Beacon No. 6

The

BEACON

Issue No.6

Crandall University

November 17, 2011

Thanks Jesus by Rachael Midterms flowed into Paper Session and a

lot of people simply ran out of time to get their articles in. I’m debating with myself about how it might be a bit arrogant to publish my own article.

Nevertheless, there is a large blank waiting for text.

So, here it is. Some of you may know this story, but most of you don’t. When I was 11 Jesus decided it was time to teach me, quite possibly, the most important lesson of my life. A lot of the time, Jesus teaches us things in round about ways. However, He knew I needed to be involved in the lesson. My whole body hurt. My fingertips peeled off. My toes ached (In a heavily medicated state I asked my mom to stop putting pop bottles on my toes!:p ). My soft skin was covered with rashes. They ran out of places to inject needles, so they put a tube through my arm and called it a butterfly. So many electronics were attached to me that it seemed as if I was more machine than human. My bowel was about to burst. Perhaps most significant, my heart had a hole in it. All of this kept me confined to the pediatrics ward for a solid month. They called it Kawasaki syndrome. Ironically, my dad had (and has) a kawasaki four-wheeler. Some of you might recall when John Travolta’s son died. It was from the same illness. Most people don’t live through it.

But I did.

I am thankful for the effort and kindness

the hospital workers showed me. However, little they did helped. I got worse and worse, until one night. A CAT scan revealed that my bowel would soon erupt and infection would be more than I could fight. A helicopter was ready to take me to the IWK. The hospital staff sat my parents down to tell them it was over. Chances were, I wouldn’t make it the night. My parents called their church and the church called a prayer meeting. The IWK requested another CAT scan be done before sending me off..

They wanted to watch, so they could be ready when

I arrived. However, this scan read a bit different.

This scan showed my body recovering at an abnormal rate. I am a big fan of comic books, so I like to think that in that moment I became a member of the XMen, but that would only pale in comparison to the truth. The truth being that, in that moment, Jesus taught me that He is the great physician. I was at my worst and He made me whole. He showed me that He has a purpose for me.

However, the story continues. Hospital staff

won’t just let you go free that easy. They’ve got to check everything out. I’m glad they did because it made my faith even stronger. Remember that hole in my heart? It disappeared. Jesus didn’t even leave a scar. I know it was Jesus, because the doctors admitted that they hadn’t done anything to treat my bowel or heart. It was rough month after this. I got made-fun-of a lot for being so skinny...I weighed about half of my current weight and was only 2 inches shorter. I also had to learn to eat and walk again. That was embarrassing at times, but it likely made me a better person.

Although making me sick and causing my

parent’s so much stress may not seem like a just thing to do, I continuously thank God for doing so. I don’t know how my faith could be so strong without this experience. God had given me eleven years of Sunday School and I hadn’t fallen in love with Him. It wasn’t until a year or so after all this that I did.

It’s quite possible that without this memory, I’d be missing out on a lot right now. God has blessed me with so much. I honestly do not know how people live without Him. I only remember praying once throughout

my hospital stay. I recall being prayed for a lot. But I only remember praying the once. I remember a dark room, a prayer, and comfort. I don’t remember the details, but I knew then I would be okay. I am.

Comparing the Greats by Jean The Awards and Honours (Ruth)

The Awards and Honours (Jesus)

-American League MVP in 1923 -World Series Appearances: 10 -World series championships: 7 (3 with Boston; 4 with NY) -Named to the ML All Star team: 2 (The award only began in 1933) -1936: Was inducted into the Baseball hall of fame (newly created that year) with 4 other players -His #3 jersey was retired in 1948 -Many more

-As foretold in Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1, God's voice was literally heard by many, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him.” (Matthew 17:5, 3:17; John 12:28b)

Quotes about Ruth

Quotes about Jesus

-Waite Hoyt (teammate)“I've seen them; kids, men, women, worshippers all, hoping to get his name on a torn, dirty piece of paper, or hoping for a grunt of recognition when they said 'Hi-ya, Babe'. He never let them down; not once. He was the greatest crowd pleaser of them all.”

- The Apostle John: “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” (John 21:25) And “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)

-Joe Dugan (teammate) “To understand him you had to understand this: he wasn't human.”

The Sources about Ruth 1) Eyewitness accounts: Family, friends, MLB players, coaches, fans, etc.

2) MLB Statisticians, analysts, sports enthusiasts, commentators, etc.

3) stories, tales, etc., from people that knew or knew of him, passed on through the generations till this day..

-God's mighty power “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He (the Father) put all things under His (Jesus') feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,” (Ephesians 1:20-23) “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) Hebrews 1:2-8 further writes that Jesus is the one whom “He (the Father) has appointed heir of all things...

He (the Father) says 'let all the angels of God worship Him'” and “... to the Son He says 'Your throne, o God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness... of Your kingdom...”(also Hebrews 1:13, 2:9; Revelation 14:14) He is called “Faithful and true, and in righteousness He judges... the word of God... King of Kinds and Lord of Lords.” (Revelation 19:11-16) -Many countries have set aside December 25th as a statutory holiday in honour of His birth, as well as Good Friday to commemorate His death. (Easter Sunday, as well, for His resurrection.)

-The modern calendar begins at around the time of His birth.

-So many more.

-The Apostle Matthew: “And Jesus went about... teaching... preaching... then His fame went throughout all Syria... Great multitudes followed Him; from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:23-25)

Winter Tires by Evan MacDonald All season tires only need to be put on once, and taken off when they are worn out. Although they cost a bit more money, you save in the long run as you only need one set; all season tires are the way to go, right? The answer is wrong, wrong, WRONG! unless you are driving a Buick to get milk at the store three days after the last snowfall. The average driver who relies on their wheels to get to work or school will drive in adverse conditions many times throughout an Atlantic Canadian winter, and “all season” tires do not perform as well as winter ones. “All season” tires in fact do not perform particularly well during any season including summer where the tread pattern does not allow water to escape as well as summer tires and can cause hydroplaning.

Winter tires, in my opinion, should be mandatory for all vehicles in provinces that have snowy and icy conditions on a regular basis. It has been proven over and over again that many accidents during each winter could have been easily avoided if all vehicles involved had winter tires on all four wheels. The main problem with “all season” tires and summer tires is that below 5 degrees Celsius the rubber they are made of hardens. This hardened rubber does not conform to the road surface well and causes a serious loss of traction. Winter tires are made out of softer rubber that performs best in colder conditions and allows for better grip. New technologies have allowed for tires that even grip onto ice better without using studs. It is also important that all four tires have equal traction in order to avoid spinning out and losing control. Many people do not realize how different winter and “all season” tires are until they need to brake quickly and result in getting up close and personal with somebody’s $1000 bumper.

The Crandall Christmas Banquet

Skating from 10-11pm @ the Red Ball Internet Centre

Saturday, November 26th 7:00 pm @ the Crowne Plaza

Tickets $15 or 2/ $25

From November 15-22, tickets will be on sale in the Crandall University bookstore.

** Come out early to watch the Christmas Parade pass by on Main Street in front of the Crowne Plaza @ 6:00 pm**

Effective Senate Reform Goes

Farther than

Merely Electing Senators

By: Douglas MacLean Active citizenship in Canada should mean Canadians learn and understand how our institutions are designed to function. The Canadian Senate is very misunderstood, and is thought of as both illegitimate and irrelevant to an increasing number of Canadians. This disconnection from the true meaning the Senate is meant to bring to society leads many to call for its abolishment or partial reforms to elect senators and shorten terms. These changes run counter to the values the Senate is meant to bring Canadian society.

When the Canadian Parliament was formed, it was modelled after the British Parliamentary system. This means the population was to be represented by the members of the House of Commons, and the institutions of the societal structure was to be represented by the House of Lords and the Canadian counterpart, the Senate.

When it was formed, there were three distinct "regions" in Canada.

Ontario was one region (24 senators), Quebec formed a second region (24 senators) and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia formed a third region (24 senators). senators are appointed by the Monarch upon the advice of the Prime Minister.

Since the Queen does not interfere in Canadian politics, the factual representation is that the Prime Minister appoints senators directly.

Reform of the Senate is a wise move, but the reform should be systematic, not piecemeal as the current government proposes.

The three fundamental changes that need to happen to affect a

truly reformed and valuable Senate are to elect senators, to ensure equality of representation for the provinces, and to ensure the Senate is able to have sufficient powers to ensure a government in the House of Commons does not run roughshod over Canadian citizens' rights.

Senate. Why then, do we seek to reform it? My answer to that is that we need a check on the power of the Prime Minister. We give much too much power to that office already. Electing senators as previously mentioned with each province having an equal share will be a check to both the Prime Minister's power and the power of Senators ought to be elected either a highly regionalized electorate. at-large in each province or by some divisions within each Effectiveness of the Senate would province. To be consistent, the not be accomplished simply by federal elections agency should be electing the senators and retooling conducting the elections. To the distribution of senators by ensure balance in the Senate, province. For the Senate to be elections for the Senate should be effective, it would need to have the staggered such that each cycle power to stop legislation, not just elects a third or a quarter of the delay it. Currently, the Senate can senators within each province. send bills back to the House of Electing senators will make them Commons three times, but this is accountable to voters. Ideally they as much as the Senate can do. It elections for the senate should not also does not have the right to happen when an election for the introduce spending bills to House of Commons happens. This Parliament. could have a spill-over effect Citizenship requires some work for causing both houses to have a each Canadian. Our country is potentially biased agenda. The worth the effort to understand and greatest thing about Canadian improve the institutions. For real society is its ability to value the reform to take place, changes well-being of other Canadians. would need to take place to the Sometimes a wave of Constitution Acts. The current dissatisfaction comes against one Federal Government advocates political party, or an economic reform to the Senate, but the situation arises that causes people proposals are watered down and to react strongly. The system ineffective. The appointment should be set up to withstand such process would still be in place, but reactionary moves and give there would be an election stability to the Canadian occasionally within participating government. provinces to elect potential The Senate currently represents senators. They would agree to a "regions" in a quasi-equal manner. term limit of nine years which is The four western provinces are a able to be negated by the block of 24 senators like the other constitutional provision that the three regions mentioned above. appointment is until the age of 75.

Prince Edward Island took four The Senate is worth saving and senators from the Atlantic chunk, improving. Canadians need and Newfoundland and Labrador checks to powerful majority have an additional six senators. governments that need not listen There is also one senator to public demands for representing each territory. This transparency. Tinkering around hardly equally represents any the edges of the procedures jurisdiction, nor represents the without an overall vision for the population distribution. Some institution further alienates it from argue that the Senate should Canadians. Knowing more about follow the same proportions as the the operation of our government House of Commons. This would allows each Canadian to be an truly make the Senate irrelevant. If active and engaged citizen. Now we thought the House of that's something to give us pride Commons was sufficient, we would in ourselves. be better to opt for abolition of the

It’s That Time of Year By:

Kelly Coull Have you been recently asked by your family or friends, “What do you want for Christmas?” If you haven’t, I’m sure the question will arise soon. If you have, take a minute and think about what your reply was. Did you tell them that you wanted gift certificates? Some kind of technological tool? Clothes? I’m sure if you did answer the question, or when you do, that any idea you have will be material. I have been asked this question already and my response too was something material. However, after having a conversation with an employee at my workplace, I was enlightened. We began talking about Christmas shopping and I knew he had left it until Christmas Eve two years ago so I was teasing him.

To my surprise, he had already begun the shopping process, but my surprise didn’t end there. He began to tell me about his family, who are all wealthier than himself. He said to me, “They make more money than I do and when they want something it is in their house within a few hours. Why then, should I go buy them something just for the sake of buying it?” Now, I know we have all heard people say that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost and I agree that it has become extremely commercialized. However, I hadn’t really ever thought about why we buy family and friends items that, for the most part, they can go out and purchase for themselves. This employee of mine told me that he should start doing what he

used to do. Immediately I expected him to tell that he used to just have family over for Christmas supper, or something other than buying presents. What this man said to me was beautiful: “I used to send Christmas cards to all of the people that I would be expected to buy presents for. I would wish them a Merry Christmas and at the bottom of the card tell them that their present was a monetary donation to a charity of my choice.” Think about all the money that you spend on your family and friends who have enough money of their own to buy the item you gave them. In most cases, this would be a significant amount of money.

Would you be willing to do as this man has done and give up both receiving and gifting presents? If you aren’t willing, are you willing to do something to give to those who actually need it?

Christmas is approaching fast and I can tell you one thing: the feeling of greed that many of us should experience is right behind. Do something beautiful this Christmas—even if it is just sharing the story that this man has shared with me.

Real Art is Imagination

by Megan McNutt What is it about art that so deeply moves us? What is it about art that, when we find that piece that really affects us, shakes us to our very core and makes us re-evaluate our reality? How is it that art can change our entire world? Art can make us feel and believe things we never thought we could. It is all the things we wish could happen and the things we hope never do.

Art is an escape. Real art is imagination.

Albert Einstein once said, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.� Logic, while necessary, can only take you so far. It has limitations and boundaries. It can be confined and restricted. It does not have the capacity to rattle the world and make us soar. Imagination, on the other hand, can take you anywhere! It knows no restrictions and no bounds. It reaches past the possible to new heights. With imagination all things are possible. We are taken from our everyday logical existences and thrown into lives where we can be anyone, do anything. Nothing is impossible.

And that is the power of real art. It takes us from our own world and absorbs us into its own. Our eyes are opened and we are finally able to truly see. Brilliance, colour, wonder, excitement: they are all there. It opens our hearts wide and

explores the very depths of our souls. It is breath-taking. It is getting so lost in music that we are carried away from ourselves. It is exploring a painting or novel and finding adventures in new worlds. It is forgetting who you are and playing make-believe on stage. Or it's watching a movie or play and finding yourself becoming so captivated that you lose all sense of time and reality. It's dancing like no one is watching and letting everything else fall far behind. It is reaching deep within ourselves and rediscovering our ability to dream.

If we can imagine, we can dream. And there is nothing more powerful than being able to dream. Dreams are so important: they give hope and wonder, something to look forward to, to work towards. Dreams give us meaning and excitement. Have you ever noticed that some of the most inspirational people are those who started with big and wonderful dreams?

Dream your big and wonderful dreams, and never stop. Dream with all your passion and reach for the stars. You'll never know what you can accomplish.

Yes, the best art is imagination. It completely destroys the borders of reality and rebuilds them bigger and better. It allows us to escape into amazing places, to reach far beyond ourselves. It proves that nothing is impossible. It teaches us to dream.

In My Mostly Humble Opinion I would like to talk to the Crandall students who are enrolled in school physically, but definitely not emotionally. Yes, I am talking to YOU! You who sits in class without taking any notes, can't be bothered to study for tests and who, if you bring a laptop to class, play games or chat with friends.

WHAT are you DOING?!

Maybe your parents decided it was best for you to go straight from high school to university, and you didn’t think you were ready or even wanted to go. Let us, for argument's sake, assume that is your situation. Your parents made the decision, persuaded you to go, and they are footing most if not the entire bill. You may not feel invested in this decision at all. Do I then feel it is OK for you to simply occupy a seat?

NO!

Do you know how many students would love to have the option to go to university with financial support other than themselves and student loans (including myself)? As much as you may think otherwise, this experience can actually be a gift. A gift that I believe you will regret not making use of.

Let's try another scenario: let's assume that you have made this decision entirely yourself. You thought it was the right thing to do (or your friends were all going), and you are footing most if not the entire bill. Yet, you decide you can’t be bothered to put any effort into your studies.

WHY?!

No, really, why?! I don't get it. I can't actually think of a scenario where I think this attitude is OK. No matter what brought you here, why wouldn't you make the most of it? Why wouldn't you give this experience your best? Out of everything you could possibly regret in life, I don’t think trying your best in university even makes the list.

On a side note, I know that some of you pretend not to care, but in fact care very much. Maybe you are overwhelmed by the amount of work or you don't understand what is being taught, and instead of asking for help, you decide to give up and become indifferent. Don't give up! There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help, and it is a much better idea than to just bide your time.

I am not, by the way, suggesting that you spend every waking moment studying, and make yourself physically ill over worrying about upcoming exams. I may address those students in a later column (but for now, to those students: TAKE A DEEP BREATH! It’s going to be OK!).

So, for those of you who are using humor or indifference to hide your struggles, please ask for help. It's not too late. For those of you who actually are indifferent, STOP IT! Do yourself a favor, and put some effort into this.