Swim with the Devil: One Senior’s Favorite Memory

Posted on 07. Jun, 2010 by Erika Kim in Campus

Alyssa Zima (Senior: Biology)

My favorite memory here at PUC happened last year when we went on an unexpected trip to Devil’s Punch Bowl right before school ended. A group of eight or nine of my friends and I snuck out of our dorms and went to Devil’s Punch Bowl after midnight.

On a random night, my roommate, Jaylene, and I were in our room, and like so many PUC students, we were having a fit of boredom. It was midnight, and we were wondering what we should do.

So, we started calling around to other friends, and one of our friends, Caitlin, said she wanted to go swimming. She suggested that we hop the fence and sneak into the PUC swimming pool. Then we called our friend Steven, who already graduated, and when he heard we wanted to go swimming, he suggested that we go to Devil’s Punch Bowl instead.

At first, we were too scared to do it, but another phone call to our friend, Bradley, convinced us we had to go. He just happened to be going to Devil’s Punch Bowl as well, and since we all wanted to do the same thing, we went together. So Jaylene and I, and a bunch of other people snuck out of our dorms and went there in the middle of the night.

When we got there, we walked down the path to Devil’s Punch Bowl, which was interesting because it was dark and we didn’t have flashlights. Eventually the path ended, and we had to climb down a steep slope that was about ten feet long to get to Devil’s Punch Bowl. We were planning on staying at the edges of the pool, and we never intended on getting in, but we ended up getting in and swimming across. Devil’s Punch Bowl is about six feet deep and thirty six feet across of freezing cold water.

We rushed to the car and rushed back to school. On the way back up the path, we climbed back up the path. Since we were all damp our feet got really muddy, and at one point I got stuck when I stepped into a giant puddle that sucked my foot in.

We got back to PUC around 2:00 AM, and my roommate and I walked swiftly into Andre, tried not to look the front desk worker in the eye, skipped the sign in sheet, and ran up the stairs to our room as fast as we could. Luckily, we never got put on restriction.

It was a special experience because it was really out of character for me, and out of the ordinary in general. Usually I’d be studying or doing something else, like going to Denny’s or In-n-Out, but I always look fondly on this trip because it was different; it was spontaneous. Every step we took to make it happen went against our usual rituals and went against every rule, especially curfew. I wanted to experience something new, and this was it.

W.T.F.W.H.Y.

Posted on 20. Apr, 2010 by Erika Kim in Arts, Column

Has anyone else noticed this?

M.I.A., H.A.T.E.U., D.A.N.C.E., G.L.O.V.E.S., N.A.S.A., R.O.O.T.S.

That list is only the tip of the iceberg.

In the past, other bands and artists have done this, but lately this trend has become so blaringly obvious that the only way you could miss it is if you were blind, deaf, dumb, in a cave, and probably dead.

There have been a ridiculous number of song and album titles, band names, and artists that have been using t.h.i.s. technique as a cheap marketing gimmick.  It was a trend that happened to be present in a lot of music, but it wasn’t the reason why we listened to it.  Good bands and artists happened to make good music under those names or those song titles.  Inserting random punctuation marks between each letter of a title does not make for good music.  If record labels really wanted to cover their gimmick bases they should move away from that trend and make a new band called The! Crystal wolf WH/\LE mAnBeArPiG triangle moustache and hit every key demographic in the hipster sector.

Of course, credit needs to be given where credit is due.  The period has been used in practical and/or effective ways before.  There were lots of people who did it first who were revolutionary in their use of the period by being original, others used it responsibly to represent acronyms (“D.O.A.” by Jay-Z stands for death of autotune), or to separate individual letters (D.A.N.C.E. by Justice).

When you have bands called R.I.V.E.R. who make songs with titles like L.O.A.D. (I was about to end with an ellipses to make my point, but now even you must be sick of seeing unnecessary periods, so from here on out they will be replaced with *)***  It’s time to move on*  The period thing is dead!

Here’s an initial list of random ones I’ve come across:

b.o.b.

c.l.a.w.s.

c.y.o.a.

d.a.n.c.e.

d.i.m.

d.o.a.

d.r.u.g.s.

e.v.a.r.

e.v.i.l.

F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P.

g.l.o.v.e.s.

g.o.a.

h.a.l.

h.a.t.e.u.

k.i.a.

l.e.s. artists

l.o.a.d.

l.o.v.e.

m.a.f.i.a.

m.a.g.i.c.

m.a.n.d.y.

m.a.t.h.e.s.

m.a.u.

m.i.a.

n.a.s.a.

n.i.c.e.

n.o.r.e.

o.l.d.

o.n.e.

p.e.s.t.

p.g.d.m.

p.o.s.

p.y.t.

p.y.x.

r.i.v.e.r.

t.e.e.d.

t.o.n.y.

u.n.k.l.e.

I can’t tell you where they all came from, but trust me, they’re real*  Is that not ridiculous??

Email me love: You guys know more than this, I know it* Please add to the list to further prove how ridiculous this trend is* Send me the title of the band/artist – song name in the subject heading of your email:

Eddirector.c2puc@gmail.com

Start a REVOlution: Interview with Tyler Cantrell

Posted on 20. Apr, 2010 by Erika Kim in Campus, Interview

What is REVO?

REVO PUC is putting into action being the hands and feet.  It is intricately connected to the faith that we have in being compassionate.  The idea that predominantly drives REVO is the giving of ourselves so that others can be brought to completion/healed/treated.  We really want to take Isaiah 61 and 2 Samuel 24:24.

This is about connecting the students to something that matters through the event that is REVO.  It raises awareness, inspires empathy, illicit compassion, and calls you to be concerned with a higher standard of living for yourself and others.

What is the philosophy behind REVO?

In 2 Samuel 24:24, David has to build an alter to God and he is offered the land for free as well as the sacrifices, but David refuses to accept by saying something that I think sums up REVO well.  The gist of it is, “I will not give to God that which costs me nothing.”

REVO is about getting people involved by making people really give.  It is easy to contribute, but to make a sacrifice and really have to give something up is a completely different experience.

It’s easy to be able to contribute by donating $20 to a cause or donating things you no longer want or need, or even spending a couple hours to volunteer.  Not that those contributions are not valuable, but these types of contributions may be impersonal and may not be particularly valuable to you.  I don’t want to cheapen the gift that REVO has to give.  Your gift should cost you something because it makes the people you are giving it to matter in a very personal way to you.  Giving something that is valuable to your connection closer to the people you donate to for the cause, and they will appreciate it more knowing that the donation came from a genuine place.  It connects you to them into something that’s more than just superficial.  It’s an investment in your humanity.

How did PUC get involved with REVO in the first place?

Actually, PUC was the first college to host a REVO event, and SDA colleges remain the only college campuses that have hosted REVO events so far.

REVO started at a bible study in 2008.  One particular PUC student, Rachel Thompson, was really moved by the Not for Sale campaign after the president of the campaign, David Batstone, gave a talk about it.  It came clearly to her that to get involved in these campaigns, you should support it by selling your stuff.  Her friend, Nina Brav, had hosted an event called REVO in Hawaii to raise money and awareness for the Grace of God Orphanage in Malawi, Africa. So, Rachel decided to bring it to PUC by combining the Not for Sale campaign with REVO.  Through a lot of hard work and God’s blessing, they had an amazing event that raised money and awareness for fighting child slavery.

Grace Jung continued REVO last year.  After a lot of prayer, she picked the Napa Valley food bank.  REVO raised over $8000 to help keep the Napa Valley food bank open in a really tough stop.  So many people are eager to help support people abroad, when so often there are people and organizations right next to us who need help.  At the time, the Napa Valley food bank was in need of support, and the locals of Napa depended on the food bank.  REVO was able to help keep the food bank open in order to feed people who were in need, right here in Napa Valley.

This year we hope to continue that legacy.

What causes is REVO supporting/raising money for this year?

We’re supporting two different charities: one local, one global.

The local charity is KidzReach, which is a program that takes kids who are in foster care or come from families with one or both parents in jail and brings them all together with PUC students and other volunteers who take care of the kids.  KidzReach gives these kids a chance to go on field trips to the zoo or the beach, and do other activities like hiking or mud caving.  We take them out for a day of fun and make sure they’re well fed.  Basically, the mission is just to let them be kids.  REVO would be raising money to fund a camping trip for them to go into the forest and let them experience nature.  A lot of these kids live out in Lake County or Vallejo, so most of them don’t get the opportunity to spend time out in nature.

The global charity we’re supporting is the Tropical Health Alliance Foundation (THAF).  It is a multifunctional charity that supports a variety of programs, but the program we’re going to be supporting is one that does treatment and research for Podoconiosis.  Pondoconiosis is a form of Elephantiasis of the feet which causes the feet to swell and in some cases can be debilitating.  REVO is the first one to be actively supporting five specific clinics and one hospital that combined treats thousands of patients with Podo.  Podo is completely preventable and in many cases easily curable by wearing shoes.  TOMS shoes is doing a matching gift where for every person we treat, TOMS will provide shoes for them and their family, effectively eradicating the disease in future generations, and hopefully taking care of/treating/curing  2 million people in Ethiopia and 4 million people worldwide.

This will be one of the first pushes by any organization outside of TOMS to actively treat and prevent this disease.

How can we get involved?

Sit down in your room, and look around at what you value.  Take time to look at each thing that you value and ask yourself, “Why is it important?”  Then look at the cause that you want to be involved in, and ask, “Would I give that up in order to (fill in the blank)?”  In this case the question is, “Would I give that up in order to support KidzReach or THAF?”  That’s what REVO is about.  It teaches you how it is possible that the stuff that you value can be turned into real action, and that compassion and self sacrifice can be given to a cause to make a real difference.

Give us stuff that means something to you, give us donations, and prayers.  REVO is about giving of yourself to see something that you care about succeed.

What inspired you to get involved?

REVO is about serving the community in a real way, and allowing that kind of service to be expressed through this event is really what made me want to get involved. God has done such amazing things through REVO and the blessings that you see when you are involved blow you away. I think that the idea of REVO is infectious to this generation, especially in the way it makes you give of yourself to the cause that then shows you the real results that come from working together.

What can we expect to see?

You can expect to see God moving in great ways. There will be a huge stuff sale, amazing music from student bands as well as a special guest band from SoCal.  We’ll be serving great food from Armadillos and Helmer’s Corn-Dogs, and there will be information from THAF, KidzReach, TOMS shoes, and Amnesty.  To round out the evening, we will have a Fashion show brought to you by six of your peers who have worked really hard to create some amazing designs for their models.

Dr. Larry will be on hand to explain and show first-hand accounts of his time in Ethiopia and the devastating effects that Podo has on the lives of these people. Lauren Waychoff who is in charge of KidzReach will be there showing off pictures and amazing testimonies of what kind of an impact the program and PUC kids have had on their lives.

This will be an event for the whole family.  There will be amazing food, fellowship, and fun because of the hard work of dedicated students who gave generously in hope of nothing in return.  It will be an event to remember because of the step of faith that students took in rocking their world forever.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Keep us in your prayers and clean out your closet for the sale cause the way that REVO is a success is letting God work through us to make a difference. Hope to see you guys there, it’s going to be amazing!

If you guys want to get involved, we can always use the help.  Shoot an email to PUCREVO@gmail.com.

Check out www.startarevo.org if you want more information on what REVO has accomplished and want to see other causes that REVO is involved in.

PUC Student Uncovers an Inconvenient Truth about Ambs Hal

Posted on 01. Apr, 2010 by Erika Kim in Campus

Have you walked past the building between Graf and Irwin Hall and wondered, “What is that used for?”  That building is called Ambs Hall, and while it may look like an innocent abandoned building, it’s not.  Ambs Hall is made to look like an “abandoned” building built as a front by xx to hide the fact that it’s a detention facility where they “rehabilitate” misbehaving students.  It’s not an abandoned building.  If anything, it’s the most occupied and active building on this campus.

Ambs Hall has three levels, a first floor, second floor, and basement.  The first floor looks like a classroom, and the second floor looks like a kitchen and tea party room, but it’s the basement that is the cause of concern.  The basement level of that hall looks suspiciously like a mini version of the type of place that James Bond was taken to after the Aston Martin crash in Casino Royale.  It is dimly lit, creepy as hell, and makes you feel like you’re probably getting a tetanus infection as you walk in.  The only real difference is that the basement in Ambs Hall is smaller.

The secret operations of Ambs Hall include the use of “‘‘‘‘‘‘friendly”’’’’’’’ chat, aka aggressive interrogation tactics like good cop bad cop, waterboarding, and mild electric shocks that generally put the subject under tremendous amounts of mental and physical trauma and strip them of their dignity.  These are just a few of the known methods that are used on the rule breakers of the school.  Those who violate curfew, weekend leave rules, alcohol and drug policy, or do anything else that falls under the umbrella of “bad behavior” (whatever that means) are black bagged and kindly escorted by two huge dudes to Ambs Hall in the middle of the night when nobody else is on campus and subjected to this “friendly” interrogation.

If one of your friends is extra dazed, looks like they haven’t slept for weeks, has dark circles around their eyes, and gives you dirty looks when you comment or ask about it, Ambs Hall might be why.  Unfortunately this method isn’t foolproof because sometimes that look comes from something called “dead week” which like Ambs Hall, is allegedly inactive.  In fact, as a side note, I suggest that we change the name “dead week” to “alive and kicking week that is on crack” because it is, in fact, the least dead week out of the every quarter.

You may be thinking, “Don’t college students look tired because they are tired?  Wouldn’t that be a more logical explanation?”  You would think so, but that’s exactly what they want you to think.  Professors are forced to assign us excessive homework to make us look tired.  We could probably glean the same amount of knowledge without the level of work we have to do right now, but we are forced to spend our time pouring over our books to distract us from the real cause of students looking tired.  In addition to fabricating a perfectly logical explanation to explain why students looking so tired, they employ mind-altering drugs during the interrogation session to make it impossible for us to think anything else.  Logical explanations are the most dangerous when false, because they make so much sense.  Unfortunately, the truth doesn’t always make sense.

You may be wondering how I’ve been able to access this information.  The reason I know this is because I have snuck into the building for curiosity’s sake and saw them when they were “rehabilitating” Jane Doe, John Smith, and Madison Johnson.  If you’ve ever watched a movie, this is the part when the xx is in private with their subjects at their mercy, and when that happens, xx tend to go on soliloquies that reveal all the motives, methods, and secrets of the administration.  I wrote down all of xx’s methods on a notebook and hid them in my shirt, before being caught and subjected to the rehabilitation.  I woke up the next day feeling especially tired, and my eyes looked bruised.  I assumed I had a rough night of studying, but was surprised to find crumpled up notes in my shirt explaining what had happened the night before to the other students.  It wasn’t hard to guess from there that the same had happened to me, too.

I hope this article explains some of the mysteries and myths behind Ambs Hall and why PUC students always look so tired.  You shouldn’t be worried about being taken to Ambs Hall because by the time this article goes into print, the whole operation will be abandoned.  However, I felt it was necessary to write this article to bring awareness to what kind of horrible injustices took place in the basement of Ambs Hall.

HELP!! We Like Sportz, and We Don’t Care Who Knows!

Posted on 01. Apr, 2010 by Erika Kim in Sports

This article was never meant to make it into the paper! My editor has no idea that it slipped past him. I know you guys have been getting annoyed by the lack of sports articles in the actual printed version of the paper, and trust me, so have I. Despite the fact that I know nothing about sports, I’ve been trying to the articles to you since the beginning of the school year.

I’ve tried everything from working with the design editor to slip it in after the paper was given the final ok before printing to walking into the copy center with the articles copied to a USB drive, hidden in a magazine while wearing a trench coat, giant sunglasses, and handkerchief around my hair to hide my identity. Unfortunately, he has taken every precaution in anticipation of such an incident, so none of these attempts have worked. In fact, I can’t even begin to explain how I managed to get this one past him. All I can say is it involved rubber bands, illegal immigrants from Romania, and balloon animals.

Every time I’ve been caught, I’ve suffered the consequences. Obviously the editor hasn’t fired me because that would arouse too much suspicion, but he has pressured me to quit my job by threatening to jujitsu me to death and making severe cuts to my salary. Not only that, but he has encouraged the rest of the staff to make racial slurs and misogynistic comments towards me.

This is a cry for help! I’m trying to gather an army of supporters to overthrow the current editor. I’m taking a might equals right approach to this mutiny, and that will require the support of the most physically fit group of people on campus, who, conveniently enough, tend to be the ones who would read the sports articles. Win-win situation!

Sports articles are what the student body wants, so if I became the editor, I would print articles about point values and something that involves goals and round things that get kicked, hit and/or thrown… maybe something about running… and broomsticks. Ohhh wait, I’m mixing soccer, basketball, and quidditch together. Well, I won’t be writing the articles, but promise to hire people who know how to write about sports.

If you’re a student who supports this cause, go ahead and meet me outside of the C2 office in the Campus Center on April 1^st at 5:00 P.M., and we will make a stand that will never be forgotten; the kind that will be rewarded with cake and a dance party!

So Peter, by the time you read this, it will be too late. An army of rebel supporters will soon be rallying to my side, and you know what that means? A group of super fit, probably super hot people will be overthrowing you soon! And your Omni-assistant editor will be leading the rebellion! On the other hand, if I fail to gather this army of support, you will probably fire me and I will lose my job, and that would really suck. But I understand that some causes are worth the risks and there are some sacrifices that are necessary.

Colleen Ueichi! For obvious reasons, I’ve had to keep this project secret, but now that everyone knows this won’t be an issue: If you want to be partners in leading this revolution, contact me at secretsportseditor.c2puc@ioftenwonderwhyoutlooklivehassomanyissues.com to collaborate on getting sports articles in print. Vive la resistance!

WTH is a meme?

Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Erika Kim in Culture

How many times have you heard people referencing “Charlie bit me,” “all your base,” or “I can has cheezburger”?  If you answered less than 50 times, you’re probably out of the meme loop.  If you’re out of the meme loop, you pretty much deprive yourself of any reference points that keep you connected to friends and family, and render yourself socially/culturally irrelevant ).  Think about it.  How many of your jokes, references, quotes, inside jokes, and conversations came from an internet meme?  I would bet about 10 dollars that it’s probably a lot of them.

Now, the person who finds the latest internet meme is like the cool kid in elementary school who was the first to get the shoes that lit up when they walked (remember those?).  Finding memes on the internet is like finding hidden jewels.  They are so time sensitive that by the time you find out about an internet meme and send it to a friend, it becomes so five minutes ago.  And right when you think the internet cannot possibly top the last meme, they come out with more.  Not only are they time sensitive, there is absolutely no logic to them at all.  Due to the temporary fleeting quality of memes and their illogical nature, there is an artificial sense of exclusivity and value that makes them so great.  By the time you find out about an internet meme and send it to a friend, it becomes so five minutes ago.  Then, right when you think the internet cannot possibly top the last meme, they come out with more.

To keep up with memes, you have to be a part of a community that puts value into it.  Whether you’re huddling around a computer with friends or checking out a forum alone, there is always a sense of connection that occurs in sharing the experience of an internet meme.  You know there are people who have decided to like the same things as you, just cause, and that they are “in.”  Obviously, these people “get it.”  The memes would not be as funny on their own.  There always has to be a unified community that appreciates it together.  We make each other mean.  The meme gives us community, and the community gives meaning to memes.  I love walking around and hearing strangers make random references to memes because it establishes an automatic connection and makes me realize that we’re all a part of something really big called the wonderful world of teh internetz.

Internet memes are absurd, and it’s virtually (hehe) impossible to understand why we like them.  They make you sit there and say, “I don’t know wtf this is, but it’s magic and I think like it.”  Even Freud wouldn’t be able to explain the mystery of memes in terms of what they reveal about the human unconscious.  They are one of the few things make you feel extreme confusion, curiosity, concern, and wonder, all at the same time.  Things like Tom Selleck and giant sandwiches photo shopped into pictures of waterfalls make my brain exclaim, “Why?” and “YES!” at the same time.  I don’t know how or why peopleofwalmart.com make me laugh so hard, or how a three minute epic beard man video clip can end up eating 30 minutes of my day.  What is it about seeing a surprised looking owl with the caption “O RLY?” that makes the picture so perfect and appropriate?  No matter how long I analyze these things, I can’t figure out what they mean, or why I like them.  They simply are amazing.  But what is a meme, exactly?  Here is the closest I’ve come to defining it: omg + lol + wtf + yay = meme.

Netiquette: Instant Message

Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Erika Kim in Debate

Our generation has been bombarded with technology that has revolutionized the way we communicate with one another.  Before, we were limited to letters, cards, and phone calls to get a hold of someone.  Now we have other mediums of communication like emails, instant message, text message, etc. due to the flood of computers, laptops, cell phones, or any other variation or combination of the aforementioned (since now we have camera-video-phone-laptop-mp3 player-navigation-laser-toaster ovens) that we don’t know how to properly use.  Email, instant messenger, video chatting, etc. have changed the level of convenience, amount of time it takes to communicate, and the style in which we communicate.  Everything is so new (relatively speaking) that we have no set etiquette to follow and the freedom is somewhat paralyzing.  Technology has made it easier to keep us connected, but if we don’t know how to use it, it ends up making us just a little more neurotic and ends up separating us even more.

The one program I wanted to deal with specifically was any for of instant messaging programs like AIM, Facebook chat, Skype, MSN messenger, etc.  They have changed the way in which we communicate by announcing our availability to several people at once and allowing us to have instant responses.

An instant message is not a phone call.  You may be thinking, “Uh… DUH!”  But let me explain.  When you communicate using a phone, you lose a lot of context clues like facial cues, body language, and the environment around you and the person you’re communicating with.  At the same time, however, talking on the phone tends to be more effective means of communication because despite the fact that you lose all those clues, hearing the other person’s voice still has elements of intimacy, and you can almost always immediately clarify ambiguity.

It’s also one of the least elegant mediums of communication for the following reasons: 1. the disconnect between people due to the lack of intimacy, 2. signing on announces your presence and implied availability to everyone and puts you in an awkward situation where you feel a sense of obligation to start a conversation with everyone on your buddy list, 3. unlike a phone where you can hang up at the end of a conversation, there is no elegant way to cut a conversation short when you’ve run out of things to say, 4. sometimes the instant nature of messaging puts an unnecessary pressure and sense of urgency on the conversation. (One minute of AIM silence makes you paranoid about where the other person is and you mentally backtrack thinking of all the parts of the conversation that may have offended the other person).

Things are different when it comes to instant messages.  Regardless of how well you know someone, it’s easy to misunderstand or second guess what is meant via text because it’s so detached.  This is why emoticons are somewhat necessary to help the meaning get across.  For example, if you were to read “That’s funny,” without a smiley, winky face, or lol, it could have several meanings.  It might mean exactly what it says, it could be a really mean, passive aggressive comment, or it could mean they were offended by what you said.  Without some kind of smiley, winky face, lol, or several follow up clarifying comments, it’s impossible to know what a person means.

Instant messages can be tricky as well because the sense of urgency can be difficult to deal with.  Whether you just signed on or are in the middle of a conversation, if you aren’t talking with each other, you get pressured by the fact that you know that the person is sitting right there, and they know you’re sitting right there.

Another issue, and perhaps the most sad one is the fact that most instant messaging programs have a feature that allows users to sign on as invisible (invisible, of course, being the new “away”) indicating that we can’t handle the implied sense of obligation.  We are scared of connecting, yet at the same time, the reason why we sign on in the first place is to feel connected to an online community.  So basically, what has happened is there are a bunch of people who all sign in as invisible because they’re lonely, but are afraid to start a conversation or get trapped into one by another.  It’s like being afraid of the phone.  Good thing we’re scared to use the medium of communication to umm… communicate.

The feature may be somewhat necessary because sometimes you sign on and a chat box pops up from that one “crazy girl in history class” before your buddy list even finishes loading, and you get caught in something I like to call the INSTANT MESSAGE TRAP OF DEATH.  In this trap you have two options: to either look like a jerk and pretend that you only wanted to sign on for .5 seconds, or talk to her about the nothing she had to say and end up sitting there awkwardly trying to think of things to talk about.  It’s because of people like “crazy history class girl” that we have internet problems, so let’s address this.

As dictator for life, I propose that everyone implement the following policies in order to improve/correct the dysfunctions that arise from instant messaging systems.  Your benevolent mother leader with facial hair is looking out for you:

Only message someone if you actually have something to say or ask.  One of the easiest problems to fix would be the false sense of obligation that arises from signing on.  Let people know that if you’re online and don’t message someone, and they don’t message you, neither party should/would be offended.

Don’t do the passive aggressive “I’m here but not” thing, and when you say something, really mean it.  For example, if you stay online but don’t want to chat, let people know that it’s not because you hate them; you just don’t need to be chatting.

If you’re shooting them a brief message, let them know that’s all you have to say before you say it, that way you can make a clean break on both sides.

As for other ambiguities, tell people how you operate online.  Everyone knows their own style of online behavior.  Make sure they can at least get a general idea of your internet persona so they can know what to expect.

The best thing to do is probably to make it clear to people face to face what has happened or will happen online.

Also, this is a small Easter egg and completely random tangent for people who have read this far into the article: does it bug the crap out of anyone else when they’re sending a cell phone text to someone who has a different network and the text gets cut to 160 characters?  GOSH!  Also, also, don’t send reply texts that only have the word “K” in it.

Save the Penguins!

Posted on 01. Mar, 2010 by Erika Kim in Debate

Peter Katz contributed reporting for this article.

There is a problem that has been weighing heavily on our minds since the Adventist Intercollegiate Association meeting in Washington, D.C., last year.  During that meeting, we had the opportunity to travel to St. Peter’s (The GC building) to see the Pope (Jan Paulsen).  Along the way, to build anticipation, they showed us a great many completely uninteresting desks where somewhat interesting people do mostly uninteresting things.  Of those things, the most interesting was a giant globe, where, when our guide pushed a button, all the Adventist missions around the world would light up.  She did it.  People oohed and aahed.  We were horrified.

There were no lights on Antarctica.

Do you know what this means?   There are penguins who do not know about Jesus!  Our little black-and-white brothers are every day dying without knowing their Lord and Savior.  Each penguin mercilessly slaughtered by a leopard seal (see alumna Jaylene Chung’s article on leopard seals)[1] will waddle about confusedly on the day of the Second Coming, only to be consumed by fire in the second death.  This is a crisis for our church far more important than the origin of the universe or homo***uality.

Speaking of which, just pray about this example.  Two penguins at a zoo in Germany—granted, this is a European zoo, and therefore, completely evil—Z and Vielpunkt, are homo***uals.  Yes.  You heard us.  Penguins committing the ultimate sin.  They were even allowed to hatch an egg together.  We are not sure if this says more about the Germans or penguins, but we are fairly certain that both of them need some severe evangelizing.  To the face.

In the discussion of penguin breeding habits, Wikipedia talks about their agonistic behaviors.  Seeing as we are both English majors, we do not actually understand what this means, but we do know that it is suspiciously close to the word “agnostic,” which is code for “pansy atheist.”  And whose fault is this?  Ours.

According to Wikipedia, the first penguin fossils date back to 62 million years ago.  Do you understand what this implies?  Penguins still believe in evolution.  Forget La Sierra; an entire continent believes that they came from monkeys.  Honestly, we are not entirely sure what penguins believe they came from, but whatever it is, if it wasn’t the third day of creation, it is wrong.

Two major species of penguin are the “Emperor” and “King” penguins.  Yes, you heard us.  Not only do penguins believe in homo***uality, not only are they agnostics, not only do they believe in evolution, they also do not know about democracy. This is a travesty that has moved beyond religion to the very essence of being.  As Christians, and most importantly, as Amurrkans, we are obligated to stop this madness.

The C2 therefore advocates the following.  First, we must spread democracy across Antarctica via the use of various and sundry long-range missiles.  Once the initial strike is complete, we must land cold-weather troops at key points across the continent, where they can set up road blocks and begin working with the locals to stomp out any cute little “insurgents.”  After peace has been established, and an interim democratic government has been set up, it is our time.  Armed with our Bibles, The Great Controversy, and love in our hearts, we must storm the pagan shores of penguindom and bring them to the gates of heaven.

PUC Haters

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Erika Kim in Column

You hear it all the time.

“Worship/Colloquy credit is so unfair!”

“Caf’ food is terrible!”

“Curfew is so stupid.”

“Why can’t we have co-ed dorms?”

“I HATE PUC!”

There is a group of people on campus I like to refer to as PUC haters.  These are the people who are constantly complaining about the way PUC looks, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes, starting with the Angwin sign to the cafe all the way up to McReynolds.

There are a few reasons why we gripe about things, and not all of them are bad.  At times, it’s a way to relieve stress, sometimes it’s a reference point that allows us to connect to other people, and other times it’s a way to voice our frustrations and bring attention to issues.  To a certain extent, that’s fine.

However, for those who feel strongly and earnestly about their negative opinions and criticisms of PUC, more needs to be done than making fun of and moaning over the way PUC is.  Instead, we should focus on what PUC can become and how we can make that happen.  This is the school we all attend.  If we are still choosing to go here (and by choosing not to transfer, that is what we’re doing), we either need to change our attitudes, or do what we can to help the school evolve.

Getting things to change is hard, but using that as a reason to be apathetic is not acceptable.  Yes, there are issues that need to be addressed.  Yes, some of us here are unhappy with the way things are run, and might be happier under a different system.  However, we can’t sit back and hope for change to happen on its own.

If you want to make a case about caf’ food, make a valid point about how having vegetarian food does not translate to being healthy cuisine, which was the original point of having a vegetarian diet.  Make suggestions that can improve the menu and quality of the food.  If you want to have other privileges, put away your sense of entitlement and act like adults who deserve them.  Be responsible enough not to violate the terms of those privileges, and then fight to get things changed.

Educate yourself on what is actually going on and figure out how to get things changed.  Investigate issues, talk to people, get a group together, and then do something.  Instead of whining, make valid complaints.  If you’re not willing to put in the work to try to get things changed, stop blaming PUC, stop making excuses, and stop whining.

I don’t exempt myself from my own criticism.  In fact, I will be the first to admit that I’m tremendously guilty of this.  If you see me walking around here, nine times out of ten I’m complaining about something wrong on campus.  However, I realize that criticizing caf’ food does not make it any better, and criticizing worship credit does not make the system’s existence any less real.

As obvious as this statement might sound, it is important to remember that having issues with the system is not something that is exclusive to PUC campus.  Every place has its issues, and when we leave PUC, there will be other (and probably much larger) issues that we’ll be faced with.  While this may not be taught in a classroom by a professor, this is all a part of our education.  Learning how to deal with issues here will teach us how to work on the larger ones out there.

WASC

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Erika Kim in Campus

Melissa Totton contributed to this article.

As you may already know, WASC has recently come through PUC.  WASC, or Western Association of Schools and Colleges, is an organization that “is recognized as one of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States” (www.wascweb.org).  So for those that doubt the respectability of PUC, know that this school meets the standards of WASC and has received accreditation as a legitimate educational establishment.

The four standards for accreditation that PUC meets are:

1. Defining Institutional Purposes and Ensuring Educational Objectives:  The institution defines its purposes and establishes educational objectives aligned with its purposes and character. It has a clear and conscious sense of its essential values and character, its distinctive elements, its place in the higher educational community and its relationship to society at large. Through its purposes and educational objectives, the institution dedicates itself to higher learning, the search for truth, and the dissemination of knowledge. The institution functions with integrity and autonomy.

2. Achieving Educational Objectives through Core Functions:  The institution achieves its institutional purposes and attains its educational objectives through the core functions of teaching and learning, scholarship and creative activity, and support for student learning. It demonstrates that these core functions are performed effectively and that they support one another in the institution’s efforts to attain educational effectiveness.

3. Developing and Applying Resources and Organizational Structures to Ensure Sustainability:  The institution sustains its operations and supports the achievement of its educational objectives through its investment in human, physical, fiscal and information resources and through an appropriate and effective set of organizational and decision-making structures.

These key resources and organizational structures promote the achievement of institutional purposes and educational objectives and create a high quality environment for learning.

4. Creating an Organization Committed to Learning and Improvement:  The institution conducts sustained, evidence-based, and participatory discussions about how effectively it is accomplishing its purposes and achieving its educational objectives. These activities inform both institutional planning and systematic evaluations of educational effectiveness. The results of institutional inquiry, research, and data collection are used to establish priorities at different levels of the institution, and to revise institutional purposes, structures, and approaches to teaching, learning, and scholarly work.  (http://www.puc.edu/academics/accreditation/about-wasc-accreditation, click Criteria for review).

PUC made a statement about four themes they would use to guide and focus their work throughout the accreditation process:  The four they used are:

1. A Learning Community: We will both de­velop a more intentional culture of evidence and use that evidence to strengthen our community of learners.

2. Stewardship: We will develop systematic processes for the stewardship of our im­portant resources—including land develop­ment, endowment building, and enrollment management—and ensure that the assess­ment and planning that we engage in actu­ally guide budgeting and decision-making.

3. A Culture of Service: We will enhance the already strong culture of compassionate ser­vice across campus, making it the hallmark of a PUC education by providing opportu­nities to serve locally and globally while in school as well as thoughtful and intentional preparation for a life of on-going service.

4. Conversations about Faith, Learning, and Adventist Identity: We will encourage free, honest, and critical conversations, in and out of the classroom, about the relationships between faith and learning, and about the meaning and value of being a Seventh-day Adventist Christian in the twenty-first century. (http://www.puc.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/14056/Final-Proposal.pdf)

1.  A Learning Community

The first theme that PUC has is that of a Community of Learning. It is a goal of PUC to encourage every person on campus (not just the students or professors) to seek out new knowledge and constantly be learning. That being said, we have a mighty fine school here at PUC.  According to U.S News & World Report in their annual “Best Colleges” issue, PUC is one of the best colleges you can go to. As of their 2010 issue, we are ranked 11 for best baccalaureate college on the West coast.

And don’t even get us started on our professors. From the sciences to the arts, PUC is stacked with some of the best in the field, and it shows in their lectures, one-on-one conversations, and expertise. Many faculty here are well known and respected in the world of academia, and we, as students, should be honored and grateful to learn from such intelligent and respectable people instead of complaining of the amount of homework they give out.

2.  Stewardship

Stewardship is actually a big deal here at PUC. No matter which way you turn, there is always something to do with stewardship. From the recycling center to the Eco-village project to the Amnesty International chapter here at PUC, there are people taking responsibility and taking care of this world and others in it.

For instance, though many of us love to complain about it, Bon Appétit is actually very conscious of taking care of this world. They provide us with food bought locally to stimulate local economy as well as save on carbon emissions by not buying food from places farther away. So, what does this have to do with you, the students? Well, for one, we could all learn a little lesson or two. Instead of throwing your candy wrappers, bottles, and other trash on the ground (it’s true; we’ve seen it happen) why doesn’t everyone try using one of the many trashcans or recycling bins here on campus? Want to faculty, staff, and everyone else to take you seriously as an adult? Try cleaning up after yourself in the cafeteria. Your mom didn’t follow you to school (if she did, that’s a whole other issue that needs to be addressed at another time), and I am sure that she taught you how to clean your own place off the table. It’s all apart of taking care of this campus and each other.

If you want our honest opinion, we think that stewardship is the key to being taken seriously. Once people can see that students are taking responsibility for their own behavior and looking after the world that we live in (starting locally on our own campus), then we will start being treated like adults. And don’t be afraid to call your friends out. If someone you know leaves a mess, tell them you think it’s gross. Be proactive and help everyone else catch on.

3.  A culture of service

PUC does an excellent job of providing opportunities for students to serve the community.  We have a wide range of programs that have impact locally and worldwide such as Kidz Reach, Homeless Ministry, Amnesty International, World Missions, and Health Ministry.

PUC as an educational establishment also does an excellent job of providing students with a culture of service through the professors.  One aspect of PUC that allows the professors to serve the students so well is the simple fact that PUC has such a small campus.  The professor to student ratio makes it possible for every student to have access to face time with the teachers.  Not only are students able to ask teachers for help with their classes, they are also able to establish relationships with each other.  At many other colleges and universities, this is almost impossible.  The professors here are clearly dedicated and passionate about what they do, and they provide the best service to students as both a mentor and friend.

However, the culture of service that PUC could improve on is addressing other concerns of the students.  There are students who feel as though they are helpless to change things on campus due to a lack of voice.  By encouraging students to speak up on issues, PUC could improve their sensitivity to students’ criticisms.

4.  Conversations on faith, learning and Adventist identity

PUC is quite a progressive campus, especially in comparison to many other Adventist establishments.  However, there is always room for improvement, and we can always be doing more as a school to challenge students to have conversations on faith, learning, and Adventist identity.

Adventist identity has become dominated by the idea of maintaining status quo, as far as the application of the religion goes.  However, in light of today’s ever-changing society, this is not enough.  By maintaining status quo and refusing to adapt to the culture of today, we render ourselves irrelevant and ineffective.  Followers of Adventism don’t learn and grow in their faith, and they become isolated in their own bubble of outdated practices.  We certainly have constructed a strong Adventist identity both in and outside of our community, but there is always more we could be doing to improve it.

Pursuing the idea of progressive revelation does introduce the threat of compromise to Adventism, but this fear should not be the reason to remain stagnant.  In order to keep Adventist beliefs and principles relevant to our generation, we need to be able to apply them effectively.  Although the beliefs and principles remain the same, the application of them must be changing to adapt to the culture they are in.