Winter 2001

Environmental science students are hitting the road, or rather, off road this year in Susquehanna University's newly outfitted mobile laboratory. The mobile lab is equipped with instruments for environmental sampling and analysis, and will take students and their experiments on-site to pond, stream and wetland environments.

Purchased through a $250,625 grant from the Degenstein Foundation, the mobile laboratory will be used frequently during the academic year for class laboratory exercises, said Benjamin Hayes, head of the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences. "Students are enthused because they realize that practical, field-based research experiences will be a great asset to them."

The lab comes outfitted with a ground-penetrating radar, seismograph, x-ray fluorescence (XRF) probe and analyzer, gas chromatographs (GRC), spectrophotometer, fluorometer, a Davis Climate Unit, and a host of other scientific instuments and tools which allow Susquehanna students to work more effectively in the environment they are studying.

Katie Offerman, a senior geological and environmental science major from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., believes "the lab will give us increased ability to do research and see what scientists really do in studying the environment. It should really help prepare SU students for graduate school or a job in environmental science right after college."

In a sense this lab has done for environmental science what television studios or radio stations have done for communications. It allows students to work in their chosen field using high-tech equipment to research and experiment outside the traditional classroom setting.

It's just one of the ways that Susquehanna students are gaining practical and professional knowledge and experience to aid them in their undergraduate years and beyond. "As environmental science majors we really need to get out there and get dirty. This laboratory allows us to do that and also walk away with a ton of information and data about what we study…the world," added Offerman.

by Nick Stephenson '99

Melissa Wells '01, Miles Wheat '01 and Gordon Layfield '02 are among the first students to use SU's new mobile enviornmental research equipment.

The Caped Crusader

There's nothing like a new mascot to get the fans roaring!

And at Susquehanna, the Caped Crusader is becoming a crowd favorite as students and friends cheer the University's Crusader athletes on to victory.

Susquehanna teams have been without a costumed mascot for many years although they have been known as the Crusaders since the 1920s when Susquehanna's then athletic director, the late Luther Grossman, led a "crusade" to keep collegiate sports on an amateur basis.

The new mascot is the brainchild of a student-run organization, The S.U. Ambassadors, who plan and participate in recruiting efforts as well as alumni events for the University. The group conducted a student poll and a drawing/idea contest for the new mascot. A Crusader tiger was the most popular concept. The group then won approvals for the design from the University's alumni board and administration. The mascot has been launched with the permission of DC Comics, which holds the trademark for the Batman comic book character, a.k.a. The Caped Crusader.

Introduced to a very responsive crowd at the homecoming football game in October, the Susquehanna Caped Crusader is depicted as an orange tiger with black stripes, wearing a maroon cape. A graphic description also includes a mask, belt and the Crusader logo.

Junior marketing major Sandy Doebler is one of the first students to don the new suit, which came complete with a battery-operated fan in the head to help keep cool.

"Every time I put the suit on it feels like a Halloween costume. But after having it on for a couple of minutes, I get used to it again," she says. 'The feet are a little big, but we're working on taking care of that," she adds. "I can act silly and most of the fans have no idea who I am."

Eric Prindle

The 2000 elections have been history-making - not just on the national level, but in Pennsylvania and at Susquehanna University, as well.

Eric Prindle, a senior studying English and philosophy at Susquehanna, gained political experience firsthand as the Green Party nominee for state representative in Pennsylvania's 85th District. He received 2,129 votes (or 11 percent) in the race against 12-year Republican incumbent Russ Fairchild.

Prindle has been involved in the Green Party since 1998. This year he was also a delegate to the Green Party presidential nominating convention. He was one of four Green Party candidates for the Pennsylvania state legislature in 2000.

The 21-year-old native of Bucks County is also active in campus journalism and is a member of the Society for Collegiate Journalists. He had the opportunity to introduce his party's presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, at a televised September press conference in Harrisburg.

Although this year's election is over for Eric, in late November he was elected to serve on the steering committee of the Pennsylvania Green Party. And you can bet he's going to remain actively involved in the Green politics of the future.

Cheer on the team from the new Lopardo Stadium, the site of the Crusader football team's 7-3 winning season this fall. The stadium includes seating for 3,500 spectators and an eight-lane, quarter-mile track.

Get in shape at Jacobs Fitness Center, which offers weight-training machines for every muscle group, including a golf swing strength machine. Aerobic equipment on the upper level includes a selection of treadmills, elliptical machines, recumbent and upright bikes, step machines and rowing ergometers.

Opening in June 2001, our 51,000-square-foot field house will feature a six-lane, 200-meter indoor track, four multi-purpose playing courts for basketball, tennis and volleyball; and indoor team practice space for field sports.

Check out our new sports/fitness facilities

"In 1961, my father and his family fled Cuba in a ferry boat," begins Alma DeRojas' essay, "Varadero." Before this year, the Susquehanna senior's story about discovering her heritage might have only been read by professors and her classmates. But thanks to a new magazine called Essay, Susquehanna student writers have expanded the possibilities to share their work.

Debuted in September 2000, the student-produced magazine was created to serve a purpose different from Susquehanna's literary magazine, The SU Review. Devoted entirely to works of non-fiction, Essay is designed to mirror Harper's or Atlantic Monthly magazine, including color photographs and original artwork.

A team of student editors chooses essays that adhere to a theme, such as this year's choice, "Burning the Veil." The editorial staff and student authors then work together to produce what Professor of English and Writers' Institute director Gary Fincke calls "a voice for the program. Not only on the page, but beyond the campus."

Current Essay editor Stephany Duncan Gormley is already working on the theme for the next issue. "When they established Essay as a student publication, I think they provided student writers with a unique opportunity," says Gormley.

That unique opportunity, to have their voices heard throughout and beyond Susquehanna University, will be available for years to come to students like DeRojas, a junior majoring in English. "I think the greatest part about having my essay published in the magazine was being able to share my story with the campus," she says. "After months of work, it was so gratifying to finally see the finished product published."

Lauren Bachman and Kory Wentworth

Senior accounting majors Lauren Bachman and Kory Wentworth spent the summer of 2000 interning at Arthur Anderson in Vienna, Virginia. The pair were among 68 Sigmund Weis School of Business students who gained experiential education and valuable networking opportunities in paid summer internships with companies including Black & Decker, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Hershey Foods, JP Morgan, and State Street Global Advisors. Many of the positions are provided by Susquehanna alumni and often lead to full-time employment offers after graduation.

compiled by Helen Nunn, Susquehanna University director of financial aid

1. Identify the colleges that best meet your academic, extracurricular and geographic criteria. It may make sense to investigate schools that represent a range of costs. Do not let a higher cost keep you from seeking admission.

2. Don't Rule Out private colleges because they may seem to cost more. Many state-supported schools have less financial aid than private colleges do. The chance that more of your financial need will be met is actually greater at a private college or university.

3. Find Out what types of aid are available at the schools you like best. Also find out which aid application forms are required and what each school's deadline is. College and university catalogs, financial aid brochures and Web sites, and admissions and financial aid staff are your best resources for this kind of information.

4. Understand the difference between scholarships and need-based financial aid. Merit-based scholarship aid may be awarded to students with exceptional abilities in academic, music or other areas. Need-based aid is available to students whose families need help in meeting college costs. Not all schools offer both types of financial aid, but many do.

5. Apply for the types of aid you want to be considered for. Try not to rely on the advice of helpful friends. Everyone's situation is different and everyone's financial aid experience is too. Don't exclude yourself from the process because your neighbor didn't qualify for scholarships or other forms of financial aid.

6. Consider the final cost to you rather than the listed price of the school. Understand how much of your expense can be met through financial aid programs. At many schools, more than half the students pay less than the listed price thanks to financial aid.

7. Compare the aid packages (the combination of scholarships, grants, loans and work-study awards) you receive from different schools. Be sure that in each case you understand:

• your family's bottom line cost for the year,
• the amount that you are being asked to borrow, and
• the amount that you are being asked to provide through student employment.

8. Notify the financial aid office if there is a change in your family's financial status. The office can consider special circumstances only if you provide the new information. A financial aid package can even be adjusted after the academic year begins. It's important to keep the lines of communication open.

9. Investigate other kinds of long-term, low-interest loans and monthly payment plans. There are a number of opportunities for your parents to borrow or to spread their payments out over the course of the year. The interest on some loans is now tax-deductible. Be sure to check out this feature.

10. Select the college that offers you the best long-term value for the price and where your educational needs will best be met.

Members of the Susquehanna University Choir will travel to locations in Virginia, North Carolina, New York and Pennsylvania during their annual spring tour from March 2 until April 8. Music Director and Conductor Cyril Stretansky will lead the 50-member group, which has recently recorded the 14th volume in its recording series.

The Susquehanna University Orchestra will also be performing a family concert, "A Composer Prepares," in several locations in New Jersey during a spring tour from March 8 through May 11. The orchestra has commissioned senior composition major David Little to write a new piece of music for the tour.

• Tour of campus and interview
• Opportunity to sit in and experience college classes
• Soul food dinner and guest speaker
• Sixth annual Race Relations Forum
• Unity Jam dance Friday night
• Panel discussion about life at Susquehanna with current students

For more information, contact Garrett Thompson at the Office of Admissions -- 1-800-326-9672 or e-mail thompson@susqu.edu