Benjamin Mumma

Over the last 18 months, two earthquakes have struck island nations, wrecking Haiti last year and Japn just over a month ago. As a community, Lehigh is tied to both through students and alumni. However, there has been a distinct difference in the reaction of Lehigh’s administration to the two tragedies…

Mischaracterizations of the opposition are at the heart of the toxic political environment in this country. Instead of being an electoral season tradition as it has been in the past, today’s attacks on the character of the left or right come daily. The dialogue may go something like this…

The idea that education is, itself, a business is obvious to most. Particularly with higher education, you have students, who are the consumers of a good provided by University for the price of tuition. While many institutions like Lehigh are not-for-profit organizations, they still have to play the fundamental game of making sure that revenue covers expenses (and even look to expand the excess reserves within the endowment).

Imagine if you could “donate” money to them in return. It creates a feedback loop: you elect representatives who negotiate good benefits for you. You return the favor by donating to the campaign and keeping them in office. They increase your benefits again in return. It is a classic case of the inmates running the asylum, and this is all the case before collective bargaining even enters the picture!

Which was worse: the career fair, or the coverage of the career fair? Career Services and the Brown and White face off. Career Fair Fail: Last month, Lehigh held its traditional University-wide career fair. The event serves as a way for underclassmen to get a taste of the job-search scene, and a way for seniors [...]

With the midterm elections coming up tomorrow, everyone is expecting Republicans to gain seats in the House and the Senate, but no one is sure to what degree. Let’s take a look and see what we can expect…

The Daily Show had a classic correspondent piece on Monday. Assif Mandvi takes a look at the hypocritical practices of the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers Union) in Nevada. In a way that only the Daily Show can, the clip highlights a UFCW attempt to rally against Walmart for their “oppressive” labor policies. However, [...]

As you embed yourself into Lehigh’s social scene, you will encounter many beverages along the way. Here’s a look at ten of the more popular beverages you’ll see around Lehigh. While we cannot condone going against the current drinking age statute, we can educate you should you choose to ignore such an archaic and ignorant [...]

Four unique trips to take through campus, without the admission office spin. Fountain Tour The Lehigh fountain tour is great way to end a Friday night after finishing your homework. Touring the fountains themselves are self-explanatory, so we will cover some of the fascinating details about the buildings associated with Lehigh’s five fountains. 1. Alumni [...]

HEROES OR VILLAINS? IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK, BUT HERE’S OUR SIDE OF THE STORY. To be sure, the Patriot has been subject to a great many distinctions throughout its existence. Lehigh professors have said that we produce the best news and commentary at Lehigh. Just last year, a Lehigh administrator accused the Patriot [...]

It may actually be Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico and Triathlete. Yes, that’s right: politician and triathlete. Seriously, who does that? Sure, you’ve probably never heard of him, but he is one of the most refreshing politicians out there today…

A private university has fewer obligations than the Government or public institutions in terms of free speech. Lehigh states that they support a student’s right to free speech. In some respects it has. But recent discussions on campus suggest that free speech ought to be curtailed in certain cases…

College campuses are often havens for some interesting advertising campaigns. Since most campus organizations have a market limited to those who visit campus, there is a variety of creative and cost-effective ways to reach a large percentage of campus…

We all know that Lehigh has secrets. There are those many passageways and underground tunnels that you’ve heard about. There are the rooftop access points, hidden stairwells, and some of those rooms you never knew existed. Personally, I am still hoping to find Asa Packer’s secret bathroom before I leave Lehigh, but such a monumentous discovery seems unlikely at this point…

Recently, a group calling themselves “Students for Workers” has surfaced here at Lehigh. Under that name, they submitted a letter to the Brown and White which looked to galvanize support amongst Lehigh students for Sodexo employees to join the SEIU (Services Employees International Union)…

On January 21st, three days after President Gast publically announced her desire to hire a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) at Lehigh, (an event already embedded deep within an email sent to the campus at large concerning the Martin Luther King Day celebration), the student body received word of a hateful incident that happened sometime “in the past week.” For students interested in the details of the event, President Gast’s correspondence was a disappointment. The hateful incident involved an undefined “hostile and racist symbol” in an unidentified elevator.

NBC and their Olympic coverage team generally provide some of the most extensive sporting event coverage in the world. With literally thousands of hours of footage, it is small wonder that the coverage becomes impersonal at times…

Cornell is similar to Lehigh in many ways, and the former is considered to be an “aspirational peer,” of Lehigh – a gentle way to admit academic superiority to another school without damaging one’s own ego…

Each Sunday, the Patriot will provide a look at some of the news issues that you should know about. We know it is tough for college students to keep up-to-date on current events. The Patriot’s Sunday News Beat is your answer to that. This week’s column will be mainly an aggregation of links, due to time constraints…

As a service to both conservatives and liberals, the Patriot is proud to provide accurate commentary on some individuals who position themselves as Conservative thinkers but are, in fact, anything but. One of those polarizing figures is Sarah Palin, or “Failin” if you prefer…

What’s in the news this week? Here at Lehigh, there isn’t much. There was a bird storm, followed by a snowstorm. Our bookstore manager allegedly ripped up several Brown and White’s due to an editorial he didn’t like, leading the Brown and White to claim that free speech was ‘stifled’…

Over the past week, birds from all parts of the Northeastern United States launched an assault of previously unseen proportions on all parts of Lehigh’s campus…

As the claims of climate alarmists continue to be investigated, the integrity of their premise continues to evaporate. While the article by Christopher Booker in the Telegraph (U.K.) outlines the previous unearthing of erroneous climate claims, it is worth reminding you here…

Each Sunday, the Patriot will provide a look at some of the news issues that you should know about. We know it is tough for college students to keep up-to-date on current events. The Patriot’s Sunday News Beat is your answer to that. Enjoy!

President Gast’s tandem of emails to the student body at-large last week simply reeked of politics. With everything that is going on in Washington D.C. right now, it’s hardly a surprise that our President has decided to play a similar game here at Lehigh to pass her agenda…

In the latest saga of Barack Obama’s increasingly illogical comments, our President decided to blame Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts on… drumroll please… George W. Bush!

The climate is changing. It always has been, and it always will be. The question that drives discussion on environmental policy of late is, “What role does human activity plays in climate change?” Based on the huge changes that some politicians support…

Lehigh should be factually and intellectually honest when it comes to sustainability…

On Friday, hackers infiltrated the Climate Research Unit (CRU) and posted hundreds of documents and emails regarding CRU’s research, climate models, and publications…

Lehigh’s Environmental movement has finally realized that organizations and committees are not enough to change the world….

Many believe that the role of art in society is to define the culture of a certain time and place. At Lehigh, such art is all around, whether you have noticed it or not…

For Lehigh, the difficulty in this situation lies with the fact that it has a fully-accredited police force, sworn in by the state of Pennsylvania…

Last year, Greek week was a week-long period of perpetual drunkenness for some, and near perpetual drunkenness for others…

Our current system isn’t perfect. But no system is. Our system is great for those who have it, which is evidenced by the high percentage of people in polls who like their current insurer…

On September 17th, President Gast held a townhall meeting discussing the short and long-term goals for the Lehigh community. Were you there? Probably not…

For those who have visited The Lehigh Patriot website in the past, you’ll notice we have a new look. With the new website you should find it easier to access our articles, and join in the discussion.

We are currently working on getting all of the old Patriot articles transferred over to the new website, along with updating the asthetics of the site.

For those who have visited The Lehigh Patriot website in the past, you’ll notice we have a new look. With the new website you should find it easier to access our articles, and join in the discussion. In addition to a more intuitive layout, the new website for The Patriot will allow us to publish [...]

The Waxman-Markey bill, touted as “transformational legislation,” would require the U.S. to reduce emissions of CO² and other gases by 17 percent within the next 10 years and by 80 percent before 2050. Should the bill pass through the Senate, the government will use a “cap and trade” system to regulate the emission of CO²…

In recent years, diversity has been a high-priority issue for President Gast and Lehigh’s administration. The issue took center stage with the well-publicized incidents and subsequent town hall meeting last semester. A theme at that town hall meeting, and the subsequent Council for Equity and Community (CEC) meetings, was the role that Greek Life played in thwarting the construction of a diverse and accepting campus…

The art of complaining is developed in humans from a very young age. Over the years, it seems that our generation has attained markedly improved skills in this area compared to our predecessors. While most of our parents’ generation couldn’t whine and talk back without getting smacked, our generation was mostly able to avoid such a tragic fate.

If your spring semester has given you problems in all of these areas, it’s important to keep things in perspective. Yes, your life may not be going well right now. But everyone else’s life is probably just as bad. Whether you turn to Schadenfraude or self-motivation is a personal choice, but it’s a choice that always makes spring semester interesting for everyone.

Fortunately, very smart people are working on a solution to this problem. Experts suggest that Google is about 15 to 20 years away from conquering the world. For anyone familiar with Google’s success, this shouldn’t come as a shock. Unless you purposely Google-proof yourself, Google owns your emails, your chats, your search history, your documents, and much more.

With trillions of dollars on the line, the solutions put forth will play a critical role in how this country progresses over the coming decades. While the course of action seems to be determined at this time with the $787,000,000,000 stimulus package, the perception of this package’s effects is the most important component. To prepare for the upcoming onslaught of spin and exaggeration by politicians, everyone must be briefed on what is really going on.

The removal of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers from Calculus has provided a more level playing-field that has allowed people of every ethnicity to succeed. In understanding how variables work and how they make people feel, Asians, Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics have found a qualitative understanding of Calculus that is valuable beyond the classroom. This integrated and more human approach has already shown countless students the power of numbers and variables. Let it do the same for you!

The good news is that the CEC doesn’t discriminate – it sees racism in every single person at Lehigh. Students need more classes that explain diversity and a curriculum that works those classes into a student’s schedule. Faculty members need a “Social Justice Leadership and Service Learning” seminar. For the Administration, the CEC will be meeting with the deans “to identify plans in place to diversify the faculty and retain underrepresented personnel” and to print a “diversity statement” on all recruitment and application materials. Clearly, future students are racist too.

As a general rule, planning your class load for next semester is stressful. There are requirements to fill, time conflicts to worry about, and logging in at 10:00 pm with 1,000 other people (full disclosure: the author logs in at 9:30). With all of that said, you still have to avoid any class that starts at 8:00 AM and any class with a professor who says “uh” way too many times.

Education plays a critical role in every nation’s development. Just as leaders today make decisions based upon their past education, the leaders of tomorrow will formulate their actions based on what they learn today. Our future depends on the education of today to produce a well-informed and educated generation.

Sometimes, convincing someone to cast their vote for you is quite challenging. I learned this in those intense middle school elections of simpler days now long past. If it weren’t for Sarah and her seemingly endless supply of Jolly Rancher lollipops things might be different…

Election year politics always provide a tremendous amount of political banter on both sides. While following this year’s contest, I have read countless well-thought and articulate articles on the current political climate…

Apocalypses have always been cool. It’s just a fact of life. Would Will Smith be as cool as he is without his many apocalyptic thrillers, such as “Independence Day,” “Men In Black,” and “I Am Legend?” I think not…

Fireworks, parties, pools, family and friends, a warm summer night, and beer: all of these combine to represent a holiday that truly expresses America’s greatness. July fourth, Independence Day, is a great holiday…