Category: News

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan humanitarian and inspiration for the Academy Award-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda,” will speak about the lasting implications of the 1994 Rwandan genocide when he visits the University next Tuesday.

Rusesabagina will give a lecture entitled “Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to Be Learned,” at 7 p.m. in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 22.

“Paul Rusesabagina is a remarkable example of the potential of human kindness,” said Mike Kurban ’12, co-chair of the Student Lectureship Committee, the group bringing Rusesabagina to campus.

When violence broke out in Rwanda in April 1994, as the Hutu-led paramilitary began to slaughter the Tutsi population, Rusesabagina led his Tutsi wife and mixed-heritage children to the Hôtel des Mille Collines for safety. He acquired a managerial position in the hotel as other managers fled and began sheltering refugees who came for help, protecting them from attacks by the Hutu militia. He ended up saving over 1,250 refugees from the genocide, in which over 800,000 people were killed.

“[Rusesabagina] proved that human kindness always has the ability to defeat human hatred, a lesson that shouldn’t be forgotten,” Kurban said.

Rusesabagina received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

By Carleen Boyer

Contributing Writer

“Professional bisexual” Robyn Ochs visited the University on Tuesday to discuss the topic of bisexuality in our culture today.

Ochs, who has been bisexual for 35 years, focused on many different aspects of sexuality, discussing the research of Alfred Kinsey, Fritz Klein and Michael Storms.

“Someone who may only date women but may find men attractive may label themselves as bisexual. The problem is that certain stigmas are associated with the labels, and in a society where it’s hard to get past stereotypes, it’s important to recognize that these labels don’t have set-in-stone definitions,” Eric Nuber ’13 said.

Kinsey has developed a scale known as the Kinsey scale, which rates homosexual and heterosexual tendencies on a scale ranging from 0 to 6. On the scale, a 0 is considered “exclusively heterosexual”, while a 6 is “exclusively homosexual”.

Ochs referenced this scale throughout her speech and built her own exercise that involved the audience. On the back of a paper, Ochs asked each audience member to rate himself or herself using the scale. The paper contained various questions, such as “Where would you put yourself on this scale, taking into account your romantic/emotional attractions?”

After the audience completed this survey, the surveys were collected and shuffled, then passed back out to each of the members of the audience. Ochs then randomly selected members to come to the front of the room to represent the anonymous paper they had received. Once the members arranged in order on the scale according to the overall sexual orientation number that was on the paper, Ochs asked the people to state which label, such as “gay” or “straight,” was on the paper.

“I think presentations like this, especially in today’s society where sexual issues have come to the forefront of public attention, are extremely important. People need to realize that sexuality is not a cut-and-dry issue, but a more fluid construct. I truly believe that talking about these issues will help people understand different sexual identities,” Nuber said.

After completing this exercise, it was found that the labels varied across the scale, and were not always dependent on location.

At the end of her speech, Ochs asked students to state what they learned from the session. Many students cited the need to be more open-minded, and some even stated that they better understood the meaning of sexuality, including bisexuality.

By Oleysa Minina

Contributing Writer

Casual sex and a “hook-up culture” are prevalent on most college campuses, but many students find themselves feeling confused or lonely amidst this culture, said a visiting professor and author on Sunday.

Donna Freitas, a professor of religion at Boston College who wrote the book “Sex and the Soul,” discussed how students “really” feel about casual sex and how it connects to the spirituality and religion, which some students turn to for guidance in uncomfortable situations.

After one of her students who had a reputation for being promiscuous admitted to feeling anxiety about the hook-up culture at college and stated that she “didn’t know why she hooked up,” Freitas was instantly intrigued “that someone was critiquing this sexual freedom on campus,” she said.

Students in her class could “talk a good game about sex” but many were questioning if they really enjoyed it and why they did it if they did not enjoy it, she said. The students in Freitas’ class decided to produce a newspaper issue titled “Dateline” dedicated entirely to having an “honest conversation about love, intimacy, hooking up, dating and other relationships found on campus.” The students also invited faculty, staff and administration to weigh in on this “taboo” topic.

The response from the students on campus was overwhelming. Many found a lot of students actually do not enjoy this “hook-up culture” and feel that religion does not provide them with guidance relevant to the sexual freedom and casual sex experiences they face on a college campus.

“Students are hungry for discussions on sex and hooking up from religious organizations,” Charles Thompson ’14 said.

Freitas decided to take a research perspective on this issue and designed an online survey for college students all over the country at four university types: evangelical, private, Catholic and public. It posed various questions on sex, spirituality, religion and “hooking up.” There was immense interest in the topic: 2,600 students ended up participating in the survey, and 112 were personally interviewed.

The findings showed that many students try to find identity in spirituality and religion but feel the pressure of peers, the “hook-up culture” and drinking influencing many of their decisions. The majority find themselves playing into this “hook-up culture” which is void of any dating, intimacy or romance. Amidst the resulting sense of loneliness, isolation and confusion, many are beginning to ask, “Where is the human dignity in this hook-up culture?” and “Why do I really hook up?”

The findings also showed that while students are not anti-sex, many have negative emotions and anxiety about the prevalence of casual sex on campus. Many participants also showed great interest in spirituality and its connection to the path of bettering their sexual experiences in college.

“I agree with the speaker and feel that students need to find a way to embrace spirituality and talk about how empty and isolated random hook-ups can make a person feel. I believe that students on campus search for love and meaning and cannot find it in this ‘hook-up culture,'” Madison Stevens ’14 said.

Freitas stated that both males and females feel silenced on this issue and need to reach out to friends, family and even faculty. Approaching the subject of hook-up culture, which Freitas states is a “culture of pretend,” with maturity and depth, and finding a way to incorporate spiritual and religious beliefs and ideals into the conversation is something everyone should do.

By Sam Krassenstein

Contributing Writer

Dr. Michael W. Moohr, an Associate Professor of Economics, passed away on Jan. 31 at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville at age 68.

Moohr was an integral part of the University community for 35 years and was known for his charismatic personality and endless dedication to his students as a mentor and teacher.

While at the University, he devoted nearly all his time to teaching and helping his students. “Michael was especially devoted to his students, counseling them on life lessons and always offering career advice,” said Nina Banks, associate professor of economics.

Moohr earned his Bachelor of Science degree in economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain and his Ph.D at Kings College in Cambridge. Moohr researched the sugar industry and its impact on the slave trade in the Caribbean.

Professor Emeritus Peter Kresl hired Moohr in January 1975 to join the economics department, which consisted of only three members at the time.

Their shared interests in German automobiles, jazz music and economic thought allowed them not only to become colleagues, but also best friends for the next 35 years.

“We hired Michael to teach American and European economic history,” Kresl said. “We both deplored how the history of economic thought was being forgotten in economics education.”

Moohr’s addition to the University marked the beginning of the building of the largest department in the College of Arts and Sciences, while preserving the fundamental balance between political economy and neoclassical economic theory.

During his tenure at the University, the department grew from five faculty members, as he was hired alongside professor Jean Shackelford, to its current size of 17 faculty members.

Since the fall semester of 1997, Moohr has had 1,820 students in his classes in addition to all the students he has taught in the 22 years prior.

“He was immensely interesting in class and was the one professor who was genuinely interested in getting to know and making time for each of his students,” Sam Stulberg ’12 said.

Typically in the economics department, a faculty member will average 25 advisees, but Moohr had 150, reflecting his immense popularity among students.

Moohr’s classes were consistently among the first to fill up on campus, so he often taught an extra to ensure that he could help and teach as many students as possible.

Moohr had a profound effect on students on and off campus. He always shared his experiences of growing up on the south side of Chicago where he witnessed the devastating impact of blocked opportunities on the lives of his African-American friends.

As a master lecturer and a fierce proponent of affirmative action, Moohr was the keynote speaker at the New Frontiers of Knowledge mentoring project in Chicago where he spoke to high school students of the aspirations that parents have for their children.

“By the end of his talk, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, and a new group of students had come to love him,” Banks said.

At the University he often used his extensive network of previous students and friends to help his promising students find jobs in the finance sector regardless of race or gender.

He made sure that all his students had an equal opportunity to a successful career and future such as his alumni from 35 years ago. They made their way across the country this weekend and have sent in numerous tributes to pay their respects to a man who has had a tremendous impact on countless students’ lives at the University.

Former students from as far back as the start of his tenure in 1975 recalled his passion in teaching and credited Moohr as an inspiration being, as one former student from the graduating class of 1979 put it, “the one special professor that made a huge impact on the direction of their lives.”

Moohr loved the University and greatly admired John F. Zeller III, who passed away in Dec. 8, 2010, for his exceptional dedication and loyalty to the University.

Moohr had similar devotion to the institution, serving as the chair of the economics department for five years and often spending what little free time he had walking around campus with his dog, Christopher, striking up conversations in every office he visited and with as many people as he came across around campus.

Outside of the economics department, Moohr was no stranger on campus. He advised numerous student organizations including the Pi Beta Phi sorority, the Real Estate Club and the Investment Club.

As a faculty member, Moohr represented academic interests of the University in trustee meetings always ensuring that budget decisions did not adversely affect the students’ education.

Moohr’s dedication to his many students and the University as well as the profound effect he has had on all that he has touched over his lifetime will not soon be forgotten.

Although he has passed away, his legacy as an inspirational professor, colleague and friend will always live on in our memories.

By Meghan Finlayson

Staff Writer

Moving to downtown Lewisburg has enabled the Barnes & Noble at Bucknell University to expand its range of products and services.

The bookstore increased its size and volume to include a café and additional merchandise.

“Moving from the 12,500-square-foot space in the Elaine Langone Center to the 29,000-square-foot space at 400 Market Street allowed us to dramatically increase the amount and variety of merchandise we are able to carry, especially in regards to books and Bucknell clothing,” bookstore manager Vicki Benion said. “As a Barnes & Noble collegiate superstore, we also carry a large assortment of games and gifts for readers. In fact, our store is among the top sellers of the Nook, Barnes & Noble’s e-reader.”

Along with the increase in merchandise, the new bookstore has also updated the textbook sales process for students.

“We have streamlined the textbook sales process by providing a link from the class schedule page in BannerWeb, where students can see the required course materials for their classes. Through our textbook reservation system, students may choose to either pick up their books in the store or have them delivered to their homes or the post office on campus,” Benion said.

Finally, the bookstore now hosts events for University students, faculty and administration, and the Lewisburg community.

“[In the café] we schedule frequent entertainment by local performers and a monthly Open Mic night. For special weekends, the café hosts performances by performers such as the Bucknell a cappella groups and visits from Bucky Bison and the Lewisburg Green Dragon,” Benion said. “Most recently, in celebration of Lewisburg’s Ice Festival, the bookstore featured a beautiful ice sculpture plus musical entertainment and three local authors. The store also has a Wii in the café and sponsor-related special events.”

In terms of events for all of Lewisburg, the bookstore has “Little Bookworms” story time every Saturday and hosts the American Girl Book Club once a month.

“I think the new and expanded bookstore is great. It now sells more than just books and basic merchandise. Students can go there to hang out, have a cup of coffee or study,” Kate Monahan ’13 said.

Despite all the new advantages the bookstore has to offer, not all students are a fan of the new location and expansion.

“As a freshman I went to the bookstore all the time since it was centrally located in the ELC. Now that it is downtown, I do not go as often, and last year as a freshman without a car, I would never have gone,” Katherine Griffith ’13 said.

However, moving the bookstore downtown has also had its benefits.

“The added events, merchandise and being located in a beautifully restored historic building downtown has led to significant increases in community traffic,” Benion said.

The new building has started a lot of conversation and, looking ahead, the bookstore will continue to develop and grow.

“Our most recent expansion has been in trendy, non-imprinted merchandise such as rain boots, leggings, and adding a Clinique vending machine,” Benion said.

The Barnes & Noble at Bucknell University bookstore relocated to downtown Lewisburg this past summer. There was a “soft opening” on June 26, followed by a grand opening celebration the weekend of August 27-29.

By Carleen Boyer

Contributing Writer

A new University iPhone, iPod, and iPad application was released on Jan. 19 by associate professor of computer science Richard Zaccone. The application includes resources for University students such as maps of the campus, dining menus, people search, campus news and courses offered to students.

Zaccone worked with Aurimas Liutikas ’12, a computer science and engineering student, on the original program that had begun in one of his fall semester classes, but tweaked many of the original program’s features.

The project “started as a class and Aurimas and I took what the class did as a starting point. We rewrote almost everything,” Zaccone said. Though many changes were made to the project, Zaccone still notes the significance of the class’s work on the project. “There’s a lot of utility in making a stab at it and failing.”

The application has collected nearly 400 downloads from the iTunes store, with the greatest number of downloads coming from the U.S., and the second-highest number of downloads coming from China.

The program was first released in beta form, and feedback from the students was incorporated into changes made in the programming. Many current students suggested that the application should contain the dining menus from across campus, and Liutikas and Zaccone incorporated this suggestion.

In addition, they decided to fix deficiencies in current programming and on the University’s website. The people search feature that functions as a directory was changed to incorporate automatic feedback. Aside from these changes made to the directory, the campus map on the application is much more detailed, containing pictures of each building on campus with information about the buildings.

One feature particularly useful to prospective students is the locator on the map, which allows the person holding an iTouch, iPhone, or iPad to locate him- or herself on the map. It also includes a feature which allows the map to rotate depending on which direction the person is facing.

“The map portion is very useful. You can get a list of all the buildings on campus, click on them and know where you are. You’ll never get lost,” Liz Ziebarth ’14 said.

Constantly changing technology had to be considered through the development of this application. “The biggest change for us was the iPad. We had to restructure a lot of our software when the iPad came out,” Zaccone said. Despite this slight setback, Zaccone and Liutikas still managed to make the application compatible for Apple devices.

Zaccone hopes to expand his horizons to products such as various versions of Android, but after that he wants it to be “what they call a universal app, so it runs on all devices.”

By Ava Ginsberg

Contributing Writer

For many seniors, the stress of May graduation has been relieved, and their lives in the real world have begun.

According to Dennis Hopple, Associate Registrar, three percent of the expected 2011 graduates have completed their studies one semester early. From this three percent, 13 different majors were represented, with the three most popular being psychology, economics and biology.

“Depending upon the industry, graduating early or being available for employment/programs at a time when the majority of undergraduates are not can be of benefit because there is not as much competition from other applicants,” said Alison Ordonez, assistant director of Alumni Relations and Career Services and director of Internship Program Services at the Career Development Center. “However, there are cycles to hiring and time frames of when training programs begin.”

These time frames are industry-specific. Another factor in the job search is the economic climate, which currently is a challenge for many graduates.

“Over the past 10 years, we have seen a trend of approximately 60-70 percent of the graduating class pursuing employment while about 20-25 percent enter graduate or professional school directly upon graduation,” while a smaller percentage travel, Ordonez said.

For the early graduates of the class of 2009, 59 percent entered the workforce, 23 percent went to graduate school, four percent were both employed and in graduate school and six percent volunteered, traveled or did both.

Graduating early also means missing out on one semester of college, parties and friends. Arin Mossovitz ’11, a political science major and American literature minor, decided to stay on campus after her early graduation.

“I didn’t want to miss out on the last part of my college experience,” she said. “I live downtown, and because I am going to law school in the fall, I couldn’t really get a full time job even if I moved home for the semester. Instead, to keep myself productive, I am auditing a Spanish class at Bucknell and working part time at Sunflower Daycare as a preschool teacher.”

Many students graduate early in order to save a semester’s worth of tuition, to study for upcoming graduate school admissions tests like the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), or to begin pursing job opportunities before most of their peers.

Brittany Mastin ’11, a pre-med biology major, graduated early in order to study for the MCAT.

“My intention was to graduate early so that I could take some ‘breathing time’ before entering medical school. I am now using my extra semester without school to focus on studying for the MCAT,” she said. While studying, Mastin is also volunteering at the Venice Family Clinic.

Although Mastin had planned to graduate early from the start of her academic career, Mossovitz had a different experience. “Graduating early was not my plan all along, but it just so happened that when I was choosing classes my junior year, I realized that I had enough credits to graduate early,” she said.

Annie Olszewski ’11, a French and economics major and an international relations minor, said that she realized during her sophomore year that she would have enough credits to graduate early and decided to pursue that option.

“I am still living in my house here off campus, and I am working in the mailroom and at Zelda’s, as well as auditing a French course and [taking] an independent study,” she said. “I am also looking into grad school stuff because I want to go after a year or two to a school that has a combined JD/MBA program.”

Most early graduates seem pleased with their decision to complete college one semester early.  “I am very happy with my decision. I feel a lot less pressure, and I have more time to figure out what I want to do. I am really enjoying everything I am doing now,” Olszweski said.