Brown and White Vol. 118 no. 16

              By LAURA QUAGLIARIELLO
The following criteria may seem like the perfect recipe for success when ap­plying to medical school:
A resume filled with health-related volunteering, shadowing, community service, research or independent study; success throughout one’s Lehigh ca­reer, as demonstrated by a good grade point average; a good Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score; letters of recommendation; and a passion for helping people.
But to many students’ dismay, they aren’t enough.
The competition to get into one of the 131 medical schools across the country is so intense that, only about one half of the students who apply are accepted to a school in the U.S.
In order to avoid facing difficulties in the admissions process, Career Services advises pre-health professional students to start early. The Health Professions Advisory Committee at Lehigh has a first-year action plan for pre-health pro­fessional students that outlines ways to plan carefully for success.
Lehigh students also have the abil­ity to apply to be in an accelerated program, which includes three years of study at Lehigh and four years of study at Drexel University’s College of Medicine in Philadelphia. In that time, students earn their baccalaureate and medical degrees.
Sophomores are encouraged to continue to take prerequisite courses, strengthen relationships with professors
Committee helps students during med school shortage
See MED SCHOOL Page 2
Vol. 118 No. 16
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
ONLINE
LIFESTYLE
By TAYLOR BRANDES
Conference organizers are touting the Alti­tude Student Leadership Conference as a resumé builder and a great way for students to learn more about leadership. The conference will take place Saturday, April 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the U.C.
“Students will come out with enhanced lead­ership skills and learn about both their personal leadership style and how to interact with others,” said Lizzy Miller, ’10, co-chair of the conference.
The theme for the inaugural conference is “Branching Out: Growing Within and Outside of Your Organization.”
The event is sponsored by the Office of Stu­dent Leadership Development. Its organizers are expecting more than 100 participants from area colleges. It is open to all undergraduate college students, and organizers strongly encourage club leaders and Greek executive boards to attend.
The conference consists of a “common cur­riculum,” where students will take a survey to learn more about their personal leadership styles. Then, there will be three sessions of workshops. For each session, students will be able to choose which one of four workshops they wish to attend. This helps stu­dents tailor their day to their needs, organizers said.
“No matter what your position is in your orga­nization, there will be workshops targeted specifi­cally at you,” Nicholas Rocha, ’10, an organizer, said.
Jeremy Selwyn, ’10, a presenter for the work­shop, “S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Making it Work for You,” said his presentation is “about creating tan­gible, measurable goals for your organization to achieve progress.”
Selwyn is just one of many presenters for the conference, working alongside other students and
Alum to speak at leadership workshop
See CONFERENCE Page 2
Study: Women ‘rushing’ toward eating disorders
By JACKIE LYONS
Is it true sorority rush participants show higher levels of self-objectification and eating-disordered behavior than non-rush participants? According to a recent study done at DePauw University in Indiana, the answer is yes. But does this study also apply to the Greek system at Lehigh?
The study said sororities have been criticized for exces­sively focusing on the appearance of their members, which leads to self-objectification or the constant monitoring of one’s appearance.
“The two minute conversations are just a chance for as many girls as possible to judge how pretty you are” a sorority rush participant at DePauw said in the study. “That’s the only thing they could determine in such a short amount of time.”
Lauren Harte, ’10, president of Lehigh Panhellenic Council, does not believe this study applies to Lehigh. She said the rush process might be more superficial at other schools with fall recruitment, which takes place a week after school begins and does not allow time for women to get to know one another.
“We, as a Panhellenic Council, put so much time into meet-and-greets, bagel brunches and meet the parent activities,” Harte said. “There are so many opportunities to meet other girls that it makes it so much less superficial than other schools.”
“There are a few girls that have stereotypical looks,” Dana Ball, ’13, said. “But with the house I joined, if they got a good first impression, they asked you back to get to know you and talk to you for more than just two minutes.”
Rita Jones, director of the Women’s Center, said she is concerned the study does not include conversations the women had outside the rush process via Facebook, text messages, e-mail, phone and face-to-face conversations.
However, she questioned, “Is appearance registered by the interviewees? Of course. A large portion of the human population registers visual aesthetics as they take in any person, place or thing.”
Harte said at Lehigh, the sororities look for more than just looks during the rush process.
“Every chapter looks for something different, and they get what they’re looking for from their national advisers,” she said. “That’s a tool to make sure that all chapters on campus are focusing on what really matters.”
Harte said the first round of rush allows women to con­nect on a conversational level, and following rounds of rush allow the women to connect on a deeper level, such as through their personality and interests.
“I think joining any group leads to some kind of as­similation, and because these women are in a largely het­eronormative space – college – an emphasis on physicality may play a big role,” Jones said.
The study found women with higher Body Mass In­dexes participating in the rush process were more likely to
See SORORITY Page 4
A cold day, but warmed hearts
B&W photo by RYAN NORKETT
Lehigh students make crafts with children from the South Side and greater Lehigh Valley on Saturday afternoon as part of the Community Service Office’s annual Spring Fling fair. See more PHOTOS on Page 3.
Women’s lacrosse plays Marist today
Page 12
Check online for breaking news
thebrownandwhite.com
Ben Stiller talks “Greenberg”
Page 7