Author: Rob Duffy

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Letters to the Editor Opinion

Response to gun control article predictable and disturbing

To the editor:

I just opened up the editorial section of The Bucknellian and was humored by the lively response on the “Gun Policy” (“Tuscon tragedy shouldn’t affect gun control policy,” Feb. 2) by Alexander Riley to editorial writer Amanda Ayers. While the editorial opinion piece may have lacked pertinent details supporting the enforcement of existing gun laws as written, it nevertheless adequately supported the second amendment and the founders’ intentions. The response, on the other hand, while well intentioned, was an unfortunately predictable piece riddled (no pun intended) with holes, emotion and misguided logic.

Let us first start with the “obligatory” reference to the founders, who he wryly remarks “we are told liked guns.” While it is historically debatable what the founders’ personal likes and dislikes were, what is clear is that the “invitation to struggle” that became the U.S. Constitution was brilliantly framed to limit powers of each branch of government and, more profoundly, to outline protections of its citizenry by listing what a government writ large could not control. The Federalist Papers and Anti-Federalist Papers leading up to the Constitutional Convention clearly followed one key vanguard that was codified into law – an inherent and wise distrust of what often develops when centralized power devolves to tyranny over its citizenry. Mr. Riley accurately identifies social norms that did not track with later values in the 19th and 20th centuries, and they were rightly corrected through the amendment process. He incorrectly draws parallels that evolving social norms now must be aggressively applied to gun ownership, and that drafting additional laws to restrict lawful gun ownership is essential, presumably regardless of whether or not they progressively whittle away at a constitutional right with a clear endgame. The follow-up questions then become: is a deliberate journey to undermine the Second Amendment and slowly prevent lawful gun ownership by citizens the right path? Is private gun ownership in and of itself an outdated concept in the modern world? Ask the Korean-American business establishments during the L.A. riots or, perhaps more recently (albeit abroad), the Green movement in Iran what they think on this subject.

Mr. Riley also conveniently skips details in his argument, like the magazine bans that have occurred elsewhere, previous “assault-looking” weapons bans and other laws that have had in fact adverse impacts on crime; that cities with the most restrictive anti-gun laws like Washington D.C., Detroit and Los Angeles have experienced increases in gun violence when the “bad guys” became the only ones who are carrying them. Conversely, numerous other cities have experienced the reverse when concealed permits were increased.

The shooter in the Tucson tragedy, certifiably insane by any measure, was in fact already in violation of numerous gun laws already in place, and he will no doubt suffer the consequences for his actions. Yes, the “man” did do the action, and yes, a large clip enabled him to carry out this crime with ruthless efficiency and violence. What Mr. Riley omits is that someone of this mind, already in violation of the law, could and likely would have resorted to other measures such as a homemade bomb, an automobile, rat poison or any other imaginable means with equally deadly efficiency, precision and murderous results. Sociopaths do these things, hence the name, and a reactive and alarmist response (with a political agenda behind it) to such horrors makes for bad broad policy and further limits rights, like it or not Mr. Riley, that are in fact guaranteed under the Constitution. I wonder what Mr. Riley’s response would have been if a private citizen legally carrying a firearm had downed this sociopath, as has occurred at other crime scenes. No mind, he was on a roll. “The Germans were bombing Pearl Harbor,” as John Belushi so eloquently pointed out in “Animal House.”

Let us next look at the “more Americans died between 1965 and 2000 from firearm accidents than were killed in the entire duration of the Vietnam war” argument. Perhaps based on that we should outlaw cars, motorcycles, power tools and lawnmowers, which data show clearly have killed more Americans than either Vietnam or firearms. Perhaps the most disturbing remark of the response, however, was, “It is depressing to see how frequently, in this country where education levels are so high, and even in a university like this one where students must excel academically just to gain admission, the falsehoods of the extremist gun lobby are uncritically reiterated in this manner.” Translation: even though you must be “book smart” to get into a school of this caliber, you are nonetheless ignorant to disagree with me (in upholding the Constitution) … perhaps in time you will become more “enlightened” (as I am) and see the real truth someday as it is outlined in partisan writings of like-minded individuals. Wow, I guess those founders really didn’t know what they were up to.

Katherine Bourque

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News

Comprehensive fee increases next year

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

The new comprehensive fee for the 2011-12 school year will be estimated at $54,240, the University announced in a letter sent to parents last week. This figure is comprised of $43,628 for tuition, an estimated $10,374 for room and board (which varies depending on the type of housing a student lives in) and $238 for additional fees. The total is up 3.7% from the current year’s estimated $52,280; according to the letter, this increase is the lowest at the University in the past ten years. More information will follow in next week’s edition of The Bucknellian.

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Opinion

University’s attempts to halt binge drinking inadequate

By John Stevenson

Publication Designer

Within the next year, there is a high chance that a University student will lose his or her life to alcohol.

During the Greek Officer Orientation in January, President John Bravman and several other University administrators and alumni discussed ominous statistics from the fall semester: a 300-percent increase in the number of reported sexual assaults and 42 students hospitalized for alcohol-related issues. Of those students hospitalized, two experienced cardiac arrest. Yes, they were saved, but for some period of time, our classmates, our peers, were dead.

These issues—while a blight on campuses everywhere—have reached crisis proportions here.

Attempts to remedy the escalation of assaults come to campus in the form of marches, speakers and book groups—University students surely know there is a problem. The issues, however, will not be solved in these ways. Colossal problems must be solved in forceful ways. The University must put forth a comprehensive, unified and aggressive effort to mitigate sexual assaults and the related scourge, binge drinking.

To state the obvious: There is never any excuse for sexual assault. No one asks for it; no one deserves it. The damage is irreparable, and it is a pain which survivors carry for the entirety of their lives. If the survivor is comfortable with telling his or her friends and loved ones, the pain—while potentially easier to manage when shared—spreads. University students feel this weight in our own hearts because of our strong sense of community.

The sexual assault epidemic on campus is not rooted in a flawed mentality in men; it is prevalent because of a flawed mentality propagated in all students, faculty and staff—namely that somehow status quo responses will yield something other than the status quo. Buying thousands of blue-colored “For-a-Better-Bucknell” wristbands is wishfully and woefully inadequate; it is credulity to think otherwise.

We are all to blame.

The University has acted too passively. It has brought speakers, supported marches and gatherings, but these things will not solve the issue. Dr. Jackson Katz’s talk last week did little. Bringing a speaker is simply inadequate for the University to claim it is doing all it can to “fix” the problem.

Katz will not have that effect. The social issues he discussed may exist, but if these flaws are the only impetus to the violence, the sexual assault rate off campus would be the same as on campus. Cities would be trying to organize book groups to protect their citizenry. This is not happening. Clearly, there is a variable which makes this surge a “within-the-Bubble” issue. The difference is the misuse of alcohol.

Alcohol has a profound impact on the number of sexual assaults. Researchers report that roughly half of all sexual assaults involve perpetrators who have been drinking; in some studies that percentage soars to nearly 80 percent (Collins and Messerschmidt 1993, Abbey et al. 1994, Crowell and Burgess 1996). While by no means suggesting the survivor is responsible for the crime, studies indicate that roughly the same percentage of those individuals had also been consuming alcohol. In addition to contributing to the skyrocketing number of sexual assaults, alcohol’s widespread and flagrant abuse on campus is significantly increasing the likelihood of a student’s death. The pain caused by this would be immeasurable. If one member was lost, the entire school would ache.

It is simply inexcusable to allow alcohol abuse to continue on our campus. Students must be more proactive in helping their friends—not just in dealing with the aftermath of binge drinking, but also in stopping it in the first place. Such aid, however, will not be enough; it must be supplemented with support from the staff, faculty and administration.

True change must occur, and for it to succeed, listen to Dr. Katz’s words from over a week ago: This solution comes from “taking a stand and taking some risks.” These words were not spoken about students; they were spoken about our administration.

Staff and faculty of the University: Act. By all means, participate in the marches, the book talks. Tell your students of the risks. Even with these efforts, more must be done.

The University and Public Safety must no longer turn a blind eye to the binge drinking on campus, nor can they—or the local authorities—ignore the excessive drinking that happens in downtown houses leased to University students.

On campus, it is common to see Public Safety sitting in cars on Fraternity Road as hordes of students stumble in and out of fraternity houses hosting unregistered events. Officers, entire sororities do not live in one fraternity house, especially if they are seen serially staggering in on a Wednesday.

Again, this is not about a beer or two with your buddies, or moderate social drinking, or drinking responsibly. This is the kind of drinking that puts people in the hospital, or stops their hearts, or risks irreparable harm to the drinkers and the people around them.

If a fraternity flagrantly and frequently defies the rules or is routinely found in possession of too much alcohol for its events, punish it. Thoroughly search the venue if it wishes to hold an event, and discipline the fraternity if the search finds contraband. Let the punishment—especially for repeated violations—be meaningful.

Greek life is an integral part of the University experience. Dealing seriously with these issues is not hostile to Greek life or its principles—quite the opposite; our founders would wholeheartedly support action to uphold that which is right.

University students are favored to attend an institution that sincerely cares about its students. We are fortunate to have a well-trained and just Department of Public Safety. Most importantly, we are blessed to have one another, each of us part of a community that would do anything to keep a member from harm.

Now is the time for that. Now is the time for this campus to burst the binge-drinking bubble. Time to address this problem and the problems that stem from it, forcefully, fully, and like our lives depended on it.

Because they do.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial

On Monday night, Dr. Jackson Katz gave a lecture about the need for men to take an active role in preventing gender violence. The speech was sponsored by the Interfraternity Council and the Women’s Resource Center and is the latest in a series of efforts to improve campus climate at the University. The majority of the Greek community, both fraternities and sororities, were present at the event. In the wake of Katz’s speech, much of campus is involved in discussing ways to reduce sexual assault and other abuse and violence.

Bringing speakers such as Katz to campus is an important first step. Many faculty members are also striving to continue the conversation begun by Katz’s lecture. Groups of professors have organized reading groups to discuss books dealing with gender violence issues (including Katz’s book), some of which are specifically targeted at female students and some of which are targeted at males. Other professors and department secretaries have brought up these issues in class (even in classes about completely irrelevant subject matter) and forwarded information about these reading groups to get the word out to students. On their own, students who attended the lecture have discussed their reactions to it, and even if reactions have not always been positive, some conversation and awareness about gender violence is better than none.

The faculty, administration and a selection of students clearly care very deeply about these issues. They are acknowledging the need to emphasize these issues and doing everything they can conceivably do to address them, and they should be commended for their efforts to create a safer environment on campus. But how effective their efforts will be remains to be seen.

We suspect that the people who most need to think more about these gender violence issues will be among the people least likely to attend a reading group discussion or take a lecture such as Katz’s seriously. Indeed, many students seemed to blow off Katz’s lecture. Some were seen doing homework during the speech, while others apparently got nothing out of it except irritation that it had run long. Katz was correct in his observation that many people distance themselves from these issues, thinking that they only apply to “monsters” rather than themselves, but this distancing also makes people less responsive to his message.

This is why it is so important that those who did listen and do care take action. These people must refuse to let themselves be “bystanders” and must step up to stop abuse as it happens. They must also realize that “gender violence” is not merely rape; unwanted touching and groping and verbal harassment are also harmful. Perhaps most difficult, they must be willing to stand up for what’s right, even if it means going against their friends.

The administration and faculty have done everything they can do; whether or not their efforts succeed is up to the student body.

Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor

Tuscon Tragedy MUST Affect Gun Policy

To the editor:

Amanda Ayers’ opinion piece (“Tucson tragedy shouldn’t affect gun control policy”) demonstrates how much work is still to be done in educating the public regarding sane firearm policy. Her editorial is little more than a jumble of gun lobby myths and falsehoods that fails to seriously engage the public health problem of firearm proliferation in American society.

She makes the obligatory reference to the Founders, who, we are told, liked guns a lot, and therefore we should too. But the Founders also believed that women should not have the vote and that the institution of slavery could be safely accommodated in a democracy, and no one today thinks those are serious positions just because they were proposed by political leaders of the late 18th century. The Founders were not gods, and they did their thinking in a world without AK-47s or Glock pistols with 30+ round magazines. We do not live in their world, and we have to go beyond the historical limits of their reasoning.

Ayers cites Justice Scalia speaking critically of complete bans on handgun ownership, but Scalia clearly acknowledged in his majority opinion in the Heller case that some limitations on the Second Amendment certainly pass constitutional muster. The legislation recently proposed by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy to outlaw high capacity magazines would clearly make it harder for sociopaths to efficiently kill dozens of people with little fear of being interrupted in their vile work. Ayers repeats the gun lobby cliché: “it was not the weapon … [but] this … man’s actions” that did the harm. But the kind of weapon the sociopath wields obviously matter. Laughner fired more than 30 rounds in a matter of seconds, killing six and wounding 19. He stopped firing only when he emptied his magazine, and he was attempting to reload when onlookers took advantage of the pause to down him. How much more contained would the damage have been if he’d had to reload after only a few shots?

Ayers calls on another canard, the claim that the negatives that follow from the fact that Americans are essentially swimming in firearms (e.g., that more Americans died between 1965 and 2000 from firearm accidents than were killed in the entire duration of the Vietnam war) are outweighed by the purportedly vast number of gun owners who legally defend themselves from criminal attack. This claim has been thoroughly debunked in the research literature, and the gun lobby’s continued reliance on sources and studies that have been utterly discredited is reprehensible. The truth is that legitimate self-defense use of guns by private citizens is an exceedingly rare phenomenon. Ayers and others who share her beliefs might do well to consult this research, which is ably summarized in David Hemenway’s excellent book “Private Guns, Public Health.” The data actually show that a gun in a typical family home is more likely to produce an accidental self-inflicted wound or death, a suicide, or an act of serious domestic violence than an act of legitimate self-defense.

I do not mean to unduly chastise Ayers, who perhaps is just beginning to explore this issue and certainly has much study ahead of her. But The Bucknellian needs to do better on this deadly serious issue. It is depressing to see how frequently, in this country where education levels are so high, and even in a university like this one where students must excel academically just to gain admission, the falsehoods of the extremist gun lobby are uncritically reiterated in this manner. It is time we started thinking rationally about guns and definitively turned away from mythology.

Alexander Riley

Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial

Last week it was announced to the senior class that 100 Nights, an event that had previously brought seniors together to celebrate their time at the University, would be canceled due to problems stemming from excessive drinking and vandalism in previous years. The Office of Alumni Relations and the Career Development Center, which had hosted the event along with a student planning committee, are planning to replace it with a new event that will “provide [seniors] with a setting to enjoy each other’s company and reconnect with … first year hallmates as well as reinforce the mission of why we are all here: to educate and prepare you for a lifetime of discovery, fulfillment, critical thinking and imagination,” according to an e-mail sent to seniors.

Despite the plans for the creation of a new tradition, many students are disappointed about the discontinuation of 100 Nights. This was an event that students had looked forward to for a long time, and excitement was building as it approached. It is understandable that students are upset about its abrupt cancellation.

The problems that led to the cancellation of the event are not surprising. Widespread alcohol consumption, often to levels that can be described as “excessive,” takes place every weekend at the University. Removing or re-shaping a popular event will not eliminate irresponsible behavior from unruly seniors that night. If anything, events such as 100 Nights protect students by encouraging them to consume alcohol in a controlled environment. Even in the case of vandalism, the fairness of punishing current students for the failures of past classes is questionable. There should certainly be repercussions for students who act inappropriately, but the actions of a few should not be allowed to ruin the experiences of future students. Compared to other large-scale spring semester events like House Party Weekend, 100 Nights seems tame.

It is clear that 100 Nights was intended to be much more than just a giant party with a nostalgia theme, but many students did not seem to realize this. Few students knew that the event was organized by Alumni Relations and the CDC; many assumed that it was an official University tradition such as First Night and Orientation, except with alcohol. There seems to have been a widespread misunderstanding among students about what the event was intended to accomplish. Many students envisioned it as a drunken celebration, while the planning committee evidently wanted it to be a reflective and thoughtful experience.

The change to a new event is certainly the product of good intentions, and the planning committee has expressed every desire to create a new tradition that will be even better than 100 Nights. Still, in order to be successful, the new tradition cannot merely encourage seniors to “reflect,” “think” and “prepare.” It must also allow them to celebrate and have fun. The organizers of the event should not scale back the celebration aspect just because they fear a few participants might become too rowdy.

Students should give the new event a fair chance and realize that they can still have fun and bond together without the presence of alcohol. They need to take the the event’s thought-provoking intentions seriously or it will simply meet the same fate as 100 Nights in a few years.

This could be the start of a memorable new tradition at the University. An event created in a framework that integrates both thoughtful reflection and celebration potentially will have a much more powerful impact upon the graduating senior class than 100 Nights did in the past.

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News

Famed mountain climber to speak at University’s 161st Commencement

By Olivia Seecof

Contributing Writer

Erik Weihenmayer has been selected as the speaker for the University’s 161st Commencement on May 22.

Weihenmayer is an author, filmmaker, humanitarian and mountain climber who, in 2001, became the only blind person in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He then worked to ascend the highest peaks on all seven continents.

“As a graduating senior soon to enter a world that can at times seem intimidating and untouchable, Mr. Weihenmayer reminds me of the great capacity for achievement that every one of us possesses,” said Gar Waterman ’11, a four-year member of the Outdoor Club.

The speaker also co-founded a not-for-profit organization, No Barriers, that promotes technologies and techniques to help people with disabilities lead active lives.

Weihenmayer has received multiple awards and honors including the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement award and the Freedom Foundation’s Free Spirit Award.

While Weihenmayer is extremely accomplished, many are unaware of his story. “At first I was disappointed [in the choice of the speaker] because I was not familiar with him, whereas I had prior knowledge of the speakers for the past two graduation ceremonies.  However, after reading about Weihenmayer and his impressive achievements, I highly anticipate his speech,” Sarah Leung ’11 said.

“He had the drive and passion to achieve his dreams. I think he will be inspiring and will be a great voice to usher us into our own future,” Lexie Rueckle said .

Weihenmayer’s film “Farther Than the Eye Can See” was nominated for two Emmys and was named one of the top 20 adventure films of all time by “Men’s Journal.”

Another film production, the highly acclaimed documentary “BlindSight”, accounts Mr. Weihenmayer’s successful efforts to aid six blind Tibetan adolescents up the north side of Mount Everest.

The University plans to show “BlindSight” later in the semester to introduce Weihenmayer’s story.

“At Buckwild we did ledge climbing that was difficult, so I can’t imagine climbing Everest blind!  His story inspires me, and I’m sure all other outdoorsy people as well,” Maddie Pucciarello ’14 said.

“I think it will be very motivational, inspirational and a unifying time of reflection for the entire class,” Chelsea Burghoff ’11 said.

Mr. Weihenmayer’s story is remarkable, and he understands that there is more in the world than physical ability.  The class of 2011 and the University community are looking forward to his commencement speech.

“I believe Mr. Weihenmayer would probably be the person that best understands that climbing mountains is not just about the view from the top,” Waterman said.

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News

Creative flash mob promotes Greene lecture

By Carleen Boyer

Contributing Writer

On Feb. 8, physicist Brian Greene will visit the University as part of the “Creativity: Beyond the Box” speaker series.

Brian Greene, a professor of mathematics at Columbia University, has done research on string theory. His work may help explain many of the mysteries of our universe.

To publicize this event, the Bucknell Forum Task Force has organized a human visualization to explain the formation of the sun and the Earth.  Students can gain a perspective as to how our universe and solar system began through this demonstration, known as a flash mob.

“It helps people who are unfamiliar with the subject by having a visual to understand it,” Kim Davis ’14 said.

“We had a nice visual because in the star formation stars don’t start out by glowing. That comes out of the high temperatures and high pressures,” said Margot Vigeant, associate professor of chemical engineering, who is on the team for the “Creativity: Beyond the Box” forum series.

Greene, the bestselling writer of “The Elegant Universe,” has worked to explain string theory and the principles behind it in a way that the general population can understand.

“He’s a popular science writer, and he is explaining some of the crazy, creative stuff that people have had to come up with to explain the universe,” said Jeffery Bowen, associate professor of physics.

Greene has been able to use his own creativity to explore things that are unseen. Unlike many other research areas, string theory is not visible in our everyday life. “Imagine thinking that the universe is nine spacial dimensions,” Bowen said. “That’s pretty out of the box.”

“Since physics isn’t exactly widely discussed outside of a particular technical circle, that takes a lot of creativity and enthusiasm to reach out in the way he’s made his work have a meaningful impact,” Julie Uptegraff ’14 said.

Vigeant discusses the importance of applying creativity to all fields of study.

“In last week’s State of the Union address, the President cited innovation as one of the ways to ‘win the future,’ and innovation relies heavily upon creativity,” Vigeant said. “Now creativity is becoming part of the discussion campus wide. This forum gives us a chance to focus on how creativity is valuable and worth cultivating for everyone on campus as a part of becoming educated people.”

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Featured News

New BSG execs

By Eliza MacDonald

Contributing Writer

The new Bucknell Student Government executive board.

The Executive Board of the Bucknell Student Government (BSG) is kicking off a new year with four new board members.

The new board will serve as administrators of all BSG representatives and activities for the next calendar year.

“Our primary role is to voice the concerns of the student body, to act as a sounding board for students on campus and to act as a liaison between faculty and students,” President Phil Kim ’12 said.

Kim, who was abroad last semester, is a veteran of the BSG, along with two other executive board members: Joey Martin ’12, Vice President of Operations, and Matt Kairys ’12, Vice President of Finance.

Martin’s job consists of handling the internal workings of organizations, committees, election procedures and club recognition.

As Vice President of Finance, Kairys handles appropriating funds from the student activity fee to various student organizations and helps to plan various budgets.

Abby Vidmer ’13 is the newest member to the BSG and serves as the Vice President of Administration, working to make the efforts of the BSG more transparent to the student body, keeping track of attendance at meetings, and taking minutes at congress.

The main concern of the Executive Board is to “make sure that the organization is running at the best that it can be,” Martin said.

“The executive board positions demand a significant commitment, and students really must put extra effort into maintaining a good balance between academics and their BSG role,” said Associate Dean Kari Conrad, faculty adviser for the BSG. “Most are in the position because they are passionate about Bucknell and want to make a difference.”

Conrad considers her position as adviser “incredibly rewarding” and said that in her 11 years as adviser, she has been increasingly impressed by the quality of the students who take on the leadership roles within the Executive Board.

Since this new board is starting half way through the year, their job is to keep the work of past executive boards consistent through the next year. The new board’s first and foremost initiative is to re-evaluate BSG by further defining its purpose and function, as well as what its members want to achieve.

One of their goals is split into two major parts. The first is to incorporate outside opinion into the BSG in an effort to better understand what students are thinking. Gathering student opinion is helping them to engage the students at large.

“We think that it is a phenomenal way to reach out to students and get a good understanding of what they’re thinking, so that when we make a decision, we’re making better-informed ones,” Kim said.

Their plans for engaging student involvement are to use surveys, hold discussion groups, and to have BSG members approach students for face-to-face connections. The latter also relates to the second piece of their other goal for the upcoming year.

The second part is to make their work and efforts more transparent to the student body. Most students are probably unaware that certain programs such as ZipCar, the Café in the library and the new equipment in the gym are brought to them by the BSG. The Executive Board hopes to increase awareness from their attractive new office space.

The group feels that their new location across from the Bison Café will make them more accessible to students.

“We want you guys to know that we’re working for you and want to have your opinions coming through the door,” Kim said.

They also hope to update their page on the University’s website.

“[We are working on] finding someone to work with us on it to make it more informative with our updates on events or goals,” Vidmer said. Any and all aspiring web designers interested in helping should contact Vidmer.

“In every corner of Bucknell, BSG has some involvement, and we want to make it clear that we are here if any student wants to talk about anything or voice any concerns. We’re looking for that kind of feedback,” Kim and Martin said.

The Executive Board members invite all students to come by their door and say hello or voice a concern or an idea since they will be considering your concerns and opinions for the next calendar year.

Categories
News

100 nights cancelled

By Nicole Brigg

Contributing Writer

Many seniors were shocked by the news that the traditional event 100 Nights was canceled this year. The Office of Alumni Relations and the Career Development Center, who host the event, have a replacement for it in the planning stages.

“We are all working extremely hard to plan a new tradition and hope to far exceed expectations and quell any initial disappointment associated with the cancellation of 100 Nights,” said Michelle Beck ’11, a 2011 Homecoming host who is on the student planning committee for the event.

100 Nights was a celebration that began a countdown to mark the last days until graduation. There were slideshows played and pictures taken. Students were able to look back through their scrapbooks they made for First Night their first year. They saw this as one of their last chances to all be together and look forward to commencement.

Since the event began in 2006, its purpose was to connect the senior class in a meaningful and lasting way, but throughout the years the significance of the special occasion disappeared.

“The trend our office saw was the event turning farther and farther from its original goals,” said Jenna Tesauro, Manager of Extracurricular Interests in the Office of Alumni Relations.

Now, they are committed to sponsoring an event that goes above and beyond what the students could do independently to bond themselves as a class.

“Specifically, excessive alcohol consumption and other safety issues became a problem in the past few years and presented a liability risk to the University,” Beck said. Problems even went as far as vandalism.

The Office of Alumni Relations takes full responsibility for the way in which the news was broken to the senior class. “The timing was not ideal,” Associate Director of the Office of Alumni Relations Kristin Stetler said. “But 100 Nights is changing into something much more meaningful.”

Committees of both members of the Office of Alumni Relations and members of the senior class have been working to develop a new event to replace 100 Nights.

“Through discussions with the Office of Alumni Relations and Career Development, the Homecoming hosts and hostesses and BSG 2011, it has been proposed to host an event, paired with a formal dinner, for all members of the Class of 2011 to formally gather prior to the end of the semester,” Beck said.

Elements of the old event will remain, such as the slideshow, as well as possibly having a photo booth and a professional photographer present to record the memories.

This event is tentatively scheduled for April 1, 2011.