Brown and White Vol. 117 no. 4

              Greek seniors join spirituality group
By OPEYEMI AKINBAMIDELE
When Andrew Friedman, ’09, of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity heard that Lehigh was launching a religious pilot program for Greek seniors in an effort to spark discussions about spirituality and religion, he quickly decided to participate.
“My mom passed away when I was a junior, and it would be a great way for me to keep in touch with her,” he said.
Lehigh’s Senior Greek Spiri­tuality & Religion Initiative is designed to create space for spiritual and religious discussion among members of the Greek community who are transition­ing out of their time at Lehigh and into their post-college lives.
“The opportunity to have ongoing dialogue about religion and spirituality is something that is open to the entire Lehigh community,” Seth Goren, direc­tor of Jewish student life and the associate student chaplain, said.
“Assuming that this pilot project with Greek seniors goes well, I can imagine us expand­ing to have a more formal program for the wider student body,” he added.
After talking to members of the Lehigh community about their religious and spiritual perspectives, Goren got the idea to have student-run groups meet in informal settings once a month to discuss these issues. He had a pilot spirituality and religion discussion group for some university staff members last spring.
The success of the program for members of the faculty and staff led Goren to collabo­rate with Jess Diehl, a Greek Life leadership coordinator, to launch a similar discussion group for Greek seniors sur­rounding the topics of spiritual­ity and religion.
Students have mixed reac­tions to the program.
Amanda Howland, ’10, a sis­ter of Kappa Alpha Theta, said, she signed up for the program. “I thought it would be a great idea to get a group of people together and hear what other people’s opinions are,” she said.
While some seniors in Greek
See GREEKS Page 4
Vol. 117 No. 4
Friday, September 11, 2009
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
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LIFESTYLE
Graduate student center opens
B&W photo by MATT BREITEL
The Graduate Student Center, which offers housing and a place to hold events, is the former home of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and housing for transfer students.
By ANYA BINGLER
Lehigh’s graduate students, profes­sors and faculty gathered this week for the opening of the new Graduate Student Center located at 217 W. Packer Ave., between Birkel Avenue and Boyer Street.
The Graduate Student Center houses 13 graduate students and in­cludes a full kitchen, dining room, party room, conference room, lounge and two administrative offices that were previously located in Christ­mas-Saucon Hall.
“I have lived on campus my entire time of being at Lehigh, so I was ex­cited and eager to take this opportu­nity and live off campus, yet still be close and accessible to my classes,” said resident Jessica Stuart, an alum­nus from last year now getting a graduate degree in political science.
The Graduate Student Center, located in the building that formerly held the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and most recently housing for trans­fer students, was renovated through the spring and summer and finished in August for the beginning of the school year.
The two-story house has central air conditioning and heating in each room, and wireless Internet in the lounge.
The house is fully furnished and has all the amenities of a residential dorm on campus.
“The Graduate Center is really im­portant and is a really beautiful space for graduate students,” Kathleen Hut­nik, director of Graduate Student Life at Lehigh, said.
This center is a space for resi­dential housing, graduate events and other activities, like a weekly coffee hour called “Tuesdays at 10,” regular graduate LGBTQA meetings, wellness programs from the Counseling Center and support
n The center serves as a space for graduate student events, as well as a residence option for graduate students.
See GRADUATES Page 4
By ELAINE HARDENSTINE
“Come on down! You’re the next contestant on ‘The Price is Right!’”
Everyone has heard the phrase before, sitting in front of the TV on a late weekday morning, munching on a bowl of cereal.
But in early May, the game show’s opening line hit close to the Lehigh community when Mi­chael Sandford, ’10, seat 76, was called down to contestant row.
“We had been up since 3 a.m. and kind of mellowed out by the time the show started in the after­noon,” said Xavier Otero Keil, ’10, one of eight Lehigh students who traveled to Los Angeles after spring finals ended. “But when Sandford’s name was called, we freaked out.”
In what he described as a “whirlwind, intensified by being hyped on caffeine,” Sandford be­gan guessing the prices of items in order to get on stage. With a low bid of $200, he won four pairs of designer sunglasses.
“The only reason I got on stage was because I messed up,” Sandford said. “I thought I was only bidding on one pair – not four pairs of sunglasses. Drew Carey [the show’s host] even mocked me about my guess. But then everyone else bid too high, so it worked in my favor.”
However, Sandford’s confu­sion continued. He had never watched “The Price is Right” before, and now he was standing center stage.
“I ran up to Drew and said, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing here,’” he said.
Carey introduced “This or That,” a 50-50 game that allowed Sandford the chance to win a queen-sized, Posturepedic, luxury Tempurpedic mattress and bed frame.
Since he was new to the show’s premise and maybe a bit nervous on the stage, Carey’s explanation of the game’s rules failed to help Sandford – to the point that the host restated the rules off-camera before shooting.
But when the timer on the clock began, Sandford confidently chose what he deemed the correct price of the bed set, and he won.
“He played it up,” said Will Richens, ’10, another friend on the trip. “You wouldn’t have known he had never seen the show before. He played the role of the winner perfectly.”
After jumping up a bit, Sandford raced to his new bed, plopped down on its mattress and
Student almost gets the ‘Price’ right on TV
B&W photo courtesy of WILL RICHENS
Michael Sandford bids on prizes in the Showcase on a May episode of “The Price is Right.”
See PRICE Page 3