A channel of perception

June 4, 1983,2 a.m.:The officeis understandably quiet at this time of night. At times,that can be conducive to a creative writing atmosphere; but,for some reason, tonight itismore of a hindrance It seems only fitting that the copy that reflects on the first 10 volumes of Selah would be written after deadline late at night,ironic would probably be a more accurate adjective

Selah. That, at first, is a name that draws puzzled staresfrom those unfamiliar with the term It is a Hebrew word meaning "to pause and reflect."That is what I must currently do in the writing of thisarticle

It, at first,seemed like a fairly easy assignment Pull a few file photos, create some sort of pseudo-philosophical copy, writecaptions and a headline, lay it all out, and head to bed

As I rummaged through the fileof photos that we had accumulated, the thing that became evident tome was the change in how the school was perceived in the eyes of both students and the public

At first,LBC (back then it was Lynchburg Baptist College) was, admittedly, a "preacher-boy" school That term is used in the positive sense here. The students mostly came to study Scripture What the school lacked in academia was made up for inspirit

It was inthisatmosphere that Selah was born The firstbook came out in 1974 with an obtrusive kelly green cover and 148 pages The football team was on the page following the concert choir But it was a start

The next year showed signs of improvement — more effective use of color, interesting graphics; but itwas still little more than a photo album. Since 1976 was a banner year for the ministry, the book,in an attempt tokeep pace with theactivities of the college, presented 351 pages ofBicentennial treatment

The college was mushrooming and the staff attempted to cover it all The next three books, while by no stretch of the imagination journalistic hallmarks, showed signs of improvement again Finally, the 1980 book turned the staff in the direction of the magazine format that is currently used.

The 1980 edition of Selah brought the staff its first national award — a "First Class" rating from Columbia Scholastic Press Association The 1981 edition celebrated the accreditation of the school in only its 10th year,fullacceptance intothe NCAA Division II and the LBC baseball team's advancement to the NAIA Nationals.It earned a "First Class" ranking from the Associated Collegiate Press.

The 1982 edition of Selah probably was the finest that we have turned out. "First Class" ratings from both the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and theAssociated CollegiatePress,plusaward recognition from the Society for Collegiate Journalists brought further encouragement

"You certainly succeeded in producing a high quality book!" CSPA

Now we have Volume 10 I can look back on theopportunities and say being on thestaffhas benefited me personally I was able to witness and cover events most aspiringjournalistsnever have theopportunity tocover:Two visitsfrom ourVice-President, a pro-Solidarity rally in Washington, D.C., getting to spend the better part of a day on the flightline with the Blue Angels, and being present for the first public address given by thedefecting Polish Ambassador to the U.S.

Allofthese thingsare very special to me personally and reflectwhat I hope willbe a more aggressive approach to coverage of school events and people These affect how we perceive the world and how we are perceived by the curious and skeptical

It isvery late now — almost 3 a.m The editor is almost finished with his color paste-up oftheopening section Tomorrow we willpackage up what isleftofthe work that needs to be done to finalize the book and send itto next year's editor.

Selah has left more of a mark on me than I suspect I have left on it It has taught me some valuable lessons about journalistic responsibility to an institution,whether it involves just a school in my case or a community or nation.

I said inthe beginning that I thought all I would need towrite was some sortofpseudo-philosophical copy and be done with this last assignment Perhaps this was accomplished; but, more importantly, what needed to be accomplished was the proof of the development of Selah as one channel of perceptions. Itisus looking at you.

Playwright Arthur Milleronce noted that newspapers and the likewere "people talk ing to themselves."

Tonight told me a lot

Story by Brian Sullivan

Traditionally, athletics has always been an area in which Liberty Baptist College has excelled. This year wa s no different. Th e Flames saw five of their teams finish the season ranked amon g the nation's top twenty within their division. Men's baseball and basketball teams both competed in the national tournament and each brought hom e the fifth-place ranking in the country

Four players found LB C a place to excel Tw o were name d to the NAI A All-American team and two others were drafted by the ne w CISFL Pro football league.

Editor — Don Meckley