Brown and White Vol. 121 no. 18

              Vol. 121 No. 18
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
Football team
places first in PL
Page 16
ONLINE
Check online for news updates
thebrownandwhite.com
DayGlow paints
at Stabler
Page 7
LIFESTYLE
By ELIZABETH PHILLIPS
Lehigh hosted the Lehigh Valley LGBTQIA Intercollegiate Student Re­treat this past Saturday, Nov. 12 in the University Center.
Students, faculty and staff from LG­BTQIA student groups at Kutztown University; Lafayette, Muhlenberg and Northampton Community colleges; and Lehigh attended the retreat.
The focus of the retreat was on building stronger LGBTQIA networks and communities across the Lehigh Valley, particularly forging stronger intercollegiate relationships according to Lehigh LGBTQIA director Timothy Gardner.
“I hope students take away a sense of community, make friends, connect with students from other schools and build skills to develop more intercolle­giate programs,” Gardner said.
Gardner also said the retreat would not have been possible if so many other schools hadn’t offered their help and support.
Aubrey DeCarlo, a graduate assis­tant with LGBTQIA services and the Rainbow Room, added that it was the first year the Lehigh LGBTQIA com­munity had the manpower to produce the event, although the idea had been talked about for years.
The theme of the event was forging intercollegiate and community relation­ships; a series of activities and speak­ers inspired students to advocate for change by sharing experiences, strug­gles and solutions with one another.
The first event at the retreat was speaker Adrian Shanker, who gradu­ated from Muhlenberg in 2009 and is currently the president of Equality Pennsylvania. Shanker said the best way to change the political environ­ment for LGBTQIA issues is for ad­vocates to take an active role in their political activism on and off campus.
“You can be the ones in your com­munity to make a change,” he said. “All
By DANIEL JAKUBOVITZ
The English Department launched a new series of lunch events for Eng­lish majors and minors this past Thurs­day, Nov. 10, with a presentation about Teach For America.
Izzy Breit, ’12, a Teach For Amer­ica representative, talked about the organization’s mission and approach.
“I full heartedly believe in Teach For America’s mission that every child, regardless of race or class, de­serves the opportunity to attain an excellent education,” she said.
The Teach for America website gives the organization’s mission state­ment: “Teach For America is growing the movement of leaders who work to ensure that kids growing up in poverty get an excellent education.”
The organization aims to get re­cently graduated college students to make a two-year commitment to teach in low-income communities around the country.
Through education and guidance, Teach For America hopes to set chil­dren in at-risk situations in the right direction for life.
Breit said only 8 percent of children growing up in low-income communi­ties in the United States graduate col­lege by the age of 24. She asked the audience to contrast that figure with the 80 percent of students from higher-income communities who have gradu­ated from college by that same age.
These statistics prove the existence of an education and achievement gap in the U.S. Children from poor back­grounds face uncertain futures because of the adverse situations they grow up in, Breit said.
B&W photo by LEAH KULP
Junior wide Receiver Ryan Spadola catches a pass from senior quarterback Chris Lum. Spadola carried the pass to the one-yard line, putting Lehigh in a good scoring position. The Mountain Hawks defeated Georgetown, 34-12, capturing their second straight Patriot League championship title.
See TEACH Page 2
See RETREAT Page 4
Hawks clinch Patriot League title
Teach For America hopes to expand its outreach
LGBTQIA retreat offers sense of community
n Organization looks to re­cruit more Lehigh students to teach children in low-income communities.