Category: Opinion

Jasmine King

Contributing Writer

In spirit of Black History Month, it is fitting that we write about one of the most crucial issues on our campus: diversity, or lack thereof. In my experience here, a whopping one-and-a-quarter semesters, one thing has been very clear: the University lacks in diversity. When first visiting our school, I thought this was odd but did not think much of it. Once accepted, I returned with my parents, both of whom are African-American. The first thing they said to me was, “Jasmine, all these people are white.” I recognized that the University was far less diverse than I, and not to the extent that my parents would like it to be. Nonetheless, I was surprised to learn that on average only three percent of the incoming classes for the past five years have been of African-American descent from the United States. This means that most of our diversity comes from other countries. I must admit that I do not appear to be in the minority at the University. My mother is black and my biological father is white; when people look at me, they just assume that I am white because I in no way look of African-American descent. So, when I walk around campus I do not feel what it is like to be a minority, but from talking to my hallmates and my friends who do, they say it is quite intimidating since “everyone” looks the same. In the times that I do feel like a minority, I completely agree with my friends. It is hard not to feel awkward and introverted when you are walking around campus and you know that you do not fit in.

Our University should not segregate the campus; it is just plain weird that a very small percent of students are African-American and from the United States. Tradition is extremely important here and students are stereotyped as being conservative, but times are changing and minorities have just as much to offer as the majority. The College of Arts and Sciences is the only college to have any black tenured/tenure track faculty, with a total number of 15. This is not just sad, it is alarming. The University needs to accept more African-Americans. Then more students who are in the minority will feel more comfortable here and we, as Bucknellians, can pride ourselves in becoming a more diverse campus.

By Joshua Haywood

Contributing Writer

Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and the trending topic on the quad is PDA (public displays of affection). The truth of the matter is that if you are going to go all out on the PDA front—touching, kissing, the whole nine yards—then you need to go to the Lewisburg Hotel and get a room. If it is a Thursday morning and I am walking to my 8 a.m. class with “the morning flu,” the last thing I want to see is a couple dry humping like they are at a register because my next action will surely involve looking for a trashcan to vomit in. There are basic rules when it comes to PDA and they should be followed.

First off are the “ins.” These are the displays that are generally accepted by me and my friends. Holding hands is definitely an in; this is the most basic form of PDA and, by my standards, acceptable. Next item up for discussion is kissing your better half on the way to class. This is a classic move from what I like to call the “Book of Game.” Just as long as you are not slipping in some tongue on tongue wrestling action, kissing as a form of PDA is tolerable. Now, I may have a 2.5 GPA but I am pretty sure that relatively reenacting a scene from a soft-core porno video in front of the library is not—and never will be—cool. Holding the door open for your lady friend is definitely in on my list of tolerable PDA. This is not to say that the concept of holding a door open is not eternally cliché. I question such acts: is the woman really too feeble to open her own door?

Here are the definite “outs” that the universe should generally accept as PDA overload. First and foremost is groping. Boys, I do not want to see you grab your girlfriend’s behind like you are giving it a friendly handshake. This is gross and highly offensive. The last thing I want to see is you ass-ault your girlfriend in public, especially in front of me. Next up is sitting on each other’s lap in public. This is not Mustang Sally’s. I do not want to see a modified lap dance anywhere on campus. It is inappropriate no matter the situation. Finally, we are all still recovering from FloodGate 2011 but if I see some boy take off his North Face jacket and throw it in the mud so a girl can walk over it in an effort to protect her shoes, I will not only laugh but will come up and ask for your picture and your autograph; you have officially completed the most obscene and ridiculous out.

The reality is, you can show PDA like it is the apocalypse or you can act like a normal human being and be civil about your adoration for your better half. When it comes down to it, you need to stick to the basics and keep it classy; this sets an example for singles and keeps everyone else from throwing up their mystery Bostwick Marketplace meat. 

By Sarah Morris

Contributing Writer

Alongside prostitution, PDA is one of the oldest pastimes of our world. Everyone needs love, and physical love might be the best you’re going to get … especially in college. Here on campus, it seems that some students have a bit of extra love to give to their fellow classmates. I’m not talking about dancing at a register or making out with someone at a party on the weekend. I’m talking about good, old-fashioned, rubbing your love in everyone else’s faces behavior. Of course I want all the couples out there to enjoy their time together, I just prefer that they enjoy their time somewhere besides the public arena.

I think it’s time someone makes a PSA about PDA. Everyone smiles when they see an elderly couple holding hands, but there is something to be said about that couple making out in front of your classroom door. Just when you think it’s safe to walk around minding your single, happy, personal-space business, you can’t help but see it. There are two types of PDA: appropriate-but-can-be-over-used PDA, and never-okay-cover-your-children’s-eyes PDA.

Especially because Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, all of my single friends out there need to take caution when deciding where to look, lest they become witness to some graphic, sexual action on campus. Now I know that not all PDA is actually unbearable, but some of it is just uncomfortable to be around and frankly, unnecessary. For example, the other day in the cafeteria, I saw a couple get up from their table and hold hands on the way to fill their plates with food. Really? You can’t walk 20 feet to get your lunch without touching each other? Holding hands isn’t weird, but holding hands to walk around Bostwick Marketplace is.

Some people might say that the only reason others (myself included) are so against PDA is that we just don’t understand what it’s like to not be able to be apart from our significant others. I feel like at some point, PDA becomes an insecurity or attachment issue. Sure, there’s a honeymoon phase to relationships where holding hands and pecking in public is cute and exciting, but when you’ve been dating someone for an extended period of time and you still can’t stand to be apart, doesn’t that seem like a bit of a problem?

PDA is a nice way to show somebody you care, but at some point it can become an obnoxious way to show everyone else that you care too. There is a difference between being cute and being openly gross to everyone around you.

Jessica Isgro

Writer

The acronym ADD has become commonplace in our society. Count the times in your own life that you’ve jokingly reasoned away a lack of focus by saying, “I have such ADD right now.” Even more prevalent than our slang use of a legitimate psychological condition is the widespread presence of the disorder. ADD and ADHD have become somewhat of an epidemic in our nation, and the number of children and adults being treated for their symptoms is steadily increasing. But why has it become so prevalent? Are teens and adults really more susceptible to this condition today?

I don’t think so. I think doctors, parents and teachers have become more observant. Diagnosing ADD and ADHD proves a tricky situation; it’s not detectable through a blood test or any other obvious means. For this reason, diagnosing such cases is not black and white. The diagnosis instead involves observation on the parts of the adults in a child’s life to assess if he or she suffers from ADD or ADHD.

Regardless of the reason for the heightened rate of ADD and ADHD diagnoses, one fact is indisputable: the amount of abuse resulting from the related medications, most commonly Adderall and Ritalin, is steadily on the rise. According to a study published in “Pediatrics”, the abuse of ADD and ADHD drugs increased 76 percent from 1998 to 2005. The prevalence of these disorders in our society provides easy access to their medications; abusers will often ask a friend to spare a few pills or sell them altogether. Some abusers see ADD medications as a safer alternative to harder drugs; they are considered easier to obtain while still supplying the abuser with a high.

The interesting thing about Adderall and Ritalin abuse is that even though cases of ADD and ADHD drug abuse continues to increase, there has been a recent shortage of ADD and ADHD medication. Both the original and generic forms have been scarce and those who legitimately need the medication are having issues finding it. It makes you wonder to what lengths addicts are willing to go in order to find this now-elusive medication. And worse, those using Adderall and Ritalin for non-medicinal purposes are diminishing precious, in-demand medicine that would better serve those with legitimate needs.

What should be done about this problem? Perhaps stricter monitoring of the medication would deter persons who actually need the medication from giving a few pills to their friends, especially if they know that they might not be able to refill their prescription easily the next time around. If abusers truly want these drugs, I feel they will find a way to acquire them. Regardless of the reason, whether they desire the weight loss resulting from Ritalin, they seek the effects of a stimulant or are attempting to increase their focus, serious drug abusers will not merely bow to stronger regulations.

This issue is underemphasized. Our society lacks widespread understanding of the paradox of ADD medication being too accessible to addicts, yet too elusive to ADD and ADHD patients. To use a clichéd but apropos metaphor, one bad apple spoils the bunch. The way I see it, those who abuse Ritalin, Adderall and other medications tarnish the existence of both ADD and ADHD. For this reason, not everyone sees the shortage of ADD and ADHD medication as a problem. Unfortunately, the only ones who suffer in this situation are the ones with legitimate conditions. If an easy solution to this problem existed, it would already be fixed. For now, the most we can do is form a divide in our minds between those who need these medications and those who choose to take them.

Elizabeth Bacharach

Opinons Editor

Never once in my life have I considered myself a minority. As I grew up in a predominantly Jewish community I felt one of many, attending multiple bar and bat mitzvahs and High Holy Day services with friends, and found Shabbas dinners to be social events rather than traditional celebrations. But upon arriving on campus, my feelings of majority were quickly flipped upside down to minority.

I come from a strong Jewish family propelled by a profound cultural honor and tie. My grandparents, Nazi Germany escapees, pride themselves on their religion and support their grandchildren in anything we pursue. As the first grandchild to not attend a dominantly Jewish school, I was questioned about the acceptance and understanding of Judiasm at what is known as a conservative university with a large percentage of Christian students. Within my first weeks on campus, I sent my grandparents a picture of the library and immediately received a response saying, “Is that the chapel?!” As an adamant lover of our school, even from the start, I rebuked my elders’ question with a solid “NO!” How could they be so ignorant to think I would choose a school that neglects diversity and acceptance?

The reality, though, is that I do attend a school that has quite some difficulty with such acceptance. As I spend more and more time on campus, I begin to notice more of the diversity discrepancies we have here on campus. One day at lunch I was asked—for the first time in my life—what it was like to be a Jew. The question was far from rude, yet far from politically correct. I appreciated my peer’s inquiry, but at the same time I did not appreciate the fact that my differences were highlighted. This situation was not the first, nor will it be the last, of such that I will experience here at school.

The problem we face is not the issue of acceptance but rather the issue of understanding. Despite our reputation as a prestigious liberal arts university, we fall deeply from such title in consideration of diversity. I received an astonishing email from Nina Banks this past week that informed recipients that the average number of black students who are U.S. citizens and have attended the University in the last five years is only 28 per entering class (forming just three percent of the student body). Now, I cannot stand here and preach about the lack of diversity on the African-American front, but I can tell you as a religious minority, I do recognize the lack of variety we have on campus.

This issue would not be such a problem if lines were not formed between a variety of students, as in the case of my lunch situation. Bright barriers were created just due to my religion, one of a minority. I truly believe that our university needs to amp up its game and be more welcoming and accepting of varied applicants because the truth is, the “Bucknell Bubble” we have formed is not the real world, situational and based on population. I do admit, however, that I have faith that our university is trying to diversify … but maybe a little push and shove like such an article can only improve our barren diversity situations.

Being a minority on campus has not, and will not, change my love for our school or my Jewish pride. But it will make me less open about my religious stance due to fear of questioning and possible lack of acceptance.

Vince Fasanello

Contributing Writer

With all of the discussion on “campus climate” and changes in the Greek system that have been going on over the past few months, I thought I would take the opportunity to give a guy’s perspective on the social scene in Greek life. Because the fraternities have on-campus houses and the sororities do not, this creates a social dynamic which places a lot of unsought pressure on the guys. Because we have the houses, we’re the only ones who have the parties. We pay for the parties, we put in a lot of preparation effort and, looking at this from a legal perspective and our standing with the University, we are ultimately responsible for the well-being of the people who attend. The girls roll in, drink our beer and then leave. We’re left with a demolished house bearing all of the costs. Look at our social dues–-while we pay roughly $150 a semester, the typical sorority pays about $10-15, solely for a date party here and there and formals. To my knowledge, $150 is relatively cheap compared to some of the other fraternities on campus. Another negative side effect is that I could see how the University would naturally associate fraternities, more so than sororities, as solely “partying” organizations.

I think a more ideal social scene would be one in which sororities could host some of the parties. I realize that “officially” this would be impossible because they do not have houses on campus. Downtown parties aren’t technically registered with the University  (as “registers” are) and hosted by the fraternity; rather, the residents of the house technically host them. Sororities could therefore easily host parties downtown (obviously not to the same extent as a register, but nevertheless a successful mixer at the least). Unfortunately, we all have set an irreversible precedent of women relying on men to host the parties. We are constantly in a position of having to prepare for parties and “please” sorority women so that they will want to come and attend more of our events in the future. This is a lot of pressure.

With the current situation, and with ongoing talks about “changing the campus climate for the better” and empowering women so that they don’t feel objectified by men, I feel it’s necessary to rethink the current social scene because it exacerbates these problems. With women only relying on fraternities to host social events, they are, in essence, being subjected to “follow the leader.” Instead, we should find a solution that enables both fraternities and sororities to equally share the burden. Dividing the costs and pressure will make for a better social scene for everyone and could solve some of the ongoing problems concerning Greek life.