PULSE
March 29, 2019 • Issue 6 • Volume 6 • thesaupulse.com
THE
Spring
Forward facebook.com/saupulse twitter.com/saupulse
PREVIEW
TAB LE OF
CONTENTS CAM PU S C LO SIN GS PAG E 4
ACADEMIC CALENDAR CH ANG ES
ROTC PROGRAM PAGE 6
PAG E 5
C O M ST UD ENTS’ O F F -C AMPUS SE M E S T E R S PAG E S 8 - 9
LIFE A DV I C E PAG E 1 1
PROFESSOR PROFILE PAG E 1 0 PHOTO PROVIDED BY arbor.edu
BASKETBA LL CH AMPS
F L AT L I N E PAG E 1 2
PAG E 1 6
MUSIC REVIEW PAG E 1 3
PHOTOS BY Ryan Sisk
V ISITIN G PO E T
P R IS O N B A S K E TBALL PAG E 1 5
PAG E 1 4 PHOTO PROVIDED BY Facebook
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thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
Editorial Staff
W
ith warmer weather approaching, spring cleaning is starting to pick up. Maybe your dad got out the ladder to clean the windows, or your mom is cleaning out the garage and throwing away the things she no longer needs. You might be cleaning and organizing a little, too, in anticipation of moving out of the dorms in a few short weeks. But as Christians, we have more to clean out than our dorm rooms. All our lives should be dedicated to becoming more like Christ, and, metaphorically, “cleaning out” our souls. In this season of Lent, we are called to reflect on and prepare ourselves for Easter. Some people choose to give something up, some practice fasting and some spend time volunteering. The point of these various types of reflection and preparation is to re-center our minds and our lives on Christ. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate not only the resurrection of Christ but also the message of renewal and hope that comes with it. We celebrate that God loves us so much he became incarnate and lived among us on earth, that God suffers with and for us and that we can find rest and comfort in God. In the busyness of life, it can be easy to get distracted and forget about God’s presence in our lives. Our relationship with God should affect the way we live out every aspect of our lives, but that is hard to do when we are not spending time with God and reflecting on who God is. This Lenten season, reorient your life toward Christ and his love by spending time in some of these practices: Prayer: Set aside time in your day to talk and listen to God. Pray praises, sing worship songs or write down a list of things you want to thank God for. Direct your heart
toward honoring and worshiping him, and be open to where the Spirit leads you. Giving: Through your time praying, ask God where you can give. Giving does not just mean money and physical resources, giving can mean devoting time to volunteering at churches, nursing homes, homeless shelters or wherever God is directing you. In this time of volunteering, you participate in the Kingdom of God here on Earth, and remember that everyone has a place in the Kingdom. Reflecting: A time of reflecting can come out of a time of prayer, or it can come on its own. Here, take time to meditate on God and what he has done not only in your life but throughout history. Lent is a time when we remind ourselves to be intentional in our relationship with God. A renewed understanding of our relationship with Christ can change our outlook on life. We can have a refreshed view on what God has done for us and continues to do for us and further understand what we can do to build God’s Kingdom.
EDITORIAL
Spring Cleaning
The Pulse Staff & Contributors 2018-2019 Editor-in-Chief Elise Emmert
A&E Editor Nathan Salsbury
Associate Editor Celeste Fendt
Sports Editor Alex Anhalt
News Editor Jared Boekenhauer
Sales Manager Kaelyn Hale
Features Editor Caralyn Geyer
Design Editor Makana Geppert
Designers Elise Emmert Celeste Fendt Nathan Salsbury Caralyn Geyer Staff Writers Ellie Brugger Ash Knauss Libby Koziarski Conner Williams Sarah Williams
March 29, 2019• thesaupulse.com
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News
Residence Life Changes: 2019-20 Housing Libby Koziarski | Staff Writer
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s housing applications come to a close, so do several student housing options themselves. Spring Arbor University (SAU) students can expect to see Village E, Village F and all of Lowell’s Beta wing temporarily closed for fall semester, as well as the Jones and McDonald K-Houses. Muffitt and Ormston will also remain closed. Furthermore, Delta 1 in Lowell will be reopening. So what goes into these decisions—and why? Associate Dean of Students Bobby Pratt serves as the Director of Housing. He helps set up and run the housing sign-up process and works with the resident directors to place all returning and new students in on-campus housing. “We try and match our housing capacity to our actual student population,” he said. “Because of lower on-campus enrollment the past couple of years, we have had to adjust our
housing capacity to meet our housing need.” According to Associate Vice President for Student Development and Learning Dan VanderHill, housing placement is an inexact process. Pratt and VanderHill estimate both housing capacity and housing population based on admission and retention numbers— or, the size of the incoming freshman and how many students are coming back. They also factor in which dorms would be missed the least based on the number of sign-ups for a particular dorm from the year prior. When housing capacity is matched to housing need, it creates better community on campus, according to Pratt. When floors and buildings have a higher occupancy, it leads to more participation in residence life events and better overall community on campus. “We want about 10% more housing
PHOTO FROM arbor.edu
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thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
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“These changes are temporary and our desire is to see these areas re-open in the future.” Bobby Pratt
than we need,” VanderHill said, “so we generally try to shoot for around 90% capacity to be prepared either way and still have a vibrant housing community.” The main challenge, according to Pratt, comes with having unused spaces on campus. “We would prefer to have all of our buildings open, but understand that it is the best stewardship of our resources to take some areas out of service if they are not currently needed. While these areas are not in use we can utilize the opportunity for potential physical improvements as time and budget allows,” Pratt said. VanderHill says as long as they keep things balanced, housing is just one part of meeting the needs of the students— and the dorms to be temporarily closed next year will “certainly reopen.” “These changes are temporary and our desire is to see these areas re-open in the future,” Pratt said.
A New Schedule for 2019-20
News
Academic Calendar Changes Celeste Fendt | Associate Editor
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eginning in the fall of 2019, the academic calendar for Spring Arbor University (SAU) will
change. In years past, freshmen have moved in on Labor Day, which is celebrated on the first Monday of September. Next semester, however, incoming students will move in to campus on Friday, August 23. New Student Orientation will take place over the weekend now, from August 23 to 26. According to Amanda Grimes, who works in the Academic Affairs Department, part of the reason for this change was to help out parents who have to take work off for the event. This will also allow fall classes to begin on a Monday, rather than later in the week on a Thursday. Another change in the calendar comes with Thanksgiving Break. The time off for Thanksgiving will now be a full week rather than a few days. This break will occur November 25 to 29, Monday to Friday. According to Grimes, the biggest reason for initiating these changes was that if SAU kept the schedule it normally follows, the fall semester would not end until December 20. This is nearly a week later than classes typically end. The 2019-20 academic calendar is now available on the portal. See a copy on the right.
March 29, 2019 • thesaupulse.com
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News
A future with the rotc
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Sarah Williams | Staff Writer
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isa Emmert’s mother once jokingly told her to join the military since Emmert enjoyed competitive shooting. Emmert agreed and signed up for Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program three years ago. ROTC trains young men and women for the military. Once the participants complete the program, they become a second lieutenant. Emmert is currently finishing the program and is in the National Guard. Emmert goes to Eastern Michigan University, a partner school, for classes once a week and has three physical training classes a week in the field house. The classes have a different focus each year. Freshman year students learn mostly basic army information, like how the rank works and customs and courtsies. Sophomore year is more specific information, like how to move a platoon safely in dangerous areas, squad operations and platoon operations. Junior year is when students prepare for a month-long mandated camp in Fort Knox. At the camp, they practice what they have learned so far.
Senior year is when they are prepared for stepping into their first lieutenant job. They learn what processing and ranking up looks like. The ROTC’s classes work with SAU’s schedule. They start when SAU classes do, but end two weeks before SAU since Eastern Michigan University ends earlier. A lieutenant can do almost any job in the military. Through the ROTC program, they could go into active duty, the national guard or reserve guard. Active duty is a full-time job where the lieutenants live on a military base. Here they are told where they are sent to, which could be in or out of the states. In National and Reserve guard, the lieutenant drills one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer, making it a part-time job. Since the schedule is flexible, they could also get a civilian job, as wel as choose where to go. They can pick a state to serve or transfer to a different state. ROTC opens many opportunities for its participants. ROTC students are not obligated to join the military after graduation, and the program offers classes to students in addition to the training they provide. Some students take leadership classes that are intended to prepare them for business. “It opens up opportunities, not just in the military,” Emmert said. “… The leadership experience it has given me has open up a lot of job opportunities that weren’t open to me before.” The ROTC students
thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
who have contracted to enter the military after they finish school can receive financial aid for school from ROTC and SAU. Emmert contracted her sophomore year and received a scholarship from ROTC for three years that covers either her tuition or room and board. SAU already pays for the room and board of all contracted ROTC students, so she chose tuition and is completely covered. “I’m honestly not sure how I would have paid for school without it,” Emmert said. For people who are interested in the military, ROTC can give students the experience and opportunities to help them. Those interested in joining can sign up for the class or talk to Phillip Parrish, who is in charge of recruiting.
March 29, 2019 • thesaupulse.com
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Features
Music and Movies: A
t Spring Arbor University (SAU), students have the opportunity to apply to take classes for a semester at different universities. Some students choose to go abroad and experience a new country, while others choose to stick around the United States and choose a new state for a change of scenery. Two senior students who are currently spending their last semester of college away from SAU, Megan Uhl and Ryan Sisk, are both getting handson experiences in their fields before graduation thanks to their semester programs.
Nashville Semester
Uhl decided she wanted to attend the Nashville Best Semester Program early on in her college career. During her Freshman Foresight Interviews with the Communications faculty, she told her professors she wanted to work in the music industry. Professor of Communication Dorie Shelby told Uhl the Nashville program would give her the opportunity to do just that. “[The program is] designed to teach students the ins and outs of the music industry in the music
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COM Students Across the Country
Elise Emmert | Editor-in-Chief
capital of the world,” Uhl said. Getting to Nashville was not a one-step process. Uhl had to fill out applications for the Best Semester Program as well as paperwork for the Contemporary Music Center (CMC) her junior year. She also had to communicate with different SAU departments to make sure they knew she was going to be gone for a semester. Uhl’s classes are split between inclass learning and hands-on learning. Mondays through Wednesdays, she and her classmates take classes like Intro to the Music Industry and Business Management. On Thursdays, they put on shows that are completely studentled, which they plan throughout the week. CMC offers three different tracks to students, artist, tech and business, and for the shows the students come together for the shows. Artist students write and rehearse songs, tech students set up the stage, lighting and audio and business students plan the show. Uhl is taking the business track. “A lot of what we learn here is actually putting on shows, going to shows, helping work concerts and networking with people already in the music business,” Uhl said. One of the most fun things she has gotten to do this semester, Uhl said, was work with TobyMac’s crew at a rehearsal for setting up all the artist’s stage gear, including the lights and the video wall. Uhl said crews do runthroughs of building the set before going on tour so they have an idea of how long it will take before the show dates come. Uhl and her classmates served as extra hands for the crew and said they learned from them while helping assemble and take down the
thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY Megan Uhl
set. Uhl said the Nashville semester is more like a job than school, because while they do learn things in class, their teachers expect them to take what they have learned and execute it. She
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY Ryan Sisk
said CMC is giving her the resources she needs to have a successful career in the music industry once she graduates in May. While she said she misses her friends and the community at SAU, she said being in Nashville this semester is worth it because she is doing what she loves. “Most everyone in this city loves and is here for music, so there is a certain spirit and vibe that comes from that,” Uhl said. “It’s a city full of people following their dreams.”
LA Semester
Sisk, like Uhl, knew he wanted to go to the LA Best Semester Program at the Film Studies Center early on. “I wanted to go the second I heard about the opportunity freshman year,” Sisk said. Sisk had paperwork to fill out, too, before he could go to LA. But packing
to go to LA, he said, did not feel any different than moving in to SAU. Sisk is taking three classes this semester alongside working for an internship at a post-production company. The classes he is taking are Faith and Development, Hollywood Production Workshop and Narrative Storytelling. In Hollywood Production Workshop, Sisk and his classmates are producing a television pilot that will air at the end of the semester. Sisk is the lead Director of Photography for his crew. In the Narrative Storytelling class, the students are creating two short films. “Our professor wasn’t as worried about the technical side of things, and wanted us to focus intently on developing a story,” Sisk said. While in LA, Sisk has had the opportunity to explore and experience a new kind of campus life. He visited The
Features
Last Bookstore, California’s largest new and used book and record store, and he went to Malibu Creek State Park. Besides going to new places, Sisk has tried some new foods as well, including octopus, which he said “wasn’t half bad.” Sisk said the biggest difference between SAU and LA that he has experienced is how busy LA is. “SAU is very laid back, not really in that much of a hurry, but everyone and everything here is constantly moving and doing something,” Sisk said.
March 29, 2019 • thesaupulse.com
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Features
Tolkien on Roller Skates Professor profile on Richard Cornell
Caralyn Geyer | Features Editor Friesen who led Cornell to apply for a interest in reading and discussing PROVIDED BY Richard Cornell
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f there is one thing roller skating and Tolkien have in common, it is Richard Cornell, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies. This year, Cornell is wrapping up his twelfth year teaching at Spring Arbor University (SAU). Cornell earned his bachelor’s degree in Greek at Ohio University and later his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. To finish up graduate school, Cornell and his wife Lori, who also works at SAU as the Administrative Assistant for Athletics, spent two years in Scotland while he completed his dissertation through The University of Aberdeen. Now, Cornell and his wife live near Spring Arbor with their two children, Nathaniel and Autumn. Though Cornell said his dissertation has been the hardest task he has faced in his life, it did spark a new friendship. Professor of Theology, Tom HolsingerFriesen, had the same dissertation advisor at Aberdeen. It was Holsinger-
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New Testament teaching position at SAU, and he has continued here ever since. Cornell said the biggest life change he ever experienced was realizing his calling to teach while at Ohio University. During those four years, Cornell worked for a ministry organization called the Campus Crusade for Christ which shared the faith with college students. Near the end of this time, he felt a tug away from ministry and into the education field. Since embracing the change and teaching at SAU, Cornell said he has learned a lot from the students. “Because I teach a lot of general education classes, I have been surprised at how much [students] don’t know, even though they may come from a church background, but I see that there is also a hunger to know,” Cornell said. Because Cornell loves religion so much, he allows for his passions, like Tolkien and roller skating, to create community in his life. Cornell now teaches a class on Tolkien every few years, but before there was a class, there was “The Three Quarterings.” This group and name came about in Cornell’s second and third year at SAU when three students came to him and expressed
thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
fantasy outside of classes. The group focused on authors such as Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald, and also had movie marathons. Eventually, this developed into a class focused on Tolkien’s “theological imagination,” and is one of Cornell’s favorite classes to teach. Though the group no longer meets, Cornell said, “It is the single, most rewarding thing I’ve done [at SAU].” All things Tolkien aside, Cornell also enjoys roller skating. He started the hobby in college at Ohio University and recently picked it back up again because he is involved in a youth group. He tries to skate twice a week in Jackson and invites students to join him. PHOTO BY Caralyn Geyer
Life Advice from Mark Correll Ash Knauss | Staff Writer
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istory department chair at Spring Arbor Univesity (SAU) Mark Correll said, “To some degree or other we’re all on the same journey, we’re all at really different spots.” Correll said college is a unique experience and is the reason he wanted to teach at this level. As he sees it, it is a time to “try on and experience what kind of adult you want to be,” and is a place that society allows people “to hold mutually contradictory viewpoints” with intention, without feeling like they must resolve those contradictions right away. “You’re allowed to believe and think multiple things and not necessarily have all the answers,” said Correll. He said there is not really an opportunity like college for that level of not knowing, but hopefully by being educated in the liberal arts students will have this opportunity to some degree. During these university years, Correll said students can learn that “there are two sides to an argument and both sides are crucially important.” According to him, there is no need for an answer yet. He said society often pushes people toward adulthood quickly, forcing them into realms where there is no humility enough to say “I don’t know.” “There’s something really beautiful about not knowing, there’s something really beautiful about not having to make up your mind, there’s something really beautiful about not having to have
Features
You Don’t Have To Know Everything Right Now anything figured out and to embrace that,” Correll said. With this opportunity, Correll recommends taking time not to find all the answers, but to ask good questions. “I’ve found that people respond well to a really good question more than to one’s - especially unproven - claims of competence,” Correll said.
He said questions give the opportunity to go and say, “’I don’t understand why we’re doing this thing,’ or ‘Can you explain this thing to me?’” According to Correll, asking these questions shows an understanding and a confidence in the field. Correll said “nobody likes someone who knows all the answers, everybody wants to show their own expertise,” so asking PHOTO FROM arbor.edu questions rather than knowing answers helps in this way. Correll said it is hard, humbling and difficult but takes a lot of confidence to show a lack of knowing. Another thing Correll believes is in valuing someone’s life. “Valuing another person for who that person is so much more than the way that we want to reduce it down to,” Correll said. He said there is a want to reduce valuing life to saving fetuses or giving people the resources they need to live, and while he agrees with those Correll believes asking the right things, he said it is much more than questions allows for people to think that. According to Correll, “valuing life differently and is more effective than is seeing [a] human beyond just their telling others what to think. Going into economic value.” He admits the full a career, he said, there is a pressure to meaning of valuing another person is prove one’s competence, but there will something he’s still trying to figure out. not always be answers. Correll said that Correll wants students to know not this is something educators struggle to rush and try to know everything, to with, wondering “Can students really be willing to ask questions and realize trust us if we don’t have all the answers?” everyone is in a different spot on the Correll said he does not think having journey of life. the answers is where wisdom lies, and that instead it lies in the right questions.
March 29, 2019 • thesaupulse.com
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A&E
The All-Seeing Eye of Justice: Meet the girl who caught a killer by checking her email
Conner Williams | Staff Writer
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arcy Newman, now Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) most famous dual enrollee, has risen to local fame since she reported the location of a serial killer to the police. Law enforcement agents were scratching their heads trying to find the killer’s hideout for weeks until Darcy called the tip line and told them the exact coordinates of his bunker. When we interviewed Darcy about how she solved the case, she replied that all she did was check her Arbor email. “The killer must have hacked into the email system or something because he had put the exact location of his hideout– directions and everything– into one of the emails
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in my inbox. It took me a while to realize what I was looking at, but then I realized I had seen his name in the news. I figured it was a Zodiac Killer kind of situation. He was leaving behind tips for people to decode, except it wasn’t a puzzle or anything like that. He just gave away where he was.” We were curious about why the killer would list his whereabouts in an email and what the email Darcy received looked like. Did the killer single her out because she was a high schooler? We interrogated Darcy about the nature of the received email. She pulled out her laptop and opened her email inbox, spinning the screen around to show us an SAU Weekly Announcements email where the name and address of the killer were listed in a column of information of community events. We informed her that this killer is actually a genius. “Why would you say he’s a genius? He gave away his hideout right in the middle of an email that gets sent out to the entire school. I’m honestly surprised I’m the first one who noticed it, because it’s right in plain sight. All I had to do once I knew what I was looking at was call the police.” Our interview with Darcy stopped here because in the middle of asking
thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
a question, we heard the Arbor email notification noise from our computer and lost our train of thought. As we reached for our interview questions, Darcy told us that her mom was waiting for her in the circle drive, so she had to leave. We looked at the email we had just received. It was a weekly announcements email. We deleted it immediately.
Julien Baker
A&E
Ar tist Review:
Ellie Brugger | Staff Writer
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ulien Baker is a singer and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Only 23 years old, she has already published two full albums, “Sprained Ankle” in 2015 and “Turn Out the Lights” in 2017. Her latest work is a collaboration with two similar female artists, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. Their EP “boygenius” was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert after Julien herself was featured twice. This is rare for their guests, but her first appearance was a hit, making her second and third features well sought after. Baker is known for her unique songwriting abilities, specifically her lyrics. While on broader terms her music can be categorized as “softcore” or “soft folk,” it should really fall into a smaller, more intimate category. This is because Baker explores such personal thoughts with her art. She works through difficult emotions: pain, sorrow and even relief. Through a combination of tasteful and articulate lyrics and exposed melodies, her music radiates vulnerability. Exploring themes such as loss, mental health, faith and hardships of the human experience, Baker connects with her audience on a deep level.
At first listen, it seems as though there may not be a clear melody to Baker’s music. In her first album this was especially clear, but in her second album Baker develops a more unique form. It is true her songs do not typically have a traditional format with verses, a chorus and bridge, but there is always a storylike structure to them. They typically start off softer or slower, with less instrumentation and build to a climax as the lyrics become more powerful and bass and drums are added. This was a prominent aspect of “Turn Out the Lights,” and is even clearer in the collaboration of “boygenius.” It is encouraging to see Baker’s growth through her discography and only builds anticipation for future releases.
All of these aspects contribute to a listening experience that begs for your full attention. Listen to on: Spotify, Apple Music, iHeartRadio and Pandora. Similar artists: Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers and Mac DeMarco.
March 29, 2019 • thesaupulse.com
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Cougar Exhibition at Jackson County Jail
Sports
Basketball and Barbed Wire Alex Anhalt | Sports Editor
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efore Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) men’s basketball team played in their newly renovated gym, they played in a very different venue; Jackson County Jail. There, they would play an eye-opening exhibition game against the prisoners long before their season even began. Coach Ryan Cottingham said he got the idea from a BMX exhibition at Folsom State Prison. There, an organization called Prison Fellowship collaborated with preacher Andrew Palau and other partners to bring bikes, music and NASCAR into the prison. Cottingham decided his boys needed to experience something like this. So, on September 4, the Cougars packed into a bus, drove into town, and entered Jackson County Jail for their game. “Once they open the gates, you go through and they shut it behind you, and you realize you’re in a prison, barbed wire and walls and all,” Cottingham said. But as the Cougars started their game, Cottingham said more and more barriers began to fall away. “We played against guys who went to schools like ours but made some different choices,” he said. “We walked shoulder to shoulder with them...It fosters a sense that we’re in this together.” Freshman Daniel Cluster said the Cougars were able to build community through competition with the prisoners they played against. “What stood out to me the most was how supportive the crowd
was towards the Spring Arbor basketball team and how they wanted to see us succeed,” he said. “The prisoners were excellent sports and showed a great amount of respect towards us.” Cottingham said that during the national tournament, the team’s mantra was “Winning is our goal, not our purpose.” Their game in the Jackson County Jail helped the team see what their purpose actually was. “Who we are is how we make a difference,” Cottingham said. “We’re coming from our own little worlds and towns, and that exhibition helped us see what we can take for granted.” All in all, Cottingham said the game was a “humbling opportunity” for reflection and a reminder to look for ways to love people. “We’d love to go back again,” Cottingham said.
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“Who we are is how we make a difference.” Ryan Cottingham, Men’s Basketball Coach
PHOTO BY Chris Bauman
March 29, 2019 • thesaupulse.com
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A&E
Visiting Poet: Joe Weil Nathan Salsbury | A&E Editor
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n April 3, Joe Weil is coming to Spring Arbor University (SAU) to read his poetry and talk about the craft of poetry. Weil was born in New Jersey to a working-class family. In fourth grade, he began writing poetry to amuse his friends. He also learned to play piano, eventually beginning to write song lyrics and composing tunes for the songs. For nearly 20 years after attending Rutgers University, he worked at a factory as a tool maker, which Associate Professor of English, Jeff Bilbro said Weil’s poetry reflects. Since then, Weil has published multiple books of poetry, founded a summer program for gifted high school writers and is currently an associate professor in the creative writing department at Binghamton University in New York.
“When I was hired at Binghamton, I had no degree,” Weil said. “I received a degree afterwards and I’m the first person in my family to graduate college.” Weil’s reading will take place on Wednesday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m. in the Prop Shop. Coffee, cookies and tea will all be provided. As far as the content of the event, Weil said he still is not quite sure which poems he will read. “I never know what I’m going to do exactly,” Weil said. “I wait and see what the situation is, but no doubt I’ll read from my books, perhaps do some songs, and some new poems as well.” Both Weil and Bilbro are encouraging students to come to the event and learn from it. Weil hopes students will come to see that poetry is not out of reach and that a poet is someone “who is present to people, who speaks for the ground he walks on.”
PHOTO FROM Joe Weil
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thesaupulse.com • March 29, 2019
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“I never know what I’m going to do exactly. I wait and see what the situation is.” Joe Weil
Bilbro also wants students to experience how “poetry can help us attend to those parts of the world we tend to ignore.”
Sports
Cougars Take National Championship Alex Anhalt | Sports Editor
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efore this season, Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) Cougars had been to the NAIA National Tournament three times. Coach Ryan Cottingham only took them once. They never took home first place. They never even made it past the Elite 8. Then, during 2019’s tournament, the Cougars became National Champions. Even Cottingham was surprised. “Our regular season was good, but we had three losses,” he said. “[Winning that tournament] was surreal.” For the Cougars, Cottingham said it was about mental toughness. “We had the mindset that if we were competitive in the conference, we would be competitive in nationals.” And competitive they were. Their first game pitted them against the Indiana Institute of Technology, a team with a six-win streak whose most recent win saw them beating Cornerstone University at Cornerstone’s home gym. The Cougars plowed through them with a 35-point win. Next up was the University of Jamestown, a game Cottingham called “a real slugfest.” Despite intense opposition from a team characterized by physical
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play, the Cougars came out with a 8581 win. After their victory, Cottingham said they had time to celebrate and prepare for their next round. SAU came up against Indiana University East quarterfinals. For the first time in program history, they made it past the Elite 8. Anything they accomplished from here on out would be historic. The Cougars won semifinals against Marion University. For most of the game, the two teams were only a handful of points apart, but eventually a few good runs saw them come away with a 66-50 victory. According to Cottingham, “We just out-toughed them.” One more victory against Oregon Tech was all it would take. Oregon Tech had as many national championships under their belt as the Cougars had appearances in the tournament. A win of 82-76 meant SAU could take home the title of National Champions. Cottingham said resolve and team chemistry were driving forces in their journey to the championship. The Cougars had a 60% shooting percentage, a strong testament to their willingness to wait for opportunities and work together to make good on them.
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Only one team in the NAIA gets to end their season on a win, and this year it was the Cougars. “That’s something we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives,” Cottingham said. “[I don’t think] their feet have touched down since.” Cottingham said the team’s seniors were especially influential during this year’s season. “They got to win the last game they ever played,” he said. “They got to celebrate with their teammates and loved ones and families and say, ‘did we just do that?!’” Cottingham also said the SAU community helped the team find the drive to push for victory during the National Tournament. “We had a lot of momentum with our venue being renovated this year,” he said. “We want to continue to elevate our style of play... [and] the footage of the watch parties and the energy, the students, the community, that really pumped up the guys so much.” “We may never win again, but this time, we made it there and we finished it,” Cottingham said.