Category: News

By Jen Lassen

Writer

First-year women were given an early glimpse into sorority life with the first annual Haunted Hunt event held on Tuesday in the Hunt Hall formal room.

This event, sponsored by the Panhellenic Council, included craft and food-making stations sponsored by each sorority and was held in the Hunt Hall Formal, which was decorated for Halloween.

Kristi Conklin, VP-Internal of the Panhellenic Council, discussed the purpose of hosting an event such as Haunted Hunt.

“The purpose of this event is to begin communication now so that meaningful relationships can develop and all questions as well as concerns of first-year women can be addressed in a fun and engaging manner,” Conklin said.

First-year women had the chance to mingle with sorority members and ask them questions about topics ranging from the rush process, conversation advice and balancing sorority life with school and other activities.

“I am very proud of the effort that the women have put into this event and hope that this will allow first-year women to feel comfortable attending sorority events,” said Jackie Petrucci, assistant director of residential education for sorority affairs.

“First-year women can hopefully begin engaging in and maintaining friendships with sorority women,” Petrucci said.

A collaboration of two delegates from every sorority joined together to plan the event.

“[There was] a lot of teamwork to ensure this event would be a valuable experience for everyone involved,” Conklin said.

Last year, the Panhellenic Council hosted a program called Something of Value. During the program, members identified key issues they wanted to address to positively change the environment on campus. One of these areas included opening dialogue much earlier in the year between sorority members and first-year women.

Haunted Hunt is the first sorority recruitment-type event of the school year, but it was intended to be very informal. The vibe of the event was “not formal like sorority recruitment, but instead more comfortable and conversational,” Petrucci said.

When asked if she would have liked to attend this type of event as a first-year, Conklin was quick to answer.

“Yes. I remember when I was a first-year I was so nervous about joining a sorority and the recruitment process. I did not know any upper-class women and I had so many questions about what to expect and what to wear. An event like this would have settled my nerves and shown me how fun sorority life is no matter what sorority you join,” she said.

“Hopefully, first-year women will leave this event with a better understanding of what sorority life at Bucknell entails, what recruitment is like, and get answers to any other questions they have concerning the process. If nothing else, we hope they have fun getting to know sorority women,” Conklin said.

The idea behind the event and its smooth execution made the first ever Haunted Hunt something that will certainly be added to the Panhellenic Council’s list of traditional activities.

 

By Meghan Finlayson

Writer

The University campus and Lewisburg community came together to celebrate Halloween in the First Annual Lewisburg Zombie Walk and Double Feature Movie that was held Monday night. The event benefited the Community Harvest hot meal program in Milton through the Million Penny Project (MPP).

Fundraising for the event began early.

“We approached IFC, specifically Paul Allegra [’13], about using it for the MPP fundraising because we felt it was a little different than past fundraising events. Plus, it was a program we felt Lewisburg residents would enjoy and participate in as well,” said Lynn Pierson, assistant director of community service.

“Jessica Paquin came up with the idea from other events she has planned over the years with movie production and promotion,” Pierson said.

The zombie walk started on campus at Vedder Circle and ended at the Campus Theater on Market Street. People were encouraged to dress up and walk slowly, like zombies, or run in front of the mob like victims.

“About 150 people showed up to walk, and the crowd included students, faculty, staff and Lewisburg residents … the number of victims definitely outweighed the number of zombies, but everyone was enthusiastic and had a great time,” said Paul Allegra, IFC Community Service and Philanthropy Chair.

Once walkers reached the Campus Theater, they were given the option to stay and watch two movies for $10. The movies featured were George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead,” and the lesser known film, “The Feed.”

“The Feed” was filmed in Lewisburg and directed by Steve Gibson, New Media Developer at the University. It takes place in the Campus Theater and stars many local residents.

“We shot the film over about six weekends spanning June and July last summer. [It] really has taken on a life of its own and has been screened at a number of festivals around the country,” Gibson said. “Now we’re looking into distribution.”

“The Feed” has been an Official Selection in over 25 film festivals. It has also won many awards, including four best feature honors and a best director award.

“’The Feed’ follows a team of paranormal investigators broadcasting their annual show live from The Brenway Theatre, a reportedly haunted movie house in Pennsylvania. The film is patterned after the various ‘Ghost Hunters’-type shows that pop up everywhere on TV now, though for our movie we thought it best if the investigators actually found real ghosts,” Gibson said.

The cast and crew of “The Feed” were in attendance to celebrate the first anniversary of the film.

The Million Penny Project raises $10,000 annually for a local charity. The charity chosen this year was Community Harvest, a weekly hot meal program in Milton, Pa. Community Harvest prepares and serves food to approximately 200 individuals, and is open to anyone. The event raised nearly $1,000.

“It was great to see people come together and enjoy the night, using their imaginations to pretend and have fun like kids on Halloween,” Allegra said.

“We are already talking about what we can do next year to make this event bigger, better and even more successful.”

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

This week, the University’s BRAIN club will be holding a campus-wide Brain Awareness Week.  The BRAIN club promotes interest in the brain, and the areas of neuroscience and psychology by holding events for its members and the campus community.

Events for this week focus on fundraising for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.  Sororities and fraternities will have a chance to participate in the philanthropy “Links of Love” event, which includes purchasing construction paper links to either add to a chain or remove from a different chain.  At the end of the week, the Greek organization with the longest chain will win.

Another event that the BRAIN club will host is the “Cycle Against Brain Tumors” race.  Teams can register to race other teams on the stationary bikes in Davis Gym.  Funds will come from money pledged for each mile.  T-shirts will be on sale all week.

“It is awesome to be able to help out the community, especially when club members have close ties to the charities we work with,” club president AJ Collegio ’13 said.

Some of the club members will be attending the annual Neuroscience 2011 conference in Washington, D.C.

“This is the largest scientific conference in the country and also, some of our members’ research will be presented, including my lab group’s research,” club vice president Jen Gerard ’14 said.

The club has a lot of members that are science and psychology majors, but is always looking for new members and is open to anyone interested in brains and neuroscience.

“Since freshman year, the club has provided me with a group of students of similar interest and has allowed me to be more academically engaged outside the classroom,” Collegio said.

“The BRAIN club is doing wonderful things to raise awareness in a variety of different causes, and they bring a lot of passion to what they do.  But, they also reflect the breadth of neuroscience and illustrate how students from a variety of disciplines can be interested in neuroscience.  To me, it is the heart and soul of the liberal arts,” faculty advisor Dave Evans said.

“One of the first fun activities [of the club] was to make Jello from brain molds, trying to place candies into strategic places that one could dissect and eat.  Since then, the club has taken on more serious endeavors,” Evans said.

Last spring, the club held a Tug McGraw Foundation baseball game to raise money for brain tumor, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury research.  They plan to hold the second annual game along with an Autism Walk this spring.

By Oleysa Minina

Writer

Focusing on the importance of tackling new challenges and acting proactively, University alumnus and Chief Operating Officer for Bank of America in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, William Lorenz ’82, spoke to the brothers of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity about personal lessons learnedthrough his professional achievements on Oct. 23.

“The speech was enlightening. It was a great experience to have a renowned alumni speak to us; I took away tips on how to be successful in the business world and life in general,”Michael Sena ’12 said.

Lorenz, a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, addressed current fraternity brothers about his life and business achievements. Lorenz received a job at Bank of America right after graduating from the University and has since built a successful 32-year career with the company, moving up the corporate ladder and taking advantage of nearly every opportunity and position given to him. He also gave a brief presentation to marketing classes.

“Lorenz expressed that it was crucial in the business world, and in life, to be proactive, plan ahead and say yes to new opportunities and challenges that arise, and that it is crucial to take initiative and respond to opportunity when given the chance,” said TKE president David Pieper ’12.

Lorenz is currently working on keeping Bank of America’s stakeholders content and productive. Since the “Occupy Wall Street” movement has placed protesters in front of Bank of America’s headquarters, Lorenz is working on making sure that the bank and bank processes stay efficient and that stakeholders and costumer sare satisfied.

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

Professor of biology DeeAnn Reeder, along with other scientists, identified the fungus that causes the deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats. This finding will help prevent the extinction of these bats in eastern parts of North America.

White-nose syndrome was discovered in hibernating bats during the winter of 2006 in New York, but has since spread throughout New England and into the Mid-Atlantic states. Reeder became involved in this research in 2008 when she began to study the hibernation patterns of bats in her laboratory at the University.

So far, this syndrome has affected six species of bats, including the common little brown bat. Bats with white-nose syndrome have been found dead, starving and flying during the day in cold temperatures after prematurely emerging from hibernation.

Researchers identified the white fungus found on the sick bats to be Geomyces destructans during a study conducted at the national Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis.

“For a long time, a lot of us–-myself included–-said fungal infections don’t kill mammals, so that can’t be what is killing the bats,” Reeder said. “But it turns out that because of the bat’s unique hibernation cycle and the nature of the fungus, it does kill them.”

The project was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bat Conservation International and the Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation.

Now that scientists have identified the fungus as the cause of the syndrome, researchers can focus on a finding a cure.

“Confirming that Geomyces destructans is the causative agent of WNS and that it is spread through direct contact between bats is a great achievement. With this understanding, subsequent research will be better focused and ideally will lead to a solution to mitigating this detrimental disease,” graduate research student Megan Vodzak said. 

“Having been a part of DeeAnn’s lab when this seminal investigation was just getting underway, I feel very excited to finally see it in print. These results have major implications for the white-nose syndrome research community and they will undoubtedly shape the way in which we approach future research and conservation efforts,” graduate research student Chelsey Musante said.  

University biology students are also excited about the recent discovery.

“I have been fortunate enough to witness a diverse set of scientists from several institutions working collaboratively in their efforts to unravel the mystery behind white-nose syndrome,” Morgan Furze ’12 said.

This finding is incredibly important for the scientific community, and it is an honor for a University faculty member to be a leading member of the team.

“The biology department is lucky to have Dr. Reeder as a member of our department. Her nationally recognized work with white-nose syndrome in bats enhances the reputation of the department. Dr. Reeder has been a research mentor to many of our students. She also draws on the expertise of other faculty in the department to help understand this devastating disease affecting little brown bats in the Northeast U.S.,” said professor of biology and biology department chair Marie Pizzorno. 

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

University alum and students are working together to make a University channel for a new online video recommendation website service called JukeboxU.

To date, the University has the highest number of people signed up on the website than any other network. In order for a specific University channel to officially launch, more followers must sign up.

“If Bucknell students register, making our channel the first in the nation, JukeBox will sponsor events on campus and make custom channels for school events like one for the spring concert,” Brian Barron ’13 said.

The site officially launched in October. JukeBoxU plays media chosen by the user. Users are able to watch videos from different channels and ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ them as well as add them to their own library. The site takes the types of videos a user likes and customizes his or her channel.

The website describes itself as “like a jukebox, but it’s a television.” The site’s goal is to adapt to consumer preferences.

By Masha Zhdanova

Contributing Writer

Leaders from key University groups met to share information and ideas on how to engage constituents (alumni, students, parents and friends) and further the University’s advancement in an inaugural summit on Friday, Oct. 21.

The Volunteer Leadership Summit was sponsored by Alumni Relations, theCareer Development Center and the Bucknell University Alumni Association. Some of the participants included the Bucknell Alumni Board, Parents Board, Trustees, Black Alumni Association, the Engineering Alumni Board, GALABI, Association for the Arts, Bison Club and Alumni Greek Council.

The key objectives of the event were to build a sense of community between the groups, enhance collaboration in areas of common interest and strengthen the volunteer network. Four BSG officers and seven student members of the Alumni Board were invited to the event to represent the student perspective.

“What I liked the most about the summit was every person I spoke with shared the same love and passion for the University as I did and we never ran out of things to talk about,” said Abby Vidmer ’13, Vice President of Administration for the Bucknell Student Government.

President Bravman spoke about “who we are becoming,” his current plans to make the University a better place and the contribution of University constituents. Former University President and professor Gary Sojka gave remarks on leadership and the role of volunteers in the University’s success.

During the Volunteer Group Showcase, each represented group briefly spoke about a project they were most proud of having accomplished. Some of the examples were an LGBT supporters reception organized by GALABI during Reunion Weekend, mentoring and career assistance offered by the Engineering Alumni Association, the Brawley Fund supported by the Black Alumni Association and the Bud Ranck-Tom Gadd Memorial Kickoff Classic golf tournament organized in Lewisburg by the Bison Club.

“The energy in the room kept growing as the day went on. I was amazed to see all the connections the volunteer leaders made with each other, both professionally and personally,” said Kristin Stetler, associate director of Alumni Relations and co-chair of the summit.

“These Bucknellians took time away from their families, jobs and studies to reconnect with the University and they all have a common goal: to help take Bucknell to the next level,” said Stetler.

Later in the day, all participants convened in small groups to discuss challenges and opportunities for engaging the University. From this discussion, improving communication tools was identified as of primary importance. In order for all organizations to achieve their respective goals and fully engage constituents, it will be crucial to further strengthen the professional network and develop effective programs for collaboration. One example of this included creating a consolidated calendar of all events to foster community and ensure that all alumni, parents, students and friends around the globe know what is happening and when.

“The summit allowed us to form different connections with other Bucknell groups and really put our purpose and goals into the perspective of the University as a whole. It was a phenomenal way to explore different ways to synthesize our work,” BSG president Phil Kim ’12 said.