Category: Featured

By Jenni Whalen
Senior Writer

As Christina Cody ’12 sits in the Student Center, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the mid-day ELC crowd, she exudes a calm spirit. Tucking her brown hair behind her ears, she leans forward to describe her fascination with the University’s social culture, which is the core focus of her Double Take Project. As she explains her discoveries about the campus culture and her desire to help students feel less lonely, it makes complete sense that she has been chosen as one of this year’s People of the Year.

A senior from Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Cody is a theatre major and a dance minor. Most of her campus involvement centers around the theatre department, as she directs and performs pieces throughout the year and also works as a teaching assistant. This year, Cody has dedicated much of her time to her work on Double Take Project, which has become the basis of her senior thesis.

Double Take Project began during her junior year, far before the release of the Campus Climate Task Force report. But the report came as a happy accident because she was able to use its findings in her thesis.

“My main goal was to gather a cultural representation of Bucknell’s cultural scene,” Cody said. “It was kind of like theatre anthropology but nothing that formal. I wasn’t looking to make a new campus report, but I wanted to show things from the student perspective.”

As a part of her project, Cody interviewed 36 students on campus. She then transformed those interviews into a one-woman show where she performed the stories of those she had spoken with.

Those interviews also became part of a radio show. WVBU airs the story of one person each day. Cody also used her interviews to create a script and short performance for Take Back the Night, and she stood outside of the ELC with a sign that said “Tell me a story about the social scene” each day for a couple of weeks. She also conducted workshops with many organizations on campus.

“My work was about the social scene, but it was also about promoting trust and change through the use of theater techniques,” Cody said. “And the biggest thing I learned is most students have public and private personas. In workshops, students were often very reserved but in interviews, they shared very private things. Many students said they feel alone or are afraid. Basically, there is a lot of pressure to seem like you’re happy with everything which results in a lot of loneliness.”

Assistant professor of theatre and dance Anjalee Hutchinson has nothing but praise for Tina’s efforts to better student life through her senior project.

“Tina Cody is a bit of a Bucknell theatre program rock star,” Hutchinson said. “It has a bit to do with her tremendous talent, that’s definitely part of it–but a lot more of it is about who she is. She has this insatiable internal drive/hunger for performance, for theatre, for life. If The Bucknellian had a ‘most likely to’ section for their seniors–I wouldn’t say Tina would be most likely to be on Broadway. I’d say she’s the one who’s most likely to change the world.”

Cody’s fellow students also have very positive things to say about her overwhelming calm and her remarkable ability to promote change. Laura Neely ’13 participated in one of Cody’s workshops this spring.

“Tina holds such passion for creating an environment built around open communication,” Neely said. “Working with her was a very rewarding experience. Tina’s view of Bucknell and the social life which accompanies it is refreshing, and I can see the positive impact she has made on the entire Bucknell community.”

Professor of theatre Gary Grant also feels that Cody has made a tremendous impact on the community during her four years on campus, but especially during her senior year.

“If you saw her play Dolores Montoya in last weekend’s musical ‘The Wild Party,’ you know that this woman is a talented actress,” Grant said as he presented her with a leadership award this week. “But this year, she stepped out of the bright lights and applause because she had a vision of a Bucknell where men and women treated each other with respect. Tina gave voice to what she heard in interviews and turned her research into action. Her Double Take Project was definitely what Bucknell needed to hear in the way that Bucknell needed to hear it.”

As she nears graduation, Cody’s advice to her fellow University students is three-fold. First, she would like to remind her fellow students that they are not alone. Second, she urges students to be honest and real with themselves and each other as much as possible.

“I really think that our biggest problem on this campus is that we focus on external issues and the big picture,” Cody said. “But I think it’s more about working on yourself and figuring out who you are. I honestly believe that if you have a strong sense of self, you won’t get swept away in the pattern.”

And third, Cody advises students to meet with the administration and get to know them. She insists that if you can find a way to get your ideas out there, the administration will be on your side.

“I just want people to take action,” Cody said. “If you believe in an idea, try to make it happen here because it can.”

Cody hopes to continue her work with human justice through theatre techniques in India next year.

“But that’s just a dream, a massive dream. Can you ask everyone to think about a question for me? In my interviews, the last thing I always say is this: Ask yourself, if you could shout out just one thing to all Bucknellians and everyone could hear you at once, what would you say?”

By Jason Pepe
Writer

Lynn Pierson’s official job title, “Assistant Director for Community Service,” does not do her justice. Since originally coming to the University in 2006 to work for the Office of Housing and Residential Life, Pierson has made a memorable mark on the campus and surrounding community working for the Office of Civic Engagement.

“I’ve been busy,” Pierson said, but this is a gross understatement. According to Pierson, the best part of her job is its variety. “I am able to interact with so many different students, staff and community partners. I also am able to see our students really making a positive difference in our area.”

 

Pierson organizes and participates in community service projects such as the Community Harvest, First-Year’s Day of Service, Sept. 11 Week of Service, Hunger Awareness Week, Black History Month, Spring Thaw Out, Women’s History Month and the Lewisburg Community Garden.

Pierson has not shied away from getting her hands dirty, either. She recalled one particular instance about gardening in the Lewisburg Community Garden. “I was standing on a pickup truck in the back shoveling manure, and I’m thinking, ‘How did I get here?’”

Pierson is also a Posse Mentor, Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate, a member of the LGBT and WRC advisory boards and chair of the annual AIDS Walk.

Posse member Jose Rivera ’12 praised Pierson’s work ethic and vigor. “She’s dedicated to doing quality work. Reliable, energetic and kind is the best way to describe her. She’s rarely down, and you can always expect to hear a ‘Fabulous!’ from her.”

Pierson also spends a great deal of time working with Greek organizations and their respective community service chairs. Some programs that she helps to organize include Turkey and Trimmings Baskets, the Giving Tree and the Polar Bear Plunge.

Janice Butler, director of civic engagement and service learning, singled out Pierson’s ability to identify areas of need within the community where University students can positively contribute.

“Lynn puts in a lot of work trying to meet students where they are and guiding them in their volunteer work with community groups. She has a great rapport with a number of students and helps match their interests with community needs,” Butler said.

There was an especially large demand for volunteers this past year due to the ongoing recession and the September flooding. Pierson personally helped and encouraged Greek organizations to provide relief toward these efforts, from making blankets and hats to baking.

Additionally, she has participated in several service trips, such as the Civil Rights Spring Break Trip to Memphis, the Bucknell Brigade trip to Nicaragua and recently a trip to Morocco with Hillel.

The trip to Nicaragua was, “a little bit of a life changing thing that I didn’t expect,” Pierson said. “I went down and discovered some things about animal rights and came back a vegetarian.”

Lynn Pierson grew up in Erie, Pa. and attended Penn State Behrend College in Erie. Pierson said she enjoyed working with other college students, which led her to attend graduate school to complete her master’s degree so she could continue working with students.

“I came from a very middle class family, so college was kind of a new thing. Grad school was a whole new ball game for them,” Pierson said.

One specific program which Pierson has helped bring to campus is the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program. The program provides people who may not have previously been able to attend universities the chance to do so. Students from local community colleges are recruited to enroll in a six-week summer program at the University, and if they are successful they have the opportunity to enroll full time on campus under an academic scholarship. For the past four years, the program has been funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, but the University recently agreed to fund the program on its own.

“That has been incredibly heartwarming, to see people that otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to go to college necessarily,” Pierson said. “They’re not the typical Bucknellians; they’re typically older folks with families, or have been in the military for a number of years, or international students. It’s been wonderful.”

Looking back, Pierson said that she did not expect to be on campus this long, but is glad she’s stuck around. “It’s been a full six years … there’s never a dull moment.”

By Amanda Ayers

News Editor

Theta Chi fraternity has lost its housing privileges for the 2012-2013 academic year. Summit House, the name of the property that currently houses the brothers of Theta Chi, will be used instead next year for an Affinity House program entitled “Looking Past the Letters,” said Grant Hoover, assistant director of Residential Education for diversity and current overseer of the Affinity Housing Program.

The University currently owns the house with a detailed agreement in place governing its use for the fraternity. Because the chapter’s membership was too low to fulfill the occupation requirements, the house was forfeited. Theta Chi was able to fill the house and even had alternates, but not enough of those occupants were official members of the fraternity.

“I have served as the faculty adviser for Theta Chi fraternity at Bucknell since 2006, and am very proud of the work that the members of Theta Chi have done on behalf of Bucknell and the larger Lewisburg community. I’m proud of the high level of academic success that the members of Theta Chi have consistently achieved. They should be commended for their many achievements,” associate professor of religion Paul Macdonald said.

Despite encouragement from both the University and Theta Chi International Headquarters to maintain the organization without a house, members believe it is best to shut down. The Grand Chapter’s bylaws do not allow a chapter to simply declare itself disbanded, but the chapter has taken steps to begin shutting down.

“After losing our house, our chapter took a look at our situation and decided that there is no feasible way to continue. It is not official [that we are disbanding], but we have made a formal request to our Grand Chapter to close us. At this point we are still awaiting a response from them,” Theta Chi president Joe Bonino ’13 said.

“We have been contacted by the chapter regarding this situation and are working with the undergraduates and other key stakeholders to determine the best course of action,” said Burt Zeno, Director of Communication for Theta Chi Nationals. “Theta Chi values its undergraduate and alumnus members from Bucknell University and is working diligently to reach a solution that is in everyone’s best interests.”

The fraternity currently has 21 members, nine of whom will graduate this year, and only two of whom are sophomores. This coupled with the loss of housing would create even greater struggles for recruitment, something the chapter has had particular difficulty with in the last year.

Since returning to campus in 2006, the chapter has occupied a special niche in the Greek community, striving to be a nonstereotypical campus fraternity by excelling in academics and service. The men who were attracted to the idea of joining a fraternity like Theta Chi fraternity were generally not “going Greek for Greek’s sake.” Members believe the label that has been put on Greek life through the Campus Climate Task Force Report has turned these potential members away, and the fraternity has found it difficult to convince students who do not like the Greek system to join.

“It seems that the Campus Climate [Task Force] Report has created an extremely bad reputation for all Greek organizations and this attitude has adversely affected the Chapter’s efforts to grow,” Bonino said.

The chapter’s struggles have come in spite of its efforts to distinguish itself from the rest of the Greek community.

“Personally, I am very disappointed to see Theta Chi so easily tossed in with the problems and behaviors that the [Campus] Climate [Task Force] Report intended to address,” Theta Chi Alumni Corporation President Austin Ziltz ’08 said. “In the last seven years, have you ever heard of an underage drinking or sexual assault incident involving Theta Chi? These were exactly the stereotypes we set out to break, but it seems we’ve been caught in the crossfire.”

Details regarding whether or when the chapter might attempt to recolonize are still to be determined, as are details surrounding what will happen to everything owned by the fraternity that needs to be removed from the house. Some items may be liquidated, while others may go into storage.

Talk has also circulated among underclassmen about trying to form a Theta Chi-esque non-fraternity group that could occupy a role on campus similar to that of Theta Chi. It could host non-alcoholic events, for example, without deterring people away with the dues and stigma of the Greek system. Bonino, however, was not optimistic.

“That idea had been discussed in [the] fraternity, but [right now it’s looking like] nothing is going to come of it,” Bonino said.

Nevertheless, the house has been filled next year with sorority women eager to participate in the new Affinity Housing Program.

“It’s a mixed-sorority house that will allow girls from different sororities to foster friendships and to ‘look beyond letters’ to show that we’re united as a Greek community and not just by individual sororities,” future resident Maddy Liss ’14 said. “I think it’ll be a great opportunity to meet new women from different sororities.”

By Amanda Ayers

News Editor

On Wednesday night, Posse held a march and discussion against the injustice committed in Florida’s recent Trayvon Martin case.  On Feb. 26, George Zimmerman killed Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American, in Sanford, Fla. Students met at the Seventh Street House where a statement was read about Martin, and then they marched around campus with various signs demanding justice. The event ended with an open discussion for students to voice their opinions.

Posse advertised the event with this slogan: “We are marching to raise awareness of the injustice that has been committed and that we will not stand for this.”