Category: News

Hannah Paton
Writer

Assistant Professor of Music Paul Botelho will perform at an electro-acoustic concert in Russia at the end of this month.

Botelho has been working with renowned composer Jon Appleton for several months, and the two will depart on Oct. 24 for the Urals Conservatory’s Festival of ElectroAcoustic Music in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

During their 10-day trip, the pair will be performing a set at the international festival, teaching workshops at the Conservatory on electroacoustic music, and even judging other music competitions.

To prepare for their upcoming performance, Botelho and Appleton have spent the last few months collaborating and producing numerous new tracks.

“At first we just came up with a time—seven minutes—Jon wrote the voice part, which I sang, and I wrote the piano part, which he performed,” Botelho said.

Botelho defines electroacoustic music as any sort of music made through technology. According to him, electroacoustic techniques have become increasingly popular over the last few decades and are bound to be the music of the future.

“We’re approaching the point where technology is just another instrument,” Botelho said. “There’s an entire wing dedicated to electroacoustic music at the conservatory. It’ll get there.” 

Botelho will teach one workshop about ChucK Audio Programming language, which is essentially a form of computer software like JavaScript or C++ that makes it easy to develop musical software and produce sound very quickly.

His other workshop will cover the future of electroacoustic music. He will also experiment with a theremin, an electronic musical instrument consisting of two different metal antennas that make sound based on the position of the player’s hands relative to the antennas. 

The  main goal and hope of the trip is to make connections for collaborations in the future. He even hopes to try to set up a future student exchange program with a focus in electroacoustic studies. 

“We both hope to end the ghettoisation of electro,” Botelho said.

Nick Salvo
Contributing Writer

Philanthropy leaders from the University’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Council raised over $12,000 for charity on Oct. 6 at the Greek-sponsored “B+ Challenge,” according to IFC Community Service and Philanthropy Chair Jeremy van de Rijn ’15 and Panhellenic Council Vice President of Community Outreach Ally Flessel ’15.

Van de Rijn and Flessel coordinated the event, which featured an obstacle-laden “Twisted 5K Run.”

All proceeds went directly to the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, a national charity that provides financial and emotional support for families of children with cancer and also provides grants for childhood cancer research.

Kappa Delta Rho, the fraternity whose national philanthropy partner is the B+ Foundation, co-sponsored the event. Every member of the fraternity signed up for the run and helped with food and refreshments during the event.

The Twisted 5k consisted of a five-kilometer run around the University’s West Fields. Nine obstacles, designed by teams from fraternities and sororities, added to the challenge of the run, Flessel said. Obstacles included trivia games and army crawls.

Over 120 people participated in the run, while 288 students raised money through donations, van de Rijn said.

Van de Rijn, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, said that he hoped the event would open eyes on campus to the community service work done by Greek organizations.

“Community service is one of the goals of all governing bodies of Greek life. It is an important part of the Greek community on campus. And really, community service is very fun and very rewarding,” van de Rijn said.

Flessel said that she hopes support for the B+ Foundation will continue in upcoming years. She also said that it is important that events like the B+ Challenge spread beyond Greek life and become something that the entire University community supports. She stressed that philanthropy is a great way for Greek students and unaffiliated students to unite for a common goal.

“Philanthropy can be a common ground between Greek students and the rest of the campus,” Flessel said.

Kerong Kelly
Writer

Sixteen professors were awarded tenure by the University this semester. The professors were selected among faculty from both the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering. Currently, 62 percent of the University faculty is tenured, according to the University website.

Newly tenured Associate Professor of Comparative Humanities and Asian Thought James Shields said that he was proud to be awarded the new position by his peers and the University Administration.

“My reaction was, more than anything, relief. I don’t think there are very many jobs where it takes roughly 20 years to reach the ‘entry’ gate to a stable and secure position,” Shields said.

In addition to the newly tenured professors, the University also added 10 full professors in fields ranging from geology to linguistics.

This most recent wave of growth in the faculty size marks the end of a period of significant expansion. According to Provost Mick Smyer, the increase in faculty size was originally the result of a transition from a mandatory six-course to a five-course, as well as the number of sabbatical leave positions.

In the 2008 academic year, the administration converted sabbatical leave replacement positions with 12 tenure track positions, Smyer said. The decision to replace sabbatical positions with tenured positions was part of an initiative to fulfill a chronic need of faculty, especially seen by larger departments.

“President Bravman and I have been urging our colleagues, who are associate professors, to consider going up for promotion to full [professorship]. That’s explicitly a strategic effort on part of the University to encourage colleagues to get the recognition that they deserve for their teaching and research accomplishments,” Smyer said.

Newly tenured professors:

M. Laura Beninati, associate professor of mechanical engineering

Sharon Garthwaite, associate professor of mathematics

Julie Ann Gates, associate professor of biology

Michael Gross ’03, associate professor of chemical engineering

Mark Haussmann, associate professor of biology

Peter Jansson, associate professor of electrical engineering

Sarah MacKenzie-Dawson, associate professor of education

Christopher Martine, associate professor of biology

Collin McKinney, associate professor of Spanish

Robert Nickel, associate professor of electrical engineering

Leocadia Paliulis, associate professor of biology

Adam Piggott, associate professor of mathematics

Nathan Ryan, associate professor of mathematics

James Shields, associate professor of comparative humanities and Asian thought

Matthew Slater, associate professor of philosophy

Katsuyuki Wakabayashi, associate professor of chemical engineering

Gigi Flynn

Writer

The University has received a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to build a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) summer program.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences George Shields has had success with this program at Hamilton College and Armstrong Atlantic State University.

For the next five years, 20 students, all potential science majors, will do research at the University for five weeks the summer before their first year. These select students will also have the opportunity to do research at the University one other summer, for 10 weeks, after their first year. The students will be paid $350 a week.

The program will also help expose new science majors to University students already participating in research on campus.

“We want to build a connection between incoming students and upperclassman,” Shields said.

The STEM program will increase the number of mathematics, science, and engineering majors at the University. It will also increase the diversity in these fields of study by providing opportunities to first generation college students, low-income students, and female students, all nationally underrepresented in the sciences, Shields said.

Elizabeth Morgan

Opinions Layout Editor

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman said that technology is inevitably impacting the way in which we live our lives.

At the University’s “tech/no” speaker series on Oct. 1, Gaiman–a novelist, graphic novel author, and screenwriter–said that there is still a future for books in our ever-evolving world.

“In most ways, the individual book is superior than a Kindle or iPad. There is one caveat: the Kindle of iPad is superior to a library,” Gaiman said.

The current Bucknell Forum series embraces the perils and promises of technology. The series, which began in the fall of 2012 and will run through the spring of 2014, aims to stir discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in our world today.

Margot Vigeant, professor of chemical engineering and associate dean of engineering, is part of the task force of faculty members that sponsor the forum speakers. She introduced Gaiman as “one of the most creative storytellers” and someone who “provides us with gateways beyond the world we know.”

Gaiman began his exploration of technology in 1997 by speaking with Douglas Adams, author of the comic science fiction series, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Douglas not only published his book in standard paperback format, but also made an eBook available. Like Gaiman, Douglas wondered if this meant the end of books was in the near future.

In certain cities, such as New York City, books may be dead, but this is because of the sampling group. Since many of these people have a long commute to work, it is easier for them to carry a Kindle or an iPad in their bag rather than an actual book, but this is not true in all parts of the world, Gaiman said.

“I see the rise of books as being beautiful objects,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman started off writing on a manual typewriter, moved to an electric typewriter, and finally shifted to using a computer. When Gaiman bought his first computer, a Tandom PC with a 20MG hard drive, the salesperson told him he was an idiot.

“I feel bad selling it to you. You’ll never fill it,” the salesperson said referring to the 20MG hard drive, the largest one of the time.

Gaiman described himself as being a “very hungry” young journalist, so he was willing to take the risk. It was after Gaiman purchased this laptop that everything fell into place.

“It all started working. It was incredibly powerful and made me more productive. It was the start of a new age,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman said it was then that he fell back in love with writing. He felt completely free and was excited by the transition from typewriter to computer.

It was not long before Gaiman said he yearned to get back to the basics. He bought his first fountain pen and said he found it completely liberating to be writing on paper again. Gaiman still does his best writing with pen and paper and enjoys writing in coffee shops or in friends’ houses.

“When I’m writing on the computer and delete my work, it is painful because it is gone, but when I write in a notebook, I can simply skip over the parts that I don’t want to include,” Gaiman said. “The challenge is that technology does allow us to work better.”

Gaiman said that new technology has helped to produce a vast knowledge of information, but just in the past couple of years, this has shifted to an information overload. He said that now more than ever, a librarian is an extremely important part of society. Just as Google helps you to search out the relevant information on the internet, a librarian does the same in a library.

“Communication changes your life in some way when you can be in touch with the entire world,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman reflected back on writing his book “Good Omens” with fellow author Terry Pratchett. He said they used to mail floppy disks to one another in order to share their work. Although they tried to communicate from one hard drive to the other, Gaiman said a carrier pigeon would have been faster to use at this time.

Gaiman said that he now loves using the computer to connect both as an author and as a human being.

“We are moving into a future in which nothing is certain. Everything is changing and that is a good thing,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman concluded his speech by offering us a piece of advice. He compared mammals to dandelions and said the main difference between the two is that mammals are so concerned with their children succeeding and dandelions simply do not care. This is because mammals typically only have a few children, while dandelions have hundreds and hundreds. He encouraged us to be more like dandelions and take risks and try new things.

“Fail, fail more interestingly and then succeed in ways you didn’t imagine,” Gaiman said.

Jackson McCarron

News Editor

The University’s Alcohol Review Committee is currently conducting a research-based review of the University’s alcohol policy. Associate Dean of Students Dan Remley and his office–in cooperation with a group of students–are heading the review.

The current alcohol policy is 10 years old, Remley said.

“Its always good to do an evaluation of your policies,” Remley said.

Dean of Students Susan Lantz requested the review in an email sent to Remley during the summer, Remley said.

According to a document outlining the Alcohol Review Committee general charge, the review will provide “a forum from which the provost and the dean of students can solicit advice and recommendations, creation, and implementation of alcohol policies and students conduct practices.”

The comprehensive review will consider policies that are currently being used at comparable universities and colleges. The list of 22 universities contains schools such as Lehigh, Lafayette, Tulane, Bates, and Oberlin.

Remley’s office will also being working in congress with a number of University students. The students and Remley will read relevant literature, engage with both the University and Lewisburg communities, as well as work with a number of national organizations, Remley said.

“We are always worried about the safety of our students,” Remley said.

William M. Fierman

News Editor

A break-in at a student apartment at Bucknell West is being investigated by Public Safety.

Nicole Bakeman ’16, a resident of Mod 18, stepped out of her bathroom around 1 p.m. on Oct. 1 and found a man standing in her living room by the porch door.

“He saw me and just booked it out,” Bakeman said.

Bakeman later described the man to University Public Safety Officers as a white male in his mid-thirties, wearing a backwards baseball cap.

“We were keeping our Mod open because it is Big-Little Week,” Bakeman said, referring to the annual tradition in which upperclassmen members of sororities leave gifts for new associate members with which they are paired. She and her roommates will now lock their doors.

Nothing is missing from the apartment, roommate Alexa Healey ’16 said.

“Maybe if I wasn’t there they would have taken something,” Bakeman said.

Ethan Zubkoff

Assistant News Editor

The Library will Stay Open Longer Hours on Friday and Saturdays

The Bertrand Library will be open later on weekends due to an initiative launched by the Bucknell Student Government (BSG) that was approved this week.

Senior class representative Olivia Cohen ’14 led the project to keep the library open to students until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Before these changes, the library traditionally closed at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and they closed at 2 a.m. every other night of the week.

The change in hours will go into effect after Fall Break, Cohen said.

“Students have requested that the library stay open later to promote academics. Several faculty members have also voiced that they believe the library should be open later on the weekends for students who wish to study,” Cohen said. “Many schools have their library’s open 24 hours to promote academics, and I think this is a great step for the University.”

Ethan Zubkoff and Jen Lassen

Assistant News Editor and Senior Writer

University Hosts Middle States Re-Accreditation Forum

The University hosted a forum on Sept. 24 to begin its re-accreditation process. At the forum, there was a presentation of the first draft of a self-study guide for its upcoming re-accreditation with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

“The self-study addresses Middle States’ 14 Standards of Excellence, with a special emphasis on the interaction between Bucknell’s residential nature and our academic mission,” Provost Mick Smyer said.

The self-study is also designed to assess the extent to which the University adheres to the characteristics of excellence outlined by the 14 Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation standards, Smyer said.

“For reference, in Middle States parlance, a ‘recommendation’ is binding and requires follow-up action from the University within the next five years. A ‘suggestion’ by contrast is an action that is strongly encouraged, but is not required,” Smyer said.

The reaccreditation process takes place once every 10 years with the goal of composing a document that not only meets the needs of the Middle States Commission but at the same serving as a valuable way to enlighten the University about the continuing institutional planning, change and growth, Smyer said.

“The self-study process gives Bucknell and Bucknellians a chance to reflect on our strengths and challenges as an institution and our goals for the next ten years,” Smyer said.

The self-study is also designed to advance the University’s strategic priorities to enhance its academic and residential relationship, assist in its long-term vision for growth, sustainability and development in higher education.

Over 60 faculty members, staff, and students, who broke into six working groups, created this self-study, which is chaired by Professor of German and Humanities Katie Faull and Professor of Physics Tom Solomon over a two-year period.

Just under 100 faculty members, staff, and students attended the forum, according to Smyer.