the
From Etown alumni to College employees
Bienvenidos! Accueil! Willkommen!
Etownian Features, page 5
elizabethtown college
One Alpha Drive • Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2298
September 16, 2010• Volume 107, No. 2
new developments
Centerfold, pages 8-9
Tuition increase: one student’s thoughts
Opinion, page 11 On the Web: www.etownian.com
on campus
Writers INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SCANDAL Thefts disrupt community, breach integrity pledge House ‘refuge’ for “I intellectual enthusiasts Ross M. Benincasa Opinion Editor
Allison M. O’Boyle Staff Writer
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nglish Department Professor Jesse Waters believes students should take advantage of the unique opportunities Elizabethtown College has to offer. “I have a Wii, and I like Madden and Halo just as much as the next person,” he said. “Anybody can play on an Xbox or a Wii anywhere they want. Why would you want to spend your time here doing things you could do anywhere?” Waters referred to his latest project, the Bowers Writers House, as a special opportunity on campus that students should not miss. The Writers House kicked off its first semester last week by demonstrating its central value for interdisciplinary education. Providing extracurricular activities for students, the Writers House supports interdisciplinary study and expression with speakers from various fields, not just the Humanities. Waters, the program designer, said that the foundation for the Writers House stems from the College’s liberal arts atmosphere. “We represent as a college the idea that everything we teach has a communication with one another,” he said at the kickoff event. Besides encouraging critical thinking, the Writers House “represents diversity in terms of intellectual presence,” which Waters said is underappreciated next to racial, gender and class diversity. President Long referred to the Writers House as a “special refuge and also a special celebration of writing” in his opening remarks at the first event. Both he and Waters shared their hopes that this refuge for writing would come to “celebrate writing of all sorts.” Political scientists, chemists, linguists, artists, historians, physicists, composers, actors and poets make up the list of prospective speakers to come to Etown, while the presentation formats encompass poetry readings, interactive workshops, panel presentations and afternoon discussions. To enrich the diverse program, Waters is researching his connections with African politicians, literary arts colleagues, a music expert and poet laureates of Lancaster County. Waters also plans to launch a program called “Access to Expression” in coordination with the Occupational See HOUSE, page 3
pledge to be honest and to uphold integrity.” Look familiar? This is the statement that incoming students are asked to sign as they begin their careers at Elizabethtown College. It verifies that you understand and accept the longer Pledge of Integrity, an intangible moral value that has become an integral piece of the College’s essence since its creation in 1995. Most people on campus follow this code in almost every facet of their daily lives, so much so that it is common to see keys and wallets hold places in the Marketplace and laptops strewn about the library as students browse for books. However, a recent string of thefts on campus have led many to challenge this longstanding policy and created uncertainty in the minds of many first-year students. This has ultimately resulted in the question: how much does the College really care? The incident in question involves many of the international students on campus, a group whose program at Etown is widely well-regarded among the collegiate community, and is why our college is the choice destination for so many foreign students. For years Etown has allowed students who cannot bring certain belongings home with them over the summer to store them on campus, specifically in the Myer Residence Hall basement, so they do not have to give up possessions in exchange for seeing
their family. However, due to a second straight year of over-acceptance, the College decided to convert the storage space in the Myer basement into rooms for students. Charles E. Groff & Sons, an outside moving contractor, was hired temporarily to move the international students’ items to a trailer in Brown Lot in early July. At some point between the time when Groff ’s moved the items for the international students and mid-August when the students arriving early went to pick up their belongings, a substantial amount of inventory was stolen from the trailer. So far, students have reported missing GPS systems, laptops, iPods, clothing and even a couch. There are many suspicions among students and faculty alike, most pointing the finger at Groff ’s, the company that went largely unsupervised during the moving process, though nothing has been proven by either the College or the Elizabethtown Borough Police. A spokesperson for Campus Security also noted that they were never alerted of an outside contractor coming onto campus to move anyone’s belongings and placed the majority of the blame for the miscommunication on Residence Life and Facilities. What we do know so far is this: Jerry Burkholder of Elizabethtown College Facilities Management was appointed as the supervisor for the move, along with other employees under him. However, this does not mean that he directly witnessed the move, though he
may have been a helping hand or even just available if necessary. Burkholder did not make himself available to be interviewed for this article. “I think something that’s important to understand about the international storage is that it’s a communal storage area,” said Allison Bridgeman, the director of Residence Life. “Neither Daniel [Pirbudagov] nor I take an inventory of the items beforehand or ask the students to provide a list of the items. If we have storage on campus [in the future], we definitely would change it.” “When I came back, my duffel bag was unzipped, and things were just thrown around,” said junior Manrique Arrea, a student from Costa Rica. “It was a complete mess.” Though Arrea did not have anything stolen, he said he found others’ belongings inside his bag. “We have no idea of what [the international students] are putting in there. We have no idea of what the content of their boxes are,” Bridgeman said. “I mean, it is a communal storage area, so I think they understand on some level that there is not a guarantee of safety, in its most basic terms, because theoretically, any international student can access it at any time.” As more students arrived on campus and reported items missing, the possibility of a theft was looming very heavily on Residence Life and the College. See RESIDENTS, page 3
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world news
Chilean miners to be trapped for months Jim R. Panacino Staff Writer
O
n August 5, 2010, the roof of the San José Mine collapsed, stranding 34 men nearly 2,400 feet below the surface. It has been over a month since then, and the minors remain trapped deep under the deserts north of Copiapó, Chile. While rescue operations are underway, it will likely be another few months before they are brought to the surface. A daunting task awaits rescue workers. Chilean psychologist Alberto Iturra announced that “there has never been a situation like it.” As of this article, three rescue operations are already in progress. Named Plans A, B and C, each one has a different potential for success. The rescuers began digging with the first drill almost two weeks ago. The second drilling operation began last weekend. Both drills have only managed to penetrate between 300 and 500 feet into the surface, and they may take three or four months to reach the trapped men. Rescuers hope the third operation, featuring an oil drill, will reach the men faster than the previous two. Despite the long wait, the men appear to be in good spirits. With enough food, water, beds and medical supplies, the miners have settled into a daily routine that keeps them sane. Their schedules consist of eating, playing cards, writing and
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maintaining their areas of activity. Mentally, however, the men appear severely strained by their predicament. Dr. John Teske, professor of psychology at Elizabethtown College, believes there is a reason why the men are so calm. He thinks they have faced what psychology expert Elizabeth Kübler-Ross calls the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The men have seemingly reached the fifth stage, as they have come to terms with their circumstances, and manage to live with it by staying in small, independent groups, and keeping a daily routine. To keep order and security amongst themselves, the miners have divided into units they call El Refugio, La Rampa and 105, each named after different sections of the underground area. Psychologist Al Holland of NASA stated that grouping together shows that the men are taking control of their environment, which is helpful for their mental well-being. According to Teske, the miners are showing the minimal group effect. Essentially, the three groups function very successfully because each man has a unique role in his group. He compared it to dividing a class up into groups represented by a color. Even if the individuals in each group do not know each other well, the fact that they are placed together forces them to work cooperatively. See MINERS, page 3