Author: Amanda Ayers

By Sara Blair Matthews
Assistant News Editor

Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law requires voters, beginning in November of this year, to present a photo ID with an expiration date every time they vote. Pennsylvania driver’s licenses, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID or a photo ID from an accredited Pennsylvania public or private college will be accepted.

This could be problematic for University students without a Pennsylvania driver’s license or passport, as the University does not have any immediate plans to add an expiration date to its ID cards.

“I think that the new law has the potential to decrease campus voter participation significantly … [Out-of-state college] students will not be able to register and vote at Bucknell as things currently stand—despite the fact that the law still otherwise permits them to do so,” said associate professor of political science Scott Meinke.

Many students have demonstrated concern that the University will not give students enough advance notice before ballots are cast in November.

“It should be stressed well in advance of the election that BUIDs won’t be accepted, to make sure no one who wants to vote is disenfranchised,” Wade Payson-Denney ’13 said.

Talk over this new law has brought up the larger issue of the importance of voting for young people.

“I do believe it is important for students to vote. We are fortunate to live in a country where we can openly express our political perspectives. Voting is one the best ways to express one’s political views. We are given the chance to play an active role in how our government operates. Not all people around the world can say that,” Tim Bolte ’12 said.

Another student expressed similar views.

“If you vote once, you are more likely to vote again. Voting will push people to start paying attention to the news, and it will push people to care about the issues they are voting for. Later in life when you start paying the bills you will start caring about these things, so you might as well start caring about them now,” Josh Wilson ’15 said.

Meinke believes that the young voter turnout has much room for growth. He said although many college-aged Americans are politically engaged, the youngest segment of the electorate participates at the lowest rate. Even in 2008, when the youth vote increased substantially, college-aged voters turned out at a lower rate than older voters.

“One potential consequence of this imbalance is that elected officials may pay disproportionately more attention to the particular interests of older Americans who vote more,” Meinke said.

In order to improve University students’ voter participation, Bolte belives there should be more open political discussion among students.

“There have been recent cases (the shut down of the affirmative action bake sale and the halting of Obama health care dollars distribution) where the University has actively sought to suppress political speech on campus. The University should encourage the spread of political ideas among its students, not suppress them,” Bolte said.

“I think the most effective way for Bucknell to gather more student voters would be for student groups such as the College Democrats or the Bucknell Conservatives Club to orchestrate voter registration drives,” Payson-Denney said.

When asked what a good resource was for gaining knowledge about a candidate’s platforms, Meinke pointed out that the websites of major newspapers usually have detailed candidate profiles and issue information that can be very helpful. For those who are interested in digging even deeper, Project Vote Smart gives non-partisan issue information on both incumbent and challenger candidates.

“[I think it’s important to stress] that you don’t have to be a political science major in order to be interested in politics. In theory, a democracy won’t function if there are too many people who don’t care about its issues,” Wilson said.

By Jenni Whalen
Senior Writer

In addition to the well-known drunk driving simulations, students can participate in University events for a total of 20 hours in order to eliminate one point from their record. This spring, students were invited via the Message Center to help set up and clean up for the Spring Concert and/or Chrysalis in order to help clear their records.

Although the concert has already passed, students can still help the University from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 26 and from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m on Friday, April 27 at Chrysalis.

“The Nelly and Chrysalys cleanups are great ways to eliminate points. It’s not too much work, and it’s a good way to lend a helping hand,” Hayden Yancey ’14, a participant, said.

While at the University, students may acquire points as a result of participation in illegal activity, most frequently associated with underage drinking. Punishments can range from a one-point penalty for carrying an open container of alcohol to a nine-point penalty for driving under the influence at dangerous levels of intoxication. At the most, students may receive a 10-point penalty for drinking that is associated with violence and results in physical injury, according to the University’s Alcohol Policy. Most points are also accompanied by a fine of some sort.

Many University students receive a point or two during their undergraduate careers due to their presence in a room with alcohol paraphernalia or some other minor offense. But all students are able to remove a point per year from their records. According to Forgiveness IV of the Alcohol Policy, “A student may receive a one point reduction by attending scheduled alcohol programs throughout the academic year.”

Many students choose to attend drinking and driving simulations on campus as a way to eliminate points from their record each year.

“I did a drunk driving simulation freshman year and had to write a little blurb about it,” said a senior who chose to remain anonymous. “It only gets rid of one point, but I only had one, so it went away completely.”

In addition, a student who completes a full calendar year from the date of the initial incident without another alcohol violation will receive an immediate reduction of one point, and a student who accumulates six or fewer points through September 15 of senior year will have those points removed from his or her student record.

According to Assistant Dean of Students and Student Conduct Administrator Chip Marrara, the work students do to erase their points will be physical and students will be expected to move heavy objects. It should be noted that all students who wish to eliminate points are invited to register as soon as possible. Students who sign up and do not work the hours indicated will be cited for “Failure to Comply” and will receive an additional fine in addition to the hours they do not complete.

By Esra Sardag
Contributing Writer

The brothers of Delta Upsilon Fraternity wrote, directed and performed in their 92nd annual Demie Play, entitled “DU Goes to Frat Camp,” on April 14 at 8 p.m. The comedy, a philanthropy event to benefit the Charles Pollack Memorial Scholarship Fund and Global Service Initiative, told the story of the brothers being sent to “Frat Camp,” a fraternity rehabilitation camp, after getting caught breaking many campus rules during a night of hazing. The brothers went through several challenges such as a trivia game to prove that they learned the true values of brotherhood and save themselves from the embarrassment of getting kicked off.

“When writing this year’s Demie Play, the writing team strove to draw out many of the controversies surrounding the Campus Climate Report and the administration’s reaction to it,” John Fowler ’14 said. “The report has been one of the biggest topics on campus, and we wanted to display our reaction to the report in a comedic fashion.”

Donations have historically gone to the Charles Pollack Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is awarded every year to students at the University who have demonstrated financial need. It was founded by Pollack’s wife, Gayle Pollock, to honor his memory. Pollock was widely regarded as a role model in his leadership positions at the University as Assistant to the President, Vice President for Student Affairs and Vice President for External Relations. Pollock also impacted Delta Upsilon fraternity’s successful reinstatement to campus on during the 2006-2007 academic year.

“We raise money for philanthropy through two methods. The first way is through traditional ticket sales. The other is by selling ad space in our playbill,” Jason White ’12 said.

Donations also went to the Global Service Initiative, Delta Upsilon’s national philanthropy organization. Members engage and fundraise to help developing nations while uniting their actions with the principles of the fraternity. For example, brother and playwright Connor Beach ’14 will be participating in a trip to Jamaica to be building extra classrooms for a local school.

The brothers showcased their various talents in the performance.

“We have many talented actors, writers and set designers who just need an event that they can work toward,” Matthew McAnear ’13 said. “We had a decent showing at this year’s play, but we’d love to expand the tradition into the future.”

The brothers of Delta Upsilon fraternity were pleased with the result and are hoping for an even better turnout in the future.

Jason Pepe
Writer

As the spring semester comes to a close, Greek organizations around campus are already beginning to recruit potential new members (PNMs). Fraternities invited potential new members to their houses to watch the NCAA men’s basketball championship on Monday, April 2. The Panhellenic Council hosted Open Suites last Sunday in Hunt Hall to further acclimate PNMs to the sorority recruiting process.

The first round of open suites started at 3:30 Sunday afternoon, and from there potential new members were introduced to each sorority. For each round, PNMs were briefly introduced to each sorority and then spent the remainder of time getting to know a few of its members.

Molly Flaccavento ’13, recruitment chair for Pi Beta Phi sorority, said the event is important because it helps both PNMs and sorority members prepare for fall recruitment.

“Open Suites is a great opportunity for us to show our spirit and let PNMs know what Pi Phi, and Greek Life as a whole, is all about,” Flaccavento said.

While there is typically a great deal of stress associated with Greek recruitment, these events help to alleviate anxiety by providing an environment where PNMs can get to know members of Greek organizations on a personal level.

“I was surprised by how comfortable the sororities made me feel and how smoothly the conversations went,” Clare Lawler ’15 said. “It got me excited for the recruitment process next year.”

Fraternities treated their PNMs to dinner and watched the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Kansas Jayhawks as they got to know the brothers.

Dave D’Alessandro ’14, recruitment chair for Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, said they watched a game on a big screen projector and enjoyed getting to know the PNMs.

“The brothers of Fiji look forward to meeting more freshmen and opening its doors to a large and diverse pledge class,” Alessandro said.

By Lauren Buckley
Contributing Writer

Turnout was less than ideal at Wednesday’s Red Cross Blood Drive in Larison Dining Hall due to a lack of student awareness. The post cards that are normally put into student mailboxes were not distributed because there was a problem getting them approved, according to Stephany Musgrave, the American Red Cross Northeastern Pennsylvania Account Manager.

“Our turnout yesterday was very disappointing,”  Musgrave said. “We only had 78 donors present, with 11 donors being deferred and 1 QNS. We ended up with 72 good pints of blood. 60 whole blood and 6 for 12 pints of double red cells. Those 72 pints will be broken down into its three components and will be used to help 216 patients.”

In addition to only getting 78 donors, there were only nine first time donors yesterday, as compared to the usual 30 or so.

According to Nancy Libbey, Volunteer Coordinator for the Red Cross Chapter of Snyder, Union, and Northumberland Counties, the University has a long history of involvement with blood drives on campus, going back several decades. Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, has consistently been the campus sponsor.

“[Alpha Phi Omega] has always provided dedicated support in promoting the drives on campus, recruiting donors and helping the day of the drive by greeting/signing in donors and providing refreshments,” Libbey said.

There is currently a critical nationwide need for Type B negative and Type O negative blood. The Red Cross especially urges people with these blood types to donate. Type O negative is the universal donor type because it can be transfused to any patient in an emergency situation until there is time to type that person’s blood. Musgrave said that she was not able to get a report stating how many donors were of critical blood type.

“Shortages often occur during winter months because of cold, illness and uncertain weather conditions and in the summer because schools are on break (students account for over 30 percent of blood donated), heat and vacations. They also occur during times of disasters when the affected areas cannot collect enough blood to meet the needs of the patients. In these cases, the Red Cross uses its national inventory management system to transfer blood in unaffected areas to those that need it,” said Shannon Ludwig, the Communications Manager for the Northeastern Pennsylvania American Red Cross.

To entice more people to recognize the benefits of donating blood, the American Red Cross has offered a campaign throughout the month of April called the “Nook-a-Day Giveaway.” The contest selects one donor each day of the month to win a free Barnes & Noble Nook electronic-book reader. Donors who participated in Wednesday’s blood drive on campus were eligible to be one of these winners.

The Red Cross hopes all eligible students and faculty continue donating over the summer months as well as in the blood drives in the 2012-2013 academic year. The event coordinators are hoping to hold two-day drives for each donation period next year, held in September, November, January and April.

“It is important for young people to donate because they are helping us to ensure an adequate blood supply for the community. The more frequently individuals donate early on in life, the more likely they are to become lifetime donors. The need for blood is something that will never go away. Blood cannot be manufactured: it can only come from volunteer donors,” Ludwig said.

One quick donation can save the lives of up to three people. Donors must be 16 years of age or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. For more information about becoming a donor, visit www.redcross.org.

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

The Greek community’s requirement to complete a certain number of community service hours was recently discontinued along with the rest of the “Plan for Prominence.” This has caused a decline in volunteers at many local organizations. One organization that has seen weakened participation is Head Start.

Associate professor of management Jamie Hendry teaches an all-senior class entitled “Business, Government and Society,” which includes discussions of moral reasoning about organizational decisions grounded in philosophical theories. Many students in this class, as well as across the University community, have expressed concern over the issue that community service is lacking due to the discontinued requirement.

“During our conversation about egoism, the question of altruistic behavior arose, which led us to talk about community service, which led someone to bring up the P4P system. Some students expressed disappointment that their fellow Greeks no longer join them for volunteer activities at local organizations like Head Start because the new Greek evaluation system doesn’t reward this,” Hendry said.

“In class we recently heard from two young women who participate in Head Start each week. They have been a part of that organization during both stages of the community service requirement, allowing them to witness what seems to be a recurring phenomenon. The number of students who used to volunteer for one hour a week has greatly diminished,” Allison Pollack ’12 said, reflecting on the class.

The Plan for Prominence was originally developed to try to increase the total benefits of  “being Greek” at the University.

“It was a blessing that every semester each chapter had to participate in community service, benefiting the community,” Pollack said. “The rumors circling around this change include the accusation that students are merely raking in hours to complete their chapter requirements with no real desire to help others, sometimes even lying about the number of hours completed.”

Now that students are aware that organizations that once experienced a great deal of support and service from the University no longer do, many students are taking time to reflect upon their actions.

“What does it say about the students, that we aren’t intrinsically motivated to help others? Why must there be something in it for us in order for us to want to do something good for someone else? Have we been so conditioned that we only associate community service as something for our own personal benefit?” Pollack said.

Head Start is just one organization that has been affected by the decision to eliminate Plan for Prominence requirements.

 “My friends and I used to go to Mostly Mutts every other Saturday morning and now we don’t go. Not that we don’t want to help out anymore, it is just that there is a lack of motivation since the sorority [and fraternity] requirement is no longer in existence,” Anna Rogers ’12 said.

The drop in student volunteers has also been seen within the Bucknell Buddies, Donald Heiter Community Center and food bank organizations, among others. These organizations all still need volunteers.

“I think that everyone has at least one hour a week to give to others, and who knows what a difference in someone else’s life that hour will do,” Pollack said.

Esra Sardag

Contributing Writer

Students and staff volunteered to assist downtown residents and businesses with their spring projects in the annual Spring Thaw Out on April 6 from 3 – 5 p.m. and April 7 from 9 – 11:30 a.m. This year, the project aimed to clean and organize the plants in Mariah’s Garden, a small garden located on South Front Street and Walnut Alley, and overlooking the Susquehanna River.

The garden is a memorial to Mariah Quant, a Lewisburg resident who died in a car accident just hours before she was to receive her high school diploma in 2000. Her parents built the park with the help of other residents and local businesses to keep her memory alive. The garden contains plants that are all indigenous to Pennsylvania. All of the plants are different and bloom in different seasons so that the garden never completely dies throughout the year.

“It was really rewarding to interact with and give back to the community. It meant a lot to me that I could help out with something that meant so much to this girl’s family,” Karen Hecht ’14 said.

Volunteers mulched, edged the garden and pulled out weeds.

“It was great to be able to work outside on a nice spring afternoon to make a beautiful area for people to enjoy. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of it,” Carla Renner ’14 said.

The grand opening of the garden was on April 7 and the garden is now open for public enjoyment.

By Sara Blair Matthews
Assistant News Editor

Several University students and a professor were the victims of racial slurs and intimidating behavior on campus on April 4 between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. The suspects are a group of college-age, white males who were seen driving a dark colored sedan. The incident is under investigation and the charge has been classified as harassment.

“Such slurs are an affront to the values of Bucknell, violate our shared sense of civility and are an insult to the respect we share for one another. They will not be tolerated,” President John Bravman said.

Nina Banks, acting Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender (CSREG), believes that while students, faculty and staff of color have raised concerns over racial harassment for many years, but the University has taken few meaningful steps to address these issues.

“CSREG is [especially] troubled by the recent incidents of racial harassment at the University [because] these incidents did not suddenly spring up but instead are part of [the University] climate,” Banks said.

Banks believes the racial harassment on campus is tied to a larger issue where racial, ethnic and other minority groups are too often made to feel unwelcome and marginal.

“One of the students who was accosted by the car filled with white males told me that she no longer feels safe walking around campus at night,” Banks said.

Banks sees these recent incidents not as exceptions, but rather as a pattern of students of color being verbally insulted by white students using racial slurs.

When asked whether she would consider the University a racially safe campus, Banks said it would depend on how one defines “safe.” Banks believes an environment where students of color are “subjected to ridicule by other students or made to feel unwelcome in the classroom or lab by their … classmates [is] not a racially safe environment.”

“[Neither is a place where] black staff [members’ work] is undermined by colleagues [to the point where they] worry about losing their jobs because they have upset the white power structure at Bucknell,” Banks said.

Banks thinks that the campus community needs to begin to have honest conversations about the racial problems at the University before we can reduce the atmosphere of racial tension. Other faculty members agree.

“The University [is] having a ‘crisis’ in areas of race and inclusion,” a colleague of Banks said.

In response to the recent events, the Department of Public Safety sent out a Timely Notification Bulletin alerting campus of this incident and urging students to come forward if they know any information about this occurrence. Public Safety could say nothing more than acknowledge that the investigation is ongoing.