The Bucknellian

Gigi Flynn

Writer

The University has received a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to build a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) summer program.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences George Shields has had success with this program at Hamilton College and Armstrong Atlantic State University.

For the next five years, 20 students, all potential science majors, will do research at the University for five weeks the summer before their first year. These select students will also have the opportunity to do research at the University one other summer, for 10 weeks, after their first year. The students will be paid $350 a week.

The program will also help expose new science majors to University students already participating in research on campus.

“We want to build a connection between incoming students and upperclassman,” Shields said.

The STEM program will increase the number of mathematics, science, and engineering majors at the University. It will also increase the diversity in these fields of study by providing opportunities to first generation college students, low-income students, and female students, all nationally underrepresented in the sciences, Shields said.

Elizabeth Morgan

Opinions Layout Editor

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman said that technology is inevitably impacting the way in which we live our lives.

At the University’s “tech/no” speaker series on Oct. 1, Gaiman–a novelist, graphic novel author, and screenwriter–said that there is still a future for books in our ever-evolving world.

“In most ways, the individual book is superior than a Kindle or iPad. There is one caveat: the Kindle of iPad is superior to a library,” Gaiman said.

The current Bucknell Forum series embraces the perils and promises of technology. The series, which began in the fall of 2012 and will run through the spring of 2014, aims to stir discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in our world today.

Margot Vigeant, professor of chemical engineering and associate dean of engineering, is part of the task force of faculty members that sponsor the forum speakers. She introduced Gaiman as “one of the most creative storytellers” and someone who “provides us with gateways beyond the world we know.”

Gaiman began his exploration of technology in 1997 by speaking with Douglas Adams, author of the comic science fiction series, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Douglas not only published his book in standard paperback format, but also made an eBook available. Like Gaiman, Douglas wondered if this meant the end of books was in the near future.

In certain cities, such as New York City, books may be dead, but this is because of the sampling group. Since many of these people have a long commute to work, it is easier for them to carry a Kindle or an iPad in their bag rather than an actual book, but this is not true in all parts of the world, Gaiman said.

“I see the rise of books as being beautiful objects,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman started off writing on a manual typewriter, moved to an electric typewriter, and finally shifted to using a computer. When Gaiman bought his first computer, a Tandom PC with a 20MG hard drive, the salesperson told him he was an idiot.

“I feel bad selling it to you. You’ll never fill it,” the salesperson said referring to the 20MG hard drive, the largest one of the time.

Gaiman described himself as being a “very hungry” young journalist, so he was willing to take the risk. It was after Gaiman purchased this laptop that everything fell into place.

“It all started working. It was incredibly powerful and made me more productive. It was the start of a new age,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman said it was then that he fell back in love with writing. He felt completely free and was excited by the transition from typewriter to computer.

It was not long before Gaiman said he yearned to get back to the basics. He bought his first fountain pen and said he found it completely liberating to be writing on paper again. Gaiman still does his best writing with pen and paper and enjoys writing in coffee shops or in friends’ houses.

“When I’m writing on the computer and delete my work, it is painful because it is gone, but when I write in a notebook, I can simply skip over the parts that I don’t want to include,” Gaiman said. “The challenge is that technology does allow us to work better.”

Gaiman said that new technology has helped to produce a vast knowledge of information, but just in the past couple of years, this has shifted to an information overload. He said that now more than ever, a librarian is an extremely important part of society. Just as Google helps you to search out the relevant information on the internet, a librarian does the same in a library.

“Communication changes your life in some way when you can be in touch with the entire world,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman reflected back on writing his book “Good Omens” with fellow author Terry Pratchett. He said they used to mail floppy disks to one another in order to share their work. Although they tried to communicate from one hard drive to the other, Gaiman said a carrier pigeon would have been faster to use at this time.

Gaiman said that he now loves using the computer to connect both as an author and as a human being.

“We are moving into a future in which nothing is certain. Everything is changing and that is a good thing,” Gaiman said.

Gaiman concluded his speech by offering us a piece of advice. He compared mammals to dandelions and said the main difference between the two is that mammals are so concerned with their children succeeding and dandelions simply do not care. This is because mammals typically only have a few children, while dandelions have hundreds and hundreds. He encouraged us to be more like dandelions and take risks and try new things.

“Fail, fail more interestingly and then succeed in ways you didn’t imagine,” Gaiman said.

Jackson McCarron

News Editor

The University’s Alcohol Review Committee is currently conducting a research-based review of the University’s alcohol policy. Associate Dean of Students Dan Remley and his office–in cooperation with a group of students–are heading the review.

The current alcohol policy is 10 years old, Remley said.

“Its always good to do an evaluation of your policies,” Remley said.

Dean of Students Susan Lantz requested the review in an email sent to Remley during the summer, Remley said.

According to a document outlining the Alcohol Review Committee general charge, the review will provide “a forum from which the provost and the dean of students can solicit advice and recommendations, creation, and implementation of alcohol policies and students conduct practices.”

The comprehensive review will consider policies that are currently being used at comparable universities and colleges. The list of 22 universities contains schools such as Lehigh, Lafayette, Tulane, Bates, and Oberlin.

Remley’s office will also being working in congress with a number of University students. The students and Remley will read relevant literature, engage with both the University and Lewisburg communities, as well as work with a number of national organizations, Remley said.

“We are always worried about the safety of our students,” Remley said.

William M. Fierman

News Editor

A break-in at a student apartment at Bucknell West is being investigated by Public Safety.

Nicole Bakeman ’16, a resident of Mod 18, stepped out of her bathroom around 1 p.m. on Oct. 1 and found a man standing in her living room by the porch door.

“He saw me and just booked it out,” Bakeman said.

Bakeman later described the man to University Public Safety Officers as a white male in his mid-thirties, wearing a backwards baseball cap.

“We were keeping our Mod open because it is Big-Little Week,” Bakeman said, referring to the annual tradition in which upperclassmen members of sororities leave gifts for new associate members with which they are paired. She and her roommates will now lock their doors.

Nothing is missing from the apartment, roommate Alexa Healey ’16 said.

“Maybe if I wasn’t there they would have taken something,” Bakeman said.

Ethan Zubkoff

Assistant News Editor

The Library will Stay Open Longer Hours on Friday and Saturdays

The Bertrand Library will be open later on weekends due to an initiative launched by the Bucknell Student Government (BSG) that was approved this week.

Senior class representative Olivia Cohen ’14 led the project to keep the library open to students until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Before these changes, the library traditionally closed at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and they closed at 2 a.m. every other night of the week.

The change in hours will go into effect after Fall Break, Cohen said.

“Students have requested that the library stay open later to promote academics. Several faculty members have also voiced that they believe the library should be open later on the weekends for students who wish to study,” Cohen said. “Many schools have their library’s open 24 hours to promote academics, and I think this is a great step for the University.”