Senior Issue 2017

PULSE

M ay 5 , 2 0 1 7 • I s s u e 8 • Vo l u m e 4 • t h e s a u p u l s e . c o m

THE

Senior Issue facebook.com/thesaupulse twitter.com/thesaupulse

PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson

PREVIEW

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

Lipsync 2017: The College Experience (below) Madison Reynan, (middle) Joey Dearduff, (right) Kyle Reynan

SAU RETIREE PROFILES

NEW CORE PROGRAM

PAGES 6-7

PAGE 4

SENIOR TIMELINE PAGES 8-9 Porchfest 2017: “Noel”

by Chamber Choir (right) Dylan Crosson

GUEST FEATURE: ANDREW KING PAGE 11

SURVIVING SAU IN THE SUMMER PAGE 10

PHOTO BY Kaci Bedgood

Senior Celebration 2017 (right) Amanda Grimes

FLATLINE PAGE 12

PHOTO BY Kayla Williamson

SENIOR ANTHEM PLAYLIST PAGE 13

SENIOR PICS NOW AND THEN PHOTO BY Kaci Bedgood

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thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

PAGES 14-15

Amber Cekander Associate Editor I didn’t know what to expect. If I could time travel back to 2013 (after stopping for a few dinner parties with famous literary folk) I would grab freshman-Amber, take her by the shoulders and say with a smile, “Wait until you see what’s coming.”

A lot happens in four years, as we all know or are finding out. Majors change, friends transfer in or out and we learn the sad reality that while 2:00 a.m. Taco Bell runs are good for the soul, they aren’t so for our health.

Carly Thompson A&E Editor When I look back on my four years here at Spring Arbor, I think about uncertain freshman me wanting to make friends, signing up for literally everything at Low Down.

Editor-in-Chief Kayla Williamson

Well, we’re here, less than two weeks till graduation.

And most (if not all) of us are thinking: what happens now?

I wish I had some universal, profound truth to leave you with. But I don’t.

All I can say is “thank you.”

Thank you to SAU for not being what I’d anticipated, and to the friends and relationships I’ve made on this campus. Many thanks to an outstanding English and communications department for cultivating a passion and understanding of narratives I couldn’t have received anywhere else. My eternal gratitude, of course, goes to the Pulse staff for some of

the best late nights I could have wished for. And thank you, readers, for letting this note turn into an acceptance speech for an award which I wasn’t nominated for, didn’t win and probably didn’t exist in the first place.

I wondered how I would make it as an English major, and I was terrified of Brent Cline. I still don’t know how I’ll make it, but the fear of Cline has subsided.

During these four years I have gathered pieces of wisdom from friends and professors who have made me a stronger person. It has been a pleasure being involved in the English Department where each professor takes the time to get to know us personally and help us succeed academically.

What I have learned most from this department is: the narratives we read can aid our understanding of others and help us think critically about the world.

To my Writing Center family: thank you for engaging in the important discussions whether it be literary, social injustices, general angst, or random topics like Cryogenics. To my Pulse friends: we have come so far as a team putting out quality writing. To my OTR friends: it has been a pleasure becoming vulnerable with you all through the sharing of the written word. To my thespians: there is nothing that brings more joy and hope to the world than the telling of stories, and I have loved telling them with you.

I am still uncertain about this next chapter, much like freshman me, but am excited for what’s to come.

Associate Editor Elise Emmert News Editor Nathan Salsbury

EDITORIAL

Senior Columns

The Pulse Staff 2017-2018

Features Editor Celeste Fendt A&E Editor Liz Pence Sports Editor Alex Anhalt Video Team Manager Brianna Buller Sales Manager Kaelyn Hale Marketing Coordinator Aaliyah Winters Photography Editor Kaci Bedgood Design Editor Andri Hill Designers Kaci Bedgood Rebecca Conley Camille Hunter Emily Spencer Staff Writers Heather Clark Sarah Dean Olivia Landis Luke Richardson Emily Spencer Guest Writers Andrew King Mary Sramek Online Writers Collin Caroland Makana Geppert Caralyn Geyer Dane Parsons Luke Richardson Video Team John Kroll Ryan Sisk Marketing/Newscast Team Kristina Grace Jubilee Jackson Elizabeth Lee

May 5, 2017 • thesaupulse.com

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News

A Fond Farewell Five Retirees Reflect On Their Time at Spring Arbor

Larry Pfaff

PROVIDED

Elise Emmert | News Editor Luke Richardson | Staff Writer

BY Sprin

Years at SAU: 13 Position: Professor of Psychology Fun Fact: He originally ran the Mastersof Arts in counseling program.

g Arbor Un

iversity

Margaret O'Rourke-Kelly

T

his year, Spring Arbor University (SAU) will say goodbye to five beloved staff members. The Pulse talked to each of them about their time here at SAU, what they did and some of their favorite memories.

Larry Pfaff, Professor of Psychology, said, “The two things I will miss most are seeing students grow and progress as people, and the interaction with my dedicated colleagues at SAU. This really is a Community of Learners!”

Business Professor Margaret O’Rourke-Kelly taught Kim Hayworth and Brian Shaw in Core 100, and they are “bright stars on Spring Arbor’s campus. It’s been a thrill to see them move through their academic careers.”

About former students, Biology Professor Chris Newhouse shared that “seeing them succeed and minister to others has made [him] as proud as if they were [his] own children.”

“What I will miss...really,” Associate Provost Rod Stewart explained, “is the people with whom I have worked over the years.”

On a similar note, Larry Ousley told the Pulse that he “will miss the interaction with faculty, staff and students.” Ousley went on to say that “we have a great group of student workers in our department.”

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ly

urke-Kel

PROVIDED

ret O’Ro

BY Marga

Years at SAU: 32 Position: Professor of Business Fun Fact: She has worked in the communications, adult study, and business departments.

Chris Newhouse

PROVIDED

Years at SAU: 36 Position: Professor of Biology Fun Fact: His medical doctor, dentist, and veterinarian are all former students of his.

BY Sprin

iversity

Rod Stewart

PHOTO BY

mert

Elise Em

Years at SAU: 31 Position: Associate Provost Fun Fact: He "wears many hats" on campus, assisting with academic decision and policy making tasks, faculty contracts and chairing graduate studies committees.

Larry Ousley Years at SAU: 37 Position: Director of Physical Plant Fun Fact: New construction has been his favorite part of the job.

PROVIDED

thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

g Arbor Un

BY Larry

Ousley

Kick off your career helping kids to grow in their faith + Step away from your day to day + Be part of an incredible community of peers and mentors + Make money and earn internship credit sharing God’s love with kids + Develop valuable skills for your resume and your vocation + Change the lives of kids for Christ Find out where you fit at springhillleaders.com

News

Shifting Focus From CORE to the Community of Learners Collin Caroland | Staff Writer Celeste Fendt | Staff Writer

S

ince 2014, faculty at Spring Arbor University (SAU) have worked to revise the university’s general education curriculum, which includes the mandatory CORE program. These changes will be put in place in the fall semester of 2017.

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The CORE program’s name will change to Community of Learners (COL), a name inspired by the university’s concept. In addition, slight changes will be made to the program’s four main courses, COL100, COL200, COL300 and COL400.

Jack Baker, associate professor of English and director of the Christian Perspective in the Liberal Arts (CPLA) committee at SAU, is in charge of the school’s general education program.

Along with other SAU faculty on the committee, Baker has led this overhaul of the curriculum.

The committee was divided into groups that each focused on one of the four main CORE courses.

According to Baker, COL100 will become a class that looks at SAU as a community of learners, focusing on what it means to study the liberal arts.

COL200 will look at local communities and their significance. COL300

thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

will concentrate on the community of saints through time with an emphasis on spiritual formation. And COL400 is about looking forward and preparing students for the communities they will be part of in the future. “[The courses] are going to look very similar to the courses we already offer, with clearer vision and direction,” Baker said. “And hopefully we’re able to more clearly articulate how they all connect.”

One main reason the committee made these changes was because of students’ confusion as to why the university requires them to take courses that don’t seem to relate to their majors.

“We wanted to find a way to articulate that it’s not just those [CORE] classes that are essential to what we do here, but it’s the whole school’s curriculum,” Baker said.

Looking at other Christian colleges’ general education programs was another important part of the revision process, according to Dr. Wally Metts, professor of communications and member of the CPLA committee. The goal of creating a program more distinct to SAU helped guide the committee’s decision-making process.

Dr. Allen Knight, assistant professor of marketing, and Dr. Jeffery Bilbro, assistant professor of English, are also part of CPLA. Knight explained

News

“

I don’t think this process is saying it’s broken, We’re saying we could help students understand it better.

changes will be made automatically.

Faculty teaching the courses will experience the biggest change.

“I don’t think this process is saying it’s broken,” Metts said. “We’re saying we could help students understand it better.”

Wally Metts, Director of graduate studies

”

how the new COL program can be represented by their tree diagram.

“Traditionally, there were seven liberal arts, like English and rhetoric, along with some math and sciences, but now the school of thought is that there are three primary curriculums: fine arts, such as visual and performing arts; liberal arts, like literature and some sciences; and utilitarian studies, which would be application-based, like business. The Community of Learners program hopes to engage and synthesize all of these together into a cohesive program,” Knight said.

The new COL program does not add any extra course requirements for students. The credit hour total for the general education program will actually decrease from an average low of 53 credits to 51. The committee members agreed students shouldn’t be too concerned about this switch, especially since students don’t have to change anything in their schedule planner; the

ILLUSTRATIONS BY Kerri Conrad, a 2016 alumnus of Spring Arbor University

May 5, 2017 • thesaupulse.com

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Remembe snow day... we had one

someone reply all. tennis there was ing... court park

the elephant first appeared o of the student center...

we won nationals...

the arbor fox happened like an off brand Flatline. #wedoitbetter

and then ag roof of the

ber when...

Our top 10 favorite memories from the past four (er, five) years Amber Cekander | Associate Editor Carly Thompson | A&E Editor

Salon de RefusĂŠs became a thing...

one hit all...

ed on top

someone stole the silverware...

again on the the library...

e ay th the d ended world hen w s (aka ifi wa e w e th tir an en off end). week

Features

Students share their experiences Sarah Dean | Staff Writer Heather Clark | Staff Writer

W

hen May sneaks in and most Spring Arbor University (SAU) students are packing up to head home for the summer, a handful stick around and get a taste of what SAU is like during the three months without the typical campuslife buzz.

Zac Davenport is a junior comprehensive social studies major who spent last summer working for campus safety. Patrolling the campus with so few students can be quiet, he said, which encompassed both the best and worst aspects about being at SAU over the summer. He enjoyed venturing to places he normally would not have during the year, such as all four floors of Muffitt. Walking through a hushed campus was nice, but loneliness crept in after about a month of the silence.

To keep busy, Davenport played cards and video games with friends. He also frequented the Cascades Golf Course and downtown Jackson.

Sophomore and graphic design major Shan-Shan Akamu was also among the few who stayed on campus last summer, working a custodial position. The lack of people was peaceful, yet she also

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experienced some boredom. Akamu found ways to pass the time by working out or sketching. Going to the movies or having bonfires with friends were other relaxing activities.

For senior social work major, Melissa Johnson, living at SAU over the summer looked a little different. Aside from her campus safety shifts, she spent little time there since she lived off campus.

Though it could get lonely, the season was mostly enjoyable for her, especially when the days had a heat that begged for the SAU-famed Frosty Boy ice cream as a refreshment.

“I loved working in the warm weather and getting to see the different events taking place on campus over the summer,” Johnson said.

Senior Carly Dehmel is a social work major who relished being the summer resident assistant of the Maddox house.

For Dehmel, the feel of the summer was “timeless,” as even year-round workers went on vacations, and the campus had a time of rest. She found the schedule to be unique from the school year because most of the students worked from 8-5, so everyone came home for dinner around the same time.

thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

“It had a family feel,” Dehmel said.

“We had campfires and we’d walk barefoot and bike a lot and run; it was just super peaceful.”

For those soon to wonder how they might survive a summer at SAU, these students have suggestions to help get you through. Akamu encourages a little adventure, from hitch-hiking to bonfires to swimming. Going out for ice cream, baking, strolling through the fair and playing volleyball were some other favorite summertime moments of hers.

If adventure is not your go-to, Davenport recommends “Gladiator,” “League of Legends” and fishing.

Dehmel and her housemates also enjoyed bike rides, spending time in the community garden, reading and lounging in their kiddie pool. Whatever your pastime, these students show surviving a summer at SAU is not just possible, but can also be peaceful.

A Guide to Staying O.K. After College Andrew King | Guest Writer

I

’ve written two of these advicef o r- a - c e r t a i n - s t a g e - o f - l i f e columns for The Pulse before, and while those articles came with the benefit of years of hindsight, the lessons I’m putting down here are more like telegrams dashed off from the front lines.

In other words, post-college life is hard and you don’t understand what it means to be a no-excuses adult by doing it for a single year. Seniors, I just completed my freshman year in the real world; take all the advice here with a Lot’s wife amount of salt.

Be Self-Motivated or Die The past 17 years of your life have had clearly stated goals. Life after college does not. You may take these goals for granted, but your existence as a student has necessarily been framed and undergirded by them.

On the outside, life moves at the pace you choose. If you’re as sick of the school cycle as I was, the set-yourown-speed freedom of adult life may do wonders for you.

But determining your own path can also be a curse. You will succeed as much or as little after college as you decide to. But, nobody has a gun to your head. Told that the sky is the limit, lots of post-grad adults say, “Nah,” roll over and go back to bed.

The extent to which success in the real world depends on ambition can be overwhelming, so it will help you later if you decide what you want to accomplish now.

Be Annoying Since I’ve graduated, I’ve worked three jobs. I didn’t get any of those jobs with shot-in-the-dark, anonymous Indeed one-click applications.

Perseverance in emailing and inperson follow-ups can, and will, make a difference. If you’re like most people, you’re probably afraid of coming off too strong to potential employers.

However, it is better to not get a job because you were too persistent than because you weren’t persistent enough.

Features

Make Your Own Rules Set Priorities This may be hard to imagine in the middle of finals week, but if you are working full-time, life after college feels much busier than undergrad. Deciding what you want to prioritize is essential.

Whether a close relationship with God, physical health or career goals are most important to you, plan now to prioritize the behaviors that are conducive to making them a reality.

Choose wisely.

Live With People You Like For the past year, I’ve lived in Jackson with three of my best friends from high school. They already had an apartment in Jackson and I wanted to live in Jackson. It was a perfect fit.

Living with people you feel awkward around would suck. I eat wings, play putt-putt, clean, play video games and watch TV with my roommates. If I didn’t like them, I would hate my life.

PHOTO BY Nate Bortz

May 5, 2017 • thesaupulse.com

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A&E

Seniors’ “Best” Tips for Underclassmen Elise Emmert | News Editor

Best Place to Stargaze

82% Lime Lake 14% soccer field (don’t get caught by Campus Safety) 4% roof of Lowell

Best place to hang out with a significant other on non-open hour nights

93% Lowell lobby 5% Cougar Den 1% Andrews Hall movie room 1% underneath the clock tower by the Concept

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Best place to cry about finals

Best time to do laundry

63% library quiet room

67% when you go home

15% underneath your bed

20% early on weekend mornings

12% woods behind the baseball fields 10% curled up in a ball in Ron Kopicko’s office

13% whenever you run out of underwear

Best place to propose

34% Lime Lake 26% in front of the clock tower 19% one of your houses over Christmas break 16% P-Loop 5% by the rock

thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

Best non-legal pet to hide in villages/ K-houses/Delta

52% cat 26% hamster 19% bunny 3% ferret

Facing the music: A&E

Songs for leaving it all behind Liz Pence | Staff Writer Mary Sramek| Guest Writer What’s graduation season without a playlist of angsty-yet-hopeful jams to get you through? Bogus, that’s what.

So, to help you check one more thing off of your to-do list, I made one for you. Personally, my playlist would be “Tubthumping” for 32 hours, but we’re different people.

Don’t worry, “Pomp and Circumstance” is not featured.

“Ain’t It Fun” - Paramore

“Well you could ring anybody’s bell and get what you want/You see it’s easy to ignore trouble/When you’re living in a bubble.”

WARNING: Leaving The Bubble to venture into the real world might come with high voltage.

“real world”- Rob thomas

“And it’s hard/Standing at the crossroads/But having all the answers/ Never helped me out, no.”

NOTE: A semi-cynical bop for anyone who still thinks you need have anything figured out.

“be here long” - needtobreathe “Close my eyes and think of you/ Go to sleep and dream of you/We don’t get to be here long.”

INSTRUCTIONS: Blare this in your car and cry about the underclassman you never thought you’d befriend that you’re leaving behind.

“landslide” - fleetwood mac “Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’/‘Cause I built my life around you/But time makes you bolder/Children get older/And I’m getting older too.”

NOTE: It’s your mom’s go-to cry song. She’s had it on repeat for days. Please hug her.

“photograph” - nickelback

“And this is where I went to school/ Most of the time had better things to do/Criminal record says I broke in twice/I must have done it half a dozen times.”

ADMIT IT: In the gilded age of memes, excluding this song would be heresy. (You’ve broken the rules more than a half a dozen times.)

“peace of mind” - boston

“I understand about indecision/But I don’t care if I get behind/People livin’ in competition/All I want is to have my peace of mind.”

ATTN: For anyone who didn’t major in a “serious subject” with “job opportunities,” the theatre majors see you. Everyone can duct tape cardboard boxes together and live in a make-shift duplex.

“how far i’ll go” - moana

“If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me/One day I’ll know, if I go there’s just no telling how far I’ll go.”

ADVICE: What can you do with a Philosophy degree? Restore the heart of Te Fiti.

“bohemian rhapsody” - queen “Too late, my time has come/Send shivers down my spine, body’s aching all the time/Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go/Gotta leave you all behind to face the truth.” #LipSync2017 #NeedISayMore #CollegeExperience

“pompeii” - bastille

“I was left to my own devices/Many days fell away with nothing to show.”

ATTN: It’s okay you haven’t found a job yet. It’s not okay you have to do your own cooking now.

May 5, 2017 • thesaupulse.com

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Sports

SENIOR transformation Abe Bonn

Alyssa Joseph

Drew Weston 14

thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

Savannah Weaver

Sports Jennifer Coffell Xaviar Prather

Vince McShane

Aimee Konkel Taylor Johnston

2013-2017

May 5, 2017 • thesaupulse.com

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Sports

First Annual Cougar Nation Athletics Awards Nathan Salsbury | Staff Writer Emily Spencer | Staff Writer

A

s the semester comes to an end, the sports season comes to a close as well.

This year, Spring Arbor University (SAU) will host its first ever formal awards ceremony, called the Cougar Nation Athletics (CNA) Awards, to celebrate what student athletes have accomplished.

Previously, only four awards were given at the end of the year during the honors chapel.

“We’d have to rush through it really quickly just to try and recognize a few athletes,” Chris Bauman, the Sports Information Director, said.

The first annual CNA Awards will be a formal event that not only honors athletic achievements, but will recognize the academic accomplishments of individuals and teams overall. The awards include scholarships such as the Kay Dunckel Sophomore Scholarship and the Don McDonald Junior Scholarship, and light-hearted awards like the “Struggle Bus Award” and “Athlete Most Likely in the Training Room.”

One of the coaches had an idea to do an awards ceremony similar to an ESPY Award show. This would give the athletics department a chance to recognize the students for all their athletic and academic achievements as well as the things they have done in the

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community. The event will consist of both the presentation of the awards and a banquet.

Athletes are nominated for the awards by the coaches and the Student Athletic Advisory Board (SAAB) votes for winners. The SAAB is made up of team captains from each sport who are meant to be the voice of athletes on campus working to make improvements.

A group of five students from the SAAB and five athletic faculty members have been working to plan the CNA Awards. Together, they planned, prepared and will execute the event.

In addition to the awards, the new SAU athletics logo will be revealed, Bauman said.

thesaupulse.com • May 5, 2017

We’d have to rush The CNA Awards through will be heldreally in the quickly just try fieldhouse on to May and a few 7. recognize Doors will open athletes. at 5:00pm and the

banquet will begin Chris Bauman, Sports Information at 5:30pm. Director

“That’s been a year in the making, so we’re excited about that.”

All athletes are invited to attend the award presentation, along with family and school administration. This includes students from 17 different teams, both mens and womens sports. Bauman said the athletic department expects about 400 people to be present at the athletes-only event.