The Bucknellian

Josh Haywood
Writer

Texting after a party is the most popular form of communication for students seeking to spend time with a person post party. You know the situation: a guy and a girl meet in a sweaty dark basement that should have been condemned years ago, and with the help of a little liquid courage, they hit it off. This is where it gets confusing because neither person knows what to do next. We are all guilty of this practice from time to time because sometimes men and women just don’t see eye to eye. There are a couple of things that should be said as to alleviate some of the confusion.

One thing is certain and that is acknowledgement is the best policy; don’t pull a Bill Clinton and be like, “who the hell is Monica?” Own up to what happened. At least own up to yourself depending on what the person’s “StalkerNet” photo looks like.

Most importantly, do not go around telling a story to your friends that you made up on your way to detox in the sauna. Genuine stories are the best stories and it is bad karma in general to lie about something that never happened. Lying is often a double-edged sword because, while it might make you sound good for the moment, you always run the risk of it backfiring when the other person hears what you said. If you do happen to see each other, at least acknowledge the fact that you know what happened. Time and time again you will encounter someone that has a case of “weekday amnesia.”

There are certain rules you must follow if you are going to text someone you met at a party. Timing is key in this situation because once someone gives you their number, you don’t want to give off creep vibes by texting them for breakfast the next morning. Wait a minimum of 24 hours after the number exchange to hit them up.

Only text on a date where there is the possibility that you two can meet up later that night. If the person says they are just “hanging out,” “chilling” or anything that is not inviting a response, it means they do not want to see you that night, let alone even ever again. Also pay attention to the frequency of texts. No guy wants to get eight texts before noon from a chick that they spent the night on a couch with. Men and women have different ideas about what a text means, but if you follow these simple rules, you will be fine.

Hopefully this alleviates some of the confusion that happens when it comes to communicating after you meet someone on the weekend and you do not know what to do next. Just be yourself and don’t take it personally if someone does not want to talk to you because you can always go out and find someone else. If anything, use it as a lesson and try to improve yourself so that next time you will not have the same results.

Caroline Schaeffer
Contributing Writer

When the idea of going to college stops being just a dream in the distance and suddenly becomes a reality, you’ll hear the same thing from a lot of different people. You’ll hear about how much fun you’re going to have, all the people you’re going to meet and, most importantly, how much better it is than high school. Sure, some of the differences are obvious; in college you have more freedom, less class time and, unfortunately, more homework, but there are many more changes than those.

Though I am still new to the whole college experience, I have already noticed some drastically different qualities of my life away at college than my life at home. For me, the biggest adjustment to college is definitely the fact that this is the first time in my life that I am left utterly alone. No friends or family to lean on for support.

Every time I made a big life change prior to heading off to college, I always had a support system standing right behind me. When I first left my parents for a week to go to sleepaway camp, I had friends on either side of me to keep me company and I knew that I would see my parents seven days later. When I left middle school and started my first year of high school, almost all of my friends came with me, and my mom and dad were home every night to help me through any difficulties I might be having. Through everything I had experienced up until August of this year, I had a huge support network at my fingertips at all times, and to suddenly lose that is a bit of a rude awakening.

Though college is by no means a sinister place full of people looking to drag you down, when you first realize your parents aren’t picking you up anytime soon, it can be a hard concept to grasp. Sure, they are only a phone call away, but they can no longer help you out as much as they used to. Have a problem with a teacher you just can’t solve? A note from mom won’t help you out. It’s not until you go away from home that you realize how much your parents did for you, and how comforting it was knowing they were never far away.

Leaving friends can be just as difficult as leaving family, but for different reasons. Friends are like a security blanket: always there for you whenever you might need them. It was a luxury to be so close to people who have known me my entire life and whom I could hang around effortlessly. It’s exciting to come to college, meet new people and make amazing friends, but that is a process that takes time. You’re never going to be automatically comfortable around someone you’ve just met, and realizing this was one of the hardest things I’ve had to come to terms with so far.

Everything about college is so different from high school, from the classes you take to the time you go to bed; it’s all up to you. Although it takes a while to adjust to many different aspects of the college experience, the hardest for me so far has definitely been adapting to being left on my own for the first time in my life, and learning that even though my family and friends back home are still around, they’re not here to help me every step of the way.

Meghan Byrd
Contributing Writer

In the face of Lance Armstrong’s doping accusation, one might wonder what the professional sports community has come to represent. It seems that every few months, a new charge is brought forward against an athlete for using illegal performance-enhancing substances. Doping negatively affects athletes, professional athletics and the larger sports community. It is a form of cheating, and users should face hefty consequences in order to deter athletes from utilizing banned substances and hopefully reduce the number of those who choose to do so.

Over the past few years, doping has garnered much controversy in the athletic community. For example, San Francisco Giant and All-Star Most Valuable Player Melky Cabrera was recently suspended for 50 games following a positive test for testosterone and admission to using banned substances. Doping charges seem to occur frequently in baseball, as many well-known players such as Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez have also been accused of using performance enhancing substances.

However, it is the Armstrong doping case that has been dominating headlines recently. Armstrong is arguably one of the most renowned cyclists in the world, yet his reputation is now cast in a dark light. Although one cannot assume he is guilty of doping, the fact that he is choosing not to defend himself is reason to seriously doubt his claim that he is clean.

In order to enforce fair standards, it is important that national and international organizations send a clear message to athletes: using any performance-enhancing drug is not acceptable and will be met with heavy consequences. In some cases, testing positive for doping can even end some athletes’ careers by banning them from the sport, and such could be the case for Armstrong.

The best course of action for administering consequences to athletes who test positive for banned substance use is to have a two-strike system. The first time an athlete is caught doping, he or she should be issued a warning and suspended for a certain amount of time or number of games that would be left up to the sport association’s discretion. The second time they are found using, they are banned from the sport for life. This method would prove to athletes that doping is a serious offense, and will not be tolerated by their teams, sports, fan base or community.

Many of these athletes are role models for children aspiring to compete at a high level of athletics. If organizations such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency are tough on athletes they believe might be using banned substances, it sets an example for future generations and current professional athletes alike that under no circumstances is doping ever acceptable.

Justin Marinelli
Contributing Writer

As corny as it sounds, some students here love the University so much that they’d stay here all the time. Every year, a fair number of students stick around over the summer. While this does present an amazing number of opportunities, one should take care to find plenty to do.

It’s not uncommon for students to stay over the summer doing research, working on campus or taking class (and sometimes a combination of those options). While this may just sound like the normal school year, there are a few key differences.

The first is you end up having a lot more free time. During the normal semester, it’s easy to get caught up in the flow of classes, activities, catching up with friends you missed over the summer and the barrage of everything else that seems to befall us once the school year kicks in. Over the summer, you don’t get that amount of stimulation unless you actively make sure you have a lot to do (like packing a bunch of books or something).

Additionally, it can get lonely over the summer. While the campus can be a pretty cozy place–and you’re essentially guaranteed to see someone you know on the way to class–it isn’t quite like that over the summer. The place is almost a ghost town in the summer months, and it can certainly feel empty to someone who’s used to seeing the quad covered in people.

Figuring out the issue of food can also be tricky. Meal plans don’t apply over the summer, so one is either forced to rely on dining dollars or frequent the (admittedly many) places in town where food is available.

Now, none of this is to say that you shouldn’t spend summer on campus. Like I said earlier, summer presents some amazing opportunities in terms of research, class and work. It’s also pretty cool to be able to go to the library and not have to search for an open computer, or to go to the gym and not have to wait for machines, weights, the good water fountain, etc. While it may be a bit harder to find social events or things to do at times, by no means is it impossible. You just have to work at it a bit more.

At the end of the day, if you want to stick around over the summer, go for it. Just bring some books you’ve been meaning to read, some snacks and make an effort get to know some of the people on campus.

Jessica Isgro
Writer

What does my major say about me? Absolutely nothing. Now, don’t get me wrong. Majors are a large part of who we are or who we want to become, yet it does not define every aspect of our lives. The reality of the situation is that we would not be at this University if we were not intellectually driven; the focus of our studies should not place a label on our intellectual abilities.

A major highlights our goals, showing the vaguest outline of how we wish to run our lives. It offers suggestions to eventual career paths, opportunities to meet similar people and exposure to professionals in interesting fields.

What a major does not do is restrict you. When I stepped on campus my first year, already declared as a music education major, I was absolutely terrified. For a split second, I thought my friends were decided, my activities selected and my schedule outlined, without my complete consent to each of these details. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

By that same token, I do not perceive majors as stereotyping an individual’s personality or intellect. There are difficult facets to all fields of study: while some may find difficulty in painting a life-like portrait, others may become perplexed when solving quadratic equations. It is all a matter of perception.

People need to stop thinking of majors as restricting their options and rather as expanding their options. By this I mean that being a music education major allows me to meet teachers I can relate to, get to know people with similar interests and study subjects I find fascinating. It does not inhibit me from meeting other people, restrict me from studying different subjects or separate me from professors in other fields. While it does keep me busy, I still have the opportunity to put myself out there and meet peers and teachers in other disciplines.

Though I have never walked a day in the shoes of an engineer or a management major, I suspect this principle runs the gamut of all majors available on campus. While a course load of major requirements may seem like an overload of specified education and unchanging classmates, the reality of the situation is that there are always opportunities to reach out and meet new people.

When we start to choose majors and classes based upon what seems intellectual or what has the best stereotype is when majors stop increasing our options and start labeling us. My major says that I love music and that I want to help others love music. Most importantly, my major does not tell others who I am. I tell others who I am.

Elaine Lac
Contributing Writer

America’s definition of beauty leans towards an artificial image and tanning is used to realize this image. In recent years, tanning has become increasingly popular and people will often go to unhealthy extremes to achieve the perfect bronzed look. Extreme tanning promotes an unnatural and unsafe practice which can lead to skin cancer. People are obsessed with changing their looks to copy celebrities, and it’s not worth the repercussions. Instead, natural beauty should be celebrated.

Celebrities perpetuate a standard that skin should glow with a healthy bronze. Numerous stars, like Lindsay Lohan, have been caught with telltale orange fingers from artificial bronzers. Probably one of the most infamous tanners is “Jersey Shore” reality star Snooki. She has been known to visit tanning salons regularly and turned to self-tanner after, as she put it, Obama raised taxes on tanning.

Not even economic downturns can deter people obsessed with their appearances. Society views these stars as beautiful, so many people try to copy them to attain their sense of popularity and attractiveness. If people see the dedication to appearances stars like Snooki have, it only teaches us to obsess more over our own appearances.

In recent news, a tanning obsessed mom was charged with endangering her five-year-old daughter who had gotten a sunburn from “tanning”. While the mother claims that the burn was natural, there has been reasonable doubt in this claim. Tanning at such a young age only further increases the risk for melanoma.

I am guilty of tanning too, because I swim every year, but I am very careful to always use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. Natural tans can be beautiful and safely done with care. In fact, absorbing sunlight increases our amount of Vitamin D which can promote resistance to diseases, but going to an extreme like the tanning mom is out of the question.

In general, the pursuit of the ideal image has discouraged the acceptance of natural beauty. People never seem to be happy with what they have. People with light skin want tanned skin. People with dark hair want blonde hair. People want bigger eyes, larger eyelashes, skinnier bodies and smoother skin. We should appreciate ourselves and feel comfortable in our skin. If not, the high expectations of beauty easily influence younger people, making them insecure and leading to extremes to pursue beauty.