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Opinion

Tackling national debt unavoidable

By Chris Giglio

Opinions Editor

This past Wednesday, an executive commission released a proposal on how to start tackling our $14 trillion national debt. The draft bill would erase $4 trillion of our projected debt by 2020 and bring the annual budget into balance by 2015. Though this draft bill has its problems and is unlikely to pass, it does focus our attention on a problem that is too often pushed to the side: the problem of a debt that is spiraling out of control.

There are serious implications down the road if we don’t start addressing this problem. One is the risk of losing our AAA bond grade, which would substantially increase interest rates on the loans we take out. This would in turn make it much more difficult to finance our debt.

Another concern is that countries such as China will start spending the huge reserves of U.S. dollars they currently hold. This would inject massive amounts of dollars into the U.S. economy and consequently drive down the price of the dollar. We would then face an inflation level that would put U.S. export companies at a disadvantage and drastically decrease consumer demand. People also worry that as foreign countries continue to accumulate U.S. debt, they will have more and more leverage on our policy decisions.

These looming problems are not complicated ideas that our government officials don’t understand. The truth is almost everyone in the House and the Senate is aware of the problem, but no one has the political will to do anything about it. This is because politicians fear that the long-term solutions of cutting spending and increasing taxes will lose them their constituencies.

Politicians succumbing to these pressures can still take action to get our economy on the right path. This would involve focusing the current stimulus packages on programs and investments that actually grow our economy. That seems simple enough but apparently this notion gets lost somewhere in the process. It is amazing to me that after $14 trillion down the hole we still have a deteriorating infrastructure, a manufacturing sector in decline, a declining education system and a widening gap between the rich and the poor.

But more effective government investments is only the start. At some point we will have to increase taxes and start cutting Social Security and health care costs that are set to explode in the next few decades. Every year we wait, the harder the effect of balancing measures will be on Americans. For this reason I hope we find the courage to balance our budget sooner rather than later.

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Editorial Opinion

Editorial

The University ramped up its efforts to strengthen town-gown relations with its recent purchase of the Campus Theatre. Already this year the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Bucknell University opened downtown, and the University acquired both the post office and the DeWitt building. With these additions in mind, we believe that the University is making positive strides toward a stronger partnership with Lewisburg, but that it should also be wary of its actions becoming too imperial.

Integrating the campus with Lewisburg of course has its benefits. Purchasing the downtown buildings allows the University to help renovate and preserve several historic structures. In addition, the University’s plans to move several offices into the purchased buildings will increase student traffic downtown. With more visitors in the area, local businesses could see higher sales and revenues. Further integration could also change the very nature of downtown Lewisburg in terms of selection of goods and services and operating hours, making it more marketable to current and prospective students as well as townspeople.

The strengthened partnership could also foster mutual respect and understanding between University students and Lewisburg citizens. Having more students and townspeople interact could help erase the invisible barrier that separates the campus and the town.

In the case of the Campus Theatre, the University is assuming financial control over the building, increasing its involvement with Campus Theatre Organization Ltd. from assistance to ownership. While the purchase will now qualify the organization for state economic development grants, we are also concerned that ownership will place the Campus Theatre at the mercy of the University’s will. The Campus Theatre organization is supposed to maintain control over programming and film scheduling, but the potential for financial constraints to morph into other programming restraints still exists.

Likewise, the University’s potential ability to exercise control over the town is troubling. If the University continues to procure much of the downtown area for its use, Lewisburg could become a college town in its own right rather than a town that contains the University. While a college-town atmosphere may bolster the University’s marketability, it also further threatens the quaint, small-town way of life in Lewisburg.

In addition, while some will benefit from increased business, others have been and will be forced out by corporate entities like the Barnes & Noble bookstore. While we are in favor of greater integration, we believe it can be accomplished without conquest. The University should not wield control without giving due consideration to the greater Lewisburg community as well as the future of the University and its students.

The degree of integration is also a point of contention. For many, the downtown area serves as an escape from the stress of campus. Extending the campus’ reach to town will expose students to life outside the “bubble,” but it will also mark a fundamental change in the campus culture. There is a limit to how integrated the town and the University should be, and we believe that the limit will soon be reached.

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Opinion

‘Healthy’ teamwork needed for reform

By Pranav Sehgal

Contributing Writer

Republicans are seeking to dismantle the current health care reforms, criticizing its “socialized” principles. But is “socialized” medicine such a bad thing?

The recent midterm elections have seen an unprecedented number of Republicans retake positions in Congress, with a Republican majority in the House and a greater presence of Republicans in the Senate. GOP leaders such as John Boehner (R-OH) are seeking to stop the current health care reforms from coming to fruition. Republicans spent $200 million on health care ads in congressional swing states during the vote on health care reform.

Republican hostility to “socialized” health care stems from the greater role of government that would result from this health care bill. If this bill were to take root, it would not only threaten the influence of private corporations but also of Republicans, who are often supported by corporate interests.

Although many modern countries such as Canada, England and Germany have adopted “socialized” medicine, the United States has yet to do so. Throughout American history, presidents and politicians have attempted to adopt socialized medicine but have always been attacked for trying to advance a socialist agenda in government or conspiring to force a totalitarian takeover.

It seems as though people equate socialized medicine with radical principles and ideas, even though the most moderate and liberal countries in Europe and Asia have adopted this form of health care. While the Affordable Care Act  is not a government takeover of the health care system, it does allow health care to be affordable to most Americans and expands benefits to the poor. This is far from fascism or socialism.

Many people that argue against the merits of “socialized medicine” may not know the great deal of benefits that socialized medicine entails. Their opinions and beliefs are influenced not only by the media but also by politicians who reflect the beliefs of corporations they serve. A 2005 Harvard study revealed that the number-one cause of bankruptcy in America was medical bills.

It may surprise you that the United States ranks 33rd in infant mortality and that we rank 21st and 20th for life expectancy of men and women respectively, while countries like Germany, a user of the multi-payer universal health care system similar to the one President Obama supported, rank much higher than us. The United States is one of the only industrialized nations that does not guarantee full access to health care as a right of citizenship, and while we may have the best trained health care providers and the best medical infrastructure, we still rank poorly compared to other industrialized nations.

The proponents and opponents of a “socialized” health care system have valid reasons to advocate for and against it. Although no solution is perfect, the government must do something to stop health care companies from charging exorbitant rates to their customers. The number of uninsured U.S. residents has grown to over 46 million and health care has become increasingly unaffordable for small businesses.

At the same time, many argue there is not a single government agency that runs efficiently, that such a program would lead to higher taxes and that the health care system will fall prey to corruption, which is already prevalent in other areas of government.

Choosing one side is extremely difficult and that is exactly why the issue is so controversial. If the government is to establish a successful health care system, it must compromise on issues with corporations and corporations must be willing to do the same. It is this healthy relationship between industry and government that will establish a health care system that is just and equitable.

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Arts & Life

Professor Tillman earns research award

By Christina Oddo

Writer

Eric Tillman, associate professor of chemistry, is a passionate teacher, collaborator and researcher of polymers here at the University.

Tillman grew up in Southern California and attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo as an undergraduate. He then attended the University of Southern California and received his Ph.D. in chemistry. At the time he received his Ph.D., Tillman was specializing in organic and polymer chemistry. He worked on polymer-sensing devices as a postdoctoral scholar at California Institute of Technology.

“When looking for academic positions, I focused on universities that emphasized both teaching and scholarship equally,” Tillman said. “It was important that I be able to teach advanced courses in my areas of interest (mechanistic organic and polymer synthesis), as well as carry out meaningful research involving undergraduates.” The University provided exactly the type of community Tillman was looking for.

Tillman’s main area of teaching is organic chemistry but he also teaches advanced courses in organic chemistry and polymer synthesis.

Tillman currently works with two masters students and seven undergraduates in his research lab. Their research involves the synthesis of cyclic polymers, reactions of polymer radicals and stereocontrol over the polymerization reactions.

Recently, Tillman’s research group had two papers accepted for publication. Overall, Tillman’s group has published 17 peer-reviewed papers since he arrived at the University in 2002 in journals such as Polymer, Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics and the Journal of Polymer Science.

This October, Tillman presented his work at a Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Symposium in New York as a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. This spring, Tillman will be presenting his research on cyclic polymers at a National American Chemical Society meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

“A major direction of our future research is towards carrying out polymer reactions with minimal metal content, or ‘green’ methods,” Tillman said. “For this, we use environmentally friendly reducing agents like glucose or ascorbic acid in place of elemental copper as reducing agents.”

Besides his immense passion for the sciences, Tillman enjoys competing in triathlons. He likes to listen to Bob Dylan and play the guitar. He also loves to play softball and spend time with his kids.

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Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner: Butterscotch Brownies

By Emily Fry

Staff Writer

Butterscotch Brownies

If you’re looking for a nice break from studying, try these bars.  This recipe is super easy and only takes an hour from start to finish.  Even if you’ll never master calculus, anyone can master this recipe.  Happy baking!

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp. butter

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium size saucepan, then remove from heat.

2. Add brown sugar and vanilla to the saucepan. Stir to combine.

3. Mix in eggs.

4. In separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Add the flour mixture to the saucepan and mix just until blended. Batter will be thicker than traditional brownie batter.

6. Place batter in a 13×9 greased pan and bake in 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes.

Source: Sandy Fry

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Arts & Life Review Television

Off the tube: House

By Katie Monigan

Arts & Life Editor

This season of House is decidedly different from the last, and it’s a refreshing change.

Last season, House struggled with addiction issues, and the people around him were especially timid, even after he returned to work.

This season, he’s mostly back to his old, grumpy self, minus the Vicodin.  What makes things much more interesting is that House’s circumstances have changed yet again. He is finally sleeping with Cuddy (after season upon season of sexual tension) even though she now has a toddler. His addiction drama is gone, and it’s back to the usual medical oddities.

In the most recent episode, Cuddy asks House to help care for her daughter and has him babysit one evening. He orders Chinese food, and when he and Wilson argue outside for a minute or two, they come back inside to find her eating the change. In another medical case, a woman with two types of cancer passes it on to her newborn, but House is constantly concerned with whether or not his neglect will kill Cuddy’s daughter.

Earlier this season, Thirteen left work, claiming to be entering a clinical trial for Huntington’s disease. She never actually went, and the team has no idea where she actually is. House decides to replace her with a new female doctor but so far, none has been accepted.

The two main sources of conflict this season, House’s relationship with Cuddy and the disappearance of Thirteen, are much more entertaining than those of the past. The medical mysteries are as interesting as ever, and the writing is still clever. Despite the negative changes last season, the new season has a tone reminiscent of very early episodes of House, and considering its former success, this current season is sure to be successful as well.

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Arts & Life Headline

Fall Dance Showcase to open tomorrow

By Katie Monigan

Arts & Life Editor

This year’s fall dance showcase is larger and more professional than ever—evidence of the growth of the dance program as a whole.

The showcase will use the same framework as in the past, but this semester will feature more than 60 dancers, 20 dances, two acts and at least a dozen genres of dance.

A big change this year comes from the choreographers’ dedication to professionalism. According to co-student director Leigh Bryant ’11, each of the student choreographers had to submit a proposal detailing the number of dancers they would need, the genre, staging and whatever other accommodations they would need before beginning casting. In addition, the choreographers attended rehearsals to ensure their pieces were on track.

“It brings a higher standard to the show, which creates higher confidence in our work,” Bryant said.

In addition to their growth in professionalism, the program seems to have grown in sheer numbers as well. Lindsay Machen ’11, who has danced for all four years of her University career, was appointed rehearsal director for an additional large piece that accommodated extra dancers with the desire to perform. The dance is called “Smoke Rings,” and Machen performed in this piece as a first-year. It involves 13 dancers, making it one of the largest pieces in the showcase. The piece features robotic movements that are not physically difficult to master but are amusing to watch.

The showcase consists of dances from a variety of sources. Several are simply cast early in the semester and rehearsed for an hour or two a week, like ballet and jazz numbers. Others are classified as “residencies,” choreographed by guest artists and learned and staged from start to finish in one weekend. Rosie Dimal ’14 recently experienced her first residency and was shocked by the number of hours required.

“It was a lot more dancing than I was used to doing in high school,” Dimal said. “We were dancing for about four hours Friday, eight hours Saturday and six on Sunday.”

The residency focused on a piece choreographed by alumna Yabei Chen ’09.  Abbie Dearman ’10 also returned to choreograph.

In addition to regularly cast and rehearsed pieces and the residencies,  University groups like the Irish Step dancers and Jelani will also perform.

“The groups get to showcase their talent, even though some don’t have an independent show in the fall. This way the audience gets to know who they are, and they don’t have to coordinate or spend money on having their own show,” co-student director Abbey Mason ’11 said.

The showcase is a big time commitment for all dancers involved, but it brings the department together as a cohesive group.

“Over the years, you see this community grow, and you understand the work,” Bryant said. “When you watch someone perform, it’s rewarding to see, because you know how much work they put in.”

The Fall Dance Showcase is tomorrow only at 2 and 8 p.m. in Harvey Powers Theatre in Coleman Hall. Tickets are $4 cash at the door.

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News

Blackboard battles cheating, plagiarism

By Courtney Bottazzi

Writer

Blackboard tools help faculty and staff monitor plagiarism by digitally checking students’ submitted work.

The University student handbook defines plagiarism as “the act of using other people’s ideas or expressions in…writing without acknowledging the source.”

“Another form of cheating would involve submitting another student’s essay, lab report, etc., as if it were the student’s own, original work,” said Leslie Harris, instructional technologist and systems support specialist. By submitting work that has been plagiarized, there is a much greater chance this injustice will be recognized, he said.

The two tools on Blackboard most commonly used by University faculty are “Direct Submit” and “SafeAssign.”

“As part of our Blackboard license, we have access to a product called SafeAssign that is integrated into Blackboard. If a faculty member suspects that a student’s essay, lab report, etc., involves copying, professors can ‘Direct Submit’ the student work to SafeAssign,” Harris said. “Another method faculty members can use is to create a ‘SafeAssignment’ in a course. With a SafeAssignment, the student submits the written work via Blackboard, and the student’s submission is automatically checked for originality after it is submitted to the server,” he said.

The system checks students’ writing against a local database of work recently submitted by University students as well as against a global database of work published on the Web and in scholarly journals, Harris said. It also compares the assignments with assignments submitted by students at other schools that use SafeAssign.

“When a student assignment is submitted to SafeAssign either directly or via a SafeAssignment, the student writing is checked against a local database of work that has been previously submitted by Bucknell students, and also against a global database of work that has been published on the Web, in scholarly journals and by students at other schools around the world that use SafeAssign,” Harris said.

A plagiarized assignment can be compared to anything Blackboard can find virtually. After finding a match between a recycled and original piece of work, professors are able to begin a comparison of the two.

“The SafeAssign server issues an ‘originality report’ to the professor that indicates how much of the submitted work appears to be copied from pre-existing sources,” Harris said. High matching scores indicate that the student likely plagiarized or copied from another student or source. The report also flags the copied text and includes a side-by-side comparison of the two writings for faculty members.

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Featured News

University prepares for inaugural celebration

By Meghan Finlayson

Staff Writer

President Bravman will officially be inaugurated as University president on Sunday. The inauguration ceremony will take place in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts from 2-3 p.m. followed by a reception.

The entire University community is invited to the ceremony, though seating will be first-come, first-served, according to the University website. Overflow seating will be available in Trout Auditorium, and there will also be a live webcasting of the event.

Preparations have involved “months of work involving a committee appointed by the president, and an academic subcommittee appointed by the president, with the help and cooperation of many other people across campus,” said Judy Mickanis, executive director of events management and chair of the inauguration planning committee.

Events leading up to the inauguration began Wednesday. Bravman selected the events to emphasize the strengths of this liberal arts university.

“Each president charges the inauguration committee with his own goals,” Mickanis said. “President Bravman specifically wants to celebrate the academic values of the University and the talents of our faculty and students.”

This past Wednesday and Thursday, faculty members hosted “Snap Talks” on pedagogy and scholarship in the forum of the Elaine Langone Center. The talks covered a range of topics, from teaching, innovations in engineering, women storytellers in Nepal and obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Today at noon the Teaching and Learning Center will sponsor a panel discussion on the role of liberal arts in higher education in the East Reading Room in Bertrand Library.

The inauguration festivities also highlight the University’s involvement in the arts.

Bucknell’s Symphonic Band will perform a Gala Inauguration Concert in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts tonight at 8 p.m. The concert will include performances by retired professor Jackson Hill with narration from students and President Bravman.

University faculty, staff and students will perform “Amuse-Bouches: Enjoy A Taste of Theatre and Dance” tonight from 9-10 p.m. in the Harvey M. Powers Theater.

University students have also prepared an art display in the Weis Center lobby, and a Student-Faculty Scholarship and Research Poster Session will be held tomorrow from 2-4 p.m. in the Elaine Langone Center.

Visitors from outside the campus community will also partake in inauguration weekend. The Shanghai Quartet with Wu Man will perform in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts tomorrow at 8 p.m. as part of the weekend celebration.

Members of the campus community are excited for Bravman’s inauguration.

“I think all the events this week leading up to the inauguration are important in formally welcoming President Bravman to Bucknell,” Kate Monahan ’13 said.

The events will conclude on Sunday with the formal inauguration at 2 p.m. The ceremony will feature an inaugural poem, a video presentation and the inauguration address from President Bravman, followed by the Community Welcome Reception in Gerhard Fieldhouse.

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News

5k walk fundraises for Bucknell Brigade

By Olivia Seecof

Writer

Members of both the campus community and the greater Lewisburg area participated in a 5K (3.1 mile) race last Sunday with one goal: to make it Managua, Nicaragua.

The Bucknell Brigade sponsored the race to raise funds to support the free health clinic the group established in the community of Nueva Vida, Nicaragua.

Event coordinators Danielle Alaimo ’12, Carolyn Breden ’12, Devin Geary ’12 and Katie McAvoy ’13 decided the fundraiser needed an attractive theme to unite all involved communities. They decided to have the greater Lewisburg and Bucknell communities literally run or walk the distance to Managua, according to Alaimo and Breden.

The exact distance between Lewisburg, Pa. and Managua, Nicaragua is 2073.9 miles, which amounts to 669 people running or walking a 5K.

Participants could either attend the race or pledge to run a 5K on their own time in the gym or at home. Combining at-home and day-of participants, over 200 participated in the race, amounting to one-third of the distance to Managua.

The event raised over $2400, which will go directly towards the Bucknell Brigade’s work in Managua—specifically the free health clinic.

“To have so many people from both the Bucknell and greater Lewisburg communities come together to support the health clinic that benefits so many of our friends in Managua, Nicaragua was a very inspiring sight,” Breden said.

Alaimo said that the race was a success.

“We are so thankful that this event was successful in both raising awareness and funds to support the Bucknell Brigade’s mission in Nicaragua,” she said.

Though the formal race is complete, interested campus and community members can participate by completing a 5K by Nov. 14.