2013–14 Issue 9

Campus Chronicle

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a publication of the Pacific Union College Student Association

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no. 9

THURSDAY 17 APRIL 2014

On This Rock

Boston Marathon

The Awkward Condition

By Jayson Paw NEWS & FEATURES pg. 2

By David O’Hair SPORTS pg. 4

By Malek Sheen OP-ED pg. 7

Addicted to Bouldering

Shellbi Gallemore bouldering in the bouldering cave. PC: Taylor Pittenger

By Taylor Pittenger During fall quarter, students requested the reopening of the bouldering cave in the gym. The bouldering cave and the rock-climbing wall were closed down last year due to safety issues. Back by popular demand, the bouldering cave is now

open from 7-10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday. The bouldering cave is monitored by exercise science major Shellbi Gallemore.

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that does not require a harness and takes place on a much shorter wall. PUC offers its bouldering cave as a safe environment for power exercises and upper body workouts. Gallemore said, “[Bouldering] is definitely a challenge, and it’s different than any other workout you’re going to find because it’s going to push you to more endurance. It’s that extra push. It’s an extra challenge.”

The cave is located on the stage of the gym behind the bicycles. Inside the cave are several holds that cover the walls and ceiling. There are colored pieces of tape next to holds that indicate specific routes students are challenged to try. All routes have been mapped out by past and present students that have experimented in the cave. “It becomes addicting because you find a route you like,” said Gallemore. Everybody who tries a route gets hooked and they’ll want to finish it.”

Students find the cave to be a unique work out. Drew Macomber, a regular at the bouldering cave, said, “I think it’s a super good way to get your exercise in. It’s really fun. You just want to get better at it. I think it appeals to a wide variety of personality types.” He continued, “Don’t expect to be the best at the beginning. Expect failure. Part of the sport is just trying things over and over again until you can get it. I love that process. It’s just giving yourself the time to get better and stronger with it.”

Gallemore wants to plan themed bouldering night this quarter, which may include a country themed night or a glow stick night. She expects to continue opening the bouldering cave this quarter as well as next school year. Gallemore also hopes to help reopen the rock-climbing wall in the near future.

Bottle Rock Returns to Napa Valley

By Tosh Giles After exceeding expectations with its inaugural, four-day festival in 2013, BottleRock Napa left concert goers wanting more. The festival will be slightly smaller this year, but will still highlight a plethora of artists including Outkast, The Cure, Weezer, Matt & Kim, Matisyahu, Deerhunter and many more in Napa, May 30 through June 1.

This year will offer another lineup bursting at the seams with fantastic musicians from nearly every genre and decade. Concert goers will be treated to everything from 90s bands such as Smash Mouth and Third Eye Blind, to current rock and hip-hop stars including Eric Church and Matt & Kim. In total, more than 80 performers are already booked to rock Napa, 19 of which are local or emerging bands. With so much variety, there should be something for everyone.

Extensive food and beverage offerings will also be present to keep patrons fueled and ready to party through the day. Local restaurants serving throughout the weekend include Napkins, Eiko’s and La Condesa. Larger brands such as Red Bull, Morimoto, Whole Foods and Kara’s Cupcakes will also join the fun.

The price to enjoy this gathering of music and food all-stars is set at $149 for single-day tickets or $279 for all three days. The BottleRock website breaks it down quite well: “If you see just five bands each day that works out to less than $20 per show. That’s less than the cost of seeing a typical local band at your neighborhood venue! Where else are you going to see Outkast, or The Cure, or Eric Church, LL Cool J, The Fray or any of BottleRock’s featured artists for such a great price?”

Despite concerns that the festival would be a one-hit wonder due to legal issues,

BottleRock was able to get clearance for another year of music and culinary celebrations at the Napa Expo just blocks away from downtown Napa.

So, whether you’re looking to show your dance moves while Outkast performs “Hey Ya” or hoping to discover why your parents call Heart the “best band ever,”BottleRock Napa 2014 will be the place to be, from May 30 – June 1.

Single-day passes are $149 per person, and can be purchased at www. bottlerocknapavalley.com or www.ticketfly.com or charge by phone at 877.4.FLY. TIX (877-435-9849). Three-day ($279), VIP three-day ($599) and Platinum passes are also available.

Friday, May 30: The Cure, TV on the Radio, Sublime with Rome, Matisyahu, Railroad Earth, Mayer Hawthorne, Robert Delong, Third Eye Blind, Moon Taxi, Gin Blossoms, Empires, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Spin Doctors, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Miner, Ben Sollee Saturday, May 31: Outkast, Weezer, Matt & Kim, Heart, De La Soul, No Age, Blues Traveler, Robert Earl Keen, Howie Day, Smash Mouth, Tea Leaf Green, Cracker, Moonalice Sunday, June 1: Eric Church, The Fray, LL Cool J with DJ Z Trip, Black Angels, Keep Shelly in Athens, Barenaked Ladies, Deerhunter, Thee Oh Sees, Camper Van Beethoven, Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Noah Gundersen, James Otto, Delta Rae, Ed Kowalczyk, The Stone Foxes, Victory

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NEWS & FEATURES

No Need to Quake About Earthquakes Multiple earthquakes affect students on spring break and at school.

By Tara Hattendorf It starts with a small rattling, just a shaking in the windows. Then you start to feel something. Is it a giant SUV driving by outside that is causing the commotion?

But then it keeps going on. And on. And on. It’s not just someone running by, and it’s not an airplane flying overhead. It’s an earthquake. Californians may be used to small earthquakes, but many were still surprised March 28 when a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit Southern California, where many PUC students were enjoying the final days of spring break. The next few days were characterized by earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” with a large earthquake hitting Chile and another close to PUC in Yountville.

Because the earthquakes that hit California are usually magnitude 4 or less, damage is minimal except for areas directly at the epicenter. Aftershocks are small, if any are felt at all. At the time of the Southern California earthquake, however, a magnitude 3.6 foreshock happened before the larger earthquake, and over 100 aftershocks were recorded throughout the following days. PUC students in Southern California for spring break wrote Facebook posts and tweets about the earthquakes, and “another earthquake” became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. Damage from the 5.1 earthquake mainly included broken windows and fallen merchandise in stores in La Habra, where the

earthquake’s epicenter was.

Just a few days later on April 1, a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck in the ocean near Chile, which experienced a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in 2010. The Richter scale, which measures the magnitude of earthquakes, is logarithmic, meaning that Chile’s 8.2 earthquake was not only a few times stronger than the 5.1, but was actually over 1,000 times stronger. The stronger the earthquake, the greater its aftershocks will be in power, number and time after the original earthquake. Even a day after Chile’s 8.2 earthquake, aftershocks of magnitude 7.7 and higher were still being recorded, and aftershocks could continue for a few weeks. Countries along the Pacific coast near Chile experienced small tsunamis following the earthquake.

Students’ evenings were interrupted April 3 when a magnitude 3.6 earthquake, originating in Yountville, hit. Facebook and other social media sites were again flooded with statuses about the earthquake, but because it was relatively small, reactions were more irritating than anything. Some students didn’t even realize there had been an earthquake until they saw the status updates online.

The increase of earthquakes in recent weeks around the Ring of Fire lead some to believe that a larger earthquake is eminent, but seismologists say that the La Habra and Chilean earthquakes were not related, and there is no need to fear a large earthquake because of these events. Don’t worry, California: the “Big One” is not coming soon.

On This Rock - 2014 Project Pueblo Mission Trip PUC students go to Arizona to repair a church over Spring Break.

By Jayson Paw It is written in 1 Corinthians 14:26 that a church is a place where people “come together, each one [with] a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.” For the 17 students from Pacific Union College in the wee hours of March 21 for the town of Chinlie, Ariz. rebuilding a church not only restores an integral structure for the community, but also provides everybody on the project with the blessing of doing work on God’s house.

Project Pueblo — an annual mission trip to Arizona during Spring Break — lasted from March 21-30. The main goal of the trip was to help repair the broken roof of the Chinlie Seventh-day Adventist Church — a job that was aided by local handyman Jim Whitaker and roof contractor Al Pembrook.

However, there were also other jobs around the community that ranged from painting buildings to helping out at the nearby elementary school for those who do not like heights.

What was interesting about the trip is the fact that PUC’s presence in Chinlie was considered a blessing by the local pastor Dale Wolcott. “In the past, we have worked with a Navajo family in Page, Ariz.,” commented Ben Speegle, liaison from the PUC World Missions Department and head chaperone on the trip alongside Leo Moore. “We were given [the pastor’s] number by an individual who lives in the Holbrook area ... In terms of helping the greater community, we were able to accomplish more in Chinlie than we felt we would have in Page.”

The jobs were tough and the hours were long, but the mission trip has given some students realization about what is truly necessary for living.

“I realized not to take things in life for granted, even little things like my shower,” declared junior Santhush Weerasinghe. “The only way to not get the smell was to take a cold shower [and] it was up to you to decide which was the lesser of the two evils.”

Furthermore, some students also were surprised that the United States — a

Students are taking apart the remains of the old roof on the first day of work. PC: World Missions place people associate with plenty — needs mission fieldwork. “I used to think mission trips were only in foreign countries but now I see that there’s a lot of work to be done in our own backyard,“ commented freshman Luci Alvarez.

Though the group didn’t complete the roof on the church — a task that was given to another group of volunteers after we departed, Speegle nevertheless still expressed not only his praise for the hard work of the students, but also the importance of doing missions within the United States and abroad in other countries.

“I think everybody should go on a mission trip,” said Speegle. “It serves a number of purposes, the main ones being exposure to the needs of others, exposure to the joy of helping others through service and exposure to the lifestyle of mission work.”

Flight 370 Off the Grid Missing plane with no easy clues. relatively routine civilian flight was continuing according to schedule when at 1:30 a.m., Malaysian Airlines reported that their air traffic controller had On March 8, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 vanished lost communications and satellite tracking regarding into thin air hours into a 2,700 mile flight that Flight 370. When the international community departed from Malaysia to arrive in Beijing. This became aware of the missing flight of 239 passengers,

By David O’ Hair

the search immediately started.

After one month of searching, the search patterns varied widely and would change whenever a new piece of evidence or research comes to light. Originally, people assumed that Flight 370 crashed somewhere over Vietnam on its way to Beijing, but that was

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NEWS & FEATURES quickly replaced by a working theory that the pilots actually turned the flight toward the Indian Ocean and proceeded to fly the plane for several hours before possibly grounding the plane into the ocean or on land close by. The search area has grown larger due to the uncertainty of the events and whether or not there was any foul play present on the plane or not.

There are several details about the plane, pilots and passengers that cause confusion. The main concern involving the plane itself is whether or not there were any mechanical failures that occurred during the flight. There was never an emergency signal broadcast from the cockpit; this is the detail that persuades the public to assume there was some aspect of foul play involved in the disappearance of Flight 370.

Questions regarding the pilots concern the discovery that the pilots had been practicing a flying route on their flight simulators before the night of March 8 and then deleted all the files before Flight 370 departed. Another possibly more haunting detail is that 10 minutes before Flight 370’s tracking system was disabled, a voice was heard over the radio saying, “All right, good night.” This statement leaves a lot of questions not limited to why it was said and who actually said it. Furthermore, when the passenger manifests were reviewed in detail, it was discovered that two passengers had boarded the plane using stolen passports: Pouri Nourmohammadi and Delavar Reza. The men, who originate from Iran, have not been ruled out from having any involvement in Flight

370’s disappearance.

The physical search for Flight 370 has involved the resources of Australia, China, the United States and Vietnam, costing an estimated $44 million so far. A promising lead of suspected debris off the coast of Australia was welcomed with optimism and hope, but it was soon discovered that the debris was not related to Flight 370. On April 7, there were faint sounds heard on the search parties’ locating equipment that suggested that Flight 370’s black box was found in the Indian Ocean. However, the next day the Malaysian government released an official statement saying that the radar pings cannot be found again, that they are doubting the possible battery life of the black box, and that the time to find Flight 370 is running out fast.

Honors Program Changes to be Implemented New courses and a revised outlook.

By Alex Blum Starting in the fall, the Pacific Union College honors program will implement substantial revisions to the current curriculum. Honors students will now have the opportunity to learn as part of an integrated network of scholars.

The new goals of the program are integral to its revised format: it aims to provide a strong general education package that takes into account the resources available at PUC while reaching a broad group of students campus-wide. As Dr. Georgina Hill, director of the honors program stated, “One of the things we are looking at is partnering up with other departments…I want this to be a program that’s open for all people in all disciplines.”

Some components of honors will remain relatively unchanged, while others adapt to accommodate students and teachers. Structurally, Hill explained that “there are three types of courses. [The first two are] required honors courses, which all honors students take, and enrichment electives, which are new.

Within these electives, there are seminars specifically for honors students, with varied topics in different disciplines. These seminars will draw on the professors’ passions — the things they find fascinating.”

While core classes will remain consistent over the four-year duration of the program, elective possibilities may rotate. Carefully selected courses, both core and elective, are aimed at providing students with the scholastic breadth necessary for a well-rounded educational experience.

One addition to the current course list involves the study of leadership. The class will encompass the theory and practice of leadership and push students to question how leaders motivate those around them, among other skills essential to positions of leadership.

Hill noted that “we assume that people who are joining Honors — like others on campus — are interested in service. This provides a foundation for continuing involvement in their communities.”

The revamped Honors Program aims to prepare students holistically for the world and their place in it.

“Ultimately students will have engaged in rigorous academic work,” Hill said. “They will have learned about topics and issues from a variety of departments, and they will have thought how they will personally be able to serve in their communities.”

BLANKS! Just to keep myself from screaming out loud in class, I would write sarcastically entertaining, but incorrect, answers in those blanks. I received an “A-” in one of the easiest classes on campus, but I still don’t really know important concepts such as exactly who Albert Bandura was and what he contributed to our understanding of how people learn. As a teacher now, that might be important! So I wish I’d grasped the concept earlier in college that I can still learn and profit from irritating or seemingly useless activities.

Easier said than done, but that’s my goal now. Just don’t make me fill-in any blanks.

John Nunes, Business I was self-supported throughout college and therefore worked full-time. I also got married at the end of my sophomore year and became a father at the end of my junior year — at the ripe old age of 20. Even with those challenges, I was determined to finish my undergraduate degree within four years and I actually finished a semester early.

Because of the time commitments of both work and school, my life became out of balance and I struggled spiritually, socially and physically. I simply didn’t have the time necessary to take care of important relationships horizontally and vertically. As a result, my emotional intelligence and commitment to service took a hit — I simply wasn’t investing time and talent in those areas. If I had a “do over,” I would have slowed the pace of my academics a bit, since limiting work was not an option and pursued a more

balanced approach to life in those four years. So my advice to PUC students is this: SAVOR your college experience, use it as a time to explore who you are, what God’s plans are for your life, and connect with people and interests that matter!

Lary Taylor, Business Looking back, I wish I had been more receptive to my GE’s and could have learned from them. As I got older, I found I really enjoyed some of those subjects. For example, I now love to read history books, especially Civil War history. That interest developed when my wife and I lived in Maryland and we visited several Civil War battlefields. The first one we visited was Gettysburg and I was fascinated as we walked around and learned what had happened. We subsequently visited Antietam and Fredericksburg, as well as several other battlefields and I read books about all of them.

I also took a class about Shakespeare and his plays.

I didn’t like the class because I couldn’t understand what he was saying most of the time. Then I got involved here at PUC in drama and I was in PUC’s version of Hamlet. I really had a fun time with that and began reading other plays by Shakespeare. My wife and I have travelled several times to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare festivals they have there.

Had I known then what I know now, I could have had a much more enjoyable time in my general education classes.

College Regrets Utilize the time you have left!

By Luke Thornburgh With what seems like only a few weeks left until graduation, I (like so many of you) am balancing thoughts of nostalgia and the strong desire to get the heck outta here. Whether this is your last quarter or not, no one wants to leave here regretting missed opportunities. So take whatever time you have left in your college experience and make the most of it!

Below is some advice from professors on what they regretted from their time in college.

Michelle Rai, Communication My only regret in life is not taking the time to study abroad when I was in college. I tell my advisees all the time, “You won’t get this time back! You’ll graduate, get a job, have a family… and by the time you get around to traveling, you’ll be too old to stay in youth hostels.” If you think it will put you behind in your academic goals, just go abroad for a quarter or for the summer. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Tammy McGuire, Communication I wish I’d approached the classes I disdained differently. For example, I HATED Dr. Bee’s Social Learning Theory class (name of the professor has been changed to protect myself from charges of calumny). We had these little first-grade-looking booklets where, like small children, he made us sit in class and fill in the blanks. FILL IN THE

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SPORTS

New Hope At 2014 Boston Marathon A city moves on one step at a time.

Boston Marathon will serve as symbol of strength, resilience, perseverance and triumph for runners and non-runners alike.”

This symbol of strength will come to fruition on April 21, when the 2014 When a runner wakes up on the morning of his marathon, he will go through a Boston Marathon commences. On this day, 36,000 runners will pound Boston’s routine checklist: get dressed, eat breakfast, thinking about how fast he wants to pavement for 26.2 miles of healing. Often running is considered a therapeutic run and then depart for the starting line. One thing a runner never had to worry exercise in the sense of self, but when this concept applies to an entire city, the about is whether this would be his last time seeing his family. Unfortunately, sense of remembrance will again captivate the nation’s attention, but this time that precedent changed after the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Last April 15th’s events sent shockwaves, not only through the Boston Marathon finish line vicinity, but through all of America. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, constructed and detonated two bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line in their domestic act of terrorism. The two explosions lasted no more than 12 seconds in total, but that was long enough to cause mass trauma to the surrounding people. In the end, 260 people were injured- both runners and spectators- 16 people lost limbs and three innocent bystanders lost their lives.

Just as quickly as Boston was caught off-guard, authorities mounted a full scale manhunt that shut down the entire city in order to find the Tsarnaev brothers who were responsible for the attacks. After four days, and with the support of the entire country behind Boston’s finest, they found the attackers. Tamerlan was killed in the acquisition process, while his younger brother Dzhokar still awaits trial today. Once the manhunt was concluded and a distorted form of justice served, the issue of a broken Boston still lingered.

As the months progressed and the 2014 Boston Marathon approached, the running community united and rallied support for Boston and its victims. A prevalent thought on everyone’s mind was whether this year’s race was different Starting line at the 2014 Boston Marathon Would it strictly be a running race or would it be an emotional recovery? in a positive light. This year’s Boston Marathon personifies the tenacity and In a recent interview with, Competitor Magazine’s, senior editor, Mario Fraiolo perseverance that America prides itself on and captures the countries ability spoke for the whole running community, saying “In any ordinary year, Boston to survive against opposing forces. We might not always know the historical serves as the pinnacle of marathoning for elite and age-group runners around impact an average day can have, but we do know that on Monday, April 21, the the world. Qualifying for the race and crossing that finish line on Boylston entire nation will be lifting up the city of Boston: remembering the victims and Street represents a right of passage for many runners. None of that changes driving their memories forward into time. this year, but this event will transcend tradition and performance: the 2014

By David O’ Hair

Baseball… Still America’s Pastime A sport 100 years in the making deserves a little more respect.

By James Shim Another year of baseball is in full swing (no pun intended), as Opening Day marked the start of the major league baseball season. Multiple headlines circled the newswire prior to the start of the season, as fans were selecting their favorite to win the World Series, tuning into the Yasiel Puig drama in Los Angeles, and also selecting underdogs to make a deep playoff run.

With the common assumption that baseball is a “boring” sport among members of the younger generation, there is no question that there is still debate in the sports realm as to whether or not baseball is a relevant sport. Let’s face it, you may be reading this article and wondering why you’re even reading an article about baseball.

In a generation that demands everything to be consumed as fast as possible, from information to instant noodles, the idea of baseball being a slow sport does not resonate with many today. While baseball does not have the flare and constant up and down action similar to that of basketball or football there are still reasons why baseball is a sport that should not be forgotten or neglected.

While many complain of how slow the game of baseball can be and the lack of athleticism in the sport, there should a higher level of respect for those who play at a professional level. Pitchers can throw balls at 90-95 mph, with the average fastball reaching the catcher in .350 seconds. To put that in perspective, it takes an average human .300-.400 seconds to blink. A batter has to be able to hit a ball not only coming at an extremely fast rate, but also hit a ball coming with numerous amount of curves, spins and drops. Yet, some of the great hitters are able to hit the ball hundreds of feet into the air and out of the park.

Many are turned off to the idea of the regular season of baseball because it spans over 162 games and would much rather prefer a regular season of 82 games such as basketball. What many fail to realize is how difficult it is to stay mentally and physically prepared for 162 games. While the action of football is packed over sixteen weeks, a baseball season is a strategic marathon that lasts over six months. Extreme mental preparation must be made over the course of six months to work as a team and outduel as well as outsmart the opposing team.

The sport of baseball is also the only sport in which the team that is winning must continue to play the game. In every other sport, teams that are ahead can seal or “ice” the game. In basketball, a team can dribble and run out the clock and a quarterback in football can take a knee to seal the game. Baseball forces the winning team to continue to pitch and play defense with no real way to “ice” a game. No game is over until the final out is made, which makes late game heroics and nail biting games that much more reoccurring.

Noted as “America’s Pastime,” baseball was to those in the 19th and 20th century as video games and television are to today. Baseball was the most widely played sport and was used to pass time. Many of the ballparks were used more than 50 years ago, and carry much of America’s history within the parks. Yet, baseball is one of the fastest growing sports internationally, as the sport sees an increasing number of international imports every year.

Sure, it may come off as boring, or as an old man’s sport; everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I’m not asking you to say baseball is the greatest sport that man has ever played, but rather take a moment to understand and respect the amount of difficulty that it takes to play the game at a great level, and also pay respect to a sport that has lasted in this country for over 100 years.

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SPORTS

A Preview to the NBA Playoffs Clippers-Warriors matchup is for you. This series will feature the best threepoint shooter maybe ever in Steph Curry and also arguably the best dunker in the game, Blake Griffin. These two teams don’t like each other much, so The NBA regular season is a long windy road consisting of a series of highs it’s bound to get a little chippy. It should be one of the more entertaining first and lows over the course of 82 games. Teams must learn to navigate the murky round matchups. Finally, the Rockets-Blazers series should feature plenty of waters of injuries, suspensions, and fatigue, while having the proper amount offense. Both teams really like to shoot the three and have guards who can do of talent to achieve success. An overarching theme this season was the severe it well in Damian Lillard and James Harden. talent disparity between the Eastern and Western Conference. The Western played high level basketball all season, while the East was a complete dumpster Eastern Conference fire. To further highlight the disparity, the eighth team in the West finished For the most part, the Eastern Conference was an abomination all season, with a better record than the third best team in the East. Nonetheless, here is but since they’re still technically apart of the NBA they too must have a playoff. a breakdown of the playoff teams in each conference.

During the first couple months of the season the feeling around the league was that the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers were the only teams capable of winning Western Conference the East. That held true until February when Indiana completely fell apart. The Over the course of the season it became apparent that the West playoff Pacers’ offense took a complete nose dive and is just now starting to pick back contenders split into two tiers: legit title contenders and really fun but just not up. Nonetheless, the Pacers still clinched the one seed, because again, the East good enough. The legit title contenders would consist of the Spurs, Thunder, is an abomination. The road to the Finals still runs through Lebron James and Clippers, and Rockets, while the second tier consisted of the Blazers, Warriors, the Miami Heat. The Heat have coasted to the two seed and still appear to be Grizzlies, Mavs and Suns. If you’re good at math—which I’m not—you will the favorite to win the East. Through Indiana’s struggles, a dark horse contender see that I listed nine teams and only eight qualify for the playoffs. That’s how emerged: the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn lost their star center Brook Lopez earlier ridiculoulsly good the West was this year. Phoenix, who barely missed the in the season, which seemed to end their championship hopes. However, first playoffs, would have a good shot at winning the Eastern Conference. year coach Jason Kidd jiggered their lineup to feature several long rangy guards The first round of the Western Conference playoffs feature a full plate to create a lot of havoc on the defensive end. The East also features several of tasty matchups: Spurs-Mavs, Thunder-Grizzlies, Clippers-Warriors, and newcomers to the playoffs. Toronto, Washington, and Charlotte all qualified Rockets-Blazers. Each matchup contains either an interesting narrative or an for the playoffs for the first time in several years. Neither of these teams have entertaining style of play. The Spurs-Mavs matchup includes two of the greatest the talent to contend for the title, but they all possess a strong enough defense power forwards to ever play the game of basketball with Tim Duncan and to give any team a problem in the first round.

Dirk Nowitzki. Duncan and Nowitzki have faced each other six times in the playoffs and as the two enter the twilight of their careers it will be a lot of fun *** to watch them face off one last time. The Thunder-Grizzlies series is a rematch After six months of regular season basketball, the playoffs are finally here. of an exhilarating seven-game series back in 2011 and also a five-game series last 16 wins stand between one team and raising the championship trophy. These year. The Grizzlies enter the series as the underdog and are facing the NBA’s playoffs are sure to give us plenty of exhilarating moments and juicy storylines. leading scorer in Kevin Durant. If you like three-pointers and dunks, then the Let’s play ball.

By Austin Ngaruiya

Printed from www.printyourbrackets.com

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OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

Less than Passionate I Don’t Care for Jesus Movies.

By Carlo Pean The room was filled with sounds of weeping. I look over to my friends and this is definitely one of those “there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience” moments, except for the fact that I was sitting there trying not to laugh and needing to pee. It was the showing of the movie Son of God and it was then I finally realized that I don’t like Jesus movies. I just don’t.

“What!” You must be asking yourself, “Carlo Péan? The guy that who fights the air at vespers? That guy doesn’t like Jesus movies?” Well, stop talking to yourself and hear me out. I know that for many people seeing the depiction of Our Lord and Savior is a very spiritual experience that draws them closer to the throne of grace, that’s awesome, really it is. For me, this is what’s running through my mind: Okay, let’s see what this movie got wrong.

Oh look, another white Jesus. Who’da thunk it.

Why do they always choose British actors? Now stupid people are going to hear Tony Blair and think that he and Jesus are related.

Clearly that miracle is two scenes. You’re not fooling anyone by putting the bread in the air and lowering it to find Panera.

Oh, and now the man who “can’t walk” and Jesus lifts him up. Get an actor without legs, give him CGI legs and then we’ll talk. I suppose that would be rude to the actor. Can you imagine being that actor? I wonder how the Jesus actor feels about himself at night? He’s probably wishing he did a few more sit-ups before shooting this crucifixion scene.

It only gets more blasphemous after that. It just doesn’t do it for me. Seeing the story of God depicted devalues it for me for several reasons.

I think that if everyone is honest, we can all agree that Jesus doesn’t look like a Swede in a toga. This isn’t the movie industry’s fault for thinking like this. For hundreds of years, Christians in Europe made Jesus look like them because they wanted to show that God had come into their world. In this pluralistic world, God looking like us has to have a broader idea than it does.

If we’re trying to show God coming to our world, then we can make him look however we want him to look. If we’re trying to show what actually happened 2,000 years ago then we should try our best to make him look like a Middle Eastern working class man.

Personally, I need time and space to really understand everything about the life, message, death and resurrection of Jesus. I realize how deep it is and how beautiful it becomes. I feel that watching the story of Jesus as depicted in the four Gospels merged together misses the awe that each gospel or each story has on its own. I get the story of Jesus in a deeper way when watching Disney’s Hercules because I get to see one wonderful aspect of Jesus played out in a make-believe story, rather than a movie cramming in everything in two hours.

Something crazy about this is that I like other Bible movies. I think that The Prince of Egypt was an excellent piece of cinema, Nest Bible stories are dear to me and you just can’t beat Veggie Tales. But all that being said, I think that the story of Jesus is so close and integral to me that to see it on a screen takes away some of the power of its story.

I know that I’m not the only one who feels like this. I know that crying in theaters isn’t what makes us good or bad Christians. But I do feel some sort of way when my friends leave a movie wiping their eyes over the Incarnation and I had to do everything I could not to laugh at a producer milking my emotions.

Shouldn’t these symbols—the cross, the grave and the empty tomb—these symbols that have inspired thousands of years of Christianity, shouldn’t they touch me too?

They do, just not in movie form. And I’m okay with that. Christians have been inspired for years before film and they’ve found a way to touch lives for 2,000 years. Movies just get to join a huge host of art telling the greatest story this planet has ever experienced. Honestly reading the Gospel of Mark while listening to contemporary Christian music does more for me spiritually than watching the actor from The Passion getting his butt kicked. If it does something for you, perfect. We all have our own favorites and our not-so-favorites. C.S. Lewis hated hymns. He would ditch church early every Sunday just so he didn’t have to hear what he called “cheap” songs. But he loved confession.

It is all beautiful because no one “owns” the story of Jesus. His story is bigger than just books, or just movies or books and movies put together. Each story comes from a different angle, showing us a new truth. And there are so many.

I guess that if every angle of the story of Jesus were to be told, there wouldn’t be enough paper, ink, film or gigabytes in the world to hold it all.

This Easter, enjoy any type of medium that really gets you passionate about The Passion, and add your own voice to the 2,000 Wyear-old tradition of humans diving into the Divine.

When Helping is Impossible Sometimes walking away is your best option.

By Jessica Winters Over spring break, I had an encounter that drove home the importance of knowing when to walk away from helping someone. I’m not talking about knowing someone is just going to spend your money on booze. I mean recognizing when someone is keeping herself from being helped, and realizing that walking away doesn’t make you a bad person.

I was staying at a hostel in San Diego, and one my roommates was a girl from the Netherlands (Sarah, here). Sarah was pleasant, but hesitant to talk unless spoken to first. We only talked a few times, but I got the sense that something was wrong. However, whenever I asked, she smiled and insisted that she was fine. By Friday, though, the smile was gone.

As I was getting ready that morning, I overheard her telling someone on the phone that she didn’t have any money left and that her bags were still missing.

When she hung up, I admitted that I had overheard her conversation, and asked if there was anything I could do. She haltingly explained that when she had arrived by plane the previous Sunday, her bags hadn’t made it and had still never shown up. On top of that, her wallet had been stolen and she had been having trouble getting her bank to transfer funds another way. She said that what she really needed was a ride to the airport to see if they could locate her bags, and also to see if there was a branch of her bank in the city.

She didn’t ask me for money, but admitted that she was hungry, and I knew that the hostel wasn’t serving free breakfast that morning. So, I loaned her some clothes so she could run hers through the wash and insisted that she join me for breakfast. I told her I would drive her into town afterward to see if we could get her back on track. She protested at first, but I insisted and she finally

agreed and smiled.

While we ate, she called many people and checked bank listings on her phone, finally saying that she found a branch of her bank downtown. I asked if she wanted to go there first, but she hesitated and said she needed to make another call. She stayed on the phone a long time, and we wound up leaving the restaurant while she was still talking, and continued to walk around like this for an hour.

This set the pace for the rest of the day. It took forever for her to hang up and tell me the bank’s name so I could enter it into my GPS. Then, when we were nearing downtown, she suddenly decided that it would be better to go to the airport first to see if her bags had been found. I was near the exit, so I turned off and pulled into the parking lot. It took a while to figure out which building we were supposed to be in, partially because Sarah refused to speak much above a whisper when talking to the airport workers, so I finally had to take over.

When we finally figured out where we needed to be, I tried to hurry her to the proper desk, but she started dragging her feet and mumbling that we should have gone to the bank first. I told her that we were already at the airport, so we might as well take care of things there, and tried to get her to talk to the baggage people, but she went silent and refused to move. I told her that I couldn’t help her with this part since I didn’t know her flight information, and that we could leave as soon as she talked to them. She finally did, still murmuring so they had to make her repeat everything, and by the time we got out of there, not only had her bags not been found, but the bank was about to close.

We rushed to the car and into town. At this point, I was struggling to hide my agitation. She ran into the bank as soon as I parked, but came back out a few minutes later because it wasn’t her bank after all.

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OPINIONS & EDITORIALS I told her I was sorry, but that all I could do now was take her back to the hostel to see if an employee could help her. She started protesting, saying that there was nothing more I could do. She then tbecame stiff, muttering to herself again.

When we got back, I gave her some money for dinner. She thanked me, curtly, and breezed out of the car, scowling.

When I talked with my friend about it later, we determined that she probably

had social anxiety or some sort of instability that caused her to act that way.

Either way, as much as I wished I could have helped this girl, I knew deep down that it wasn’t my fault things hadn’t worked out, and that walking away from the situation wasn’t heartless. It’s not a way of thinking that I ever had taught to me directly, but it’s one that time and experience of brought to the light, and is important to have in the back of your mind.

Only Got $20 in Your Pocket?

The danger of the thrift shop fad.

By Tara Hattendorf

The Willow Bunch Thrift Shop Do you feel like popping some tags? The allure of the thrift shop has pulled you in. When Macklemore’s song, “Thrift Shop,” came out in 2012, it rocketed thrift stores into the public eye and heart. The trend of buying cheap, vintage clothing had been growing for a number of years already, but once Macklemore publicly promoted them, thrift stores became the place to shop. However, when I worked in a thrift shop last year I saw another side of the trendy stores.

According to Urban Dictionary, “popping tags,” is another way of saying stealing, either in the literal or figurative sense. When we get a good deal on something, or if an item of clothing is on sale, we say that “it was a steal.” Thrift shop goods of all types are certainly a “steal” at their low prices. But it’s not just figuratively a steal. Thrift shopping endorses buying things that you don’t need,

but someone else might. Some people actually need the stuff that thrift shops sell, and they need it at that low price. By buying it for yourself because it’s the cool thing to do, because you just love the way vintage clothes look and you don’t want to spend more money, you are robbing someone else of the chance to buy it. Before you buy that “velour jumpsuit,” think for a moment if someone else in the community might need it more than you do.

Last summer I spent two weeks working at a thrift shop run by a church near my home. It was my first time actually in a thrift shop, although I had been intending to visit it for a few years because I had heard from all my friends how great the prices were. Working at the thrift shop was an eye-opening experience in multiple ways.

To give you a clue as to just how affordable the clothes could be, the store periodically had sales where a plastic bag full of as much clothing as it could hold cost only $2. On those sale days, hundreds of people from all over the community would come to the store and fill up those bags. Many of the customers were families with three or four children who were herded around by their frantic mother. Other customers included elderly couples who were out on their excursion for the day, people trying to find clothes for an important job interview, and homeless people who needed clothes just to stay warm. And sometimes, young girls, whose parents I knew made decent money, entered the shop to find a cute, vintage blouse.

The few weeks I was able to work at the thrift shop showed me the real need that communities have for thrift shops and dollar stores. For people who have no jobs, homes or families to take them in, affordable clothes are a necessity.

Sometimes not even Wal-Mart is cheap enough, but clothing for a dollar or two is just right. Some people actually need thrift shop prices in order to survive.

However, sometimes people who can afford to shop at more expensive stores are buying the supply of good clothing. The clothes that homeless and generally poorer people need will not be there if people jumping on to the thrift shop bandwagon buy it all.

Thrift shops are not just a discount store where you can buy everything you wanted last season but couldn’t afford, like Nordstrom Rack. They are more like a soup kitchen, there to help the people who truly are in need. Would you eat at a soup kitchen for free if you knew had $20 in your pocket to eat at Giugni’s?

Go donate your old clothes to a thrift store, but if you can afford to shop at Target, please rethink shopping at a thrift shop. Don’t steal from someone who needs the clothes you just want.

The Awkward Condition How to be comfortable in the awkward.

By Malek Sheen Because they happen with such frequency, it is important to feel comfortable in awkward moments.

Have you ever had that moment where your eyes drift off into space, your mind wanders and then you realize you’re staring at some girl’s face? You were actually staring through her face, but she can’t see that, and now you’re that creeper guy that stared at her face on the first day of class. Or have you ever been really happy to see a friend, but they haven’t noticed you yet, so you come up behind them, cover their eyes and have them guess who you are. Then they start guessing, and you realize your friend is a complete stranger whom you’ve come up behind and

blindfolded. Eventually all these awkward moments add up, and awkward starts to feel comfortable.

I find myself comfortable in awkward moments because I accept that I just can’t seem to get it right. I always try to get it right, but I still find myself wrong: I should not have said that or I forget to do this.

It makes me wonder if anyone else makes as many mistakes as I do. But awkward moments are a part of the human condition and if our awkward moments can teach us anything, it’s humility. No one is all put together; we’re all trying to be better people which means we’re not perfect. We mess up. Therefore, be modest. Realize no one is always graceful. For if life can teach us anything, it is how to make a mistake; but, if we can learn anything from the game of life, it’s how to laugh. That’s how you win.

A laugh is our greatest asset because it is the symbol for acceptance. When we approve of a joke, we laugh; when we approve of a person, we’re more inclined to laugh. A laugh shows you’re not taking yourself too seriously because you accept that blunders are bound to happen. So when someone is waving at you and you wave back, only to realize they were actually waving at the person behind you, laugh. Or if you and your friend have said all your goodbyes, carried out those superficial farewell puns and shared that final hug and then realize you are both heading in the same direction, laugh, make a joke out of it and bond over it; because we are all awkward and awkward moments are a lesson in humility. And no one needs humility more than humanity.

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The Backpage SPOILER ALERT: HIMYM Finale Critique How I met your stepmother?

By Amanda Navarrete The confusion. The tears. The shock. How I Met Your Mother left most fans feeling more disappointed than satisfied with the show’s conclusion. Before I go any further, stop reading right now if you want to stay spoiler free, because this is filled with them.

The writers of the chow claimed they had this in mind from the start, but it was still hard to accept that this was the ending we had waited nine seasons for.

Let’s start with what went wrong. First off, Barney and Robin’s divorce. We get it, life happens. Relationships don’t work out, no matter how much we believe they’re destined to be. A divorce may have been a little bit more acceptable if the whole season hadn’t been centered around a wedding for a marriage doomed to fail. In the blink of an eye, we watch Barney regress into a man-child all over again. This time making it a little more pathetic as he wastes his adult life chasing girls that could very well be his one of his daughters. All of Barney’s character development went down the drain.

The pacing of the final episode felt extremely rushed. The writers crammed so many plot twists and story lines that made it hard to keep up. First it was the divorce, which then led to Robin’s isolation from the group. The gang’s quick disintegration was barely processed because it was thrown at us so fast. One

minute they’re inseparable, the next, Robin is claiming they aren’t really friends anymore, while Lily is crying in a whale suit. Marshall and Lily have another baby, while Marshall goes from hating his job to becoming a state supreme court judge. They spread out a single weekend over an entire season, but the finale could have easily been written as one season by itself.

For all the cringe-worthy moments with Barney reverting back to his old ways, his character redeems himself when his little girl is born. With just a look, he falls in love with her, promising everything to her. The tender encounter is one of the episode’s shining moments, and suddenly, Barney doesn’t seem so hopeless anymore.

Finally, in the last few minutes of the episode, it’s revealed the mother actually died six years ago. I’ll admit, I was one of the few actually hoping Robin and Ted might end up together a few seasons ago. However after watching and falling in love with Tracy, the mother, it left me feeling conflicted. After all, I didn’t watch the show to find out how he met the kid’s stepmother. Still, whether it was a disgrace to the show or not, the finale showed us that even an idealist like Ted must deal with real life. Even after he met the love of his life. We have to cherish every moment, and move on when the time comes. As unsettling as the finale was, Ted’s character stayed true to his never ending hope that it would all work out, and it did.

Editor-in-Chief Webbo Chen Assistant Editor Advisor James Shim Lynne Thew Head Layout Editor Assistant Layout Editor Cameron Mitchell Jose Lopez News Editor News Copyeditor Alex Blum Jayson Paw Features Editor Features Copyeditor Taylor Pittenger Tara Hattendorf Sports Editor Sports Copyeditor Austin Ngaruiya Jessica Winters Op-Ed Editor Op-Ed Copyeditor Luke Thornburgh Suwanna Vatananan Photographer Allison Regan

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