The Brown and White

09/03/2026

The Lehigh Student Senate voted to slash the allocations of three longstanding organizations, and unveiled proposals to adjust the funding of 12 others, during its Tuesday meeting in the UC Boardroom. Link in bio for more.

Producer: Max Randall
Anchor: Kat Van Buskirk

05/06/2026

The mauve and purple walls of Cafe the Lodge are a hue that Charlotte Schwartz, ‘26, knows well.

She said that same shade filled her painting palette while working in Lehigh’s art studio over the past four years and now appears in nine of the 13 oil paintings hanging in Cafe the Lodge’s Cappuccino Room Gallery’s walls.

For her senior year capstone, Schwartz said she used a single color palette and a bird’s-eye perspective to depict nine physical spaces representing her strongest memories in an exhibition titled “INHABIT.” Installed April 3, the exhibit will remain on display through May 18.

In an artist’s statement displayed alongside the work, Schwartz explained the conceptual meaning behind the 13 paintings. She acknowledged the complexity of the series and said while the exhibit is visually accessible, it may be difficult to interpret.

Drenched in confident strokes of purple, buttery yellows, misty blues, earthy browns and greens, each canvas recreates a “room” from her life. When displayed together, she said the works form one cohesive painting.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Schwartz

Charlotte Schwartz depicted various rooms in her senior year capstone and each painting depicts a monumental memory.

05/06/2026

In 2013, Liz Matthews, ‘26, visited the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia with her sister and father. Too afraid to walk through the prison’s haunted corridors, she stayed behind with her father to enjoy ice cream while her sister went ahead.

But as they drove away at the end of the trip, Matthews realized something was wrong: her sister wasn’t in the car. Her father had forgotten her.

Shortly after, her father was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

By 12, Matthews had lost her father. He died in 2016 at 52 years old. In the years that followed, she turned her loss into action, pursuing research and advocacy surrounding frontotemporal dementia.

Photo courtesy of Deuce Miller

Liz Matthews, '26, turned the loss of her father into action, pursuing research and advocacy surrounding frontotemporal dementia.

05/06/2026

When Yuki Zhu first picked up a golf club at 5 years old, it was because of her father.

Nearly 20 years later, golf has taken her across the world and made her one of the most consistent players in Lehigh women’s golf history.

Now a senior, Zhu leaves behind a career defined by both production and persistence. A three-time All-Patriot League honoree and multi-time Patriot League golfer of the week, she’s anchored the Mountain Hawks’ lineup for four seasons, regularly finishing near the top of leaderboards.

But for Zhu, the numbers only tell part of the story.

Photo courtesy of Lehigh Athletics

“(Lehigh) feels like home because of the people,” Zhu said. “Coming all the way from China, I never expectewd to make so many friends. That’s what I appreciate the most.”

When Yuki Zhu first picked up a golf club, it was because of her father. Now, golf has made her one of the most consistent players at Lehigh.

05/06/2026

Seniors who transferred to Lehigh reflect on the risks and rewards of starting over, sharing how leaving one school for another ultimately led them to stronger communities, clearer goals and a deeper understanding of themselves.

For students who transferred to Lehigh, the decision didn’t happen all at once but was built over time.

Sydney White, ‘26, a psychology and health, medicine and society double major, began her college career at the University of Tennessee. She was drawn to the size of the school and the distance from home, but once she arrived, she said that scale became isolating.

Large lecture halls made it difficult to connect with professors, leaving her feeling disconnected academically and socially. This was especially challenging when she realized she lacked strong relationships with faculty for opportunities like recommendations.

“I just didn’t feel that sense of community,” she said.

Photos courtesy of Ava Jennings, Sydney White and Anna Suter

Seniors who transferred to Lehigh reflect on the risks and rewards of starting over and finding a community at Lehigh.

05/05/2026

Stacey Cunningham, ‘96, former president of the New York Stock Exchange, will deliver the 158th undergraduate commencement speech on May 17.

Cunningham became the first woman to lead the New York Stock Exchange when she was appointed as the 67th president in May 2018. She served in the role from 2018 to 2022, overseeing the exchange and the broader New York Stock Exchange Group.

During her time at Lehigh, Cunningham said she interned on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, an experience that ultimately shaped her career path.

She said the internship, combined with her growing interest in business, led her to pursue industrial engineering, a field she found practical and well-suited to her goals.

Photo courtesy of Stacey Cunningham

Stacey Cunningham, ‘96, former president of the New York Stock Exchange, will deliver the 158th undergraduate commencement speech on May 17.

05/05/2026

Walking into the lower level of Main Street Commons and into the newly opened Semicolon Books, customers are met with the fresh smell of coffee and soft jazz playing.

Charles Debski and Udval Yun, co-owners and a married couple, have created what they describe as “a place to pause; a place to read.” The shop was created as a space for customers to relax, contrasting with the couple’s past lives in corporate America.

Before opening the shop, the couple lived in New York City, where they juggled long hours and high stress. During this time, they turned to reading as a form of escape.

“Every time we traveled or wanted an escape, we always tended to go to bookstores,” Yun said. “We loved the atmosphere, the cozy vibes and how it let us step away from everything else.”

That sense of escape became the foundation of their business.

Photo by Lola Offenback/B&W Staff

Charles Debski and Udval Yun, co-owners and a married couple, have created what they describe as “a place to pause; a place to read.” The shop was created as a space for customers to relax, contrasting with the couple’s past lives in corporate America.

05/05/2026

Throughout Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley and beyond, there are countless small businesses. It would be nearly impossible to visit all of them, and even narrowing the scope to just local breweries, bookstores or coffee shops can feel overwhelming. Every main street, side street and shopping center seems to have somewhere new to try, somewhere new to support and somewhere new to form an opinion about.

Unlike large retail chains, small businesses often have only one opportunity to make a first impression. Many customers base their decision on whether to return on a single experience, placing a higher level of pressure on those businesses.

The term “small business” itself covers a wide range of operations. Some have fewer than five employees, who sometimes are all family members or close friends, while others have larger teams with dedicated management, marketing support and what seems to be a well-rotated staff. Because of limited resources, small businesses may not always be able to provide the same immediate turnaround times or answer the phone on the first ring. However, these same types of limitations are often accepted without question at large chain stores.

For small businesses, expectations can sometimes be higher, even though the realities of staffing and capacity are very different. Behind every “open” sign on the front door is a small staff updating inventory, scheduling, placing orders, answering the phones, sweeping floors, providing customer service and doing everything else required to keep the lights on and business flowing.

Photo courtesy of Scott Effting

Throughout Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley and beyond, there are countless small businesses. When interacting with a small business, it helps to remember that there are real people behind the counter.

05/05/2026

In some corners of Bethlehem, churches that once had congregations filling the pews each week now sit quiet and vacant.

Just blocks away, however, other churches are growing, drawing in young worshippers and multilingual communities and bringing people back to faith.

Pastor Jon Schwartz of Life Church said empty and abandoned churches — once built to be beacons of hope, light and a place of safety — reflect a need for renewed community engagement.

He said this transformation has been shaped by the lasting effects of COVID, changing demographics and a growing expectation for churches to serve as both places of worship and centers of community support.

“There’s an increase in hunger for God and spirituality,” Schwartz said.

Photo by Ellie Sileo/B&W Staff

Churches in Bethlehem are growing, drawing in young worshippers and multilingual communities and bringing people back to faith.

05/04/2026

In May 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14290, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” cutting all federal funding for PBS and NPR through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In July, Republican members of Congress passed additional legislation stripping public radio of billions in funds.

In the year since, local public radio stations across the country have struggled to survive, scrambling to maintain existing programs and facing nationwide volunteer shortages.

However, at WDIY 88.1 Lehigh Valley Public Radio, that trend hasn’t taken hold.

WDIY executive director Margaret McConnell said the station has maintained strong volunteer engagement despite financial challenges. The station currently has 90 volunteer on-air DJs and 30 additional volunteers who host community-centered programs and podcasts.

“If (a program) goes off air, I will fill it immediately,” McConnell said. “The interest in doing these programs is insane.”

Photo by Natalie Brenner/B&W Staff

WDIY has maintained strong volunteer engagement despite financial challenges. The station currently has 90 volunteer on-air DJs and 30 additional volunteers who host community-centered programs and podcasts.