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Sports

Women’s track crushes six team field

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

For the third straight year, the women’s track and field dominated the Bucknell Team Challenge en route to team victory in the six-team field.

In the field, Kat Folger ’12 earned her first victory of the season in the javelin with a throw of 144 feet, three inches.

“Winning the javelin throw for the first time this season was rewarding because I’ve worked very hard this year to improve my technique,” Folger said. “I had my best series of throws this year and was very happy with the outcome.”

Close behind in second was teammate Laura Rycek ’11 with a throw of 143 feet, 11 inches.

“Having a teammate like Laura is invaluable,” Folger said. “Laura is a great javelin thrower with an excellent work ethic, and she has helped me tremendously to raise my level of performance by pushing me to strive to work harder every day at practice and throw competitively in meets.”

The Orange and Blue continued their impressive season on the track, led by Emily Liggett ’12 in the 3,000 meter race. Liggett finished second in the event with a career-best time of 9:58.10.

“The whole race I just focused on staying with the leader, more so than getting a certain split time,” Liggett said. “As for pacing, the first half of the race felt very even and controlled, which probably allowed me to have more of a kick at the end.”

Teammates Sarah Moniz ’11 and Caroline Tolli ’13 finished first and second in the 1,500-meter race in 4:36.27 and 4:37.26, respectively.

Kelly Grosskurth ’12 kept the momentum going for the long-distance squad with her first place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:08.2.

“I learned from the previous weekend’s race that I needed to push through the last 1,000 meters when the pace starts to slow,” Grosskurth said. “The steeplechase is a race where endurance is key and going out too fast can be detrimental and the last 1,000 meters is where you have to dig deep and just stay mentally strong. So that is what I did running faster splits the last 1,000 meters.”

In the 800-meter race, Hana Casalnova ’14, Beth Braunegg ’14, Erin Holbrook ’14 and Chelsea Lodato ’14 swept the top four places.

The team returns to action this weekend in both the Penn Relays and Bloomsburg’s Maroon and Gold Open.

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Sports

Lucido ’11 sets all-time wins records

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

Lauren Lucido ’11 broke the all-time program record for both singles’ victories and doubles’ victories, but the third-seeded Orange and Blue women’s tennis team was defeated by second-seeded Navy 4-2 in the Patriot League semifinals at Brigade Sports Complex in Annapolis, Md. on Saturday afternoon. The Bison concluded their 2010-2011 season with a record of 10-11.

“As our team went into the semi-final match versus Navy, we had nothing to lose and we definitely fought with everything we had,” Lauren Rottkamp ’11 said. “Overall, the biggest lesson that we learned this year is to have a high level of intensity throughout the year, so that in important matches, each one of us can execute and perform to the best of our abilities.”

Lucido and Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 defeated a pair of midshipmen easily at first doubles, 8-1. This double’s victory concluded collegiate doubles play for the senior who ended her career with an 83-35 record in doubles. The previous best doubles record was 82-42 by Veronica Brown, who had been in the top spot of the program annals since 2006.

Lucido’s success continued in singles play where she quickly defeated Amanda Griffin in first singles 6-4, 6-4. This victory advanced Lucido into the top spot on the record list. The senior finishes her singles career with a record of 87-36, only one game over the previous record holder, Tanya Sichko, who had gone 86-40 in her career that ended in 2005.

Lucido had already set the program record for total wins on April 2 against Colgate.

Rottkamp also performed well in singles play, defeating Navy’s Stephanie Ton at third singles 6-2, 7-6. With this singles win, Rottkamp claims 12th all-time in program singles, with an overall career record of 48-43.

Despite some close competition, the Bison were not able to win any other singles matches, and, other than Lucido and Iepuras, found no more success in doubles either.

“All of the singles and doubles matches were very close, yet it was just not our day to win the overall match,” Rottkamp said. “Although we struggled in the beginning of the season with some tough matches, we learned how to fight with everything we had and we all stepped up our performance as we moved into conference play and the Patriot League tournament.”

This match concluded the season for the Bison, marking the first time in seven seasons that the Bison did not advance to the Patriot League Championship. Dara Dwojewski ’11, Rottkamp and Lucido are three seniors on the roster who the Bison will miss next year.

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Arts & Life

Professor Profile: Timothy Strein

By Katie Monigan

Staff Writer

Timothy Strein is a professor of chemistry, chair of the chemistry department and has been at the University for so many years that his email address is just “Strein.” Although he primarily only teaches two classes, analytical chemistry and a forensic chemistry foundation seminar, he is always up to something.

“There are two types of chemists: those who make things and those who measure things. I measure things,” Strein said.

Specifically, measuring concentrations of certain chemicals in blood and urine using something called capillary electrophoresis. Apparently he’s pretty good at it too, since he just had a paper accepted this week, another a few weeks ago and yet another late last semester which was a collaboration with another chemist at the University of Pittsburgh. To date, he’s published “about 30” papers, he said. He has a lab next door to his office and an entire team of students working with him, both undergraduate and graduate.

When he’s not teaching and working on his research projects, he has additional administrative duties as chair of the chemistry department. His current project is to individually approve every chemistry course that students wish to take over the summer for credit. He also makes sure the department stays within budget and occasionally answers calls from angry parents or makes sure leaky lab sinks get fixed.

All in all, Strein is happy with his position.

“As long as I get the money, which we’ve been pretty lucky with so far, I can research pretty much whatever I want,” he said. Plus he’s friendly and likes to work with people. As both a professor and administrator, that’s exactly what he gets to do every day.

Categories
Arts & Life

A sneak peak of the Bucknell Dance Company’s upcoming performance

By Laura Crowley

Arts & Life Editor

The Bucknell Dance Company (BDC) will present its annual spring dance concert today and tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts.

The concert will consist of seven pieces performed by students of the BDC. Three of the seven performances were choreographed by students, including Sarah Thalhamer ’11, Katelyn Tsukada ’12 and Melissa Leonard ’12. Each piece runs for five to 10 minutes, and pieces span from “classical ballet through contemporary modern dance,” visiting professor of theater and dance Kristy Kuhn ’00 said.

Thalhamer said her piece is contemporary with basis in ballet technique, but “definitely not classical.” The experience of choreographing her own show was initially challenging since the group is so large, but it “ended up working out really well because I was lucky enough to get a cast of really talented dancers,” she said.

Kuhn said many pieces are choreographed to popular music. Thalhamer’s piece will likely be a crowd-pleaser with its soundtrack of Ben Folds’ “Cologne,” OneRepublic’s “Marchin‘ On,” and part of OneRepublic’s “Waking Up.”

Not all pieces are set to today’s popular soundtracks, however. One piece is set to the music of two classical pianos played by professor of music Lois Svard and Amanda Child ’11.

“[The piece is an] exciting collaboration between the dance program and the music department,” Kuhn said. Seven students will “embody the expressive melodies and intricacies of the classical music,” she said, through steps choreographed by Er-Dong Hu, associate professor of dance and director of dance.

Most dancers in the show are dance minors, Kuhn said. The showcase will represent the culmination of work from rehearsals that began in January, but the inspiration for each of the choreographers’ pieces began well before then.

Tsukada’s piece was inspired by her time spent abroad in Denmark. Others, like Kuhn, have more abstract inspirations.

“[My piece is] derived from the concept of ‘walls’ or the invisible boundaries we build around and within us that ultimately prevent connection,” she said.

Today is also International Dance Day.

“This is a great moment where the dance company gets to be a part of something much bigger,”  Hu said. “The dancers around campus have organized events to celebrate this and promote dance and the arts in the Bucknell community.”

In one such event, students will dance on the uphill Elaine Langone Center lawn at 11:50 a.m. The dance will finish with a group Zumba session in which spectators are encouraged to participate. Students will continue to celebrate International Dance Day on Monday at 1 p.m. when Dance Composition students will present seven site-specific dances around campus and at the bookstore.

Tickets to the BDC showcase will be sold today and tomorrow, and are $8 for the general public and $6 for students and senior citizens. They are available in advance through the box office or in person an hour before each performance.

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Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner: Ice Cream Dessert

By Emily Fry

Staff Writer

 

Ice Cream Dessert

Now that spring has finally arrived in Lewisburg, you’re probably craving a cool treat. This is an easy dessert that has a lot of simple variations since you can mix and match the pudding and the ice cream flavors. My personal favorite is banana cream pudding and vanilla ice cream, but be creative. Happy baking!

 

Ingredients:

2 stacks Ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick margarine, melted

1/2 gallon ice cream

1/2 cup milk

2 boxes instant pudding

 

1. Mix Ritz and margarine, and reserve 1/4 cup for topping.

2. Press into 9 X 13 pan.

3. Mix together milk, pudding and ice cream beating for five minutes at medium speed.

4. Pour over crust.

5. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

6. Freeze.

7. Thaw 30 minutes before serving.

 

 

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Arts & Life Movies Review

A closer look at ‘Water for Elephants’

By Carolyn Williams

Staff Writer

“Water for Elephants” is director Francis Lawrence’s (“I Am Legend”) latest film, based on the 2006 novel by Sara Gruen of the same name. Despite the hype surrounding such a high-profile adaptation of the extremely successful book, the movie manages to fall far short of expectations.

The movie starts, as does the book, with the classic storytelling motif of an elderly person reminiscing. In this case, it is Jacob Jankowski, the film’s leading man. Upset that his son forgot to take him to the circus in town, he leaves his nursing home to see for himself. Having missed the show, he begins to share his own circus memories with the audience, which becomes completely attentive when he reveals he witnessed one of the greatest circus disasters of all time.

The real story begins in 1931, when Jacob (Robert Pattinson), then a veterinary student studying at Cornell, learns of his parents’ sudden deaths. Blindsided and grieving, he is informed by a callous bank employee that his parents had mortgaged everything to finance his Depression-age Ivy League education. Literally broke and homeless, he begins to walk, eventually hopping a train. Little does he know he’s accidentally run away with the circus.

Jacob decides to stick around, working as a hand on the show, and is dumbstruck by what he sees. The show, the Benzini Brothers, appears a sort of miracle in light of the sudden upheaval in his life, and, transfixed, he decides to stay. August (Christopher Waltz), the show’s ringmaster and the film’s antagonist, is eager to have Jacob when he learns Jacob studied veterinary sciences at Cornell despite the fact that he never graduated because the show’s great rival, Ringling Brothers, cannot boast such a distinction.

But Jacob soon falls in love with more than the show when he meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), August’s wife and the star attraction of the show. The two share a compassion for the animals August callously abuses and are further brought together by the arrival of the true heroine of the story, the enigmatic and charming Rosie, the show’s new elephant. Together, they create a new routine which garners some much needed cash flow, and briefly eases tensions, before reality and August’s mercurial temper brings everything crashing down around their ears.

The movie, although aesthetically appealing and adapted well from the book falls somewhat flat.

“The set and the cinematography were beautiful, but the romantic chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon was virtually nonexistent,” Ava Giuliano ’14 said.

Indeed, most of the complaints made against the film have been in reference to the lackluster romance between Pattinson and Witherspoon. Their portrayal of love lacks any definite conviction, and between their less than inspiring interchanges, the middle of the film definitely drags before picking up for the exciting disaster scene.

“I thought it stayed true to the book and was very satisfying in that aspect. Reese Witherspoon’s acting was the only thing that in my opinion left something to be desired, along with the strange introduction of the sex scene,” Kate Wilsterman ’14 said. “The emotion and empathy the film evoked, however, stayed true to the novel itself.”

Still, stripped of the vampire trappings of “Twilight,” Pattinson’s portrayal of Jacob proves that he’s a much better actor than he’s often given credit for. He is overshadowedby the dynamic performance of recent Best Supporting Actor winner Waltz as the paranoid schizophrenic August. Overall, the film’s historically accurate portrayal of the circus envisioned in Gruen’s novel makes “Water for Elephants” worth seeing for those who enjoyed the book.

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News

Kurt Thiede to leave University

By Olesya Minina

Writer

After celebrating his ninth anniversary at the University this past February, beloved Vice President for Enrollment Management, Kurt Thiede, is leaving the University to help establish a non-profit foundation.

The foundation that will become a program is designed to encourage, facilitate and support the enrollment of community college students at private four-year colleges, which will be based in Boston.

“[This program] is based on many of the lessons learned through Bucknell’s Community College Scholars Program and the partnership the University has with the Posse Scholars Program; it has long been my passion to identify and support avenues through which underrepresented cohorts of students can gain access to outstanding higher education opportunities,” Thiede said.

Along with his long-desired goal, the move will allow Thiede and his wife to be closer to their grandson, Jack.

“Through Posse I’ve had the opportunity to meet and connect with so many great people and it has helped me be a better student and become a leader on campus. I have such a great support system from everyone involved with Posse and feel that it’s a wonderful part of the Bucknell community,” said Michel Ajjan ’14, a member of the Posse Scholars program who has been impacted by Thiede.

A typical day for Thiede revolves around responsibilities in the enrollment management area such as admissions, financial aid, registrar and retention. He also works closely with the departmental offices which report directly to President John Bravman as part of the administrative team. He is also a member of the Operations Management Group.

For the three years, Thiede served as the Dean of Admissions along with vice president responsibilities, but with the appointment of Rob Springall as Dean of Admissions two years ago, Thiede has focused spending more time on the “long-range strategic issues of enrollment,” he said.

“Kurt has contributed a lot to Bucknell and his impact will be felt for many, many years to come. Our involvement with the Posse Foundation and the establishment of the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program have made significant changes to the University,” Dean of Admissions Rob Springall said. “These are cornerstones of our admissions processes now and we continue to build on them.”

Thiede said that one of his favorite things about his job “is that I get to know a number of students on a personal basis, yet have responsibility for gathering, analyzing and utilizing a lot of data that inform decisions that will impact the institution many years into the future and I have had the opportunity to see the Bucknell experience have a transformational impact on many students; individuals whose lives were changed forever because of this learning community they joined and to which they contributed.”

Thiede also has great pride in the Univeristy. “During these past nine years we have become more intentional about the work necessary to enroll a student body that better reflects the demographics of the 21st century and will assist all our students to become better prepared to be contributing members of the world they will enter as Bucknellians,” he said.

Thiede’s family is also full of University alumni, including his wife Laura ’78, and their son Brian ’08. They also have a daughter named Sara.

Prior to arriving at the University in February 2002, Thiede worked as an independent consultant focusing on strategic planning and operational issues related to higher education enrollment management and marketing. Thiede received his Master of Education degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Vermont in 1979 and his undergraduate degree is in Interdisciplinary Philosophy from Barrington College in Rhode Island.

The University wishes him the best of luck in the future and will greatly miss him.

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News

Substantial changes made to GRE

By Christina Oddo

Writer

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test for graduate or business students has been revised by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and will be available online in August.

According to Andrea Halpern, professor of psychology and graduate school advising coordinator, there will be fewer verbal sections, and the test will be more oriented towards reading comprehension than towards isolated word knowledge.

“The math section will have a calculator available,” Halpern said. “The scoring scale will change so that scores will vary by ones, not tens, unlike the current 600-610-620 etc. scale.”

Furthermore, students will be able to edit answers, change answers and skip questions within a section. This new method may be beneficial for some students “to the extent that students feel the ability to review and change answers gives them more control and puts them in a more positive frame of mind,” Halpern said.

Currently, if you answer some questions incorrectly, the following questions are easier and vice versa. “It’s unclear to what extent the test is ‘adaptive,’” Halpern said.

The revised GRE will also have new types of questions that will feature real-life scenarios that reflect the thinking that many graduate programs support and encourage. The new test will also present a new score scale that will make it easier for schools to compare GRE scores.

More information regarding the adaptive-level approach for the GRE changes will be available soon. For further inquiry, visit http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/know

Categories
News

Student groups awarded Projects for Peace grants

By Carleen Boyer

Writer

Projects for Peace, an organization which awards grants to student groups, recently gave grants of $10,000 to two groups on campus: Yehri Wi Cry and Bicycles Against Poverty.

Yehri Wi Cry, which translates from Krio to “Hear Our Cry,” is a project begun by Nadia Sasso ’11, an English and sociology major at the University. The project grew with help from the current Miss Sierra Leone-USA, Marie Mansaray.

The project strives to provide maternal kits to Sierra Leone where low birth rates are be a problem. Because of cultural taboos against hospitals, many natives of the area are unwilling to go to a hospital when giving birth.

Sowande Parkinson ’12, a civil engineer and economics major, has worked with Sasso to develop this project. “We’ve always wanted to do a project that will connect us to our native country,” Sasso said.

The materinal kits contain basic necessities to aid in sanitation and the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS.

“We also plan to do a workshop with the aides of the hospital to make sure they know how to use the kits,” Sasso said.

Sasso and Parkinson will travel to Sierra Leone this summer to deliver 1,000 of the birth kits. While there, they will provide training to the aides.

“By June, we’re looking to receive 501-C3 status, which will recognize us as an official non-profit,” Sasso said.

As a non-profit organization, more grants would become available. Various volunteers also help with other aspects of the organization, such as working as a webmaster.

Bicycles Against Poverty, a project launched by a University student in 2008, provides bicycles to Ugandan farmers. Kevin Matthews ’11 and Brian Chiu ’11, two mechanical engineers, have been working to manufacture an additional device for the bicycles.

“The machine that we’re making is a human-powered grain grinder using bicycles because we know that bicycles are available,” Matthews said.

The device is a part of a senior design project, and Chiu and Matthews have been working on this with two other mechanical engineers, Paul Moellers ’11 and Kevin Curran ’11.

“The actual machine is really simple, especially compared to a lot of the other senior design. We had a lot of constraints, such as making it as cheap as possible and being able to make it in Uganda,” Matthews said.

Matthews hopes that the grinder will provide not only an easier method for grain grinding, but also the ability to support a local machine shop. This would help to create a sustainable small business.

“The main premise is a partnership with BAP and Gyda, and what they do is they train youth in the city with technical skills to help them get a job. Gyda will make it and BAP will help distribute it in the village,” Matthews said.

In addition to the grain grinder, two other devices that can be used with the bicycles have been in production: a bicycle taxi and a bicycle cart.

The carts attach to the back of the bicycles, allowing a greater carrying capacity. Chemical engineer Tom Bollinger ’14 is working on the cart.

“The whole point of it is low cost and high-use technology. The carts reduce trips from five to six trips per day to about one,” Bollinger said.

The location provides additional constraints and challenges.

“We’re not sure how everything will turn it. When we get over there, we know we’ll be faced with things that we don’t expect, so we have to be flexible with both the design and how we’re going to implement the project,” Matthews said.

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News

Person of the Year: Tracy Shaynak

By Meghan Finlayson

Staff Writer

After coming to the University in 1998 and being officially appointed as director of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) at the end of last year, one woman on campus has spearheaded efforts to address many issues both women and men face on campus.

Since Tracy Shaynak has started working as director, she has worked with faculty, administration and students to address important issues in the University community. She has been involved in numerous campus events that address them, such as the Take Back the Night Rally, and she has been working with Bucknell Student Government to reconfigure the “For a Better Bucknell” rally next year.

“She has worked with BSG through getting to know individual members,” Sonali Basak ’12 said. “[She] provides an atmosphere of comfort, where anything goes and all ideas are accepted.”

Shaynak’s responsibilities include supervising students, staff and volunteers who work in the WRC and coordinating the Center’s programs and initiatives. She also runs the Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate Program, which provides assistance and support for those who have been sexually assaulted.

The WRC serves as a place of support for students, faculty and staff. It promotes awareness and “understanding of issues related to women’s rights and gender inequities, both historic and contemporary,” Shaynak said.

Shaynak also serves as an adviser to the women’s student group Essential. “As an advisor, she has gone above and beyond to ensure the success of our organization. She is a friend, a mother figure and most of all a teacher to all of us,” said Juanita Jeffrey ’13, president of Essential.

Shaynak has worked with the Interfraternity Council to inform Greeks about the programs and resources offered by the WRC. “She is a very genuine and kind person who is always willing to help out others and has been a very strong ally of the Interfraternity Council,” said Michael Higgins, president of the Interfraternity Council. “We are truly blessed to have her, her skills, knowledge and dedication on campus.”

In working with Associate Provost Robert Midkiff, Shaynak has developed the Sexual Assault Task Force and helped the LGBT Awareness Office continue to move forward after the loss of Fran McDaniel.

“We have worked together on issues of sexual violence, alcohol education and heterosexism and homophobia in the campus community,” Midkiff said.

Shaynak is an advocate for collaboration. “For me, there is real value in recognizing how programs, policies and people interrelate, and when we can bring departments and organizations together in creative ways that maximize and take advantage of these connections, we have the ability to truly enhance the educational experience,” she said.

She has also taken a role in the Campus Climate Task Force by sitting in on meetings and serving as a resource to the group.

“Where we have been successful and what gives me real hope is that the campus community has begun to have an important and meaningful dialogue around some very important issues this year. Student leaders, including those from the Panhellenic Council, Interfraternity Council and Bucknell Student Government, have been coming forward and coming together in ways that are simply unprecedented in my time here,” she said.

Shaynak is best known for her compassion and dedication to understanding student opinions and concerns.

“She listens carefully to students and assists them in making good academic and life choices,” Midkiff said. “I think she is really good at empowering students to critically examine their beliefs and their actions and to live their lives consistently.”

Through her deep involvement and myriad contributions to the campus this year, Shaynak has made and will continue to make a real difference in the lives of students.