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Field Hockey Sports Women

Field Hockey loses to Boston University in Patriot League Semifinals

Kevin Nagle

Contributing Writer

The third-seeded women’s field hockey team fell 1-0 to second-seeded Boston University in Washington D.C. on Nov. 8. The Orange and Blue hoped to win this game in order to advance to the Patriot League finals for the second time in the past three years.

The Bison dominated much of the game, outshooting the Terriers 11-7. This was the most shots the Bison have had against a Patriot League opponent since dominating Holy Cross on Oct. 12 in shot attempts (23-1). The Bison simply could not put the ball past the Terrier goalie.

“We were right in the game this past weekend,” Rachel Misko ’14 said. “Everyone played their hearts out but it just didn’t go our way in the end. I couldn’t be more proud of my team!”

The Bison were in it the entire game, surrendering a goal in the first half and then shutting the Terriers out for the rest of the game. Boston advanced to the Patriot League Championship in just their first season in the league. The Terriers ultimately lost in the final to American on Nov. 9.

The Bison finished the season with an overall record of 8-10 and a winning record (4-2) in the Patriot League. The Bison had a difficult schedule this year playing against five nationally ranked teams.

“Throughout this season, we consistently got better, played tougher opponents, and challenged ourselves more than ever in program history. Our game against Boston was a tough loss and a heartbreaker, but I have no doubt that the team will keep getting better and be able to get a win next year and bring home the Championship. I couldn’t have asked to end my career with a better group of girls,” goalie Erica Perrine ’14 said.

In her last game as a Bison, Perrine made five saves, totaling to 271 stops over her four-year career. This game also marked the last games for seniors Misko, Leigh Hillman ’14, and Vickie Resh ’14. The three of them combined for 18 goals and six assists this season.

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Men Sports Swimming & Diving

Men’s Swimming & Diving Passes by Three Patriot League Foes in One Clean Sweep

Devan Schulte

Staff Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team successfully sank American, Lafayette, and top-ranked Navy on Nov. 9 at Kinney Natatorium to boost the team’s record to 4-1 overall (3-0 PL). Mike Nicholson ’14 and Louis Behnen ’17 both captured multiple wins to help the Bison hand Navy its first loss since becoming a member of the Patriot League 10 years ago.

The Orange and Blue racked up points from the start of the meet, taking nine first-place finishes to outshine Navy’s seven. Behnen secured the 1000 free and the 200 back, gaining himself a spot in the school’s record books with times of 9:32.41 and 1:51.60, respectively.

“Winning the 1000 was a good way to start off the meet. It built the momentum that carried throughout the meet and eventually allowed us to win,” Behnen said.

Nicholson maintained this momentum, capturing first-place finishes in the 200 IM, 200 fly and 200 breast. Steve Grune ’16, Jack Robinson ’17, and Ben Seketa ’15 finished first for the 50 free, 100 back, and 100 breast, respectively. Despite the caliber with which the team swam, the key to winning did not rest solely on the shoulders of these first-place victories. The rest of the Bison team captured a multitude of points with many second and third-place finishes as well.

“Our team energy is what made me successful. Everyone was positive, encouraging, and loud for every race throughout the meet. However, a big team goal of ours is to improve that energy on the pool deck every meet. We want to keep our energy up for every race throughout the meet no matter what,” Grune said.

Divers Tyler Wenzel ’16 and Patrick Alvermann ’16 utilized the team’s energy on the diving boards, with Wenzel competing in the one-meter and Alvermann in the three-meter event. Both secured points for the Orange and Blue through third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

The Bison ended the day outscoring both American and Lafayette by at least 200 points each, and secured a hard-fought victory over Navy 152-148, marking the Midshipmen’s first loss in the 11-meet series between the two teams.

“We just need to carry this momentum through the rest of the season. We have a chance to have one of the best seasons in Bucknell swimming, and if everyone can continue swimming like we did on Saturday, then the future looks good,” Chris Ortiz ’16 said.

The Bison will return to the pool on Nov. 22 to host the three-day Bucknell Invitational.

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News

Community runs 5k for philanthropy

Alexandra Rosen

Writer

On Nov. 2, the Bucknell Brigade organized the Making it to Managua 5k in order to raise money for its upcoming trip to Nicaragua, where the group will participate in various community service projects.

The Bucknell Brigade is a humanitarian group founded in 1999 following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch. The organization is comprised of students and faculty who travel to Nicaragua to volunteer as well as learn about the history and culture of the Central American country.

The 5k took place in Hufnagle Park and students, faculty, and community members ran in the race. Event volunteers were present and past members of the Brigade. 

The Brigade raised around $600, but is hoping to fundraise more money.

“People can still support the Brigade and help us run the 2073 miles to Managua by signing up to run the race at home,” Margaret Benson ’15, co-leader of the Brigade Fundraising committee said.

The Brigade is involved in many service projects, and is particularly connected with a free health clinic in Nueva Vida.

“We are a group that travels to Nicaragua two or three times a year and works alongside Jubilee House Community, our host agency, in the Nueva Vida Community,” Benson said. “The clinic serves the community and provides care and medicine at reduced or no cost to patients. They also just started a dental program.”

The Bucknell Brigade takes advantage of the opportunity to explore Nicaragua, and the trip includes a chance to participate in many different activities.

“Brigades do different activities every year but they generally include projects at the health clinic, projects at our host agency, Jubilee House Community, trips to El Porvenir, a coffee plantation, and historical tours of Managua, the capital city,” Jenna Weaver ’15, co-leader of the Brigade Fundraising committee said.

The Bucknell Brigade has ambitious plans for the future and does not plan on stopping its service project in Nicaragua any time soon.

“We are always selling homemade Nicaraguan crafts and fair trade coffee,” Weaver said. “You can usually find us at events around campus, or stop in the Office of Civic Engagement. Our next fundraiser: selling Mr. Sticky’s sticky buns at the Lewisburg Downtown raid on Dec. 6.” 

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Sports

Coach Paulsen strives to help students on and off the court

Ben Kaufman

Editor in Chief

After two Patriot League Championship titles in the past three years, three Patriot League regular season championships in the past three years, and almost 100 University wins overall, head coach Dave Paulsen is ready to start his sixth year leading the men’s basketball team to reclaim the Patriot League throne.

Paulsen came to the University in 2008 and has led the Bison on their most successful three-year run in the history of the program. Prior to that, he graduated from Williams College in 1987 where he played basketball for four years and has been coaching basketball ever since. After coaching at the high school level for a year, his first taste of coaching at the college level began at his alma mater, where he was the assistant coach. He then worked as an assistant coach at University of Michigan for a year and Cleveland State University for four years.

“I loved coaching, and that was my passion, as a way to connect with young people through the avenue of basketball,” Paulsen said.

He began his career as a head coach at St. Lawrence University for three years. Then he coached at Le Moyne College for three years, and after that, he returned to Williams for eight years as the head coach. 

As the head coach of Williams, he led his team to a NCAA Division III championship in 2003 and NCAA Division III runner-up in 2004. He also led his team to win the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament in 2002 and to a first round appearance in 2007. With all this success, it is not surprising that the University would approach him upon the news of Pat Flannery retiring as head coach.

“When I came on campus to interview, I was blown away [by] the facilities we have, and the level of support from not just the student body, but the greater community and the passionate fan base,” Paulsen said. “If I was ever going to leave Williams, this was the type of situation where I wasn’t sacrificing either the academic side, or the chance for students to pursue excellence athletically.”

As professional as he looks on the court, Paulsen has a casual look off court. Wearing Bison Athletics clothing and sweatpants, he looks ready to coach and is ready for practice with his team. No matter whether he is in a suit on game day, or sweats for practice, Paulsen is ready to help his team in any way possible.

While it is obviously important for his team to be successful on the court, Paulsen promotes excellence in the classroom and around campus as equally important. He said that the University is a place that promotes excellence for their students in all senses of the word, and said he would not want to work at a place that strives for anything less than excellence. He said that an example of this success is that the team’s average GPA last spring was a 3.49 and they were one of six teams in the NCAA tournament last spring with a perfect graduation rate. He said he strives to prioritize academic integrity and importance for his players but also to achieve their fullest potential on the court.

Paulsen believes one thing that differentiates coaching basketball for the Bison rather than at a big school is how well respected the team is with the rest of campus. He said that people go to the games not only to watch the team but to watch their friends. He said the players on the team are known as hallmates, classmates, and friends, not just as members of the basketball team. He said the team has meshed well into the campus community and are not just figureheads in the way major athletes are at bigger schools.

“Basketball is really important, but not at the expense of their coursework, and not at the expense of being a part of the core fabric of the University,” Paulsen said.

“He is highly demanding of our players but at the same time he is very mindful of their time and extremely concerned with their well being, academic success, and development as people,” associate head coach Dane Fischer said. 

Paulsen said he wants his team to be as involved as possible on campus. He said he encourages his players to go to other teams’ games to show support for their peers around campus. With that, they do community service as a team, including a trick-or-treating event at a children’s hospital. His hope is to make sure they get involved around campus to show that as important as basketball is, academics and involvement will help them succeed as well.

“He wants you to always try and be the best version of yourself each day, not only on the court but in life,” Cameron Ayers ’14 said.

While also promoting excellence, Paulsen said he also wants his players to embrace the process throughout their four years on the team. With the transition of four outgoing seniors, three of whom were starters in the past season, and the three new first-years, he said he wants his team to take the season one game at a time and to not get wrapped up in the expectations.

“[We need] to stay consistent in our work ethic, our process, our practices, and focus on improvement, and the results will take care of themselves,” Paulsen said.

With their first scrimmage around the corner, Paulsen said that because of how the team has been doing the past few years, many of the returning players have not had a lot of playing time prior to this year. He said this will be a year of trying new things because of the absence of veteran players, and this will be a learning time for his whole team.

Paulsen has worked well with the players and coaches. Members of the basketball team have said he has a good rapport with everyone, and that the team respects him as both a coach and a person.

Paulsen has an infectious personality. According to Ayers, he has a way of connecting with students. Ayers also said how Paulsen is a sharpshooter and is not afraid to tell someone what he is thinking.

“What I like about him is that he can separate what is going on, on the court and what is going on off the court,” Ayers said. “He can get on you on the court but it’s all constructive criticism and because he loves us. Off the court he is a goofy guy always trying to crack a joke. There is a time for play and a time to be serious and he does this extremely well.”

Fischer echoed these thoughts. He said that Paulsen has been great to work with since the start and that Paulsen sets his expectations for his staff, and lets them run with it and does not intervene unless he has to.

“As good of a coach as he is, he’s an even better person and friend,” Fischer said.

Paulsen is equally as passionate about the game and his personal life off the court. He said that he is always there for his students when they need it, offering his help in order for his team to succeed in every sense of the word.

“He is a caring guy and always looks out for your best interest,” Ayers said.

To prove this point more, Paulsen said that his favorite moment coaching at the University so far was at the Senior Banquet last spring. The graduating seniors talked about their experience playing basketball, how they valued it, and the time they spent with Paulsen as their coach.

“This is why I coach, to be a part of these guys‘ growth over four years,” Paulsen said.

Categories
Arts & Life

Luckey Charms: November, America’s Month

Will Luckey

People think July is the most patriotic month because it has the Fourth of July. In reality, after that holiday, nothing about July really screams America. July actually sucks because it is perpetually humid and the only sporting events on are baseball games, Wimbledon, and the Tour de France. They only allow whites at Wimbledon—and when has “whites only” been an American thing? It’s too early to care about baseball, and the Tour is only interesting when someone gets run over in a stampede of Euro-trash cyclists. The French girls always look snooty too. I’ll take AJ McCarron’s girlfriend over them any day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

November is easily the most American month. First of all, college football reaches its peak with all of the rivalry games. These games represent everything great about America. For starters, they bring back interstate aggression. At football games, Missouri fans constantly mock Kansas fans over “Bleeding Kansas,” when Missouri slave owners killed hundreds of abolitionists in Kansas before the Civil War even started. In Oklahoma, we are reminded just how far capitalist success can get you in this country. Billionaire T. Boone Pickens has donated over $400 million to Oklahoma State, allowing the team to attract the nation’s best players with a state-of-the-art venue, illegal cash deals, and a plethora of other gifts.

By November people stop gushing over colorful leaves and pumpkin spiced lattes, and it is still too early for everything to get wrapped in a bow or have peppermint sticks dipped in it. November has none of that frilly Hallmark nonsense, only remembrance of veterans and a celebration of the harvest.

Veteran’s Day is Memorial Day without the start-of-summer distractions. And we don’t have to wear flowers on our lapels like Canadians or Brits, so that’s nice too.

Thanksgiving is the most American celebration of all. You get to gorge yourself at four in the afternoon and then get in fights with your extended family. The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions always play at home, which is fitting. The Cowboys are America’s team and play in a billion-dollar stadium. Detroit leads the nation in violent crime, aggravated assault, and murder.

Speaking of murder, there are also the pilgrims. Not only did they abolish socialism in America, they innovated the American idea of “do-it-yourself.” The original Mayflower contract made everything in Plymouth communal. Every man had an equal share in everything; it was Karl Marx’s wet dream. But after basically all of them died they went every man for themselves. Capitalism worked and soon the colony grew. Newcomers did not have it easy. First, they had to do away with the lazy tree huggers squatting on their land. In a way it was the first battle against Occupy Wall Street.

That’s November, I guess. Yeah I just rambled a bit but whatever. Get a flu shot. Thank you veterans.

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

The Bison Ram Past the Scarlet Knights to Celebrate Senior Day

Devan Schulte

Contributing Writer

With a strong offensive effort on Nov. 3, the women’s field hockey team earned a 5-2 home victory over Rutgers to boost the team’s overall record to 8-9 (4-2 Patriot League). After celebrating their careers, the team’s four seniors helped capture the win over the Big East opponent, whom the Orange and Blue had yet to defeat since 1984.

“We came out today ready to go and not only play as a team, but also play for the seniors,” Emily Hitchings ’16 said.

The Bison started the game strong, immediately taking shots and capturing the first penalty corner opportunity in the eighth minute. The team utilized a new corner play against the Scarlet Knights, with Amie Pritchard ’15 capitalizing off a shot by Vickie Resh ’14, putting the Bison on the scoreboard early. With a continuous strong defensive effort, the Orange and Blue were able to keep Rutgers off the board for the rest of the half. In addition, Abby Watson ’16 and Kiersten Sydnor ’16 exploited a messy scramble in front of the opponent’s net, as Watson assisted an upper cage flick by Sydnor to put the Bison up by two right before the half concluded.

The game continued to heat up in the second half, as five more goals were added to the scoreboard. In the 46th minute, Rutgers quickly slimmed down the lead to 2-1. The Bison countered three minutes later as Estelle Palandjian ’17 captured her first collegiate goal off a tough shot from the top of the circle.

Two seniors concluded the scoring for the Bison, as Leigh Hillman ’14 and Rachel Misko ’14 put the final two goals on the board for the Orange and Blue. The Scarlet Knights continued to fight and managed to put one more goal away, but a tough defensive mindset and execution kept the score at 5-2, and the Bison seniors walked away with their last victory on Graham Field.

“It was an amazing feeling to finally beat them, especially on Senior Day. Our team played with incredible heart and I couldn’t have asked for a better game to end my career at Bucknell with,” Hillman said.

Erica Perrine ’14 guarded the net the entire game and recorded two saves. In addition, Perrine, Resh, Hillman, and Misko were honored before the game as the team’s four seniors.

The Bison will head to Washington, D.C. this weekend for the Patriot League tournament, where they will look to avenge their loss (Oct. 19) from earlier in the season to Boston University Terriers on Nov. 8.

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Women’s Soccer’s shutout in home finale clinches tournament berth

Doug Hendry

Staff Writer

After missing the Patriot League tournament in 2011 and 2012, the women’s soccer team clinched a spot in the playoffs this year with a 2-0 shutout against Holy Cross at Emmitt Field on Oct. 26, its fifth shutout of the season.

It was Homecoming Weekend and Senior Day for the Bison, and they knew that destiny was in their own hands. The scoring started in the first half for the Bison, as a defender deflected a Cassie Denger ’15 strike into the net to give the team a 1-0 lead. The Crusaders sent in a barrage of shots towards the end of the first half, but Jessica Ratner ’17 stopped everything in her way in her first collegiate start.

The game went back and forth in the second half as Holy Cross tried to equalize, but the defense stepped up once again, limiting the Crusaders to only a few quality opportunities on offense. Offensively for the Orange and Blue, Chelsey Garkowski ’14 scored with less than five minutes remaining on an assist from Courtney Nelson ’15 to put the game away. This was the fourth goal of the season for the senior, ensuring the Bison fans would leave the stadium happy.

“Helping the team clinch a tournament berth was unbelievable, especially on Senior Day. To be able to start for the first time and get the shutout is something I have honestly dreamed about since I was in high school,” Ratner said.

Holy Cross had 12 total shots, and Ratner made seven saves to secure her first shutout and second win of the season. The Orange and Blue also performed strongly on offense, putting together 18 total shots. Garkowski recorded four shots, while Liz Dwornik ’14, Evelyn Nicinski ’15, and Sarah Bresette ’17 had three shots apiece. This constant offensive pressure led to the ninth straight victory for the Orange and Blue over Holy Cross.

Garkowski, Dwornik, Bridget Gilmartin ’14, Corey Tipton ’14, and Alex Degarmo ’14 were all honored before the game, as this was their final regular season home game as Bison. It was also the 100th career win for head coach Ben Landis.

The Bison are now 7-8-1 overall and 4-3-1 in Patriot League play, with 13 points in the Patriot League standings. In a tie for fourth place with American, the Bison are still in contention for a home game in their quarterfinal match. The Bison’s regular season finale will be on Nov. 2 at Boston University at 2 p.m.

“Going into Boston University, I think the focus needs to be on keeping possession of the ball and playing our hearts out, not just to get the win but for each other. Boston is a really good team and in order to beat them we have to work together, keep possession, and never give up,” Ratner said.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Editorial: New Orleans class is good addition to off campus studies

A new class is being offered for the summer of 2014 to take place in New Orleans. The course will be three weeks long, similar to the Bucknell-in Summer Programs hosted by the Office of International Education. We believe that this class has a lot of potential for students to expand their depth of learning at the University.

The course only spends one week in New Orleans, but that week seems to be extremely busy with a diverse amount of activities. During that week, the mornings will be spent working for Habitat for Humanity in St. Bernard’s Parish, one of the most destroyed areas after the hurricane. This opportunity for service learning will make a great addition to the two trips to New Orleans that the University already has through the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Team. This is also a way for students to work together for a common goal of helping out those in need, which is what the University teaches us through our time here. After that, the afternoons will be spent touring social engineer attractions, like the rain pumping system. While this sounds intense, we think it would useful for students not only to know this for their lives after graduation, but also to understand the dramatic effects the pumping system had during the hurricane.

At the end of each day, students will get the opportunity to meet local musicians and attend performances. New Orleans is rich in musical culture, and will give them a great taste of the uniqueness of the music. The blend of service along  with the local culture will give students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the New Orleans community.

This class will be beneficial for people who want to study abroad but cannot afford to go to places outside of the country. Only one week of the course takes place in New Orleans, which cuts down on finding a location to house everybody for an extended period of time. We understand that students will have to pay summer tuition for the program, and we are assuming they will also have to pay for their living space on campus during that time. While that may take away from the abroad experience to an extent, they are still getting an experience to study in a place that is different than the University.

We definitely think students have a lot to gain from an abroad experience, and this New Orleans experience is no exception. We think it is beneficial to also send students to places in America because there is a lot in this country that many people haven’t seen. With the majority of the students being from the northeast, it will be beneficial for students to see what life is like in the south and how it differs to their lives at the University. Overall, we think this is a great experience and gives more options for student involvement.

Categories
Arts & Life

“Black Comedy” promises unexpected hilarious plot twists

Christina Oddo

Managing Editor

The University’s Theatre Department is proud to present “Black Comedy,” a play originally by Peter Shaffer. The show promises to keep the audience at the edge of their seats laughing throughout the production. The performances are tonight, tomorrow and Monday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Harvey M. Powers Theatre.

Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance Anjalee Deshpande Hutchinson has been personally ready for a comedy; for the past few years, her director’s notes have centered on directing tragedies.

“The theatre department season was also due for a farce and we strive to offer a rotation of styles and genres as a part of our programming,” Hutchinson said. “But the choice wasn’t mine alone. When I brought the idea forward to the play selection committee (an advisory board made of students and faculty), they really loved this script and the fun approach to light and dark.”

The audience should expect to be surprised by the elements of light, sound, set, and costuming, and most importantly character and plot development. Beyond the execution of lines, the script itself is remarkably hilarious and unexpected.

“The playwright is a bit of a comic genius (which you wouldn’t necessarily expect from his other plays; “Equus” and “Amadeus”) and I believe his main idea was to give us a peek at what we don’t usually get a chance to see and take delight in the chaos that ensues,” Hutchinson said.

The development of the characters, and their profiles revealed onstage, served as part of the foundation of the production.

“My spine for this play was the more you try to hide, the more you reveal,’” Hutchinson said. “I was interested in not only showing the audience what happens to the characters when they cannot see clearly, I was interested in revealing who the characters are when they didn’t think anyone is watching.”

In the beginning of the production process, the cast engaged in physical work in order to explore the characters from their gaits to their fears.

“We still do this work as part of our warm up for the show, and are still discovering new things about our characters,” cast member Estie Pyper ’16 said. “Being a British play, we also did a lot of dialect work with Sam Norton, who helped us find a unique tone and rhythm to our speech beyond simply speaking in standard British dialect.”

In order to enhance the comedic aspects of the performance, in terms of both the deliverance of the script and the movement on stage, timing is everything.

“As actors, we have to keep in mind the precision of timing for all of the physical gags while still finding delight in everything we do onstage as our characters,” cast member Emily Hooper ’14 said. “It’s a roller coaster of a balancing act and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Hutchinson noted that this group of actors proved to be dedicated to the process, and to be willing to play.

“It’s such a joy to work on a comedy–no matter what mood I was in that day, coming to rehearsal instantly brightened it,” Pyper said. “From day one, Anjalee emphasized the importance of supporting and taking care of each other, and I find this to be so important, especially with a small cast. We play off of each other’s energy, and find new ways of connecting on stage every day. Even now I find myself desperately trying to suppress laughter while running the show–we just have too much fun with it!”

“It really is a delightfully silly and joyful cast,” Hutchinson said. “I can’t wait until they have an audience to enjoy some of the silliness for themselves.”

When asked what was the best part of creating this production, Hutchinson responded: “Laughing every night. What a gift.”

For the Friday evening performance there is a 2-for-1 ticket sale if you come wearing something from the 60s. Tickets for each performance are $10 / $5.

Categories
News

University inducts three trustees

Jackson McCarron
News Editor

University President John Bravman announced the induction of three new trustees in an email to faculty and staff on Oct. 5.

During the general meeting, which was held from Oct. 3-5, the Board of Trustees welcomed new members Susan Ginkel ’76, Kirsten Heinemann ’81 P’12 P’15, and Chris Sullivan ’92.

“We are grateful to them for making this commitment of leadership and service to the University,” Bravman said.

Kirsten Heinemann and her husband, Steven, recently contributed their second seven-figure gift to the University. The gift will make possible a newly endowed professorship, Bravman said.

“We are grateful to Kristen and Steven for this expression of continuing generosity and support for Bucknell, which helps make the case to other donors who are considering making campaign gifts,” Bravman said.