Author: Mike McPhee

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Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor: IFC supports sorority declaration

To the Editor:

When the seven sorority presidents made a public declaration at an Interfraternity Council meeting vocalizing their discontent with offensive party themes on campus, it was a laudable display of courage on their part to challenge the status quo of the campus climate. On behalf of the 12 fraternity presidents on campus, I would like to congratulate and to express our appreciation towards the sorority presidents for taking this stance, as well as affirm our commitment that fraternities will not perpetuate displays of sexism via offensive party themes at our social events.  As Greek men, we have pledged ourselves to adhere to strong values, morals and ethics.  We realize that we play an integral role in the shaping of Bucknell’s social culture, and to hold that position in conjunction with allowing sexist, misogynistic and offensive themes for social events to exist is both detrimental to student equality on campus and also a toxic violation to our commitment to higher values and social excellence.

We recognize that there are widespread benefits the Greek community provides for the student body and the campus community at large. Recently,actions taken by our members and chapters are neither reflective of what we, as Greeks, strive to achieve nor compatible with our mission of complementing our academic experience.  Eradicating offensive party themes is a necessary initial step that will affect progress and motivate students for further change. But our larger goal moving forward is to distinguish ourselves as a catalyst in the University community that will (1) motivate a departure from the negative realities of our current social scene and (2) cultivate a desire for recapturing a student culture that engenders, espouses and extols the values and beliefs we hold fundamental to our commitment as Greeks.  We know that social change does not happen overnight, and there is unfortunate internal resistance we will inevitably encounter.  But that does not negate our salient responsibility to help confront the systemic issues of sexual assault, alcohol & drug abuse, uncharacteristic student engagement and other problems that often are associated with Greek-letter organizations. Our ability to initiate this progress is contingent upon the strength of our student leaders to be outspoken, motivated and proactive–all qualities we know exist among us.  We are committed to increasing the education about our organizations and to solidifying the axiom that meaningful and purposeful discussion and education throughout our time in our organizations will ameliorate our members’ characters.  Reaffirming our values will help refocus our organizations as complementary to our higher education and beneficial for student life.  A Greek-letter organization can provide myriad educational opportunities to its members, and it is incumbent upon us to harness this influence, which has too often fallen by the wayside.  A true recognition of our principles and values will make us better individuals, better prepared for the reality and the unexpected we will encounter in life after the University.

The sorority presidents have taken a praise-worthy step towards improving our campus culture and as fellow University students, Greeks and peers, we stand strong in supporting them and helping advance their cause.  We look forward to working with many student organizations and resources on campus in the future in order to fulfil our goals.

Sincerely,

Michael Higgins

Interfraternity Council President

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Opinion

United States risks long stay in Libya without well-defined goals

By Pranav Sehgal

Opinions Editor

With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq already, should the United States be involved in Libya?

The ripple effects from the conflict in Libya have dramatically impacted the politics of the region, global oil prices, and have now made many people question the United States’ involvement in Libya.

The coalition effort, primarily led by the United States, to halt the government’s attacks on civilians is drawing a lot of heat from United States politicians and media pundits because as we are already bogged down in two wars in the Middle East and are in a mounting deficit. We spend billions on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet refuse to spend money for important domestic matters such as healthcare or teachers’ pay.

Many are baffled by the fact that in Wisconsin they are firing government workers yet we are spending a great deal of money in our involvement in Libya.

Additionally, many Republicans find it unbelievable that the United States was able to do this without approval from Congress. They are also questioning what interests are at stake in Libya and if it was right to intervene without the support of the American people, or even consulting them for their opinions.

However, top Democrats rallied behind Obama’s decision to support the enforcement of a “no fly” zone in Libya in order to protect innocent civilians. In response to critics, many Democrats have argued that the United States has an interest in protecting people’s freedoms not only in the United States but worldwide and therefore have a responsibility to the Libyan people.

Although I believe the United States has a responsibility to uphold people’s rights on a global basis, I believe that without a clear objective and purpose we will never succeed in Libya. Without a goal or clear mission statement, it will be difficult to assess whether or not our involvement in Libya was beneficial or detrimental to the people of Libya and the United States.

With conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa on the rise, I also believe Arab nations must play a much larger part in quelling the turmoil. They must take responsibility for their region rather than rely in Western Europe and America to clean up the mess.

The United States has long played the role of the global police–but with a high deficit and internal political pressure, it seems unlikely that the United States will be able to keep up that image for much longer.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial:Renaming Mixers and Respecting Women

The seven sorority presidents on campus have all agreed that women in their organizations will not attend functions at fraternities that have themes that are derogatory or demeaning towards women. The situation can be clarified with a simple example:  the “Office Lives and Trophy Wives” mixer, where fraternity men in suits and sorority women in cocktail dresses drink together, may have finally met its end. Fraternities will have to start getting more creative with their party themes in a respectful manner if they wish to continue partying with sororities on a weekly basis.

Is this a superficial name change or the first step towards a much broader cultural shift in which misogyny is eliminated from our campus? If nothing else, this declaration from the sorority presidents has sparked a discussion. Apparently the days where “mixers” between fraternities and sororities were a taboo topic with administrators and student leaders have passed.

For our readers who are not living on campus, it may be hard to understand just how big of a deal even suggesting a change in party names is. Greek life is incredibly pervasive in the University’s social scene, and this will affect a significant portion of students on campus.

It is common for students at the University to find themselves in a situation where past precedents are used to justify current behaviors without evaluating them first. Underage drinking is an easy example. In different situations, this mindset has been used to justify traditions that could qualify as hazing.

This is the mindset that must be overcome in order to reduce or eliminate misogyny on campus, and it will be much more difficult to do than simply changing the name of a party.

The theme of a mixer could be something as innocuous as “St. Patrick’s Day” and the atmosphere of the party will still be problematic, with men demeaning women and women objectifying themselves through the way they dress and dance. Although many themes are clearly offensive and should obviously be eliminated, the themes are not the root of the problem; the way we party needs to change in order for campus climate to improve. We need to create a culture where people do not feel the need to behave in such degrading ways to gain approval from peers or the opposite sex. Changing the party names is an important first step, but it will be merely superficial unless we find a way to change the underlying culture. Both men and women are a part of the problem, and both groups, rather than blaming each other, need to work together in search of a solution.

We applaud sorority women for speaking up and challenging the norms on campus, which is a difficult thing for anyone to do. We sincerely hope that they are successful and that derogatory mixer themes, and more importantly, disrespectful behaviors towards women at these events, are eliminated. At the same time, we remain skeptical that the further steps necessary for a broader cultural change will be taken. This is not a time for celebration just yet.

As a final and related thought, we would like to encourage all students and guests to be safe and respectful of one another during House Party Weekend. The time to start making changes to campus culture is today–-literally.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial

Two years ago, the men’s basketball team stumbled to a disappointing record of 7-23; the team’s biggest stars had graduated, and no one new had yet stepped up to replace them. Now, the Bison are back in the Patriot League Championship, and the future looks bright for a team loaded with standout underclassmen.

Last year, The Bucknellian shrank to 12 pages as staff members disappeared and writers grew apathetic. The remaining editors were worried that the paper might be dying. But since then, a group of motivated first-years has has re-invigorated the paper, erasing doubts and raising hope for years to come.

Now Addison O’Donnell ’14, in creating Campus Productions, is attempting to enact a similar turnaround for the University’s musicals scene. A musical theatre club has actually already existed at the University for some time now, but its activity has been inconsistent and has left a void in the University’s theater offerings, which include many other productions but few musicals. O’Donnell hopes to be the one to fill that void.

We recognize the immense difficulties that must be involved in such an ambitious project, and we applaud O’Donnell for his initiative and effort. We also congratulate all of the students working to create common-interest communities for the Small Houses Program. The amount of planning and organization that must go into creating such communities is substantial, but students have worked tirelessly to put together programs that will genuinely serve the University community—for example, the University’s first gender-neutral housing.

All of these examples demonstrate that dedicated students really can make a big difference in their campus community—a fact especially important considering the short life-cycle of many student organizations. All student organizations must deal with the issue of member turnover. Students are usually only at the University for four years; groups are forced to give up their more experienced members upon graduation, and may or may not be able to find fresh members to replace them. Talent and interest fluctuate from year to year, but a few consecutive bad years can easily plunge a previously successful organization into a cycle of futility.

Still, students should take heart from the success stories around them and realize that even if disaster has struck their favorite organizations, they can still do something about it. As long as students retain hope, they can potentially turn things around. We hope that O’Donnell will be successful in his endeavors; we hope that The Counterweight, just now publishing its first issue of the semester with a depleted staff, can succeed in returning to its former glory; and we wish the best for anyone else attempting to revitalize an organization or start a new one.

It only takes a few dedicated students to inspire others and turn things around; the results of engaging in action rather than remaining apathetic can be momentous.

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Editorial

Editorial

A college university is a place where differences in opinion are encouraged. Many of the speakers and programs here at the University are designed to challenge students to question their beliefs and explore new avenues of thought. Sometimes, the debates can become quite polarizing. The heated exchanges over whether “Gay. fine by God?” is an appropriate theme for a forum series or whether the University’s administration and students are taking enough preventive measures to stop  alcohol abuse on campus are examples of this.

As a result, it’s exceptionally refreshing to find a time when the entire campus community unites behind a common goal. The men’s basketball team’s run for the Patriot League Championship is doing just that. The unanimous support from students, staff and administrators reveals the underlying sense of community that binds everyone at the campus together.

The basketball games have been amazing experiences at all levels. Our student athletes and their coaches are working hard to play their best. Students are attending games in record numbers, proudly wearing  orange and blue and cheering the team on. Professors and administrators can often be spotted in the crowd as well. Other sports teams have come as a group to support their fellow athletes.

The Bison Backers program allowed students to purchase basketball tickets for the entire season, but the program does not cover postseason games. The Office of the President stepped in and purchased tickets for all of the students in the Bison Backers program and is distributing them before each game free of charge. This gesture demonstrates that our University administrators both care about the success of our students and care about cultivating a sense of community at the University.

During a time in which campus climate is such a big issue, it is refreshing to see the campus community come together in such a wholeheartedly positive way. The success of the men’s basketball team has emphasized our common identities as Sojka Psychos and Bison fans. We may be students or faculty, men or women, black or white, Greeks or non-Greeks, conservative or liberal, gay or heterosexual, drinkers or non-drinkers, religious or non-religious, engineers or students in the College of Arts and Sciences–but for a few hours during each game, what matters is not how we are different but how we are the same.

Even after the basketball season is over and we begin to return to our normal lives, we must not forget this common identity, and we must allow this Bison spirit to live on. Our differences are not unimportant, and our beliefs may be worth fighting for, but emphasizing our common bonds brings out the best in us.

Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Not only Greek life to blame for dangerous alcohol consumption

To the editor:

As a rare reader of The Bucknellian, when I heard about John Stevenson’s article “University’s attempts to halt binge drinking inadequate” I assumed that he was just calling University students a bunch of alcoholics. After picking up the article for myself I finally understand why people were talking about it. He points out the increase in drinking incidents and begins to call out the Greek system, Public Safety and the University itself for not preventing this from happening. He does so articulately and passionately, not as one who intends to insult the school as a whole, but as one who hopes to make it better. However, if I completely agreed with John I wouldn’t be writing this. First off, he claimed that there was a 300% increase in the number of reported sexual assaults. It is a 300% increase in the number of hospitalizations from the semester before. We had 42 hospitalizations last semester, but only a total of 20 hospitalizations for the whole year prior. While John has the best intentions, I feel as though he calls out the wrong people. I first want to point out that we are only hearing the whole statistic. We hear no breakdown of guy/girl, year, Greek/non-Greek, 4Loko/non-4Loko. The only thing we hear is the increase in hospitalizations and number of alcohol-related incidents. When I asked a Dean flat out, I was told that about 35% of both hospitalizations and alcohol-related incidents were Greek. He either didn’t have the breakdown by gender or year in front of him or he refused to tell me. On a campus that is more than 50% Greek (freshman included) this tends to indicate that the Greek students are being safer than non-Greeks. With the numbers stated above it seems like I imply freshmen are to blame. I have no breakdown by year, so I give no comment. To say Public Safety sits idly by while drinking occurs on campus is an insult to them. There are only three places where drinking occurs: downtown, fraternity houses and in dorms. Out of the total drinking incidents that occur (a little more than 250 last semester) more than 60% occur downtown, which is out of the jurisdiction of Public Safety. Public Safety is not here to get us in trouble; they are here for our safety. Greeks are in constant talks with Public Safety almost daily. And as any Greek member knows, if someone gets too drunk at your house, you get in trouble–not only that, it makes your fraternity look bad. So what needs to be known is that the Greeks self-police themselves and those who attend their parties, whether this is because fear of getting in trouble, worries about image or decent human empathy. So this leads me to dorms. You can’t expect Public Safety to station an officer in every dorm every night, can you? No one can blame the RA’s. Like Public Safety, they are not here to bust freshmen, but are here for our safety. While John said the student body must receive aid from the school, I disagree. Now that these numbers are around campus and the student body is aware of the situation, I honestly believe the alcohol-related incidents will decrease, but it is our job to be active and self-police to prevent the increasing trend in alcohol related incidents. We must remember that we are adults and while the school and Public Safety are here to help us out, they are not here to hold our hands and baby us through life.

Tej Pahwa ’12

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Headline News

Senior gift installed in Elaine Langone Center

By Mike McPhee

Managing Editor

The class gift from this year’s outgoing seniors won’t be formally unveiled until a traditional champagne toast in April, but it is already attracting attention from students who pass through the new student lounge in the Elaine Langone Center (ELC) .

The Senior Class Congress brainstormed gift ideas and found inspiration in their three favorite gifts from past classes: the Christy Mathewson Gates, the bison statue outside the Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center (KLARC), and the basketball mural on the wall just inside the entrance of Sojka Pavilion. These ideas are incorporated into the mosaic they designed and purchased as their gift.

“The concept for the design was focused around our class motto, ‘Live with Integrity. Empower through Knowledge. Lead with Courage.’ We felt the Christy Mathewson Gates and the bison signified this. We feel like we entered the gates of knowledge during our freshman year orientation, Christy Mathewson was a man with great integrity that all Bucknellians should aspire to, and no animal leads with greater courage than a bison,” senior class president Matt Hotard ’11 said.

Many students can be seen peering over the caution tape surrounding the new mosaic, which is located in the floor on the ground floor of the ELC.

“I really like what the University did with the space, giving the students an area to gather, and I am especially glad that my class has added its own mark on it to show some Bucknell pride,” Adam Selby ’11 said.
Other students have mixed feelings about the choice of gift.
“I think that it’s really interesting and it expresses some very encouraging themes in its design. However, I would be more inclined to choose something that gives back to the campus in a more physical way. While this particular gift adds beauty to the new student center, their choice could have better reflected a material need for the college,” Sean Fortney ’12 said.

Hotard would like to thank Gretchen Heuges, the director of the Craft Center, senior class adviser Dean Kari Conrad and the members of the Senior Class Congress for their help with the planning and implementation of the mosaic.

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Opinion

Watson’s debut on ‘Jeopardy!’ raises more questions than answers

By Mike McPhee

Managing Editor

The game show “Jeopardy!” featured an unprecedented contestant this week: Watson, an IBM-created supercomputer with highly sophisticated software, competed against “Jeopardy!” superstars Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in a trivia test of man versus machine. For a machine that was designed to win at trivia competitions, Watson’s performance generated more questions than answers.

The idea of a computer that plays “Jeopardy!” has drawn media attention back to the development of artificial intelligence, something that has been quietly worked on by computer scientists and engineers for years. How soon will it be before machines become smarter than humans? Is Watson the first step in that direction?

Watson’s “Jeopardy!” performance does not tell us much about that bigger picture. Its most strikingly “human” trait is that it is not perfect. Despite IBM’s four years of research and development, there were still some shortcomings to Watson’s “thought” processes that became obvious over the course of the three-day “Jeopardy!” special.

For example, on the second day of the showing, Watson got 24 of the 25 questions in Double Jeopardy right. When prompted with the Final Jeopardy question, “U.S. Cities: Its largest airport is named for a WWII hero. Its second largest is named after a WWII battle,” Watson answered “Toronto.” The studio audience was shocked that this supercomputer came up with an answer that was so obviously incorrect. Watson also had an odd tendency to end all of its Daily Double wagers with atypical amounts instead of a round multiple of $100.

Watson did win the competition on “Jeopardy!”  In fact, it earned more money than both Jennings and Rutter combined. But compare its success rate to other electronic devices you own. It wouldn’t be acceptable if your cell phone only answered 24 out of 25 of your phone calls, or if sometimes your computer misinterpreted what you clicked on screen. Watson’s algorithm needs to be further developed before it can be branched out to other applications.

Those potential applications are quite interesting. Watson’s technology could be used to replace jobs that are currently held by humans – for example, answering questions when you call a help number for a broken computer, or even conducting telemarketing more intelligently.

In addition, Watson is very good at taking vast quantities of data as an input, receiving a question and formulating a useful output; in this way, it could function as a more advanced form of a search engine for important data-intensive fields like medical research.

Before this can happen, work still needs to be done. The computers that Watson is built out of fill an entire room, draw an enormous amount of power and certainly are not cheap. It is definitely not cost-effective to use a Watson to replace a human at a job yet.

The real take-away message for people who watched the “Jeopardy!” special is not that we should “welcome our new computer overlords,” as Ken wrote during his Final Jeopardy answer on Wednesday. We should keep an eye on the developing technology of “deep thought” computer programs as enhancements to human intelligence, not replacements for it.

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News

Speaker raises sexual assault awareness

By Mike McPhee

Managing Editor

Gender violence incidents like sexual assault, domestic violence and rape are frequently labeled as “women’s issues,” but men must take an active role in preventing them as well, said a prominent sexual assault awareness speaker on Monday.

Dr. Jackson Katz, who is internationally recognized for his work in gender violence prevention through education of men and boys, gave a lecture titled “More Than a Few Good Men: Lecture on American Manhood and Violence Against Women” in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on Monday night.

Katz said that men of all ages cannot continue to deny that other men are the perpetrators of almost all gender violence. He called upon men to have the courage to speak out against cultural norms and perceptions of masculinity that support violence against women.

“If we monsterize the men who do  the bad behavior, then we can distance ourselves from it … The true wisdom for men is not how distant these people are, but how much we have in common with them,” Katz said.

Gender violence is more widespread than many people realize, Katz said, because the emotional and personal nature of the issue often prevents dialogue from starting about it.

“Statistically speaking, many women in the room have been sexually assaulted. That’s a fact,” he said.

Although women are much more frequently the victims of sexual assault and rape than men, Katz emphasized that gender violence incidents still affect men indirectly. Examples given by Katz include fathers whose daughters were raped, men who have relationship issues when dating women who were emotionally hurt by sexual abuses in the past, and children who grew up in homes with men who abused their mothers.

These “bystanders” who are embedded in the effects of gender violence are the focus of the Mentors in Violence Program (MVP) that Katz co-founded. The program educates people on ways to speak up and prevent the violent acts before they occur.

“The peer culture polices itself,” Katz said.

The event was cosponsored by the Women’s Resource Center and the Interfraternity Council. A large portion of the Greeks on campus attended the event.

“The onus is on us as men to take a strong stance and deal with the issue of sexual assault in a better way.  As Greek leaders, we need to lead this movement,” said Michael Higgins ’12, Interfraternity Council President.

Katz also brought clips from some of his educational films that he has made, but the projector system failed and most of the clips could not be shown to the audience. More information about his films is available on his website.

Students who are interested in further discussing gender violence prevention should check the Message Center for more information from the Women’s Resource Center about upcoming readings of Katz’s book, “The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help.”

Categories
News

Diversity speaker promotes black fraternities

By Mike McPhee

Senior Writer

For members of historically African American fraternities and sororities, membership is a commitment that lasts a lifetime, said a prominent African American author.

Dr. Lawrence Ross Jr., a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and author of the book “The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities,” spoke to a crowd of predominantly Greek students in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday night.

“With African American fraternal organizations, it is built to be a lifetime love of activity … Our response will always be I AM a member, in the present tense,” Ross said. “Our leadership cannot stop once we get our degree.”

Ross said the historical origins of National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternal organizations fostered their characteristic lifelong membership. The nine historically African American fraternities and sororities, nicknamed “The Divine Nine” in his book, were a way for African Americans in higher education to develop leadership, become first-class citizens and end discrimination.

Ross said it is the responsibility of fraternity and sorority members to uphold the ideals that their founders laid out for their institutions.

“When you are initiated into your organization, you have now told the world that you are about to follow the principles and ideals that your fathers created over 100 years ago. That means they expect you to actually live up to those principles—and living up to those principles is not a part-time job,” Ross said.

Despite the differences between “The Divine Nine” and other fraternities, Ross had other advice that was applicable to all Greeks. Using his past experiences as a guide, he warned students about the dangers of the “slippery slope” leading to hazing and about the importance of not becoming preoccupied with social events.

“The weak links are the ones who give us our reputations,” Ross said, adding that students should remember that they are constantly representing their Greek organization and must be consistent in their behavior.

“You cannot mold a person; you can grow a person. That’s the beauty of fraternalism,” he said.

Although he was advertised to the campus community as a “diversity speaker,” Ross did not directly speak on the topic of diversity in the Greek system at the University. The only NPHC fraternity with an active chapter at the University is Kappa Alpha Psi.

“My impression of the reaction of many students was that the idea of ‘black’ Greek organizations is racist, and therefore undermined the notion of the lecture as a ‘diversity speech.’ Students should also understand that the existence of historically African American fraternities and sororities stems from a long history of discrimination and the culture has been built up around that history,” Matt Tilford ’11 said. “While Ross’ talk may not have been very equitable in tone, it certainly still accomplished its goal of discussing diversity.”