Author: pjs040

By Lizzie Kirshenbaum

Contributing Writer

As someone who thinks of the YouTube video “Marcel the Shell” when asked about her opinions on the mining of Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, I felt slightly out of place attending the University’s forum on the topic.

This panel discussion between Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw and Pennsylvania House Representative Rick Mirabito ultimately turned out to be a verbally uncontainable debate extending into the members of the audience.

Sitting in the audience with only a handful of other students there for the same purpose as myself–extra credit–I started to wonder why a top-tier liberal arts university could not produce a greater turnout for such an important political event.

Marcellus Shale is a natural gas that could radically change Pennsylvania’s energy development, and yet at a university whose first-year class is composed of 20% Pennsylvanian residents, only about a dozen students were in attendance of this forum.

Despite the lack of student representation, the audience was fairly full but with people of a slightly grayer hair color than the average University student. These local residents attending the forum brought their notepads and pens but unlike myself, without intentions of writing a summary for their professor; rather, they were there listening intently, formulating questions for the speakers.

As Mirabito spoke, an overwhelming amount of support could be drawn from the audience, but when it came time for Republican Senator Yaw to take the podium, several derogatory comments were made before he could even finish formulating his opening statement. In fact, Senator Yaw threatened to walk out several times in response to the slurs.

Prior to this night I knew that Marcellus Shale was a valuable commodity in Pennsylvania; what I learned from this forum was that Marcellus Shale is an extremely touchy subject for Pennsylvanian residents and that very few of these residents understood the concept of keeping their questions “brief.” I walked into the forum expecting to be staring at the clock for the majority of it but found myself engrossed in the fervor of the attendees.

“I hope you don’t consider yourself pro-life,” muttered a nervous man through the microphone to Senator Yaw, “because of the miscarriages you are going to cause in this state.”

This man was only one of the initial seven who immediately formed a line when the mediator announced questions would now be taken. As I listened to these people ask their intricate questions and make their odious comments I instantly compared it to question-and-answer portion of the Paul Rusesabagina lecture.

Two weeks ago, Rwandan humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina spoke in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts and when he prompted the students to ask questions, one would have thought he had invited them to leave.

Where have the outspoken college students gone? We wear our bracelets that say “Save Darfur” and participate in walks to raise money for cancer, but where is our passion? It seems as though we’ve forgotten who the hippies were and only remember them as inspiration for Halloween costumes.

They staged protests, they vocalized their beliefs, they were a community of activists. Perhaps this passion has dwindled due to the overwhelming fascination our generation has with technology.

Everyday I pass the newsstands located in the Elaine Langone Center and the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library and see free copies of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal remain perfectly in their stacks. The number of people attending college has risen extraordinarily seen the 1960s, and yet it appears as though those in attendance lack the intellectual interest of those before them to be active or even informed concerning current events.

But perhaps I am wrong in identifying this generation gap; after all, the outspoken woman sitting in front of me at the forum was blatantly texting on her iPhone throughout the evening.

By Amanda Ayers

Contributing Writer

After hearing of the University’s plan to reduce the off-campus housing available to students, I had mixed feelings. I trusted the University’s judgment but struggled with the issue because it seemed to me that having the opportunity, especially as a senior, to live off-campus would make the transition to the “real world” after graduation much smoother.

There is a certain freedom and responsibility intrinsic to living on your own. After pondering this issue more, I feel as though the ideal solution would be to decrease off-campus student housing but not to the extent that has been rumored. By finding a good balance, this new development could be bring about the best of both worlds.

What I think characterizes the University is its feeling of community. Having an increased number of students living on campus would certainly foster this more. The University truly believes in the value of learning both in and outside of the classroom.

There are highly knowledgeable individuals within the University that pride themselves on being able to structure residence halls that have the potential for deep student learning and growth in this context.

I think that by having more, but not all, students live on campus, the University will be able to maintain more control over residential life and have more of a positive influence on it. By allowing a large handful of students to live off-campus, this will simultaneously give those students who desire the opportunity to feel more independent from the campus the ability to do so.

Also, the off-campus houses that these students choose to live in will be better because the school will only keep those properties that they feel meet their high standards.

This plan will also be efficient and beneficial for the township of Lewisburg and surrounding community. The housing that does not meet the University’s standards can be converted to retail space that will certainly better the entire area. The University could play an integral part in maintaining Lewisburg’s charm and vibrant economy through investment in new businesses, which would subsequently lead to more jobs.

This area of converted old housing will act as a “gateway neighborhood” to connect the campus and the downtown commercial district. It would help unify the entire community, which would not only help Lewisburg but also the University to thrive.

By Erin Kircher

Contributing Writer

As a three-year-old who enjoyed the comforts of familiarity, I was devastated on the day my mom decided to sell my car seat at a garage sale. As far as I was concerned, that car seat and I had a bond that no one had the right to tear apart.

Of course, that car seat was just as ordinary as any other. What really caused my three-year-old tantrum was the introduction of change in my life. At that point, I was quite naive to the fact that from then on I would face a seemingly constant stream of changing situations.

There is little consistency or predictability in life. In the words of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “nothing endures but change.” My life has taken me in directions that I never imagined possible, some wonderful and some so difficult that I still do not understand why they had to happen. While you are able to shape certain aspects of your life, a large chunk of your experiences are out of your control.

Rather than cling to any bit of constancy in life and hope for time to stand still, I suggest we stop resisting change. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine.” We stand in our own sunshine by resisting the transformation that change brings.

Think of it this way: if times never changed, we would still be stuck as our extremely awkward, middle-school selves. Well, maybe you weren’t awkward, but I certainly was. Of course, at the time, I did not want things to change. Waving a brightly colored poster at the ‘N Sync concert and singing along to “Bye, Bye, Bye,” I seriously thought I might have a chance with Justin Timberlake’s dreamy teenage self.  Thank goodness change endured.

College presents us with an endless number of adjustments. From having your first taste of independence as a first-year to applying for jobs as a senior, no one semester of college is much like another. Add in a dose of personal drama, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed.

While taking these major steps in personal development can be scary, it also shapes you in influential ways. Not every change is positive or easy, and it is no simple task to smile in the face of adversity. However, negative situations can lead you to positive outcomes.

By Tracy Lum

Senior Editor

Over the past two weeks, I’ve seen many of my friends in engineering majors disappear into the mysterious chambers of Dana Engineering Building as they finalize their top-secret plans for Engineers Week. Even when they finally surface, their attention lingers on the promise of triumph and borders on paranoia, as they search the Bison for rival engineers (or spies).

They speak in code or whispers, waiting for the approach of any engineer–friend or foe–who might overhear their conversation. Whether to brag about how their banner, video and poem will undoubtedly dominate the other engineering departments, or to eavesdrop on other engineers’ plans, my friends clearly have only one thing on their minds: E-Week.

This year, the University is celebrating its tenth observed Engineers Week, a tradition that developed out of National Engineers Week. Typically the six engineering departments compete with each other in creative events, engage in outdoor games like a math relay and eating contest, and culminate the celebration with a fancy dinner where the final scores are revealed, and the Golden Hammer is awarded to the winning department.

It’s a week of competition, creativity, team building and spirit, as well as a week that ostensibly leaves students of the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management out. So why doesn’t the College of Arts and Sciences organize a week of games and competition of its own?

Think about the approximately 750 students of the Arts and Sciences in each class that don’t have the opportunity to engage in this rousing and contentious week. With 23 departments and eight interdisciplinary programs, surely the liberal arts and sciences students could pull some competition together.

Though classes tend to be larger, and though liberal arts and sciences students may not spend as much time with the same group of people, a similar A&S-Week could morph into an opportunity for students within the same majors to get to know one another.

Such a week could also build cooperative skills and foster a sense of pride and community, while also celebrating academia. Competitions could also be broken into subgroups of humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and math for greater manageability.

Since the engineers compete in activities that they associate with the liberal arts, some have questioned what a parallel A&S-Week would consist of. In reality, anything and everything. There is nothing that a true student of the liberal arts and sciences enjoys more than a good challenge.

Not only can we make banners, write poems, solve puzzles and withstand tests of physical agility, but we could do it with even greater finesse than engineers could, probably with the skills that we’ve acquired with all that extra time we don’t spend complaining about life in Dana.

Students of engineering have often deemed our college the “College of Arts & Crafts.” We who study the liberal arts know that each subject is valuable, and that our chosen majors endow us with a set of analytical, problem-solving and creative skills that cannot be found elsewhere.

With a week of our own, we could demonstrate our passion for and devotion to our areas of expertise, as well as the breadth and depth of our acquired knowledge. We could finally retaliate against the degrading remarks that engineers proffer against our majors. Arts and Sciences Week would serve as a defense of the liberal arts and the type of education that is so important to this University.

Granted, after fielding complaints about how many liberal arts and sciences students feel left out of E-Week, the engineers have so graciously opened up an interactive event to us called Night DAWG.

While a nice gesture, the students of the liberal arts and sciences do not desire a pity party. We deserve the opportunity to compete and to be recognized as a vital part of the academic community. It’s time to remember the arts and sciences at this premier liberal arts institution, and celebrating an A&S-Week is one way of doing so.

By Elle Fried

Contributing Writer

According to many online sources, the Coors Brewing Company has confirmed that they will be releasing a new special can, crafted specifically for the purpose of shotgunning.

For those of you who are unaware of what shotgunning entails, it is the act of poking a hole in the side of a beer can (preferably with a key), slightly opening the tab on the top of the can and then drinking the beer out of the hole that was poked in on the side as fast as you can.

This new can will feature a second tab on the side of the can which will avoid the unruly cuts on fingers and lips that inevitably happen.

I am sure that the main criticism of this innovation is that it will encourage binge drinking, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of college kids know what shotgunning is and how to do it; therefore, I don’t believe it will encourage binge drinking and irresponsible behavior. This type of drinking is going to happen whether or not there is an extra tab to shotgun.

In fact, I believe it makes this act even safer. By avoiding the need to stab the can with a foreign object, it eliminates the likelihood of someone cutting or hurting oneself. Additionally, it would also prevent sharp edges from cutting the mouth, which could lead to severe infections.

Because shotgunning at times may be an unsafe action, there is no harm in helping them be a little bit safer. Coors is simply trying to assist drinkers with a college pastime that people of the legal drinking may or may not choose to engage in.

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

Well, I never thought that I would have anything in common with pop star and five-time Grammy award-winner Christina Aguliera except for our love for the city of Pittsburgh. But, after Super Bowl XLV, we now share the story of a “most embarrassing moment.”

Our nation has sung the difficult melody of “The Star Spangled Banner” at sporting events and July 4 parades for years. Different musicians have put their own individual spin on the well-known tune, but these harmonies and rearrangements never before included the omission of the lyrics.

Now, I said that Christina Aguliera and I share an embarrassing moment, but they are definitely not equivalent.

My social trauma occurred in high school at a middle school hockey game. I was running the scoreboard and was required to play the national anthem.  However, due to technical difficulties, it would not play. My friend who was working with me told me to “just say it” (meaning say that there was technical difficulties), but I interpreted this to mean, “Go right ahead and sing the national anthem.”

Well, I cannot sing, and when I got to the climactic part about the rockets, I failed to remember what color the rockets’ glare was. Once I remembered, I slowed down and my voice shook even more, but I continued and finished out our country’s anthem strong.

OK, not that bad right? I mean, who goes to middle school hockey games anyway? Christina Aguliera, on the other hand, blew it in front of a national audience.

With her extravagant riffs and ability to belt out any note, she started out strong; then the letdown set in. I felt bad for the troops serving overseas who had to stand there while some pop star celebrity botched the theme song of the American soldier. Christina Aguliera replaced “O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming ” with “What so proudly we watch’d at the twilight’s last streaming.”

Good one, Xtina. That doesn’t even make sense. Still, according to www.songfacts.com, one poll showed that 61% of Americans don’t know all of the words and only 39% of those who claimed to know the words correctly said what came after “Whose broad stripes and bright stars.”

Come on, America, that’s pathetic. This song represents our country and demonstrates our unity, yet we don’t even know the words. While both Christina Aguliera and I have had embarrassing moments surrounding this song, I think the above statistics are our entire country’s most embarrassing moment. If you are reading this article and do not know the words to our nation’s anthem, please take a break from studying and look them up.

Our only hope is the fact that both Christina Aguliera and myself recovered and finished strong, proving that even through embarrassing times, America really is the “home of the brave.”

Now if only the Steelers could have recovered and finished strong …

By Leah Rogers

Contributing Writer

Everyone has a dirty little secret, whether it is sneaking an extra piece of cake late at night or Facebook-stalking your latest crush. For many of us, that little secret happens every Thursday night at 10 p.m.–watching Jersey Shore.

MTV’s popular show is on its third season now and it’s still going strong, attracting 8.4 million viewers for the season premiere. For those of you who don’t know, Jersey Shore follows the lives of eight New Jersey Italians, who refer to themselves as “guidos,” although we now know that not all of them are truly from Jersey, or even Italian.

Their lives consist mainly of “GTL,” more commonly known as gym, tanning and laundry, and they love to party all the time. They occasionally work in a T-shirt shop on the Seaside Heights boardwalk, but their attitudes at work are always pretty poor.

Although the concept of the show–getting paid to party and be on TV–is ridiculous, millions of people still enjoy watching it every week. The group goes out to clubs and drinks large amounts of alcohol most nights of the week.

This sets a poor example of behavior for many teens today who are struggling with increasing alcohol consumption at younger ages. However, this does not stop anyone from watching it.

The show also has consistently had a degrading view towards women. The main goal of the guys on the show when they go out is to find a woman to bring home with them. Younger teens who watch this will think that non-committal, mostly sexual relationships are the norm.

The “guidos” also refer to ugly girls as “grenades” and refuse to stay with them. This shows younger teens that they have to be good-looking for guys to like them and increases body image issues in a world where many young girls are already struggling with them. However, once again, this does not stop anyone from watching the show.

People love watching Jersey Shore. They know in the back of their minds that the show sets poor examples and paints New Jersey in a poor light, but they don’t care to say anything about it. Some people think the Jersey Shore lifestyle is ideal and strive to be like the characters on the show, but most people have a little more common sense.

Many people still watch the show for their own entertainment, but since it sends out many poor messages, people feel the need to refer to it as their dirty little secret.

By Erin Kircher

Contributing Writer

College is amazing. That’s the message I got at age 14 the day I visited my brother at his unbelievably messy, deafeningly loud fraternity house. I found myself mesmerized by the excitement and freedom of this lifestyle.

If I had been able to, I would have packed up my bags and started college myself the next day. Unfortunately, I had several years of SAT preparation, AP classes and college counseling before I was ready for that step.

Growing up, so much of our time is spent preparing and looking forward to college. As antsy adolescents caught in constant screaming matches with our parents, we held on to the hope of one day being free from curfews and other tedious rules.

While movies like “Old School” and “Van Wilder” are extremely entertaining, they only escalate our optimistic expectations for college. In these films, college is unrealistically portrayed as all raging parties and endless good times. This puts an enormous amount of pressure on your college experience.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard the phrase, “College will be the best four years of your life.” While I certainly can’t argue with the sentiment that college is an incredibly life-changing time, I have to express my frustrations with the idea that in the 80-plus years you may live, you have only four golden years–and you peak by about age 22.

I’ve enjoyed college enormously thus far, and I intend to continue doing so. But it is only a brief phase of life and there are so many other exciting phases to experience.

For all those students out there who are daunted by the idea of stepping outside of this “Bucknell Bubble” and venturing out into the “real world,” let me highlight some potentially bright parts of your post-college life.

First of all, no homework (sorry future graduate school students, it may take you a while to reach this benefit). Time off work no longer means hours spent in the library. Even better, some salaried positions offer paid vacations. Getting paid to enjoy yourself? Sounds good to me.

If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on the fun of intramural sports, think again. There are organizations like ZogSports in NYC, where you can form your own co-ed league. There are also an endless number of charities to involve yourself in; you just won’t have the luxury of finding out about all of them at a community service fair.

Some of us may never want to leave college like Ryan Reynolds in “Van Wilder,” because we’ve been convinced that nothing can ever be as wild and stimulating as college life.

If you want the next (hopefully) 60-plus years of your life to be just as amazing, then that is up to you to make them so. It is not so much our circumstances that decide our happiness, but how we react to our circumstances.