with more than twenty degrees from

schools such as Morehouse College,

Boston University, Harvard Univer-

sity and University of Pennsylvania

was just a human being. The ideal-

ized view of the amazing Martin Lu-

ther King should never take away

from the fact that he was a man who

lived and decided like many others to

dedicate his life to the movement of

civil rights and equality for all Ameri-

cans.

Other than the inspiring

speeches from various staff members

and students, the food was amazing

with a variety of dishes. Many people

went for seconds.

The key speaker was Dr. Beverly

Guy-Sheftall, Director of the

Women’s Studies at Spelman College.

This Issue

Semester At Sea P.2

Chinese New Year P.3

Going Global—CDC P.3

International Orientation Assistant—Apply Now! P.4

Bison Spectrum Monthly

Cultural

Center

Newsletter 11 I S S U E

J a n , 2 0 0 9

International Student Services

Multicultural Student Services

12 5 V e dd e r H a l l

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA 17837

ph: 1.570.577.1095

f ax : 1 . 5 70 . 57 7 . 3 1 63

Cultural Center Hours:

Monday-Friday: 8:30-4:30

Monday-Thursday: 7-10pm

Directors

Paula Myers, Jess Hess

Staff

Lori Benner

Graduate Assistants

Erica Lopatofsky (MSS)

Nadir Sharif (ISS)

Student Staff

Marissa Calhoun (MSS)

Malika Subramanian (ISS)

Editor

Rajaa Qadri

This newsletter is published by the

Cultural Center . Its overall purpose is to

promote and reflect the ethnic richness

and diversity of Bucknell’s student body.

For making contributions to

Bison Spectrum, contact

Rajaa Qadri:

rq001@bucknell.edu

The ideals and dreams of

Martin Luther King were remembered,

relived and cherished on Tuesday Janu-

ary 20th, as students and teachers

gathered in the Terrace Room for the

Annual Martin Luther King Dinner.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a

civil right activist during the Civil

Rights Movement of the 1950’s and

1960’s who fought for equal human

rights through activism, civil disobedi-

ence and non-violent acts. Sadly, he

was assassinated before he could fulfill

his dream of the dissolution of racial

segregation and discrimination. Thus,

we all gathered on his birth date to

reflect and discuss how we all could

live out his dreams.

The student speaker of the

night, Megan Hathaway, a senior at

Bucknell, addressed issues from her

own life experiences and enlight-

ened the audience of how her

own experiences with history,

race, poverty and discrimination

shaped her perceptions of the

world. She encouraged to uphold

values like opportunity, equality

and civil duty and hope to

achieve in the future.

The Voices of Praise

gave an uplifting and heart-felt

performance that left children

and students dancing and clapping

along with the music.

Carmen Gillespie, Asso-

ciate Professor of English also

spoke and focused on the fact

that Martin Luther King, a man

B Y , M A Y A C H A S E ‘ 1 1

D r . B e v e r l y G u y – S h e f t a l l

Annual Beloved Dinner

— G O V E R N M E N T

P A L A C E I N

S A L V A D O R , B R A Z I L —

A H O M L E S S P E R S O N

S L E E P I N G I N F R O N T

O F I T

She focused her speech

on women activists of

the same time of

Martin Luther King

who also contrib-

uted to the struggle

but did not get as

much credit as

they deserved.

She shed light

on not only the

fight for civil rights for minorities in America

but also the civil and equal rights for

women.

The recent election of the first

African American as the President of the

United States was also brought up and left

some with a comforting feeling of hopeful-

ness for the future. Many people spoke on

the sense of pride for America, that despite

its foundation on exploitation, slavery, seg-

B I S O N S P E C T R U M P A G E 2

So I went around the world

last semester with the Semester at

Sea program. It was a great experi-

ence. I sailed via cruise liner with

about 650 college students nation-

wide to the Bahamas, Brazil, Namibia,

South Africa, India, Malaysia, Vietnam,

China, Japan, Costa Rica, and went

through the Panama Canal to Miami--all

in 108 days.

Now after coming back I

am still getting used to my new per-

spective of the world, and that other

people are not able to see that. But

that is alright.

I won’t try to tell you why I

don’t use the word “starving” any-

more, or why I wake up thinking

about the holes in the ceiling of the

homes in Khayelitsha township,

South Africa.

I’m not going to try to

explain what it felt like to play with a

child deformed by Agent Orange

who couldn’t quite play back, or

how it was like to be a part of a

Hindu family in Erode, India.

I won’t try to explain what

it was like to realize that love can

sustain everything even if you have

nothing.

B Y , L I N D A K A N G ‘ 1 0

regation and discrimination, Ameri-

cans could choose to look past the

color of one’s skin and consider

the character and political views of

each candidate.

Overall, the night was an

unforgettable experience filled with

wonderful speeches, food and

spirits.

L I N D A K A N G W I T H A

R E S I D E N T O F C H E S I R E

H O M E F O R T H E

— P E O P L E I N N E E D O F

H O U S I N G

Semester at Sea– A Study

Abroad Experience I won’t try to explain any of

that. Instead, I’ll tell you this.

Talk to international stu-

dents about their lives at home.

Listen to them.

Go abroad…don’t be afraid. But

don’t go to see famous and breath-

taking buildings. Go to come to

love unfamous people—people

who aren’t sure if they’ll eat to-

morrow. People who are small,

and young, and don’t speak any

English. People who have suffered

in more ways than you’ll ever

know because they’d never hint to

you that they have.

But most importantly, let

them love you back. Let them take

away your innocence, and give your

heart aching warmth and smiles in

return. And then…come back. It’s ok

if you find yourself crying in your

room at night after your days with

them and can’t really explain why for a

while. It’s ok if you find you experi-

enced feelings you never knew you

Mark Your Calendar!!

Jan 31, 09: Chinese New Year, Larison Dining

Hall, 12-4pm

Feb 16, 09: Multicultural Movement Monday,

Larison Dining Hall, 7pm

Feb 18, 09: Wacky Wednesday, Vedder Lounge,

10-12pm

Feb 21, 09: BU After Dark, Gerhard Fieldhouse,

11pm

Feb 22, 09: Black History Alive

Feb 27, 09: The Vagina Monologues, Harvey Pow-

ers Theater, Coleman, 8-10pm

While the origins of the

Chinese New Year cannot be

traced with accuracy, it is generally

agreed that the tradition

began in the Han dynasty.

Legend has it that the Chi-

nese people were tormented

by the annual appearance of

a monster, Nian, that de-

voured people in large num-

bers. It was then learned

that the monster was scared

of the color red, loud noise,

and bright lights.

Hence, according

to the legend, the Chinese

New Year Celebrations

started as a way to protect

people from the monster

Nian using the color red in

abundance along with bright

and loud fireworks. The Chinese

word for 'year' is Nian - the name

of the feared mythical monster.

Today the festival is cele-

brated to mark the onset of Spring

in many East Asian cultures. Since

the New Year is celebrated accord-

ing to the lunisolar calendar, it can

fall anywhere between January 21

and February 20. In addition to

fireworks and colorful festivities,

the New Year is marked by the

populations such as Los Angeles and

New York City.

B u c k n e l l ' s

Chinese Cultural Asso-

ciation will be celebrat-

ing the New Year on

the 31st of January, at

Larison Dining Hall.

The CCA holds a

Chinese New Year

festival every year

with for good

food, perform-

ances and a chance to learn

about the culture. Don’t miss

it!

B I S O N S P E C T R U M P A G E 3

biggest meal of the

year. The meal

features dishes

that are symbolic in different ways.

For example, The 'Tray of Together-

ness' features eight rice recipes

where eight is considered to be a

number that brings good fortune,

and various types of dumplings are

believed to bring wealth.

The Year of the Ox begins

on January 26 this year. In the US,

the Chinese New Year (or Spring

Festival) is celebrated widely, espe-

cially in cities with large immigrant

B Y , N A D I R S H A R I F , G R A D U A T E

— U M B R E L L A D A N C E , M E M B E R S O F

T H E C H I N E S E C U L T U R A L

A S S O C I A T I O N

Chinese New Year

International Student Services——-Multicultural Student Services Vedder 125

Bucknell University ph: 570.577.3794

Lewisburg, PA 17837 fax: .570.577.3163