We all know that Lehigh has secrets hidden all around campus. 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.

Nevertheless, I was able to find something almost as good. There is, in an undisclosed but highly public location, a panel reading “Radiation Control Valve,” shown below (click on image to enlarge).

 

What is Lehigh planning? There are a few possibilities:

1. Becoming Green – building a nuclear reactor would make Lehigh carbon-emission free, which would definitely make them stand out among peer institutions.
2. Preparing for the apocalypse – We know the Mayans were on to something going down in 2012, and Lehigh is making sure that its equipped to protect its students, and fight off any zombies that may come calling during the apocalypse.
3. Balancing the budget – Spending $51,00o of tuition per student each year is a challenge. That is, unless you build a nuclear reactor on campus just for kicks.
4. Mislabeling – unfortunately, it is possible that this panel hides a radiator control valve, and that all the valve does is control the heat in the undisclosed building.

Have you found any of Lehigh’s secrets? If so, submit photos or stories to editor@LehighPatriot.com, and let your fellow students know about what Lehigh is hiding. Particularly, if you do hear rumors of Asa Packer’s secret bathroom, please let us know immediately.

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).

Who are these students? Well, it’s tough to tell from the letter. One thing we do know though – these students obviously think that they are quite important. Despite having absolutely no role in the Sodexo-Employee-SEIU triangle, they felt it was appropriate for them to make demands of the other bodies. To quote:

“In order to improve the situation, we wish to hold a meeting in which students, faculty, staff, and workers can speak openly without Sodexo management present. We feel that their presence would only serve to intimidate workers. We request that you issue a written statement to all Sodexo workers at Lehigh, informing them that in the interest of upholding free speech on our campus, you endorse campus workers’ right to discuss their working conditions at our open meeting. Due to the severity of the problem, we implore you to take action quickly. We respectfully request a response to this letter within the coming week.”

There’s no doubt that these students feel righteous in their support for the abused and alienated workers that Sodexo employs. And that’s great for them. However, it creates several issues which need to be addressed.

First, the condescension of these students is insulting to Sodexo employees, and should be insulting to the rest of us, as fellow Lehigh students.

Once the letter was published, several Sodexo employees immediately commented online. One employee, identifying himself as Paul wrote:

“WE, the general employee staff at Lehigh, are sick and tired of Austin (that’s the little twerp bothering people everywhere on campus) and his pathetic gang constantly badgering us about union this, union that. Enough’s enough. When is it going to end?”

While this is just one example (there are others in the same comment section), it highlights an important and obvious fact: these students have little idea what they are talking about. Employees live their lives everyday, and many of them have been doing so since long before any of us arrived at Lehigh. They know how things work, and some like it, some don’t. You will find that at any job, but with all students having seen some of the same smiling faces this year that we saw as freshmen, it should be apparent that working at Sodexo isn’t that horrible.

Ultimately, it is up to the workers to decide that. From the responses so far, it is apparent that the “Students for Workers” organization wanted to see an inequity, found one, and started a crusade. In the meantime, they are completely disregarding the (quite valid) opinions of Sodexo employees such as Paul who don’t want the SEIU butting into the conversation, let alone a gang of ignorant students. It is quite evident from this is that these students feel that they are more competent not just to act for Sodexo employees, but to think for them as well.

Students at large should also be insulted by these “Students for Workers.” The unionization of Sodexo employees would likely drive up operating costs for Sodexo, and in the process drive up Lehigh’s already questionable dining prices. While these students may be willing to pay more to dine, they are campaigning for everyone else at Lehigh to do the same.

All of this is being done in the name of the typical liberal mantras of unionized workers creating a paradise for the working class and finally having a society with “social justice.” What they miss though, as usual, is reality. Unions are the same overbearing oppressive entities that liberals see corporations to be. Unions create agendas, bring politics into the workplace, and in general create more problems than solutions for everyone involved. They drive up unemployment by restricting the labor supply through their demands for higher wages.

Are unions worth it? That’s a case by case decision, and everyone has his or her own opinions. Specifically with Sodexo and the SEIU, neither you nor I knows if it is a good fit for a union. Ultimately though, it must be the employees choice to take action. By “intervening,” the “Students for Workers” organization has displayed both condescension and ignorance. Sodexo employees are more than capable of taking care of themselves, or asking students for help if needed. Unsolicited “help” which openly disregards some Sodexo employees’ wishes is extremely disrespectful to our dining staff, and a disgraceful display of arrogance by these supposedly intellectual students.

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.

The “aspirational peer” technique has been one of the ways that Lehigh has looked to justify the creation of a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), as evidenced in Lehigh’s VPEC benchmarking report. While Cornell wasn’t a school included in the report, they have gone through a similar process.

Cornell created the office of Chief Diversity Officer in 2007. The result? From the looks of things, they have created both a University Assembly (equivalent of our Student Senate) and a school paper so terrified of Free Speech that they would each suggest willingly that Cornell should not have such freedoms.

For commentary on that story, check out the Cornell Review’s post on the subject, which also links to the editorial of the Cornell Daily Sun which so stunningly denounces free speech.

No one is advocating hateful speech, or harmful discrimination, but Free Speech is a cornerstone of our society and, quite ironically, journalism. Cornell has clearly done a good job on crafting a student body and especially a journalism wing so inline with school policy that they would openly denounce the first amendment.

With President Gast seemingly following this path as quickly as she can and with our dear Brown and White seemingly unwilling to go near controversial issues, it seems we could see a similar Lehigh within a few short years.

N.B. This article was not actually censored in any way. The message is in parody of what might happen to things written at Cornell in a year or two.

Sodexo, the company responsible for feeding the bulk of the student population recently conducted a survey by e-mail and claimed that the survey taker would be rewarded at the end of the survey. (What follows is the actual e-mail recieved)

Dear student, faculty and staff,

Today we are requesting your participation in an important online
survey about your recent dining experiences on campus. You will
be rewarded at the end of the survey in return for your participation.

We are collecting this information on behalf of Sodexo. At no
point will pass your information on to any marketing
company. No personally identifiable information will be collected in the survey; we will only use
your responses in conjunction with those of other survey respondents.

This survey should only take approximately 7 minutes to complete.

I have no issue with Sodexo doing a survey; gathering information is a vital part of 21st century business. What I do have an issue with is the reward at the end of the survey. (Screen shot of actual survey end)

For your participation, Lehigh University will donate $1 to The WORLD FOOD PROGRAM – earmarked to providing needed food supplies to the people that have just survived the tragic earthquake in Haiti on your behalf.

Why is LEHIGH UNIVERSITY donating money on my behalf? I pay them for an education, not to provide philanthropy. Furthermore, the choice of charity offends me. As I have previously discussed, I disagree with the disproportionate aid for Haiti.

Looking into the charity benefiting from my “donation,” the Better Business Bureau reveals they are an outreach of the United Nations. Why is my money going to such a cause, besides to give Sodexo a very nice tax write-off?

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!

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’. Given that their policy toward online comments – to never publish comments with links to outside sources – this editorial should be a good source of laughter for those who enjoy outright hypocrisy.

Looking to the bigger picture, here are the biggest stories and the best articles from the week.

Liberal Condescension

Gerard Alexander, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia, wrote a great piece in the Washington Post on the history of liberal condescension in politics, and how it has been much more extreme than condescension coming from the right. It is quite enjoyable if you are open-minded, regardless of political affiliation.

Alexander’s Article

Climate Change Collapsing

Those silly “Climatologists” are at it again. More and more manipulations of data and misinformation are being discovered each day, and more and more news organizations around the world are covering the collapse. Most notably, India has decided to create it’s own agency to monitor climate change, since they feel that they cannot trust the IPCC. Additionally, the British head of the IPCC from 1997 – 2002 publically stated that the U.N. IPCC is on the verge of losing its credibility. Other instances of manipulation have been brought to light: baseless claims that climate change will destroy 50% of the Amazon, and manipulation of reports on water-stressed populations. With IPCC claims actually being scrutinized as they should have, it is quite likely that more inaccuracies and falsifications will appear over the coming weeks.

Healthcare: Pass / Fail Edition

In America’s most famous three-ring circus, Washington  D.C., Democrats continue to be flummoxed by the complexities of passing a healthcare bill that is opposed by a majority of the public during an election year. America’s angriest woman and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi still says that the bill will be passed, but on the same day President Obama admitted that Healthcare Reform may not pass. Given the lack of newsworthy progress on the bill, it seems that President Obama’s outlook may be more likely.

Palin Speaks, People Cry

Liberals and Conservatives can unite in a fest of both laughter, and tears due to Sarah Palin’s latest reappearance.

For those who want to cry, or laugh, at Palin’s lack of logic and reason, Joan Walsh of Slate has an article for that.

For those who want to cry, or laugh, at Palin’s lack of vocabulary and sentence structure, there’s no better place to find that than from Fox News, where you can read, or try to read, the transcript of her interview with Chris Wallace.

The interview starts with a simple question and a butchered response, and it was all downhill from there:

WALLACE: How do you see yourself as a member of the Tea Party movement or a member of the Republican Party?

PALIN: Oh, I think the two are and should be even more so merging because the Tea Party movement is quite reflective of what the GOP, the planks in the platform are supposed to be about. Limited government and more freedom, more respect for equality. That’s what the Tea Party movement is about, so I think that the two are much entwined and I’m happy about that.

Additionally, her exchange at the end of the interview regarding her intentions for 2012 is particularly scary, due to both her many grammatical errors, and her bizarre reasoning.

That’s all we’ve got. Until next time, have a good week!

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.

Students brave enough to travel by night were often greeted with thousands of enemy combatants regularly dropping hazardous projectiles from their strategic perches above the ground.

The resulting mess has left University walkways covered in unsightly ‘graffiti’ and stained many vehicles belonging to both students and faculty.

Even though several of the markings resemble swastikas, President Gast has been slow to label this a ‘hateful incident.’

“We must understand that [the birds'] society operates much differently than ours. They have different cultural values, which sometimes results in misunderstandings when interacting with a different community, such as our own. I am quite confident that the birds did not realize that they were making offensive symbols on our sidewalks. Indeed, one culture’s offensive symbol is another culture’s artwork. Nevertheless, I have asked our VP of Nature Relations to try to speak with them and to find a solution that is amenable to both sides.”

As the administration seeks diplomatic solutions to the threat posed, students may be forced to take matters into their own hands.

Students have begun to wear parkas or carry umbrellas to shield themselves from the bombardment. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, has started to take drastic measures. He set of several rounds of firecrackers to fend off the birds.

So far, Lehigh has been slow to clean up the mess. Even while the campus’s new visage is drastically decreasing prospective student visits, the Lehigh Environmental Advisory Group was able to over ride all attempts to have our sidewalks cleaned.

In a statement issued yesterday, LEAG explained their decision.

“While it is unfortunate that Lehigh students, faculty, and prospective parents and students are forced to walk over fecal matter for most of their time on campus, water is a vital resource and not abundantly available. We feel that such a trivial use of water is deplorable, and have overridden all requests for cleaner, more sanitary walkways.”

With the birds claiming round one and the administration paralyzed, we can only hope that the recent snowstorm will cause the birds to search for other potential targets.

* This article is meant to be a parody of some aspects of Lehigh, as well as a commentary on our currently unsightly sidewalks. All quotes in this article are fabricated.

President Gast’s tandem of emails to the student body at-large last week simply reeked of political maneuvering. 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: hire a Chief Diversity Officer.

She made this clear in her email, entitled “Martin Luther King Celebration 2010.” After a brief remembrance of Dr. King, she moved onto more important things, like transforming Lehigh from the racially and sexually biased campus that she currently sees, and in the process building her resume. In the email, she outlined her plan to hire a CDO to fix the University’s aforementioned woes. In doing so, she decided to bring up the alleged events of racial name calling, which have not been mentioned in any official campus dialogue or in the Brown and White for eleven months. Curious timing to say the least. Sure, those events are relevant to what Dr. King worked for and accomplished in his lifetime. But in celebrating his work, why not focus on the positive, that the events were isolated, and nothing similar has occurred in the past year.

Perhaps this contradictory behavior became apparent to the administration. Cue Thursday’s announcement that hateful incidences have returned to Lehigh. This time it was in the form of a ‘hostile and racist symbol’ in an undisclosed elevator discovered by an unnamed Lehigh employee. The convenient timing of the event, along with the vagueness of the wording in the email, prompts several questions. Before President Gast starts allocating possibly $1 million or more each year for diversity initiatives to cure this campus, we should make sure that there is an actual diagnosis. We can start by getting the answers to these four questions:

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1. Why give this incident so much publicity?

Sure, we know the timing played into your favor. But does one symbol in one elevator really justify a campus-wide email? Whoever drew the swastika clearly wanted attention, and President Gast gladly delivered. I’m not saying the incident should be ignored. The University should clearly pursue disciplinary action if they find out who did it. But doing so quietly would have been the best approach. Additionally, it trivializes past and future campus-wide emails sent by President Gast. Are we to treat this event with the same degree of seriousness as the earthquake in Haiti, which also provoked a campus-wide email? How seriously should we take her next email admonishing homophobic phrases found inside men’s bathroom stalls around campus?

2. Why withhold the location of the ‘hostile and racist symbol’?

We still don’t know which one of Lehigh’s extraordinarily slow elevators was host to the symbol in question. Lehigh’s official response, as detailed in the Brown and White article on the subject, is that the location “will not be released so as not to bring unwanted attention to people who frequent that building.” Perhaps we could ask a Washington politician to explain that statement. Unwanted attention? A campus-wide email was sent out, clearly the administration wants people to pay attention to this event. Additionally, most buildings on campus are frequented by literally thousands of students, staff, and faculty. Say the incident occurred in Rauch, are people honestly going to say: “Oh, you go to Rauch every day, therefore you probably drew the swastika.” The answer is, of course not. This was a move to increase the mystery and intrigue surrounding the incident to generate more publicity for it.

3. Why withhold the fact that the symbol was a swastika for five days?

Thanks to the Brown and White, we were told five days after the incident that the ‘hostile and racist symbol’ was a swastika. Apparently, this information was deemed too sensitive at first, and was withheld from the student body. Was that really necessary? As adult members of the Lehigh community, we deserved to be given as many details as possible about the incident, especially as she called on us to be responsible for elevating the level of discourse within the Lehigh community. Again, withholding the nature of the symbol only increased the mystery and intrigue around the incident, which was completely unnecessary.

4. Why did the reporting of this incident correspond so well with your announcement that you hope to hire a Vice President of Equity and Community?

Yes, of course this could be a coincidence. But the two events are simply too close on a timeline to not be related to each other. With that being said, there are plenty of possibilities. Clearly, the University has already made the assumption that the goal of the swastika was to spread hate of some kind. However, it is equally possible that the symbol was drawn by someone who supports Lehigh’s hiring of a VPEC / CDO. Why’s that? Well, there are two reasons:

First, quite simply,  someone who supports a CDO has much more to gain from having a ‘hateful incident’ occur on campus, as it goes to prove President Gast’s aforementioned hypothesis about Lehigh. This incident serves that agenda very well, and someone who wants Lehigh to hire a CDO easily could have seen that bringing another ‘hateful incident’ to campus would cause an uproar similar to last semester, which would galvanize support for the hiring of a CDO.

Second, the timing is too good. We haven’t been notified of any ‘hateful incidents’ for almost a year, and then three days after President Gast makes her announcement – poof – we find a hateful incident, one which perfectly supports the need for Gast’s plan. Someone who is truly hateful always has an incentive (in their own mind) to write hateful things. However, someone who would benefit from a perceived ‘hateful incident’ has a limited period during which an incident is beneficial. Clearly, this event occurred within that period.

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Before everyone jumps on the “Lehigh is racist, Lehigh is sexist” bandwagon, President Gast should answer these questions. She wants to hire a Chief Diversity Officer – that is her prerogative. But she used this incident to advance those claims, and launched an unfair assault on this school’s character by blowing this ‘incident’ entirely out of proportion. The large investment required for her diversity initiatives should not be based on isolated incidents perpetrated by a mere handful of Lehigh’s 6,000 students. Unfortunately, if her response to this event is any indication, that is exactly what she plans to do.

Update: Slight wording changes made on 2/13/2010

“Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment – yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations. 99% of people won’t have the guts to copy and repost this.”

Above quote is from a friend’s status on Facebook.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake affecting Haiti on January 12th resulted in an outpouring of aid throughout the developing world, with Americans being bombarded by “Text ‘Haiti’ to 90999″ and the other numbers for American Red Cross and related charity and relief organizations dedicated to Haitian aid.

Lehigh University has started their own Haitian Initiative; Collecting $50,000 towards relief efforts. Despite the best intentions of the Community Service Office, is Haitian relief, efforts that have been duplicated around the world, really the best use of Lehigh Student’s time and money?

Goodwill to mankind is a noble goal, but logistical and financial concerns limit the impact that can be made. While Dr. King was a proponent of “help[ing] our neighbors across borders just as much as our friends down the street.”, when 17,000 Pennsylvanians are homeless, our efforts would be better spent closer to home, helping our friends down the street.

Here at the Lehigh Patriot, we have tremendous respect for our colleagues at the Brown and White.  They provide the Lehigh community with a biweekly feast of the news and analysis that keeps our campus dialogue informed and vibrant. Professors, administrators and prospective Lehigh families alike view the Brown and White as a window into the minds that make up our student body.  For better or worse, they speak for all of us.

It’s a small miracle, then, that the Brown and White was there to give us 800 words to describe the operating hours of a new off-campus deli.  From this thrilling investigative piece, we learned the following:

Samantha Petner, ’11, is a frequent patron of Dave’s Deli.

“I am kind of boring, I just like turkey on a Kaiser roll, but Dave’s really has the best sandwiches,” Petner said.

Kelly Sprague, ’11, goes to Dave’s Deli about once a week and is a big fan of the Chicken Ranchero.

Hannah Gobetz, ’11, does not consider herself a regular at Dave’s Deli, but she said she found the Chicken Caesar Wrap to be quite delicious.

This intrepid reporter didn’t stop there.  She managed to use “the internet” to uncover a startling fact:

Part of the deli’s secret, according to its Web site, is that it uses “the best” meats and cheeses.

While the news division of the Brown and White works to hold local establishments accountable to the highest standards of deli meats and cheeses, the lifestyle section reliably churns out impeccably sourced universal claims about the social lives of Lehigh students.  In a recent issue, they even tracked down an expert financial analyst to talk about the bar scene:

Brooke Wiener, ’10, said the current economic conditions haven’t impacted the bar scene.

“It’s not necessarily about the economy,” she said. “It’s just being smart about your money.”

In addition to economic issues, the Brown and White is always there to cover Lehigh’s attempts to be environmentally friendly. One such story gives us a great deal of detail about a “new eco-friendly printer” to be used in Rauch. If you are not excited yet, you should be:

Buskirk called Lehigh’s acquisition of the trial a rare opportunity. Few other universities have access to the ColorQube’s unique technology.

In case you were wondering, the ColorQube has other benefits:

In its brochure, Xerox says that the ColorQube can print up to 85 pages per minute…

For the printer aficionados in the crowd, the article continues to explain all of the gory details about printing technology that most of us never thought to ask:

“The ColorQube’s ink blocks only leave behind a small black spot of biodegradable wax that resembles a Necco wafer,” Buskirk said.

For all of its heady intellectualism, the heart and soul of the Brown and White is found on its editorial pages.  Here, the senior editors demonstrate that conventions of grammar, diction and syntax are merely obstacles to telling a unique and heartfelt story about how sad they are to be leaving Lehigh.  Some variation of the following statement (from the 10/20/09 publication) can probably be found in every Brown and White Edit Desk dating back to 1894:

The end of this magic experience is on the decline, and I for one am going to find all means of using Lehigh to get the best experience possible. I hope you all do the same.

Yes.  Everybody, please do…that.

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(Editorial Correction:  The printed version of The Patriot incorrectly stated that the Brown and White Edit Desk referred to in this article was published on 11/13/09.  The correct publication date is 10/20/09.  The editorial staff regrets this mistake.)

Alumni often visit Lehigh to give lectures, speak on panels, or advise students. However, Lehigh students take many of these opportunities for granted. Attendance for most speaker series is often limited to overachievers and students prodded by their professors.

The question for everyone else becomes, “do I want to play another hour of Xbox or see a lecture in the Perella Auditorium?”

What is lost in this consideration is the value of Lehigh lectures. Alumni provide a view into the future. They can tell you what your life will be like, where you will work, and how much you will be paid. They can also explain some of their mistakes and detail how you can do better than they did, faster.

This article will focus on a few of those missed opportunities. Specifically, I will forward you alumni insights from the ISE Panel discussion and an independent interview with Daniel Mulholland.

“Become a student of what you do.”

Most students will graduate into jobs that require significant training past classroom education. Steve Senkowski, former executive of Armstrong, elaborated, “learning to learn is an important skill.” The best employees learn every step of their career. You must ask yourself, “Can I do the entire project from start to finish without conflict?”

“Take a job for the most valuable experience.”

There will be jobs out there, with great starting offers and many perks that lack substance. Tom Cassidy, Director at Bayada Nurses, took his first job at UPS for the extensive learning experience in industrial engineering. Although it was not the highest paying job, it was the job where he learned the most. This education translated into a quicker path to more senior, higher paying jobs.

“Never accept the initial solution.”

When working, you will often find quick solutions to arduous problems. However, it is your responsibility to strive for excellence and reject the first answers. Gary Whitehouse, Dean at Arizona State, explained that even if the statistical distributions match, you still must consider the source of attributes for your data.

“Never burn a bridge.”

Since the world is small and bad news spreads like wild fire, you should keep relationships from spiraling out of control. No matter how bad things get, according to Steve, you should end on a positive note with every relationship.

“Know every part of your organization.”

Daniel Mulholland, former president of Baker Chemical, advises you to discover each division of your organization. If you start out in sales, as he did, do not stay there. You should take every opportunity to do different jobs. Demand differentiation. Dan moved vertically from sales to information systems to manufacturing to administration to marketing before he became an executive and eventually president. It was the diagonal moves across his company that set him apart from everyone else during times of promotion.

“Leadership is getting others to want what you want.”

Students, and even some executives, confuse the terminology of manager with leader. Although, Merriam-Webster might tell you that they are synonyms, there is a distinct difference. Managers only maintain the status quo and keep employees on track. On the contrast, leaders are agents of change. They are driven to distinction. They improve their companies. Dan detailed that leaders think about the team and results count. The only way to ensure those results is to get people to like what you like and want what you want. That way you can lead and inspire instead of managing and delegating.

For those of you that enjoy learning about your future. There will be more insights available. In an academic setting, you can join the leadership minor to hear first hand from alumni in your classes. In a club setting, the National Society of Leadership and Success will have this information available as well. Also, keep posted on the Patriot website. I will upload similar content soon.