What is personal style? Simply put, personal style is just an individual’s way of communicating their unique character and aesthetic sense through clothing, accessories, hair and make-up. However, personality and individuality can easily be lost amidst society’s beauty standards and trends. Societal pressure wears down the “personal” in personal style. Instead of asking, “do I like it?” we often ask “will they like it?”

On the other hand, a person with a strong personal style balances two highly personalized questions: “What makes me feel good?” and “What message am I communicating with my clothes?” 

Let us begin with the question: “What makes me feel good?” On the surface, this sounds simple. You know what you like, and what you like makes you feel good! But you also probably know that sinking feeling of seeing a dress on the hanger, loving it, trying it on and then hating how it looks on you. You know what you like when you know what looks good on you. Now, this does not mean chasing after changing beauty standards. It does mean finding the particular silhouettes, colors and designs that uniquely compliment your face and body and make you shine. Gone are the days of thinking – what a pretty dress… on someone else. If you know the specific colors or styles compliment your individual features, you can know – what a pretty dress… for me especially! 

But the question “what makes me feel good?” also has to do with what you like! It can be surprisingly hard, though, to really know what you like versus what the current fashion trends make you think that you like. If you see a style enough times, you start to think you like it, even if it does not suit your real tastes at all. A great way to combat this is to come up with “style words” that express your aesthetic preferences. For example, some of my style words are: academic, girly, cutesy, dressed up, fun, comfortable. If you’re having a hard time coming up with these style words, maybe look back on your favorite outfits that you’ve put together and worn over the past few months. What are some words that you would use to describe them? You can keep your style words in mind whenever you decide to buy (or not!) a new trend, or item. 

As you select your style items, you should also ask how you want others to perceive you. Of course, you cannot live your life trying to please other people. But fashion can be a great way to tell other people something about yourself without saying a word. If you want to come across as professional for an interview, you would wear a pantsuit rather than a sweatshirt. This does not only apply to specific circumstances where you might want to look a certain way, but also to the elements of your personality that you always want to express. For example, I always like to have either a feminine or fun touch to my outfits, to communicate my age and also to express lighthearted parts of my personality. Even if I went to a job interview, I would still totally wear pink, or a ribbon in my hair, because part of what I am bringing to the job (as my style will communicate) is a young woman’s vitality and optimism. 

If this article has stirred up the fashion-loving part of your soul, maybe now is the time to go through your wardrobe or your camera roll. Consider: What clothes have I worn the most? What shirts make me feel pretty? Why do I love this necklace? And what does this say about me? 

“Do you guys hate us?” “[…] at this point the administration may as well take all the study rooms for offices.” “I guess I’ll just have to fights to the death to get a room… – unhappy student :(“ 

This is just a sampling of the unhappy graffiti left on a library notice sign, announcing that yet another study room (Room 328 on the second floor of the library) will be turned into an office. Without Room 328, Warner Library will only have four study rooms on the second floor that are available for students. This is a pretty serious problem, since library space is much needed, and has become progressively more and more limited as the school year goes on. Walled study rooms are especially important, because they are guaranteed to be private and quiet – unlike the rest of the library. The first floor in particular is not guaranteed to be a quiet study space – what with all the students coming in and out – especially in the middle of the day. The second floor is pretty crowded too. 

I practically live in the library, so I definitely relate to the frustrated students who graffitied the poster. For example, during the first month of the semester, I had an online class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. It’s pretty much impossible to find a study room on campus at that time. Moreover, it’s just impossible to find any empty study space on campus. My dorm room isn’t empty, my dorm’s lobby isn’t quiet, and, for goodness’ sake, the library isn’t empty or quiet either. At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, there just is not a private study space on Eastern’s campus. I ended up being late for pretty much every class because I was running around Warner, Walton and HHC, trying to find a semi-suitable space to do my required class. Schoolwork is literally why we are here at Eastern, but it feels like there’s no room to do it. 

Why are we losing study rooms? Is there a solid justification for turning all our study rooms into offices? Due to all the construction and rearranging on campus, Eastern started using the library for office spaces at the end of last semester. Over the summer, the library was so overrun with administrative offices that there were no study rooms at all. Fortunately, by fall, administrators had been moved to the newly renovated Ott Hall, and Eastern retained five meagre study rooms (now four) and handed the remaining offices over to ARC. 

ARC (Academic Resource Center) includes the Writing Center, Tutoring Center, the Disabilities Accommodations Testing Center and the Equal Opportunity Center (among other resources.) In some ways, a partnership between ARC and the library is ideal, since both centers seek to promote academic excellence and support students academically. Further, Eastern needs ARC for the essential assistance and resources it provides. 

Ruby Baker, the Writing Center coordinator, explained that ARC had a hard time finding a space that was available and accessible. (Walton, where ARC was formerly located, does not have a working elevator.) Before ARC moved into the library, some students could only access ARC services virtually. Eastern, as aforementioned, just has a big space problem in general. There just is not another place for ARC to go. So, the study rooms take the hit. 

“We apologize for any inconvenience,” reads the graffitied announcement. And the library staff and administrators do recognize the inconvenience of limited study rooms. “I’ve heard a lot from students that they’re unhappy,” said Kathy Hecht, Access Services Librarian at Warner Library. She said she’d heard students call the fight for a study room “a warzone.” Not only do the librarians realize that students are frustrated, they also acknowledge this frustration as legitimate. In the Warner Library Newsletter, Hecht noted the positive effect that library use has on student retention and GPA. Hecht’s article also references a survey of colleges that are a similar size to Eastern. All these colleges have a range of 9-26 study rooms. Compare that to Eastern’s four squished together study rooms. 

“The librarians are actively advocating for students,” Hecht promised. “But students need to advocate for themselves.” She suggested reserving a study room if you know you will need one, and reminded students to be considerate and kind towards others. 

Baker also affirmed that ARC is on the student’s side. “I am empathetic because, of course,” said Baker, speaking about the limited study rooms. She mentioned again and again her desire to support students and provide them with the best students. “In my ideal world,” said Baker, “something like the hub exists for us… to be an office meeting space” rather than the current crowded situation. (I met with Baker in her office, which she mentioned in passing, used to be a closet.) Baker agreed that students should have more study rooms, “but also ARC is providing good services more accessible. It’s a two sided coin,” she concluded. 

It is a tough situation, and difficult to find a solution. But that does not mean that we should stop talking about it. Many administrators at Eastern (like the staff at the library and ARC) really do care about students’ experiences. We might have to get creative with the use of space (that is, even more creative. After all, we’re already filling up the closets.) It might take time to reach an ideal solution. Still, we as a student body should keep calling for the services we need to reach our academic potential. 

I first visited Eastern in my sophomore year of high school, when my older sister was looking into the school. My most vivid memory of that experience is of walking around the pond behind Kea hall. It was autumn, and I remember the way the roots of the trees jutted out towards the pond, covered in a carpet of burnt orange and golden leaves. I was brought out of myself by the beauty. I would walk that walk around the pond many, many times again in my freshman year while living in Kea hall. 

Many of my favorite memories of Eastern are like that, centered around the beauty of the four seasons on campus. It’s not, of course, the seasons themselves that make these memories special. Rather, it’s the community that has been built over the seasons. That’s what makes my favorite memories of Eastern so much better than that memory from high school, because they were made in company. 

Let’s begin in the season that first attracted me to Eastern’s campus: autumn. In my freshman year at Eastern, especially during the fall, Hainer basement was often the randomly designated hang out spot. Why on earth would the basement of a cement block building be the ideal – but funnily enough the built-like-a-maze and only-accessible-by-elevator basement was the perfect place for a Halloween movie night. One stormy night in October (it was genuinely chucking it down) my friends and I sat snuggled down to a Hainer basement double feature: “Coraline” and “Ratatouille”. Fear followed by food.  

But I do like being outside on Eastern’s campus as much as possible – even in the winter months. Winter weather can be a real drag, but it does not always have to be. As more and more snow and cold is predicted, I’d like to remind everyone of the joy a snowy day could bring. 

Remember last January when it kept storming and then we’d lose power and campus would shut down? I remember the first day that happened – it was a Tuesday. I was with my friends in the dining hall. Our class was cancelled at the last minute and an afternoon of freedom suddenly opened up to us. Sledding-fever seized us. Armed with to-go trays, we sallied forth to the Kea-Guffin hill for an afternoon of sledding fun. 

Winter-time hilarity ensued. Snow ball fights, sledding races, tearing up the turf of the KG hill. Somebody had brought a suitcase to sled with (it didn’t work). We stayed out until everybody’s sneakers were filled with snow, hands numb, sweatpants soaked (how did none of us have winter-appropriate clothes?) Afterwards, we all went to Zime to get hot chocolate and warm up. 

Spring is my favorite season, though. I remember last spring I played a campus hide-and-go-seek game. It started in McInnis, unveiling the uncanniness of the Nursing Room, but we soon moved on to bigger and better buildings, especially Fowler. Eastern is full of sneaky little nooks and crannies that give the buildings character – and act as perfect hiding spots. There’s not many campuses where you can hide in the walls or up an elevator shaft. 

Again, I’d like to compliment this indoor memory with an outdoor one. We don’t get many months of summer on campus, but those few really warm weeks – the beginning of May, the end of August – are the real gems. On such days, Eastern is the perfect campus to hammock. My favorite spot is down by the stream next to Sparrowk. I’ve sat with friends around the picnic tables, swung by myself in my hammock, and even waded barefoot into the creek. 

Looking back, all four seasons on campus have given me beautiful memories. So don’t despair of the cold weather. Watch a movie in the Hainer basement (or somewhere better). Get a to-go tray from the DC and sled down the KG hill. Plan a hide-and-go-seek game all around campus. Or rest in a hammock outside of Sparrowk. Well, maybe not that last one in the present weather…

Dr. David Bradstreet, head of the astronomy department, has taught at Eastern University since 1976, but he began as an undergraduate student in 1972. As we approach Eastern’s centennial anniversary, there is nothing more valuable than speaking with a member of Eastern’s community who has been here for more than half of that time. I went to speak with Bradstreet about his time at Eastern, what he has done for the Eastern community and what the Eastern community has meant to him. 

Bradstreet first came to Eastern to run the planetarium. When Eastern first built its planetarium in 1971, it had no one to run it. Bradstreet’s sister-in-law, a student at Eastern, recommended Bradstreet to the dean of Eastern. The dean invited Bradstreet to Eastern, gave him a tour of McInnis and the planetarium and ultimately offered him full tuition to Eastern as an undergraduate, as well as the opportunity to take astronomy courses at Villanova – provided Bradstreet would come and run the planetarium. 

The planetarium has been a source of joy and discovery for Bradstreet throughout his time at Eastern. Bradstreet explained that when the observatory was built (“that’s a whole story in itself!”) he became less and less interested in the planetarium. The planetarium became antiquated and no longer interesting to run because it was so limited. However, Bradstreet raised money to upgrade it. In 2006, the planetarium was upgraded to a side-dome digital planetarium. Bradstreet said the digital planetarium was “transformed,” and has been a “fun thing again” for the past 19 years. 

In fact, the new planetarium is very advanced. Bradstreet is close friends with the director of the software company that created it, such that he can update the software to include “whatever I could dream up.” The planetarium has created “some stuff that had never been done before and even now contains some stuff that nobody else has.” It’s amazing that our small university has access to software that you cannot get literally anywhere else in the world!

Bradstreet is known in the scientific community for the software he created in the planetarium, Binary Maker 3.0., and the ways his program has made solving light curves easier, as well as his research on binary stars.

I asked Bradstreet about encountering hostility to Christianity in the scientific community. He brushed it off with a smile and an eyeroll. “Used to it,” he said. “People didn’t believe Jesus either.”

As a respected astronomer, why does Bradstreet remain at our small Eastern University? It has not always been easy, nor has it ever been lucrative, to work as a professor at a small school. Bradstreet told me a story about the year of 1982, when he was both a professor at Eastern and a grad student at University of Pennsylvania. Nationwide, the economy was struggling, and “Eastern was belt-tightening,” he said. They decided to cut the astronomy courses and planetarium shows to save money, two-thirds of Bradstreet’s salary. Even when Eastern offered to pay double for Bradstreet to teach physics, it was not enough. 

Still, Bradstreet did not leave, trusting that “God will provide.” Sure enough, the very next day the biology teacher at Cabrini University called up Bradstreet: “Do you know anyone who could teach physics for us?” she said. She offered to match the salary Eastern paid. “The day after. Friday afternoon. 4 o’clock,” Bradstreet said. “In 24 hours, God had replaced all my missing salary.” He would go on to teach physics at Cabrini for fourteen years. 

Yes, there were difficult times for Bradstreet at Eastern, but “this is where God wants me to be, I’ve never had any doubt about that,” he said. “I can see in retrospect that to be the case.” Bradstreet sees Eastern as a unique institution. “You don’t have to be a Christian or have a certain mindset,” he said. Instead, Eastern is open to “just people” and allows for “creative thought.” But, simultaneously, Eastern draws students who are “very serious about faith as well as academics.” All in all, Bradstreet says, it’s “not just hype.” 

The most rewarding part of Bradstreet’s time here is seeing young people find their path and “knowing that I’ve had a small role in some of that,” he said. He is talking about “students who have really taken God’s universe seriously, and their view of God has changed.” 

But Bradstreet’s time as a professor at Eastern is almost at an end. He plans to retire next year, at the 50th anniversary of his time teaching here. The fact that “that chapter’s almost over is a little hard to digest… when you love what you do,” he said. 

On the other hand, Bradstreet hopes to continue working at Eastern in a consulting capacity, and potentially partially directing work in the planetarium. Bradstreet hopes to build a real planetarium theatre following his retirement, four times the size of our current planetarium – with real seats! – as well as upgrade our telescopes. 

So, in his retirement, Bradstreet will not entirely leave Eastern, nor will he stop working. He has “gobs of data that really should be published” and turned into papers, he said. But, when he is no longer tied to teaching at Eastern, Bradstreet hopes to spend more time with his family – including travels to Australia and maybe even the Holy Land!

Although Dr. Bradstreet will certainly be sorely missed, it is inspiring to hear his story. Bradstreet is someone who has been a part of the Eastern community for so long, and he testifies with such conviction, that he feels the presence of God on our campus. 

Visual art is almost entirely unrepresented at Eastern. In fact, visual art is underrepresented and undervalued in American culture in general. Many individuals, on the other hand, favor visual art over or alongside other forms of art (music, theatre, etc.). However, such individuals at Eastern University have no way of pursuing this interest academically. 

It is easy to say that of course art lovers deserve to develop this form of creativity as much as a theatre or music lover, but can we make a practical argument in favor of visual art? I can certainly make a personal argument in favor of art. While most children in the U.S. take music lessons of some kind as a matter of course, I was enrolled in painting lessons and pottery classes. In the same way that piano lessons might teach you to listen well, these art classes taught me to see well. Studying visual art teaches you to see the world through a more intentional and creative lens. 

But I am not the only one who thinks that. In her book Visual Intelligence, Amy Herman talks about the importance of being able “to see more and to observe more accurately.” Herman runs a program called the Art of Perception, which trains people from a variety of professions – including the FBI, the Navy, and the Department of Justice – to observe more closely so they do not miss important details. And she teaches this art of seeing through literal visual art – often just by looking at the great works of art! Looking carefully at paintings teaches people to focus on details they might otherwise miss, eventually training their eyes to be detail oriented. Similarly, according to the National Library of Medicine, studies show that learning art could strengthen your brain in various unexpected ways. For example, studying visual art can be complementary to studying science in that it improves your perception and cognition. Art can also help a person learn to self reflect, express themselves, be persistent, and go outside of their comfort zone. Even the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization recognizes “the essential role of art in the life and development of the individual and of society.” Art, including visual art, affects the shifts in trends, morals, and worldview of our society. Art can be a tool to fight oppression. Studying art can put you in a position to interact with our changing society through your art. 

The only class at Eastern that I know of that resembles a visual art class is Dr. Cox’s Beauty and the Arts class in the Honors college. The course explores through both a philosophical and creative lens the questions: What is beauty and art? And why do we create? Although the approach is mostly what one might call theoretical, Dr. Cox still emphasizes the experiential. Students watch movies and go on field trips in order to interact with art and beauty on a sensory level. The class culminates with a creative. When I took the course last semester, the creative projects ranged from carved icons to tattoo art to lyre music. While the course does not exclusively focus on visual art, it incorporates art history and even drawing classes in class time. This class is just a taste of the variety of classes a major in visual art could include.

But if you cannot justify adding a major purely for the sake of creativity and beauty, then consider that art is actually surprisingly professionally practical. An art major can set you up to be a tattoo artist, a graphic designer, a fashion designer, a cosmetologist, an art teacher, a photographer, or an illustrator. You could pair an art minor with a math major and then a higher degree in engineering or architecture, in order to create more beautiful buildings and structures. Or, you could combine an art minor with a major in computer science and design beautiful websites, or else with a major in psychology and go into art therapy. 

Ok, but what does an art major or minor even look like? Probably an art major or minor at Eastern would look pretty interdisciplinary, especially at first. Perhaps, like Dr. Cox’s Beauty and the Arts class, the major would include classes on the philosophy of beauty. We could work with the history department for art history classes or with the communications department for classes on graphic design. Then, of course, the major would include the actual art classes, beginning with foundational drawing skills, and progressing to various forms of painting and art styles. To sufficiently teach seeing and creating, we don’t need any fancy materials. 

The addition of an art minor or major on campus would open up a whole new creative path in Eastern’s curriculum, and could be achieved with minimum disruption. What are we waiting for?

Herman, Amy, Visual Intelligence. New York: Mariner Books. Print. 

On the 29th of December 2024, former president Jimmy Carter passed away at the age of 100. The state funeral took place on January 9, at the Washington National Cathedral. Among its attendees were all five living presidents. Joe Biden delivered the eulogy, while Steve Ford, the son of former president Gerald Ford, read the posthumous eulogy of his father. Two of Carter’s grandchildren, Jason and Joshua Carter, also spoke at the funeral. 

The various eulogies, as well as more than a week of public obituaries and tributes to Carter, highlighted Mr. Carter’s integrity, pursuit of justice, and strong faith. Reading these tributes and learning about Carter’s life reminded me of Eastern University’s motto: faith, reason and justice. Carter’s life is an example of how to live out this motto. 

Carter had modest beginnings. He was raised on a peanut farm without running water in the rural south and served in the navy during WWII. Although he would go on to become the president of the United States, Carter never forgot the down to earth morals and strong faith that he developed early in life. Carter was a pious Christian, who attended church regularly, taught Sunday school, and was known for his strong Baptist faith. However, his actions best demonstrated his faith. Known as “the peace-making president,” in his time in office, Carter’s humanitarian efforts following his presidency even better demonstrate his faith in action. For example, President Carter and his wife of 77 years, Peggy, led the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity for over 30 years. His work included helping to build houses with his own hands well into his 90s. Carter’s work for Habitat for Humanity was only one of his many humanitarian efforts. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his “untiring effort” to promote peace and human rights. In his eulogy for his grandfather, Joshua Carter said that President Carter served his neighbor with this untiring effort “for one simple reason: he worshiped the Prince of Peace and He commanded it.”

In his posthumous eulogy, former Vice President Walter Mondale, who ran alongside Carter, also reflected on the simple reason of Carter. Although Carter possessed the highest position of power, he did not let this get in the way of his respect for others. Mondale reflected that he and Carter had an unusual relationship, because Carter did not engage in the complex political power games, but rather maintained a simple respect for the humanity of others. 

Carter was also known for his promotion of justice. During his presidency, Carter worked to combat racial and economic inequality and to promote women’s rights and a healthy environment. Even when his opinions were unpopular, Carter stood on the side of justice. For example, In 2007 he published a book, Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid, on the ongoing apartheid and oppression happening in Palestine. The book was met with immediate backlash and accusations of bias and even antisemitism. However, Carter stood by his book and was willing to take the backlash in order to promote peace and raise awareness concerning “the horrible oppression and persecution of the Palestinian people.” Perhaps this attitude arose, again, from his upbringing. Carter grew up in the segregated south, but his mother openly refused to acknowledge racial distinctions. 

In a statement after Carter’s death, former president Joe Biden said, “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning — the good life — study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith and humility.” Perhaps we, as students at a Christian university, should study the life of Jimmy Carter. We should look at the way Carter got his hands dirty building houses for the poor, listened to others even as the executive leader of the country, and stood by the oppressed at the expense of his good name. We should strive to similarly live a life dedicated to faith, reason and justice. 

Sources:

NYT

NPR

Baptist News
Nobel Prize

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