The Bucknellian

By Sonali Basak

Writer

Bicycles Against Poverty (BAP) is bringing “Bands and Bikes” to campus for its third year this Saturday, April 9 on Smith Quad from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Bands and Bikes is an outdoor event featuring music, food and philanthropy.

“It’s one of those events that brings the campus together,” said Odeke Ekirapa ’12, Vice President of Finance for BAP. “You don’t have to expect anything but a good time–-a calm atmosphere, friends, music, food and cheap bikes. What more can you ask for?”

Known as “It’s a Microworld After All” in its second year, the event has seen great success. Similar to last year, the event will be co-sponsored with the Microfinance Initiative at Bucknell (MIB). Last year’s event raised over $500 through donations and raffles.

This year’s event will also include a beach volleyball competition, a hot dog eating contest, a food relay and a silent used bike auction. Bikes will be auctioned at starting prices between $25 and $200, with values up to $500. T-shirts to tie-dye, Ugandan crafts and various merchandise will be on sale. Lunch and music will be provided for free. Student bands and performers, including Brian Brundage, the Michael Mattei Band and Two Past Midnight, will provide music.

All money raised will be donated towards BAP, which has donated over 290 bikes since its founding in 2008.

“This event is a culmination of our year’s efforts,” BAP President Krissy Brundage ’13 said. “It’s our last big fundraising event before our summer trip to Uganda.”

Some other BAP events include a soccer tournament, sales of BAP shirts and merchandise, a screening of “Invisible Children” this spring and periodic trips to Uganda to deliver the bicycles.

Ben Kellerman ’13, BAP Head of Communications, said the event helps people understand what BAP does.

“Most people don’t understand the impact of these bikes on local communities,” he said. “People living in internationally displaced person camps with no infrastructure are given greater access to education, healthcare, jobs and markets.”

Brundage explained that evaluations of the program in Uganda show the appreciation that bicycle recipients have for the program as well as the impact the bicycles have in Ugandan communities.

“Most incomes go up because of greater access to jobs. Lives have been saved because of greater access to healthcare and hospitals,” Brundage said.

BAP is looking to become a non-profit organization.

“It is unique because most other campuses don’t have a completely student-founded student group that does something of this caliber,” Brundage said.

Brundage hopes that in becoming a non-profit, BAP will expand to other campuses and more villages.

By Laura Crowley

Arts & Life Editor

For those who find humor in the crude and grotesque, Family Guy is a godsend. In its 22-minute episodes, the animated television series confronts controversial cultural topics with humor that is consequently edgy and frequently offensive. As a result, the show’s shocking humor has resulted in harsh protests, lawsuits and periodic cancellations while simultaneously launching the show into immense stardom.

The show makes many daring references to sensitive topics. In “Quagmire’s Dad,” a character named Ida, formerly known as Dan, undergoes a sex change operation that is the object of disgust for protagonists Peter and Lois. In reaction to this episode, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a statement noting that the organization “has serious concerns being voiced from members of the community” that “GLAAD’s Entertainment Media Team is addressing these with Fox.”

In “Extra Large Medium,” director McFarline poked fun at Sarah Palin’s mentally challenged son, Trig. In reaction, Bristol Palin, Sarah’s daughter, said “If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks.”

Unsurprisingly, Family Guy has caught the attention of organizations that have no patience for stunts that offend. Most notable is the Parents Television Council, who in 2000, 2005 and 2006, listed Family Guy on their list of “worst prime-time shows for family viewing” and labeled the show the “Worst TV Show of the Week” 30 times. In a desperate effort to eliminate the show for good, the PTC has also filed two formal indecency complaints to the United States Federal Communications Commission regarding the show’s crude content.

Family Guy has also been protested and sued on the basis of anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, anti-LBGT and anti-feminist sentiments, among others, with few successes in court.

The offended reactions of many organizations beg the question as to whether Family Guy goes too far. While these organizations would say the show’s masterminds David Goodman and Seth MacFarlane undoubtedly cross the line, it seems this allegation would be, and has been, denied  on legal bases.

When Carol Burnett filed a $6 million lawsuit on the basis of trademark infringement, Goodman and MacFarlane were as self-assured as ever with the First Amendment on their side. With this, the lawsuit was entirely rejected and no apologies were issued.

In the wake of instances like this, it seems that Goodman and MacFarlane still don’t care about hurting feelings. Now in its 10th season, episodes are as shocking as ever. Goodman warns that the show is “absolutely for teenagers and adults” with its TV-14-DLSV rating but makes no apologies for crude content as he watches his offensive humor attract viewers and fill his wallet.

Even if Family Guy does hurt feelings, it seems that Goodman and MacFarlane offend in the name of indifference rather than in malicious hatred. The producers subject nearly all ethnicities, religions, age groups and genders to harsh ridicule and as a result, do not single out any particular group. With plans for future seasons, you may be offended next.

By Ally Kebba

Contributing Writer

Dr. Christopher Ellis is the epitome of a true Bucknellian, having graduated with the class of 2000 and returning to work as an assistant professor in the political science department. He was first encouraged to attend the University by his uncle, who was on the Board of Trustees. After visiting the campus with a particularly enthusiastic tour guide, Ellis was hooked.

“For a school of its size, there is so much going on here in terms of academic programming, cultural events, even programs designed to get students and faculty to work together. In addition to teaching, faculty here are also doing cutting-edge research, which makes this a very intellectually stimulating place to work. As a huge sports fan, I think that having Division I athletics is a really nice thing, too,” he said.

Ellis entered his first year unsure of what he wanted to study and laughingly recalls being a short-lived chemistry major. Ellis took a liking to both economics and political science, and eventually decided to double major. He said he “never took a bad class at Bucknell,” and appreciates the holistic education the University provided him.

Ellis was involved on campus in several ways, serving as editor-in-chief of The Bucknellian and as a member of the fraternity Kappa Sigma. He even met his wife, Carrie, who now works in Admissions, here during his sophomore year. They both lived in Smith Hall and were introduced by a mutual friend. Despite his account that she may not have been quite so taken with him the first time they met, he eventually charmed her and the two were married in Rooke Chapel. Ellis playfully labeled his family as “the kind they warn you about at Orientation,” because his brother also attended and met his wife at the University.

Though he had always thought teaching seemed like fun, Ellis had not necessarily planned to be a professor. Before returning to the University, Ellis worked in retail as a men’s clothing buyer for several department stores and received his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2006. He came back to his alma mater in 2008 after working as an assistant professor of political science at North Carolina State University.

Ellis studies the relationships between public opinion and public policy. He researches why the public wants certain things and whether or not the public can obtain them. He has been published in six scholarly journals, discussing and analyzing such topics as the dominance of scope-of-government preferences in party identification, individual association with particular political ideologies in the time before modern survey research, and the relation of policy preferences in voters and non-voters to differences between public desires and realized policies. Ellis is known for his research of heterogeneity in American public opinion and issues of democratic representation in the United States.

As a student, his favorite class was a public opinion course, in which he was able to take a political survey of his fellow students. The experience led him to incorporate political surveys of his students into the politics classes he now teaches, as well as discussion of the methods and applications of survey research. Ellis particularly enjoys teaching the introductory course American Politics because he says it allows him to cover a wider arena of information than he normally studies, involves a different pace and has a focus on current events and issues that face classroom debate and discussion.

When asked what sets the University apart from those comparable in size and caliber, Ellis commented favorably on his students.

“Students at Bucknell are very engaged in their academic work and are also interested to understand the practical implications of what they are learning. This combination makes teaching courses in American politics particularly rewarding. [They] also generally have a sense of humor and know how to put things in proper perspective, which makes relating to them much easier, at least for me,” he said. Ellis’ Bison pride, passion for the study of political science, and commitment to his students makes it easy to understand why he is such an appreciated professor at the University.