The Bucknellian

By Rob Duffy

Managing Editor

Students, faculty and administrators from six colleges and universities and various government and environmental organizations gathered to discuss the state of the river in the fifth annual Susquehanna River Symposium last weekend.

The first day of the symposium was devoted to celebrating the river, the second day focusing on environmental issues facing the river.

“If we are not knowledgeable about where we come from, it will become very difficult to find our way home,” said Sid Jamieson of the Haudenosaunee Nation in the symposium’s opening. Jamieson said those who live near the river owe their lives to it. He expressed hope that the symposium would contribute to knowledge about it.

Friday’s events included presentations about the river’s significance and efforts to bring people closer to the river.

Mike Reynolds, Northeast Deputy Regional Director of the National Park Service (NPS), discussed NPS efforts to re-connect people to the outdoors through initiatives such as the Captain John Smith Trail project, which is working to establish a system of recreational areas and trails along the river.

“Your grandchildren will not necessarily remember AIG and Goldman Sachs, but they will know about the river,” Reynolds said.

Professors and students from the University have attempted to demonstrate through research the historical significance of the northern part of the river in the hope of persuading the NPS to create a northward connector trail.

Among the topics for presentations on the second day were fish die-offs, flow management, the lasting impact of logging, water quality, abandoned mine damage remediation and implications of Marcellus Shale drilling.

The keynote speaker, John Arway, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, discussed the ramifications of the river’s collapsing smallmouth bass population. He said investigations into the causes of the die-offs have revealed high concentrations of inorganic phosphorous, dissolved oxygen levels below EPA thresholds and increasing water temperatures.

“I conclude we have a sick or impaired river,” he said. “It isn’t good.”

Jennifer Hoffman of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission debuted the first-ever State of the Susquehanna Report. The report and its corresponding website aim to make scientific research about the river more easily “relatable” to the public, according to Hoffman.

Hoffman said this first report “establishes a baseline to work off of and to be able to make assessments in the future.”

The river’s health is crucial to the health of the Chesapeake Bay, of which it is a major source. “The reality is the Susquehanna is the Chesapeake, and the Chesapeake is the Susquehanna,” said David O’Neil of the Chesapeake Conservancy.

At the same time, attendees said that the river is vitally important to the people living along it.

“We have 60 towns located on the Susquehanna River,” said Skip Weider, executive director of the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies. “All of our futures depend on that river.”

Students from the participating universities displayed posters about 50 recent research projects involving the river.

By Meghan Finlayson

Writer

The recent rash of sexual assault and violence cases on campus has motivated many members of the University community to take action. “Take Back the Night” (A March for a Better Bucknell) and the Movement4Manner are among the responses.

More than 400 students, faculty, staff and community members marched in Take Back the Night, a walk to raise awareness about violence on campus last Saturday. The walk began on the Smith Quad and concluded with food and refreshments on the Academic Quad.

Take Back the Night was sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, Bucknell Student Government (BSG) and students from V-Day Bucknell.

The event received support from the Events Office, Facilities, Dining Services, Performance Services, Bucknell Public Safety and the Lewisburg Police Department.

“Students worked very hard to encourage participation in the march and helped create an event to unite the Bucknell community around these important issues,” said Tracy Shaynak, sexual assault survivor advocate response coordinator.

Some students believed the large turnout was a positive step in the battle to end violence on campus.

“The walk around downtown was beautiful, and something that I will never forget. It was one of those nights that made me proud to be a Bucknellian,” Michael Davis ’13 said.

Take Back the Night is a foundation that takes a stand against sexual violence, and Take Back the Night rallies began in Philadelphia in 1975, according to the foundation’s website.

“The idea behind having a Take Back the Night march at Bucknell is one of taking a stand against injustice. The fact is that at colleges across the U.S., female students face a much higher rate of sexually motivated violence than men, and even women outside of college,” Alexandre Apfel ’12 said. “Given the recent upswing in campus violence in general, having the march helps to build awareness and show a physical presence here on campus that wants the violence to stop.”

The walk was part of a continuing effort to unite the University community and demonstrate that many students, faculty and staff are dedicated to supporting a safe and respectful campus environment, Shaynak said.

“We encourage students to consider becoming a peer educator, to join a student organization directly involved in addressing these issues and to be willing to talk about these issues with their friends and on their residence hall floors,” she said.

Davis, a resident assistant on campus, created the Facebook group entitled “Movement4Manner” to promote respect for community members.

Though Movement4Manner is not directly involved in Take Back the Night, it also joins the fight against sexual violence and disrespect.

“M4M started after myself, my fellow McDonnell RAs and our Assistant Director Rachael Gebely were in a meeting discussing some of the violent events that have taken place on campus.  For weeks, I had heard various stories of fights, attacks and sexual assaults taking place, and had considered doing something about,” Davis said.

Davis called M4M an “active petition.” The group stands for a safe campus, both physically and emotionally.

“These things are very basic, but there is a small number of students who seem to have forgotten some of these things,” Davis said.

Apfel, another member of M4M said that the point of the movement is to generate conversation.

“The more people think and talk about it, the more likely it is they’ll think about how they’re acting,” said Apfel, another member of M4M.

Davis believes that M4M has the potential to grow over time.

“I’m really looking for other students who are also concerned about what’s been happening on our campus to help define what the future will be. This movement is not mine, it’s Bucknell’s. What happens with it is largely dependent upon what we, the students, want to do with it,” Davis said.

INFO BOX

Initiatives to combat sexual assault and violence

SATF—Provost Mick Smyer announced that the final report of the Sexual Assault Task Force (SATF) is now available on Blackboard in an e-mail dated Oct. 25. The group was formed in the fall of 2006 to review policies and adjudication, support services and education and prevention related to sexual assault on campus.

Campus Climate Task Force—President John Bravman announced the formation of a Campus Climate Task Force in an e-mail dated Oct. 20. Chaired by George Shields, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Beth Capaldi Evans, associate professor of biology, the group will evaluate the campus climate, including how students view and act upon their responsibilities to the University and to each other.

IFC Declaration—The InterFraternity Council issued a “Declaration Denouncing Sexual Assault” calling for a “zero tolerance” policy.

By Allie Mongan and Courtney Flagg

Writer and News Editor

Both students involved in an alleged sexual assault case on campus were found responsible for disorderly conduct but acquitted of all other charges by the University Hearing Board on Sexual Misconduct (HBSM) on Oct. 7.

The incident, reported earlier this fall, allegedly occurred Sept. 5 after 2 a.m., according to an HBSM summary released in an Oct. 8 e-mail from Kari Conrad, associate dean of students.

A 19-year-old female University student reported being sexually and physically assaulted by Reed Dempsey ’13, according to The Daily Item. Dempsey is a former member of The Bucknellian advertisement staff.

Dempsey was accused of taking the woman out of her bed by force, according to The Daily Item’s report. The woman sustained injuries to her face, right breast, thighs and wrists. The injuries were treated at Evangelical Hospital.

After the female student filed claims of sexual misconduct, disorderly conduct and harassment, the male filed claims of sexual misconduct, disorderly conduct, false accusations, physical assault and harassment, according to the HBSM summary. Dempsey had been suspended from class since the date of the incident, but attended classes via webcam. He and the female student involved received letters of censure and were placed in different residence halls. Reed’s suspension was removed.
The hearing with the University’s HBSM began Oct. 5. The woman attempted to postpone the hearing until after Nov. 4, when the preliminary hearing before District Judge Leo Armbruster for Dempsey will begin, according to The Daily Item. The hearing took place as scheduled.

The University HBSM consists of administrators, faculty and students, and board members for each case are chosen at random.
Hearings before the HBSM are held within 20 days of the filing date. The Code of Conduct states that both students are to be at the hearing, but the students do not have to address each other directly. After hearing both sides of the argument and all of the evidence, the board deliberates and decides on a verdict.

The Union County District Attorney D. Peter Johnson said that the testimonies and evidence brought out during the hearing could circumvent the procedure for sharing facts in the criminal case and give the accused an advantage, according to The Daily Item. U.S. Middle District Judge Yvette Kane denied the request to postpone the hearing because she believed the University’s procedures offer sufficient protection. It was ruled that Title IX, which holds schools accountable for discrimination based on gender, was not violated and the University has to move forward separate from the criminal case.

The female student also requested that the University let her submit written statements for her testimony at the HBSM on the eve of the testimony but was denied.

“In any alleged incident of student misconduct, the students referenced in the allegations are informed of their rights, the time for a hearing, and their responsibility to prepare for that hearing. They are re-informed at the time the hearing board is constituted of the date and time of the hearing,” said Wayne Bromfield, the University’s general counsel. “These practices are consistent with model practices at other universities and the requirement of the federal government’s Title IX regulations. In a recent case, an attorney for one of the students involved in the incident challenged the University’s procedures and the timing of the hearing in a federal district court. The Chief Judge of that court, Yvette Kane, found that challenge meritless and dismissed their request,” he said.

According to a press release issued Oct. 7 by Dempsey’s attorneys, Dempsey was acquitted of all sexual and assault charges leveled at him by the female accuser. The Board received testimony from both police and student witnesses.

The preliminary hearing will proceed Nov. 4, according to The Daily Item.

Conrad and Bromfield could not comment due to privacy laws surrounding the issue.

Dempsey declined to comment.