Better Call Saul
By: Michael McCarrick, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, mqm5415@psu.edu

In 2008, an AMC television program fell from heaven and onto our screens and Netflix accounts and it was called Breaking Bad. In five seasons the show chronicled the transformation of Walter White, a mild mannered high school chemistry teacher, into a methodical drug kingpin by cooking the best crystal meth in the world. Word-of-mouth and internet streaming elevated Breaking Bad to the most beloved TV show of the past decade and reached its peak popularity at the time it came to an end two years ago, leaving the audience wanting more. The show had over a dozen memorable characters fans loved (or loved to hate); but one who stood out in particular was a quick-witted lawyer named Saul Goodman played by comedian Bob Odenkirk. So creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould revisited the rich world they created in a comedy spinoff called Better Call Saul.
AMC’s newest show is a prequel about the criminal lawyer, only the Saul Goodman everyone loves hasn’t become Saul Goodman yet; he goes by his real name James M. McGill. (Like Saul Goodman is actually a real name). The life of the lawyer James McGill is just as bizarre as Saul Goodman; his office is in the back of a nail salon where he often drinks alone. He occasionally visits his brother’s house who is allergic to electricity and wears a space blanket; he finds ways to grow his law business with outrageous actions that usually lead to trouble. The show also takes advantage of the rich characters created in the previous show and uses them in humorous situations involving McGill but still remain true to their memorable personality. Fans will rejoice at seeing one of their favorite characters Mike Ehrmantraut return to the screen while also wondering why he’s working as a parking lot attendant for the courthouse.
The opening sequence of the first episode is similar to how a Breaking Bad season begins: taking place after the events of the season and previewing how it’ll come to a finish. Shot in black-and-white, Saul Goodman is shown after the events of Breaking Bad working in a Cinnabon shop at a mall in the middle of Omaha, Nebraska. Despite having no dialogue, it’s made clear that he’s miserable and lonely, and misses his old life so badly that he watches videotapes of his old commercials to relive his glory days. It’s uncertain if the show will ever revisit this part of his life again, as it’ll probably depend on how well it does in ratings. The next scene goes all the way back to the main setting in 2002 where James McGill enters the court room late and attempts to defend the criminal actions of three nineteen year olds. To reveal what the nineteen year boys did to get on trial would spoil a shocking and hilarious reveal, but McGill does his best to make the guilty kids look innocent. By the time the episode ends with McGill trying to pull a con with the help of two skater boys, the plan spirals out of control and the last shot reintroduces a character that will have fans excited to see again. The following three episodes are also introduced in scenes that highlight parts his life that don’t relate to the main story, but gives the viewer some little clues as to who James McGill/Saul Goodman really is. One time he’s shown pulling off elaborate cons, and another is him in jail begging his older brother to help him get out, these flashbacks serve as pieces to the puzzle that is the life of one of the most intriguing characters in television today.
Just to get it out of the way: No, Better Call Saul, through its first four episodes, is not as gripping as Breaking Bad was, but what show is? That still doesn’t mean that it hasn’t delivered on very high anticipation considering the pressure the makers received to deliver a worthy follow-up to an all-time great show. The witty dialogue and outrageous events in Better Call Saul continues to unravel toward what should be a gigantic sized climax and have reveal to audiences just how James M. McGill transformed into Saul Goodman. New episodes of Better Call Saul air every Monday at 10:00 PM on AMC, and previous episodes are available to watch on amctv.com and
OnDemand.

By: Avery Smith, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, acs5678@psu.edu

Police brutality against African Americans has been in the forefront of the news and a controversial topic in the United States for the past few decades since the civil rights movement. Events like Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Eric Gardner in Staten Island, New York and Tamir Rice and John Crawford in Cleveland, Ohio are just a few examples of police shooting unarmed African American citizens. Since many people appear outraged, as evidenced by increased protests all across the country, Penn State Brandywine’s Student Affairs personnel offered a discussion session for students to express their views on these events and the perceived injustice and police brutality in today’s society.
Stephanie Jones, associate director of student affairs and Ronika Money-Adams, director of student affairs and engagement, hosted an open discussion called “Speakout: Beyond Ferguson” to talk about these incidents of police brutality. However, student affairs didn’t want to talk just about police brutality and racial injustice.
“Our goal is to have a forum where we can share information about current events, or current social issues and share that information with the students, and to learn what the students know and talk about it,” said Stephanie Jones.
Planning for three speak out events each semester to get students engaged and talking about social issues and events in America and around the world is in the works.
At the event, students were served jambalaya and formed a circle at the start of the discussion. Students were asked to be polite and respectful of everyone and everyone’s opinion.
They were also asked to make up rules for the discussion. Some of the rules that they came up with were no foul or derogatory language; no laughing when someone is talking and respectfulness when other people are talking.
Some questions included the protest in Ferguson, Missouri and the positive and negative effects of it and what can be done so something like this never happens again? This forum wasn’t a raise-your-hand-and-wait-to-be-called-on event. It was a mature and respectful conversation about injustice in America.
“I think listening to the stories and the experiences and the background of others definitely fosters this environment for understanding and having these discussions are really important,” Jones said.
Every student is encouraged to join these open forums. Be on the lookout for the next “Speakout” discussion.

THON Raises $13,026,653.23!

Ana Elmasllari, Lion’s Eye Staff Editor, ave5065@psu.edu

On the third weekend of February, over 700 Penn State students stood for 46 hours without sitting or sleeping at the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) for the weekend of Thon. The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon’s mission, also known as Thon, is to conquer pediatric cancer by supporting their families and staff though the Four Diamonds Fund. This year, after long hours of canning in the cold and more, Penn State Students raised a total of $13,026,653.23 for the kids. Students, volunteers and Four Diamonds families joined together in Penn State’s BJC, and for 46 hours volunteers give the kids and their families a chance to forget about cancer. This year over 700 students, called dancers during Thon Weekend, were registered to participate in the 46-hour-long, no-sleeping, no-sitting dance marathon.

Greek life, sports clubs, special interests organizations and others participate in raising money and a lot of them are assigned a Four Diamonds family. The organizations have built special relationships with their Thon children and their families and during Thon Weekend they all get a chance to spend time with each other. Their support teams, the dancer’s orgs or teams, are standing on the stands cheering them on. During the weekend a number of different events happen like the kid’s fashion show or the pep-rally that most if not all of the Penn State sport teams take place in. This year the best performance during the pep-rally went to the men’s hockey team. There are many other performances by students, bands and the Four Diamond Kids as well.  It officially starts on Friday at 4 p.m. and it runs until Sunday 6 p.m. with the total raised announced at the last minute making every hour spent there worth it.

There is so much life and happiness during Thon Weekend. that every time someone yells out “We are,” you know the whole entire BJC will respond with “Penn State.”

By: Brooke Byrne, Lion’s Eye Staff Editor, bzb5183@psu.edu

On Wednesday March 18, students were treated to the happiest 50 minutes of their day when Matt Glowacki spoke during Penn State Brandywine’s Happiness Week.
Throughout his presentation about “doing happiness,” Glowacki taught students about communicating with people they love, gave tips on how to increase happiness, and explained how every person’s own perception of the outside world plays an important role in how happy we all are.
One of Glowacki’s biggest points of the day was that our happiness is all about the way that we view events that happen. One way to do this, he said, was to change the channel of our minds. He showed us the importance of this by playing a movie montage in which clips from well-known films were taken out of context to reveal a more uplifting message. Looking at things in this way takes practice and an open mind. “The people in your life who are the least happy are the ones who are most sure,” Glowacki said. He explained that this means the people who close their mind and anticipate that a week will be bad or a class will be disappointing are usually proven right.
This sort of thinking not only affects ourselves, but also everyone we come into contact with throughout the day. Glowacki gave tips on things we can all do to have our happy thoughts make others happy too. For example, he said that people who call us can hear us smiling over the phone, so by smiling when we record our voicemail outgoing message, we can reach a variety of people in a simple way. Smiling is an easy way to show people you’re happy and having a good life.
Darryl Thomas, a student who attended the Doing Happiness event, enjoyed hearing about Glowacki’s own life and some of the obstacles that he has faced. “I liked when Matt shared his story with us and seeing him smile while he talked about everything,” Thomas said.
Thomas and other students in attendance not only got to play with bubbles and eat free food, but some also even got to participate and win prizes during several portions of this happy event. Some of this included a demonstration on the importance of a six second hug, a lesson on how to correctly eat a piece of chocolate and a little game of Let’s Make a Deal.
The Doing Happiness event was a fun addition to our campus’ Happiness Week. Enthusiastic attendees and a passionately animated speaker created a memorable afternoon that sparked a desire at Penn State Brandywine to spread happiness around to all whom we encounter.

By: Victoria Marotta, vim5121@psu.edu

Students don’t have to look far to find professors with a variety experiences. Case in point — Lynn Hartle, the Executive Director and Program Coordinator of Civic and Community Engagement Laboratory.

Hartle majored in Women’s and Black Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She later transferred to Thomas Jefferson College in Michigan where she earned a Bachelor of Philosophy as well as a teaching and Montessori certifications.

Looking for a new journey, Hartle founded, directed and taught the “Montessori Children’s House of Cookeville Inc.” Putting her heart and soul into this inclusive PreK/Kindergarten in Cookville Tennessee, she managed to earn an M.A. in Early Childhood Education with an Early Childhood teaching credential from the Tennessee Technological University.

Hartle didn’t stop there. She furthered her education through the doctoral program at Penn State University where she earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis on Early Childhood.

After 20 years as a professor at three universities in Florida, she joined Penn State Brandywine. Hartle was drawn back to the keystone state to be closer to extended family since she’s originally from Pittsburgh.

“I was drawn to the position at PSU Brandywine because of impressive faculty and their mission to support a high quality education at a small campus that is connected with all the resources and esteem of the larger Penn State University community,” Hartle said.

Penn State Brandywine has led Hartle to a new venture — the Lab for Civic & Community Engagement (CIVCM). CIVCM started in the fall 2011 with a mission of integrating campus intellectual talents of students and faculty with those of the community to make a difference. They intertwine these beliefs and activities through the fabric of the campus, connecting the broader Penn State Brandywine community of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to public scholarship and democratic practices. CIVCM would not have been possible without a generous donation from David and Marjorie Rosenberg.

Hartle tries to instill the mission of the lab to “enhance student engagement through the application of concepts, content and skills from their academic disciplines in and out of the classroom while meeting a need in a community, civic, or non-profit organization through volunteering to service learning to civic engagement.”

There are many features Hartle describes about the lab. Some initiatives are for making or collecting items that local shelters, food banks or hospitals need, tutoring and serving people in need.

The CIVCM Lab partners with clubs or can work with faculty running a course that includes service learning, to help with expenses for travel to sites, materials, planning and implementation of CIVCM initiatives. It also supports the Trailblazers, a student group that supports buying and selling Fair Trade products on campus & in the community.

“In addition to making a difference in your community, when you are involved in CIVCM, you are able to create networks, acquire special skills to help you attain and succeed in your desired career,” Hartle said. “Employers are looking for CIVCOM-minded individuals like you who know how to collaborate with diverse people express themselves, and can present decisions.”

Several factors drive Hartle and her work with this lab.

“As a teacher, I have always valued the greater context of teaching and learning – the entire community supports an educated society,” Hartle said. “When something in a child’s life is challenging, such as not enough food, parents out of work, or family members are experiencing any kinds of addictions that impacts their learning.”

When the opportunity of this position surfaced, she welcomed the opportunity to expand her reach to the community beyond elementary and high schools.  Each day is different for Hartle; she coordinates volunteers, organizes food drives and helps students complete the applications for the CIVCM minor. While these are additional duties to her assigned work as a faculty member, she is also teaching college classes, researching and advising Education majors.

“Working with the students as they make a difference in their communities is so rewarding,” Hartle said.

There is one specific action from this lab that stands out to her. It is when all of the items for a drive are collected and they take the loads to the food bank and outreach centers.

“Seeing the appreciative community members we are helping leaves me speechless,” Hartle said.

As for CIVCM’s future, Hartle hopes to incorporate Civic and Community engagement as regular experience for all Brandywine students, starting with freshman. She thinks that even starting as early as fall 2015 for new Student Orientation days would be great.

“We have also proposed an ‘alternative’ spring break service-learning trip for spring 2016 to another country or region within the US,” Hartle said. “The 2014-2020 Strategic Plan for the Penn State Brandywine campus includes several civic and community initiatives, including a long range plan for an Institute for Social Justice that will encompass the CIVCM Lab.  The CIVCM lab is evolving as clearing house for faculty, students, clubs, and staff projects in the community as well as democracy building awareness and action, such registering and then encouraging voter participation.”

Hartle is an extraordinary professor with a huge heart at Penn State and feels very strongly about the CIVCM. The message for current, new and prospective students, as well as alumni, is that Civic and Community Engagement includes opportunities for a wide spectrum of interactions for students to engage with citizens of all ages and to participate in decisions, step up as leaders and take action through community involvement.

Alumni have come back to tell us that their volunteer and internships and earning the CIVCM minor were deciding factors for employers to hire them.

“When students engage with others to help others to make a difference, they are also learning lasting skills for career and life!” Hartle said.