Categories
Arts & Life

Porn lecture defines current culture

Katey Duffy

Writer

Sitting in a room full of mature college students and adults, I never thought I would feel so comfortable discussing the major impact of the pornography industry on our society today. So how was it that I was comfortable in this setting where we were discussing a topic that is usually taboo? It was because I was part of an audience in which students were eager to learn and Dr. Gail Dines knew how to blatantly bring up the problems with pornography by describing the motives behind the major pornography producers.

Dines is a professor from Wheelock College in Boston and a leader of the anti-porn movement as well as an active feminist. She is the proud author of the book “Pornland,” in which she shares her views about the negative effects of porn on young women and has also been interviewing and studying people in the porn business to understand their reasons for production.

I was most impressed with the way Dines handled the topic of porn. She discussed how our generation is an “image-based culture.” We have grown up in a society where we are constantly seeing images of what we are “supposed to look like.” But in reality, Dines highlights the truth: the men and women in these media images are part of an “abnormal group” of our culture. She stresses the reason men feel superior to women is because they have grown up seeing images in which women are vulnerable to men. This is the connection to the growing porn industry which is why the business is so huge in our world today, bringing in an estimated $12 billion in revenue every year. 

Although Dines commented on many different things throughout her talk, she claimed that her efforts to put a stop to this porn industry are like “pushing a boulder up a huge hill.” She understands that she cannot single-handedly manage to stop something so massive throughout our society today, but she demands that women stop allowing it to happen. For the sake of the next generation of young girls, we must demand more respect from men because the pornography industry is a “runaway train” in a sense. They have legally been able to portray women in this light and they are running out of ideas. We must stop it before it ruins the next generation. If you have any interest in joining this movement, Dines suggested visiting www.stoppornculture.org for more information.

Categories
Opinion

Schools unprepared for shootings

Jasmine King

Contributing Writer

On Feb. 27, a 17-year-old student walked into an Ohio high school with a gun. Minutes later, five students were shot and the gunman fled. T.J. Lane is responsible for the deaths of three of his classmates and injuring two more. This incident could have been less deadly if students had more guidance through policies and drills of how to handle a situation as dire as this. But, are the schools preparing students enough that if the situation did occur, students would know what to do? No, the policies that are in effect in schools do not prepare students for emergency situations as well as they could.

In my high school, we had drills to try to prepare us for events like a school shooting or an invader that the administration saw as a threat. I remember crouching down away from the windows so that someone who was looking inside would have to open the door to see all of the students and teachers in one corner of the classroom. Looking back, every time we would perform these drills, I would think how stupid it was. For one thing, if a person with a gun wanted to come into the school, he or she would most likely be smart enough to do it on a day where school is in session. The fact that we sat away from the window means nothing in the scope of things. Secondly, if the gunman would open the door to see all of us sitting in one spot, this would make things easier on him, not harder. The fact that these drills do not take into account the possibility that the gunman would have knowledge or experience of how schools respond to crisis situations is preposterous.

Another reason why the policies are practically useless is because no one takes them seriously. Think about it. In high school (and even in college) we have fire drills at least once a month. But no one runs out screaming and frantic because we know it is not real. To be honest, most of us would have no idea how to respond if the building was actually on fire, nor would we believe it unless we saw it with our own eyes. Even then, most students have never been in an emergency situation, and consequently do not know how they will react. Americans were shocked at school shootings in the past like that at Columbine High School, but students cannot imagine something like that would happen to them or on their campus. Like my grandmother used to say, “You cannot understand it until it happens to you.” Students have to start taking drills seriously; the University does them for a reason.

In moving forward, we, as a University, must foresee crisis situations and let every student know exactly what to do if it does happen. Yes, we have fire drills, but what about if a gunman opens fire somewhere on campus? I can honestly say I would have no idea what to do except to call 911 and maybe Public Safety. If an event like this would happen on campus, I would feel completely unprepared.

Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I’m disheartened to see that the person who wrote the slut-shaming opinion piece (“A Female Perspective on Modern Chivalry: Women Need to Face the Facts,” Nov. 10, 2011) last semester wrote a piece about sexual assault on campus and victim blames throughout the entire article (“Protection from Sexual Assault Requires Cooperation,” March 2, 2012.).  This is a poorly worded, poorly researched article, and I’m ashamed that this was in my school newspaper.

Firstly, the onus of prevention of sexual assault is on the perpetrator of assault, not on the victim. People can do everything in their power to protect themselves from assault and still be assaulted. It is not up to the victim. Secondly, the assumption that women are the only victims of assault is incorrect. They are the  majority, but there are thousands of people who do not identify as women who are assaulted each year. Thirdly, the women on this campus are women. We’re old enough to claim that title, let us have it.

I am up in arms, Sarah Morris. I’m furious that The Bucknellian allowed this to be published. We have such a huge problem with sexual assault on this campus, and the pervasive idea that women are responsible for protecting themselves from an assault is what contributes to people not wanting to report an assault for fear of being told it was their fault. This stance does the whole institution injustice. I’m frustrated that you, as a member of the sex that is most frequently assaulted, believes that you or any of the rest of us can somehow prevent an assault. Again, the only person who can prevent assault is the person who is going to commit the assault.

I think this campus would benefit from some more informed, unbiased research in this area. Perhaps attending a presentation or panel on sexual assault on campus would open our eyes. There are several interesting and relevant discussions in this area happening on campus on a regular basis, such as the Speak UP Bucknell Peer Education program, the Double Take Project and speakers hosted each semester by the Women’s and Gender Studies office and the Women’s Resource Center, as well as many others.

Alyssa M. Gockley ’13
Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies

Categories
Opinion

Speech patterns prove influential

Molly Brown

Writer

The stereotypical imitation of a teenage girl’s speech, an up-talked sentence with an added poor imitation of Mae West and punctuated with several “like’s,” is a pandemic across college campuses.  These vocal devices are popular and are infiltrating the speech patterns of everyone who comes into contact with affected individuals. It has been recently examined in “The New York Times” as an example of women pioneering cultural norms, but I believe that young women are not the culprits of furthering these rather unfortunate linguistic trends. 

In my own experiences, and I’m no Henry Higgins, I’ve heard just as many guys punctuate every prepositional phrase with a “like”—or four—as girls. The same goes with up-talking, the phenomenon in which a statement ends like this? All the time? This trend is not something driven by young women because they are looking for an outlet to express themselves. People and communication evolve together and are interdependent on one another. If someone hears a way of turning a phrase or perhaps has moved to a different regional area and is surrounded by that regional accent, he or she will mimic and implement the speech patterns from the environment into his or her own. This is why it is ridiculous that people see the above linguistic trends as solely a female device.

Occasionally, the up-talking happens, but when it is a deliberate choice by individuals to speak in this matter to try and fit in, these speech patterns become problems. A huge problem, both for listeners and the speaker’s vocal health, is the idea of adding vocal fry constantly in their speech. A vocal fry, the sort of growling, not quite that of Barbara Stanwyck’s, but rather an intentional upward intonation that forces the vocal cords to peak at the fundamental point at which one’s voice begins to crack, is considered normal. The Kardashian reality television empire has only furthered this assumption of speech patterns. When speaking this way for a prolonged period of time, an individual will harm his or her vocal chords by placing them under so much friction day after day. The worst part about the habit is the fact that it has become so ingrained within the national speech pattern that fewer people realize they use it themselves.

In terms of speech, females are no more to blame than males for projecting their vocalisms into the vernacular.  Rather, the use of these patterns is a natural part of language, not solely in the hands of one sex. Vocalisms and language will continue to evolve as long as people continue to use them, so if the vocal growls and up-talk annoy you as much as the next person, don’t use them yourself?

Categories
News

Meet the Suites eases nerves

Jason Pepe

Contributing Writer

First-year women gathered in Hunt Hall for the first annual Meet the Suites on March 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.  The event provided first-year women who are considering participating in Greek Life an opportunity to gain familiarity with each sorority in a more laid back and casual environment than the formal recruitment events. Meet the Suites was designed to help ease the nerves of first-year women going into the more formal Open Suites which is held in April.

Each first-year woman was given a “passport” that she had to get stamped at each sorority’s suite.  The women were allowed to spend as much or as little time as they wanted at a particular suite, but were required to visit all seven of them.  Each sorority offered snacks such as cookies and fruity drinks.

Meghan Marks ’13, Delta Gamma’s vice president of membership, enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the event.

“It was fun to just hang out and talk to the girls without all of the formalities of recruitment, and I think it was really helpful for them to see each sorority’s suite and rooms before the process starts,” Marks said.

Meet the Suites replaced previous years’ event called “Meet the Greeks,” and was thought to be a significant improvement.

“In its first year, I would definitely consider the event a success. Going forward, Meet the Suites will be an excellent opportunity for first-year women to meet each sorority in a casual setting before beginning the recruitment process,” said Kasey Hampton ’13, chief recruitment chair of Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity.

Even though Meet the Suites was held during midterm week, turnout was not substantially affected.

“[Meet the Suites] served as a fun study break for everyone,” Hampton said.

Categories
News

Research team presents assault findings

Christina Oddo and Amanda Ayers

Writer and News Editor

The University Sexual Assault Research Team, a group of students conducting research under professor of psychology Bill Flack, presented data regarding the results of its fall 2011 survey on Tuesday. Although females can be, and have been, perpetrators, these results primarily focused on issues surrounding female victimization and male perpetration on campus.
In its presentation, the group raised questions about the different perceptions of rape and consent, for example, with the hopes of achieving a better understanding of what is happening on campus and creating a safe and respectful environment for everyone. The data presented was based on a survey offered to 900 females and 900 males during October and November. There was a 36 percent response rate for females, and a 22 percent response rate for males.
Among other findings, the group shared that perpetrators tend to consume more alcohol than non-perpetrators. Perpetrators scored, on average, a 16 on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification test, which comes with a recommendation for “simple advice plus brief counseling and continued monitoring.” Non-perpetrators scored, on average, an 8. 
The results also delved into victim disclosure and the positive and negative reactions to sexual assault, including belief, information and aid, emotional support and blame.  Non-victims tend to perceive positive reactions upon disclosure of assualt, like finding emotional support, to occur more often than negative ones. When surveyed, victims responded that there was a lower rate of acceptance, belief and positive reaction to their assault than non-victims.
The group also found that there are a significant number of Greek women “facilitators” and that this female facilitation increases the risk of being sexually assaulted. Female facilitation is promoting risky behavior such as increased alcohol consumption, hooking up, hazing, and minimizing the gravity of events. Male peer support–encouraging women to drink with the intent of hooking up with them, etc.–increases perpetration, rape myth acceptance (“she was asking for it,” etc) and sexism. 
The team finally discussed topics relevant to the recent Campus Climate Task Force Report. While most students surveyed agreed with the Greek and alcohol findings in the report, they disagreed with student engagement findings. Additionally, women agreed with the findings on gender dynamics, but men disagreed.
Categories
Club/Intramural Ski Team Sports

Ski team sends two to nationals

Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

Although they maintain a fairly low profile on campus, the members of the club ski team are a successful group of athletes, including snowboarders Josh Leighton ’14 and Sam Wilkins ’12, who qualified for the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships.

In the regional competition in Snowshoe, W. Va., Wilkins finished first for male boarders and Leighton in third, qualifying both of them for the National Championships, which began on Monday and end tomorrow in Sunday River, Maine.

“Josh and I qualified for the national snowboarding slopestyle competition by shredding the gnar harder than the other grommets while maintaining an unlimited amount of steez,” Wilkins said.

Many other Bison skiers and snowboarders have seen success on the slopes this year as well, giving the Orange and Blue their most successful season in four years. The women’s alpine team placed third in the conference while the men’s alpine team placed fourth, qualifying them both for the regional competition. Alex Cooperstone ’15 came in eighth place for male skiers and Caroline Price ’15 came in fourth for female boarders.

Despite their success, the skiers tend not to receive as much attention as other sports.

“We tend to go under the radar as we are always travelling,” said Dale Bishop ’12, president of the ski team.  “We travel every weekend to mountains in Maryland, New York, the Poconos, Southwest Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”

The Bison compete in the Allegheny Conference against schools such as Villanova, West Virginia, Navy, West Chester, Davis and Elkins and Penn State. The men’s and women’s alpine teams compete in giant slalom and slalom while the snowboard team competes in giant slalom, slopestyle and boarderX.

In addition to performing well on the slopes, the ski team prides itself on having a good time together and building strong bonds.

“Our team is extremely close and has a deep passion for what we are able to do. Our ability to spend a couple weekends away from campus and from the social norms of Bucknell has fostered a unique bond within our team,” Bishop said.

Even though this season is over for much of the team, Wilkins and Leighton look to bring a great end to their successful season by performing well in the USCSA National Championships.

Categories
Lacrosse Men Sports

Men’s lax opens league play with win over Navy

Reed Dempsey
Contributing Writer

Propelled by a seven-point performance by Billy Eisenreich ’12, the men’s lacrosse team recorded its first win of the season this past Saturday, beating Navy 14-9 in Annapolis, Md.

After struggling greatly with non-League teams during the first three games of the season, head coach Frank Fedorjaka stressed the importance of keeping his men on the field and limiting the Midshipmen’s transitional opportunities. 

“We wanted to keep it a six versus six kind of game with minimal transition,” Fedorjaka said. “We were able to do so and it resulted in a terrific team win.”

The Orange and Blue opened the day’s scoring when Peter Burke ’14 found Chase Bailey ’13 for his fourth goal of the season. After the Midshipmen tied the game at one, the Bison responded with an unassisted goal by Tom Black ’14. The teams traded two goals apiece over the remainder of the first quarter, with tallies by Nick Gantsoudes ’12 and Billy Mattimore ’13 for the Bison.

Clearing, which had been a weak point for the Bison in their first three games, vastly improved against Navy. The Orange and Blue went 19-22 in clear attempts, taking pressure of the defense and giving the offense more possessions.

At the end of the first quarter, the Orange and Blue jumped out to a one goal lead, but it took the Midshipmen just 14 seconds into the second quarter to retie the game. Then, over the next 15 minutes of play, the Orange and Blue held the Mids scoreless while Eisenreich, Bailey, Burke and David Dickson ’15 all found the back of the net, giving the Bison an 8-4 lead heading into the half.

After a long scoring drought, the Midshipmen came out flying in the third quarter, scoring three goals in 45 seconds to bring the game back within one. Throughout the game, Navy dominated the face-off, giving them the ability to repossess the ball after each goal and build up momentum.

“It puts a lot of pressure on our team because it is hard to stop their momentum if they are playing ‘make-it take-it’ lacrosse,” Eisenreich said. “Our team defense was good, which made it difficult for Navy to get into a flow.”

Four minutes into the second half, the Bison took advantage of a man-up opportunity when Eisenreich found Burke for his second of the day. The Orange and Blue then followed with three more goals over the next five minutes of play by Joe Kearney ’15, Bailey and Todd Heritage ’14, extending their lead to 12-7.

Over the next 14 minutes of play, the score remained stagnant. A non-releasable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Dickson opened the door for two Navy goals, but two minutes later, Eisenreich found a cutting Gantsoudes to go up 13-9. Over the final five minutes, the Bison defense stifled the Midshipmen, who tried desperately to maintain possession and get back on the board. Seven Navy penalties kept the Bison in control and gave Eisenreich the opportunity to extend his points total to seven on the day, the highest of his career against the Midshipmen.

The 14-9 win was the first step in turning the season around for the Bison. With nine different players scoring in the game, the Bison showed that they have a variety of players who can make an impact.

“Anytime you have every offensive player that stepped on the field score for you, you have to be excited. I don’t think I’ve ever had that but I hope it continues,” Fedorjaka said.

The Bison will look to win again when they face Hobart at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m. 

Categories
Basketball Sports Women

Women’s basketball loses in first round of tournament

Ajan Caneda

Staff Writer

A second-half shooting surge led Lehigh to a 63-47 win over the women’s basketball team on March 1, eliminating the Bison from the Patriot League Tournament. Shelby Romine ’14 was the leading scorer with 16 points.

Neither team gained a comfortable lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, as stingy defense by the Bison kept the game close. Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 started with two steals that led to four early points, while Christina Chukwuedo ’12 had a steal followed by a Romine three-pointer that gave the Orange and Blue an early lead. Despite the strong defense, the Bison couldn’t get going offensively as they went scoreless for the final 7:13 of the half. This shooting drought allowed Lehigh to build a 26-18 lead going into the second half.

“I think the toughest obstacle we faced in this game was having to match-up with a veteran team with four seniors that included two of the top post players in the league,” interim head coach Bill Broderick said. “We were able to catch them off guard in the previous game and really surprise them with some different things that they had not seen from us yet. Also, we were able to stay out of foul trouble in that game which really hurt us last Thursday when we had our two leading scorers on the bench for most of the first half.”

The Mountain Hawks scored the first basket of the second half to take the first double-digit lead of the game. The Bison fought back behind a 8-0 run that cut the lead to 12 with 11:32 left, but a Lehigh three-pointer stopped the momentum. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Orange and Blue 42-22 in points and shot 56.7 percent in the second half. 

Forwards Felicia Mgbada ’13 and Rachel Voss ’13 were the next leading scorers, combining for 15 points, while Horbatuck had six points and seven rebounds.

“We knew after beating them on their home court, just two weeks ago, that they were going to be ready this time and have some extra motivation,” Broderick said. “They made a change at the point guard position, which I think really made a difference and helped them to handle our defensive pressure better.”

The Orange and Blue finished the regular season with a 5-25 record overall, going 3-11 in conference play with wins over Lehigh, Colgate and Lafayette.

 

Categories
Basketball Headline Men Sports

Heartbreak: Men’s basketball falls to Lehigh in Patriot League Championship

Bryan Cohen ’12 and the Bison fell just short of completeing a last-second comeback, falling to C.J. McCollum and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the Patriot League Championship.

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Despite a 30-point, 14-rebound effort by Mike Muscala ’13, the men’s basketball team could not hold off a surging Lehigh squad in the Patriot League Championship Wednesday night, falling in heartbreaking fashion 82-77.

Entering the game riding a four-game winning streak, the Orange and Blue were met by a Mountain Hawks team who had issued the Bison their first Patriot League loss of the year back on Feb. 16 after C.J. McCollum hit a game-winning three-pointer with one second remaining on the clock.

McCollum proved to be the hero once again for Lehigh in the Championship contest, recording a team-leading 29 points, including two game-clinching free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining.

In front of a sold-out crowd at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison struggled early on in the contest, recording just 15 points through the first 10 minutes of play and allowing the Mountain Hawks to enter the half with a seven-point lead.

After four minutes of back-and-forth play to open the second half, the Bison strung together a series of consecutive scoring possessions over the next three minutes of play. During the stretch, forward Joe Willman ’13 hit a clutch fade away jumper to bring the score to within one, and then Brian Fitzpatrick ’13 hit one of two free throws, tying the score at 50. Willman recorded 10 points and six rebounds during the game and was named to the All-Tournament squad after recording 18 points in each of the first two tournament games.

Behind the stellar offensive play of McCollum and Gabe Knutson, the Mountain Hawks gradually extended their lead for much of the remainder of the game. With just under a minute left on the clock, the Bison trailed 78-71 and looked all but done. Yet over the 30 seconds, Bryson Johnson ’13 netted a pair of three-pointers to bring the Bison within one.

After fouling and repossessing the ball with 26 seconds left, the Orange and Blue could not capitalize on a tough lay-up try by Cameron Ayers ’14 and lost possession. From then on, Lehigh hit four free throws to extend its lead to five and claim the program’s second Patriot League title in three years.

With the loss, the Orange and Blue are eliminated from NCAA contention. By virtue of their regular season championship, the Bison did clinch their first-ever birth in the National Invitation Tournament.