Category: News

Copper Josephs

Contributing Writer

Several invasive plant species pose a threat to the University’s arboretum.

The Norway maple, Japanese knotweed, and Goutweed are all dangerous to the arboretum because they are able to out-compete native species, Associate Professor of Biology Mark Spiro said.  

“These invasive, exotic species have no natural enemies in the community, so they will continue to out-compete the native trees unless something is done,” Spiro said.

Soil erosion caused by facilities’ large lawn mowers is another issue facing the arboretum. The mowers cannot go up the steep areas of the arboretum without knocking off a layer of topsoil. This layer, called humus, is essential to sustaining healthy trees.

Spiro and others have been communicating with the Department of Facilities to isolate specific regions of the grove where grass will not be cut, so that the humus can aggregate.

“The Bucknell Arboretum has turned into a living lab that teaches students about invasive species and various sustainability methods used to keep native plants alive,” Spiro said.

Dates when faculty and staff can help out with the University’s Arboretum project will be announced soon.

“We need all the hands we can get with this project,” biology major Ray Schlitt ’15 said.

Schlitt has been working with Spiro since 2012, interning over the summer to assist in the rejuvenation of the arboretum.

“Based on the amount of rings that some of these trees have, you can date these trees back over 230 years,” Spiro said.

“These trees are an integral part to the Bucknell experience, and we should use the resources available to help preserve them,” Schlitt said.

Jackson A. McCarron and William M. Fierman

News Editors

Many student-rented properties downtown closed their doors this past weekend after rumors circulated of a potential police crackdown.

South Sixth Street, usually buzzing with the sounds of students walking to and from parties and music emanating from houses, was eerily quiet on Friday and Saturday nights.

“Everybody was talking about the police being out in force,” said a student who owns a house downtown and wished to remain anonymous. “We had a mixer planned and we called it off. Apparently everyone else made the same call.”

The Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department (BVRPD) claimed no responsibility for the relative silence downtown.

“It was quiet last weekend,” BVRPD Chief of Police Paul Yost said. “But there was no policy change–nothing I can take credit for. We didn’t change anything.”

Three members of the Pennsylvania State Liquor Control Board were walking around downtown Lewisburg this weekend, Chief of Public Safety Stephen Barilar said.

“Because it is outside of our jurisdiction, they don’t consult us,” Barilar said. “They hit almost all college towns. I know they were already at State College this year.”

Faced with 19 University students already hospitalized due to dangerous alcohol consumption, leaders of the campus’ fraternities and sororities decided to ban hard alcohol at any greek function, official or otherwise.

The decision only included last weekend, according to Dean of Students Susan Lantz.

“I would certainly like their efforts to continue this semester and feel these student leaders have the potential to seriously make a difference with our high-risk drinking issues,” Lantz said.

For the first time this term, not a single University student was hospitalized due to excessive drinking, Lantz said.

Ethan Zubkoff

Writer

Cadets from the Bison Battalion finished their field training for the 2013-2014 academic year early on September 21 in Cowan, Pennsylvania.

At the Forest D. Brown Conference Center, the cadets consisted of students from Bucknell University, Susquehanna University, Bloomsburg University, Lycoming College, and the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Cadet Drew Taylor ’16 said that the training they completed included basic drill ceremony techniques, which included facing movements, saluting, and commands. The training also consisted of land navigation and individual movement techniques.

“It was all the basics this time,” Taylor said.

The training that the cadets received is equivalent to what is commonly used by soldiers in combat situations.

The training concluded with question and answer sessions with junior cadets who will be attending the Leadership Development and Assessment Course, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) capstone summer training event.

Although the event was originally planned to last all weekend, excessive rain and weather issues cut the trip short, Taylor said.

Kerong Kelly

Staff Writer

On Sept. 24 in Trout Auditorium, Peter Warren Singer, senior fellow at The Brookings Institute, discussed the impact technology has had on how the United States wages war as part of the University’s ongoing series “Tech/No.”

Singer is the director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institute, as well as the author of the recent book “Wired for War, ” which examines the effect technology and robotics has played in 21st century politics, war, and law. He graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and received his PhD from Harvard University.

Entitled “NextWar: Trends and Technology Shaping the 21st-century Battlefield,” Singer’s talk focused on how technology has impacted both international diplomacy and domestic politics.

Singer highlighted the reasons why the United States has not declared war since 1942 and how it can be attributed to an increase in technology while the economic and financial incentives have been on a steady decline.

Singer’s research is primarily focused on the issues of the future of war, the current U.S. defense situation, and the future of U.S. defense. He is also an expert in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

“I think we’ve seen it [technology] play an incredibly disruptive role to the established powers,” Singer said.

In addition to his work on many government projects, Singer’s has also worked closely with the video game Call of Duty.

“Both the Pentagon and the Call of Duty series were interested in what kind of technology will dominate in the future, what the conflicts will be about, who will be the key actors fighting,” Singer said.

Ethan Zubkoff

Contributing Writer

On Sept. 22, University President John Bravman said that providing for the health and safety of students downtown will prove to be difficult after making the decision to cancel House Party Weekend as an official University event.

In a speech before the first session of the Bucknell Student Government (BSG) Congress, Bravman spoke about the possible effects of his Aug. 1 decision to cancel House Party Weekend and the feedback he has received so far.

Bravman also said that he is concerned for the safety of the students if the activities typical of past House Party Weekends are taken off campus.

Any attempts to hold an event the size of House Party Weekend downtown could result in a riot or encounters with local police, Bravman said.

“There is literally not physical space [downtown],” Bravman said.

Bravman also answered questions from Student Government representatives about the new medical amnesty policy.

“[There is] some concern … that this will actually promote a substantially higher degree of dangerous drinking, but even if it does, I want to come down on the side of health and safety,” Bravman said.

Madeline Diamond

Contributing Writer

The University will soon begin construction on a new wrestling center and athletics leadership facility east of the existing athletic center complex.

As part of his May 1 update to the Board of Trustees, University President John Bravman included information regarding a $9 million gift to the University from trustees Bill Dearstyne ’62 and Bill Graham ’62. The donation will completely fund the project, which will be finished in December 2014.

The facility will house a new training space for the men’s wrestling team and will total 16,887 square feet and two stories, according to plans recently approved by the East Buffalo Township Planning Commission.

“I am excited about the facility and this will provide a huge boost for our wrestling program,” wrestling head coach Dan Wirnsberger said.

In addition to the wrestling space, the project will also include an athletics leadership facility. This area will include gathering space for co-curricular activities, as well as room for seminars and classrooms.

“The most exciting piece is the leadership portion of the building, which provides a fantastic opportunity for our student athletes to grow into future leaders in their athletic and professional endeavors,” Wirnsberger said.

Ethan Zubkoff

Contributing Writer

International

• A shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya became a battleground on Sept. 21 as armed militia stormed the mall killing more than 60 civilians and wounding scores more. The siege came to an end on Sept. 24 as police and military forces reclaimed the mall, killing five terrorists and capturing 11. The terrorist group al-Shabaab, an affiliate of Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist attack marks Kenya’s largest since the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi. (Reuters and the Washington Post)
• Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed hope before the United Nations General Assembly that the UN Security Council could reach an agreement on a resolution this week about Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. The resolution would require all five permanent members of the Security Council (Russia, China, the United States, Britain, and France) to agree to the plan. (Reuters)
• A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit western Pakistan on Sept. 24, killing more than 250 people. The quake caused a portion of seabed to rise and create a small island about 600 meters off the nation’s western border in the Arabian Sea. (Reuters)
• On Sept. 26 at the United Nations, a meeting took place between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. This was the highest level of engagement taken between the US and Iran in more than 30 years. (The Wall Street Journal)

National

• North Carolina Central University campus police shot and killed an armed gunman late on Sept. 23. The man, who was not a student of the University, fired a shotgun at police which prompted them to initiate a three-hour lockdown of the University. No officers were injured. (Reuters)
• Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas filibustered for 21 hours on Sept. 25 against a White House plan to implement another segment of the Affordable Care Act next week. Across the capitol, Congressional Democrats and Republicans must reach a budget deal to prevent a government shutdown. The House already passed a measure to keep the government running until December, but their plan would strip funding from the Affordable Care Act. Senate Democrats have already refused to consider such a plan. (The Washington Post)
• Secretary of State John Kerry signed the UN Arms Trade Treaty on Sept. 25, which set standards for any and all cross-border transfers of conventional weapons. The National Rifle Association (NRA) claims that the treaty will undermine American sovereignty, a point Kerry has repeatedly attempted to address. (Reuters)

State

• The Marcellus Shale Coalition on Sept. 25 began its Shale Insight Conference in Philadelphia. The coalition is comprised of  drilling industry leaders, and usually attracts protesters concerned about the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing and other drilling practices. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich closed the conference with a speech yesterday. (StateImpact – NPR)

 Nick Salvo

Writer

Student leaders of fraternities and sororities decided on Sept. 19 to stop serving hard-alcohol at off-campus and on-campus parties. The Interfraternity Council agreed on Sept. 24 to take steps to make fraternity house “risers” safer. These decisions resulted from ongoing communication between the University and the Greek community about student safety.

The hard-liquor ban was implemented by fraternity and sorority presidents working in cooperation with the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Council. The decision to stop serving liquor was made after Dean of Students Susan Lantz approached Greek leaders to express concern about high rates of alcohol-related hospitalizations this semester.

Nineteen students have been transported to the hospital for alcohol-related issues since the beginning of the semester, Lantz said.

Lantz, who is engaged in an ongoing effort to reduce high-risk drinking and the accompanying safety concerns, said that she brought the issue to the attention of the presidents and the councils, but the ban is the direct result of student decision-making.

“This was an incredibly powerful decision,” Lantz said. “I appreciate and support their efforts to make meaningful change on our campus.”

Last weekend, after the ban was enacted, no students, on-campus or off-campus, were hospitalized for alcohol related issues, Lantz said.

In the IFC decision concerning risers at Greek events, the council agreed to consider making changes to risers in on-campus fraternity houses after a student was injured at a party hosted by the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity several weeks ago.

Risers are elevated sections of flooring in fraternity basements that can be used as dancing and staging areas. The injured student used a riser to hang from the sprinkler pipes in the house’s basement. He lost his grip, struck his head on the floor, and needed to be rushed to the hospital, Chief of Public Safety Steve Barilar said.

Neither the IFC nor Public Safety passed any official regulation regarding riser height or safety requirements, Barilar said.

Instead, Public Safety requested that fraternities use common sense and consider student safety, and the IFC agreed.

The decision was a group effort based in communication, not any type of official sanction, Barilar said.

“This is not us bringing the hammer down,”  Barilar said. “We spoke to them about a concern and they are going to make changes. We are only concerned about the safety of our students.” 

Jackson A. McCarron

News Editor

Beginning in 2015, the University will limit the number of students permitted to live off campus to 100 men and 100 women. 

Discussions about moving more students on campus began in 1998, and the number was decided on the trustee level, Associate Dean of Students Dan Remley said.

No students will be permitted to live in the houses on the east side of Sixth Street, as the homes do not meet University standards.

“Student safely is our number one priority,” Remley said.

The University will more strictly enforce a city ordinance which specifies the number of people allowed to live in residence.

“If the ordinance states that only three people are permitted to live in a dwelling, then we will only allow three people to live there,” Remley said.

The apartment style housing that the University will begin construction on this month, will account for the extra beds needed starting in the 2015-2016 school year, Remley said.

Several students currently living downtown or hoping to in the near future expressed disappointment in the plan.

“I think the decision to limit off campus housing will detract from the experience of living on your own before you graduate,” said a current senior living off campus who wished to remain anonymous.

“I wish that they would give us a clear answer on the housing situation,” said Ryan Thompson ’16, a current student looking to live downtown his senior year. “If they don’t want us to live downtown they should just tell us now.”

Remley said that he was aware that many current sophomores had already signed leases on downtown houses. He also said that his message about downtown housing has always been clear.

“Do not sign a lease,” Remley said. “We have always warned students about not signing leases before they are approved to live off campus.”

The University has a four-year residency requirement; unless a student is permitted by the University to live downtown they must live on campus, Remley said.