LehighWeek Volume 03, Issue 22

              FAC/ADMN
PHILIP A. METZGER
UNIV LIBRARIES
LINDERMAN LIBRARY
BLDG #30 B0306
FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 230
Bethlehem, Pa. 18015
EIWA Preview
Your guide to the Engineers' chances
in this year's EIWA wrestling
Championships.
See the South Mountaineer.
The Myth of Rankings
Rankings of colleges and universities
are about as useful as a savant's
calculations, two experts says.
4
Views of the Mines
George Harvan's photographs of
Pennsylvania anthracite mines open
in DuBois Gallery.
Vol. 3, Issue 22
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
March 7,1990
Bernhard J. Suess
John H. Abel (left), professor of biology, demonstrates how anti-cancer drugs
are absorbed by cancer cells in Lehighjs new microscopic video image
processing and analysis facility. The undergraduates are junior Tricia R. Serio
(seated), freshman Elizabeth C. Kao, junior M. Orrico, and junior David J.
Janow.
'New Wave In Teaching'
Enlivens Science Labs
By Rita T. Malone
Lehigh University Writers Group
Educators and politicians across the
country are focusing on ways to
encourage students to study science and
engineering. Interesting students in
Physics students probe conductivity.
science isn't the problem, says one
Lehigh professor, it's keeping them
interested long enough to major in the
subject.
"Students arrive at college interested
in physical phenomena," said Yong W.
Kim, professor of physics at Lehigh.
"But in a traditional curriculum there is
nearly three years of foundation
coursework before a student is
introduced to glimpses of contemporary
physics topics. By that time we've lost a
lot of potential science majors. If we
could expose students to the exciting
stuff sooner, more students would stay
interested in physics."
Keeping students interested in science
is not a problem unique to physics.
Faculty in four departments at Lehigh—
physics, geology, chemistry and biology-
decided the answer was to incorporate
computer technology into undergraduate
science courses in order to expose
students earlier to exciting contemporary
scientific concepts. The Keck
Foundation, of Los Angeles, Calif.,
agreed to support the idea with a grant of
$225,000. Additional funds were
provided by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, several corporations and
the university.
The computers are being used to
model molecular structures of
compounds in chemistry, map rock
outcrops in geology, explore wide-
ranging physical phenomena including
properties of materials in physics, and
biology.
Continued on page 3
Students UPBEAT About
Helping Each Other
By Kara Kudzma
LehighWeek Intern
On college campus across the
country, students sometimes struggle
with alcoholism, drug addiction, eating
disorders or depression. Lehigh is no
exception.
Some Lehigh students, however, are
striving to make a difference by counseling their peers in fraternities and
sororities. They are members of UPBEAT (Understanding People Bringing
Education And Trust), a student group
that is now reforming on campus.
Lehigh's program using students to
listen to their peers, provide information
and intervene if necessary, is one of the
first of its kind on a college campus. The
28 peer counselors are all fraternity and
sorority members who will listen and
talk to friends when approached, and to
direct them toward help when a problem
has become too serious for them to
handle on their own. Eventually, there
will be two to four counselors in each of
the 40 Greek houses.
Lehigh's peer counseling was
organized by Mike Boyd, former
assistant dean of students, in 1987. He
left in June of 1989 and the program is
now reorganizing, beginning with a new
name - UPBEAT.
"We wanted to shy away from a
faculty-run program so that students
would get involved," said Mark McKin-
ney, a senior involved in the group since
its inception.
Kevin Siddons, Lehigh's drug and
alcohol counselor, said that the old
"I consider
myself a good
listener, but
when it comes
to seeing
friends with
problems, I
don't know how to approach
them. I want to know how to
deal with big problems."
- Carla Goldberg, '91
name for the program, Greek Peer
Counselors, didn't have a real identify to
it. "The peer counselors decided that
they needed a name that would have
more of an image on campus. The name
UPBEAT encompasses some of the
values that the peer counselors hold - to
understand people in order to bring about
education and trust," said Siddons.
McKinney said the program could be
a strong example showing students' care
and desire to help each other.
"Every person is dealing with
problems, and I don't think anyone is
self-sufficient in solving them. If
everyone has a little training on how to
Continued on Page 3
Observatory Opens As Grad Lounge
By Jennifer Provda
LehighWeek Intern
For those graduate students who want
a place to sit, watch television and forget
about work, The Observatory, located in
the Sayre Building in the Alumni
Memorial Building parking lot, has
opened as the new graduate student
center.
Lana McClung, graduate assistant to
the Graduate Student. Council, manages
the new center. She said the center was
designed for graduate students as a
lounge and resting area to ' 'take a break
during the day and watch their favorite
soap."
The center now contains a big-screen
television, a microwave oven, a refrigerator and two computers. "Right now
we have one IBM-compatable computer
and one Apple. We hope to be getting
more computers gradually," she said.
In addition to a lounge, the center
will also serve as a meeting place for
departmental receptions and afternoon
meetings. She said, "Departments can
arrange to have events in the center, but
the building is small so these will have
to be in small groups."
McClung is still looking for several
people to work in the center a few days
a week. Contact her at x8GSC2.