Brown and White Vol. 119 no. 12

              Vol. 119 No. 12
Friday, October 22, 2010
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
ONLINE
Learn more about Latino culture
thebrownandwhite.com
Breaking down
The Wall
Page 7
LIFESTYLE
Victims of gay harassment remembered at U.C. memorial
By OLIVIA HANDEREK
A vigil commemorating the recent suicides of seven lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender high school and college students was held on the Univeristy Center front lawn Monday evening.
The event was organized by LGBTQIA and was attended by members of both the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities.
“Our recent losses include those of Tyler Clementi, who was a first-year Rutgers [University] student that jumped off a bridge after his roommate secretly filmed him engaging in sexual activity with another man; Raymond Chase, a Johnson and Wales [University] student who hung himself in his residence hall; Justin Aaberg of Minnesota, who was 15 years old and hung himself after over two years of bullying in school since he came out; Seth Walsh of California, who was 13 and hung himself after the bullying he received in school; Billy Lucas of Indiana, who was 15 and hung himself after the bullying he had received; and Asher Brown of Texas, who was 13 when he shot himself after the bullying he had received over the years at school,” said Timothy Gardner, director of LGBTQIA services.
These “recent incidents of ha­rassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender high school and college students are a reminder of the tragic consequences of igno­rance, insensitivity and malice,” said John Smeaton, vice provost for Student Affairs.
Gardner said the epidemic is becoming a serious problem, yet there are many groups on campus such as the Greek Allies Program, Spectrum, the LGBTQIA Graduate Group and the LGBTQIA faculty and staff addressing this issue.
“I came for a reason because teenage bullying is becoming a real epidemic in our country,” said Alex Lass, ’13. “I want to show that
See VIGIL Page 3
By TAYLOR BRANDES
Lehigh is preparing to celebrate its ninth an­nual International Week from Nov. 5 to 12. The widely popular week is one of cultural festivities put on by the Global Union.
A version of the nationwide International Education Week, it has drawn praise for its suc­cess and its size with more than 1,000 students participating in last year’s events.
“Lehigh has become known as one of the largest International Week celebrants in the nation, often hosting 25 or more programs dur­ing the week,” said Bill Hunter, director of the Global Union.
“This year will certainly be more of the same,” he said.
The goal of the week, according to Dat Ho­ang, ’12, vice president of the Global Union, is “to bring the world to campus to enrich Lehigh student’s college experiences.”
“International Week is a celebration of diver­sity and the beauty of different cultures,” Hoang said.
While the Global Union sponsors the week as a whole, events are mainly run by other organi­zations and clubs from the campus community.
Last year, 32 programs were featured during the week. Hoang said he is expecting no less than 30 this year.
Despite the increase in programs offered, the hallmark events of the week are the kickoff dinner and the annual FUSION performance. These two remain the biggest and most popular.
The kickoff dinner on Nov. 5 will feature food from around the world, displays by the Global Union clubs, cultural music and performances.
The food will showcase many of the diverse cultures at Lehigh and will be buffet style and free of charge. The event will be held in Ulrich
International Week to exhibit campus’ cultural diversity
See INTERNATIONAL Page 2
By KRISTINA PARK
In the latest 2011 edition from U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top 10 Toughest National Universities Where Applying Early Helps You Most, Lehigh placed first.
According to the report, Lehigh’s acceptance rate for students who apply early is 60 percent, while the percent­age of students who get accepted during the regular ap­plication process, is only 34 percent, almost a 30 percent difference, though out of different pools of students.
“[The statistic] is misleading,” said J. Leon Washing­ton, dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. “What makes it misleading is the statistic makes it look like 60 percent of the class that the college took is accepted, which isn’t the case. Only 60 percent of the early decision applicants are accepted. The numbers are right, so it’s accurate, but it’s misleading.”
“The early decision pool applicants are the ones who say, ‘I want you and if you accept me, I’ll come,’ ” he said. “So, naturally you want those people because they want you. The early decision pool is a separate applicant pool, so, naturally, you’re going to take more of those people since they are your shoe-ins. That’s what we like.”
According to Lehigh’s website, 10,328 high school seniors applied to Lehigh during the year of 2010, and 3,913 were accepted. Of the accepted students, 1,212 matriculated at Lehigh for the year of 2010, making up the class of 2014. Out of those students, 518 had applied early decision.
“I think college is about choice and fit. So, it’s the stu­dent’s choice to apply early decision,” Washington said. “If a student says, ‘Wow, this is the college I like, and it’s the best fit,’ it makes sense to apply early. For the students who apply normally, they’re still searching. Hopefully they’ll find a college that’s the right fit for them. It’s a crapshoot, because the students we like might like anoth­er college, so you don’t really know in the regular pool.”
Students who are not accepted during the early deci­sion application process are deferred to the regular appli­cant pool, so they can have another chance at attending Lehigh.
“The statistic is variable because it’s dependent on the size of the pool each year, but is there any sort of inten­Want
acceptance to Lehigh? Report says apply early
See EARLY Page 3
Breaking down stereotypes
B&W photo by DAN COBAR
Left to right: Kelvin Castillo, ’11, Randy Tavarez, ’10, Mario Paredes, ’11, Felix Pinto, ’11, and Greg Oshode, ’10, accompanied Rafael Agustin, Jackson McQueen and Dionysio Basco from N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK on Tuesday.
SPORTS
Football learns
from Harvard win
Page 16