Most people think of an art exhibition as an event where people go to engage with and observe the art that is on display, but in reality, the art meets the audience. Art has the power to move people, to transform and to change the world. Even small art shows have a notable impact on the surrounding community.

      In honor of the Inauguration of President, Ronald A. Matthews, Eastern’s 10th President, Eastern University is hosting numerous events to celebrate the history, legacy, impact and future of the school. To celebrate the visual arts of the community, Eastern hosted their own art exposition from March 18 to March 24 in the Warner Library. Everyone from Eastern including  students, faculty, staff, alumni, etc., were all welcomed to participate and enter any art piece into the show. While the focus of inauguration week was geared towards transformational love, other topics included spirit, mission, Eastern’s campus, as well as anything else inspiring.

      Eastern is home to many talented people, and this was clearly seen while walking through all the creative artwork during the week. Generally, the art show consisted of mostly 2D compositions, with only a few 3D pieces.

      I sat down with Kaitlyn Frankenfield, a student at Eastern, and asked her about her opinion of the art show.

      “One of the works that I found to be very interesting was a photography series by Karen Hughes,” Frankenfield said.

      Hughes called it “Colors of Eastern”. There were four pictures of a variety of places on Eastern’s campus, and there was a noticeable pattern.

      “It seemed like she set up her artwork in a way to display each season of Eastern. I found this to be very fascinating because just like Eastern goes through different seasons of the year, its community also goes through different seasons of life,” Frankenfield said. Perhaps one interpretation is that people of all kinds gather to support Eastern and through each season of life, there will always be people by your side.

      I also talked to Elaina McGarrigle, another student at Eastern, and asked her what she thought about the art show. She pointed out another compelling piece that saw which was done by Shy’Anne Turner. She called it “Bystanders”.

      “It was a very gripping and engaging piece. For her artwork, she used oil on a mirror background and on it, she created what looked to be a man who was cut, torn and bleeding. I believe that she wanted this man to resemble Jesus. What I found to be the most engaging part of the piece was the mirror. When standing in front of her art, the viewer can see themselves in the mirror. It could be an immensely visual and literal representation of what it means to have Christ die for us,” McGarrigle said.

      While these two art creations seemed to reach out to these women, there were still numerous other amazing works that might touch others in a way the artist never thought possible.

      What is surfing? Is it what Wikipedia defines as a “surface water sport in which the wave rider rides on the forward face of a moving wave”? Is it its own culture? Is it a profound way of life? However one chooses to think about surfing, we all have the same image come to mind: a long blonde-haired, tan, muscular man, who probably is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

      Why is this?

      Women and children also surf, but not many people associate those two. Surfing as a sport remains overwhelmingly male with about 300 men to two dozen women. The issue of gender equality is increasingly relevant within the world of surfing.

      Gender equality itself is a tougher problem to get a grasp on. Substantiating a way to make sure that equal rights and opportunities are unaffected by gender is something that many workplaces struggle with. Surfing is not outside of these struggles.

      Today, women, the minority gender within the surfing world, are having trouble gaining equal pay. Many women go through the same exact training techniques, body breakdowns, and victories as men do. They have long been insisting upon “the same right to risk their lives in competition”. The ocean waves do not discriminate so, why should we?

      Looking further into this issue, because there is such a small number of women who do surf professionally, increasing their pay so it would be equal to what the men are paid would not be much of a burden. It would cost the World Surf League less than $35,000 in contests where they spent half a million.

      The World Surf League is a California based company which is known for running more than 180 contests around the world. They have justified paying their female athletes less than their male through a “pay parity” formula. This formula calculates contestant prizes that adds amounts based on who joins the contest. Because there are far fewer female athletes than male athletes, less females joined, so they received less prize money.

      Maverick’s, a half hour south of San Fransico, is a central part of the battle for the inclusion of women at an equal pay. They promote “fair treatment of people of all races, culture, national origins, genders, gender identities, gender expressions, religions, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic status”.

      Digging deeper into equality problems within the surfing world, many people believe that

women don’t have the same capabilities as men do when it comes to riding waves. Many women surfers were infuriated with this. The worst part is, this is not even a recent problem; it has been going on for decades.

      A notable event that seemed to get many women unsettled occurred in 2006. The Association of Surfing Professionals stopped holding women’s contests at Teahupoo; in French Polynesia, because of safety concerns. The exasperating part was that they continued to let men compete there.

      It seems to have the bias that many people still live with, the fact that men are stronger, more capable, and more suited to do “bigger and better” things, but the waves don’t change size or force depending on who is surfing. According to some women, determination of the efforts of letting male surfers continue to compete, has to do with the idea that men have to prove or establish their manhood.

      The fight for equal pay for women in surfing is still current. The problem won’t wash away on its own. There are numerous advocates who put their careers and lives on the line for equal pay, rights, and opportunities.

      “[Thank you] for sharing this moment with me right now…because I have never been so proud in my life to be a woman,” an advocate said in an interview with New York Times.

      Source: New York Times

      Food. Glorious food. This topic is something that every college kid can get behind. Whether it comes from on-campus or off-campus, finding a great place to eat is essential to making it through the semester. What may be just as important, if not more important to some, is locating a place where the produce is fresh, as well as affordable.

      Considering the fact that Eastern University is near the Main Line in Wayne, the affordable aspect may be harder to come by. While there are places such as Walmart, Giant and Target, there are still some left to be discovered; one of those being a grocery outlet called Price Rite Marketplace.

      Price Rite Marketplace is a marketplace not too far from Eastern; a little under 10 miles in Secane, PA. They pride themselves on always having new, fresh, inexpensive finds while also having accessible and friendly customer service. They strive to bring the best produce and meats and to make sure they stay fresh; all they do is open the box when they receive them in; there is no “extra handling”.

      While they may take extra care in making sure their products are fresh, some say that the assortment and variety in the store is limited. While this may be true, Price Rite Marketplace still gives a good size selection of high-quality brands, along with locally considered produce.

      As college students, we all must live on some type of budget. While Eastern does provide a meal plan, sometimes it’s nice to take a night off and cook your own meal. Price Rite Marketplace gives an incredible value on name brand items, which could help college students when trying to find accessible groceries that also taste fresh.

      On average, Price Rite Marketplace can save a customer 20-50 percent more than a regular grocery store. Specifically, for Eastern students, the store in Secane has been rebranded and is introducing a new program. The program is more focused on special deep discounts, enhanced fresh offerings and an improved shopping experience. The stores have lowered prices on hundreds of items, introduces new and exciting private labels and organic products and brightened and revitalized store décor.

      When considering shopping on a budget even further, there are two other features that Price Rite Marketplace is promoting in order to help students save money. The Price Rite Marketplace Drop Zone is a unique in-store destination, where customers will find extraordinary deals, special surprise buys and must-have products for $3 or less. The second feature is called Spot on Savings. Once you enter a Price Rite Marketplace, there are big bright red “spots” in every aisle that showcase weekly deals.

      Shopping on a budget, especially as a college student, can be extremely difficult. No one likes to give up their favorite food or name brand snacks just because they are too expensive. Sometimes, students must sacrifice freshness for affordability. With Price Rite Marketplace, none of these things have to be a problem. Using coupons as well as their other features makes shopping at their grocery store easy, reasonably priced and an overall great experience.                              

      Sources: https://www.priceritesupermarkets.com/

      Tony Campolo, an Eastern alum and founder of the Campolo fellows program, has influenced numerous people during his journey at Eastern and even after the fact.

      On Wednesday, Jan. 30, Reverend Cean James was presented with the opportunity to speak about his life’s mission and how he was a visiting Campolo fellow. James has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and is pursuing his Doctorate at Lancaster Theological Seminary. Rev. James is also the founder and pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship.

      At the beginning of the service, Rev. James preached about how life is full of firsts; first kiss, first love, first steps, first words etc. People will always remember the firsts.

      Rev. James emphasized a time when he witnessed his first church fight. These two women were having a disagreement so he sat down and tried to find some common ground, but what happened was quite different.

      The ladies were bickering when all of a sudden, one stands up and said, “None of this even matters because God is on my side.”

      Rev. James was shocked by this statement. He explained to the audience that as humans, we like to choose things. Specifically, choose sides. We like to think that God is on our side when really, God doesn’t choose sides at all.

      Joshua 5: 13-15 talks about when Joshua came to the walls of Jericho and asked the guard whose side he is on and the guard replies “neither.” The guard is a commander of the Lord and therefore does not have a side; this is how things should be.

      Rev. James said, “As humans who have fallen from grace, we feel as though we must choose sides and this leaves a splintered church. We want God to choose a side. We believe that God is on our side and when that happens, we aren’t trying to change our morals for God, we are trying to change God.”

      Rev. James ended his sermon with ideas of hope and renewal. He said that this generation will be the one that brings people together in the united blood of Christ.

      Rev. James leaves the audience with one last, final thought. He said, “the real question is, are we on God’s side?”

      Self-care. What is it? To each and every person, self-care can mean a different thing. When people think of the word self-care, many of them automatically think of the famous quote “Treat yo self” from the show Parks and Recreation.

      Although self-indulgence can be a form of self-care, there are many other forms it can take. While there is a lot of information about relaxation techniques and their relation to self-care, numerous people forget that there are other ways and activities that can be used on a regulate basis to help reduce stress and maintain long-term health and well-being.

      One area that is often overlooked when contemplating self-care is the sports and athletic world.

     What many people fail to notice is that the body requires a significant amount of rest and strength in order to perform to its peak abilities. Having a set time and/or space set aside for self-care will improve many aspects of life such as the ability to focus, be flexible, and look at things from a new perspective.

      Talking to a few athletes around campus, I discovered the top 4 most common ways to relax in and out of season from an athletic viewpoint:

      1. Sleep

      Resting is an essential part to assisting in de-stressing and chilling out. Resting and relaxing can be anything from taking a nap, coloring, or watching Netflix; pretty much doing whatever it takes to get the mind off of the current situation. Even if there isn’t any direct pressure, it never hurts to take some time off. One of the students I even talked to enjoys playing with play dough. Childhood habits do have a place in self-care and do seem to be enjoyable.

      2. Eat

      A constant thought that is going through an athlete’s mind is their diet. Being at college, there aren’t always the best food options, so many athletes must get creative in the dining hall. To be more specific, it is scientifically proven that it is much healthier to eat whole foods that have real nutrients rather than fried or processes foods which are low in protein and therefore results in low energy.

      Another form of energy that athletes tend to obtain is power bars or protein drinks. These supplements are helpful at times, but cannot be expected to completely replace actual meals. You cannot live off of vitamins alone.

     3. Routine

     A routine is something that every single person goes through whether they know it or not. Some are more intentional and structured than others. Within each of these routines, there lies habits. Habits are tendencies that are developed over a significant amount of time, usually around 40 days. Once these habits become regular, they are an integral part of the routine. Coming back to school may change up the routine that people have acquired while at home over the winter break.

      Making slight alterations to the routine in the school environment is essential to self-care maintenance because there are new responsibilities that arise when one comes back to the school setting. Classes and other academic obligations change as the year progresses and must be incorporated into one’s routine.

      4. Fun

      With all this talk of regimented schedules, it can be easy to forget to sit back, relax, and have fun. The ways to have fun are as endless as the imagination. In reality, there is not a simple way to take your mind off of anything that may seem daunting, such as sports, school work, or life drama.

      The best advice is to find people or activities that create a sense of happiness and relief from the stresses of everyday life. Finding something outside of the obligations is essential to maintaining mental health. In other words, do what you love, so you don’t go insane.

      Overall, self-care isn’t about all the things mentioned above. Those are all certainly important, but their larger purpose is to help you better yourself. It is always a good idea to find ways to help de-stress and relax yourself, which in turn improves your self-care techniques, but the most important thing to remember is that self-care is really about the individual.

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