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Forum features famed songtalker and ardent civil rights activist

By Oleysa Minina

Contributing Writer

The Bucknell Forum continued its series “Creativity: Beyond the Box” with a woman who is not only a singer, scholar and author, but also a social activist who has used her love of song to bring about social change.

On Tuesday in Trout Auditorium, Bernice Johnson Reagon sent a message of strength and hope for all those going through hardships. The Bucknell Forum focuses on presenting people from a variety of disciplines that exemplify creativity and insightful experiences about the role of creativity in their lives.

The speech started with Reagon bursting into the captivating song “Anybody Here.” She emphasized that people should try to “make a racket with their bodies and create a pool of energy that everyone around you can feel.”

Reagon did just that through her speech, which focused on stories of how she used song, especially sacred Negro spirituals, to move and inspire people and bring about social justice and freedom.

The negro spirituals Reagon sang were “powerful and exemplify true music, true art and embody true passion,” said Morgan Davis ’12, director of the gospel choir Voices of Praise.

Reagon has worked as a music consultant and producer for several award-winning film projects, has earned Peabody Awards for her work in the radio series “Wade in the Water: African-American Sacred Music Traditions” and is the founder and director of the Grammy-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock.

She said that she was “born” into singing in 1942. It has been her instrument of choice for change and transformation throughout her life, starting with the Albany Marches in the 1950s and especially during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, where Reagon was a member of the SNCC Freedom Singers.

Throughout the civil rights movement, Reagon was amazed at the transformative power of youth, especially during movements like the Greensboro sit-ins, and stated that “no one is a failure, unless you give up.” She said that the trouble they experienced was a “stirring that would become transformative.”

Throughout the speech Reagon interwove songs and spirituals that she has used throughout her career and life. For her, music and song unify people and help them discover who they really are, especially in times of change and troubles.

University professor Eugenia Gerdes said that she found it inspiring that as a cultural historian Reagon was “able to combine her knowledge of people and culture and the ability of her art to move people and bring about change.”

Reagon also urges students to truly connect with at least a couple of teachers because they can provide past experiences and guidance. She tells individuals to always inch forward and raise awareness about important issues.

“In every century, people will have the opportunity to contribute to an important cause,” Reagon said.

Reagon received a Charles Fankel Prize for her contributions to the public understanding of humanities, which was presented by former President Bill Clinton at the White House in 1995. Reagon is Professor Emerita of History at American University and holds the title of Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History in Washington D.C.

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University increases comprehensive fee

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

The increase in the University’s comprehensive fee for the 2011-12 school year is the smallest percentage increase in years but still leaves the University among the most expensive schools in its peer group.

Next year’s estimated comprehensive fee of $54,240 is up 3.75% or $1,960 from this year’s estimated $52,280.

“The comprehensive fee increase for next year will be lower than the three-year and five-year average increases among our peers,” David Surgala, Vice President for Finance and Administration, wrote in a letter sent to parents two weeks ago. “For the fifth consecutive year, the University is also reducing the rate of increase over the previous year.”

The fee increase from the 2009-10 to the 2010-11 school year was 3.90%, while the fee increase for the 2008-09 to the 2009-10 school year was 4.01%. However, the actual monetary increases have remained steady. This year’s increase of $1,960 is identical to last year’s increase and slightly higher than the $1,940 increase from the 2008-09 to the 2009-10 school year.

Out of the five schools in the University’s peer group that have released figures for the 2011-12 school year, the University’s comprehensive fee is the second-highest after that of Trinity College. Trinity and Middlebury were the only two schools out of the 14 to have higher comprehensive fees than the University in 2010-11 (Dartmouth’s was roughly equal).

The University’s peer group is a list of 13 institutions that have been identified as matching it in essential characteristics such as size, structure and mission. The group was put together by the strategic planning group that established the 2005 Plan for Bucknell in order to enable the University to benchmark its performance. The peer group consists of Colgate, Holy Cross, the College of William and Mary, Davidson, Dartmouth, Furman, Lafayette, Lehigh, Middlebury College, Trinity College, the University of Richmond, Villanova and Wake Forest.

“Please know that we work diligently to moderate tuition and fee increases. We watch our expenses very closely and continue striving to improve operating efficiencies, even as we continue moving forward with new investments in the excellence of Bucknell,” Surgala said in the letter.

The letter also pointed out the “investments” that the University has made recently and is in the process of making, such as hiring new faculty, converting the bookstore space to a student center and beginning the building of Academic West. The new faculty have reduced the University’s student-to-faculty ratio to 10:1, which is tied for fourth-best among the peer institutions.

The comprehensive fee figure is comprised of $43,628 for tuition, $238 for a mandatory student activity fee, an estimated $6,048 for room and an estimated $4,326 for board. The room and board costs will vary from student to student based on a student’s choice of housing and meal plan. The “board” figure is based on the choice of a silver meal plan, so any students who select a less expensive meal plan will pay a smaller comprehensive fee.

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Seventh Street House celebrates Black History Month and Unsung Heroes

By Oleysa Minina

Contributing Writer

In celebration of Black History Month, the residents of the Seventh Street House for the Study of the Black Diaspora presented their annual event for Black History Alive on Feb. 19.

African Diaspora was the movement of people of Black African origin and their descendants to places throughout the world. This year’s theme, “Unsung Heroes,” celebrated relatively unfamiliar African Americans from all over the world who contributed to black history.

This event is about “educating people about the different people or groups that have contributed to black history all over the world; it is a cultural experience with an academic component,” Nakea Tyson ’11 said.

While visitors snacked on fried chicken and banana bread, the residents who transformed themselves into the “unsung heroes” gave a tour through the house.

Each floor of the house represented a different geographical sector of black history. The first floor represented the African American movement, the second symbolized Africa and the third showcased the Caribbean.

On the first floor, residents transformed themselves into members the Black Panther Party, a radical African American progressive political movement that peaked in the 1960s.

The Party jump-started the civil rights movement with their radical ideals and notions of self defense against challengers.

The second floor featured the African musician and human rights activist Fela Kuti, who preached in the 1970s that the African people should not be silenced. Other prominent activists included Makeba Singsi, a South African who brought awareness to the hardships of South Africans through music and song, and Robert Mugabe, the current president of Zimbabwe who spoke out against white-minority rule. Residents of the house dressed up as these heroes and presented their contributions to black history.

The third floor celebrated the Caribbean sector by honoring François Capois, a war hero during the Haitian revolution; Walter Rodney, whose ideals of self-emancipation defined the Guyanan political movements; and Derek Walcott, a St. Lucian poet who brought attention to the issues in Trinidad.

The presentation “focused on people and groups we don’t usually hear about in black history,” Yulissa Hidalgo ’12 said.

Grant Hoover, assistant director of residential education for diverse communities, said he “loved seeing students playing the role of a historical figure, especially figures that use their God-given talents to bring about social change.”

The University is hosting speakers, screening movies and providing other events to honor Black History Month.

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Jose Carmena discusses human brain research

By Katherine Schotz

Contributing Writer

Technology is able to create a sensory swarm in the brain, and neurons can stimulate to act as if there was a reality in front of them through both correct isolation of the neurons and training of the subject, said a prominent neuorscientist who has been conducting research in Berkeley, California to improve health with prosthetic body parts.

Jose Carmena spoke Tuesday in the Gallery Theatre about his ultimate goal to have machines operate as a part of the body, for instance with a prosthetic limb. The lecture took place as part of the University’s Social Science Colloquium series entitled “Emerging Minds: Seeking Meaning in a Physical World.” This was the penultimate event in the series, which is focused around neurology.

“Once formed, the critical map is readily recalled, stable across time, and resistant to interference,” Carmena said. Simplified, the brain can “regularly recall motor memory.”

In his research, Carmena is looking at how the brain is able to reach for an object and grab it. Further, he would like to understand how the brain could be tricked into believing a machine is an extension of the body. His colleagues and he have suggested ideas that were unheard of 20 years ago.

Over the past several years, Carmena points out that there has been a change in how the brain is viewed. Instead of believing that the brain is hardwired to perform basic motor skills from birth, the new theory is that the brain can learn and change.

“The brain is highly adaptive, or plastic, in adults and remains so throughout life,” Carmena said.

The change helped to guide Carmena’s research. Starting at Duke University, he conducted a number of experiments. He and his team were able to get monkeys to control the number of neurons firing in the brain.

Carmena is the principal investigator with the Brain-Machine Interface in the systems laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley, where he also serves as an assistant professor of electrical engineering and cognitive science and neuroscience.

“Questions about the nature of our minds and identities have been posed for millennia,” said series coordinator Joseph Tranquillo, assistant professor of biomedical and electrical engineering at the University. “Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, technological and scientific advances have enabled the ancient questions about mind and self to be revisited in new ways.”

The next event in the series is a lecture by David Eagelman on March 10.

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Panel focuses on current Egyptian crisis

By Eliza Macdonald

Contributing Writer

The Griot Institute for Africana Studies held an open panel focusing on the current situation in Egypt on Feb. 17.

Panel members agreed that “Egypt will embark on a new road.”

In January of this year, Egyptian citizens inspired by Tunisian revolts, protested rising levels of poverty, unemployment and government corruption. Specifically, the protesters demanded the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled Egypt for 30 years. The protesters congregated in Tahrir Square, a central part of Cairo, Egypt, to assert their desire for a more democratic government.

“We should be able to identify with what’s going on because there are genuine expressions for democratic values, and this in a way dispels the notion that just because it’s the Arab world it’s not compatible with democracy. If anything it shows the yearning for these values you would normally find in a democracy,” professor Tony Massoud said.

During the protests, many parts of daily life were disrupted. The protests became violent and injured and killed many on both sides. Banks, schools, the stock market were all shut down, and at one point during the protests, Egyptians lost Internet and phone access.

The protests continued for 18 days before Mubarak finally resigned his presidency and handed power over to the army. The military rule has promised to oversee a transition process to an elected civilian government.

“I knew that Mubarak needed to leave because quality of life has lowered since he came to power,” Michel Ajjan ’14 said.

The panel consisted of three professors: professor Hager El Hadidi from Bloomsburg University, a native of Cairo; Massoud, an associate professor of political science here at the University; and Hilbourne Watson, a professor of international relations at the University.

Hadidi, as a native, gave those in attendance a look into the revolts from the perspective of an Egyptian. Hadidi focused on the importance of Tahrir Square to the Egyptians and the collective protests. She emphasized that Muslims and Christians were fighting side-by-side and that women, especially, were asserting themselves at the protests.

“Women were leading, daring men to be as courageous as they were,” Hadidi said.

Massoud’s input revolved more around the political aspects of the revolts and how it will affect Egypt in the future. Massoud sees two critical actors in this revolt: the military and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic group that, according to Massoud, has moderated its behavior in the last few decades. The Muslim Brotherhood’s slogan is “Islam is the solution.”

According to Massoud, the fear surrounding the ideas that the Muslim Brotherhood will try to take over Egypt is overblown. He hopes that Egypt will use the current democratic model used in Turkey. Turkey has demonstrated that it’s possible for Islam to be a part of a democratic system. Massoud also thinks the military won’t let an Islamic state come to power.

Other fears surrounding the “new Egypt” are that it will turn into a military state, but once again Massoud considers this an unlikely situation.

“The regime was interested in staying in power and maintaining control, which is why I think at the end they pushed Mubarak out. I don’t think the regime is interested in direct rule,” Massoud said. He also made the point that although the military prefers to be behind the scenes, they will be a factor in the new government because they’re too entrenched in the economy and society.

Massoud also argues that within political science, the term “revolution” is used a bit too loosely. He defines a revolution as major changes across different aspects of life in a country. It also depends on what replaces the old regime.

Watson, along with the other panel members, was able to give a more global view to connect the national and political sides of the argument.

“Those who make half a revolution dig their own grave,” was a slogan that Watson used to reinforce the idea behind Egypt’s desire for a full revolution.

Watson feels that globalization has had a huge impact on the quality of life in many regions around the world and that we are in a moment of global discontent.

Watson also broached the topic of how these revolts have affected the Egyptian economy, noting that exports to the European Union have shrunk in the last months.

Carmen Gillespie, director of the Griot Institute of Africana Studies and professor of English, felt that the panel was extremely successful.

“It was an opportunity we couldn’t miss, helping students and even faculty to really understand this evolving situation as much as we can,” Gillespie said.

Gillespie was glad so many students decided to attend to hear from people who’ve studied all their lives on these subjects and learn what their perception of the situation was, instead of a soundbite from the media.

Along with the hope to spark student and faculty curiosity, Gillespie hopes to keep the bridge between what happens on campus and the occurrences that happen in the “real world.”

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Rwandan hero urges student action against injustice

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

After witnessing the Rwandan genocide right in front of his eyes, Rwandan native, hotel manager and hero Paul Rusesabagina stated that the world closes their eyes to the problems of the world that surrounds them, and it is time that we chose to fight back but not with weapons, with dialogue.

On Tuesday evening, in the Weis Center of Performing Arts, Paul Rusesabagina shared his personal experience in the discussion titled “Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to be Learned.” Rusesabagina is credited with saving 1,268 refugees during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and his personal experience was adapted into the acclaimed movie “Hotel Rwanda.”

“History keeps repeating itself, and yet, we fail to learn any lessons,” he said. He spent much of the speech talking about his personal stories and memories from the genocide.

This film, said to be “an African ‘Schindler’s List,‘” is based on Rusesabagina’s real life events. It documents his acts to save the lives of not only his family members and loved ones, but also the lives of other refugees. Rusesabagina sheltered these refugees in the Mille Collines luxury hotel in Kingali, of which he was a general manager.

“While the movie made the hotel a popular place, Hotel Rwanda started at my home,” Rusesabagina said.

He described what it was like when the attacks first started, and how he opened his home to his family and neighbors as a safe house. As the amount of people showing up at his house grew, he decided that he had no choice but to take them to the hotel.

“People kill each other because they fight for power, but dialogue is the best weapon” he said.

This statement reflects the conflicts between the three groups in Rwanda. Rusesabagina, a Hutu, married a Tutsi woman and together, they turned the hotel into an impromptu refugee camp for 12,000 terrified Tutsis and Hutus.

Life as a refugee in the hotel was extremely hard. Refugees had little clean water, and people would take a few drops of water each day from the hotel swimming pool. They had at most two meals a day, consisting of smuggled beans.

Rusesabagina told the audience about the multiple times he would drive down the streets only seeing dead bodies. “No one was alive; everything was killed,” he said.

He also spoke of the time he woke up with a gun to his head, being threatened to clear out the hotel in 30 minutes. He refused to give in because he wanted to protect his people. During the lecture he proudly yet humbly reported that none of his refugees in the hotel were killed or beaten; all 1,268 survived.

For his courageous and selfless efforts, Rusesabagina received Amnesty International’s “Enduring Spirit” award as well as the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

“Nothing is as heartbreaking as seeing your loved ones and thinking, ‘This is the last time I’ll see my children. This is the last time I’ll see my life,’” Rusesabagina said.

Rusesabagina closed his lecture with remarks about what the Western world could do to help.

“You are the only ones who can change this world. You are tomorrow’s leaders. You have the world’s future in your hands, so shape it how you want,” he said.

“I really hope the student body, and everyone in attendance left with a new outlook on things and learned how to treat others,” said Hillary Mann ’13, a member of the Student Lectureship Committee.

The fact that the speaker was the real man from “Hotel Rwanda” attracted many students to the lecture, but the influence of friends also accounted for the phenomenal attendance at the lecture.

“My friends convinced me to take a break from schoolwork and attend the lecture, and I am so glad that I did,” Harrison Winters ’14 said. “Mr. Rusesabagina’s words were extremely powerful and I will keep them in mind for the rest of my life.”

The audience gave a standing ovation for Rusesabagina and his powerful speech.

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Senior gift installed in Elaine Langone Center

By Mike McPhee

Managing Editor

The class gift from this year’s outgoing seniors won’t be formally unveiled until a traditional champagne toast in April, but it is already attracting attention from students who pass through the new student lounge in the Elaine Langone Center (ELC) .

The Senior Class Congress brainstormed gift ideas and found inspiration in their three favorite gifts from past classes: the Christy Mathewson Gates, the bison statue outside the Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center (KLARC), and the basketball mural on the wall just inside the entrance of Sojka Pavilion. These ideas are incorporated into the mosaic they designed and purchased as their gift.

“The concept for the design was focused around our class motto, ‘Live with Integrity. Empower through Knowledge. Lead with Courage.’ We felt the Christy Mathewson Gates and the bison signified this. We feel like we entered the gates of knowledge during our freshman year orientation, Christy Mathewson was a man with great integrity that all Bucknellians should aspire to, and no animal leads with greater courage than a bison,” senior class president Matt Hotard ’11 said.

Many students can be seen peering over the caution tape surrounding the new mosaic, which is located in the floor on the ground floor of the ELC.

“I really like what the University did with the space, giving the students an area to gather, and I am especially glad that my class has added its own mark on it to show some Bucknell pride,” Adam Selby ’11 said.
Other students have mixed feelings about the choice of gift.
“I think that it’s really interesting and it expresses some very encouraging themes in its design. However, I would be more inclined to choose something that gives back to the campus in a more physical way. While this particular gift adds beauty to the new student center, their choice could have better reflected a material need for the college,” Sean Fortney ’12 said.

Hotard would like to thank Gretchen Heuges, the director of the Craft Center, senior class adviser Dean Kari Conrad and the members of the Senior Class Congress for their help with the planning and implementation of the mosaic.

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Comprehensive fee increases next year

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

The new comprehensive fee for the 2011-12 school year will be estimated at $54,240, the University announced in a letter sent to parents last week. This figure is comprised of $43,628 for tuition, an estimated $10,374 for room and board (which varies depending on the type of housing a student lives in) and $238 for additional fees. The total is up 3.7% from the current year’s estimated $52,280; according to the letter, this increase is the lowest at the University in the past ten years. More information will follow in next week’s edition of The Bucknellian.

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Library adds film editing laboratory

By Nicole Briggs

Contributing Writer

A new digital video editing lab has opened in the Ellen Clark Bertrand Library.

Before this lab was added, students looking to edit their films only had a few computers on the main level of the library available. These computers were usually in use by students who were not aware of their main purpose for video editing. Students also needed to save their work to an external drive.

Video production specialist Erin Murphy explained the features of the new lab, which is located on lower level one of the library.

“The lab is equipped with 11 dual-monitor Mac workstations and an instructor’s station. Above each workstation are monitors displaying the instructor’s screens. Each computer is connected to an Xsan server,” he said. “This set-up enables multiple users to share storage over a high-speed Fibre Channel network. Every user can read and write directly to the centralized file system. In other words, all files are stored centrally, eliminating the need for an external hard-drive. Users will have access to the server, Final Cut Studio 3 and the Adobe software suite.”

This project was the direct result of findings from a video utilization study completed during the 2010 spring semester. It should aid both students and faculty in video production and provide a space for teachers to hold classes and demonstrations to better meet student needs.

Michelle Steinberg ’13, who has classes in the video lab, said that the monitors above the screens make it much easier for the teacher to share information through the classroom.

“It’s great to have the dual monitors, the isolated space, and you never have to fight for a computer,” she said.

For students who do not know how to use the video editing software, there are students available from 3 p.m. until closing to provide assistance, as well as on weekends. Staff members like Murphy are also easily accessible and ready to help. In addition, editing workshops will be held in the future, and tutorials can also be accessed online at https://digitalmedia.blogs.bucknell.edu.

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Class of 2014 welcomed as alumni

By Eliza Macdonald

Contributing Writer

The class of 2014 celebrated First Night last Friday night in Rooke Chapel.

“It was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I wasn’t expecting the class to go along with it. The fact that the class cared made the work we put into it worth it,” said Tory Cutting, Vice President of the class of 2014.

The colors for the class of 2014 were announced to be royal blue and silver. With these colors, the crest is embroidered with the Christy Mathewson gates on top of the shield. The gates symbolize the class’s time beginning here at Bucknell and that the next time they pass through the gates they will be beginning the next phase of their lives. The shield represents the strength of the class and that as a class they will come together to form an indivisible group. The that includes a tree, a candle and the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library.

The candle on the right side of the shield symbolizes light, life, and compassion. The Oak tree adjacent to the candle represents eternal growth, and the Bertrand Library anchors the shield as “a symbol of our school and a reminder that education, enlightenment, and self-betterment, is the root of why we are here,” said Clinton Kittrell ’14, Class Representative.

On both sides of the shield are bison to represent the strength and determination of the University, and below all of this is the class motto in Latin: “Praeteritum, Praesens, Posteritas,” which means, translated, “Keep the past in heart, the present in mind and the future in sight.”

Class president, Lindsay Smith’14, said“ First night is a wonderful university tradition that brings together the first year class. It allows everyone to reflect upon our first semester and look at future and see how we’ll always be a part of the bucknell community. I think it is a very meaningful ceremony.It’s especially meaningful for the student body to interact with alumni representatives. I hope that we all make the most of our time at Bucknell, appreciate every minute, take advantage of all of the resources and every opportunity that is afforded to us by being members of the university.”

The motto and crest symbolize “the fact that our time here is timeless and we want to make the most of it. Bucknell will always be a part of us,” said Cutting and secretary/treasurer Sara Girmay ’14.

First Night is a celebration that initiates first-years as official members of the alumni community and marks the successful completion of their first semester at the University.

“First Night, as we know it today, began in 2001 with the class of 2004. It was then that the origination of developing a class motto, crest and colors began, in addition to serenading the President and his wife with the alma mater at the President’s house,” Dean of Students Amy Badal said.

After hearing the speeches of the class representatives, the first-years followed them down to the President’s house by the light of glow-sticks, where they sang the alma mater as a class.

“It was a great night that symbolized the beginning of the rest of our lives as Bucknellians,” Chet Otis ’14 said.

Most students felt that their representatives did a great job preparing for what most thought might be an unexciting ceremony. The ceremony also included a contest to see what hall could scream loudest, a slideshow, and a segment called “True Life: I’m a First-Year at Bucknell” that gave profiles of all the first-year representatives.

“It was really refreshing to look around and see most of our first-year class together and really attentive and being a part of our alma mater,” Girmay said.

Along with the speeches given by each representative, students heard from the Alumni Board representatives. Erika Stanat ’90, President of the Alumni Board Association, spoke about how alumni remain a part of the University community. As alumni, first-years have resources available to them in most parts of the world and need only to look back to their alma mater for help.

“The energy from the first-year students was fantastic. The alumni representatives consistently commented on how engaged and receptive the class was to learning what it means to be a Bucknellian,” Badal said.

While First Night brings into perspective for the first-years that their time here is already one-eighth of the way complete, their time as University students will never really end.

“Our hope is that the first-years maintain this pride in their alma mater and continue to love and serve the institution long after they graduate,” Badal said.