Author: Courtney Flagg

It is ingrained in our minds upon entering the University that BSG is a very important part of campus. However, we can’t help but feel that BSG, or the administration for that matter, advertises exactly what BSG is doing in a manner that grabs student attention.

Student Government elections were recently held in order to fill positions for next semester. The elections were not well advertised and consequently, when the election results were announced, some of us were surprised to find out that elections were even being held. What’s more, some students don’t see the importance in voting for student government officials because they believe BSG does not do anything of major importance in the first place. Other students simply don’t care.

These are two major problems. How can BSG and the administration advertise what they are doing more successfully and how can the University encourage students to become less apathetic about their student government?

BSG holds open forums every week where students are allowed to sit in and voice their opinions about a variety of issues. While this is a great idea, very few students are aware that this option even exists for them. BSG should make more of an effort to let students know this is an option. But with a mostly apathetic student body, how can BSG spark interest? It’s a bit hard to make people start caring about things when they portrayed little interest in the first place.

BSG did a great job of advertising the campus climate talks earlier this semester. News was all over campus and almost everyone knew it was happening. BSG should advertise more along these lines, even if these advertisements are for issues of smaller importance. It’s the only way to get the word out and it definitely cannot hurt the cause.

Like every student government, there are drawbacks. BSG is spearheaded by the administration. It can be extremely intimidating for students to complain about the administration to the administration. We can see how this perhaps would have been a problem in the past, but President Bravman has been doing an outstanding job of encouraging students, faculty and staff to talk to him about how things are currently done at the University, be it good or bad. If students have concerns they want voiced, now is the time to do it.

First, BSG needs to make themselves more visible to the student body. Otherwise students will remain apathetic and we will get nowhere; all of BSG’s work to improve the University will remain unnoticed.

We feel a bit like a broken record here at The Bucknellian. A large amount of our editorials pertain to sexual assault, the recent campus climate issues and the debates they stir. However, after President Bravman’s rousing speech last week during the “Take Back the Night” assembly, we began to rethink things.

Like most other students on campus, at first we thought that the recent talks on campus climate and the issues they bring forth reflect our University in a bad way. It is important to understand, however, that our campus is not the only one experiencing these issues. Sexual assault on college campuses is an issue that is, unfortunately, quite prevalent all over the country. President Bravman, in his speech to students and faculty last Thursday, expressed the importance of talking about these issues and not letting them go unnoticed. That is why there is a so much debate about these issues as of late. We are being forced to talk about them and bring them to light, which is not at all a bad thing.

However, there are always speakers that come to campus and events that address important issues, but that is where it ends. For the most part, the only students that go to these events are Greek members (give or take a few people who are genuinely interested) and the only reason they go is to obtain community service hours or because it is mandatory by the organization. For a change to occur, students need to care. They need to have a desire to attend these events or speakers because they personally want to change things. Right now, we get the impression that a select few members of the student community truly care about whether or not the campus climate changes. First and foremost, this needs to change in order for things on campus to change.

In a previous editorial from this semester, we asked what the point was in talking about sexual assault and other negative things that happen on campus. We questioned whether or not it would actually change the things that happen. We, frankly put, were being naive. How can we ask that question when we don’t have any past proof to support out claims? What makes these past few semesters different than previous ones is the leadership the University has been under.

President Bravman, unlike some of our previous presidents, is refusing to ignore the negative things that happen on campus. The issues we have on campus now are the same ones we have had in the past. That is probably the reason the student body is apprehensive towards the idea of “making changes” and “moving forward.” Things haven’t changed in the past so what makes us believe they will now? But we are doing something positive already. We are acknowledging these bad things, which is definitely a step in the right direction and a step we haven’t previously taken. What do we have to lose by talking about this?

Despite the monumental historical impact of the Holocaust, Ann Weiss’ discussion on Kristallnacht, held Tuesday in Trout Auditorium, was not well attended and not many people on campus even knew it took place.

Obviously the Holocaust was an extremely important event in the history of humankind. Why, then, was the discussion on Tuesday so poorly attended? Exactly two months ago marked the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Members of the University and campus communities spoke to a packed auditorium. Students, faculty and Lewisburg community members spilled out the door in an effort to show their support to all those affected by the events that took place.

Clearly it is much easier for students on campus to feel a connection to the events that took place surrounding the Sept. 11 since all of us were alive and, for the most part, witnessed first-hand the events and aftereffects of that tragic day. Is that why students perhaps don’t feel as strong of a connection to the Holocaust? We all know of its importance and there exist many students and faculty who have lost grandparents, or great grandparents because of it. However, is it because we cannot form a direct emotional connection to what happened in the mid 1940s as easily as we can to what happened in 2001?

In addition, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 took place on a Sunday this year, which allowed for many more students to attend the remembrance. It is much easier for a student to put aside time to attend a speech or a ceremony on a weekend than on a weekday because busy schedules simply won’t allow some students the time to do so.

Advertisement is also an issue. Bucknell Hillel put flyers around campus to alert the campus of the speaker but there weren’t many other forms of easily accessible advertisements. This is not a dig at the administration or anyone involved in planning the events. However, should more emphasis be put on a speaker addressing issues of the Holocaust or a speaker discussing the importance of recycling and food waste?

Should we as students care more about the Holocaust than we currently do? As can be shown by the meager turnout, we all apparently have better things to do on a Tuesday night than go to Ann Weiss’ lecture. This is upsetting because, if we keep this up, opting out of learning about the implications of the Holocaust, its meaning might be forgotten.

The recent global and environmental crises have shed light on the many problems we as a culture create for our environment. The University has been actively trying to reduce the footsteps our community leaves on the planet. This past semester alone, the University has taken giant steps towards creating a more eco-friendly campus. The simple elimination of trays in the cafeteria as well as University-based competitions where students can reduce the amount of power they consume serve as examples of how the campus is trying to save the environment.

Although the administration’s creation of these initiatives is inspiring, sometimes we wonder if Bucknellians are just as engaged. Justin McKnight’s project shows us the potential University students have for creating a healthier and more sustainable campus and downtown environment.

There are a few seniors on The Bucknellian staff who have the privilege of living downtown. While living off-campus has its benefits, one of the things that we miss greatly is the easy access to recycling options that we had while living on campus. Living in dorms provided students with the means to recycle bottles, cans, paper and plastic. When living on campus, it is easy to take these things for granted.

Realtors in Lewisburg, for the most part, don’t provide tenants with easy access to recycling certain materials. It is much easier to throw away bottles and cans when the alternative is driving a few miles out of the way to dispose of them in an eco-friendly manner. Unfortunately, that is what some of us had been doing. This will all change with the initiative established by McKnight.

This initiative, though beneficial for the community, comes as a double-edged sword. Why must the desire to recycle when living off-campus become an issue of convenience? Luckily for the campus community, a graduate student has taken this issue into his own hands, making it easy for those living off-campus to take part in recycling.

While the University is making quite an effort to become “green,” as students, we aren’t quite sure of how Lewisburg is reacting to this new “green movement.” It’s refreshing to see that downtown Lewisburg also has a hand in trying to lessen our carbon footprint. Sometimes, despite Lewisburg’s close proximity to campus, the University encloses itself in such a tight bubble it is hard to break through and observe what is happening in our backyards. Whether we like it or not, Lewisburg is a reflection of the school, especially in light of recent connections the two have been making.

It is great to see students cleaning up after themselves on Saturday mornings. Everyone knows that we are responsible for the majority of recyclable waste downtown. It is responsible and mature for us as students to get our hands dirty and clean up after ourselves.

But why did it take so long for us to realize this? Why did this have to be brought to our attention by McKnight in order for us to do something? Living downtown is supposed to be a practice for the “real world,” so why are we relying on others to set these things up for us?

It’s a good thing that recycling is happening downtown, but it’s embarrassing that students took this long to do something about it.