PULSE
Fe b r u a r y 2 3 , 2 0 1 8 • I s s u e 5 • Vo l u m e 5 • t h e s a u p u l s e . c o m
THE
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OUT FROM THE SHADOWS SAU students and administration bring conversations of LGBTQ+ identity and faith into the light (pages 12-15)
PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson
PREVIEW
TAB LE OF
CONTENTS
PROFESSIONAL POET SHARES RECENT BOOK
ART SHOW METALSMITHS
PAGE 4
Art department brings big bearded guys to the art gallery
PAGES 6-7
WHY STUDENTS WORK FOR SGA PAGE 8
PROFESSOR SPOTLIGHT: ROXANNE KAUFFMAN PAGE 10
LGBTQ+ STUDENT PERSPECTIVES
FLATLINE
PAGE 16
PAGES 12-13
COMMUTER CULTURE PAGE 11
LGBTQ+ AND THE ADMINISTRATION PAGES 14-15
THE OLD SETTLER
The first all-black cast in SAU makes history
PAGE 18-19
ARTIST REVIEW: TROYE SIVAN PAGE 17
PHOTO BY Kelsey Hunt
OSCAR NOMINATIONS PAGES 20-21
PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson
INDOOR TRAINING
When weather forces summer sports inside, how do athletes cope? PAGE 22
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SAU Flickr
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WINTER OLYMPICS FUN FACTS PAGE 23
EDITORIAL
Editor’s Note I fear a lot.
Kayla Williamson | Editor-in-Chief Out of the 27 issues of The Pulse I’ve been a part of, this issue will stick with me through graduation. Not because of how this issue is received or the stress and worry that came with producing it. But because of the realization of a bigger issue than LGBTQ+ rights or Free Methodist heritage. There’s a fear on campus. It’s fed to us by the news. It’s ingrained in our culture. It’s a prevalent and self-sustaining atmosphere that cannot be assuaged now, or in 5 years, or even in 10. And it’s something that is preventing our community, our family as children of God, from interacting and empathizing with each other. After meeting with students and administration in the last three weeks, I’ve noticed hesitancy. They were hesitant to speak their minds without judgement, to share candidly without fear. Fear of consequences for something that hasn’t happened. Fear of suspicion. Fear of offending someone. Fear of negative response. Fear of apathy. Fear of losing friends. Fear of losing donors. Fear of the unknown. There’s a weird tension in this fear. At an individual level, conversation is open and empathetic. Yet there is still an atmosphere of general boogey-man apprehension. The LGBTQ+ community fear “administration” will punish them. Affirming Christians fear being judged. Nonaffirming Christians fear losing their friends. I fear a lot. I fear misrepresenting both sides. I fear people’s preconceived notions about who I am or what I believe will enforce partial narratives on both sides. I fear losing friends because I haven’t represented them well enough. I fear that these conversations and stories from the LGBTQ+ community and the administration will be deemed inconsequential. I fear nobody will read this issue and it’ll be swept under the rug. I fear my reputation and rapport will be lowered. I fear The Pulse’s reputation as a balanced news source will be affected because of this single issue rather than by all the good we have tried to do and all the conversations we have started. I fear this issue will be remembered for years to come. And I hope it will.
Somewhere in our journey toward reconciliation, we’ve been taught false dichotomies. Is intimate conversation the same as hushed conversation? Is speaking at chapel the same as generalizing the student body? Is not affirming the LGBTQ+ community the same as not loving them? Reconciliation is calling out those distorted truths. It’s open minds and open ears willing to listen to the other side. It’s a grace to build relationships even though you disagree. As my friend Erin Couch puts it, it’s an absence of fear and pride. As you read this issue, I hope your fear and pride does not prevent you from empathizing with the other side. They almost prevented me from even tackling the topic, so I pray they will not stop your hands from flipping to pages 12-15. Be the light. Illuminate different perspectives. Choose to shine in darkness. Jesus engaged with everyone who was willing to engage with him. Isn’t affirming the Imago Dei the most important identity to affirm?
Have a response? Send us a Letter to the Editor, and we’ll print it in the next issue! Email us at thesaupulse@arbor.edu.
The Pulse Staff 2017-2018 Editor-in-Chief Kayla Williamson
Sales Manager Kaelyn Hale
Online Writer Conner Williams
Associate Editor Elise Emmert
Design Editor Andri Hill
News Editor Nathan Salsbury
Designers Morgan Caroland Makana Geppert Alexis Hall Kelsey Hunt Emily Norton
Video Team Makana Geppert John Kroll Ethan Sox
Features Editor Celeste Fendt A&E Editor Liz Pence Sports Editor Alex Anhalt Video Team Manager Ryan Sisk
Staff Writers Collin Caroland Heather Clark Hannah Shimanek Caralyn Geyer Conner Williams
Sales Representatives Kelsey Brannon Cole McEldowney Caytie Sprague Marketing Coordinators Aaliyah Winters Kaleigh Bone Vincent Nowak
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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News
Principled Poetics: James Matthew Wilson presents at SAU Elise Emmert | Associate Editor
I
t started with a digital friendship. Assistant professor of English Jeffrey Bilbro met author and professor James Matthew Wilson online through their mutual connection to Front Porch Republic, a blog focused on “place, limits, and liberty.” Last year, at a Christianity and Literature conference in Grove City, Bilbro and Wilson met in person and had dinner together.
If you missed the reading and would like to read some of Wilson’s poetry, a sample of his work can be found at: https://www.jamesmatthewwilson.com/poetry.html.
Thanks to their connection, Spring Arbor University had the opportunity to host Wilson, and award-winning poet, for a reading on February 21. “I’ve told him, for over a year, ‘James, any time you’re in Michigan let me know and I’ll chip in to your PHOTO FROM jamesmatthewwilson.com/ travel fund so you can stop by,’” Bilbro said. Wilson is an associate professor of Religion and Literature at Villanova University. So far, he has published seven books, including the full-length book of poetry he read from at the reading, “Some Permanent Things.” He also contributes to various magazines and journals. “He is the poetry editor for “Modern Age,” kind of a big journal,” Bilbro said. “By ‘big’ I mean no one’s heard of it, that’s all. ‘Big’ is relative.” Bilbro said he hoped faculty and students of all majors would take advantage of the poetry reading and come to hear Wilson’s work. English majors, he said, would have the chance to ask questions of
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thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
a contemporary poet who is working and excelling in a field they might be interested in pursuing. Students in other majors would be able to enjoy an event outside their discipline. One of the classes Bilbro teaches this semester has been reading a lot of epic poetry. Hearing from Wilson, Bilbro said, could help remind students that poetry is not merely a literature form of the past. “Literature is an active, living tradition in our contemporary world,” Bilbro said. “And particularly in this case, formal verse.” Wilson’s poetry is written in formal verse and is characterized by meter and rhyme. His Catholic tradition, and other experiences in his life, help shape his work. Referencing a poem where Wilson compares his craft of poetry to his dad’s career in the craft of carpentry, Bilbro calls Wilson’s poetry “philosophical and theologically rich” while also being “very hands-on.” “He firmly believes...in truth and beauty and in the way that poetry can serve to articulate and convey the transcendentals,” Bilbro said.
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February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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News
Forging New Paths F
rom February 4 to March 4, Ganton Art gallery is hosting its first blacksmith art show, “Crafted in Michigan.” The show exhibits the work of five local Michigan smiths: Scott Lankton, Joel Sanderson, John Rayer, Doug Thayer and Andrew Kyte. At the opening of the show, Sanderson’s presentation focus on how though metalwork differs from other kinds of art, it still shares the same heart. According to Sanderson, there is a fundamental difference between artists and craftsmen. “A craftsman pursues his work based on an interest in the process,” Sanderson said, while an artist pursues the end result of the work and an emotional response associated with the piece. He said he started by working like a craftsman, focusing on technical challenges and precision. The first piece he created for an emotional response, and also his frist piece sold, was a butterfly table. This combination of technical skill and artistic vision is visible throughout the show’s pieces. Some clearly artistic ones, such as a mirror frame decoration or a standing spray of dogwood blossoms, show attention to detail and structure. Stair railings and gate samples, pieces that could have focused only on function, contain detailed, symmetrical twists and curves. While the intricate design in tables and frames may appear to be the most difficult work to forge, Rayer said for him, the
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thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
greatest challenge is creating the symmetry and alignment of curved stair railings. Sanderson said the three-dimensional nature of the works requires an interaction with the viewer. It takes more time to appreciate the full nature of the piece, which also means taking into account the subtler technical skills in the forging and welding. He encouraged viewers to take time to fully comprehend the combined art and skill each piece embodies.
“It’s a dialogue between the artist, the object and the person viewing it,” Lankton said. Lankton’s work includes a replica of a historical sword with an unusual forging pattern, although his weapons work is not included in the gallery exhibit. He said he is focusing more on railing and gate work now, some of which can be seen in the gallery. John Rayer learned blacksmithing from Lankton and now has his own business. Each piece, for Rayer, has qualities that
Art gallery features first metalwork show News
Heather Clark | Staff Writer
“ ”
Stand there, give them a moment, and let them carry you beyond the walls of the gallery. Joel Sanderson
make it unique, and every project provides its own challenges. Rayer has created pieces ranging from a decorative table with a hummingbird design, displayed in the exhibit, to a massive koi fish-patterned outdoor stair railing. Even when creating what might seem like simple stock pieces, Rayer finds the originality. In his opinion, there are no boring jobs. Rayer constantly looks for new ways to stretch his craft, even when he is “limited by physics, my technical abilities, and [people’s] budget.” Blacksmith works are a new and unique addition to the art gallery’s typical shows. Sanderson said visitors to the show should “stand there, give them a moment, and let them carry you beyond the walls of the gallery.” PHOTOS BY Kelsey Hunt
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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News
Finding the Balance: Services and Compensation on SGA Collin Caroland | Staff Writer
W
ith the elections for the Student Government Association (SGA) approaching, discussion about what the job entails can raise the question of whether students might believe the compensation is proper for the workload. The SGA is a student-led organization responsible for many oncampus events and activities. Each cabinet position requires a different level of responsibility, and there are a variety of pay-grades and compensation methods. For the most part, members are paid on a hybrid system of salary and hourly wages.
“
I think a lot of people join for the experience, but I know that some people just do it because they are passionate about the campus or making a difference and changing things.
”
“At the beginning of the year, before we even select our cabinet, we determine the certain amount of hours that each job is going to take,” said current Student President, Richard Harris. “Many of the individuals have that set amount of hours that they are paid every week, because it’s not every week that they’re going to be busy. At the beginning of the year we were very busy, but as we move forward later into the year where we don’t do that much, we’re still paid that amount of hours.” If the members feel that their workload is too strenuous, the cabinets can approve a temporary wage increase. This allows the workers to feel compensated fairly. Certain cabinet positions are compensated on a commission, for projects like Chapel videos.While several SGA members feel that the monetary compensation is fair, not all are in it for the money.
“I think a lot of people join for the experience, but I know that some people just do it because they are passionate about the campus or making a difference and changing things,” said former event programmer Joy Jennings. “I know I wanted to give back to the campus, and I felt being an event programmer would be a great way to give back.” While money might be a factor in determining whether a student wishes to join, SGA stresses the term “servant leadership” when searching for students who want to join the organization. Students who are only worried about the paycheck may find that they do not enjoy their job on cabinet. But if students wish to give back to the campus in some capacity, then the opportunities afforded by the SGA might be something for them to pursue.
Joy Jennings
Richard Harris
Joy Jennings Former Event Programmer
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Former Event Programmer
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Student Body President
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Features
Kaufman’s Krazy Life Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need Nathan Salsbury | News Editior
I
t’s late at night. Customers have been in and out of the 24-hour Denny’s all day. But one customer hasn’t left for hours. As people come and go, this customer speaks to as many visitors as she can, observing how people from different walks of life act. She even takes pictures of some of those people, as long as they’re okay with it. Assistant Professor of Art, Roxanne Kaufman, has completed many strange projects both before and after graduating from Spring Arbor University in 2008. Her Denny’s project was inspired by her desire to bring attention to people who might otherwise go unseen. “When I was an SAU student and while working through my master’s degree, my photography focused primarily on bringing attention to people who ‘fill in’ the world around us without really being noticed,” Kauffman said. Growing up in a small farming community in Ohio, the idea of a 24hour business was foreign to her. She
spent several days in Jackson, MI’s Denny’s observing customers and building relationships with anyone who crossed her path. Kaufman said she learned a tremendous amount about photographing people, even from the people she didn’t catch on camera. This project helped teach her to be thankful for every aspect of the creative process. The idea of photographing and speaking to people who aren’t always acknowledged also inspired other art projects for Kaufman. Once, she spent time meeting with semi-truck drivers. “Our highways are filled with semis coming and going, bringing all the things we need to live and more to the stores we shop at,” Kaufman said. “Who ever thinks about how the merchandise and food they buy gets to the store?” Aside from these projects, Kaufman has spent many years working in various art-related jobs. Prior to her four years at SAU, she worked as the Head of Layout and Design at Williams Co. PROVIDED BY Roxanne Kaufman
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thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
PROVIDED BY Roxanne Kaufman
Publishing, as an adjunct instructor of art at Hillsdale College and Jackson College, a full time Professor of Humanities at Trine University and as a full-time studio photographer for Barbara Knights-Hale photography. But art is not her only hobby. Since she is the third generation of equestrians in her mother’s family, Kaufman said she has never known life without horses. But for Kauffman, there is an added twist; a bow and arrow in her hands. “I am an aspiring ground and mounted archer,” Kaufman said. “I began horseback archery in 2016 and currently train with one of the top horse archers in the world, Lukas Novotn.” Kaufman began horseback archery to find a sport in the horse world that would appeal to her son and step sons. This is important to her because she feels that the horseback riding community in the United States appeals mostly to females, which is not the case in other countries. Whether she is at home with her family and animals or out and about working on an art project, Kaufman hopes to continue learning and teaching new life lessons.
Features
The Life of a Commuter
Scheduling your day when you live off campus PHOTO BY Emily Norton
Caralyn Geyer | Staff Writer
F
or resident students on Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) campus, the walk to class is usually the only “commute” to worry about on a typical day. For commuter students, however, there is more to think about than just a stroll across the plaza. Five mornings a week, these students must keep a tight schedule in order to get to class, do their homework, and participate in the SAU community. Evan Denney is a junior at Horton Hanover High School and an SAU dual enroll student. Three days per week, Denney must travel to both his high school and SAU for classes. Denney takes two courses through SAU, one online and one on campus. “I have a flexible schedule, but it is hard to switch environments going from high school to college to home,” Denney said. “But I like the different classes every day. They are more fun and relaxed [in college].” Freshman Zach White is a commuter as well as an athlete. White said every morning he gets up at 6:50 a.m., packs his bags for class and for bowling practice and gets to SAU for his classes
at 7:45 a.m. Between classes, White eats in the DC and does homework in the library. After bowling practice from 5:20-8:30, he goes home, eats dinner and goes to bed to be ready for the next day. That means almost 14 hours of constant movement. “I always have to be looking a day ahead...I have very full days between class, homework, and sports, so on days when I don’t have many classes, I learn to fill my time by doing homework or going to work,” White said. Sophomore Aleea Lonabarger has experienced life as both a residential and a commuter student at SAU. Lonabarger lived in Gainey Hall her freshman year. In the fall of her sophomore year she decided to commute to save money.
During her days as a commuter, she woke up every morning at 6:45 and had to leave for school before 7:45 because of her hour-long commute from Ohio. When her classes ended at 3 p.m., she drove back home and worked from 7p.m. to 9p.m. “Then it was homework and getting to bed and then my day would start all over again...[As a commuter] you have more responsibility and have to balance home, school, and your other activities, while also trying to stay connected on campus.”
Tips from the commuters: • • • • •
Learn to manage time Find a balance Spend time with friends on campus and go to events Don’t get too caught up at home DRINK COFFEE!
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Kindling Conversation SAU students and alumni on being LGBTQ+ on a conservative campus Elise Emmert | Associate Editor
C
aitlin Stout, class of 2017, grew up in Jackson and first learned about SAU through her church. The Spring Arbor University (SAU) students in her youth group were part of what convinced her to come to school here. Stout said the idea of having a Christian community on campus also drew her in. During her four years here, Stout said she grew significantly in her faith and as a dedicated supporter of social justice. “A lot of [my growth] has been a result of the fact that this has been a very difficult place to be a gay Christian,” Stout said. For members of the LGBTQ+ community at SAU, finding support in the form of a leader or mentor can be challenging because of limits imposed by the student handbook and community guidelines. Stout said what helped her through the difficult times was the realization that she was not alone, and the group of friends that was alongside her showing support.
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Celeste Fendt | Features Editor “I always kind of joke that SAU has made me a better Christian but not in any of the ways they intended to,” Stout said. “The LGBT community, both on this campus and at large, has kind of been the group of people who have shown me what church should look like.” According to senior W. Cody Pitts, the LGBTQ+ community works mostly underground. But this, he said, is not because of harassment from other students. “A lot of people that I think go here who are in the (LGBTQ+) community love our community and love the people here,” Pitts said. Pitts came to SAU wanting to be an activist for the LGBTQ+ community on campus, and spent his sophomore year questioning different things about himself and how he identified before coming out to a few close friends and family. Later, after working as an RA his sophomore and junior years, Pitts left the job behind since he decided he could no longer
thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
continue to agree with everything the school stood for, a contract requirement “I just for student leaders. Since coming out people publicly, Pitts came to be a type of leader to other conver students on campus who came to him with with questions. He also said underst he has been “a lot happier” this year that (for) than he had been in the past. you’re talki Ben Coakley, an SAU class of someone in th 2017 alumnus, personal f said most of the people he encountered while on Ben Coa campus were willing to have class of conversations with him concerning sexuality, even when they were non-affirming. Large-scale conversations, he said, probably did not happen as often
because people were afraid of upsetting others with their ideas or opinions. Coakley said he felt “different” growing up, but didn’t know anyone who identified as LGBTQ+ and didn’t have the language to describe what he was feeling. This kept him from being able to have a conversation with himself about sexuality until he met students his freshman year who identified as gay. During his freshman year, t want Coakley thought he was the to have only student wondering about his sexuality because he did not have anyone rsation to talk to. Meeting other h the LGBTQ+ students on campus gave him a tanding support system of people to talk to with ) someone whom he felt more at ease. ing to or for “The thing he room, this is that I hate most is any student for them.” feeling like they’re alone and feeling like they don’t have akley, a support system, for whatever f 2017 reason,” Coakley said. “That should be a concern for everyone, regardless of your theology.”
LGBTQ+ students not only face feeling alone on campus, but also face being afraid of coming out because of handbook guidelines. Because the handbook prohibits the defense or advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle, even something as simple as identifying as LGBTQ+ could be seen as breaking school policies. An anonymous member of the LGBTQ+ community at SAU said the student body has been their biggest support system on campus. Not every student, however, contributes to this support. The student said most SAU students have validated and protected the LGBTQ+ students, but others dismiss them. “When it’s something that you can’t change about you, it really hurts when people put that down and say that it doesn’t exist,” the student said.
Dreams for the Future Despite the difficulties LGBTQ+ students face on campus, some do have a vision for the future of the community. For Coakley, progress is best found in visibility and dialogue. This means both acknowledging there are LGBTQ+ students on campus and allowing conversation about differing viewpoints to take place publicly.
“I just want people to have conversation with the understanding that (for) someone you’re talking to or for someone in the room, this is personal for them,” Coakley said. The anonymous student doesn’t expect SAU to become affirming of the LGBTQ+ community anytime soon. But they hope it will become more open about this crucial topic by hosting panel discussions and creating a more inviting atmosphere. Pitts agrees with the emphasis on representation, and hopes the school would eventually allow the LGBTQ+ community to form a group or organization where they could publicly affirm what they believe. With this, he said students could approach the group, start conversations and come to their own conclusions. The goal is not necessarily to make the school change its values or beliefs. The Free Methodist Church does not affirm homosexuality, but Pitts said part of living in a contemporary world is being able to engage with people who disagree with you. A place for students to be out publicly and support the LGBTQ+ community without fear would embody that. “It’s not really about what you believe,” Pitts said. “It’s about showing people love.”
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Illumination and Adm SAU admin on their hopes to foster dialogue with LBGTQ+ students
A
Kayla Williamson | Editor-in-Chief
worn green armchair sits in the corner surrounded by shelves of encyclopedias, devotionals and Biblical commentaries. Papers, reading glasses, three used mugs and a ping pong ball are scattered on a desk across from it. Some consider it a safe space to talk about their sexual identity. “I don’t know how, but some [students] have chosen to come talk to me about it,” University Chaplain Brian Kono said. “As they sit in that chair and talk, I try to never make my opinion or my belief stand above the person or my relationship with them.” The bulk of their conversation is not about what the Bible says about sexuality, but how they are processing this with
their family, what shapes their identity, why they think God made them this way. It is a conversation full of questions and listening. It is a conversation an estimated 9.5 million Americans have had, according to a study by the Williams Institute in 2014. It is conversation the Spring Arbor University (SAU) administration is trying to cultivate. Living on a school campus that prohibits homosexual behavior creates a student perceived barrier to cultivating an environment of welcome conversation and loving support. Bridging that gap while maintaining student handbook rules is a challenge administrators like Kono are trying to overcome.
Whether the attempts land successfully or not depends on the level of trust at an individual level. “I hope that it’s because they trust me,” Kono said. “They know my heart. It’s not unique to me. You know those that you trust because of the good conversations you have with them.”
The role of community standards In a meeting with students, a girl asked Vice President for Student Success and Calling Kim Hayworth if someone has ever come out to her. Her answer: absolutely. “She was shocked, and her shock shocked me,” Hayworth said. “That
Strangers Like Me - Anna Tabone’s Story I
n high school in 2002, Anna Tabone had a crush. She and her friend Joe had agreed to go to prom together. A week before the dance, he told her he was gay. That was the first time Tabone was challenged by what her conservative upbringing had taught her about the lifestyle of the LGBTQ+ community. “But we went to prom together [with] one of our gay friends and one my best friends, and it was a blast,” Tabone said. “In that sense, Joe is not an ‘other’ to me. [He’s] someone I really knew and really cared about.”
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As a former Resident Director (RD), Community of Learners (COL) leader and now Career Advisor, Tabone has taught and mentored several students in the LGBTQ+ community. She has had students who came out to her as an RD, as someone who will walk with them before they are ready to come out to anyone else. “That, I feel was maybe one of the most treasured gifts, to have a student trust you with their real self,” Tabone said. “[It] still really chokes me up.” Engaging with the LGBTQ+ community, or anyone considered
thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
“other,” is a fundamental Christian action, not just a principle, Tabone said. They become less of a stranger if their story is told and they are in an environment where they can be themselves. Engagement starts in small ways, Tabone said. “I see both students and staff faculty just get into this comfortable rut,” Tabone said. “When we’re in stressful day-to-day things, we just want to sit with people we know at the DC instead of meeting someone new and taking time to listen.”
ministration was very revealing to me that a student didn’t think they could come out to me or an administrator without there being some sort of response from us.” For Hayworth, the challenge was realizing student perception of administration—that if someone came out to an administrator, unknown concequences await. She realized the effort she and other administrators will have to do to overcome urban legends or the label of “administration.” Both she and Associate Vice President for Student Development and Learning Dan Vanderhill emphasize the difference between identifying as LGBTQ+ and participating in LGBTQ+ behavior. The Student Handbook states, “All students, regardless of age, residency or status, are required to abstain from cohabitation, any involvement in premarital or extramarital sexual activity, or homosexual activity (including samesex dating behaviors). This includes the promotion, advocacy, and defense of the aforementioned activities.” “I hope people understand that it’s not against the rules to be LGBTQ any more than it be against the rules for someone to want to have sex outside of marriage,” Vanderhill said. “It’s against behaviors which are clearly stated in the handbook. I think they’re fair expectations even if there’s room for disagreement on them.”
How will we engage with the other? A group of administrators and faculty started meeting at the beginning of fall to brainstorm how to be intentional with conversations.
It is both the school and an individual’s responsibility to create safe spaces where students can feel comfortable approaching someone, Hayworth said. “I don’t believe we should interact with, like this calculus in my mind of how I should interact or approach you,” Hayworth said. “To me that is very unhealthy. It’s like a false reality that we create when we affiliate with each other in that manner.” This “thinktank” as they call themselves, has met with students to tell their own stories and the stories of others. By listening to these students, they hope to create more events and opportunities to cultivate community engagement with each other. Next Monday’s chapel speaker, Adam Mearse, and the following dorm talks that night are efforts to “elevate” the conversation. Yet there is a barrier between the LGBTQ+ community and the nonaffirming. SAU is built on the Free Methodist heritage, which does not affirm the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. So how can the SAU community engage with each other without forgetting that heritage? “I don’t have a good answer because I think it can be interpreted as a very painful thing to be nonaffirming, but I do believe there’s ways to be so loving and non-affirming,” Tabone said. Kono is still wrestling with how to best advocate for the other on campus. “This is a difficult conversation to have,” Kono said. “The weight of the tension that comes is something that I feel very greatly. It becomes a weight. Yes, it can become a negative thing, but I feel it because of the weight of importance that we, as a community called Christian, try to engage these conversations well.” February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Flatline
Please, sir may I have some swipes? The hungry commuter epidemic Conner Williams | Staff Writer For students who reside on campus, the digital currency known as meal swipes may seem a relatively mundane part of college life. When you’re hungry, you send a message to your group chat, and you and your friends hand over your student I.D.s without a second thought. For commuters and village residents, however, meal swipes are a matter of life and death. The value of meal swipes has never been so clear as it has been this week, when non-traditional students began to congregate outside the dining commons in a massive, moaning crowd. “They just kind of stand there,” reports an Ormston resident. “They look you in the eyes as if to say: ‘You have never known hunger such as mine.’” Resident students have begun to feel growing discomfort at
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the horde of searching eyes they must walk past every time they want food. One commuter gripped the collar of a passing student athlete and cried: “Please sir! I haven’t eaten since breakfast! Haven’t you any mercy? Haven’t you any mercy for a starving man like me?’” A student worker in the dining commons reports that the mass of commuters seems to be more thoroughly covered in dirt and dressed in increasingly threadbare clothing with every passing day. “I don’t understand how they get so dirty,” she said. “All of them have cars, so there’s no reason for them to look so destitute.” In a valiant effort to attract the sympathies of the resident students who pass them by, the commuters have begun to hold signs with such heartwarming platitudes as “Jesus bless you!” and “1 swipe = 1 prayer.” This latest strategy has almost swayed the hearts of the resident students to give commuters the swipes they need. “They just look so pitiful,” reports one student. “I feel like I’m looking at something out of Oliver Twist every time I get lunch. I can’t help but swipe a few of them in.
thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
Yesterday I told a girl I would swipe her in and she burst into tears and said ‘Thank you, dear sir. I have three children at home and have not had a bite to eat for fear that they will starve.’ That was weird, because I go to church with her and she doesn’t have any kids.” The crowd of commuters reports great thankfulness for the generosity of the resident students who swipe them into the dining commons. “I have always relied on the kindness of strangers,” reports a commuter wearing a wool overcoat covered in flannel patches and bearing a sign that reads, “Food for a Wretched Woman?” She turned away from the interviewer to cling to the sleeve of a passing student and keen wordlessly. The crowd of miserable-looking students outside the dining commons shows no sign of dispersing any time soon.
Troye Sivan’s Sophomore Singles Liz Pence | A&E Editor
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t took over ten years for artist Troye Sivan to rise from Australia’s boy wonder to an international pop icon. The release of his extended play (EP) “TRXYE”saw great success within his home country’s borders, but it was his full-length album “Blue Neighborhood,” released in 2016, that catapulted him higher among the ranks of the Millennial artistic pantheon, even after a successful YouTube career. With the release of two new singles, “My My My!” and “The Good Side,” Sivan drifts away from the heartbroken suburban dreamscape of “Blue Neighborhood”to more serious waters. Senior W. Cody Pitts, a longtime fan of Sivan’s, attributed this difference to Sivan’s growing older. “[Sivan] was still a teenager when he wrote [“Blue Neighborhood”],” Pitts said. “He’s coming into a happier part of his life.” Between the two singles, “The Good Side” most reflects this change in Sivan. It’s a guitar-driven ballad, decorated with synth-y embellishments, abouta failed relationship with a newfound understanding. Sivan, similar to folk artist Bon Iver on his album “For Emma, Forever Ago,” paints a detailed portrait of small yet striking moments. “The Good Side” is a companion for anyone who is having trouble letting those moments go, too. If “The Good Side” reflects Sivan’s growing ability to find the joys of a failed relationship, “My My My!” explores letting himself love after loss. “Love” might be an understatement.
A&E
Boy Wonder This song is a lovestruck, ecstatic jam that could get even the most resolved of cynics to consider tapping their feet. One might even start to hope for warm weather listening to it, because the songs beg to be played at full volume, windows down while driving on M-60 on your way to Denny’s for unlimited pancakes. Anyone looking for new music that thrums with emotion and energy can look no further than Sivan’s new singles. If these singles are, as Pitts described them, “a bopand-a-half,” one can only look with anticipation for a fulllength album.
PHOTO FROM Troye Sivan’s Facebook Page
How Popular are his singles So Far? A quick comparison: My My My!
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The Good Side
17,510,202 views
3,309,688 views
41,390,317 plays
7,494,803 plays
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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A&E
Not Settling For
THE OLD SETTLER 11 years before the beginning of the civil rights movement, 12 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat,
20 years before Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I had a dream” speech,
Two sisters were fighting over who was cooking dinner...
T
Kayla Williamson | Editor-in-Chief
his is not a play about racism. Racism happens. Colored women enter dance halls for free on Thursdays because it is the only night they have off. Black men and women still avoid white neighborhoods. Train cars are segregated. But “The Old Settler” is not about these circumstances. It is about finding love in the right place, and about two sisters reconciling that love. It is an everyday story, and racism happens to be an everyday occurrence. In honor of Black History Month, SAU Hearts Drama presents the first all African-American cast at Spring Arbor University (SAU). “The Old Settler” premiered Tuesday and will continue through the weekend. “This is a celebratory offering where we’re trying to encourage the active expression of appreciation and reverence for this portion of our nation’s history,” producer Paul Patton said. The story follows two middleaged sisters adjusting to urban life in Harlem, 1943. When Elizabeth “Bess” Borney (Simoné Searcy) takes in a
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room renter named Husband (Deon Lewis), relationship drama ensues as Husband’s old girlfriend Lou Bessie (Kayla Kilgore) introduces him to night life in the city. Meanwhile, Bess’s sister Quilly McGrath (Chasity Curling) does not approve of Husband as a roommate. Patton wanted to produce this show for over 17 years. At his previous job at Hampton University he had scheduled the show for the next year. But then his alma mater, SAU, called. So he moved from a historically black college in Virginia to the middle of nowhere in Michigan. Since then, he has been looking for the right cast, and he found them in Searcy and Curling. He pre-casted both and let one choose which role they wanted: the nosey youngest or the romantic oldest. “I think that they could win the audition professionally, and they’ll be able to win it for 30 years,” Patton said. “Their characterization, their ability to cultivate empathy in an audience—we care about them. We care about their relationship. We weep and rejoice with them.”
thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
Before this show, Searcy and Curling had never had a long conversation. They sat on opposite ends of the room in classes and worked together at SAU’s drama camp in the summer, but Searcy said they fell right into the roles. “She’s my sister, and she’s definitely going to be my sister after this play,” Searcy said. When Patton asked her to do the show, Searcy knew it would make history. But the main reason she said yes was for him. “I’m so honored to be a part of his vision and to be a part of God giving him the desires of his heart,” Searcy said. “I can never pay Dr. Patton back for all the love and support and everything that he has poured into me.” You can see “The Old Settler” tonight at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Prop Shop. Tickets for students, staff, faculty and alumni are $5. General admission is $8. Reserve seats by emailing your name, date and number of tickets to dramatickets@arbor.edu.
A&E
PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson
Kayla Kilgore (left), Deon Lewis (middle), Simoné Searcy (right)
PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson
Simoné Searcy (left), Chasity Curling (middle), Deon Lewis (right)
PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson
PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson
Chasity Curling (left), Kayla Kilgore (right)
Simoné Searcy (left), Deon Lewis (right)
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Oscar Nomination List A&E
Choose your Oscar winners! BEST PICTURE
ACTOR IN LEADING ROLE Timothee Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread) Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.)
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thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
ACTRESS IN LEADING ROLE
Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missori) Margot Robbie (I, Tonya) Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) Meryl Streep (The Past)
A&E ACTRESS IN SUPPORTING ROLE Mary J. Blige (Mudbound) Allison Janney (I, Tonya) Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) Laurie Matcalf (Lady Bird) 0ctavia Spencer (The Shape of Water)
ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE
Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water) Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World) Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
BEST ANNIMATED FILM
COSTUME DESIGN
Beauty and the Beast (Jacqueline Durran) Darkest Hour (Jacqueline Durran) Phantom Thread (Mark Bridges) The Shape of Water (Luis Sequeira) Victoria & Abdul (Consolata Boyle)
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Wonder (Arjen Tuiten) Darkest Hour (Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick) Victoria & Abdul (Daniel Phillips and Loulia Sheppard)
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Sports
Outdoor Athletes Adapt to Winter Weather How do athletes stay ready to play when the ground is frozen? Alex Anhalt | Sports Editor It is a lot harder to catch a fly ball when you are wading through snowmageddon. But even if the field is buried under a few feet of snow, athletes need to stay conditioned and ready to play. What does it take to stay ready for the season in a Michigan winter? The first step might seem like an obvious one; head inside. Coach Ryan Marken of the men’s baseball team said after athletes start returning from crosscultural trips, most start practicing in the gym. Working around busy schedules and other teams’ practice plans usually means late nights and early mornings for the athletes. The women’s softball team sometimes shows up ready to work as early as 5 a.m. For the baseball team, being inside does not mean sacrificing the crack of a bat. Cages drop down from the ceilings of the gyms, and pitchers use portable pitching mounds to keep their arms in shape. Most indoor practices involve cardio conditioning or weight training. The same lift-and-run training technique is what the soccer team sticks with, too. Add in a little indoor soccer (Futsal), and you have the men’s soccer winter training program.
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“It’s not really to get ready for the season,” soccer Coach Nathan Miller said. “It’s a constant process of improvement and development.” Tennis sets up similar offseason training programs and practices in the gym. Softball Coach Deb Thompson said her team tries to “make everything as ‘game-like’ as possible,” even when they are limited by four walls and a ceiling. Another impediment to indoor work is attitude. “Initially, there is definitely a hit to morale because going indoors means that winter is coming and that in and of itself evokes negative feelings,” tennis Coach David Darling said. “Also, having such a beautiful outdoor facility makes going inside that much harder.” Marken said being inside and working at such extreme hours can be tough on his players, so they set goals to keep them focused until they can get back on the grass. Still, even when the sky is dark and the ground is white, he said his players show up and work hard like they know they need to. Winter is also a good time for recruitment, Miller said. Having a slower regimen means he can focus on bringing in sophomores, juniors and seniors for next year, not just freshmen. Eventually, the sun will peek through snow-spilling clouds, and the athletes can head back outside. But that depends more on the field than the weather.
thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018
Since the baseball field is susceptible to flooding, Marken said, his team practices on the turf whenever they have the chance. But they will not wait too long. After all, Marken said, if they will have to play in rough conditions, they might as well work in rough conditions. Heading back outside for practice can take some adjustment. After all, seeing a ball come down from the gym ceiling and trying to spot it in a blue sky can be quite different experiences, and Marken said the teams who can adjust quickly usually have a leg up on other conference teams once the season starts. “You definitely have to get used to dealing with the temperature, wind and sun again,” Darling said. “You can get a little spoiled playing inside.” “The dirt, the wind, sun, sky, weather, wearing cleats and the size of our field are all different compared to what we are used to having indoors,” Thompson said. “We are blessed to have the main gym to practice in at certain times to help feel more like the real game, but it’s still different than being outside on the dirt. Softball is meant to be played outside.” It might take late nights, sloppy fields and portable pitching mounds, but an athlete’s job is never done. As Marken puts it, “Regardless of whether or not we can go outside, there’s plenty of work to do.”
Eight new events were added to the Olympics this year, including big air snowboarding. In this event, snowboarders fly through the air after hitting a single 160 feet jump. While in the air, they perform tricks. The judges score athletes based on the complexity, landing and execution of the jump to the finish.
A Community of Unity
Until 1996, many countries performed “demonstration sports” at the Olympics. These were not official competitions, but supported the hosting country’s culture or brought awareness to a specific sport. In the 1932 winter games at Lake Placid, sled dog racing was one of these sports, while the 1928 winter games hosted skijoring, in which athletes on skis were towed by horses to the finish.
Just Fun and Games
Ellie Brugger | Staff Writer
in’ Figure skating and once were hockey part of the Summer Olympics. They made the switch when the Winter Olympics were created in ng 1924.
Maki Her-story
This year, a Nigerian women’s team qualified for bobsled, making them the first Nigerian team ever to qualify for the Winter Olympics and the first African bobsled team to ever compete in the winter games.
The hosting country designs the medals for each Olympic Games, so every year’s medal is unique. For example, in Paris in 1900, the medals were square. This year’s games boast the heaviest medals on record, weighing 1.29 pounds for gold, 1.28 pounds for silver, and 1.09 pounds for bronze. N i n e LGBTQidentifying athletes will be competing at the 2018 games, including Adam Rippon, a figure skater from the United States. In an interview with NBC, he was asked about being a gay athlete. “It’s exactly like being a straight athlete,” he said. “It takes lots of hard work, just usually with better eyebrows.”
Winter Gay-mes
Climb on Board
between North and South Korea, the two countries walked in the Parade of Nations under one flag and even wore the same uniform. While athletes in most sports compete on behalf of their respective countries, they will be competing as one Korean hockey team.
Heavy Medal
the Summah
Sh red d
Despite tensions
in
The Winter Olympics
Sports
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games were held this February in PyeongChang, South Korea. These games have been around officially since 1924. That makes up 88 years worth of fun facts, but for now, you can start with these ten.
Hanging in for a Tie
Forgive Us Our Debts
The medal count for the events this year is 102, but PyeongChang has made 259 sets, just in case of a tie.
Between transportation, new buildings, ceremonies, and other costs, South Korea is planning on spending $13 billion on the Olympics. While some speculate hosting the Olympics will support local infrastructure and economy, only two venues in history have broken even or gained a profit.
Summer Separation The winter and summer Olympics were held in the same year until 1992. In 1994 the Winter Olympics got their own year, starting the four-year alternating cycle of winter-summer games.
February 23, 2018 • thesaupulse.com
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Sports
ATHLETE OF THE MONTH Women’s Basketball: Kristina Grace Hannah Shimanek | Staff Writer Junior Kristina Grace has been playing basketball for as long as she can remember and has been a member of the Spring Arbor University (SAU) women’s team her entire college career.
PHOTO FROM saucougars.com
also put me in uncomfortable situations on and off the court. Your team is your family, so you learn to settle differences and work with what you’ve got. You learn to be a leader whether you are in a captain position or not. TP: Why did you choose basketball at SAU?
The Pulse (TP): When did you first fall in love with basketball? Kristina Grace (KG): Around the age of ten. I realized I was tall and that on defense you could hit people, so I was in. TP: What is it that you love about it? KG: First of all, I am a very competitive person. Second, it is a sport that not only requires you to use your physical attributes, but your mental attributes as well. TP: How did basketball help shape you through your high school years?
KG: It more chose me. It was always my goal to play college basketball and SAU sought me out. I am very grateful, it helped make college more attainable plus I got to play the sport I loved. TP: What do you love about the program here? KG: By far the people. Being on a team means automatic new family members every year. TP: What is your advice to an aspiring college athlete? KG: Make sure you are ready for the commitment and the hard work in your sport and in the classroom.
KG: It made me manage my time. It PHOTO FROM saucougars.com
TP: How do you see basketball being a part of your future after graduation? KG: I still want to be playing. I want to join a league or something like that. There is no shape like basketball shape and you have to be active to maintain that. TP: What do you think is one of the biggest differences being a female athlete in comparison to a male athlete? KG: Women don’t have as much pressure as guys, which allows for more enjoyment when playing. TP: What has been the most important thing a coach has taught you? KG: Every role on the team is just as important as another. Carry that over to outside of the court and you understand that everyone has a purpose. It’s important to see that everyone’s purpose is valuable and necessary.
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thesaupulse.com • February 23, 2018