Open Mic Karaoke Draws Crowd
By: Nick Huntoon, Lions Eye Writer, nhh5036@psu.edu
Open Mic Karaoke drew in a large crowd to experience the diversity of talent and student life on campus.
Surprisingly, amateur singing fits into lunchtime on a college campus much better than imagined.
Looking at Brandywine´s lounge area, it seemed a bit empty for the usual lunch rush. Soon enough there was a stage and microphone set up. The once nearly vacant Lion’s Den began to buzz with student life.
Before the event, senior Elisabeth Gremlich talked about the motivation for Tunes Thursday, and how it was inspired by the diversity of talent and student life on campus.
“It is very student driven,” Associate Director of Student Affairs Stephanie Jones said. “It gives members of the Brandywine’s newly formed club Musician’s Collaborative the opportunity to highlight the talents of their members.”
The drive of those students was apparent. To kick off the event, a member of the Musician’s Collaborative Club stepped up to the mic, and a couple of students recited verses of their own poetry.
By this time, the news of an open mic spread. More students filed into a now cramped Lion’s Den and somehow, with the tremendous turn out, most of the audience shied away from taking the mic.
The silence was promptly broken when eager student Alexis Proctor took the stage. Before the audience could ponder the upcoming song choice, the words of “I Want it that Way,” by the Backstreet Boys blared through the speakers.
It was an amusing choice and Proctor’s effort proved to be the ice-breaker. Soon people took the stage with song choices ranging from Disney’s “Frozen,” “Let it Go,” and Usher’s “Confessions.”
For the remaining hour, the performers truly provided the crowd a good show.
“The event was fun and a good way to get out of the everyday routine,” Alexis Proctor said after her experience at Tunes Thursday.
Of course, as in any event, there were some who decided to sit back and watch instead of participate.
Freshman Shacor Tyler was one of the bystanders.
“I wasn’t able to find an inspiring song,” Tyler said.
Sure enough, the first ever Tunes Thursday proved to be a refreshing and unique way to spend a lunch break.
Updated by the Lion’s Eye Web Staff

Nostalgia Mixes with Newness as “Star Wars” is Reborn
Paul Alberici, Lion’s Eye Editor, paa5102@psu.edu

In 2005, George Lucas capped his epic space saga “Star Wars” with the final chapter of the prequel trilogy, highlighting the fall of Anakin Skywalker to become the evil Darth Vader.

This chapter connected the critically acclaimed trilogy of the 70s and 80s with the recently released films and it seemed that the series concluded. However, in 2012, Disney bought out Lucas films for $4 billion, and their announcement was as expected: they will be continuing the “Star Wars” saga from where “Return of the Jedi” (1983) left off. The announcement also came with skepticism.

“[I was] curious how Disney was going to handle it,” sophomore Carly Dargitz said. “I was excited, regardless, that the series was coming back.”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” the seventh chapter of the saga, 30 years after “Return of the Jedi,” and “Empire,” a new evil emerged from its ashes — “The First Order,” led by an
evil dark side user, Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). Opposing The First Order is the heroic Resistance, which is the fighting force of the New Republic.

Some of the main pieces of the fighting force are new characters: pilot Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Isaac), a feisty desert scavenger, Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) and a former Stormtrooper, Finn
(played by John Boyega).

Many of these new actors have been praised for their portrayal of these new characters.

“I absolutely loved Boyega’s portrayal of Finn,” freshman Dave McDermott said. “I think that whoever cast this movie made an excellent choice, and I think that he will have a good future after his run in “Star Wars” movies. Ridley was also excellent. I think that she played Rey well, but I sense that there was a bit of a difference between what she was showed onscreen, what she wanted to show, and what was written. I think that she will evolve as an actress with the series, and it will be interesting to see where she goes. Although his character was immature and his performance wasn’t loved by all, I think that Driver’s Kylo Ren was intended to be exactly as he was.”

Yet, the freshness was also paired with nostalgia. Between the flight of the “Millennium Falcon,” one of the iconic movies of the series and the original cast of the first movies, including the lovable smuggler,
Han Solo, and his faithful companion, Chewbacca (played by Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew respectively), General Leia Organa (played by Carrie Fisher), and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamil), it was hard for some fans to pick one iconic moment.

“I think the movie fit really well into the series so far,” senior Kevin Cardella said. “They made tons of references to past movies and followed up on the stories of the old characters. It isn’t just a movie of
all new characters. The characters are learning from the older classic characters.”

Needless to say, the movie has become a worldwide phenomenon and has been acclaimed by both critics and fans alike, making Disney’s big buy a favorable one.

“If I could, I would rate it an 11,” freshman Andrew Leake said. “I believe this installment will be an amazing addition to the saga. At the moment, it fits in perfectly, in my mind at least. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.”

With this chapter, the series now in the books, and seemingly redeeming the series from the continually bashed movies known as the prequel trilogy. Expectations are already high for the next chapter.

“The next one will be even more awesome,” sophomore Coleman Hart said. “Rey will work on learning about her past while Kylo Ren moves closer to the Dark Side. I feel like showing the parallels in
their training would be cool to see.”

While fans of the galaxy far away have to wait until December of 2017 to see where all of these characters are going to be in “Episode VIII” (the title has yet to be released), a new “Star Wars” movie will be released this year. “Rogue One” is the first movie of a spinoff series of the movies known as “The Star Wars Anthology.”

While they will be based on main characters and events of the main series, these spinoffs will focus on some of the more minor characters. The focus of “Rogue One” will be how the Rebel Alliance of the original trilogy was able to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s superweapon that blows up planets, prior to “Episode IV; A New Hope.” This spinoff is set to be released in December of 2016.

Other Side of Higher Learning

By: Najla King, nxk5136@psu.edu, Lion’s Eye

As students begin their college careers at Penn State, thoughts and questions surrounding their future goals are constantly brought to mind.

So much so, students likely don’t give much thought to their professors’ accomplishments or the achievements that possibly aided them in securing a position with a reputable university such as Penn State. The further along students progress in their college careers, they begin to notice the syllabus a little more and begin to take advantage of their seasoned professors’ expertise.

Amanda Gunlefinger, a professor at Penn State Brandywine, is one of those extraordinary teachers who has first hand knowledge of the vaccine to prevent the spread of the sexually transmitted virus, HPV, which can lead to the development of cervical cancer.

“I began working in the manufacturing of Gardasil in 2009, a little after the production of the vaccine started,” Gunlefinger said. “Before I started teaching, I worked at a company called Merck, and there, we worked on Gardasil.”

Gunlefinger provides experience and knowledge of working in such a demanding industry to her students, which can be helpful for them. Some students dream to be in a similar occupation.

Gunlefinger said the long hours and stress working at Merck was enough to convince her to switch career paths.

“I taught in grad school and always enjoyed teaching,” Gunlefinger said.

Now, as a professor at Brandywine, she offers students experience that in their opinion makes her more credible as a teacher.

“Knowing that your teacher has worked on something that’s actually on the market is extremely cool,” Ayesha Smith, a Brandywine student, said. “It makes you think your goals aren’t so far- fetched when you have a real life example of success telling you what to do.”

College students should take advantage of their instructors’ knowledge and get to know them outside the classroom. Professors are hired to pass along their experiences, tips and tools that students will need to succeed. New discoveries, even conversations, can spark an occupational interest for students that they didn’t know existed.

Students may be surprised at the similarities they have with the people they call professor.