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Sports

Women’s track places second in meet

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

Sasha Hornock ’13 and Sarah Bella ’12 won gold medals to help the women’s track team place second at the Patriot League Indoor Championships last weekend in Annapolis, Md.. Navy prevented the Bison from defending their title from last season, scoring 157 points compared to the Bison’s 117.

Hornock won the 60-meter dash, earning the first gold medal of her career. Also on the track, Jennifer Zymet ’14 placed second in the 400 meters and third in the 200.

In throws, Bella placed first in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet, 3.25 inches. Teammate Rebecca Misko ’12 took silver in the shot put.

Hornock and Bella were named first-team all-league, while Zymet and Misko earned second-team honors.

“Our focus going into the meet was for every person to score. We can only take 32 people to the Patriot League championships, so every person and every point counts,” Hornock said.

Many more Bison stayed true to their focus and earned points for the team. In the 60-meter hurdles, Taylor Funk ’12  and Jamie Leacock ’11 placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Both set new career-best times, and Funk broke nine seconds for the first time in her career.

The Orange and Blue had success in the jumps as well. Rebecca Frey ’11 earned bronze in the pole vault, and teammate Emily Ando ’14 finished in fourth. Casey Krause ’11 and Alexandra Romanelli ’13 earned third and fourth in the triple jump, respectively. In the long jump, Krause placed ninth with a season-best jump.

In the last 13 years, the Bison have either placed first or second at this Championship meet. In years when the Bison have failed to come in first, the Midshipmen have won every time.

“I’m proud of the team. Although it’s disappointing getting second, we competed with heart and Bucknell had great performances overall,” Hornock said. She also commented that this meet is a motivating force for the outdoor season.

“I believe the team performed well, but we are definitely still hungry for more. I think the team will use the outcome of this meet as a motivator to go after the spring championship title,” Bella said.

After a two-week break the Orange and Blue will travel to Boston for the ECAC Championship meet on March 5-6.

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Sports

Sacks ’14 sets Bison first-year record

By Colin Fields

Contributing Writer

The men’s track team finished third in the team standings at the Patriot League Championships this past weekend in Annapolis, Md. Chris Sacks ’14 became the first first-year student in Bison history to win two events in his first championships, also claiming Rookie of the Meet honors. Andrew Powell ’12 also took first place in the heptathlon on Saturday, his second heptathlon victory of the year. Robert Arent ’12 also broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles.

The Bison went into the final day in second, trailing Navy by seven and leading Army by 14. The Orange and Blue were the best of the non-academy schools, finishing with 151 points. The Bison finished well ahead of fourth-place finisher Lehigh, who totaled up a mere 46.5 points.

Sacks was victorious in the 4×800 relay with teammates Christopher Boyd ’11, Jordan Donaldson ’12 and Clayton Smith ’11. The team’s time of 7:34.15 was good enough for a close victory over Colgate. The time also set a record for the Wesley A. Brown Fieldhouse.

Sacks’ second victory was not as close. The first-year student blew away the competition in the 1,000 meter run by a full two seconds. Sacks’ performance this past weekend helped him pick up First Team All-Patriot League honors.

“Going into the championships, I was nervous because Patriot Leagues is the most important part of the season. However, at the same time I was confident due to a great deal of preparation that went into getting ready for the meet,” Sacks said.

Powell also had a big weekend for the Bison. Powell won the high jump, long jump and 60-meter hurdles on his way to heptathalon gold. His total of 4,967 points was enough for second place in the Bison record books. Powell picked up his third win in the heptathlon and his second win this season for the Bison.

“I am really looking forward to the championship meet as it really brings the team together. Instead of everyone chasing individual marks like during the season, the one goal everyone can unite under this weekend is to beat the other teams. I’m also hoping to break the school record in the hurdles,” Arent said.

Arent did not disappoint in the 60-meter hurdles. He joined teammate Marlon Woods ’11 in the finals of the event and ran 8.13 seconds in the prelims, which was just one-hundreth of a second shy of the school record. The next day Arent had a breakout performance and smashed his previous record by five hundredths with a time of 8.07, a new school record. Arent joined Sacks and five other teammates on the First Team All-Patriot League squad.

The Bison will be competing in the IC4A Championships in Boston, Mass. on March 5 and 6.

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Sports

Lady Bison finish meet in third place

By Mike Wolf

Writer

The women’s swimming team capped a great season this past weekend with an overall third-place finish in a tough Patriot League championships. The three-day championship meet took place in the Kinney Natatorium between Thursday and Saturday. This achievement marks the 11th straight year that the Bison have finished in the top three in the Patriot League.

The Bison had five separate top-five places over the course of the championships. Colgate finished first by over 100 points, winning its third Patriot League Championship in four years. Navy, the defending champion, took second place with a total score of 760. The Orange and Blue ended with a total score of 581.5 and held third place by a solid 250 points.

Emily Wright ’14 had a great showing over the course of the weekend and finished second in the 50 free and 100 free on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Wright’s 100 free time of 51.24 seconds was good enough to put her fourth all-time in the Bison record books.

Another first-year, Kelly Pontecorvo, helped the team by placing third in the 1,650 free with a time of 16:50.89. That time was the second-best time in program history and a personal best by four seconds.

The final event on Saturday was the 400-free relay in which Wright, Pontecorvo, Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 and Kaitlyn Utkewicz ’14 combined for a season best 3:27.75. They completed the meet on a positive note with a third place finish, also the third best time in Bison history. Porcellio also contributed with two fifth place finishes in the 200 breast stroke and 200 IM, and a sixth place finish in the 200 free.

The women’s swimming team’s season is finished but a few individuals have the opportunity to participate in the ECAC Championships this weekend, which will officially end the season.

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Sports

Nicholson ’14 finishes great season

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Mike Nicholson ’14 transcended his team’s third-place finish in this past weekend’s Patriot League Championships in Kinney Natatorium, setting new school records in the 200 and 400 meter individual medleys. Navy won the championship for the eighth consecutive year.

“Getting a team record [at Bucknell] is a huge honor considering all of the great swimmers that have swam here,” Nicholson said. “Winning the 400 IM was probably the biggest thrill of my life.”

Nicholson’s record-breaking performance in the 200 IM secured him third place in the event, but by winning the 400 IM, he became the first first-year in four years to win an individual event in the Patriot League Championships.

Thomas Brown ’12 set another school record in the 200-meter backstroke. In the prelims he swam a record time of 1:48.04, coming in third for that event. In the finals, he finished in second with a 1:48.95.

Matthew Segar ’12, Christian Treat ’13, Trevor Reitz ’14 and Eric Sokolosky ’12 combined to break a third Bison record in the 400 free relay. With a time of 3:00.87 the team came in second place.

Overall, in the three-day championships, the Bison recorded program top-ten times in an outstanding 17 events.

The series of top-ten records did not help the team compete with Navy, who beat the Bison by 490 points. Navy finished the meet in first by far with 1056 points. The battle for second was much more competitive, Army finishing in front of the Bison by 37.5 points. Army finished with 603.5 to the Orange and Blue’s 566.

“Our main goal heading into the meet was to beat Army for second place,” Nicholson said. “Our meet was far from a failure though. We saw many team records drop, on both the swimming and diving sides of the meet, and we ravaged the top-10 lists in many events.”

The winter season for the team as a whole ended this past week, but the ECAC Championships will take place this weekend for those swimmers privileged enough to qualify.

The team will be motivated in future seasons by the results of the championships. “Getting third was definitely a disappointment, but I know it will only motivate us in the spring and next year to make sure we don’t lose to those kids again,” Nicholson said.

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News

University increases comprehensive fee

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

The increase in the University’s comprehensive fee for the 2011-12 school year is the smallest percentage increase in years but still leaves the University among the most expensive schools in its peer group.

Next year’s estimated comprehensive fee of $54,240 is up 3.75% or $1,960 from this year’s estimated $52,280.

“The comprehensive fee increase for next year will be lower than the three-year and five-year average increases among our peers,” David Surgala, Vice President for Finance and Administration, wrote in a letter sent to parents two weeks ago. “For the fifth consecutive year, the University is also reducing the rate of increase over the previous year.”

The fee increase from the 2009-10 to the 2010-11 school year was 3.90%, while the fee increase for the 2008-09 to the 2009-10 school year was 4.01%. However, the actual monetary increases have remained steady. This year’s increase of $1,960 is identical to last year’s increase and slightly higher than the $1,940 increase from the 2008-09 to the 2009-10 school year.

Out of the five schools in the University’s peer group that have released figures for the 2011-12 school year, the University’s comprehensive fee is the second-highest after that of Trinity College. Trinity and Middlebury were the only two schools out of the 14 to have higher comprehensive fees than the University in 2010-11 (Dartmouth’s was roughly equal).

The University’s peer group is a list of 13 institutions that have been identified as matching it in essential characteristics such as size, structure and mission. The group was put together by the strategic planning group that established the 2005 Plan for Bucknell in order to enable the University to benchmark its performance. The peer group consists of Colgate, Holy Cross, the College of William and Mary, Davidson, Dartmouth, Furman, Lafayette, Lehigh, Middlebury College, Trinity College, the University of Richmond, Villanova and Wake Forest.

“Please know that we work diligently to moderate tuition and fee increases. We watch our expenses very closely and continue striving to improve operating efficiencies, even as we continue moving forward with new investments in the excellence of Bucknell,” Surgala said in the letter.

The letter also pointed out the “investments” that the University has made recently and is in the process of making, such as hiring new faculty, converting the bookstore space to a student center and beginning the building of Academic West. The new faculty have reduced the University’s student-to-faculty ratio to 10:1, which is tied for fourth-best among the peer institutions.

The comprehensive fee figure is comprised of $43,628 for tuition, $238 for a mandatory student activity fee, an estimated $6,048 for room and an estimated $4,326 for board. The room and board costs will vary from student to student based on a student’s choice of housing and meal plan. The “board” figure is based on the choice of a silver meal plan, so any students who select a less expensive meal plan will pay a smaller comprehensive fee.

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News

Seventh Street House celebrates Black History Month and Unsung Heroes

By Oleysa Minina

Contributing Writer

In celebration of Black History Month, the residents of the Seventh Street House for the Study of the Black Diaspora presented their annual event for Black History Alive on Feb. 19.

African Diaspora was the movement of people of Black African origin and their descendants to places throughout the world. This year’s theme, “Unsung Heroes,” celebrated relatively unfamiliar African Americans from all over the world who contributed to black history.

This event is about “educating people about the different people or groups that have contributed to black history all over the world; it is a cultural experience with an academic component,” Nakea Tyson ’11 said.

While visitors snacked on fried chicken and banana bread, the residents who transformed themselves into the “unsung heroes” gave a tour through the house.

Each floor of the house represented a different geographical sector of black history. The first floor represented the African American movement, the second symbolized Africa and the third showcased the Caribbean.

On the first floor, residents transformed themselves into members the Black Panther Party, a radical African American progressive political movement that peaked in the 1960s.

The Party jump-started the civil rights movement with their radical ideals and notions of self defense against challengers.

The second floor featured the African musician and human rights activist Fela Kuti, who preached in the 1970s that the African people should not be silenced. Other prominent activists included Makeba Singsi, a South African who brought awareness to the hardships of South Africans through music and song, and Robert Mugabe, the current president of Zimbabwe who spoke out against white-minority rule. Residents of the house dressed up as these heroes and presented their contributions to black history.

The third floor celebrated the Caribbean sector by honoring François Capois, a war hero during the Haitian revolution; Walter Rodney, whose ideals of self-emancipation defined the Guyanan political movements; and Derek Walcott, a St. Lucian poet who brought attention to the issues in Trinidad.

The presentation “focused on people and groups we don’t usually hear about in black history,” Yulissa Hidalgo ’12 said.

Grant Hoover, assistant director of residential education for diverse communities, said he “loved seeing students playing the role of a historical figure, especially figures that use their God-given talents to bring about social change.”

The University is hosting speakers, screening movies and providing other events to honor Black History Month.

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News

Jose Carmena discusses human brain research

By Katherine Schotz

Contributing Writer

Technology is able to create a sensory swarm in the brain, and neurons can stimulate to act as if there was a reality in front of them through both correct isolation of the neurons and training of the subject, said a prominent neuorscientist who has been conducting research in Berkeley, California to improve health with prosthetic body parts.

Jose Carmena spoke Tuesday in the Gallery Theatre about his ultimate goal to have machines operate as a part of the body, for instance with a prosthetic limb. The lecture took place as part of the University’s Social Science Colloquium series entitled “Emerging Minds: Seeking Meaning in a Physical World.” This was the penultimate event in the series, which is focused around neurology.

“Once formed, the critical map is readily recalled, stable across time, and resistant to interference,” Carmena said. Simplified, the brain can “regularly recall motor memory.”

In his research, Carmena is looking at how the brain is able to reach for an object and grab it. Further, he would like to understand how the brain could be tricked into believing a machine is an extension of the body. His colleagues and he have suggested ideas that were unheard of 20 years ago.

Over the past several years, Carmena points out that there has been a change in how the brain is viewed. Instead of believing that the brain is hardwired to perform basic motor skills from birth, the new theory is that the brain can learn and change.

“The brain is highly adaptive, or plastic, in adults and remains so throughout life,” Carmena said.

The change helped to guide Carmena’s research. Starting at Duke University, he conducted a number of experiments. He and his team were able to get monkeys to control the number of neurons firing in the brain.

Carmena is the principal investigator with the Brain-Machine Interface in the systems laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley, where he also serves as an assistant professor of electrical engineering and cognitive science and neuroscience.

“Questions about the nature of our minds and identities have been posed for millennia,” said series coordinator Joseph Tranquillo, assistant professor of biomedical and electrical engineering at the University. “Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, technological and scientific advances have enabled the ancient questions about mind and self to be revisited in new ways.”

The next event in the series is a lecture by David Eagelman on March 10.

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News

Panel focuses on current Egyptian crisis

By Eliza Macdonald

Contributing Writer

The Griot Institute for Africana Studies held an open panel focusing on the current situation in Egypt on Feb. 17.

Panel members agreed that “Egypt will embark on a new road.”

In January of this year, Egyptian citizens inspired by Tunisian revolts, protested rising levels of poverty, unemployment and government corruption. Specifically, the protesters demanded the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled Egypt for 30 years. The protesters congregated in Tahrir Square, a central part of Cairo, Egypt, to assert their desire for a more democratic government.

“We should be able to identify with what’s going on because there are genuine expressions for democratic values, and this in a way dispels the notion that just because it’s the Arab world it’s not compatible with democracy. If anything it shows the yearning for these values you would normally find in a democracy,” professor Tony Massoud said.

During the protests, many parts of daily life were disrupted. The protests became violent and injured and killed many on both sides. Banks, schools, the stock market were all shut down, and at one point during the protests, Egyptians lost Internet and phone access.

The protests continued for 18 days before Mubarak finally resigned his presidency and handed power over to the army. The military rule has promised to oversee a transition process to an elected civilian government.

“I knew that Mubarak needed to leave because quality of life has lowered since he came to power,” Michel Ajjan ’14 said.

The panel consisted of three professors: professor Hager El Hadidi from Bloomsburg University, a native of Cairo; Massoud, an associate professor of political science here at the University; and Hilbourne Watson, a professor of international relations at the University.

Hadidi, as a native, gave those in attendance a look into the revolts from the perspective of an Egyptian. Hadidi focused on the importance of Tahrir Square to the Egyptians and the collective protests. She emphasized that Muslims and Christians were fighting side-by-side and that women, especially, were asserting themselves at the protests.

“Women were leading, daring men to be as courageous as they were,” Hadidi said.

Massoud’s input revolved more around the political aspects of the revolts and how it will affect Egypt in the future. Massoud sees two critical actors in this revolt: the military and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic group that, according to Massoud, has moderated its behavior in the last few decades. The Muslim Brotherhood’s slogan is “Islam is the solution.”

According to Massoud, the fear surrounding the ideas that the Muslim Brotherhood will try to take over Egypt is overblown. He hopes that Egypt will use the current democratic model used in Turkey. Turkey has demonstrated that it’s possible for Islam to be a part of a democratic system. Massoud also thinks the military won’t let an Islamic state come to power.

Other fears surrounding the “new Egypt” are that it will turn into a military state, but once again Massoud considers this an unlikely situation.

“The regime was interested in staying in power and maintaining control, which is why I think at the end they pushed Mubarak out. I don’t think the regime is interested in direct rule,” Massoud said. He also made the point that although the military prefers to be behind the scenes, they will be a factor in the new government because they’re too entrenched in the economy and society.

Massoud also argues that within political science, the term “revolution” is used a bit too loosely. He defines a revolution as major changes across different aspects of life in a country. It also depends on what replaces the old regime.

Watson, along with the other panel members, was able to give a more global view to connect the national and political sides of the argument.

“Those who make half a revolution dig their own grave,” was a slogan that Watson used to reinforce the idea behind Egypt’s desire for a full revolution.

Watson feels that globalization has had a huge impact on the quality of life in many regions around the world and that we are in a moment of global discontent.

Watson also broached the topic of how these revolts have affected the Egyptian economy, noting that exports to the European Union have shrunk in the last months.

Carmen Gillespie, director of the Griot Institute of Africana Studies and professor of English, felt that the panel was extremely successful.

“It was an opportunity we couldn’t miss, helping students and even faculty to really understand this evolving situation as much as we can,” Gillespie said.

Gillespie was glad so many students decided to attend to hear from people who’ve studied all their lives on these subjects and learn what their perception of the situation was, instead of a soundbite from the media.

Along with the hope to spark student and faculty curiosity, Gillespie hopes to keep the bridge between what happens on campus and the occurrences that happen in the “real world.”

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Headline News

Rwandan hero urges student action against injustice

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

After witnessing the Rwandan genocide right in front of his eyes, Rwandan native, hotel manager and hero Paul Rusesabagina stated that the world closes their eyes to the problems of the world that surrounds them, and it is time that we chose to fight back but not with weapons, with dialogue.

On Tuesday evening, in the Weis Center of Performing Arts, Paul Rusesabagina shared his personal experience in the discussion titled “Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to be Learned.” Rusesabagina is credited with saving 1,268 refugees during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and his personal experience was adapted into the acclaimed movie “Hotel Rwanda.”

“History keeps repeating itself, and yet, we fail to learn any lessons,” he said. He spent much of the speech talking about his personal stories and memories from the genocide.

This film, said to be “an African ‘Schindler’s List,‘” is based on Rusesabagina’s real life events. It documents his acts to save the lives of not only his family members and loved ones, but also the lives of other refugees. Rusesabagina sheltered these refugees in the Mille Collines luxury hotel in Kingali, of which he was a general manager.

“While the movie made the hotel a popular place, Hotel Rwanda started at my home,” Rusesabagina said.

He described what it was like when the attacks first started, and how he opened his home to his family and neighbors as a safe house. As the amount of people showing up at his house grew, he decided that he had no choice but to take them to the hotel.

“People kill each other because they fight for power, but dialogue is the best weapon” he said.

This statement reflects the conflicts between the three groups in Rwanda. Rusesabagina, a Hutu, married a Tutsi woman and together, they turned the hotel into an impromptu refugee camp for 12,000 terrified Tutsis and Hutus.

Life as a refugee in the hotel was extremely hard. Refugees had little clean water, and people would take a few drops of water each day from the hotel swimming pool. They had at most two meals a day, consisting of smuggled beans.

Rusesabagina told the audience about the multiple times he would drive down the streets only seeing dead bodies. “No one was alive; everything was killed,” he said.

He also spoke of the time he woke up with a gun to his head, being threatened to clear out the hotel in 30 minutes. He refused to give in because he wanted to protect his people. During the lecture he proudly yet humbly reported that none of his refugees in the hotel were killed or beaten; all 1,268 survived.

For his courageous and selfless efforts, Rusesabagina received Amnesty International’s “Enduring Spirit” award as well as the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

“Nothing is as heartbreaking as seeing your loved ones and thinking, ‘This is the last time I’ll see my children. This is the last time I’ll see my life,’” Rusesabagina said.

Rusesabagina closed his lecture with remarks about what the Western world could do to help.

“You are the only ones who can change this world. You are tomorrow’s leaders. You have the world’s future in your hands, so shape it how you want,” he said.

“I really hope the student body, and everyone in attendance left with a new outlook on things and learned how to treat others,” said Hillary Mann ’13, a member of the Student Lectureship Committee.

The fact that the speaker was the real man from “Hotel Rwanda” attracted many students to the lecture, but the influence of friends also accounted for the phenomenal attendance at the lecture.

“My friends convinced me to take a break from schoolwork and attend the lecture, and I am so glad that I did,” Harrison Winters ’14 said. “Mr. Rusesabagina’s words were extremely powerful and I will keep them in mind for the rest of my life.”

The audience gave a standing ovation for Rusesabagina and his powerful speech.

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Featured

Themed residence program expanded to include small houses downtown

By Allison Mongan

Writer

Next fall, four small houses on the downhill part of campus will become themed student residences.

Students applied this spring to live in Edwards House, Hulley House, Galloway House or 23 University Ave and make the house a themed residence depending on their specific interests. Applications were due at the start of this week and a panel will choose from the applicants and make the decision by next Monday so that the students who do not get it can be eligible for the lottery number housing process.

“Themes will change from year to year depending on what group will be living in the house,” said Grant Hoover, assistant director of residential education for diverse communities.

Each of the four small houses will be open to any students that are able to fill them. The house sizes range from 12 to 28 persons able to live there, and the applicants had to be able to fill the entire house in order to apply.

Each applicant group had to determine their specific theme and explain why they wanted to have a house dedicated to their specific topic.

“Living on hall with people of similar interests has been very cool and it is nice to have that strong common thread. This program is great because it gives this unique opportunity to more students on campus,” Isabelle Catalano ’12 said.

Next year all small houses will be required to have one campus-wide program and one community service program, in addition to at least two other programs over the course of the school year. Every house will also have a faculty or staff member who will serve as an adviser and who will attend programs and interact with the residents. The adviser component is to help strengthen ties between students and the faculty and to help them build more personal relationships with each other.

“For the houses without resident assistants there will be house leaders. These leaders are in charge of meetings and programs and any administrative things,” Hoover said.

The Small House Program also includes the “Making a House a Home Program.” Student groups that continually occupy one specific house can apply for updates that can be made to the house. The Galloway House has been occupied by C.A.L.V.I.N. and H.O.B.B.E.S. for 13 years and has been able to apply for certain updates.

“Making a House a Home” includes being able to paint the interior and exterior after occupying the house for a set amount of years. C.A.L.V.I.N. and H.O.B.B.E.S. is a substance-free house and is one possible theme, among others, for a house next year.