Author: Amanda Ayers

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Schedule for Go Greek Week

Bucknell Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council will host Go Greek Week 2012 next week. Look out for the following events all week long!

Monday, April 16:

11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 6 – 7 p.m. – There will be free cake in the afternoon in the ELC Mall and then in the evening in Bostwick Marketplace.

7 – 9 p.m. – Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity will present Dan Savage, creator of the “It Gets Better” Project, in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts.

 

Tuesday, April 17:

5 – 7 p.m. – Wing Fest, to be held in Larison Dining Hall, will support the Million Penny Project and HandUp Foundation of Milton. 

7 – 8:30 p.m. – There will be an a capella “Supershow” in Smith Quad featuring the Silhouettes, Beyond Unison and The Offbeats.

Wednesday, April 18:

3 – 6 p.m. – There will be free food and refreshments outside the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library for a study break with Greeks.

7:30 – 9 p.m. – Chi Phi fraternity will present Randy Roberts Potts, a LGBT awareness speaker, in Trout Auditorium.

Thursday, April 19:

7 – 8:30 p.m. – There will be a faculty vs. Greek organization students basketball game with the Truck Bed Band performing for the half-time show.

Friday, April 20:

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – The Career Development Center and Alumni Relations will co-host an Alumni Luncheon in Hunt Basement.

Saturday, April 21:

This is Admitted Students Day. There will be various Greek-hosted events going on all around campus, including Alpha Delta Pi sorority’s Preppy Olympics and Pi Beta Phi sorority’s Beta BBQ.

Sunday, April 22:

10 a.m. – 1 p.m. – There will be a 5K Fun Run/Walk and Zumbathon to raise funds for the LARA Pool Pass Project in the Gerhard Fieldhouse.

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News

Adderall

By Jenni Whalen

Senior Writer

Despite the fact that there are strict rules regarding Adderall prescriptions and distribution, there is a large culture of recreational use of the drug on campus.

Many students who are prescribed Adderall either sell or abuse the drug, seeing it as more of an opportunity to get high than a study aid.

“Is there elicit use of these prescriptions on this campus? Absolutely, yes,” said Dr. Don Stechschulte, director of Student Health Services.

“Several of my friends who do not have prescriptions have snorted Adderall to study, rather than just taking the pill,” an anonymous student said. “The demand for it is especially high during exam time.”

In addition to its prescribed use, many students choose to use the drug on a purely recreational basis to increase levels of focus during finals and midterms. Some students also use Adderall as an “upper” when they go to parties.

“For five dollars, I can find it at any time, any place on campus, be it for studying or recreational use. It’s everywhere here,” said another student who also chose to remain anonymous.

Adderall, a drug which combines dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, controls symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children. According to Stechschulte, the number of Americans with attention deficit disorders has grown exponentially over the last 15 years.

Students cannot acquire an initial prescription for ADHD medication from the Psychological Services or Student Health Services offices on campus; they must be diagnosed by a family doctor. Once the student arrives at the University, he or she is required to sign a contract regarding the obligations of taking ADHD medication, which reminds the student that “it is a felony to obtain these psychostimulant medications by fraudulent means, to possess these medications without a legitimate prescription, and to give or sell these medications to others.” 

“Often, students come in saying that they have lost their Adderall prescription,” Stechschulte said.

To prove that the prescription has indeed been lost or stolen, students must bring in a police report or some other evidence of the incident. To avoid allowing the student to have a double dose of the drug, Student Health Services also sends a letter to the student’s previous doctor upon prescribing Adderall.
Although Adderall can be helpful for some students, it can be detrimental for others.

“I have seen Adderall-induced psychosis during my time here at Bucknell. It happened to a student who didn’t regularly take the drug,” Stechschulte said.

Unnecessary Adderall use, especially when combined with other substances like marijuana and alcohol, can cause acute psychosis, insomnia, an irregular diet and heart arrhythmias, among other things. 

While Psychological Services offers services for students struggling with substance abuse, they were unable to provide the exact frequency with which University students use Adderall in a recreational manner.

Stechschulte also acknowledges that the use of Adderall is a complicated issue.

“There is a debate that says ‘Why can’t I be as good as I can be?’ It is a medical and ethical dilemma. If there is a single mother who needs to work two jobs in order to provide for her family and who cannot get through the second job without an extra boost from Adderall, who are we to deny her that?” Stechschulte said.

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Featured News

Posse holds march for Trayvon Martin injustice

By Amanda Ayers

News Editor

On Wednesday night, Posse held a march and discussion against the injustice committed in Florida’s recent Trayvon Martin case.  On Feb. 26, George Zimmerman killed Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American, in Sanford, Fla. Students met at the Seventh Street House where a statement was read about Martin, and then they marched around campus with various signs demanding justice. The event ended with an open discussion for students to voice their opinions.

Posse advertised the event with this slogan: “We are marching to raise awareness of the injustice that has been committed and that we will not stand for this.”

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News

MGMT 101 companies sell out in under three hours

By Amanda Ayers and Sara Blair Matthews

News Editor and Assistant News Editor

Management 101’s Company C, or the Skyline Company, sold out its stock of shirts in three hours this past week. Company B, the Permit Company, sold out in an hour and eight minutes.

“Selling out on the first day of sales has been unusual but certainly not unheard of in the history of MGMT 101. My teaching partner Professor Tammy Hiller and I don’t recall ever having two companies sell out this quickly in the same semester,” said associate professor of management Jamie Hendry, Management 101 instructor. “I hesitate to speculate on the cause of this, but one factor might be that, since the University changed its policies during the 2010-11 academic year regarding the use of BUID for purchases (Campus Dollars are now permissible, but not BUID), we have found the need to encourage companies to be more conservative in determining order quantities, as sales overall have declined under this policy.”

In addition to this change in policy, success was also attributed to the logos used as well as the powerful capacity to advertise through social media websites like Twitter and Facebook.

“We had a huge buzz [surrounding our product]. We played off the Patagonia logo and used it in all our marketing. We wanted people to see our logo and immediately associate it with our company,” said Alex Nowlin ’14, Company C CEO.
Company C also credits some of its success to the fact that it had no competition as the first company to sell. It managed to collect over $1,000 as a result of sales and will be donating this money to Riverwoods Senior Living Community, a local retirement community.
“MGMT 101 is not primarily about selling products. The course is primarily focused on conducting meaningful service projects; students sell products as a means of raising the funds required to complete their service projects, so they only order as much as they need to sell in order to achieve their service goals,” Hendry said. “Service project clients are generally local non-profit community service organizations, but on occasion national and even international organizations have benefited, as have organizations that are not strictly ‘non-profit.’”
“Our motto is service first. Our business allows us [to carry out our service goals],” Nowlin said.
“Service is the heart of our company. We wanted to provide the highest service project that would have a long term impact on our organization,” said Tory Cutting ’14, Skyline company vice president.
Company C group members will put in at least 10 hours of service through a “Game Extravaganza” night next week, organizing numerous games of Bingo (a favorite of the residents) and conducting at least 10 interviews with the residents to create “memory posters” about their lives. Students in the company plan to provide transcripts of these interviews to the residents’ families.

“Everyone in our group has really enjoyed the experience. We have received lots of positive feedback,” Cutting said.

Company B is working through the Bucknell Office of Civic Engagement to create a community garden in a plot of land across the street from the St. Anthony’s Park in Lewisburg. They have started seedlings in the greenhouse (on the top floor of the biology building), and they will be creating the garden beds and installing fencing this week and next. 

This semester of Management 101 has four companies: A, B, C and D. Look out during the upcoming week in the ELC “mall” for Bison tanks, John Deere shirts and ’Ray Bucknell sunglasses.

 

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News

CDC educates students through video platform

By Jason Pepe

Contributing Writer

The Career Development Center recently started using a new resource which will further prepare students to find the right job after graduation. The service is called CareerSpots Videos, a video platform that features 50 short videos that provide relevant career advice to students.

Using the information and testimonies from leading recruiters across the country, the videos cover topics such as resume help, interview tips, proper business attire, networking and how to properly utilize social media. Many universities including Princeton, MIT and Northwestern also use the platform.

CareerSpots Videos has been online with the University since General Electric offered to sponsor their videos for the CDC. As a result, General Electric is featured with an Employer Channel, which is a new initiative offered by CareerSpots. This allows students who are interested in working for GE to find out more detailed information about the company, such as current internship and job opportunities, contact information and company-specific links.
GE has also produced its own videos that help to provide additional information about GE, one of which is entitled, “Is GE Right for You?” and goes on to list certain traits that GE looks for in its candidates. CareerSpots is currently working to feature more employers on the Employer Channel who want to specifically target University students.
Brittany Rendell ’12, an intern for CareerSpots Videos, said that every week more students are turning towards CareerSpots. It has also proven to be beneficial in her own experience.
“I have used CareerSpots Videos before and they have been extremely helpful, especially when I was just getting started with the job process,” Rendell said. “The videos are short and to the point and they offer so many suggestions, it’s hard not to pass up.”

CareerSpots Videos are available as a free resource to all University students through the Career Development Center. They can be found on the University’s Experience Job Board, on every main page of the CDC website and through the CDC’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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News

Symposium allows for interdisciplinary “snaptalks”

By Nikki Briggs

Writer

At the second annual Environmental Snaptalk Symposium on March 30, five faculty members each gave eight-minute “snaptalks” of their work in the Traditional Reading Room of the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library. Faculty and students were able to sample some of the diverse scholarship and research underway among University faculty and provide insights on the environment and sustainability.
Topics ranged  from the subject of environmental evil to international development. Each snaptalk was followed by eight minutes of audience discussion.
“By allowing the audience to be introduced to 5 different topics in an hour and a half, snap talks trigger the creativity of the listeners, who start seeing patterns and making connections between what seem to be disparate topics,” Cathy Curran Myers, BUEC Director who created the event, said. “We intentionally try to choose faculty from each of the major divisions and schools: engineering, management, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, to make connections that bridge the gaps between disciplines.”
Brandn Green, the coordinator of the Bucknell University Environmental Center’s Nature and Human Communities Initiative, spoke about “The Community Platform,” a website that works to link organizations in neighboring areas to address poverty, social exclusion and inequality. These organizations are listed on the website and the initiative is looking to expand from the bottom up. 
“We as the local partners are working to figure out how to add organizations that don’t fill out 990 [forms],” Green said.
Maria Antonaccio, professor of religion, discussed distinguishing between moral and natural evil. She defined these terms and whether environmental destruction falls under the criteria.
Associate professor of biology Steve Jordan lectured about conservation genetics and the glacial meltwater stonefly of Montana.
“There are problems developing in these systems that are probably caused by climate change,” Jordan said.
According to Jordan’s research, climate change has caused glaciers to melt, destroying the natural habitat of this endangered species.
Peter Jansson, associate professor of electrical engineering, discussed renewable electricity and photovoltaics.
“Most of my work is about integrating renewable energy with the grid, and making the grid greener,” Jansson said.
He is an advocate of solar thermal technology in order to impact global markets and investment.
Assistant professor of management Eric Martin concluded the symposium with a discussion of the sustainment of international development, showing pictures and sharing stories from his multiple trips around the world.
“The way I approach this in general is that first of all we need feedback, and second we, the international community, need to align our goals,” Martin said.
It was evident that the audience was engaged by each “snaptalk,” as most discussions lasted longer than the allotted eight minutes.
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Headline News

Samek Art Gallery opens affiliate downtown

By Jen Lassen

Arts and Life Editor

What is it called when contemporary art and entrepreneurship mix? Collaboration.

Our small yet proud Lewisburg experienced such collaboration on March 30 with a private opening of the Downtown Art Gallery, an affiliate of the Samek Art Gallery at the University, and the Bucknell University Entrepreneurs Incubator in the completely renovated DeWitt Building.

This new, three-story structure will revitalize the arts both downtown and at the University, and allow for the start of a new entrepreneurial movement to take place right in the heart of Lewisburg.

The gallery opened to the public on March 31. The first floor of the DeWitt building is home to the art gallery itself, the entrepreneur incubator occupies the second floor and the University’s Small Business Development Center occupies the third floor. Several individuals, connected to both the University and the community at large, played a significant role in the gallery and incubator from start to finish.

One such person is Richard Rinehart, director of the Samek Art Gallery at the University. “When I started with the University in May of 2011, they told me ‘Oh, by the way, you’re going to help with opening up a new art gallery downtown.’ And, of course, I said, ‘Sure! Let’s do it!’” Rinehart said.

Many people are confused, wondering if the Samek Art Gallery is moving downtown. Rinehart assures that this is not the case, but that this new, second gallery will provide more opportunities in terms of programming.

“The downtown gallery relates to the Samek Art Gallery, but the programming is different. We are looking to bring in one contemporary artist per month [to the downtown gallery], and this allows for two opportunities for galleries,” he said.

Since he arrived, Rinehart has worked closely with many on this project, including James Rice, associate provost and dean of graduate studies, and James Hostetler, director of construction and design. Rice brainstormed the idea for a gallery downtown while Rinehart and Hostetler designed it. Hostetler oversaw the actual construction of the gallery/incubator.

At the private ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees were welcomed by Pete Mackey, vice president for communications and community relations. President John Bravman presented a speech following Mackey’s introduction.

In his speech, Bravman commented on the important purpose of the gallery and incubator in the DeWitt building.

“This has brought art in a new way downtown, and there is the beginning of business upstairs. This is a wonderful example of how a town and university can work together; it is an important rebirth between Lewisburg and Bucknell,” Bravman said.

Mayor Judy Wagner also said “the DeWitt building is a bridge from Bucknell to downtown.”

“[The incubator] will help small businesses get started. About 30-some interns from Bucknell will become a part of this program in addition to the entrepreneurs who apply. Art and entrepreneurship will be flowing through this building,” said Steven Stumbris, an employee in the Small Business Development Center.

Andy Hirsch, director of media communications at the University, said that entrepreneurs can use the space to develop new ideas. They will have 24/7 access to the space when granted.

The 3,000 sq. ft. incubator is complete with a lounge and art pickings straight from the Samek Gallery. It is a place meant to encourage creativity.

“Someone pointed out the connection to me between entrepreneurship and art/creativity, and it was something that I had never thought about before. Now, I can clearly see how the two relate,” Hirsch said.

“This gallery will be a party for the mind, and you’re all invited,” Rinehart said.

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News

Bio building floods, many classes cancelled or relocated

By Siobhan Murray

Writer

The local fire department arrived on the scene early Monday morning to address the flooded biology building caused by the malfunctioning heating system.

The faulty system caused a sprinkler to go off in the building at 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning. After reaching maximum heat levels all weekend, the heating system reached temperatures of over 100 F by the time the sprinkler system went off.
The flooding began on the second floor and later leaked through to the first floor and eventually the basement, necessitating a major clean-up effort. Room 203 reached the highest levels, setting off a sprinkler designed to come on at high temperatures.
“I arrived on campus very early, around ten to five, and … I saw several fire trucks blocking the street next to the Bio building.  There were some ladders going up to a second story classroom, which had all its windows thrown open, and the lights on in the surrounding classrooms,” Kate Parker, English Professor and Editorial Associate at the Bucknell University Press, said. “I didn’t see or smell smoke, so I asked the fireman directing traffic what was going on — there were so many trucks, I just wanted to make sure it was safe to go into my office in Taylor.  He replied that a heater had malfunctioned in one of the offices in the Bio building, and that the room had become so hot that it had set off the sprinklers.”
After the combined efforts of the Public Safety, Fire and Faculties Maintenance departments, as well as the custodial staff, the area was cleaned and determined to have no lasting damage.  However, some Monday morning classes were relocated or canceled.
The first step in combating the problem was shutting off the water system before the custodial staff was brought in for the clean up.
“It’s a routine procedure for us,” said Jim McCormick, Environmental Health and Safety manager. “We just follow protocol in water release. All the credit really goes to the custodial staff, who were able to clean up everything in less than five hours after the incident. That goes to show how effective they are at doing their job.”
In addition to custodians, Gregory Koontz, Mike Patterson, Lee Hess, Pete Bergonia, Gary Layton and Mike Curry helped to resolve the issues Monday morning. The cleanup was finished by 11 a.m. Monday.
“We will be installing safeguards to prevent an incident like this from happening again,” said Mike Patterson, director of Facility Services. “The air handler should have shut down at the right time.”
Air valves and feeds to air compressors will be replaced, and the air compressor system will be connected to that in the chemistry building. If a failure happens again, the compressors will serve as a back-up.
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News

Univ. to reform student health care

By Amanda Ayers

News Editor
While students often complain about subpar care provided by Student Health Services, the University is taking notice by examining new health care models.
At a faculty meeting on Tuesday, the University announced that it has plans to develop a new health care model for its students, perhaps coupled with a wellness program. A key step for the development of this new and improved model will be the exploration of possible partnerships with outside groups, such as Geisinger Medical Center and Evangelical Community Hospital.
According to Andy Hirsch, Director of Media Communications, as soon as some important elements are worked out among those partners, the University will be making announcements in the near future about details of this arrangement.

“We’re not exploring this partnership because we think the University’s current student health service model is unsustainable, but rather because this new model of care partners with local healthcare providers in a way that promises to offer our students better healthcare programs and to offer better wellness programs to the University as a whole,” Hirsch said.

Students have noticed room for improvement at Health Services.

“I don’t go to health services because I know that they’ll just recommend that I wait a couple days and take an Advil. The care could definitely be improved,” Lindsey Ferro ’14 said.

At the moment, the University absorbs all of the health care costs of its students. Administrators are looking at stipulating in the new arrangement that they be submitted to insurance companies.

President John Bravman is an advocate of the new model but has not been a direct party to the negotiations.

“Our goal is to provide the best possible health and wellness program we possibly can, in order to serve students’ and others’ needs most effectively. Therefore we believe it is crucial to engage in thorough reviews of existing programs, benchmark programs elsewhere, solicit expressions of interest from interested parties, and then make the best decisions we can,” Bravman said.

As news of the proposed changes spreads across campus, students have shown support.

“It seems to me that eliminating any flaws from the current system would only be a positive thing. I’m on board,” Laura Neely ’13 said.

As progress into the development of the new model  is made, financial repercussions of the plan will be reviewed.

Director of Student Health Services Dr. Donald Stechschulte was unable to comment.

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News

KDR recolonizes on campus, excited for fall recruitment

By Amanda Ayers and Christina Oddo

News Editor and Writer

After spending the last four years absent from the University’s campus, the Iota Chapter of Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity will be re-opening its doors this fall. 
The National Fraternity of Kappa Delta Rho and the Iota Alumni Corporation are excited to bring back a community that eagerly challenges every member and encourages character and honor, as well as the needs of society. There are currently three official members — Dotun Odewale ’13, Mohammad Karam ’13, and Sviatoslav Lesko ’13 — and the fraternity is looking for two more upperclassmen to extend offers of membership to in order move forward into formal recruitment in the fall. This fraternity’s recruitment will be no different from any other Greek organization’s. 
“So far, it’s going really well,” Hensley Akiboh, the KDR Educational Leadership Instructor on campus, said. “[The University] has been really helpful in providing me resources to get in contact with students, like the IFC. It was very helpful with all the things I’m trying to accomplish. Things are looking really bright and I’m confident in the progress we’ve made so far.”
The KDR Board of Directors made the decision on behalf of the KDR Alumni Corporation to force the chapter to vacate its house entering spring semester 2008. There had been concerns for several years regarding lack of compliance with national KDR and University policies and standards as well as Union County sanitation standards. When the temporary suspension of housing privileges did not fix the problems, the chapter was then officially suspended in January 2009 for a minimum of four years.
According to an article from the University’s website dated January 9, 2009, “We had hoped that the temporary suspension of house privileges and direct support and assistance of concerned alumni last spring would reform those behaviors,” [former President Brian C.] Mitchell said. “Unfortunately that effort proved unsuccessful.”
The former KDR house was demolished this past fall to provide a location to the “Academic West” project.  A new “Affinity House” on South Campus will be available for the fraternity’s use. The students chosen to represent the fraternity as Founding Fathers will be living in the newly built house.
“It’s a beautiful house and we’re very excited to have that up there and be moving in next year,” Akiboh said.
KDR currently has a strong alumni support group, including many Board of Trustees members; with this support the national organization has high hopes for the re-colonization. Akiboh has been present on campus this spring with hopes of developing energy and interest for the new KDR. He will be living on campus next semester to ensure the re-colonization process runs smoothly. 
Other currently active Greek organizations are excited for the chapter to return to campus.  The Interfraternity Council will be a main resource to the chapter as it enters a pivotal time in its history.
“[IFC] is excited to welcome KDR’s chapter back on Bucknell’s campus. It will require hard work to reinstate this organization as successfully as possible,” Pat Zailckas ’13, President of [IFC], said. “I look forward to working closely with Hensley and the reinstating members of KDR for the remainder of this semester in order to prepare for the whirlwind that is fall recruitment.”
Kevin Foster, Assistant Director of Resident Life and Fraternity Affairs will also be critical to KDR’s re-colonization efforts as a liaison between the fraternity and the University.
“We have been working with alumni and representative from their National Headquarters since the end of last semester to help with the process,” Foster said.
Foster also noted his office’s enthusiasm for the positive impact KDR will have across campus.
“Anytime a new group comes to a campus it tends to push the current groups in a positive way and spark new energy for students who might not have considered joining a fraternity prior.”
Representatives will be back on campus twice this month to make sure that the founding and potential new members are educated and aware of the organization.  For more information, explore KDR’s national website at kdr.com or the chapter’s website at iota.kdr.com.