Day: October 24, 2018

It’s time to Vote Brandywine!!!!

Posted By under Uncategorized

By: Cole Young, Lion’s Eye Staff cry5060@psu.edu

We’re closing in on November 6, which is Election Day this year. For many at Penn State Brandywine it will be their first opportunity to cast their vote. While it isn’t a presidential election, these elections are still highly important. The position of Pennsylvania governor is up for grabs, as well as seats in Congress. Many local offices are also going to be contested this November.

The 2018 elections will still have a huge impact on our government, and you can have your say. To get to know more about how Brandywine helps students learn about the voting process, I talked to the Center of Ethics and Civic Engagement Director, Vippy Yee.

“Part of what we’ve been doing is collaborating with other groups on campus. For example, for Constitution Day I worked very closely with the library. We had a national voter registration drive that day as well as recorded students on camera voicing what issues are important to them. Those videos are going to be turned into PSAs and distributed around campus on all the different screens leading up to the election.”

This semester the Center of Ethics and Civic Engagement has been working diligently to prepare students for the election.

“We’ve had seven voter registrations this semester. I’ve partnered with the Library, Orchard Hall and the Civic and Community Engagement Club. We had two drives in Orchard Hall, as well as a few in the Student Union Building.”

Unfortunately, for those who still need to register, the October 9 deadline has passed. However, it seems that many students have already registered to vote.

“What was really enlightening about the process was that a lot of students are already signed up. We tried to engage as many students as we could and often we found that they had already signed up. In those cases we directed students to a website where they could check their registration and make sure their voter registration was active, had the right information and that they’d definitely be able to vote. There were instances of students whose registration was not active in the way they thought it would be. In those cases we took those students and had them register immediately.”

Even though many students had already registered, the drives were still very successful.

“Of the brand new registrations, those who said they’d never registered before and would like to now, I would say we registered about 70 students.”

There still are more things to do after getting students registered. Yee explained,

“The first step was getting students registered, whether that was through registration drives, Constitution Day or National Voter Registration Day. Now we’re into our voter education phase. A lot of students explained that they didn’t know who to vote for or that they didn’t what we’re talking about. These elections are called the midterm elections which means that all 435 seats in the U.S House of Representatives are up for grabs. That means whether a student is from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey or anywhere else in the U.S they have a member of congress they’re going to be voting on. In Pennsylvania there’s the governor’s race, a senate race, and state legislature races. The second phase is helping students understand what are their resources to learn more about candidates.”

Now Brandywine students may be wondering where they can go to vote and the answer is closer than you think.

“If you’ve registered with this address your voting location is actually across the street from the Main Building at the Easter Seals school.”

Now if you’re on the fence about voting, maybe this incentive will help.

“We are part of the Big Ten Challenge which is a competition to see which Big Ten school can get the most students to get registered and then go out and vote. Penn State does very well, but we really do want to win this contest. I would hope you’re voting, because of your civic duty, but there’s also Penn State pride. We can’t let Michigan beat us.”

Voting is a very important thing in our country, and we at the Lion’s Eye hope to see you at the polls November 6!

 

ROTC: Receiving The Military Training and a College Degree

Posted By under Campus News

By: Diana Dopheide, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, dmd5846@psu.edu

The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, ROTC, was created in 1916. Army training courses are offered locally at West Chester University and Widener University; so Brandywine students can enroll in the program, and upon graduation serve their country as military officers.

ROTC is taught at nearly 2,000 colleges across the country. The program teaches leadership management that students will need in order to become second lieutenant officers in the armed forces.

Students learn fundamental military skills in ROTC, but the program differs from basic training in that the focus is on learning organizational techniques and managing operations.

Cadets, who are trainees in the armed forces, do not join the active army; they are required to finish their academic degree, and their service commitment begins after graduation.

The ROTC program is offered through Brandywine; students sign up for the required courses while scheduling their academic semester. The classes are taken in exchange for electives along with their major.

Since the courses are not held at Brandywine, students take the classes off-campus at West Chester University and Widener University.

Benefits for contracted cadets include free tuition and housing as well as a small monthly budget ranging from $100 to $300 depending on the student’s year in college.

Cadets learn battle tactics, critical thinking, navigation and weapon qualification. Students partake in daily labs, which teach simple attacks, maneuvers and ambushes.

The physical training consists of strength building workouts four times a week in addition to weighted marches, which prepares cadets for carrying their gear while on patrol.

“We will use these skills every day when we take our platoon out on patrols in foreign places,” said Brendan Cleary, a Brandywine student enrolled in ROTC.

The field experience involves a weekend of camping held at the Fort Dix Military Base in New Jersey. Cadets sleep outdoors and enact realistic scenarios through keeping watch and guarding their troops throughout the night.

They apply the skills they have learned in class by practicing land navigation with compasses, problem solving and team building in various conditions.

Cleary is passionate about his future role as a second lieutenant officer in the army.

“I want to serve because I like what the army stands for, and I believe that if you have the capacity to serve, you should.”

Cleary plans to use his current field of study, computer science, in his army occupation. “I have the option to include my major into my career if I were to choose a branch such as cyber security; a necessary and growing branch.”

The skills that are taught in ROTC are useful in any profession outside of the army as many employers seek leadership abilities.

“The army teaches great values such as discipline and hard work which are the key to success in any job,” said Cleary.

 

MarComm Club Hosts Fall Event on Campus: A Basketball Tournament

Posted By under Campus News, Uncategorized

By: Meghan Coyle, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, mtc5382@psu.edu

Cold temperatures and wind didn’t stop students from coming out to support their friends on the evening of Wednesday, October 17 when Penn State Brandywine’s MarComm Club took full advantage of the new, lighted outdoor basketball courts to host a basketball tournament on campus.

Bobbi Caprice, assistant athletic director, recruiting/intramural/fitness center coordinator said, “We just put them (the lights) up. The courts are just a little over a year old. The lights just got moved to the courts this summer.” The courts are available for students to use, unless they are reserved for an event. Caprice said, “They (the lights) currently stay on until 11 p.m.”

The tournament kicked off at 6 p.m., when the players arrived, checked in and paid. The cost of the tournament was $3 per person. Twelve teams with three players each participated in the event. Some teams had four players, allowing them to make substitutions. However, that was not the case for all of the teams.

The first game began at 6:10 p.m., and there were two games being played at once, with each game being played on one half of the court. Since games were being played on just one court, this allowed players from other teams to use the other court to warm up.

Games were played for 15 minutes or until one of the teams scored 21 points. A total of 11 games were played, and a couple of them went into overtime since they were tied after 15 minutes. Spectators gathered around the court to watch.

When it got down to the final four teams, there was a slight break in the action, and there was the opportunity to take half-court shots for $1. After the half-court shots finished up, two games were played to determine the two teams who would play in the final game of the night.

Before the final game of the night, the Lion’s Roar step team performed for the crowd of people gathered along the sidelines of the courts. They received much applause from the crowd both at the end of their performance, and during their performance.

Finally, it was time for the final game of the night. The winning team, as well as the runner-up team both received T-shirts for making it to the final game. The winners also received $60 and were excited about winning the tournament.

Garrett Ripp, one of the players on the winning team said, “I have never had a greater feeling.”

Spectators braved the cold weather to come out and support their favorite team(s) and/or player(s).

Overall, the tournament was a success for the MarComm Club. The players and others who came out to the event seemed to enjoy it.