On Feb. 4, 2012 Coach Larry Bock was inducted into the Juniata Sports Hall of Fame as the Most Winningest Coach in NCAA Women’s Volleyball history. President Tom Kepple delievered a speech to a packed gymnasium in Bock’s honor.  Photo Credit: Sungouk Park

Volleyball coaching legend Larry Bock was inducted into the Juniata Sports Hall of Fame Sun., Feb. 4 in front of a jam-packed Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center. Between the second and third sets of the men’s volleyball match against George Mason, Bock accepted this accolade and watched his name ride a banner into the rafters. Bock’s 1,352 coaching victories give him the most victories in NCAA history, regardless of division.
“I’m not a numbers guy, or a counter or care about records,” said Bock. “I did very little; maybe a common denominator among a lot of people. This is more than just one person. The people’s shoulders I stood on, it was recognition
for them.”
Amidst the relentless “Larry” chants and “we love you” shouts, Bock, who was introduced by President Kepple, gave an endearing speech. As chills climbed up the spines of former players and fans, Bock delegated the credit away from himself and presented it to his family, coaches, players and close friends.
“He’s never one to really like being in the spotlight,” said Heather Pavlik, current head women’s volleyball coach, as well as Bock’s former player and assistant coach. “However, I think over the years he’s had to get used to it a little bit as it just comes with as much success as he has. He’s always someone that spreads the credit around. Larry probably does shy away from taking as much credit as
he deserves.”
Bock had no choice but to accept the spotlight on this night. He was the only hall of fame inductee in this year’s class.
“His induction was kind of expected,” said Steph Strauss, former player for Bock and current assistant coach at Juniata. “I’m glad they made him his own class in the hall of fame, because it is so well deserved. He’s in his own league in the coaching ranks, not only at Juniata, but in the whole country in any sport.”
The all-time leader in NCAA women’s volleyball coaching victories, Bock amassed a 1,252-192 record over his 34-year career on the sideline. He also coached the Juniata men’s volleyball team for six seasons, adding 100 victories to that already astounding total.
“This was the easiest induction in the history of Hall of Fames,” said Greg Curley, Athletic Director and men’s basketball head coach. “I just can’t tell you how fortunate we all are to have had the chance to work with him. He was very demanding, but at the same time he was always under control and always patient enough with those around him to let them succeed or fail on their own.”
“I walked away loving everything about the sport because of Larry,” said Katie Charles ’05, a 2004 national champion. “I never really wanted it to end. He taught us to be compassionate. Juniata volleyball is a very special place because of him.”
Bock’s ability to teach his players and his thirst for competition and success were easily recognized. Throughout his 34 year coaching career, he was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) “National Coach of the Year” five times, as well as the Volleyball Monthly/ASICS “National Coach of the Year” three times.
Under the leadership and direction of Bock, Juniata was the only team to appear in all 30 NCAA Division III Tournaments, reaching at least the quarterfinal round each time. But Bock’s most prestigious achievement came in ‘04 and ‘06, when he led the Eagles to the program’s first and second NCAA Division III National Championships.
As a result of his unparalleled career, Bock was selected as a member of the first class in the AVCA Hall of Fame and as a charter member of the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“Some coaches are really good at the motivation aspect, while others are experts in the Xs and Os or recruiting,” said Abby Leonard ’06, member of Juniata’s first national championship. “Larry simply has got it all.  He always had high expectations for his players and the faith in our abilities that we could do some very special things.  He was very good at getting our teams to set goals and work together to achieve them.”
As the night continued and the third set of the men’s match began, the Eagles seemed to bottle up some of the night’s magic. The men’s volleyball team fought back from an 0-2 set disadvantage to win the match against George Mason; capping off an already unforgettable evening.
“It was a very special night,” said Bock. “My old high school basketball and baseball coach Jack Dickey was in attendance. If I ever wanted to coach like anyone, it was Coach Dickey. He was a real teacher and a real coach.”
It’s safe to say, just as Bock looked up to his former high school coach, so have many Juniata student athletes looked up to Bock.

Since the dawn of civilization the teacher has held a valuable, if not somewhat controversial, role in society.  Meeting in museums or in public squares, teachers of old would impart upon their students the knowledge they needed to evolve as thinkers and the inspiration they needed to act in the world.  This ancient tradition continues in Juniata’s classrooms.
Though every professor has done his or her respective part to contribute to Juniata’s learning environment, professors Ron McLaughlin, Richard D. Mahoney, Kathy Jones and Andrew Murray have been noted for having teaching styles that are particularly unique, unorthodox, inspiring or a combination of the three.
“To be quite honest, I really don’t know what I do that would be considered that unusual,” says McLaughlin, professor of psychology, “that could be said for anybody who teaches, because everybody makes his or her classroom his or her classroom.” McLaughlin has definitely succeeded in making the classroom his own.
A defining aspect of McLaughlin’s teaching style is his tendency to address multiple unrelated subjects during the course of a lecture. “I’m well known for getting off-track and talking about things I hadn’t really planned to talk about,” admits McLaughlin.
“What I prefer to have for a classroom environment is something more informal and more relaxed, so I tell stories sometimes,” McLaughlin explains. “I try to create an environment where people are relaxed, it’s somewhat informal and people feel free to ask questions.  It’s not, ‘I’m sitting up here lecturing you,’ I try to make it a conversation.”
“You learn a lot of different things you did not expect to learn when you go into his classroom,” said junior Kieran Cavallo.  “I also respect that he is not afraid to discuss controversial subjects.”
Juniata gives McLaughlin free reign to discuss what he wishes in class, an opportunity he has not always had. McLaughlin began teaching at Juniata after being dismissed from a Catholic college for discussing abortion in a social psychology class.
Any students taking classes with Professor Richard D. Mahoney, Elizabeth Evans Baker Professor of Peace & Conflict Studies, can expect to be challenged
and to rely upon their own opinions and insights on the real world for assignments, not just regurgitation.
“In this particular field, when we say ‘our mission is to study wars, human problems and issues of human potential, if that’s not the real world, then it’s fakery, it’s ideology,” says Mahoney. “We really need to understand what’s going on out there.”
To promote this understanding, Mahoney makes sure everyone in his class participates and invites opinions covering the entire political spectrum. 
“It’s a personal continuum of relationships between professors and students and professors amongst themselves, and a continuum of intellectual exchange.  To me, that’s what this business is about,” said Mahoney.
Mahoney also utilizes classroom simulation to prepare students for real world events.  A course he taught on jobs in national security spent months preparing for a mock-National Security Council meeting and brought three national security employees in from Washington to participate. 
For Mahoney, “this shows you can take a classroom and bring it as close to real life as possible.”
Students also find his in-class personality to be one of his teaching tools.  “Professor Mahoney is an actor,” says senior Alex Olthoff.
“In class he puts on an aura of competitiveness and confidence and uses that as a means of getting his message across to
people who may otherwise not take him seriously if they knew what a teddy bear he was in his office,” said Olthoff.
Down the hall from Mahoney’s office is the office of Andrew Murray, Baker Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Emeritus. Murray began teaching at Juniata in 1971 and continues to teach into his retirement.
But despite Mahoney’s years of experience and the disagreement of his students, he has never considered himself a good teacher.
“I certainly never intended to be a teacher. I kind of fell into it,” says Murray. “I came here as chaplain and my appointment as chaplain included an appointment in the department of religion.”
Since then, he has taught classes in subjects varying from peace and conflict studies to music to information technology. He attributes his broad teaching palate to “hubris” and a “need for new challenges.”
“I get bored easily. I could never do the same thing year after year. I’ve taught many different subjects, and I’ve enjoyed it for my own interest and my own development,” says Murray.
“Teaching is something you can never get exactly right, so anyone who stays with it has to be thinking
of refining how they do the teaching and do the preparation,”
said Murray.
He considers teaching a partnership with the students and enjoys creating a “learning dialogue” in the classroom.  For instance, he finds he learns much whenever his peace and conflict classes write and perform simulations of political conflicts. 
Similarly, his class, Water & Conflict, features a test on a glossary made entirely of words, terms and dates provided by the students.
Professor Mahoney describes Murray as embodying the open-minded, solution seeking mindset of the peace and
conflicts department. 
“He is an idealist; a lot of this field is about idealism, it’s about doing it a different way, a better way and a different way,” says Mahoney.
“I’m really interested in the stuff I’m teaching.  If that inspires people, I’m glad,” says Murray.
Kathy Jones, associate professor of education, strives to inspire others to become inspiring teachers.
Since Jones was a child, she has had a very “hands-on” approach toward learning and this inspired her teaching style. 
“That’s my primary modality of learning.  It worked for me and I knew it would work for other people,” says Jones. 
“A lot of students don’t realize they are kinesthetic learners and a lot of teachers, because the modality of teaching is still the lecture style, assume then that all children can learn in the same manner,” said Jones.
“We know now that students need to be exposed to many different ways of learning,” said Jones.
Jones spent 17 and a half years teaching secondary school level agriculture and natural science and fondly remembers the classroom activities she developed.
When Jones left to teach at the college level, she recalls her students insisted she not leave so their younger brothers and sisters could experience her classroom.  The students were placated, though, by the idea that she would be instructing young teachers how to teach like her.
Jones developed teaching through costumes, as well as characters like Amelia Earhart and Benjamin Franklin’s twin sister Beatrice, while working at the secondary-school level and now instructs her education students on how to employ these
methods themselves.
“I do this to show them, especially my secondary education students, how putting something else on and coming in as different characters shows how a subject can come alive,” says Jones.
According to Jones, “I want them to think about how they can use costuming in the classroom and how they can get involved.”
“Her projects and her assignments deal with real life, practical situations,” said junior
Nathan Salamone.
According to Salamone, “She also tries
to incorporate information that is useful in a real world life. Her energy is unmatched by any Juniata faculty.  She inspires her students to learn while simultaneously attempting to make them
better people.”
Many attribute Jones’s energy and imagination as the two qualities that will serve her best in her newly appointed position as head of the education department.

The Edgewater Inn acts as an inn, hotel and restaurant/bar off of River Street on the way to Alexandria. As of right now, it has been visited three times by supernatural teams and the owners are re-vamping the inside of the inn adding both a porch and a bar.  Photo Credit: Michelle Merola

Debra Saussure, owner of the Inn at Edgewater Acres in Alexandria, PA, has experienced paranormal activity since acquiring the estate over four years ago. City Lights Paranormal Society (CPLS) has met with Saussure four times to determine who or what is present in the house.
“I originally owned a restaurant along with my husband Mark several years ago. After we owned the restaurant for a while, we really wanted to buy a property somewhere in Huntingdon,” said Saussure. “Somehow, word got around we were looking for property and the previous owners of Edgewater Acres called us asking to buy.”
The first visit from CLPS took place over three years ago. To date, CLPS has investigated the Inn on three different occasions. CLPS explains their experiences on their website from their March 27, 2010 investigation of the Inn.
The CLPS team consists of Ellen, Kathy, Deb, Marissa, Oscar, Joe and Ed. While investigating, the team attempted to disprove the claims before declaring the building haunted. However, in the initial walk around, Joe and Deb witnessed a fleeing apparition.
“Some guests have told me they hear children running up and down the hallway. Three weeks ago, guests that were staying in a room thought they heard something like a chandelier fall through the ceiling. After we searched every floor, there was no object or person to be found,” said Saussure.
The premises include a main building, a barn, a stable and an implement shed. Originally, the Inn was a two floor log cabin. The cabin is where a majority of the alleged hauntings take place.
The CLPS team placed equipment inside the house and outside the building. CLPS states, “Intelligent hauntings tend to run away from unusual activity and go to quiet secluded locations.” The team split into three groups at 11:15 p.m. with Ellen, Kathy and Deb as team one, Marissa and Oscar as team two, and Joe and Ed as team three.
Throughout the night, team one heard voices in the building and knocking sounds. Team two heard voices as well and experienced more direct incidences. Team three heard unusual shuffling in the
gift shop.
“I do not believe ghosts or spirits actually exist. However, visiting the Inn at Edgewater Acres would actually allow students in Huntingdon to check out something new and find out for themselves whether the building is haunted,” said sophomore Kate McDonald. 
Saussure has previously stated seeing figures darting by and gliding across the room. She has also opened the doors to the dining room and found silverware rearranged on the tables. Footsteps and voices are commonly heard from the second floor when no one is there as well. 
“I would definitely visit the house,” said senior Stephanie Metz. “I don’t think it will actually attract more people to visit Huntingdon, but I think it would definitely be exciting for the people of Huntingdon to experience these claims of
paranormal activity.”
From there, the team spent half an hour in the stables. CLPS heard a female’s voice, a male’s voice, responsive knocking noises and a blast of air as if someone had charged at them.
The CLPS team ended the investigation with 2000 photos and 60 hours of video and audio to review.
Teams one and three also documented numerous electronic voice phenomena (EVPs). Before the team felt the cold blast of air, the EVPs uncovered a male’s voices saying, “Halt.”
“Given the time, I would definitely like to visit Edgewater Acres and attempt to make contact with any presence that might be in the house,” said Andrew Dudash, head of reference services.
“After reading the article from the “Huntingdon Daily News,” it definitely seems like an interesting place to visit in Huntingdon,”
said Dudash.
The Inn at Edgewater Acres, originally owned by John Penn, grandson of William Penn, was built in 1762. The Inn is ten miles west from where the Juniata Indian tribe originated sitting by the Juniata River. The river was used as an advantage point of attack for the Indians in the French and Indian War.
“The house is very old so we have had to do a lot of renovations recently,” said Saussure. “We are really trying to get more people aware of the house and what a historical feature it is to the Huntingdon area.”
After reviewing the information, CLPS concluded the Inn at Edgewater Acres is haunted. Additional ghost hunting crews and talk of producing a film about Edgewater Acres are underway.
“I always feel like I’m in the presence of something a little odd. I use to think I was just tired or losing my mind seeing these things and feeling what I feel. I was always told stories about the house before I bought it and now that I’m here, I just thank goodness I feel like something good is here,” said Saussure.

Dr. Jim Tuten stands in front of books that his sophomore history students will use to in their research for juniata encyclopedia.  Photo Credit: Sungouk Park

Professor Jim Tuten’s sophomore colloquium history class will be collaborating on an encyclopedia about Juniata. The encyclopedia will cover Juniata’s past and present, with topics ranging from important people to traditions and sports teams.
Sophomore colloquium is a required class for sophomore history majors, which focuses on the development of research
skills and various types of historical writing. While most history classes are content based, sophomore colloquium is much more skills-oriented.
In order to expose students to a precise type of historical writing and research they may not have encountered in other classes, Tuten decided to assign the encyclopedia project, which “requires students to put their noses into primary sources in an archival setting I adapted the formatting guidelines from one of the most highly-regarded University presses, so the editorial standards are very high,” said Tuten.
Tuten has assigned similar projects in the past. His history of food class publishes recipes in a cookbook, and his Civil War and Reconstruction class writes articles, or “episodes,” for the “History Engine” website. The new encyclopedia assignment is similar to these past projects.
Students are given a list of topics to choose from, and each student is required to write a roughly 1000-word encyclopedia entry about the topic.  Students have been looking for information on everything from the library archives to old copies of “The Juniatian.”
“There have been a few books written on Juniata,” said sophomore Elena Ostock, who is working on the Mountain Day encyclopedia entry, “I also looked
through all of the old yearbooks.” Junior Gabbi Ricciardi, who did not take the class during
her sophomore year, is researching women’s soccer for the assignment.
“It’s been really neat looking at all the archival stuff and seeing
how much Juniata has gone through,” said Ricciardi. “I want to become a museum curator, so I’m really interested in all of the research.” Other students will be writing on topics such as Calvert Ellis, May Day, and
Juniata football.
Only a few weeks into the assignment, some students are running into difficulties. Relatively little information exists on many of the topics, and much of the original documentation has been lost over the years.
“There’s only so much published literature on Juniata College,” said Tuten. “There are a number of books; there are certainly articles out there. There are lots of primary sources, though not a lot of secondary sources.” Tuten put as many resources as
he could on reserve at the library, although students will still need to search elsewhere for additional research.
“Definitely one of the challenges is finding the information,” said Ricciardi. Much of her topic’s information was moved around campus and has been lost in the process. However, she has found the process helpful in her history education.
“I think that Sophomore Colloquium is trying
to build history students and give them the foundation to be able to do all the research for all of their other classes,” said Ricciardi. “I hope that I’ll be able to use this class as a background for my professional life.”
A large amount of the information Ostock has found on past Mountain Days has been about weather conditions, information that is not useful for an encyclopedia.  However, she too has found the project beneficial and enjoyable. “I’ve been talking
to Dr. Sowell, who’s been writing a bookend seminar on the myth of Mountain Day,” said Ostock. “The story was that it was a smallpox epidemic, but it was actually, they think, just a very severe case of chicken pox.”
Ostock has also learned things about Juniata outside of Mountain Day. “It’s been cool looking back through Juniata’s history,”
she said.
“Most of the time, when a class is over, that’s the end of the work,” said Tuten. This time the end of the semester will not necessarily mean the end of the encyclopedia project for Sophomore
Colloquium students. 
The plan currently is to have the encyclopedia published online rather than in print, although Tuten says that a hard-copy may be a possibility.
“Server space is relatively cheap and has the potential to reach
a bigger audience over time, and people increasingly turn to the web for that kind of information,”
he said. 
Tuten hopes students will be driven to submit their highest quality work, recognizing that
the encyclopedia might be publicly available on the Internet. Publishing the project makes
success about more than just a grade, because the final project may be presented to a very big audience. “There’s some sense of personal pride associated with it,” said Tuten.
This year’s class of nine students will develop the first nine encyclopedia entries. Tuten also hopes that the project will be on-going over several years, with each in-coming class of Sophomore Colloquium students adding new entries to the encyclopedia. 

Three of Juniata’s six finalists for the prestigious Fullbright Fellowship Program stand in front of Founders Hall on a cold and snowy afternoon. Pictured from left to right: Seniors Katerina Korch, Ceth Parker, and Kathleen Connolly. Not pictured above are seniors Jared Edgerton, Alyson Glass, and Michael Thompson.  Photo Credit: Jeff Bruzee

After a long application process, six seniors from Juniata College have been selected as Fulbright Fellowship finalists. Seniors Katerina Korch and Ceth Parker have both applied for research positions. In contrast, seniors Mike Thompson, Alyson Glass, Kathleen Connelly and Jared Edgerton have all applied for English teaching assistant positions. The finalists explain what their plans involve should they receive the fellowship.
In the spring semester of 2011, Dr. James Tuten, associate professor of history and the Fulbright advisor on campus, began recruiting students for the
Fulbright Fellowship.
The Fulbright Fellowship is a program funded by the U.S. Department of State. “It’s seen as accomplishing a couple of goals at once,” said Tuten. “One is a diplomatic goal. Everyone who wins a Fulbright is to see themselves, in part, as a representative of the United States.”
The fellowship is comprised of two main categories: an English teaching program and a research program.
Korch applied to go to the Netherlands. When asked how she chose the Netherlands program, she said she looked for countries that did not have a language requirement since she speaks
only English.
“The Netherlands didn’t have that kind of requirement, so that sort of narrowed my list down, and then just talking to the different professors,” said Korch. “The part of the Netherlands, the northern part that I would be going to, is really close to Germany, so there’d be a lot of opportunities for me to travel.”
Because Korch does not know Dutch, she would attend a Dutch school before the start of her fellowship as part of her application.
As part of the research program of the Fulbright Fellowship, Korch was required to develop a research proposal with a research advisor in the Netherlands. Korch, who hopes to go to graduate school for chemistry, entitled her research proposal, “Catalytic Asymmetric Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation with Organolithium Reagents.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting my research advisor because I’ve only ever contacted him through e-mail,” said Korch. “He seems like a really nice guy, so I would be really excited to meet him and to work in his lab on the project. I’m really excited about the project.”
“Science is really an international community,” said Korch, “You’re collaborating with all these different groups and reading other groups’ papers, so it would be nice to know the context of what it’s like to work in that kind of environment. And definitely, if I can foster relationships with my mentor that I can bring back to the U.S., that will certainly help me in many of my endeavors.”
Parker, who had lived in Africa when he was younger, applied for a research position in Botswana. During an internship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology this past summer, Parker met a contact, Max Essex, who does research on AIDS in Botswana.
“The grant that I applied for was to the Botswana-Harvard AIDs Initiative in Botswana, and I’m going to do AIDS research,”
said Parker.
One of the experiences that Parker would be most excited about is being a part of the initiative. “Botswana has the highest prevalence of AIDS, almost 24 percent of the population is infected with AIDS, which is a preposterous amount,” said Parker.
“It has the most advanced technologies and scientists working towards it, so that would be really neat to work in that kind of brain trust,” said Parker. “And also it would be great to be in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Connelly, who had originally intended to apply for a research program in England, decided to apply for an English teaching assistant position in Malaysia.
If Connelly were to receive the fellowship, she would spend 10 months in a rural part of Malaysia. In that time, she hopes to work with the school to bring some of the ideas and experiences she obtained from working with Science in Motion.
“I didn’t realize until the middle of the summer that the admission rate for getting a Fulbright in the U.K. is like a 3 percent chance because so many people apply to the U.K. and they only take 15 [applicants],” said Connelly, “So I ended up deciding that I wouldn’t apply for a research fellowship.” Connelly had also tried to apply for a research fellowship in Italy; however, the research institution did not respond in time.
When asked if she regretted not being able to do the research, Connelly said that she did not regret it at all. “However, the angle that I came at with teaching Fulbright is that if I want to go into veterinary medicine … part of being a veterinarian is teaching people new things,” said Connelly. “So I actually like the idea of going to another country and teaching people, learning from them and getting some practice for myself interacting with people.”
“What I like about the Fulbright is that it’s very difficult for people our age to pick up and move to another country, either to do research or to teach. It’s just not something that’s easy to do economically, financially and socially.” said Connelly, “Fulbright gives a lot of support to students … They really make it easy for kids our age to go to another country and to get these great experiences.”
Edgerton applied for an English teaching assistant position in Kosovo. “It’s a good career step,” said Edgerton, “and I was interested in going back to
Eastern Europe.”
Before applying for the Fulbright, Edgerton had studied abroad for a semester in the Czech Republic and another semester in Morocco. Edgerton also worked in the State Department over
the summer.
“Kosovo brought together the three countries because of the NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] Intervention in the 90s, I would be going back to Eastern Europe and it’s a Muslim country like in Morocco. So it was for three reasons, and that’s how I basically pitched it in my personal statement,” said Edgerton.
“They [the people who review the Fulbright applications] get so much, that I heard they like something interesting,” said Edgerton.
When asked what he would do if he won the Fulbright Fellowship, Edgerton replied, “I’m hoping to work with the Army War College in the summer, then go to Kosovo because that would be a natural step for peace-keeping, and then I want to go to graduate school for international relations.”
Glass, who studied abroad last year in the Czech Republic, applied for the Macedonia program.
“To be honest, it’s not like teaching English is my end-all-be-all job, but what I was excited about for Macedonia was that it’s not just teaching English, but it’s also for teaching American history and American culture, which is certainly more exciting to me than teaching English,” said Glass.
Thompson, who had studied abroad in Dalian, China for a year, applied for a program in Taiwan.
“It’s actually a really good opportunity to get back to China for me. That was one of my goals for after graduation.” said Thompson, “To go back, to work on my language skills and also do something that I could build my resume on.”
“I sort of asked to be placed or let it be known that I would be okay with being placed in a rural setting because I thought that that would not only make me more competitive but I also think I could learn a little bit more about the culture,” said Thompson.
Thompson is most looking forward to emerging himself in the Chinese culture again. “I think it would be really great to get back into the swing of my Chinese,” said Thompson. “It’ll be nice to return to that after a year … and I’m also looking forward to working with the kids.”
Some of the finalists recall the most terrifying part of their experience in applying for the Fulbright.
“I’m actually more nervous now than ever before,” said Thompson, “The second part of the Fulbright doesn’t come back at a set date … They say before May 15, but I’ve already had people contact me and ask me what I’m doing and I have to tell them, ‘Well, I don’t know because I’m waiting on the Fulbright.’ I may not find out until April, which is around the deadline for accepting graduate programs.”
“The most nerve-wracking part of the application was, four days out from the application being due, my advisor saying that the grant that I had proposed would be a million dollars, take four year to get running and take a hundred people. Rewrite the grant, he said.” Parker recalled.
“The next day, I tried contacting people. Had nothing.” said Parker, “And then finally got in contact with somebody two days out. Then, the day before it was due, I spent about 18 hours writing an e-mail. I started it at noon and went until five o’clock the next day, when it was due. It was horrific. So don’t do that.”
“Finding out what to say in an essay,” said Connelly. “I really wanted to do teaching English in Malaysia, partly because I’ve been abroad and I know that … being able to interact globally is
really important.”
“It can give you a great new perspective on things, but it’s hard not to say, ‘I really want to help these kids so that I can help broaden their horizons,’ without that sounding really condescending and belittling.” said Connelly. “When you really think about it, they are essentially becoming bilingual, and most people in Malaysia speak English, which is actually more than can be said for a lot of Americans.”
The finalists offer their advice to anyone who is considering applying for the Fulbright Fellowship.
“Do your research,” said Thompson. “Don’t just spin the globe, put your finger on it, and pick a country and then write an essay about how you find the culture in, say, Nigeria fascinating. Do your homework and find something in Nigeria that relates to you and something you want to
explore there.”
“In the midst of applying, don’t take critiques too personally.” said Glass, “Find a core group of people who will edit your things, just keep doing rough drafts and save all your drafts because I wound up changing something and someone would tell me, ‘No, that’s even worse than what you had
written before.’”
“I would definitely say it’s largely about who you know, especially for the research one,” said Parker, “It’s good to have worked in different labs, so you can get different scientists to write your recommendation letter.”
“You can get advice from Dr. Nagengast, Dr. Tuten and Dr. Barlow early,” said Edgerton. “They have a good track record for getting people through.”
“I would encourage freshmen and sophomores to look into what kind of opportunities there are, what kind of scholarships and fellowships they would be able to apply for come junior and senior year because sometimes it’s helpful to know what kind of places you can go to, so that if you step back a few years you can work on building to get there,” said Connelly.
“For juniors who are thinking about applying for the Fulbright, start working on it early, especially if you’re thinking about applying for research fellowship,”
said Connelly.

As part of their environmental science senior capstone project, a small group of innovative students is attempting to set up a fully functioning farm near the Peace Chapel. The group of seniors is working with Dr. Neil Pelkey, associate professor of environmental science, and a few other professors, to write the plan for the farm.
The students have many of hopes for the farm, but Pelkey pointed out the major function of the Capstone course.
Pelkey said, “The first thing is for student experiences, that students get to come and learn about organic and sustainable systems.”
The group has a lot of excellent goals for the farm and many of them deal with being environmentally friendly.  The students working on this project are each working on different aspects. Senior Darrin Foltz talked about the goals for the farm.
“The goal of the whole project is to develop a 5 year plan … to lay down an infrastructure and get it to a point where we can pass it on to the next year’s class,” said Foltz. Writing the plan for the farm will require a lot of work.
Within the five-year plan, the seniors want to improve certain aspects of the farm.  Foltz said, “Our five year plan is to … improve drainage, rebuild the shed so that the potatoes do not rot and … build sustainable housing.”
Last year, about two acres of potatoes were grown and harvested, but the fields did not drain well and the potatoes began to rot in the current storage shed.
Foltz said that he and senior Elyzabeth Engle are working on “… getting a composting system.” Foltz said, “We are going to start small and try to do the pre-consumer waste in the love line.” This way they will know what is going into the compost heap; only certain foods can be used to make an excellent compost heap.
For right now, they do not know where to put the compost heap or what to do with it since much of the project has yet to move to the farm. Foltz said, “We know someone in Belleville that can take a bunch of our waste and compost it for us, which might be what we have to do in the beginning. Eventually, we would like to
be self-sufficient.”
Additionally, senior Eleanor Provias is working on organizing another goal for the farm. Provias said her goal is “creating a sustainable living situation on the farm.”
“We are hoping to be as much off the grid as possible,” said Provias. The group is looking into using composting toilets and sustainable building materials. The seniors want the farm to be as environmentally friendly as possible and to create very little waste.
Another way to increase the sustainability of the farm is to use recycled energy. The group has thought about possible energy sources, two of which are vegetable oil and biodiesel.
Senior Erin Burt said, “We were considering using all the vegetable oil we have here and we can get quite a lot from Sodexo. What we are thinking of doing is using the vegetable oil to generate power and heat for the
sustainable housing.”
In the housing at the farm, they could use the vegetable oil to power a generator, which would provide heat and electricity. 
The farm could also be powered by biodiesel, but Burt said, “Biodiesel is adding another step and gives a byproduct.” The biodiesel process produces a substance that can be used in soap, but it may not be efficient or environmentally friendly to make the soap. 
“Right now we are looking at using a diesel generator and modifying it to use vegetable oil,”
said Burt. 
It is still undecided whether the farm will use vegetable as a heat source, or convert it to biodiesel.  The energy just has to be made as efficiently as possible.
Senior Marcin Jaroszewicz is working closely with the capstone farm project, but is not an environmental science POE himself.  For his part of the project, he is figuring out how to deal with the distribution of food produced on the farm.
Sodexo bought a large quantity of the potatoes grown on the farm last year, so they may be a useful company to sell the surplus of food produced on the farm.
Jaroszewicz hopes that a community will form around the farm. “I would like to see a culture of food sovereignty and some kind of community that cares for one another around food,” said Jaroszewicz.
Jaroszewicz went on to describe food sovereignty as taking “ownership of what we eat, what it affects, and who gets to eat.”
Setting up a farm requires people, money, organization and an interest. The seniors working on the farm project have provided all of these things with hope that the farm continues to grow in all of these aspects. 

Since the beginning of the spring 2012 semester, the Student Government officers from the class of 2014 have made efforts to formalize student Senate procedures, increase government efficiency, and promote transparency within the JC student body.
Sophomore class President Michael Melvin, vice president Zach Strouse, treasurer Derrick Magnotta, and secretary Jake Messer first presented their proposal at the regular Senate meeting held on Feb. 2. 
“As sophomores, we’re in a unique position on campus; three out of us four will not be running for reelection this spring because of the usual interruptions of junior year,” said Magnotta.  “So at this point, we feel that our efforts will be best directed to building our institutional integrity rather than the usual of a class.”
“The sophomore class approached the executive board with some ideas that they feel, and we agree, will make Senate procedure and profit a lot more efficient,” said executive board president senior David Grim.  “It will allow people’s ideas to be heard clearly and respectfully.”
As part of their proposal and ultimate goal to amend the constitution and bylaws, the sophomore officers suggested that the Senate becomes more of a vehicle for change.  “We hear an onslaught of complaints yet recognize few results,” said Magnotta.  “We would like to see floor time reserved for an open discussion of student issues.”
Part of this change involves sending Senate meeting agendas out to students with the daily announcements, to encourage more attendance and interest from the student body in legislative affairs.  The previous meeting’s minutes will then be sent out the following Friday. 
Both of the aforementioned changes met approval by the other class officers, but the third raised some controversy: the use of a roll call vote in making decisions. This would involve each Senate member voting aloud after their name is called by the executive board secretary.
“I think the advantage of that is that it allows a recording of how everyone votes, which could then be published and sent out with the meeting minutes,” said Messer. “And if people don’t like how you’re voting, they won’t vote for you again.”
“There’s so much peer pressure in that,” said junior class president Jade Wronowski.
Rob Strauss, the junior class vice president, agreed. “The problem with that is that an anchoring bias; if you see that one person votes ‘yes,’ the chance of the next person voting ‘yes’ will skyrocket up,” he said. 
Ultimately, the executive board decided to compromise by recording each vote on a computer database under the Senate members’ name.  This will allow voters to not influence each other while still recording each vote to be published to the campus. 
This proposition was approved when the Senate reconvened Feb. 8, but the final vote will not occur until the next meeting on Feb. 16. 
According to its Constitution, Student Government is established for “the communication of student needs and desires to other constituencies of Juniata College.”
As a primary representation of Juniata College, the student government and executive board promote leadership, incite change, and provide a voice for JC students and the community at large.  Their duties include processing financial allocations, approving new RSOs, and conducting regular meetings to address student affairs. 
Student senate meetings convene every other Thursday at 9 p.m. in BAC C225.  Student attendance is both allowed and encouraged.

Recently appointed Driector of Residential Life and head women’s swim coach, Lauren O’Donnell, plans to use her previous two years of experience as a Resident Director of Cloister to succeed in her new position.  Photo Credit: Sungouk Park

Since joining Juniata College in 2009 as the head swim coach, Lauren O’Donnell has been a very active member of the community. O’Donnell’s newest role on campus is Director of Residential Life.
Over winter break O’Donnell was offered the position of Residential Life Director after her predecessor Tim Launtz was named the new head football coach for
the Eagles.
As a Division III All-American swimmer, O’Donnell has had many doors opened to her through athletics. “I swam and played softball in high school,” O’Donnell said, “and then I went to TCNJ [The College of New Jersey] and swam there. It was really my passion and what got me coaching.”
On top of O’Donnell’s hard work rejuvenating the swim team she also worked as residence director of Cloister, a position she was not too familiar with . “When I was originally hired as the RD I hadn’t had much experience in Res. Life, I lived in a dorm in college but that was about it. I think there are a lot of similarities between Res. Life and athletics. Being in charge of your RAs is like being a leader on a team.”
After being named Head of Residential Life, O’Donnell had to forfeit her position as RD of Cloister. She did not understand what she was leaving behind. “It was nice having free housing and a free meal plan. I never realized the value of that until now that I’m paying my own rent.”
O’Donnell definitely sees the benefits of the move, however. “I love Huntingdon, I walk to work almost every day and I have a little dog who appreciates
the backyard.”
O’Donnell can be seen on campus and around Huntingdon taking a stroll with her terrier
breed, Winnie.
Despite a busy work schedule, O’Donnell finds time to cheer for her beloved Phillies, watch College Football and, if she has the time, play football.
O’Donnell loves competing and has reaped the benefits that sports have given her. Speaking about the progression of the swim team, O’Donnell says, “We have been growing each year and
getting better.”
As a testament to O’Donnell’s competitive nature and love of coaching she will go the extra distance to prepare her swimmers as best she can. Freshman swimmer Shayna King said, “As of right now she [O’Donnell] isn’t letting us shave our legs just to slow us down a [few] milliseconds so that we will be that much faster when we shave right before the championship meet. She does a lot to help us. When we were training in Florida we were all dying and Lauren dove into the pool and swam a fifty meter lap underwater just kicking to prove to us we can do it too.”
Through coaching at Juniata College, O’Donnell was able to secure a position as RD of Cloister, which introduced her to working in Residential Life.
As a former RD, O’Donnell appreciates the importance of what RD’s and RA’s [Residence Assistant] do. “My experience prepared me for this job.  You learn as you go, and I expect to keep learning as a Director of Res. Life.”
To compliment O’Donnell’s work experience she also had a great amount of higher education under her belt.
“I have my Master of Administration so there are things that happen in real life that you don’t learn at school and at the same time you find yourself applying things that you learned
at school.”
Hard work and passion are two adjectives that are commonly used to describe O’Donnell’s life and rightfully so, her credentials speak for themselves.
Prior to joining to Eagles in 2009, O’Donnell was an assistant coach at SUNY New Paltz, where she served as an advisor to the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Before spending time at New Paltz O’Donnell was coaching club teams in the area surrounding TCNJ as well as coaching at her alma mater. “I was a graduate assistant coach for women’s swimming at TCNJ helping run drills, dry-land training, weight room workouts, and practice plans for different swimmers,” said O’Donnell
While working as the assistant coach at TCNJ, O’Donnell found free time to work as head coach of the Greenwood Park Swim Club and assistant coach with the Eastern Express Swim Club, both local club teams.
Since she spends so much time in and around the pool, O’Donnell has earned certifications in pool operating, lifeguard training instructor, CPR for the professional rescuer, First-Aid, automated external defibrillators and O2.
This summer O’Donnell will be traveling to help coach swimming camps at the University of Georgia and the University of Texas, two prestigious swim programs.
O’Donnell will be working with Georgia’s head coach Jack Bauerle, who was the 2008 USA Olympic team women’s swimming head coach, and has been named Southeastern Conference Coach of the year 11 times and National Coach of the year five times.
As the recently appointed Director of Residential Life, O’Donnell plans to stay at Juniata College for quite a while to continue her passions for swimming, coaching and leading.

Professors Allison Fletcher and Celia Cook-Huffman along with Lily Kruglak ‘11, a Juniata graduate, plan to travel to the African country of Rwanda late this month in hopes of starting a study abroad program with one of the local universities. Currently, they plan for the program to begin in the summer of 2013 and to last for three weeks.
Despite Professor Fletcher taking the forefront on this program she doesn’t take any credit. “I think that it originated very much from a student who has now graduated called Lily Kruglak. She went there for her study abroad. And when she returned to campus she felt a strong desire to raise awareness about genocide on campus and so last year we had a Genocide Awareness and Action Week,” said Fletcher.
Both professors wish for the program to be open to students of all POEs. “I think there are other reasons for thinking about Rwanda for students and it’s not directed at students in a particular discipline. We would imagine students from many different disciplines would be interested in something like this,” said Fletcher.
Cook-Huffman believes that this program will add variety to Juniata’s study abroad options. “It’s also about the college’s strategic planning initiative to develop more programs with Africa. It’s an opportunity for us to stand and expand programs that Juniata offers on that continent,” said Cook-Huffman. “There are very few academic institutions here that have study abroad opportunities in Rwanda so we would be on the cutting edge of that,” said Fletcher.
Currently, the only Juniata study abroad program in Africa is in The Gambia. Many colleges lack programs in Africa due to people’s ignorance and the negative stigma Africa holds. Fletcher believes this is a growing problem. “That’s why I like to teach African History, to try and disrupt those stereotypes,” said Flecther.
Cook-Huffman believes one challenge will be to simply educate people about Africa the continent. “We tend to talk about a continent as a country. We talk about African culture instead of African cultures. To be more specific, Rwanda culture would be very different from South African culture and the many other different cultures in Africa. We tend to see it as one lump place instead of a place of multiple peoples,” said Cook-Huffman.
Fletcher explained why both she and Cook-Huffman have personal interest in traveling to Rwanda. “I teach classes on genocide so I’m particularly interested on going and Ceilia is interested because she’s Peace and Conflict Studies. Rwanda is an ideal site to think about post-genocide reconciliation practices,” said Fletcher.
The Juniata representatives will begin the trip by going to the National University of Rwandda in Butari to talk about academics. They will then talk to people working in the country, especially at Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). But they will not be staying in one place, instead traveling all over the country and visiting different genocide memorials. “As faculty members our goal is to make contacts, establish relationships so that we can than plan a trip to take students for a short term study abroad trip,”
said Cook-Huffman.
Kruglak is excited to have the opportunity to help start this program. “It was definitely a very rewarding experience for me and looking at Juniata study abroad opportunities, there are many of them, but there are none like this. And I think coming from a Peace and Conflict Studies POE, having a program accessible to Juniata students that really does look at a society that has had the experiences Rwanda … it’s a very valuable context to learn in,” said Kruglak.
Kruglak believes that if the program is developed it will be a popular study abroad destination. “I think it provides an opportunity for that kind of study. After the Genocide Awareness and Action Week last year, there was an interest that people had to study in Rwanda and learn more. I think the interest is definitely there and if we create the opportunity to go people will want to go,” she said.
Some students already seem excited about the idea of having an opportunity to travel to Rwanda. Freshman Stephanie Gioia, believes that this program would be good for Juniata and its students. “I think it’s a good idea. It’s a new place and we’ve never gone there before so it’s a good opportunity for kids to explore somewhere new,” she said.
The fact that several students are already interested in the program is a good sign. Freshman Natasha Rosler thinks studying in Rwanda will be an interesting learning experience. “It’s sounds interesting,” said Rosler. “It would probably be a good chance for students to learn more about Africa.”

Coach Smith preaches safety, clean shoes, and absolutely no gum-chewing while working out in Kennedy Recreation center. Headphones are prohibited while using weights but are allowed on cardio equipment.  Photo Credit: Sungouk Park

For students at Juniata College, using the gym in Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center is a privilege that may be revoked if they fail to obey the rules. 
Coach Smith, the strength and conditioning coordinator, says that the rules are important because they help maintain order and safety in the gym.
“Keep it nice, keep it clean, keep it safe. That’s what all the rules are for, and that’s the only reason we have rules,” said Smith.
Like other privileges, such as driving, there are consequences for those who don’t follow the rules. 
“This is a privilege to come here,” Smith said.  “We’re not going to let somebody come in here and put somebody else at risk.”
Smith explained that most gyms would immediately revoke someone’s membership if they were disrespectful.  The Gym in Kennedy is a little more lenient, however, Smith has had to ask students to leave. This has occasionally been necessary, since refusing to comply with the rules can put everyone in danger.
“The most important rules to follow are all the rules pertaining to safety,” Smith said. 
Ronnie Shrift, the strength and coordinating intern, agrees. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt here,” said Shrift.
Safety is especially important when working with the weights. Smith requires those lifting heavy weights to have spotters. When using the bench press, students must put collars on the weights to make sure they are secure. 
For students who use the dumbbells, it is important to remember not to leave them on the benches. Besides causing tares and damage to the benches, they could roll off and hurt somebody. In addition, the dumbbells should be put back where they came from immediately after being used.
Some students who use the gym feel that some rules are too strict.  Freshman Lily Dudek, who is on the women’s soccer team, especially does not understand why headphones cannot be worn everywhere in the gym. Since she does not always like the music that is played in the gym, she wishes that she could listen to her own music while lifting.
“If you have headphones on, you can’t communicate with people,” Smith said. Communication is important when lifting heavy weights to ensure everyone’s safety. 
Headphones are only allowed on the aerobic equipment. Students are not permitted to wear headphones at any time using
the weights. 
Shrift, who uses the gym himself when he is not working, worries the most when students use improper technique when they are lifting.  He tries to help students correct their technique so that they don’t get hurt. 
According to Smith, the hardest rules to enforce are the ones that deal with cleanliness and hygiene.  Gum is not allowed in the gym because of the risk of students putting it on the machines when they are done with it.
“I really don’t care if people chew gum, but because of this, we don’t allow them to chew gum,” said Smith. 
Clean sneakers are also a necessity, as dirty shoes will track mud around the gym floor. Smith recommends that students who use the gym keep a separate pair of gym shoes that they do not wear outside. 
“I think the students do a really good job of following the rules, for the most part,” Shrift said. In his experience, students are sometimes lax about the rules upon returning from a break, but they easily adjust when they are reminded.
Smith suggests that students who are new to the gym read all of the signs around the gym. 
“We try to post all the rules and regulations,” Smith says. However, not all students notice these postings.  Freshman Dan Attner was unaware of any particular rules.
“I didn’t know there were any rules,” Attner said. Attner assumed that students should use their own judgment when using the gym and not do anything to disrupt the
other students.
Smith also advises students to use their common sense in the gym. There are many unwritten rules that are just common courtesy. Many of these rules deal with sharing space. There is limited room in the gym, and students must be aware of what others are doing at all times.
Most importantly, students must be respectful.  Students should be respectful to other gym users, and be mindful of safety procedures, so that everyone can enjoy the gym.
“First of all, it’s about the students who go here,” Smith said. The rules are there to ensure that every student can enjoy the benefits of the gym. 
If a student does not know something or feels unsure about a certain piece of equipment, they should ask.  Shrift says that those who work in the gym will always to help students who are uncertain of what is expected of them.  “We’re here to help you with whatever you need,” said Shrift.

Student government members gather in Neff Lecture Hall on Monday, Jan. 31, 2012 to ask questions and make suggestions about Juniata’s next president. This discussion was led by Dr. Stanton Hales, a search consultant for Academic Search.  Photo Credit: Jeff Bruzee

After serving 14 years at Juniata, President Tom Kepple will be retiring following the 2012/2013 school year. The presidential search committee has started the search for his replacement.
The presidential search committee members include Gerald Kruse, Wei-Chung Wang, Belle Tuten, Rob Yelnosky, Athena Frederick, Frank Pote, Gayle Pollack, Bud Wise, Mary White and student representative Rob Strauss. The committee started the process during this past summer, but did not have a committee meeting regarding the search until September 2011.
The first step taken was the hiring of search consultant Stan Hales, from Academic Search, in early December. Hales will assist in creating the job profile for the next president of Juniata as well as aid in the recruiting process.
The job profile is a six to eight page summary of what the committee would like to see out of the next president. The profile includes the current status of Juniata, the challenges and opportunities that currently exist at Juniata, as well as the type of person, both professional and personal characteristics, that Juniata is looking for in the next president. The committee hopes to have the job profile completed by the end of February.
Right now the search committee is in what is known as the pre-search study. The search committee has gathered information from the faculty, administration, students, and the Juniata community in order to accurately see what people want in the next president of Juniata.
Lynn Cockett, associate professor of communications said, “They have to know what they’re doing in the business sense. They have to be able to raise money. They have to be able to think creatively about higher education. Continue to work hard to grow our endowment.”
The search committee has provided students, faculty, administrators and the community with many opportunities to voice their opinions and say what they want to see in the next president of Juniata. On Jan. 30 and 31, Hales spent both days gathering information on what people wanted from the next president.
A lunch was held in which Hales went from table to table asking questions and getting feedback. There was also an Open Campus Forum in which students, faculty and members of the community could voice their opinions. Bud Wise, co-chair of the search committee, said “We were thrilled to have the student input on Jan. 30 and 31 to help shape the job profile.”
Strauss feels that student input is crucial to the selection process. “I think it’s very important because without the students none of this would be here. The whole reason for college is to educate the students, so we want the students to be happy, we want the students to strive, we want to be able to bring in great students, and also maintain the students that we’ve been keeping here for all four years,” said Strauss. The committee wants to find a candidate that meets the criteria of the student body and will take the student voice into consideration when deciding on the next president.
Elise Mihranian, sophomore, said “I think the next president of Juniata really needs to understand what we embody and what is important to both students and faculty. The next president should be someone who is willing to become part of our identity rather than make the college part of his.” At the open forum on Jan. 31, students that attended stated that finding a president that met the needs of the Juniata identity was important to them.
Some students, like Anthony Glossner, sophomore, want a president that will show support to all clubs and hopefully eliminate the underfunding of clubs on campus. “I want a president who shows support for underfunded clubs,” said Glossner.Nikki Halstead, a freshman, said “They need to be willing to take some risks. Continue being involved with the students, maybe even more so if possible.”
At the open forum on Jan. 31, students expressed their appreciation for President Kepple and his ability to connect with the student body and said they wanted to see that kind of mentality continue after the choosing of the next president.
Gathering student input is one of the main strategies the search committee will use to create the job profile, and determine the criteria for possible candidates.
Once the job profile is complete, there will be a period from March to early May when the committee will publicly announce that President Kepple will be leaving following the 2012/2013 school year. There will be an advertisement in “The Chronicle of Higher Education.” “The search committee’s goal is to be as transparent and communicative as we can, but without breaching the commitment to confidentiality in the search,” said Wise.
The upcoming summer will be a recruiting period devoted entirely to finding and receiving information on possible candidates. Hales and Academic Search will be selecting from a pool the pool of 2500-3000 candidates. Once school has gotten back into session and committee members have returned, the committee will meet and discuss the information Hales and Academic Search have gathered over the summer and narrow the list down to 12-20 candidates. The candidates that are selected will meet with the committee and answer a variety of questions that will allow the committee to select three finalists.
Following the selection of the three finalists, each candidate will visit campus for two days in October and continue to meet with members of the committee as well as members of the community and answer any questions people might have. There will be open forums that people may attend to gather information on the three finalists as well.
After the year-long process, the search committee hopes to have a final decision made by December, before the end of next year. For more information and periodic updates, see http://www.juniata.edu/president/search/.

The Presidential Election is a time in which political hopefuls may spill each other’s blood, bash each other’s views, and battle it out for the presidential position. Every four years this event comes around that occupies the headlines of newspapers and reports for months, bringing controversy and debate into conversations across the nation.
During the last election, the United States saw more uproar and dispute in one election than they may have ever seen in previous ones. Two strong-willed female candidates, Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Hillary Clinton, were up against the first African American candidate, Democrat Barack Obama.
This time around, Republican candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are not only up against each other, but also declared Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Randall Terry.
Right now, leading Republican candidate Mitt Romney seems to have gained the most popularity and support from Republican voters considering he beat Newt Gingrich 31 percent to 26 percent in the GOP nomination. Though this was not a landslide win, recent polls have shown that Republican voters see Romney as a more sincere presidential hopeful in comparison with Gingrich.
On the liberal side of the election, leading Democratic candidate Barack Obama has decided to enter to the race once again, declaring himself a strong, Democratic competitor who will not give up without a fight. Four years ago, we saw him heavily influence the views held by not only Americans, but also people around the globe. He utilized an effective strategy, which helped him maintain his Democratic supporters and win over many Republicans as well. This came as a shock to government officials and the general populace alike.
Candidates who are in the running to be the next President dedicate all the time they have to campaigning their cause and winning over the votes of Americans across the nation. Campaigns are financed by public funding from the federal government for primary and general elections. It is still early in the campaign process considering the fact that Americans will not be casting their votes until early November. It is very important for each presidential candidate to be making himself and his goals as president known to the general populous of the country.
Though this was the case four years ago during the 2008 Presidential Election, recent polls have shown that some Americans have grown increasingly frustrated with the ways Obama has dealt with certain government decisions and policies. Some think this will hurt his chances of re-election.  Others hope that his success in the 2012 campaign will provide all the answers American voters are currently seeking.
Voters and politicians are unable to predict the future, but America should hope that politicians will carry out their platforms. 
It is vital that any election is taken seriously, especially presidential elections. Because Americans thrive under a democracy, the nation is able to contribute thoughts and opinions regarding the government and its policies.
Young adults are the voice of the future. Juniata College students should recognize the importance of getting involved, being informed, representing their opinions, and defending their arguments. “You should know all the qualifications that a president should exhibit because your vote impacts many people,” said freshman Arielle Maines.
“It’s important that students participate in every election, not just this one in particular. But with an incumbent in President Obama running for re-election, it will certainly be an exciting election. And students should care about politics and the law and their rights as Americans. They should vote to represent their views,” said senior David Grim.
Presidential candidates must make it their duty to address the main issues that are relevant across the United States. In the past year, America has experienced economic trouble, the loss of jobs because of such economic turmoil, and a persistent battle over whether or not the war in Iraq should come to an end. “I think the general consensus of the public is that the economy is the biggest issue right now,” said Grim.
There are many layers to any election and campaign, especially presidential ones. Politicians dedicate years of their lives in order to serve the American people, demonstrate good character, and to make sound decisions regarding laws and policies on behalf of the citizens of this nation. American voters of all ages should stay knowledgeable and defend what they stand for politically.
Grim said, “In general, making sure I’m informed in understanding that there’s a wide array of issues, not just what the media wants to portray the election as. There’s a lot more to it than just the sound bites and the clips.”