Brown and White Vol. 124 no. 9

              Vol. 124 No. 9
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
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LIFESTYLE
Judge rules in favor of Lehigh, Thode receives no compensation
B&W photo by ASHLEY YANCY
A Northhampton County judge dismissed Megan Thode’s case Thursday, siding with Lehigh University. Thode had sued the university for a C+ she had received in a graduate course, claiming her low grade was a result of discrimination.
LU Philharmonic displays talent at annual concerto marathon event
By KELLY MUELLER
Former Lehigh University graduate student Megan Thode was unsuccessful in her quest to sue Lehigh for $1.3 mil­lion after receiving a C+. A Northamp­ton County judge ruled Feb. 14 that the grade was given for purely academic reasons and that no compensation would be provided to Thode.
“We in the College of Education are very gratified with the judge’s decision in this case,” said Gary Sasso, the dean of the College of Education. “I believe that our faculty acted in the most ethi­cal and caring manner throughout this process. At the end of the day, we con­tinue to wish the best for Megan in her future.”
Thode sought financial compensa­tion from the university, arguing the claim that the zero she received in par­ticipation prevented her from becom­ing a professional counselor. Richard Orloski, Thode’s attorney, argued that Thode received the poor grade from Professor Amanda Eckhardt in 2009 because of Thode’s outright support of same-sex marriage, according to The Express Times.
Lehigh lawyers Neil Hamburg and Michael Sacks argued that Thode showed unprofessional behavior in the classroom and was not academically or emotionally ready to move on to her next fieldwork course, reported the Morning Call.
Jennifer Tucker, vice president of Public Relations and Communication, said that Lehigh believes that the case was without merit and would be de­fended vigorously.
Local kids explore Lehigh during CSO event
By ANNA BOLD
Middle school students from schools in the surrounding area came to Lehigh Saturday to take part in Livin’ La Vida Lehigh, a program hosted by the Com­munity Service Office.
The program, now in its eighth year, brought students from nearby East Hills Middle School and Broughal Middle School to Lehigh to provide an opportu­nity to experience the day in the life of a Lehigh student. It was organized by C.J. Sevilla, ’14, and Casey Kozoh, ’16, who have been working on this project for the past few months.
The program had a busy schedule for the visiting students, including perfor­mances by a cappella groups A Whole Step Up and the Melismatics, and LU’s Finest Step Team. The main goal of the program is to encourage kids to further their education.
“We want to get kids on campus and try to touch on any of their interests,” Se­villa said. He said the students are paired up with a Lehigh student volunteer. They like to show the visiting students that col­lege is fun by showcasing student groups and campus leadership opportunities, and having them complete a project on their own.
The visiting students were also in­vited to a chemistry presentation by Professor Keith Schray in the Seeley G. Mudd Building. They got to perform an experiment mixing shaving cream with food coloring, leaving the students with a souvenir card of marbled paper to take home.
“The main goal is to make science fun: something the students can feel ex­cited about,” Schray said. “Science can be hard, boring [and] confusing and sci­entists are weirdos on Saturday morning cartoons, rather than something to learn about to and find interesting. We hope to change that perspective.”
One of the demonstrations was called the “Big Whoosh,” in which a large and fast flame travels through a five gallon bottle, said Elle Sanders, ’14, one of the students that assisted Schray with the presentation.
“The science we do with them is meant to be a shared experience,” Sand­ers said. “The kids become empowered as experts and can spread the science around to their communities. Our hope is that we spark curiosity about how things work, foster excitement for learn­ing and show how great chemistry is.”
Later in the day, the group visited Lin­See
LIVIN’ LA VIDA Page 2
See THODE Page 2
By ERIN EAST
The Lehigh University Philhar­monic Orchestra performed a concerto marathon entitled “Worlds of Fire” on Friday and Saturday evening at Baker Hall in the Zoellner Arts Center.
The concerto marathon occurs ev­ery February, giving all the orchestra members a chance to play a concerto movement. There were 10 soloists between the two nights, each of whom had the opportunity to choose a concerto that they wanted to play. The soloists played works from the Baroque era to the 20th Century and everywhere in between. Some soloists could only play a movement or two of the concerto because the concertos they selected were generally longer than fifteen minutes.
“It really gives a lot of different stu­dents the opportunity to show off all the talent they have,” said DeVaughn Roberts, ’15, a trumpet soloist. “Plus, the orchestra only has about a month to prepare a lot of music, so it shows how much hard work and time they have put into it too.” He said his most exciting moment during the concert was his solo.
“It’s always great to see a lot of hard work pay off, and the feeling you get when you’re done with a solo is pretty indescribable,” Roberts said. “I love seeing the audience’s reaction. Making people happy through my playing is one of my favorite things to do.”
“I am very excited to hear my fel­See
CONCERTO Page 2