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Former bookstore converted to student space

New student space
A new student space filled the former bookstore location.

By Sam Krassenstein

Contributing Writer

After months of planning by a committee partially comprised of students, the new student space is now open and equipped with plentiful couches, open walls, mobile chairs and tables.

The bookstore’s move to downtown Lewisburg opened more than 12,500 square feet of space in the Elaine Langone Center (ELC). Following Winter Break, the student space is now home to the largest indoor and most brightly colored student area on campus.

“The new student space is highly attractive and accessible to all students. I think it gets a lot of traffic in an area that used to be under-utilized. It’s greatly needed for the students and it’s nicely decorated and attractive to everyone. I think it gives student organizations a lot more visibility and it allows students to see what BSG [Bucknell Student Goverment] and ACE [Activities and Campus Events] are doing. Hopefully it will allow more programming to happen and overall, it’s highly useful and needed by the students,” said Zack Beltran ’13, a commissioner for ACE.

It features a modern décor that sports bright orange and green in the walls and furniture that has resulted in some dubbing the space “That 70s Lounge.”

The departure of the bookstore to Market Street not only starts a new era for downtown Lewisburg but also for the ELC.

Most spaces on campus have to be reserved through the Events Management Office (formerly RICS), but this new area cannot be reserved except for very specific social functions on Friday or Saturday evenings, which means that most of the time, the space is open for everyone.

In addition to a much-needed place to do work, eat lunch or just hang out, the space also serves as the new home to the Campus Activities and Programs (CAP) Center office which used to reside on the third floor of the ELC.

Functions that used to belong to the bookstore such as ELC Mall Sales and the Campus Box Office will remain in the area but will be run out of the CAP center ffice.

In addition to the CAP Center relocation, students and faculty can also find the new post office located much more conveniently than it was in Marts Hall.

These changes mark an effort by the University to create a more traditional student union space on campus which also houses organizations such as BSG and ACE.

“The great thing about the new student space is that it brings BSG, ACE and the CAP Center all together in a convenient location that is easily accessible to students. Our office door is open more hours than it is closed and the traffic of the new student space definitely adds to the transparency that BSG strives for,” BSG President Phil Kim ’12 said.

In addition to the new offices, there is even a conference space that sports an Idea Paint wall that allows people to write directly on the wall using dry erase markers and has technological functions that allow any student organization a closed space to work effectively in brainstorming as well as in giving or preparing presentations.

That same Idea Paint can be found up on the third floor of the ELC in the new Dean of Students Office which is the home to orientation, Greek life and leadership programming.

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Univ. sees increase in early decision applications

By Meghan Finlayson

Staff Writer

Early Decision applications increased by 29 percent this year, according to the Office of Admissions.

“Currently, we have 539 ED applicants…On the same date last year, we had 417. Two years ago on this date, we had 427,” Dean of Admissions Robert G. Springall said.

Springal said there are clear advantages to applying early.

“If you apply early, students have the potential to finish the process in December, instead of May, as well as demonstrate to the University an advanced level of interest in that particular school,” Springall said.

Other advantages are more subjective.

“Since ED applications are binding, many ED applicants have visited campus several times and are convinced that Bucknell constitutes the ideal college experience. Applying ED is also appealing because of the smaller candidate pool-applicants feel they have a better chance of being accepted,” said Lindsay Machen ’11, e-mail intern for prospective students.

This application trend is experienced at schools nationwide. Early decision and early action applications are up at competing universities as well.

“Many [schools] have seen 10 to 20 percent increases,” Springall said.

The University’s applications are up by a larger percentage than most competing schools.

“We have seen more visitors to campus, more e-mails, more web traffic, more ‘likes’ on Facebook … I think we’re ahead of [the] curve because we’ve been continuing to encourage people to visit campus and engage current Bucknellians, faculty and staff,” Springall said.  “When they see this campus and Lewisburg and meet our people, they become more likely to apply, and … enroll,” he said.

Current University students have noticed improvements as well.

“Bucknell is constantly working to improve the school and as a result it is continuously developing,” tour guide Jenna Masi ’13 said. In her conversations with prospective students, and being a prospective student once herself, Machen knows what it’s like being on the other end.

“The most typical question I receive about ED applications is when students will hear of their admissions decision,” she said. “It is a nerve-wracking process on both ends of the spectrum. ED applicants are both nervous and excited to hear about whether they’ve been accepted to Bucknell—some prospective students send me two to three emails a day confirming the receipt of different elements of their application,” Machen said.

Although early decision applications are generally up, the financial aid office has not seen many changes.

“Usually about 40 percent of the students who apply for ED admission also apply for aid…at this time, I have not seen a marked increase in ED financial aid applications,” said Andrea C. A. Leithner Stauffer, director of the Office of Financial Aid. “However, applications are still coming in, and ED2 applications will still arrive throughout January, so it is a little too early to tell if there will be an increase,” she said. She said that if finances are a major concern, however, early decision may not be the best choice.

The University has used the early decision application process for many years but the admissions office also takes regular applications very seriously.

“For Bucknell, we need to be mindful that the majority of college applicants are not ready in November to make a final decision,” Springall said. “They need to explore more options, think about their financial and personal circumstances. We need to have plenty of space available for them as well,” he said.

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University celebrates inauguration

John C. Bravman was inaugurated as the University's seventeenth president on Nov. 14.

By Meghan Finlayson

Staff Writer

John C. Bravman framed his inaugural address, the focal point of last weekend’s celebration, around one question: “Who are we becoming?”

Bravman was inaugurated as the University’s 17th president Nov. 14 in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. He focused on how the past, present and future are all linked and on important aspects of the University in his address.

Who we are becoming “is a question we inherit and answer not only for ourselves, but also to those who shall inherit Bucknell from us,” Bravman said.

After describing the University’s past achievements, he spoke about his desire to continue to uphold the strong values on which the University was built.

“Integrity, civility, fairness, honesty … they’re essential to the survival of our University in the world of education and especially the lives of young people,” Bravman said.

Bravman said he strove for the best at the University academically but also truly cared about students.

“Education requires faith in the future … our students today are that future,” Bravman said.

Bravman also challenged the audience to set their sights high when determining who they are becoming.

“We will achieve the critical practical objectives that will shape the Bucknell of today and tomorrow, just as did those who came before us … I hope we will continue asking, ‘who are we becoming?’ I hope we will aim to answer it in one way, by being together the Bucknellians that we most aspire to become,” he said.

The inauguration ceremony involved members of the University, Lewisburg and broader academic communities. It began with a prelude from the Bucknell Brass Quintet and the ROTC Posting of the Colors. Both were followed by the processional and the national anthem, performed by Anissa Corser ’14. The ceremony continued with the invocation from Reverend Thomasina Yuille and a welcome speech from Kenneth Freeman ’72.

Nancy Weiss Malkiel, Dean of the College at Princeton University, delivered the first greeting.

“[Bravman] cares passionately about teaching, which he regards as an art to be practiced and perfected,” Malkiel said.

Leslie Hume, chair of the Board of Trustees at Stanford University, spoke of Bravman’s time at Stanford University. Hume described Bravman as having “character, leadership, commitment to excellence and devotion to students.”

Judith Wagner, mayor of the borough of Lewisburg and John Rickard, professor of English, also gave greetings.

Charles Kreitler ’12, president of the Bucknell Student Government, gave Bravman one last piece of advice from a student’s point of view.

“Never lose sight of what makes Bucknell such a special place: the Bucknell student body,” Kreitler said. “A president can only be successful if they develop, guide and enlighten the personal traits of the students.”

Shara McCallum delivered an inaugural poem titled “Susquehanna.” The poem was her reflection on the history of the Susquehanna River.

A video presentation themed “We Are Connected” was shown featuring pictures of students and of the University itself.

Freeman gave Bravman the oath of office and Stephen Holmes, trustee and chair of the Presidential Search Committee, gave an introduction to Bravman, welcoming the president and his family.

The ceremony ended with the alma mater, benediction and Striking of the Colors from the ROTC. A Community Welcome Reception in Gerhard Fieldhouse followed the ceremony.

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Arts & Life Headline

Fall Dance Showcase to open tomorrow

By Katie Monigan

Arts & Life Editor

This year’s fall dance showcase is larger and more professional than ever—evidence of the growth of the dance program as a whole.

The showcase will use the same framework as in the past, but this semester will feature more than 60 dancers, 20 dances, two acts and at least a dozen genres of dance.

A big change this year comes from the choreographers’ dedication to professionalism. According to co-student director Leigh Bryant ’11, each of the student choreographers had to submit a proposal detailing the number of dancers they would need, the genre, staging and whatever other accommodations they would need before beginning casting. In addition, the choreographers attended rehearsals to ensure their pieces were on track.

“It brings a higher standard to the show, which creates higher confidence in our work,” Bryant said.

In addition to their growth in professionalism, the program seems to have grown in sheer numbers as well. Lindsay Machen ’11, who has danced for all four years of her University career, was appointed rehearsal director for an additional large piece that accommodated extra dancers with the desire to perform. The dance is called “Smoke Rings,” and Machen performed in this piece as a first-year. It involves 13 dancers, making it one of the largest pieces in the showcase. The piece features robotic movements that are not physically difficult to master but are amusing to watch.

The showcase consists of dances from a variety of sources. Several are simply cast early in the semester and rehearsed for an hour or two a week, like ballet and jazz numbers. Others are classified as “residencies,” choreographed by guest artists and learned and staged from start to finish in one weekend. Rosie Dimal ’14 recently experienced her first residency and was shocked by the number of hours required.

“It was a lot more dancing than I was used to doing in high school,” Dimal said. “We were dancing for about four hours Friday, eight hours Saturday and six on Sunday.”

The residency focused on a piece choreographed by alumna Yabei Chen ’09.  Abbie Dearman ’10 also returned to choreograph.

In addition to regularly cast and rehearsed pieces and the residencies,  University groups like the Irish Step dancers and Jelani will also perform.

“The groups get to showcase their talent, even though some don’t have an independent show in the fall. This way the audience gets to know who they are, and they don’t have to coordinate or spend money on having their own show,” co-student director Abbey Mason ’11 said.

The showcase is a big time commitment for all dancers involved, but it brings the department together as a cohesive group.

“Over the years, you see this community grow, and you understand the work,” Bryant said. “When you watch someone perform, it’s rewarding to see, because you know how much work they put in.”

The Fall Dance Showcase is tomorrow only at 2 and 8 p.m. in Harvey Powers Theatre in Coleman Hall. Tickets are $4 cash at the door.

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Neri Oxman discusses nature and artifice in material ecology

By Courtney Bottazzi

Writer

Neri Oxman spoke at the University Tuesday as part of the Bucknell Forum series, "Creativity: Outside the Box." Oxman discussed her work in the field of material ecology.

Neri Oxman spoke to the campus community in Trout Auditorium about a new era and field called “material ecology.” In the concept of material ecology, the materials used in design should dictate form. 

Explaining how she developed material ecology, Oxman described how her high school teacher wanted to decode humans through genetics and gradients.

“If you think about it, any living form, including human beings, responds to gradients,” Oxman said. If humans and nature respond to the pressure, temperature and atmosphere around us, she said, the structures we create can do the same.

One example she gave of this engineered implementation was the redesigning of a Coca-Cola can using the shape of a pinecone. With this new design, more soda cans can be stacked on shelves without the cans buckling under the combined weight.

As part of the University Forum series “Creativity: Out of the Box,” Oxman advised students not to settle into pre-established approaches to a project.

“Creativity is about being able to think beyond the media you’re using,” Oxman said.  She said the first step of design should not be about geometrically creating a shape. “Form is conceived, then you must patch it up,” she said. She called this a “Crisis of Form.” Instead, the form should evolve out of the materials used, she said.

“All these amazing buildings are designed as geometry first, engineering second,” Oxman said, citing recent architectural examples such as the Bird’s Nest created for the Beijing Olympics. Oxman urged people to look at the material and environment to inspire the form.

“What I’m intrigued by is the middle ground that is between the natural world, the artificial world, and the tools we use,” Oxman said.

Oxman said this philosophy of design can be applied to many subfields, including medical device design. By working with people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, Oxman, who has the condition herself, has been mapping a person’s pain to find which regions of a new medical device should have a distribution of hard and soft material. She hopes to find a flexibility to this device that has never been seen before.

Oxman’s ambitions and imagination know no limit. In a thousand years, she said, she hopes there will be the artificial construction of DNA. She proposed the idea of a chair that could potentially contain a baby’s DNA and grow simultaneously with the baby.

Ali Jones ’11 asked Oxman about her creative journey.

“I learned to live in peace with my schizophrenic approach to design,” Oxman said. “Do not fear ambiguity; this is the most interesting space for things to happen.”

Oxman was also asked what advice she would give to engineering students, especially first-year students.

“Hang stuff on your wall—photos, text—things that inspire you,” Oxman said. “Don’t be afraid to say, ‘This inspires me because it is beautiful.’”

Anne Sequeira ’12, a civil engineer, thought the idea of integrating material into design was refreshing.

“It wasn’t a secondary factor but a key component. It’s all one in itself; no definite separation of procedure,” Sequeira said.

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Greek life coordinates efforts to stop assault

By Courtney Bottazzi

Writer

As the University confronts the issue of sexual violence, Kevin Foster, assistant director of Residential Education for fraternity affairs, has been working closely with the Interfraternity Council (IFC) to take steps in creating a safer environment for students.

Since Greek life is a significant part of the University’s social life, fraternity members run the risk of having a sexual assault occur in a Greek-oriented house, regardless of whether perpetrators are members of the house, Foster said.

“There is a challenge that organization[s] face when something bad happens as a result of one of their members. From the outside, few people see it as an individual problem. Instead, a majority of people will look at the entire group or even the system to blame,” Foster said.

While Foster said this may not be fair, he still believes that fraternity and sorority members take an oath to uphold certain values and principles. “As a result, they are agreeing to be held to a higher standard and with that can come more scrutiny,” Foster said.

Many fraternities have their own policies regarding sexual assault.

“Most fraternities have a strong policy against brothers who commit and are found guilty of sexual assaults and handle the matters internally, which lead to punishments including suspensions and expulsions from their organizations,” said Eric Weiss ’11, Interfraternity Council President.

Revisiting this oath in everyday life is what binds fraternity members to each other as well as this higher standard.

“When a person takes an oath, that solidifies their commitment to that organization. While the language that each organization may use for an individual might vary, the ideas are the same,” Foster said. “There isn’t a weekend pass, there are no holidays or vacations from their oath. So I believe brothers at all times should be holding each other accountable.”

Sexual crime may create a paradox for members of a fraternity: Do you sever ties with a person who is considered a criminal while they are simultaneously referred to as your brother?

Foster believes that fraternities should hold their members accountable according to the organization’s by-laws and constitution. At the very least, he said, a member who commits sexual assault should be removed from the organization.

“In my mind, fraternities should have a zero-tolerance policy towards this type of action,” Foster said. “At a recent IFC meeting, all the fraternity presidents signed the ‘InterFraternity Council Sexual Assault Declaration.’ This was created by the IFC to emphasize just that: they have zero-tolerance for this type of behavior.”

Weiss is committed to making fraternity houses the safest places on campus.

“As president of the IFC, I commit all fraternities to a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual assaults. By signing the sexual assault declaration, fraternities agree that events inside a fraternity house will not only affect individual brothers but the fraternity at large,” he said.

In addition to the “InterFraternity Council Sexual Assault Declaration,” Foster and the IFC are working together to bring awareness of sexual violence to the entire campus, Greek and non-Greek. Some fraternities have been in contact with the Women’s Resource Center (WRC). The IFC is also working with the WRC to bring a speaker to campus.

“I think the challenge is educating individuals about safe and responsible behavior.  There are many resources and people on campus who are out there and want to make sure that students are making informed and safe decisions,” Foster said.

Weiss said that fraternities are working towards a solution to the alleged problem on campus.

“Many fraternities have on their own gone out to educate their own members about sexual assault including risk management seminars and fraternity’s personally funding speakers,” he said. The fraternity system will also amp up its efforts to enforce risk management guides, he added.

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Majoring in college

By Meghan Finlayson

Writer

University students can choose from 47 majors and 62 minors in the College of Arts and Sciences, with the option to apply to the University’s College of Engineering and School of Management.

“The six most popular majors over the last five graduating years are biology, economics, English, management, political science and psychology,” associate registrar Dennis Hopple said.

“In 1925, the economics and political science departments separated,” said Sherri Foster, academic assistant in political science.

The two departments have become very popular among students.

“With 12 faculty members, the department of political science at Bucknell is considerably larger than those at most liberal arts colleges,” said Amy McCready, associate professor of political science.

“At present, 154 students are majoring in political science. Approximately 45 students declare a major in political science each year,” McCready said.

About 100 students major in economics each year, and the economics department continues to grow.

“We will soon be inviting economists from other universities to come to Bucknell to examine our list of courses and recommend areas where new courses would benefit today’s students,” said Thomas Kinnaman, associate professor of economics and chair of the economics department.

“I think a lot of students come into Bucknell undecided, but after taking certain requirements freshman year get a feel for what they really want to pursue as their major,” Betsy Rosen ’13 said.

The most popular minors are economics, Italian studies, mathematics, philosophy, religion and Spanish, according to Hopple.

“Bucknell’s College of Engineering is among a handful of schools focused on an excellent undergraduate experience within a liberal arts context,” said Karen Marosi, associate dean of engineering.

Mechanical and civil engineering are the most popular majors in the College of Engineering. Math, physics and biomedical engineering are popular minors among engineers. The College of Engineering may soon add minors in sustainability and energy.

“Engineering is a very prescribed degree and has many requirements,” Marosi said.

The School of Management is a separate program created for those who hope to pursue careers in management or accounting.

“Approximately 70 percent of B.S./B.A.s are management majors; the other 30 percent are accounting majors. We also offer a five-year joint degree with the College of Engineering,” said Michael Johnson-Cramer, associate professor of management.

“We admit about two-thirds of each class directly as first-years and an additional third at the beginning of their sophomore year. Bucknell B.S./B.A.s bring a rare combination of competence, perspective and responsibility to their work,” Johnson-Cramer said.

The School of Management is currently undergoing many changes, including the implementation of a new curriculum with inter-disciplinary programs.

“This curriculum will be in place for the incoming class of 2015; however, much of the energy and new thinking that our curricular efforts have inspired is already reshaping the courses we offer, the new faculty we hire and the general climate in the School of Management,” Johnson-Cramer said.

The School of Management is also applying for accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.

“Receiving AACSB accreditation would recognize Bucknell’s outstanding management program as one of the elite (top five percent) management programs in the world,” Johnson-Cramer said.

Generally, the options for majors and minors are growing and changing to fit students’ needs.

“Curriculum committees have the responsibility of reviewing and approving all changes to majors and minors, and, in addition, the reviewing and approving of new major or minor proposals,” Hopple said.

Most recently, Italian Studies has been added as a major.

“Revision of majors is a fairly consistent and on-going process,” said Robert Midkiff Jr., associate provost and dean of the University’s summer school.

“As departments and programs undergo external reviews and consider the future of their programs, they make changes that reflect the dynamic nature of the disciplines. In recent years, for example, English has added the concentration in film studies, and sociology has added the concentration in culture, media and leisure studies,” Midkiff said.

Students also have the option to create his or her own major.

“Students in the Bachelor of Arts curriculum have two options pertaining to individually focused majors. The [first] is the Interdepartmental major. The proposal is evaluated and approved by the associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. The second major is the College major. Students selecting the College major are required to complete a detailed statement of their educational goals, as well as selecting the courses they wish to have satisfy the major,” Hopple said.

There are many programs offered to students, such as the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy, the Environmental Center and the Stadler Center, all of which exist so students can be more engaged with their majors and minors.

“Bucknell is unique when one considers other liberal arts institutions and when one considers the breadth of majors and minors available to students. In addition to majors that one traditionally finds in the liberal arts, Bucknell has the advantage and distinction of offering professional and pre-professional majors in areas such as engineering, management and education,” Midkiff said.

No majors or minors have been removed at the undergraduate level yet.

“Small departments and programs also are a hallmark of Bucknell. There are no plans to eliminate small departments and programs. Enrollments in departments and programs wax and wane over long periods, and there are departments and programs that have had lower enrollments in one period only to rebound and experience high demand and enrollment later,” Midkiff said. “Part of my job is to take the long view when working with departments and programs, asking questions about where we are at one point and where do we want to be three years, five years, 10 years from now.”

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Facebook frenzy: Professors adapt to online social networking

By Jessica Rafalko

Writer

Coming soon to a computer screen near you: pictures from your physics professor’s trip to Bermuda; status updates from the people who assign your term papers and grade your exams; a reminder on your sidebar, accompanied by a pink-wrapped package with a bow: Today is Stephanie Larson’s birthday.

Yes, your professors are on Facebook. And some, like associate professor of classics Stephanie Larson, are embracing the website with the same enthusiasm as do their students.

When her colleagues initially suggested she create a Facebook account, Larson was skeptical.

“I thought, Why would I do that?” she said. “And now I love it.”

Chris Boyatzis, professor of psychology, had similar misgivings.

“I was very, very reluctant at first,” he said. “I just saw it as sort of a college-kid thing.”

This assessment is not unfair. One of the first things most college students do when they meet someone new is try to find them on Facebook. In the first weeks of school, most first-years are inundated with friend requests: the cute guy they met at orientation, the girl who sat beside them in their biology lecture.

But should professors be included in this friend request fusillade?

Though Boyatzis enjoys Facebook connections with former students, he does not accept friend requests from current ones. He enacted his “no current students policy” after he was unsettled by what he found on some of their profiles.

“Their pictures would pop up … in social settings that they probably didn’t really want me to see, and I didn’t want to see at all,” Boyatzis said.

Larson, who does friend some current students, agrees the line between the academic and the personal can become blurred.

“I find out a lot of things I don’t want to know about my students,” she said. She feels some students “use Facebook like a psychotherapist.”

But how do professors use Facebook? While Boyatzis describes the thrill of reconnecting with former classmates (some dating all the way back to elementary school), family members and students who are now old enough to be having children of their own, Larson has attempted to use Facebook to supplement academics.

She first came to Facebook as part of the formation of a group for the humanities residential college. She later became an administrator (along with associate professor of comparative humanities John Hunter) for the Bucknell in Greece and Turkey Facebook group.

When it comes to her teaching methods, Larson is leery of assigning work to students through Facebook. She opts for Blackboard e-mails, saying that “[Facebook is] not my tool.”

Larson does enjoy the social aspect of Facebook, but she says being friends with her students limits her in terms of what she can put on her own profile. She is occasionally tempted to post a status message, but then she realizes, “Oh my gosh, I can’t say that in front of my students.”

Boyatzis agrees that being friends with current students requires professors to exercise a degree of caution. In some ways, professors are taking just as big a risk—and raising just as many questions about what is appropriate to post online—as students are.

“Facebook doesn’t put them in a tiny bubble that’s closed to outsiders,” Boyatzis said of students—though these issues of discretion might be just as important to their professors, as social networking sites begin to cross generational lines.

Students for the most part agree that they should not become friends with a faculty member—at least until after a course is over. Matt Tilford ’11 is friends with several faculty members on campus. In all but one case, he friend requested professors only after he completed their courses.

“I found it a little weird at first,” he said. “But over time I have grown fond of friending faculty members as it is an easy way to stay in touch with some of my favorite teachers after I finish their classes.”

Corinne Brandt ’11 is also friends with a few faculty members on Facebook, though in general she waits until she knows a person well in enough in a setting outside the classroom before sending a friend request.

“I guess sometimes it works to strengthen the relationship to more than just student and teacher, and more to actual friendship,” she said.

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Community walks to support AIDS resesarch

By Christina Oddo

Contributing Writer

University students and faculty, community members and guests joined together in the Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center Saturday morning to participate in the fifth annual Bucknell AIDS Walk benefiting the AIDS Resource Alliance, a local non-profit organization.

The AIDS Resource Alliance provides community support and education to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and provides assistance to those who are currently living with the disease.

The event, sponsored by the Bucknell AIDS Committee, welcomed teams and individuals to participate in the walk. Various athletic and Greek organizations registered in teams, and many individuals participated with friends and hallmates.

Before the walk began, participants heard from a client of AIDS Resource in Williamsport who is HIV-positive. The client emphasized how critical it is for citizens of a community to work together to pull those who are suffering from AIDS out of misery.

“It can happen to anybody,” the client said. “Think about what you do before you act.”

The walk was a wake-up call, especially for college students and other young people. Speakers like Rick reminded University students, faculty and community members who participated in the event that people who are HIV-positive are mostly young. Carriers can be symptomless for up to 10 years before they are diagnosed with AIDS.

Signs printed with reminders lined the course and emphasized the importance of such events with respect to those suffering. Rick mentioned how uplifting this event was for him and how the great energy prevalent during Saturday morning’s event can really increase the hope for a better future.

“It did what it was supposed to do: portray the Bucknell community as supportive and empathetic towards AIDS,” Angel Hernandez ’13 said.

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Student behavior sparks dialogue on proper audience decorum

By Tracy Lum

Editor-in-Chief

Howard Gardner spoke about his book, "Five Minds for the Future," in the Weis Center Sept. 15.

Student behavior at a lecture last Thursday evening has sparked ongoing discussion between faculty and students about proper decorum during presentations and classes.

According to accounts from professors and first-year students, many in the audience of Howard Gardner’s talk on “Five Minds for the Future” were disrespectful toward the speaker. First-year students were required to read Gardner’s book and attend the lecture as part of their Transition to College course.

“Some [students] were sleeping. Some were texting. Some were doing their homework,” Tamerat Feyisa ’14 said.

Mitch Chernin, professor of biology, was “appalled” at the behavior.

“I could hear a constant din within the Weis Center,” he said. “I realize that this was a required event for first-year students and many of them would have preferred doing something else at that time; however, it is not unreasonable to expect respectful behavior during a lecture.”

Mike Toole, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, noticed similar behavior from where he sat in the front row.

“I heard this coughing nonstop throughout the lecture,” he said. After seeing many people “sleeping, chattering and not paying attention,” he speculated the coughing was part of a coordinated effort through which the class expressed displeasure and boredom.

“It was just very frustrating to me,” Toole said.

The morning after the lecture, Toole spoke to other faculty members before posting a message expressing his concern about the students’ behavior on a virtual faculty forum (vforum). Besides describing the rude behavior he perceived, Toole also wrote “students cheered the first two questions simply because the questioners pointedly criticized the book and speaker without stopping to listen and reflect on whether the criticism had merit” during the question-and-answer section of the talk.

According to Toole, the message received approximately 25 replies by Monday afternoon. In addition to addressing concerns about behavior at the lecture, the posting also raised questions about the state of student behavior in general on campus.

Some faculty members believe student behavior in the classroom is not an issue as long as expectations about decorum are established at the start of class.

“In one class recently I allowed [students] to bring in their laptops, and I realized that was a mistake because that facilitated communication between them that wasn’t directed toward the class,” said David Kristjanson-Gural, associate professor of economics.

Other faculty members do not believe student behavior is an issue.

“My view from giving lectures in physics classes over the years [is] that I haven’t seen a significant change in student behavior,” said Ben Vollmayr-Lee, associate professor of physics, on the vforum.

The conversation on decorum has spread to the classroom.

Kristjanson-Gural devoted a 20-minute discussion about the lecture in the foundation seminar course he teaches. He said many students “expressed embarrassment … and disapproval of the attitude of the students who were disrespectful.”

In many Transition to College classes this week, instructors discussed the issue of decorum with first-year students. Ashley Rooney ’14 said during class, students were asked to fill out a survey including questions about what constitutes proper behavior and a respectful audience.

“Most kids said that the first few pages and then rest of the book had an arrogant tone,” Rooney said. ”Some kids described [the book] as pompous and said [the tone] carried throughout the lecture.”

Rooney, one of the students who questioned Gardner about the ethics of capitalism and socialism as economic systems, said she did not notice any misbehavior during the lecture, but that she believes criticism should be expected when an author writes a book based on opinion.

“I think it’s fine to ask questions and to be critical,” Rooney said. “Thomas Jefferson tells us to question boldly.”

Feyisa, a 32-year-old first-year from Ethiopia, also spoke during the question-and-answer portion and criticized the book as too “career-oriented.”

“My argument was that it was not a book that promotes intellectual virtues,” Feyisa said.

He said the book did not promote “the life of the mind … the life of the intellect” and that it did not encourage critical thinking.

Feyisa attributes the students’ behavior to a lack of engagement with the book. Before even coming to the University, Feyisa said that a discussion about the book unfolded on the “Bucknell University Class of 2014” Facebook page.

“We sort of had this cyber community,” he said. “Everybody was talking about how they hated the book.”

The book’s failure to create discourse and start controversy, he said, was the real problem behind the students’ lack of engagement and subsequent behavior during the lecture.

Several students in the audience thought their fellow students’ behavior was uncalled for.

“I thought that we owed him a lot more than we gave him. Even if we didn’t like the book, he’s still another human being, and there’s a level of respect that shouldn’t be breached,” Liane Chesek ’14 said.

Maddy Liss ’14 expressed a similar opinion about the question-and-answer part of the talk.

“I was really embarrassed,” she said. “I wanted to stand up and say something.”

No official disciplinary action has been taken. Toole believes discussions about unacceptable behavior will prevent the texting, sleeping and chatting during lectures from occurring in the future.

“We know that this was not the entire class of 2014,” Toole said. “It was just some students who felt that they didn’t need to be there.”