going to trust anyone.

At the end of the day, The Bucknellian staff is comprised of a group of mature, responsible and logical adults. We can defend our choices. We ask to be treated like the adults that we are expected to be, and we strive to give the same respect to our readers and peers. As a student-run publication, there is no one outside of the editorial staff that has the right to tell a company that they can or cannot advertise with us. In the “real world,” not everybody will be happy all the time. That’s just not how life works. So, during this crucial time in our lives when we are expected to be adults and prepare for the challenges of the work force, how are we going to develop problem-solving and confrontation skills when we are still babysat at the first sight of conflict? Unfortunately, as evidenced by the administration’s lack of communication with the students and this student newspaper, we aren’t. How will the student body develop responsible decision-making skills and a strong will against the unattainable perfection and photoshopped beauty of advertisements when we shield them from every possible bad influence? They won’t.

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News

Board moves on plan for uphill housing

BOARD MOVES ON PLAN FOR UPHILL HOUSING,

FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN HOUSING UNSURE

Dean of Students Susan Lantz and Associate Vice President for Facilities Dennis Hawley provided an update last week on the plan for a 340-student residence complex to be opened south of the Bertrand Library by fall of 2015.

The plan was approved in April of 2010 to open fall of 2013 but was put on hold in 2010 to provide further time to study student experiences under the new Dean of Students and President, according to Hawley. The Board will officially approve the development’s budget this April, planned to be approximately $45 million, according to Lantz.

The new complex will include four residential halls and one common building. Each residential hall will have four-person units with living rooms, as well as a central living room. The common building will be a multipurpose space and will include meeting rooms, room for speakers and a grab-and-go eatery. The outdoor area is planned to have open recreational spaces, a fireplace, a teaching wall and “lots of student parking,” Lantz said.

This development comes from a 1998 decision by the Board of Trustees to eliminate downtown housing to enhance student safety, said Associate Dean of Students Dan Remley. Flooding in the downtown area in recent years worsened the conditions of many of the houses and has caused many to be condemned, including 10 houses on Sixth Street. Government grants to tear down these houses expire in 2015. Landlords are agreeing to tear down on a voluntary basis, and four of these houses are scheduled for demolition as soon as this summer. The remaining condemned houses will be torn down the summer of 2014.

The decision to limit 200 students to live downtown beginning fall of 2015 is less stringent than the original 1998 Board of Trustees ban on downtown student housing starting the fall of 2013. University administration has since extended that deadline to a 200-student-cap on downtown housing by fall of 2015. Housing Services is in the process of working with Bucknell Student Government (BSG) to determine the lottery for students to apply for downtown housing. According to Remley, talks with BSG involve determining how to have fair representation of students in that lottery.

These changes in housing also come as part of the University’s recent efforts to enhance student experiences on campus by consolidating the student body onto campus.

“We want to enhance Bucknellians’ experiences, and aggregate spaces for students to engage and converse,” Remley said.

The release of the Campus Climate Report in the fall of 2011 highlighted the lack of common spaces in residential buildings for students to hang out.

“Fraternity houses are some of the only buildings on campus with these sorts of common living rooms. Residential halls like McDonnell or Hunt do have some common spaces but those spaces can be reserved by different organizations or clubs on campus, rather than living spaces that allow for more impromptu social gatherings,” Lantz said.

The University has since created focus groups to improve campus residential halls. In addition to the uphill housing plan, administration has worked to create lounges in Smith and older residential halls, installed 52-inch televisions in 38 residential halls, moved administration offices out of Vedder and replaced them with lounge spaces.

As for the uphill housing plan, administrations hopes to create a place where “peer groups can live among each other,” Remley said.

“This is a way for students to have apartment style living but still live on campus,” Lantz said.

The new uphill housing plan comes as part of the Campus Master Plan published in 2008. The first ground to be broken as part of the plan was in 2011 for Academic West, directly behind the Bertrand Library. The plan prioritizes academic spaces such as Academic West and a new arts building, and includes projects for new residential spaces and altered entrances to campus according to the University website. In addition to planning the construction of uphill housing, the administration recently demolished the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity house and has slated the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house for demolition. In the summer of 2012, the two new houses for these fraternities were rebuilt behind what will become Academic West to make room for Academic buildings.

Lantz addressed the new housing plan at BSG Congress’s open meeting this past Sunday. Some students raised questions about how the downtown-to-uphill shift would impact the campus drinking culture. Lantz addressed concerns about the “pregame” culture on campus, drinking and driving from downtown bars to uphill residential halls, and the tensions between students and local law enforcement officials.

“Pregaming is a major concern on this campus, and the danger of staying in a dormitory room drinking hard alcohol increases when there are less downtown party destinations. If I could get rid of hard alcohol on campus, I would,” Lantz said. “The administration is open to students’ opinions. Should we open Uptown to underage students when it’s serving alcohol? We don’t know. But we’re asking these sorts of questions.”

Students’ questions signified that changes in housing may impact many realms of campus life. President John Bravman will attend this Sunday’s BSG Congress and is expected to take questions from students.

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Arts & Life

“Vagina Monologues” promotes V-Day awareness

 

Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian Gabrielle Wollinski '16 and Monica Herzog '13 perform during the "Vagina Monologues."
Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian
Gabrielle Wollinski ’16 and Monica Herzog ’13 perform during the “Vagina Monologues.”

A Seat at the Vagina Party

Morgan Slade

The “Vagina Monologues” attracted a large crowd of both students and faculty to the Harvey M. Powers Theatre this past weekend. The monologues, written by Tony Award winning playwright Eve Ensler covered a variety of topics relating to … well, the vagina!

There was a humorous rant about pubic hair, an account of a girl in search of her sexuality (appropriately named “The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could”) and even a lengthy re-enactment and description of the different varieties of female orgasms, noises and all. While many of these monologues elicited large roars of laughter from the audience, the performance also touched on many topics more difficult to swallow.

The discussion of rape, incest and genital mutilation provided a stark contrast to the more light-hearted accounts, prompting the audience to think about how an organ so associated with pleasure can be linked to such grotesque and violent acts.

It is this contrast that links the “Vagina Monologues” to the greater movement of V-Day, whose mission is to “promote … creative events to increase awareness, raise funds and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.” The actresses within the University production of the “Vagina Monologues” are among thousands of women around the world who dedicated their time and effort to this international cause.

As an audience member at this public performance, I couldn’t help but relate what I saw on stage to the artwork of Judy Chicago. Chicago, a pioneer of the feminist movement of the 1970s, is most known for her installation “The Dinner Party.”

On permanent display at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, N.Y., this work is a large, triangular table measuring 48 feet on each leg. Spanning the perimeter is a series of 39 place settings, each commemorating a different woman in history. Also included in this installation is the presence of an additional 999 names of important female figures along the floor.

The message behind this piece involves the importance of providing women a “seat at the table.” In other words, Chicago creates this exaggerated representation of a dinner scene in order to provide women a place in the history of the arts. In a way, the “Vagina Monologues” serves a similar purpose but is adapted to the more modern feminist discourse of sexuality.

Bringing these taboo subjects onto the stage, screaming the words “vagina” and “cunt” and drawing attention to the violent acts against women is comparable to the work of Judy Chicago. The actresses who had the courage to act out and discuss these sometimes embarrassing and difficult subjects are, in effect, making a place for these victims at the dinner party.

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Arts & Life

“Zero Dark Thirty” leaves us thinking

 

Courtesy of IMBD.com
Courtesy of IMBD.com

Director Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty,” a follow-up to her 2009 Best Picture, “The Hurt Locker,” is a dramatic retelling of the recent manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bigelow once again collaborated with Mark Boal, a former field journalist who also wrote “The Hurt Locker,” and though the stories are quite different, the pair have a very strong combined signature which permeates both finished works.

The film opens with a blank screen over which we hear the familiar, frantic 9/11 telephone calls from the World Trade Center. This scene starts the movie on a nationally emotional note and sets the tone for the remainder of the film.

Two years later, a young CIA agent named Maya (Jessica Chastain) arrives in Pakistan to join its US embassy team. She is initiated by an older agent (Jason Clarke) into the torture methods utilized to make detainees talk. Though apparently unsettled at first, Maya quickly proves that her youth and sex will not be a deterrent in her ruthless search for bin Laden. Following a series of seemingly irrelevant and unconnected clues, Maya begins to puzzle out bin Laden’s location, despite constant dismissal from superiors and co-workers, passing years and deaths of friends. Nothing interferes with her goal, as the audience ultimately knows it won’t. I mean, we all remember that bin Laden’s dead, so this movie must get around to killing him at some point, right?

Eventually, it does. The actual operation is shot in the green glow of night-vision. The Navy Seals doing the job are not as young or fit as we would expect, but once in action, they’re nothing if not effective. Maya awaits their return to base, where she has the honor of identifying bin Laden’s remains.

“Zero Dark Thirty” has the overall vibe of a semi-documentary which is interesting because the Obama administration denies use of information gleaned from torture as a method of locating bin Laden, but that anxiety runs deep through the beginning of the film. It’s a film without a lot of dialogue, but there are tense stretches that weigh just as heavily as Boal’s actual words.

Most significantly though, this movie does not work without Chastain, or an actress of equal caliber, in the role of Maya. The Oscar buzz around her in the role has been unrelenting and well-deserved. She is the action of the film and her nuanced and compelling performance carries the rest, including many of the already strong supporting cast. Unlike “The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty” does not have a short time frame to work within; it stretches the course of 11 years. That movie also had a much more relatable leading man, the hardened veteran/adrenaline junkie portrayed by Jeremy Renner. Maya is a character much more alien, an obsessed woman without any semblance of a personal life. As the film goes on and the people she knows either leave for better things or die, that obsession only grows.

Student reception, like that of popular and critical audiences, has been largely positive.

“[It’s] a unique film about an event that captured the national imagination. I don’t think it rivals ‘The Hurt Locker’ for epitome of Iraq war movies, however, it does a lot to humanize and immortalize the history of the event,” Kate Wilsterman ’14 said.

“[The film is] a suspenseful movie that left me thinking for days afterwards, a sign of a good movie. It was particularly tense knowing that this movie was a depiction of real events. I would recommend ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ to everyone,” Emily Conners ’14 said.

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News

BACES prepares for trip to Dominican Republic

Olivia Seecof

Writer

The student-led service organization, Bucknell Advancing Communities, Educating & Serving (BACES), travels to the Dominican Republic each year over Spring Break. This organization is the University’s only fully student-led Spring Break service program, and this year 26 students, which is more than ever before, will be traveling to the capital, Santo Domingo.

“BACES has a unique way of bringing people together, advancing not only the communities we visit in the Dominican Republic, but also the Bucknell community,” said Tom Hackett ’14 and Maggie O’Brien ’14, two students who went on the trip last year and are now student leaders. “By creating lasting friendships built on service and teamwork, we strive to overcome the various social barriers that often divide our campus.”

In the Dominican, the students will take part in medical clinic outreach, deliver food to a very impoverished community and spend time with students at a local school. In order to participate in these parts of the trip, the students work with the greater community through many different fundraising efforts.

“We have a very short amount of time to raise a very large amount of money in order for this trip to happen,” President of BACES Daniela Calcagni ’13 said.

The most recent fundraiser BACES held was a three-on-three basketball tournament and they raised $300. During the Lewisburg Ice Festival, BACES sponsored an a capella concert in which various campus groups performed. Many members of both the University and Lewisburg communities attended. In addition to these fundraisers, there are currently photos on display in the Connections Gallery (attached to the Samek Art Gallery on the third floor of the Elaine Langone Center). These photographs highlight the 2011 BACES trip and they will be on sale for $30 a piece at the end of the exhibit. This exhibit will last until Feb. 26.

Besides monetary fundraising, BACES also holds a continuous toy, clothing and medical supply drive. They are always willing to take donations of any of these items, as the people they serve in the Dominican are in great need of basic essentials. People looking to donate, monetarily or otherwise, are encouraged to contact Calcagni at dmc046@bucknell.edu.

Members of this year’s trip are anxious to get to the Dominican Republic and spend time with new friends serving an underserved community.

“One of the best parts about being a leader is getting to watch everyone grow together and become best friends over the span of a week,” Internal Vice President Kristen Ronca ’14 said.

The money that BACES is working to raise will make a large and lasting impact in the Dominican Republic.

“Over the past five years I have watched the BACES students spend countless hours organizing, fundraising and toiling to make the lives of people they don’t know just a little bit better and to expose others to the need that exists in our world,” faculty advisor Trace Coats said.

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Arts & Life Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner

Katie Mancino | The Bucknellian
Katie Mancino | The Bucknellian

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread
70 calories, 2 g fat, 15 carbs, 2 g protein

I don’t try vegan baking often and was a bit wary of using the avocado, but this turned out to be one of the richest and most moist desserts I’ve ever whipped up. It was really simple to throw together and is filled with healthy fat from the avocado, whole grain and has the heart healthy benefits of cocoa. It’s one of those recipes that tastes heavenly and just happens to be great for you too. You could even add other berries like strawberries or blueberries. Seriously, this is one you definitely have to try and don’t forget to top it with tons of fresh raspberries!

Ingredients

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2)

½ medium avocado

½ cup Silk Light Original Soymilk

½ cup dark cocoa powder

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup Truvia Baking Blend

¼ tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

¼ cup organic raspberry preserves

¼ cup vegan chocolate chips

 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F and spray 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Mash avocado and banana together.

3. Mix in soymilk, raspberry and cocoa.

4. Mix in all remaining ingredients.

5. Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clear (this will still be a very moist bread). 

Makes 20 servings

I cut the loaf into 10 almost one-inch slices then in half lengthwise.

cooking corner
cooking corner
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Arts & Life

Rees’ Pieces

Ben Rees

Picnic of the World

The sun shines as the wind weaves its way around wicker baskets gorged with a myriad of deli meats; it must be the first picnic of summertime. That time of year where every nation can grace a gingham blanket with its unique presence, and people from all walks of life gather ’round to swat at thieving ants. This picnic of the world, however, varies somewhat from the song. Each country, after a long year of recorder squeaking, has only one week left of the fifth grade, and this culminating experience is getting a little rowdy. Maybe we should take a closer look through the eyes of Ms. UN, the teacher who is always totally and completely in control. From this point on, all description (translated into six different languages) will be hers.

Thank goodness China has finally come out of his shell. He was so reserved and introverted for the longest time. Something about a forbidden city … oh well, its nice to know that he is finally making friends. Although, I think he may have developed a rather premature cigarette habit; there’s so much smog around his head.

Oh, America, the chubbiest one of the bunch. What! Stop that America! Please refrain from forcing Hard Rock Cafes upon everyone at the party. There is nothing logical about the Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok! And please, Sam, please stop throwing your trash all about! Didn’t you do your monthly presentation on how clean you are?

Now, I can’t for the life of me get control of Egypt. He keeps throwing up and then eating again. It seems as if every time he purges himself in the name of expelling his sickness, all he does is fall back into the same routine and eat again! I just don’t understand it. Ever since Tunisia lit the classroom on fire two Januarys ago, Egypt has become quite volatile.

This picnic is simply madness! I thought I told these children to get along. Being their teacher is no cakewalk. I had to send France home for throwing her 58 Welch’s Grape Juice on Italy’s finely knit ascot.

At least our major bullying problem has ended. For the longest time Russia wouldn’t leave Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Stan alone. He finally had a breakdown and let them all be, but it was quite a lot to mediate for yours truly.

Wait, Iran! Didn’t I tell you no fireworks?! This is not an occasion for those! I understand you don’t want to share your chocolate milk (this is an oil joke) but please, let’s try and work something out.

Why can’t you all be more like Germany? She’s so polite and listens to all the rules. Her über kindness and fiscal responsibility bodes fantastically for the rest of her clique. I wish more people could be like–what, what are you … get your foot off Greece’s neck! I don’t care if you think he is stealing from you!

The best student in the class has to be Britain. She always brings me tea, but I cannot go anywhere near her during this picnic. Watching her eat corn on the cob with those faded, picket fence-like teeth is truly repulsive. Demerits for her!

All in all, today has been a good day. I mediated the usual conflicts and the food was delicious, although America ran off with all of the cheese-sticks. Who would have thought that my role as world moderator could be so easy?

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Arts & Life

Trend Report: Spring Shoes

 

Trend Report: A Sneak Peak at This Spring’s Shoes

By Kate Jansen

This spring’s shoe styles are edgy to say the least. Check out this list of this season’s must-have shoes:

Black and white: Contrast colors have already been a highlight of many designers’ spring look books. White and black patterns, prints and textures on shoes can make a bold statement. Ease into spring by pairing black and white shoes with bright pants and a flowy blouse.

Loafer with a twist: Last fall’s loafer obsession has not burned out just yet. This spring, designers are coming out with fun, preppy loafers in a variety of patterns and colors. I absolutely love Piperlime’s selection of loafers. J. Crew also has their Darby Leather Loafer collection that features a variety of neon hues.

The ankle strap: This look has made its way into the design of pumps, flats and sandals. What I love most about the ankle strap look is that it can be dressed up or down. Paired with light-washed skinny ankle jeans and a loose-fitting top can add a chic dimension to an everyday outfit. For a more formal look, pair these shoes with a sundress or flowy skirt.

Fashion sneakers: This spring’s fashion sneakers feature lots of metallic, studs and–dare I say–Velcro. Flipping through fashion blogs and retail websites reminds me a little of middle school. This spring’s latest trend has put a spotlight on high-top, high-heeled sneakers. Personally, I think that the most unique designs are from Superga, Ash and DKNY.

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News

University enters RecycleMania

Victoria Hollo

Contributing Writer

The University entered a nationwide intercollegiate recycling competition known as RecycleMania on Feb. 10. The program was created in 2001 as a competition between Ohio University and Miami University to increase recycling on both campuses. Since then, the competition has expanded to over 600 colleges representing 49 states and four Canadian provinces. The competition is endorsed by the American Forest and Paper Association and the College & University Recycling Coalition.

The competition will last for eight weeks, ending on March 30, and members of the University community will be challenged to do their best to recycle more and reduce waste all around campus during this time. Encouraging students to raise environmental awareness and promote recycling participation, RecycleMania enters its seventh straight year of competition on campus.

“Schools report recycling and trash data which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the least amount of trash per capita or have the highest recycling rate,” Merritt Pedrick, associate director of operations, said. “With each week’s reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more.”

Last year, the University came in second place among the Patriot League schools with a recycling rate of 19.15 percent. Throughout the entire competition, students and staff across the country collectively recycled 94.4 million pounds of waste.

Ginna Freehling ’15, president of the Environmental Club, warns students about skewing the purpose of the competition.

“In past years we have had conflicting views on the incentives for this competition and the motivation to recycle,” Freehling said. “We have seen students buy cases of bottled water so that their weight in recyclables increases. This is not the purpose of the competition.”

More information about the competition can be found on the RecycleMania website: http://recyclemaniacs.org/

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News

“Whisper” app growing

Emily Welch

Contributing Writer

It is not often that you find college students who confess their insecurities or broadcast their crushes in a Facebook status or Twitter post. However, many students are letting down their walls and sharing guarded secrets through the anonymous “Whisper” application. 
Created in April 2012 by Michael Heyward in response to students’ building pressure to create perfect versions of themselves in other social media outlets, this new iPhone application and website allows college students to post their private thoughts in a public forum that is 100 percent anonymous.

While other anonymous social media forums have existed, such as FormSpring or Facebook’s notorious Honesty Box, Heyward sees Whisper as a mobile-accessible safe space away from vicious comments and posts that often result from other forms of anonymous media.

“It may be comforting to see a kid your own age go through the hard things that you go through because a lot of the times on Facebook people are putting out an image that everything is great and fine when it’s not,” Samantha Deana ’14 said.

According to Heyward, the purpose of Whisper is to help college students feel less alone and more supported in a world that has become increasingly hypercritical and conformist.
 Many public platforms of social media encourage users to craft a public persona that will be viewed and judged by others. Motivations behind writing on a friend’s wall instead of sending a private message, or Tweeting about an event that one is attending, have major social implications and strive to further a person’s outward image to their circle of friends. 
Instead, Whisper does not promote self-image, but self-expression. The forum, built to promote a safe and accepting community, allows users to post statements and thoughts that some might feel too vulnerable confessing to even close friends.

Paging through various “Whispers,” you will find posts about a variety of topics ranging from daily worries and admissions of embarrassing habits, to confusions about sexuality and admissions of loneliness. Some posts are as trivial as “I cannot sleep with socks on. Anyone have the same problem?” or “I prefer men with tattoos,” while others could convey substantial grief. Whispers can be created, sent and viewed within seconds. To post a Whisper, you first choose a photo from the search feature or from your own personal camera roll. After selecting an image, you can adjust the color and tone of the image, an effect similar to Instagram. After entering text and choosing a font, the Whisper is posted and set free amidst the forum of other users’ secrets. An addition tab, called “Nearby,” allows you to view posts by students in close geographic proximity and even shows the relative distance of the user in miles.

Like Facebook, Whisper is an interactive network; users receive notifications if another user has commented on their post, and can even respond to these comments and carry out a conversation with another user in an anonymous setting. In this way, college students can express themselves and garner support from other users who can view, “heart” or reply to posts with similar feelings or concerns.

 

With the recent privacy controversy that has milled about such monster sites as Google and the Path app, skeptics may argue that nothing electronic can remain completely confidential. Yet, Heyward finds the beauty of Whisper in the absence of tracking information or data collection that could lead a post back to a specific user.

“It’s a means through which people can express their personal thoughts on social media without judgment,” Luciana Salles ’14 said.

Currently, over 250,000 students are using the app nationwide and this number is rapidly growing. It is fair to say that Whisper has become a haven and secret retreat for many students.