Freshman Issue 2019

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THE

PULSE facebook.com/saupulse PHOTO BY Celeste Fendt

A u g u s t 2 3 , 2 0 1 9 • I s s u e 1 • Vo l u m e 7 • t h e s a u p u l s e . c o m


PREVIEW

TAB LE OF

CONTENTS LETTER F R OM S G A PAGE 4

P R O F ES S O R SUMMERS PAGES 8-9

F L AT L I N E PAGE 1 2

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thesaupulse.com • August 23, 2019

CO R E Y ROSS PAG E 5

S C H E D U L ES TO REMEMBER PAG E 10

F R ES H M A N P L AY L I ST PAG E 13

FAC I L I T Y U P DAT ES PAG E 6

F R ES H M A N S U RV I VA L GUIDE PAG E 11

AT H L E T E SUMMER TRIP PAG E 15


Celeste Fendt | Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

Editor’s Note

The Pulse Staff & Contributors 2019-20 Editor-in-Chief Celeste Fendt

Sales Manager Kaelyn Hale

Design Editor Celeste Fendt

Sales Representative Caytie Sprague

Associate Editor Caralyn Geyer

Section Editor Jared Boekenhauer

Designers Marissa Auxier Caralyn Geyer Staff Writers Ellie Brugger Rylie Hasselbach Conner Williams Sarah Williams August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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News

A Letter from the President’s Office Jubilee Jackson and Andrew Phelps

H

ello SAU! Our names are Jubilee Jackson and Andrew Phelps and we are your Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president for the 2019-2020 school year. Along with our cabinet, we are so excited to have the opportunity to serve the students, faculty and staff of Spring Arbor University (SAU) this year! Our SGA mission is to listen, serve and represent. To us, this means being intentional about reaching out to students and making them feel heard. When the door to the SGA office is open, come on in! Our policy is opendoor, literally. We want the office to be a welcoming and comforting environment for everyone on campus.

As we promised during the election, we want SGA to be the bridge between SAU students and the faculty and staff, but we need help to do so. We need to, and want to, be informed by students about what you are feeling and what you are looking for from us. Feel free to stop into the SGA office anytime an SGA member is in to chat, ask questions, bring concerns or requests or just to say ‘hi.’ We are here to serve you and we are excited to do so! The other part of SGA’s role here at Spring Arbor is to host awesome events that take place on campus! We are thrilled to bring back many classic events like Arbor Nights, Movie on the Lawn, Lip Sync and more. We also cannot wait to introduce a number of

new events throughout the year, so be on the lookout for those! We love the community here at SAU, so we also encourage you to come out to these events and hang out! Catch up with friends, meet some new ones, munch on free food and enjoy the awesome community that surrounds us. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for this school year and we are so excited to be a part of your experience here at this incredible university! See you around campus,

Jubilee Jackson Andrew Phelps

PHOTO FROM Facebook

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thesaupulse.com • August 23, 2019


The new Vice President for Student Development and Success

News

Introducing Corey Ross Celeste Fendt | Editor-in-Chief

Jump in”. This is the Corey Ross’s advice to all incoming freshmen. “Absolutely embrace this amazing community,” Ross said. As the new Vice President for student Development and Success, he jumped right in to this community, too. Since his family of five moved here in late July, he has already experienced the hospitality and graciousness of the Spring Arbor University (SAU) community. And, so far, that is one of his favorite things about working here. “The community here is phenomenal,” Ross said. “We’ve just been blown away.” Ross said another one of his favorite parts of working at the college level is interacting with students. Like the rest of the faculty and staff who are on campus during the summer, he is anxious for all the students to return to campus. In fact, this is one reason his family chose to buy a home close to SAU’s campus. Ross said he wants to be where the students are, whether that’s eating in the dining commons, sitting in the stands at an athletic event or participating in other campus activities. “If you see my family out and about, by all means, I totally want to engage with you,” Ross said. His passion for supporting students stems back to the Youth Ministry and Communications degrees

he earned from Greenville University. Along the way of deciding what to do with his life, he realized that the teaching portion of Youth Ministry was his calling. He decided to pursue graduate school and earned a Master’s of Theological Studies and Biblical Studies from the University of Notre Dame.

“Curate the events and activities that mesh with your academic goals and move you forward, not just keep you occupied.”

up staying there for 15 years. Ross said that Wilcoxson left a major impact on his life, both personally and professionally. He is grateful for the mentorship he received from Wilcoxson throughout that pivotal time in his life. Ross has also worked in other higher education settings, including five years at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota. Ross said he is eager to jump into this school year. He sees his daily work as an opportunity to cultivate a meaningful culture on campus to give students the time and space they need to grow.

Corey Ross, VP for Student Development and Success

After finishing his studies, Ross was recruited by Doug Wilcoxson to work at LeTourneau University, and he ended

PHOTO FROM Corey Ross

August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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News

Fall Campus Updates Sarah Williams | Staff Writer

A

few changes are coming to Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) campus this fall. According to Associate Dean of Students, Bobby Pratt, SAU is working on fitness center and beatification projects. The new fitness center will take up the majority of the space where the pool area was. Along with this, there will be physical therapy offices and classroom space for the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation (HHPR). Last spring, Student Development and Success conducted a student survey about what SAU students valued in a new fitness center. They used the data to consider the selection of equipment that was purchased. The goal is to finish the renovations by homecoming weekend. “This is going to be a beautiful space that will be a great addition to our campus and offer much more space and options for our campus to promote healthy living,” Pratt said. “The fitness

“The beautification project will help welcome visitors to campus and add more aesthetics to our already beautiful campus.”

center is going to be great for our students and provide them with a highquality facility and excellent equipment.” The beatification project also involves the removal of houses on campus to make new structures. Some of the houses have already been torn down and a few have yet to be. The removal of houses will make way for new

signage and arched structures that will more formally mark the entrance to SAU’s campus. Most of the beautification project will begin after M-60 roadwork is completed. “The beautification project will help welcome visitors to campus and add more aesthetics to our already beautiful campus,” Pratt said. The fitness center and beautification projects have been funded by monetary gifts from SAU donors. “I am really excited about both of these projects,” Mr. Pratt said.

FUTURE FITNESS CENTER

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Bobby Pratt, Associate Dean of Students

thesaupulse.com • August 23, 2019


August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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Features

Summer

Caralyn Geyer | Associate Editor

Dr. Jeff Bilbro and his family traveled to Wisconsin to visit a friend’s farm. During his time there, Bilbro spoke about Wendell Berry as part of a summer Lyceum series.

“My wife, Carol, and I, went to England where I gave a paper on refuting atheism at the Cambridge Scholars’ Network,” Chuck White said. “In the picture I am leading a discussion with the PhD candidates.”

“One of the highlights of the summer was a trip to Calumet City with Kevin Brown and Jon Bahr from SAU to meet with my friend and colleague, Jeff Wright, CEO of Urban Ministries, and the Urban Ministries founder, Mel Banks,” Allen Knight said. “We met with them to discuss a variety of opportunities between our university and their business, which serves more than 50,000 churches in the United States.” PHOTOS PROVIDED BY Each Professor

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thesaupulse.com • August 23, 2019


Rylie Hasselbach | Staff Writer Sarah Williams | Staff Writer

For Dr. Dan Runyon, teaching the 20 visiting professors from Taiwan from June 30-July 18 at Spring Arbor University (SAU) was the highlight of his summer. Runyon also enjoyed participating in a 600-voice choir performance of “The Messiah” at the Sing! 2019 Conference in Nashville with his wife, Renee.

Features

Highlights

“My family visited Death Valley, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Las Vegas and several national parks in Utah,” Tom Kuntzleman said. “We climbed mountains, biked across the Golden Gate Bridge and visited the site where U2’s Joshua Tree is located (it’s no longer standing).”

“I directed ‘Violet’ at the Croswell, hosted a wedding reception in my backyard, and enjoyed my garden! Oh and watched ‘Star Wars’ on the back of my dad’s barn,” said Jen Letherer.

August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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Features

Campus Schedules DINING COMMONS HOURS MONDAY - FRIDAY HOT BREAKFAST: 7:15 A.M.-9:30 A.M. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST: 9:30 A.M.-10:30A.M. LUNCH: 11 A.M.- 1:30 P.M. LIGHT DINING: 1:30 P.M.-3:30 P.M. DINNER: 5:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M.

FIELDHOUSE HOURS MONDAY-THURSDAY: 6:00 A.M.10:00 P.M. FRIDAY: 6:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M. SATURDAY: 10:00 A.M.-6:00 P.M. SUNDAY: CLOSED

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: BRUNCH: 11 A.M.-1:30 P.M. LIGHT DINING: 1:30 P.M.-3:30 P.M. DINNER: 4:30 P.M.-6 P.M.

COUGAR DEN HOURS MONDAY-FRIDAY, 11 A.M.-11P.M. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 7 P.M.-11 P.M. MEAL EXCHANGE HOURS MONDAY-FRIDAY LUNCH: 11 A.M.-3 P.M. DINNER: 4:30 P.M.-8:30 P.M. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY DINNER: 7:00 P.M.-8:30 P.M.

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thesaupulse.com • August 23, 2019

LIBRARY HOURS MONDAY-THURSDAY: 7:30 A.M.-MIDNIGHT FRIDAY: 7:30 A.M.-6:30 P.M.


Caralyn Geyer | Associate Editor

N

ew chapters of life can be exciting, but starting them is often the hardest part. Faced with the unknowns, the future can seem daunting and uncertain rather than bright and fruitful. College is no exception to this. But before the “could’s” begin rolling around, it is important to remember that while it may be the first time for some, there are many other who have gone before. In fact, no one is alone in starting out the new school year, especially if it is freshman year, because there is an entirely new class going into the same school year and experiences as those around them standing in the same circle at Parting at the Plaza, cutting the same ribbon and finding their Core group. And so it begins,but to start the new school year, one must have their school supplies, and some of the best can be found in advice from upperclassmen at Spring Arbor University (SAU). Olivia (Liv) Louthan, senior and Peer Advisor (PA), said the most important thing a freshman can do in the first semester is to utilize their PA. “It’s [a PA’s] job to help [freshmen] and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll always figure out how to help,” Louthan said. While they may not know all the answers, PAs have at least been through their freshman year and will point anyone in the right direction. Fielding questions is their job, according to Louthan. Senior Rachel Merchant said her survival guide starts with relationships, specifically those between students and professors. “Get to know your professors,” Merchant said. “They are the ones who can and will help you succeed.” The teaching faculty at SAU is there

to challenge student minds, but also to help students reach their full potential for their unique future. Merchant also suggests new students should find their classrooms the day before classes start as part of this success so it does not add to the first-day stress. She also said finding a friend (or two) in each class is beneficial in case one misses a class. That way, there will be someone to share notes with and even study for exams with.Going from high school where the

“ ”

There’s an entire campus full of people with advice to make the year smoother. All you have to do is ask. Rachel Merchant

Also, not to be afraidto change majors a couple of times because according to statistics, more than half of all freshman change their major in the first year.Blake Tubbs, Criminal Justice major and SAU alumnus, said looking back on his college experience, he could have avoided some struggles with simple changes during his first year while adjusting to the college routine. “Have good time management... because that was something I struggled with my freshman year of college. And don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are confused. When I was a freshman, I was a bit shy in the sense of speaking out. I never wanted to look dumb, but things would have been a lot easier if I had spoken up a bit more,” Tubbs said. As nerve-racking as starting the college experience may seem, remembering to stop, take a breath, and ask questions can often be the last thing on the checklist, but at SAU, “there’s an entire campus full of people with advice to make the year smoother. All you have to do is ask,” said Merchant. And if all else fails, at least remember a notebook and pencil for class.

Features

The Freshman Survival Guide

question is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” to college where it is, “What are you majoring in?” many feel the pressure to choose and commit to a major very quickly. Senior Sarah Lantis, Psychology major and Youth Ministry minor,said her biggest advice to freshman is that it is important to remember how much time there is to choose, as it is a significant decision.

August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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A&E

A Freshman’s Guide to Campus Bathrooms: A Comprehensive Review Ellie Brugger | Staff Writer

PHOTO BY Ellie Brugger

Music Building Bathrooms

Poling Center Single Stalls

First of all, the location of these bathrooms is ideal. They are the only johns in the building, other than the ones connected to the auditorium. A bathroom upstairs? No. This is your only option. A sprinkling of wholesome graffiti really adds to the atmosphere of Christian College Your Parents Went To, and offsets the horrors of little to no air circulation, in addition to cramped quarters shared by three departments worth of students, and faucets that spray all over and get your clothes wet. They could be worse. But they could also be significantly better.

One of the highlights includes a full, locking door so there is no possibility of making awkward eye contact with a person outside the stall through gaps in the door. There is also a full-length mirror, backpack/coat hooks and lotion (at least in the girls’, the boys are not so lucky in this regard). To be fair it is inconvenient that these are gendered bathrooms, because sometimes the girls’ line is really long and you end up being late to class when the bathrooms are identical and you could have used the boys because there was no line. Otherwise, this location would receive five stars.

4/10

Science Building Bathrooms Meh.

Lowell Lobby Loos Despite the luxury of a single stall, the location of these loos makes them less than accommodating. Sure, bowel movements have been normalized by the hit children’s book, “Everyone Poops,” but there is still a sense of shame that arises when the couples in the lobby of Lowell can smell your hard work. Walking past everyone while it wafts out the door takes a lot of courage. But hey, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go *wink wink*” Joshua 1:9. Brownie points for adventure.

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thesaupulse.com • August 23, 2019

Four and a half stars.

Cougar Den Commodes The Commodes are fairly new and there is nothing to complain about. It is the kind of bathroom where you literally don’t think about how nice or not nice it is. You use it and it doesn’t faze you because it’s perfectly adequate. There is not too much foot traffic except during meal times, but there are enough stalls and sinks so that it doesn’t get too crowded. Be prepared to run into some members of the administration while you’re doin’ your business, because their offices are in the same hall. You will get to know them through small talk because of the humble atmosphere a public restroom provides. Administration Approved


Poling Lobby

Event open for all current students. Come meet SAU alumni and learn about their professions. Refreshments provided. August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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Caralyn Geyer | Associate Editor

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hile the rest of the campus was settling in to summer life for this summer, 24 Spring Arbor University (SAU) sports team captains were packing up and heading to Gainey Ranch. The Gainey family, donor to SAU and namesake of the girls’ dorm, owns hundreds of acres in Glen, Montana, complete with a lodge and cabins. Their facility is used by several other NAIA schools including SAU for trips and retreats. During the trip, SAU athletes took five days filled with sessions to “cultivate and grow leadership qualities” in order to make a positive impact on their individual teams. Their schedule throughout the week started with an optional workout time at 6:30 a.m. followed by a devotional session and breakfast, leaderships time, team building, lunch, free time, dinner, chapel and time for activities after the day’s remaining sessions. Senior Health and Exercise Science major Brooke Brotzman, captain of the Women’s Golf team, said the trip was important for learning

leadership and communication skills for those whowill be role models for their sports teams this year, giving something to all captains to bring back to SAU with them. Brotzman said her favorite part of the trip was the hike up the mountain. She said the team hiked straight up without using a trail, something she had never done before. For her, it was challenging at times, but it was the end result that was “totally worth it.” Brotzman said this experience helped her gain an understanding and an appreciation for the other sports teams, and even allowed her to come out with more athlete friends, as most went into the trip without knowing each other. Zach Lamphere, a junior track and field captain and Health and Exercise Science major, said the sessions were beneficial because the athletes were able to learn what it means to be an example as a captain. Lamphere said his biggest takeaway was realizing that everyone communicates differently. “Even if

Sports

SAU Sports Captains: From Michigan to Montana

something makes sense in my mind, someone else may take [what is said] in a completely different way. At one point, me and another person were trying to say the same thing but in two opposite ways, so we had to work together to communicate the same message,” Lamphere said. According to Lamphere and Brotzman, the captains’ trip is something that should be continued for the sports team leaders at SAU for years to come because though the teams continue to change year to year, one thing that must remain the same is each team’s ability to have a strong older leader as an example. “It’s important not just so that one of us can be a leader, but so we can demonstrate what leading looks like, and this is super important for sports teams because if there is no one to fill this role, everyone begins to think they’re the leader, so training those who will be central figures tothe team, other than coaches, is very important so peers can ask questions and have someone to go to,” said Lamphere.

August 23, 2019 • thesaupulse.com

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