The Collegian - Nov. 11, 2022

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Despite ranking, the liberal arts live on

Ayden Gutierrez News Editor

Grove City College was re moved from the U.S. News and World Report’s Top Lib eral Arts Colleges rankings released this fall because the college is awarding more professional degrees than it did in previous years.

As a result, the college now ranks fifth in the Best Regional Colleges North

category, which focuses on schools that award a more diverse range of undergradu ate degrees. College officials say the change in category reflects the changing nature of what students want out of a higher education.

According to the U.S. News and World Report’s website, schools in the National Lib eral Arts Colleges category emphasize undergraduate education and award at least

half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study such as history, sociology, lit erature and numerous other. Colleges that award a major ity of degrees in STEM and professional disciplines, in cluding education, business, communication and prehealth are evaluated by re gion, according to U.S. News. U.S. News and World Re port releases a variety of higher education rankings

every year. For the past sev eral years, the college had been climbing in the national liberal arts ranking, rising from 141 in 2013 to 105 last year.

President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said the rankings reflect a trend over the last 10 years of students preferring business, engineering, education and other degrees that fall under U.S. News and World Re port’s Professional category.

“If you look at the top ma jors, at what students are majoring in right now, those are among the five to 10 top majors on campus,” he said. “There is clearly an inter est in pursuing degrees that have that kind of better-de fined professional track.”

McNulty added he was surprised that the college missed the mark on the Na

Profs talk midterm results

David Zimmermann Editor-in-Chief

After the final tally of votes were called on Election Day, Pennsylvania saw mostly Democratic candidates win the midterm races, the most notable victors being sen ator-elect John Fetterman and governor-elect Josh Sha piro.

Fetterman beat Republi can senatorial candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz by 3.6 percent, and Shapiro took the lead against Republican guberna torial contender Doug Mas triano by 13.6 percent.

Student projects give to charity

E-commerce class sells bracelets and more

Ayden Gutierrez News Editor

Students in the Entrepre neurship Department’s ECommerce course are using their skills to give back to the local community.

Yvonne J. English’s ’97 En trepreneurship 309 course is centered around “providing a foundation for understand ing the essential components of a successful e-commerce system, including e-com merce strategy, target market analysis, integrated market ing, web usability, payment processing, current technol ogies, data management and fulfillment systems,” English said.

Students in the course are tasked with learning how to open, run and manage an e-commerce business while

giving the money to a good cause.

Junior Ethan David dis cussed how his group is using their business to give back to the local community.

“My group is called Such Things Leather – we sell leather bracelets with Morse code on them,” David said. “Each bracelet has a different fruit of the Spirit, totaling nine different bracelets.”

David, who works with Luke Mantzell, Gabe Dunlap and Caroline Dawson, select ed to donate their profits to Truth and Grace Fellowship Church. According to David, this church is located in Her mitage, Pa.

“They are a fast-growing congregation that is in need of an updated and larger building to host all three of its full services. We decided

Orchesis dance inspired by murder-mystery game

Ayden Gutierrez News Editor

Orchesis is underway, as the annual event began Thursday evening and will occur tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Pew Fine Arts Center’s Ketler’s Auditorium. The show this year is a twist on the classic game of “Clue.”

Kaylin Boring, one of the junior heads of the team, out lined the production’s plot.

“The scene opens with a happy house party that ends in a disaster: the murder of

Mr. Boddy,” said Boring. “The rest of the show will lead the audience through the backstories of the characters, specific weapons and rooms and end with the revealing of who really performed the disastrous crime.”

Lurena Stewart, one of the two senior heads, is excited about the uniqueness of this year’s show compared to pre vious ones.

“The theme this year is so unique and unlike anything Orchesis has ever done be

to partner with Truth and Grace Fellowship Church be cause as a team, we have the desire to support the local church and ultimately, the global Church,” David said.

He explained the idea formed out of the discovery that there are over 400,000 Christians living at extreme risk of persecution and even death in North Korea.

“The Morse code acts as a symbol to represent Chris tians who do not have the freedom to openly share their faith and worship,” said David.

Joey Guida, cofounder of the Faros Initiative, dis cussed how the project has been beneficial in teach ing he and his teammates a plethora of information about e-commerce.

“This project has taught

our group so much about ecommerce businesses, from the good to the bad and the ugly. We have learned ev erything from opening and running a website to selling products as a fully function ing business,” Guida said.

Guida, who works with Jacob Graham, Peter Judge and David Lugo, founded Faros Initiative, a business that creates and sells fash ionably charmed woodenbeaded bracelets to raise money to fight sex trafficking in Pittsburgh.

“We are donating 100 per cent of our profits to Refugee for Women in Pittsburgh,” Guida said. “We selected Refugee for Women because their mission aligned great ly with the cause we all felt

The news may have been unexpected this week to some, as many Republican voters were anticipating a red wave to influence Penn sylvania’s elections.

Two political science pro fessors at Grove City College responded to the election re sults.

Neither Dr. Caleb Verbois nor Dr. Michael Coulter ’91 were surprised by the state’s midterm outcomes.

“This is what happens when primary voters choose candidates based on per sonal loyalty to Trump and a belief in a fantasy about sto len elections,” Verbois said, referring to Mastriano.

Coulter said Fetterman’s win was “not as expected” as the Shapiro-Mastriano bat tle, but “it shouldn’t be seen as a surprise.”

“The biggest Pennsylva nia surprises to me were the legislative races,” Coulter said. “There were three U.S. House races in the eastern

The Award-Winning Grove City College Student Newspaper

‘Midnights’

GRACE DAVID

Proceeds from sold Morse code-engraved bracelets by Such Things Leather go toward True and Grace Fellowship Church.

GRACIE TURNBAUGH

The dancers of “With the Knife,”

choreographed by Isabella Hill and Kaylin Boring, will perform as part of Orchesis’ fall production “Clue.” Showtimes run at 7 p.m. in Ketler Auditorium until Saturday.

Art for life’s sake

Art is an essential component of life; to live without art, humanity would be lesser for it. Books, movies, TV shows, songs and paintings can enable us to tap into our emotions and deepen our understanding of the world and our lives in it – but not all art has this beneficent purpose in mind.

I recently watched conservative commentator Andrew Klavan’s critical assessment of Netflix’s “Dahmer – Mon ster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” trailer, in which he spoke about his reasoning for skipping the cultural phenomenon. Klavan called the limited series “degenerate garbage” and argued for why, at his age, he refuses to watch a serial killer torturing, murdering and eating his victims.

I haven’t seen “Dahmer,” so I can’t fairly criticize it, but he brought up an interesting point that I want to touch on here.

Klavan talked about “art for art’s sake” and how that old slogan is “simply incorrect,” he said.

The term, coined by French philosopher Victor Cousin, means that art has no intrinsically moral value outside a work of art and therefore, no purpose. Those who hold to this phrase believe that art should not be judged according to these external principles, but purely on its own merit.

Klavan, on the other hand, argued that art should serve life instead of serving itself. “Art … enhances life by broad ening your humanity, by broadening your sense of other people, by broadening your compassion for other people,” he said.

For it to be in service of life, art must touch on the uni versal human condition in some way and force us into the present moment without degrading humanity in the pro cess. The world is a demoralizing place where everyone faces difficulties and struggles; art is provided to promote the good, true and beautiful things in life that we often take for granted or forget amid our struggles.

One could argue “Dahmer” is extremely emotional and cathartic due to its disturbing true crime content. But is it a good, true or beautiful thing that shows you something novel about the human condition that you’ve never fully re alized before? Or does it only degrade humanity? Viewers should decide this for themselves.

As I get older, however, I realize I’ve become more selec tive of what I watch and read for two reasons. One, the little time I have while in college, and two, the fact that I don’t need to absorb everything under the sun, especially degrad ing things.

Stories and, more broadly, art have a way of speaking to our souls that to consume indiscriminately would be harm ful to our overall well-being. Life is too valuable to concern ourselves with art which only takes away and never gives back.

French novelist George Sand once wrote, “Art for art’s sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of truth, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I am searching for.” That is the faith we should all be searching for. Art for life’s sake is what truly matters in the end.

David Zimmermann Editor-in-Chief

Are piercings and tattoos biblical?

Violet Whitmore Community Editor

Since the dawn of human civilization, people have been decorating their bodies. Tat toos and piercings found on mummified remains from over 5,000 years ago often signify powerful warriors, royalty and re ligious figures. These archaic methods were sometimes used to worship pagan gods or boast wealth, which begs the question: Is it right for Chris tians to get tattoos or pierce their bodies?

As someone who only has their ears pierced and no tat toos, advocating for tattoos and piercings is not a per sonal agenda. Rather, I’ve seen many Christians wrestle with the idea of the morality and modesty when it comes to body art. So, in a humble attempt to understand this turmoil within the Christian community, I delved into the concept.

Pastors Bud and Betty Miller from Christ Unlim ited Ministries use a popular Bible verse that is often used to condemn piercings and tattoos, Leviticus 19:28: “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.”

However, this verse in con text is referring to old pagan rituals (e.g., for the dead), and continues to say, “Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood,” and “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards” — both of which most Chris tians do, and do not view as sinful anymore.

In Genesis 24:22, Abra ham sends “a gold nose ring” to Rebekah when courting her for his son Isaac. It is un likely a holy man like Abra ham would perpetuate a sin ful practice like this.

Likewise, when comparing his love for Israel to a bride, God says in Ezekiel 16:12: “I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.” As God is compar ing his adoration to jewelry, he is calling Israel precious — it is not logical for God to positively mention gold nose rings if piercings are viewed as unacceptable in Scripture.

Opposing tattoo and pierc ing practices, senior Ryan Young said, “Our body is the temple of God, and I be lieve tattoos are like graffiti on his holy temple — we are not saved by our works, but God did not come to abolish the laws but to fulfill it. The fruits of the devotion to the Lord are a desire to honor and obey Christ’s guidance.”

However, 1 Corinthians

6:19-20, the verse which re fers to the body as a temple, is written by Paul to the church of Corinth about sex ual immorality — tattoos are not necessarily a sin and are never explicitly mentioned in the Bible. This verse can be applied to many things that are bad for the body but pri marily refers to habits that are condemned by Scripture.

I admit though, that the in tentions of the person must be taken into consideration when getting tattoos and/ or piercings. The Lord says nothing in excess, and in 1 Corinthians 10:23, it is said, “I have the right to do any thing,’ you say—but not ev erything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is construc tive.”

Even if Christians have the right to pierce and tat too their bodies, it should be done in a way that is Godhonoring. When worn cor rectly, they can spark con versations that could lead to discussions about the Chris tian faith; many pastors and church leaders have tattoos of Bible verses and crosses, and they often speak to their devotion and security in their faith. So, if you see a Protes tant with a piercing or a theo logian with a tattoo, don’t be offended. Instead, start a conversation.

Gingrich gives Reagan Lecture

David Zimmermann Editor-in-Chief

Five days before Election Day, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich visited campus to speak about the Reagan Revolution, the state of conservatism through the years and midterm predic tions at the 15th annual Ron ald Reagan Lecture.

The Institute for Faith and Freedom (IFF) event, which was open to faculty, students and the general public, was held in Crawford Auditorium from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3.

Gingrich began by speak ing on his formative years in politics, from his time as a Georgia congressman to the nation’s first Republican House Speaker in 40 years. The conversational inter view was moderated by Dr. Paul Kengor, senior director and chief academic fellow for IFF, and President Paul J. McNulty ’80.

Gingrich is well known for his Contract with America, which outlined the Republi can Party’s legislative agenda in the 1994 midterm election, but most may not know how he first became interested in politics.

In August 1958, he real ized that “countries could die without adequate lead ership” and decided to be come involved in American government one day. So he majored in history at Emory University and told the head of the department at the time that “I’m in the business of making history, so I figured I

ought to study it.”

The college’s annual Ron ald Reagan Lecture honors the 40th president by inviting prominent guests who have connections to the conser vative figure. Past speakers include William Barr, Brit Hume, Peggy Grande, An drew Coffin and many more.

When Gingrich first met Reagan in 1974, the Great Communicator shared how he gave speeches.

Reagan would create about 70 cards with different talk ing points, assess his audi ence and randomly shuffle 20 of those cards. Accord ing to Gingrich, this method kept Reagan’s speeches fresh and the audience engaged because he would not know which card would come next.

So he had to bridge the gap between different topics and make the extemporaneous delivery as natural as pos

Liberal Arts College ranking.

sible.

Gingrich said he still uses a version of Reagan’s com munication technique to pre pare for speeches.

Serving as a Georgia rep resentative from 1979-1999, Gingrich played a key role in building the Republican majority in Congress, which culminated in the 1994 mid terms.

Then from 1995-1999, Gingrich became Speaker of the House, a position in which he worked closely with President Bill Clinton on leg islation regarding welfare re form and balanced budgets.

In fact, Gingrich directly collaborated with Clinton on balancing four federal bud gets during the latter’s presi dency, a record in of itself.

Regarding the 2022 mid terms, Gingrich said he pre dicted Dr. Mehmet Oz would win Pennsylvania’s Senate

race against John Fetterman based on the poll numbers.

As for the state’s gubernato rial battle, he believed Josh Shapiro would possess the edge over Doug Mastriano, though he would give Sha piro “a run for his money,” Gingrich said.

The floor was open to au dience questions after the initial lecture, including one asked about his view of America’s future in a time of uncertainty and polarization.

“I’m totally optimistic,” Gingrich said. “This is the freest country in the history of the world. Free people beat bureaucrats. Entrepreneurs beat socialists. I think your children and grandchildren will have an amazing future.”

For a letter to the editor pertaining to Newt Gingrich’s lecture, turn to Perspectives on pg. 9.

ORCHESIS

fore,” Stewart said. “We are hoping the theme this year will be very engaging and ex citing for the audience and go beyond a typical dance show.”

Stewart said that the audi ence can expect intense and silly dances, which leads her to believe that the show will be enjoyable for the audi ence.

Senior Isabella Hill dis cussed what being a head of the show entails.

“Apart from picking the theme of the show, choreo graphing our dances and the opener and finale, as well as leading the entire group of about 90 people, the junior and senior heads are respon sible to make sure the show gets on stage,” said Hill.

“The responsibilities for this range from reserving spaces, to organizing audi tions, picking choreogra phers, establishing and up keeping the vision for the show, advertising for it and pushing to get Orchesis a prominent spot in the fall.”

Hill admitted that organiz ing all those things as well as being present in the dances she’s in and trying to sup port and accommodate every dancer in the show is a big task.

For Stewart, being a senior head has been a rewarding experience. She spoke on her appreciation for Orchesis.

tional Liberal Arts ranking, but after doing some re search understood why the change occurred.

“U.S. News and World Re port uses data from an orga nization called Carnegie Clas sifications,” McNulty said. “They are an organization that studies every school’s outcome, or the degree that a student graduates with. They separate their findings into two major categories: Liberal Arts and Sciences and Pro fessional Degrees.”

Dr. Peter M. Frank ’95, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs and an economics professor at the college, commented on the reasoning behind the college being dropped from the Top

“Primarily, this change has to do with the codes that the government uses to clas sify degree programs,” Frank said. “For example, Grove City College established a bi ology/health program which is much like our biology pro gram, but it helps students more explicitly prepare for graduate education in health-related fields.”

Frank noted that changes like this are what impacted the college’s status in the U.S. News rankings, but “it has not changed what Grove City College does in terms of its commitment to a liberal arts foundation for all stu dents.”

McNulty added, “They’re still getting their HUMA core, they still have general education requirements,

they’re still doing their lan guage requirements.”

To McNulty, this shows that the college is still pro ducing well-rounded stu dents, but these students may be pursuing outcomes or degrees that skew more to the U.S. News and World Re port’s professional category versus their general arts and science category.

“The liberal arts core that all students take regardless of major is a pillar of a Grove City College education,” Frank said. “This core frames the essential educational foundation for all students whether they continue in a traditional liberal arts major or choose a professional de gree.”

Frank added that the lib eral arts core helps students frame the key questions of

life, such as what it means to be human and how to live a life in relationship to God and others.

“In short, it focuses not just on the formation of the mind but of the soul as well,” said Frank, referencing the college’s liberal arts core. “Thus, Grove City College is and will remain committed to an education of the person in relationship to this world, and not simply focused on imparting knowledge.”

When asked if the college can still be considered a lib eral arts college, Frank said, “Yes, as fewer and fewer col leges are as focused as Grove City College on maintaining and strengthening the liber al arts core that all students must study.”

“I cannot believe how far I have come since freshman year. I graduate in Decem ber, so there are a lot of bit tersweet emotions about this show,” Stewart said. “I love my co-heads, choreog raphers and the entire cast so much. They have taught me so much about leader ship. I am forever grateful for my experiences in Orchesis. It has given me memories, friendships and leadership qualities that I will keep for ever.”

Hill agreed, saying that Orchesis has allowed her to learn valuable leadership and organizational skills.

“Orchesis has been such an incredible blessing for me during my time here at Grove City,” Hill said.

“Everyone comes from dif ferent majors, backgrounds and years connected by a love for something that lit erally, by its nature, creates a team and community. I have certainly grown in my expression and appreciation for various forms of dance. But mostly, I have just come to love so many people in the Orchesis community, and my bond with them is so special and unique.”

deeply about, sex trafficking. Additionally, they have a lo cal branch serving victims here in western Pa.”

According to Guida, his group has done nearly ev erything you can do in a realworld business.

“We have held pop-up shops, run advertisements, launched social media cam

paigns, kept our own finan cials and learned how to work with business partners/ classmates in professional settings,” he said.

For David, he and his teammates are apprecia tive of what this course has taught them. From how to build an attractive website to the importance of an on line presence, David and his teammates continue to use

this opportunity to their ad vantage.

“One of the biggest lessons we learned is how to build strong, detailed and compre hensive financials for our ecommerce store,” David said. “Working as a team has been a great privilege and a won derful experience for all of us.”

MIDTERMS

part of the state that were all held by Democrats. In a wave election, those are the kind of races that an incumbent party loses.”

The fight for control in Congress between Demo crats and Republicans re mains up in the air.

Verbois offered advice for

what conservative voters should prioritize to ensure election wins moving for ward.

“The question for Re publican primary voters is whether they want to feel good about themselves and their insistence on relitigat ing 2020,” he said, “or if they want to vote for people that can actually expand a Repub lican coalition and win.”

GRACE DAVID

Former Speaker of the House and Republican thought leader Newt Gingrich speaks to a packed auditorium in a conversation with President Paul J. McNulty ‘80 and Dr. Paul Kengor.

Upcoming Events...

What’s fresh at the Grove?

Apologetics Club Panel

6:30 - 10 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11

Breen Student Union

Orchesis: “Clue” 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 Saturday, Nov. 12

Ketler Auditorium

GCC Singers

7:30 - 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11

PFAC 106

Okie Palooza 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11

3rd Floor Hopeman Wells for Hope Project Okello 6 - 10 p.m. Satuday, Nov. 12

Breen Student Union Broadway Revue

7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12

PFAC Recital Hall

Fall Choral Concert

4:30 - 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13

Harbison Chapel Hopeman Lecture: David Hoganson 7 - 8:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14

SHAL

AWS Movie Night 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15

Crawford Hall

Faith for Life Lecture: Dr. Carl Trueman 7 - 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16 SHAL

SGA Coffee House 7 - 10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16

Breen Student Union

Ahsoka arrives in MAP

South’s got a snuggly new friend

Mia Gallagher Staff Writer

There’s a new resident walking the halls of MAP South. Perhaps you’ve seen her taking walks around campus, interacting with stu dents on the Quad or receiv ing all the love and belly rubs a furry, four-legged friend could ask for.

South’s new resident — Ahsoka the puppy — has already begun to leave her adorable little pawprints on the hearts and spirits of the Residence Life community and beyond.

Following a recent policy change that now allows RDs to have dogs, cats or rabbits in the residence halls, MAP South RD Victoria Wright and husband Tim Wright saw an opportunity to adopt the puppy they had always wanted.

The newest member of the Wright household, Ahsoka, is a four-month-old Austra lian Shepherd and Chocolate Lab mix. Her name, inspired by the Wright couple’s love of “Star Wars,” perfectly suits her lovable, energetic spirit.

“Having a dog is a large re sponsibility and has allowed for some different rhythms in our lives that have been good. Ahsoka is four months this past Sunday, so she must go outside every four to five hours and learn how to crate train. With her being a pup py, it means making sure she gets enough walking time throughout the day, intel lectual stimulation, interac tion with students and other dogs, and create space to learn basic commands. Potty training, specific food times and naps are all important parts of the schedule; even with the new change, she has been worth it,” Wright said.

As Ahsoka slowly learns the ins and outs of being a puppy in a college residence hall, her presence has been embraced by residents and other community mem bers as well. Frequently, she can be found playing on the Quad with a small group of students around her, all vy

ing for a chance to pet and spend time with her.

“I think, overall, students and residents have reacted positively. I made sure to email my building to let her know she would be here and to create some positive ex pectations around Ahsoka. Residents reached out quick ly to want to meet and walk her — I think all the dog lov ing residents especially have felt like it’s having a piece of home here on campus. Stu dents have also been patient and kind in the process as we train her. We sincerely have appreciated the response and continued grace as she

learns,” Wright said.

The experience has been a learning curve for Wright as working to incorporate a new young puppy into an al ready busy schedule can be challenging, but she claimed these adjustments will be worth it in the long run.

“It’s a constant learning experience as she grows into an older dog. We must learn her personality which she is incredibly sweet and calm for the most part (besides when she is having her puppy ener gy moments),” Wright said.

“It’s easy to want to plan a schedule where we just do whatever we want when we

want to, but the reality is our time revolves around her and we want to love her well. It’s a stretching experience es pecially at 3 a.m. bathroom breaks, but even then, it’s moments that I get to spend with the Lord in silence and just take a breath as well. She truly is a gift to us.”

In such a short time, Ah soka has become a welcome, beloved member of this campus community. Wright shared her favorite experi ences with Ahsoka so far have been watching her in teract with students and see

Relationships end at the ballot box?

My girlfriend has different political views than me. Can we (or should we) stay together? Polling for your opinion, Partisan Grover

Dear Partisan Grover,

Dear Dr. Love

My mother always told me there are three things you don’t talk about at the din ner table: money, religion and politics. Now, I disagree with her on one of those, be cause Jesus frequently used meals as a way to build re lationships and share the gospel with nonbelievers. However, the other two are definite taboos, especially when you are in disagree ment with the other person.

As such, a marriage where you have different politi cal views could very quickly become very tense. As much as you might like to discuss the terrible nature of one candidate or another, your wife (forgive me if I am be ing too presumptuous about the future of your relation ship) might have the com plete opposite thought and be grossly offended at your distaste for this politician. Your marriage will never be

able to have that glorious echo chamber of a family all in agreement for or against an idea.

While that prospect may seem frightening, (who would want to live their whole life without ever once discussing politics?) it does not need to be the end of your relationship. You might be able to make a marriage work where politics never really becomes a discussion and where it doesn’t impact the way you parent or broad ly view the world. The other could very easily be true, though, and this leads me to my main point.

Before making any deci sions about ending the rela tionship, you must consider and discuss the nature of these disagreements. If ei ther of you lean significantly to one side of the political aisle, these political differ ences might belie deeper philosophical and theologi cal understandings of life it

self that might make a mar riage an unwise prospect. However, if your political differences lie in which spe cific policy plan is the most effective, then it might not be a huge issue that you can easily work through despite differences in persuasions.

In whatever circumstance, you should have a discus sion about your differences. Without having a conver sation, you can never truly understand what your girl friend thinks about certain issues or how closely she holds these opinions. Both of you should exercise intellec tual charity and seek to un derstand each other before being understood. That’s a piece of advice for any dif ficult conversation you ever have.

Through this conversa tion, you might reach a con sensus on the divisive topic, better understand the nature of your differing beliefs and have a plan of how to prog

ress forward. Or you might determine that both of you hold opposing views close enough that it would be dif ficult to truly love the other without either forcing them or yourself to compromise your convictions.

Politics, and this goes for theology, too, is never the most fun conversation be cause of how it can divide people. However, there is no inherent reason that you can’t marry someone outside your precise belief system.

In all cases, you simply have to have more discus sions to better understand each other and decide what the wise decision would be.

Stirring the pot, Dr. Love Love M.D.

TORI WRIGHT

New student on campus, Ahsoka, is adjusting to the sights, sounds and smells of her college life.

The (visual) effects of a GCC degree

Violet Whitmore Community Editor

Working in the visual ef fects industry for almost 11 years, David Windhorst ’11 has worked on over 80 film projects, including “Game of Thrones,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Arrow,” “The Good Place,” Netflix’s “Chilling Ad ventures of Sabrina,” “Sweet Tooth,” “Stargirl” and “Night at the Museum 3.”

After graduating from the college with a mechanical engineering major and math minor, Windhorst went on to Vancouver Film School and later began working at Zoic Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Now Windhorst is a Lead Matchmove/Layout Artist at the world-renowned company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM).

Every day is different for a visual effects artist. They are constantly switching be tween projects, designing something new, collaborat ing with artists and a myriad of other tasks.

“To describe what I do spe cifically within the company can be broken down into set reconstruction and camera/

object movement recreation. Our job is to make sure it ‘sticks’ so that the audience doesn’t notice what is real vs. added elements,” Windhorst said.

Becoming a mechanical engineer is crucial to kick starting a career in this type of VFX.

“I utilize the same mathe matics and physics concepts at every step. How does the camera move in this shot? How heavy are certain ob jects in the scene? What is the depth of that person rela tive to the camera? What is the size of this table? These questions become easier to answer when you realize there are real-world con straints related to engineer ing as well as daily life obser vations that result in a best guess if not the right answer. That is where the artistic side kicks in to help finalize the work,” Windhorst said.

Windhorst, who uses lin ear algebra and numerical statistics at his job, said, “Layout is a stage early in the pipeline where we build out a basic representation of the set that was filmed where we need to apply some sort of

visual effect. This could be a different sky/background or adding a computer-generat ed character interacting with real-life actors.”

“Matchmove represents recreating camera or object movement alongside the lay out to provide reference of where those elements are in the environment. Animators need to know where reallife actors are for eyelines or contact-based interaction as an example (actors climbing onto dragons, anyone?).”

When asked where his in terest in VFX sparked, Wind horst said, “I remember see ing ‘Star Wars’ when I was four or five and seeing the Millennium Falcon entering the Death Star hangar for the first time. I was captivated. I wanted to know how to do that – that kind of magic.”

“Once I had entered the VFX industry, I began ap plying my engineering back ground in various ways. Cre ative work always needs a foundation and so real-world reference is our base. With hard work and determina tion, I finally arrived here at my dream job working with some of the best talent in the

industry at ILM – the same company responsible for the Millennium Falcon shot I was inspired by in the first place.”

Not only providing the degree foundational to his career, the college helped Windhorst by instilling “the drive for continued learning and adapting to the situa tion at hand – every day the industry changes. It’s impor tant to not only be able to do the job in the moment, but to also innovate and drive the industry and quality of the work forward. It’s easy to fall into a routine; Grove City College helped me stay ahead of the curve instead.”

Uniting countries and cul tures together, “visual effects are a blend of both artistic and technical work,” Wind horst said.

“We are engineers and magicians at the same time. Everywhere around the studio you’ll find various backgrounds of culture and knowledge that are unique. Regardless of our roles and how exaggerated the new worlds we build, we always start by referencing the real world first.”

Grovers go bananas for bread

Mia Gallagher Staff Writer

Homemade food is a deli cacy many college students don’t often get. Well, Gro vers, you’re in luck – It’s Ba nana Bread (IBB) is the col lege’s up and coming banana bread bakery and delivery service. It provides the sweet, simple solution you’re look ing for.

“We want to bring that feeling of comfort and joy from warm, fresh, home made banana bread at an affordable price,” an IBB spokesperson said. “Since we’re offering this service as a way to serve our campus community, we’re commit ted to offering the loaves at the lowest prices possible. Plus, who doesn’t love a fresh loaf of banana bread?”

IBB currently offers two main varieties of banana bread – plain and chocolate

walnut – that are affordably priced at four and five dol lars, respectively. They have also added a seasonal apple pie flavor available to order until Nov. 11. Orders can be placed via a form found on their Instagram page and are delivered on Friday and Sat urday evenings.

Founded upon the belief that this home-baked treat should be available to the campus community, IBB has slowly grown from a smallscale service into a campuswide company that looks to expand and grow further in the spring semester. The bread, which is made locally and baked fresh for orders each night, is sure to deliver the familiar flavors of this classic treat.

As IBB prepares to fully launch their business in the spring, their current focus lies in expanding their clien tele and spreading word of their service throughout the

campus community.

To build brand recognition, IBB offered samples of their deli cious baked goods to stu dents throughout the fall semes ter. Additionally, they have posted flyers around campus advertis ing their services and directing people to their Instagram page to place their orders.

“Our biggest challenge has been advertising. While many people might know of IBB, sharing clear infor mation about our mission and story has hindered our growth. This is something we look forward to changing in the spring,” IBB said.

Interested in tasting this warm, delicious treat for yourself? Preorder a loaf of

banana bread today!

To find more information and fill out an order form, be sure to check out IBB on In stagram @ibb_bakery. And remember, it may just be banana bread, but the com fort and joy this home-baked treat can provide may be just what you need in these up coming winter months and beyond.

Seven questions with…

Dr. Annie Shepherd

ing the joy her presence can provide.

“Ahsoka is a member of the Wright household but is slowly integrating into be ing a part of the college com munity and seeing her enjoy being here is special in of it self,” Wright said.

“Please feel free to con

tinue to say hi to all of us (Tori, Tim and Ahsoka). She loves meeting people but can be a little timid at first when people move too quick to ward her. Also, feel free to introduce yourself as well. As much as we love sharing her with Grove City College, Tim and I want to make the connection with students as well.”

Professor of English

What classes are you teaching this year?

Currently, WRIT 101: Foundations of Academic Discourse. In the spring, I’ll also teach Creative Non-fiction.

Favorite movie?

That is tough, but I can narrow down to at least a few: “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Mon eyball,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Chariots of Fire.”

What is your favorite restaurant?

I am still discovering local places here in Pittsburgh and Grove City – so far, I’m a fan of the chees esteak sandwich at Peppi’s. Where I’m from (Houston), one of my fa vorites was a place called El Tiempo Cantina – their fajitas were off the charts.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?

Andrew Bird has been on in my car a lot lately. Other favorites are Sufjan Stevens and Muse. I will risk the respect of my col leagues by admitting that when I want something more lighthearted and fun I turn to Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

Any interesting hobbies?

Acoustic guitar, songwrit ing, softball. Astros-watch ing, shuffleboard, darts and billiards.

What are you looking forward to today?

Not gonna lie, I lost some sleep last week watching the World Series. I am looking forward to getting back to a regular bedtime schedule :)

Why did you become a professor?

I wanted to be a life-long learner, discuss literature, foster community, write and be a safe and com passionate resource for students as they wrestle with difficult questions. Luckily for me, the role of a professor can encom pass all of those things.

Assistant

DAVID WINDHORST

David Wright ‘11 stands in front on a large projector screen displaying a futuristic, mechanical setting. This computer generated back ground was in part created by Windhorst and his team, and will soon be applied to a film.

Through the Lens

Peforming arts, together

The Theatre Program puts on both ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ and Orchesis: ‘Clue’

Judd Demers

Gracie Turnbaugh

“Kiss Me, Kate” put on an energetic produc tion with two sold out nights last week. Each actor shone brightly on stage, giving a beauti ful performance packed with talent and hu mor.

Following the musical, the Theatre Program is putting on the bi-annual Orchesis dance production. This semester, the dances are the board game “Clue”-themed, each dance focus ing on one of the game’s characters or weap ons.

The Orchesis Company debuted their per formance Thursday and will continue through Saturday in Ketler Auditorium. Reserve your free tickets online through their Instagram, @ grovecity.orchesis.

by Grace David, Photo Chief

Judd Demers

Judd Demers

Gracie Turnbaugh

Gracie Turnbaugh

Moral deviancy is on the rise

NPR’s abortion audio disrupts social cohesion

Hunter Oswald Staff Writer

On Nov. 3, National Pub lic Radio (NPR) received a tidal wave of backlash from pro-life groups across the na tion after releasing audio of a live abortion. The 15-min ute NPR program focused on the status of Michigan abor tion providers as voters de cided this week on whether to adopt or reject Michigan’s Proposal 3, which would en shrine the right to abortion in Michigan’s constitution.

Award-winning journal ist for Michigan Radio, Kate Wells, interviewed patients and abortion providers of the Northland Family Planning, an abortion clinic located in the outskirts of Detroit. For the first eight minutes and 25 seconds, Wells discussed the various circumstances that have led women to seek out

their abortions at Northland, along with in terviewing Au drey Lance, one of the clinic’s abortion doc tors.

The last six minutes and 35 seconds of the program is when the audio of Doctor Lance performing a suction abortion on one of the wom en at the clinic is played. In the audio, one can hear the patient in a state of distress, talking with Lance and his nurse, who both try to calm her down, while hearing the suction from the aspirator that is ending the life of her unborn child.

While the program’s graphical approach has deeply enraged many within the pro-life movement, the situation has unintentionally revealed the moral depriva

tion that has slowly grown within American society. To understand this decline in moral and social cohesion, we must understand man’s struggle with imperfection and pursuit of perfectibility.

As a Christian, it is not hard to understand that we are all subjected to imperfec tion because of man’s fallen nature. However, in today’s increasingly secularized and self-centered society, the line between the reality of man’s imperfection has slowly started to break down.

The source of the break down stems from the rising acceptance of moral relativ ism, especially in the form of expressive individualism. In “Habits of the Heart,” Rob ert Bellah writes, “Expres sive Individualism holds that each person has a unique core of feeling and intuition that should unfold or be ex

pressed if individuality is to be realized … Under certain conditions, the expressive individualist may find it pos sible through intuitive feel ing to ‘merge’ with other per sons, with nature, or with the cosmos as a whole.”

Despite such alluring promises, relativist ideas overlook the destructive na ture of the desire for per sonal perfection. Suppose one believes they can over come their imperfectability by breaking down the estab lished moral norms of soci ety. In that case, the promo tion of taboos is but a means to achieving their state of perfection.

In the case of the NPR abor tion audio, there is a replace ment of one moral absolute, that all life is sacred, with a more artificial absolute, that the value of another’s life is dependent upon the evalua

tion of others. We enable evil to sink its teeth into the fab ric of our society. By telling people they could prevent the existence of others under the pretext of a perceived incon venience, what is stopping one from pursuing a course of extermination based upon what they view as achieving perfection? It is this kind of evil that undermines social cohesion by pitting society against itself.

While the rise of moral de viancy has slowly diminished social cohesion, we should not falter. It may seem that the storm of discord is gain ing in strength, but our cour age and faith allow the light of reason to shine and hope to survive. We will overcome this darkness and shall soon see the return of calmer days.

CRT phobia at GCC

John Adkins Contributing Writer

Let’s stop talking about critical race theory (CRT) and start talking about bib lical unity. As Christians, we should make sure we spend as much time build ing a healthy understanding of ethnic concerns in light of Scripture, as we are refuting other unbelieving thought systems.

During fall 2021, Grove City College became the tar get of immense scrutiny due to critical race theory. There after in February 2022, the Board of Trustees came out on the record with the offi cial college position oppos ing CRT and its philosophi cal implications. From the fourth article of the commit tee report, Grove City stated, “CRT’s worldview is impervi ous to rational argument and lacks analytical rigor … [it]

demeans ratio nal argument as itself racist and oppres sive.”

On Sept. 27, 2022, the stu dent body witnessed a public forum on the topic of current trends in critical race theory and race in the context of biblical unity.

Prolific Biblical and Reli gious Studies Professor Carl Trueman joined Monique Duson, cofounder of The Center for Biblical Unity, in discussing these culturally sensitive issues and specify ing a Christian perspective. Duson and Trueman argued the movement traces its roots to Marxist intellectual ism in the Frankfurt School; the very nature of its ideol ogy precludes rational ar gumentation and forces the modern self into a sort of logical nihilism.

Additionally, CRT cannot account for the reality of for giveness and justice done at the cross. For CRT, despite reparations made to margin alized communities, nothing can account for the constant work to be done by those who profit from historical oppres sion.

As true as these matters are, Trueman and Duson should have spent more time talking about the Christian perspective on race and what we can do to address the concerns CRT activists hold. Granted, Duson proceeded to speak on the subject in chapel the following morn ing, and Trueman speaks regularly about these issues in the classroom.

According to the gos pel, Christ atones for those who have repented of racial partiality, and each person stands accountable before the Lord individually, not

for the sins of his ancestors. Christians also attest that disparity of wealth does not necessitate unjust treatment of those in poverty. Thus, God’s kingdom includes people of every people group, ethnicity and nation, not just those in power or of a certain race.

Duson is correct in claim ing that the views of CRT en courage partiality against the minority, as it assumes they need a sort of condescension from the ethnic majority to gain personal satisfaction. It is an atrocity to any discus sion regarding race and mar ginalization.

Yet, the overdramatized paranoia and antagonism against CRT popular on cam pus reflects the vices of that which it condemns. As True man rightfully pointed out, the rejection of institutional racism does not mean sys tems are never racist, which

means we should feel obli gated to think about these matters and be free to dis cuss them.

We are not a playground where parents must cen sor certain topics due to the presence of toddlers, but we are an academic institu tion where discussion must be free and civil. As a con servative Christian campus, we are obliged to keep each other accountable to the truths found in Scripture and validated by the traditions of the past while still presenting many perspectives fairly and graciously.

By rightfully dismantling CRT as a worldview, we have overreacted against its phi losophies and formed a sort of CRT phobia. I would like to exhort every student and faculty on campus to be will ing to discuss matters of eth nicity, poverty and oppres sion openly and thoughtfully.

Where radicalism fails, patience prevails

Isaac Willour Staff Writer

A few days after this column comes out, Donald Trump is slated to announce his decision regarding a 2024 presidential run, even as a sizeable proportion of the political right stands at the ready to push him back into the Oval Office.

Some political observers have cun ningly deduced this is a terrible idea — from Trump’s public stomping of younger, more promising conserva tive leaders to his refusal to see any thing in politics as not-him-centric, the argument’s strong that the man should spend the rest of his life far away from power. However, to some on the right, the issue at hand in Trump’s second rise isn’t his dem onstrated pandering to radicalism or covert support for radical figures. It’s the fact there isn’t enough of it Catholic integralist and profes sional bad-take-haver Sohrab Ama ri lamented in early 2022 that Trump and the movement he spawned failed to properly uphold American popu lism. “Trouble with Trumpism ap

pears to be something else: It’s not that it was too radical — it wasn’t radical enough,” wrote Amari. “It did not go to the true root of the nation’s festering prob lems.”

For those watching the political left, similar sentiments can be seen when Democrat politicians fail to properly state the party’s most pro gressive elements. The message of such sentiments is simple — the di sastrous results of political radical ism are not mistakes to be regretted but a foretaste of “greater things to come.” Anything short of complete acquiescence to one side’s most radi cal adherents is not incrementalism or tactics but regrettable treachery.

This is exactly backward.

Fighting for the existence of a tran scendent moral order by encouraging the jettison of all ethical standards for combat is the single best way to ensure a corrupt army willing to ig nore all bounds of morality to accom plish its goals. And it doesn’t work in the long run.

Radicalism succeeds in the short term — it wins a presidency, creates the right headlines and makes its most fervent acolytes angry enough to feel justified. This isn’t to say all Trump supporters are complicit in the man’s frivolous and selfish flail ing approach to politics. It is to say that the current trend on the right has very little to do with a transcen dent moral order and more to do with pursuing grievances and conve niently selective moral battles.

At this point, something needs to be made very clear. I’m not saying the grievances aren’t real. The political left is responsible for major cultural blunders, and figures on the political left have overseen some major evils in the name of policy “wins,” minor gender transitions and abortion on demand as quick examples. But po litical radicalism on one side doesn’t justify political radicalism on the other; the policy excesses of the left don’t make the right any less wrong. Patience is the antidote to radicalism, and it is patience that accomplishes the real progress that changes hearts and minds.

Letter

Rejecting dejection

Zach Smith Contributing Writer

With spring getting closer every day, some still find themselves searching for their better half. Unfortu nately, things don’t always go how people hope or expect, and I have several friends who have already experi enced rejection this semes ter.

It’s hard to see people you care about go through that, but if a relationship isn’t meant to be, it’s not going to happen. It can be easy some times to feel sad or somewhat angry when this happens, but I’d like to suggest reframing rejection differently.

Rather than feeling un wanted, bitter or some other negative emotion, it’d be more beneficial to look at rejection as God closing a door you’re not meant to pass through and as his pro tection from what could be worse pain down the road. It isn’t easy in the moment and maybe even counterin tuitive. Still, thankfulness for protection is the best re sponse, especially since so many marriages today end in divorce. It’s likely that he has someone much better for you in your future, and you’ll just have to hold out a little longer.

The downfall of Roe v. Wade has, by recent counts, saved more than 10,000 lives. This wasn’t the product of radicalism or a brief pulse of pop ulist rage — it was a nearly 50-year build-up of serious cultural work by the pro-life movement, resulting in a massive overturn with the po tential to create a growing wave of support for the human right to life. That is real change. That’s a resolu tion of a festering moral problem in this nation. That’s worth celebrating; more than that, it’s worth learning from. Radicalism and rage can turn an election season, but patience and wisdom can change a ten-thousandlife trend.

In the empire of lies, truth is trea son. In the empire of rage, patience and wisdom are similarly treason ous. While defying the empire of rage may brand us as soft or feeble by those who see anger and winning at all costs as paramount moral virtues, failing to do so is treason to the moral order that transcends politics. Rest assured, that’s much worse.

to the Editor

Five questions for Newt Gingrich

The Institute for Faith and Freedom recently brought former Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, to speak on cam pus. Here are five questions that might have provided an opportunity for more critical analysis rather than an exercise in remembering President Ronald Reagan.

• In January 2022, you were quoted as saying that officials investigat ing the Jan. 6, 2021, Cap itol riot could be jailed if the GOP regains control of Congress in the fall midterm elections. (from USA Today) Could you explain on what legal grounds they would be prosecuted?

the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as “legitimate political dis course.” Do you agree? Should the solemn right to defecate in Statuary Hall be legally protected?

• Many observers have noted the increasingly tribal character of na tional politics since the 1990s and the growing inability of Congress to address pressing policy questions constructive ly. Does the leadership of the Republican Party share any responsibility for the coarsening and polarization of American politics since the 1990s? As a Christian, does any of that trouble you?

With this in mind, try to ensure that your happiness hinges on God and not anoth er person.

Being rejected is hard, but rejecting someone can be challenging too. Since peo ple can develop feelings for someone else without always knowing or being able to ex plain why, I think it would be beneficial for each party to treat the other graciously when rejection occurs. It’s obvious enough once said, but if someone knew ahead of time they’d be rejected, they wouldn’t bother pursu ing that person as the pain of rejection isn’t exactly desir able.

Furthermore, even if you don’t have reciprocal feelings for someone interested in you, hopefully, it can at least be seen as somewhat flatter ing that someone else thinks highly of you – enough to put themselves in a position of vulnerability.

There are several verses in Scripture with principles that, when viewed collective ly, should give a bit of hope to those who are single but desire a significant other.

First, God withholds “no good thing” from those who seek him and walk uprightly

(Psalms 34:10, 84:11). Sec ond, those who find a wife find “a good thing” (Proverbs 18:22). Additionally, God gives people the desires of their heart when they delight in him (Psalms 37:4).

With such a high concen tration of Christians, this col lege is a great place to meet a potential spouse since Chris tians should be concerned with the dangers of being un equally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14).

For those who desire to graduate with both a degree and a spouse, I’d encourage you to keep your head up and wish you the best of luck, but also to do your best to trust God’s perfect provision and will whenever he decides it’s your time.

Often the longer you wait for something you want, the more rewarding it is when you finally get it, and you ap preciate it that much more. While you wait, you can think through the positive traits you’d bless a spouse with and the personal shortcomings you still need to work on.

Whether single or taken, you can still serve God in meaningful ways. If you do experience rejection, never lose sight of the fact that you’re here for a reason and that you’re fearfully and wonderfully made.

• In the days after the elec tion, you suggested there was significant voter fraud. President Don ald Trump’s former At torney General, William Barr, has since testified under oath that he was not presented with any evidence of voter fraud; in fact, Barr thought the claims of fraud were ri diculous. Do you stand by your original claims, or would you agree with Barr’s assessment of the 2020 election?

• In February 2020, the Republican National Committee characterized

• Public opinion surveys suggest that since 2016 evangelical voters have largely abandoned their longstanding conviction that the personal im morality of a candidate should disqualify him/ her from consideration. Should we use such cri teria to evaluate candi dates? Aren’t concerns about personal immo rality, such as those that have been raised about Herschel Walker, legiti mate?

Dr. Michael Coulter ’91

Political Science Chair Dr. Gillis Harp History Professor

Letters to the Editor

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5 p.m. on the Monday prior to the publication. All letters to the editor will be considered for publication from students, faculty, staff and alumni.

To be accepted for publica tion, a letter must meet one of the following criteria: it re lates to an article published in or issue discussed in pa per; it contains information of interest to all, or a segment of our readership (alumni, parents, donors, students, faculty and staff); it relates to college news or policy.

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‘All Quiet’ is too loud

Christopher Bolland Contributing Writer

From German drama di rector Edward Berger comes the most recent adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s ac claimed anti-war novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” a depressing dive into the ef fects of World War I on the author through a self-insert character.

While the novel has re ceived two previous film adaptations (one in 1930, a year after the book was origi nally published, and another in 1979), the newest version stands apart in its technical brilliance and cinematic in tensity.

However, from an adapta tional perspective, Berger’s rendition fails to suitably ground the viewer in the motivations of its lead char acter and to deliver the ar resting message which made the original novel, as well as previous film versions, so im pactful.

Be warned, spoilers for both the book and film rendi tions lie ahead.

The film opens with an im

pressive action sequence in which a terrified unnamed German soldier charges across no man’s land to beat a French soldier to death with a shovel, before an un connected scene of collecting and recycling the clothing of the dead swallows the first eight minutes of the film.

While gruesome, neither of these scenes do anything to advance the plot. Contrast this to the 1930 film where we are at once thrown, along with our protagonist Paul Bäumer, into an exuberant classroom at the beginning of the war where the frenzied students imagine the glories to be won.

The triumphant music and teacher’s excitement carry both the audience and the characters forward to enlist. We see and sympathize with what motivates our “heroes”: a childish belief in the lies of their nation and the gran deur of war.

As the Roman poet Horace once wrote, “Sweet and fit ting it is to die for your coun try.” This pretense of a heroic war movie, which was typical in 1930, is only slowly lost,

‘Tár’ was worth the wait

David Smith Staff Writer

“Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett, is writer and di rector Todd Field’s first film in 16 years since “Little Chil dren.” After seeing “Tár,” I feel it has been worth the wait.

“Tár” follows the life and downfall of acclaimed con ductor and composer Lydia Tár in her pursuit of covering up her past to maintain her appearance and social emi nence. In its own way, the film is a stark commentary on modernity and cancel cul ture.

At the beginning of “Tár,” Lydia is introduced via an in terview with Adam Gopnik as a musical virtuoso, musicolo gist — she is fond of compos er Gustav Mahler — and is an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards (EGOT) mem ber. On top of the excellent credentials, she is a guest lec turer at Julliard and is pro moting several new projects, including her upcoming live

recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

Throughout the film, the protagonist is incessantly troubled and plagued by su perfluous noise. Perhaps this is because of her perfect pitch ability and sensitivity to sound.

After hearing doorbells, voices and screaming, Lydia will imitate the sound on her piano keyboard. The noises are rendered through an audio construction that is uncannily accurate in its ar rangement.

The audience is just as alarmed as Lydia as these noises seem to reflect hidden apprehension. Her neurotic behaviors become apparent as the film progresses.

For emotional support, she relies on her personal assistant Francesca, played by Noemie Merlant, and wife Sharon, played by Nina Hoss. As the film unravels and the plot advances, Lydia realizes that although she packs a lot of clout, she is not immune to what is lurking in

disenchanting the audience and characters little by little. Like a horror movie, the true realities of warfare are not shown for a large majority of the original film, preserv ing the terror which both the characters and audience be gin to feel.

In the 2022 film, however, the war is in its fourth year, and the audience knows both from the first scene that Paul and his schoolmates are hopelessly doomed. We cannot therefore sympathize with their excitement.

Berger’s film seems to have forgotten that the genius of Remarque’s original story was in its subtlety, not mere spectacle. Long swathes of both the original book and subsequent film versions are given over to Paul’s conver sations with his comrades and his personal musings about the incommunicability of his experiences.

This highlights the horrific realization that, while they may survive the war and re turn home, they will forever be fighting it in their own minds.

But the largest faux pas

committed by Berger’s ver sion is its wholesale lack of the most important and iconic scene in the original story: Paul’s return to the school where his teacher first encouraged him to enlist.

In both the book and in all other adaptations, this scene brings Paul’s character full circle, from enthusiastic na tionalism to embittered re sentment for the teacher and system which stole his youth from him.

“You still think it’s beauti ful and sweet for your coun try, don’t you?” Paul said. “We used to think you knew, but the first bombardment taught us better.” This pivot al scene which brings home the message of the movie is totally absent in Berger’s 2022 adaptation.

So, should you watch the movie? If you like explosions and good filmmaking, sure. But, if you want an experi ence that will change your outlook on life and perhaps caution you against blind de votion to an ideology, Berg er’s “All Quiet on the West ern Front” will fail to meet your needs.

Tunes from the Tower ‘Midnights’

Vincent Clay Staff Writer

Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with and has just released “Midnights,” her tenth studio album and a quiet rest from a genre-spanning roller coaster of a career.

I feel the album is at its best when Swift sticks to her guns and writes an excellent pop song.

“Lavender Haze”, “AntiHero” and “Karma” are pop titans with unforget table hooks and energy. They recall the glory days of “Red” and “1989” and serve as a reminder af ter “Folklore” that Swift’s greatest quality is her ear for a good pop song.

Swift has said that the album is a collection of songs from across her ca reer that she wrote in the depths of the night. It’s a cute concept, but Swift is an excellent business woman. This album is re ally a collection of refined outtakes from her past re cords.

Listen closely, and “Vig ilante Shit” seems like a reject from her “Reputa tion” era. “Snow on the Beach” could have fit per fectly on “Evermore.” For some reason, “Bejeweled” has broken out of its home on “Lover” and has es caped here.

The rest of the songs pass by nonchalantly. Don’t get me wrong, a qui et album isn’t inherently bad, but there isn’t much about the ballads that stick out.

The same goes for the “3 a.m. Edition” tracks. Many Swifties have blamed pro ducer Jack Antonoff for this lack of quality, but Swift herself isn’t pulling a ton of weight.

the shadows of her past.

All the unsettling noise that haunts her, stemming from suppressed guilt and remorse, comes to light.

The film, which clocks in at nearly three hours, drags on a bit. However, its mes sage about cancel culture and classical music lingo is quite effective.

“Tár” is not for everyone, but it has the potential to resonate with a certain au dience. Blanchett’s perfor mance as the talented but corrupt composer is a tourde-force. This may be her best performance since “The Aviator.” If Blanchett is not nominated for an Academy Award, I will be shocked.

“Tár” is an anomaly: It is

FOCUS FEATURES

both an awards contender and an authentic art film.

Field’s work as director is just as masterful in “Tár” as it was in his two previous films.

His ability to incorpo rate information on music, a compelling story and ap propriately potent classical pieces exhibits his auteur sensibilities. I think it is fair to place Field in that cat egory now. The score, which was composed and produced by Hildur Guðnadóttir and recorded at Abbey Road Stu dios, reflects the ideas that Field is aiming toward and complements his work well.

Overall, “Tár” illustrates the duplicity and duality of work, domesticity and over whelming obsessions.

Notice lyrical clunkers like, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” from “Mastermind.” Walmartbrand school planners are going to be knocking on her door asking for royal ties.

In conclusion, the al bum is simply okay. If Swift wanted to, she could have taken a stake in the canon of great American night albums, like Frank Sinatra’s “In the Wee Small Hours” or Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”

Whether or not she suc ceeded is up to you. For now, I’m looking forward to where she takes us next.

NETFLIX

Rugby sweeps on road to nationals

Emma Rossi Sports Editor

An eight-minute walk down Pinchalong Road will bring you to something you don’t necessarily expect to see in western Pennsylvania: a rugby field.

Few people at Grove City College know a lot about the game of rugby, and fewer still know that this “trek” is well worth their time.

Grove City men’s rugby was founded in the spring of 1994. They join 11 other college teams in the Three Rivers Collegiate Rugby Con ference (CRC), which falls under the governing body of National Collegiate Rugby.

Grove City men’s rugby puts on an athletic perfor mance you just can’t miss. The team boasts a 4-0 re cord in the fall portion of their season. This record includes performances like that against Geneva, which resulted in a final score of 106-0.

Dr. Charles Kriley ‘88, a chemistry professor, has served as the team’s advisor since 1996. While Kriley has 200 level rugby coaching cer tification, the team is led by two student coaches, seniors Ryan Toth and Luke Owrey.

“They have done an excel

lent job this year and have re ally developed the team into a force to be reckoned with,” Kriley said.

Toth spoke to what makes this team stand out on the field, accrediting their ability to keep discipline at the core of what they do.

“Every player on the team has shown discipline and strived to be the best player they can, which is all any of us can ask for, and all that hard work has proven to pay off in our undefeated sea son,” Toth said.

“Being well rounded in our athleticism, endurance and rugby IQ has proven incredibly important as all of the players can be strong, fast and smart in the sport, whereas many players from other teams are only good in a single facet.”

One of the team’s six se niors, Parker Mihelic said of the 21-man roster’s impres sive performance: “We’ve really come together this sea son. I’ve played on a plethora of teams in my life, and this is by far the most fun I have ever had. We are also mostly seniors and there is a nice mix of a ‘this is it’ feeling and we have really gone all out.”

Mihelic and Toth are joined on the pitch by four other seniors, six juniors, six

sophomores and three fresh men. As Kriley explained, the team comes with varying levels of experience and from multiple campus communi ties.

“The great thing about rug by is there is a position for anyone that wants to play. The team has students that are in fraternities, housing groups and independents. Everyone is welcome, and the team members are a very co hesive and welcoming group. Most of our players have nev er played before coming to college, but our coaches and players do a great job teach ing the game,” Kriley said.

This past weekend, Grove City traveled to Pittsburgh to play in the Three Rivers CRC. A victory over St. Vincent crowned the team confer ence champions and earned them a spot in the National Championship qualifiers, which will take place in St. Louis, Mo., from Nov. 18-19.

While Grove City has a weekend to rest, they are still hosting a play-in tournament on the rugby field tomorrow. The tournament will feature three matches at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and deter mine who will join the Wol verines in St. Louis.

Wolverines dominate in ECAC’s October honors

Emma Rossi Sports Editor

Ten Wolverines earned East Coast Athletic Confer ence (ECAC) Division III South honors for the month of October.

Athletes from volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s soc cer and football represented Grove City in the confer ence’s monthly report. Vol leyball and both soccer teams swept the three categories acknowledged.

Sophomore Britta Lager quist, sophomore Courtney Lisman and freshman Karly Keller were honored by the ECAC.

Lagerquist scored seven goals and recorded three as sists to give her Offensive Player of the month. Lis man’s October included four shutouts and a .883 save percentage. Her goaltending kept the team’s win streak hot, closing out the month 9-0 and earning her Goal

keeper of the Month. Keller earned Rookie of the Month after starting all nine games in the team’s win streak.

A trio from men’s soccer earned recognition – senior Sam Belitz, senior Jesse Greyshock and freshman Aidan Eck.

Belitz was awarded Of fensive Player of the Month after completing the final month of his 14-goal season. Belitz now ranks fifth in alltime scoring at Grove City. Greyshock was named Goal keeper of the Month after tal lying four shutouts in seven wins, averaging a .810 save percentage. Eck, who earned Rookie of the Month, started in every October match, scor ing four goals and contribut ing three assists in the team’s 7-1 run.

Volleyball’s senior Faith Keating, junior Anna De Graaf and freshman Bella Costa were recognized for their efforts on the court for the Wolverines. Offensive

Player of the Month was awarded to Keating, as she passed her career’s 1500-dig mark. She finished her Grove City career with 1572 digs, ranking fifth all-time for the college.

DeGraaf’s six games with four or more blocks made her Defensive Player of the Month. She too hit a mile stone, recording her career best 10 blocks against Betha ny on Oct. 11. Closing out the trio of honors for volleyball is Costa, whose impressive month included 14 serving aces, five of which came in the Oct. 27 win over Allegh eny.

Junior wide receiver Scott Fraser represents football in the ECAC’s honors. Fraser earned Offensive Player of the Month. Fraser ranks first in receptions among receiv ers in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. He recorded 988 yards from 60 recep tions across nine games.

Sports at a Glance News

Junior middle blocker Anna DeGraaf earned First Team All-PAC honors. She is joined in representing the Wolverines by teammates senior outside hitter Faith Keating, who made Second Team All-PAC, and junior libero Gabby Lucas and sophomore setter Kennedy Kerr, who earned Honorable Mention All-PAC.

Men’s soccer senior forward Sam Belitz and sophomore midfielder John-Luc Harbour made the PAC All-Tournament Team.

Results

Football:

L, Washington & Jefferson (31-14)

Men’s Swimming and Diving: L, Geneseo State (216-77) W, Fredonia State (208-36)

Women’s Swimming and Diving: L, Geneseo State (221.5-75.5) W, Fredonia State (214-40)

Volleyball: L, Bethany (3-2)

Men’s Basketball: W/L, Penn State Dubois (81-73)

Upcoming

Football (6-3)

Nov. 12, 1:00 p.m. vs. Thiel

Men and Women’s Cross Country

Nov. 12 at NCAA Mid-Atlantic Championships

Men and Women’s Swimming and Diving (2-1), (3-1)

Nov. 11, 6:00 p.m. @ Saint Vincent Volleyball (18-10)

Nov. 12, 12:00 p.m. vs. Penn State Behrend (ECAC DIII Championship Tournament)

Men’s Basketball (1-0)

Nov. 12, 2:00 p.m. @ Pitt Greensburg

Nov. 16, 7:00 p.m. vs. Kenyon

Women’s Basketball

Nov. 11, 7:15 p.m. @ Wilmington

Nov. 12, TBD @ Wilmington Tournament

Nov. 17, 5:30 p.m. @ Carnegie Mellon

Will Sterrett Men’s Swimming Swimmer of the Week

Logan Myers Men’s Swimming Rookie of the Week

Rachael Wallace Women’s Swimming Swimmer of the Week

CALEB WARRICK

Senior Simon Steward rallies the team in their 106-0 win over Geneva.

Basketball. Is. Back.

Men’s season opener sets standard

Joel Sledd Staff Writer

Grove City men’s basket ball is ready to compete for the 2022-2023 season.

The Wolverine’s regular season is set with 25 regular season games, 12 of which are home games.

Head Coach Steve Lamie ‘85 and As sociate Head Coach Sean Severson are ready to lead the 20-man roster to a win ning season. With no more COVID restrictions to limit them, the team was able to put a lot more work in this offseason.

Coach Lamie commented on the performance of his athletes in the offseason, “This year has been really good in that there has been so much accountability.”

Accountability is an im portant mission statement for Lamie, serving as the standard for the team. “We want to compete for a cham pionship by playing to a stan dard in a culture of account ability.”

The freshman class will contribute many players this season. Out of the 19 play ers on the roster, six will be freshmen.

So far, Lamie is very im pressed with this class, say ing, “The freshman class has a really high basketball IQ, and that helps in the early practice sessions.”

Lamie acknowledges the hardships of such a small re cruiting pool Grove City has compared to other colleges, “If we did what everyone else did, then we would not be very good. We’re not buying our players, our players have to be smart enough to get into Grove City College and they have to want the Chris tian atmosphere. Our fun

nel of players is smaller than other schools.”

Despite this, Lamie knows that he is recruiting the right players, stating, “We don’t have the same pick of the crop, but our pick is really motivated. The edge isn’t in volume, it’s in the quality of the player we get.”

The smart and adaptive freshmen have helped ad vance the pre-season prac tice plan. “If they don’t pick up the offense and defense quickly, it gunks up the works. But since they have been picking things up fast er, we’ve been able to march ahead. We’re ahead of where we were compared to last year because the freshmen have picked up the concepts faster,” said Lamie.

The offensive and defen sive schemes used by the Wolverines are very different than what their opponents use. “We run the flex offense, which is very old. But on de fense, we switch our people,” said Lamie. “It’s two unique systems compared to what we will see.”

Lamie hopes to improve in two specific categories: field goal percentage defense and rebounding.

Last year, the Wolverines had the second-most re bounds in the nation, averag ing 45.8 a game. The Wolver ines also averaged a better field goal and 3-point per centage compared to their opponents.

Last year, the men’s team won 10 of their 26 games, ending the season with a win percentage of .385. The Wol verines went 5-12 in Presi dent’s Athletic Conference (PAC) conference games, but they did win their first post season match against the Saint Vincent Bearcats.

The Wolverines traveled to play Penn State Du Bois on Wednesday, Nov 9. Grove City came out victorious with a final decision of 81-73. The

Women strive for greatness

Emma Rossi Sports Editor

Women’s basketball is ready to begin their 2022-23 season and take the long trip to the top of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) in February.

The Wol verines fin ished with a 17-9 record at the end of last season. Their season ended in the semifinals against second seed West minster, but now Team 47 is gearing up for a 25-game regular season. Twenty of those games are conference competition. In 2021-22, the Wolverines went 13-5 against

conference competition.

In the PAC’s annual pre season poll, Grove City was voted third overall in the coaches’ poll. They trailed second place by only nine points, falling behind Wash ington & Jefferson in first place and Westminster in second.

Head Coach Chelle Fuss, now entering her sixteenth year with the program and her ninth season as head coach, spoke to the team’s expectations after last sea son.

“Last season gave us some good game experience with a young team. We’re still very young. We have 16 freshmen and sophomores so they’re a young team, but that game experience helped us. So we’re going to naturally im

prove with consistency and just find our way a little bit faster this year.”

Fuss spoke highly of the six freshmen joining the pro gram this season. “They’re doing a great job, a really good job. I see high buy-in and wanting to be a part of the culture that they’re buy ing into, the things that we’re about.”

This team culture has re mained the same for Team 47. “Our culture doesn’t change. It’s unity, purpose and strength trying to be a family,” said Fuss.

The team consists of 10 re turning sophomores, three juniors and three seniors. Fuss hopes to see the team remain consistent in their on-court performance, which has been a major focus as

they approach another four months of action.

Guard Megan Kallock, one of three seniors, said of the team’s expectations for the season: “We have an ex tremely quick team, which is going to help us this year. Our press defense is going to cause a lot of turnovers which cause good things of fensively. We have great depth this year too, which is going to help us offensively and defensively.”

Prior to the Wolverines’ first game, Fuss spoke about the perspective that the team takes on during the season.

“I honestly believe this is a whole journey. And so, this isn’t going to set the tone for anything. If we win, and we win handily, it doesn’t mean that we have everything to

gether. If we struggle, it doesn’t mean that we’re re ally struggling. We’re trying to find our way through,” she said.

“It’s the challenge of a coach to try to get this team to peak in February. And so that’s what my goal is – to inch away at the journey, try to get one percent better every day and then by the end hopefully have the high est performance that we can have.”

The Wolverines play their first game today at 7:15 p.m. against the Wilmington Quakers in non-conference action. They play their first conference game against Ge neva on Saturday, Nov. 19, in their home-opener.

season’s inaugural game saw this guy do this, and this guy do this.

Their next game will be played at Pitt Greensburg to morrow at 2 p.m. The game

can be watched via livestream through the Grove City Ath letics website.

BEN CHAMBERLIN

Junior guard Luca Robinson puts in shots in preseason practice. Wolverines faced Penn State Du Bois in their season opener on Wednesday, defeating the Nittany Lions 81-73.

LAMIE

FUSS