Author: Jackson McCarron

Alexandra Rosen

Writer

On Nov. 2, the Bucknell Brigade organized the Making it to Managua 5k in order to raise money for its upcoming trip to Nicaragua, where the group will participate in various community service projects.

The Bucknell Brigade is a humanitarian group founded in 1999 following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch. The organization is comprised of students and faculty who travel to Nicaragua to volunteer as well as learn about the history and culture of the Central American country.

The 5k took place in Hufnagle Park and students, faculty, and community members ran in the race. Event volunteers were present and past members of the Brigade. 

The Brigade raised around $600, but is hoping to fundraise more money.

“People can still support the Brigade and help us run the 2073 miles to Managua by signing up to run the race at home,” Margaret Benson ’15, co-leader of the Brigade Fundraising committee said.

The Brigade is involved in many service projects, and is particularly connected with a free health clinic in Nueva Vida.

“We are a group that travels to Nicaragua two or three times a year and works alongside Jubilee House Community, our host agency, in the Nueva Vida Community,” Benson said. “The clinic serves the community and provides care and medicine at reduced or no cost to patients. They also just started a dental program.”

The Bucknell Brigade takes advantage of the opportunity to explore Nicaragua, and the trip includes a chance to participate in many different activities.

“Brigades do different activities every year but they generally include projects at the health clinic, projects at our host agency, Jubilee House Community, trips to El Porvenir, a coffee plantation, and historical tours of Managua, the capital city,” Jenna Weaver ’15, co-leader of the Brigade Fundraising committee said.

The Bucknell Brigade has ambitious plans for the future and does not plan on stopping its service project in Nicaragua any time soon.

“We are always selling homemade Nicaraguan crafts and fair trade coffee,” Weaver said. “You can usually find us at events around campus, or stop in the Office of Civic Engagement. Our next fundraiser: selling Mr. Sticky’s sticky buns at the Lewisburg Downtown raid on Dec. 6.” 

Jackson McCarron
News Editor

University President John Bravman announced the induction of three new trustees in an email to faculty and staff on Oct. 5.

During the general meeting, which was held from Oct. 3-5, the Board of Trustees welcomed new members Susan Ginkel ’76, Kirsten Heinemann ’81 P’12 P’15, and Chris Sullivan ’92.

“We are grateful to them for making this commitment of leadership and service to the University,” Bravman said.

Kirsten Heinemann and her husband, Steven, recently contributed their second seven-figure gift to the University. The gift will make possible a newly endowed professorship, Bravman said.

“We are grateful to Kristen and Steven for this expression of continuing generosity and support for Bucknell, which helps make the case to other donors who are considering making campaign gifts,” Bravman said.

Elizabeth Morgan

Opinions Layout Editor

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman said that technology is inevitably impacting the way in which we live our lives.

At the University’s “tech/no” speaker series on Oct. 1, Gaiman–a novelist, graphic novel author, and screenwriter–said that there is still a future for books in our ever-evolving world.

“In most ways, the individual book is superior than a Kindle or iPad. There is one caveat: the Kindle of iPad is superior to a library,” Gaiman said.

The current Bucknell Forum series embraces the perils and promises of technology. The series, which began in the fall of 2012 and will run through the spring of 2014, aims to stir discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in our world today.

Margot Vigeant, professor of chemical engineering and associate dean of engineering, is part of the task force of faculty members that sponsor the forum speakers. She introduced Gaiman as “one of the most creative storytellers” and someone who “provides us with gateways beyond the world we know.”

Gaiman began his exploration of technology in 1997 by speaking with Douglas Adams, author of the comic science fiction series, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Douglas not only published his book in standard paperback format, but also made an eBook available. Like Gaiman, Douglas wondered if this meant the end of books was in the near future.

In certain cities, such as New York City, books may be dead, but this is because of the sampling group. Since many of these people have a long commute to work, it is easier for them to carry a Kindle or an iPad in their bag rather than an actual book, but this is not true in all parts of the world, Gaiman said.

“I see the rise of books as being beautiful objects,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman started off writing on a manual typewriter, moved to an electric typewriter, and finally shifted to using a computer. When Gaiman bought his first computer, a Tandom PC with a 20MG hard drive, the salesperson told him he was an idiot.

“I feel bad selling it to you. You’ll never fill it,” the salesperson said referring to the 20MG hard drive, the largest one of the time.

Gaiman described himself as being a “very hungry” young journalist, so he was willing to take the risk. It was after Gaiman purchased this laptop that everything fell into place.

“It all started working. It was incredibly powerful and made me more productive. It was the start of a new age,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman said it was then that he fell back in love with writing. He felt completely free and was excited by the transition from typewriter to computer.

It was not long before Gaiman said he yearned to get back to the basics. He bought his first fountain pen and said he found it completely liberating to be writing on paper again. Gaiman still does his best writing with pen and paper and enjoys writing in coffee shops or in friends’ houses.

“When I’m writing on the computer and delete my work, it is painful because it is gone, but when I write in a notebook, I can simply skip over the parts that I don’t want to include,” Gaiman said. “The challenge is that technology does allow us to work better.”

Gaiman said that new technology has helped to produce a vast knowledge of information, but just in the past couple of years, this has shifted to an information overload. He said that now more than ever, a librarian is an extremely important part of society. Just as Google helps you to search out the relevant information on the internet, a librarian does the same in a library.

“Communication changes your life in some way when you can be in touch with the entire world,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman reflected back on writing his book “Good Omens” with fellow author Terry Pratchett. He said they used to mail floppy disks to one another in order to share their work. Although they tried to communicate from one hard drive to the other, Gaiman said a carrier pigeon would have been faster to use at this time.

Gaiman said that he now loves using the computer to connect both as an author and as a human being.

“We are moving into a future in which nothing is certain. Everything is changing and that is a good thing,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman concluded his speech by offering us a piece of advice. He compared mammals to dandelions and said the main difference between the two is that mammals are so concerned with their children succeeding and dandelions simply do not care. This is because mammals typically only have a few children, while dandelions have hundreds and hundreds. He encouraged us to be more like dandelions and take risks and try new things.

“Fail, fail more interestingly and then succeed in ways you didn’t imagine,” Gaiman said.

Jackson McCarron

News Editor

The University’s Alcohol Review Committee is currently conducting a research-based review of the University’s alcohol policy. Associate Dean of Students Dan Remley and his office–in cooperation with a group of students–are heading the review.

The current alcohol policy is 10 years old, Remley said.

“Its always good to do an evaluation of your policies,” Remley said.

Dean of Students Susan Lantz requested the review in an email sent to Remley during the summer, Remley said.

According to a document outlining the Alcohol Review Committee general charge, the review will provide “a forum from which the provost and the dean of students can solicit advice and recommendations, creation, and implementation of alcohol policies and students conduct practices.”

The comprehensive review will consider policies that are currently being used at comparable universities and colleges. The list of 22 universities contains schools such as Lehigh, Lafayette, Tulane, Bates, and Oberlin.

Remley’s office will also being working in congress with a number of University students. The students and Remley will read relevant literature, engage with both the University and Lewisburg communities, as well as work with a number of national organizations, Remley said.

“We are always worried about the safety of our students,” Remley said.

Jackson A. McCarron and William M. Fierman

News Editors

Many student-rented properties downtown closed their doors this past weekend after rumors circulated of a potential police crackdown.

South Sixth Street, usually buzzing with the sounds of students walking to and from parties and music emanating from houses, was eerily quiet on Friday and Saturday nights.

“Everybody was talking about the police being out in force,” said a student who owns a house downtown and wished to remain anonymous. “We had a mixer planned and we called it off. Apparently everyone else made the same call.”

The Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department (BVRPD) claimed no responsibility for the relative silence downtown.

“It was quiet last weekend,” BVRPD Chief of Police Paul Yost said. “But there was no policy change–nothing I can take credit for. We didn’t change anything.”

Three members of the Pennsylvania State Liquor Control Board were walking around downtown Lewisburg this weekend, Chief of Public Safety Stephen Barilar said.

“Because it is outside of our jurisdiction, they don’t consult us,” Barilar said. “They hit almost all college towns. I know they were already at State College this year.”

Faced with 19 University students already hospitalized due to dangerous alcohol consumption, leaders of the campus’ fraternities and sororities decided to ban hard alcohol at any greek function, official or otherwise.

The decision only included last weekend, according to Dean of Students Susan Lantz.

“I would certainly like their efforts to continue this semester and feel these student leaders have the potential to seriously make a difference with our high-risk drinking issues,” Lantz said.

For the first time this term, not a single University student was hospitalized due to excessive drinking, Lantz said.

 Nick Salvo

Writer

Student leaders of fraternities and sororities decided on Sept. 19 to stop serving hard-alcohol at off-campus and on-campus parties. The Interfraternity Council agreed on Sept. 24 to take steps to make fraternity house “risers” safer. These decisions resulted from ongoing communication between the University and the Greek community about student safety.

The hard-liquor ban was implemented by fraternity and sorority presidents working in cooperation with the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Council. The decision to stop serving liquor was made after Dean of Students Susan Lantz approached Greek leaders to express concern about high rates of alcohol-related hospitalizations this semester.

Nineteen students have been transported to the hospital for alcohol-related issues since the beginning of the semester, Lantz said.

Lantz, who is engaged in an ongoing effort to reduce high-risk drinking and the accompanying safety concerns, said that she brought the issue to the attention of the presidents and the councils, but the ban is the direct result of student decision-making.

“This was an incredibly powerful decision,” Lantz said. “I appreciate and support their efforts to make meaningful change on our campus.”

Last weekend, after the ban was enacted, no students, on-campus or off-campus, were hospitalized for alcohol related issues, Lantz said.

In the IFC decision concerning risers at Greek events, the council agreed to consider making changes to risers in on-campus fraternity houses after a student was injured at a party hosted by the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity several weeks ago.

Risers are elevated sections of flooring in fraternity basements that can be used as dancing and staging areas. The injured student used a riser to hang from the sprinkler pipes in the house’s basement. He lost his grip, struck his head on the floor, and needed to be rushed to the hospital, Chief of Public Safety Steve Barilar said.

Neither the IFC nor Public Safety passed any official regulation regarding riser height or safety requirements, Barilar said.

Instead, Public Safety requested that fraternities use common sense and consider student safety, and the IFC agreed.

The decision was a group effort based in communication, not any type of official sanction, Barilar said.

“This is not us bringing the hammer down,”  Barilar said. “We spoke to them about a concern and they are going to make changes. We are only concerned about the safety of our students.” 

Jackson A. McCarron

News Editor

Beginning in 2015, the University will limit the number of students permitted to live off campus to 100 men and 100 women. 

Discussions about moving more students on campus began in 1998, and the number was decided on the trustee level, Associate Dean of Students Dan Remley said.

No students will be permitted to live in the houses on the east side of Sixth Street, as the homes do not meet University standards.

“Student safely is our number one priority,” Remley said.

The University will more strictly enforce a city ordinance which specifies the number of people allowed to live in residence.

“If the ordinance states that only three people are permitted to live in a dwelling, then we will only allow three people to live there,” Remley said.

The apartment style housing that the University will begin construction on this month, will account for the extra beds needed starting in the 2015-2016 school year, Remley said.

Several students currently living downtown or hoping to in the near future expressed disappointment in the plan.

“I think the decision to limit off campus housing will detract from the experience of living on your own before you graduate,” said a current senior living off campus who wished to remain anonymous.

“I wish that they would give us a clear answer on the housing situation,” said Ryan Thompson ’16, a current student looking to live downtown his senior year. “If they don’t want us to live downtown they should just tell us now.”

Remley said that he was aware that many current sophomores had already signed leases on downtown houses. He also said that his message about downtown housing has always been clear.

“Do not sign a lease,” Remley said. “We have always warned students about not signing leases before they are approved to live off campus.”

The University has a four-year residency requirement; unless a student is permitted by the University to live downtown they must live on campus, Remley said.

Jackson McCarron

News Editor

The LGBT affinity house may soon host registered parties in Summit House, their new location, pending University approval.

Bill McCoy, director of the Office of LGBT Awareness, and Kate Albertini ’14, LGBT house student leader, hope that parties at Summit House will provide much-needed alternative party spaces on campus.

“The option is important. Just because the majority of campus is Greek doesn’t mean everyone on campus seeks out Greek events,” Albertini said.

Although Summit House is not likely to host events where alcohol is served this semester, Albertini and her housemates are actively looking into hosting an event where drinks will be available to students of age.

The possibility of the LGBT house hosting University registered parties first arose when the LGBT affinity program moved from Galloway House to Summit House, a space that until recently was occupied by a fraternity, McCoy said.

McCoy said that he began to inquire about the possibility of Summit House being used as a space for parties over the summer.

The University’s initial reaction was that such a thing was not possible, but after reviewing the handbook, it was determined that residential programs, like student organizations, were allowed to host parties.

“I think we get used to the status quo … it takes time to process things. But after about 10 minutes of questioning, it became clear that residential programs could in fact host parties,” McCoy said.

Funding for these events, according to Albertini, would be provided by the Office of Residential Education. The University would not provide the alcohol.

The LGBT student affinity housing program, known as Fran’s House, previously occupied Galloway House, a small space located downtown near Larison Hall, but was moved uphill this year to Summit House to accommodate an expanding program.

Tatham Elise Dilks

Contributing Writer

The University’s student population is becoming more diverse, and the class of 2017 serves as evidence.

The global presence on campus is now larger, with international students representing 9.8 percent of the first-year population, compared to the class of 2016’s 8.9 percent internationally affiliated students.

Another demographic that has seen growth this year is students of color, or students “who identify as Black or African-American, Latino or Hispanic, Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska native or two or more races.” Compared to last fall, the percentage of representation for students of color enrolled as first-years has increased from 15 to 17.5 percent.

Increases like these are the result of an admissions office that, as Dean of Admissions Robert Springall put it, is now aiming to “push the expectations of [how] the typical Bucknellian looks and speaks.”

Associate Dean of Admissions for Multicultural Recruitment Marylyn Scott and Admissions Counselor for Multicultural Recruitment Mohammed Ahamed are joining the University community alongside the Class of 2017 to help push expectations in the Admissions Office.

These additions to the admissions staff reflect a determination to make the University a place where, as Springall predicts, “more voices are heard and expectations about what an academic community looks like and does are higher.”

More impressive than the demographic diversity of the Class of 2017 is its academic achievement. The average GPA for the entering class, as well as its SAT and ACT scores, are slightly higher than those from recent years.

More notable still is the soaring increase in Merit Scholars. The Class of 2017 boasts 35 Presidential Fellows and 92 Deans Scholars compared to the Class of 2016’s 18 Presidential Fellows and 79 Deans Scholars. 

“We are particularly proud of these characteristics,” Springall said.