Mr. Mac to Retire After 43 Years

UNION COLLEGE

ISSUE 91.16 | 03/29/2017

Mr. Mac’s passion for art is second to his passion for teaching. | PC: Zach Morrison

MR. MAC TO RETIRE AFTER 43 YEARS A

fter 43 years of service at Union College, art professor James McClelland will retire at the end of this semester.

called Michigan home. Unsure of the matter for over two weeks, they spent a day in prayer and fasting, and then McClelland and his wife, Huda, decided to accept the call.

McClelland, affectionately referred to as Mr. Mac, became an Adventist shortly before college, and attended Andrew’s University.

While he originally decided to major in art, McClelland was encouraged by one of his professors to add an English major during his sophomore year.

McClelland’s passion for art is clear, and his talent shows in the recognition he has received from both Adventist and secular communities.

Upon graduating from Andrew’s University, McClelland continued his education, studying literature and earning a master’s degree in counseling. He later worked at Battle Creek Adventist Academy as an English teacher and a counselor.

After turning down two prior calls from Union to teach English, McClelland and his family answered the call to move from Michigan when an opening for an art instructor became available in 1974. The decision to transfer to Union was difficult for McClelland and his family because they

His art has been shown in a number of exhibits and won awards all around the country, including many “Best in Show.” However, McClelland says his passion for art is second to his passion for teaching. During his time here, McClelland has taught a variety of classes including school art, drawing, watercolor and oil painting.

Other interests include teaching workshops at National Parks across the nation. He says, “My dream would be to teach art on a cruise ship! But, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” McClelland sums up his priorities in life nicely.

“My love for God, my love for students, my love for my work—my family, the natural world. It’s hard to separate those. I love them all.”

[ continued on page 2 ]

[ W H AT ' S I N S I DE] CAR ACCIDENT | page 02 |

GRAMMAR | page 07 |

WOMEN, MEN AND MONEY | page 09 |

02

NEWS

MR. MAC ED IT O R I AL S TAF F

Edi t o r-in - Ch ie f E mi l y, 'Em y,' Woo d A ssist a n t Edit o r Jam es C l ag ue Soc ia l M e d ia Edi tor M ay l i na G r aham La yo u t Edit o r s H annah G reg g D an i c a Ey l enst ei n Ph o t o gr a p h e r s Z ach Mor r i son S haron C ur r an Jo rrd an Bi ssel l NEW S

New s Edit o r S te fa ni L eep er Cam p u s N e w s S ean Hend r i x Comm u n it y/ Wo r l d Ne w s Carol i ne G uc hu H OUC/ S e n a t e Au tu mn Mot t F reela n c e Wr it e r s D an i c a Ey l enst ei n M ay l i na G r a ha m LIFES T Y L E

Life s t yle Edit o r R i a C ar r i g er Spe c ia l In t e re s t Ama nd a Mc C ar t e r Cul t u re / R e la t io ns h i p s Kat i e Mor r i son OPI NI O N

Opi n io n E dit o r Gabr i el Fl ec ha s H u m o r O pin io n Kevi n N i ed er m a n Poli t ic a l O pin ion Jo na t ha n D eem er Spo r t s O p in io n Tyl e r D ean SOCI AL ME DI A

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[ continued from page 1 ]

McClelland’s love for art goes as far back as he can remember and he’s skilled in a number of mediums. His favorite is watercolor, despite being trained primarily in oil painting. McClelland especially enjoys exhibiting the natural world of God’s creation through his art, evidenced in his numerous paintings of nature and wildlife on the interior walls of Engel Hall.

McClelland’s pieces can be found elsewhere around campus too, such as the Krueger Center and the Everett Dick Adminstration Building.

If you haven’t gotten the opportunity to take a class from McClelland before, it may not be too late. Even though he’s retiring, McClelland will be returning to Union for the fall 2017 semester as an adjunct to teach school art.

The McClellands have two children of their own, but many Union students have also come to find Mr. Mac as a father figure or mentor, as can be seen from the large assortment of framed pictures in his Engel Hall office that have been gifted throughout the years.

While McClelland may be retiring from full-time teaching after a total of 53 years, he still plans to teach some art workshops for the Lincoln community.

“It’s been a sacred privilege being here all these years and it’s hard to think of not being here,” he concluded. “I’ve been here a long time, but it feels like only a short time because I’ve loved every minute.”

He laughs while commenting, “Now I don’t think I could pry my wife out of Lincoln. Though we may dream of mountains or oceans, we love it here.”

Danica Eylenstein is a junior studying communication.

STUDENT CHORAL GROUP SURVIVES SPRING BREAK CAR ACCIDENT

O

n March 12, 2017 a select group from the Union College choir suffered an automobile accident between a semitrailer and a marginally smaller van.

The group was driving through Evanston, Wyoming, on their return to Union from a choir tour in California when the accident occurred.

Previously, a semi-trailer truck travelling westbound on I-80 had crashed through the guardrail onto the eastbound side of I-80 and into a hill. While slowing down to pass this accident, the Union college van was hit twice by another semitrailer tanker from behind.

“Everything was in slow-motion," shared sophomore pre-nursing major Christianna Nesmith. "I knew death was a possibility, but I didn’t think anyone

would die. Looking back on it I realized that we literally could have died.”

To rewind a bit, a select group of eleven choral students and choir director Dr. Ricky Little drove through California on a singing tour. They stopped and sang at academies as well as toured the Golden State in all her beauty. Dr. Little said the reason for the tour was two-fold: to concertize and to recruit. They wanted to get the name of Union College out there and give students some experience touring and singing.

When asked about his most memorable moments on the trip, senior international rescue and relief major Alex Leonor answered, “While in California, I enjoyed the pier. It was memorable and fun. I would have to say the other memorable experience was the car wreck.”

While everyone made it out alive, the incident nevertheless upset several

NEWS

Then it tapped us again and we tipped.

I didn’t see the semi, and part of me is glad I didn’t. The whole experience was sobering.”

Leonor also shared his account.

While he was dozing in-and-out of slumber he remembered waking-up for a second and looking over to the right.

Humbleness abounds viewing the aftermath of what could have been a dire accident. | PC: Dr. Little

students, especially those who sustained minor injuries. Nesmith said, “It was 5 o’clock [a.m.] and we were passing by an accident. We slowed down but the semi behind us didn’t, and it tapped us the first time.

He saw a truck on the side of the road with an ambulance next to it and thought to himself, “Man that would really suck if we got in an accident.”

As soon as he finished thinking those thoughts *waboom.* A few seconds later they were hit again. He felt as if the van had tipped-over but wasn’t sure since everything transpired so rapidly.

Thankfully, the EMS was already there from the accident he had seen before.

03

Minor injuries included a broken rib, whiplash and minor concussions but, thankfully, no life-threatening or permanently debilitating injuries.

When asked if they would tour again, knowing there would be an impending accident, Leonor and Nesmith both answered “yes” with a smile.

The unspoken reality is that the accident could have been much worse.

Perhaps to the point of grim.

We’re talking about an accelerating 80,000 lb tanker against a 7,000 lb van.

Call it happenstance, but a miracle occurred that day. Lesson of the day?

God provides for those who do His work.

Sean Hendrix is a senior studying biomedical science.

PEPE’S BISTRO OFFERS VEGETARIAN OPTIONS IN DOWNTOWN LINCOLN A

passion for serving others in the community and living a healthy lifestyle through exercise and vegetarian Mexican food are what originally inspired Pepe Fierro to open his own restaurant. Coincidentally named after himself, Fierro opened Pepe’s Bistro in the summer of 2008. To keep up with demand, this vegan and gluten free restaurant moved to its current location in the Haymarket this past August.

“I’ve always been a vegetarian. I decided to create a job for myself with the things that I love, and that’s how I decided to create Pepe’s Bistro,” explains Fierro. “I first started off down by Cornhusker Highway but as the demand for vegetarian food became more popular, I moved here (the Haymarket).”

Although the idea of vegetarian Mexican food isn’t too common,

staying close to the ideas he loves are what fuel Fierro for running his one man operation. His business began in Havelock, a small community located

by Cornhusker Highway.

Follow Pepe's Bistro on Facebook to stay up-to-date on what's being served.

Stop by and try one of the unique dishes, your tastebuds won't regret it.

As the restaurant became more popular, Fierro needed a bigger space to grow.

Caroline Guchu is a sophomore studying communication.

Since moving, business has improved greatly for Fierro. “I’m always busy with the amount of people who come through, considering the new location.”

Of course, the unique, home-cooked options also bring people, or what Fierro calls a close-knit community, through his door.

Fierro Pepe of Pepe’s Bistro, the man, the myth, the legend. | PC: Zach Morrison

Having a great sense of community is important to Fierro, who also works to build close ties to the people who run the farmers markets.

Pepe’s Bistro can be found on P St. Pepe’s large hand-drawn menu of the different varieties of tacos, sandwiches and burritos can be easily spotted from the entrance of Indigo Bridge Books.

04

NEWS

AIA HOSTED AT UNION COLLEGE F

rom Wed. March 15, through Sat. March 18, Union College hosted the 67th annual Adventist Intercollegiate Association (AIA) convention. AIA is an organization of student governments from Adventist colleges in the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, AIA houses an executive team made up of students from all over the North American Division (NAD).

While each college has its own student body association program, AIA connects them, and provides workshops, networking, and other training for the executive team and officers such as public relations and newspaper editors.

Each Adventist college of the NAD alternates hosting AIA, and this year was Union's turn. The last time Union hosted AIA was in 2005. Hosting the event allows Union to highlight everything that makes our campus special. For example, while some

colleges board the AIA members in nearby hotels, Union hosts all the members in its on-campus dorms.

While at Union, AIA participants also had the opportunity to partake in a NAD first. The AIA executive team arrived Tues., March 14, in preparation for the Facebook Live event “Is This Thing On?” which occurred that evening. Produced by the NAD, “Is This Thing On?” was the first in a series of live Q&As with leaders of the Adventist Church. For those interested, the video is still available on the NAD Facebook page.

Along with the AIA executive team, many representatives from the North American Adventist colleges comprised the studio audience. While the majority of the questions were fielded from present students, online viewers were encouraged to submit questions using the hashtag #NADnow.

By the conclusion of the live stream, the video had been viewed over 14,000 times.

Union was proud to host “Is this thing on?” right before AIA. | PC: Courtney Gentry

After taking part in “Is This Thing On?” the AIA conference officially kicked off Wednesday afternoon with workshops, meetings and interactive activities. While most of the meetings happened in the Don Love Building, the breakout sessions occurred all over campus.

The breakout sessions were divided up by positions. For example, the social vice presidents networked and learned about event coordination together, while the presidents held their own meetings and workshops.

AIA used Friday to hold a business meeting, during which all members reviewed the AIA constitution and bylaws, and proposed and passed amendments. AIA officer elections also took place during this session.

Although the majority of AIA was hosted on Union’s campus, on Thursday meetings took place in the west chamber room of the state capitol.

In addition to a banquet held Thursday evening at Wilderness Ridge, the members enjoyed a trip to the Omaha Zoo on Saturday.

I was able to talk with Anthony Gann, Union’s current ASB executive VP and incoming president, about his views on AIA. “Talking with outgoing presidents has been useful; the advice they have is amazing,” says Gann. “I would say the meetings that I’ve held with all of the incoming presidents have been just as useful, if not more. Our vision, as AIA and as incoming presidents, is to unite with all the other schools, to share ideas, and to work with each other.”

ASB appreciates the warm welcome our student body extended to the AIA executive team and to all its members.

Autumn Mott is a sophomore studying communication.

LIFESTYLE

05

YAYOI KUSAMA: DISCOVERING INFINITY

A

s we wind down the month of March, this also means we’re winding down Women’s History Month. It’s only fair that we discuss one of the most relevant contemporary artists that continues to make her imprint upon history— Yayoi Kusama. Specifically, I would like to talk about one of her most popular series of installation works that are known as “Infinity Mirror Rooms.”

You may recognize Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms from social media posts from all over the world.

However, you may also recognize one of the rooms, "The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away," from footage used as stage display last year at Adele’s BRIT Awards performance. Adele comments on the room by saying, “I definitely feel like standing in that room for an hour.”

She adds, “I saw things in myself and of myself I haven’t noticed before.” I believe this is the exact kind of reaction Kusama wants to pull from the viewer.

"The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away" | PC: hirshhorn.si.edu

I believe Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms transcend ordinary art installation norms to give the viewer an enveloping and unique contemplative experience. But how did these rooms come into existence? In an interview with BOMB Magazine, Kusama says, “The original idea for this work dates back to my childhood. I was making paintings in small, medium, and large sizes then, without sleeping at night sometimes. Those paintings, 2 or 3,000 in total, were rapidly sublimated within myself and developed into sculptures.

In other words, underlying the mirror room were my early paintings.

To create an endless mirror room had been my long-cherished dream.”

Thus, Kusama’s idea for the Infinity Mirror Room was born.

Kusama’s art has strong ties with her mental illness and she has been vocal about it. In an interview with CNN, Kusama explains, “I have been struggling with mental illness and emptiness throughout my life. Now I want people to understand my

glorious quest for the truth. Working on paintings is a process toward my artistic creation. It is a new spiritual theme of my whole philosophy for pursuing the truth.” I believe this pursuit of truth is instilled within the viewer in her Infinity Mirror Rooms.

So what can you expect when going into an Infinity Mirror Room experience? The Hirshhorn Museum explains, “Ranging from peepshow-like chambers to multimedia installations, each of Kusama’s kaleidoscopic environments offers the chance to step into an illusion of infinite space. The rooms also provide an opportunity to examine the artist’s central themes, such as the celebration of life and its aftermath.” These themes, transcended into experiences, are ultimately the truths Kusama wants us to meditate on.

Cameron Cizek is a sophomore guest writer studying computing.

06

LIFESTYLE

LINCOLN’S “HIDDEN TREASURES” W

hile many joke there's nothing to do in Nebraska, Lincoln offers many unique experiences.

If craving something sweet, the Kitchen Sink Cookie Company is the place to go.

The Kitchen Sink Cookie Company has some of the most unique cookies in Lincoln.

Some of their notable treats include the “Magic Lunchbox” made with peanut butter, chocolate chips, strawberries and Cheez-Its, the “Unemployment Sandwich” consisting of two cookies with burnt sugar baked into them held together with a molasses buttercream filling and the “Mexican Hot Chocolate,” a spicy chocolate cookie topped with cinnamon buttercream and toasted marshmallow.

Kitchen Sink Cookie Company can be found at 129 S. 27th Street and their website can be reached at www. kitchensinkcookie.com.

Nearly every first and fourth Saturday of the month, contra dancing is held at the Auld Recreation Center in Antelope Park. Contra dancing, similar to line dancing, requires no previous experience.

a licorice store may not seem special, Licorice International offers nearly 160 types of licorice from different countries around the world, including licorice from Finland, France, Iceland, Germany, and Ireland.

The dancing is open to all ages and admission for students is $5.00, which includes a short lesson from 7:00-7:30 p.m. before the official start, as well a free pass for first attendees’ next dance.

The steps are easy to learn and taught before each dance.

The shop offers many unique licorice treats that can't easily be found elsewhere. If licorice isn't a favorite, they also have fine chocolates and candy dishes. Licorice International can be found at 803 Q St. and their website is www.licoriceinternational.com.

Melia Nash, a sophomore nursing major, recommends contra dancing to those just beginning. “The whole reason you have it there is to learn how [to dance],” she says. So come and bring friends for a fun night of dancing, snacks and live music.

Escape rooms are growing in popularity and Lincoln has several.

Escape Lincoln is located in Haymarket on the lower level of the Apothecary building. Like many escape-themed video games, escape rooms create a real-life experiment.

The Auld Recreation Center can be found at 1650 Memorial Dr. and their Facebook page can be found under the name of “Contra Dance of Lincoln, NE.”

Participants have one hour to find clues and answer puzzles together in order to escape the room. Escape Lincoln offers three different themes: Asylum Escape, Retro Rush and Survival Scenario. Escape Lincoln can be found at 140 N. 8th St. and their website is www.escapelincoln.com.

Another interesting place to visit is Lincoln’s Licorice International. While

There’s no playing it safe when it comes to Kitchen Sink Cookies and that’s exactly how they plan to keep it. | PC: kitchensinkcookie.com

These are just a few of the many unique attractions that Lincoln has “hidden” within. Rather than settle for the “boring Nebraska stereotype,” find your own adventure. Explore the new and unique experiences Nebraska has to offer.

Amanda McCarter is a sophomore studying biomedical science.

LIFESTYLE

07

PEOPLE, TRY HARDER: GRAMMAR EDITION W

e’ve talked to guys about fashion and girls about finances.

Now it’s time for the next article in the “Try Harder” series and we’re looking at both genders today. We all need to try harder with … grammar!

When asked about the grammatical failings of the millennial generation, sophomore Dylan Parsons thought for a moment and ironically responded, “Aight bet.” This, unfortunately, sums up exactly what this article is attempting to address: lack of common grammar etiquette.

It’s been a long-standing fear of the academic world that texting and social media is ruining language. With acronyms and slang, emojis and gifs, people are utilizing an entirely new dialect to communicate. There are entire sites, like Urban Dictionary, dedicated to explaining away the fresh hip term of the day.

Some of the decline in correctness is due to limited space. “Twitter is just really bad for grammar overall,” says Cameron Cizek, a sophomore web development student. “You have 140 characters and you sacrifice either grammar or correct spelling of the word to get your thought across.”

A recent episode of "New Girl" demonstrated the difficulty people have today when it comes to getting words right. During a conversation with one of her students, Jess, the main character, recognized her roommate Nick’s influence on the student due to their word choice. Who else says ‘upmost’ but Nick Miller, Jess realized.

Nick’s rationalization? “What’s an ‘ut’?

That’s not a thing!”

It’s not just that we can’t recognize accurate wording and grammar. It might be simpler than that. “Maybe

There is little debate about how today’s tweets are lacking in their grammar department.

In other words, they’re disappointing. | PC: Zach Morrison

people are too lazy,” says Aria Bodden, a senior business administration student. “People rely on spell check too much. I use it too! But that doesn’t mean we have to be bad at language.”

in speaking conversation, which has mixed reviews. “People say ‘LOL’ in real life and that’s annoying,” Bodden shares. “Or people actually say ‘IRL’ and that’s just weird.”

Grammar holes are much more commonplace than we realize and when we recognize our faults, it can be eye opening and frustrating. “I’m one of the few people who finds current jargon to be annoying,” continues Cizek. “For example, ‘tite’ as something cool. But ‘cool’ isn’t technically grammatically correct either.”

Despite all this, there’s no excuse for mistakes on printed materials (unless of course, they’re ironic and intentional; even then, exercise moderation). Last semester there was a poster promoting an event that would discuss relationship advice. It read: “Relashinship Advice. It promises to be a broder topic then you think.”

Professionally, vocabulary and word choice of millennials can have a negative effect. Last summer, I was an intern at Adventist Health System and during my intern evaluation, my preceptor mentioned my vernacular.

“It wasn’t an issue for me,” she said, “but depending on who you work with in the future, it could detract from your professional appearance and capabilities.”

We’re in college, people! We’re young adults! We’ve had decades of schooling and years of English classes. If we expect to reach the stars, be all we can be and all the other cheesy aspirations, we need to be able to differentiate between then and than. I believe in us, Union College. Let’s grammar right. #lol #jk

Word choice in conversation is something of a security blanket. Some use slang because it’s what’s natural, what their peers say, how they most feel genuine. Others use texting acronyms

Katie Morrison is a senior studying business administration.

08

LIFESTYLE

SEEKING HIS TRUST IN THE SMALL THINGS T

oday, I really just want to affirm God.

Many of you who know me well know that if there were a degree in worrying, I'd already have my doctorate. In fact the most commonly quoted verse to me from my friends is Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about it self. Sufficient is the day for it's own trouble."

Throughout my time here in Austria as a student missionary, I have seen how God works with me to trust Him more and worry less. I would like to share one of my experiences with you: At the end of July I learned I needed to update my license. Just a slight problem–I’d be in Austria when it would expire.

Praying that God would bring a solution, an informational DMV packet landed into my lap, informing me of how to renew my license in Austria– just a few precious days before my flight. Occupied with becoming an international volunteer, weeks quickly turned into months. Then, I suddenly remembered I still needed to schedule an eye appointment. God not only

provided me an option in a short amount of time, but also lowered the cost so the visit to the eye doctor was affordable. I flooded with relief. “Thank you God for providing what I needed.”

Just when I thought I could relax, things became more complicated. A letter arrived, informing me that one of the examinations on my eyes hadn’t captured enough details. Abruptly, rising irritation replaced my joy. “God really? I already suffered a blow to my limited budget.”

Remembering He took care of me the first time, and feeling ashamed for my outburst, I bowed my head to pray.

After re-sending the information, I felt a reassurance wash over me, all would turn out alright.

Months later, I found myself going to the morning worship and plopping down onto the wooden bench as the speaker was making his way to the pulpit. I listened attentively as he started talking about the experience of Peter walking on the water to Jesus (Matthew 19:22-36). Granted, I’m sure many of us hear this story often, but this time it caught my attention. As the story unfolded, my experience in Bogenhofen (Austria) flashed before

Serving as a volunteer isn’t always easy, but you won’t regret relying on God. | PC: Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen Facebook

my eyes and things started making sense. Clarity regarding my life and future here was becoming a recurring topic in my prayers.

Hearing the speaker say, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” triggered a thought in my mind. How often do I scream at God to help me because I feel like I’m sinking in my life’s uncertainties, though He has already given me the strength and encouragement to continue? “Daddy,” the speaker now mimicked his son’s innocent voice and my attention whipped back to his story, “if you were with the disciples would you have screamed or would you also joined Peter trying to walk on the water to Jesus?”

The question resonated: “In my own life experiences, do I really make the effort to trust Jesus and to continue trusting Him through both comfortable and uncomfortable situations?”

This is my purpose for being here at Bogenhofen–learning to fully trust God. It wasn’t just irony that a few hours later the letter containing my license was in my hands. Though the driver’s license was only a small parable in my life, the significance of the experience has lasting impressions.

Thank you for reading my story.

I’m requesting that you please keep me in your prayers, specifically asking that God will provide more clarity regarding His will for me and that I continue learning to fully trust Him through the circumstances He places me in. Thanks again, Sable Kessler, Psalms 19:14.

Sable Kessler is an international volunteer serving in Austria.

OPINION

09

WOMEN, MEN AND MONEY

EMOTION IS THE DEATH OF REASON I

n the summer of 1963, President Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963. In doing so, he ensured that, in terms of compensation, never again would employers be able to discriminate among employees on the basis of sex.

This was a huge step forward for both the women’s rights movement and our country as a whole. But if you’ve paid attention to the popular media today, you’d be inclined to believe that in 2017, a gender wage gap still exists.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Paying a man and a woman different wages for the same work is, as noted above, illegal. The common narrative is that, for every dollar a man is paid, a woman is paid 78 cents, resulting in a 22 cent wage gap.

But let’s take a step back for a moment and examine the implications of such a statement.

If this were true, I, as a man, wouldn’t be able to find a job after graduation. Capitalism is the least discriminatory economic system in history because capitalism cares about one thing and one thing alone– money.

Capitalism doesn’t care if you’re black, white, brown, gay, straight, male, female, trans or any number of things as long as you are monetarily beneficial. So, if employers could pay women 22 percent less than they pay men, it would be nearly impossible for men to find employment because all the jobs would be staffed by more cost effective women.

This, of course, isn’t the case.

To understand the 78 cent narrative, one must understand how it’s calculated. To calculate a 22 percent difference, the median earnings of all women working full time are divided by the median earnings of all men working full time.

Therefore, it would be correct to cite a 22 percent earnings gap between men and women. How is that any different?

on average, women earn less in the U.S.–because of career choices.

In the words of the U.S. Department of Labor and CONSAD Research Group, “The oft-cited .23 wage gap may be almost entirely the result of individual choices being made by both male and female workers” In short, women earn less–they aren’t paid less.

This statistic fails to take into account overtime hours worked, education level, experience, position or even occupation.

There are real women’s rights issues we need to be dealing with, like the sexual objectification of women and the fact that we, as a nation, are allies with countries that conduct honor killings and prevent women from driving, among other things.

In practice, this is like criticizing McDonald’s for paying a manager who worked 45 hours a week more than it paid an entry level employee who only worked 40 hours. The difference lies in the choices the employees made and the responsibility of their positions.

As a society, we must stop telling our daughters that, every time they fail, an invisible and systematic discriminatory system is to blame.

Instead, we should be instilling principles of personal responsibility and an insatiable desire to succeed within our girls.

In a society where women make up nearly 58 percent of higher education enrollment, it seems as though it might be beneficial to examine the types of career choices women are making.

From the time they enter this world, our girls must know that they are inherently worth as much as any man, and the only way to do that is through open and honest discussion of difficult issues like this one.

The distinction is enormous.

According to a Georgetown University study, of the top five earning undergraduate majors, women make up a majority in only one field. In the five lowest earning undergraduate majors, the opposite is true–men make up a majority in only one field.

Combine this with the fact that women are less likely to work longer hours and commit to higher responsibility positions because of domestic obligations and familial factors, and it becomes clear why,

h t t p : // w w w . p e w r e s e a r c h . o r g / f a c t t a n k/2 01 4/03/0 6/women s- col lege enrollment-gains-leave-men-behind https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/ valueofcollegemajors/#full-report https://w w w.shr m.org/ hr-today/publicpolicy/ hr-public-policy-issues/documents/ gender%20wage%20gap%20f inal%20report. pdf

Jonathan Deemer is a sophomore studying biomedical science.

10

OPINION

THE RIGHT TRASH TO TREASURE COLUMN LIKE I SEE ‘EM I

f you don’t intentionally watch bad movies for your own amusement, then you, sir or madam, are missing out.

A good movie can only be good. It’s almost limiting itself through being a quality picture.

The filmmakers set out with a series of goals that were all systematically checked off and completed with flair.

Everything went well and according to plan.

Now, a bad movie on the other hand, a really good bad movie anyway, fails in whatever goals it set for itself. Every theme it tries to touch on is vague and misunderstood, and the scathing dialogue is blunt and mishandled.

A good bad movie is a bad movie that tried so hard yet failed to be a good movie.

Does that make sense?

Any Hollywood wash-up could strap a GoPro to his head and chase some gerbils around town to make a trash movie, but that isn’t what makes a good bad movie. The creators have to believe in their product.

It takes pouring a creative spirit through blood sweat and tears into a film that still somehow turns into a raging dumpster fire sprinkled with absurdity.

So what is it that makes this pile of failure into a cult classic masterpiece?

Take “Troll 2” for instance.

At first glance, it has some pretty glaring flaws. The acting is abysmal, the story atrocious, and the special effects are cringe worthy. Upon closer inspection, however, we can see even more bizarre quirks. There isn’t a Troll 1. We just start with the

To make a great bad movie, you can’t just fail, you have to put your soul into doing it right and still miss the mark. | PC: wired.com

sequel psuedo Star Wars style. There aren’t even any trolls in the movie. All the little monsters are referred to as goblins.

What makes this all work is the film’s bold, dedicated, and deadly serious foreign director, Claudio Fragasso.

To him, this film is a masterpiece and a very serious drama. When the actors tried to ad lib their lines so as to sound more natural or believable, the director berated them and forced them to read off the script seemingly written by a frenchman and split into eight pieces for five men on three different continents to translate before being Frankensteined back together with a sewing needle and a glue gun.

Similarly, other terrible films with swarming fan bases imbue this kind of formula.

Take the recent classic Miami Connection. Not recent in the recently made sense, but in the recently popular. Written and starring Y. K. Kim, the film was lambasted by everyone at its debut thirty years ago.

After finally finding an audience, the film was redistributed in 2012 to universal acclaim.

The movie is about a band whose members are all black belts in taekwondo and their misadventures defending themselves against other bands and a ninja biker gang. I dare you to listen to the song "Friends" by Dragon Sound and not feel great for the rest of the day. I saw this movie last month and I’m still beaming.

Watching bad movies is about more than just making light of the quality and continuity errors. They’re a refreshing blast of genuine love for films and filmmaking.

It’s like when your two-year-old niece draws a picture of you and her going to the zoo. She held three crayons at a time, and the scribbles all bleed together in a way akin only to vomit post colored playdoh spaghetti buffet.

You could laugh at her, but instead, you pin it to the fridge and feel a warmth that only her unnuanced passion can bring.

And then you point and laugh at it in private.

Kevin Niederman is a junior studying nursing.

OPINION

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THE MVP WHO WON'T BE YOU HEARD IT HERE LAST I

f you haven’t been watching the NBA this season, I’ll try to catch you up. The Spurs are (yet again) one of the best teams in the league, and their star Kawhi Leonard is one of the best offensive and defensive players in the league.

come from a top three team. To top that off, about two thirds of them have come from first-seeded teams.

The Warriors, despite losing Kevin Durant to injury likely until the playoffs, are neck and neck with the Spurs in the Western Conference, mostly thanks to numerous solid performances from two-time reigning MVP Steph Curry.

The Houston Rockets are a solid third out West, behind scorer-turned point guard James Harden, who has embraced this new role and become a scoring-assisting machine.

And no individual is playing anywhere near the level of Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.

The Cavaliers, behind another brilliant season from Lebron James, lead the way out East. Close on their heels are the Boston Celtics (behind a breakout season by Isaiah Thomas) and the Washington Wizards (behind invariably-underrated John Wall).

I only bring up the top three teams in each conference for a reason: In the past 30+ years, all NBA MVPs have

While winning is the ultimate goal in sports, I would argue that it isn’t the best measure of a single player’s success. The MVP award is meant to go to the best individual player over the course of the season.

Box scores and advanced statistics demonstrate his value to the Thunder, but fail to fully quantify just how well he has been playing this season.

To really understand just how valuable he is to the Thunder, you have to watch him play, and pay attention when he takes a break.

When he’s on the floor, the Thunder are explosive. Their offense is dynamic.

Their defense is stout. They seem like one of the best teams in the league.

When he sits down, the team falls apart. Their offense is stagnant. Their defense seems confused. The players look dejected. You can see the stress in everyone’s eyes just hoping to hold the

Westbrook isn’t just a player, he’s the heart of the team. | PC: deadpsin.com

other team off until he returns to the game.

No other team experiences this kind of shift when their best player is off the floor.

In addition to just how valuable he is in game, Westbrook is deserving of the award for the way he conducts himself outside of games.

He spends an immense amount of time in the gym, he treats practice as though it were the fourth quarter of a playoff games and he shows up to arenas long before any of his teammates to warm up for every single game (yes, Westbrook has yet to miss a single game this season).

This summer, when Durant left, Westbrook was faced with a choice.

His contract only had a year left. He owed nothing more to Oklahoma City, and far fewer people would have blamed him for leaving after losing the only teammate he had who could take weight off his shoulders.

But he chose to stay. He chose to extend his contract before it was even up. He decided to sacrifice a chance to win now for a chance to build a new Thunder team.

That’s why he’s the most valuable. He matters more to the Thunder than any other candidate does to their team. And the Thunder matter more to him than any team does to any other candidate.

It's unlikely that the decisions made

by MVP voters will reflect my sentiment.

But I encourage you to watch what few games remain for Westbrook this year.

Seasons like his don’t come around very often.

Tyler Dean is a junior studying business administration.

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MISC. CORNER

GABRIEL FLECHAS NEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Remaining Major Events For 2017 March 31

All Sons & Daughters Concert

April 1

Gymnastics Home Show

April 9-16

Spring Drama Production

April 15

Bubble Soccer

April 16

Banquet and Talent Show

April 21

Fine Arts Vespers Concert

April 29

Yearlook

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I’m excited for the year ahead of us.

I look forward to bringing you, the Allow me to introduce myself readers, a beautiful and connecting if we haven’t been acquainted. My publication. The Clocktower has grown name is Gabriel Flechas. I’m a junior close to my heart this past year as studying business administration and I’ve edited the opinion section. I look engineering. I’m a self-proclaimed forward to carrying this passion into coffee connoisseur and love to learn the new year with you all. Feel free to new things. get in touch with me any time you have Now that we’ve been acquainted I’d questions about The Clocktower. like to introduce myself as the incoming I’d love to have a conversation. editor-in-chief for The Clocktower.

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The Clocktower is in search of writing, editing, and photography friends.

We pay.

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To apply, email cltower@gmail.com

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We're Hiring for 2017-18!

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nion College Family,

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The Clocktower encourages reader feedback and strives to maintain accuracy.

If you have comments, please email us at cltower@gmail.com.

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The Clocktower, established in 1927 and sponsored by the Associated Student Body of Union College, is published weekly during the fall and spring semesters.

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The opinions expressed are the opinions of the writers and are not to be construed as the opinion of the editors, Associated Student Body, Union College, or the Seventh-day Adventist Church.