2013–14 Issue 7

Campus Chronicle

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a publication of the Pacific Union College Student Association

vol. XC

no. 7

THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2014

Ben Carson Visits PUC

Pioneers Seal Senior Night Victories

Winter Olympics: Boring

By Taylor Pittenger NEWS & FEATURES pg. 3

By James Shim SPORTS pg. 4

By David O’Hair OP-ED pg. 7

Dine Another Day SA Hosts 007-Themed Banquet at Car Museum.

By Arielle Serra It’s that time of the year: guys pull out their shiny dress shoes, starched bow ties and reluctant wallets. But don’t stop reading yet, boys. There are two words that will change your hesitant mind about dishing out more cash for another “silly” banquet. Aston. Martin. There will be approximately 20 different antique models. On Sunday, Mar. 2, SA will host a James Bond-themed banquet at the Blackhawk Automotive Museum in Danville.

Starting at 007 (7 p.m.), students will be entertained by Vegas-style illusionist Christian Ford while they dine on a delicious, multicourse meal. Social Vice President Kelsie Nielsen stated that she had originally considered a Phantom of the Opera-style masquerade ball.

“Everything was in the works until I found out that a previous SVP officer had already hosted a masquerade-themed banquet.”

Kelsie needed a new idea, something that could be fun not only for the girls but the guys as well. A few words came to mind as she brainstormed ideas: “fast cars, action, getting dressed up,” and then she knew. Bond.

James Bond. The only problem was many of the things that make up Bond movies are not Adventist-friendly.

After much deliberation, Nielsen chose the Blackhawk Automotive Museum, which

encompasses the fast car, action movie-theme while staying within the Adventist culture.

Students will not be disappointed by the extravagant list of European cars at the museum: Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Ferrari to name a few. There are two galleries that hold 112 classic cars, antique gasoline pumps and a hall of old-fashioned jukeboxes.

If fast European cars don’t tickle your fancy, Nielsen has booked a one-man illusionist and mentalist that will incorporate the Bond theme.

“Christian Ford never does the same show twice,” asserted Nielsen. If you still aren’t impressed, Christian has a long list of performances under his belt, which include appearing in Vegas showrooms and in front of General Electric executives.

Nielsen plans on combining decoration themes of Casino Royale and Diamonds Are Forever.

Nielsen promises that students can experience the allure and sophistication that the movies present. “Honestly, what guy doesn’t want to dress up like Bond for a night?”

Tickets will be on sale for $40 in the cafeteria until Feb. 23. There will be food options for vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters. Nielsen is also working on bus transportation for those who are unable to drive themselves. So all you boys reading this better find your Bond girls before they’re all gone because it will be a night to die for.

REVO Date Auction Cancelled PUC’s student-led organization seeks to raise money in new ways.

Due a student complaint emailed to President Heather Knight about perceived racial and gender issues surrounding the event, it was officially cancelled On Saturday, Feb. 22 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, REVO on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The intent of the REVO date expected to make its second appearance at Napa auction may have been misinterpreted, as REVO’s Valley Coffee Roasting Company in St. Helena for intent was to bid on the actual date, not the person. a date auction.

People were selected based on their willingness and The event intended to feature 12 PUC students availability to donate their time, and it was a way to accompany dates that participants could bid on, for students to have fun getting to know each other ranging from bowling and Cold Stone’s to a paint while also contributing to the cause. balling double date. A percentage of the proceeds REVO is a student-led philanthropic group on from any drinks or pastries bought during the event campus that partners with different causes each year would also be donated to the cause.

By Araya Moss

to raise funds and awareness through various events.

This year’s Project Worku features one of our own, Adu Worku, who already helped build the Worku Jenber School in Ethiopia. Now, REVO is raising money for books, computers, lab equipment and other resources that will equip Ethiopian students with an enhanced education to build a future for themselves.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about REVO, do not hesitate to email the team at revopacific@gmail.com, or send a private message on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/revopuc.

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no. 6

NEWS & FEATURES

GoldieBlox Makes Small Business History Game changer for girls’ toys.

By Jessica Winters History was made Feb. 2 when independent toy company GoldieBlox became the first small business to have an ad featured during the Super Bowl. The highly coveted television appearance was made possible because of a vote-based contest put on by the software company Intuit Inc., which offered small businesses the chance to win a commercial spot, worth millions of dollars, during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.

The 30-second ad, set to a parody version of a Quiet Riot song, depicts a crowd of young girls running down the street, carrying their pink, stereotypical girly toys and gathering to use them all to build a rocket that gets launched into the air.

GoldieBlox is a toy company founded by engineer Debbie Sterling that specializes in developing toys that offer girls the opportunity to develop building and inventing skills, encouraging them to join the male-dominated field of engineering. The toy set taps into young girls’ love of reading by providing a story book with instructions on how to use the included ribbons and wheels to build a Rube Goldberg machine to accomplish a task outlined in the story.

“My hope is this will appeal to all kinds of girls: princess girls, science lovers and tomboys,” said Sterling, in an interview with SFGate. “It is so important to expose little girls to possibilities of what they can be and do.”

“I worked really hard to create this character GoldieBlox to be this regular girl,” said Sterling in an interview for MSNBC, “not a genius, but just somebody who’s really open to trying new things, messing it up but trying it again, and somebody who was not a total tomboy but not a princess either, someone who was just in the middle with a lot of different interests.”

Sterling originally presented her concept to the world in a Kickstarter campaign launched on Sept. 17, 2012, with a goal of $150,000 in pledges. Sterling’s goal was met only 5 days later, and by the time the Kickstarter officially ended on Oct. 17, GoldieBlox had over 5,000 backers and $285,881 in funding.

Sterling has used Facebook, Twitter and many other forms of social networking to share her message and product with the world, and was even a featured speaker on TEDx at Pennsylvania State University.

GoldieBlox had previously gained a great deal of media attention in January when the band the Beastie Boys filed a counterclaim lawsuit against the toy company for using their song “Girls” to create a parody song for a YouTube ad that ended up going viral. GoldieBlox reposted the ad without the song, but not before filing an initial lawsuit declaring that the song was a parody and, therefore, not plagiarism.

Sterling, who has a degree in mechanical engineering and product design from Stanford, was inspired to create GoldieBlox because it bothered her that there are so few women in her job field. She felt that toys aisles geared toward young girls are almost completely comprised of pink-clad dolls and tiaras instead of building sets and other toys that encourage spatial skills has a lot to do with so few girls pursue careers involving math and science.

Sterling, who grew up without toys like LEGOs and TinkerToys, had never heard of engineering until her senior year of high school when her math teacher suggested that she would do well in the field. Looking back, Sterling wishes that she had owned toys that would have turned her to engineering from an early age and has dedicated her career to providing today’s little girls with GoldieBlox to encourage them to consider a broader range of career paths in the future.

Mathias Craig: “Wind Energy for Water Purification”

By Webbo Chen The path of an engineer is a paved street on the straight and narrow. Young engineers build their toy rockets and cars and craft monumental masterpieces with LEGOs. Once these engineers reach college, they focus their course load on math and science, only straying away from these two fields when necessary for general education requirements. After college, they either pursue a master’s degree in a specific field or enter the engineering workforce. Engineers have knowledge, steady pay and a cookie cutter life for a cookie cutter career.

Mathias Craig decided to do something different.

He blazed a trail off Engineering Street to build a bridge to Social Entrepreneurism Boulevard.

Craig is technically minded at heart. He began his undergraduate engineering career as a civil/ environmental engineer. Although he had little familiarity with energy, the class he took about energy and resources further shaped his future.

Craig continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a civil engineering major with an information technology emphasis. Renewable energy occupied the back of his mind at the time, until his Entrepreneurship in the Developing World class brought renewable energy to the forefront of Craig’ mind from 2002 onward.

Craig’ mission was to “design a product to 2 million of the world’s poorest.” He teamed up with his brother, an owner of European nightclub with a wealth of business acumen, and a childhood friend from France, a sociologist, to create a for-profit social enterprise that establishes locally made wind turbines that would produce ultraviolet water purification.

“The idea could be summarized as wind energy for water purification,” Craig said.

The three men also needed a name for this social enterprise.

“In the early 2000s, it was ‘green’ this and ‘green that,” said Craig. “We needed something to set us apart from the others.”

So, he did what social entrepreneurs do best: he sat on his couch and came up with a brilliant idea.

After presenting two options to his girlfriend, Craig went ahead with BlueEnergy.

The team of three traveled down to the coast of Nicaragua, where 80 percent of the population had no electricity, and ended up staying.

“What sets us apart is our dedication to place,” Craig explained. “Community hopping is not effective.”

The first few years were difficult, a time of “extreme bootstrapping” as Craig put it. He had no pay for three years. Instead, Craig relied on family and friends for couch and food bills. The BlueEnergy team visited Nicaragua previously in 1989, 1992 and 1994, but the visits provided no fruit for project funding or investment, since the American and Nicaraguan governments did not see eye to eye. Also, investors would have rather imported either turbines or water purifiers from China to produce energy in Mexico instead of Nicaragua.

“Most of the emphasis was on Africa and Haiti,” said Craig. “We were sort of taking on the world.”

To make matters worse, the founders did not have enough business acumen to comfortably get their project on its feet. The team desperately needed a sales person.

“You know [sales people] when you see them, and you know if you are them or not,” said Craig.

Because of this, Craig and his team had to

continually learn on the job, even something as simple as making an expense report.

However, BlueEnergy continued to roll well with the punches. The small 1-kilowatt wind turbines worked for a few years, but in 2010-2011 they decided that the turbines were not strong enough. At the time, the price of solar energy was dropping dramatically, so BlueEnergy transitioned to solar energy.

In 2009, they also established a water and sanitation program. Around the same time, the BlueEnergy team also implemented the Global Leadership Program, which is an “immersive learning platform for worldwide students to get hands-on cultural immersion.” Craig noted the Global Leadership Program as one of the greatest rewards.

So, how did a civil engineer end up a successful social entrepreneur?

“The mental discipline of how to learn has served me best,” Craig explained about his engineering background. “Engineers and entrepreneurs think and are trained very differently.”

While engineers focus on details and perfection, entrepreneurs dedicate their efforts to vision and passion.

“I had a bridge assignment that I thought deserved at least partial credit,” Craig recounted. “My professor made me realize that only a full-credit bridge would keep everyone on it alive.”

“Engineers have to figure 100 percent of everything out,” Craig continued. “There is no A to Z with entrepreneurs. It is more ABC then sell.”

Craig never had all the answers with BlueEnergy, but trusted that his engineering skills could be used to purify water and launch his future as a social entrepreneur. “We’re a household name in the small area of the Nicaraguan coast,” said Craig with pride.

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THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2014

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NEWS & FEATURES

Minions and Snowmen and Warplanes, Oh My! A look at this year’s Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature.

By Jayson Paw On Mar. 2, actors, directors, critics and cinema-lovers alike will experience the 86th Academy Awards — a star-studded event that will serve as the crowning achievement of any movie of the 2013 year. Ranging from well-known blockbusters to artsy masterpieces, the Academy Awards serves as a way to demonstrate and celebrate the best of each film genre. While they might not capture the likeness of the actors and show off the depth of their acting, animated features are nevertheless works of art, as voice actors and artists labor on bringing to life each scene on the silver screen. This is a rundown of what is being nominated for Best Animated Feature, along with a short description of each film: Starting off this list is The Croods — a DreamWorks Animation adventure comedy film that takes place during the Pliocene era — a period of time dominated by legendary mammals such as mastodons and saber-toothed cats. Starring a group of cavemen that includes the voice talents of Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone, our heroes set off into the great unknown as they battle new creatures while learning how to bond together as a family. It not only was a box office success, earning $587 million compared to its budget of $135 million, it has also garnered some good reviews from film review site Rotten Tomatoes, which described the movie as “entertaining for families seeking a fast-paced, funny cartoon adventure.”

Returning from the success of the 2010 animated film Despicable Me is Despicable Me 2, produced

by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel is directed by the team from the first film and featuring many of the same actors, including Steve Carell as the ever-lovable Gru. The adventure of the villain-turned parent now focuses on Gru not only trying to stop the lucador-themed

villain El Macho, played by Benjamin Bratt, but also perhaps finding love in the form of his partner — an Anti-Villain League agent Lucy Wilde, voiced

by Kristen Wiig. Not only is this sequel considered the second-highest-grossing 2013 film, losing to Iron Man 3, it is also the most profitable film in Universal Studios’ 100-year history. It also did well critically, earning an A from audience polls hosted

by CinemaScore.

Living up to the expectations that people have for Disney is Frozen., a piece of cinema that was praised

by Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter as “a true musical.” It’s a tale about sisters — a girl with a deadly control over ice named Elsa and her fiery, though normal sibling, Anna. Due to a confrontation involving a party and Elsa’s ice powers, eternal winter strikes the land. It’s up to Anna not only to thaw the land from her sister’s snow, but also to repair the bonds of sisterhood that broke over the years.

While not as well-known in America as its counterparts, the French-Belgian film Ernest & Celestine is a unique gem that has also accumulated a number of awards from esteemed venues such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Magritte Awards. It is a story about an unprecedented friendship between a young mouse named Celestine and a destitute bear named Ernest. They not only go on wild adventures together as an unlikely duo, but also face a world that doesn’t approve of their friendship. With an English

version of the film coming out Feb. 28 with talents such as Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman and Emmy-nominated actress Megan Mullally, this film looks like a treat for those who want a simpler movie that teaches a very human lesson on friendships.

Another film that might not be familiar to American audiences is Studio Ghibli, produced The Wind Rises. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki — who has been compared to Walt Disney and has enjoyed success in such masterpieces as the Japanese-inspired epic Spirited Away and the Little Mermaid-inspired film Ponyo — The Wind Rises instead focuses on story of the real-life Japanese engineer Jiro Horikoshi, a man whose skill in plane design created the Mitsubishi A5M, the predecessor of the more famous Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter of World War II. While this film is described by The Japan Times as “an old-fashioned tearjerker” and faced political criticism for about being a man who “built killing machines,” it nevertheless received much critical praise in Japan and abroad for being, as described by The Asia-Pacific Journal, “one of Miyazaki’s most ambitious and thought-provoking visions as well as one of his most beautifully realized visual projects.”

Celestine paints a picture while Ernest watches. (Ernest & Celestine)

Jiro looks on as his creation flies overhead. (The Wind Rises)

Dr. Ben Carson Visits PUC Famous neurosurgeon speaks for colloquy.

By Taylor Pittenger Dr. Ben Carson, an internationally renowned neurosurgeon, spoke for the Feb. 6 colloquy service.

Carson enlightened students and members of the community about his journey through life and promoted his book Think Big. Many members of the community joined PUC to hear Carson speak. Some audience members arrived in the sanctuary as early as 8:30 a.m. in order to get a close seat. Scales Chapel and the dining commons streamed the speech live for those who were unable to get a seat in the sanctuary. Over 3,000 students and members of the community attended the colloquy.

PUC has wanted Carson to speak for colloquy for a number of years. President Heather Knight said, “About six months ago we were able to book him since he was recently retired from John Hopkins. We were able to co-sponsor with St. Helena Hospital.

We have been given such a wonderful opportunity

for the community and for the campus to have Dr. Benjamin Carson with us [for colloquy].”

Gayle Cook, a St. Helena resident, is a devoted fan of Carson. She was having a conversation the day before colloquy with a friend that knew about Carson’s speech. “I could not believe it,” Cook said.

“I had to make sure that it was the Benjamin Carson coming to Angwin. It rocked my world that I could actually see him in person.” Cook later got to meet Carson before colloquy began along with others who arrived early.

In his speech, Carson spoke of his person testimony.

Nursing professor Susan Allen said, “I like that he came from poverty and did not allow his circumstances to define who he was. He let God define who he was.”

Like Allen said, in his own words Carson explained, “I don’t mind being poor because it’s temporary. I can fix that.” Carson continued to talk about the hardships he had growing up such as bullying and judgment from others. He said, “A lot of people make

judgments on superficial things … the cover doesn’t make them who they are. The brain does.”

Carson stressed many points about staying faithful to God and to use the talents we are given to elevate others. He also quoted Romans 8:31, “If God is for us who can stand against us.” Carson added, “We have to stand up for God, and he will stand up for us.”

At the end of colloquy, Carson stayed in the sanctuary for a brief book signing. Taleah Tyrell, a biomath and pre-law major, said, “His book just inspired me, and I loved it. I read it when I was a little girl. He wrote in my book ‘best wishes,’ which I think is really cool.”

Knight was proud to have an inspirational speaker come to our school, “I’m so grateful that he is a committed Seventh-day Adventist. I think it’s a wonderful testimony with all of his fame and renowned he is still very close to God and very close to the church. And I think he is a wonderful role model for all of us.”

Campus Chronicle

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no. 6

SPORTS

Pioneers Seal Victories on Senior Night The 2013-2014 campaign draws closer to its end.

By James Shim With the basketball season nearing its end, the Lady Pioneers have had one of their best seasons in over a decade. Dating back to Jan. 11, the women’s basketball team has won five out of their last eight games, as this season has been an improvement from the last.

Winning only a single game last season, the women’s basketball program looked to seriously improve this year by signing the largest recruiting class in the history of the program during the offseason. The Pioneers have already matched their win record in the last two seasons combined in pre-season play this year, including dominating wins against Walla Walla College and Whittier College.

Despite a hot run in the middle of the season, the Lady Pioneers could not maintain consistency, as they found themselves in the midst of a losing streak.

After their last victory against California State University Maritime, the Lady Pioneers have struggled to win conference matchups in late January.

However, it was fitting that the Pioneers snapped out of their losing streak against UC Merced on senior night, the last home game of the season where the seniors on the team are commemorated prior to tip-off.

A 21-game starter, guard Rachel Kaneakua was the lone senior commemorated on senior night.

Senior Rachel Kaneakua, family, friends and coaches

Despite trailing after the first half, the Pioneers’ 43-point second half explosion helped propel them to victory. Although the Pioneers doubled the number of turnovers set by the Bobcats, they were still able to stay composed to make key baskets down the stretch and win the game.

Three different pioneers scored in double-digit figures, led by Amber Washington, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Victoria Aguilera who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pioneers can reflect on this season as a stepping-stone for next season.

With the improvements made this season, head coach George Glover and the Lady Pioneers look to build off this year and continually make improvements moving forward.

Following the women’s basketball game, the men’s basketball team commemorated two seniors, Chris Miller and Charles Meighan. Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the Pioneers started the game on fire by taking a dominating 22-9 lead against UC Merced. However, the Pioneers’ complacency allowed the Bobcats to stay in the game near the end of the second half. However, the Pioneers were the better team that night as they defeated the Bobcats 74-66.

Jordan Greenwell led the team with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Ben Vincent helped with a season-high 15 points.

Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the men’s basketball team looks to focus on the few remaining games this season, and end it on a high note.

Chris Miller and Charles Meighan

Michael Sam, defensive end of University of Missouri

One in the Same The NFL adjusts to its first openly gay player.

By Austin Ngaruiya Football promotes a gladiator exhibition for the world to witness. Every Sunday NFL fans gather to cheer on their favorite team suited in full armor as they wage war on the enemy. Football is tough; football is violent; football is for men who eat their steak rare. The game appeals to our most primitive inclinations as human beings to witness the strong overtake the weak; it’s a three-hour spectacle of Social Darwinism. Even though numerous studies have been conducted on the ramifications of concussions, a craving still persists for the Mortal Kombat finishing move on a receiver crossing the middle. The gladiator culture has been engrained in both players and fans alike. But what happens when that social construct of a warrior is broken? Meet Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL. This April, Michael Sam plans to hear his name called during the NFL Draft fulfilling a lifelong dream. Sam played outside linebacker at the University of Missouri where he was named MVP of the Southeastern Conference — the best conference in college football — and earned All-American honors. He’s projected to go between the third and fifth round of the draft because of his tremendous pass rushing ability. Michael Sam would be your basic run-ofthe-mill NFL prospect, but he recently conducted an interview in which he announced he was gay.

Sam’s announcement drew lots of national attention. NFL analysts and executives have stated Sam’s sexual orientation would be a character issue that affects his draft stock. The NFL regularly employs individuals who beat their wives, participate in burglary schemes and drunkenly kill people with their cars.

An NFL player was recently convicted on felony drug charges for running a nationwide drug pin. Yet somehow Michael Sam’s sexual orientation is considered a character concern among NFL circles. Equating sexual orientation with highlevel criminal activity seems like a faulty way to judge character.

The argument some NFL analysts have made is that Sam’s sexual orientation could disrupt the dynamic of the locker room. NFL locker rooms are considered sacred and a place of family. However that argument is rendered moot when you consider that Sam’s teammates and coaches at Missouri knew about his sexual orientation. Furthermore, they honored Sam’s request to keep his sexual orientation confidential until he was ready to announce it to the world.

Michael Sam gives the NFL a great opportunity to promote their culture of family. By having Sam seamlessly transition into the NFL without incident, the NFL can endorse their culture of family. More importantly, Michael Sam is a really good football player who could be of use to any of the 32 teams in the NFL. Once he steps on the field and decapitates a quarterback, questions about his sexual orientation will subside. At that point, Michael Sam will be just one of the guys.

Michael Sam is a football player, and really, that’s all that matters.

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SPORTS

Faces of Olympic Figure Skating

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Campus Chronicle

no. 6

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

Behind The Veil Why anonymity is the most valuable commodity.

By Anonymous People can be extremely powerful on the Internet. Notice how I said “people,” not any specific names; that is because these powerful players’ identities are anonymous. They hide behind screen-names and encrypted servers, all for the goal of remaining nameless online. The only people who are skilled enough to truly erase their Internet footprints are traditionally labeled as hackers. With the title of hacker comes several assumptions: they are men who live in their mother’s basements, and they cause damage online. People think that being invisible online only leads to stealing credit card numbers, freezing security cameras and breaking through organizations firewalls. However, these assumptions are wrong. In the new age of digital circulation of information, being anonymous and powerful are quickly starting to be one in the same.

People who have the talent to remain anonymous have been accomplishing great and altruistic things in the past few years. The top two names that surface within this topic are Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. Julian Assange is the founder and operator of the website, Wikileaks. This website was founded for the purpose of allowing citizens to anonymously publish articles and documents that expose criminal activity. If an employee of an organization comes across evidence of criminal practices, they can keep their identity hidden and expose the wrong doers in the process. Some people question the ethics of such a site, and it often fields its fair amount of criticism. However, it is this idea of being able to benefit society and still remain anonymous that is what is important. The counterargument to this claim is that people should expose criminal activity to other sources, such as news outlets or the government, and that being anonymous is not beneficial and is the coward’s way out. To this, I introduce Edward Snowden.

Snowden was an independent contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) until he leaked classified information to Wikileaks and several other media outlets. These leaks contained information that exposed the U.S. Government for spying on American citizens and breaking the Fourth Amendment against its own people. Some U.S. citizens were outraged when the information came to light and were incredibly grateful for Snowden for exposing these law breaking practices. But someone had to get the bad end of the deal. Because Snowden’s identity was not anonymous, he was forced to leave the country and is currently in political detainment in Russia. Some people are shocked and disappointed that Snowden is being punished for exposing crime in the U.S. Government; however, if he were to have remained anonymous, these would have been noble actions without the unfortunate consequences. Inspired by these events, a group

simply called Anonymous has taken shape to defend Snowden and all other “hidden informants” out there.

The Anonymous group has over 1.2 million followers on Twitter and they are constantly promoting government reform. Their main goals are to free Snowden and to promote the practice of full disclosure within companies and organizations. If the company will not be open with their information, then they have people that can force that same information into the public eye. Their group slogan is: “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

This type of formal group is only the beginning to the movement towards anonymity. The world is shifting towards an information driven society. Make sure you know how to protect who you are when it matters. The impact that you can have when uninhibited by their name and face is astounding, so make sure you use it right.

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” -Oscar Wilde

This article was written by David O’Hair.

Former CC writer Jonathan Chow founded a literary magazine project this year. Here is an excerpt from one of the pieces. For the rest of the story, visit openingandupward.com.

Love You Like A Sunday

By Cristina Fariaz He had a sweet voice once, a voice of air and honey. But they bent him. They edited his pages, and they folded away the parts they didn’t like. He had a sweet, steady voice, but they turned it to scratch.

Turn to God, they said. He will love you powerfully. Love you like a prayer.

And he wanted it. For years, he wanted to be loved with a fierceness that forged oceans, that stopped the sky from crashing down, a fierceness that breathed life into dirt. For years, he wanted this God’s love more than he wanted truth.

He was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at the age of thirteen, when his fear of car wheels exploding started to worry his mother. Pray about it. So he prayed, and sat silently in his seat on long drives, his nails digging into his palms, creating moon-shaped cuts on his skin. He knew his fear was irrational. The look on his mother’s face when he finally tried to describe the way time seemed to slow down, how his heart seemed to speed up, how he just wanted to scream and throw up, and be anywhere but there, had told him as much. So he prayed, and he practiced keeping this ugly, undesirable, anxiety-thing to himself.

His need to believe took over the year he turned sixteen. For seven months he couldn’t go ten minutes without praying. It was obsessive. It was compulsive.

It was crippling. If he prayed constantly, he would feel something. Right? Feel God, feel faith, feel authenticity. If he couldn’t finish a song without talking towards the sky, he would believe. Right? Maybe he was doing it wrong. Maybe he had to have his eyes closed the entire time. Maybe his words weren’t enough.

He went days without sleeping, because every amen made him panic, every moment he stopped trying to connect with this distant being was a moment wasted. His lack of faith was a blemish he desperately tried to scrub off.

That was the year he started taking sleeping pills, and stopped writing poetry.

He moved away from home and started college at the age of eighteen. His Bible started to show its age. He read it from start to finish with an aching dedication.

He went to every church service, to every vespers, to any type of worship he could find. But his doubt just grew larger, and the sky just remained silent.

So he cried and he pleaded and he curled up inside of himself. If you’re real-ly there, just let me believe. Please. And he thought, for the first time, that if there really was a God, he wasn’t sure that he even wanted to know Him anymore.

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OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

Gems of Netflix Have you run out of things to watch on Netflix? No worries, we’ve got your back.

By Bonnie Thew So what happened to Netflix? It might just be me, but it seems harder to navigate lately. The options that pop up on your main screen hardly represent the breadth of what is available, especially if you run it through your game console instead of your laptop. It is much easier to just browse on your laptop first and use the search-option to pull up your selection on your console. Lucky for y’all, I have some serious homebody instincts that motivate me to scour Netflix until I find exactly what I want to watch for the weekend. I have devoted an embarrassing amount of time to this endeavor. These are my three top picks on Netflix right now.

Burn Notice My husband turned me to this TV show a few years ago and I have been hooked ever since. I’ve always had a thing for spy shows, but I usually get bored after a while because of how ridiculously inaccurate most of them are. Burn Notice is well researched, funny and has the ability to make me laugh and cry in one episode. It doesn’t hurt that Jeffrey Donovan is easy on the eyes either. Netflix just added the seventh season, so they have the complete series right now. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to make your very own cheap listening device

or how much you really can use duct tape, this is the show for you.

Some Like It Hot I don’t think I have ever been more surprised by a movie. This is one of the best comedies I’ve ever seen. The movie follows two musicians that accidently witnessed the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago of 1929. They are spotted and must flee the city. To escape the city, they dress in drag and join a girl band.

Things get a little more complicated when one of them begins to fall in love with one of the girls in the band, Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe. It’s a great story and really will make you laugh until your sides hurt. Try this one out on a date night.

The Secret of Kells Based on the Book of Kells, this film is animated in the same style. Set in an Irish abbey constantly beset by Viking raids, the story centers around a young boy named Brendan. Monks in the Middle Ages were charged with preserving knowledge, and at this abbey they are creating an illustrated copy of the Gospels.

I was captivated by this story and was delighted to learn more about the legend of the Book of Kells. I looked up some pictures from the actual book online afterwards and had to laugh when I realized that my computer was having trouble with the graphics of this thousand-year-old text.

Winter Olympics: Boring The new and improved Winter Olympic sports.

By David O’Hair “Here comes Bobby into the straight away! They are going 40 mph and they grabbed the gold medal in the skeleton!” Wow, the skeleton? That is the “sport” where the “athlete” lays on a really long ironing board and goes down a frozen water slide and basically wins if they do not die in the process. Before any one of you says, “I bet you cannot do it,” I counter that statement with the fact that I do not need to waste my time with dumb activities. I feel that over half of the Winter Olympics sports are pointless and they should be revised in order to make them more exciting to watch. Now, let us go over a few sports that should be modified for the viewer’s pleasure and excitement.

Curling: The classic ugly duckling of the Winter Olympics. Everyone makes fun of it and alas, it is still hanging in there. I have never, and will never, watch curling, but I absolutely would if this change was made: there needs to a landmine placed under the ice right past where the players are supposed to stop the speeding teapot. If they do not sweep the ice correctly and the pot goes too far, well… let’s just say the games will get a bit more explosive.

Speed Skating: Yes, we all love watching guys in head-to-toe spandex speed suits swinging around an oval for over 10 minutes. This could be way more exciting if they were frantically skating away from something dangerous; how about a Zamboni? Yes, I demand the event where if a skater gets tired or falls,

Curling

Speed Skating

then he is subject to the full wrath of a Zamboni. Honestly, we might see a great increase in just how fast people will be skating.

Biathlon: This one is deceiving! It sounds awesome; people will be skiing around and shooting stuff in the woods! But wait, they stop and shoot at targets. What this sport needs is to read the The Hunger Games. Stick a bunch of skiers/marksmen in the woods, and say the last three athletes left can fight for the different medals!

Bobsled: Granted, this sport is already pretty gnarly. When these things crash, it is no joke, and it grabs everyone’s attention, so let’s make that happen more. What needs to happen is the ice track needs to be widened so that four sleds can go at once. The new event will essentially be Mario Kart on ice. Four teams throwing stuff at each other and crashing into the walls. We just need to develop the real life red shell now. New name: Sled to the Death.

Those are my sporting suggestions that need to be followed in order to increase viewer-ship. With that said, the only decent sport is ice skating; it is like moving that never gets more than two feet off the ground. This sport does not need revision; it needs the delete button.

Really, my main goal of this article is to advertise my new sport: ice dunking.

It is self-explanatory. The Olympics fills a giant pool with water and ice, creating a simulated Antarctica. Then a person from each country dons their swimsuits, NOT wetsuits, and jumps in. Last three people in the water receive their medals and an all expense paid trip to the hospital.

Biathlon

Bobsled

Campus Chronicle

8

no. 6

The Backpage

Crazy California: Riding the Weather Rollercoaster From a drought to snow, PUC experienced some wacky weather recently.

By Tara Hattendorf The weather in California never seems to follow a consistent pattern and it certainly does not follow the calendar seasons. Despite the precipitation in recent weeks, California is in a drought brought on by a dry year with the least amount of recorded rainfall in the state’s history. Many rural areas in both the northern and southern parts of the state are in danger of running out of water in two months if there is not a significant amount of rain. Along with leaving thousands without usable water, the drought could affect the state’s livestock and agriculture, causing food prices to go up. Wildfires are also a possibility in dry areas. Both the state and federal governments are working to prevent financial and physical problems caused by the drought, but these problems are inevitable without rain.

For a few days in the middle of January, PUC and much of California experienced a heat wave while the rest of the country was snowed in by blizzards.

Angwin finally entered winter by the beginning of February when it not only rained but also snowed.

Students, many of whom had never seen falling snow, ran outside on Sunday, Feb. 2, to catch snowflakes and make snow angels. Some students built snowmen in grassy areas, a few of which were still standing the following afternoon.

ANGWIN

Along with the snow and freezing temperatures came black ice, a serious problem for drivers. Two students, Jordan Wolfe and Justyn Guzman, experienced the black ice and snowy roads firsthand while driving back to PUC from Napa the day it snowed. Wolfe says, “As we came up to the wide turn on Deer Park, [Guzman, who was driving] started to slow down.

When she made the turn the car fishtailed. She over corrected because we were sliding toward the edge of the cliff. That’s what caused us to spin out.

God ended up pushing us head-on into the side of the mountain and flipping the car.” People driving behind them called 911 and stopped to help.

Their Kia Sportage was minimally damaged, and both girls were safe aside from bruising. Wolfe attributes their safety to God, but advises other students to drive carefully. “I know we hear it all the time from our parents, but on this mountain with all the twists and turns, you really can lose your life in seconds. If the signs say 15 mph on a curve, they mean it. We aren’t invincible.” She adds, “Just because God said He would protect us doesn’t mean we can behave recklessly.”

Even for experienced drivers, snow and icy conditions make driving difficult. Certain shaded sections of Howell Mountain Road are prime locations for black ice, and in any cold weather drivers must drive slowly and pay attention to the road. If drivers

are inexperienced with icy roads, they should avoid driving unless it is an emergency. In the rain, drive at least 10 mph below the speed limit and be aware of cars ahead of you hydroplaning.

Photo Credit: Taylor Vixie

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