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Headline News

PSU scandal teaches Bucknell valuable lessons

By Sara Blair Matthews

Writer

The recent events at Penn State University are not limited to large state schools, evident in the 2008 Harclerode case where a University professor was convicted of the possession of child pornography. Public Safety has used these past incidents to strengthen their policies against crimes of this nature.

According to Jason Friedberg, chief of Public Safety, the Penn State sexual assault scandal was a watershed event that will open the door for many more victims to come forward with their stories of sexual assault.

“In Penn State’s case, their campus security force failed to understand their state and campus laws. Many of the people involved went directly to their bosses before the police department, which should not have been the case,” Friedberg said.

Friedberg said training of the Public Safety staff and University faculty is very important and many universities do not have a firm grasp on training and how to implement that into their safety routines.

The University follows the Campus Security Authority (CSA) policies when dealing with matters of crime and security on campus. Public Safety’s annual Safety, Security & Fire report states: “As required by the Clery Act, colleges and universities must annually compile and publish crime, fire and security information about their campuses.”

“A lot of campuses have bubbles. We use the CSAs to get people to understand that crimes are crimes,” Friedberg said. “We try to maintain lots of transparency with the CSAs. Through our daily logs and online reports, we try to maintain cultural transparency here on campus.”

An event vaguely similar to Penn State’s case occurred on campus a few years back. Jack Harclerode, a retired biology professor, was found guilty on 20 counts of possessing child pornography in 2008. Police found a portable hard drive with 207 sexually explicit images of underage boys in addition to lubricant, condoms and pornographic DVDs.

The laptop contained another 38 images of young children engaged in sexual acts.

“A few changes have occurred in the Public Safety Department since this case,” Friedberg said.

Public Safety has put in many standard national requirements and works closely with Lewisburg crime departments.

Friedberg pointed out that the Penn State case was different than the University’s because almost all the incidents occurred on the Penn State campus. For Harclerode, most of the incidents occurred in his home in Lewisburg.

Friedberg believes getting information out quickly is important, something that did not happen in the Penn State case. Charges against Sandusky were first brought to trial in 1998, but Ray Gricar, district attorney in Centre County, decided not to pursue the case. Gricar was later reported missing in 2005, and his car was incidentally found outside an antiques market he frequented in Lewisburg.

His laptop was found in the river without its hard drive three months later. There is no evidence to suggest it, but some believe it was an instance of foul play and that he was murdered due to important, and perhaps incriminating, evidence on his hard drive.

Public Safety hopes to avoid instances like this, where important information is kept under the wraps for many years and has harmful effects.

“We are getting information out more quickly. If issues or suspicious activity comes up, we act immediately,” Friedberg said.
Scandal Timeline (compiled by Amanda Ayers)

1969: Jerry Sandusky starts coaching career at PSU as a defensive line coach.

1998: First police report comes from the mother of one of the victims and it was investigated. Centre County District Attorney decides that there will be no criminal charge.

June 1999: Sandusky retires from Penn State, still holding emeritus status.

Fall 2000: A custodian (James Calhoun) observes Sandusky in the showers of the football building with a young boy (Victim 8, between 11 and 13 years old). He was pinned up against the wall, performing oral sex on the boy. Calhoun tells other janitorial staff immediately but did not report the incident.

March 1, 2002: A Penn State graduate assistant enters locker room and sees a naked boy (Victim 2, 10 years old), being subjected to anal intercourse in shower by Sandusky.

March 2, 2002: Graduate assistant calls Coach Joe Paterno and goes to Paterno’s home to report what saw.

March 3, 2002: Paterno calls Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley to forward information.

March 2002: Graduate assistant reports what he saw to Curley and Schultz. The graduate assistant is never questioned by university police and no one else conducts an investigation.

Spring 2007: During track season, Sandusky begins spending time with Victim 1 weekly, having him stay overnight at his residence in College Township, Pa.

Spring 2008: Victim 1’s mother calls boy’s school to report sexual assault. Sandusky’s contact with boy is terminated and he is barred from school district.

Early 2009: Investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General begins when a Clinton County teen boy tells authorities that Sandusky inappropriately touched him several times over a four-year period.

Nov. 5, 2011: Sandusky was arrested and released after $100,000 bail. He was arraigned on 40 criminal counts.

Nov. 7, 2011: Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly said Paterno was not a target of the investigation but refused to say the same for Penn State President Graham Spanier. Curley and Schultz, who had stepped down from their positions, surrendered on the fact that they  failed to alert police to complaints against Sandusky.

Nov. 8, 2011: Penn State abruptly canceled Paterno’s regular weekly press conference.

Nov. 9, 2011: Paterno and Spanier, both among the nation’s longest-serving college coaches or presidents, were fired, effective immediately. Earlier in the day, Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the season.

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News

BSG welcomes new Executive Board

By Amanda Ayers

News Editor

Sara Girmay ’14 was elected Bucknell Student Government (BSG) president alongside Dotun Odewale ’13 for Vice President of Operations, Mo Karam ’13 for Vice President of Finance and Clinton Kittrell ’14 for Vice President of Administration. The Executive Board election results were announced on Nov. 22.

It was required for each candidate to be enrolled at the University for at least two semesters in order to run for these positions. The candidates had to adhere to all campaign guidelines posed by BSG. Any student who wanted to run was encouraged to submit his or her name on a sign-up sheet posted in the ELC mailroom during the week of Nov. 7.

Before elections took place, each candidate attended two information sessions, a campaign guidelines meeting and participated in a formal debate/open forum in Walls Lounge. The candidates then campaigned until Nov. 21 when elections went live on myBucknell.

The current executive board placed heavy emphasis on advertising this year’s elections to ensure that students were informed. Abby Vidmer ’13, current vice president of administration, was particularly attentive in this process, as she is responsible for handling external relations for BSG. She aimed to reach students through several different outlets.

“In the end, she was critical in ensuring that the information was available to students through several outlets. We posted messages regularly on the Message Center, posted a slide on the LC Mall LCD screen, created cards for the table tents in the student hearth space and Bison, sent out a mass mailing, and sent one email to all students,” said Joey Martin, current BSG vice president of operations.

By the end of the sign-up week, three out of the four positions were contested. The candidates had a week to campaign and communicate their platforms to the student body. BSG hosted an hour-long open forum with the candidates so students could become better acquainted with them and what they stood for through a question and answer session.

“Election day occurred on Monday, Nov. 21 and the number of voters submitting ballots was significantly higher than in recent years. Overall, I am very pleased with how the process went and thank the student body for their participation,” Martin said.

Each position on the BSG Executive Board carries its own set of responsibilities. The overall purpose of BSG includes allocating funds to student organizations, representing students in all matters involving the general welfare of the University, and acting for matters that involve student interests.

These four newly elected members will officially start their term in the spring semester. They will work closely to carry out BSG’s vision of making the University the best higher education institution it can be.

“I’m fully confident that the new Executive Board members will be able to carry on with the hard work that the 2011 Executive Board has done, and also add some fresh perspectives and vitality into the organization. I look forward to seeing BSG grow more cohesive, more effective and truly representative of the student body. The current board has laid a strong foundation based on transparency and respect–-not only from students, but also from faculty, staff and administrators. I am pleased to see that this new board will lead Congress in a positive direction, bettering our campus and student life,” current BSG president Phil Kim said.

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Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor: “Sleeping Around” column sends wrong message

To the Editor:

As a parent, I have been following with interest the attempts to improve the campus climate. One of my sources of information is The Bucknellian. From the Nov. 18 issue, I learned that Bucknell is a university that takes sexual assault seriously. There are “shocking statistics about sexual violence on campus,” and there are efforts underway to change things (“Campus Rallies Against Sexual Assault”, p. A3). From a Letter to the Editor, I learned that “men continue to be high-fived for scoring a different girl every weekend.” The writer lamented the fact that women were not respected for the same behavior. Finally, from the column “Sleeping Around,” I learned about the columnist’s ex, who is not a human being but an “animalistic outlet.” Aided by alcohol, the writer describes her “half-night stand,” during which she leaves around 2 or 3 a.m. so she doesn’t have to speak to him. After all “it’s 99 percent about the sex and one percent about the ex.”

Could there be a connection between these casual attitudes toward sex and the sexual violence on campus? A young man accused of date rape might argue that it wasn’t about her at all, he just needed a “convenient animalistic outlet,” and he “put a little inebriation into the equation to soften the blow.” When the campus newspaper gives an entire column to a young woman’s description of behavior that resembles that of a dog in heat, it seems to be sending the message that sex is not a private matter between two consenting and loving adults, but rather a necessary bodily function that must be attended to on the weekends, preferably with the aid of alcohol.

I think your paper can do better. Your editorial decisions can help to improve the campus climate, or they can perpetuate the problem.

Sincerely,

Trudy Goodwin, parent

Categories
Opinion

Bostwick lacks whole wheat options

By Elizabeth Bacharach

Opinions Editor

With the closing of the 130-year-old Wonderbread Plant in Jamaica, Queens, it becomes clear that the age of white bread is coming to a close. You no longer see hungry Jane delightfully devouring her delicious piece of white toast because Jane’s mommy now knows the truth. Why eat white wheat choices—toast, pasta, etc.— when one can eat whole wheat, an equally delicious, yet healthier, option?

I would not entirely label the University as an unhealthy school; there are plenty of “good-for-you” options in each of our dining facilities. But, it is clear that the Bostwick Marketplace is still stuck in the white wheat wonder days of the 1970s. As a first-year, I frequent the Bostwick Marketplace often, looking for healthier options. I come from a health-crazed family—one that is considerably carbohydrate conscious, where we eat pasta once every two weeks and have bread at dinner on rare occasions, I have not seen a product made of white wheat since I was three. It is clear that whole wheat items are extremely popular as well as frequently consumed. So, why is it almost impossible to find whole wheat edibles in our cafeteria? Though I realize that there are a few choices, such as the whole wheat toast that you have to dig to find at the deli or bread counters, I am fairly perplexed by the lack of whole wheat pasta.

Upon entering the Bostwick Marketplace one has to practically grab a backpack and become a veritable Dora the Explorer to uncover the healthy, whole wheat provisions. My friends and I wander, walking laps around the Bostwick Marketplace searching for the food we would find in our pantries at home. But, we are lost, practically asking our peers for help and recommendations of what to consume. But what to eat is not the problem; as I admit, we are sometimes picky. The real issue is when you crave that true, at home comfort food called pasta.

I have repeatedly desired a hearty pasta dish at school but have yet to actually consume one, because I have yet to discover whole-wheat pasta, dare I say a staple in many households these days. As the months pass by and I have my daily stare down with the white wheat pasta, I still have yet to fulfill my craving. I often ask myself, how could our school be so behind in acknowledging the simple and desirable health benefits of whole wheat pasta, as well as other edibles? So here I am, not hungry and unaware of health benefits Jane, on the search for my whole wheat products, especially pasta.  Bostwick Marketplace, do you hear me?

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News

Bucknell introduces Her Campus

By Meghan Finlayson

Staff Writer

Students at the University are part of a growing number of colleges across the country who have recently established pages on the popular website “Her Campus,” an online magazine for female college students started by three Harvard undergraduates.  The University launched a branch in September to feature different aspects of college life specifically for University students.

The University’s page features articles written entirely by University students on health, style, careers, beauty and love.

Cameron Simcik ’12 and Michelle Joline ’12 are the co-founders of the University’s site and began working on the project this past summer.

“I started writing for the main Her Campus site this summer, and [they were] encouraging writers to start their own branches at individual universities,” Simcik said.  “[We] feature a weekly ‘Campus Celebrity,’ ‘Campus Cutie,’ polls, and school-related news. It’s a great way to discuss important and interesting issues on our campus.”

The site aims to give University women a voice.

“We write about things that women our age want to read in a more casual, conversational way,” writer Courtney Brownstein ’12 said.

The editors also hope to represent as many diverse interests on the site as possible.

“[They] are really encouraging about being creative and pushing the boundaries because nothing is off-limits,” writer Libby Henry ’12 said.

Many students are featured in articles on the site.

“The success of the site means promoting the success of Bucknellians,” Joline said.

There are also student bloggers who frequently post.

“My blog is all about nail polish, so my first post was just about my collection, how readers could get started with their own collections, and some of my favorite websites to find the latest trends,” Abbey Daugherty ’12 said.

Her Campus also covers more serious issues and relevant news at the University, including upcoming events and the site is updated constantly.

“There are always a variety of articles as well as at least one new article added every day,” said Alex Zak ’12, who works on Public Relations for the branch.

As Simcik and Joline move forward, they hope to further develop the site and increase the number of writers to appeal to an even larger audience.

“We are looking forward to building our team of writers to reach a larger demographic,” Joline said.

Many are enthusiastic about the future and excited about the progress so far.

“It is so different from other Bucknell publications,” Brownstein said.

“I see Her Campus growing to be a large part of our campus, a resource that students will check on a daily basis,” Zak said.

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News

Environmental Center hosts marketing film

By Siobhan Murray

Writer

The Bucknell University Environmental Center showed “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”, a film about the rise of marketing towards children to conclude their “Green Screens” documentary series. The film was held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Campus Theatre.

“If we want to get to the bottom of the question of our campus climate, we can’t afford to leave aside the question of the role that our commercial media plays,” said David Kristjanson-Gural, associate professor of economics.

The documentary, directed by Adriana Barbaro and Jeremy Earp, debuted in 2008 and addresses the issues of modern marketing towards youth. The film uses extensive interviews and insights from medical professionals, child experts and marketers themselves. It attempts to show the ways that youth marketers have had both positive and negative affects on children’s lives only for the purpose of creating the most profit possible. The film shows the way in which industries increasingly see children solely as consumers.

“The consumer embryo begins to develop during the first year of existence,” said James U. McNeal, a Pioneering Youth Marketer featured in the documentary. “Children begin their consumer journey in infancy and they certainly deserve consideration as consumers at that time.”

The film reports that kids now influence $700 billion in spending. This number is equal to the combined economies of 115 of the world’s poorest countries. The film estimates that children are bombarded with over 3,000 commerical messages a day.

“What we have is the rise of 360-degree immersive marketing where they try to get around the child at every aspect and at every avenue,” said Nick Russell, a youth marketer also shown in the film.

The documentary showing was followed by a Q&A panel. It featured assistant professor of psychology Ruth Tincoff, associate professor of management Douglas Allen and Kristjanson-Gural, and was moderated by the Local Action Network’s Samantha Pearson. The panel discussed why this issue is so important to the public.

“Several good suggestions were made including how to engage young children in discussions of the messages they are being targeted with, what things parents are reasonably responsible for and what unreasonable expectations are laid on parents by the advertising and media industries,” Kristjanson-Gural said.

 

Photos!!

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Sports

Pontecorvo ’14 breaks two school records

By Scott Padula

Writer

Few swimmers break records. Even fewer swimmers break records this early in the season. Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 defied these odds by breaking records in the 1,000 and 1,650 yard freestyle at the Bison Invitational on Nov. 18-20.

“Kelly is the most competitive swimmer I have ever met. Every swimmer I know puts 100 percent effort into all of their races, but she is the only one I know who races every lap of every practice,” teammate Mike Nicholson ’14 said. “We jump in the pool at 6 a.m. for warm up and she is a force to be reckoned with. While everyone is trying to wake up, she is already pounding out laps like it’s the middle of a big race.”

“She has an incredible desire to always touch the wall first and it shows in every race she swims,” he continued. “Her getting those records a couple of weeks ago were only the beginning. With her attitude and the way she practices I can see more huge time drops in the future. She is truly an incredible swimmer who just doesn’t have an ounce of quit in her body.”

Pontecorvo entered the final day of the Bison Invitational with a second place finish in the 500-yard freestyle and a goal of winning the 1,650-yard freestyle. Pontecorvo won the event and broke the record with a winning time of 16:45.08. Her finishing time beat the record set by Jamie Chakany ’12 in 2009 by more than three seconds. Pontecorvo also set the 1,000-yard freestyle record when her split time of 10:08.09 in the 1,650 moved her atop the list.

“Kelly is not the type of swimmer who takes out her event fast and tries to hold a lead,” Marshall Lambert ’14 said. “She simply stays focused and waits for her competitors to tire. That’s what makes her such a threat in the distance events. Her intense determination in the middle of a grueling mile always gets her to the finish first.”

The Orange and Blue will need Pontecorvo to continue her dominance as they prepare for a dual meet against La Salle in Philadelphia this weekend.

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Sports

Track sets sights on elusive league title

By Katherine Harris

Writer

As the holiday season quickly approaches, winter sports seasons are set to begin and anticipation is rising. Two teams more than ready to represent the Orange and Blue this season are the men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams.

While both of the Bison squads have performed very well in the past few outdoor track and field seasons, the teams often do not place quite as well in their indoor competitions against fellow Patriot League opponents. This year, the Orange and Blue hope to change that pattern, focusing on the Indoor Patriot League Championships that they will be hosting on campus in February.

“Although the programs are structured for great success during the outdoor spring season, we do believe we have enough talent and depth to make a run at a couple league titles this winter,” head coach Kevin Donner said.

The women’s squad is entering the season with hopes of bringing home the title. Though they’ve won the past three outdoor titles, they have struggled a bit more in the indoor arena, claiming only one of the last three championships. This year, the team’s top opponent will be a strong Navy squad. The Orange and Blue hope to challenge them as they push towards the spring season as well. Some top team members to watch include Stephanie Fulmer ’12 in distance and Sarah Bella ’12 with the shot put.

“The women’s track and field team is looking to do big things this coming indoor season. We have our sights set on winning a Patriot League Cup and have the advantage of hosting the Indoor Championships this season to do so,” Fulmer said. “We will be faced with the challenge of competing against a very solid Navy team, who just recently won the Cross Country Championships in a close 53-56 loss.”

The men’s team is also headed into their season, looking at Army and Navy as their top opponents in their quest for the league title. The Bison have won the outdoor track and field championship the past two years, and are hoping for strong performances from all of their top members in the winter as preparation to continue their outdoor streak. Some notable team members to watch will be Ted Heitzman ’12 with the javelin, Justin Hicks ’13 in sprints and Robert Arent ’12 in hurdles.

As they head into their opener this weekend, all will be watching to see the Orange and Blue start off their season. 

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Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: The end of reasoning

By Julian Dorey

Columnist

It was 4 a.m. on Saturday. Black Friday was in the rearview, the Thanksgiving leftovers were already gone, Route 295 was empty (I can attest), and America was sleeping.

Then, in the high class confines of a New York hotel, exhausted NBA commissioner, David Stern, followed by delegates from both the NBA owners and players, plopped down into an auditorium seat for an impromptu press conference.

The media waited, this time with bated breath. Something had to be stirring, right? There’s no way Stern would call them in at this time of day if it didn’t mean something.

The commissioner, seated next to his biggest aggravation over the last two years, Union Director Billy Hunter, let out the bombshell: the NBA lockout is over.

He made his word choice much more complex than that, but the bottom line was all that mattered. After all the low-level bargaining on miniscule clauses and the soon-to-be-signed deal is finished, the only question remaining is where we are now.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about what a mess the NBA lockout was. Frankly, it was a soap opera that a lot of fans decided not to care about. More importantly, it was a process that never would have happened if the owners hadn’t been blind. They should have seen the now watered-down product for what it was to become years ago. Seemingly everyone but the owners knew that the hard cap, the high-spending teams and the unfair advantages of the bigger market franchises would all pose a problem as the 21st century NBA came into its own.

Even a common sports fan could see that under the previous labor agreement, the players had the ability to practically run the league. With this new agreement, one would hope that many of the problems that have damaged this once revered enterprise over the last few years would disappear. But there is nothing in the new deal to fix them.

The owners don’t want the Knicks to get Chris Paul in 2012? Fine, let’s increase the luxury tax by three times. An extra $20 million from Knicks owner James Dolan to the cause for CP3 is really going to keep the billionaire up at night. Right?

The smaller markets can’t get high enough attendance, so let’s kick some marketing money from the top teams down to the bottom-feeders so they aren’t strapped for cash. After all, communistic reasoning solves everything.

The fact is, with no “franchise-tag,” with no destruction of guaranteed contracts and with a feeble attempt to create parody by increasing the luxury tax, the NBA isn’t too far past square one.

This “lockout” took 149 days. Teams have been forced to cancel the first two weeks of the season. Stadium workers have been out of jobs. David Stern and Billy Hunter were teetering on the border of turning to Jack Daniels to wash away their sorrows. For what?

Right now, not much.

Categories
Sports

Athlete of the Week: Cameron Ayers ’14

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

 

Profile:

Cameron Ayers

Class: Sophomore

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6′ 5” / 203 lbs

Hometown: Blue Bell, Pa.

Major: Undeclared

 

Statistics:

Games: 3

Minutes/game: 30.4

Points/game: 13.3

Assists: 7

Rebounds: 9

3-pt. percentage: 61.5

 

After opening the season with two tough losses to Minnesota and Vanderbilt, the men’s basketball team has reeled off five straight victories behind the play of starting point guard Cameron Ayers ’14. During the TicketCity Legends Classic at Sojka Pavilion this past weekend, Ayers led the team to three wins and a tournament title. Over the three-game stretch, Ayers averaged a solid 13.3 points per game, including a career-high 20-point performance during the team’s 87-50 victory over West Alabama. His most significant contribution came during the team’s championship matchup against Morehead State, where he hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with just 1:47 left on the clock.

This season, Ayers has been given the difficult task of taking over the starting point guard role from Darryl Shazier ’11 and has performed well thus far. He leads the team in floor time and is just one of four Bison averaging 10 or more points per game. After a successful 2010-2011 season, ending in a Patriot League title and NCAA tournament berth, the Orange and Blue have high expectations this year and currently stand at 5-2 following this weekend’s three wins. The team faces a tough road in the coming weeks, including a big matchup at No. 4 Syracuse on Dec. 20, before it starts Patriot League play in January. As an emerging leader of the team, Ayers will play a crucial role in the team’s future successes and has complete faith in his team’s ability to win on the highest level.

“We can play with anyone in the country if we play within ourselves and do what we need to do to be successful,” Ayers said. “We have a really close group of guys that want to win and know how to win. We are a family that really wants to be successful.”