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Western versus Eastern Nebraska

The Clocktower 3 Pop Culture 4 Politics 5 Book Briefings 6 Sports TURN THE PAGE The official COLLEGEUNION newspaper February 23, 2022 Issue 15, Volume 96 7 Technology 8 Outlook 9 Comedy 10 Fitness

Comparing two worlds in one state

By now most of us have an idea of what Nebraska is like. Though I think what many of us from outside of Nebraska fail to realize is just how different parts of Nebraska are compared to others. See, Nebraska is a rather large state. In comparison, Nebraska is only a little smaller than Romania. Now I know what you’re probably thinking: 200,000 square miles of nothing but cornfields and the irrational fear of waking up one day in the Land of Oz. But wait! 200,000 square miles must mean that there’s something different in each part of the state. Namely the west and east sides. Here’s just a little comparison of the two: Eastern Nebraska East Nebraska is the side of Nebraska most of us are accustomed to. You have the Capitol and university town of Lincoln with both Union College and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Venture about 45 minutes northeast and you’ll find yourself in Nebraska’s largest city, Omaha. Omaha is the financial center of Nebraska. It’s no St. Louis or Denver, but it is a decent sized city. If someone tells you that they’re from Nebraska, then chances are they’re from this area of the state, as one in three Nebraskans live in it’s two major cities.

©Joseph Lee

Western Nebraska West Nebraska is the part of the state that many believe to be desolate. If you’re attending Union and your home state is a western state, such as Colorado or California, then you’ve likely seen this part. I visited this part of Nebraska back in May of 2021. I was with my senior class en route to Rapid City from Denver. I probably spent about three to four hours riding through this part of the state. I can safely say that it’s like a ghost

11 Editorial 12 Faculty & Staff 14 Anonymous

2 Editor–in–Chief Juliet Bromme Assistant Editor Hannah Drewieck Layout Editor Chrisheline Kalawo Assistant Layout Editor Justin Anderson Lead Photographer Joseph Lee Assistant Photographer Jacob Sanchez Distributor Spencer Trana NEWS Editor Maria Kercher Lincoln News TJ Pittenger Technology News Charles Metz Politics Andrew Schwartz ENTERTAINMENT Editor Annika Cambigue Sports Gabriel Sanders Pop Culture Annelise Jacobs Comedy Caleb Schaber LIFESTYLE Editor Kelina Rodgers Outlook Hannah Olin Book Briefings Sierra Lastine Health & Fitness Nicole Hardt Nebraska Life Evan Majors town compared to the east side. The cow to human ratio is so one-sided that if the cows ever decided to violently revolt against their human counterparts, they’d win. If you’re ever in an accident out there, you might as well just accept your fate because even the EMTs would get too bored of the drive and give up. The ride seemed like it would never end and that Andrew Garfield would catch Gwen Stacy before this leg of the journey would be over. It’s basically a corn maze, but with cars and no enjoyment. You can see that the two sides of this state are very different from each other. I’m sure most of us would prefer the eastern side because there’s actually traces of human civilization within this area as opposed to the west, which is basically a glorified Montana.

Evan Majors is a freshman business administration major from Winston Salem, N.C. ©Joseph Lee

Two places that PC gamers should know Bundle

I am surprised that more people do not know about Humble Bundle. This company is not just for gamers. The brand is also a digital storefront. They feature many sales, but the highlight of this brand is their paywhat-you-want bundles. Featuring different causes and nonprofits, Humble Bundle allows you to pay what you want and a percentage goes to the charity. These bundles include a wide variety of indie games and recognizable titles. I’ve gotten all of the Jackbox Games in a bundle, a nostalgic collection of many LEGO titles and a handful of fun indie RPGs. Humble Bundle also has bundles for software, including software for music, photography, programming, game design, etc. The final set of bundles are for books, which range from self-care to leadership, cookbooks to comics and self-taught instruction to novels.

©Epic Games

If you have not heard about Epic Games, I would be surprised. This long standing game developer is known for creating “Gears of War” and more recently, “Fortnite.” What you need to know about is their digital storefront/ platform. They have an exclusive promotion. Every week, they feature a game and put it on sale for 100% off. My list of games I have collected for free include: “A Plague Tale,” “ARK: Survival Evolved,” “Cities: Skylines,” “PC Building Simulator,” “FrostPunk” and one of my favorite indie games, “Sunless Sea,” among others. I have missed many weeks, but so far, I have collected 33 free games, most of which I have not had time to play.Humble

Annelise Jacobs is a junior communication major from Peru, Maine.

On the flip side, console play has benefits. There is a simple interface, you buy everything ready to go and in-person multiplayer is much easier. The main console will cost less than a PC, especially if you build a custom PC with how the market is going. Personally, I loved going through “Overcooked 2” with my friends on my Xbox One. If you want to rage and hate your friends with cute and funny graphics, “Overcooked 2” is the game for you. Console-exclusive titles have a strong pull as well, such as “Uncharted” and “The Shadow of the ItColossus.”allcomes down to preference. The following two platforms are for PC gamers. I note that these are all for games and not for hardware. I have no knowledge on that subject. Also, if you are a traditional gamer that only plays “Fortnite” and “Call of Duty” (or similar games), these will most likely not benefit you.

P C is better than console. You can connect better with other players, you can mod your games and most importantly, there is a competitive market for your money. When you play on a console, you have limited options for your hardware and software. Games are expensive, and there is no competition to drive prices down.

Epic Games / Unreal Engine

3 Sorry, console players, you chose your can of worms, now lie in it

China and Russia

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Their major impact on the US and Ukraine

J an. 17, 2020 was the last time Xi Jinping left China. Only a few months before the restrictive COVID-19 policy China implemented, Chairman Xi Jinping took a diplomatic trip to Myanmar. This was changed when a few weeks ago, Chairman Xi took a trip to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their meeting led to a statement about a “redistribution of power in the world” and included the United States six times, all in a negative way. The Washington Post called the meeting, “a bid to make the world safe for dictatorship.”

Former Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, said, “The world should get ready for a further significant deepening of the China-Russia security and economic relationship.”

China would get two main things from a relationship with Russia – manufacturing and capital. Russia would gain the most because of their oil situation. Russia has the ability to make China fully oil dependent, which is why China is being slow when it comes to signing a treaty. If China agrees to live off of Russian oil and allows Russia to implement their pipelines, it will be a scary sight for the U.S. and for HowChina.doesthe Ukraine situation affect any potential deal? China has overall had a healthy relationship with Ukraine. With everything going on currently, Beijing has been silent. Their best case scenario would be if Russia does not invade and they can move on like nothing happened. But if Russia does invade, they will likely not have an issue with that. Neither China nor Russia care about NATO, so the only thing to stop them is the international backlash and potential sanctions they would receive. How do all the other world governments feel about this? We are able to get a glimpse through the Olympics happening right now. “There are probably more countries than Washington would like to think that are happy to have China and Russia as an alternative model,” said Steven Lee Myers. While President Biden is having a diplomatic boycott of this year’s Olympics, there are some United States allies who have not followed, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The “alliance of autocracies” is something that is informal and still in the works, but this could be a major factor playing into the future of the world. Andrew Schwartz is a junior adminstrationbusinessmajor from Lincoln, Neb. ©Reuters

Part One This section describes the horrors the prisoners encountered in the camps. Frankl toys with the idea of fate throughout the section. He states that, “...fate was one’s master and that one must not try to influence it in any way, but instead let it take its course.” He writes how a prisoner was always one injury, illness or number away from death. Frankl writes about the prisoners’ desensitization. He calls this phase two apathy. “If someone had asked us the truth of Dostoevski’s statement that flatly defines man as a being who can get used to anything we would reply ‘Yes…but do not ask us how.’”

At the end of the book, the reader is left with the challenge to take responsibility for their life. “For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best. So, let us be alert–alert in a twofold sense: Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. Since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”

Meaning”

Saying yes to life despite everything V

He also brings up the idea of retreating to the inner self. “Dostoevski said once, ‘There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my suffering.’ These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death bore witness to the fact that last inner freedom cannot be lost.” Frankl argues that as long as a prisoner refuses to let his mind be controlled by his circumstances, he has meaning and can survive.

5 ©Victor E. Frankl “Man’s Search for

Part Two

In this section of the book, Frankl makes his theory of logotherapy and meaning clearer. He sees meaning as an individual calling that must be discovered, but people embrace responsibility for their lives in order to succeed. He argues that freedom can turn into arbitrariness unless it is paired with responsibility and half-jokingly writes, “This is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”

Sierra Lastine is a junior English and foreign language major from Grand Junction, Colo. “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

-Nietzche

iktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist who survived four Nazi death camps during the Holocaust. During his time in the camps, he dreamed of writing about his experiences from a psychological perspective. That dream kept him alive. The epigraph above is repeated throughout the book as a central theme to Frankl’s philosophy on life. He created a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as logotherapy, which focuses on helping people find and pursue their meaning.

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The 2021-2022 NFL season comes to an exuberant end T he Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in an all-out brawl on Sunday, with the score coming to 23-20. The game was slow and steady in the first half with the Bengals getting the coin toss and taking a smart edge by deferring the possession of the ball to the Rams at kickoff.

The Rams continued down the turf with one less receiver and ended up getting to the 43-yard line. Stafford tried to connect with his wide receiver, Van Jefferson, but instead, got picked off by Bengals safety Jessie Bates III. This ended the first half with the Rams with 13 points and the Bengals at 10. On the first play of the second half, Burrow took a deep drop in the pocket and floated the ball to Higgins for his second touchdown of the game. This made the score 13-17, with the Bengals on top for the first time that night.

The Los Angeles Rams win the 56th Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals

The Rams got the first touchdown with a throw from Matthew Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. for six points. Stafford also connected with his partner in crime, reliable Cooper Kupp. Sadly, the extra point for the touchdown made by Kupp was botched by punter/holder Johnny Hekker.

The Rams didn’t have any success on their next drive down the field, so they decided to go for a 41-yard field goal and made it. Nothing exciting happened for a good 20 minutes until the Rams offense decided to run down the field one last time. Stafford ran the ball, threw the ball, and did almost anything else he could to progress it toward the end zone, until the clock hit one minute and 25 seconds left. Stafford threw the ball to Kupp for the game-winning touchdown that sealed Cincinnati’s fate that Sunday night.

The Rams got the ball back, as per usual, and the first play they ran required Stafford to throw the ball to receiver Ben Skowronek. He didn’t catch the ball, and the cornerback for the Bengals was able to reel it in off the deflection.

News

The Bengals tried to capitalize off this play by making a touchdown but fell short of the first down from the 20-yard line. They instead advanced their lead by making a field goal. This put the Bengals at a seven-point lead over the Rams.

Gabriel Sanders is a sophomore english major from Apopka, Fla.

©Daily

This created an opportunity for the Bengals to get some more points on the board. They did a combination of running and short slot passes to get to the 7-yard line. Then, the Bengals decided to spice it up a little with a trick play. They had Joe Burrow, quarterback of the Bengals, toss the ball backward to their running back, Joe Mixon, who then proceeded to throw the football to wide receiver Tee Higgins for the first touchdown by the Bengals.TheRams got the ball back as they recovered it at the 25-yard line. Sadly, only four plays into the drive, they lost their second-best wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a knee injury.

Another great use of facial recognition is in photo app organization. Many photo apps will sort photos by face so you can see, for example, all the cute pictures in your library of you and your sweetheart. It works surprisingly well, even linking baby pictures with their older counterparts. The service has improved greatly since it first came out – it used to split photos of me from before age 14 andThereafter! are, unfortunately, dark sides to this technology. It is well known that the Chinese government has been using this to track the Uighurs, a minority Muslim population that is discriminated against and highly abused. These camera systems can alert law enforcement if Uighurs start to show up in new areas, pushing the bounds of what is deemed acceptable use of this technology. And this development may also strike closer to home. Many people are worried after New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s announcement that he is supporting its use for investigatory purposes, even though this use of the technology is widely resisted in the city. Facial recognition is an important tool that can be used to better our lives and have fun. However, it’s becoming apparent that we need to discuss boundaries before we can fully take advantage of its benefits. Charles Metz is a freshman theology major from Center, N.D.

his week, technology news feeds were rocked with the recent lawsuit from Ken Paxton, attorney general from the state of Texas, against Meta (formerly Facebook). The suit is for Meta’s alleged harvesting of facial recognition data from users in the state for over a decade without prior informed consent. The feature, CNN Business reports, “worked by analyzing faces in photos, including those of non-Facebook users, and recommending that Facebook users tag the people that the tool identified.” The service has since been discontinued after a settlement reached over a similar suit from Illinois. However, Paxton argues that by that point, Meta had violated the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier (CUBI) Act (passed in 2009) billions of times.

Positive uses and unforeseen consequences

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The most familiar application of facial recognition technology is smartphones that recognize their user’s face to unlock. One of the most popular methods here is Apple’s Face ID, first launched on the iPhone X and now available on most new models and some iPads. It uses several scanners to identify unique features of your face and can unlock not only your phone but also banking and other high security apps, not to mention approving Apple Pay purchases.

©The Guardian

Regardless of the merits of this most recent suit, facial recognition technology is gaining speed and being used for several interesting purposes around the world.

Facial recognition

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There are a lot of very important things vying for our attention. The list seems never ending! Nevertheless, at least in my own case, I have somehow found hours of time to scroll through my social media, something that isn’t on my list of “wish I coulds” or “want tos.” What is the answer? Intentionality. Intentionality is defined as being “deliberate or purposeful.” If something, like reading or spending time with God, is truly important to me, I have to be intentional about it. I have to

Intentionality

stop making excuses and start finding ways. Maybe that means I take a book along with me so that in my spare minutes I read instead of scrolling. Or, carving out specific time for God each Regardlessnight.of what it is, I think it really does boil down to being deliberate and purposeful about finding ways to do the things that are important to you, rather than finding excuses.So,what is important to you? What is something that truly matters? I challenge you to be intentional and find ways to make those “wish I clouds” and “want tos” a reality. Hannah Olin is a junior History Education major from Princeton, IL.

I have noticed a common theme in my life recently, usually something to the effect of “I wish I could,” “I really want to” or “I just don’t have the time.” That is not to say that these statements are wrong. I mean, I am a college student. However, I have been reflecting recently on all the things that are important to me, but I never seem to have the timeForfor.instance, I have always been an avid reader. Nevertheless, since starting college, I have read less and less. It is not that I don’t want to read, it just seems like I never have the time. Likewise, I want to devote more time to God throughout my day. But, each day runs away with itself, seemingly leaving nothing more than a few minutes for God between getting into bed and falling asleep. I am sure many of you can relate, whether it is wanting to improve grades, exercise more, do community service and outreach, grow relationships, learn a new skill, etc. When thinking about this conundrum in my own life, the common excuse that I fall back on is “I don’t have time.” And that excuse has seemed to work for a long time. However, recently it hasn’t been. Maybe it is because when I get the screen-time report from my phone each Sunday afternoon, it gives me an embarrassing summary of the amount of time I have spent scrolling that week. Hours I could have spent doing those other things that are more important to me. Or maybe it is because I have been remembering something that my mom has taped to her office wall: “If it is important to you, you will find a way. If it isn’t, you will find an excuse.”

No more excuses

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The truth is, the tunnels were never real to begin with. The story about them was made up as part of an elaborate experiment to see how long college students could be convinced of something that was supposedly right under their feet, but that they could never see. The “cave-in,” the stories about people going down there, even the glimpses you can see through the grates in the sidewalk are all elaborate hoaxes meant to gaslight you into believing a lie as part of some bigger mind experiment.Iamnow getting wild hand gestures from my editor that I have said too much, and the FBI agent in the corner is giving me stern glances, so this is where I will sign off. Stay safe out there, Union, and always stay wary of what lurks just below us. Caleb Schaber is a freshman communication major from Lincoln, Neb.

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A

What could be down there?

The Union tunnel sinkhole

little while ago, a small hole opened up in the ground next to a sidewalk just outside of the Ortner Center here on campus. Since then, the hole has been steadily growing in size as dirt continues to break from the edges and fall into it. If you look into the hole, you can see the edges of the brickwork of the tunnels that reside under Union. So this all begs the question: What’s really going on down there? These tunnels have been underneath Union for years and connect many of the buildings on campus together. There have even been new ones built with the addition of the Krueger Center in order to connect it to the other tunnel networks. In fact, the tunnels used to be accessible to students for interactive end-of-times Bible studies and even ASB events, but now they are mostly kept behind locked doors and heavy grates. There are reasonable explanations for these tunnels and why they were closed off, but none of these require a tin foil hat to believe, so obviously they are too boring for our time. Rather, I have collected theories from students who wish to remain anonymous for safety reasons.

Theory #1: Underground squirrel highway

Theory #3: Long-running psychological experiments

The real reason the tunnels became inaccessible was because the squirrels have taken them over as a fast and unseen means of travel between their food gathering locations — a furry Silk Road of sorts. This problem has yet to be resolved because the squirrels are just so darn cute that no one knows how to tell them to cut it out.

Theory #2: The unnamable thing that came from the corn There isn’t much that can be said about it that won’t be redacted, but here’s what I know. The tunnels were a labyrinth of sorts meant to contain it, but as is evident by the hole next to the Ortner Center, it got out.

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MultivitaminsTaking Necessity or ripoff?

Unfortunately, not everyone manages to eat a balanced diet. This leaves some Americans with less than adequate amounts of certain nutrients, according to criteria set by the National Academy of Medicine. Someone too busy to be eating a healthy diet every day, has increased nutritional needs or is eating less than normal is a perfect candidate for a multivitamin. If this would be the case, it would be worth considering visiting a dietitian who could evaluate the diet to determine which nutrients are missing. There is no arguing that multivitamins are important when nutritional needs are not met through diet alone. The debate is whether vitamins are needed when the diet is adequate to prevent deficiency in nutrients, with research showing little to no benefit when taking supplemental vitamins and minerals. Based on this evidence, it’s clear that multivitamins are useful and may be very beneficial for certain individuals. As for the rest of the people who can improve their diet or are already eating a balanced diet, it’s probably worth saving the money or spending it on whole foods instead.

©Kruson | Envato Nicole Hardt is a sophomore biomedical science major from Apopka, Fla.

N o one likes being sold something that isn’t actually worth it. We’ve probably all been there at one point. You finally bought the As-Seen-On-TV blender or the facial cream that promised a bump-free complexion, and after weeks of use, the only change in your life is the withdrawal of money from your bank account. Unfortunately, the health and fitness world is full of gimmicks, and sometimes researching a sketchy product can save more money than expected. In recent years, multivitamins have come under some scrutiny for making overpromising claims. While it’s undeniable that vitamins and minerals are essential to life, there’s debate on how beneficial these supplements are for the general public. Even though supplements are popular, with sources like Johns Hopkins citing that half of all Americans take at least one a day, there is limited evidence that they offer any significant health benefits. In fact, a study published in 2018, by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that the four most commonly used supplements (multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium and vitamin C) did not protect against cardiovascular disease. Harvard School of Public Health states that, for those eating a healthful diet, a multivitamin may have little or no benefit. If a diet includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, good protein sources and healthy fats it should provide most of the nutrients needed for good health.

The importance of sleep Why you should be getting more sleep

F or many people, it’s difficult to get the full amount of sleep that the body needs. The average number of hours suggested for sleep each night is around seven hours. This is harder to achieve for many in college for several reasons.

The University Health Center shows that between 30% and 50% of college students take naps throughout the day. Because of this, they’re not getting the amount of sleep at night that they need.

A study at Brown University showed that 30% of their female students experienced insomnia, compared to only 18% of male students. Along with that, students on average only get six hours of sleep a night. That’s ignoring the all-nighters that many students must pull in order to be ready for a test the next day. The Sleep Health Journal did a study that showed that sleep loss will affect academic performance just as much as consistent binge drinking. When you are unable to get the sleep you need, your body goes into sleep debt. According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, this affects memory, attitude, decision-making and reaction time.

EDITORIAL

©Mego Studio

The ASA also showed that a student’s major plays an incredibly large role in the amount of sleep they get. Students working on a degree within the medical field get the lowest amount of sleep and the worst quality of sleep.Themajority of students also sleep with their phones under their pillows, which affects the quality of sleep a student can get. One

TJ Pittenger is a junior theology major from Gilson, Ill.

According to the American Sleep Association (ASA), somewhere between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from a form of sleep disorder. 48% of Americans report snoring and sleep apnea. 30% of adults suffer from insomnia, the most common specific sleep disorder. Somewhere between 28.5% and 31.9% of adults in Nebraska get less than the suggested amount of sleep. Finally, 39.7% of adults fall asleep during the day. That’s a lot of information, but it shows why sleep is so important. This info has been taught in classes and it seems like common knowledge. However, the effects of sleep deprivation on students is still a big issue.

The real importance of making sleep a priority while here in college comes down to three big reasons. Getting good enough sleep can help you focus better, improve your memory and improve your grades. Sleep is incredibly important for college. It’s hard to get good quality sleep in college, but it is worth the effort.

reason many students sleep with their phones under their pillows is that they have a fear of missing an important text, call or email. The added stress of that fear piles onto the disturbance that comes with every notification.

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“You ready Don?” Roscoe asked. I guess Don was up first. Don managed to break the competitor rules, his pride, and the ice, so the rest of us joked to each other, “Let’s pray for the poor guy.”

Santi Fernandez is a Student Success life coach at Union College.

About five minutes had gone by when Roscoe called the next candidate. She came out crying not too long after. I was told to wait in the conference room as the executives took a break. I noticed Don sitting alone outside. I thought to myself, “He’s shell shocked.”Letme skip ahead. I got the job, and Don didn’t. The interview went really well for me. Everyone praised me, and told me I had a bright future in the company. Over the years, I got to know and respect the five individuals that interviewed me that day. They all mentored me in various capacities, and some still do. Don didn’t get the job because he was the CEO and ended up interviewing me.

A fungible man and 3 tips for success

FACULTY & STAFF

A few years later, Don Jernigan retired, but he still continued to mentor young employees like me. I didn’t see him as frequently, but he always made time to check in. One of his favorite words was “fungible.” He told me people often asked him for tips for success (aka how to take his place). He would respond, “You want to be successful? Be fungible.” Like everyone else, I looked up the word. He told me it is a financial term that means “easy to replace.” That’s one of the Part two reasons he devoted time to young employees. He knew his service had a timeline.

I was nervously waiting for my interview. I was one of three finalists in a pool of hundreds of applicants. The finalists were instructed to wait in the lobby of the highest floor in the new corporate office. No one opened a conversation with the other “competitors.” One guy showed up late, rushing out of the elevator. The tall slender man stood out with his age. He continued toward us, initiating conversation, when all of a sudden, he tripped. He barely had time to gather himself when Roscoe Howard, the vice president, called him in.

1. If you trip, remember you’re still leading the interview, and you are CEO of your own life. Others may not know that yet.

2. Always make time to connect and listen. By doing so, you’ll become an exemplary leader. Many years later, I still talk to the other “competitors.” We are close friends because Don tripped and initiated the conversation.

3. Soon, you’ll either replace someone or be replaced. Either way, you still have worth. Be fungible!

I learned three tips from Don’s success:

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13 WRITE?WANNA Contact us on social media or email us at clocktower@ucollege.edu for more information about Clocktower positions and editorial opportunities for the 2021-2022 school year. UNION NEWS THURSDAY 02.24.22 uGather @ 10:35 a.m., Woods Auditorium FRIDAY 02.25.22 Family Worship @ 7:30 p.m., CVC SATURDAY 02.26.22 Minute to Win It @ 7:00 p.m., Thunderdome SUNDAY 02.27.22 Movie Night @ 6:00 p.m., Student Center

ANONYMOUS EDITORIAL COLUMN - Critical Thinking

V arious pastors, professors and students at Union have called for the church to embrace social justice, often claiming that social justice and the Bible go hand in hand or are the same thing. This claim is troubling for several reasons, but before exploring them, it is important to examine the definition of the term, social justice. Social justice is difficult to sum up because it contains additional implications. Most people are in support of social justice as it has typically been defined as fairness, equality, less bigotry and prejudice. The meaning of social justice differs from social justice because it is intertwined with the ideas of Critical Social Justice (CSJ). CSJ is primarily concerned with economics and social identity groups. The ideology of CSJ holds that every society is driven by oppressive power systems in which every individual unavoidably plays their identity-based role. It claims that oppressive power exists in every situation and takes the form of patriarchy, cisnormativity, fatphobia, ect. This is only a brief overview of a complex topic that is interconnected with Marxism and other critical theories. Similarities The Bible has social implications. Isaiah 1:17 (ESV) states, “Learn to do good: seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” This verse describes Critical social justice and the Bible Are they compatible?

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the Judeo-Christian principles of helping the downtrodden and outcasts. Jesus surrounded himself by people deemed undesirable by society and rebuked the religious leaders for misrepresenting God’s character. Jesus’s message, however, was not a social-political gospel. Although the Jewish people wanted him to rise up and lead them in a revolt against the oppressive Romans, he refused, knowing this was not His purpose.

A Biblical worldview and CSJ have many fundamental differences, but two main ones are the idea of identity and overall mission. In CSJ individuals are defined by their socioeconomic status, gender and race. These factors determine one’s identity and role as either oppressed or an oppressor. Christianity is starkly different from this view. Christians derive their identity from one source: Jesus. As Paul states in Galatians 3:28 (ESV), “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Another key difference is their mission. The CSJ mission is to replace society’s current power structures and redistribute power “equitably.” The Christian’s mission is clearly stated by Jesus in Mark 16:15 (ESV). “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’” These two worldviews have fundamental differences on how to fix the issue of human sinfulness. CSJ sees irredeemable power dynamics and determines that the solution is to replace the current oppressors with adherents to their view, who will then (supposedly) redistribute power and assets to the oppressed. From a Biblical worldview the issue is humanity’s sinful nature which manifests itself in greed, jealousy, injustice, genocide, rape and every horrible deed done under the sun. From a Biblical worldview the solution is not a human one. The only answer lies in Jesus’ death on the cross. If you want to continue this conversation on campus, please contact Santi Fernandez in Student Success. 402.486.2600 ext. santi.fernandez@ucollege.edu2084

Differences

16 the official COLLEGEUNION newspaper The Clocktower The Clocktower encourages reader feedback and strives to maintain accuracy. If you have comments, please email juliet.bromme@ucollege.edu or hannah.drewieck@ucollege.edu. The Clocktower, established in 1927 and sponsored by the Student Association of Union College, is published weekly during the fall and spring semesters. The opinions expressed are the opinions of the writers and are not to be construed as the opinion of the editors, Student Association, Union College, or the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 9 8 4 6 1 2 7 5 7 2 4 2 9 6 5 8 9 5 1 9 7 4 4 1 5https://www.puzzles.ca/sudoku/instagram:@uc.clocktower