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Editorial Opinion

Editorial

With the University’s involvement in the development of a new app for Geisinger Health System, it seems that students and the school should be more in tune to our nutritional needs. We’re so excited about the healthier options available nearby, with a Subway on Market St. and Wendy’s and McDonald’s offering lower calories choices. We aren’t so thrilled about the dining on campus.

Over the last couple of years, Dining Services has done a fantastic job of improving the campus food experience by posting nutritional information, but we find it’s still lacking. While specialty items from The Daily Dish and other stations have the caloric count and other facts posted, the standard items’ information isn’t as readily available.

At the Mexican station and the Bison Grill, any of the standard menu items do not have the information posted in an easily accessible location. Even made-to-go items don’t always provide good nutritional information. On a recent inspection of a Dirt Pudding cup, we saw the following: Calories – 937, Fat – 53g, Sugars g. The actual number of grams of sugar was non-existent on the label. Even when the information is provided, it’s somehow still incomplete.

As for the wrap and sandwich stations, it would appear that the caloric count for your meal would be easy to calculate, but it’s not. The postings give a breakdown of information for different a la carte options based on the weight of the item on your sandwich. However, the staff rarely uses a scale to measure out turkey or other items, meaning your calorie estimation could be way off base. Even when they do weigh items, students aren’t made aware of the totals.

We, as students, need to be responsible for ourselves and the decisions we make about the food we eat. Dining Services and the University need to be responsible for providing us with the options and information to make good, informed decisions.

Last week, we printed an article about the “freshman 15” and finding a way to balance a healthy lifestyle. The University offers group fitness classes at no extra cost to students, but for some reason, the ice cream freezer in the Terrace Room is more popular than any of the classes. We need to not only be monitoring how much and what we eat, but also what physical activity we’re participating in. Between the options at the KLARC and the many different club and intramural sports teams, there’s no reason we can’t find that balance.

Let this be a wake up call to all of campus: we are responsible for the decisions we make regarding our health. We have to take action and be conscious of what we’re putting in our bodies and how we’re taking care of ourselves.

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Arts & Life

Fall Fest

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Students ride on ferris wheel at Fall Fest.

Fall Fest took place on Sojka lawn Saturday September 15 at 1 p.m. The event featured  featured Tyler Hilton, Gloriana, and Jack Ingram!  There was a photo booth, tye dying, an inflatable maze, pumpkin decorating, and some awesome food too.

“I feel like fall fest this year was a great success” Greta Savickaite ’15. “The live music and outside atmosphere definitely brought a great crowd out making the event fun and relaxing for everyone.”

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Three students join Gloriana onstage. The audience couldn’t help but dance and sing along to the popular country songs.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Rachel Reinert of Gloriana sings during Fall Fest. The band’s performance was the main act of the event and their songs were a hit.
Categories
Men Sports Water Polo

Water polo goes 1-2 at North/South

Scott Padula
Staff writer

On Sept. 15 and 16, the men’s water polo team competed in the North/South Tournament, going 1-2 on the weekend. The Bison defeated host team Harvard 11-3 before losing to No. 20 St. Francis 7-6 and No. 13 Princeton 13-9. The Orange and Blue are now 4-5 on the season.

The Bison coasted to an easy victory against the Crimson, thanks in part to a tremendous defensive effort. In the first half, the Orange and Blue scored six goals while holding Harvard scoreless. The Bison carried their momentum into the second half, outscoring the Crimson 5-3.

Matt Napleton ’13 was great in goal throughout, allowing a mere three goals with 10 saves in 32 minutes of play. Brian Barron ’13, Alex Nowlin ’14, Andrew Somers ’14 and Stefan Aleksic ’16 each found the back of the net two times. Nowlin added three assists to lead the team in points with a total of five.

In the final game of the invitational, the Orange and Blue fell to the highest-ranked east coast team Princeton 13-9. The game was competitive throughout, with the Bison leading in the first quarter 2-1 and taking a 4-4 tie into the intermission. The Tigers were too much for the Orange and Blue in the second half, particularly the third quarter, scoring five times without allowing a single Bison goal.

Mike Kimble ’14 scored a career-high five goals, while Jack Else ’14 provided a season-high five ejections. In goal, Napleton recorded 10 saves in 32 minutes of action. His effort on the weekend earned him the honor of being the CWPA’s Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week.

The Bison will now shift their focus to conference play by traveling to face Navy, George Washington and Johns Hopkins this weekend.

Categories
News

Prof. Duckworth left legacy at the University

The University lost a powerful professor and figure in music on Sept. 13 to pancreatic cancer. William Duckworth, 69, was a pioneer in both postminimalist and Internet interactive music. Duckworth wrote about 200 compositions, working to fuse influences of bluegrass, medieval music, Satie, Messian and jazz. Also an author, known for his book of composer interviews, “Talking Music,” and a study of interactive music, “Virtual Music: How the Web Got Wired for Sound,” Duckworth proved multifaceted. Duckworth was a professor of music at the University for 38 years until taking a medical leave in 2011. Many national news organizations such as NPR have aired and published tributes to Duckworth. He is survived by his third wife Nora, his children, Will, Katherine and Alison and his eternal impact on the University and the world of music.

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Arts & Life Campus Events

Molly Miller ’14 joins Dena DeRose Trio in Jazz ensemble performance

Christina Oddo

Arts & Life Editor

Students and faculty gathered in the lobby of the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 12 to experience a Dena DeRose Trio performance. Molly Miller ’14 had the opportunity to perform with the Trio at the event. This jazz ensemble performance was part of the Janet Weis Cabaret Jazz Series.

“I met Dena DeRose in her studio apartment in Long Island City almost 10 years ago,” Miller said. “After which, Dena became–and continues to be–my greatest musical inspiration. I used to listen to her albums every night while I fell asleep, and I carry the lessons that I’ve learned from her with me always.”

DeRose has performed at many legendary venues, including the Jazz Standard in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Jazz Showcase in Chicago.

“Dena DeRose was incredible!” Katie Wimmer ’15 said. “Her voice was smooth and a pleasure to listen to. Some of my favorite parts were the solos of the base and drums. But my favorite part of the performance was Molly. She has an incredible voice which rivals the main performer. After going to this concert, I am now a fan of jazz.”

For Miller, this was an unforgettable experience.

“I have never had more fun performing than I had last Wednesday night, singing with the Dena DeRose Trio,” Miller said. “Matt Wilson is one of the most enthusiastic and dynamic people I’ve ever met. I love working with Martin Wind for his sensitive touch and creative intuition. And of course, there’s Dena. I am so grateful not only for the time spent with Dena, Matt and Martin, but also for the incredible opportunity to share some of my favorite music with my friends at Bucknell. The Janet Weis Cabaret Series gave me the chance to integrate my collegiate life into my life outside of Bucknell.”

Categories
Opinion

Academic honesty should be valued

Josh Haywood
Senior Writer 

In light of the ongoing investigation into the Harvard cheating scandal, and after reading several research articles by Donald L. McCabe detailing academic dishonesty, I believe the underlying cause of cheating is failure within two different peer groups: educators, who rely on illogical assignment structure, and students, who lack an honor system. According to McCabe’s 2005 research document on academic dishonesty, 21 percent (one in five) students reported cheating on a test at least once in the past year and 36 percent (one in three) students reported paraphrasing/copying material from an internet source (for written sources it was 38 percent) without citing it at least once in the past year. Overall, In his 1997 article, McCabe found that over students’ academic careers, 82 percent reported they had engaged in at least one serious form of cheating. It could be said these numbers are the result of professor academic mismanagement in placing too much emphasis on one or two assignments instead of spreading the load out equally through the semester. It could also be inferred that cheating is the result of an absence of an honor system among students; if nobody else says it is wrong for you to cheat, then is cheating really wrong at all?

Poor course structure can create an inclination for students to cheat as a means of academic survival. In McCabe’s 1995 article, two of the primary rationales for students to cheat were “I have too many competing demands on myself, so I have to cut some corners in order to survive” or “No one would ever know, so what does it matter?” Poor course structure comes in the form of too much emphasis being placed on group projects or only grading one or two assignments that essentially determine a student’s final grade for a semester. A professor needs to take a rational approach when developing a syllabus by taking into account student behavior, and not design an agenda that indirectly promotes academic dishonesty. High-stake educational models like the ones mentioned naturally breed academic dishonesty simply because there is too much to lose. If educational professionals were to adopt a more rational educational model where work is spread out, the propensity for students to cheat would be much lower because the tasks they are asked to do are within their means.

Student culture is also a major influence on cheating. For many students, a bit of cheating here and there is not considered to be that faux pas. Look at the rise of the modern day essay mill where students can pay someone else to write a paper on any topic for them. Things like this exemplify the lack of honor within student culture and could be a product of the tech boom over the past 20 years, which has made it easier for students to merely look up the answers to their assignments. It’s simple: students place a high value on time so why would they spend more of it researching a question when the answer is readily available online? Beliefs like, “no one would ever know, so what does it matter” drive students to act against their professors’ wishes. Even when students witness others cheating, there is often a hesitation to act because the witness can think of at least one time  when they have been guilty of cheating themselves. This traps the student in a crisis of hypocrisy.

Cheating is just like nature: always in the constant state of evolution where the best methods to cheat will prosper. Educators need to combat this by taking a look at their agendas to see if it properly factors in student behavior, thus minimizing the possibility of cheating. Students need to learn to hold themselves accountable for their actions because if they get caught, they could be thrown out of school. It should always be known that the satisfaction of putting in the work and actually knowing material far outweighs that gained from cheating to get a passing grade.

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Arts & Life

Q&A with Her Campus co-presidents Liz Bacharach and Sarah Dubow

*note, the answers to the questions that do not have name labels are what both of the presidents said through email, according to Anna.

Q&A with Her Campus co-presidents Liz Bacharach and Sarah Dubow

By Anna Jones

What is Her Campus?

“Her Campus (HC) is a national online magazine written by collegiettes (college women), for collegiettes. They have about 215 university chapters. At the national level, there are a variety of college student writers that write about everything from the newest styles to landing your dream job. On the university branch level, it is basically a girl’s guide to college. Coining the term ‘collegiettes,’ HC strives to guide college women through their college years.”

What differentiates HC from other social media websites?

“HC is all about empowering women to be … the best women they can be. We have fallen in love with HC because it is honest, quirky and unbelievably in harmony with what Bucknellians (and all collegiettes, for that matter) want to know. It hits every aspect not only of what it is like to be a woman–a collegiette–, but also a collegiette at Bucknell dealing with everything from how to find a formals date to training for a marathon to landing that dream internship.

HC fiercely protects its integrity, vibrancy and originality in a world of blogs that all begin to sound the same. HC Bucknell inspires through articles of real Bucknell collegiettes making an impact on our campus, in the country and abroad. It has its finger on the pulse of Bucknell collegiette life and is a resource we want to expand for all Bucknell women to have access to. With so many divisions at Bucknell between first-years and upper classmen, greek and non-greek, varsity athletes and non-athletes, etc., HC is a way to bring everyone together while still expressing individuality.”

Why do you think University students should read HC? 

“HC is a great way to get a different take on what’s happening on campus from a woman’s perspective. From events to campus celebrities to the cutest guys (and girls!) on campus, the website serves as a source for procrastination, enlightenment and fun. We upload new content throughout the week (seven articles per week) so there is always a new article to be read, whether on the national level or Bucknell level.”

How did you get involved with HC?

Sarah: “I started reading it first semester last year and kind of fell in love with it. I went abroad last semester, but still wanted to write so I was their abroad correspondent. Then, the two girls who founded HC were graduating, so that’s how I came into the presidency position.”

Liz: “I want to focus on journalism, so I researched all the clubs at Bucknell that were involved with that. We’re not a University-supported club just yet though, so I found out through my friend who runs hers at Emory how to get involved and I figured out we have one here too.”

How can other University students get involved?

Sarah: “We switched over to an application process this summer, so we had people apply over the summer and then we have our full team–except for first-years–for the year.”

Liz: “We have a staff of about 20 writers so far, but we’re looking for first-years so we’re beginning that process in the next two weeks.”

Sarah: “But if people are interested, they can always just email us because there are always ways to get involved.”

What do you like about writing for the site?

Liz: “It’s hard not to love writing for it. It’s such a unique outlet for college girls … and it’s a very relatable source. It’s easy to connect to the readers.”

Sarah: “I think it’s also a very needed outlet, especially on our campus because sometimes I feel like the boys get more of a spotlight.”

Liz: “It’s also so much fun to write for.”

Sarah: “We have an amazing group of girls and they’re so well rounded, passionate and just amazing to work with.”

Where do you see HC going this year?  

“We are so excited to be back for our second full year on campus. Our branch is truly expanding this year with new advertising, downtown giveaways, events and more. We want to not only create an online space from the women at Bucknell, but also bring it to life from the LC to the quad, downtown to taking over fraternity row. Keep your eyes out for all the exciting things we’re doing this semester and remember to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and check us out online!”

Categories
Arts & Life Books Review

“A Visit from the Goon Squad”; irresistibly modern and sarcastic

Carolyn Williams

Writer

Jennifer Egan’s fifth book, “A Visit from the Goon Squad,” has been met with overwhelmingly popular and critical approval, earning it last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Whether or not to call this work a novel or a collection of interrelated short stories is still up for debate among critics, but regardless of how she does it, Egan’s work here is engaging from start to finish.

Set largely in New York City, but also in a few different spots (California and Italy, to name a few), Egan relates a story of time and life set to the background of the music industry. Time is the eponymous “goon squad” as it shifts back and forth fluidly throughout the work, and it’s the story’s main impetus. Egan has said in interviews that her inspiration for the story was drawn from “The Sopranos” and Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time,” a bizarre combination that, weirdly enough, an informed reader can’t help but buy.

Summarizing is definitely difficult, as the 13 chapters can be read as individual works, set over 40 or so years. Characters move in and out of the work, sometimes playing leads, and other times unassuming supporting roles. Narrative privilege shifts, as does the style of writing. This is not a minimal change–we’re talking about first to second-person switches, a chapter communicated via PowerPoint slides and text-speak as a legitimate form of literature, perhaps suggesting this format as the new doublespeak (this particular chapter is set in an Orwellian New York future, after all).

We begin with the 30-something kleptomaniac Sasha who goes on a date with Alex. Alex later works for Bennie, who conveniently was  Sasha’s former boss. Bennie himself was a shoddy bassist before getting into the music business and used to be married to Stephanie who works in PR. The connections go on and on. These are evolving and living characters, told sympathetically, but not to the point of sweetness; they’re trying, and sometimes failing, but that’s pretty typical, and Egan lets us choose whether or not they deserve the blame for their often laughably unexpected situations.

Egan’s greatest strength in “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is her ability to inject her delightfully barbed humor into her description and dialogue without seeming to try too hard. It’s sarcastic and modern, and, though it perhaps gets a little derailed towards the end, it keeps those pages irresistibly turning.

Categories
News

Ceremony for Academic West focuses on progress

Paige Bailey
Writer

On Sept. 13, the University hosted a topping out ceremony for Academic West that focused on the school’s tradition of dedication to progress. President John Bravman highlighted this tradition of progress through a brief history of the University. He reminded the audience that years ago, a group of people decided to “build something special,” and that Academic West is just the newest addition to this rich legacy of achievement.

This was the first “topping out” ceremony in University history, and it commemorated the last beam that was placed in the new structure. Bravman first invited members of Bucknell Student Government (BSG) to sign the orange steel beam. He then encouraged the rest of the audience to share in the University history through signing the beam. Members of the faculty, staff, students and trustees eagerly signed the beam before it was placed at the top of Academic West.

“I think the new academic building signifies the commitment Bucknell is making to its students and faculty. Not being here to enjoy the building is a little sad, but seeing the direction the University is going is encouraging,” BSG President Dotun Odewale ’13 said.

“Working with the University was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” architect Alex Wing said. He also admired that the University was rooted in a precedent that is looking forward. Wing commended this commitment to both tradition and progress, in terms of architectural design features and the broader philosophical aims of the University.

Board of Trustees representative Ellen Bush ’79 also commented on how Academic West fits into the rich tradition and legacy of the University.

“This is not just a structure … this is a statement,” Bush said.

Bush believes the building is linked to the core mission of the University: to provide the best undergraduate experience in the nation. She said she was proud of the new project as both a trustee and alumna.

“The University is about people. But you can’t bring great people together to do great things unless you also have great places for them to work and build together. This is what we’re doing today. It is the legacy of the next, best version of Bucknell,” Bravman said.

Academic West is one building within the nexus of the new quad. It will be home to the social sciences, including the economics, environmental studies, geography, international relations, Latin American studies, political science, sociology and anthropology departments. The building will have an auditorium and hearth spaces for students overlooking the Susquehanna. It will be opened and dedicated in the fall of 2013.

Categories
Arts & Life Study Abroad

Coasteering in Cymru

Courtesy of Rochelle Volmerding ’13

Rochelle Volmerding
Contributing Writer

I spent the fall of 2011 studying abroad at University College London in London, the United Kingdom, as a part of Arcadia University’s College of Global Studies program. Abby (a fellow UCL student from Brandeis University) and I decided to travel to Cymru, or Wales, as it is most commonly known here.

We took a train from London to Haverfordwest (Welsh: Hwlffordd), which is in a southern Welsh county called Pembrokeshire, home to the UK’s only coastal national park. After thankfully not getting run over by Welsh people in cars driving through roundabouts, we caught a bus from Haverfordwest to St David’s (Tyddewi). It actually is the smallest official city in the UK, and is the site of the final resting place of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales.

Courtesy of Rochelle Volmerding ’13

The next day, we decided to go on an early morning hike along the coastal path. The coastline was breathtaking. Since we were in a national park, it was virtually untouched, dotted only by the occasional Welsh farmhouse. There was something magical in this place, and I can’t exactly place it. I’m not sure if it was from the windy cliffs with the soft, lush green grass, the wind-eroded rocks scattered along the land or the wild Welsh ponies that were literally right in front of us.

After lunch, we went coasteering, which is a combination of rock climbing, swimming, diving and pure adrenaline. It was pioneered right here in Wales over 25 years ago.

I have a fear of heights, but I felt safe going with our trained coasteering guide, Jon, who knew the safe places to dive into the water, as well as where we would not be disturbing the wildlife. After climbing down the rocks near the water, our first task was to jump down nearly three meters into the cool Atlantic. I gingerly gathered my courage and jumped. The feeling of the water rushing around me was refreshing and exhilarating. Jon told us the first jump was always the hardest. We then jumped and swam into a little inlet Jon called “the Toilet,” where the little channel caused the water to rise and fall by about five meters, making me feel as though we were in a whirlpool. Being (safely!) at the mercy of the waves was quite an unusual experience, but it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.

What I found the most fascinating about coasteering was how up close and personal I could to get with a marine ecosystem. We used the kelp that was attached to the rock walls to pull ourselves up onto the dry rocks, and it was amazing to see how strongly the kelp was attached. We used the barnacles on the dry rocks as grips to prevent ourselves from falling into the surf. We also swam inside of a cave, where the waves carved out a cathedral of rock from the inside.

Before we took the train back to London, we explored St Davids a little more, and went to the church service at the local cathedral. It was nice to visit the church and experience it for the purpose it was built for: worship. Interestingly, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is actually a member of the congregation there.

After having proper English (or I guess Welsh) tea and Welsh Cakes (which were sweet pancake-shaped biscuits), we caught the bus back to the train station for a long ride back to London.