WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY
Columbia Columbia Journal Journal
FEBRUARY 2021
CONT ENTS 03
VOL. 41 NO.1
06
The iconic phrase from the beloved children's 1991 film "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" perfectly encapsulates this semester's sentiments.
COVID CONTINUUM
~With Max Orlanne Pierre
Attending University online was definitely not on our list of expected experiences for our college days, but here are some reads to make the best of it. ~With Anna Karla Carreño and With Max Orlanne Pierre
05
THE VOICES THROUGH THE AGES
10
WASHING TON Travel and tourism in DC are especially popular, but as busy schedules and social distancing are a normality in our lives, the Journal presents a view of the Capital, right from our pages.
CALENDAR Keeping up with the times is hard enough as it feels like both 100 years or only 3 seconds have passed us by since everything began.
~With Jenevieve Lettsome
From the Editor Month two of our school semester is nearly over, and furthermore, we've made it this far. To be completely honest, I know that I am absolutely done: with school, with staying away, with the silence, with the routine. But I stay positive despite my complaints for one reason: one day, I know that we will return to some semblance of normal, and for that I am eternally grateful. As opposed to most of my other notes, I'm going to keep this one relatively short and end it with Happy Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, and Black History Month.
-Jenna
2021
Despite still being online, WAU found a way to bring their campus together- united in a community of spirit.
Anna Karla Carreño
Although classes are virtual, WAU still managed to hold its Spring 2021 Week In Spiritual Emphasis, known as W.I.S.E. This semester’s theme was “Knowing Christ”, and the week’s speakers were all WAU students. We kicked off the week with Justino Jorge, the SA Religious VP, and continued with other religion majors- Javier Scharon, Chris Carcamo, and Juan Carcamo. The week’s speakers weren’t afraid to share intimate details of their lives in order to get their message across. Each speaker had a different twist on “Knowing Christ”, and had their own personal take on what it means to truly have a relationship with our Creator.
Although W.I.S.E. is over, we as students and faculty can still deepen our understanding of Christ. Many of us know of Christ due to our upbringings, but how many of us truly know Him? This seemed to be the point of the week- to not follow our peers and elders blindly into religion, but to make the informed decision by studying God ourselves, and step out in faith. The message that each of the student speakers left us with had its own unique point of view, but the essence remained the same:
know Christ for yourself.
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WISE: A WEEK IN KNOWING CHRIST
Max Orlanne Pierre
Valentine’s Day occurs every year on February 14. Stretching across the United States and even in some parts around the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated far and wide. Love, gifts, candy, and quality time are exchanged between loved ones all in the name of St. Valentine. Although this holiday is celebrated annually, many people do not know the history of Valentine’s Day, let alone who St. Valentine actually is. St. Valentine’s Day is connected to both Christian and ancient Roman tradition but who exactly was St. Valentine, and how did he become associated with this yearly tradition? In the Catholic Church, there are a minimum of three separate saints named either Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One story speaks of a priest who worked during Rome’s third century. Emperor Claudius II had outlawed marriage for young men after deciding that single men made better soldiers than those with spouses and families. The priest, Valentine, disobeyed Claudius II’s and continuously married young lovers in secrecy. When his actions were discovered, he was ordered to be put to death and Claudius II had him beheaded. A second story claims that the true St. Valentine is a bishop, St. Valentine of Temi. He was also beheaded by Claudius II outside of Rome.
Other stories tell tales of Valentine having been killed for attempting to help Christians escape cruel Roman prisons where they were more than likely beaten and tortured. One specific story tells of a jailed Valentine who sent out the first “valentine” letter to a young woman (highly likely she was the jailer’s daughter) who he’d fallen in love with while serving out his sentence. The tale says that he signed the letter “From your Valentine.” Although there is no set owner of the name St. Valentine, Valentine’s Day is celebrated by many people to this day and the holiday is quite popular. All in all, Valentine’s Day is a time carved out for love and appreciation of spouses, friends, and/or family. Though we may not have a definitive answer for the origin of St. Valentine, we have the love and adoration that we share with our loved ones both on and off Valentine’s Day.
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WHERE DID VALENTINE'S DAY COME FROM?
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SPOT NO.6 Washington DC When it came time to design the United State's seat of government, the founding fathers initially hired a designer who, after an incident, left with the plans of the new capital. However, under the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington hired the assistant, a free black man. The Marylander, Benjamin Banneker, who was quite possibly born a genius, received his education through the Quaker system and considered himself close to their beliefs for the rest of his life. After he was hired as the new head architect for the massive project, he was able to recreate the missing designs from memory in two days. Although many of us cannot actually visit the beautiful city, it stands to this day an example of Black genius.
Max Orlanne Pierre
"Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won." -James Weldon Johnson
There are so many who have come before us, fighting for equality and justice and Black History Month shouldn't be where it stops, but rather should only serve as a reminder of what we still fight for. Compiled here, is a timeline of lives selected out of hundreds to show the story of this country.
Nat Turner (Oct. 2, 1800 - Nov. 11, 1831) August 21, 1831 Turner led a slave rebellion of around 75 Black people and killed some 60 white people in two days while also striking fear into white Southerners. Fredrick Douglass (Feb. 1818 - Feb. 20, 1895) May 1845 Douglass published his autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” which portrayed Douglass as an independent, self-made man.
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THE VOICES THROUGH THE AGES
Sojourner Truth (1797 - Nov. 26, 1883) 1851
Madam C. J. Walker (Dec. 23, 1867-May 25, 1919)
1910 Truth delivered her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at a women’s convention in Akron, Ohio. Ida B. Wells (July 16, 1862 - Mar. 25, 1931) 1896 Wells founded the National Association of Colored Women which helped many suffering women and children as well as called attention to many racist issues. W. E. B. Du Bois (Feb. 23, 1868-Aug. 27, 1963) February 12, 1909 Du Bois became one of the founders of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as director of publicity and research from 1910 to 1934.
Walker’s hair care products company took off and she became the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire. Marcus Garvey (Aug. 17, 1887 - Jun. 10, 1940) August 1, 1914 Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association which sought, among other things, to build a Black-governed nation in Africa. Maya Angelou (Apr. 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014) 1943 Presently remembered as a famed author and poet, Angelou was the first Black woman as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco, California at 16 years old.
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THE VOICES...... CONT.
Jackie Robinson (Jan. 31, 1919 - Oct. 24, 1972) Rosa Parks (Feb. 4, 1913 - Oct. 24, 2005) April 15, 1947
December 1, 1955
Robinson played his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first Black person to
Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a
play in Major League Baseball.
Montgomery, Alabama bus.
Malcolm X (May 19, 1925 - Feb. 21, 1965)
Martin Luther King Jr. (Jan. 15, 1929 - Apr. 4, 1968)
1952 - 1960 Malcolm X was released from prison and aided the Nation of Islam in growing from some 400 members to 40,000 members.
Dec. 5, 1955 Dec. 20, 1956 King led the first monumental, nonviolent demonstration against segregation, the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Emmett Till (July 25, 1941 - Aug 28, 1955)
Cicely Tyson (Dec. 19, 1924 - Jan. 28, 2021)
August 28, 1955
May 24, 1963
At age 14, Emmett Till was brutally tortured and murdered by two white men for allegedly
Tyson, playing the role of secretary Jane Foster, became the first African-American star of a TV
flirting with a white woman four days prior.
drama in the series East Side/West Side.
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THE VOICES...... CONT.
Katherine Johnson (Aug. 26, 1918 – Feb. 24, 2020)
Colin Powell (Apr. 5, 1937-) 2001-2005
1969 Noted by NASA as as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist, Johnson State by President Bush. is best known for her trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. Amiri Baraka (Oct. 7, 1934 - Jan. 9, 2014) 1968 Baraka donned his new name and published work that showed the experiences and suppressed anger of Black Americans in a whitedominated society. Toni Morrison (Feb. 18, 1931 - Aug. 5, 2019) 1993
Born in New York, Powell was the first Black individual to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of
Barack Obama (Aug. 4, 1961-) 2009-2017 At age 47, Obama became the U.S.A.'s first African-American President, breaking through barriers for Black people as a whole.
Vice President Kamala Harris (Oct. 20, 1964-) January 2021Former Californian Senator Harris changed the world with a simple "so help
After writing several notable literary works, Morrison became the first Black me God" on a cold January morning woman to when she became the first Female and receive the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature. First African-American Vice President of the United States.
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THE VOICES...... CONT.
2.27
SA Game Night with Burman University
2.28
SL Virtual Talent Showcase
3.1
Midterms
3.8
Midterm Break Begins
3.12
Midterm Break Ends
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The Columbia Journal of Washington Adventist University is the official print media news source for the University’s on-campus student body.
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FEB-MARCH
~Contributors~ "Jenna" Jenevieve Lettsome......Editor Max Orlanne Pierre......Interning Columnist Anna Karla Carreño..........Copy Editor Dr. Jarilyn Conner........Faculty Advisor Dr. Thomas Lutrell....Advisory Council
wauh onor scoll ege The Mission of the Student Association is to establish a culture of engagement and unity on the campus of Washington Adventist University.