The Haverford professor is on a mission of discovery

By Harper Hubbeling

Jennifer Punt wanted to grow up to be a writer.
“My dream in life was to be a novelist,” said Punt, leaning back in her chair to glance into the lab adjoining her office on the second story of the Koshland Integrated Natural Science Center at Haverford College.
Punt, 48, is no novelist. She is a biology professor and researcher at Haverford. Her lab studies immunology, looking at the development of thymocytes, a type of white blood cell critical to the body’s immune response.
Punt said she was, “very shy,” and, “very nerdy,” as a kid and that she was always, “very bad at following directions and learning a body of something that was already defined.”
“I just wasn’t that interested,” Punt said.
What did interest Punt?
“Since I was very little, I wanted to discover something,” Punt said. She recalls playing piano as a girl, slamming her hands down on the keys with the intense frustration of, “just wanting to discover something,” and not knowing how.
Punt was an undergraduate at Bryn Mawr College from 1979 to 1983. She went on to get a doctoral degree in veterinary medicine her the University of Pennsylvania. In 1996, just 13 years after leaving the Bi-co, she returned, beginning her teaching and research career at Haverford.

Her mission: discovery
At Haverford, Punt’s job description includes, “discovering something.”
“I couldn’t imagine a better job,” she said, “what more could I ask for than to be able to figure things out… I can be very excited by knowing that I know something new.”
And what is Punt is discovering? Continue reading →

Professor Kate Thomas on food & literature

By Clare Mullaney

In Bryn Mawr College’s English department, novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley isn’t just a great writer, but a vegetarian. 

This is how Kate Thomas, an associate professor of English at Bryn Mawr, describes the 19th century author.  She brought her interest in food studies to the college in 2005 with the creation of a class entitled “Eating Culture:  Britain and Food 1789-1929,” which explores the role of food in English literature, specifically highlighting food’s effect on power, politics and trade. 

Primarily a Victorianist and a critical and cultural theorist, Thomas found her interest in food studies later in her career after graduating from Cornell University Graduate School in 1996. 

She later returned to Oxford University, where she had studied as an undergraduate, to get her doctorate in English Literature in 2003. 

Thomas had been doing reading about how food hadn’t received much attention in the academic world and decided to incorporate food into her study of literature. 

Food studies is a relative new academic subject, said Thomas, but it encompasses many different disciplines, ranging anywhere from anthropology, to botany, to history, to English. 

Nonetheless, food studies tend to focus more on the social sciences than on literature, something that Thomas hopes to change through her own studies and teaching.

Eating Culture

Thomas emphasizes the importance of academic study in assessing cultural issues such as food. 

“If we don’t have scholarship, we’re missing a vital piece of how to culturally work together,” she said. Continue reading →

The woman who helps make Haverford green

By Kulia Woodell

There is nothing that Claudia Kent likes better than to romp around outdoors and play in the dirt.
A woman who is clearly more comfortable assessing tree health and poking around in the perennial beds than sitting at a desk, Kent is Haverford College’s grounds manager and sustainability officer.
“I do a little bit of everything,” Kent says, laying down a long list of her daily duties. She is in charge of maintaining the athletic fields, mowing the grass, repairing washouts on the Nature Trail, and caring for the on-campus flora.
As the main player in the ‘greening’ of Haverford, she works with students to compost waste from the dining center for use in the student garden on campus.
“This year the garden gave us tomatoes, potatoes, beets, green peppers, and pounds of green beans,” Kent said. “Haverford is historically a farming school. We’ve kind of gotten away from that now, but I’m working on proposals for a big campus farm.”
She finds a new enthusiasm in talking about the Bur Oak next to Magill Library. “It’s 175 years old, and they can live to be 500,” she said. “I just love the trees. I think Haverford has amazing trees.”
Walking through the fall colors, or, as Kent specifies, the reds of the Sugar Maples and the golds of the Honey Locusts, she recalls growing up in rural England. “I was always outside building forts and playing in the fields and river,” Kent said. Continue reading →

One Haverford student’s fight against the Apple iTunes oligarchy

By Mike Troup

The Recording Industry Association of America has been fighting a battle against online music piracy since the creation of illegal music download websites, starting with Napster in 1999. The RIAA has begun to enjoy success lately in catching people pirating music thanks to technology that allows monitoring services to search the database of music download programs and find people who are illegally sharing music.

Leave it to a Haverford College student to find a way around illegal file sharing — as well as a loophole in the music downloading system.

Introducing the hero: Joe Huttner. Huttner, 21, is a senior at Haverford. The New Jersey native is the creator of SadSteve.com, a music download website launched from his dorm room in January, 2008. He is determined to show that music can still be distributed over the internet without any hassle from the RIAA and major music labels.

The Sad Steve of Sad Steve

“My inspiration for the site came in August, 2007, following a discussion with a friend regarding the current, weakened state of the music industry,” said Huttner, leaning back in his chair as if he was Marlon Brando in The Godfather.

Apple Inc.’s takeover and near monopolization of legal digital music distribution through iTunes is what made Huttner feel like he had to take action. While the 6’3″ baseball player turned internet wiz appears to be a gentle giant, he is hardly soft-spoken.

“The industry’s major problem, in our minds at least, was its newfound allegiance with Apple Computer, Inc.,” he said. ” Labels had relinquished control of the fastest growing distribution channel, the digital one, to Apple, a company devoted to technology, not music production.”

Huttner set out to create Sad Steve to connect with music fans directly. It has a library of songs available for download that is increasing in size every day.

“Sad Steve is first and foremost an audio search engine,” said Huttner. “The search engine finds music, podcasts, comedy tracks, and even speeches.”

The way that music is made available on Sad Steve is simple. The site indexes mp3 files (the file type of most audio files) that are available all over the internet. Users can then download the file directly from the site to their computers.

“For example,” said Huttner, “If the website for John’s California Surf Club hosts a Beach Boys song, that file is indexed and made available to you, the user.” Continue reading →

Most Haverford students rarely leave campus.  This like life inside the bubble too much to venture outside.

By Robert Breckinridge
Students at Haverford College often find they are lulled into a comfortable complacency that leads them to rarely venture out of the confines of campus. For decades, they’ve called this tendency the Haverbubble.

But, is the Haverbubble real or a myth? Is is only a legend passed down from one generation of students to another, or is it the real thing. Now it can be told: it is the real thing.

In an anonymous survey to students at Haverford, 58 % of the 509 respondents – a reply rate equal to 45 % of the student body — said the Haverbubble is real and they never escape it. Another 32 % said they rarely leave the campus.

The survey shows that most students spend most of them time at Haverford on campus, rarely venturing outside – even to nearby establishment, even more rarely to Philadelphia, which is just a 20-minute train ride away.
And, according to the survey, most of them like it that way.

Sophomore Steve Chehi said, “the Haverbubble is a great thing for about 25% of the student body 100% of their time here. And a great thing for the other 75% of the student body for their first two years they are here.”
Part of the attraction of Haverbubble is that it can be as insulating and comfortable as crawling under your covers on a cold night.

“To me the Haverbubble is an island, it keeps me safe, its where I learn,” said Kyle Norton, another sophomore.
It is easy to imagine Haverford being an isolated 19th century village. Continue reading →

The McBride program at Bryn Mawr College gives women a chance to go to a school later in life.

By Juliana Reyes
Four women sit around a table and there’s a language barrier. Yvette Tucker, a black woman with short braids, manicured nails and silver butterfly earrings speaks broken French. Elisa Landaverde, a young, stylish girl from Mexico speaks Japanese. Georgette Hedberg, 63, speaks a little Polish. Marie Steeb, blond and pretty, speaks German and sounds like a native. They all concentrate when Tucker poses a question.
“Qu’est-ce que tu fais ce soir?” she says. Her French accent is getting there.
The women pause and look around. Then Hedberg breaks the silence.
“I think it sounds like, ‘You’re ugly.'” The women all burst out laughing.
Though they may seem completely different, these women are intimately connected. They are McBride scholars at Bryn Mawr College.
The McBride program, named after Katharine McBride, the fourth president of Bryn Mawr, began in 1985. It allows women who are beyond traditional college age to study at Bryn Mawr in order to receive their undergraduate degree. Though they range in age from 24 to 77, they are similar to the other Bryn Mawr students in many ways.
They are expected to fulfill the same requirements, they are eligible for financial aid and they have the opportunity to live on campus if they wish. One main difference is that McBrides do not have to attend Bryn Mawr full time. This is called “self-pace” and it allows them to choose how many classes they take each semester. Because of self-pace, McBrides sometimes stay for longer than the normal four years.
Rona Pietrzak, Associate Dean and Director of the McBride Scholars Program, says that some McBrides leave Bryn Mawr for a couple of years for different reasons, such as family problems, but they almost always come back.
The McBride application process is unique because as Pietrzak says, “We have their whole lives to look at.” Pietrzak explains that the application involves three letters of recommendation, four “fairly substantial” autobiographical essays and no SAT scores. McBride Scholar Joanne Bunch calls the application process “the most daunting thing about being a McBride.” She says she was going to apply to Smith College as well, but when she saw that Smith required one essay as opposed to Bryn Mawr’s four, she thought, “You can fake one essay, but you can’t fake four.” She thought of it as Bryn Mawr’s way of weeding out the weaker candidates. Continue reading →

Note: The names in this story were changed at the request of the sources in exchange for their candor on this topic.

By Michele Khilji

Sarah Aziz and Imran Khalid’s first anniversary is quickly approaching — not their wedding anniversary, but one year since they started dating.
Imran attends Rice University in Texas, but flew to Philadelphia to spend time with Sarah while they worked on their exams together. While Imran sits alone in Canaday Library, at Bryn Mawr College, Sarah sneaks away to the library stacks to work on Imran’s anniversary gift.
Being secretive is not new to this couple; this anniversary also marks a year of keeping the relationship a secret from their parents.
Sarah and Imran are just some of many children of South Asian immigrants who find themselves stuck between the American and South Asian ideals of love and marriage.
Marriage in South Asia is viewed as a binding relationship between the two families of the wedded, and traditional arranged marriages have been part of the culture for thousands of years. In an arranged marriage, the parents choose whom their child will marry. In South Asian culture, it is believed that an arranged marriage preserves cultural and class traditions, as well as serves as a “knot” that ties two families together.
Sarah and Imran both are children of Bengali immigrants. They share the same background and fit their parents’ criteria for potential spouses. So why do they hide that their relationship?
Imran’s parents are against dating because they view it as a possible distraction from studies. Imran’s father wants him to focus on studies and believes that his son is not in a position to take on a relationship. Although Sarah’s parents are not opposed to her dating, they would rather “save her reputation” by formalizing the relationship as an engagement. Sarah and Imran know they want to marry each other but have agreed that after Imran completes medical school they will reveal their relationship to their parents. “We have a two-year plan”, chuckled Imran.
When children of immigrants do not submit to their parents’ authority, they are described as being “too American”. So while individuals like Sarah and Imran end up choosing potential partners who are the same ethnic background, the way they made their choices and the timing still depart from traditional arranged marriage.
To find out more about views on arranged marriage, a recent survey of South Asians, most of them students at Bryn Mawr and Haverford, polled them on their views on dating and marriage. The survey was distributed via the email list serves of South Asian affinity groups, such as Bryn Mawr College’s South Asian Women (SAW) and Haverford College’s South Asian Students (SAS). In addition, an open Facebook event was created encouraging South Asian students to participate. Sixty seven responses were received, 59 of them women and 8 of them men. Their responses were anonymous, but respondents were able to leave comments. Continue reading →

 Lily Scott is a diabetic getting the most out of life 

By Lamees Tanveer

 Drenched. She stands under the pouring rain simmering in the cold. A sudden bout of nausea and she runs towards the first building she sees. Crouched over a toilet seat in a bathroom at Swarthmore college, she asks herself. “What the hell went wrong?”

Lily Scott, 19, isn’t new to these sudden bouts –bouts of nausea, bouts of numbness or bouts of pain. She has lived through them all.

Like the 800,000 others who suffer from Juvenile, Type-1 Diabetes in the United States, Lily’s ordinary life is extraordinary, constantly monitoring her supply of insulin, that comes from a pump embedded inside her.  Being wary of  the symptoms of diabetes — excessive thirst, frequent urination, sudden unexplained weight loss and numbness of the feet  Moving along day to day with the reality of the disease sitting on her shoulder.

On the way, back from the party to Bryn Mawr College, she retraces her steps for the millionth time. “The blood sugar level was high to begin with, but I only had one drink. Maybe I was too conservative with the insulin intake. But it was only one drink. Maybe I drank more than I should have. No. It-was-only-one-drink.”

            This one drink, a mixture of Vodka and Country Time Lemonade powder is what she would later call, “Death on a stick for a diabetic.”

            As she answers the plethora of questions in her head, checking off the mental check-list , she feels it coming back. Like a rolling thunder, her blood gushes and the nausea sets in again. She gets off the bus and by that time is “horribly sick.”

            At 1:00 p.m. she finds herself being rushed to the health centre. Panic. Residents of Rockefeller dorm come out of their rooms, Text messages are forwarded like ricocheting bullets, “Lily Scott collapsed.”

            At the Health Centre, Lily’s friend, Sarina Dane talks to the nurse. The doctor is called and within seconds she is sent to the emergency room.

            “I thought she had had too much to drink. Then I found out it was dehydration so I decided to stay all night,” says Sarina.

            Triple Dehydration.  When you drink alcohol, you get dehydrated. When you have a high blood sugar content, you get dehydrated. When you vomit, you get dehydrated.

            The staff at the Health centre prepared to inject IV-fluids before things turned from bad to worse. It took them longer than usual and it hurt more than usual since her veins had shriveled.

            “It wasn’t a fun experience” says Lily. “Normal people don’t have to throw up after one drink. I don’t need alcohol to have fun but I should be able to have one drink. It shouldn’t have to be this way.”

Continue reading →

Christmas at this church means a creche with live animals

By Emily Olsen

In the beginning of December the newly set-up stable and pen outside Old First Reformed Church, a United Church of Christ church, was empty.  Signs posted around the edges alternated between verses from Christmas gospel and “Don’t feed the animals.”  The animals were not there yet, but they would be soon. 

Old First Reformed, on the corner of fourth and Race Street in Philadelphia is known for the live-animal crèche it puts up each year.  The Reverend H. Daehler Hayes first began the crèche tradition in 1973 and it has been a part of Christmas at Old First ever since. 

Keith Haberern directed church volunteers in building the crèche on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  The basic set up is a pen with a stable area in the back.  The animals can go underneath the stable for shelter.  Mannequins, dressed as members of the Holy Family, shepherds, and wise men are also set up inside the stable.  A small fence keeps the animals from knocking them over.

Haberern, 50, has been in charge of building the crèche for the last 20 years.  He is an architect and engineer, who also plays mandolin during church services.    

Originally the crèche was built out of debris from the church and surrounding buildings after Old First was restored in the late 1960s.  By now, most parts have been replaced except for the roof beams.  Over the years Haberern has worked to make the set-up of the crèche safer.

 “One of the miracles of the crèche is that no one has gotten killed setting it up” said Haberern with a grin.

                                                ●

After the stable and pen structure is set-up, there is still more to do.  The mannequins have to be brought up from the basement and dressed.  Rosemary Poll, the church secretary is in charge of dressing the mannequins with the help of the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Manuel Shanaberger, and the volunteer coordinator, Kevin Waltz.

“I hate that job” said Poll, 66. 

The mannequins are past their prime, to say the least.  Poll described them as held together with duct tape.

“We have to tie them upright in the stable since their stands are broken” said Poll.

Old First used to have the mannequins repaired in Delaware County, but Poll said at this point they are beyond saving.  It was never an easy trip anyway.

Years ago one of the volunteers offered to drive the mannequins to be repaired up in Delaware county, said Poll.  Unfortunately he couldn’t fit all of them in his car.  Finally, he ended up tying the last mannequin onto the car roof.

 “People slowed down and honked” said Poll, laughing.  “It was a wonder he wasn’t pulled over by the police.”

For the rest of the year, the mannequins are placed in a closet, where they terrorize unsuspecting volunteers.

“It’s quite a shock to open a closet and find a whole bunch of naked mannequins” said Poll.

Kevin Waltz, has had special experience with the mannequins.  During his first week at the church Waltz, 23, mistakenly opened the closet where the mannequins were kept.

“A mannequin flew out at me” he said.  “I didn’t know about the crèche at the time and I thought this was just a very weird church.” Continue reading →

South Asians who migrated to America adapt in their new homeland.

By Sneha Sadarangani

Quddusmakhan Bird smiles broadly as he spies a young Indian girl approach the counter at Dunkin Donuts. He greets her in fluent Hindi and she responds laughing, amused at hearing the cadences of her native language in the middle of Philadelphia’s 30^th Street Station.

Displaying the trademark hospitality of the east, Bird fusses over her order of a single donut and insists on giving her another one for free

 “I don’t want you getting as fat as the people in this country, mind you, but one donut isn’t nearly enough,” he smiles. “Here’s a blueberry one on me.”

Bird is just one of the thousands of South Asians who have emigrated and made Philadelphia their home. From Dunkin Donut workers and cab drivers to investment bankers and scientists, they move to a life of a cross-cultural quandary, where lucrative work is pitched against the rich cultural ethos that has created them.  It is this tension of opposites that make them so unique in experience and so much a part of the diverse American culture.

 Hailing from Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bird would put anyone at ease. He speaks six different languages including Spanish, Urdu, Greek and Bengali and has lived in four different countries. He moved from Bangladesh to Spain when he was 23, followed by a short stint in the United States only to shift to Dubai and then back to the U.S. in 1995. At 51, he’s well traveled and his favorite place in the world is New Zealand.

So why did such a nomad finally settle down in America?

 “My wife’s father passed away and there was no one to take care of her mother in Philadelphia,” he explains. “As the only child, my wife had to step up to the responsibility.”

Over the past 13 years, he has worked at Dunkin Donut stores and McDonalds franchises all over Philadelphia. With all this experience in the field, he hopes to own his own fast-food chain someday.

“I’ll call it Pizza Store and it’ll sell American food,” he says simply.

What about bringing his own culture to the heart of this proverbial ‘melting pot’?

Bird smiles and quips, “I don’t know about that- after all, there’s no such thing as Bangladeshi French fries.”

But while his choice of menu might be American, Bird stays true to his Bangladeshi origins and eastern values. He often takes his children back to his homeland for visits and objects even to the suggestion of a cross-cultural relationship.

“My children have to marry within the community. They are aware of this and wouldn’t consider anyone otherwise,” he states confidently.

But his conventional outlook on cross-cultural relationships aside, he definitely appreciates aspects of other cultures as well.

“I’m a Muslim but celebrate Hindu, Jewish and Christian holidays,” he says. “I don’t want to miss out on the fun!” 

Bird is rich in knowledge and experience and bears an unmistakable zest for life. So is he satisfied handing out lattes and jelly donuts to late night commuters on the Philadelphia regional rail?

It seems that American culture has churned him into one of its own species- a cog in a machine. Like a true workaholic, Bird claims, “I can work anywhere. At the end of the day, work is work.”

                                                                   …

As you walk around Ardmore along Greenfield Avenue, an overwhelming aroma of spices permeates the air. This alluring trail of cumin and turmeric invites you into Khajuraho, a popular Indian restaurant on the Main Line.

The dim lighting, soothing strumming of the Sitar and paintings of Indian temples adorning the walls greet you into rustic India. In the true spirit of Indian hospitality, the owner, Bharat Luthria welcomes you at the door and oversees your service for the evening.

Continue reading →