Bucknell vs. Lehigh

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bucknell University
21

<p>I’ve heard the local Amish in Union County and surrounding farm communities are really rough, bullying Bucknell Bison boys! Chase ‘em down in packs, like wolves in those sleek, fast, black-topper buggies. Mean lean clod-hoppin’ machines! In fact that was the origins of the federal prison there at Lewisburg, cleaning up the menacing Mennonites. Go into the local P.O. and all you see in the pictures on the wall … Byler, Byler, Byler, Peachey, Hostetler, Hostetler, Peachey. Nasty bunch they are.</p>

<p>It is downright laughable reading this going back and forth. </p>

<p>Let me set the record straight. Crime is crime. There is relatively little of it in Lewisburg. Zilch beyond the normal load of local drug busts, break-ins, stolen vehicles, etc. There is some, like there is literally in any and every community with human beings. The prison, beyond being an eyesore in the near distance of the outskirts of Lewisburg, is a non-factor. Unlike many state facilities in the region, it does not attract much accompanying riff-raff in need of being close to their “man” and more in need of low-income housing, thus boosting the drug-using and dealing population. </p>

<p>Conversely, one nearbye incarceration facility in close proximity to Bucknell has a rapidly growing population of juvenile delinquent youth. Guess where over 50% of the young hoodlums come from? Right. Lehigh County, home of Lehigh University. Huge influx of minority and hispanic drug dealers and their off-spring in and around the Lehigh campus. Not anecdotal evidence, but rather a dismal, too-accurate generalization. This is nothing against Lehigh which is a fine institution. But so is the prison in Lewisburg. </p>

<p>Let’s get real in this discussion. Lehigh cannot help its environment any more or less than can Bucknell. But they are about as different as can be, and Lehigh’s potential consequences are not nearly so benign as Bucknell’s, I’m afraid. Unless one might be driven to the asylum by the chronic clop clop clop of buggies bolting down the highway between the 'burgs of Mifflin and Lewis. Union Co. … a hotbed of crime! Angry Amishmen gone AWOL! YIKES!</p>

<p>P.S. Offering one anecdote tho … have a local student who attended Gov School @ LU and worked there several summers. Had Ford Focus, that hot car, broken into 3 times in the LU parking lot. Went there anyway … for a year. Finally surrendered her dream for the reality and transferred to another, less urban U. Sadly this case of one fits the too-often reality of others in "beautiful " Bethlehem, that once prosperous now fading home of Bethlehem Steel. Worked in Asa’s day. But if they could move Lehigh to the Main Line? Or even Easton, in a heartbeat they’d be gone. Now THAT is dreaming.</p>

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<p>We visited both campuses last week with our 11th grade son…and loved them both. I only hope we’re faced with making the difficult decision between them next year!</p>

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<p>Just so we are clear and specific in this discussion.</p>

<p>The issue is NOT THE CAMPUSES and their respective facilities. </p>

<p>The issue IS the environments and communities in which these respective universities are located. </p>

<p>And there is no real defense for either. They simply are what they are, for better and for worse.</p>

<p>Conversely, we all know, because we all do it one way or another that …</p>

<p>There is EVERY need many feel for defending their loves.</p>

<p>My dad used to SWEAR that his '59 Edsel was one of the “best car I ever owned.” And it may have been, in fact. But there was one reality … it was then and remains forever, an Edsel.</p>

<p>Now, students, alums, and mostly parents might love their purchases of Bucknell or Lehigh. But each is part Edsel, part BMW. And trying to defend, excuse, or re-define either is understandable, perhaps emotionally necessary, and often disingenuous and inaccurate. But love can be blinding. Otherwise abused women wouldn’t ever make excuses for their “loving” abuser. Voters wouldn’t make excuses for their poor, uninformed lever decisions. And campus loyalists wouldn’t try to persuade others that Bethlehem isn’t a worn out industrial town, fraught with crime and drug-trafficking, and is adorned with attractive loft apartments like we saw in “Flash Dance.” Or that being in the middle of the Amish Nation doesn’t matter for a wannabe engineering school on a Camelot-like campus in Brigadoon, Pennsylvania. </p>

<p>Beds get made and people are determined to sleep in them.</p>

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<p>“a Camelot-like campus in Brigadoon, Pennsylvania”</p>

<p>Perhaps a new marketing slogan for Bucknell?</p>

<p>Whistle Pig - I just want to thank you for the chuckle you gave me this morning. Your description of the local Amish “gang” was priceless. </p>

<p>I will be sending my son to Brigadoon in the fall. At least now I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry about his safety!</p>

25

<p>And the critics claim creative writing can’t be taught! :wink: </p>

<p>Well, it can! Although I confess the only thing I recall of the class was the hot girl in the front row! And the aging professor suckin’ in his gut, determined to impress her. Didn’t work, that I know of.</p>

<p>Maybe it only goes to show that teaching and learning are severely separate activities.</p>

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<p>That was a hysterical account of the Amish gang, I have to say.</p>

<p>But I must ask you, whistle pig…why did your child apply to Lehigh if he (or she) was not interested in it, and it’s in such a bad area? And I thought I read a post where you mentioned that you lived nearby. Why do you live near such a terrible place? Because you do make it sound pretty awful.</p>

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<p>Recruited athlete. Had never been prior to visit. Confirmed no need to return. Was admitted, literally without submitting app. We do not live nearbye. Trust me, no way, at least in proximity to campus. I’d like to think there are decent neighborhoods around the area. Some very nice facilities, some very weather worn, imo. I found the hillside campus one of the least attractive I’ve been on … and I’ve been on too many. Great reputation though. Whoever made the observation of the Greek scene being a bit much, agree. Much more so than BU. Was recruited there also. </p>

<p>Honestly, and this is just my opinion … both are fine places that are seriously over-hyped and priced. If money’s no object and Princeton or Duke or Northwestern or Georgetown or Chapel Hill or Davidson or Wake or Bill & Mary might be outta reach, ok, go for it. But neither merits the price tag they have. But East Coast egoes are funny and fragile. No desire to offend, but these are two of the classic places that have no real reason any longer to project their institutions as worth the cost. Only one reason it works. There are sufficient numbers of parents willing to pay the price without a clue about merit and value beyond “it’s Bucknell!” or “it’s Lehigh!” </p>

<p>And when money is of no or little consequence? Then that can be enough. When people are paying a quarter million bucks for 4 years of classes, well, they should get more than these places deliver. Save it and send your Bloomsburg boy to Hopkins Med School. Now THAT counts for something. And you know, those places have well figured out there are bright kids everywhere these days. And some are not spoiled either.</p>

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<p>The Amish jokes are funny but the attempted rape I wrote about by Bucknell was anything but funny. No point in my checking this thread anymore so have fun bashing other schools over superficialities like school colors. Good luck to everyone. Stay safe and be aware of your surroundings no matter how Camelot-like they may seem.</p>

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<p>Aw cmon. Don’t be mad. You are correct, there is nothing funny about rape, be it contemplated, attempted, or completed. And none are pooh-poohing your illustration. And you are right on the money, suggesting that Camelot exists no where, even on the shadowy banks of the Susquehanna meandering through the mountains and Mennonite mansions of rural PA. Crime is crime, and as I suggested, it is perpetrated virtually any and every place humans habitate. </p>

<p>And btw, the law now requires EVERY school to make available its crime statistics. So check 'em out. Just get it from each campus security office. They must provide it.</p>

<p>As for the awful brown colors of the engineering nighthawks? Hey, its no more or less ugly than Ivy League Brown’s, a school that Lehigh’d aspire to emulate in its academe dream, I’d guess. But in doing so, those Lehigh colors and aspirations risk setting it up for Bucknell cheerleaders mimicking URI’s familiar chant of its in-state neighbor. Goes like this … "What color is BLEEP? what color is BLEEP? Brown! Brown! Brown! Being a bright student, I’m sure you can discern the Rhodies’ preferred inserted terminology for “BLEEP.” Think about it. This is serious business. Do you really want to wear THAT for the rest of your life as a Lehigh alum???</p>

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<p>Post #27 confuses me. Having been to Lehigh, and many, many other campuses, I can say the campus is very attractive and striking. Gorgeous stone buildings, more attractive than many others.</p>

<p>And both Wake and William and Mary are far less selective and easier to get into than both Bucknell and Lehigh. Most of those schools are also very expensive, maybe not if you’re instate for the state schools, but quite expensive otherwise. I am always thinking about what schools that I believe are “worth the money” because we are not eligible for financial aid, nor will my son get merit at a highly selective school. But besides the first four on your list, Princeton, Duke, Northwestern or Georgetown, the rest don’t really leap out to me as something that would be significantly more “worth the money” than Bucknell or Lehigh. All schools have their strengths and weaknesses, some schools have better programs than others (good luck trying to get an engineering or high tech degree at a purely liberal arts school), and often it is a matter of personal preference. With all of us prioritizing different things. The tuition at most schools has gotten so high, it is very difficult to justify the cost for anything except an in-state university, no matter the name or ranking. These schools, for the most part, are the average price of highly selective private universities.</p>

<p>Not all kids are interested in going to med school, and I personally would not encourage my kids to do so. They don’t have the passion for it, and I sure don’t want to spend an extra $250K (or have them borrow it) for a profession that will probably have a declining salary in the future due to the health care mess, after all that effort and cost.</p>