As Christians today, we are often more inclined to focus on our own spiritual growth and our fellowship with friends and family than to concern ourselves with the larger happenings of the world. Even as just a college student it can become easy to ignore the great dilemmas of the modern age and write off wars an ocean away. It is easier to go through our daily routine unmolested by thoughts of uncertainty or fear, but sometimes the world arrives in our backyard and a decision must be made. Such is the decision we are tasked with in the wake of the violence that transpired in Charlottesville a few weeks ago.
In February of this past year, the city council of Charlottesville, Va. voted to remove a statue from a public park depicting Robert E. Lee, a prominent confederate general. Conflict over the removal of the statue remained largely non-violent for most of the year. Then, in early August, tensions arose as a “Unite the Right” rally was organized online in protest of the statues removal. The Charlottesville police were put on alert, but the city did not to take any action to cancel the protest, citing the protesters’ first amendment rights.
On the morning of August 12, protesters began to assemble near the park. Reports varied greatly, but the general estimate was that by 10:30 a.m. there were approximately 10 thousand protesters from various nationalist groups, many of them armed. Left wing counter-protest groups organized to confront the protesters. Before long, violence broke out between the protesters and counter protesters. Within an hour, police declared the entire gathering unlawful. It was at this time that one of the protesters, 20-year-old James Alex Fields, drove his car through a crowd of counter protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Many more injuries were reported, as police spent the rest of the day clearing out protesters and counter-protesters alike until activity died down later that evening.
The time has come for every Christian, myself included, to examine where they stand, because while the violence of Charlottesville has ended, the hate that drove it has only taken a reprieve. Do we sit by and allow this hate to overtake us? For those who are uncertain, I would direct you to Galatians 3:26-28 where it states, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Reading those words, I am convinced that the violence driven by this desire to be ethnically pure is strictly opposed to my values as a citizen of this country, and most importantly, my faith in God.

Sources: Charlottesville Police Department; ABCnews

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A new semester begins. It will be my third year as a student at Eastern, but it will be my first as a resident assistant, or “RA” as it is usually called. Two years ago to the day, I moved into Sparrowk Hall as a freshman. I was scared. I had no idea what to expect from college. I grew up a twin and had no older siblings to refer to, no frame of reference outside of what I had heard from family members who had not been to college in a long time.
So there I was, confused and alone. I was about leave behind all that I had ever known. Arriving at my dorm, the first person I ran into was the RA for my floor. After helping me move in, he told me, “If you need something, let me know. I’m here to help.” I thought “of course,” to myself, “He has to say that. He’s the RA.” Going to lunch later that week, my RA and his roommate invited me to sit with them. More fake kindness. I was hesitant to talk at first, but eventually I just let my guard down. I allowed myself to open up and trust someone new for the first time since graduating high school. From my first year on, I have become significantly more involved at Eastern. I have collected a good circle of friends, and really engaged with my studies, but my relationship with Eastern started way back during my first week here when a little sincerity went a long way. I knew that when the time came I would apply for the RA position. I hoped that someday I could do for others what had been done for me.
The application process is simple, but rigorous. The resident directors (RDs) put together individual and group interviews, a written application, and they pay attention to how you carry yourself around campus. Every year they take on the thankless job of sifting through many great candidates to find those best suited to serve.
I did not get into the program my first time around, but I had the opportunity to apply again the next year. Upon being selected in the spring, a new RA commits to events and training throughout the months leading up to the following fall, and also spends time getting to know their fellow staff members. While the returning staff and RDs can’t prepare you for everything, I know I have been given the tools necessary to guide new students, help seasoned ones, and build a community that reflects the values that Eastern holds dear.
I have hopes that this year will be a great one. Residents can rest easy knowing that they are in the hands of a very capable staff committed to their faith and driven to serve them. Service was a word that came up a lot in training. As RAs at a Christian university, we are called to lead in a way that reflects the leadership of Christ, not the leadership of the world. This place is special: Together as a community we can secure a safe intellectual environment for people to grow and learn, in a way that glorifies God and stands as an example to the world of what it means to live out the Word every day.

In the United States, women and men find themselves drawn to different career paths. This is often just the individual’s choice, but sometimes women and men find themselves hesitant to enter a field much more common to the opposite sex. While much study has been conducted regarding this phenomenon, we can take a closer look by examining this situation at Eastern University.

As a student, you’ve probably encountered our public safety officers around campus. They perform a variety of services for our community and work to keep us safe on a daily basis. Public safety officers can be found transferring students to and from the West Lot and the train station, taking emergency calls, patrolling campus, reporting any criminal activity and handling parking services and violations. In addition to the aforementioned duties, the staff also act as an extra hand whenever there is any kind of emergency or incident. There is quite a lot to be done, and it takes every member of the team to handle every one of these duties.

Among the staff, we wanted to get the unique perspective of our female public safety officers and understand what it’s like to work in a male-dominated field. Tracy Dahn, who has been employed here for almost a year, gives us some insight on this. When asked about what specific challenges female security officers face, she talks about how women are frequently held to different expectations and viewed as less capable than their male coworkers. Whether the issue is physical stature or perceived ability, women in these types of jobs have to work very hard to earn respect from not only their coworkers, but also from the people they are responsible for protecting. She adds that students can rest easy knowing that both Cynthia Rawlings and Andrea Mack (the other two female public safety officers) have experience as police officers and that Rawlings served in the military.

Dahn, who has worked several different jobs, took on the job here for a change of pace. She wants to let the students know that she and the rest of the team are committed to making sure everyone is safe and feels safe. Dahn really enjoys working here and notes that Eastern has a “great atmosphere and community.” Dahn, like many of us, is drawn to the closely-knit nature of Eastern University’s community. She hopes to get to know the community more and is looking forward to taking classes after a year of work.

Of our 12 public safety officers, three of them are female. Women everywhere face a difficult climb within this type of work, and Dahn, Rawlings and Mack are no exception. Students can follow their example by being unafraid to push boundaries and defy expectations as they decide on what career path to follow in the future. In the meantime, we can all get to know the people serving us and thank them for all of their hard work.

Source: Tracy Dahn

What does the future of American politics look like? That’s a question a lot of people are asking these days. We’re almost two months into the new presidency, and already so much has happened. The rollout of the travel ban sent shockwaves throughout the country. Thousands protested at airports, while others turned their attention toward the GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (more commonly known as Obamacare) at Republican town halls. With the Democratic party scrambling to find its bearings after an unprecedented loss in November, all eyes are on the new president and the rest of the Republican party to see if they plan to follow through on the promises they made this past year, and if this new administration can really “Make America Great Again.”

Anyone who knows me knows I lean to the left on almost every issue, but that doesn’t mean divisions within the conservative party don’t concern me or that I don’t value the conservative perspective as an important part of the great American experiment. In fact, it’s whether that voice will survive the next few years that concerns me. Donald Trump is not your typical Republican, but he’s only part of a larger movement. In their effort to defeat the Democrats last November, the GOP found itself aligned with the nebulously defined “alt-right.” This new right-wing faction defines itself as a loosely-connected group of American nationalists, isolationist Libertarians and disgruntled Republican youth. The group prides itself in contrarian and “politically-incorrect” ideas and demeanor, ironically similar to the left-wing counterculture of the latter half of the 20th century.

While the group considers itself leaderless (another trait it shares with far-left movements), it has naturally gravitated around several key individuals and information outlets. Two individuals, Milo Yiannopoulos and Steve Bannon, both former editors of Breitbart.com–an alt-right media hub–have found themselves in the spotlight following the election. Steve Bannon worked extensively on Donald Trump’s campaign and now holds the newly-created position of “White House Chief Strategist” and is on the Security Council. Milo Yiannopoulos has made a name for himself attacking feminism, social justice, “politically-correct” culture and multiculturalism. Yiannopoulos was recently invited to speak at (and then subsequently kicked out of for unrelated reasons) the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Those who speak at CPAC are usually the current face of conservatism in America, so what is Yiannopoulos doing on the speaking list? In their bid for control of Capitol Hill, the Republican party has forgotten that Yiannopoulos and the rest of the “alt-right” are not conservative. Protectionism? Anti-immigration? These are not conservative principles. Even the more conservative ideas coming out of this movement are so far-right that they no longer represent what the GOP claims to stand for. Sources like Breitbart have been creating a sphere of misinformation that is problematic to begin with, but what’s worse is that their rhetoric is finding its way into our new president’s speeches more and more.

Growing up in the mining country of rural Pennsylvania, I know many conservative Americans. I call many of them friends. Those people, whether it’s because of gun rights, taxes or religious liberty, all find themselves on the right. The vast majority of them are not racist, stupid or contemptuous of other cultures. We need conservative representation because those people need a voice as much as anyone else. I don’t want to watch their voice be drowned out by the politics of fear and toxic nationalism.

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A couple hundred colleges from across the globe. Thousands of eager students ready to debate. Four days of pretending to be a delegate to the United Nations. That’s what you’re told you’re in for when you join Eastern’s Model United Nations (MUN) club. They tell you what to expect, but it doesn’t quite do it justice. The experience we had over the long-weekend trip to Boston for the 63rd Harvard National Model United Nations conference was a memory none of us in the club will soon forget.

Model United Nations is a debate/simulation for which students do research and prepare arguments on their assigned topics for their separate committees. There’s a catch though. You don’t argue from your own perspective, but instead take on the role of a delegate from one of the real United Nations member states. You need to understand where your nation stands on the topics and be able to articulate their position in committee. There are several committees ranging from general assemblies to economic and social councils and even specialized committees set in the past or in the future. Ever wonder what it’s like to handle the Cambodian invasion of 1979 or the energy crisis of 2033?

This year, Eastern University represented Costa Rica. So, beginning in the fall, we studied the country and its position on the different topics assigned to us. We met to practice parliamentary procedure and had mock debates on issues both serious and light-hearted (like which cartoon TV channel is the best). Scrambling together under the leadership of Douglas Parry, the president of the club, and Professor Alexander we gathered the necessary resources and managed to secure transportation. Singing songs, sharing stories and stopping for lunch, we make the six-hour journey to Boston early that Thursday morning.

Upon arriving at the conference, the few of us who have been there before enjoy the look of awe on the faces of the newcomers and settle in for opening ceremonies. In the massive ballroom of the Boston Park Plaza we sit surrounded by thousands of delegates. After a short presentation we depart to our separate committees. In committee, everything is formal, and the debates are intelligent and fierce. Harvard students in costume further enhance the experience by showing up as characters like protesters, the press and even the pope! After a long day of discussion in and out of committee, the delegates head out to explore the city, take tours of Harvard or participate in activities provided by the conference. For the more involved, there are awards and even internship opportunities.

The conference was only a couple of days, but it felt like it was longer. There was a part of me that didn’t want it to end. If you have any interest in politics, history or just like fancy business suits, I promise you that you would enjoy the trip. It’s a growing club, and we hope to see more people join in the future.

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In the Northeast, the population of high school graduates applying to four-year universities has gone down. Among those graduates, increasing numbers of prospective students are looking at cost-effective options like community colleges and state schools. Of the group that is left, statistics show that even fewer would consider going to a Christian college such as Eastern University. The group of potential students that Eastern is left to work with is very small compared to other private colleges and universities. The Eastern Admissions team has been hard at work to combat this growing issue.

Over the last year and a half, several changes have been made to the strategies Admissions uses to reach prospective students. The Waltonian sat down with Michael Dziedziak, Executive Director of Undergraduate Enrollment, to talk about some of these changes. Dziedziak says that most of Eastern’s traditional undergraduate students (young, recent high school graduates) come from the Northeast United States. With enrollment down in this demographic, Admissions has been trying to “maximize exposure” by aggressively advertising in areas that have previously supplied the greatest number of incoming first-year students. He explains that part of the reason why many students do not come to Eastern is that they have not heard of it. This new strategy hopes to change that. In addition to this new push in advertising, Admissions has been targeting what Dziedziak calls “pockets” of people in regions of the county that do not tend to apply to Eastern. He adds, “It’s a process of getting someone who lives several states away onto a plane to come visit our school and then hope that some of those people decide to apply.” It is a daunting task, but Admissions has ambitious goals for increasing enrollment.

One of the forces driving these changes is the way Eastern is taking advantage of technology. The national trend for most colleges has been vast email campaigns. Current students enrolled at Eastern may remember being a part of such a campaign. To keep the pace with other universities, Eastern has also been emailing students in this way, but the Admissions Office has taken it a step further. Part of the job of Admissions is being proactive. Thus, part of their new strategy has been to contact students who have not necessarily expressed interest in applying but fall into several categories typical of an Eastern student. Admissions has also been using new recruiting software to expedite the application process.

After a recent decline in enrollment among traditional undergraduates, numbers have risen slightly this year. It is too early to tell if this is a direct result of these new strategies, but the hardworking individuals in Admissions are determined to see Eastern become increasingly competitive in the near future.

Source: Michael Dziedziak

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[twocol_one]

Not Really

by Gaelan Campbell

The largest country in South America, Brazil is home to 205 million people. It has the seventh largest economy in the world, is a major exporter of oil, and if you have ever had a cup of coffee, you very likely got it from Brazil. Combined with the leadership of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the country has enjoyed almost two decades of economic growth and prosperity. In recent years, however, the revelation of deep-seated corruption in the Brazilian government while the country is undergoing a recession has led to massive political upheaval. According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), the unemployment rate has jumped to 11.6 percent. Additional statistics show that the economy has shrunk 5.4 percent in the first quarter of this year. To put it simply, Brazil hasn’t been doing so well. Just this last week (following the games), they impeached their president. So what do you do when your economy is in shambles? Why, you host the Olympics, of course!

The Olympics is all about bringing people together from all over the world to celebrate athleticism and compete for glory on an international stage. Many athletes spend years preparing for a shot at the gold. So, every four years we gather around a new venue to witness the amazing feats of people like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. There’s just one problem: the games don’t exactly pay for themselves. The Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford estimates that approximately $12 billion will be spent on the games this year. Worse still, Rio de Janeiro, the hosting city, will be paying a large portion of the cost on its own. Now, all of this would be fine if the Olympics made enough money to recuperate from the costs. Unfortunately, the last few Olympics have shown us very clearly that they don’t. For example, the city Montreal, which hosted in 1976, took 30 years to pay off the debt it incurred.

Many infrastructure investments eventually go under as well. Many Olympic facilities go relatively unused for years, and some are never even finished. The economic issues with hosting the Olympics are more than enough to provide cause for concern, but the issues don’t end there.

The morality of such an event is questionable in this time of great unrest in Brazil. The image becomes clearer when the harsh reality of Rio comes into play. There are currently almost 6,000 people living on streets throughout the city. Almost 350 of them are children. One of the duties Rio was faced with when constructing the Olympic facilities was building housing for the athletes. While thousands of homeless and uncounted others living in extreme poverty watched from the darkness, the Olympic stadium shined brightly through the opening and closing ceremonies.

Ideally, the Olympics is supposed to do all those things we want it to do and more. It should bring people together. It should celebrate the physical accomplishments of our champions. It should draw the attention away from all of the conflict in the world for just a little while. It can, and it will. But right now the current system is just too economically damaging and morally irresponsible. Many suggestions have been made to address these issues. Some suggest decreasing the budgets. Another suggestion was to have an Olympic Island off the coast of Greece to host it every four years. Whether any of these solutions merit consideration remains to be seen, but until a better way is found, the world seriously needs to reconsider the resources it pours into the Olympics.

Sources: IBGE, tradingeconomics.com

[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]

Absolutely

by Anthony Barr

Sports, like war, involve a contest of wills. In sports as in war, passions are heated, loyalties fierce and rivalries intensified through conflict. But whereas in war people are killed, families ripped apart and property destroyed, sporting events do not–by nature–result in death and destruction. The value of the Olympic Games is precisely this, that it allows for an intense contesting of wills expressed through conflict that is channelled, restricted and subject to international scrutiny. To that end, athletes who are caught doping, or who refuse to abide by principles of basic sportsmanship, or who lie about incidents related to their time in the host country, are reprimanded by the Olympic Committee and indeed the entire international community. Moreover, inasmuch as these athletes are recognized to be representing their country of origin, such admonishments are thus directed to the host country as well. By thus enforcing basic decency, honesty and sportsmanship, the Olympic Games allow for competition between highly motivated and patriotic athletes while providing boundaries to ensure safety and respect. The Olympics, then, are not just about the high stakes risk of honor versus shame for competing nations and athletes, but are also about championing principles of human flourishing that transcend ties and affections to one’s country of origin.

The modern world is faced with increased provincialism, which over-emphasizes nationalistic affiliation to the detriment of openness to other cultures and people groups. The Olympics provide the world with a public forum in which we can act on legitimate nationalistic affiliations while also hopefully growing in our openness toward and appreciation of those who are different from us. In an era of Trump, Brexit and burqini bans, the Olympics are thus an antidote to hyper-nationalism of which war itself is perhaps the most vivid expression. Olympic competitions allow for a catharsis of visceral conflict between nations in a way that doesn’t leave a trail of carnage in its wake.

As an example of the promise the Olympics holds, consider the 1971 World Table Tennis Championship in Japan where two competitors, one from America and the other China, formed an unlikely friendship. Contextually, this friendship was surprising because relations between the two countries were dismal. As a result of this internationally highlighted friendship, China invited the American players to visit. On that same day, President Nixon announced that the United States would lift its sanctions on China and went on to become the first U.S. President to visit China.

Pierre de Coubertin is the French intellectual who is credited as the father of the modern Olympics because he resurrected the idea of Olympics from the ancient Greeks. Under his leadership, the first Olympics of the modern era were hosted in April 1896. Regarding his vision for the games, he said that “the important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread these principles is to build up a strong and more valiant and, above all, more scrupulous and more generous humanity.” These words of wisdom are as relevant today as they were in Coubertin’s day and remind us that despite the various scandals, the Olympics can do a world of good.

Sources: The Olympian (1984) olympics.org

[/twocol_one_last]

Leonard “Doc” Carr Jr. passed away on Aug. 22, 2016 at the age of 52, after many years of battling brain cancer. Doc was born on April 17, 1964. He lived in Norwood, Pa., not far from Eastern’s St. Davids campus. For over 20 years he commuted to Eastern every morning for his job as a supervisor for Sodexo in the Dining Commons.

During his time at Eastern, Doc impacted thousands of lives. As attested to by Eastern students as well as his fellow employees, Doc often provided direction and words of wisdom when they were needed most. This was especially true of first-year students, who were trying to find their way around campus, as well as manage living on their own. Doc acted as a role model for new students for more than two decades. Upon asking Sodexo employees who worked with Doc what they thought of him, some say he was a “storyteller,” while others say he was “boss.” Upon further listening, words such as “friend” and “mentor” are heard. Sodexo employees say that he was tough, but never unkind, and he always kept his chin up. Indeed, Doc was someone peers wanted in their corner. Many students who worked under his supervision learned more than just the ins and outs of working in the Dining Commons, for they learned lessons in life. In between rushes at the Dining Commons’ classic line he would tell stories about his life experiences, and there was always a moral to the story. However, Doc was not just a storyteller, for he could also go on about various music groups and the finer points of fishing. When it came time to work, he remained focused and driven. His charisma and unparalleled work ethic inspired everyone to work as hard as they could. These qualities would be exceptional in anyone, but Doc maintained his hopeful attitude and kind heart all the while battling brain cancer.

During his last spring here at Sodexo, Doc was not able to come to work for medical reasons. Many students were not sure if he was going to be back to finish out the semester, but one early morning toward the end of the year, I began my five-minute walk from my dorm to Walton to get ready for the breakfast shift. Walking across the McInnis parking lot I spotted a man stepping out of his car, and I immediately recognized that it was Doc. I walked over and greeted him back after his long absence. We walked together up the hill toward the Dining Commons. He moved slowly but purposefully like he always did. Before we entered the building he turned to me and said, “Tomorrow is not promised. Every day is a gift.” I will not soon forget those words. Those who had the privilege of knowing him will never forget Leonard “Doc” Carr.