Digital edition available at facebook.com/thebeacononline
THE BEACON Volume 68, Issue 4
December 5th, 2017
Take Heart As we head into the last bit of our semester, the beginning of December, and the start of our Christmas season, I invite you Sons and Daughters to refocus your attention to the King who was brought to us through the virgin Mary. I love Christmas; it is my favorite time of year. I love the decorations and the music. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved the candle-light service my church holds on Christmas Eve. Every year, our little church is stuffed full of people, the lights are all out, the candles are lit one by one, and together we sing Silent Night. “All is calm, all is bright… Christ the Savior is born… with the dawn of redeeming grace…” There are so many powerful images in this song and in so many of the songs that we sing without having to think about. Friends, I invite you to pause and truly think about lyrics that you’ve heard so many times before. I invite you to focus your attention to the incredible miracle that is the birth of Christ, who later died for you. If—and let’s be real, when—you are struggling to make the final push of the semester, when all you want is to be done, focus your attention on the fact that Christ that came for you and that has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit. Allow the Spirit to strengthen and uplift you. My prayer is this: Father, thank you for the incredible gift that is your son. Thank you for his miracle birth, for the teachings that he gave us through your Word. Thank you for the sacrifice of the cross and thank you for the Holy Spirit that strengthens and uplifts me. I pray that you fill us with your Spirit and help us to truly know the reason for the season this year. Allow us to keep our eyes on you and what you have done and what you continue to do. Thank you for the time we get to reflect on you and your Son. In Jesus name, Amen. Taylor Craig is a fourth-year Psych and BTh student. She is the founder of the devotional blog Take Heart Daughters.
Wanted: Due to some busy schedules and other varieties of madness, the Beacon finds itself in need of a new columnist to write up our staff and faculty interviews. This position allows you to discover some of the delightful and whacky people we have here at Crandall, hiding behind desks and office doors. The position entails a ten to twenty minute interview (list of questions provided) with a staff/faculty member of your choice (Nigh unlimited options!), recorded on your portable cellular device/tape recorder/other equipment of choice, and then typing up the interview in its entirety and sending it in. All told, this would be about an hour a month for the four months of next semester (four hours total) and you would be able to count this toward your required volunteer hours. Anyone interested should contact me through the Beacon’s email: crandallbeacon@gmail.com. -Dani Reimer, Editor
Dystopia Now Good Vibrations Top 40 pop music is an omnipresent force that aims to subconsciously alter minds, tampering mainly with one’s pre-existing notions regarding sexuality. It validates and amplifies the hedonistic tendencies of teenagers, and after decades of exposure has resulted in mass social conditioning, producing a generation of hypersexual adolescents. Though it is known that popular music has been steeped in sexuality since the 1950’s, it is obvious that as time passes, mainstream music is becoming less ambiguous with its lyricism, opting for more explicit subject matter. As pop music continues to gain influence in our social landscape, it must be acknowledged that – as a society – “We are creating a generation of super-sexualized children. [While] a significant number of [youths] are… demonstrating sexual interest and / or sexual behavior at earlier ages than ever before” (Kaeser, Psychology Today). Yet, despite its deviancy, pop is a genre that is upbeat, catchy, and accessible. Therefore, the actual content is often overlooked, while the attractive tone of the music is enough reason to deem it suitable for all ages. This is why K94.5 is played in nearly every retail store, school bus, and McDonald’s in the entire city. We are immersed in this culture like boiling frogs, and it is affecting our society in divisive and malevolent ways. Yet, one question remains persistent in my mind: who orchestrates such social programing? To put it simply, there are two companies that hold the monopoly on music and entertainment – that is, Vivendi and Viacom. Between these mega-corporations they own prominent records labels such as Geffen, Interscope, Def Jam, Cash Money, Capitol, Virgin, Universal, Decca, and EMI; while in the realm of entertainment and television they control MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Comedy Central, Spike, CMT, BET, Vevo, Dailymotion, Ubisoft, Gameloft, and every branch of Paramount Pictures. Suffice it to say that these monoliths have had an enormous impact on Western culture. Thus, in order to broadcast, advertise, and sell their products, these anonymous organizations are willing to debase our culture and chip away at its value system until the relic of virtue has all but eroded. Christian Arsenault is a fourth-year English/Education major. He can usually be found playing Runescape on World 72 near the Barbarian Village.
Spicy Crandall Memes
What’s on Your Mind? WORTHY Here’s my quote for the month, friends: “You’re imperfect and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging” - Brené Brown. Where do you find your identity, my friends? Do you base it on your talents? Your achievements? Identity is not something we can somehow achieve on the court, in the classroom, or from receiving the rousing applause of an audience. Our identity is based upon something much deeper, much richer. The problem is, many of us don’t know where to find it. When we question who we are, we hide behind what we do. When we are uncertain of where our value lies, we attempt to define ourselves by numbers or performance: our GPA, our points-per-season, our standing ovations. But the problem with seeking our value in our abilities is that it can be all too quickly snatched from our hands. One rejected audition, one failed test, one sprained knee, and suddenly we’re not sure who we are or what we’re worth anymore. When you tie your significance to anything other than God, you set yourself up for a lifelong struggle with inadequacy. No matter how hard you work, no matter how well you do, there will always, always be room for something you’re missing, some way in which you don’t quite measure up. And instead of feeling accomplished or successful, you feel incomplete and unworthy. Regardless of who you are, regardless of what you’ve done, you are INVALUABLE in God’s eyes. To him, your worth is intrinsic; it’s not based on any accomplishments, talents, or numbers. It’s based solely on the fact that He created you and longs to have an intimate relationship with you. He doesn’t care about what you can bring to the table, He just wants you to come to the table. In the words of Brené Brown, “Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace you are” (Brown, 2010, The Gifts of Imperfection). Please don’t ever feel as though you must justify your significance to God, my dear friend. Allow Him instead to show you how much you’re worth—it will blow your mind. Trust me. Allana Walker is a third year psychology major with aspirations of becoming a counselling therapist. She is addicted to dark chocolate, loves big words, and is always in the mood for a good pun.
CSA Report: Every student knows that as the end of the semester approaches so does Christmas! The best way to transition from the stress of exams to the joy of Christmas is to get involved in your society’s events. There has been word that some societies are planning potlucks, Yankee swaps, movie nights, cookie decorating, etc. Make sure to check your emails or your society’s Facebook page for more details. If that is not enough to get you in the spirit of Christmas, there will also be a production of A Christmas Carol put on by the students of EN4483 on December 7th at 4:30 pm. Speaking of wintery things, the CSA unanimously accepted the request to give $500 to the Crandall hockey team at the last meeting. Merry Christmas, Chargers! Deanna Gallant is a 4th year English Major, Psych minor, and is in the
Youth Leadership Certificate program. She naps a concerning amount and loves puns, Netflix, and peanut butter pie.
Hey Crandallites! Sadly, we had to cancel our Nov 24th service due to a few unforeseen circumstances, but that’s okay because we have something super fun planned for our last service of the year! It involves sweaters… and hot chocolate… and games… And that’s all I’m going to say. Stay tuned for our official announcement on the Facebook page! Because Christmas is coming soon, we invite you to reflect on Isaiah 9:1-7. Read it over and consider what it might have meant to the Israelites, and what it means to you. Meditate on it and pray about it. Christmas is so much more than carols and gifts and cute Christmas specials on TV. It’s about celebrating the birth of Jesus, God incarnate, Messiah, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace… We invite you to take a few moments and reflect on this. Merry Christmas and best of luck on exams! Jessie Campbell is in her fourth year of the BA in Biblical Studies program. She likes cross-stitching and playing Animal Crossing.
She is one of the co-runners of Sóma.
A Word from our Benevolent Dictator: As many of you know, we’ve embarked on a spiritual transformation project to maintain and develop meaningful outcomes for all students in a Crandall program. This fall we’ve conducted significant research, interviewed North America’s best researchers, and have been hearing what our great faculty and staff have to say. Most importantly, over the fall semester I have had the privilege to discuss transformation with over 230 individual students. That means that about a third of our traditional program students have been a part of this process! Thank you! These discussions occurred in classes, the café, offices, residence lounges, and more. They engaged students from all years, all programs, and all faith and church backgrounds. It has been a tremendous privilege to sit face to face with so many of our students and hear honest and meaningful feedback and ideas. The results of these discussions have been wonderful. Across backgrounds, years, and programs of study many trends emerge: the importance of mentorship to students, the value of exposing students to the inner spiritual life of our faculty, serious Christians wrestling with their faith, and non-Christians wanting to have genuine discussions about faith. We heard about the importance of service to our community, the value of corporate events, the importance of good campus resources and services, the importance of worship and spiritual engagement in various ways, and more. Interestingly enough much that we hear from our students is reinforced in discussions with our faculty and staff, as well as what the literature and practitioners are noting. Over the next few months we’ll be building a model for our campus that ensures best-practice in being intentionally transformational. We’ll be sharing more specific feedback in the new year as we further breakdown the results, and as we solicit feedback in moving forward. We want to ensure that our students continue to be highly engaged in the process and thank you for the amazing investment so many of you have made so far! Look for more details once we’re all back on campus next semester. We’re praying that you finish this semester well. Blessings, Sheldon J. Sheldon MacLeod is the Assistant Vice-President for Student Success & Transformation at Crandall University.
Sweat it, Shred it, Best it: Learning How to Best Yourself Overwhelmed yet? Making a change is hard and is at times frustrating. Keep goals, accept frustration, sweat it out, and enjoy the benefits of a balanced diet and fitness routine. Here’s my last bit of advice for the semester: five tips to help you better your gym sessions: Mir’s 5 Tips to a Better Workout: 1. Plan ahead – write out your workout plan before arriving at the gym, 2. Proper pre-workout nutrition: eat a snack 1-2 hours before hand consisting of moderate carb intake and protein intake with a pre-workout supplement or coffee taken at least 30 minutes before, 3. Use your phone only for a timer and music, otherwise, put it on airplane mode to eliminate any distractions, 4. Best yourself: keep consistent goals and push yourself, 5. FOCUS: engage yourself, do the work, and DO NOT GIVE UP!
Miranda Roberts is a fourth year history major from Moncton, New Brunswick. She began her health and fitness journey a year and a half ago. She enjoys hiking, cooking, and weight lifting. She is an extroverted young adult who is looking forward to being a future archaeologist and professor.
Spicy Crandall Memes
Crandall Poll: Christmas Treats Well, Remembrance Day has come and passed. You know what that means: it’s that time of year where we drink 10 gallons of eggnog in one week and finish “freshman 15” a semester early… Or was that just me last year? Being the Christmas season and all, this edition’s poll asked for your favourite Yuletide treats. As earlier implied, I do have a bias here. Eggnog is definitely my favourite Christmas sweet, and probably just my favourite sweet period. Heck, let’s just go with favourite drink. Eggnog probably runs through my veins to be honest. The top response was candy canes, coming at a whopping 60% of the total votes, nearly doubling the 2nd place contender. I suppose this could be indicative of the rushed nature of students’ lives, as candy canes are very portable, making them preferable to sweets you couldn’t take to class, for instance. Or maybe people just like their treats like they like their sitcoms: instantly gratifying and of no substance. Oh, but I’m not supposed to be cynical during the Christmas season, am I? Apple cider and hot chocolate garnered 35% and 30%, respectively. You really can’t beat the tried-and-true traditional hot beverages. I like them mostly because they interrupt the otherwise incessant and boundlessly obnoxious criticism people level on Canada’s cold winters, if only for a moment. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen? Well, if you can’t stand the cold, get out of my country. Like, yeah, it’s right cold out. Are you surprised or something? Anyway, enough ranting, because up next is eggnog! I’m a little disappointed at the turnout though: only 25%. (Editor’s note: I’m not.) Hmm, I wonder if 5 students plus myself is enough to pressure the cafeteria to serve eggnog at meal times. Bringing up the rear, we have gingerbread and fruitcake. A grand total of one person voted for fruitcake. I think that definitely does the abomination justice. Now comes the fun part: the “others” section. We got everything from peanut butter balls, to Ganong’s chicken bones, to Oreo cream cheese balls, to “My Grammie's Cinnamon rolls (Christmas style).” But there was one response that really needs no introduction or explanation. It should be a Beacon article in and of itself: “Shortbread cookies: Have you ever craved the feeling of a wad of dust excreting in your mouth? If the answer is no, then may I inform you that dust has feelings too, and that dust also happens to be scrumptious (synonymous with pretty good). Once the cookie particles have ransacked the all moisture from your gaping teeth cave, then the cookie will reach the final form. It will be a compact present of enlightenment that will bestow two seconds of palatble [sic] Nirvana. And unlike the band, you can toss the cookies in the oven whenever you want them in you possession. Candy canes are nice as well.” Well done, my friend. Finally, it’s true that once you remove all the restrictions to the creative spirit of anonymous web users in the form of a “create your own” box… you will get trolls. So, to the respondent who thought “feces” was a good holiday treat… That’s what you’ll be getting instead of coal in your stocking this year. Christopher McCready is a second-year business student. He enjoys playing video games, browsing internet memes, listening to rock music, and trying to revive the Crandall original ping-pong variant, Loopit.
Keeping Up With the CSA: It’s hard to believe that this year’s Christmas Banquet has come and gone already! This year, the CSA held the banquet at the Royal Oaks Golf Club and it was a great success. 135 Crandall students (and guests) came out and enjoyed good food and good music. And they all looked pretty classy while doing it! A big thank you from the CSA to everyone who came out and made the night a success. And a special thank you to those who helped with setting up and tearing down, as well as all of the amazing performers. This month, the CSA will be having a gingerbread house decorating event on December 7th from 12pm-2pm. Come join us and wear your ugliest Christmas sweater. Merry Christmas and all the best during exams! Robynn MacCallum is a third year Psychology student. She enjoys serving on the CSA as the VP Internal, good food, cuddling her cat, and spending time with family and friends.
CU Cooking: Cheesecake Blondies This recipe was tricky the first time I used it but, the second time I made them, they were SO good! Start by preheating the oven to 350˚ Ingredients: 1 cup of butter, melted 1 cup of brown sugar 2 tsp. of vanilla 3 eggs 2 cups of flour ½ tsp. of baking powder ½ tsp. of salt One 8 oz. package of cream cheese (softened) ½ cup of sugar Instructions:
Critic’s Corner The New Mutants Trailer Review *spoiler alert in effect* -Deney: Today, fellow readers, we are going to diverge from our superior trailer reviews on genuinely good entertainment. Regretfully, this means we will be bringing you a ridiculous trailer that, in all honestly, we are just going to crap on the entire time because it is beyond all manner of reason. I don’t even know what Marvel is thinking at this point… -Frannie: What she is going on about would be the trailer for The New Mutants, Marvel’s desperate attempt to give the X-Men franchise a fresh face. Now, I have to say, I love X-Men. In fact, I love it far more than I do The Avengers, which has almost ended my eight year friendship with Deney on numerous occasions. -Let me just cut in and say that’s not true. -Maybe not entirely-NOT AT ALL! -We’ve had some heated debates, okay? Anywaaaay, I had high hopes for this movie when I first discovered that they were making it. I was excited to see mutants on the big screen again and was hoping to get some Magneto action. However, after actually watching the trailer, I was just confused and rather deflated. -I wouldn’t exactly call our discussions heated debates... But yes, this unfortunate spinoff left a very terrible first impression. What the heck are they thinking bringing the supernatural realm into XMen? A haunted house?!?! It’s ludicrous!
1. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and 2 eggs until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix this with the butter mixture until all combined. 1. In a separate small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in 1 egg. 2. Spread ⅔ of the batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Note: I also then take the pan (with the mix in it) and hit it off the counter a couple of times to ensure that there are no bubbles in the mix. 3. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the batter in a zigzag motion. Then spoon dollops of the remaining ⅓ of the original batter over the cream cheese mixture and swirl with a knife. Bake for 32-36 minutes or until batter is golden brown. Each oven is a little different, so I suggest beginning to watch it around 28-30 minutes. Your blondies may not take the same amount of time as listed. Taylor Craig is a fourth-year Psychology and BTh student. She’s a coffee addict, a food lover and a nap advocate. Sam Williams, fourth year science student. Very passionate about all things food, coffee, and penguins
-The young mutants—if they’re even mutants, that is—all appear to be held captive in some sort of government facility which is attempting to experiment on them (an incredibly original plot-line in this universe, HA). But things quickly take an unexpected turn when the trailer utilizes some typical horror movie tropes, transforming it into something else entirely. -That’s right. As we see suspicious drops of blood on fingertips, exploding washing machines with hands inside of them, and a mass of faces trying to burst through a wall, it becomes quite apparent that this movie is no longer a typical Marvel production. Instead, it’s crap. It’s what we refer to as feces, human waste, excrement, defecation, a movement of the bowels, etc. -Thank you, Human Thesaurus. The only good comments that I have are that Jonathan Byers from Stranger Things is in this, and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” is being sung by the children’s choir in the background. That’s it. -Marvel, why must you disappoint us so? We understand that everyone has their own tastes… so if you want to see this movie, by all means, go for it! It’ll be in theatres April 13th, 2018, and at the very least, it’ll be an escape from exams! Mark it down on your calendars, you thriller-loving-freaks. Deney Taylor is a second-year business student focusing in accounting. She is an antisocial recluse who rarely emerges from the depths of the internet, but when she does it’s most likely because she has to pretend to be a responsible adult (ugh). Frannie Branswell is a second year business major who isn’t playing basketball this year, I know right?! She loves making art, watching movies, and sleeping, all of which she sacrifices for school and good grades.
SHALLNOT Who We Are While “shall not” is usually used as a command to refrain, to withhold, or to compromise, Shallnot holds to the opposite: Thou shalt not be silenced. Shallnot is designed to be a forum and an opportunity for students to express their ideas –Kira Smith, Assistant Editor
{beautiful creature} A smile spread across his face As he stared at the beautiful creature; His heart erupted as he stood in his place. He admired her as she grabbed a vase To put the flowers in; he became happier
Meme Text: When She Sends Nudes Instead of Memes
As she moved with polite grace. His head was in outer space
In this world things can be quite frightful
As he took her to their feature,
But there are some things that are quite de-
So he forgot the worst case.
lightful.
He wakes in a new place;
There was this girl who stole my affection, But then she sent something that caught my attention. A meme was my hope, a welcome distraction,
Wires attached by an amateur And on his leg, is a brace. He tries to get up in haste
But to my disgust it was a visual infection
But is held down by a weird texture
Contrary to my shimmering hope,
And feels crushed by weights.
A nude was quite the revulsion.
A look of horror crosses his face
With my spirit crushed and heart saddened
As he finds out about his beautiful crea-
I moved on to another who sends memes made in heaven — Nova
ture. His heart twists and breaks As he lays in that place. — e.t.
12 Days of Group Projects On the due date of my projects, my group gave to me:
Our Purpose on Earth
12 Times New Roman 11 New Excuses
Our purpose on Earth
10 People Screaming
Is to feel our humanity
9 Planning Conflicts
While at the same time
8 Hours of Video
Feel the presence of God.
7 Useless Group Chats
To be subject to abuse
6 Letter Curse Words
Of any kind is to still
5 Nervous Breakdowns
Feel the presence of God,
4 Midnight Crises
Yet not feel the presence
3 Brand New Grudges
Of being human, of our humanity
2 Hours of Sleep
And the humanity of others.
1 D to get me my degree
By being treated fairly And humanely we then
— I. C. Plant
Both feel the dignity of Our humanity as well as
Where Are You Christmas? Where are you Christmas? I can not find you Why have you gone away?
Others; yet we also feel and Enjoy the presence of God, Selah! We are complete! — Shane Dickie
I have three essays All due tomorrow I guess it’s time to pray — Crew
Shallnot exists to express the views of all students from all walks of life. If you or someone you know has something to say—whether through pictures, essays, short stories, cartoons, poetry or any other form of art—please contact us at crandallbeacon@gmail.com with submissions.