As the end of the Spring 2025 semester draws near, students across campus are coming out of  hibernation. Being buried in essays, busy work, and endless readings have consumed the time and energy of students for several months now, leaving them longing for fresh air and something bright and new. Fortunately, Eastern’s performing artists have spent these past months in preparation for their kickoff to warm weather and springtime celebrations!

Eastern University’s spring performances are rolling in with passion. Dancers, musicians and vocalists alike have been working overtime behind the scenes in preparation for their times to shine during their performances this April.

The spring 2025 performing arts spring events kicked off on Friday, April 11, with the opening night of the Spring Centennial Music Festival featuring Eastern’s instrumental ensemble. This festival resumed on Saturday, April 12, with performances by Eastern’s vocal choirs, including Turning Point and Angels of Harmony, a gospel choir. 

When asked about the rehearsal process, instrumentalist Joe Walsh said “The rehearsal and preparation process for the festival has been extensive. We have held rehearsals every week this semester as well as a more intensive schedule the week before the festival to get used to performing in the auditorium. The process is incredibly rewarding when we get to make music for family and friends.”

Abigail McNair, the vice president of Turning Point choir, shared feelings regarding the rehearsal process leading up to the festival. “The music department and the ensembles never fail to amaze me. Even when we feel like our songs may be falling apart, or if we miss a few rehearsals and don’t think we’re going to come together in time, we always figure out a way to give a performance we’re proud of every time,” says McNair. 

Angelina Morrow, member of Angels of Harmony, had a message for the audience for both this concert and many more to come: “One thing the audience should know before watching is that it’s ok to be engaging and we honestly encourage it. If you feel led to stand, stand on your feet! We love to dance, laugh, and have fun on stage, so y’all should too!”

The Spring Centennial Music Festival was a breath of fresh air after a long, cold winter. The combination of new, flashy music and calm, well-known songs of worship raised the rafters of the McInnis stage. With singers and musicians wailing out in His name, it was clear that the Spirit was alive and well during both performance nights!

Eastern’s dancers will also have their moment in the spotlight during the dance department’s Spring performance, “Reclamation,” taking place April 25 and 26 at 7:30 PM. “Reclamation is this year’s variation of the department’s annual headline show. 

Eastern’s dancers have plenty of input regarding “Reclamation,” expressing their excitement for their opening night and sharing their feelings about the rehearsal process working up to this point. One dancer, Lily Bertolet, shared her experience as a senior performing in her final show with Eastern’s dance department. “Rehearsals have been so fun! It’s such a blessing to have a space where I can do what I love with my best friends. It is a challenge as I dance around 10 hours a week and many dancers practice even more, but in the end, it is so worth it! Additionally, as a senior, it makes practicing much more bittersweet because I am so thankful for the ability and opportunity to dance but feeling very sentimental about it as well,” says Bertolet. 

When asked if they had any notes for the audience, Eastern’s dancers widely expressed the hope that everyone watching will enjoy and appreciate the hard work put into bringing the show to life on the stage. Bertolet added, “I just hope that the audience will enjoy themselves and recognize the time, effort, and athleticism it takes to be a dancer. Dancing is an art form but dancers are athletes, blending strength, power, and grace into each movement. Most of all though, I hope the audience feels a connection and enjoys the show!”

The stage has been and will continue to be lively as singers, dancers and musicians light it up with their talents with their displays of hard work and dedication. Thank you to the performers for keeping the art of entertainment alive!

With technology growing in usage and capabilities every day, the use of online college classes has become a major part of student life across the world. Perhaps one of Eastern’s most lucrative changes in the past 100 years has been the decision to invest in online degree programs, keeping us from the danger of being shut down like so many other small private colleges. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, these low-cost graduation programs solved “the problem of stagnant tuition revenue.” 

So, if you are an Eastern commuter with a lengthy drive or campus resident with a jam-packed schedule, an online class might be the best way to save your time and sanity. Online classes provide commuters the chance to spend fewer days per week on campus, thus sparing the gas money and energy used to commute. For campus residents, online classes make scheduling semesters easier and allow more time for clubs, socialization, and rest.

In addition to the possibility of being an off-campus student and earning a degree fully online, Eastern University now allows in-person students to complete courses entirely online through synchronous or asynchronous undergraduate classes. 

Online synchronous classes are remote learning options which follow the schedule of in-person classes. They run on a weekly schedule with mandatory due dates for assignments just like any other course. Online synchronous classes run on the typical 16-week semester schedule while giving students the ability to complete their daily tasks from the comfort of their own homes (or dorms)! 

Online asynchronous (FLEX) classes are similar to synchronous classes in that they allow students to work remotely for the same reward as in-person courses. However, these classes take place over only seven weeks of the normal semester, causing the students to need to work more quickly to complete tasks. Because of this, the due dates on FLEX assignments are not mandatory, but rather a suggestion to keep the student up to date and on track to complete all assignments on time. 

Synchronous and asynchronous classes are available in a variety of different subjects and are helpful when completing both mandatory courses and electives. They allow students the freedom to spend more time resting in their dorms or spending time at home with their families as opposed to spending every day running around campus to a multitude of classes. 

Consider enrolling in an online course during your next semester at Eastern and think of all the ways you can make use of your new free time! Your future self will thank you.

I have the opportunity to share a personal observation of Eastern’s evolution through two generations of Eastern Eagles: Me and my mother, Rebecca Whited, M. Ed. Whited is an Eastern graduate who obtained both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Eastern. 

When I was young, my mother brought me to Eastern’s campus. To this day, I remember her placing me on a boulder by the old waterwheel and telling me stories about her trips to campus during her youth. 

13 years later, while I was nervously sending out college applications, receiving acceptance letters and finding myself unable to picture myself settling into any of the campuses I toured, my mother came to me and asked me the question that changed everything – “What about Eastern?”

We quickly set up a campus tour. The second we set foot on campus together, we gave each other a look as if to say, “We’re home.” This was when I knew I found where I belonged.

Now, two years later, my mother and I compare stories regularly about our separate times on Eastern’s campus, yelling things like, “Guess what club they just introduced!” and “No way, he’s still teaching?” Needless to say, we were both overjoyed upon knowing that I could interview her and gain insight from her point of view to share with current Eastern dwellers. 

My mother was a commuter to campus as I am, allowing for proper comparisons of campus experiences. We began with campus life and opportunities to connect with fellow students on campus. “I attended some evening concerts or talks when I commuted,” Whited said. When asked about activities and events she attended during her time as a student, she said, “Most activities were geared for on-campus student body.” 

Nowadays, Eastern has events that reach everyone, commuter or resident. I regularly receive emails regarding campus activities, big and small, which are open for any student who is interested. Eastern provides free pop-up snack stops, crafting events and performing arts experiences throughout different times each week to allow students with any schedule to find an opportunity to attend.

As most students at Eastern know, the school is passionate about reaching out into the community. As opposed to some beliefs that look down upon people as less “holy” or “pure,” Eastern’s God-fearing ambition stretches out a strong arm to comfort and serve those who are in the dark.

“I was not sure how I felt about having an adjunct professor for Medical Ethics. The teacher was not a professor, but rather a man who worked in the field and had real life applications for the material we were learning. I was at first put off by him, as I didn’t think he fit the mold for what a scholarly instructor should be. He was smart, brutally honest and quick to question the status quo of the medical establishment’s policies in human services and ethics,” says Whited. “The occasion that snapped this ultra conservative Christian to attention was, ‘Would you meet someone at a bar for a beer if that was the only way they were willing to talk about Jesus?’ The debate that ensued was open, meaningful and insightful. No negativity was allowed. I remember that Tuesday evening more clearly than any other class period,” Whited said. 

“It challenged me to contrast and compare how I’d been formaĺly trained to think and behave as a Christian with what Jesus actually modeled for us and commanded us to do in his ministry. He said to be fishers of men and to go out and make disciples. People are not ‘one size fits all.’ Jesus went to the well to meet the woman, and He sat across the table from Zaccheus. He reasoned with rabbis in the temple and laughed with children. The conversation that took place that evening has had a lasting effect on me.”

Eastern has always had a passion for reaching the unreachable by any means necessary. Today’s campus agenda pushes for service learning, sending students out into the world to selflessly serve others. 

Whited’s story is just one small example of the subtle ways in which Eastern breaks down walls to bring others to God. Most professors on campus not only speak of supporting this revolution, but displays it in their own behaviors every day by carrying students struggling with academics or life issues through classes without judgement.

Eastern’s creation of a support system has remained since its first day. It took some time in its early years to work out the details, including everyone in campus events, bringing in passionate professors and providing opportunities for students to serve the Lord. In our ever-growing community, Eastern Eagles are blessed to see the growth the school has experienced through the years.

Mankind has a chronic obsession with being remembered. We have historically always wanted to change the world, save lives, solve world hunger, secure peace amongst countries and achieve many other vague and greatly cliché goals before we pass on to ensure that our names linger in the mouths of younger generations for years to come. Perhaps the most painful concept to accept is that we will all die at some point, and all we will have to keep our memory alive afterward is the reminders of us we leave behind. It is said that a person dies twice: Once when their body fails and once when their friends’ do. Regardless of how hard we try to live forever through memories, our names will no longer remain immortal on the tongues of others and we will all die for a second time as generations continue. 

We all believe we are alive for a reason. Can we be, then, dead for a reason? If this is the case, I hope my reason for expiration is to create small pleasantries in the lives of others long after I am gone. I have plenty of achievements so far in my lifetime that I am proud to display, but those will sooner or later be forgotten and any position I hold will be given to a newer and younger person. My final request of anyone who is close to me is to use up every last bit of me to brighten someone’s day. I have a collection of throw blankets – take them to a few women’s shelters. Drop the pennies from my change jar in parks with fountains so little ones with big dreams can run to make wishes in the water. Throw my favorite sweater over your shoulder and leave it in an airport so it can go home with the next raider of the Lost and Found. Write my name on its tag. I don’t want credit, that isn’t the reason. What I want is for that person to do their laundry and pick up a sweater they don’t recall buying, check the tag, and remember that it’s the one some woman left lying around while waiting for her flight. 

I hope there are no flowers on my grave. I won’t be around to see them, so what’s the point? Rather, buy some flowers for me and take them to a high school prom. Give them to the young boy checking his watch, nervously waiting for his date to arrive, or the awkward girl watching her classmates from the sidelines because she was never considered by a boy to be asked to dance. Give them in my name, claim it as your own when they ask who to thank. After that, of course, take care of my books. They each have my name stamped inside the covers. Drop them off in Little Libraries everywhere so they can go home with new people. One day someone will tell a friend the name of their favorite author and it will be because of a book of mine. Let me live on in every tiny corner of the world that I did not get to touch during my lifetime.

I have no need to be frequently remembered. No one needs to speak of me every weekend around the dinner table to keep me alive or celebrate my birthday every year until my memory eventually dissipates and is forgotten. Rather, let me live quietly in the lives of everyone. Let me be remembered by simply being around long after I’m gone, creating sweet moments in the lives of people who have never seen the face to which my name was attached. In my mind, this is more important and realistic than any legacy I could leave behind for academics, talents, or world-changing influences. I much prefer a quiet, kind life in which I can live without worrying about being remembered as opposed to one of glamour and iconic experiences to try to prove that I am worth a memory. I want to be remembered for being everywhere and in everything so I can live on far longer than my time allowed on this earth.

Scroll to Top