Month: April 2011

Categories
Sports

Men’s golf finishes 11th of 16

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

At the Rutherford Intercollegiate in State College, Pa. last weekend, the men’s golf team finished 11th out of 16 teams playing with a score of 933. Penn State finished first with a score of 880.

Individually, Dan Bernard ’13 led the team in scoring for the tournament, posting 77, 74 and 78 on the first, second and third days respectively. His total score of 229 was good enough to place him 31st overall. 

Schuyler Stitzer ’14 and Ben Mattingly ’11 followed close behind Bernard, both finishing at 235. Stitzer’s 74 on Sunday, the final day of the tournament, led all Bison players for the day.

At the top of the leader boards, T.J. Howe of Penn State finished an individual first, shooting 70, 73 and 73 in each respective round. His score was one stroke better than the second-place finisher, Jake Katz of Binghamaton.

In the team competition, Penn State was able to hold off a hot Towson Tigers team that was right on the heels of the Nittany Lions, shooting a team 287 on Sunday. This score put the Tigers in second for the tournament and was the best single round score for any team throughout the entire weekend.

The Bison will continue their season next weekend in Annapolis, Md. at the Navy Invitational.

Categories
Sports

Softball suffers 0-4 weekend

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

The softball team suffered a tough weekend, going 0-4 in its second Patriot League series on the road at Colgate.

The Bison took a close loss in the last game of the series on Sunday falling 5-4 to the Raiders. The Orange and Blue came out ready to play sending all three Raiders back to the dugout in order in the first. Colgate answered by taking a 2-0 lead by the fourth. The Bison rallied in the fourth with Jessie Snyder ’11 putting the first run on the board for the team. Alison Ford ’11 and Elyse Colmenero ’11 each doubled to bring in a run, putting the Bison in the lead 3-2. By the seventh inning, the Raiders had taken a two-run lead over the Orange and Blue. The Bison rallied in the seventh but put only one more run on the board before the last out.

The Orange and Blue suffered another tough loss earlier on Sunday falling 9-0 to the Raiders in their first game of the day. Colgate’s offense came out strong, taking a 6-0 lead over the Bison by the third inning. The team managed to put runners in scoring position in the first three innings but could not bring anyone around. The Bison defense held off the Raiders until the sixth inning, but the offense could not find momentum of their own. Colgate plated three more runs in the sixth that went unanswered by the Orange and Blue for the sweep.

On Saturday the Bison dropped their second game 5-2 to the Raiders. Both teams were slow to start with the game remaining scoreless until the fourth inning. Colgate was the first to put runs on the board,  gaining a 3-0 lead over the Bison. Snyder led off the fifth inning with a single and eventually made it around, giving the Orange and Blue their first run of the game. In the sixth inning, Mallory Lyons ’14 led off with a single and was brought home off a single by Kathryn Wilkinson ’13 to close the gap. The Raiders increased their lead with two more runs in the sixth. The Bison could not answer with any more runs of their own to give the Raiders a second win.

Earlier in the day, Colgate broke open the first game early in their 3-2 win over the Bison posting three runs in the first inning. The Bison were quick to answer in the second. Ford led off the inning taking advantage of Colgate’s errors to advance to second. Colmenero drove Ford in with her first home run of the season to make it a one run game. Alex Maclean ’13 held the Raiders back from the mound allowing only one hit in the last five innings. The Orange and Blue offense could not rally giving Colgate their first win of the series.

The team’s games against St. Francis were postponed until Thursday afternoon. The Bison will be on the road again to face Holy Cross tomorrow and Sunday.

Categories
Featured Sports

Clark ’13 blasts three homers in series

By Chris McCree

Writer

Despite notable individual efforts from Travis Clark ’13 and Doug Shribman ’11, the men’s baseball team dropped three of four during this weekend’s pivotal four-game series at Holy Cross.

“We knew Holy Cross was a very good baseball team going into the weekend, and we felt prepared to compete with them,” David Duffett ’12 said. “They got off to a fast start and scored some runs early to open up the weekend. We knew we were in for a battle.”

During day two of the series, the Bison didn’t fare as well as they had hoped, losing both games, including a heartbreaking 6-5 loss in game three.

During the final game of the series, Shribman belted two home runs and batted in six runs, but the Bison still fell by a 13-7 margin. Starter Jack Boehm ’12 lasted just one inning on the mound, allowing five runs. The pitching woes continued throughout the game as the Bison used five different pitchers over the course of the contest.

Facing a 3-0 deficit after the first inning of play in game three, the Bison battled back to tie the game in the fifth thanks to a crucial two-RBI double by Bob Donato ’12 and three hits by Duffett. Unfortunately, a late-inning Orange and Blue error allowed the Crusaders to regain a one-run lead and hold on for the victory.

After splitting the first day of play one game apiece, the series showed every indication that it would be a great battle. On the day, each team recorded their own 8-5 victory, yet in very different ways.

Game two stayed tight the entire game, setting the stage for an unlikely hero to bring home the victory for the Bison. Going into the eighth, the two teams were squared at five runs apiece yet with one swing of the bat, Clark was able to break the tie with his third home run of the day. Amazingly, Clark had not hit a home run in his career as a Bison coming into the series, yet he managed three in one day, including the very important game-breaking home run in game two. Donato had a home run of his own in the fifth inning as the Bison continued to use the long ball to their advantage.

In game one, the Crusaders got out to an early lead and never looked back. The Bison received a shaky pitching performance from Dylan Seeley ’11, giving up eight earned runs in 4.2 innings and recorded three of their five runs in the last two innings, when the game was already out of hand.

With the three losses on the weekend, the Bison now find themselves in a difficult spot at the bottom of the Patriot League.

“We were surprised that we didn’t win at least two games,” Donato said. “We are now at a point where every game matters. It’s time to bear down and focus on what we need to accomplish as a team.”

This weekend, the Bison will travel to Navy for a four-game series.

“We know what has to be done now, and we are very close to putting it all together,” Clark said. “Everyone’s pretty confident that with a few adjustments we can win the next three series and grab a spot in the playoffs.”

Categories
Sports

Women’s tennis wins two in league play

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

The women’s tennis team had a busy week of play, losing to Army at home on Saturday (0-7), and then sweeping Lafayette at home on Sunday and Lehigh on the road Tuesday afternoon, both 7-0. The Bison finished off Patriot League play with a record of 3-2, and are 9-10 overall.

The Orange and Blue put up a fight but ultimately fell to the Black Knights. In doubles play, Dara Dwojewski ’11 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 were the only Bison pair to win more than one game, but lost 8-2. In singles play, Courtney Casey ’12 and Lauren Lucido ’11 each forced their opponents into a third set, but neither was able to clench the point.

“Although we suffered a tough loss against Army, everyone on our team put out a strong effort and all the matches were close,” Casey said. “This shows us that we have the potential to win the Patriot League Tournament if we put all our nerves aside next weekend and go out there and play our hardest.”

The Bison rebounded from their loss on Saturday to sweep the Lafayette Leopards at home on Senior Day. Lucido, who was recently named Patriot League Women’s Tennis Player of the Month, did not allow a single game to her foe, defeating Allie Serranko in first singles 6-0, 6-0.

Fellow seniors Lauren Rottkamp and Dwojewski, who were honored before the match with Lucido, also won third and sixth singles, respectively.

The Bison traveled to Lehigh on Tuesday to continue their winning streak, defeating the Mountain Hawks 7-0.  Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Lucido took first doubles, Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Casey won second doubles, and Dwojewski and Vidrascu took third.

The Bison also dominated singles play against Lehigh, where Lucido, Iepuras, Rottkamp, Casey and Dwojewski each won in straight sets.

Although the Lehigh competition wrapped up regular-season Patriot League for the Bison, they will compete against Georgetown and Bloomsburg before traveling to Annapolis, Md. where Navy will host the Patriot League Tournament April 22-24.

Categories
Sports

Men’s tennis takes down two league opponents

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The men’s tennis team continued its march through the Patriot League at home last weekend with a dominating 6-1 win against Lafayette  and a tooth-and-nail victory over Lehigh 5-2 as it heads into the tournament.

On senior day against Lafayette, Mark Malloy ’11 and Anton Kovic ’11, the Bison’s dynamic duo, continued to show their ability to lead the Orange and Blue to the best campaign since 2008.

The Orange and Blue started the match by taking the doubles points with wins from the first and third pairings.

The Bison continued with brilliant play from Gregg Cohenca ’12, Evan Zimmer ’13, Kyle Rosen ’14, Malloy and Josh Katten ’13 in singles play. Even Kovic, falling at the second singles position, lost an extremely tight match 7-5, 5-7 (10-3). The day overall was completely dominated by the Bison.

“The cold weather does make it hard for our team to compete with other Patriot League opponents who do have indoor facilities,” Katten said. “While it does impede our practice, our guys have done a great job of making use with the hand that we have been dealt.”

Uncharacteristically, the Orange and Blue fell behind early as they dropped the doubles matches to Lehigh, allowing them to take a 1-0 lead.

“After losing the doubles point, we came out strong in singles,” Malloy said. “It just shows that no matter what happens at the beginning of the match, if you continue to play your game and have confidence in the team, we will come away with the win.”

Kovic was the first to secure a victory for the team, taking care of his opponent handily in straight sets. Next, Malloy retired his opponent also in straight sets to put the Bison back on the right side of the scoreboard.

Rosen, Zimmer and Cohenca rounded out the scoring for the Bison, helping to shut the door on any  of a Mountain Hawk comeback.

“This definitely builds confidence in that we know we can win close matches. It also teaches us not to take anyone lightly, too,” Morque said.

The next and possibly most important event for the Orange and Blue this season will be the Patriot League Tournament held at Lehigh University. The Bison will battle perennial foes Navy and Army in hopes of securing an NCAA berth.

“This year, the Patriot League Championship is up for grabs. The gap between all the teams is very tight, and on any given day, any team can come away with the win,” Malloy said.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial: Charity fatigue?

At this point in the semester, virtually everywhere you turn on campus, someone is raising money for some type of charity. With the Day without Shoes last Tuesday, Bands and Bikes and the Running of the Bison coming up this weekend, the Management 101 companies selling their products, many students already collecting donations for Relay for Life, and many more similar events on the horizon, there is no excuse to not be aware of how many important causes need our help. These philanthropic efforts are generally at least moderately successful, but at the same time, observing how people participate in them makes us question how much the student community really cares.

For example, we saw few people on campus actually participate in the Day without Shoes. While this was surely largely due to the cold and rainy weather, truly dedicated students should have participated nevertheless. The willingness of those students who did participate to brave the weather significantly increased the visibility of their cause, emphasizing the plight of people who must go without shoes in bad weather as well as good. We commend the students who went without shoes, but we wish that more would have joined them.

Despite the prevalence of philanthropic efforts on campus, we wonder just how deeply students actually care about them. Greeks raise thousands of dollars and work many service hours for various charitable organizations, but we suspect that these endeavors have more to do with Plan for Prominence requirements than with genuine passion—hence the many students who go out of the way to get their hours in the least effort-intensive ways possible. Most people who buy Management 101 products do so because they want the products, not because they particularly care where the profits go.

We wonder if the student community might be suffering from a sort of “charity fatigue.” Students cannot participate in all of the worthy causes without either spending a huge amount of money or ultimately contributing a small, insignificant amount to each individual cause. Furthermore, with so many people soliciting time and money for so many important charities, we are worried that students are starting to tune them out; the presence of so many events makes it harder to get excited about any particular ones. Perhaps if we concentrated more of our efforts as a community on a smaller number of causes, we could get more deeply involved and ultimately make more of an impact.

Still, with the possible exception of students required to do charity for classes, at least the students organizing all these events really do care deeply about them. The end result may not be enough to cause major widespread social change, but it is still more than what was started with. So while the attitudes of the larger University community toward charity may not be ideal, what does get accomplished is certainly better than nothing.

Categories
Uncategorized

Hot/Cold Week 9

Hot:  UConn Basketball

Based solely on the facts that our shooting percentage and number of points scored against UConn were both higher than those of Butler, our men’s basketball team is basically the No. 2 team in the country right now. Next year, we will continue to root for the Bison and they will become the coveted official NCAA champions.

Tepid:  Goo Goo Dolls Concert

While some students are looking forward to the Goo Goo Dolls show tonight, not everyone is extremely enthusiastic about the band coming. Around campus, there’s a lack of excitement for the concert, mainly due to the lack of major success from the group’s most recent album. Most of us are still singing “Iris” and “Better Days,” songs that came out on their 2006 album. The spring concert pales in comparison to the fall concert with Ke$ha.

Cold:  Getting Locked out of Classes

As the class of 2014 prepares to choose courses for next semester, those of us from the classes of 2013 and 2012 apologize for leaving you the worst of the worst classes and times. We realize it’s a drag to end up taking a Physics 211 lab at 8 a.m. on Monday morning, but we’ve done our fair share of early mornings, and now it’s your turn.

Categories
Opinion

Student Emergency Response Volunteers should keep house

By Phil Kim

Special Contributor

[Editor’s Note: Phil Kim is president of Bucknell Student Government.]

Last week, the leadership of the Student Emergency Response Volunteers (SERV) reached out to Bucknell Student Government (BSG) about the loss of their University housing on Sixth Street, Edwards House. We would like to give you some background as to what SERV has experienced here at the University and the influence that this organization has on our daily lives.

SERV and a downtown house have always gone hand-in-hand. For over a decade this organization’s home has been a place to live and run the organization effectively. Every emergency medical organization around the country responds from a central location, and Edwards House (and previously Martin House) has provided SERV with that. This living style is crucial to the way in which the organization can function in a professional manner.

This year, Residential Education and Fraternity and Sorority Affairs re-introduced the application process for the Small Houses Program on campus. SERV, which is not a formally recognized organization under BSG, is instead a wholly-funded division of the University’s Department of Public Safety. In past years, SERV has had an automatic renewal of their housing and was under the impression that this new application process was simply a matter of formality.

Taking away Edwards House from SERV threatens the functionality of an organization that truly impacts the campus environment. A house is crucial to the way in which the organization can function and allow medically-trained personnel to respond as a single professional unit to both campus and University emergencies, while at the same time serving the local fire station. Numerous modifications were made to Edwards House over the past few years to accommodate the space needed for a 24/7 fire and EMS responder unit. The house’s bunkroom, for example, serves numerous purposes such as a place for on-call responders to sleep at night.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH) has certified this space as able to maintain prescription drugs and HIPPA-compliant reporting computer and database software used to communicate with the PADOH and SERV’s Medical Command. Thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies and both campus and county communications equipment are certified to be stored in a secure location in the house in which only medically-trained personnel are allowed access. For this reason, it would be a great challenge and of significant expense to move all equipment and modifications from Edwards House to an alternative location.

SERV has been offered alternative locations on campus, though moving the location of SERV’s headquarters from Edwards House to any other location on campus may add crucial minutes to a response call: time that those in danger do not have. Lastly, from our understanding, Chief of Public Safety Jason Friedberg, who oversees SERV, was never consulted or informed of this decision. Given his involvement in SERV, it would seem that a change of this magnitude would be brought to Chief Friedberg prior to the final decision.

For over 20 years, members of SERV have volunteered hundreds of hours of their lives, every week giving back to the community. SERV’s community service is of the ultimate and most personal form, literally affecting the lives of the individuals they come in contact with. SERV provides a service that, in the opinion of BSG, no organization or club can fulfill. Considering that SERV is not compensated in any way for what they do, what they turn to as their reward of service is the house in which they currently reside and the camaraderie that results from that. This house is essential to the organization.

Though BSG has no formal jurisdiction over SERV or the Small Housing process, we believe it is in the best interest of University students that SERV remain in their current location and be given the permission to reside in a proper housing facility indefinitely. With confidence from the BSG Executive Board, BSG Executive Committee, BSG Congress, SERV and Public Safety, it is with strong support that we view SERV’s work to be invaluable on our campus and should be entitled to remain in Edwards House. We strongly urge University administration to re-evaluate the Office of Residential Education’s decision and ask that SERV’s home be reinstated. Any questions or comments are welcome and may be directed to the BSG Executive Board at BSG@bucknell.edu.

Categories
Uncategorized

Public Safety Log Week 9

Wednesday, March 30

 

ALARM/INTRUSION

Computer Center: Caused by employee.

 

WELFARE CHECK

Swartz Hall: Individual located.

 

ALARM/INTRUSION

Golf Course: Caused by employee.

 

LIQUOR LAW VIOLATION

Swartz Hall: Judicial referral.

 

DRUG LAW VIOLATION

Leiser House: Unfounded.

 

Thursday, March 31

 

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

Farm Lot: Under investigation.

 

DRUG LAW VIOLATION

Larison Hall: Report filed.

 

ASSIST/POLICE

Bucknell West: Assisted by Lewisburg Police Department.

 

ASSIST/POLICE

Harris Hall: Assisted by Lewisburg Police Department.

 

ALARM/FIRE

Bucknell West: Caused by cooking.

 

Friday, April 1

 

BURGLARY

Art Barn Storage Shed: Under investigation.

 

THEFT

Swartz Hall: Under investigation.

 

THEFT

O’Leary Building: Under investigation.

 

SEXUAL ASSAULT (Occurred on March 27)

Unknown: Advocate report.

 

ALARM/INTRUSION

Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library: Accidental activation.

 

Saturday, April 2

 

TAMPERING WITH FIRE EQUIPMENT

Vedder Hall: Under investigation.

 

LIQUOR LAW VIOLATION

Vedder Hall: Judicial referral.

 

HARASSMENT

Smith Quad: Under investigation.

 

DRUG LAW VIOLATION

Smith Hall: Judicial referral.

 

ASSIST/POLICE

Smith Hall: Assisted by Lewisburg Police Department.

 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

Smith Hall: Under investigation.

 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

Marts Hall: Under investigation.

 

TRESPASS

Bucknell Natural Area: Referred to Pennsylvania State Police.

 

PROPERTY/DAMAGE

Hulley House: Under investigation.

 

ALARM/FIRE

Hunt Hall: Caused by cooking.

 

PROPERTY/FOUND

Coleman Hall: Owner located.

 

DRUG LAW VIOLATION

McDonnell Hall: Unfounded.

 

Sunday, April 3

 

LIQUOR LAW VIOLATION

Harris Hall: Judicial referral.

 

THEFT

Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center: Under investigation.

 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

McDonnell Hall: Under investigation.

 

EMS TRANSPORT

Kinney Natatorium: Transported for treatment.

 

ALARM/INTRUSION

Kappa Delta Rho: Cause unknown.

 

ALARM/FIRE

McDonnell Hall: Caused by cooking.

 

Monday, April 4

 

THEFT

Special Interest Parking Lot: Under investigation.

 

THEFT

Special Interest Parking Lot: Under investigation.

 

THEFT

Special Interest Parking Lot: Under investigation.

 

ASSIST/POLICE

Bucknell West: Assisted by Lewisburg Police Department.

 

DRUG LAW VIOLATION

Bucknell West: Judicial referral.

 

Tuesday, April 5

 

PROPERTY/FOUND

Elaine Langone Center: Report filed.

 

ALARM/FIRE

Taylor Street House: Accidental activation.

 

THEFT

Carey House Lot: Under investigation.

 

THEFT

Carey House Lot: Under investigation.

 

Categories
Opinion

Housing lottery system needs reform

By Brian Shoener

Contributing Writer

Housing. For most of you, it will all be over by the time you read this. As I write this, people are fretting about where they will live, whom they will live with (or near) and if they even have the chance of getting the room of their dreams.

Of course this anxiety rises out of the entirely random lottery numbers. What I would truly love to know is why the lottery numbers are random. There are quite a few factors that could be used to determine students’ lottery numbers.

I have talked to others about this, and most of us feel that an appropriate way to determine lottery number would be by basing on students’ GPA. So many people here work as hard as then can, keeping their eyes on the goal of a financially secure future. Why should they have to suffer and worry about where they will live?

They should at least get this small break for their diligence. I’m sure some people would get shortchanged (if they have a bad semester, for example), but I feel that in general, things would work out well.

My other problem with housing is the way rooms are partitioned. I understand and support co-ed floors, but I don’t get why rooms must have a gender assigned to them. This is the 21st century; there must be some way to make it so that a certain number of men and women are on a given floor without predetermining what gender can go in which room.

I had to pick a bad room on the hall I was blocking on because there was only one more “male” room. None of the better female rooms were taken yet, but I couldn’t choose them.

I have very little knowledge of computer programming, but I can’t imagine that it would be difficult to write something to regulate how many of each respective gender is on each hall. The partitioning might be so that everyone has an equal chance to get a good room, but I need a clearly defined reason before I can go along with it.

With these two relatively simple changes, housing could be much less stressful than the chaotic mess it currently is.